BusinessMirror February 10, 2019

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

A broader look at today’s business n

Sunday, February 10, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 123

2018 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

GEOGRAPHIC CURSE OR BLESSING? T

By Rene Acosta

“That’s why we are in this situation,” he added. US think tanks, such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies and its Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (Amti), through its fellow and director Gregory Poling, seemed to agree with the observation—with Poling even prodding the US government to come out with a “clearer” position.

HE Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) that the Philippines signed with the United States in 1951 was supposed to give the country a sense of security against any prospect of an external attack.

But given its current form and with its “ambiguous” provisions, the treaty with the country’s longtime ally does not provide this sense of comfort, particularly against China and its continued— seemingly unstoppable—march in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), which Beijing contends. China has been characterized by the previous Aquino administration and its security officials as the foremost threat to the country’s territorial integrity, believing that if ever there would be a “shooting war,” this would have to come by way of the Chinese through the contentious issues surrounding claims to portions of the South China Sea. This “realistic” assessment prompted the government to revisit its Cold War-borne agreement with the Americans, and even casually invoked it in the face of the Chinese threat involving the WPS, which started in 2012, when Beijing began exercising de facto control over the Scarborough Shoal near Zambales.

Friend or foe?

SINCE China and its aggressive activities in the WPS have been considered a threat—although oddly the current administration treats the Chinese as friends—a number of government officials, including Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, viewed the MDT as a “piece of paper” in its current form that needed to be reviewed as it is giving the country a false pretense of security, given that in the minds of the Americans, it cannot be invoked on the issue of any territorial dispute.

The review has gotten a positive feedback from the US. “Maybe within the year; within the year, because the Americans are also interested. They have been asking me about our plans,” said Lorenzana a couple of days ago, adding that a high-level delegation from the US would be arriving soon for the review’s preliminary informal talks. He said the Americans wanted to know what the Filipinos are thinking over the treaty, and the same for the other side. “The agreement is very, very short. We want to remove the ambiguities because they always say that we do not involve ourselves in territorial disputes,” the defense chief said. Lorenzana maintained that if the government has to renegotiate the treaty, it would be for the best interest of the country, or for the mutual benefit of both parties, as the MDT also obligated Manila to come to the aid of the Americans if they are attacked. When China began to show its aggressive posturing, not only in the WPS, but in the contested portions of the South China Sea, the US has repeatedly announced its “iron-clad” support to the Philippines by way of the MDT, but this expression of support was absent, silent—or at the least, nondefinitive—in the case of territories claimed by the country, but are being claimed by Beijing. Lorenzana said the renegotiation of the treaty will define in part even the territory of the country, and partially, also the role of the Philippines in case a miscalculation occurs between the US and

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.2900

At the center

PHILIPPINE Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (left) and then-US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis meet at the Pentagon on September 18, 2018. AP/MANUEL BALCE CENETA

‘W

E are smack at the center. Anything that happens here, it involves us; like what happened in World War II, like what happened in the Spanish-American war. We were not even involved, we are so far away but we were involved because of our geography. It’s both a blessing and a curse to be here in this part of the world.”—Lorenzana

China in the disputed territory. “They could define our territory also. What is the limit of our territories? If they said that they are going to defend us or help us if metropolitan Philippines is attacked, what do they mean by metropolitan Philippines? Does it include Scarborough Shoal, Mischief Reef or Pagasa? [I oddly sense some ambiguities there],” he said. “That’s also for us, because if you remember this near collision of two frigates—a Chinese and an American in Mischief Reef. Supposing there will be a shooting there [between them], and they invoked the MDT, then you are involved, we’re involved,” Lorenzana added.

For Lorenzana and other officials, the security landscape that is being hemmed and formed by the dispute in the South China Sea urgently calls for the review of the agreement, while, at the same time, they also ardently pushed for the initiation of a code of conduct that would govern all contending states. At the time the treaty with the Americans was signed, the territorial issue hadn’t been factored in yet, and China was not even in a position to challenge the claims and even activities of the Philippines in the now WPS.

Treaty at fault?

STRETCHING it further, Lorenzana singled out the treaty and the

repetitive words of the US that it cannot take sides in a territorial dispute as probably an abettor of China’s activities and its militarization of the South China Sea. It was also seen as the culprit behind Beijing’s march into the country’s territory in the WPS, which China claimed otherwise. Officials noted, though, that the US cannot say this in the case of Japan with China over the Senkakus. “I think that, that’s the origin of all the problems in the West Philippine Sea—when they said we are not involving ourselves in territorial disputes in West Philippine Sea or in South China Sea, [that has] given the blanket authority to do whatever they want,” Lorenzana said.

WHILE discounting the possibility of any shooting war between the US and China and tending to limit the view to a mere military rivalry— contrary to some previous analysis even by some active and retired US military commanders—Lorenzana said the country may have been damned, as it is located at the heart of the region and always seems to find itself at the center of two contending armies. “This superpower rivalry in our region is not new. It has been done before, it happened before, only now that it’s China. Before, I think some other superpowers like Russia. Japan was also here during World War II [when] they were the rising power, so it’s not new. There are always certain power rivalries going on anywhere in the world and, unfortunately, we are in the center of it here in our region,” Lorenzana said. “We are smack at the center. Anything that happens here, it involves us, like what happened in World War II, like what happened in the Spanish-American war. We were not even involved, we are so far away but we were involved because of our geography. It’s both a blessing and a curse to be here in this part of the world,” he added. Nonetheless, location could be a blessing, except that, as the defense chief said, the country must properly “leverage” to its advantage where it sits in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, there’s the MDT that’s up for review soon, and one can only hope this will lead to a satisfactory resolution of the unique problems arising from this geographic “curse/blessing.”

n JAPAN 0.4760 n UK 67.7208 n HK 6.6631 n CHINA 7.8051 n SINGAPORE 38.5477 n AUSTRALIA 37.1364 n EU 59.3230 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9432

Source: BSP (February 8, 2019 )

RULETKKA | DREAMSTIME.COM

AMID CHINA’S MARCH TO CONTESTED TERRITORIES, PHL AND U.S. TAKE FIRST STEP TO REVIEW 1951 DEFENSE PACT

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, February 10, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

How bad really is China’s economic slowdown? It depends what you sell

I

F China’s economy is weakening, someone forgot to tell Jasmine Wang. “My parents haven’t asked me to cut back my spending,” says Wang, a 22-year-old graduate student in Beijing who collects limited-edition fragrances from brands like Chanel and Guerlain that can cost up to $300 each.

She said her parents are paying her monthly bills of about 6,000 to 8,000 yuan ($1,186) and will keep supporting her if she struggles to find a job. Wang is just one member of China’s Generation Z trying to find her way in a country of 1.4 billion, but her story gets to the conundrum facing investors trying to assess the world’s second-largest economy. While Apple Inc., Caterpillar Inc., Volkswagen AG and other companies are sending tremors through Wall Street with warnings about softness in China, others are sounding more bullish, including fashion brands that might appeal to affluent consumers like Wang. “We are not seeing a slowdown,” said Patrice Louvet, chief executive officer of Ralph Lauren Corp., where revenue in China grew 19 percent last quarter. “We continue to be excited about the opportunity for us. We’re highly underdeveloped in China.” The two camps have come into stark relief in recent weeks. China’s rapid economic growth of years past is slowing, and the trade war with the US has unsettled businesses. Dozens of multinationals have sounded the alarm about weakening demand and, in cases like Caterpillar, reported unexpected declines in sales in the fourth quarter. Hundreds of Chinese companies also

have issued profit warnings. But others are upbeat about business in the Asian nation. Toyota Motor Corp. is doubling down on the market, and rolling out an all-new version of the world’s top-selling vehicle, the Corolla. Paris-based luxury giant LVMH and UK distiller Diageo Plc. have posted strong sales in the country. Sales growth of the Jimmy Choo label in Greater China was the strongest of all regions last quarter, their owner, Capri Holdings Ltd., said Wednesday. Michael Kors, another Capri brand, did well in Mainland China, although Asia sales overall were hit by a drop in Chinese tourists to Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Earnings reports later this week from L’Oréal SA and Pernod Ricard SA may provide further insight. “If you’re a young Beijing person, and your parents have raised you as an only child, you might not feel the effects,” said Sara Hsu, an associate professor of economics at the State University of New York at New Paltz who specializes in the Chinese economy. “But that certainly doesn’t cover a lot of people.”

Tough read

CHINA has always been a difficult economy to read. The government produces

less data than other major nations and uses public assistance that can make it hard to assess the real health of demand. That’s left China watchers like Leland Miller, CEO of China Beige Book, pointing to corporate warnings as a more telling data point. Government data is “not reflective of what’s happening across the Chinese economy,” Miller said. “You have much more substantial weakness right now, and it’s a problem because it’s not being understood by investors.” One of Miller’s top concerns is that Chinese companies have been borrowing heavily over the past three quarters, and that hasn’t jump-started investment or growth. Just last week, more than 400 publicly traded Chinese companies told investors that 2018 results had deteriorated. And a corporate tax cut, which has been floated, wouldn’t be all that helpful because so many firms are state-owned enterprises that already have low tax bills. Toss in a continued trade war, and the situation could quickly worsen.

“What would really set things off is if these trade talks break down, and you have this layered on top of the current weakness,” Miller said. “You will absolutely see a crisis in China.”

Signs of stress

JAY FOREMAN, CEO of closely held toymaker Basic Fun in Boca Raton, Florida, just spent a month in China meeting with factories and saw subtle signs of stress. Manufacturers, he said, seemed more desperate to gain or keep his business, including offering better credit terms and smaller down payments to start a production cycle. One reason is that the trade war has pushed companies to speed up plans to find alternative places to source goods, such as Vietnam, Indonesia and India. “We’re finding ways to, if not get discounts, get more advantageous pricing,” Foreman said. “There is a lot of factory capacity available.” And that’s during a period when many companies were rushing to

import goods from China ahead of a planned increase in US tariffs slated for January 1. President Donald Trump then delayed that hike until March 2 to allow for more negotiations, adding another incentive to beat that deadline. That’s one explanation for the US trade deficit with China widening since the tariffs were put in place last year. The slowdown has hit a wide variety of products: cars, automotive parts, Tupperware Brands Corp. containers, computer chips from Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp., softwood and fluff pulp from International Paper Co., Hitachi Ltd.’s construction machinery and chemicals from DowDuPont Inc. The list goes on: Many are run-of-the-mill goods, the first links in the supply chain. “The trade dispute has had a negative impact on the global economy, and the German automotive industry in particular,” Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche said Wednesday, noting the impact on Mercedes SUVs imported to China from its factory in Alabama. Across 195 fourth-quarter earnings calls of S&P 500 firms analyzed by Bloomberg Intelligence, 100 companies cited a slowdown in China, according to a February 4 report. “The irrational exuberance they used to have, that China was a slam dunk and such an untapped opportunity, has now been pretty tempered,” said Steve Pasierb, president of the Toy Association, a trade group for manufacturers. “Yes, the population growth is still happening there and growth in the middle class, but things have slowed.”

Bright spots

CHINA’S economy expanded at a 6.6-percent rate last year, the slowest

since 1990 but a pace other major economies can only dream of. The government’s response with targeted stimulus measures has propped up some sectors, and while it’s being tested by the standoff with Trump, many executives are expecting more this year. Eaton Corp., a Cleveland-based conglomerate, said its China unit continued to perform well last quarter, citing in particular a more than 20 percent jump in sales of excavators. While growth will moderate, “the Chinese government will stimulate at some point during the course of the year, so we do think that the second half of the year is stronger than the first half,” CEO Craig Arnold said on a January 31 conference call. Many of the companies that have bucked the gloomy trend are consumer businesses. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. beat earnings estimates, Unilever said China is resilient, while French kitchen-appliances maker SEB SA, a French maker of pressure cookers and saucepans, said it’s still bullish about its two-digit growth forecast for China this year. Cees Hart, the CEO of Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S, said Wednesday he’d recently visited the company’s team in China and that the start of the year had been promising. Rich Chinese splurged on LVMH’s Louis Vuitton handbags and Hennessy Cognac. There’s even evidence rural shoppers are buying more expensive liquor. But if history is any guide, the wealthy are often the last to feel an economic downturn. Alex Du, a 30-something retail worker in Beijing, says he doesn’t have much savings, and couldn’t afford a car. “Pretty much spend every penny I make,” Du said. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, February 10, 2019

A3

UK and EU leaders don’t budge on Brexit but agree to more talks B RUSSELS—Britain and the European Union refused to budge an inch on Thursday toward any compromise over Brexit, but at least they are on speaking terms again about their impending divorce. They agreed to further negotiations in the next few weeks, although that means any deal will come perilously close to the scheduled deadline of March 29. That risks a chaotic departure for Britain that could be costly to both sides—both to businesses and ordinary people. “A no-deal is for us not an option. It is a disaster on both sides of the Channel,” said Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit official. Looking at the ever-tighter deadline, British Prime Minister Theresa May said after talks at EU headquarters in Brussels, “it’s not going to be easy.”

But she vowed: “I am going to deliver Brexit. I am going to deliver it on time.” May was able to clear the air after EU Council President Donald Tusk exacerbated the frosty climate on Wednesday by wondering aloud what “special place in hell” might be reserved for those who backed Brexit with no idea of how to deliver it. May said she had “raised with President Tusk the language that he used,” saying his words “caused widespread dismay” in Britain. Tu sk ’s com ment s were condemned by British Brexiteers but at least served to focus minds on how wide a gulf remains between the UK

and the EU. It was little surprise that talks at EU Commission headquarters were described as “robust.” At the end, May and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed on a renewed effort to hold more negotiations on seeking a breakthrough. The two leaders agreed to assess progress “before the end of February to take stock of these discussions,” a joint statement said. Two years ago, May set Brexit day as March 29—and original plans were to have a deal in place six months ahead of time. As the time shrinks between a deal and the cutoff date, the more difficult it becomes for businesses and authorities to adapt quickly to the fundamental changes that a withdrawal from the bloc would entail. Bot h sides st i l l d isag ree on whether the divorce agreement struck between May’s government and the EU—and then summarily rejected by Britain’s Parliament— can be changed to ease Br itish objections. “The EU27 will not reopen the W it hd raw a l A g reement , wh ic h

represents a carefully balanced compromise between the European Union and the UK, in which both sides have made significant concessions,” the joint statement said. UK officials said May’s primary concern was not to be “trapped” in a system that could see Britain linked to the EU in a customs union for an indefinite time and not be able to set its own trade agenda. Britain’s Parliament voted down May’s Brexit deal last month, largely because of concerns about a provision for the border between the UK’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. The mechanism, known as the backstop, is a safeguard that would keep the UK in a customs union with the EU to remove the need for checks along the Irish border until a permanent new trading relationship is in place. Thursday’s statement said that May “raised various options for dealing with these concerns in the context of the withdrawal agreement.” Many pro-Brexit lawmakers in Britain say they won’t vote for the withdrawal agreement unless the

backstop is removed from the 585page, which the EU leaders oppose vehemently. Juncker and the other leaders have agreed to look for a compromise in a political text accompanying the withdrawal agreement, but not in the document itself. “What we would look at as positive from today is that there are going to be talks,” a senior Downing Street official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the UK-EU negotiations. “Obviously we’ve got work to do.” In London, there was significant momentum from the opposition, with the Labour Party making perhaps its biggest move in months. Par t y leader Jeremy Corby n dangled a possible way out of the impasse, saying his left-wing party could support a Brexit deal if May committed to seeking a close relationship with the EU after Britain leaves. That would include a commitment to maintain roughly equivalent standards in areas such as the environment and workers’ rights. Corbyn’s key demand, set out in

a letter to May, is permanent British membership in a customs union with the EU. May has repeatedly ruled that out, but it would solve the problem of the backstop by making customs checks on the Irish border unnecessary. It is the firmest sign yet that Labour lawmakers might be willing to vote for a Brexit deal in Parliament. But the party—like May’s Conservatives—is divided. Corbyn’s position disappointed some Labour Party legislators who had hoped he would back calls for a second referendum on whether to leave the EU. Britain’s Parliament is set to hold a debate and votes February 14 on the next steps, giving lawmakers a chance to force May to change course toward a softer Brexit—if divided lawmakers can agree on a plan. Corby n said on T hursday that Labour would “ do ever y thing we can in Parliament to prevent this cliff-edge exit.” “Half of our trade is with Europe. A lot of our manufacturing industries are very frightened, very worried,” he said. AP

A4

Sunday, February 10, 2019

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Another nuclear pact with US in trouble, Russian official says By Vladimir Isachenkov | The Associated Press

M

OSCOW—Another USRussian nuclear pact is in danger following the US move to withdraw from a Cold War-era arms control treaty, a senior Russian diplomat said last Thursday.

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin makes a point as he speaks at the plenary session of the Business Russia forum in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, February 6, 2019. AP

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov charged that the US refusal to negotiate an extension to the New Start treaty signals Washington’s intention to let it expire in 2021. He warned that time is running out to save the pact, which was signed in 2010 by US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitr y Medvedev. Ryabkov said that the US has shown “no readiness or desire” to engage in substantive talks on extending the pact, which limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. US Undersecretary of State A nd rea T hompson arg ued in Wednesday’s phone call with reporters that there is enough time to discuss the treaty’s extension. “We have until 2021,” Thompson said. “It is a relatively simple treaty to extend, so we have time with that.” But Ryabkov warned that the procedure isn’t going to be simple. He noted that the US said it has converted 56 Trident submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles and 41 B-52H strategic bombers that

carried nuclear weapons for use with conventional weapons, but stonewalled Russia’s repeated requests for a verifiable way to exclude their conversion back to nuclear status. “In the worst-case scenario, they may carry 1,286 nuclear warheads,” he said, meaning that the US could nearly double the number of deployed warheads allowed by the New Start treaty. He said “that there is almost no time left” to discuss that and other issues for the treaty to be extended by another five years as envisaged during the signing. “It gives reason to suspect our American counterparts of setting ground to avoid those discussions...and just let the treaty quietly expire,” Ryabkov said. Ry a bk o v a l so s a id R u s s i a stands ready for talks on a possible successor to the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. “ We are ready for d ia log ue,” Ry abkov sa id. “ If t he US i s i nterested, it shou ld spel l out its proposa l.” Citing Russian violations, the US on Saturday formally suspended its obligations under the INF that bans all land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, setting the stage for the treaty to terminate in six months. Russia, which has denied any breaches, has followed suit. R u s s i a n P r e s i d e nt V l a d i mir Putin instructed the military over the weekend to work on developing new land-based weapons that were previously forbidden by the INF treat y, but emphasized that such new weapons won’t be deployed to the European part of Russia or any other region unless the US does so in those areas. Later on Thursday, though, Russia’s Defense Ministry called on the US to stick to the INF treaty and destroy the ty pes of weapons that Russia thinks violates it. The Defense Ministr y said that it had seen the official notification from the State Department on the withdrawal from the treaty and has invited the US military attache to officially present it. Ry abkov on T hu rsd ay e xpressed particular worry about US plans to produce new, lowyield nuclear weapons, warning that it could dramatically lower the threshold for their use. “It’s very alarming,” he said, adding that the plans could revive old Cold War era concepts. “It throws us many decades back to the ideology of nuclear battlefield weapons,” he said. “There are just a couple of steps left...before the revival of nuclear artillery, nuclear mortars, nuclear mines, nuclear grenades and other things like that. It appears to ref lect the eagerness of those who have grown up in the age of computer games to easily push the button.”

THIS image from a militant web site associated with Islamic State group extremists, posted on May 23, 2015, purports to show a suicide bomber identified as a Saudi citizen with the nom de guerre Abu Amer al-Najdi who carried out an attack on a Shiite mosque. A new study published on February 5, 2019, by the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies is challenging the notion that jihadis fighters are necessarily disenfranchised and lacking opportunity, finding instead that most millennial Saudi jihadis were relatively well-educated, not driven purely by religious ideology and showed little interest in suicide bombings. AP

SAUDI STUDY SHOWS MILLENNIAL JIHADIS EDUCATED, NOT OUTCASTS

D

UBAI, United Arab Emirates—A study by a Saudi research center is challenging the notion that jihadi fighters are necessarily disenfranchised and lacking opportunity, with its lead researcher saying on Thursday that a new generation of Saudi militants are relatively well-educated, not driven purely by religious ideology and show little interested in suicide missions. The 40-page study, published by the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in conjunction with the International Center for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College in London, looked at 759 Saudi recruits who joined the Islamic State (IS) group mostly between 2013 and 2014. That’s roughly a third of the overall number of Saudis who fought in Syria. The data was drawn from leaked Islamic State group entry documents. The Saudi Interior Ministry previously said that 2,500 Saudis had gone to Syria in the years before the kingdom criminalized fighting abroad in early 2014. Only Tunisia sent more foreign fighters. Subsequently, the kingdom was the target of numerous IS group attacks that killed dozens of people, as well as in Kuwait. Researcher Abdullah bin Khaled AlSaud said the fighters were neither loners nor social outcasts but appear to have been motivated by the heightened sectarianism that began to color the 2011 Syrian revolution as it slid into armed conflict. A turning point came when the Iranianbacked Shiite Hezbollah group decisively committed to join the conflict in May 2013 to defend the Syrian government against the mostly Sunni Muslim resistance. “That actually was the point when the first wave of Saudis traveling to Syria started to happen,” Al-Saud told The Associated Press. “So, I think instability, war and violence certainly plays a major role when it comes to the specific Saudi context.” In contrast, issues of disenfranchisement, poverty and criminal pasts factored heavily in

IS fighters hailing from European countries like France, Belgium and the US, to name a few. An AP analysis of some 3,000 leaked IS documents had found that most of the recruits hailing from a range of nationalities, or around 70 percent, came with only the most basic knowledge of Islam—the lowest possible choice on the forms. This created fertile ground for the indoctrination of recruits in line with the group’s extremist interpretation of Islam. The Saudi study released this week, however, found that among Saudi recruits a little more than half said they had basic knowledge of Islam. Much of the rest claimed to have intermediate and advanced religious knowledge. This was somewhat expected given that all Saudi students are given religious education in schools, according to the study. “Still, the Saudi contingent’s religious fluency should not be exaggerated: 58 percent of Saudi [fighters] acknowledged that they had only basic knowledge of the religion of Islam, and only 8 percent claimed to be ‘knowledge seekers,’” the report stated. Unlike fighters from Europe, where many were high-school dropouts or unemployed, the Saudi recruits were relatively well educated. Close to 340 had a high school-level education, around 60 had a diploma of some kind, close to 120 had university degrees and five held postgraduate degrees. “This data demonstrates that the Saudi contingent does not consist of educational underachievers, which can lead to the argument that they were not lacking in socioeconomic opportunities,” the study said. The repor t notes, though, that “education does not necessarily equate with job opportunities, and a sense of relative deprivation may still be relevant” with 15 percent of the Saudi contingent in this study stating they were unemployed. AP

Free money experiment is set to reveal 1st results in Finland

T

HE world’s happiest country is about to answer a question that’s intrigued political philosophers and economists for centuries: What happens when citizens are given money with no strings attached? Finland, a Nordic champion of social welfare, just spent the last two years finding out. On Friday, the social services agency Kela will reveal a preliminary assessment of how receiving €560 ($635) of free money a month affected the livelihoods of 2,000 randomly selected jobless people aged between 25 and 58. Unlike with regular unemployment benefits, the experiment’s participants were free to top up their allowance by taking up part-time jobs and weren’t required to actively seek a full-time position. Against the background of a global debate on how to deal with rising inequality, the pilot project is being closely watched by economists, sociologists and billionaires, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. The idea of a basic income as a replacement for means-tested welfare payments has its share of supporters on both the left and the right of the political spectrum. Advocates say

it eliminates poverty traps and redistributes income while empowering the individual and reducing paperwork. The concept has inspired Italy’s populist government, which this week started honoring its election promise of a “citizen’s income” for the poor. Other countries have taken different avenues, with the UK opting instead for a Universal Credit system that replaced six means-tested benefits and tax credits with a single monthly payment. Finland’s experiment, the first of its kind on a national level, was implemented by the government of Juha Sipila, the country’s first millionaire prime minister, between 2017 and 2018. Despite solid economic growth and falling unemployment, Finland suffers from an aging population. It’s eager to redesign social security and adapt it to a labor market in which fewer people are likely to take on traditional nine-to-five jobs. The country is seen as a trend-setter when it comes to social policy, with its education system and baby boxes (containers full of baby clothes and care products delivered to expectant mothers) admired around the world. Bloomberg News

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

Sunday

Sunday, February 10, 2019

A5

Pope Francis: Witness to Christ with love

A

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates—Meeting with tens of thousands of Catholics living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pope Francis urged them to be meek, peaceful and express their Christian identity by loving others. The UAE Catholic community, which numbers close to 1 million, includes foreign workers from roughly 100 nations, particularly India and the Philippines. They filled the stadium at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City and the open spaces around the complex for Pope Francis’s Mass on February 5. Paul Matthew, his 13-year-old daughter Meldy and 4-year-old daughter Michelle, were at the stadium early, the proud bearers of some of the 42,000 special tickets allowing access inside the stadium. “We are very happy; it’s a historic moment,” said Matthew, who came from India five years ago and is involved with the “outreach ministry” of Saint Paul’s Church, visiting the sick in local hospitals. The UAE is officially Muslim, but allows members of other faiths to worship according to their beliefs. The Muslim dignitaries at the Mass were led by Sheik Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the government minister of tolerance. In his homily, Pope Francis told the Catholics, “I like to quote Saint Francis, when he gave his brothers instructions about approaching the Saracens and non-Christians. He wrote: ‘Let them not get into arguments or disagreements, but be subject to every human creature out of love for God, and let them profess that they are Christians.’” So “neither arguments nor disagreements” are called for, the pope said. In the 13th century “as many people were setting out, heavily armed” to fight in the Crusades, “Saint Francis pointed out that Christians set out armed only with their humble faith and concrete love.”

“Meekness is important,” the pope said. “If we live in the world according to the ways of God, we will become channels of His presence; otherwise, we will not bear fruit.”

Prayers for the faithful, also in Filipino

THE prayers of the faithful for the Mass were written in six languages: Korean, French, Urdu, Filipino, Konkani and Malayalam. The prayer in Filipino, acknowledging how many foreign workers come to the UAE without their families, asked God to accompany “all the migrants and workers who live in these lands; may their sacrifice and diligence blossom into goodness and sustenance for their families.” The French prayer asked God to convert “the hearts of sinners and of the violent; stop the wars, defeat hatred, help us weave bonds of justice and peace.”

Blessed

IN his homily, Pope Francis acknowledged the difficulties many Catholic foreign workers experience so far from their homelands, often doing very humble work for very rich families. The Gospel reading for the Mass was the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew. Pope Francis told the people the Gospel message was for them and could be summarized as: “If you are with Jesus, if you love to listen to His word as the disciples of that time did, if you try to live out this word every day, then you are blessed. Not you will be blessed, but you are blessed.” Many people today, he said,

5TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: ‘LUKE 5:1-11‘

Hierarchy of values: Key to right choice

POPE Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to celebrate Mass at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. PAUL HARING/CNS

think that being blessed means being comfortable and having wealth. But Jesus showed another way. For Him, “ blessed are the poor, the meek, those who remain just even at the cost of appearing in a bad light, those who are persecuted.” Jesus was “poor in respect to things, but wealthy in love; He healed so many lives, but did not spare His own,” the pope said. “He came to serve and not to be served; He taught us that greatness is not found in having but rather in giving.” Through His meekness, humility and self-giving, the pope said, “Jesus brought God’s love into the

SUNDAY GOSPEL IN OUR LIFE

T

HE Gospel today narrates how the fishermen Peter, James and John were called by Christ to become apostles. After a miraculous catch of fish that left them dumbfounded, Jesus told them, “From now on, you will catch men” (Luke 5:11). So they abandoned their previous occupation in order to carry out the new task that had been entrusted to them. Maybe at that moment, it did not look like a reasonable decision. They had a good thing as fisherman. And now, they were supposed to “fish men,” following an itinerant teacher who did not seem to have anything tangible to offer them. But with the perspective of 20 centuries, we now see that they made the right decision. If they stuck to their previous occupation, then, at the most, they could have been successful men in the fishing business—one more among millions in the history of men. Instead, they became apostles, pillars of the Church, engaged in that exciting adventure of the salvation of men, to bring them to their eternal happiness. They made the right choice by abandoning the lesser for the greater; by not letting pretty affairs interfere with that all-important affair of redemption. Do we also make the right choices? Do we realize that things and activities have differing values, so that we can actually rank them into a scale or hierarchy of values? And do we realize that many times, we have to be ready to abandon and leave behind

less important concerns for those things that really matter? In the spiritual life, as in other affairs, it is very important to establish a correct hierarchy of values and to remind ourselves often about it. In general, we can say that first in rank are the things of God. Then comes the needs of others. And in the last phase are our own personal things. Jaime Cardinal Sin often uses the acronyms: JOY—Jesus, Others, You. That is the order of importance we should maintain. If the apostles thought first about themselves, they would never have “left everything behind” to follow Jesus. If we think mainly about ourselves, we will often make the wrong choice. Instead, we should think of God first, and also apportion our time accordingly. This means that, while not neglecting our daily duties (which are also from God), we should give priority to those activities that have to do with God. For example, on a Sunday, like today, we should consider first our duty to worship God, and secondly only, our own rest and recreation. On ordinary days, we should allot some time to personal dealing with God (in prayer, examination of conscience, etc.) and make sure we do not crowd it out through other concerns. Following a correct hierarchy of values will ensure that all our words and actions will be in keeping with our condition as Christians.

‘New page’ in Christian-Muslim dialogue

POPE Francis said his trip to Abu Dhabi was a step forward in Catholic-Muslim dialogue and

If you are with Jesus, if you love to listen to His word as the disciples of that time did, if you try to live out this word every day, then you are blessed. Not you will be blessed, but you are blessed.”—Pope Francis

Saint Scholastica By Corazon Damo-Santiago

MSGR. JOSEFINO S. RAMIREZ

world. Only in this way did He defeat death, sin, fear and even worldliness: only by the power of divine love.” The Beatitudes, he said, are “a road map for our life: they do not require superhuman actions, but rather the imitation of Jesus in our everyday life.” “The Beatitudes are not for supermen, but for those who face up to the challenges and trials of each day,” he said.

‘I

BEG you not to leave me tonight so that we might talk until morning the joys of heavenly life.” “W hat are you saying, sister, I cannot stay away from the monastery.” When Saint Scholastica lifted her head, a violent thunder was heard after a lightning crossed the skies. Heaven heard Saint Scholastica’s prayer, and it cried torrential rains, after she placed her clasped hands on the table and bowed her head. Saint Benedict cried, “God, forgive you, sister. What have you done?”

Loved by God

SAINT Scholastica and her fraternal twin brother, Saint Benedict, are the children of a wealthy couple, Anicius Eupropius and Claudia Abondantia Reguardantia. They were born in the 9th century in Nursia, Umbria, Italy. In a letter of Saint Scholastica to a new abbess, Mother Flavia, she mentioned it was her brother who named her Scholastica, from the Latin word scholasticus (orator). In 525 Benedict founded a monastery on Monte Cassino. Scholastica followed her brother and established a convent at the base of the mountain. With a few women, they lived according

to the rules of the Benedictine Order, too. When both lived in cloistered walls, the twins shared their wisdom about God only once a month. Since women were not allowed to set foot in monasteries, they met in a designated place. One day, in 543, the two met. Requested to stay longer, Benedict refused to break a monastery rule, he himself drafted. Scholastica prayed hard. Dark heavy clouds covered the clear skies, f lashes of lightning appeared, thunders rolled and torrents of rains fell. It was impossible for Benedict to leave and had to stay until dawn. The “law of love had triumphed over the law of justice and discipline,” said Saint Gregory. Three days after, Benedict, while praying alone in his room, had a vision of his “sister’s soul ascending to heaven as a dove.” He requested his brother monks to bring her body on Monte Cassino and laid it in the tomb he had prepared for himself. She was about 67 years old. A few weeks later on March 21, 547, Benedict died and was buried beside her.

Patroness of good weather

THE Philippines is one of the very few countries within “global reach of death and destruction,” according to WorldAtlas.com. Because it lies in the Pacific Ring

promoting peace among religions. Though a brief visit, the “scattered seeds” of the February 3 to 5 trip will bear fruit according to God’s will, he said during the general audience later. The visit to the UAE, and second meeting with the Muslim Grand Imam of al-Azhar, “wrote a new page in the history of dialogue between Christianity and Islam and in the commitment to promote peace in the world on the basis of human brotherhood.” Pope Francis first met the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, during a 2017 apostolic visit to Egypt. The two signed a joint document on human fraternity during this week’s visit. In the document, “we condemn all forms of violence, especially those with religious motivation, and we commit ourselves to spreading authentic values and peace throughout the world,” the pope stated. In this era, he said, when there is a strong temptation to discord between Christian and Islamic cultures, and considering religions as sources of conflict, “we wanted to give a further, clear

and decisive sign, that instead it is possible to meet, it is possible to respect and dialogue.” He added that he recommends people read the document and try to understand it, because it has helpful points for how to carry out a dialogue on human fraternity. “Despite the diversity of cultures and traditions, the Christian and Islamic world appreciate and protect common values: life, family, religious sense, honor for the elderly, the education of young people, and still other things,” he said. Francis’s trip to the UAE, the first of a pope to the Arabian Peninsula, also fell 800 years after Saint Francis of Assisi visited the Sultan Malik al Kamil in Egypt. Pope Francis said it was “providence” that a pope named Francis made the historic trip on the 800th anniversary of the saint’s visit. “I often thought of Saint Francis during this journey: he helped me to keep the Gospel, the love of Jesus Christ in my heart, while I was living the various moments of the visit,” he said. “In my heart there was the Gospel of Christ,” he said, “the prayer to the Father for all His children, especially for the poorest, for the victims of injustice, wars, misery; prayer because the dialogue between Christianity and Islam is a decisive factor for peace in today’s world.” During the audience, Francis also recalled his meetings with two 90-year-old priests who have both served in the UAE for many years. One, he said, is now blind and in a wheelchair, but a smile never left his lips. “ The smile of having served the Lord and done very good.” Another highlight of the trip, he pointed out, was the Mass he celebrated in the stadium in Abu Dhabi on February 5, which was attended by around 150,000 people. “There were so many people!” he said. “We prayed in a special way for peace and justice, with special intention for the Middle East and Yemen.” Catholic News Service, Catholic News Agency/CBCPNews

of Fire it is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Because it is near the equator, every year approximately 20 tropical cyclones and storms visit the country. Sophie Brown of Time magazine wrote that “the Philippines is the most storm exposed country on earth.” A Christian country, Filipinos acknowledge God’s dominion over the universe. Affirming the Creators’ bountiful mercy, Filipinos pray to God to save the country from the ravages of storms. The people can also pray to Saint Scholastica, the patroness of good weather. Her feast day is February 10. “Blessed and Holy Saint Scholastica intercede for your people in this time of need. May your prayers go to the throne of God in order that we be delivered from harm that our lives and our houses protected, and our parishes and churches stand erect and ready to serve your people. “Finally Saint Scholastica may your prayers deliver all those in danger, heal all those in illness and direct all those without shelter. “Intercede for us great patroness and offer us the good weather for which we hope. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Damo-Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

SAINT Scholastica from the altarpiece in San Luca Basilica in Bologna, northern Italy WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A6

Science

Sunday, February 10, 2019

BusinessMirror

Sunday

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

Bernido: PHL needs an ‘army’ of HS students for marine science research

H

OW far can young Filipino senior high-school studentscientists go?

In 2017, two of the scientific papers published in the American Institute of Physics Conference Proceedings were researches done in the small town of Jagna on Bohol Island in Central Philippines. The first paper, titled “Initiatives, prospects and challenges in tropical marine biosciences in Jagna Bay, Bohol Island, Philippines,” tackled the taxonomy or classification of the “unidentified, nameless and unrecorded” organisms in the diverse marine waters of Jagna. The second paper, “Modeling shell morphology of an epitoniid species with parametric equations,” dealt with mathematically modelling marine species and noted the significance of the method in differentiating each group of specie. One might think that these are results done by college students’ research for graduation requirements, or research projects by graduate students. The impressive results and rewarding publication records were done by senior high-school students of the Central Visayas Institute Foundation (CVIF). The results certainly might surprise some academics, especially in the higher level, or raise a brow in the education department. But for the school’s president and directress, both 2010 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, Dr. Christopher Bernido, and his wife, Ma. Victoria, one thing is certain: “We need to start them young.”

PHL waters as huge marine science lab

WITH every abundance comes neglect, but it also comes with an opportunity. During Christopher’s recent talk at the Central Visayas Regional Science and Technology Week of the Department of Science and Technology in Bohol, he noted that the Philippines is abundant with data, and that comes through how much water we have around the islands and how much we don’t know underneath the waters. Christopher explained how compared to the Mediterranean’s 2,020 species of mollusks and Japan’s 1,700 species of decapods that include crabs, lobsters and prawns, the Philippines has over

CLARIFICATION IN the BusinessMirror ’s Science page story “$1.5-billion market seen once PHL space agency is created” on February 3, the following paragraphs, quoting Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, appeared at the end of the story: “De la Peña told the Coffee Club of BusinessMirror and Aliw Media Group on Wednesday that eight scholars are already accepted in UP to train in the making of Diwata-3 microsatellite. “Set to finish within 2019, de la Peña said that unlike Diwata 1 and 2 which were made by Filipino and Japanese scientists in Japan, Diwata-3 will be fully ‘made in the Philippines.’” The Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement Program sent a clarification that the eight scholars who were accepted in University of the Philippines under the Master of Science/Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering (Nanosatellite Engineering Track) will be trained to build cube satellites. The development of Diwata-3 will be under the DOST Program, implemented by UP Diliman, in collaboration with the DOST- Advanced Science and Technology Institute, among others.

10,000 species of marine mollusks and comprises a fifth of the known species in the world. However, he said, “We have the advantage, but other people are taking the chance to discover these.” Jagna town sits right in front of Bohol Sea. Christopher took the opportunity to put his teaching efforts in action. In coordination with international and local networks, he let his students at CVIF go out, get samples, measured these samples and taught them how to analyse their obtained data. “You have nature [before you], if you want to understand nature, you have to do measurements and analysis,” where computation comes in, Christopher told the BusinessMirror. He added that there are many measurements that can be done, such as temperature or size of the specimen. These measurements come in as data through numbers and, with a tremendous amount of data, analysis is done. Christopher explained that once a student gets an idea of what the numbers mean, “they [students] have to relate it to what they learned in physics, chemistry,biologyandothersciencesto make sense out of the huge numbers.”

CENTRAL Visayas Institute Foundation students collect samples from Jagna Bay (above), and sort and classify the microorganisms (below). DR. CHRISTOPHER BERNIDO

Need for ‘army’ of students for research

WITH the success of his students in presenting and publishing their research in an international conference, Christopher believes that this kind of research can be done by senior high-school students. “We need an ‘army’ [of students] to sort, classify and identify largely diverse marine specimens,” he said in his talk. He noted that there are over 2 million senior high-school students in the Philippines who could definitely do the research they had in CVIF. “With the Department of Education requiring research as one of the subjects in senior high,” Christopher believes that this is “a sweet spot, where I think, this research could be done.” He added that students can even have the possibility of discovering new species and have it published. Another need that Christopher

sees is the interdisciplinary approach needed in understanding marine life. Most researches made by young students tend to be monotone in using just one branch of science. Christopher asked, “Is there physics? Is there chemistry? Is there biology?”in all the data obtained and analysis done. He emphasized a need for an approach of national and international networking “so that there will be technology transfer and transfer of information to the local situation.”

Training, discipline and stamina

ACCORDING to Scimago Institutions Rankings, a group that assesses universities worldwide according to research performance, innovation outputs and societal impact, the Philippines sits at the

68th spot in the rankings below Kenya. The country’s Southeast Asian neighbors, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam are in higher spots, while the top 5 are dominated by first-world countries. Although the 2018 Global Innovation Index reported Philippines in the 73rd rank, it has not moved its spot since 2017. Christopher noted that many people say Filipinos are naturally creative, but “do we have the training, discipline and stamina?” In CVIF, its Dynamic Learning Program instils these three concepts to their students. The curriculum itself transformed its students into more well-rounded individuals, especially in the areas of science and

mathematics. “We want more students to achieve high-performance standards no matter what their social economic background is,” Ma. Victoria told the BusinessMirror. In the poor town in Bohol, most of the school’s students come from the middle to below average class. Christopher added, “You have to put these [training, discipline and stamina] in their daily lives, every day and every month while they are students throughout the academic program.” “Science is logic, and science teaches young people what is right and what is wrong,” Christopher added. He also explained that there is also a need for Filipinos to be evidence-based, because currently every opinion “is created in the absence of evidence.” For him, teaching these three essential components can ultimately provide advances in science and technology, and produce better products, quality of living and improve the economy. And how has the learning program brought success for Christopher and Ma. Victoria, the students, teachers involved and the school? The publications were proof to their testament that, indeed, quality science research can happen anywhere in the country, in any school and in every Filipino student regardless of status in life.

NEW TECH HELPS CLEAN SIARGAO’S WASTEWATER

T

HE Philippines is known for its whitesand beaches and turquoise lagoons. It is home to renowned surf spots, one of which is the famous “Cloud 9” waves in General Luna, Siargao. However, beach resorts on the island have been facing a pressing issue on wastewater treatment, which has an effect on the sustainability of Siargao’s tourism. “The previous septic tanks of the resort have a bottomless design, so the wastewater drains straight into the sea. The contamination of the water is one of the biggest problems of resorts on the island,” Editha Gonzales, former general manager of Travellers Pension House and Beach Resort in General Luna, Siargao, said in mixed Filipino and English. Cleaning up wastewater has been a real challenge and poses a serious environmental threat. To address this concern, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) supported a research project to develop a wastewater cleanup technology. The Eco-Friendly Septic System, or Eco-Sep, is a self-sustaining, portable and movable wastewater-treatment system that uses an

innovative combination of bio-stimulation and filtration enhanced with organominerals, a technology developed by Dr. Merlinda Palencia through the support of DOST-PCIEERD. The Eco-Sep’s Vigormin Organo Mineral (ViOM) is an odorless, white powder composed of various organominerals that has the capability to neutralize the odor and mucky color in wastewater or septic water. Its application significantly improves water quality based on the effluents standards set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Following the successful tests of Eco-Sep in the sewerage systems of the bunkers of Supertyphoon Yolanda survivors in Palo, Leyte, in 2013 and on materials-recovery facilities (MRFs), hotels, jetty ports and households in Boracay in 2015, DOST Caraga installed and field-tested Eco-Sep in selected tourism areas and environmentally compromised areas through a DOST-PCIEERD-funded project, titled “Field Testing of Eco-Friendly Septic System for the Tourism Sector in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte,” Project FRESH. “Since Eco-Sep was installed here at the resort we have a proper drainage for wastewater.

TRAVELLERS Pension House and Beach Resort in General Luna, Surigao del Norte TRAVELLERS BEACH RESORT

We use it watering the plants. It has no odor and clean. We thank the DOST for making us a recipient of Eco-Sep,” Gonzales said. She also thanked the DOST for providing the resort one-year supply of ViOM. She noted that after a year of full implementation of the improved sewerage system through Eco-Sep, their resort is proud to have met the effluent standards set by DENR. Enjoining the jump-start, Sugba Lagoon in the municipality of del Carmen also on Siargao Island will also be launching its Eco-Sep on February 10. Realizing the positive outcome, other hotels, beach resorts and local government

units on the island have inquired and expressed adopting Eco-Sep. Dr. Enrico Paringit, executive director of DOST-PCIEERD, expressed assurance that such projects in the future will continually be supported. “We will continue to provide solutions to societal problems through strategic research and development,” he said. Paringit said that the DOST-PCIEERD w i l l t a ke t h e l e a d i n c o n d u c t i n g collaborative efforts to maintain and protect the environment and the country’s ecotourism through science and technology interventions. S&T Media Service

Quality sweet potato for restaurant chain

T

O maintain the supply of sweet potato for its restaurant offering, “spring chicken with sweet potato fries,” Max’s chain of restaurants requested a support to develop the supply chain of appropriate nutrient-rich sweet-potato variety that can produce quality fries. To its rescue is Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD). It provided assistance to Max’s through the project, “Support Systems for Sweet Potato Value Chain Development and Establish SP Value Chains in Leyte-Samar.” The project is being implemented by the Visayas State University-Philippine Rootcrops Research and Training Center (VSU-PhilRootcrops) under the PCAARRDfunded Sweet Potato Industry Strategic S&T Program (SP-ISP). Max’s chain of restaurants currently engages VSU-PhilRootcrops and Nutri-pros, a private food-business entity leading a farmers’ group. Through the project, 3 hectares of PSB SP17, a recommended sweet potato high-yielding variety for fries because of its quality and shelf life, has been established in Antipolo. The nursery will supply a 20-hectare production area that is scheduled to sustainably meet Max’s volume requirements. The expansion period is set in early 2019, with about 60-hectare identified areas in Antipolo and Bulacan. Max’s also needed sweet-potato powder for various culinary uses, which can be made into quality products by their innovative chefs. VSU recommended for this purpose the Super Bureau variety, or VSP 6, which will soon be produced from planting materials in Tarlac. The development of the sweet potato supply chain is now in full swing to meet the demand. This partnership with Max’s can also mean access to the company’s corporate social responsibility program that can benefit farmers both in production and processing. With health and well-being as core values of the Max’s food chain, sweet potato is being produced using aloe vera cum seaweedbased soil enhancer and biopesticide. VSU’s initial output with minimal solution application yielded 35 tons per hectare, which surpassed the target yield of the SP-ISP. With Max’s and the DOST-PCAARRD’s partnership, sweet potato is emerging as an important component of the healthfood industry in the country using the outputs of S&T, including varieties, produc tion techniques and produc t applications that the science agency has long supported in its R&D with a strong belief in the potential of the crop. Other players in the food industry are fast recognizing the potential of sweet potato. They are requesting information and assistance from the R&D community. Thus, the coming years will experience a big leap in technology transfer following the value-chain modality with the strong collaboration between the S&T community and industry. Camote or sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) has been known in the global market as a superfood. It is a starchy root crop loaded with vitamins, minerals and micronutrients; has low glycemic index; and quality dietary fiber. The different flesh colors spell its nutrient load: white-flesh camote has more calcium; yellow to orange is loaded with beta carotene; while purple camote is high in anthocyanins. Its rich and dense nutrients manifest its antioxidant property. Sweet potato grows in a wide range of environments. It has low-input demand and is garden-friendly since it can be easily grown for home food or extra livelihoods. Its form, quality and adaptability make it a climatesmart crop for food, feed and industry. It took some time before camote received positive nod in the social circles in the Philippines. In the past, camote has been associated with poverty and low food status. It is even used as a derogatory term for slowbrained people. Other than China, the US, Japan and South Korea, only in the recent decade has there been an emerging interest and excitement over sweet potato in the Philippines. In the first decade of this millennium, the DOST-PCAARRD had supported S&T of sweet potato as part of food solution in disasters and emergencies, and continues to support the crop’s value chain in industry strategic programming. Julieta R. Roa, Visayas State University/S&T Media Service

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, February 10, 2019 A7

TOWERING DAGOBAS AND BUDDHIST RELICS

OF ANURADHAPURA

THE author standing in front of the Jetavana dagoba, the third-highest structure in the ancient world.

THUPARAMAYA, the oldest dagoba in Sri Lanka. It houses the right collar bone of the Buddha.

Story & photos by Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero

M

Y penchant for visiting Unesco World Heritage Sites (WHS) has gone beyond just seeing well-known, as well as bizarre and dangerous, destinations. Rather, it has become more about experiencing them and understanding what makes them truly unique and invaluable. Oftentimes, this uniqueness is easy to recognize. However, sometimes, in other sites, it does not come that easy to grasp. In pursuing this interest, it is a recurring realization that not all that has universal importance is visually pleasant.

A sacred city built around a tree

IN Sri Lanka, two ancient cities have always been—unfairly—compared: Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The former is the first capital of Ceylon, while the second became its immediate successor. The remains of Anuradhapura are now scattered in a modern, very hectic city of the same name, while the latter is neatly

preserved in an open-air museum fashion within a fenced-off manicured compound. The number of people who misses out on Anuradhapura is conversely proportional to that of those who praises the other site. However, as to which I personally found to be better, clearly, I give it to the older one. Anuradhapura remains very much alive today, attracting more devoted Buddhist pilgrims than tourists. In an age where most attractions are all becoming like amusement parks, there is always an irresistible charm to sites that are still being used the way they should be. While most of the monuments here are dagobas (Sinhalese for stupas), and the variety of architectural forms is not as diverse as that of Polonnaruwa’s; there is a rich amount of history in each of

Lima Park Hotel is 2019 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice

F

OR the second straight year, Lima Park Hotel is once again recognized as a Top Hotel for Families under the 2019 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice awards for hotels. This award is the highest recognition given to truly exceptional properties and is presented annually to the top 1 percent of businesses across select categories. Travelers’ Choice award winners are determined based on the millions of reviews and opinions collected in a single year from TripAdvisor travelers worldwide. This year, the awards celebrate hotel winners in nine categories, including Top Hotels Overall, Luxury, Bargain, Small, Best Service, B&Bs and Inns, Romance, Family and All-Inclusive. The hallmarks of Travelers’ Choice hotels winners are remarkable service, value and quality. Lima Park Hotel Resident Manager Edilberto P. Evangelista Jr. says this award is a badge of honor that speaks of the kind of service that the hotel always strives to give its guests. “We have been continuously improving our facilities. But ultimately, what really matters are the positive guest encounters that result to great, unforgettable experiences.” “We congratulate the properties around the world recognized as the best hotels, which receive our highest honor—Travelers’ Choice Hotel awards,” said Desirée Fish, vice president of global communications for TripAdvisor. “Winners should be proud of their award as millions of travelers will consider this list when picking the perfect hotel

for their needs this year.” Recently, Lima Park Hotel received its clean reaccredited status from the Department of Tourism which upheld the hotel’s high four-star rating. Lima Park Hotel is also a consistent TripAdvisor Excellence Awardee since 2015. The first and only four-star hotel in the province of Batangas, Lima Park Hotel sits at the heart of the master-planned world-class township of the Lima Technology Center economic zone in the LipaMalvar area of Batangas. The hotel boasts of 136 guest rooms which are categorized into Superior, Deluxe, Premiere Luxe, Suite, Executive Suite and Governor’s Suite. Aside from families, the hotel’s world-class hospitality services have won over a big number of expatriate executives who work in multinational companies in Batangas. Lima Park Hotel is a frontliner in promoting tourism in the province. It offers tour experiences that include Lake Taal cruises, Marian Orchard pilgrimage in Balete and a short visit to heritage spots.

its structures. Moreover, the degree of reverence that the people continuously attach to them up to these days makes it more special. Established as a capital in 380 BC, the ages of some monuments rival even those in India. Not only were those dagobas some of the tallest monuments ever built, they also stand as pillars as to why Anuradhapura is vested with the title “sacred city,” as opposed to just being an “ancient city” as in the cases of Polonnaruwa and the more popular Sigiriya. The growth of Buddhism around the globe has always been accompanied by the distribution of Bodhi trees as symbolic spiritual bridges that bring believers closer to the Buddha. In Anuradhapura, the Sri Jaya Maha Bodhi tree is its most sacred element, and it has been standing right in the city center for more than 2,300 years already. Planted by Princess Sangamitta, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka, in 288BC, this well-documented information makes this Bodhi tree the oldest tree in the world with a definitive date of its planting. Anuradhapura eventually developed and grew around the tree.

Unsung wonders of the ancient world

FROM the Sri Jaya Maha Bodhi tree, the glaringly white Ruwanwelisaya dagoba is hard to miss as it dominates the skyline. Walking toward it,

the royal citadel. The visit to that enclosure left in my mind one of the most enduring images from my trip in Sri Lanka: that of an old traditional herbalist, with a long beard and garbed in shabby clothes, gathering plants among the ruins of the temple. The sacred tooth since then got transferred every time a new capital was founded, and is now sitting in the sacred city of Kandy, also a WHS, in the central highlands.

Outlying monasteries and a monk’s gift BUDDHIST pilgrims congregating around the Sri Jaya Maha Bodhi tree, the most sacred spot in the city.

one would pass by the Mahalohapaya palace ruins, now comprising mostly of stone pillars. At 103 meters, the gigantic dagoba currently stands as the tallest in the country. However, it was only able to secure that record after the finial of the 122-meter high redbrick Jetavana dagoba broke off. This Dagoba was the third tallest structure in the ancient world, surpassed only by two of the great pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Even in its current 71-meters height, it is still the undisputed largest brick structure there is to find. As the city is mostly composed of dagobas, it is perhaps the best place in the world to study this architectural style. Other noteworthy examples include: the ruined remains

of the patina-covered Dakhina dagoba; the carefully restored bubble-shaped Mirisawetiya dagoba; the vatadage-styled Thuparamaya, which, although the smallest, is the oldest; the unplastered Abhayagiri dagoba with its extensive monastic complex; and the ongoing construction site of the Victory Stupa, which, once completed, will be the tallest. Most of these dagobas house special relics of the Buddha, which include his collar bone, sash and belt, among others. Anuradhapura, after all, has one of the highest concentration of Buddhist relics. The most important of these relics, the sacred tooth relic, was once enshrined in the Dalada Maligawa temple inside

ISURUMUNIYA Vihara, one of the more remote sites, is considered as the oldest monastery in the city. My friend and I caught ourselves talking to one of its resident monks where he shared the history of the monastery. When we bade him goodbye, he kindly offered to tie pirith nulas, a white string that is believed to bring luck and protection as it is given in good will and good faith, around our wrists. Half a mile further, is the Vessagiri, a rock shelter of the earliest monks. The site, almost hidden in the forest, features Brahmi inscriptions and faint traces of ancient frescoes that, unfortunately, will only make sense with a guide’s help. Overall, Anuradhapura does not need to prove anything. Its humility, unpretentious character and lack of hordes of tourists make it the lovely site we truly enjoyed exploring.

Emirates and flydubai partnership reaches new heights

T

HE strategic partnership between Dubai’s two airlines, Emirates and flydubai, continues to open up the world for travelers since its launch 14 months ago, and is set to grow even further in 2019 with new codeshare destinations to be added. The partnership, which came into effect at the end of October 2017, has since delivered a number of benefits to both airlines’ customers, such as offering greater global connectivity through more destination choices, flexibility with flight options when planning trips, one integrated frequent flyer program and the convenience of traveling on a single ticket with seamless point-to-point baggage handling. Between January and December 2018, the two airlines have jointly carried 3.29 million customers on codeshare flights across 84 destinations, which include popular tourism and adventure destinations, such as Bucharest, Kathmandu and Zanzibar, among many others. Through the codeshare partnership, Emirates customers can access 67 additional destinations through flydubai’s network, while flydubai customers have 115 additional destinations they can travel to on Emirates’ network. “The partnership between Emirates and flydubai has really taken off and we are very pleased with what has been achieved. It has not only delivered tangible benefits to our collective customers, but also to both airlines in terms of the synergies that come with working closely together, for example reducing route overlaps and the realignment

the Emirates Business Class and Economy Class desks in the departures area of Terminal 3. Business Class passengers are also able to use fast-track on the ground and enjoy other Business Class services, while transiting passengers have a smooth and quick transit time.

One frequent flyer program

EMIRATES and flydubai

of schedules to common destinations,” said Prince Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who is chairman and chief executive of Emirates Group and chairman of flydubai. “In addition, the partnership has also helped to further strengthen Dubai’s position as a leading global aviation hub with the increase in traffic flows resulting from the two airlines’ codeshare network, and by enabling smooth and seamless connections for customers through the city’s modern and comfortable international airport,” he added.

Expanding global connectivity

THE partnership started with codeshare flights to just 29 cities, and has since expanded to 84, including new flydubai destinations, such as Catania, Krakow, Dubrovnik and Helsinki. During 2019 the network of codeshare flights will be further expanded, with the

launch of new flydubai destinations Naples and Budapest, as well as several others that will be announced in due course. Flydubai flights to Chittagong restarted on January 20, while flights to Kozhikode, Kerala, started on February 1.

Delivering better connections

SINCE December 2 last year, 11 flydubai flights started to operate from Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport to help improve the connections between Emirates and flydubai. These are Belgrade, Bishkek, Bucharest, Catania, Helsinki, Krakow, Mineralnye Vody, Prague, Rostov-on-Don, Salalah and Zagreb. During this year, more flights, including Naples and Budapest, will be departing from Terminal 3, further improving the connection experience for customers. This move has enabled customers booked to travel to these destinations to check-in at

TO provide customers with an easy way to accrue and redeem air miles, flydubai adopted Emirates Skywards as its frequent flyer program in August last year. The alignment of the loyalty program allows Emirates Skywards members to earn Skywards Miles and Tier Miles and enjoy shared travel benefits when flying across the combined networks. Since August 2018, over 125,000 Skywards members have flown and earned almost 300 million Skywards Miles on flydubai. Skywards members have also been active in using their Miles to partially or fully pay for over 10,000 flydubai tickets. Members earn the same currency with both airlines, so they can reach rewards faster and more easily rise through the tiers of the program. Members enjoy even more privileges as they move through the membership tiers—they earn Bonus Miles, can use Business Class check-in desks when flying Economy Class and enjoy extra baggage plus priority baggage delivery. Currently, the combined networks of Emirates and flydubai is 216, which by 2022, is expected to reach 240 destinations, offering customers across the world far-reaching global connectivity via Dubai.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8

Sunday, February 10, 2019

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

PLAYER Macarena Sanchez drinks “mate” at her home in Buenos Aires. AP

TOM BRADY gets his smoothest shave of the season. AP

Start-ups supporter looks forward to robust ecosystem By Rizal Raoul Reyes Contributor

T

ANAUAN, Batangas-based Kezar Innovations Pte. Ltd. is a believer in the Filipino talent. It is also bullish that one day a local start-up can make waves in the global market.

Its CEO, Rey Edward V. Solicito, told the BusinessMirror that developing startups is one way to build the economy. Doing so would not only strengthen start-ups in the country but, at the same time, enhance inclusivity in an economy where 22 million Filipinos, a fifth of the population, live below the poverty line. Solicito said one of Kezar’s “amazing characters” is they don’t believe in demographics. They want to harness the talent brought not only by millennials but Baby Boomers, as well. Solicito said that, unlike typical millennials, the people in Kezar are not uber-eager to rush things to achieve success. Although Kezar achieved its targets in a shorter span, he said it was accomplished because of thorough planning and implementation of strategies to the letter. What follows are Solicito’s views in response to questions sent through electronic mail by the BusinessMirror. BUSINESSMIRROR (BM): What motivates you to develop start-ups? EDWARD SOLICITO (ES): What we are doing is for the Filipino. Kezar Innovations, since the moment of its ideation and conception, aims to be a pioneer in the upcoming Filipino technology renaissance. Our business development firm fully believes that we are part of something bigger and that we have a responsibility to prove to the world that we can produce innovative and profitable start-ups. Kezar believes that if we develop more successful businesses, then the nation will start noticing and other Filipinos might be inspired to go into technopreneurship, as well. Moreover, Kezar tapped the right people who have the competence and passion to work with them. BM: Do you think it’s a millennial thing, of having such passion to build start-ups? ES: We believe that the start-up scene is never bounded by demographics. Though Kezar as a company is mostly composed of technopreneurs in their early twenties, we have mentors and investors [who] are Baby Boomers and they are very engaged with

MEMBERS of the Kezar Team pose for posterity (from left) Director of Sales Jo Anne Paril, Cofounder and CEO Edward Solicito, Chief Marketing Officer Sean Lacar, Cofounder and Chief Financial Officer Paul Galacan and Chief Operating Officer Kat Chua. KEZAR INNOVATIONS PTE. LTD. what we are doing in all of our start-ups. That being said, we also believe that passion itself is not enough to build a start-up. A strong enthusiasm would definitely help you start but without proper training, research and a strong team, your idea will never achieve its highest potential. BM: Is it right to say that millennials want to start young so they can have enough room to bounce back immediately in case they experience failure? ES: We believe that most millennial start-up founders use this mindset just to convince themselves to finally step their foot past the door and start doing their start-ups. This mentality is what pushes millennials to pursue their own businesses because the idea of starting something from the ground up is terrifying. The distinction now happens because the successful founders stop thinking about this immediately after foundation and they start focusing on developing their businesses, all while the others will stick with that mindset and will be performing half-heartedly, resulting to failure. BM: Is it right to say that millennials are always in a hurry to get to the top? In your case, do you want to rush things to achieve success? ES: Not always. We believe that every single person moves [at an] individual pace and that there is no standard timeline for success. Someone might be a start-up founder at 45, while one can be a CEO of a company at 23, but both are very successful. We believe millennials have this “brand” because information moves exponentially faster than what we have during

2 BusinessMirror

the previous generations. Oftentimes, millennials have this innate need to compare themselves with others. But rushing things often results to quality being proportionally deteriorated. Therefore, it is really important to have everything planned and organized. In the case of Kezar Innovations, we were able to reach our milestones within a very short amount of time, not because we rushed it but because we have a very specific plan and we executed it to the letter. Everything we do is well thought-out because we know that rushing will only blur our vision and cloud our minds. At Kezar Innovations, we’ve never missed any deadlines and that, in return, rewarded us with the trust and confidence of our clients, our stakeholders and the Filipino investment community. BM: How did you build up the team? How did you motivate your former interns to work for the company upon their graduation? ES: The Kezar team was built with a simple mindset: get people with the competence we need and get people who share the same values. We all work with our own specific skillsets, talents and interests. Thankfully, we all do our roles and work efficiently. It takes a special type of work and personal dynamic to be able to work as we do. Kezar’s management committee consists of graduates of the Asian Institute of Management’s Master of Science in Innovation and Business program, while the programmers are Computer Science graduates from the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities. Our interns saw for themselves the potential of Kezar. According to them, they loved

FEBRUARY 10, 2019

being able to create new technologies for some of the biggest corporations in the Philippines, as well as being involved in creating new and exciting products for start-ups. BM: Please trace the path toward the development of your portfolio. Did it require a long deliberation to develop these applications? ES: Kezar Atlas’s app process usually starts with an ideation meeting with our clients where they discuss with the team all of their technology requirements. Since we are building each and every technology from the ground up, it allows us to offer them exactly what they want and need. The ideation stage usually takes 20 days of back and forth that includes three to four iterations of the proposal. Once the contract has been signed, the 60-day development process starts. After 60 days, the application is launched and is continuously maintained by the team. BM: It says in your material that Trakaro advocates sustainable travel. Does this mean Kezar is promoting sustainable tourism? Can you expound on this aspect? ES: With Trakaro, Kezar promotes sustainable tourism. Trakaro: Sustainable Travels apps is a sustainability rating platform for hotels, restaurants and other hospitality establishments. We have an established number of metrics to measure sustainability, called the “Fylla Rating.” With our platform, users can check, review and compare which establishments are complying with metrics for sustainability. Natural resources are a prime necessity in most, if not all, industries. We are at the Continued on Page 8

BusinessMirror

MUSIC

PRINT

'TAGUMPAY!' declares Seungri

PAGE

4

4

Sound BusinessMirror

FEBRUARY 10, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

MUS

SEUNGRI IN MANILA:

‘TAGUMPAY!’ by Carla Mortel Photos by Kimberly Lumague

T

HE success of The Great Seungri Show can’t be measured by numbers. It was, however, the stronger bond between Filipino VIPs (the fandom) and BigBang’s Seungri, bound by a promise to shine when the legendary K-pop boy group returns from their hiatus in 2020. The announcement of the concert date in Manila was made on December 28. Met with both pleasant surprise and exasperation, VIPs were only given three weeks to fill up the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena on January 19—perhaps the shortest gap from announcement to concert day in the history of K-pop live performances in the country. Right out of holiday spending, fans were left with so little time to raise the necessary sum to purchase tickets that were limited to just four sections. As a result, the days leading up to the concert were filled up with frenzied activities by fans who were propping up ticketing-assistance services, offering installment-plan payments, and initiating fan projects to ensure that many of them possibly can get to watch the show. The absence of promotional activities from YG Entertainment, the talent management company of BigBang, didn’t help in spreading the word that Seungri will be coming to Manila for his very first solo concert ,while the local promoter focused on online promotions and sponsorships for ticket getaways. Seungri did most of the promotions on his personal Instagram account. To pick up the slack, Filipino VIPs took it upon themselves to flood social media, wrote press releases for print as well as online media sites, then placed advertisements on YouTube and Instagram as well as an electronic ad on the MOA globe. Fans also had to contend with the concert that Continued on page 6

d trip

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | FEBRUARY 10, 2019

5

SIC ON PRINT

New albums from the underground

by Rick Olivares

and Glam Chowder (guitars).

“GERA KONTRA DROGA” by Namatay sa Ingay (Cassette release, Aklasan Records)

THIS New York-based punk rock band minces no words about what they think is happening back home. They show their imagination by using soundbytes with their blistering punk raging in the background. The band swears that all the songs are based on true-to-life stories from those affected by today’s events. When it is his turn to spit out the venom, vocals of guitarist AJ Santos reflect the pain and anger. Bassist Levyn Herrera and drummer Simon Sabuero add the pain laying down a wall of noise close to metal.

ANINOKO/NAMATAY SA INGAY (7-inch vinyl split EP from Ethospine Records and Aklasan Records)

O

NE of the best things that happened this new millennium and with regard to the availability of technology was the proliferation of independent and underground music labels, as well as distribution labels, or “distros” for short. These small record labels and distros have, for more than 10 years now, kept the international scene alive and vibrant. The phenomenon has also allowed for bands and their music to cross borders they never thought they would. Here are a few, very recent releases from the underground:

“OVERRATED HYPE” by DeathGlam (Cassette release, Aklasan Records)

HEIRS to the New York Dolls are here fabulously discordant. The Bay Areabased DeathGlam torpedoes through the five tracks—in under eight minutes, in madcap fashion. The guitars are tortured air-raid sirens amid a twisted cat-fight chorus between vocalists Golda and Chu Chu (bass)

A SPLIT EP that rages, “AninoKo” screams for unity and equality after cycles of oppression in their two tracks: “Paghugpong” and “Alipin ng Mundo”—the latter about the plight of migrant workers. Pure angst. “Namatay sa Ingay,” on Side B, also contributes two tracks: “Pagtapos ng Apoy” and “Ngayon ay Bukas.” The band out of New York City continues to thunder away at a corrupt system that has been in place for so long.

DAGGER/HRVST (7-inch vinyl split EP from Dangerous Goods in Singapore)

THE outfit is run by a Filipino expat, with support from China’s Real Deal Records and Manila-based Mutilated Noise Records. It’s a more diverse, yet somewhat similar split record from Hong Kong hardcore band Dagger and Singaporean sludge metal crew Hrvst (“Harvest”). Only 200 copies of this EP that pummels the listener have been pressed. While there are no Filipino bands in this EP other than the two labels that helped make this happen, this is a perfect illustration of how the indie and underground scene works with small labels and distros chipping-in to release music in different forms, regardless of nationality. You will be amazed how there are Indonesian and Malaysian bands whose albums—sung in their native

tongues—sell here among Filipino fans. And it is also vice versa, not just

here in Southeast Asia, but all over the world.

6

FEBRUARY 10, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

Sound trip BusinessMirror

MUSIC ON PRINT

Seungri in Manila: ‘Tagumpay!’ had only two backup dancers, no live band, no stylist, and no grand stage produc-

tion, as observed from the preceding Hong Kong leg of the tour—a far cry from

those staged in Japan and South Korea last year that were faithful to “The Great

Gatsby” concept, the inspiration behind Seungri’s concert. All these efforts, nevertheless, produced enough numbers of fans on concert day that filled up the venue’s ground floor.

Rising to the occasion

FOR his part, Seungri, known to never give up even if the odds are against him (a take from his past struggle to become a Bigbang member), rose to the occasion and exuded greatness the only way he knows best: commanding the stage with his presence, performance and personality. He literally opened the show as its host, introduced himself and belted “Bang Bang Bang” as his opening song. He greeted the audience in Filipino and proceeded to demonstrate the stage lights, speakers, and smoke machines afforded to him. He then about kidded about its limited use, particularly of the smoke machines, but in the end, he said, “I don’t really need these; I got VIPs.” And that’s what all VIPs needed to hear from Seungri to mark one memorable concert. A total performer and entertainer that he is, Seungri delivered great vocals, danced, and made fun of his hyungs (seniors) G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung with memes he personally picked online. When VIPs asked for T.O.P., one of the most endearing moments happened when he reassured VIPs that his colleague was doing all right: “Of all the Bigbang members, he’s most okay.” Able to hype up the crowd at the right moments, Seungri made VIPs laugh, sing, dance, jump, and jump some more, as he established an amazing rapport with the audience. Some fans also got emotional when he sang “Alone” and particularly “If You” as photos of the rest of the

members were shown on the video screen.

FaceTime with mom

WHILE onstage, he received a text from his mother asking for his whereabouts. He then showed the crowd to his mother through Face Time app. It was a touching moment that sealed his relationship with Filipino VIPs with feels likened to bringing his fans home to meet his mom. A known idol who can speak in Japanese, Mandarin and English, Seungri displayed on stage how picking up a new language was so easy for him. Ryan Bang, who appeared on stage with Anne Curtis, taught him some Filipino words, but the polyglot then asked what Seungri (victory) means in Filipino. After he found out, Seungri exclaimed: “Tagumpay!” Instantly, he made a ditty that VIPs quickly sang along following his tune. It became so anthemic, it passed for the fan chant of the night. Seungri even chided, “Can I make a Filipino album now?” Another surprise came when Seungri and special guest Sandara Park did a duet of “Dahil Sa’yo,” an Inigo Pascual original. Park revealed that Seungri learned the Filipino song in just two days. Fans were thrilled to hear Seungri sing a Filipino almost flawlessly. As if that wasn’t enough, Seungri also sang the title track from The Great Seungri album “1,2,3!” and changed it to “Isa, Dalawa, Tatlo!” as his last song. He then brought out the Philippine flag as he bid goodbye and exited the stage. Before he takes his turn and inevitably enlist early this year, The Great Seungri tour was the Korean music idol's way of touching base with the fans to ease their loneliness for his group BigBang. Given this task by his hyungs, Seungri is doing just great.

How WWE superstar Xavier Woods keeps careers in balance

WWE superstar Xavier Woods

X

Conclusion

AVIER WOODS is not your typical World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Inc. superstar. Being a Guinness book record holder for most number of subscribers (about 1.7 million on YouTube) for a gaming channel makes him stand out among his fellow wrestlers. Not only is he successful with his gaming channel “UpUpDownDown,” his team New Day is also the longest-reigning tag team champion in WWE history. The following is a copy of a transcript of an interview by Woods’s publicist given to the BusinessMirror.

characters more when you see them on Raw or SmackDown! or Wrestlemania. You have a more relatable place to look at them from.

Q: With UpUpDownDown, you showed the entire world what WWE superstars are like behind the scenes. How do you feel when people say that “kayfabe” (pro-wrestling stories) is dead? Kevin Woods (KW): The thing I enjoy about it is being able to do that. It’s 2018: we know what wrestling is. We’re all aware. Having UpUpDownDown is an opportunity to remember that WWE superstars are normal people with lives, with families. That’s all it is. Then, I think it makes you enjoy the

Q: How has UpUpDownDown changed the atmosphere behind the scenes? KW: It’s a complete 180 degrees because video games weren’t allowed. And then once the YouTube channel was generating money for the company, it became okay. When we set up a PlayStation or an X-Box, we call it the Lab, because when we’re in there, we’re cooking. At its height, you might see eight PlayStations going on at one time in the locker room and it’s a rotating thing. We have the shows to worry about and we need a way to relax. Back

7 BusinessMirror

in the day, it used to be cards. For us, it’s upped morale by a hundred percent! There are guys who might not have been as close to each other and now, they’ve got a tight-knit battle they’ll want to get to when they get to the arena. So it helps in that respect. And honestly, that boosts everyone up so once we’re in the ring, performing, we’re a lot more comfortable with each other. It’s very healthy for the locker room, I think. Q: Has it caused any problems? KW: Even if guys have a problem with each other, it doesn’t get physical. We’re all performers and professionals. If there’s an actual problem between guys and girls, once you’ve passed through the curtain, we’re working and we all have the same goal. But, when stuff does happen in the Lab, that’s when promos occur. And honestly, I feel like everybody’s promo game has been going a little higher just because you have to be able to talk trash while you’re in there! Q: Do you have creative freedom when producing UpUpDownDown? KW: WWE has a say, obviously. It’s within the WWE umbrella. It is its own thing, though. So, I would say I have 92 percent creative control. I am lucky enough to now have a team of editors and producers. We’ve gone from me and two other guys to now

FEBRUARY 10, 2019

me and six other people. So, it’s creating jobs within the company. There isn’t much they take out. The biggest thing is just cursing and that’s because people get heated. If you watch Raw or SmackDown!, obviously those shows are going on TV. So there’s perfect light, perfect sound—it is a pristine product. It is fantastic. I try to make UpUpDownDown the complete opposite because to me, it’s got more of a grassroots feel to it. It’s me doing it. I bring my studio with me everywhere I go. It’s a briefcase with my laptop, my DSLR, a microphone, my mouse and rechargeable batteries. I could set up right here and film an episode if I wanted to. And that’s how I like to keep it, small and compact, so I can do it anywhere in the world. That lack of production helps me create more content. Q: What are the realities of being a WWE superstar? KW: Being a WWE superstar is more than just being in the ring. It’s not always just wrestling. A lot of it is just giving back and being part of the communities we come and do shows in. For me, when I was a kid, all I saw was the fireworks and the traveling: “These guys are famous, I want to do this!” And you start doing it. That part is cool, and then you realize that there’s so much more to it.

Grooming, porn and bullies: Kaspersky Safe Kids gets thumbs-up from AV-Test

I

NDEPENDENT software assessor AV-Test GmbH has awarded Kaspersky Lab ZAO’s Safe Kids product with three approved certificates to help parents take the right steps toward children safety on the Internet. “As young children spend more time online, many parents are struggling to protect them from exposure to a raft of dangers and cyber threats,” Kaspersky Lab said in a statement. “These include viewing inappropriate content, becoming a victim of cyber-bullying or unwittingly sharing private data.” In fact, more than half of children aged between six and nine are now using the Internet every day and one in three parents believe they cannot control what their youngsters see online, the Russian cybersecurity firm said. “With operating systems only providing basic protection tools, it is imperative that parents bolster protection to safeguard their children from evolving and growing online threats.” Kaspersky Lab said the company’s product was recognized “as one of the best child protection solutions on the market.” “Kaspersky Safe Kids achieved these certificates for its use on three of the major desktop and mobile operating systems: Windows, iOS and Android,” the company said. The endorsement came after AV-Test, the independent research institute for information-technology security from Germany, evaluated 11 parental control tools for desktops running on Windows 10 and

MacOS, as well as 11 parent control apps for Android, iOS and Fire OS. The test assessed how third-party child safety apps and internal operating system security tools performed in offering filters and settings to keep young people protected online. These were protection against cyber-bullying, access control to adult content, control of private data transfer, controlling time spent on digital devices, protection from online money traps, protection against online grooming and protection of privacy. Parents today face a tough challenge when it comes to protecting their children online from threats such as harmful con-

tent. They therefore need comprehensive software to help them. Kaspersky Safe Kids desktop version is just that—it was found to be more effective at protecting children from accessing harmful web sites, with a superior filter that blocks adult material in 7 out of 10 content categories, when compared to competitors and internal operating system tools. With explicit and adult content not limited to the obvious—including pornography or gambling web sites— Kaspersky Safe Kids can block content that is often overlooked, for ultimate peace of mind. This includes content around the illegal exchange of data and file sharing, and sites which contain weapons, ammunition

and violent content. The test also discovered that the Kaspersky Safe Kids app, along with the desktop version, does not only block more prohibited content links, but also protects children from more security threats than internal operating system tools. These include the control of private data transfer and protection from online money traps. The test also found that the Kaspersky Safe Kids desktop version was the only tested and certified solution that protects children from online grooming— something of vital importance to parents considering that, according to some research, it can take as little as 45 minutes for offenders to groom a child online.

Start-ups supporter Continued from Page 2

point wherein these resources are deteriorating, barely meeting present needs and compromising the quality of environment and, in totality, life. We are currently partnered with the Philippine Center for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development Inc. and various projects of the World Wildlife Fund. The food and hospitality industry are major players in this. Thus, by promoting sustainability metrics and ratings, we can make a large contribution in our communities. That said, the significance and importance of sustainability metrics, ratings and practices can never be overstated. BM: What is the road map for Kezar3D printing? Are there plans of scaling up operations of Kezar3D printing?

ES: Kezar3D’s objective is simple but noble: make 3D printing accessible to all Filipinos. We aim to democratize 3D [threedimensional] printing, accessibility and awareness have always been a problem for most countries like ours. Imagine a future when you just go to any mall, and you can have your prototype made by Kezar3D, that is our goal, to have a rollout of 3D-printing stores and vendors in malls and schools. Having been able to hit the 120-percent ROI [return of investment] within seven months, Kezar3D is now in preparation for expansion. The goal is to be nationwide by Q3 [third quarter] of 2019. BM: What are the plans for the Kezar Atlas? ES: Our goal is to be one of the most notable mobile application developers in the Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] region by 2019 and be able to provide

8 BusinessMirror

technology for all industries in the Philippines by 2021. With Kezar Atlas, we want it to be the lead mobile app development company that will support the fellow start-up community here in the Philippines by creating their apps and proof of concepts. As of today, we are already in the process of creating tech for the following industries and sectors: agriculture, cosmetics, death care, automotive, human resource management, artificial intelligence, and transportation. Digital transformation is huge and the Philippines is lagging behind; here at Kezar, we aim to provide that boost we need to catch up with other countries. BM: How much money is Kezar Atlas planning to raise in 2019? ES: As of the moment, we cannot disclose any specific plans regarding our funding FEBRUARY 10, 2019

rounds, albeit we can confirm that there is a planned funding round within this year. BM: Is frugality a vital characteristic of a start-up? ES: In Kezar Innovations, it’s not necessarily being frugal, but more on being wise with how we use our money. We have a saying that we always repeat to the team and it’s “Spend money to make money.” We always have to look forward, and see the use of every purchase. This way of thinking is the same as making an investment or creating a new product. You ask yourself “How can this help the business or the team? Will this aid or boost us to reach our goal? Can we achieve one thing without another?” We’re mostly engineers and this cost-benefit-analysis way of thinking is what helps us make most of our monetary decision.