Businessmirror February 16, 2019

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REMEMBERING THE RAMPAGE DESTRUCTION at the Walled City (Intramuros district) of old Manila in May 1945—after the Battle of Manila. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/CC BY-SA 3.0

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By Recto L. Mercene

A city is razed by a combination of bombs raining down from the liberator-Americans’ planes and fires set on the ground by Japanese invaders. What was really lost in the Battle of Manila, beyond the buildings and 100,000 lives? A Pulitzer Prize winner investigates, 74 years later.

HE Battle of Manila 74 years ago this month was one of the most destructive and saddest legacies of World War II. It is comparable only to the widespread destruction of Warsaw, the Polish city described as “the most devastated city in the world in WWII,” after the Germans were done with it.

For all the destruction, the Battle of Manila seems to remain at the periphery of most Filipinos’ consciousness, rivaled by more popular images of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s Leyte landing. For a time it was thought such low profile in the national consciousness of Manila’s “liberation”—an ironic word—was owed to the fact that Filipino historians could not access the rich materials dwelling in some dusty libraries abroad. Or maybe, there were few surviving Filipinos

to corroborate the story of bombs raining and fires that engulfed Manila, causing the demise of at least 100,000, not only in the hands of the invading Japanese army but also by the returning Americans.

Or maybe it was still such a raw wound it would hurt the Filipino emotions to scratch that wound and see the ugly truth.

James M. Scott’s book, Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita and The Battle of Manila, attempts to close that gap and give readers a fresh

look at what really transpired 74 years ago in what was then dubbed the “Pearl of the Orient.”

He tells of cornered Japanese invaders, feeling the heat of their American enemies, consumed by uncontrollable rage—bayoneting and decapitating Filipinos, even children, and raping women. On the other hand, the ensuing fires— both those started by the crazed Japanese soldiers and from the bombs unleashed by the American to rout the enemy—reduced the

JAMES M. SCOTT, a Pulitzer Prize winner, said he was also looking for “that story that has not been told” when he wrote Rampage. RECTO MERCENE

city to rubble.

Scott’s 500-page tome takes us back along those 29 days in 1945, when Field Marshall Douglas MacArthur eventually returned to the Philippines. His arrival in Manila, two years after his embarrassing departure from the island fortress of Corregidor, is filled with controversy.

There were those who welcomed his reappearance as a way to save Filipinos from imminent Continued on A2

Finding the ‘Next China’ will confound investors

By Shuli Ren

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Bloomberg Markets

HERE’S an old Polish saying that when two people quarrel, a third will benefit. And so global investors are now looking for the country best positioned to gain from the US-China trade war.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.2630

China has been good to foreign investors over the past decade. Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008, the MSCI China Index has offered an annualized 8.6-percent return.

But last year was bruising.

China staged one of the world’s worst stock routs, with the benchmark MSCI index tumbling about 20 percent. Meanwhile, the yuan flirted dangerously close to the psychologically important 7-perdollar, a level that hadn’t been

reached since the global financial crisis, fueling concerns that Beijing may weaponize the currency.

Is it time to ditch China and look elsewhere? With the higher tariffs that China Inc. faces, US companies will be tempted to buy semiconductor parts from Malaysia, data storage units from Thailand, or cotton from Pakistan.

Indeed, some asset reallocation is already taking place. Vietnam, for instance, was the only emerging Asian nation outside of China that

received net foreign stock inflows last year. Many investors in the region have been betting the Southeast Asian nation will be the big winner out of the US-China spat.

Multinationals, including Samsung Electronics Co., relocated factories there even before the trade war started.

Still, if you’re investing in dollars, moving assets out of China is nice only in theory. The devil is in the execution.

Any savvy global investor

deciding where to deploy money at the beginning of the year has exchange-rate risk on their mind, as emerging-markets currencies are volatile and protecting against sudden movements can be expensive. For instance, in the first week of 2019, hedging the Indonesian rupiah or the Indian rupee with a one-year forward would set you back 5.4 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. If you add the fact that stocks in those two nations already Continued on A3

n JAPAN 0.4729 n UK 66.8653 n HK 6.6601 n CHINA 7.7177 n SINGAPORE 38.4909 n AUSTRALIA 37.1015 n EU 59.0206 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9360

Source: BSP (February 15, 2019 )

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A2 Saturday, February 16, 2019

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Remembering the Rampage Continued from a1

death, but many blamed him and not the Japanese, for the bombs that razed Manila.

Scott was able to access official records of the monthlong event because, as soon as the battle ended, he said American military officials sent to Manila a team of Army warcrime investigators to interview survivors in field hospitals, “while the victims are still in bed, recovering from their wounds.”

The US military authorities sent the investigators after the battle ended, “because military officials realized that Manila was less of a battlefield and more of a crime scene.”

“Those interviews were done, wounds were photographed, maps were made of atrocities, and sketches were done,” Scott said, after combing through “literally tens of thousands of materials, all of which is in the National Archive in Washington, D.C.”

He said he copied and digitized about 4,000 records a day and built his database “to track all the names of the victims, every person of what massacre, visiting the places, doing interviews of survivors and meeting with the board members of ‘Memorare Manila.” The latter is a foundation set up in 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Manila, in order to draw up as complete a list as possible of those who died in 1945, and to honor them properly.

“You can look through it, it’s filled with the voices of survivors and I really wanted to have the voice of the people who lived through what happened in Manila be the ones to tell that story,” he added.

He said he used the transcripts in the books so “you’ll see tons and tons of words from these survivors, because it’s more powerful for a reader to hear directly from the person who was there,” adding those are the important things he tried to recapture.

What prompted him to write the book? “The Battle of Manila is a story of a city. What happened to the people; a hundred civilians died for every one US soldier, six civilians died for every one Japanese.”

Scott, a Pulitzer Prize winner, said he was also looking for “that story that has not been told.”

Although there had been a couple of books here in the Philippines about the Battle of Manila, he said there has never been an American book about the Battle of Manila.

The 43-year-old former journalist added that one of his motivations to write about those events was that “Manila has a huge close association with the US.” The US had captured Manila

CITIZENS of Manila run for safety from suburbs burned by Japanese soldiers, February 10, 1945.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/CC BY-SA 3.0

in the Spanish-American war and brought here Daniel Burnham, a municipal planner and architect, to help lay out the design for Manila, “home to thousands of not only American servicemen but also employees of Westinghouse, BF Good­rich and others because Manila was a big part of the US.” So, he said, “to have it all destroyed, makes it all the more tragic. So it’s really a battle borne on the backs of the women and children of Manila, it’s important to tell their story.”

Many students of history, this writer told Scott, believe that Mac­ Arthur should not have come over to the Philippines since the Japanese was in near defeat following the delivery of atomic bombings over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact, he had orders from Washington to proceed to Japan from Australia.

“Then Manila would have been spared from American bombs and the Japanese would not have gone into a frenzy of retribution,” this writer told Scott.

Scott, who had written four books before, said there was a big debate in the summer of 1944 between the US Army and the US Navy whether to come back to the Philippines or bypass the Philippines and go to Formosa because even Adm. Ernest King of the US Navy “really wanted to bypass the Philippines.”

He said the two US military services had a conference in Hawaii, and King sent Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, who was head of the Pacific fleet, to do the bidding for the Navy.

“MacArthur came to tell his side, and Nimitz kind of saw both sides of the argument and so he didn’t fight as he should have and was later reprimanded by Ernest King ‘for not pushing his case as much.’”

“But essentially,” he said, “the Navy is a purely strategic one which saw that ‘the sooner we get to the Japanese home island the sooner the war ends, because Japanese troops will sooner whither on the vine.’”

On the other hand, Scott said MacArthur made a very different argument: “The US had a colony in the Philippines when the war broke out and the US had a moral obligation to come back and liberate the Philippines at the very earliest possible moment.”

Scott added that MacArthur, with his passionate argument, “in the end…ultimately was able to persuade FDR [President Franklin Delano Roosevelt] that that was the right way to do it.”

Scott said the iconic American general’s only wish was “to be welcomed with a city parade,” presumably thinking the Japanese would simply retreat.

LIKE many other buildings in Manila, the Legislative Building was not spared from heavy shelling and bombing. U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION/ CC BY-SA 3.0

“But Japanese Adm. Sanji Iwabuchi defied the order of Yamashita to withdraw and in true Samurai fashion, ordered his sailors and marines to dig in for the house-tohouse defense of the city.

“With certain death their only option, Iwabuchi’s command embarked on a campaign of atrocities in which more than 100,000 Filipinos and foreign nationals were slaughtered.”

Scott added that to save ammunition, Iwabuchi ordered all Filipinos grouped together and then disposed of by burning buildings “and, with them, material evidence of the massacre.”

He said had the Americans not come back “you would have had a lot more deaths in Manila for starvation,” recalling that “the Japanese occupation was a brutal time here that by January of 1945 we had about 500 people a day starving to

death in the Battle of Manila.”

At the University of Santo Tomas he said about 40 to 50 were starving to death every day; the daily caloric intake of the internees was just about 580 calories.

He added: “Had America waited an extra six, seven months, I think Manila would have been a different humanitarian catastrophe. You would have had a lot more starvations.”

Scott continued: “It may have saved the buildings, [and] Manila would not have been reduced to rubble,” but the human toll would have been very high.

He said MacArthur returned because he was convinced that the Japanese would actually leave the city, “just what he did at the beginning of the war, when he declared Manila an open city and evacuated the forces and he was really convinced that the Japanese would do the same even. On the other hand, Filipino guerrillas in the city, particularly in 1945, were radioing that the buildings in the city had been fortified by the Japanese, that land mines are being planted, that all indications point to a siege.”

MacArthur, however, didn’t believe it. “He trusted his own gut instinct over his intelligence officers. So, even when the battle started, he was slow to grasp how bad things were, because very quickly soon after the Americans arrived, the Japanese set fire to Tondo, Binondo and all the areas north of the Pasig River.”

While retreating, the Japanese literally burned the bridges and moved south across the river and they began the destruction there.

“He [MacArthur] was slow to grasp what was going on even though his field commander could see it. He was outside the city and so he didn’t get it until the destruction had already begun.”

One would think it would be easier for a foreigner to swallow the destruction of another nation’s heritage, but here’s how Scott described the old Manila that many Filipinos never knew or saw.

“So it didn’t just erase a city, it erased a heritage and not only that, it’s the cost of human lives, that precious human capital. Your engineers, doctors, inventors, judges, your moms and dads, that human intelligence and people, that would have been the foundation for a newly independent Philippines in 1946 was so decimated.”

He said an officer’s diary after the Battle of Manila had a list of the dead “and it reads like a who’s who in the Philippines [was it the original root of our brain drain?].

“Because this was a battle that affected all walks of life, it affected the poor, the middle class, the upper class, the teachers, judges, bank presidents. It eradicated all of that so quickly, [and] I think [it] very much hurt the Philippines going forward with its independence,” Scott added.

“All that talent [was] lost, so I think that is the tragedy of this battle. It not only robbed the Philippines of its heritage, not only its past, but also handicapped its future in that post-war period.”

“Would future historians be kind to MacArthur?” I asked.

“MacArthur, because he has such a long career, he had moments of greatness and moments of weakness and so history would kind of always view him with both of these things in mind.”

He said biographies on MacArthur will always carry criticisms of his personality, his ego and his decisions. “But he’s still no doubt a controversial figure in history. The people who loved him, the people who hate him, a lot of the men who served in Bataan, they despised him.”

Arthur MacArthur was a former Philippine governor general and when he left, it was his son Douglas who took over. At the time, the country was recovering from Spain’s 300 years of occupation and the beleaguered Filipinos were once more fighting the American troops as the US tried to grab the Philippines’s victory over the Spaniards—who were in near de-

feat—and simply paid $20 million, the cost for our territory at the Treaty of Paris.

“Is there a moral lesson behind the book?” I asked.

“Yes, I think one of the things that was so important about the Battle of Manila is it’s a transformative battle for the city and for the people.”

He said that before the war, Manila had this great prewar architecture, a beautiful city and “a whole of them was totally destroyed, 613 blocks containing 11,000 buildings, churches, archives, schools, businesses.”

“It wasn’t just the buildings; it was the heritage of the Philippines that was lost. It was the weather records, the data back to the time of the Jesuits, the medical records at PGH that were destroyed, it was the priceless museum paintings and sculptures, the literary works.”

“Think also of the loss to families, the children who grew up without mom or dad, parents who lost their children or grandparents who lost their children and grandchildren, that anguish, that grief, it hurts you and it hurts subsequent generations.”

“Did it ever surprise you that we seem to have forgotten that part of our history and now we’re so friendly with the Japanese?”

Scott replied, “History is one of those, and I see it. I have two children, their ages between 9 and 11, studying in schools—society and culture always look forward and only a few would look back and review history.”

“And that makes our job as historians difficult; but also important that we have to remind people of what happened in the past, the lessons learned and applied to the future.”

“History is a hard sell, particularly to younger generation, they’re always looking at Twitter and Facebook and YouTube, but when you tell them, ‘Hey, let’s read about a book 75 years ago,’ and it’s hard for them to do that.”

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FINDING THE ‘NEXT CHINA’ WILL CONFOUND INVESTORS Continued from A1

trade at elevated multiples of 16.8 times and 21.6 times earnings, this means any capital gain would likely need to come from earnings growth instead of from multiple expansion. Suddenly these hot emerging markets no longer look so appealing.

Hedging the yuan, on the other hand, is cheap this year. Using one-year forwards would cost you only 0.2 percent, peanuts compared with 5.6 percent or 2.2 percent at the beginning of 2017 and 2018, respectively. What’s more, China stocks now trade at only 11.5 times earnings, 28 percent cheaper than a year ago. From this view, China doesn’t look so bad, even with a trade war and economic slowdown.

Pressure on the yuan was in part helped by the US Federal Reserve’s sharp dovish turn in early January. The implied rate of December 2019 federal funds futures fell from 2.93 percent in early November to 2.37 percent in the first week of 2019. In other words, futures traders see no further tightening whatsoever this year.

It can’t be stressed enough how important a stable currency is for emerging markets. If you doubt the yuan, compare it with the Turkish lira, Russian ruble, or Brazilian real, which have all been on roller-coaster rides. Foreigners that rushed into those markets over the past decade could only groan with envy as China’s stocks outperformed.

In the currency space, the most fragile economies are the ones suffering from twin deficits, in the fiscal and current accounts, which are indicators that governments can’t balance their budgets and populations consume more than they earn. Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey fall into this category. Even if smaller nations such as Vietnam follow China’s export-oriented model, boosting economic growth by shipping apparel, electronics, and toys to the world, a current-account surplus is likely to be short-lived.

China’s path illustrates that point. Just a decade ago, the nation was the root cause of global payment

imbalances, with a current-account surplus exceeding 10 percent of its 2007 gross domestic product. But the surplus dwindled to 0.4 percent of GDP last year, and the nation may well dip into a deficit in 2019, reckons Morgan Stanley. This is because, contrary to President Trump’s perception, China is no longer a frugal nation that sells a lot abroad and buys little in return. In the third quarter of 2018 alone, China’s middle class spent about $63 billion on overseas travel, eating into the exporters’ hard-earned surplus.

Indeed, China would have dipped into a current-account deficit a lot earlier if not for its heavy industries. Like in other nations, the defining features of a middle-class family in China are home ownership, a car and a few credit cards. Nowadays, Chinese buy more than 20 million passenger vehicles every year—but more than 90 percent of them were manufactured at home. As a result, China’s net imports remained stable at about $42 billion a year.

Consumer products, such as cars and household electronics, are scale businesses, and thanks to its 1 billion-plus population, China can support such industries. But the economics don’t make sense for smaller nations, which have to import goods, including cars.

To maintain an account surplus, smaller countries could try to remain frugal, exporting and not spending overseas. But that won’t produce another China, where billions of dollars of wealth has been created over the past decade. A China 2.0 requires young, eager workers who’ll build manufacturing hubs and, in turn, use fatter paychecks to buy their first cars or designer bags.

Forty years after Beijing embraced capitalism, the yuan remains heavily managed. But it’s not a bad thing for foreigners. As for the entire emergingmarkets asset class, an alternative to China hasn’t materialized yet. Investors better get used to the notion that China is here to stay.

Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist in Hong Kong covering Asian markets.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

A3

US Congress approves border deal; Trump will sign, declare emergency W A SHINGTON— Congress lopsidedly approved a border security compromise on Thursday that would avert a second painful government shutdown, but a new confrontation was ignited—this time over President Donald J. Trump’s plan to bypass lawmakers and declare a national emergency to siphon billions from other federal coffers for his wall on the Mexican boundary.

Money in the bill for border barriers, about $1.4 billion, is far below the $5.7 billion Trump insisted he needed and would

finance just a quarter of the 200-plus miles he wanted. The White House said he’d sign the legislation but act unilaterally to get more, prompting condemnations from Democrats and threats of lawsuits from states and others who might lose federal money or said Trump was abusing his authority.

The uproar over Trump’s next move cast an uncertain shadow over what had been a rare display of bipartisanship to address the grinding battle between the White House and lawmakers over border security.

The Senate passed the legislation 83-16, with both parties solidly aboard. The House followed with a 300-128 tally, with Trump’s signature planned on Friday. Trump will speak on Friday morning in the Rose Garden about border security, the White House said.

House Democrats overwhelmingly backed the legislation, with only 19—most of whom were Hispanic—opposed. Just over half of Republicans voted “no.”

Should Trump change his mind, both chambers’ margins were above the two-thirds majorities needed to override

presidential vetoes. Lawmakers, however, sometimes rally behind presidents of the same party in such battles.

Lawmakers exuded relief that the agreement had averted a fresh closure of federal agencies just three weeks after a recordsetting 35-day partial shutdown that drew an unambiguous thumbs-down from the public.

But in announcing that Trump would sign the accord, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also said he’d take “other executive action, including a national emergency.” AP

TRADE TALKS SET TO WRAP UP WITH FEW SIGNS OF PROGRESS

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IGH-LEVEL trade talks between the US and China were set to wind up on Friday in Beijing, with time running out to reach an agreement that would avert an increase in American tariffs on Chinese goods by March 1.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer didn’t comment to reporters as they headed out on Friday morning for a final day of talks with counterparts, including Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. They are also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In closed-door sessions this week, the two sides have failed to narrow the gap around

structural reforms to China’s economy that the US has requested, according to three US and Chinese officials who asked not to be identified because the talks were private. They said it would likely take a meeting between Xi and President Donald J. Trump to seal a deal.

The US has also not relented on demands for China to dial back government subsidies for state-owned enterprises and improve corporate governance, one of the people said, an extremely sensitive issue that is seen as a non-starter for Chinese leaders.

The uncertainty has weighed on investors, with Asian stocks retreating from the highest

levels since October following a dip in US equities. Both sides have an incentive to strike a deal: Trump has repeatedly linked market gains to his administration’s policies, while Bloomberg Economics estimates China would avoid a 0.3-percent drag on 2019 gross domestic product if the trade truce holds.

Trump earlier this week said he was open to delaying the deadline to more than double tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods if the two countries were close to a deal that addresses deep structural changes to China’s economic and trade policies. Bloomberg News reported late Wednesday that he’s considering

pushing back the deadline by 60 days.

A s k e d o n T h u r s d a y i f t h e Tr u m p administration was considering extending the deadline for tariff increases, White House economic adviser Larr y Kudlow said no decision has been made.

Negotiators in Beijing “are soldiering on” and the “vibe” is good, Kudlow said on Fox News, adding that he was briefed by US officials earlier Thursday. “They are going to be meeting with President Xi tomorrow, which is a very good sign. They are moving through all of the issues. They are getting the job done.”

Bloomberg News

ExportUnlimited

A4 Saturday, February 16, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

Hiroshima Asean Association eyes investment in PHL

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HE Department of Trade and IndustryTrade and Investments Promotion Group (DTI-TIPG), together with the Board of Investments (BOI), led the Trade and Investment Briefing for Hiroshima Asean Association in promoting Philippine investment opportunities on February 8, 2019.

Held at the BOI Boardroom in Makati City, the forum consisted of representatives from the DTI, BOI, Hiroshima Asean Association and Philippine private sector. The Philippine private sector consisted of companies from the electrical, manpower, agribusiness, tourism and autoparts industries. The Japanese delegates from Hiroshima were representatives from the government, manufacturing, media, construction and transport industries.

Foreign Trade Ser vice Corps (FTSC) Commercial Counsellor Ma. Bernardita Angara-Mathay of Philippine Trade and Investment Center-

COURTESY VISIT

DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) Director Senen M. Perlada (third from left) meets with the Executive Director of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Martin Henkelmann (second from right), and its Deputy Executive Director Charlotte Bandelow (second from left), to discuss areas for collaboration to include briefings for Philippine exporters participating in fairs in Germany, joint information sessions and benchmarking for micro, small and medium enterprises. Joining them are EMB-Market Innovation Division (MID) Chief Rafaelita Castro (right) and MID Senior Specialist Maria Jaena Go-Aco (left).

Accrediting coffee exporters

By Rodelio A. Torre Senior TIDS, DTI-EMB

EXPORT READY! Conclusion The CEC and CO is not a requirement for the export of coffee in small quantities or for direct consumption in stores, ships, air crafts and other international commercial carriers. Small quantities are samples and parcels up to a maximum weight of 60 kilogram of green coffee or the equivalent thereof, namely 120

kg of dried coffee cherry; or 75 kg of parchment coffee; or 50.4 kg of roasted coffee; or 23 kg of soluble or liquid coffee.

A request for a certificate of exemption should be secured from the EMB for the export of coffee in small quantities of non-exporters of coffee.

The requirements for the CE application are the following: letter of intent; proof/supporting data for the request; and

photocopy of the identification card of the applicant.

The services for coffee accreditation and coffee export documentation are free of charge.

Applicants may proceed to the EMB Frontline Desks, Ground Floor, DTI International Building, 375 Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City. For other related inquiries, please call +632-465-3300 local 106 or email embcoffee@dti.gov.ph.

Tokyo (PTIC-Tokyo) introduced the vice chairman of the Hiroshima Asean Association, Setsuko Komatsu, to give a background of the Hiroshima Asean Association. Mathay also introduced the adviser of the association and former secretary-general of Asean-Japan Centre, Yoshikuni Ohnishi.

DTI-TIPG Assistant Secretary Rosario Virginia Gaetos gave the welcome remarks and also provided the delegates with a succinct profile of the Philippine economy, giving the delegates a preliminary background on the country’s business climate and demographics.

Japan, being one of the closest

countries to the Philippines, has become the second trade partner of the Philippines. It ranks third in terms of the major market of Philippine exports while it ranks second in terms of imports, Gaetos explained.

Meanwhile, DTI-Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) Assistant Director Agnes Legaspi, BOI-Europe and Middle East Division Chief Lanie Dormiendo, and Philippine Economic Zone Authority Promotions and Public Relations Group Manager Elmer San Pascual presented key topics to promote the Philippine opportunities in terms of trade and investments in Peza

Economic zones.

The presentations highlighted the advantages of the Philippines in economic growth, strategic geographical positioning, free-trade agreements, business climate and manpower resources. The discussion also revolved on the investment opportunities in the following sectors: manufacturing (food processing, chemicals, electronics), infrastructure/construction and logistics (airport and seaport development, mass housing projects, industrial projects), strategic services (design and creative, knowledge-based services), agribusiness and aquaculture, and retail trade.

Sports BusinessMirror

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

Saturday, February 16, 2019

A5

SOLAIRE BACKS SUNG South Korean Sung-hyun Park (right) and Solaire Executive Vice

President Cyrus Sherafat pose after the contract signing in Korea recently making Solaire Resort & Casino the new sponsor of the world No. 2, who will be wearing the logo of Solaire, which is run

by Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels, across her headware for the next two years.

JORDAN SPIETH ties for lead after 12 holes, as the opening round is scrapped because of increasing rain that soaked Riviera and poor visibility that made it unusually tough on the earliest of starters. AP

LOOSE BALL

Atlanta’s John Collins (20) recovers a loose ball against New York’s Dennis Smith Jr. during the second half of their National Basketball Association game on Thursday.

The Knicks snap an 18-game skid with a 106-91 victory.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Orlando beats Charlotte, 12789; and New Orleans downs Oklahoma City, 131-122. AP

TAN

A6 Saturday, February 16, 2019 | Editor: Mike Besa

Access your optimal performance state

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By David MacKenzie

IRST, I’d like to start by taking a look at your “nonoptimal performance state.”

What’s happening when you play poorly? You need to increase self-awareness of your behaviors, thoughts and feelings and build a “mental game toolbox” to move yourself away from this state and toward your optimal performance state. If you’re in your nonoptimal performance state, it’s probably due to one or more of these factors:

BEING OVERLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE RESULT

THE more you focus on the outcomes you desire (or fear the outcomes you want to avoid) the more pressure and restricted you will feel. When you hit the golf course with an expected or desired outcome in mind, you will play in a constant state of judgment of your play in relation to that goal, which adds pressure to every shot.

BAD ATTITUDE

IF ever you feel entitled to play well, you will expect perfection, which just isn’t possible.

When the inevitable mistakes happen, you find it difficult to handle. The bottom line is that the game owes you nothing, no matter how well you played in your last round or how well you’ve been practicing.

POOR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH AND RECOVER FROM MISTAKES

FOLLOWING on from the bad attitude, when you’re in your nonoptimal performance state you will also have trouble accepting mistakes. How quickly you can recover from mistakes separates successful golfers from unsuccessful ones. Great golfers hit plenty of bad shots, but they are unfazed by them as they believe they can recover.

POOR FOCUS

IN your nonoptimal performance state, there’s usually lots of mental chatter—the mind is agitated making it a struggle to focus and connect with your process when you need to. On the other hand, when a player is “in the zone,” the mind is quiet and free from thought which makes focusing easy. There’s a heightened senses of awareness and a sharpness to our focus.

LOW OPTIMISM

IN your nonoptimal performance state and a round starts to go south, there’s a feeling that you won’t be able to recover. I.e., more pessimism and less optimism. The best players in the world have plenty of optimism. They believe that things will turn around and they will figure it out, instead of thinking that more trouble is ahead.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

MANY of those factors above will lead to (or be caused by) performance anxiety. When there’s high-performance anxiety, your muscles are tight and your cognitive ability is limited, making both physical and mental actions more difficult.

It’s on days like this that you need to take a look into your mental game toolbox and make some changes.

YOUR MENTAL GAME TOOLBOX

YOUR mental game toolbox is your link between how you are playing and feeling during any round and your “optimal performance state” (OPS).

All the players I work with have a mental game toolbox, which are essentially mental game techniques that can improve mental, emotional and physical behaviors during a round.

The first step is to define what your OPS is. To do this, I’d like you to think back to some of your best rounds. It’s those that we need to “tap into.” I’d like you to visualize yourself as you played. Try to use your senses to take yourself back there. If you can’t remember the entire round, at least try to take yourself back to a stretch of holes. I’d like you think about the following: What was your temperament like? Were you more chilled out or more fiery and intense?

Where was your focus in between shots?

Where was your focus before and during shots?

How did you deal with mistakes?

How was your self-talk?

How was your body language?

What did you do before your round?

What did you eat and drink before and during your round?

YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR BEHAVIOR

WHATEVER your behaviors were during those rounds, you need to be aware of them and make use of your mental game toolbox to repeat them.

Some examples of your mental tools (I have plenty in the Ultimate Mental Game Training System) are:

PHYSICAL

Controlling breathing

Controlling the pace of your walk and having a spring in your step Walking into the ball confidently

MENTAL

Clear visualization Fully committed Awareness of your senses in between shots

EMOTIONAL

Using positive self-talk to change your mood A good post shot routine to prevent negative reactions Using a shot library or positive memories The idea is that you build enough selfawareness to know what you are focusing on, what your behaviors are and how you are feeling, and then, how to change it. By doing this, you will have the power to move away from those negative, limiting behaviors and toward the OPS. It’s not going to guarantee a great round, but you’re much more likely to succeed in your OPS than in your nonoptimal performance state.

Next time you play well, write some notes in your “performance journal” which can give you some further keys to accessing your OPS in the future.

Remember that there’s no such thing as “consistency” in the game of golf, which so many golfers strive for. The game by nature is very inconsistent and unpredictable. Once you accept that you are not in complete control of the results and the outcome of each shot, but that you are in control of your performance state, you can remain as consistent as possible inside and make a great performance more possible.

MAKING THE M

CLUB TECH

G

By Mike Besa

OLF clubs are being released at almost the same rate as mobile phones these days. While this creates sheer delight to the golf geek, it gets downright frustrating for the regular guy that doesn’t want to get too far behind the curve when it comes to his equipment.

Consider this our attempt to clear up a few things for the consumer on behalf of the golf club manufacturers.

First, there is no such thing as a “onesize-fits-all” kind of golf club. Doesn’t exist. Never did. The only thing that matters is getting your clubs fit for you.

This allows you the latitude to swing freely knowing your club is there to do your bidding. No adjusting to the club required. The club is adjusted to your swing.

Then you need to know yourself

as a golfer; your weaknesses and strengths. Be honest with yourself; brutally honest. If you err in your choice of club, err on the side of forgiveness. You might love the aesthetic of a bladed long iron, but think about hitting that gorgeous club to a tight left pin over water—does it inspire confidence or fill you with terror?

I’m not saying that you need to go full-on super game improvement but give yourself a bit of a safety net for when you miss.

DATA acquisition is essential to a good fit

David MacKenzie is a mental coach and the founder of Golf State of Mind. He currently works with golfers on the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour, European Tour, Challenge Tour, LPGA and LET, along with many elite juniors and amateur golfers of all levels.

David has over 10 years of experience working as a mental coach for golf. His mental coaching system is taught one on one (in person or remotely), in a group setting, and via his digital mental game training products and books. His system develops mental toughness, improves emotional control and teaches golfers how to stay focused on what’s most important to maximize their chance of success.

DRIVERS

The driver

LET’S start at the top end of your bag; let’s look at drivers. Today there are two basic kinds of performance drivers—those that offer more forgiveness and those that offer the best performance. Most manufacturers introduce drivers in pairs to offer something to as many golfers as possible. With the range of shafts on offer and a comprehensive fitting with a professional fitter, anyone can find a driver that works and works well.

Just because a new driver is introduced, doesn’t mean your gamer is obsolete. Check the technology behind the new product. It might be aimed at golfers of other skill levels. If the technology is compelling, test the prospect against your gamer. Most distributors have launch monitors, so data acquisition isn’t an issue. Make the most of it. The numbers won’t lie.

If you’re on a budget, the improvements should be measurable on a launch monitor and visible on the golf course. With the restrictions on driver performance, a well fit driver two or three years old should be within 5-10 yards of the latest new driver on offer.

Where the manufacturers have made the greatest strides has been the playability of their drivers. Off-center performance is perceptibly better all the new drivers, giving golfers ever more ball speed on mishits.

Don’t blindly go for the low-spinning option for absolute distance unless you have the clubhead speed to make the most of it. To the greater population of golfers, spin is your friend. It’s what keeps the ball airborne, allowing for the greatest carry and more precise placement on the golf course. Unless your ball speed is close to 150 mph, you’ll need more than 2500 rpm to keep your golf ball in the air.

Pay more attention to the dispersion statistics and to where you’re making contact on the clubface. During your fitting, don’t swing for the fences. Use your fairway finder for the fitting process. You’ll find more speed as the fit gets better.

Fairway Metals or Hybrids?

THE idea with both classes of clubs is to fill in yardage gaps between your driver and your longest iron. These days, the average golfer would do well to have one or two fairway metals and at least two hybrids. This means that the modern iron set for the average golfer should start with the 7-iron.

Loft gapping is a just a starting point with this process; you’ll need to hit balls to determine the real distances these clubs fly. Many can’t hit a 3-metal so perhaps a 4-metal or an adjustable 5-metal that you can strengthen to 17º might be a viable alternative. You’ll gain distance if you can make better contact.

The modern game improvement 7-iron has a loft of 30º to 31º, so you’ll need hybrids at 4- or 5-degree gaps. There are different types of hybrids to choose from. Not all golfers want their hybrid to hit the ball high up in the air. Many require a smaller clubhead to get out of trouble from further out. Buy only what you need.

The high lofted fairway metals, once so prevalent, seem to be a thing of the past.

Seemingly victims to the popularity and ease of use of hybrids. The shorter shaft of the hybrids is a factor here; it makes hybrids easier and more intuitive for the handicap golfer.

Better golfers will opt for a 3-metal then either 5-metal or 2-hybrid (both around 18º loft), then most likely a 3 or 4-hybrid (21º to 24º loft) before their longest iron (usually a 25º 5-iron). Specialists might even swap in a driving iron it that’s what the golf course demands.

The variety available today is limited only by your imagination.

As always, make it easy for yourself; don’t hesitate to swap a hybrid for a long iron. It pays dividends.

Irons—What can you live with?

Although, most love the aesthetic of the blade/player’s irons, we are better off with irons that offer us more assistance on mishits. The

new players’ distance irons are the hottest new category in irons and offer great value for a large demographic of golfers.

This class offers the “player aesthetic” in a very friendly package.

These still aren’t appropriate for beginners but offer the mid-handicap golfer desperate for an alternative to the often-ungainly game-improvement clubs. They have all the performance specifications of good player irons without the drawbacks.

These irons are all constructed with multiple materials to squeeze every iota of performance from each component of the golf club. Some are constructed like hybrids or fairway metals, with a hollow body, a hot clubface and a center of gravity that is precisely located to yield the desired flight characteristics.

They have a ton of tech squeezed into a more compact package, hit the ball significantly further than standard irons, feel good and forgiving off-center. The added distance and ease of use are addictive. The sole designs are diverse from brand to brand, but all seem to perform admirably in the real world. There’s one out there that will work best for you, so take the time to find it.

Learn which one you can live with, and you’ll have a dependable weapon for years to come.

Optimization

AFTER you’ve acquired your weapon of choice, you need to move on, and have it personally fit for you. This will most likely require bending the irons so forged irons or soft castings that allow this sort of manipulation are essential. Better players will want to experiment with different shafts to further tune their ball flight. No

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, February 16, 2019 A7

MOST OF GOLF

Choi cherishes memories of PGA Tour debut

HNOLOGY

By Chris Cox | PGA Tour

P where will this be more important than with the driver.

With the proper tuning, it is possible to find even more ball speed from a typical driver. Shafts, lofts and lies, and head weight can be configured to suit personal preferences for feel, trajectory and spin profiles to really eke out every possible increment of ball speed on center and off-center hits. The correct fit increases confidence, allowing you to swing freely, consequently increasing clubhead speed.

It might cost you a bit of money, but the performance gains in the real world are well worth it. Check with your favored club fitter for further guidance.

people can play with less bounce given the same conditions.

If you play on a golf course that’s well irrigated and is medium soft most of the time, play as much bounce as you can. If you play course that hard and fast with lies thats are generally tight, you’re better off with less bounce. The more skilled golfers match their wedges and playing style to the course conditions for optimum results.

Another consideration to wedge choice is learning to use the trailing edge of your wedge, also known as using the wedge’s bounce. This entails opening the clubface to the target line, then employing a shallow angle

of attack, allowing the club’s trailing edge to push the clubhead up slightly.

This technique virtually eliminates fat shots.

Golfers that prefer to employ this technique benefit from sole designs with some material removed from the wedge’s heel and toe. This grind allows the wedge’s leading edge to remain close to the ground even when laid open. It inspires confidence.

We are therefore blessed that the major equipment companies all offer a variety of grinds in a multitude of loft and bounce options so all’s that’s left to do is to make an informed choice.

Wedges—It’s what’s underneath that matters

WEDGES function in a matrix of variables. What’s most important is to choose one that fits your swing type on the golf-course conditions on which you play. Sounds complicated?

It really isn’t.

First, wedges are generally employed at 5º-6º loft gaps. If your pitching wedge is 43º, then your gap wedge should be 48º, sand wedge 54º and lob wedge 60º. That’s just a guide.

Better golfers seldom use full swings with their wedges, so you might see pros with wedges of similar lofts but markedly differing sole grinds.

Most important is to understand the effects of the wedge’s sole on your shot vis-à-vis your style of play. Some players are quite steep with their wedges and take large divots—these golfers benefit from a generous amount of bounce. Others are very shallow with their wedges.

These golfers nip the golf ball off the turf, barely bruising the grass. These

WEDGE angles explained

EBBLE BEACH, California— The night before his final round began at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Ho Sung Choi gathered for one last group dinner with his playing partners.

The trio of Choi, Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA). Tour player Jerry Kelly and National Football League quarterback Aaron Rodgers had no doubt developed a strong connection over their three days together in California. And to celebrate the occasion, Choi gifted each of his newfound friends a head cover for their golf clubs featuring his unique logo.

It was but one of several moments that Choi says he will cherish forever, in this, his PGA Tour debut. The Korean star earned his way into the field on a sponsor’s exemption and, though he missed the cut, he left with more fans—and friends—than he arrived with.

“They were such great people,” Choi said. “Even when I had a bad shot or was struggling, they encouraged me and gave me words of advice out there. I tried to give them a gift to remind them of me, and I thought a head cover of my logo would be the best thing to do.”

Choi shot a third-round 77, missing the cut at 9-over 224. He may have struggled all week to get a read on the Tour’s greens, but it didn’t stop the hundreds of fans from cheering him on.

The 45-year-old played

PUTTERS

The flatstick

THIS is a tough one. It’s such a short stroke so it’s mind boggling when you consider the amount of money spent on R&D to make the ball roll a few paces on the green.

Each golfer has his own preference with regards to what he wants to look at when addressing the ball. Blade, mallet and everything in between matters little. What’s essential is consistent contact with the center of the putter face. Whatever head style gives you confidence and allows you to do this is the one you game.

That said, I am a big proponent of face technology that improves the initial roll you get off the putter face.

Some are better than others, and much of it comes down to feel, but all golfers benefit from being able to putt without the ball hopping and skidding off the putter face.

Counterbalanced putters are another technology worthy of consideration. Less conspicuous than other more visible forms of tech, counterbalancing helps with a golfer’s tempo and

feel without hurting distance control.

Conclusion

IT might all seem complicated, but once you have a good handle on how you play and what works for you, it becomes second nature. How many wraps of tape you need under your grip, whether you prefer your irons to play upright or flat, which shaft gives you the most balanced performance and how to properly set up your driver for the greatest distance without sacrificing playability are all things that you’ll take in your stride.

Take the time to experiment and understand the process. Ask questions; there are many in our Facebook and Viber groups that are more than happy to share their knowledge. Use the new data acquisition technologies to make informed choices with your equipment purchases. As in other walks of life, data is king. That will save you a lot of money since you’re not buying using trial and error or going strictly by brand advertising. It should also save you strokes, increasing your enjoyment of the game.

What’s that worth?

HO SUNG CHOI PHOTO CREDIT GETTY IMAGES

in front of by far his largest crowd of the tournament on Saturday. He often exchanged cheers with the gallery after his better shots and posed for pictures while waiting his turn to swing.

He developed perhaps the best rapport with Rodgers, an American sports icon who leads the Green Bay Packers. The two frequently shared words of support, and Choi even mimicked Rodgers’s signature celebration dance a handful of times (doing so by pulling his arms to the side of his hips, then letting out a big thrust).

Rodgers’s girlfriend, professional race-car driver Danica Patrick, had several sweatshirts made that said “PEBBLE BEEECHY,” a play on Choi’s commitment video to the tournament that went viral on social media. Choi said he was honored by the gesture.

“It was fantastic. He’s just a super guy,” Rodgers said. “We had him over to house last night, him and his family. We had a blast. There was obviously a bit lost in translation with the language barrier, but we had his translator there, and we just had a blast.

“I think it’s great for the tournament and for golf,” he continued.

“Obviously, his swing gets a lot of attention, but he’s a good player. It was tough conditions out there. Him and Jerry both struggled today. but he’s a super guy, and it was a lot of fun to play with him.”

Choi was even-par

when he made the turn but unraveled with four bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine. He did manage to roll in a trio of birdies, including from 21 feet on No. 6 and 17 feet on No. 14, but trouble with the putter once again led to his undoing. The most troublesome occurred on the 17th, where he four-putted despite initially having a 5-foot par opportunity.

“I learned a lot from this experience, but I think the biggest takeaway was the greens,” he said.

“They were so difficult to read, and I wasn’t getting used to them. Even on the 17th hole, I had a short putt maybe 30 to 40 centimeters, and I just blew it by. So it was hard getting adjusted to that.”

Choi will fly out of Los Angeles on Sunday evening, and plans to spend four days in Guam for a promotional shoot.

He’ll return to Korea after that but does not yet know what tournament he’ll play next.

For now, he’s just fine holding on to the memories he made in his first trip to America, and his first time on a PGA Tour leaderboard. He hopes it’s not the last.

“I’m so thankful for that, and I’m so appreciative of the great memories that we made this week,” Choi said. “I felt like I had the best pairing.”

“If I’m lucky enough to get an invite,” he added, “I’ll be happy to play in any other tournament.”

OurTime BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, February 16, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Benguet seeks NCIP help to provide documentary proof of age for IP seniors

L

A TRINIDAD, Benguet—The problem with the absence of birth certificates of senior citizens belonging to indigenous people (IP) communities is now being addressed, making them eligible to avail themselves of the benefits of their old age, a civil registrar in Benguet said on Friday.

“The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples [NCIP] is doing the genealogy of the senior citizen. They trace the roots of the individual to validate the information they have, which is used in registering their birth and obtaining an official copy of a birth certificate,” said Joan Solano-Bacoling, La Trinidad municipal civil registrar (MCR) and president of the Association of Baguio-Benguet Civil Registrars (ABBCR).

A number of elderly IP members in the province are not registered with the civil registry offices or the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which prevents them from availing themselves of benefits given to senior citizens.

There are also those who are receiving pension as war veterans, but do not have birth certificates.

Through the genealogy or “family tree” of a person whose family

record is kept with the NCIP, Bacoling said they are able to trace the sequence of birth of IPs and identify or estimate the age of a person.

Using the family tree, they are able to help the person complete the documentary requirement of late registration, Bacoling said.

“It’s a tedious process wherein the NCIP will have to trace the family members of each senior citizen.

This will validate the information provided during the application and not complicate what we have,” she said.

The NCIP also looks at the authenticity of information upon registration to avoid conflicting data, Bacoling added.

“For example, the war veterans who have been receiving social pensions but do not have records with us, normally we are getting their information from the military service office,” she said.

She said if these veterans have been married, the spouses will be registered under the MCR along with their kin who had been born

prior to February 1931.

“What we are doing is we keep track of their records and we issue them certifications, affidavit or any possible assistance to fast-track their registration,” she said.

Bacoling said local civil registrars managed to help several senior citizens in processing their birth-certificate registration with the help of the NCIP. In celebration of the national 2019 civil registration month, several activities were set by the municipal civil registry offices in Benguet to aid residents even in the mountains to be registered with the PSA. Kapangan MCR Isabel Pi-ay said they will prioritize senior citizens who do not have birth certificates but who are already receiving their social pensions.

“We are going around our municipality to look into [the problem] and validate their information.

Some already have their identification cards but do not have birth certificates yet,” she said. PNA

85-year-old man loses $74 million in HK scam

A

SHOE REPAIR MAN

Enterprising 60-year-old Moises Rocky Concepcion from Plaridel Village, Santiago City (Isabela), started repairing shoes and bags in 1973 along Panganiban Street in the city. He earns an average net income of P500 daily. CEASAR M. PERANTE

N 85-year-old man has become Hong Kong’s biggest victim of a bullion-trading scam after being conned out of HK$580 million ($74 million) over two years, the South China Morning Post reported.

The elderly man was one of seven investors who lost a total of nearly HK$620 million in a scam that involved trading gold on the London commodities market, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified people. Hong Kong police confirmed the arrest of 14 people related to deception in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg News, while it declined to comment on the specifics about the 85-year-old victim.

The so-called London gold fraud has been around in Hong Kong for many years. According to Hong Kong police web site, fraudsters usually lure victims into fake precious metal transactions through cold calls. They would then ask victims to deposit money into an investment account and sign documents authorizing a third party to trade on their behalf. Victims eventually find themselves losing all their capital as a result of hefty commission and investment losses from frequent transactions.

That’s what happened to the 85-year-old man. He received his first cold call in the middle of 2016 about trading gold and had made a lot of transactions in two years, the newspaper said. Other victims in the scam were ethnic Chinese from Taiwan, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, according to the report. Bloomberg News

‘FLOWER DRUM SONG’ AUTHOR C.Y. LEE DEAD AT 102

N

EW YORK—C.Y. Lee, whose novel The Flower Drum Song became a best-seller and the basis for a popular stage musical and Oscarnominated film despite mixed critical reactions and concerns about stereotypes, has died at age 102.

Lee’s son, Jay Lee, told The Associated Press that his father died on November 8 in Los Angeles.

The family decided at the time not to make his death public.

The Flower Drum Song, a story of generational conflict set in San Francisco’s Chinatown, came out in 1957, and quickly became a popular read. The New York Times’s Idwal Jones praised Lee’s “objective eye,” but also faulted the book for its absence of “deeper notes” and its affinity for “slang and sex” and “popular taste.” (The author would later acknowledge he wanted to reach a large audience).

Lee’s debut novel attracted the attention of screenwriter Joseph Fields and composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Their musical adaptation, originally directed by Gene Kelly, ran on Broadway from 1958 to 1960 and was revived in 2002, with a book by M. Butterfly playwright David Henry Hwang.

A 1961 film version, among the first major Hollywood productions to feature an Asian cast, received five Academy Award nominations despite being called by The New Yorker an “elaborate fraud” and a showcase for crude stereotypes.

Lee has since been praised as among the first Asian novelists to break through commercially in the US and Hwang is among those who thought the book underrated. Flower Drum Song was out of print at the time Hwang worked on the Broadway revival and he had to track it down from a Seattle book seller.

“I thought, ‘Oh, it’s such a shame this author and this book have been lost, particularly the bittersweet tone of the novel,’” Hwang told the AP in 2001. “C.Y.’s book is complicated in terms of texture about what it means to be an American—the things you gain and the things you lose—but it ultimately affirms the value of this social experience.”

A native of China who emigrated to the US during World War II, Chin Yang Lee wrote several other novels, including China Saga and Gate of Rage, based on pro-democracy protests in 1989 centered on Tiananmen Square.

He spent more than a year writing Flower Drum Song, and at the time was renting a small apartment above a Filipino nightclub in San Francisco. He was employed at the time by a Chinese-language newspaper, for which he wrote stories for elderly readers. For his novel, he drew upon his observations about the difference between older immigrants and their more assimilated children.

“In Chinatown, I knew everything that was going on,” he told the AP in 2002. “Out of that I created characters, using everybody, including my own family and my friends, plus a lot of invention from the air.”

Lee struggled to find a publisher. After more than a dozen rejections, he was warned by his agent that he might have to “think of another profession.”

“But then the novel landed at the sick bed of an 80-year-old gentleman, who was a reader for a highbrow publishing house [Farrar, Straus],” Lee told the AP. “He was quite ill, but he read it. He didn’t have the energy to write a two- or three-page critique. He wrote only two words—‘Read this’—and died.” AP

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Remembering Rik Lipana

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH Part One

I

N one of the later films of the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, one will encounter the poignant story of a retired professor who continued to be cherished and revered by his former pupils that he was given a tribute year after year. During the gathering to mark his 77th birthday, he told his nowgraying former pupils that he still couldn’t believe that he had lasted so long: “I thought that at age 61, I had become a genuinely old man. Now at 77, I realize how young I was at 61.”

When he was 60 years old, they thought Rik was a “dinosaur,” well past his best years as an advertising art director. So they retired him. But in retrospect, at age 60, Rik was still young for he still had many more productive years ahead.

Someone once said that you can be young only once, but you can be immature forever. That may be true.

When I last saw him many years ago, Rik was still active at age 73. I was a writer and he was an art director in a creative boutique called EC Grafix.

Without doubt, Rik was at that time the only 70-something art director who had learned to master the computer for designing graphics. Put it this way: Rik was the only 70-something practicing art director, period. The mere fact that he still went to work every day to do advertising work was already an outstanding achievement for this man. Name another art director today with 50-plus years of experience in advertising still active in the business. Truth is, all of Rik’s contemporaries in advertising are either long retired, disabled by disease, wasting away or resting in peace 6 feet under somewhere.

When I mentioned Rik’s name to aging ad executives who were much younger than Rik, most were genuinely surprised to discover that Rik was still alive. They were flabbergasted to know he was still actively working as an art director at his age.

Yes, there is life after retirement

WHILE many are looking forward to retiring, Rik had not even thought of doing so. Still working at EC Grafix, Rik was designing logos, label designs, illustrating for a journal and designing covers for audio CDs. He had by that time mastered Adobe Photoshop, Freehand, and the latest graphics software with a skill that can shame even computer artists 50 years younger. He could extemporize and adlib during brainstorming sessions on what works and what doesn’t. Of course, some young punks scoffed at his “old fashioned” thinking, much to their regret later on.

While many people his age were on wheelchairs or could not amble without their sticks, Rik commuted by public transportation and walked from the jeepney stop to the office. Day after day. He spent

his weekends walking through the narrow alleys of Quiapo and Avenida. When he was not there, he probably was at some mall, window shopping or looking at books and magazines in bargain shops.

Walking, walking, walking.

His memory was prodigious and naturally sharp, no thanks to ginseng-boosted vitamin food supplements. In fact, he had few concessions to vice, if you can call it that: beer, two bottles before sleeping (“San Miguel Pale Pilsen, please.”)

Walking encyclopedia of media greats and not so great

RIK was present at the creation of the advertising industry in the Philippines in the early 1950s. He was a living history book of advertising and media in the Philippines, living through the growth of advertising.

Like most advertising people, he had made the rounds of old advertising agencies, albeit during the old days: art director at J Walter Thompson, McCann Ericsson, AMA, Adformatix, Ace Compton, Link.

“Nag-rigodon din ako,” he quipped.

The big agencies were then based in Manila, not Makati. He was assigned to the big accounts then like Ford, Breeze, Liberty Milk and other brands that did not survive the inexorable attrition in the marketing world.

“Those were the good old days of advertising when there was no 4 A’s and creative guilds and ad congress and awards night,” said Rik a little wistfully. It was also a period when there were no overtimes, and deadlines were not yesterday, but one month from now. It was life at a more leisurely pace. But it was the days of physical cut and paste, cliché, Morizawa typesetting machines. That was decades before the virtual cut-and-paste computer graphics of today.

Rik had worked under and with many local advertising greats.

Name the guy—Tony de Joya, Tony Zorilla, Dick Guersey, Lyle Little, JJ Calero, Ben Canapi—and Rik would have a tasty morsel of an anecdote about him. He had a treasure chest full of stories about Malang, Hugo Yonzon. Larry Alcala and even Ariel Ureta, who Rik had a chance to work with at Link Advertising. ”Boy, was he weird,” Rik mused as he vividly recalled those days when Ariel rocked the boat in the industry with his antics when he was a hotshot copywriter.

And the unforgettable Bill Ibañez.

It was surprising to learn that Rik also got involved in audio and film production as a producer! That’s where he met the late Nida Blanca who became a close friend up to the time of her ghastly death. Maggie de la Riva also used to be one of the talents he nurtured for a TV show he produced. Students of the local media would certainly have found Rik a rich source of data on the evolution of radio and TV as media of communications. To be concluded

RELEASE OF PENSIONS FOR ELDERLY NOW TWICE A YEAR

I

LOILO CITY—Starting this year, the release of pension for the elderly will be held twice a year from the previous quarterly distribution, the director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 6 (Western Visayas) said.

“We will have it twice a year and our target month for the first release is in April. Then the second will be in September,” Evelyn B. Macapobre said Friday.

The change in the system is due to lack of ample time for the field office to complete the cleansing of their database before paying the pensioners, Macapobre said.

“This is very important to ensure that the money goes to the deserving, because we have many beneficiaries. Some are complaining, like, why this someone is a beneficiary when there is someone less fortunate than him,” she explained.

The first three months of the year is intended for the updating of the beneficiary list and cleaning of the data list.

There is also a directive from President Duterte that the DSWD field offices should no longer transfer the funds for the pensioners to local government units. PNA

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

BusinessMirror

THE Gucci Soho Disco Bag was the top searched for fashion item in 2018. GUCCI.COM

Saturday, February 16, 2019 A9

THE logo belt was in second place as the most searched fashion item. SELFRIDGES.COM

Why Gucci is red-hot right now PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

I

T is not a surprise that Gucci was the world’s hottest fashion brand for 2018. Everyone wanted a piece of Gucci, whether it was a pair of sneakers, a backpack or even slides. Gucci was cool. It was a brand everybody wanted to wear.

Global fashion platform Lyst recently released its final quarterly ranking of brands and products for 2018. Lyst looked at up to 5 million shoppers’ habits online, from searching and browsing to social-media engagement and actual purchases across 12,000

/

VIBER Global CEO Djamel Agaoua

designers and stores.

Virgil Abloh’s Off-White was the world’s hottest brand from October to December, but Gucci took back its first-place spot for fourth quarter. Gucci was the most searched and shopped for brand throughout 2017 and early 2018.

Lyst attributed this to successful sales in its accessories category. Italian brands took up most of the Lyst Index, including Moncler (#4), Fendi (#5), Versace (#6) and Valentino (#9). But Moncler’s performance seemed most impressive, as the Italian brand jumped 12 places up to the fourth spot. Other brands in the Top 10 included Balenciaga (#3), Stone Island (#7), Vetements (#8) and Burberry (#10).

The top 2 most popular Gucci items were a bag and the famous logo belt, which you’d see on three out of five people if you went clubbing.

Gucci’s parent company Kering said Gucci’s topped €8 billion for the first time at a growth of 36.9 percent.

The growth came from all product categories, with leather goods such as handbags and shoes making up the biggest portion.

Gucci recently figured in a blackface sweater controversy. Images of the sweater, a wool balaclava jumper that sells for $890, were shared on social media and resulted in a backlash. The sweater is supposed to cover half of the face, and there’s a hole for the mouth, which is outlined in red.

Gucci has since apologized for the sweater, which has also been recalled.

“Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper. We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected and at the forefront of every decision we make. We are fully committed to increasing the diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond,” said the company in a statement released on Twitter.

It will be interesting to see if Gucci remains the hottest fashion brand for 2019, and if my daughter and the children of my friends continue to aspire for buying a pair of sneakers from the brand. This, to me, is the biggest indication of how hot Gucci is. ■

Do the right thing with them far-reaching consequences for our societies. Also with these achievements comes the clear and unavoidable responsibility to behave in a way that sets the standard for the rest of the industry and the rest of the world to follow. I believe Facebook can change not just the technology industry, but the fabric of our culture by pledging to protect user privacy and safeguard encryption by default.

This is why I am calling on Facebook and the rest of the technology industry to join us in a Privacy Pledge: ■ No reading or storing of any private chats ■ No listening or recording of any private calls ■ No scanning of any private media exchanged (pictures or video) ■ No listening on live conversations through the microphone of a mobile phone ■ By default, all settings (like end-to-end encryption) will be set to the most secure option. If needed, the users will have to unlock those security features themselves and give explicit consent.

BY DJAMEL AGAOUA Viber CEO I READ Mark Zuckerberg’s opinion in the Wall Street Journal with great interest. Therein he attempts, in unusually clear and jargon-free language for Silicon Valley, to explain how and why his Internet platform uses our data and our personal relationships to operate and, critically, make money.

Zuckerberg’s article reads as an open and honest apologia.

It is also a good lens by which to view the overall state of consumer technology, and the choice we must make between greed and good.

Zuckerberg’s letter is a stark reminder of the simple fact that the technology industry has failed users in numerous, key ways. Largely, these failures are those of omission, not commission. However, these failures are symptoms of a larger disease of greed that we are all prone to contracting in the pursuit of profit. This disease is the willingness to if not break the rules, then to bend them to suit one’s own ends.

While many of the practices and abuses of privacy and user data that have been exposed in the recent months are not, per se, illegal, they are clear violations of the spirit of holding our users—also called people—at the center of our moral and business universe.

At Rakuten Viber, we are not philanthropists or activists, nor are we radicals or politicians. We are a business. But we live by the belief that messaging tools are vital for freedom of expression, which is a fundamental human right, and should remain free in all senses of the word. This naturally means that we must generate revenue as a business to keep it so.

And there’s the problem.

There are only two ways to do this sustainably: (1) become a foundation (the Wikipedia model), or (2) open the doors of monetizable partnerships with brands who want to access our users. We have chosen the latter and are succeeding. We know we can build large and scalable businesses without exploitation. In fact, as Mr. Zuckerberg points out, most tech companies are naturally aligned with protecting user data and integrity in order to maintain their competitive advantages. Targeted advertising that is based on opt-in user consent, clear EULAs, and anonymized metadata

are all fair and sustainable ways to operate a consumer platform. Problems arise, however, when some megaambitious entrepreneurs seek to push the limits, when “move fast and break things and we’ll fix later” trumps respecting the sanctity of our private communications.

Technology companies, like human beings, must be judged not on what they say, but on what they do. It’s becoming abundantly clear that companies that enshrine and build in privacy-protection features like end-to-end encryption and cautiously managed user data can be trusted to be honest and responsible stewards of our digital lives. And ultimately those who move fast and break things will do just that—they will break our trust.

As a product and as a business, Facebook has done so many things right—on a scale that’s never been seen before in the world. These achievements are monumental and bring

Further, these practices need to be explained to users in what engineers refer to as “human-readable” language — that means there needs to be clear and explicit consent that is easily understood, and comprises no more than a couple of lines of text to explain.

This Pledge can revolutionize and enshrine the belief that if people are the center of our products, then the privacy rights of “we the people” are paramount. It is time to show the world that tech is about more than hockey-stick growth, IPOs and excess. It is time to use the tools we have built to be not tools of exploitation, alienation and exhaustion, but instead beacons of fairness, respect and protection for our users.

The world is waiting. Your move, Mr. Zuckerberg—will you do the right thing?

■ Viber is a cross-platform instant-messaging and voiceover IP application operated by Japanese multinational company Rakuten Inc., a world leader in e-commerce and financial services. It is the official communication channel of FC Barcelona, and the official instant-messaging and calling app partner of the Golden State Warriors.

STI recognized for mobile schools; joins esteemed group of grand Anvil winners DRIVEN by its commitment to make relevant education accessible in the country, STI Education Services Group Inc. (STI ESG) and STI Foundation won the highly coveted Grand Anvil Award and two gold metals for its mobile school program, known as Computer Lab on Wheels: Driving Education Where It Matters, at the 54th Anvil Awards: Gabi ng Parangal.

STI ESG and STI Foundation launched the advocacy program in 2007, which aims to provide information and communications technology education in both urban and rural communities across the country where computer access, connectivity and ICT literacy is a major challenge.

“Our mobile schools act as our extended classrooms. We reach out and we deliver information technology classes to students and teachers who need better access to computers and Internet, especially in far-flung communities. This plays a part in fulfilling our duty to make education accessible, said Monico V. Jacob, STI ESG vice chairman and CEO, and STI Foundation president.

“The hard work we have put into our mobile schools is a testament to the commitment of STI, as a community and as an institution, in shaping young minds. And the recognition we recently received will undoubtedly once again fuel our desire to impact our country through world-class education,” he added.

Growing its fleet of Computer Lab on Wheels to six, STI has remained committed to its role in growing the country’s education system and molding the country’s next generation of leaders with its continuous partnership with the Department of Education to support its K to 12 program.

Designed to mimic a state-of-the-art computer laboratory, students and teachers are given access to 24 multimedia computers with LCD screens, sound system, Internet connection and other top-of-the-line computer equipment. These facilities were likewise put into place to support STI’s modules, which feature a strengthened K to 12 responsive curriculum to fast-track the student and faculty’s ICT literacy development. Using a combination of lecture and laboratory works, the curriculum covers computer concepts, GNU image-manipulation programs, basic windows Web design, multimedia and other pertinent ICT tools, among others.

Since 2007, the mobile school has already reached over 1,000 sites and has trained more than 150,000 students, teachers and other individuals nationwide.

STI has also partnered with DepEd for its adopta-school program and a specialized program to reach out-of-school-youths who aspire to finish their secondary education through the Alternative Learning System program.

The institution received two gold Anvils in the PR program category and the Grand Anvil Award. The awards ceremonies were held at the Grand Ballroom of Marriott Hotel.

A10 Saturday, February 16, 2019

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Cantilan Bank pioneers cloud technology in rural banking

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES LOCAL community bank Cantilan Bank recently became the country’s first financial institution regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to deploy cloud technology to provide digital financial services to its clients.

“The pioneering introduction of cloud banking in the Philippines is a key moment in solving the challenges of financial inclusion. Cloud technology that meets the requirements of the BSP’s Circular 808 is enhancing the competitiveness of rural banks and enabling them to provide affordable, high-quality financial services,” said the BSP in a press statement.

Zagreb, Croatia-based financial inclusion company Oradian and the Asian Development Bank provided

the support to Cantilan Bank to help BSP in its digital transformation road map that enables the delivery of digital financial services to unbanked individuals in rural communities. Oradian delivered its cloud-based core banking system, technical training and global best practices to all of Cantilan Bank’s 44 branches across 12 provinces in Mindanao and the Visayas regions.

With its cloud-based technology on board, Cantilan Bank now has expanded its services offering from the brick-andmortar setup to digital financial services.

Tanya Hotchkiss, executive vice president of Cantilan Bank, said the introduction of cloud technology will enable the bank to reach out to more customers. Cloud technology is proving to fast-track our ability to serve more unbanked individuals throughout Mindanao,” she said.

“We worked closely with Cantilan Bank to digitize their operations and processes, and enable their businesses to run on one platform—across all branches. Regulatory reporting is simplified and more efficient with the dynamic reporting platform,” said Julian Oehrlein, head of product and cofounder of Oradian.

With the consolidation of Cantilan Bank’s processes and data, Oehrlein said the bank can now focus on servicing clients.

Kelly Hattel, senior financial sector specialist, Southeast Asia department of the Asian Development Bank, said they hope the project will be successful so it can be used as template for future financial inclusion initiatives. “We want to leverage the success of this pilot to encourage other financial institutions to look at how technology can be used

to strengthen their core operations, better meet the needs of their clients through digital products and services, and grow their outreach especially in rural areas to the previously unbanked throughout the Philippines,” she said.

Oradian is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider for financial institutions in remote communities. The company is serving over 75 financial institutions in 11 countries with a concentration in Nigeria and the Philippines. Further, it provides access to over 3 million end-clients.

Based in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, the 39-year-old bank provides services to its clients through its collective network of 44 branches and offices, and 24 automated teller machiness that are strategically located across Caraga region, Misamis Oriental, Compostela Valley, Davao and Southern Leyte.

Estate planning for your digital assets The company’s refusal to grant access to surviving family members is being challenged in Massachusetts, a state that has not adopted the uniform digital assets law. In October 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that an executor could consent to the disclosure of e-mails on behalf of the dead person whose estate was being managed.

The case is back before a lower court to decide on other issues, including whether the estate will be able to access the account despite Yahoo’s terms of service agreement.

THE ROLE OF PRIVACY WITH so many legal issues yet to be decided, people should be sure they include digital assets in their estate planning and encourage their loved ones to do the same. Access to the e-mail of a person who has died may be the most important to unlock: Messages and images are likely to be emotionally important. In addition, banking, utilities and other accounts are often linked to an e-mail address; gaining online access to those can help administer a person’s estate.

Of course, it’s important to protect the privacy of a person who has died—despite the general legal assumption that a dead person no longer has privacy that needs protecting.

The uniform state law does this by requiring a person to have left specific written permission for an executor to access an e-mail account.

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BY NATALIE BANTA Drake University

HAT will happen to your Facebook account when you die? What about all your photos shared on social media, your texts with loved ones, or documents on cloud-storage systems?

In just the two-year period from 2012 to 2014, humans produced more data than in all of human civilization before that—and the pace is only accelerating.

It’s not clear what people’s digital presences will look like in years to come, but it’s sure that an increasing number of people will be creating and accumulating growing reams of data until the day they die. But then what?

The law is very clear about handling paper documents and other physical property when someone dies.

But as a law professor at Drake Law School who has been studying property transfers for years, I’ve seen that laws, regulations and court rulings are only recently trying to figure out how to handle the ever-changing realm of digital technology.

So far, in most cases the information is controlled by the companies that store it—regardless of what users want or direct to happen after their death.

LAW CATCHING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY MANY people have had e-mail and other digital accounts for decades, some stretching back to the early pioneers in the 1960s. But large numbers of average people really only began creating significant digital footprints in the early part of the 21st century. Facebook and Gmail began operations in 2004; YouTube started in 2005; Twitter launched in 2006; the iPhone came out in 2007.

Almost a decade later, a group of lawyers from around the US developed a draft uniform law they encouraged all 50 states to adopt, which would allow people to specify in their wills that the executor of their estate can access their e-mail and social-media profiles. So far, 39 state legislatures have adopted it and seven more are considering it this year.

The uniform law doesn’t specify—and courts have not yet been asked to rule on—exactly how that access should happen. So for the moment, a dead person’s executor must contact the company behind each digital platform to determine how to get into the person’s accounts.

In states that haven’t passed this law, companies themselves can decide whether to allow loved ones access to a late relative’s digital assets. Yahoo, for example, is notorious for terminating an account upon a user’s death and forbidding access afterward.

MAKING PLANS FOR YOURSELF TO prepare yourself for a digital afterlife, the first task is to state, in writing, what you want to happen to your digital assets. Create a list of the accounts in your name, and determine which ones you want your executor to access— and which should be deleted.

Crucially, do not list usernames or passwords in your will, because a person’s will becomes a public document upon their death. Instead, consider recording access information for these accounts in a safe place—like password management software—and leave instructions for your executor to find them. It’s not yet clear whether credits and purchases with digital media accounts (like the Google Play Store or iTunes) or online reward account points can be transferred when their holder dies. The only solution for now may be to leave your executor with instructions on how to access the value stored in those accounts—and back up the media on external hard drives stored in a safe place.

Finally, check with the companies whose online services you use to see if they provide their own method to transfer assets at death. For example, Google has pioneered a method for its users to indicate what they want to have happen to their account if they don’t access it for several months.

By engaging in some simple estate planning, you can protect your privacy as well as ease the management of your estate after your death. Plan for your digital assets in the same way you would any other valuable tangible or intangible asset. After all, digital assets are today’s shoeboxes of photos, letters and other mementos. Planning can preserve your legacy in its digital form. AP

DREAMING OF A THAILAND VACAY? FLEX THOSE VLOGGING MUSCLES SO you know your way around vlogging and social media, and are also a budding makeup whiz. Well, bring those two skills together and make your Thailand dream vacation come true.

Use your makeup skills to create bold looks for a chance to win the grand prize in Ever Bilena’s The Big Beauty Challenge ongoing until March 25. The top winner in the weekly makeup tutorial video contest will win a trip for two to Phuket, Thailand, plus P50,000 cash and an additional P20,000 worth of Ever Bilena products. The grand winner will also sign an exclusive contract as a brand ambassador, and shall perform special projects for Ever Bilena.

The competition is open to video bloggers, aspiring and professional makeup artists residing in the Philippines. The contest requires participants to create a one- to three-minute makeup tutorial video on how to do a complete look following a specific theme and using only Ever Bilena products.

Participants can post as many videos as they want, but using models is not allowed.

Participants will be judged based on the following criteria: 4 percent creativity, 20 percent most number of Ever Bilena products used in the video, 20 percent makeup executions and skills; and 20 percent most number of views and shares. More information is available at www.everbilena.com.ph.

The contest, which began on December 14, will test the skills of participants as they create their own versions of Ever Bilena’s weekly theme, which will be announced every Friday on Ever Bilena’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/everbilenacosmetics). There will be one winner every week who will get P15,000 in cash. The weekly winner with the most number of video shares and likes will receive a special prize.

Weekly winners will automatically compete in the grand finals.

Participants will be judged based on the following criteria: 4 percent creativity, 20 percent most number of Ever Bilena products used in the video, 20 percent makeup executions and skills; and 20 percent most number of views and shares.

GABBI GARCIA’S NEW EXTRA DANCE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS SONY AUDIO PRODUCTS MULTI-HYPHENATE Gabbi Garcia heats up the screens in the latest Sony Extra Bass Dance Video.

In this special collab with the ATeam mega crew, she proves that she can also own the dance floor.

Gabbi and the ladies of the ATeam are embodiments of girl power in this Funkadelic dance routine that is easy to learn and extra on the dance floor.

“Funkadelic dance style focuses on waves or body flow but still strike definitive lines in between short bursts of movement. We think it best suits Gabbi, who exhibits finesse and power at the same time,” said Michael Arda, ATeam head

choreographer.

With the Sony Extra Bass dance challenge, Gabbi hopes to inspire young people to be bold in pursuing their passion for dance, and to always try something new. She even invites her fans to post their own videos, too.

Gabbi and the ATeam rely on Sony Extra Bass’s line of audio products to help improve their craft in dancing.

For rehearsing in big venues without an outlet in sight, there’s GTK-XB60. It is wireless, rechargeable and conveniently portable that you can bring it

anywhere.

If you are dancing with just a few of your crew around, you can get the SRS-XB31 speaker. It may be small and compact, but it still gives you nothing short of powerful bass.

For your alone time rehearsing your choreography, the MDR-XB650BT headphones gives you the freedom to move swiftly and effortlessly.

Take Gabbi and the ATeam’s cue—it’s time to make the most out of your dance rehearsals to make an impact on the floor.

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EU reaches tentative deal on copyright in digital age

BY RAF CASERT The Associated Press BRUSSELS—The European Union reached a tentative breakthrough deal late Wednesday on copyright issues in the digital age, which it claims will better reward authors, artists and journalists, and empower them in their relations with Internet giants.

The late evening deal between member-states and European Parliament legislators will seek to make sure that Internet platforms pay more for the use of creative work, and better protect press publishers from unauthorized digital reproduction and distribution. The agreement also says memes and GIFs can be shared freely.

“Freedoms and rights enjoyed by Internet users today will be enhanced, our creators will be better remunerated for their work, and the Internet economy will have clearer rules for operating and thriving,” EU Commissioner Andrus Ansip said.

Christian Borggreen, vice president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said the deal “could harm online innovation, scale-ups and restrict online freedoms in Europe.” After the political agreement, the memberstates and the EU parliament still need to officially approve the deal, but no major problems are expected after Wednesday’s breakthrough.

The publishing industry felt it was on the cusp of victory after a two-year legislative tussle.

“Quality journalism is at the heart of our democracies and if we want a future for professional journalism in the European Union, we must take action to support the press and to redress an unbalanced ecosystem,” the group of Europe’s press publishers said in a statement.

Many EU officials and legislators felt YouTube, Google News and other major Internet companies hold an undue edge in the digital marketplace.

“This deal is an important step toward correcting a situation which has allowed a few companies to earn huge sums of money without properly remunerating the thousands of creatives and journalists whose work they depend on,” said Axel Voss, a Christian Democrat member of the European Parliament.

With the new rulebook, Voss said, “it helps make the Internet ready for the future, a space which benefits everyone, not only a powerful few.”

Saturday, February 16, 2019 A11

Has the UK found a way to curb Facebook and Google?

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BY ALEX WEBB Bloomberg

LOWING the inexorable rise of Facebook Inc. and Google, the gatekeepers for news consumption online, can be a fool’s errand.

For all the noise of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook’s revenue still grew by 37 percent last year, while Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s sales climbed 23 percent.

Meanwhile, publishers’ revenue has faced a relentless squeeze as Silicon Valley sucks up more advertising dollars.

Which is why the approach taken by Frances Cairncross in her UK government-commissioned review into the sustainability of high-quality journalism looks to be sensible. Rather than attack the online platforms head-on, she has tried to strengthen the hand of publishers—an approach that will be harder for Silicon Valley to contest.

The drip-drip assault on tech firms from Europe is quickly developing into a torrent—but so far the punches have, at best, taken years to implement and, at worst, ended in embarrassing climbdowns. Spain and Germany are examples of countries that tried to crack the whip more forcefully, but their efforts to force Google to share more ad revenue with news organizations backfired: Some publishers couldn’t cope with the loss of traffic when Google simply erased them from news search results.

France has imposed an early data-protection fine on Google (which it is appealing) and the European Parliament could well reclassify tech firms and put them in the same category as utilities this week, which could ultimately force them to share more data or technology. But neither move is likely to have an immediate impact.

I won’t seek to engage with all 10 of Cairncross’s sweeping proposals here, but two in particular did stand out as being the most immediately actionable: a code of conduct to rebalance the relationship between publishers and online platforms, and cutting the 20-percent value-added tax for online publications to zero. (Books and newspapers have long been exempt.)

The latter is particularly astute because it provides an incentive for publications to charge digital subscriptions rather than to lean on ad sales— which are dominated, particularly on mobile,

by Facebook and Google. The two firms’s UK advertising revenue will climb to almost eight times the country’s newspaper industry’s revenue from print this year, according to estimates from

eMarketer, a research firm.

Cutting the cost of a digital subscription to the consumer provides an immediate incentive, as if one were needed, for publishers to curb their reliance on ads. It would come at little cost to the exchequer: At £210 million ($270 million), it equates to some 0.03 percent of total UK tax income, according to a report commissioned by publishing industry trade groups.

The code of conduct with independent oversight will be harder to implement, but both Google and Facebook have indicated they’re open to the idea.

Whipsawing decisions about what content to favor, particularly by Facebook, have blindsided publishers in the past. As I’ve written before, the CEOs of the two

firms would be wise to be amenable to such proposals if they’re to improve relationships with lawmakers and regulators.

That will be particularly important given that there are more crackdowns to come—particularly in the field of antitrust, where regulators are already probing the dominance of the big tech firms. Cairncross shrewdly recommends that they should also scrutinize the digital ads market.

In the meantime, Cairncross’s report provides some limited help for traditional publishers.

Its measured ambitions may be its greatest virtue: It might stand a better chance of success than previous, bigger efforts. ■

Apple doesn’t need to remake video to succeed at it IN Apple Inc.’s effort to become more than the iPhone company, it has become savvier about pitching people apps, started a digital music subscription and created an app for reading news.

Apple is still the iPhone company despite those tactics.

But consumers don’t have to wait long to see the next steps in Apple’s attempted transformation.

Among the company’s coming Internet add-ons is an online video service, with entertainment programs that Apple has been funding, and movies and TV series from other companies, as well. Unusually for the secretive Apple, it has all but acknowledged its video service is coming. (Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that Apple plans to announce its video offering next month.) Apple has also discussed a single fee for a combination of its Internet-related offerings such as news, video and the iCloud digital storage service.

I’ve been skeptical about Apple’s apparent strategy for its coming video service. It wants family-friendly programs that can be televised on a conventional television network, but an Apple entertainment app isn’t likely to have the same big and broad audience as the Super Bowl. Apple also will be fighting for consumers’ wallets with what seems like a billion other online video options.

And Apple’s track record in this category is far from stellar. The company has tried repeatedly to reinvent home entertainment but has been mostly on the sidelines during the radical reshaping of the last decade. I’ve had a change of heart. Apple may not need a coherent strategy, a wow product or Netflix-like subscriber numbers to declare victory—albeit a minor one—for its video service. What if the bar for Apple’s video service isn’t an entertainment-changing juggernaut like Netflix Inc., but something else? What if it’s HBO, and Apple is effectively its own cable television company selling it?

HBO is a good business. In 2018, the operation now owned by AT&T Inc. had about $6.5 billion in revenue, more than 140 million subscribers and ended the year with operating profit margins of 37 percent, according to AT&T

disclosures. Nice, right? For comparison, Apple’s operating margin is 26 percent and Netflix’s is 10 percent. From what is known about Apple’s video service, it sounds more like HBO than Netflix. People will get access to some buzz-worthy TV series and films, which is one of the big draws of HBO. If Apple’s video service is essentially HBO, then Apple itself will play the role of the cable television companies that often sell HBO as an add-on to TV service. Like those cable TV companies, Apple has a large built-in audience—900 million iPhones are in use around the world—to push people to buy more entertainment options.

We’ve seen that distribution power in Apple News, the app that is built into iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, which some news publications say attracts a large volume

of readers. Apple also says it has more than 50 million paying customers for Apple Music, and it helps that Apple can make its own music service front-and-center and offer free subscription trials to iPhone owners. The power of distribution is strong.

The difficulty I have with an Apple video service in the mold of HBO is that it seems safe, which is an odd thing to write about Apple.

An Apple HBO is not a Steve Jobs-like vision of reinventing an entire industry. It’s far less ambitious than several of Apple’s failed attempts in television. To be fair, we haven’t seen what Apple is cooking up, and it may have genuinely clever ideas in store. But in principle, charging a monthly fee for access to movies and TV series in an Apple-like design

does not seem like a big idea.

Underwhelming might be fine. Apple Music was relatively safe, and it did help get more people comfortable with streaming music for a fee. Apple is often not the first company to come up with an idea, but it has made some technologies easy to use, cool and ubiquitous. This power is not absolute, however, and Apple shouldn’t get overly confident in its ability to change people’s behavior in video.

One problem with safe is that it doesn’t change the financial path of a company the size of Apple. Let’s say it signs up as many subscribers as Apple Music has now, at $10 a month and with HBO’s profit margins. That’s a business of $6 billion a year and $2 billion of operating profits, or about 2 to 3 percent of Apple’s annual sales and operating income.

That shows how no single Internet service will on its own compensate for declining iPhone sales.

Where Apple might be innovative is in the packaging and combination of various Internet options such as news, photo storage, video and more with a single subscription price. This is not, however, the Apple of people’s imagination.

If the conversation about Apple’s video service or news subscription product focuses on the inventiveness of how it’s packaged together, it will show how little imagination there is in Apple’s vision of video entertainment and the technology behind it.

■ THIS IS ROUGHLY THE SAME NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS AS NETFLIX. HBO has been around a lot longer than Netflix, and many of its customers aren’t paying for HBO directly but through whatever company sells them television service. With about the same number of subscribers, Netflix had two and a half times HBO’s revenue in 2018.

■ TWO IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MUSIC AND VIDEO: Music is more tied to smartphones, where Apple has a powerful distribution platform, than streaming video, which is often watched on TVs. And unlike subscription music services at the time Apple Music was released in 2015, subscription video is mainstream already in many countries.

BLOOMBERG

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

GPS JAMMING DURING NATO DRILLS IN 2018 A BIG CONCERN COPENHAGEN, Denmark—The Norwegian Intelligence Service says GPS signal disruption as seen during major Nato drills in Norway last year “is of particular concern” for the military and “is also a threat to civil aviation in peacetime.”

The intelligence agency said on Monday in its annual report that the signal jamming “represents not only a new challenge” for Nato members, but saying Russia’s ability to projects its power “in peace, crisis and war will increase.”

Norway and Finland have protested against the incident during Nato’s Trident Juncture drills between October 25 and November 7, with Oslo saying Russian forces on the Arctic Kola peninsula were behind the GPS interference.

Moscow denies any involvement.

The GPS jamming isn’t believed to have caused any accidents. AP

AMAZON TO BUY WI-FI DEVICE MAKER EERO NEW YORK—Amazon is buying Wi-Fi device maker Eero, helping the online retailer expand its line of smart home gadgets.

Eero, founded in San Francisco five years ago, sells $200 devices that can spread Wi-Fi throughout a home. Rival Google already sells similar devices.

Seattle-based Amazon did not say how much it is paying for Eero. The deal is expected to be completed sometime in the first half of this year.

Amazon has been growing its smart home gadgets in recent years: Its voice-activated Echo devices have been a hit for the company, and last year it paid about $839 million to buy Ring, the maker of Wi-Fi-connected video doorbells. AP

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Saturday, February 16, 2019 A12

The most expensive phones in the world THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

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AST week, Huawei announced the local availability of their most exclusive and ultra-premium flagship device, the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 RS, and with a price tag of P99,990, its way up there with the iPhone XS Max and Samsung Note 9 and, most probably, the soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy S10.

It got me curious, so I checked if these are already among the most expensive phones ever manufactured (not modified with diamonds and other precious stones, so that $15.3-million Black Diamond iPhone 5 isn’t included).

Of course I was wrong. Those three flagships are bargains compared to the devices made by companies like Vertu and Goldvish. For example, the most affordable phone on this list I found on Android Authority costs as much as 100 pieces of Note 9s.

Here are the 10 most expensive phones in the world designed from the ground up: 10. DIOR REVERIES HAUTE COUTURE (ESTIMATE PRICE $100,000). There are only 99 units produced and each of them was assembled by hand in France. Why is it so expensive? It’s made from 18-carat white gold and features 1,539 diamonds, as well as 46 pieces of mother of pearl.

9. GOLDVISH ECLIPSE DESIRING ARCADIA (ESTIMATE PRICE $105,000). Goldvish’s most expensive phone is called the Eclipse Desiring Arcadia, which is listed on the company’s web site at €92,900. Its back is covered with premium alligator leather and studded with 320 diamonds.

8. ULYSSE NARDIN CHAIRMAN—DIAMOND EDITION (ESTIMATE PRICE $130,000). Ulysse Nardin is a luxury Swiss watch and the Diamond Edition of the Chairman is powered

by Android Gingerbread and sports a physical keyboard below the display. What makes it expensive is the 3,000 17-carat hand-cut diamonds. Exactly 1,846 units of the device were made as a tribute to the year the company was founded.

7. VERTU GOLDEN (ESTIMATE PRICE $180,000). The Golden series include the Kinko, Kikusui, Nanten, and Daigo, and each has a price tag of ¥20 million. The only difference between them are the designs on the back representing a different season of the year. They were only available in Japan and is made of gold.

6. SAVELLI EMERALD INSANE (ESTIMATE PRICE $185,000). Insane was targeted at women, and is made of 18-carat white gold, 75 baguette-cut emeralds, and 900 brilliant-cut diamonds and only eight units were made, with each one costing £145,000.

5. VIPN BLACK DIAMOND (ESTIMATE PRICE $300,000).

Made by a company called VIPN, the design created by Jaren Goh for Sony Ericsson. The Windows Mobile device features two diamonds—one at the back and one at the

front—that can easily be removed and implemented into a different piece of jewelry. Only five units of the VIPN Black Diamond were made.

4. VERTU SIGNATURE COBRA (ESTIMATE PRICE $360,000). Another creation by Vertu, this one prominently features a cobra wrapped around the edges up front. It is studded with the majority of the 439 rubies and two emeralds that serve as the snake’s eyes. Definitely not for those who are afraid of snakes. The Signature Cobra was designed by the French jewelry company Boucheron and assembled by hand in the UK. Only eight units were made.

3. GRESSO LUXOR LAS VEGAS JACKPOT (ESTIMATE PRICE $1 MILLION). You might really need to hit the jackpot to afford this phone, which has black diamonds on the front and 200-year-old African Blackwood on the back—one of the most expensive types of woods in the world. The keys are made from sapphires, while the restimate of the phone is manufactured from gold. Only three units were produced, each one with a unique number engraved at the back.

2. GOLDVISH LE MILLION (ESTIMATE PRICE $1.14 MILLION). Another Goldvish creation, this one retailed for €1 million, because it is made of 18-carat white gold and studded with 120-carats of VVS-1 graded diamonds.Only three of these luxury phones were made.

1. DIAMOND CRYPTO SMARTPHONE (ESTIMATE. $1.3 MILLION).The Diamond Crypto was made by a Russian company called JSC Ancort and Austrian jeweler Peter Aloisson. The phone is made from platinum except for the Ancort logo and the navigation key, both of which were created from 18-carat rose gold. The device also feature 50 diamonds—10 of them are blue—and is has expensive Macassar ebony wood on the sides. The Diamond Crypto Smartphone was meant for Russian VIPs, not only because of its high price tag but also because of its encryption technology that makes sure the user’s data on the device is safe. These phones earned their price tag because of their rarity and the materials used to create them, but not one particularly stood out for specs, so if you are looking for a luxury phone that’s packed with amazing tech, these phones aren’t for you (if you can even afford them).

What you can probably afford, however, is the the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 RS. It might not have the gold and precious stones, but it has the specs that can easily outshine those million dollar devices.

PRACTICAL BAGS PERFECT FOR TWINNING TECHIES

IF you have got plans to celebrate the love month with your significant other by booking an out-of-town trip, then you better gear up with these stylish yet practical bags that will keep your stuff and your significant other safe.

■ U ELEMENT: Get started on your getaway with the U Basic Switch Tech bag that will change the way you travel.

It’s a versatile everyday urban carry with a 2-in-1 functionality that converts a messenger bag into a backpack instantly.

It’s the perfect work-life that can fit and organize up to a 15-inch laptop, a 10-inch tablet, phone, power bank, keys, pen, among other things you may need to access a lot while on the road. It is designed also with reinforced cushioning for your laptop. U Basic Switch Tech ensures optimum protection for your gadget.

■ CABINZERO: Hot pink and red never looked this good together. Roam around the world in CabinZero’s lightweight bags that promise to never weigh you down. The brand’s classic Cabin bag is the ultimate traveling companion that will hold all your belongings with its spacious and roomy capacity, and can be easily carried to just about anywhere. Never worry about the hassle of checking in luggage anymore as these bags follow most airline hand-carry specifications. CabinZero bags have side compression straps, and front and inside zipped pockets to ensure your valuables, too. Plus, it comes with a built-in lost-and-found tag to let you trace your bag in case it gets lost or stolen.

■ PACSAFE: Now, if you’re an on-the-go type of couple, this versatile backpack is perfect for the two you. Pacsafe’s VentureSafe backpack will carry all your daily needs wherever you decide to explore. Whether you’re an active duo who are into hiking, biking, and running, or a city-crawling pair, this bag will safely and securely fit your belongings as it is equipped with anti-theft technology. The bag comes with an internal padded laptop sleeve that can fit a 15-inch device, and features a cut-resistant material plus an RFID blocking pocket.

Now, if you’re a girl who prefers exploring different cultures via a jam-packed city itinerary, the Citysafe CX Square Cross body bag is perfect for you because of its sturdy make—the bag is equipped with anti-theft technology and a clasp locking system that will let you roam the city worry-free. You also get easy access to all your essentials without fuss. The Citysafe CX Square Cross body bag will let you securely stash all your valuables in a stylish on-the-go tote that will match with all your outfits, too.

DIAMOND SUPPLY CO X PACSAFE

SPEAKING of PacSafe, the world’s leading anti-theft technology brand, it recently partnered with Diamond Supply Co. bringing together skateboarding and stylish travel technology. Together, they have developed the ultimate in secure carry solutions to keep skaters’ gear on lock.

The Republique Backpack is a bespoke anti-theft skate backpack. Made using durable material and world-class anti-theft Pacsafe Technology, smart pockets store your bearings, bolts, and more for fast access without you having to rummage through your bag in the middle of a session.

With hard-wearing material, space for your on-the-go essentials, and patented anti-theft Pacsafe’s Technology, the Southbank Slingback’s agile size lets you push through the city without the feeling of carrying heavy weight on you.

The Macba Hoodie stands out from conventional hoodies because of its numerous hidden pockets for your wallet, phone, headphones, passport and more, while its extralarge hood also allows for black-out sleep. Push around with maximum flexibility in discreet, minimalist style.

Each piece also features Pacsafe’s patented RFID safe technology, preventing unwanted scans. It blocks range 10MHz-3GHz, most commonly found in passports and credit cards. Other standout features include the PopNLock Security Clip and Roobar Locking System on the Republique Backpack and Southbank Sling, which lets you secure your bag to any rail or fixed object. The stainless steel reinforced straps add further protection from would-be thieves.

The limited-edition collection is inspired by passion, born from skating, and built with world-class technology. ■