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Tenuous holiday-season truce between govt, NDFP appears to be holding despite some skirmishes

IN this November 23, 2016, file photo, members of the New People’s Army read a local paper at their guerrilla encampment tucked in the wilderness of the Sierra Madre mountains southeast of Manila. AP/AARON FAVILA

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By Rene Acosta

HE government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the umbrella organization of so-called democratic forces in the country, agreed on a temporary cessation of armed hostilities toward the end of last year.

The holiday season cease-fire was apparently taken to pave the way, for the nth time, for the possible revival of the on-and-off peace negotiations in what was seen as yet another attempt by President Duterte to strike a peace deal with communist-inspired “political recidivists.”

The decision of the Commander in Chief to take the course toward restarting the talks surprised many officials, especially hawks in the defense-military establishment, given the repeated assertion that the government’s anti-insurgency campaign was going well.

However, according to Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo, the President had wanted to give the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), another chance at peace, probably his last offer in his remaining two years in office.

Gain claims

FOR the rebels, Duterte’s decision to reengage them in negotiations was an implied admission that the government cannot stop the communist-inspired insurgency in its

current track, and such projection of strength was repeated during the celebration of the CPP’s 51 years of existence on December 26, 2019.

Even before and right after Duterte had formally terminated the talks with the NDFP in December 2018—through the issuance of Executive Order 70, which paved the way for the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac)—the rebels have been saying that if they had managed to survive previous administrations, there is no reason they cannot en-

dure Duterte’s six-year term which ends in 2022.

The only thing that could end the communist movement, they said, is a negotiated political solution by way of peace talks.

On the other hand, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has maintained that the rebels are in continuous decline, given the steady and unprecedented surrender of their comrades through the efforts of the various regional, provincial and local task forces on Elcac.

“We have heightened our inContinued on A2

STATEMENT BY CHINESE EMBASSY SPOKESPERSON ON THE ARTICLE ‘THE CHINESE AGENDA’

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HE Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Philippines expresses its grave concern and strong opposition to an article entitled “The Chinese Agenda” on the December 28, 2019, edition of BusinessMirror, using so-called “President Tsai Ing-wen” and the image of the so-called “Taiwan’s national flag” to wrongly implicate Taiwan as a sovereign country. In addition, the article includes such false views as China dealing with South China Sea issue mostly by way of intimidation. The aforesaid report sent out misleading message to the public.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Chinese government consistently adheres to one China principle, and firmly opposes any attempt to create “two Chinas” or “one China and one Taiwan”. People across the Taiwan Straits are brothers and sisters connected by flesh and blood, and blood is thicker than water. China adheres to the principle of “one country, two systems”, and will do its utmost, with absolute sincerity, to strive for a peaceful reunification.

Up to now, 180 countries, including the Philippines, have established diplomatic relations with China and they all acknowledge the One-China Principle and promise to handle their relations with Taiwan within the one-China framework. One China principle also serves as the political foundation of China-Philippines relations, as enshrined in the 1975 Joint Communiqué be-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.6460

tween our two countries upon establishing diplomatic ties and the Philippine government has ever since been committed to this principle in real earnest.

China is committed to uphold world peace. Over the past 70 years, China has grown from a poor and weak country to the world’s second largest economy not by committing military expansion or colonial plunder, but through the hard work of its people and our efforts to uphold peace. China will never waver in its pursuit of peaceful development. No matter how strong its economy grows, China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence. History has borne this out and will continue to do so.

On the South China Sea issue, China has no hidden agenda, but a peaceful solution. The Chinese government is committed to settling the South China Sea disputes by peaceful means with the states concerned through direct and friendly negotiation. China has been working closely with Asean members to uphold peace, stability as well as freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The Chinese Embassy sincerely hopes that BusinessMirror would respect the position and facts stated above, recognize the sensitivity and complexity of the issue, and refrain from publishing misleading articles in the future.

n JAPAN 0.4666 n UK 66.5539 n HK 6.5030 n CHINA 7.2722 n SINGAPORE 37.5796 n AUSTRALIA 35.3813 n EU 56.5766 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5034

Source: BSP (January 3, 2020)

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

LAST CRACK AT PEACE A2 Sunday, January 5, 2020

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Continued from A1

ternal security operations this year, aligned with the President’s agenda to end local communist armed conflict and other terrorist activities,” said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in his yearend message.

“In 2019, Task Force BalikLoob, headed by Undersecretary for Civil, Veterans and Retiree Affairs Reynaldo B. Mapagu, has extended the government’s support to former NPA rebels through various government programs provided by member and partner-agencies of the task force,” he added.

The defense chief said the military is also continuing to serve the needs of rebel-affected communities through the “Community Support Program” as part of the “whole of nation” approach in ending the insurgency.

Beefing up rebel units

ON the occasion of the CPP anniversary, CPP founder Jose Maria Sison claimed that the movement’s armed wing has managed to form more units, aside from beefing up its militia groups and underground mass-based organizations.

“It keeps on creating new units of the people’s army and the auxiliary forces of the people’s militia and the self-defense units in mass organizations,” Sison said in a statement.

“The NPA personnel are rotated periodically for combat and other non-combat tasks in order to develop their skills in a well-rounded war,” he added.

Sison said the CPP is deter-

IN this December 26, 2013, file photo, Communist New People’s Army rebels hold weapons in formation in the hinterlands of Davao, Southern Philippines. AP

mined to lead the NPA in bringing about the full development of the “strategic defensive of the people’s war” to the advanced stage from the middle phase through extensive and intensive guerrilla warfare.

The current administration, Sison said, is currently surrounded by the “legal democratic movement, the revolutionary movement and by the intrasystemic conservative opposition.”

He said Duterte has “offered peace negotiations with the NDFP because his efforts to destroy the CPP and mass-based organizations have failed.”

Communism in decline

WHILE Sison insisted on touting the communists’ gains, the military, however, said the communist movement is on a steady downtrend, both in terms of manpower and influence in all areas where it operates.

The decline was borne by the consistent surrender and neutralization of its leaders and members, including members of its mass-based support groups and auxiliary forces like the Milisya ng Bayan (MB), according to military officials.

In Central Luzon, Col. Andrew Costelo, commander of the Army’s 703rd Infantry Brigade, said more than 700 rebels and their supporters had surrendered to the government in the last quarter of last year alone.

Two groups of farmers, the Malayang Aniban ng mga Magsasaka sa Manggang Marikit, Bagong Barrio at Yuson (Mammbayu) and Nagkakaisang Magsasaka sa Nampicuan (Namana), have also cut their ties with the NPA and availed themselves of community support programs dangled by the military.

The Mammbayu, organized in the 1990s as a mass-based group for the rebels, illegally occupied a 100-hectare lot in Nueva Ecija, putting it in conflict for 28 years with another farmers’ group to which the land has been awarded through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

On the other hand, Namana, also a mass-based group of the NPA, was allegedly involved in the forced and illegal occupation of a hacienda.

Maj. Gen. Lenard Agustin, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, said the stream of surrenders was a result of the “whole of nation” approach in dealing with

THIS August 22, 2016, file photo shows Wilma Austria Tiamzon (left), Benito Tiamzon (center), who were released from prison August 17, 2016, to participate in talks, and Jose Maria Sison (right), at the start of peace negotiations hosted by Norway between Philippine government officials and rebels. BERIT ROALD / NTB SCANPIX VIA AP

the insurgency.

In Southern Tagalog, a big number of rebels and their supporters have also yielded to the government, while a number of their leaders have been neutralized, including Jaime Padilla and Armando Lazarte, who allegedly held key positions in regional and national levels of the underground movement.

“Such accomplishments are on top of the numerous encounters and surrenders, which resulted [in the] drastic decrease in the NPA’s manpower and firearms, thereby rendering them irrelevant and pushing them on the brink of collapse,” Army 2nd Infantry Division commander Brig. Gen Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said.

“Indeed, their eventual dismantling and the liberation of Southern Tagalog from the clutches of these communist terrorists is just a matter of time,” he added.

Burgos, known to his peers as the “consensus builder,” said the activation and operations of the regional Elcacs in Calabarzon and Mimaropa have been effective in addressing the root causes of insurgency, thereby denying the rebels their “much-needed mass base support, which, in turn, denies them the area to operate and exist.”

In Eastern Mindanao, at least 696 regular members of the NPA surrendered last year while another 85 were arrested and 56 others were killed during encounters, according to government data.

Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey said the number of “atrocities” perpetrated by the rebels went down steadily from 2018

up to last year.

“Based on the recorded atrocities perpetrated by the CTGs [communist terrorist groups] from firstquarter 2018 to this date, there is a downward slope per quarter, with 45 atrocities recorded in the first quarter of 2018 (Q1 2018), 38; Q2 2018 46; Q3 2018, 28; Q4 2018, 23:Q1 2019, 24; Q2 2019, 17; Q3 2019) down to nine for this quarter,” Balagtey said.

The local military spokesman said at least 689 firearms were turned over to the military by former rebels last year, while 364 were captured during encounters.

Likewise, 6,283 rebel supporters, or members of underground mass organizations, have severed their ties with the NPA. “As of this time, nine municipalities, four cities, 46 municipalities, and 24 organizations in the whole area of EMC [Eastern Mindanao Command] declared the CTGs as persona non grata which forced them to be mobile and consolidate in the political boundaries of provinces,” Balagtey said.

He said soldiers recorded a total of 275 armed encounters with rebels last year and discovered 302 hideouts all over Eastern Mindanao.

As the tit-for-tat claims of strength continue, meanwhile, preparations for the latest attempt at peace negotiations are also ongoing. Whether or not this fresh attempt will truly lead to a just, comprehensive and lasting solution remains a big question. Yet, it speaks much of both sides that, for all their massive differences, they are willing to take this one new crack at peace.

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Thai baht and Taiwan dollar tussle for supremacy in Asia

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merging Asia’s top-performing currency in 2019 may find itself dethroned this year by a rival that’s also armed with a strong current-account surplus.

Both the Thai baht, which took the regional crown with a 9-percent gain last year versus the US dollar, and the Taiwanese dollar climbed above the psychologically significant 30-per-dollar level this week. Scotiabank, among the top forecasters for Thailand’s currency last year, recommends investors place long bets on the Taiwan dollar and use the baht to fund the purchase.

“The Taiwan dollar is expected to rally further amid continued capital inflows,” said Qi Gao, a Singapore-based strategist with the Canadian bank, which was consistently ranked by Bloomberg

as among the top 3 forecasters for the baht last year. “Thailand’s regulators are concerned about the currency’s strength. They said yesterday they’re considering new currency measures.”

The trade strategy, which Scotiabank first recommended on December 17, has room to run through the first quarter at least, Gao said. He expects more funds flowing into Taiwan from investments by local firms returning from mainland China despite the prospect of a phase one trade deal between the US and China. The baht will likely slow its advance from last year, he said.

And if momentum is any indication, the Taiwan dollar may be poised to move into the lead. It has already gained about 1.9 percent against the baht in the last three months. Bloomberg News

Economic ‘doom loops’ get harder to avoid in 2020s

By Satyajit Das

Bloomberg Opinion

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he world’s advanced economies are trying to keep their balance on an unstable platform of high consumption, asset prices and household debt as we enter the 2020s. Any significant shock, or increase in volatility, could trigger “ doom loops” that compromise the economic and financial systems.

The great recession ended more than a decade ago. In recent years, personal consumption augmented by government deficit spending has underpinned growth. Rising employment helped people purchase more. But with wage growth low, borrowing against buoyant housing and stock prices was a major factor in consumption. Central bank and government policies that engineered high asset prices and collateral values allowed scope for additional borrowing.

In theory, the wealth effect increases consumption. But higher asset prices may not translate into cash flow and households can go deeper into debt. Think of using low interest rates to invest in the residence, borrowing against home equity and undertaking leveraged purchases of rental properties and financial assets to build wealth.

Global household debt has reached around 75 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), with especially high levels in some advanced economies. The comparable figure was around 57 percent in 2007 and 42 percent in 1997.

Even with very low interest rates, household debt service ratios, which measure aggregate principal and interest repayments to income, remain high, ranging from 8 percent to 16 percent.

This high consumption/prices/debt combination is unsustainable and can lead to self-reinforcing feedback loops. Initially, increases in asset prices facilitate an expansion in credit and consumption that leads to further price rises. Slower growth, unemployment, or falling income or asset values can quickly send the cycle into reverse.

Negative shocks ripple through the structure of household finances. Looked at from a balance sheet perspective, assets such as houses and financial investments are financed by mortgages and other debt. On a cash flow view, employment and investment income must cover consumption and debt repayments.

A ny income shock—unemployment, lower earnings, de-

clines in interest or dividend income—must be offset by reduced consumption. Higher debt repayments or inability to refinance pressures the ability to consume.

Falling housing prices or values of financial investments weaken the household balance sheet, forcing reduced consumption or accelerated debt reduction.

These first-order effects spread through successive disturbances, which rapidly amplify the stress.

One area of contagion is the financial sector. Major negative shocks expose excessive risk-taking by borrowers and lenders. If employment markets worsen, vulnerable households can’t service bor row ings. Non-per for ming loans increase. Banks tighten credit, making it less available, harder to get and more expensive.

Maturing debt becomes difficult for borrowers to refinance even where repayments are current, worsening cash flow pressures.

Forced sales, defaults and repossessions set off a spiral of falling prices across asset classes.

Shrinking household net wealth and collateral value force even less consumption. Postponed home purchases and upgrades impact construction. This has a material impact on the US and euro area, where housing accounts for about one‑sixth of the economies.

Where banks are a major part of the stock market, such as in the US, UK and Australia, further contagion comes from reduced bank profits pressuring share prices and dividends. The loss of net worth and income further hits consumption by investors who rely on this cash flow.

Then there are government finances. General tax collections decline. Direct revenue derived from property and financial transactions falls. If the government has to support financial institutions—a persistent feature of asset price busts—the funds required to recapitalize banks and guarantee deposits stress government balance sheets. These are already weaker after 2008. Capital flight or reduced inflows as foreign investors exit squeeze the current account and currency.

The cycle continues through successive phases until a new balance is achieved. Australia has just experienced this process. A shock induced by tightening credit conditions set off falling house prices that slowed growth and weakened the financial sector.

Interest rate cuts of 0.75 percent, loosening credit controls and government actions have brought temporary stability.

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Bitcoin’s 9,000,000% rise this decade leaves skeptics aghast

By Vildana Hajric

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Bloomberg News

f in the throes of this bull market’s earliest stages of recovery someone told you to forgo stocks, forget commodities, renounce fixed-income assets and buy an unknown digital token, the first of its kind, and watch it grow beyond your wildest dreams, you’d call them crazy, right?

Emerging out of the ashes of the financial crisis, Bitcoin was created as a bypass to the banks and government agencies mired in Wall Street’s greatest calamity in decades. At first, it was slow to break through, muddied by a slew of scandals: fraud, thefts and scams that turned away many and brought closer regulatory scrutiny.

But once it burst into the mainstream, it proved to be the decade’s best-performing asset.

The largest digital token, trading around $7,200, has posted gains of more than 9,000,000 percent since July 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Bitcoin really captured that wild technology enthusiasm that ‘this time is different,’” said Peter Atwater, the president of Financial Insyghts and an adjunct professor at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The performance over the past 10 years, even with its huge run-up and subsequent mega-crash, leaves all others in the dust. It’s a massive windfall for those who HODL’ed through its ups and downs, even as it continues to provide fodder for

get-rich-quick schemes. For some, the never-ending fantasy of continually hitting that payoff still helps to keep Bitcoin’s momentum going.

Nothing else comes even close to beating it. The S&P 500 merely tripled in that period. An index that tracks world markets has more than doubled. Gold is up 25 percent.

Some of the best-performing stocks in the Russell 3000—including Exact Sciences Corp. and Intelligent Systems Corp.—are each up about 3,000 percent. Those gains pale in comparison to the finance world’s latest—and one of its most controversial—marvels.

Partly, the monster return is a ref lection of the calculus behind Bitcoin’s jumping- of f point: the token wasn’t worth anything when someone named Satoshi Nakamoto launched it on Halloween 2008. Designed as a method of exchange that can be sent electronically between users around the world, it did not have a centralized control network. Bitcoin, instead, is run by a network of computers that keep track of all transactions on the blockchain ledger. For

many, that technology was reason enough to buy into the idea.

On the other side of the equation are Bitcoin’s devoted enthusiasts who saw in its technology a promising way to change the global financial system.

“This is the first time that there’s a real separation—just like church and state—you have a separation of money and state,” said Alex Mashinsky, founder of Celsius Network, a crypto lending platform. “That’s the innovation, that’s the excitement.”

But Bitcoin was slow to take off, notching its first transaction two years after its creation, when someone used it to buy pizza. Since then, the first-born token’s price has catapulted, doubling many times over, and hundreds of imitators have cropped up—some with more success than others.

Many of those who got in early stayed faithful, watching as it made its way through a boom and bust cycle unrivaled by almost anything else over the last decade.

At the beginning of 2017, Bitcoin jumped above $1,000. By midsummer, it had more than doubled.

Insanity was unleashed. By yearend, it hovered above $14,000. But as swiftly as it ran up, it fell even faster. By the end of 2018, Bitcoin barely budged above $3,000. Yet shortly after its crash, it embarked on another huge rally, this time reaching as high as $13,800 in the summer of 2019.

“Certainly the numbers are what appeals to investors,” said David Tawil, president of ProChain Capital. “The next 10 years need to be a totally different stage of growth based on totally different factors than the first stage.”

As much as it’s made a fortune for speculators and some thieves, Bitcoin’s survival will rest on

further adoption. It’s not being used as a widespread medium of exchange. A few large retailers are accepting payment in Bitcoin but it hasn’t been the large-scale embrace so many had predicted.

Scams are still running rampant.

Interest is waning and consolidation among large owners is at a higher level than it was during the height of the 2017 bubble, which means that their influence over prices could be increasing.

Projections for the next decade abound. In the 2020s, mass adoption is surely to take off, they say.

Blockchain technology will revolutionize and solve every problem in the world. On the other hand, regulatory scrutiny is likely to intensify, with central bankers paying closer attention than ever before.

In the more immediate term, some speculators forecast 2020 might be less fraught with volatility given its upcoming halving, whereby the number of coins awarded to so-called miners who process transactions is cut by 50 percent. That’s set to happen in May 2020 (the Internet is replete with countdown clocks). The coin’s previous cut, about four years ago, coincided with a run-up in its price, pushing many crypto evangelist to believe in a repeat.

To CoinList’s Andy Bromberg, the halving is already priced in.

“Maybe it’s been overpriced in and everyone’s bought into this thesis and we see a dip post-halving,” said the firm’s cofounder and president in an interview. “That would not shock me.”

But beyond next year, “Bitcoin is finding its own narrative as digital gold,” he said. “It feels like that narrative is picking up steam and it’s breaking away on its own. I would define success for most crypto assets as doing exactly that.”

These are the world’s safest and most punctual airlines

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he world’s safest and most punctual airlines are in the Asia-Pacific region.

Qantas Airways Ltd. was named safest airline in the world on a top-20 list published by AirlineRatings.com, followed by Air New Zealand Ltd. and Taiwan’s Eva Airways Corp. Singapore Airlines Ltd. was sixth, Cathay Pacific Airways ninth and Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. 10th.

AirlineRatings.com said it takes into account factors, including audits by governing and industry bodies, crash and serious incident record, profitability and fleet age.

In a separate survey by OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd., PT Garuda Indonesia was crowned 2019’s most punctual carrier. Panama’s Copa Airlines SA ranked second among airlines arriving or departing within 15 minutes of scheduled times. Japan’s Skymark Airlines Inc., Hawai-

AN Airbus SAS A330-300 aircraft of Qantas Airways Ltd., takes off from Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, February 20, 2018.Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

ian Airlines Inc. and Latam Airlines Group SA rounded out the top 5.

Among major US carriers, Delta Air Lines Inc. was the only one to make it into the top 20.

The number of global air passengers will double to 8.2 bil-

lion by 2037 thanks to economic growth and a swelling middle class, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). More than half of those fliers will come from the AsiaPacific region, led by demand

from countries like China and India. About 4.7 billion people are expected to travel this year, 4 percent more than in 2019, IATA said in December.

Among mega airports ranked by OAG—those catering to more than 30 million airline seats—Moscow Sheremetyevo topped the list for the best on-time performance last year. The ranking is based on the proportion of flights at each airport that arrive and leave within 15 minutes of scheduled times.

In contrast to the poor showing of its airlines, the US’s airports were top performers for punctuality. Six of the top 10 on-time airports were American, with Atlanta ranking fourth. Seattle came in fifth and Los Angeles seventh.

John F. Kennedy airport entered the top 10, while Bangkok and Amsterdam dropped out.

Bloomberg News

Kim Jong Un gives up on Trump, prepares to endure U.S. sanctions

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im Jong Un is giving up on hopes that US President Donald Trump will lift sanctions anytime soon.

Alongside the Nor th Korean leader ’s l a t e s t s a b e r - r a t t l i n g t h i s we e k w a s a stunning admission: Efforts to engage the US had failed. Kim’s plan now is to find a way to sur vive under crushing economic sanctions while building an even stronger nuclear deterrent to force Washington to compromise.

“We can never sell our dignity, which we have so far defended as something as valuable as our own lives, in the hope of a brilliant transformation,” Kim said, according to excerpts from an unusual seven-

hour speech this week to party leaders in Pyongyang. “The DPRK-US standoff, which has lasted for generations, has now been compressed into a clear standoff between self-reliance and sanctions.”

While Kim blamed the crisis on what he called American treachery, his remarks were an implicit acknowledgment that his decision to play down his nuclear program in a bid for sanctions relief didn’t work.

Nor th Korea still languishes under the same international blockade it did in 2018, when Kim announced he was prioritizing the economy over weapons development, halted missile tests and held the first of three unprecedented meetings with Trump.

Kim’s latest plan sounds a lot like a return to his “Byungjin Line” of 2013, which called for paying equal attention to developing North Korea’s economy and solidifying its status as a nuclear-armed power. This time, Kim made party leaders pledge to carry out a policy called “the offensive for frontal breakthrough,” a strategy that he said would require political, diplomatic and military action. The nation must “tighten our belts,” he said.

The shift illustrates the limits of Kim’s historic diplomatic gains, including more than a dozen meetings with heads of state and government since making his first trip abroad in March 2018. Although his rekindled ties with Cold War-era allies such as China

and Russia have provided some promise of tourist cash, food aid and diplomatic support, he can’t escape the most biting American, South Korean and United Nations sanctions without Washington’s blessing.

“This was Kim clearly rejecting the Trump administration’s proposal offering Nor th Korea a bright future for its economy,” said Shin Bum-chul, who studies inter-Korean relations at the Asan Institute for Policy studies and is a former researcher in South Korea’s defense ministr y. “ Instead, it ’s seen as North Korea deciding to strive for independent economic growth, which would serve as grounds for becoming a legitimate nuclear state.” Bloomberg News

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The World BusinessMirror

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Boris Johnson’s top aide seeks ‘weirdos’ to change British govt

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oris Johnson’s top adviser wants to recruit “weirdos and misfits” as part of a drive to overhaul the way the UK government works.

In a 3,000-word blog post, Dominic Cummings said he’s seeking an “unusual set of people with different skills and backgrounds” to work in Downing Street—and that he wants to be made “largely redundant” by the new intake. Hinting at a wider restructuring of the civil service, he said there are “profound problems at the core of how the British state makes decisions.”

“It is obvious that improving government requires vast improvements in project management,” Cummings said. “The first project will be improving the people and skills already here.”

Since Johnson stormed to the biggest Conservative majority in more than three decades in the December 12 general election, the British press has been filled with speculation about which government departments might be scrapped, merged or overhauled. Cummings’s blog confirms that the prime minister’s top team is actively looking at how to do this.

“One of the problems with the civil service is the way in which people are shuffled such that they either do not acquire expertise or they are moved out of areas they really know to do something else,” Cummings wrote. “It is clear Whitehall does this too much while

also not training general management skills properly. There are not enough people with deep expertise in specific fields.”

Brexit

The UK’s departure from the European Union “requires many large changes in policy and in the structure of decision-making,” Cummings said, and there are people in the government now prepared to take risks to “change things a lot.”

Johnson’s large majority means there’s “little need to worry about short-term unpopularity while trying to make rapid progress with long-term problems.”

In his esoteric posting, Cummings listed the qualifications he’s looking for and suggested v id e o s a nd re s e a rc h p a p e r s candidates should be familiar with. He’s seeking to hire data scientists, software developers, economists, and policy experts, as well as “weirdos and misfits with odd skills.”

Elaborating on what he means, Cummings expressed his disdain for political correctness, saying the government needs to hire people with “true cognitive diversity,” rather than “gender identity diversity blah blah.”

“True wild cards” are needed, he said, while the government must also “figure out how to use such people better without asking them to conform to the horrors of ‘Human Resources’ [which also obviously need a bonfire].”

No dates

One new hire may serve as Cummings’s personal assistant.

“This will involve a mix of very interesting work and lots of uninteresting trivia that makes my life easier which you won’t enjoy,” he wrote. “You will not have weekday date nights, you will sacrifice many weekends—frankly it will be hard having a boy/girlfriend at all. It will be exhausting but interesting.”

Bloomberg News

Soleimani, a general who became Iran icon by targeting US

By Nasser Karimi & Jon Gambrell The Associated Press

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EHRAN, Iran—For Iranians whose icons since the Islamic Revolution have been stern-faced clergy, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani widely represented a figure of national resilience in the face of four decades of US pressure.

For the US and Israel, he was a shadowy figure in command of Iran’s proxy forces, responsible for fighters in Syria backing President Bashar Assad and for the deaths of American troops in Iraq.

Soleimani survived the horror of Iran’s long war in the 1980s with Iraq to take control of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, responsible for the Islamic Republic’s foreign campaigns.

Relatively unknown in Iran until the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Soleimani’s popularity and mystique grew out American officials calling for his killing. By the time it came a decade and a half later, Soleimani had become Iran’s most recognizable battlefield commander, ignoring calls to enter politics but becoming as powerful, if not more, than its civilian leadership.

“The warfront is mankind’s lost parad ise,” Soleimani recounted in a 2009 inter view.

“One type of paradise that is portrayed for mankind is streams, beautiful nymphs and greeneries. But there is another kind of paradise...the warfront was the lost paradise of the human beings, indeed.”

A US air strike killed Soleimani, 62, and others as they traveled from Baghdad’s international air port early Friday mor ning. T he Pent agon sa id President Donald Trump ordered the US military to take “decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing” a man once referred to by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “living martyr of the revolution.”

Soleimani’s luck ran out after being rumored dead several times in his life. Those incidents included a 2006 airplane crash that killed other military officials in northwestern Iran and a 2012 bombing in Damascus that killed top aides of Assad.

More recently, rumors circulated in November 2015 that

In this September 18, 2016, file photo provided by an official web site of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani (center) attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran. Iraqi TV and three Iraqi officials said Friday, January 3, that Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has been killed in an air strike at Baghdad’s international airport.

Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, file

Soleimani was killed or seriously wounded leading forces loyal to Assad as they fought around Syria’s Aleppo.

Iranian officials quickly vowed to take revenge amid months of tensions between Iran and the US following Trump pulling out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. While Soleimani was the Guard’s most prominent general, many others in its ranks have experience in waging the asymmetrical, proxy attacks for which Iran has become known. “ Trump through his gamble has drag ged the US into the most dangerous situation in the region,” Hessameddin Ashena, an adviser to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, wrote on the s o c i a l me d i a ap p Te le g r a m .

“W hoever put his foot beyond the red line should be ready to face its consequences.”

Born March 11, 1957, Soleimani was said in his homeland to have grown up near the mountainous and the historic Iranian town of Rabor, famous for its forests, its apricot, walnut and peach harvests and its brave soldiers.

The US State Department has said he was born in the Iranian religious capital of Qom. Little is known about his childhood, though Iranian accounts suggest Soleimani’s father was a peasant who received a piece of land under the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, but later became encumbered by debts.

By the time he was 13, Soleimani began working in construction, later as an employee of the Ker man Water Organization.

Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution swept the shah from power and Soleimani joined the Revolutionary Guard in its wake. He was deployed to Iran’s northwest with forces that put down Kurdish unrest following the revolution.

Soon after, Iraq invaded Iran and began the two countries long, bloody eight-year war. The fighting killed more than 1 million people and saw Iran send waves of lightly armed troops into minefields and the fire of Iraqi forces, including teenage soldiers. Soleimani ’s unit and others came under attack by Iraqi chemical weapons, as well.

Amid the carnage, Soleimani became known for his opposition to “meaningless deaths” on the battlefield, while still weeping at times with fer vor when exhorting his men into combat, embracing each individually.

After the Iraq-Iran war, Soleimani largely disappeared from public view for several years, something analysts attribute to his wartime disagreements with Hashemi Rafsanjani, who would serve as Iran’s president from 1989 to 1997. But after Rafsanjani, Soleimani became head of the Quds force.

He also grew so close to Khamenei that the Supreme Leader officiated the wedding of the general’s daughter.

As chief of the Quds—or Jerusalem—Force, Soleimani oversaw the Guard’s foreign operations and soon would come to the attention of Americans following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

In secret US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, US officials openly discussed Iraqi efforts to reach out to Soleimani to stop rocket attacks on the highly secured Green Zone in Baghdad in 2009. Another cable in 2007 outlines then-Iraqi President Jalal Talabani offering a US official a message from Soleimani acknowledging having “hundreds” of agents in the country while pledging, “I swear on the grave of [the late Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini I haven’t authorized a bullet against the US.” US officials at the time dismissed Soleimani’s claim as they saw Iran as both an arsonist and a fireman in Iraq, controlling some Shiite militias while simultaneously stirring dissent and launching attacks. US forces would blame the Quds Force for an attack in Karbala that killed five American troops, as well as for training and supplying the bomb makers whose improvised explosive devices made IED— improvised explosive device—a dreaded acronym among soldiers.

In a 2010 speech, US Gen. David Petraeus recounted a message from Soleimani he said explained the scope of Iranian’s powers.

“He said, ‘Gen. Petraeus, you should know that I, Qassem Soleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan,’” Petraeus said.

The US and the United Nations put Soleimani on sanctions lists in 2007, though his travels continued. In 2011, US officials also named him as a defendant in an outlandish Quds Force plot to allegedly hire a purported Mexican drug cartel assassin to kill a Saudi diplomat.

But his g reatest notor iet y would arise from the Syrian civil war and the rapid expansion of the Islamic State group. Iran, a major backer of Assad, sent Soleimani into Syria several times to lead attacks against IS and others opposing Assad ’s rule.

While a US-led coalition focused on air strikes, several ground victories for Iraqi forces came with photographs emerging of Soleimani leading, never wearing a flak jacket.

“Soleimani has taught us that death is the beginning of life, not the end of life,” one Iraqi militia commander said.

Editor: Angel R. Calso

What’s known and not known about Ghosn’s case after escape

By Yuri Kageyama The Associated Press

T

OKYO—Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn fled Japan this week while awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges and appeared in Lebanon. A look at the unfolding case of the fallen superstar of the auto industry:

Where he is Ghosn, who is Lebanese and also holds French and Brazilian passports, arrived in Lebanon Monday using a private plane via Turkey. Lebanese Justice Minister Albert Serhan told The Associated Press that Ghosn entered the country with a legal passport. Ghosn, who has not appeared in public, issued a statement saying he left to avoid a “rigged Japanese justice system.”

He later denied his family members’ role in the escape, stressing he did it alone. He said he will talk to reporters next week. Serhan said Lebanese prosecutors will question Ghosn, but there are no charges pending against him in Lebanon.

How he got out Little is known about how Ghosn was able to leave Japan. He picked a time where security lapses are more likely—government offices are closed all week for New Year holidays. But his whereabouts were closely monitored, including by 24-hour security camera coverage, and his lawyers supposedly had all his passports. He was able to use the Internet only in his lawyer’s office, and he was forbidden from seeing his wife, Carole Ghosn. They were recently allowed video calls, but only in the presence of his lawyer. His chief lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said he had no knowledge of the escape and was stunned by it. The dramatic disappearance has set off wild speculation he was carted off inside a musical instrument case.

Ghosn as fugitive Interpol issued a wanted notice Thursday for Ghosn. Lebanon, which does not have an extradition treaty with Japan, must now decide how to respond.

Expectations are low that Lebanon would hand over Ghosn. Interpol’s Red Notice is a nonbinding request for law-enforcement agencies to locate and provisionally arrest a fugitive. The notice is not an arrest warrant. Legal experts say Ghosn’s ability to travel will be restricted.

Japan’s response Japanese prosecutors raided Ghosn’s Tokyo home Thursday. Prosecutors had opposed his release on bail. Turkey made several arrests as part of an investigation into how he passed through the country. Japanese government officials have not said anything in public about Ghosn’s escape but they revoked the ¥1.5-billion ($14 million) bail. Trying someone in absentia is rare in Japan.

A trial dealing with allegations against Nissan as a company and Greg Kelly, another Nissan executive, will continue. A date has not been set.

The charges Ghosn, first arrested in November 2018, has repeatedly denied the charges against him. Part of the allegations centers around Ghosn failing to report in official documents compensation promised to him. Ghosn has said those payments were never decided on. Nissan filed additional papers concerning the compensation after his arrest. Other charges of breach of trust involve Nissan money allegedly diverted to Ghosn for personal gain, including payments in Oman and Saudi Arabia. Ghosn has said those payments were for legitimate services. Prosecutors have released few specifics, saying they will do so at the trial. If convicted on all counts, Ghosn could face the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The conviction rate in Japan is higher than 99 percent.

Ghosn as star Ghosn built a stellar reputation for his managerial acumen in transforming Nissan over the last two decades from near-bankruptcy to one of the biggest global auto brands. Several of his books on management were translated in Japanese, and one depicts him as a manga comic-book character. Especially in his early years, he was cheered as a celebrity, admired for his hard work, and dubbed “7-11” after the convenience-store chain for the hours he kept.

He is still a national hero in Lebanon, with close ties to senior politicians.

After his arrest, he has become a symbol of protest against Japan’s so-called hostage justice system, which human-rights advocates have long criticized as unfair and too reliant on confessions. Ghosn was held in detention for 130 days before posting bail.

Other twists Two Lebanese lawyers have submitted a report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Beirut against Ghosn, saying he violated Lebanese law by visiting Israel. The two countries are in a state of war. Ghosn visited Israel in 2008 to launch electric cars, and met the prime minister and the president.

Journalists, including those from Japan, are flocking to Ghosn’s rose-colored house in Beirut’s affluent neighborhood of Ashrafieh. A Lebanese lawyer who said he worked for Nissan told reporters the building belonged to Nissan, which Ghosn also confirmed. Nissan officials have pointed to Ghosn’s extravagant lifestyle, including expensive chandeliers and a sarcophagus buried beneath transparent walkways at the Beirut residence.

Nissan’s future Nissan’s brand has been seriously tarnished, and its sales and profits are tumbling. Ghosn was such a key figure for the brand in Japan, where foreign executives are still relatively rare, that it would be a challenge for anyone to fill his shoes. His successor, Hiroto Saikawa, resigned in September after financial misconduct allegations related to a dubious income surfaced against him. Nissan picked Makoto Uchida, who used to head its China business, as its new chief executive. What happens to Nissan’s alliance with Renault SA of France, engineered by Ghosn, is a bigger question. Experts say the alliance is irreversible because so much is shared between the automakers, including model development, manufacturing sites and vehicle parts. Ghosn has said his arrest was prompted by those who opposed a fuller merger between Nissan and Renault. Renault owns 44 percent of Nissan, but in recent years, until Ghosn’s downfall, Nissan had grown more profitable than Renault. Nissan has been historically closely associated with Japanese pride. Uchida has affirmed the importance of the alliance and promised to restore Nissan’s credibility.

Science

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

BusinessMirror

Sunday

Experts: Century-old TB vaccine may work better if given intravenously

A collection of lung scans of 20 monkeys who were exposed to tuberculosis after receiving different forms of a certain TB vaccine. Monkeys in the top row received skin-deep shots, and those in the bottom row were given intravenous injections. The intravenous vaccine protected far better, as shown by TB-caused inflammation seen in red and yellow.

JoAnne Flynn, Alexander White and Pauline Maiello/Pitt; Mario Roederer/NIAID via AP

W

ASHINGTON—Scientists think they’ve figured out how to make a century-old tuberculosis (TB) vaccine far more protective: Simply give the shot a different way.

would react the same way.

Researchers at NIH teamed with the University of Pittsburgh to study certain monkeys, rhesus macaques, that react to TB infection much like people do.

They tested a variety of ways to give the TB vaccine, including a mist that the monkeys inhaled through a mask.

Six months after the vaccinations, the researchers delivered TB bacteria straight into the animals’ lungs and watched for infection. Monkeys given today’s standard skin shot, even with a higher dose, were only slightly more protected than unvaccinated animals, and the mist wasn’t too effective, either.

But in 9 of 10 monkeys, a higherthan-usual vaccine dose injected into a vein worked much better, the researchers reported in the journal Nature. The team found no trace of infection in six of the animals, and counted very low levels of TB bac-

teria in the lungs of three.

Why? The hypothesis is that key immune cells called T cells have to swarm the lungs to kill off TB bacteria, and can do so more quickly when the vaccine is carried rapidly around the body via the bloodstream.

Sure enough, tests showed more active T cells lingering in the lungs of monkeys vaccinated the new way.

The findings are striking, showing that how a vaccine is given “clearly affects immunity,” University of Massachusetts TB specialists Samuel Behar and Chris Sassetti, who weren’t involved in the study, wrote in an accompanying editorial. Still, giving a vaccine intravenously isn’t nearly as easy as other kinds of shots, they cautioned.

Seder said additional safety research is under way in animals, with hopes of beginning a firststep study in people in about 18 months. AP

In a study with monkeys, injecting the vaccine straight into the bloodstream dramatically improved its effectiveness over today’s skin-deep shot, researchers reported in the past week.

“This offers hope,” although more safety studies are required before testing the approach in people, said Dr. Robert Seder of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a senior author of the study.

Tuberculosis kills about 1.7 million people a year, mostly in poor countries.

The only vaccine, called the BCG vaccine, is used mainly in high-risk areas to protect babies from one form of the disease. But it’s far less effective at protecting teens and adults from the main threat, TB in the lungs.

Most vaccines are shots jabbed in the muscle or skin. Seder came up with the idea of IV immunization a few years ago, with experiments showing a malaria vaccine candidate worked better when injected into a vein.

He wondered if the TB vaccine

UAE nuke plant to be operational in Q1 2020

Thousands of koalas feared dead in Australia wildfires

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he Arab world’s first commercial nuclear plant should start operating in the first quarter of 2020, Abu Dhabi government-owned newspaper Al-Ittihad reported, citing the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (Enec).

Barakah Unit 1, the first of four planned reactors in the United Arab Emirates, is currently in a testing phase and is on track to receive an operating license from regulators, the paper said.

The plant will then start loading nuclear fuel, begin generating power and ramp up to full commercial operation within several months, Al-Ittihad said.

State-run Enec is also preparing to start tests on its second reactor, according to the report.

Calls by Bloomberg seeking comment from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation went unanswered last week.

Abu Dhabi, capital and largest emirate of the UAE, holds about 6 percent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and depends mainly on oil revenue for growth.

Like other governments in the Persian Gulf region, it’s seeking to diversify its energy supplies and develop alternative sources of income.

Korea Electric Power Corp. and Enec are joint-venture partners.

Their Nawah Energy Co. is responsible for operating and maintaining the Barakah complex, where construction began in 2012. Once completed, the plants are estimated to be able to produce a combined 5,600 megawatts of power.

Other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have also announced nuclear projects to provide power to their growing populations and industries.

Bloomberg News

A koala drinks water from a bottle given by a firefighter in Cudlee Creek, South Australia, on December 22. Oakbank Balhannah CFS via AP

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ERTH, Australia—Thousands of koalas are feared to have died in a wildfireravaged area north of Sydney, further diminishing Australia‘s iconic marsupial, while the fire danger increased in the country’s east as temperatures soared.

The mid-northern coast of New South Wales was home to up to 28,000 koalas, but wildfires have significantly reduced their population in recent months. Koalas are native to Australia and are one of the country’s most beloved animals, but they’ve

been under threat due to a loss of habitat.

“Up to 30 percent of their habitat has been destroyed,” Australia’s Environment Minister Sussan Ley, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “We’ll know more when the fires are calmed down, and a proper assessment can be made.”

Images shared of koalas drinking water after being rescued from the wildfires have gone viral on social media in recent days.

“I get mail from all around the world from people absolutely moved, and amazed,

by our wildlife volunteer response and also by the habits of these curious creatures,” Ley said.

About 5 million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land have burned nationwide during the wildfire crisis, with nine people killed and more than 1,000 homes destroyed.

Fire danger in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory was upgraded to “severe” last week, as high temperatures built up over the region.

Sydney’s western suburbs reached 41 degrees Celsius (106°Fahrenheit), while the inner city is expected to hit 31°C (88°F) before reaching 35°C (°F).

Two wildfires in New South Wales are at the “watch and act” level issued by fire services.

Canberra, Australia’s capital, peaked at 38°C (100°F), with oppressive temperatures forecast for the next seven days last week.

Meanwhile, New South Wales Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has gone on an overseas family vacation in the wake of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s muchcriticized family trip to Hawaii.

Morrison, who apologized for going away, eventually cut short his vacation and returned to Sydney last weekend.

Elliott said he will be briefed daily while overseas. “If the bushfire situation should demand it, I will return home without hesitation,” he said. AP

Sunday, January 5, 2020 A5

Chinese Alzheimer’s drug to launch global trials

A

newly approved Chinese drug for Alzheimer’s will start clinical trials in the United States and Europe this year as the country’s first novel therapy for the incurable disease seeks global legitimacy.

Shanghai Green Valley Pharmaceutical Co. plans to recruit around 2,046 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s for trials at 200 sites across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific for 18 months, the company’s Vice President Li Jinhe said last week.

The drug, called Oligomannate, was granted conditional approval in China last month. It comes in a 150-mg capsule and went on sale in the country on December 29.

Patients will need to take three capsules twice a day, according to the drug’s package insert. A week’s treatment costs 895 yuan ($128).

Green Valley announced these plans in a news conference in Beijing, nearly two months after making global headlines for saying it got approval from China’s regulator for the first new Alzheimer’s drug in 17 years.

The neurodegenerative disease has baffled global drug makers, who have invested billions of dollars into more than 190 experimental drugs with little to show for it.

The Shanghai-based firm, unknown outside of China, is facing skepticism that it could have so quickly achieved something that has eluded western pharmaceutical giants for decades.

“It’s totally understandable for our drug to be questioned,” said Green Valley Chairman Lyu Songtao. “We are confident because we see clear benefits from patients in the clinical trials.”

The conditional approval requires the drugmaker to conduct further studies on how the drug works, and its long-term safety and efficacy.

The company also said it plans to invest $3 billion in the next 10 years for such investigations—including on global trials—to understand its working mechanism, and expand its use in treating diseases, such as Parkinson’s and vascular dementia.

Rapid approval

In its mission to get its vast patient pool access to top-quality health care, China’s drug regulator has been granting rapid approval to novel, experimental treatments, sometimes faster than its counterparts in the US and Europe.

Beijing is also nurturing its biotech sector in China’s quest to become a global leader in medical and scientific research.

Alzheimer’s affects 10 million people in China and 5.8 million in the US. Researchers estimate there are 50 million people worldwide living with dementia, with Alzheimer’s the cause in as many as 70 percent of cases—implying a big addressable market for Green Valley if it manages to take the drug global.

Drugs that halt the debilitating disease could be a market worth as much as $30 billion in the US alone, according to an estimate by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Global pharmaceutical giants—including AstraZeneca Plc., Eli Lilly & Co. and Roche Hold-

ing AG—have invested billions of dollars over the years, but failed to develop therapies for this disease.

In October, Biogen Inc. said it plans to resume abandoned studies of its experimental therapy after new analysis of data showed promising results.

Green Valley plans to file an application for clinical trials with the US Food and Drug Administration in February 2020. It also wants to secure the Fast Track designation, said Green Valley’s Li. This tag helps expedite regulatory review of drugs that treat serious conditions, or fill an unmet medical need.

The company is also exploring partnerships with global drugmakers to speed up clinical trials, and help launch the product outside China, Li said.

Brown seaweed

The Green Valley therapy works differently from the approach taken on Alzheimer’s by western drug developers.

Its Oligomannate drug—the name refers to a type of sugar extracted from brown seaweed—is unusual that it does not target beta amyloid, a protein that forms clumps of plaque in the brain, clogging it in patients with Alzheimer’s.

After years of failure, a backlash has grown over drugmakers’ fixation on beta amyloid as the key to a cure, but major pharmaceutical companies have yet to seriously explore an alternative.

Oligomannate, instead, seeks to readjust microbiome in the gut, which ultimately leads to reduced neuroinflammation in the brain and slows the progression of the disease, according to the company.

In Chinese trials, the drug had statistically improved cognitive function in patients suffering from mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s as early as week four, Green Valley said in a November statement.

Its success, however, has been met with skepticism from Alzheimer’s researchers, who say that details are scant on its clinical trials in China.

In a story carried by Science magazine shortly after the drug was approved in China, Mark Oremus, an epidemiologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, called the 36-week phase III trial by Green Valley as “far too short to evaluate the medium- to long-term effects.”

Also, it didn’t compare the drug with other existing medications, Oremus said.

Local media reported that some industry researchers are calling for more evidence to prove that altering microbiome in the stomach can help slow cognitive impairment.

“Doubts always accompany scientific discovery,” says Geng Meiyu, a researcher with Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica who led the discovery and research of the drug, adding that Green Valley will continue to look into the drug’s working mechanism among humans through further studies and scientific collaboration.

“This is just the first step of a long march,” Geng said. Bloomberg News

India plans another shot at moon landing this year after crash

I

ndia will try to land on the moon this year, after a previous attempt failed just minutes before a scheduled touchdown on the lunar surface, in a bid to restore its credentials as an ambitious space power.

The South Asian nation’s Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon will consist a lander and a rover, and will use inputs from an orbiter from the previous mission, K. Sivan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, said in Bengaluru on

Wednesday.

It has also made progress on India’s first manned space mission by identifying four astronauts, he added.

India and China are both trying to establish a presence in space exploration. While China was the first country to land a rover on the far side of the moon, India had aimed to become the first to the southern pole, the same spot the United States’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(Nasa) is targeting in 2024 with its Artemis mission.

The $1.4-billion Gaganyaan mission—which plans to launch a module with astronauts by 2022, taking them on a seven-day voyage around the Earth—will make India the fourth nation to send humans to space.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sharpened India’s focus on space since coming to power in 2014, with a pipeline of ambitious programs, including planned mis-

sions to study the sun and Venus, before eventually establishing its own space station.

Apart from space-faring nations, billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson are competing in an unofficial space race, from launching satellites to sending astronauts and tourists into space.

The previous mission, which intended to analyze virgin territory on the moon, placed an orbiter around the Earth’s closest neighbor before the lander lost contact with

scientists.

Nasa, with the help of an Indian mechanical engineer Shanmuga Subramanian, located the crashed spacecraft last month.

Other plans for the year include a maiden flight of a new, small-satellite launch vehicle this year, Sivan said, a move that will strengthen India’s position as the go-to destination for low-cost launches with a capacity to place more than 100 satellites in orbit for a single mission. Bloomberg News

Faith A6 Sunday, January 5, 2020

Sunday

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

Tagle ‘saddened, shocked’ at rising suicide rates

I

n the wake of rising suicide rates in the Philippines, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle issued a Christmas statement expressing his shock at the trend and calling for cultural renewal.

“The mystery of Christmas is contrary to the drive, the desire and the impulse to destroy people, lives, families, societies and creation,” said Tagle in a statement released over Christmas.

The cardinal is serving his final weeks as Archbishop of Manila. Earlier last month he was appointed by Pope Francis as the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The cardinal also alluded to rising trends in bullying, including via social media, as contributing factors in rising suicide rates.

“We are saddened and shocked to see how some people find pleasure and ‘success’ in having shattered other people’s lives,” Tagle said in a Christmas video message released over the holiday.

“We are even more disturbed to see young people already bent on harming themselves and ending their lives,” he said as he insisted that the Christmas season “is about

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of Manila Roy Lagarde

God’s will to save, not to ruin.”

In September, a provincial board in Iloilo drew attention to an increased trend in suicide and mental illness in the province.

According to the Philippine News Agency, Iloilo Third District Board Member Matt Palabrica said 179 people, aged nine to 21, attempted suicide between 2016 and 2019. Thirty-five of those attempts resulted in death, Palabrica said.

“Suicide rates went up alarmingly in 2018 up to June 2019 with about 100 recorded suicides across

China sentences Protestant pastor to 9 years for subversion

B

EIJING—China has sentenced a prominent pastor who operated outside the Communist Party-recognized Protestant organization to nine years in prison for subversion.

Wang Yi had led the Early Rain Covenant Church and was arrested a year ago during China’s ongoing crackdown on all unauthorized religious groups in the country.

The government requires Protestants worship only in churches recognized and regulated by the party-led Three-Self Patriotic Movement. A separate body regulates the Catholic Church in China, which has no formal relations with the Vatican.

The People’s Intermediate Court in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Monday convicted Wang of incitement to subvert state power and involvement in illegal business operations and said he was fined and his personal assets were seized.

Si Weijiang, a lawyer hired by Wang’s mother, said the charge of illegal business operations involved printing of books about Christian culture.

“It is actually about the freedom of publication and there has been no social harm,” Si said in a phone interview.

The charge of incitement “involves preaching and is an issue of speech, which has also inflicted no social harm,” he said.

Even within the narrow confines it has established, China’s officially atheist ruling party has been seeking to rein in religious expression, including removing crosses from official and unofficial churches.

More widely, the party has de-

molished places of worship, barred Tibetan children from Buddhist religious studies and incarcerated more than a million members of Islamic ethnic minorities in what are termed “reeducation centers.”

Early Rain is believed to have had several hundred members who met in different locations around Chengdu, the sprawling capital of Sichuan province. Many of those were taken from their homes overnight in lightning raids, including Wang’s wife, Jiang Rong, who was later released on bail.

Wang had been critical of Communist Party leader and state President Xi Jinping and made a point of holding a prayer service on June 4 each year to commemorate the 1989 bloody assault on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Beijing’s hard line on religion has underscored its contrast with other culturally Chinese societies, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, where most follow Buddhism and traditional Chinese beliefs, but where Christianity and other religions also thrive.

At least two members of Early Rain fled to Taiwan, the selfgoverning island democracy that China claims as its own territory.

Wang’s sentencing was condemned by Amnesty International China researcher Patrick Poon as making a “mockery of China’s supposed religious freedoms.”

“Wang Yi was merely practicing his religion and peacefully standing up for human rights in China,” Poon said in an e-mailed statement. “Wang Yi is a prisoner of conscience and must be immediately and unconditionally released.” AP

all ages,” he further added.

The leading causes of suicide have been identified as problems within the family, romantic relationships, trouble at school, and bullying. He encouraged the committee to issue an in-depth study into the suicide methods and the reasons behind the increased trend.

“It’s hard to conclude because we still do not have an in-depth study of these cases of suicide. That, we want to know,” Palabrica said.

In his video message Tagle said it is important to remember the

two greatest gifts—the gift of self and the gift of Christ. He said these presents will be appreciated even after the holiday has passed.

“If you have nothing to give, an object to give, you still have Jesus and yourself,” he said, according to UCA News. “Embody the humility, the compassion, the joy of Jesus that is the most precious gift.”

“Let us not forget that the gifts we give and receive are some symbols and signs of the greatest gift that God the Father has sent us, His son Jesus,” the cardinal said.

Catholic News Agency via CBCP News

Pope begins New Year with apology, prayers for peace

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ope Francis began the New Year with an apology for losing his patience the night before with a woman who grabbed his hand and yanked him closer to her while he was greeting people in Saint Peter’s Square.

To get away, the pope had slapped her hand and gave her a very serious scowl. A video of the incident went viral on Twitter.

Reciting the midday Angelus prayer on January 1, Pope Francis was talking about how God’s offer of salvation in Jesus is “not magic, but patient, that is, it involves the patience of love, which takes on inequity and destroys its power.”

Then, briefly departing from his prepared text, the pope said that “love makes us patient. We often lose our patience; me, too, and I apologize for my bad example last night.”

Francis confessed to losing his patience with the woman while he was strolling in the square on Tuesday night to admire the Vatican’s Nativity scene.

Cameras captured the scene when the woman, from behind a barrier, reached out and grabbed the pope’s hand, pulling him violently toward her. Francis reacted sharply, exclaimed something and then slapped her hand so she would let him go. Frowning in anger, he turned and strode away.

Returning to his text, Pope Francis said that in gazing upon the Nativity scene with the eyes of faith, “we see the world renewed, freed from the dominion of evil and placed under the regal lordship of Christ, the baby lying in the manger.”

The church marks January 1 as both the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and World Peace Day, he said, urging Catholics to pray for peace and to recognize their responsibility to work for peace.

For the 2020 celebration of World Peace Day, he said, the focus was on peace as a “journey of hope,

a journey which proceeds through dialogue, reconciliation and ecological conversion.”

“Jesus is the blessing of those oppressed by the yoke of slavery, both moral and material,” he said.

“He frees with love.”

To those who are enslaved by vice and addiction, the pope said, Jesus bears the message that “the Father loves you, he will not abandon you, with unshakable patience he awaits your return.”

Jesus opens the doors of fraternity, welcome and love to those who are victims of injustice or exploitation; pours “the oil of consolation” on the sick and the discouraged; and opens windows of light for prisoners who feel they have no future, he said.

“Dear brothers and sisters,” he told the people in the square, “let’s get down from the pedestals of our pride and ask for the blessing of the holy Mother of God. She will show us Jesus. Let’s let ourselves be blessed, let’s open our hearts to goodness and that way the year that is beginning will be a journey of hope and peace, not through words, but through daily gestures of dialogue, reconciliation and care for creation.”

Pope Francis used his midday address to thank and encourage all the initiatives Catholics, their parishes and dioceses around the world undertake to promote peace.

“My thoughts also go to the many volunteers who, in places where peace and justice are threatened, courageously choose to be present in a nonviolence and unarmed way, as well as to the military who carry out peacekeeping missions in many areas of conflict,” the pope said.

Addressing everyone, “believers and non-believers because we are all brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis urged people to “never stop hoping in a world of peace,” which must be built together, day by day.

Cindy Wooden/CNS via CBCP News and AP

Year-end violence highlights danger of worshipping

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EW YORK—When a machetewielding attacker walked into a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, during Hanukkah, and a gunman fired on worshippers at a Texas church 14 hours later, the two congregations in different regions of the country joined a growing list of faith communities that have come under attack in the US. It is a group that crosses denominations and geography and has companions around the world. The frequency of attacks has faith leaders and law enforcement grappling with how to protect people when they are at their most vulnerable.

FBI hate crime statistics show that incidents in churches, synagogues, temples and mosques increased 34.8 percent between 2014 and 2018, the last year for which FBI data is available.

“For a person bent on hate crime against a particular religion or race, you go to a place where you know a lot of people in that group will be congregating—and vulnerable,” said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Boston’s Northeastern University. “One place you can go to find people of a certain religion is where they worship.”

Most congregations, he said, do not have security.

Three of the deadliest attacks on congregation members have occurred since June 2015, when a gunman killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. The database includes attacks where four or more victims are killed.

However, the database wouldn’t include the most recent attacks that have refocused attention on the security vulnerabilities at religious institutions.

The FBI’s hate crime highlights list a number of crimes, including a Colorado plot to blow up a synagogue, an Oregon man sentenced to federal prison for targeting a Catholic Church and two guilty

pleas in the bombing of an Islamic Center in Minnesota where congregants were worshipping in the mosque.

A five-year compilation of AP reports showed the frequency of attacks countrywide.

Recent stories included the stabbing of an Orthodox Jewish man as he approached the driveway of his synagogue in Monsey in November, as well as a Las Vegas incident where a suspect torched a Buddhist temple, then shot toward at least one monk fleeing the fire.

The data is definitive enough that the FBI invited faith leaders to its Washington, D.C., headquarters last June to discuss how to protect themselves and their congregants from bias-based attacks.

Mark Whitlock Jr., pastor of Reid Temple AME Church in Glenn Dale, Maryland, said his own staff and volunteers have met five times in the last month to discuss safety.

“Our first responsibility is to make sure our congregants have faith in God and second, that they are safe,” Whitlock said.

“We must not create an environment of fear but we also must not fail to recognize things do happen and evil is present.”

Reid has a paid security staff of about 20 who wear uniforms and are armed.

There are volunteers as well, made up of former and current federal agents, lawenforcement officers and military who also provide security, Whitlock said.

Even with the protection, he is watchful. On Sunday, he was in the pulpit and saw the security force reacting to something. They explained later it was a stranger they wanted to identify.

“When you’re looking at thousands of people and you see your security force walking around, your mind begins to wonder,” he said.

The new spate of anti-Semitic attacks has added to the sense of urgency that’s been felt by Jewish security experts since the 2018 massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 people were killed.

Neighbors gather to show their support of the community near a rabbi’s residence in Monsey, New York, on December 29 following a stabbing during a Hanukkah celebration. AP/Craig Ruttle “The greatest adversary we truly face is not an external threat, it’s a sense of denial,” said Michael Masters, national director of the Secure Community Network. It was formed by leading Jewish organizations in 2004 to coordinate a response to security threats.

“The conversation prior to Pittsburgh was whether safety and security was necessary,” Masters said. “Now it’s a question of how do we effectuate that—there’s now a reality that these events can happen anywhere.”

Sunday’s attack in White Settlement, Texas, in which the gunman was shot dead by a highly trained leader of the church’s security team, came barely two years after more than 2 dozen people were killed at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. That remains the deadliest shooting at a house of worship in the US in modern times.

The two Texas attacks have heightened worries among churchgoers in neighboring Oklahoma, said Rev. Derrek Belase, a former police officer turned pastor who coordinates security training for the more than 480 United Methodist churches in Oklahoma.

“Texas is close to home for us,” Belase said. “People see it on the news and think,

‘That could be us.’”

Under Oklahoma law, houses of worship are among the places where adults are allowed to carry firearms, whether concealed or openly. Churches may ask worshippers not to bring guns with them, but Belase says that’s not a common request.

When Belase is advising churches on security, his core recommendations are to work in tandem with local law enforcement, be wary of for-profit security consultants, and be sure that members of any church security team are thoroughly trained.

The security team leader in White Settlement “wasn’t just a guy with a gun,” Belase said. “He was trained to do that.”

Pardeep Singh Kaleka, executive director of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, said his own Sikh temple has armed guards and an evacuation plan, the result of a 2012 attack in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, that killed six worshippers, including his father.

He said the conference members talk regularly about how to prevent the next tragedy. “All faiths want to remain open, Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Christians, but you also have to be vigilant and institute safety protocols.” AP

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, January 5, 2020

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The chill vibe amid Busan’s bustling metropolis

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Story & photos by Joshua Berida

usan didn’t come out of nowhere to become a vibrant and thriving city. Poverty was common during and the few years after the Korean War. Many refugees had to scrape by and do what they can to survive.

Remnants of these dark times are still within the confines of the city. The 40-step stairway is a reminder of the struggle, this ordinary staircase saw the reunification and parting of families during hard times. Bosu-dong Book Alley started with just one book store.

Interest among refugee families grew and from one the street was filled with book stores. This quaint area attracts both local and foreign visitors, but most of the books here are in Korean.

Today, Busan is an urban sprawl with a very busy port. The bad weather on the first few days I was in the city altered my itinerary, so I didn’t go too far from Busan Station. Instead, I went to the nearby markets of Gwangbok-ro, Nampodong and Jagalchi.

Its neon lit streets led me to their entrances, locals came and went to shop, eat, drink and be merry. The colorful signs of restaurants, bars and KTVs attracted patrons. Simply put, Koreans love having a good time, shopping and eating out. I weaved in and out of the narrow alleys with food stalls, stores and restaurants from all sides. It was easy to blend in; I was always greeted in Korean.

Practically everything was on sale from shoes to shirts to jackets to bonnets, it was organized chaos how all these fit in small, zigzagging alleys.

I capped one of my days in Busan with a trip to Gamcheon Culture Village. It was one of the most famous destinations in the city. Despite its popularity, it’s an obvious tourist draw, so I still decided to go. It was just blue hour; the clouds

The markets of Busan come alive at night with neon lit signs and droves of people coming and going.

The Jagalchi Fish Market is a place where locals and tourists can buy seafood and have them cooked for a meal or taken home.

Haeundae Beach encapsulates the city’s beautiful cityscape and coastline.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is a famous attraction, don’t let the crowds discourage you from visiting, it’s still beautiful despite it.

The Gamcheon Culture Village made a name for itself as one of Busan’s top attractions because of the colorful houses on the hills.

The Busan Tower rises over the see as one of its iconic and most recognizable landmarks.

were changing into a faint orange while the different colored houses served as the perfect foreground to the sunset.

Coastal city vibe

Busan is a huge city but for me it just didn’t feel like it. The coastal, blue collar vibe contrasted with Seoul’s cosmopolitan and “I need to live up to expectations as a first world city.” After two gloomy days, the sun came out and the skies were blue. I went to Gwanggali Beach and Haeundae Beach, and I was not disappointed. The sand was fine and the air was cool (it was autumn).

There were a few people swimming or surfing; quite understandable because of the cold temperatures.

But it didn’t stop people from just hanging out, taking a leisurely stroll, or walking their dogs. Simply put, it was a chill day.

The towering skyscrapers, restaurants and shops built near the shore didn’t ruin the beaches. I could only imagine what the city was like before a majority of the development projects came. But now here they are, still incomplete, beckoning the city to the future.

Temple hopping in the city

Haedong Yonggungsa is a seaside temple considered to be one of the most beautiful in the country. The crowd coming and going didn’t change my mind about this. Its details, such as its date of establishment and the characteristics of its original form may have slipped my mind after reading about them, however, there’s something about the craggy rocks, and the play of gentle and strong

lapping of the waves beneath it, and the ancientness hiding underneath its new exterior. It is something spiritual, something nameless; the reason its original builders put the temple in its current location in the first place.

Half an hour away from Nopo Station and in the mountains is Tongdosa. This Unesco-listed destination has survived man’s wrath and time’s unwavering patience.

The old structures are in contrast

with the newness of Busan.

Before reaching the temple, I ended up traveling with two Dutch travelers. We were lost, in search of direction. I walked toward the bus in search of it and asked aloud to whoever would answer. A man responded, “Pinoy ka ba?” I smiled and said yes. “Hindi malayo, diretso lang.” It’s nice to hear a familiar voice pointing you the way.

I went with the two Dutch travelers and we were on our way in

search for enlightenment, something to tick off our itinerary, or simply to pass time (maybe somewhere in between).

The tree-lined path was easy to follow. We eventually reached the complex. Our expectations were met; locals came and went to say their prayers, take pictures, tick an item off their itinerary, discover the meaning of life, stop their child form crying, gossip with friends, talk about what to eat later, and all

of this happening in Korean while our small group thought and spoke in English.

Busan has a modern façade, but underneath it is an old soul. The temples’ original structures may have undergone many reconstructions and renovations, but their essence remains the same. There are reminders of its solemn days, of war and refugees, but there is also the future, beautiful and still forming.

Quirino is Phl’s new wakeboarding haven DOT celebrates Sorsogon’s Guinness record

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he province of Quirino emerged as the country’s newest wakeboarding haven with the successful staging of the recent first Invitational Wakeboarding Competition at the world-class Quirino Watersports Complex in the capital town of Cabarroguis.

More than 80 players from the country’s top wake parks took part in the inaugural tournament of the facility as part of the Panagdadapun Festival marking the 48th provincial founding anniversary.

Jet Brigance of Decawake Clark Cable Park topped the Open Men Wakeboard category with 67.33, followed by Larry Sacabon of Quirino and Jon Dimacali of Republic Wakepark bagged second and third places, respectively.

JP Canuto of Camsur Watersports Complex ruled the open men wakeskate, with Regi Causing and Renan Turiano, both from Republic Wake Park, capturing second and third spots, respectively.

In the advance wakeboard, Jerome Javaluyas of Lago de Oro Wake Park captured the men’s division, while Shaina Alva of Pradera Verde dominating the women’s division.

Meanwhile, Charles Villegas of Pradera Verde and Justine Buendia of Republic Wake Park conquered the advance wakeboard, men’s and women’s divisions.

The Philippine wakeboard team to the 30th Southeast Asian Games also demonstrated exhibition runs and were impressed by the tournament-quality and tension of the cables.

In the overall medal tally, Republic Wakepark of Nuvali, Laguna, made a sevenmedal haul, followed by the Quirino host park with five medals, Pradera Verde and Decawake park with two each, and Lago de Oro and Camsur, with one apiece.

Started in 2007 by then-Gov. Dakila Carlo Cua, the Quirino Watersports Complex is a

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First Quirino Invitational Wakeboarding Competition

Quirino Watersports Complex

9.5-hectare full-size cable park, and boasts of 450-meter wakeboard c able, a 2.5-hectare lagoon, and a deck area of 251 square meters.

It also has a winchpark for beginners with a 100-meter cable and 3,000-sq-m lagoon.

Owned and managed by the provincial government, the sprawling property also has a two-story pavilion, function rooms, a multipurpose hall, an infinity pool, an adjunct

hostel, and guest villas under construction.

Once fully completed, it is expected to boost the positioning of the province as an adventure and sports tourism destination in the Cagayan Valley.

The two-day sporting event is supported by Land Bank of the Philippines, San Miguel Beer, Petron Primes Gas Station, Del Monte, Boysen Paint, Smart and Isabela Gios Commercial.

he Department of Tourism (DOT) commended Sorsogon for another successful run of the Kasanggayahan Festival, topped off by the province’s setting of a Guinness World Record.

Contingents from government units and private sector from all 14 municipalities and one city in Sorsogon joined force in bagging the province’s Guinness World Record for the largest Filipino folk dance performance.

Sorsogon’s picturesque Rompeolas baywalk and the streets of Magsaysay and Rizal served witness to a whopping total of 7,127 registered dancers who performed the “Pantomina Sa Tinampo,” a traditional Bicolano dance of love and courtship that pantomime doves, hence its name.

“Witnessing Kasanggayahan Festival is exciting for tourists, with the interagency efforts to make each year a bigger and grandiose showcase of talent and offerings. What better way to do this than with a record-setting performance that is truly Bicolano,” DOT Region 5 Director Benjamin Santiago said.

Another major component of the Kasanggayahan Festival is the unveiling of the ecclesiastical marker, and the 450th commemoration of the first Mass in Luzon, held on October 19, in Gibalon Shrine, in Magallanes town, where over 20,000 pilgrims and tourists witnessed the mass, the Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Office estimated. The hall in Gibalon Shrine was renovated to look like a galleon, akin to the one used by the Spanish missionaries that arrived in the town in 1569.

This year’s Kasanggayahan Festival also proved special as it marked the 125th year of Sorsogon’s foundation as a province, celebrated by Sorsoganons with an unveiling of commemorative stamp between the provincial government of Sorsogon and the Philippine Postal Corp. or PHLPost.

“We always ensure that the activities and

events for Kasanggayahan Festival is geared toward upholding five main components: agriculture, trade, tourism, art, culture and history,” Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Officer Bobby Gigantone said.

Kasanggayahan Festival, which means “life of prosperity” or kasaganahan in Tagalog, also featured an agri-tourism trade fair, historico-cultural parade, pageants, singing and dancing showdowns, as well as arts, sports and culinary competitions throughout the busy month of October.

In adherence to the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2016-2022, the DOT has set its eyes on boosting cultural tourism in the Philippines for its immense potential to attract a wide range of markets both domestic and international, and to effect a sustainable growth for the country’s tourism industry.

“Almost always, festivals in the Philippines are deeply ingrained with stories that show the diverse culture that we have. The Bicol region alone has many festivals that DOT helps keep alive with our intensified efforts to promote them to local and foreign visitors,” Santiago said.

Aside from highly anticipated festivals like the Kasanggayahan Festival in October, and historical sites aplenty, Sorsogon proves worthy of tourists’ journey south of Bicol region all year round for its bevy of breathtaking nature destinations, such as the pink-sand Subic Beach in Matnog, Bulusan Volcano National Park, Paguriran Island, and exhilarating activities like the underground tunnel tour in Bulan, the Firefly, Manta Ray, and whale shark watching in Donsol, and surfing in Gubat.

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Sunday, January 5, 2020

MBAPPE EYES TOKYO 2020

Sports BusinessMirror

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RANCE’S World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe revealed that he wants to play for this country at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

But the 21-year-old, considered young

the best player in the world, admitted that it would be up to his club Paris Saint-Germain whether he will be allowed to take part or not.

“Playing in the Olympics, I don’t control everything,” Mbappe told France Football magazine. “Of course I want to go, but if my club, which is my employer, doesn’t want me to go, I won’t force a clash.”

“We’ll soon talk about it,” he added.

Mbappe reassured French National Coach Didier Deschamps that taking part at Tokyo 2020 would not be at the expense of playing in Euro 2020, which is due to take place across Europe this summer.

“The coach was adamant that it would never be to the detriment of the Euro,” Mbappe said. “I reassured him by telling him that I also wanted to play in the Euro, and he said: ‘So it’s up to you to deal with the people it concerns.’”

Euro 2020 will take place between June 12 and July 2, and will be followed by the football tournament at Tokyo 2020, which is scheduled to start on July 23—four days before the official opening of the Olympic Games—and finish with the final on August 8.

That day is the official start of the new 2020-2021 Ligue 1 season and Paris Saint-Germain may be reluctant to let a player it paid €180 million ($201 million) to miss their opening match.

Even if he does not make it to Tokyo 2020, Mbappe insists that will not be the end of his Olympic dream.

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

The Olympic Games is an under-23 tournament with each side allowed three overage players.

France qualified for Tokyo 2020 by reaching the semifinals of the UEFA European under-21 championship in Italy and San Marino this year.

At the time, Mbappe responded to the team’s qualification by posting a message with a “TOKYO 2020” on Twitter, accompanied by a flashing emoticon and a French flag.

Mbappe became the second teenager after Pelé, to score in a World Cup Final when he hit one of France’s goals in their 4-2 victory over Croatia at Russia 2018, one of four he scored during the tournament.

Even if he does not make it to Tokyo 2020, Mbappe insisted that will not be the end of his Olympic dream.

“If I don’t manage to go in 2020, I’ll still have 2024 left, in Paris,” he told France Football. “I’d really like to do the Olympics at least once in my career.”

Three members of Australia’s under-23 football team, meanwhile, were banned from Tokyo 2020 after they were suspended for “unprofessional conduct” during a night out in Cambodia earlier last year.

Nathaniel Atkinson, Lachlan Wales and Brandon Wilson will not feature in a potential Olympics campaign after being suspended until August 10 by Football Federation Australia (FFA).

Teammate and captain Riley McGree, meanwhile, will play no further part in the qualifying stages for Tokyo 2020 after being suspended from international duty until April 1.

The incident took place on a night out after the Asian Football Confederation under-23 championship qualifying tournament in Cambodia in March.

The following month, a woman complained about the four players, leading to a lengthy FFA investigation. The four players could have appealed against FFA’s ruling to the independent FFA Disciplinary and Ethics Committee.

But Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), acting on behalf of the quartet, has communicated its acceptance of the decisions of the FFA Board in relation to a breach of the FFA National Code of Conduct.

“It is pleasing that the players have accepted responsibility for their actions,” FFA Chairman Chris Nikou said. “This has been a difficult period for everyone involved and FFA will, in conjunction with the PFA, continue to extend support and assistance to the players.” Insidethegames

Saudi Arabia Olympic body holds inaugural awards

THE Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee holds its General Assembly as a female athlete casts her vote during the election for the members of the Athletes’ Commission.

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HE Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) Awards was held for the first time in Riyadh, with former President Prince Sultan Bin Fahd Bin Abdulaziz receiving the highest distinction.

The award was presented to Prince Sultan in recognition of his leadership and achievements.

During his presidency from 1999 to 2011, SAOC was recognized as one of the most successful national olympic committees in Asia with tangible results, both in its management and the sport fields.

“His actions and dedication for sport and the Olympic Movement was second to none,” a SAOC statement reads.

Other awards presented during the ceremony included those for women and sport, the best sport event of the year, sport promotion and development, and sponsor.

“We are very satisfied with this event, which we will host annually and it will, surely, go bigger next year after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as we expect to present more awards, including athletes, people and organisations that are tirelessly contributing to sport development in the Kingdom,” SAOC President Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud said.

SAOC also held its 23rd General Assembly at Riyadh’s Sport Green Hall. All national federations (NFs) and SAOC institutional partners attended the assembly, which was chaired by Prince Abdulaziz.

The major highlight was the election of Adwa Alarifi as a SAOC board member.

Alarifi becomes the second woman elected to the SAOC Board, in what is said to confirm the organization’s ambition to continue raising the status of women through sport.

The assembly also validated the establishment of the Saudi Olympic Academy, and welcomed the membership of NFs for the sports of baseball and softball, canoeing and kayaking, hockey, lacrosse, lifesaving, muay thai and rugby.

The SAOC 2019 activities report was also presented to the assembly, and validated, along with plans for 2020, which will be a busy year for the national governing body with preparations for the Gulf Cooperation Council Games in Kuwait, the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the Asian Beach Games in Chinese city of Sanya.

The SAOC, meanwhile, elected its first-ever Athletes’ Commission with four men and three women set to take roles.

A ballot voting took place at the SAOC headquarters in Riyadh with 40 athletes casting their vote. It came with the SAOC aiming to give athletes “a permanent voice” within its Executive Committee and at its General Assembly.

Twenty-four candidates came forward, but the list was cut down to 12 based on criteria

hopefuls had to meet. It included English language skills, participation at the Olympics or Asian Games and a clean doping record.

Hany Mohammed al Mohammed, Ibrahim Almuaqel, Bader Adeghaither and Yaquob Al Shahrani are the male representatives, while Mayssoun Alsowaigh, Brooq Alsadhan and Lama Alfozan are the women’s members.

Two more members, one male and one female, will now be selected by the SAOC president to complete the nine-member Commission.

“I take the opportunity to congratulate you all and your seven colleagues that have made history with their election to the SAOC Athletes’ Committee,” SAOC Vice President Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud said.

Insidethegames

4-time world champion named on US surf team

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OUR-TIME world champion Carissa Moore was officially named on the United States surf team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics alongside three teammates.

The 27-year-old became the youngest, ever, surfer to claim a world title in 2011, going on to triumph again in 2013, 2015 and this year. She is now world’s No. 1.

Moore is set to be joined on the American women’s team by 17-year-old Caroline Marks, who became the youngest surfer to qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour at 15-years-old.

This season, Marks finished second

to Moore on the World Surf League Championship tour.

The 25-year-old Kolohe Andino leads in the men’s team, having been the first American surfer to qualify for Tokyo 2020, in October. He is joined by 27-year-old John John Florence, world champion in 2016 and 2017.

Florence booked his spot at Tokyo 2020 despite missing more than half of the season recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury. His success came at the expense of American surfing legend Kelly Slater.

The 47-year-old has a record 11 world

titles and needed to win this month’s Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii to reach Tokyo 2020.

Despite Florence exiting the competition at the quarter-final stage, Slater’s semi-final finish was not enough to take his Olympic place.

It will be the first time the four athletes participate in the Games, with surfing making its Olympic debut in the Japanese capital next year.

A group of 20 male and 20 female surfers are set to compete at Shidashita Beach.

Insidethegames

Charlene Versoza

Beauty, brains, benevolence

Charlene Versoza

Beauty, brains, benevolence

years before entering med school and fulfill her dreams.

“What I want to do is community service,” she said. “I have the option to be a private practitioner, but I want to help more people. If I go with the government, I can extend the services to the community, make it more accessible to more people. Gusto kong i-practice ’yung natutunan ko kung saan ako nanggaling.”

And just like a true beauty queen and a future doctor, Versoza is set to cure Mariveleños with a warm smile and an even warmer heart.

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your Music our business

By Bernard P. Testa

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ariveles, the southern tip of Bataan, is a “millennial municipality,” according to 2016 Miss Bataan Charlene B. Versoza. She describes the place as “beautiful, breathtaking, fastestgrowing.”

Calm and composed while having lunch at Triden restaurant in Mariveles, there is an aura of love in the presence of this 25-year-old beauty queen. She flashes a warm smile. Her eyes connect well with people. She has a way of making those around her listen.

It didn’t take long to see that the very words Versoza chose to describe her beloved hometown applies to her as well. But what makes her even more special is her ambition to succeed and her heart to serve.

Born as the youngest daughter to her engineer father, Dante, and entrepreneur mother, Susan, Charlene is on a mission to serve Mariveleños. It’s a goal that has remained the same even if her titles change, from beauty queen to

tourism officer to one of less than 100 audiologists in the country.

Winning the crown

Versoza, a registered nurse, radiates with flawless skin to go with tantalizing eyes, making her an easy candidate for beauty contests.

In early 2016, she finally decided to try her luck and ended up winning first runner-up in Mutya ng Mariveles. She went on to win Miss Bataan the same year. Versoza was offered to join bigger beauty pageant competitions, but she politely declined, saying it wasn’t her cup of tea to go national.

Part of her purse in winning Miss Bataan was becoming ambassador for investment and industries. Together with the other winners, they are the ones to welcome investors in their municipality, especially in Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB).

Versoza took the task seriously and flourished in her role. In 2017, she was hired as the first tourism officer of Mariveles, putting on hold her pursuit of a master’s degree.

Versoza organized the tourism council to produce social-media campaigns to promote the Mariveles. One of council’s focus was to highlight tourist spots, including the beachcombers’ favorite destinations of Camaya Coast and Five Fingers.

Versoza was deeply engaged in the

2 BusinessMirror

project that she even helped design the logo. She also asked a friend to compose a song for a campaign to promote Mariveles as one of the fastest-growing economies in Bataan.

Aside from her efforts in tourism promotions, she also created the first Kabuhayan Festival, which will be on its third year next month.

Versoza gave everything to perform at her best as tourism officer. But after a year in the post, she called it quits in late 2018.

Though she left the tourism sector with a heavy heart, Versoza knew very well that her main priority is to become a doctor. After all, it was always the answer she gave to elders who asked her of her dream job.

The ‘barrio’ doctor

Versoza resumed and completed her Master’s in Clinical Audiologist at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery last year. She then opened her own hearing clinic in Mariveles.

“Less than 100 audiologists lang po kami sa buong bansa,” Versoza said.

“Sad to say, maliit po ang bigayan, mga 17k po ang base pay, kaya most of the audiologist go abroad if they can’t put up their own hearing center.”

For her part, Versoza’s father shouldered all the costs on all the equipment needed to treat most cases of hearing imbalance and disorders.

Versoza plans to practice for two

January 5, 2020

Publisher

: T. Anthony C. Cabangon

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: Bernard P. Testa Nonie Reyes

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YOUR MUSIC OUR BUSINESS ARNEL PINEDA Photo by Stephen Lavoie for iRocktography

DON’T STOP BELIEVING ARNEL PINEDA REFLECTS ON HIS OWN PERSONAL JOURNEY

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By Leony R. Garcia

RESH from his back-to-back performance with the Black Eyed Peas at the closing ceremony of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at New Clark City in Carpas, Tarlac, Arnel Pineda is all set for a post-Valentine concert alongside pop rock royalty Yeng Constantino.

Dubbed Let It Love, Let It Rock, the concert will be held on February 16 at the New Frontier Theater (formerly KIA Theater), Quezon City.

“I’m so excited to sing again for the Filipino fans. I’ve been performing in different places, but nothing beats performing in front of your very own kababayans, who love you dearly and who you know will always root for your success,” said Arnel.

His SEA Games performance may have drawn mixed reactions from fans but the Journey frontman is leaving no stone unturned for his upcoming concert. “Let this concert be one of my ways to thank my Filipino fans for always being there for me, cheering me on as I fulfill my passion of performing while showing the world the immense talent of the Filipinos,” he declared.

Arnel sang the Philippine

National Anthem and in his production number, the 52-yearold singer sang his band’s classic hit “Don’t Stop Believing” as well as popular rock songs like Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”

That day, his performance trended on Twitter after netizens noticed that the singer was having a hard time reaching high notes.

Unknown to many, Arnel literally lost his voice last November and was given advice by doctors to refrain even from talking. But professional as he is, the popular rocker agreed to perform for the biennial sports event.

True to form, Arnel has always encouraged those seeking his advice to always be passionate about their craft and to stay professional. “Dito sa showbiz, maraming nakasunod sayo, sa likod mo. If you quit, madali

kang kalimutan, madali kang palitan. Hangga’t mainit ka, you just have to do everything you can,” he said during an earlier interview.

Arnel is taking this advice from his own personal journey. Although he found success in the national stage as frontman of several bands like Ijos, Amo, New Age and The Zoo, his biggest breakthrough came when he was discovered on YouTube

by Journey guitarist Neal Schon. 13 years since the legendary American band announced him as its new lead singer, Arnel continues to be the voice of Journey.

He said his first-ever gig with Journey in Chile back in 2008 will always be a favorite memory: “With 19,000 people (in attendance) and 30 million on the internet watching it live, it was quite scary, one of the most terrifying feelings that Continued on page 6

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YOUR MUS

Photos by Stephen Lavoie of iRocktography

EVERY BREAKING WAVE

U2 IN THE LIFE OF A GEN X'ER

By Paula Dinna Bellosillo-Sacris

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HE biggest band of my generation has finally performed in Manila.

I have dreamed of this happening in my lifetime for as long as I can remember. I was not sure though if this day will come considering the politics U2 brings with them might touch a chord with the government. The Philippines is not famous for guarding against human rights violation.

Two close buddies had dreamed of this with me. One imagined playing as a front act at their concert, and the other pledged to move mountains to interview and write about them, while I just wanted a photo with them to brag about to my grandchildren someday.

In case none of these would ever happen, the front act gig, the interview and the shameless fangirling them upclose, we would just settle to brave traffic and the throngs of fans trooping to the venue.

We’ll break the bank if we need to, and sing-along to all of the songs with all our heart, without shame, until we lose our voice and satisfy our souls.

The Rumor Mill

At the height of the palpable political turmoil sometime in 1985, months away from the EDSA People Power Revolution, news of U2 coming to Manila buzzed like wildfire.

The news was unverified though, but the people – U2 die-hards and not, were hoping it

was going to happen. Even if you’re not into them, still, that’s U2. Who wouldn’t want to get a whiff of that international concert vibe and watch real rock icons bring the house down?

U2 supposedly demanded that the concert be held at an open venue at no cost to the attendees.

Free concert in a public space. Rumor has it, the unnamed rich Chinoy promoter was negotiating to charge a minimal entrance fee to underwrite some of the production costs. U2 walked away from the negotiation table.

No one ever came forward to dispel or support this speculation.

In Appreciation

So, Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton decided to finally come to the Philippines on a world tour that started in 2017.

At first realization that it is finally happening, I was in utter disbelief. In the age of fake news where social media can sometimes be unreliable, it is best to hold off jumping for joy unless influencers start gushing over it and a legit ticket seller has posted the prohibitive ticket prices online.

Encompassing 11 cities in seven countries, this second series of the tour is slated to be a celebration of the success and the lasting legacy of U2’s career-defining studio album, “The Joshua Tree.” Everyone can expect that it’s going to be a grand tour down memory lane, a massive singalong jam.

It’s a fitting appreciation of the band and the beauty and the sense of their songs. It is a validation of U2’s significance in the life of their fans, three decades on. A reconnection to the past. The concert in Manila will happen before the band ends the tour in Mumbai, India.

Sounds like a grand celebration.

Legendary

Already producing albums and singles for some of the progenitors of new wave, synth-pop and Brit rock sound of the 80s, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, XTC, Ultravox, Big Country, Psychedelic Furs and The Smiths, Simple Minds, among others, Steve Lillywhite was to become more well known for producing the first three albums of U2, who was slated to be the biggest stadium act in their batch.

Yet, he wasn’t raving about the band that’s been virtually synonymous to his success.

“There’s no particularly remarkable about U2.

It’s mostly a rhythm section and a powerful vocalist (paraphrased),” Lillywhite said in an interview with this writer when he was in town as one of the mentors for the Elements Music Camp in 2018.

However, he did acknowledge that the overall sound that the four individual members produce, which makes for their distinct style, of that brand of rock and funk that they were cut out of, wasn’t anything but unoriginal.

And there’s the unmistakable chemistry among them that make it all work out. The guys have been pals for more than half their lives.

All of the above, along with their willingness to try out new ideas and adapt to the changing times are all responsible for why it’s still rock and roll for U2 all these years.

Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop were more than a departure from the U2 their fans loved them for through the decades. Rather, it’s a statement from the band that they can risk it all, all in the name artistic exploration and creative reinvention.

A quality that even the most discriminating and critical record producers like Lillywhite, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Jimmy Iovine would approve. This is growth and always a new beginning for the band.

This is why producers who work with U2 also evolve and become better producers.

It’s Beautiful Day

Ten years ago, I got a gig to head the programming department of a music channel on cable in Vietnam, known as YAN (“Yêu Âm

Nhạc”, for “I love music”). I led a team of young, trendy and hopeful local millennials who were, at one point, helping shape the current music and entertainment media landscape of the country.

When I got on board, the playlist was current: Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Shakira, Justin Bieber, Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Derulo, Black Eyed Peas, Bigbang, Super Junior, TVXQ, 2NE1, Girls Generation and a bunch of Asian pop stars whose airplay was constantly justified by the writers and resident music experts.

There were also catalog titles, or videos by major artists listed alongside the currents, with medium rotation or less frequency in airplay: Jennifer Lopez, Rob Thomas, Coldplay, a selected, less provocative Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, a lot of Air Supply, but not a single video by U2.

Vietnam had no musical memory of the 80’s. The country closed its doors to the world, following the Fall of Saigon or the liberation of the south in 1975 by the communist army from up north.

The young and the hippest Vietnamese in general did not know Morrissey, Robert Smith, Sting and Bono.

U2 was belatedly launched in 2009 in Vietnam via YAN TV just about the same time I was finding my way around town where the streets have names unfamiliar to me.

“Beautiful Day” was a fitting first video and the best caption for that point in time in Vietnam.

Can you imagine not ever knowing U2 and hearing none of their songs?

The Shop

“I Will Follow” was the first song I knew by heart. When I heard it the first time, and had no idea who U2 was, I thought right away that I was going to like all of their songs. It was raw, intense, upbeat and memorable. It was at The Shop where I had first known them.

In 1984, I had to delay college and decided to work fulltime as a shop assistant at a music store.

The store known as A2Z Records, short for Abba

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Who could pull off opening the show with Morrissey crooning dark thoughts with “hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ,” and closing it with Dead Kennedys “Too Drunk To F*uck”? Only Jim and Igor, Capital Radio’s female jocks – can.

We aired around 1985 until going off the air months after the EDSA People Power Revolution and just before another alternative FM radio had their maiden broadcast in the airwaves of smoggy Manila in 1987.

The FM radio, NU107, dubbed the “Home of New Rock,” was the ultimate college radio. The music and the personality of their jocks forever changed the course of local FM radio and the music scene at large. They made radio sexy that way again.

I asked for U2’s “I Will Follow” when I and a fellow music writer at The Score Magazine came over to the station to meet and greet people. I remember being accommodated by Cris Hermosisima, Gerry Dris and a lady jock named Rima. But they did not have my song yet at the time.

Being U2 to Zappa, or simply “The Shop” for the habitués, was located in Kamias, Quezon City before it later moved to Anonas, Proj. 2.

The Shop was a repository of music and memories for the late record collector Leslie David and his life partner, Jingle Mag’s Ces Rodriguez.

It was the perfect rendezvous for music junkies, records collectors, music critics, budding writers, audiophiles, working stiffs, young and old.

My job entailed getting familiarized with the record titles on the shelves and tracking the delivery of new records for cataloging, plus, of course, customer assistance. With very limited know-how on music, I went over and beyond the job. I listened to EVERYTHING we had in store, from Abba to Zappa.

From Sinatra to The Residents to Savoy Brown.

From the Sex Pistols to Gene Loves Jezebel to John McLaughlin. From the Echo and the Bunnymen, to Brian Eno, The Clash to the Velvet Underground.

From The Jam, R.E.M., to Dylan, Van Morrison and to Barbra Streisand. From Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello. From Talking Heads and The Smiths to Wynton Marsalis to U2.

You get the picture.

Tribe

My musical awakening, therefore, happened at The Shop.

The Shop introduced me to a whole new universe of music. I would not have, early on, known U2 and loved and owned their songs that would complete the soundtrack of my life.

Then, life happens.

I’ve almost forgotten that U2 was, and still is, a major source of my life’s playlist.

I know that there are others like me who would credit U2 for the mush and the strong feelings, the warm fuzzies, the love and the lust in the musical score for some of the known existential dilemmas they have dealt with throughout life.

The songs would take us somewhere. Through the stories in those songs, we’ve acquainted ourselves with the familiar and what is longed for and the essential how’s of life.

How it is to love, to endure, to surrender? How it is to dream and be disappointed? How to speak out and keep the faith? How to embrace grace?

We entered young adulthood grooving to

“Without or Without You” on MTV, stayed updated on the American Top 40 with Casey Kasem, made sure we track the movements in the Billboard 100 and read tidbits and updates on our favorite music heroes on NME, watched Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink and the Breakfast Club and knew their OSTs by heart.

Most of us have developed our own conviction when we got wind of world politics because Bono took them personally and used his celebrity status to talk and sing about it.

“Celebrity is currency,” he asserted in an interview with Oprah.

Counter-Culture

To promote the records we had at The Shop, Les and Ces decided to buy a blocktime show at the most unlikely radio station.

The show was called Capital Radio, after The Clash’s 1980 song with the same title, about the rebel radio that supposedly had pissed off Joe Strummer. The song was a swipe at mainstream radio that wouldn’t venture into something beyond the commercial.

Hence, it’s an apt title for The Shop’s promotional show airing weeknights on the only FM radio that can accommodate the music we played, WXB 102FM, or simply XB. XB was legendary for being THE alternative to mainstream radio. It played songs that did not usually get airplay from the rest of the FM band, pre-MP3 and i-Pod days.

Boasting a decent collection of tracks from EPs and limited edition singles, which were not locally released yet, but dance mobiles were already highlighting them at dance parties, XB was the oasis for the lost youth of the ‘80s.

Music that was evident in their outlandish hairstyle and fab fashion and in their choice of music. Tears for Fears, The Smiths, Seona Dancing, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees Fra Lippo Lippi, Echo and the Bunnymen, Spandau Ballet, Simple Minds and U2, among other beautiful anthems of the ‘80s.

XB could not have found a better partner in A2Z’s Capital Radio, a three-hour special which aired from Mondays to Fridays, from 9pm to midnight, that mostly played songs that XB either did not have a copy or the heart to air them.

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve heard of U2 being U2 again.

In recent years, they have been regarded as major artists with a penchant for keeping the people guessing what they will get into next. This kind of creative commitment to experiment and innovate has produced masterpieces such as The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and Zooropa.

2014’s Songs of Innocence, would all find them taking on new ideas and fusing them with signature U2 sound, as well as reuniting with Steve Lillywhite, who incidentally still worked with them from time to time, again for a track.

Quite expectedly, they have also been criticized for selling out, going through creative drought, lacking focus and being pretentious. U2 has had their share of the negative and unfair press just like any other successful band.

As with the soon-to-be senior rock stars, who’d be joining the invincible Keith “Fucking” Richards’ Club soon, it’s rather easy for them to act their age now and remain compelling and

engaging. After all, old age and rocking it out are not mutually exclusive to U2.

Artistic License

So what can we expect from U2 today?

Rock? Hiphop? EDM? Blues? ubstazz? Heroine Pop? Spoken word, perhaps? Or back to their roots: that U2 soul?

With what they have been putting together of late, no one can ever know what we’re going to get soon from these native sons of Dublin.

After the consecutive album releases of the “The Unforgettable Fire” in 1984 and “The Joshua Tree” in 1987 with their newfound mentors and producers, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, U2 has since dabbled into different musical styles, and taken on something new and unexplored.

Staying relevant this way is what makes them current and even to this day, an important band to spend our hard-earned money on.

As for the younger music fans, U2 has unsurprisingly managed to be an interesting musical force to discover. Their latest album, “Song of Experience,” is a testament to that.

How would one know if a band has already reached their peak and have earned their place in the pantheon of music history? How does one become a legacy band?

It is when a band earned that artistic license to venture into any genre, in any format, with or without the approval of their most loyal fans and harshest music critics. And be always forgiven when things don’t fall into place.

It is also when their fans would insist to hear what’s instantly familiar to them, along with their new materials.

Yet, even if U2 prefers that their legacy be not considered as a nostalgia band, they can never avoid looking back.

The nostalgic draw of their songs is as organic as the love and respect for them through the years, particularly, the bond their fans formed with “The Joshua Tree.” Their newer songs will always get played but their lifelong fans would always want to hear their classic and greatest hits.

And that’s exactly what happened at the Philippine Arena last December 11.

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YOUR MUSIC OUR BUSINESS

RHYTHM & RHYME

by Kaye Villagomez-Losorata

2019: pivot year for women in music

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ORE women ruled the music world and some semi-seasoned artists proved they deserved a shot at lasting superstardom in 2019.

Reunions were also big and a couple of new hits were worth the space in our regular streaming escapes.

In October 2019, The Guardian came out with an article titled “We need more than ‘girl power’ to solve music’s sexist rot.” The story pointed out that women songwriters amounted to only 12 percent and only 2 percent are female producers based on Billboard Hot 100 from 2012 to 2018.

Similarly, the 2018 Grammys, the article said, was “widely criticized for failing to recognize female achievements.” Failing to take cue from all the Hollywood #MeToo-loaded awards shows, this resulted in a massive Grammy 2019 pivot that saw Alicia Keys hosting the show and going all out on girl power with Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez, Jada Pinkett Smith and Lady Gaga to name a few.

Dua Lipa told reporters backstage, “I guess we really stepped up,” alluding to the femaledominated Oscars of music that saw Kacey Musgraves winning Album of the Year for Golden Hour and Cardi B becoming the first woman to win Best Rap Album as solo artist for Invasion of Privacy.

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I’ve had in my life! You’re going to represent the band and at the back of my head (was) ‘Steve Perry, he is the voice of Journey and here I am the replacement and going to try to please 19,000 people.”

“Neal Schon told me three minutes before we started, ‘Do you know that Chile is a solid Steve Perry fan?’ That added to the chills I was feeling already. Pero dahil may dugong Pinoy tayo, sige laban ... bahala na! I believe ito ang trait nating mga Pinoy eh, we’re so gutsy.

That’s why we have millions of OFWs. To not to see your family for a long time, that’s guts! So, it was the same for me: it’s now or never.”

So how long does Arnel see himself singing for Journey? “It’s up to them. As long as they need me, I’m going to be there. If the time comes that they don’t need me anymore, they can always tell me. You know,

Taylor Swift (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Time named Lizzo Entertainer of the Year where the artist was quoted to have said, “I have to bite my tongue on certain things. When people challenge my talent, they challenge whether I deserve to be here. I’m like, ‘Oh! I can easily just let your ass know right now in 132 characters why you’re f***ing wrong.’”

The Time tribute story about the Truth Hurts hitmaker also read, “In 2019, Lizzo was a beam of light shining through doom and gloom, telling us to love ourselves even if the world doesn’t always love us back. We need her.”

And we need more women dominating “the toppermost of the poppermost.” Even The Beatles wouldn’t mind more women stepping up. Taylor Swift won Artist of the

Decade at the 2019 American Music Awards. Her steady climb from pop tart to superstar over the past decade had relevance written all over every stage, every drama, and every hit single that she was able to come up with. It’s impossible to ignore Swift the moment she gifted the world with “Love Story.” When she sang “Look What You Made Me Do,” we stared.

She’s scheduled to return to Manila next year for her 2020 tour as she took six AMAs this 2019 to bring her total— and most of any artist ever—to 29.

The following names have been dominating your personal airplay and Billboard has ranked this year’s top 10 female artists (from 1 to 10): Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Halsey, Cardi B, Lizzo, P!nk, Lady Gaga, Camilla

from the very beginning, I told myself, I’m already good with doing one or two concerts with them. But what happened was, we already did almost 700 shows in 12 years and they’re still keeping me,” he enthused.

Arnel continues his journey being part of an iconic rock group with lots of hard work: “It’s serving and representing a legacy like this in America, it’s part of American history, so it’s just hard, it takes a lot of discipline and self-control and focus, which is one thing I’ve really learned. Like before Journey, I was just trying to have fun and survive and float, and it was enough for me that I was able to feed my family.

Now, much as you’re blessed with monetary gain, the responsibility is just heavy, you really have to work hard. Yung work ethic mo talaga, mag-i-improve. And you really have to improve.”

Among today’s local acts, Arnel says Ben&Ben and IV of Spades

have impressed him the most. “I’m just so surprised how intelligent these boys are at a young age, because I just started to mature when I turned 40. Then I wrote more music. But for them, at an early age, they’ve been writing meaningful songs, good for them.”

Arnel said the Philippines is teeming with so much talent and if he had his way, “we should focus more on the talent, not the looks and the height. We have so much here.

It’s part of our natural resources, the talent of Pinoys especially when it comes to music.”

As a way of paying it forward, the singer maintains his advocacy on education for the youth. The Arnel Pineda Foundation aims to help underprivileged children in the Philippines obtain quality education, health services and medical attention. He also advocates the use of talent in order to overcome poverty just like he did.

Cabello, and Lauren Daigle.

Back in February 2019, Wired. com released a music forecast called “Women will dominate--and dismantle--the music industry in 2019.” Ariana Grande, according to the article, had that mission to purge the industrt of a double standard. She asked, “Why do they (male artists) get to make records like that and I don’t? So I do and I did and I am and I will continue to.”

Thus, “thank u, next” was released.

It’s just right. It’s about time.

Even here in the Philippines, it doesn’t matter what industry you belong to but men—who could not understand and stand any kind of strength display from female colleagues—easily brand and relegate strong women as difficult, attitude-wielding individuals or my all-time favorite description, too alpha types.

It’s almost always not about what you have proven so far or what you’ve done and survived to get to the point where you’re at this very moment. Musgraves, after her Grammy triumph, nailed it by saying, “Women have a really necessary perspective – to life, to music.”

(The author is a former entertainment reporter and editor before shifting to corporate PR. Follow @kayevillagomez on Instagram and Twitter for more updates.)

Arnel Pineda (Photo by Leony Garcia)

Soaring high The New Year’s resolution that can save you

By Luis Delos Santos

T Students from Adamson University topped the competition in the Emerson Philippines’s 2nd Innovation Challenge.

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

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damson University (AdU) emerged as the winner of the Emerson Philippines’s 2nd Innovation Challenge, where students from some of the top colleges and universities in the country were tasked to create applications that will help spur innovation and take the country a step closer to digital progress.

The winning entry, named Project ISDA (IoT System for Dissolve Oxygen Monitoring and Analytics), was developed by Adamson students in response to the fish kills in

several fishponds in the country.

“We decided to focus on developing an app to help fishermen address the fish kill problem,” said Reina Louise Salanguit, one of the members of the Adamson contingent. Other members are Angeio Erasmo, Zeidrix Don, Jay Bhie Santos and Jomar Mansilungan.

Project ISDA stood out among seven participating prototypes. The app is a decision-support tool for fishpond farmers to prevent mass fish kills, with a system composed of sensor nodes anchored in strategic places inside the fish pond.

Each sensor node is capable of sending temperature readings and dissolves oxygen data through its sensor to a base station to monitor water quality.

According to Edward Bustillos, Computer Science Department chairman at the College of Engineering in AdU, collaboration played a key role in their triumph as students from the electronics and communications department and computer engineering department were able to synergize in developing the project.

“We encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among our students for better teamwork,” said Bustillos,

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who was one of the team’s coaches.

The other coach was Jasper Meynard P. Araña, a faculty member of the Electronics Engineering Department of AdU. He said Adamson has established an incubation facility to promote research projects of the schools for commercialization.

“Being a first-time winner in this competition will encourage our students to develop good ideas,” Araña said.

AdU deployed a Project ISDA device in a fishpond in Mabalacat, Pampanga, for testing. Bustillos said AdU is conducting talks with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Batangas and small-scale cooperatives for possible deployment of the device.

Emerson Philippines designed the Innovation Challenge that puts young minds to the test to address today’s most complex and pressing issues and develop a pool of skilled manpower for the company.

This year’s theme, Digital Transformation, stressed the importance of empowering changemakers among today’s youth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

January 5, 2020

he new year brings high hopes, along with the same old socialmedia posts.

“This year is going to be mine,” “New year, new me,” and so on. (For the record, “2020 vision” may be one of the more clever New Year puns we’ve had in a while.)

But if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution that creates real impact, something concrete and not just some tired, bold declaration or witty remark, make 2020 the year you started putting up an Emergency Fund.

I know that most young people would prefer saving up for their next travel destination or dream gadget, but hear me out.

Last year, my family encountered numerous medical emergencies. The bills piled up and almost reached the million mark. I wasn’t prepared for any of it. I wish I planned ahead, but I didn’t. This year, I’m going to make sure that mistake never happens again.

I read online that an Emergency Fund should be deep enough to cover monthsworth of hospital bills. A tall task, sure, but spending your money more wisely could help. You could start by keeping track of all your spending, down to the last peso. Then, know how much you could allot to your Emergency Fund and make sure to never spend that.

A company-provided health card is nice to have, but it’s wouldn’t hurt to have extra money when you need it the most.

Take it from my experience. I learned that the hard way.

Thus, this 2020, I vow to put up my own Emergency Fund. I know it’s hard to resist the urge of buying stuff online, especially with its just-a-click-away convenience, but I can say that I finally know better.

Hopefully, you do, too.

Millennial Money

Focus on monthly tasks to hit 2020 goals

By Sean Pyles

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The Associated Press

year is built one day at a time.

It’s the busy Tuesdays when you never have a moment and the lazy Sundays when you can finally relax.

Focusing on small, cumulative actions can take you far, whether you want to train for a marathon, clean out your garage or start a hobby. This is especially true for money goals, for which daily habits can have big payoffs.

But while New Year’s money resolutions are common—with 84 percent of Americans setting money goals, according to a survey from NerdWallet conducted by The Harris Poll in 2017— so is abandoning them. More than 20 percent of those surveyed ditched their resolutions within two weeks, and over half failed to achieve some or all of their money goals.

You can beat the odds, though. To hit your big money goals in 2020, focus on months and days.

KNOW YOUR MONEY AND PICK YOUR GOAL Do some initial research and get a detailed understanding of your cash flow, because you have a better chance of improving your finances when you know your starting point. The 50/30/20 budget, where half your income covers needs, 30 percent goes to wants and 20 percent goes to debt and savings, is an easy way to do that.

Use what you learn to decide on and write out your money resolution, getting as specific and realistic as you can.

If you want to pay off your debt, for instance, list each account, its balance, monthly payment and interest rate.

“Whatever your goal is, it has to be trackable and quantitative,” says Levi Sanchez, founder of Seattle-based Millennial Wealth, a financial planning firm.

MAKE MONTHLY GOALS Divide your goal into smaller tasks.

List the actions you can take monthly and even weekly that will build up to you hitting your target by year-end.

“People treat resolutions like a sprint when really it’s a marathon,” says Lauren Anastasio, a certified financial planner at SoFi, an online lender. “Anytime you have a goal in mind, break it down into as many mini-goals as you can. You feel more accomplished and you have more momentum when you’re checking things off a to-do list.”

To build an emergency fund of $1,000, for example, you’ll need to save a little over $80 each month. Or if you’re set on conquering credit-card debt, divide your current balance by 12 to see the monthly payment needed to meet that goal, with adjustments for any accruing interest charges if necessary.

monthly money tasks easier.

To get better at sticking to your budget, for example, set aside time at the end of each day to review what you spent and how well you followed your budget. Automate savings or debt payments to the extent that you can.

“A lot of building good money habits comes down to knowing your needs versus wants and having a spending plan so you know what obligations you’re meeting,” says Paul Golden, managing director of communications at the nonprofit National Endowment for Financial Education. “I’m a big fan of automating things so the habit is almost forced.”

BUILD DAILY HABITS

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK— AND A REWARD

Your daily money management is the groundwork for achieving goals. Build habits that make accomplishing your

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Life happens. You might set a certain debt payment, then your car’s transmisJanuary 5, 2020

sion blows—and drags your monthly budget down with it. Give yourself the flexibility to adjust the plan so you don’t just give up.

“One of the benefits of breaking the goal into mini-goals is that if you miss one piece, you don’t feel like you failed at the whole thing,” Anastasio says. “It’s always about how you frame the goals you set for yourself and giving yourself a clean slate at the beginning of each month.”

And reward yourself when you hit milestones, like choosing a robo-advisor to start investing with or having a month where you stick to your budget.

Achieving money resolutions isn’t easy.

“I find people don’t celebrate the little things,” says Tania Brown, a Georgia-based certified financial planner. “A month where you didn’t rack up any new credit-card debt is huge.”