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Saturday, January 13, 2018 Vol. 13 No. 94

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AFP embarks on ’realistic objective’ of defeating all terror groups in South this year

Harnessing the human terrain

President Duterte (third from left), in a camouflage uniform with a pistol tucked in his waist, arrives to visit troops in Camp Ranao in Marawi City on July 20, 2017. Ace Morandante/ Presidential Photographers Division, Malacañang Palace via AP

By Rene Acosta

he military is embarking this year on what it calls a “realistic objective” of crippling all terrorist organizations in Mindanao, including the New People’s Army (NPA), which has been categorized by President Duterte as a terror group, by capitalizing on the gains of its internal security operations in the region last year.

In fact, for most of the battlescarred senior military commanders, “cripple” is a mild term to describe the projected after-effect of operations against all of Mindanao’s threat groups. The fitting word is “defeat,” which, ironically, has been a byword of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against enemies of the state in past years. Still, for a slight change, the military top brass has reissued the overly rehashed marching orders to its troops, but this time, with confidence and with certainty of results: End the remnants of the Islamic State (IS) group, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), with focus on its two breakaway factions

Members of the New People’s Army march in their guerrilla encampment tucked in the Sierra Madre Mountains southeast of Manila on November 23, 2016. AP Photo/Aaron Favila

aligned with the IS; and the NPA.

’Doable’ objective

Against the ASG, the mission is clear and doable, according to Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, who is leading the campaign against terrorists in the southern area with wit and grit, and with brilliant operations, which the ASG may have never encountered before. The objective, not only against the ASG, but even against all the other threat groups, becomes even clearer under the shadow and operational footsteps of martial law. “We want it done as soon as possible, we are doing our best effort.

Continued on A2

Tax bills high on House agenda for 2018

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

o help support the government’s accelerated spending plan for its Build, Build, Build (BBB) and social-services programs, the House of Representatives has vowed to prioritize the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), amid the Charter-change drive and hearings on the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

PESO exchange rates n US 50.3780

Recognizing that taxes are the lifeblood of the government, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Dakila Carlo Cua of Quirino said the lower chamber will prioritize all tax measures of the Duterte administration, with the hope of approving the four remaining tax bills before the midterm elections in 2019.

Full calendar

Article VI, Section 24 of the Phil-

ippine Constitution mandates that all revenue measures shall originate exclusively in the House of Representatives. “As we look to 2018, we see a very full legislative calendar. We can expect a tight schedule of hearings of many major agenda of the government. Despite this, the House Committee on Ways and Means [and the lower chamber] would still give importance to all the tax measures of the [Duterte]

administration,” Cua told the BusinessMirror. The Duterte administration has five tax-reform packages to finance the government’s ambitious infrastructure program. The Department of Finance (DOF) said about 70 percent of the incremental revenues generated from tax measures will help usher in the country’s “golden age of infrastructure” under Duterte’s watch. The President earlier admit-

ted that taxes are the reason for government’s very existence, “We must remind ourselves of this basic principle: Our people, through their taxes, provide the lifeblood of the government.” The Congress will resume its session on Monday to pass several priority measures, which include the ease of doing business bill, the measure seeking to abolish the quantitative restriction (QR) on See “Tax Bills,” A2

n japan 0.4530 n UK 68.2017 n HK 6.4401 n CHINA 7.7531 n singapore 37.8982 n australia 39.7432 n EU 60.6198 n SAUDI arabia 13.4334

Source: BSP (12 January 2018 )

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A2 Saturday, January 13, 2018

Harnessing the human terrain Continued from a1

We are trying to get their leadership,” Sobejana said as he emphasized his tested strategy of neutralizing the key leaders of the ASG that resulted in the successive surrender of terrorist fighters. According to Sobejana, the killing of top terrorist leaders has created a domino effect down to the ranks of the ASG, which prompted a considerable number to yield after they became “headless”. “That is our priority for now, getting their leaders, neutralizing the leaders to really fast-track the defeat of the ASG,” he said. “We strongly believe that [defeating the ASG], especially now that we are not alone in this fight. Government officials from the governor down to the barangay captains are with us, so to us, this is very doable, very doable,” Sobejana also said. Sobejana belongs to the crème dela crème of warriors in the AFP, as he is a Medal of Valor awardee, along with Brig. Gen. Custodio Parcon, who is heading the campaign against the ASG in Tawi-Tawi, being the head of Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi. Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command commander Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. said he will push his men not only to defeat the ASG, but even the BIFF and the NPA in Central Mindanao and neutralize any remaining member of the IS. He added, though, that the NPA, with its “insignificant” number, is being held at bay in his operational jurisdiction. “That is our goal for the year, we will do it, it can be done,” said Galvez, who joined other senior military commanders for the traditional New Year’s call on Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana early this week. While there had been reports of foreign fighters sauntering into Mindanao in support of their local IS colleagues, Galvez and Lorenzana said the military is yet to catch one, although the reports of such foreign presence are being continuously validated.

Sulu redeployment

Just before he embarked on his trip from Mindanao to Manila for the New Year’s call to the defense secretary at Camp Aguinaldo, Galvez has redeployed 11 battalions to Sulu to hasten the operations there against the

ASG, which is headed by Radullan Sahiron, considered the emir of the terrorist group. The battalions were pulled out from Marawi City, where they have been deployed last year at the height of the operations against the IS and its affiliate, the Maute Group. Galvez said the ASG in Sulu was already on the verge of collapse last year as a result of the successive operations by Joint Task Force Sulu, which killed a number of the group’s key leaders, although the trend was somewhat aborted by the pullout of soldiers. He said the redeployment of the 11 battalions should send the ASG into its demise, especially with the objective of neutralizing its remaining leaders within the year.

300+ ASG ’neutralized’

A report released by Galvez’s command, through its spokesman, Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, said that a total of 352 ASG members were neutralized last year, as the Joint Task Forces Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga under Sobejana, Parcon, Brig. Gen. Juvymax Uy and Col. Leonel Nicolas, respectively, intensified their operations against the ASG. Of the number, 144 have yielded to government forces, which represented 41 percent of the neutralized bandits. The report also said that a total of 223 firearms were “recovered, seized and surrendered to the joint task forces.” The four task forces also logged a total of 53 encounters with the ASG. In Central Mindanao, the Joint Task Force Central under Maj. Gen. Arnel dela Vega also neutralized 243 members of the BIFF last year. A total of 38 firearms were recovered and seized by the task force, which recorded a total of 44 firefights with the terrorist group. The Western Mindanao Command has six task forces.

Cutting NPA force by half

While the military commanders in Mindanao are eyeing to end all terror groups in the region within the year, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero has drawn a “modest” goal against the NPA around the country by aiming to cut its forces by at least half of its

present number. Guerrero said that currently, the guerrillas number to about 3,700. The chief of staff ordered all area commands whose operational jurisdictions list the presence of rebels to sustain and intensify their operations against the group. The head of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, Lt. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, has already ordered his troops to resume operations against the NPA as soon as the cease-fire with the rebels ended on January 2. The area command reported earlier that around 45 percent, or 2,000, of the total armed members of the NPA, operate within its areas. Lorenzana said that since martial law has been extended in Mindanao, there’s a good chance that the military could lick the communist rebels operating in the region, a belief that Guerrero shares. The defense secretary said that since Duterte has tagged the NPA as a terrorist group, it is included in martial law’s order of battle. Guerrero added that if the measure is not extended, as he noted the petition against it before the Supreme Court, it will significantly affect their operation. Specifically, it will affect the conduct of checkpoints, visibility patrols and the “intensified military operations,” according to him. In Sultan Kudarat, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, commander of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion, said nearly all of the rebels operating in the province are members of local tribes. “About 90 percent of the members of the Guerrilla Front 73 of the communist terrorist organization here in Sultan Kudarat are indigenous people. This is reflected by the fact that 100 percent of the surrenders in 2017 belong to the Dulangan Manobo and T’boli tribes,” he said. Cabunoc and his men are dealing with the rebels through a combination of “soft and strong hand” approaches, or a mixture of combat operations and community support operations. “The decisive terrain in an insurgency is the human terrain. We need to dominate in the battle of opinion, in touching the hearts of the populace, and in getting the support of the people. To achieve this, the civil government and the military establishment must synergize their efforts toward a common goal,” he said.

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Tax bills… continued from a1

rice, the Charter-change proposal and “Part B” of Package 1 of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act. Also high on the agenda is the impeachment hearings against Sereno. The Part A of TRAIN, which was approved last December, is targeting to raise P130 billion in revenues to finance the administration’s ambitious infrastructure program. Cua said Congress will pass early this year Part B of Package 1 of the TRAIN Act. It will focus on the amnesty package, which includes the estate-tax amnesty and a general tax amnesty, he added. The proposed adjustments in the Motor Vehicle Users Charge and amendments to the bank-secrecy law and automatic exchange of information are also included in the socalled TRAIN Package 1-B.

’Packages’

Currently, there are separate pending bills in the lower chamber providing the estate-tax amnesty, a general tax amnesty and amendments to the bank-secrecy law. A tax amnesty provides an opportunity for a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount, in exchange for forgiveness of a larger tax liability, including interest and penalties, incurred in prior years without fear of criminal prosecution. Cua’s Ways and Means Committee is also expected to tackle the second package of the CTRP. The CTRP’s Package 2 aims to lower corporate income taxes from 30 percent to 25 percent and modernize fiscal incentives in a bid to complement the expected incremental revenues from the first package. The DOF said in terms of revenue potential, Package 2 would be neutral. The third package tackles property taxation, with the goal of lowering the rate of donors’ and estate taxes to a flat 6 percent, as well as the rate of transaction taxes on land. Package 4 focuses on capital-income taxation, which aims to reduce the taxes imposed on interest income earned on peso deposit and investments from 20 percent to 10 percent. The fifth package is composed mainly of offsetting measures, from taxing fatty foods, luxury items, mining operations, lottery and casinos, revisiting the taxes on tobacco and alcohol to creating a carbon tax.

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BOI wants Marawi, nearby towns on list of less-developed areas

n support of the government’s efforts to jumpstart the rehabilitation of the war-torn Marawi and nearby affected localities, the Board of Investments (BOI) is proposing the inclusion of such areas in the list of Less-Developed Areas (LDAs) to give new investors the opportunity to enjoy fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. “Listing these areas as LDAs will encourage more investors, both local and foreign, to seriously look into investment opportunities in the said areas,” said Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Ceferino Rodolfo, adding that such investments will mean more employment and income opportunities, and eventually lead to normalcy or even better quality of life for returning residents and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the affected areas. Investments in LDAs are entitled to maximum incentives prov ided under the Omnibus Investments Code, including a 100-percent deduction from taxable income of necessary and major infrastructure works. As provided for in the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP)—a listing of the preferred priority investment activities that maybe given incentives—among the activities entitled to incentives are manufacturing, agribusiness, services, infrastructure, logistics, power generation, and mass housing. Complementary to the government’s socio-economic agenda to uplift the lives of Filipinos and attain inclusive growth, the BOI has been at the forefront of facilitating and approving investment projects that are impactful, socially relevant, labor intensive, and promotes innovation, while at the same time making sure that these projects are of national interests and makes responsible use of the country’s resources. Earlier in 2016, the BOI Board, through Resolution 1902 Series of 2016 and adopted by Memorandum Circular 2016-003, approved the inclusion of 134 calamity-stricken cities and municipalities including those devastated by Yolanda in the list of LDAs in the 2014-2016 IPP. The initiative aims to stabilize and fast track the socio-economic rehabilitation and re-development in the areas devastated by super typhoon Yolanda back in 2013. Already, the BOI approved a total of 92 projects worth P141.36 billion in areas highly affected by Super t y phoon Yolanda from November 2013 to October 2017. These investment projects will generate around 12,622 new jobs at full operations. About 83 percent of the approved investment projects are power projects where 27 of which

are renewable energy, two bunker-fired power plant, one dieselfired power plant, one energy storage and one energy source exploration project. The remaining 17 percent of the registered investment activities are shared by the sectors of transportation and storage (4 percent), Manufacturing (4 percent), Real Estate Activities mostly mass housing projects (4 percent), accommodation and food service (3 percent) and the remaining sectors (2 percent). Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon M. Lopez, meanwhile, reassured foreign and local investors that the government fully prioritizes restoration of peace and order in the country, safeguarding not only the citizens but also the security of businesses and investments. “We wish to reassure our investors that the peace and order climate in the country remains stable and sound,” he said adding that the government guarantees protection of investments the right to repatriate profits and benefit from the administration’s drive for zero corruption. President Duterte declared Marawi and its nearby localities free from terrorist influence last October, marking the beginning of the much-needed rehabilitation of the areas. The President also earlier issued Administrative Order 03 creating Task Force Bangon Marawi, an inter-agency task force for the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi and the other affected localities. Among the functions of the task force is to develop and implement a comprehensive rehabilitation and recovery program based on a post-conflict assessment, and form sub-committees to focus on different areas for development. The Department of Trade and Industr y, BOI’s mother agency, along with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Science and Technology, Mindanao Development Authority, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are the member-agencies of the Sub-committee on Business and Livelihood. Already, the sub-committee led by the DTI distributed livelihood starter kits, such as sewing kits and sari-sari store supplies to IDPs in Marawi and nearby areas, allowing them to start anew and earn even while still in evacuation centers. AP

Saturday, January 13, 2018

PHL has what it takes to hit $8.2-B FDI target for 2018

By Bianca Cuaresma

espite being a laggard among its Southeast Asian peers, optimism is high for the Philippines’s foreign direct investments (FDI) this year, as foreign players are likely to put their money in one of the fastest-growing economies in the region.

Just this week the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a significant rise in FDI, amounting to $2 billion alone in October 2017. FDI—or the nonresidents’ investment to the Philippines in search for longer-term yield— grew by about 200 percent, from the $670 million seen in the same month in 2016. The month’s inflow is also significantly higher than September’s $754 million. The 10-month FDI inflow for 2017 was also 20.5 percent higher than the same January-to-October period in 2016, which was then at $6.52 billion. The strong FDI performance of the Philippines during the month period also pushed the country’s total 10-month FDI nearer the government’s projection for the entire 2017.

In particular, FDI inflows to the Philippines in January to October 2017 hit $7.86 billion, only $140 million shy of the BSP’s $8-billion FDI projection by end-2017. For 2018, the Central Bank set a more ambitious projection for FDI net inflows, targeting $8.2 billion by the end of the year. ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said chances remain high that the Philippines will reach this target, as foreign direct investors are willing to participate in one of the fastestgrowing economies in Asia. This backs the BSP’s statement on the $2-billion surge in FDI net inflow last October, saying the upswing in FDI reflects continued investor confidence in the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and growth prospects.

A local bank economist also told the Businessmirror the Philippines has higher hopes of attracting the long-term, job-generating foreign investments this year, as nonresident players see improvement in local infrastructure. Cuyegkeng also told the Businessmirror that FDI inf lows would be important to moderate the local currency’s weakness. On Thursday the peso remained at the 50-to-a-dollar territory after retreating to the 49 level earlier this year, ending the day at 50.36 to a dollar. This is stronger than the 50.38 to a dollar in the previous day. The total traded volume was at P833.7 million.

The ING Bank Manila economist also said FDI investors are looking at certain government reforms hoping to see developments within the year before actually putting their money for long-term yield in the Philippines. “A more open economy that allows freer entry into the economy and into industries would likely make for a more vibrant economy,” Cuyegkeng said. “Policies that would open up the economy to FDI and greater domest ic invest ments wou ld raise trend growth of the country to beyond our 6.7-percent forecast for this administration,” he added.

A more open economy that allows freer entry into the economy and into industries would likely make for a more vibrant economy. Policies that would open up the economy to FDI and greater domestic investments would raise trend growth of the country to beyond our 6.7-percent forecast for this administration.”—Cuyegkeng

Gabriela asks Duterte to keep ‘sex slave’ statue

women’s group asked P reside nt D uter te on Thursday to oppose any request by Japan to remove a newly erected statue honoring women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II. The Gabriela women’s group said Duterte should instead demand an official apology and compensation for Filipino women who were “conscripted by the Japanese Imperial Army to serve as wartime sex slaves.” Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Seiko Noda expressed regret over the construction of the monument in a meeting on Tuesday with Duterte in Manila, a Japanese diplomat said, adding that she did not mention any specific request. The diplomat didn’t have authority to brief reporters on the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity. The monument on Manila Bay,

A statue of a “Comfort Woman” or alleged Filipino sex slave during WWII, stands along a scenic Baywalk in Manila, Philippines on January 11. The statue, which symbolizes Filipino women forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels and inaugurated on December 9, 2017, has created a controversy after Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda reportedly voiced "displeasure" in her meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte. AP/Bullit Marquez

unveiled last month, features a bronze statue of a blindfolded Filipina wearing a traditional gown. A National Historical Commission marker says the monument memorializes Filipinas who suffered abuses during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 1942 to 1945. It was built with donations from Chinese-

Filipino groups and individuals. “If Japan really wants this issue to be settled and help us all move on and forward, it should officially recognize the horrors of state-sponsored sexual slavery and apologize to the victims,” Gabriela Secretary-General Joms Salvador said. “Raising petty issues about statues won’t make

this issue go away.” Duterte has nurtured blossoming relations with Japan and its leader, Shinzo Abe. The emotional issue provides a dilemma for the government’s ties with Tokyo, a major provider of aid and financing to the Philippines. H i stor i a n s s ay 20,0 0 0 to 200,000 women from across Asia, many of them Koreans, were forced to provide sex to Japan’s front-line soldiers. Japanese nationalists contend that the socalled comfort women in wartime brothels were voluntary prostitutes, not sex slaves, and that Japan has been unfairly criticized for a practice they say is common in any country at war. I n 19 9 5 Ja p a n p ro v i d e d , through a private fund, ¥2 million ($18,000) each to about 280 women in the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea, and funded nursing homes and medical assistance for Indonesian and former Dutch sex slaves. AP

Ayala Land tops Lamudi survey as Best Mixed-Use Developer

Photo shows (from left) Lamudi Global Managing Director Kian Moini, Avida President Chris Maglanoc, Amor Maclang, Ayala Land Corporate Brand Marketing Head Cathy Bengzon,Ayala Land Residential Business Group Marketing Head Eunice Acejo, Avida Sales Head Bing Gumboc, Avida Head of Marketing and Communications Tess Tatco, Alveo Marketing Manager Shar Chua,Lamudi Group CEO Bhavna Suresh, Ayala Land Premier Managing Director Mike Jugo and Estate Head for Makati and BGC Manny Blas

yala Land Inc. (Ali), the country’s leading developer of sustainable estates, topped several categories at Lamudi’s recently conducted The Outlook nationwide survey. ALI ranked first in the Best Mixed-Use Developer, Best Condo Developer, Developer with Best Amenities, Best High-End Housing Development, Best Housing Architecture and Best A ffordable Housing Project segments. The Outlook brings together leaders from the Philippine real estate industry to witness, discuss, and share perspectives on what is in store for the industry. It also features the results of a nationwide survey of 10,000 property buyers, which acknowledges some of the industry’s best performers. A L I w a s n a me d t he B e s t Mixed-Use Developer by the sur-

vey particularly for its Nuvali estate—the country’s first and largest eco-city development in Laguna. Built on the principles of sustainable design, Nuvali is a 2,290-hectare community of residential enclaves, business and leisure spaces, including the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)Silvercertified One Evotech and Seda hotel, shopping and lifest yle centers, and recreational venues surrounded by over 51,000 trees. Renowned for its award-winning projects, ALI was also cited for its Best High-End Housing Development and Best Housing Architecturefor Ayala Land Premier’s Ayala Greenfield Estates. The 350-hectare residential development located in Calamba, Laguna provides excellent views of Mount Makiling, Laguna de Bay,

Tagaytay Ridge, and the Metro Manila cityscape. It offers first-class recreational amenities, including its very own 18-hole, par 72 championship golf course. The Best Affordable Housing Project award also went to ALI and its Avida Settings Cavite. Avida Settings remains a popular choice among buyers due to the healthy family environment, security and safety that it offers. T h e s u r v e y ’s p r o p o n e n t , Lamudi.com.ph, is the leading real estate marketplace in the Philippines. It offers sellers, buyers, and renters a secure and easy-to-use platform to find or list properties online. Lamudi. com.ph is a part of the global group, Lamudi.com—an online real estate marketplace is currently available in 13 countries across the globe.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Lyn Ressureccion | www.businessmirror.com.ph

World’s top commodity engine roars to record with Xi at helm

hina continues to gobble up the world’s commodities, setting new records for consumption of everything from crude oil to soybeans.

In a year of flux marked by industrial capacity cuts, environmental curbs and financial deleveraging, demand for raw materials has continued to grow in the world’s biggest consumer, helping drive a second annual gain in global commodity returns. The Bloomberg Commodity Index was up 0.3 percent at 7:19 a.m. London time, climbing for a fourth day. The gauge of returns from raw materials rose 0.8 percent last year after advancing 11.4 percent in 2016. As President Xi Jinping consolidates power behind an economy that may have posted its first full-year acceleration since 2010, there are few signs of the Chinese commodity juggernaut slowing as it rolls into 2018. “China’s economic expansion has been beating expectations since the second half of last year, boosting demand for all kinds of

commodities,” Guo Chaohui, an analyst with Beijing-based China International Capital Corp., said by phone. “We are expecting continued strength in economic growth in 2018, which will keep up the nation’s import appetite.” Oil coronation The crown of the world’s biggest oil importer now sits firmly atop China after the nation’s shipments surpassed the United States on an annual basis for the first time ever. What’s more, it’s also one of the largest buyers of American crude. Inbound shipments from across the globe—Russia to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela—jumped about 10 percent to average 8.43 million barrels a day in 2017, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed on Friday. The unprecedented purchases may be bettered in 2018, if import quotas granted by the government

to China’s independent refiners are a signal. The first batch of allocations was 75 percent higher than for 2017.

Mr. Blue Sky

The world’s second-biggest economy is also realizing that the key to winning its war on smog may lie overseas. Record amounts of less-polluting grades of iron ore— typically not available within China—are being pulled in to feed the nation’s mammoth steel industry, with imports rising 5 percent to 1.07 billion metric tons in 2017. China’s increasing emphasis on cleaner air has spurred a flight to quality in the global iron-ore market, boosting the premium users will pay for better material and underpinning a rebound in benchmark prices from the low-$50s last June. Mills’ preference for higher grades will probably persist, the Australian government said this week. Steel demand in the Asian country, which produces half the world’s supply and buys about twothirds of global seaborne ore shipments, also looks stable as mills are keeping more output at home. Exports slumped 30.5 percent to

75.43 MT in 2017. That drop is unlikely to reverse easily.

Gas guzzler

Purchase of less-polluting ore is only one tactic in China’s war against pollution. A nother is curbing coal use and encouraging the use of cleaner natural gas instead. Imports of the fuel via both sea and pipeline surged almost 27 percent to 68.57 MT in 2017. The country’s appetite for natural gas spawned a supply shortfall this winter, signaling that there’s still space for purchases to grow. Beijing-based China International Capital Corp. and JLC Network Technology see consumption expanding 10 percent this year, while Sanford C. Bernstein predicts demand may rise as much as 15 percent. Sti l l, don’t count coa l out yet. Overseas shipments of the dirtier fuel rose 6.1 percent to 270.9 MT in 2017, as the government’s drive to cut capacity at sma l ler, less ef f icient mines and safety inspections limited domestic production.

Food for farms

And while China is trying to

clean up its air, it’s also seeking more food for its hogs at its expanding large-scale farms. The explosion in economic growth over the past couple of decades has made its population richer, w it h better liv ing stand ards spurring meat consumption. As big farms have increased, so has demand for soybeans that’ll be crushed to make feeds for the pigs. China’s inbound shipments of the oilseed jumped almost 14 percent to a record 95.54 MT in 2017. The nation’s soy imports are forecast to grow to an unprecedented 97 MT in the 12 months ending September 2018, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The country will account for 65 percent of global trade, the data show. Glittering concentrate As the growing economy spurs construction of buildings and factories, China’s going to need more copper for the electrical wires and pipes that wind through its infrastructure. Domestic mines are often small and can’t keep up with the pace at which capacity for refining the metal is expanding, boosting demand for overseas purchases of concentrate. Bloomberg News

India may stall plan to cut drug prices as industry balks

ndia’s proposal to curb drug prices by stripping generic medicines of their brand names has stalled after the plan faced pushback from the country’s pharmaceutical companies, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. The Draft Pharmaceutical Policy circulated last summer by the Department of Pharmaceuticals has made no progress since opposition emerged from the industry and among some government agencies, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are not public. While the department has been ordered to redraft the policy, a new one is not expected through the rest of the current government’s term ending in 2019, one of the people said. Officials at the Department of Pharmaceuticals, responsible for drafting the policy, did not offer comment despite multiple e-mails and phone calls. T he gover nment ’s d raf t policy also called for sweeping changes to improve India’s manufacturing standards and enforcement, increased oversight of the drug price regulator and new rules covering how drugs are marketed. The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance and other industry bodies argued these changes would increase drug prices, cost jobs and hamper innovation.

Industry win

THE push to curb the branding of generic formulations was a risky one for India’s local drug industry, which last year derived about 80 percent of its $30-billion revenue from so-called branded generics. The shelving of the policy is a win for drugmakers, including the local unit of Abbot Laboratories and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the two with the biggest domestic market share. Around the world, generic drugs—cheaper copies of brand-name medicines that have lost patent protection— are key to keeping health-care costs low. India has emerged as

the biggest exporter globally of generics, and the country’s generics have won favor with health authorities from the United States to Japan. But in their home market, the Indian pharmaceutical companies often sell those same copies under their own brand names and charge more for them. G ener ic d r u gs st a mped with brand names command a 96-percent premium over equivalent generics sold at state-run pharmacies, the government said in response to a query in parliament earlier this month. Sun, the country’s largest drugmaker, gets 26 percent of its global revenue from branded generics in India. A spokesman for Sun Pharma did not immediately have comment on the company’s stance on the government proposal, while an Abbott spokesman declined to comment.

Modi target

THE industry argues that in a weakly regulated market like India, where the regulator cannot guarantee the quality of all the medicines sold, brand names on generic drugs are markers of quality valuable to both doctors and consumers. Critics say they are a way to charge more to people who don’t know any better. P r i me M i n i ste r Na re n dra Modi’s government last year seized on reforms to the country’s pharmaceutical market, particularly the domestic industry’s practice of branding generic drugs, as the best way to boost health-care access for the poor. India’s public health spending is among the lowest in the world. Modi targeted the branded generics market last April when he said doctors should prescribe a drug by its generic name rather than a brand. The draft policy advanced on this idea by proposing to prohibit generic drugs from being sold under a brand name, instead the packaging would only bear the chemical name and the name of the manufacturer. Bloomberg News

Africa startled by Trump’s sudden and vulgar attention

fricans woke up on Friday to find President Donald J. Trump had finally taken an interest in their continent. It wasn’t what people had hoped for. Using vulgar language, Trump on Thursday questioned why the United States would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway in rejecting a bipartisan immigration deal. African governments quickly found themselves in an awkward position. As top recipients of US aid, some hesitated to jeopardize it by criticizing Trump, especially as his administration has sought to slash foreign assistance. “Unless it was specifically said about South Sudan, we have nothing to say,” South Sudan government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told The Associated Press. African media outlets and the continent’s young, increasingly connected population were being less shy. “Casual Friday at the White House is soon to include hoods and tiki torches at this rate,” South African media outlet Daily Maverick wrote. Many on the world’s second-most populous continent reached for their smartphones, long-practiced in defending the vast and varied region from easy stereotypes. While 40 percent of the world’s poor live in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the International Monetary Fund, the region also has billionaires, reality shows and a growing middle class. Some quickly decided to own Trump’s vulgar language or throw it back in his face. “Good morning from the greatest most beautiful ‘shithole country’ in the world!!!” South African Broadcasting Corp. anchor Leanne Manas tweeted. “As someone from South Shithole, Trevor is deeply offended by the president’s remarks,” The Daily Show tweeted of its South African-born host, Trevor Noah. In Kenya, East Africa’s economic hub, political activist Boniface Mwangi pleaded: “Please don’t confuse the #shithole leaders we Africans elect with our beautiful continent.” AP

Media organizations grapple with the new Facebook

ver the next few months, with the implementation of a revised strategy, Facebook’s 2 billion users will see less content produced by news organizations and more from their friends, if all goes according to the company’s plan. So what does that mean for the media companies that have come to depend on the socialmedia giant to drive readers to the articles and videos they create? F a c e b o o k ’s a n n o u n c e m e n t o n Thursday that it would deprioritize articles and videos may not have come as a surprise to most publishers, but it will almost certainly put a scare into them, even if it is not yet clear what the effect will be. As the company tries to return to its friends-and-family roots, news outlets like BuzzFeed, CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times will be watching closely. The change casts a spotlight on the data and algorithms used to sort Facebook’s News Feed, which is core to its enormous digital advertising business. Every user sees a different set of content and ads, ranked and tailored based on their characteristics, what they click and what their friends do. Although Facebook prioritizes certain posts, like those new baby and engagement announcements that quickly draw Likes and comments, there are no hard and fast rules for what a user sees first. In that vein, it’s unclear for publishers how Facebook’s rules on “meaningful” content will affect them. “Because space in News Feed is limited, showing more posts from friends and family and updates that spark conversation means we’ll show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers,” Adam Mosseri, the head of Facebook’s News Feed, wrote in a blog post on Thursday night. As part of the shift, Facebook pages run by publishers and businesses may see a reduction in the number of people they reach and site visits, he wrote. The numbers will vary based on factors, including “the type of content they produce and how people interact with it,” Mosseri added. New York Times News Service

Sports BusinessMirror

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

Saturday, January 13, 2018

AWKWARD POSITION M

By John Pye

The Associated Press

ELBOURNE, Australia—Roger Federer found himself in a slightly awkward position before the Australian Open draw. Just being there. A few minutes later when the formalities were completed, Federer found out how difficult defending his title could be after landing in the same half as six-time champion Novak Djokovic. “This is not normal,” Federer told a crowd of hundreds of fans before the draw on Thursday at Margaret Court Arena. “I don’t like usually going to draws because they freak me out. I don’t want to know who I play other than just seeing the sheet at the end and knowing who my first-round opponent is.” First up, the 36-year-old Swiss will play Ajaz Bedene of Slovenia. He also has No. 7-ranked David Goffin, Juan Martin del Potro, Sam Querrey and Milos Raonic in his quarter. There’s a potential semifinal against Djokovic, who is aiming for a record seventh Australian Open title but is seeded 14th as he returns from six months on the sidelines with a right-elbow injury. Djokovic is in the same quarter as the Zverev brothers—fourth-seeded Alexander could meet older brother and No. 32-seeded Mischa in the third round—2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, and No. 5 Dominic Thiem. Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the final here last year on his return from six months on the sidelines and is seeded No. 2 as he bids for a 20th Grand Slam singles title. Djokovic had a contrasting 2017, starting at No. 2 but losing in a second-round upset at the Australian Open and not playing again after Wimbledon. It was the first year since 2009 that Djokovic didn’t reach at least one Grand Slam final. He delayed his return until two exhibition appearances this week. Top-ranked Nadal will open against Victor Estrella Burgos, has a potential fourth-round match against John

Isner, and No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in his half of the draw. He followed his run to the final in Melbourne by winning the French Open and US Open, splitting the Grand Slam honors with Federer for the year. Serena Williams has opted not to defend her title four months after giving birth to her first child, leaving the women’s draw open. Her sister Venus, who lost the all-Williams Australian Open final last year, has a tough opener against Belinda Bencic—who combined with Federer to win the Hopman Cup for Switzerland last week—and is also in the same quarter as US Open winner Sloane Stephens. Top-ranked Simona Halep opens against Australian wild card Destanee Aiava, has a potential secondround match against 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard, and is in the same half as Garbine Muguruza, the Wimbledon champion. Third-seeded Muguruza is in a difficult quarter containing former Australian Open champions Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber, and US Open finalist Madison Keys. Sharapova, who won the 2008 Australian title and reached three other finals at Melbourne Park, missed last year’s tournament during a 15-month suspension after a failed doping test here in 2016. The five-time major winner finished 2017 ranked No. 60, meaning she missed out on a seeding for the Australian Open and could face 2016 champion Kerber in the third round.

ROGER FEDERER (left) and Novak Djokovic are drawn in the same half for Australian Open. AP

“There’s no easy way to get to the top,” Sharapova told the crowd at Margaret Court Arena before the draw. “You always have to beat the top players in order to get to the top.” Organizers defended the decision

to invite Sharapova to appear as the representative for the women’s draw, with tournament director Craig Tiley saying the sanction was over and the 30-year-old Russian was there as a former champion. Sharapova said after a long time out she had to be patient coming back to the tour, but was still

confident of returning to the top ranking and winning major tournaments. “The drive, I still have it. I certainly will hope I put myself in that position,” Sharapova said. “I put a lot of expectations on myself because I have been there, and I have delivered in those moments. I expect to continue to do so.”

Korea seeks Olympic sliding breakthrough in skeleton

Pence to lead US delegation to Olympics

ASHINGTON—Vice President Mike Pence and Karen Pence will lead the US delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. The White House said on Wednesday Pence will attend the opening ceremonies of the games, scheduled for February 9 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Pence will hold meetings with leaders in Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, where he will stress the US commitment to stability in the region. The vice president is also scheduled to stop in Alaska to review intercontinental ballistic missile defense systems. Jarrod Agen, Pence’s deputy chief of staff, said Pence would travel to the Olympics “to reinforce the strong US presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear message of American resolve to the North Korean regime.” North Korea has agreed to take part in the games in South Korea, and the two countries have agreed to hold more discussions on easing tensions along their border and reopening a military hot line. The US and other world powers want North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. AP

OREAN skeleton star Yun Sungbin is absolutely obsessed with Iron Man. He collects the figurines. He’s seen the movies. He knows every aspect of the superhero’s story. Some even call him Iron Man. He may be called Gold Man soon. South Korea has 26 gold medals in its Winter Olympic history—all on ice, all with skates involved, most from speedskating. The nation doesn’t have much of a sliding history, but has made great strides as it builds momentum to host the Pyeongchang Games. And Yun is certainly one of the host nation’s top gold hopefuls, looking to parlay his home-track advantage into big things. “I do believe that if I focus on what I should do, then everything will come out great,” Yun told Korean media in early January. He could be right. Yun was the only slider on the circuit to finish first or second in each of the first six World Cup

races this season. If there’s any pressure on him as he goes into his second Olympics, and obviously his first at home, it’s not showing. He will face serious competition from the Latvian brother duo of Martins Dukurs and Tomass Dukurs, while Matt Antoine of the United States—a medalist from the Sochi Games—has been trying to build his entire season around peaking in Pyeongchang. In women’s skeleton, Britain might have a chance at a third straight gold from a third different woman. Laura Deas will look to carry on her team’s tradition of winning the sport’s biggest race, after Amy Williams in 2010 and Lizzy Yarnold in 2014. Since skeleton returned to the Olympic program in 2002, a British woman has won gold, silver or bronze every time. Here’s some of what to know going into skeleton at the Pyeongchang Games:

MEDAL FAVORITES

THE women’s race could be wide open with no fewer than 10 medal contenders from seven countries. Yun will be the men’s favorite, and since the host Koreans have far more runs down the track at the Alpensia Sliding Center than anyone else his familiarity there could be the

edge he needs.

WHAT IS IT

NO, you may not call it “headfirst luge.” Skeleton sliders go down the track headfirst, on a very different sled than those in the luge world, but can reach speeds exceeding 128.74 kph. There’s a sprint at the start as racers hang onto their sled, then they jump aboard and go on a wild ride for the next minute or so.

BEST RIVALRY

NOTHING like a sibling rivalry, and in this case, poor Tomass Dukurs. The Latvian is one of the sport’s very best sliders right now, but is also second-best in his own family. His brother Martins Dukurs finishes ahead of him more than 90 percent of the time when they’ve both been entered in the same international competition.

RISING STARS

THE future of women’s skeleton is clear. Germany’s Jacqueline Loelling is 22, Canada’s Elisabeth Vathje is 23, and they have been consistently better than everyone else this season. This could be the start of a real Olympic rivalry.

RULE CHANGES

A WORLD Cup has two heats on one day; an Olympic competition has four heats over two days.

DEFENDING SOMETHING

THESE are strange times in the Olympic world because of the still-developing fallout from the doping scandal that ensnared the host Russians at the Sochi Games four years ago, one that led to many medals getting stripped—but not yet reallocated. So Martins Dukurs, who finished second in 2014, may go to Pyeongchang and still not know if he’s the defending gold medalist in his event. Katie Uhlaender, the hard-luck American veteran who has spent half her life chasing an Olympic medal, might be getting one because she finished fourth behind a since-banned Russian in Sochi four years ago. “I have to focus on what I can control, and I have to focus on myself,” Uhlaender said.

DON’T MISS

Dave Greszczyszyn of Canada is a 38-year-old who once was a teacher and part-time bus driver before deciding to pursue his Olympic skeleton hopes. He’s called Alphabet, for obvious reasons.

OLYMPIAN EFFORT

SOME even call Yun Sungbin Iron Man. He may be called Gold Man soon. AP

JOHN DALY of the US will make headlines for his supercoiffed hair. He retired after a last-run disaster in Sochi, then came back while holding down a full-time job, and everything he’s done over the last two years has been about getting ready for this race. He’ll go for broke, and it may net him a medal. AP

BusinessMi

A6 Saturday, January 13, 2018 | Editor: Jun Lomibao

WITH former Olympic and International Cycling Union World Champion Zabirova as a role model, more and more Uzbek women are taking to their bikes, and a dedicated Women’s Committee works for the development of women’s cycling.

Uzbekistan has great deal to offer when it comes to cycling

OT summers, mild winters, good roads and plenty of mountains, not to mention two velodromes— Uzbekistan has a great deal to offer when it comes to cycling. Building on these assets, the Uzbekistan Cycling Federation (UCF), under the presidency of Tanzila Narbaeva, is currently leading a concerted effort to step up the sport in the Central Asian country. With neighboring nations choosing Uzbekistan as a destination for their training camps, Uzbek cyclists regularly have the opportunity to rub shoulders with cyclists from abroad. The ideal cycling conditions and historical tourism sites on offer have motivated Uzbekistan to bid to host the Asian Championships in 2019. If granted, this would be the country’s biggest-ever cycling event, and no doubt build on the already growing popularity of the sport. For although absent from the limelight in recent years, Uzbekistan’s cyclists are present in the sport’s history books. Few will have forgotten Djamolidine Abdoujaparov whose ferocious sprints earned him the Tour de France’s green sprinter’s jersey on three occasions in the 1990s. More recently, Tashkentborn Zulfiya Zabirova was 1996 Olympic Champion and 2002 International Cycling Union (UCI) World Champion in the time trial, and Sergey Lagutin, born in Fergana, was Under-23 UCI World Champion in the road race in 2003. He currently rides for UCI

Professional Continental Team Gazprom-RusVelo and his father is a national coach in Uzbekistan.

Road to Tokyo 2020

Now, the aim of the UCF is to prepare the country’s athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To ensure widespread development throughout the country, the Uzbekistan Cycling Federation, which was founded in 1991, has 14 regional branches. All of them have sponsorship to ensure they can provide regional cyclists with adequate equipment and competent staff. This year the UCI, through the World Cycling Centre’s Bikes for the World program, donated 10 bikes to the federation to help with its development work. Cycling departments have been set up in sports schools, all regions have Olympic Reserves Colleges, and there has been an increase in the quota for cyclists admitted to the Uzbek State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports. More and more opportunities are opening up for cyclists, not least with the Tashkent Cycling Team established by the UCF and which joins the ranks of the UCI Continental Teams in 2018. Another successful project has been the federation’s assistance in the founding of the cycling team “Queen Sport Project—for the People of Spirit” for young cyclists with type 1 diabetes. It is no coincidence that several Uzbek cyclists are part of the development and Junior structures of the UCI Professional Continental team, Team

Novo Nordisk, whose mission is “to inspire, educate and empower people affected by diabetes.” Mass-participation rides are very popular throughout the country, with thousands of participants taking to their bikes in Youth, Women and Masters events held in all regions.

DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN CYCLING

THE women’s events are becoming increasingly popular, and one of the UCF’s priorities is to develop women’s cycling even further. With former Olympic and UCI World Champion Zabirova as a role model, more and more Uzbek women are taking to their bikes, and a dedicated Women’s Committee works for the development of women’s cycling. Its activities include the organization of a Female Cycling Marathon, which aims to promote healthy families across all generations. On a more competitive level, two female under-23 national riders have signed contracts with United Arab Emirates-registered Al Asal Cycling Team, which competes nationally and abroad. While efforts are currently concentrated on road and track cycling—the velodrome in Tashkent is currently under reconstruction—it is the federation’s desire to extend its activities to include mountain bike and BMX. The goal is to build a BMX track in Tashkent which could become a training centre for riders not only from Uzbekistan but also those from across the border. UCI News

Women’s cycling in Australia can take heart from success of their tennis counterparts M itchelton-Scott rider Gracie Elvin says that women’s cycling can take heart from the growing success of their tennis counterparts and thinks that there are major opportunities for the sport to grow. Elvin is one of the founding members of riders’ association the Cyclists’ Alliance, which was announced last month. The Australian believes that the sport is not shackled down by the weight of history and has a chance to “push for change”. “I truly think that women’s cycling has the potential to be one of the leaders in global women’s sport,” Elvin said. “The success of women’s tennis can be a great example of how a unified body can push for change and prove the audience is there. The financial opportunities for the sport, for teams and for individuals are endless, given the right platform and not stalled in the hands of a few. “Even though cycling is entrenched in tradition, women’s cycling is relatively new and, thus, less hindered by ‘doing it how it has always been done.’ Giving riders a voice will ultimately show them that they have choices.” Elvin says that there is currently a disparity in support across women’s cycling and that she was surprised to find out how little some of her counterparts were paid to race. Elvin is about to start her seventh season as a professional, but she says that even she was shocked by the results of a recent survey compiled by the Alliance ahead of their official launch last December. The survey, completed by almost 300 riders, showed that around 50 percent of riders in the women’s peloton are paid less than €10,000 per year. She added that the lack of legal assistance was also worrying, with some 91 percent of respondents saying they’d signed a contract with no legal aid. “It’s been great to see women’s cycling progress so much since I have been a professional rider, so it was surprising in some results to see how little so many riders can live on still,” Elvin said. “More of the bigger teams are offering better salaries and professional operations, but clearly the majority of riders are not seeing the support that the top riders are getting yet. “It is also worrying to see that so many riders enter into a contract with no legal assistance. Even without introducing a minimum salary, providing a support

network and information for women to utilize when making big decisions will ensure the teams become more accountable for how they look after their riders.”

A balancing act

Another factor that the rider survey threw up was the number of riders who are in some level of education. There are some, such as former world champion Amalie Dideriksen, who are finishing school studies while racing, and many are dovetailing university degrees with racing. Some 67 percent of riders had at least a college or university diploma and 35 percent of riders are undertaking some kind of study while they race.

Elvin is a member of that 35 percent and she must now balance all three parts of her career. However, she says that it is her racing that must take priority for now. “My racing takes priority at the moment, and secondly my university commitments. I am lucky that I can call my cycling career a real job and treat it as such! I have enough experience now to know what I need to do in a season to get the best out of myself and manage my time and energy around that to do any extra work that I need or want. I feel like I have enough capacity to take on this role and it is the right time to start giving back.” Cyclingnews

WHAT D DO 5 FEE

Gracie Elvin: Giving riders a voice shows them they have choices.

MTB ON SNOW

Around 150 cyclists ride their bikes on the ski slopes during the 29th edition of the GP St-Sylvestre, a mountain-bike snow race in the alpine resort of Villars, Switzerland, on New Year’s Eve. AP

irror CYCLING

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Saturday, January 13, 2018 A7

MANGLED bicycles are tagged as evidence at the Michigan State Police crime lab in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after an accident in June 2016. AP

MONK: MUSICIAN, STUDENT AND NATIONAL CHAMPION

YRUS MONK made a name for himself winning the U23 national Australian road title in Buninyong. The 21-year-old only started racing in his final year of school. Prior to cycling, Monk immersed himself in a variety of activities, school and sports. While cricket and football have fallen by the wayside for Monk, music continues to be a key component of his life into his 20s. A third-year student at the University of Melbourne, majoring in physiology, Monk’s pathway into the sport might be unusual, but on the bike, his tenacity and strength hold him in good stead. A ride as a trainee with Cannondale-Drapac last year exposed Monk to high-level European racing and left him knowing the dream of a professional contract is within his reach. He continued with the Drapac EF p/b Cannondale Holistic Development Team this season but knows that wins are required to step up to the WorldTour level. On the first opportunity, he duly delivered. “You try and picture that every training ride for the past four months so it is pretty hard to believe it has actually happened,” Monk said of his biggest win to date. Monk was “furious” with the decision by Cycling Australia to cut the length of the U23 men’s road race due to extreme weather conditions—high temperatures and blustery winds that threatened to turn into raging bushfires through the dry Ballarat scrubland. Like his namesake Thelonious and possibly drawing on his own jazz background, Monk improvised, making a longrange, solo, successful bid for the win. “Basically, I was just focused on putting in the best nationals I could and then Sun Tour after that. I am really hoping for a UniSA start at Tour Down Under. That ride is usually enough to get a spot in that so I would feel pretty stiff if I missed out. I’ll wait and see with that one,” Monk said, hoping not to join Ben Dyball, the last U23 winner to miss selection in 2011. Monk is hoping to earn a WorldTour contract with the

CYCLING-CROSS star Mathieu van der Poel suggests the International Cycling Union is “partly to blame” due to permitted drug thresholds.

DIFFERENCE ET MAKE? L

By David Eggert The Associated Press

ANSING, Michigan—In the capital of the US auto industry, drivers have been slow to accept that more Americans are choosing bicycles over cars for commuting or for fun and exercise. While other states adopted bike-friendly safety laws to accommodate cycling’s soaring popularity, Michigan steered clear of the trend and watched as more riders got killed by cars. Now lawmakers are trying to make up for lost time by seeking some of the nation’s strictest bike-safety regulations and tough new penalties for distracted motorists who cause serious injury or death while using a mobile device. It could be a culture shock for a state where Fords, Chevys and Chryslers have reigned supreme for generations. “It’s a really, really hot topic,” said Republican Rep. Triston Cole, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The bills have widespread support in the Senate and are awaiting further study in the House. If the proposals become law, Michigan cyclists would gain additional legal protections and motorists would have to wait for 5 feet of clearance before passing a bike—a wider berth than all but one other state. Cyclists say it is time for the state with the Motor City to change. Many drivers “are just angry that we’re out there. They yell at us. They drive aggressively toward us,” said Paul Gobble, a photographer, designer and member of “The Chain Gang,” a club that organizes casual weekly rides on Tuesday nights. Thirty-eight cyclists were killed on Michigan roads last year, almost double the number two years earlier. Nearly 2,000 were injured. Nationwide, 840 cyclists were killed in 2016, the most in 25 years. Gobble, 48, was involved in one of the nation’s deadliest

vehicle-bike crashes when a pickup truck driver allegedly under the influence of drugs hit a group of nine cyclists in June 2016 near Kalamazoo, killing five. Gobble, who suffered a brain injury and broken bones in his back, neck, leg and ribs, said there is a “great deal of ignorance” about cyclists’ rights to use the road. The legislative debate is unfolding as bikes are booming all around the country. Nearly 900,000 Americans commute to work by bicycle—a tiny portion of overall traffic but a 39-percent increase from a decade ago. But except for roughly half-a-dozen Michigan communities that have enacted local 5-foot ordinances, the state has largely hewed to its car-centric traditions. That may be changing. Among large US cities, bike commuting grew the most on a percentage basis in Detroit from 2000 to 2016, according to the League of American Bicyclists. A bike-share program was launched in the city this year. Twenty-four of the 38 bicyclists killed last year in Michigan were riding straight ahead just prior to the crash, police reported. Cyclists see that as evidence that motorists are passing too closely. Thirty states have enacted distance-specific “safe passing” laws, most requiring 3 feet of clearance for passing bikes. Nine more tell drivers to pass at an unspecified safe distance, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Michigan—where the law has been read to apply only to passing vehicles, not bikes—the proposal to allow a full 5 feet could force drivers to pull into the next lane rather than try to squeeze by. Cole suggested there are too many windy rural roads with miles of double yellow no-passing lines to require 5 feet. Citing concerns about commercial haulers, he said a universal distance requirement may not make sense for every situation. “Give me a break,” scoffed retired computer industry executive Paul Selden, who serves as a road safety director for the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club. “Motorists have been crossing

those lines for years” when they go around an obstruction or pass slower traffic, such as farm vehicles, mail carriers or delivery trucks, he said. Selden, 66, said he is used to vehicles crowding him toward the curb. Several years ago a car clipped his left pedal as it went by, which sounded like “a gun going off.” Also pressing for the 5-foot berth is Becky Callender of Lansing, whose 5-year-old son Henry was in a single file of bikes on a rural road in 2015 when he was struck by an SUV. Henry, who was among 45,000 bicyclists injured in US motor vehicle crashes that year, was hospitalized for nearly a month with brain and spinal cord injuries and is receiving physical and speech therapy. His helmet saved his life. A 5-foot zone is “something that you can ticket. It’s something that you can teach and educate about in driver’s training. It’s something that’s concrete,” his mother said. Jeremy Gray, a 51-year-old tech executive and a former psychology professor, was lucky to escape with a broken collarbone when a motorist hit him from behind on a country road outside Lansing in 2015. “As a responsible driver, you just want to be at least that far away from somebody,” the avid cyclist said of the 5-foot proposal. Other measures would expand an anti-texting ban and mandate that teen drivers receive at least one hour of instruction on laws pertaining to bicycles and other “vulnerable” roadway users. Jayne Snider’s father, Eric, who rode nearly 6,000 miles a year, was struck from behind by a pickup truck and killed in 2016 while commuting to Lansing Community College, where he was an assistant dean. The driver was acquitted of operating a motor vehicle causing death. A legal expert blamed Michigan’s inadequate laws. “Our current laws don’t protect our cyclists,” Snider told legislators at a recent hearing. “Do it for my 59-year-old father and just do it for those who no longer have a voice in our community.”

CYRUS MONK makes a name Down Under.

EF-Drapac WorldTour team, too. “They were pretty happy with how I rode for them last year, but they wanted to see a few more results. I have started the year pretty well in terms of that.” In addition to targeting selection for Tour Down Under with UniSA-Australia, Monk hopes to be selected for the other WorldTour event, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which, on paper, is well suited to his characteristics. In the 2015 edition of the 228-kilometer ride from Grafton to Inverell, Monk’s second place confirmed his capabilities in one-day races, and he is keen to explore the genre. “I definitely like one-day racing. Because it is always hard and selective. I like a controlled race in theory because you don’t have to concentrate the whole day but I always end up doing better in the chaotic races like this race always is,” he said. “I found myself doing better in Belgian one-day races. That is one thing I would like to target but, obviously, you just have to have a huge engine to be doing that kind of stuff once you get to Europe. I have a lot of work to do before I can take it to the WorldTour.” Monk’s team includes the phrase “Holistic Development”, one that may sound odd in the cycling world, but the Victorian is a believer in the concept, which simply means that the team supports and encourages its riders to be well rounded and plan for post-cycling careers. “Our team is obviously all about holistic development and a lot of people just think that is bullshit—but if you look at all the riders, they are all developing and switched on,” Monk said. “If they are throwing away the bike, it is because they have a job set up to walk into straight after. There is no one who is fully committed who realizes they are not going to make it and have nothing to do after. It is so much less pressure. Coming into this I know if it doesn’t work out and I’ve got it wrong on the bike, then I have the uni degree to fall back on and it makes it so much more enjoyable riding my bike.” There is no insincerity in Monk’s application of his varied of interests, hobbies and profession, and although a jazz career like that of Thelonious Monk may be out of the question, music could still be a future pathway for Cyrus. For now, a green and gold jersey and the opportunity to travel the world though has sealed the deal for cycling. “I have heard of Thelonious Monk and played quite a few of his songs back in the day, so that was a good namesake to have. Mum used to take me to a few jazz and folk festivals as a kid, so it is not the most common hobby outside of cycling but it is still good to have something different on everyone else,” he said. Cyclingnews

‘FROOME SHOULD BE SUSPENDED’

YCLO-CROSS star Mathieu van der Poel stressed Chris Froome should be suspended for his Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for salbutamol, describing the Briton’s case as “very stupid” and accusing the UCI of allowing it to happen due to thresholds for certain medicines. Froome sparked an AAF in the final week of the 2017 Vuelta a España as he fought for overall victory. Twice the permitted 1,000ng/ml level of salbutamol was found in his urine and he could now lose his Grand Tour win and face a ban from the sport. Because salbutamol is a “specified” substance on World AntiDoping Agency’s (Wada) prohibited list, Froome has not been provisionally suspended and has set the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France as his major goals of 2018. To avoid a conviction, Froome and his legal team must convince the anti-doping authorities that he did not exceed permitted dosage and that his sample was skewed by other factors, such as dehydration. Team Sky Manager Dave Brailsford suggested that “there are complex medical and physiological issues which affect the metabolism and excretion of salbutamol.” He added, “I have the utmost confidence that Chris followed the medical guidance in managing his asthma symptoms, staying within the permissible dose for salbutamol.” Earlier, former Tour de France winner Greg LeMond criticized Froome, labeling his expected defense as “ridiculous.” When it was put to LeMond that Froome may claim he took three puffs of his inhaler just before providing his sample to anti-doping after stage 18 of the Vuelta, the American said: “Give me a break.” “That is the most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard. If this is what he claims, then it’s simple, he broke the rules and should be punished accordingly.” Van der Poel was similarly blunt.

“It’s very stupid, I can’t help saying that. Maybe I’m a bit too blunt for saying it like this. Maybe asthma patients will understand the case better, but cycling and all sports in general are for healthy people,” the young Dutchman said during an interview on the Dutch television show AvroTros (OneToday) and reported widely in Belgium and the Netherlands. Asked how Froome should be punished, van der Poel was again forthright. “A suspension, that’s what I think. For me it’s a positive test. If the limit is 1,000 and he’s up to 2,000, then there’s not much discussion needed. That’s a positive test.” Salbutamol’s properties as a bronchodilator mean that it is on the Wada prohibited list, but it is permitted for therapeutic reasons. An athlete faces a potential anti-doping sanction if a urine sample contains a level of salbutamol that exceeds 1,000ng/ml. Above certain levels salbutamol is believed to have an anabolic effect and increase performance. Van der Poel suggested that limits on certain drugs mean the rules are open to abuse. “The UCI allows that abuse, is possible. If you state that it’s not allowed, then it will not happen,” he said. “Now, they’re saying that it is allowed up toward a certain amount. Then you just know that some people will try to get up to that height; the ideal height. I think the UCI is partly to blame about that.” Van der Poel was interviewed while driving home after the recent Namur World Cup cyclo-cross race. He said he had no problem talking about the sport’s problem with doping even if it is often a taboo subject in traditional cycling countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands. Cyclingnews

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A8 Saturday, January 13, 2018 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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Tacloban seniors tapped as tour guides

ACLOBAN CITY—The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the city government here have trained senior citizens as tour guides to equip them with the necessary skills to attend to visitors and talk about the cultural and natural heritage in this city and nearby areas. Under the “Gabay Turista” program, the local government and the tourism department picked 50 retired teachers and government workers to join the training in late-December. “It’s not hard to train them because it is given that senior citizens are well-versed of the local history,”

DOT Senior Tourism Operations Officer Norberto Lumbre said in an interview last Thursday. The DOT will also expand the program to other towns and cities in the region frequently visited by tourists, Lumbre said. As partners in promoting local tourism, the elderly will be trained

on proper in-house and community tour guiding, instead of outdoor activities, considering their physical limitations. Experts toured the selected senior citizens to Santo Niño Parish Church, Tacloban City Hall ground, Madona of Japan monument, Leyte Capitol Building, Santo Niño Shrine, Yolanda Shipwreck Memorial, San Juanico Bridge and nearby Yolanda Memorial. Also included in the itinerary are the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral, McArthur Park and National Shrine and Yolanda mass graves in Palo and Tanauan towns. The group also visited the Korean Army Contingent camp at the Government Center in Palo town. The site served as the headquarter of a Korean Army contingent that helped in the rebuilding and rehabilitation of Leyte towns pummeled by the 2013 supertyphoon.

Eastern Visayas Association of Tour Guides President Butz Eguia, who joined the familiarization tour, said the senior citizens had good potentials to become tour guides considering their knowledge of the local history. “They will also undergo training on information gathering because they have to tell new stories, trivial, and not available in books or Internet,” Eguia told the Philippine News Agency. Claire Co, a former teacher in Tacloban for 45 years, said it was a refreshing experience learning new information about places they usually visited like the McArthur Park. “The tour guides tell us some information that we do not know about the Leyte Landing, which is helpful to us because it updated the information that we already had and corrected some information that we perceived to be true,” Co added. PNA

Care suffers as more nursing homes feed money into corporate Webs

EMPHIS,Tennesse—When one of Martha Jane Pierce’s sons peeled back the white sock that had been covering his 82-year-old mother’s right foot for a month, he discovered rotting flesh. “It looked like a piece of black charcoal” and smelled “like death,” her daughter Cindy Hatfield later testified. After Pierce, a patient at a nursing home in Memphis, was transferred to a hospital, a surgeon had to amputate much of her leg. One explanation for Pierce’s lackluster care in 2009, according to financial records and testimony in a lawsuit brought by the Pierce family, is that the nursing home, Allenbrooke Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, appeared to have been severely underfunded at the time, with a $2-million deficit on its books and a scarcity of nurses and aides. “Sometimes we’d be short of diapers, sheets, linens,” one nurse testified. That same year, $2.8 million of the facility’s $12 million in operating expenses went to a constellation of corporations controlled by two Long Island accountants who, court records show, owned Allenbrooke and 32 other nursing homes. The homes paid the men’s other companies to provide physical therapy, management, drugs and other services, from which the owners reaped profits. In what has become an increasingly common business arrangement, owners of nursing homes outsource a wide variety of goods and services to companies where they have a financial interest or that they control. Nearly three quarters of nursing homes in the United States—more than 11,000—have such business dealings, known as related-party transactions, according to an analysis of nursing-home financial records by Kaiser Health News. Some homes even contract out basic functions like management or rent their own building from a sister corporation, saying it is an efficient way of running their businesses and can help minimize taxes.

But these arrangements offer another advantage: Owners can ar range highly favorable contracts in which their nursing homes pay more than they might in a competitive market. Owners then siphon off higher profits, which are not recorded on the nursing home’s accounts. The two Long Island men, Donald Denz and Norbert Bennett, and their families’ trusts collected distributions totaling $40 million from their chain’s $145 million in revenue over eight years—a 28-percent margin, legal documents showed. In 2014 alone, Denz earned $13 million and Bennett made $12 million, principally from their nursing-home companies, according to personal income-tax filings. Typical nursing-home profits are “in the 3-percent to 4-percent range,” said Bill Ulrich, a nursinghome financial consultant. Contracts with related companies accounted for $11 billion of nursing home spending in 2015—a tenth of their costs—according to financial disclosures the homes submitted to Medicare. In California the state auditor is examining related-party transactions at another nursing home chain, Brius Healthcare Services, regarding reimbursements from the state’s Medicaid program. Rental prices to real-estate companies related to the chain of homes were a third higher than rates paid by other for-profit nursing homes in the same counties, according to an analysis by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Such corporate Webs bring owners a legal benefit, too: When a nursing home is sued, injured residents and their families have a much harder time collecting money from the related companies—the ones with the full coffers. After the Pierce family won an initial verdict against the nursing home, Denz and Bennett appealed, and their lawyer, Craig Conley, said they would not discuss the case or their business

GRANDMA’S PUSHCART ENTERPRISE

Strolling the marketplace from sunrise to sunset, 72-year-old Mercedes Bassig sells probiotic drinks with her pushcart in Santiago City, Isabela. She sells an average of 200 bottles a day, a business she claims she started in 2004. LEONARDO PERANTE II

while the appeal was pending. “For more than a decade, Allenbrooke’s caregivers have promoted the health, safety and welfare of their residents,” Conley wrote in an e-mail. Dr. Michael Wasserman, the head of the management company for the Brius nursing homes, called the subject of corporate structures a “nonissue” and said, “What matters at the end of the day is what the care being delivered is about.” Networks of jointly owned limited-liability corporations are fully legal and widely used in oth-

er businesses, such as restaurants and retailers. Nonprofit nursing homes sometimes use them, as well. Owners can have more control over operations—and better allocate resources—if they own all the companies. In many cases, industry consultants say, a related company will charge a nursing home lower fees than an independent contractor might, leaving the chain with more resources. “You don’t want to pay for someone else to make money off of you,” Ulrich said. “You want to retain that within your organization.”

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Afraid of falling? For older adults, the Dutch have a cure Editor’s note: About two decades ago, a Life Call commercial in the United States showed an elderly woman splayed on the floor calling out, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” It was a true-to-life experience that have played out in many homes worldwide, especially among older adults living alone. The experience is undoubtedly a terrifying one.

EUSDEN, Netherlands—The shouts of schoolchildren playing outside echoed through the gymnasium where an obstacle course was being set up. There was the “Belgian sidewalk,” a wooden contraption designed to simulate loose tiles; a “sloping slope,” ramps angled at an ankle-unfriendly 45 degrees; and others like “the slalom” and “the pirouette.” They were not for the children, though, but for a class where the students ranged in age from 65 to 94. The obstacle course was clinically devised to teach them how to navigate treacherous ground without having to worry about falling, and how to fall if they did. “It’s not a bad thing to be afraid of falling, but it puts you at higher risk of falling,” said Diedeke van Wijk, a physiotherapist who runs WIJKfysio and teaches the course three times a year in Leusden, a bedroom community just outside Amersfoort, in the center of the country. The Dutch, like many elsewhere, are living longer than in previous generations, often alone. As they do, courses that teach them not only how to avoid falling, but how to fall correctly, are gaining popularity. This one, called Vallen Verleden Tijd course, roughly translates as “Falling is in the past.” Hundreds of similar courses are taught by registered by physio- and occupational therapists across the Netherlands. Yet, falling courses—especially clinically tested ones—are a fairly recent phenomenon, according to Richard de Ruiter, of the Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen, the foundation hospital that developed this particular course. Virtually unheard-of just a decade ago, the courses are now common enough that the government rates them. Certain forms of Dutch health insurance even cover part of the costs. While the students are older, not all of them seemed particularly frail. Herman van Lovink, 88, arrived on his bike. So did Annie Houtveen, 75. But some arrived with walkers and canes, and others were carefully guided by relatives. Falling can be a serious thing for older adults. Aging causes the bones to become brittle, and broken ones do not heal as readily. Today, 18.5 percent of the Dutch population—roughly 3.2 million people—is 65 or older, according to official statistics. In 1950 about the time some of the younger course participants were born, people 65 or older made up just 7.7 percent of the population. Across the Netherlands, 3,884 people 65 or older died as result of a fall in 2016, a 38-percent increase from two years earlier. Experts say the rise in fatalities reflects the overall aging of the population, and also factors such as the

growing use of certain medications or general inactivity. “It’s same as with young children: More and more old people have an inactive lifestyle,” said Saskia Kloet, a program manager at VeiligheidNL, an institution that offers similar courses. Even inactivity in one’s 30s or 40s could lead to problems later in life, she noted. Like many people her age, Hans Kuhn, 85, worried that her daily routine—and the ability to live alone— would end if she ever lost her balance and fell. She has lived in her house for decades, and alone since her partner died years ago. Its steeply winding staircase is equipped with a motorized chair on a rail to help reach upper floors. “I only use it when I have to bring lots of heavy things upstairs,” said Kuhn, herself a retired physiotherapist. Kuhn’s entire house is a study in efficiency and simple modifications that can make all the difference for an older person. Hand grips are installed in just the right places, as well as ramps to accommodate her two walkers. There is a stationary exercise bike to keep her moving, and a weight machine made from a big can of beans and string to maintain her upper body strength. Even as she feels herself grow frailer and less flexible, she knows how to stay fit. “My main problem is I’m very afraid of falling,” she added. So she joined the course, which meets twice a week. On Tuesdays the students build confidence by walking and rewalking the obstacle course. Thursdays are reserved for the actual falls. In order to learn, the students start by approaching the mats slowly, lowering themselves down at first. Over the weeks, they learn to fall. “Naturally, they are not interested in courses on falling at first, but once they see that they can do it, then it’s fun,” Kloet said. “But there is also a very important social aspect.” Indeed, seeing one another helplessly sprawled across the gym mats gave way to giggling and plenty of dry comments, knowing jokes, general ribbing and hilarity. “Stop your chattering,” van Wijk warned a group of well-dressed women who were supposed to be concentrating on the correct way to let themselves fall onto the foot-thick blue mat. “I would,” said Loes Bloemdal, 80, laughing. “But I have no one to talk with all day.” In preparing their bodies for a possibly apocalyptic event, the students appeared to forget about their age. Van Lovink, the cyclist, asked if they would learn standing on one leg. “Why would you want to do that?” replied van Wijk. “To be able to put on my pants,” van Lovink said seriously, but to the amusement of his classmates. Van Wijk advised them all to always sit when putting on their pants. “That’s the power of physiotherapy with geriatrics,” she said. “You practice the things you know you can do, and not the things you can’t.” New York Times News Service

Faces of war: Who are the men in soldier’s World War II sketches?

ARATOGA SPRINGS, New York—Before the Army’s 27th Infantry Division was decimated in a bloody World War II battle, Stan Dube sketched portraits of his fellow soldiers. The 17 drawings were forgotten after the war and stashed in an attic for decades before being found a year ago by his son. Now, Ira Dube is on a mission to identify the men in his late father’s 75-year-old artwork. So far, he has

definitively identified two of the soldiers, both New Yorkers who served in the 27th Division’s 105th Infantry Regiment, which suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific. One was killed on Saipan; the other died in the 1970s. Because the 27th was a former New York National Guard unit, Dube believes most or all of the other 15 men also were New Yorkers. He recently donated the original sketches to the New York State Military Muse-

um and Veterans Research Center in hopes its artifacts and records could be used to help identify more of the soldiers. It’s not known whether any of the men depicted in the artwork are still alive. “These people need to be remembered,” said Ira Dube, 61, a retired Navy veteran living in Woodland Park, Colorado. “I look at these sketches and I see a hero.” Dube found the signed sketches in the attic of his sister’s home in Mississippi early last

year while they were going through their father’s belongings. Stan Dube, who died in 2009, was drafted into the Army while studying architecture at Syracuse University, and he put his drawing skills to use by sketching pencil- and charcoalon-paper portraits of his fellow soldiers while the 27th Division was stationed in Hawaii in 1943. The sure-handed sketches mostly show young men looking pensively into the distance, though a few crack

a smile. Dube drew no backgrounds and barely sketched out his subjects’ shoulders, but he took care to capture his subjects’ eyes and faces. On all the drawings, Dube put the month, year and his signature in the lower right corner. Three of the soldiers signed their names next to Dube’s: Kenneth Reid, Joseph Joner Kratky and Joe Orbe, who added his nickname, “Solid Jackson.” Using information he found online, Ira Dube was able to track down

Kratky and Orbe’s relatives in upstate New York. Kratky was killed on Saipan in 1944. Orbe, a New York City native, survived the war and died in 1974. Dube hasn’t definitively identified the soldier in the Reid sketch. The unidentified drawings were delivered to the military museum last December 1. Director Courtney Burns said the sketches will be posted on the museum’s web site and likely will be displayed in an exhibit this year. AP

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Saturday, January 13, 2018

Catholic youth groups grapple with declining memberships By Andrew Mencias

Contributor

ALKING about God is tricky. In my family, there are two basic truths about God: the first being that there is only one, the second being that you probably shouldn’t bring Him up during dates or on the dinner table.

Talking about religion requires a certain kind of caution; one that’s just as concerned with not offending someone’s sensibilities, as it is about preserving your own. This is so because nobody—atheist or believer—wants to be disappointed. So when we talk about God, we don’t. This silence is especially tangible in the Diliman, Quezon City, campus of the University of the Philippines (UP)—and not without reason. Being a state university, it goes without saying that UP Diliman can’t and shouldn’t impose any one religion on its community. The university, which prides itself on the freedom of choice, is always said to be a microcosm of the Philippines at large. And while part of that definitely entails taking everybody into account, it begets an interesting series of questions: Where are all the Catholics and why aren’t they joining Catholic student organizations? It’s a common knowledge that the Catholic population of the Philippines floats at around 75 percent. In 2015 the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that Roman Catholics composed 80.58 percent, totaling 74 million. In 2017 the UP student population was reported to be composed of 21,795 undergraduate and graduate students. Across four Catholic organizations—UP Student Catholic Action (UPSCA), UP In-Christ Thrust for University Students (Ictus), Christ’s Youth in Action-UP Diliman chapter (CYA) and Youth for Christ-UP (YFC-UP), only 101 members are currently recognized by the Office of Student Activities (OSA). Add in the 38 volunteers in UPD’s Campus Ministry and Catholic organizations total 139 members, or 0.006 percent of UP’s student population and a far cry from the PSA’s 80.58 percent. So where did everyone go?

Losing edge

THE UPSC A has been around since 1936, making it the first Catholic organization in the university. Since then, the UPSCA has prided itself in developing what it calls a “truly Filipino Christian community.” The UPSCA takes a more grassroots approach to Catholicism. It’s a foundation that dates way back through the group’s history. During martial law, for example, the UPSCA managed a printing press that disseminated newsletters critical of the Marcos administration. This social responsibility approach extends up until today. UPSCA’s activities include immersion in different communities where participants attempt to recognize and identify the problems these communities face. Through this, the UPSCA then aims to cultivate a call to action among its members, while remaining rooted in the Christian faith.

Having been around this long, the UPSCA has seen better days when it comes to its membership. Even UPSCA President Lyka Ordoñez has found the slow decline in membership disarming. “According to our alumni, like the ones from the 1970s, UPSCA had around 500 [members] or more,” Ordoñez said after pushing up her rectangle eyeglass. “Then in the 1990s, it was around 300, with only half of them being active. And in the 2000s, it slowly began decreasing.” UPSCA currently has 28 registered members, according to the OSA, but Ordoñez says the number is closer to 40. Either way, Ordoñez has noticed the decline in UPSCA’s membership.

Hard to brand

ORDOÑEZ admitted the UPSCA experiences difficulty to recruit members. “It’s hard to force people, mostly because it’s really hard to brand yourself as a Catholic organization,” she said, fiddling with her earring studs. “The notion that people have of Catholic organizations is that it’s all dasal-dasal [prayers] and that they don’t need that in college.” Despite this, however, Ordoñez remains confident that UPSCA isn’t going away anytime soon. “It’ll still be alive, even if there’s only a few left, so long as those few are dedicated. And I think there are still dedicated members, so we really just need to put more effort.” “Joining UPSCA made me realize there’s more to it than just the word of God being taught in the Bible,” Ordoñez said. “The morals of society have basis in the Catholic faith; stuff that even if you’re not Catholic, you do anyway. But there’s more clarity once you know those things about the Catholic faith.” Ordoñez also strongly believes that there’s more to Catholicism than attending Mass or avoiding sin. She notes that joining UPSCA gave her meaning as far as living out the word of God goes. “Look at Christ. He actively went out to the people that needed help, and he helped them.”

Curious case

ONE of the more curious cases when it comes to Catholic organizations is the story of the YFC-UP. YFC, which began as an offshoot of Couples for Christ, is a nationwide organization that consists of chapters in various schools and communities. It’s an organization of the charismatic movement, meaning that the traditionally Pentecostal methods of praise and worship (such as more singing and dancing) are brought into the Catholic context. However, despite being a charismatic group with its branding as a more intimate alternative to praise and worship, YFC-UP has

millions of devotees, mainly young people, joined this year’s Traslación, an annual procession of transferring the image of the Black Nazarene from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church in Manila on the religious image’s feast day on January 9. The resurgence of faith, however, has not translated into membership in Catholic organizations operating inside the University of the Philippines. ALYSA SALEN

been through some very tough times in the recent years. This included a time when the group’s president reportedly admitted to being an atheist, according to a current member. The member, who wanted to be identified only as “Carlo Santos,” had been a member of YFC-UP since his freshman year. In that time, Santos experienced the aforementioned leadership crisis and how it crippled the organization. “[The president] was formally entered into YFC-UP through a youth camp in the campus, and when it comes to campus-based things, especially here in UP, it’s not as solid with respect to the ideals of the YFC,” Santos said.

Leadership crisis

ACCORDING to Santos, about two to three years after becoming president, he became executive president “without us knowing that [the president’s] faith was wavering.” “It was the small acts. We had hints,” Santos said. “But I guess one factor was that we in the executive team got so busy that, instead of being a support group for each other, what happened was we became task-based—without the pastoral side of our organization.” According to Santos, a former YFC leader told the other members of the executive team that the president was only performing for the sake of executing duties as an official. “[The president] tried to distance himself, but in a way where the organization wouldn’t be crippled. Unfortunately, it did cripple the organization,” Santos said. “The thing is, if you try to distance yourself but you don’t want to be too far from the group, you can’t give your all—especially as a core member of the organization.” He also blamed the lack of communication, as well as organizational dynamics. “Com mu n ic at ion-w i se, we couldn’t communicate much. And the organization is very relationalbased,” Santos explained. “So when [the president] wouldn’t talk to us, or when we would try to talk to him and he wouldn’t respond, what else was left for us to do?”

Leftist views

SANTOS demurs YFC-UP may have also frowned upon its president’s alleged leftist views. On the other hand, he admits that maybe YFCUP lacked—and still lacks—activities based in social responsibility and the grassroots. “I guess he just didn’t see the essence of what YFC does in connection with his ideals as a ‘Red,’” Santos said. “So, it was as if he thought that ‘if this [YFC] is what I associate with the Lord, and if this [YFC] isn’t that rooted in society, then he probably saw Catholicism as very distant from society.” But while Santos believes that perhaps, the president’s departure was in part due to his association with the so-called Leftists, Santos doesn’t think it’s mutually exclusive. “We have a good pope today. You see his efforts to be inclusive,” Santos said. “And that inclusivity accepts those ideas of the Reds to be more social and to be more into the grassroots.”

Very personal

STILL, Santos said he understood the process the president and the organization went through. “Catholic faith, for me, is very personal. If you don’t see the essence of being Catholic, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a failure of Catholicism itself but, perhaps, a failure of circumstance to connect with the Lord,” Santos said. He added he doesn’t blame the president “for not having that personal connection.” “People think Catholicism is very rule-based and very strict. There’s a lot that happens in Catholicism that not everyone sees,” Santos said. “YFC-UP is an alternative. YFC-UP allowed me to have a more personal relationship with [God]. Everyone just sees the Mass as a repetitive ritual that people just do every week, and they can’t connect.” YFC-UP, according to Santos, has slowly been getting back on its feet, with many of its current members having come from previous YFC backgrounds.

Empty chairs

WHEN we talk about the declining

membership in Catholic organizations, one question springs into mind—are Catholic organizations themselves declining? One defunct group is called the UP Campus Feast, a Catholic organization that aimed to spread the so-called Feast experience of Bo Sanchez’s Light of Jesus community to the UP Diliman campus. Josh Gapay was a member from the group’s initial inception in 2010 (though he wasn’t officially enrolled in UP yet) until the organization folded in 2015. According to Gapay, there were stages to the decline of the UP Campus Feast. “The first stage was having events—there would be masses, worship and talks. After that, [attendance] became smaller, although weekly, with only worship and talks,” he said. “Then a change of leadership happened and all that was left was group sharing up until our population dwindled. And [the feast] slowly went away.” Gapay added that the group wasn’t able to secure recognition with the OSA. “To add to that, the two missionaries we had, had left.” Gapay claims a big part of the UP Campus Feast’s demise came with the change of the group’s overall leadership. “When the leadership changed, [the leaders] told us to just do group sharing instead,” he said. “They felt that students could do it alone and that we didn’t need them around.” A ccord i n g to Gapay, o ve r time, it became more difficult to function without real spiritual guidance. This eventually led to being more difficult to get people to attend what little events we had left, he added.

Until it rests

TALKING about God is tricky. But between the three of them— Ordoñez, Santos and Gapay— they believe there’s still a place for Catholic organizations. “It’s a big help to students,” Ordoñez said. “In a secular university, you assume everyone’s an atheist or agnostic. And when you join a Catholic organization, it helps you gain some sort of direction in life, or at the very least, someone’s there to guide you.”

Gapay agrees with this sentiment. “Notice the youth. In this age, a lot of people have existential crises. They question why they’re in the world and so many people get depressed. What is life for?” he said. “So many people ask big questions like that and oftentimes people just run it through indulging in worldly pleasures—only to find out that it’s not enough.” Gapay added that such situation emphasizes the important role of the Catholic Church. “That’s why the role of the Church is so important—to lead people, now in this time when people have crises like those.”

Hope stirs

THIS belief is the reason, in spite of the downward trend facing Catholic organizations inside and outside the UP Diliman campus, the three remain hopeful that people can pick up a thing or two from the Catholic faith. “I always remain hopeful,” Santos said. “Hoping for a better future is always there for any man of faith.” However, when it comes to the participation of UP students in Catholic groups, Gapay recognizes that it was, and still is, an ongoing challenge. “It’s difficult. In the first place, being a Christian isn’t easy. It has demands,” he said. “When you believe, you have to change your lifestyle completely. And you can’t really blame other people, because a big part of your life will change when you accept faith.” According to him, what members of Catholic organizations like YFC-UP can do “is impart [the Catholic faith] in our lives: what it means to be Christian so that they feel it, too, through our actions.” “That’s honestly the only way to evangelize.” Andrew Mencias is a junior student of journalism at the College of Mass Communications of the University of the Philippines. This edited version of Mencias’s story, originally titled “Ain’t nobody praying for me,” was a requirement for the News reporting class. The BusinessMirror secured Mencias’s approval for publication of his story.

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FACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his “personal challenge” for 2018 is to fix Facebook and protect users from abuse, defend against interference by nation-states, and “[make] sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent.” AP

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FACEBOOK CEO’S 2018 CHALLENGE: FIX FACEBOOK BY BARBARA ORTUTAY The Associated Press NEW YORK—Mark Zuckerberg says his “personal challenge” for 2018 is to fix Facebook. The Facebook CEO has declared a goal each year since 2009. Past challenges have included wearing a tie every day, learning to speak Mandarin and eating meat only from animals he killed himself. Last year he visited every US state he hadn’t been to yet. This year, though, his challenge is directed at his company rather than personal ambitions. Zuckerberg wrote on Thursday that he wants to focus this year on protecting Facebook users from abuse, defending against interference by nation-states and “making sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent.” In other words, he wants to do his job as Facebook’s CEO. “This may not seem like a personal challenge on its face, but I think I’ll learn more by focusing intensely on these issues than I would by doing something completely separate,” Zuckerberg wrote. He added that while Facebook won’t prevent all mistakes or abuse, “we currently make too many errors.” Facebook had a tough 2017. It testified before Congress about Russian election meddling using its platform and drew harsh criticism from early employees and investors about its role in the world. But Zuckerberg also has little choice but to fix Facebook’s problems. Regulators in Washington, Europe and elsewhere are expecting concrete results. And while the platform has more than 2 billion users, there is nothing to guarantee they will stay and keep using Facebook as much as they do now if they feel depressed, lied to with fake news and hoaxes and manipulated by foreign powers. Zuckerberg compared this year’s challenge to the first one he did nine years ago. It wasn’t so much about him back then either, but about the social platform he created. “That first year the economy was in a deep recession and Facebook was not yet profitable. We needed to get serious about making sure Facebook had a sustainable business model. It was a serious year, and I wore a tie every day as a reminder,” he wrote. “Today feels a lot like that first year.” But fixing deep-rooted, existential problems is a taller order than turning a profit. Many of Facebook’s problems are deeply rooted in how it’s set up and why it’s been so successful, financially and otherwise. Its secret formulas give users the content they are most likely to interact with and what’s most likely to keep them coming back for more. Sometimes, that’s heartfelt posts by their friends but other times it’s viral fake news stories or inflammatory comments about political candidates.

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What were the 2017 Apps of the Year on the App Store? PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

HAT would many of us do without apps? From Netflix, Hooq and iFlix, to Grab and Uber, to Tinder and Grindr, apps are part of our lives. In an way, they’re like family. You can’t live without them, but you’re sometimes annoyed with them. There are probably thousands of apps available for your iPhone and other iOS gadgets. To find out which were the top ones for 2017 and what they were about, we looked at the ones chosen by the Apple App Store editors. They include: ■ AFFINITY PHOTO FOR iPAD BY SERIF LABS. Described as an alternative for Photoshop, Affinity Photo for iPad is the first full blown and truly “professional photo-editing tool to make its way onto the Apple tablet.” It has been named 2017 App of the Year on iPad by App Stores worldwide. It also has a desktop

version but for this column, we’re talking about the iPad app. The goal of Serif Labs in creating a version for iPad is to make “real” editing possible on a mobile gadget. Reviews have called Affinity Photo “life after Photoshop” and “a bold ambition no other publisher has attempted.” By the way, the app supports the Apple Pencil. Affinity Photo for iPad is compatible with the iPad Air 2, iPad 2017 and all three sizes of iPad Pro—9.7-inch, 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch. It is not compatible with older iPads. It is priced at P749. ■ ENLIGHT VIDEOLEAP BY LIGHTRICKS LTD. This free app was selected 2017 App of the Year on iPhone in 76 App Stores worldwode, including the Philippines. Enlight Videoleap is a video editor that has received rave reviews from users. Lightricks, by the way, also developed the very popular app Facetune. The company said Enlight Videoleap is “poised to revolutionize the creation and editing of today’s digital video content.” Reviewers have said that the app was easy to use, even for beginners. ■ TASTEMADE FOR APPLE TV BY TASTEMADE INC. Named 2017 App of the Year on Apple TV in Australia, Japan and New Zealand, Tastemade teaches you how to make your own food and travel reviews. Users have described the Tastemade app as “clever” and “as much about creating as sharing.” You can use the app not only to share videos via several socialmedia platforms but also view videos of other people.

Tastemade is available for free. There are no ads or in-app purchases. ■ EKIBO BY MATTHEW FARGO. Ekibo, which won 2017 App of the Year for iPhone in Japan, allows you to create your character based on your everyday experiences riding the trains, eating and doing other mundane things. According to the App Store description, “every time you ride a train or visit a location, your Ekibo learns and grows from the experience.” A description that made me believe Ekibo would be popular in the Philippines was “it can turn your dreary commute into an adventure.” ■ CALM BY CALM.COM. Calm, 2017 App of the Year on iPhone in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, is for mindfulness and meditation. There are guided meditations for beginners and advanced learners in lenghths of three, five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 minutes. Calm also has breathing exercises and Sleeping Stories. Users felt “refreshed” and “relaxed” after using this free app. ■ iTRANSLATE CONVERSE BY iTRANSLATE. iTranslate Converse is the 2017 App of the Year on Apple Watch in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the US. It is a translation app that, quite truthfully, hasn’t received good reviews. Users in the Philippines did not like that they had to use the app with the phone upside down. “It wasn’t user friendly,” they said. ■

Stylish bags for digital warriors MIXING work and style presents a constant challenge to the urban professional. Today’s modern career man faces hurdles not just at work but in staying above the daily tests of city living, from commuting to pollution to budgeting, all while keeping in style. Urbanize, the one-stop shop for city adventurers (www.urbanize.com.ph), equips urban professionals with reliable gear that meets their needs without compromising on modern style. The Bugatti bag collection offers stylish and sophisticated bags to help modern gentlemen get through the hurdles of city and professional life. For the busy professional, there’s the Bugatti Business Backpack. Designed to match urbanites’ daily bustle, the bag accommodates an everyman’s essentials, including storage slots for cell phone and pens. The 12-inch backpack has a padded zipped compartment with deep pile lining to keep laptops or tablets safe. It also

has four slip pockets, a zipped pocket and a view pocket fixed inside the bag for an identification card for added ownership security. Another daily partner for the busy professional is the Bugatti Briefcase, a compact portrait-format bag that also functions as a small organizer for business meetings. Its sophisticated exterior is matched by organized compartments and a tablet slip pocket and pen pockets, fusing modern style with thoughtful functionality. The zipper-closed bag is made with an adjustable strap to adapt to the user’s comfort. For the frequent traveler, the Bugatti Travel Bag makes sure urbanites can focus on the trip instead of worrying about their luggage. With its 19-inch wide storage space, the bag is suitable for both short and long business trip. Its two inner compartments—one main compartment for various travel essentials, and a zipped compartment for keeping smaller items—holds

all essentials for a worry-free travel. An exterior zipped pocket can hold important items for quick access. Those looking for a simple, minimalist yet ultra-reliable everyday companion, the Bugatti Messenger Bag offers a solution. Its horizontal design format suits documents and makes for easy carrying. A fusion of high-quality fashion and durability, the Bugatti Flat Shoulder Bag complements the modern man’s style. The bag, which is available in black and sand, uses soft leather and comes with two adjustable straps with a smooth finish to provide comfort and ease. The bag delivers maximum organization through an attached compartment with a cellphone pocket and pen compartments inside. A small zipped compartment on the front enables easy access to small, key items while at the back, a pocket with magnetic closure can hold other small essentials. The bag uses a half-round two-way zipper closure.

BUGATTI Briefcase

BUGATTI Travel Bag

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Saturday, January 13, 2018 A11

Casualties of the cashless society: Those who get seasonal tips N

EW YORK—2018 is here, and the dawn of a cashless society feels at hand. Don’t believe it? Try throwing a couple $20 bills on the table next time you’re splitting the check. Or better yet, ask anyone not standing behind a cash register to break a $10 bill. While the rise of Venmo, Uber, Seamless and Bitcoin et al. have made it practically gauche in certain circles to flash a wallet thick with bills, there are many urban workers for whom the shift away from cash represents a serious financial problem. Doormen, elevator operators, manicurists—any employee who relies on small, spontaneous cash tips—are finding themselves left out in the cold by an increasingly cashless world. “These guys, they don’t tip like they used to, because they don’t have the cash in their pockets like they used to,” said Mark, an elevator operator at an upscale Manhattan co-op, talking about his building’s tenants. He asked to use only his first name because his union and employer forbid him from talking to the press. It’s a peculiar quirk of modern city life. The stock market is on fire, unemployment is down, and the average price of a Manhattan apartment is now more than $2 million. Yet, good luck finding anyone with paper money in her purse. Early last year, a United States Bank survey found that 50 percent of Americans carry cash with them only about half the time. In another recent survey, just 11 percent of Americans chose cash as their preferred form of payment, a distant third to credit cards (40 percent) and debit cards (35 percent). For many people, particularly in dense urban environments, there is simply no incentive to visit the ATM when cab rides, coffee, pizza delivery and even snacks from food trucks can be paid for online or with plastic. And that’s bad news for any worker not participating in the digital economy. The problem is particularly acute for apartment building staff like doormen and elevator operators, who are not part of any transaction involving their “customer” and typically rely on change from cab rides or food delivery for their tips. “Long ago, the tenants would take a cab home, and they paid with cash,” Mark said. “So if they get change out of that $20, they give you that change. “Now they swipe a card in the cab, or when they come with the Uber, they don’t pay, so they just walk out of the car and they go straight up.” Mark says that his tips have gone from $400 a week three years ago to, at most, $100 a week in 2017. Roger Johnston, who became a Manhattan doorman in 2004 after working on Wall Street for 31 years, blamed not just the cashless society but also the general economy and cost of living. “These guys, they’re paying good money—almost five grand for a one bedroom,” he said. “A cup of coffee is two and change, so a lot of these people, they rent here and walk to work. It’s just the economy.”

TIMES NEWS SERVICE

Johnston said his tips have dropped 60 percent since 2008, when he took his current job in a Park Avenue building. But another doorman at a different Park Avenue building, who also requested anonymity, said it was specifically his tenants’ preference for virtual services that has all but eliminated his tip income. They order everything online, he said, including Uber, food and water. Even the tips for the delivery guys, he said, are online. He doesn’t blame the tenants, but he is frustrated with the situation. The doorman said he could work a full shift and still not make any tips. As everyday gratuities have dwindled, holiday tips stuffed into greeting cards—always a critical factor in a doorman’s income—have become more important than ever. Unfortunately, those envelopes are not quite as full as they used to be, Johnston said. People who don’t carry cash aren’t oblivious to the plight of these workers. Maya Chung, 27, has rarely carried paper money since she was a teenager, instead relying on a combination of digital apps, PayPal and plastic to get through her day. Her building in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn doesn’t

have a doorman, but when she visits the nail salon she sometimes finds herself embarrassed not to have cash for gratuities. “Every time I go there without cash, they miss out on their tips cause they don’t have the mechanism to put it on the credit card, and I always feel bad,” said Chung, a digital reporter at InsideEdition.com. Still, she doesn’t always remember to visit the ATM before she goes. “I’m just not thinking about it because I’m so programmed to never have cash on me.” Not all workers who depend on tips are hurt by the shift away from cash. To the contrary, touchscreen tablets in cabs and coffeehouses that prompt customers to give minimum 20-percent tips—under the watchful gaze of the beneficiary—have practically eliminated barriers to tipping those workers. And “there is research showing that people who pay with a credit card seem to pay a bit more than people who pay with cash,” said W. Michael Lynn, a professor of food and beverage management at Cornell University. But credit-card companies charge merchants a fee for processing tips, so there are still businesses— most notably nail and beauty salons—that largely

don’t let customers leave electronic tips. This was a problem for Mr. Diaz (he asked not to use his first name because he was not authorized by his employer to speak to the press), a hairdresser of 22 years who works in Chelsea. His tip income dipped considerably until he signed up for Venmo, an app that facilitates person-to-person cash transfers. Diaz said that his younger clients rarely have paper money, and often say they’ll tip him the next time they see him. His customers encouraged him to sign up for Venmo, and his tip income is now back to where it used to be, he said. Though Venmo is popular for peer-to-peer transfers, many other apps, such as Bravo, Tipsta and TipGenie, have sprung up in recent years specifically aimed at providing digital tips for workers who rely on cash. But so far, none have reached the level of widespread adoption necessary to make a real dent. “The problem is both parties, receiver and giver, have to have the app for this to work, and it’s difficult to create an incentive that causes both groups to sign on,” Lynn said. “Nobody has figured out how to fix that problem.” ■

Trend Micro calls for layered security approach, warns of cybersecurity expert shortage BY RIZAL RAOUL REYES THE classic approach in securing the network is no longer valid, and organizations need to take a layered approach on this important matter to protect their data and information. Cherif Djerboua, regional head of Asia and the Middle East of Trend Micro, sounded this alarm, saying this doesn’t involve securing the perimeter and everyone’s endpoint. “We really need to consider a completely different approach. We need to have partnerships between governments and security companies, which is what we’re doing at Trend Micro in terms of training and knowledge sharing,” Djerboua told BUSINESSMIRROR in a recent interview. For each layer, he said organizations have to introduce the right rules and techniques in the overall scheme. Moreover, he added that organizations, whether public or private, should adopt a proactive stance in securing the network. “It’s quite wrong that you have a sense of urgency only when you’re attacked,” he said. Cybercrime is growing in frequency and sophistication, and the availability of sufficiently

DOORMEN, elevator operators, manicurists—any employee who relies on small, spontaneous cash tips—are finding themselves left out in the cold by an increasingly cashless world. NEW YORK

BY DOUGLAS QUENQUA New York Times News Service

skilled industry professionals is falling behind. In fact, according to Isaca, a nonprofit informationsecurity advocacy group, there will be a 2 million global shortage of cybersecurity experts by 2019. In the opening keynote of the recent Decode conference, Djerboua illustrated the extent of cyberthreats globally. In the first half of 2017, the biggest security threats involved malware infections due to insecure systems, particularly those with unpatched vulnerabilities. The period also saw malicious and fake applications take advantage of popular titles to trick users; hacking toolkits used in various cybercriminal infection campaigns; and online-banking malware targeting user credentials. “Hackers are learning about us as individuals, our corporations and governments; and they are adopting and changing their tactics and leveraging different techniques,” Djerboua noted. In terms of developing the manpower, Djerboua pointed out it will be awareness and training that are going to be the most important. As far as the security professionals are concerned, Djerboua stressed there’s going to be a dearth of experts around the world who

can secure networks whether in the public or private sector. “The lack of security experts is definitely going to be a challenge for everyone. We need to complement in terms of readiness the training of these professionals and in terms of what we’re doing,” he said. “As they face technological innovations, market forces and the constantly evolving threat landscape, information technology and cybersecurity professionals must be equipped to transform the perceived weakest links in their organizations into their strongest codefenders.” For its part, he said Trend Micro is doing its share by working with different universities in the Philippines and other pars of the world by training engineering students in cybersecurity, not only to provide quick response but also ensure comprehensive coverage for each of the region. He said the company also offers technologies that secure organizations from the start to the endpoint, regardless if they’re dealing with desktops, the mobile world, or the Internet of Things (IoT). Regarding IoT, Djerboua said Trend Micro sees a lot of challenges given that many IoT devices were

not designed to have strong security features. “If we change the mentality and basically the design of the devices from the ground up, we will have lesser concerns,” he added. In the light of the recent hacking incident experienced by a major transport network vehicle service provider, he warned that rewarding hackers is never a solution to the security problem. “It will just got worse. The biggest motivator depends upon the origin of the hacker. For instance, Trend Micro found in their study that money wasn’t the main motivation of hackers in the Middle East,” he said. For a major cybersecurity company like Trend Micro, Djerboua said it has to understand the underground world and the kinds of threats it unleashes. Studies done by the company are available to users and nonusers of Trend Micro so they can have a better understanding of the threats. He stressed that collaboration is an important component of tackling the challenges of cybersecurity. Trend Micro shows its leadership by cooperating and working with governments and competitors to ensure that customers, end-users and citizens at large will be protected.

What were the 2017 Apps of the Year on the App Store? A10

BusinessMirror

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

HUAWEI’S Richard Yu makes his case at CES 2018.

THE big screen’s Wonder Woman Gal Gadot is now Huawei’s CEO, or chief experience officer

Saturday, January 13, 2018 A12

GCASH partners with Bench and other brands for cashless payments

Rogue one: A Huawei CES story THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

“We will sell our �lagship phone, our product, in the US market through carriers next year.... I think that we can bring value to carriers and to consumers. Better product, better innovation, better user experience,”

—RICHARD YU, PRESIDENT

OF HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES’

CONSUMER BUSINESS, IN LATE-2017

N the midst of all the excitement about rollable screens, wall-sized TVs, mech suits and 5G talk at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018, one particular keynote speech caused a bit of drama and made headlines. When news broke that the partnership between Huawei and AT&T wasn’t going to push through, everyone was waiting for a statement from the Chinese smartphone giant (the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world—Ed.), but I don’t think anyone expected it to be addressed, unscripted, during the CEO’s keynote. After presenting the company’s current flagship pride, the Mate 10 Pro, Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei’s consumer products division, did something unexpected as the words “Something I Want to Share” appeared on the massive screen behind him. I felt uncomfortable watching the video, as Yu looked uneasy and stammered on stage—quite different from the confident and smiling CEO I met in Singapore a few years ago during the launch of the P8. His discomfort, however, was understandable, even expected. After all, the partnership with AT&T’s could’ve given Huawei the push it needs to finally

make a real splash in the United States market. A month ago, his speech was supposed to be Huawei’s big moment in the American spotlight. Instead, he was onstage trying to find some positives out of the situation. For that alone, I think he deserves an ovation. “Everybody knows that in the US market, over 90 percent of smartphones are sold through carrier channels,” he said. “It’s a big loss for us, and also for carriers, but the [bigger] loss is for consumers, because consumers don’t have the best choice,” Yu said, making the declaration with a fiery passion amid his quiet anger. Yu then recalled how things were in the beginning of his Huawei career 25 years ago, saying they faced plenty of doubters even in China being an almost total newcomer to consumer devices six years ago. “We win the trust of the Chinese carriers, we win the trust of the emerging markets...and also we win the trust of global carriers, all the European and Japanese carriers,” he said. “We are serving over 70 million people worldwide. We’ve proven our quality, we’ve proven our privacy and security protection.” According to some reports, the US carrier’s decision was driven by political pressure, supposedly over concerns regarding security. Unlike in other major markets, where mobile enthusiasts have been using Huawei smartphones for years, it has had a difficult time in the US, as majority of the people don’t know anything about the company—or how to even produce its name (wowway). To address this issue, the company has named Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, as its “chief experience officer” to serve as a high-profile advocate for the brand. After her introduction, Gadot ended her video appearance with her teaching the audience how to pronounce both “Huawei” and “Gadot” (it’s guh-dot). Gadot has been a Huawei user since the P8, and was succeeded by other onscreen superheroes Henry Cavill (Superman) and Scarlet Johannson (Black Widow) who were the brand ambassadors for the P9.

HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION AT HOME A LOT of people don’t realize that it’s not enough

to get a good broadband plan. Besides having fast Internet, you must also make sure your Wi-Fi router is strategically located to optimize your Wi-Fi coverage. But where should you place the router to make the most out of your Internet connection? Here are some useful tips from Globe at Home: 1. KEEP YOUR ROUTER AWAY FROM OBSTRUCTION. Did you know that concrete walls, mirrors, doors and other large obstacles can weaken your Wi-Fi signal? So keep the path between your router and your device as obstruction-free as possible to maintain optimum connection. Try to place your router in a central location so the signal is evenly distributed. The farther your devices are from the router, the weaker your connection, so place your router in an open space, preferably on an elevated platform and away from bodies of water like an aquarium or water containers. You can also stay close to your router for a better browsing experience. 2. CONNECT ONLY THE DEVICES YOU’RE USING. During the holidays when you have a lot of visitors, you may notice a slowing down in your Internet connection, or even difficulty in connectiong to the router. That’s because too many devices connected to your Wi-Fi can slow down your Internet speed, as each device takes up a portion of your total bandwidth. Disconnect the devices you’re not using to ensure a stable connection and allow other users to connect. 3. GET A WI-FI EXTENDER. Your router can only cover so much ground, especially if you have a big home. To ensure your house is fully covered, Globe At Home’s special tech service team, the Globe Tech Squad, also offers Airties Wi-Fi Mesh, which extends Wi-Fi coverage to eliminate dead spots around the house and ensure full Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home. If you have a Globe account, ask about the Airties Wi-Fi Mesh. Learn more about Globe at Home from www.globe.com.ph/broadband.

CASHLESS HERE AND NOW FOR me, one of the best innovations last year was mobile payment. Now I know it’s been available for quite some time, but it was only last year when GCash made cashless shopping truly possible as it

Nissan Brain-to-Vehicle technology redefines future of driving NISSAN unveiled research today that will enable vehicles to interpret signals from the driver’s brain, redefining how people interact with their cars. The company’s Brain-to-Vehicle technology (B2V), promises to speed up reaction times for drivers and will lead to cars that keep adapting to make driving more enjoyable. Nissan is demonstrating the capabilities of this exclusive technology at the ongoing Consumer Electronic Show 2018 trade show in Las Vegas. B2V is the latest development in Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company’s vision for transforming how cars are driven, powered and integrated into society. “When most people think about autonomous driving, they have a very impersonal vision of the future, where humans relinquish control to the machines. Yet, B2V technology does the opposite, by using signals from their own brain to make the drive even more exciting and enjoyable,”

Nissan Executive Vice President Daniele Schillaci said. “Through Nissan Intelligent Mobility, we are moving people to a better world by delivering more autonomy, more electrification and more connectivity.” This breakthrough from Nissan is the result of research into using brain-decoding technology to predict a driver’s actions and detect discomfort: ■ PREDICT: By catching signs that the driver’s brain is about to initiate a movement—such as turning the steering wheel or pushing the accelerator peda—driver-assist technologies can begin the action more quickly. This can improve reaction times and enhance manual driving. ■ DETECT: By detecting and evaluating driver discomfort, artificial intelligence can change the driving configuration or driving style when in autonomous mode. Other possible uses include adjusting the vehicle’s internal environment, said Dr. Lucian Gheorghe, senior innovation researcher at

the Nissan Research Center in Japan, who’s leading the B2V research. For example, the technology can use augmented reality to adjust what the driver sees and create a more relaxing environment. “The potential applications of the technology are incredible,” Gheorghe said. “This research will be a catalyst for more Nissan innovation inside our vehicles in the years to come.” Nissan’s B2V technology is the world’s first system of its kind. The driver wears a device that measures brain-wave activity, which is then analyzed by autonomous systems. By anticipating intended movement, the systems can take actions—such as turning the steering wheel or slowing the car—0.2 to 0.5 seconds faster than the driver, while remaining largely imperceptible. Nissan is using a driving simulator to demonstrate some elements of the technology at CES, and Gheorghe will be on hand to answer questions. Nissan’s display is at booth 5431 in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall.

partnered with Ayala Malls, The SM Store, Robinsons Department Store, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Cinema, Puregold, Ministop and NCCC Malls. To kick of 2018, GCash announced it’s partnering with Bench and 39 other retail brands that will now be accepting Scan to Pay. By simply scanning the GCash QR (quick response) codes present in the stores, GCash users can pay for any item at Bench and other affiliated brands, including Paul Smith, American Eagle, The Face Shop, Aldo, Assembly, Aldo Accessories, Bench Body, Bench Fix Salon, Bench Kiosk, Bobbi Brown, Call It Spring, Cotton On, Cotton on Kids, Cath Kidston, Charles and Keith, Dimensione, Estee Lauder, Fox, Her Bench, Human, Jo Malone, Kashieca, La Senza, Maisen, Multibrand, Marugame, Mothercare, Origin, Pablo, Pedro, Paul, Personal Exchange, Repetto, Rubi, Skin Expert, St. Marc, Typo, Under Armour and Vero Moda. Aside from the convenience of shopping without carrying cash, GCash users can enjoy a 30-percent cashback of up to P500 until January 31 this year when they scan to pay with GCash in Bench and the other aforementioned brands. “GCash is here to ensure that customers are given the convenience and security they deserve when paying for goods and services. With the GCash scanto-pay feature, anyone with a GCash account and smartphone can easily pay the exact amount using their phone. There’s no longer any need to wait for loose change or pay in smaller denominations, or even stand in line for a long time,” said Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe Telecom. To use, GCash customers only need to download or update to the latest version of the GCash App, register for an account, and then fund their GCash wallets at any of the more than 12,000 GCash Partner Outlets nationwide, including Globe Stores, Puregold branches, SM Business Centers, Robinsons Business Centers, 7-Eleven Barcode and Cliqq kiosks, TouchPay kiosks and pawnshops, such as Cebuana Lhuillier, Villarica and Tambunting. Once it’s done, customers will simply tap on the Scan QR, point a phone’s camera at the partner’s QR code, and pay. ■