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Tuesday, November 2014Vol. Vol.1010No. No.8440 Thursday, January18, 1, 2015
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P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 16 pages | 7 days a week
TRAVELERS TO SEE P500 TO P15,000 CUT IN AIRFARES BEGINNING FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY
PAPAL VISIT 2015
CAB strikes out fuel surcharge T
By Lorenz S. Marasigan
he Philippine airline regulator has given travelers a good reason to greet 2015 with anticipation, after it decided to strike out the authority of carriers to impose surcharges in fuel effective this month, due to the plummeting prices of fuel in the international market.
13 DAYS INSIDE
the best of H&F 2014
Hence, travelers, especially those who are tightening their purses, could expect lower fares, as the fuel-surcharge component will be removed from their ticket costs
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il headed for the biggest annual decline since the global financial crisis, as United States producers and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) cede no ground in their battle for market share amid a supply glut. Futures slid as much as 1.1 percent in New York, bringing losses for 2014 to 45 per-
staying over at ‘downton abbey’ Loving Jesus
AY Your presence, Prince of Peace, bless the world with peace; the poor with care and prosperity, the despairing with hope and confidence; 0 the grieving with comfort and gladness; the oppressed with freedom and deliverance; the suffering with solace and relief. Loving Jesus, You are the only real joy of every human heart. I place my trust in You. May the coming year be full of promise and hope. Amen. THE MAGNIFICAT ADVENT COMPANION AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com
Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
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‘HOBBIT’ DOMINATES WEEKEND... »C2
BusinessMirror
Thursday, January 1, 2015
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Staying over at ‘Downton Abbey’ PHOTOS courtesy of highclere castle web site
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B C H Los Angeles Times
OU can visit Britain’s Highclere Castle, the stand-in for the phenomenal British TV drama Downton Abbey, of course, but soon you will be able to stay on the grounds in newly restored buildings called London Lodge. Restoration included repairing a roof that had given way some decades ago, requiring a thorough drying of interiors, according to the Countess of Carnarvon. The castle and grounds have been in the family of her husband, the Eighth Earl of Carnarvon, for centuries. A gateway, north of the estate, was built in 1793 by the First Earl to celebrate his entry into the peerage. Around 1840, two buildings, connected by a short footpath, were added, and these are what have
been transformed into London Lodge. They were constructed quickly and, as a result, “They weren’t awfully well-built,” the countess said. Coupled with water damage and overgrowth courtesy of Mother Nature, the redo took about two-and-a-half years to complete. Like any remodeling project, this one took longer than expected because the extent of the damage was unclear at the start. The countess didn’t say how much was spent to get the lodges into shape, but, she said, “If I had a budget, I’ve exceeded it tenfold. This was surprisingly dangerous to our pockets. “It’s fascinating when you do restore. You have to go back to understand how someone else built it, how they did it and what its purpose was and what you want its new life and new purpose to be.” Its new purpose is as a cozy respite on the grounds of what is one of the most recognizable places in the world, thanks to the popularity of the series, which follows the
lives of the fictional Earl and Countess of Grantham and their family members and those who serve them. The fifth season, already broadcast in Britain, begins airing on January 4 in the US. (It is seen around these parts on cable TV.—Ed.) The living area, done in sea-foam greens, roses and warm neutrals, has a sofa that invites you to sink into it as you sit in front of a fire (Chesney’s wood burner) and have some tea. “Rather charming prints of owls and birds and what’s in nature”—the countess’ description—adorn the walls, which is fitting given its country setting outside of Newbury, about 60 miles west of London. You’ll find a TV and Wi-Fi here, too. The kitchen has a stove, a small table and a refrigerator, which will be stocked with items, including champagne, “which is always necessary,” she said with a laugh. Of course, there is a kettle. Across a path the color scheme continues in the
sleeping quarters, where the bed, a chair and a selection of books and magazine invite quiet. The bath adjoins. The result is a secluded, but not isolated, retreat. The weekend guest can explore nearby Newbury or simply enjoy the setting by strolling the park-like grounds. “Whenever I drive in the park gates—it doesn’t matter how long I’ve been here—I always feel I am going into a world apart,” the countess said. “Something has dropped away from me. It is a different world.” She hopes the London Lodge will replicate the experience she strives to create for her houseguests. “When friends come and stay here,” she said, “I want them to sleep well and I want them to eat well and have a good walk.” The London Lodge will be available beginning Valentine’s Day and on select weekends. Rates begin at 350 pounds, about $550 a night. For information on booking, e-mail londonlodge@ highclerecastle.co.uk. ■
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How about a luxurious adventure cruise? THE unparalleled hospitality of Discovery Leisure Hotels can now be enjoyed onboard Discovery Fleet (www.discoveryfleet.com), a luxury adventure for those who wish to bask in the treasures of the Philippine islands— underwater and above it. The cruise includes activities for both divers and nondivers. The underwater adventurers can expect a full day of scuba diving as they rediscover coral reefs, shipwrecks, along with rare marine species. The nondivers will have their share of excitement, with activities like snorkeling, island-hopping, kayaking and other fun beach activities. M/V Discovery Palawan is home to the travelers during the cruise. The ship has a total of 20 rooms—16 standard rooms in the lower deck and four upper-deck rooms with personal climate control. Built in 1972 in Gronigen Holland, the ship initially sailed the Caribbean until it was rebuilt as a navigation training ship.
tales from the tour C4
| Thursday, January 1, 2015 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph
MV Discovery Palawan is home to the travelers during the cruise.
Refitted with a powerful engine and modern navigational equipment in 2006, it moved to the Philippines as adventure cruise ship. In 2013 it underwent a major renovation amounting to $1.5 million and was renamed Discovery Palawan. Unlike other dive tours, which are active during summer, Discovery Fleet Dive Cruise operates all year round with three exciting adventure routes. From mid-March to October, the
THE dining deck
ship explores Pandan Island, Coron, Apo Reef and has added a Coron-El Nido-Coron route. From late march to mid-June it heads for Tubataha, acknowledged as the Philippines’s premier dive destination. During this time, the ship is exclusively for divers. Hardcore explorers will be amazed at the World War II wrecks in Coron. They can also check out Coron’s famous lagoon and limestone cliffs. Next stop is the
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breathtaking Apo Reef, where the deep walls and solid reefs are home to big fish, like mantas, barracudas and sharks. The mid-June trip to Tubataha is the highlight of any diver’s experience. With pristine reefs, deep walls, schools of fish, mantas and turtles, it is one of the few guaranteed shark dives in Asia. The new five-day Coron-El Nido-Coron route makes access to breathtaking El Nido.
Guests are picked up from the Busuanga airport and transferred directly to the ship and guests then enjoy a leisurely overnight cruise to the Karst Limestone cliffs, azure lagoons and hidden beaches of El Nido. Guests are disembarked after breakfast for kayaking, snorkeling, beach-combing activities and tours to the famous tourist sites. The first guaranteed trip is on January 9, 2015.
TALES FROM THE TOUR J
By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press
IM MAHONEY parted with a tiny piece of US Open history with hopes it could change Phil Mickelson’s luck. It was a broken tee in a plastic bag. “A souvenir that money can’t buy,” Mahoney said in a telephone interview from his home in Connecticut. Mahoney brought the tee to the Deutsche Bank Championship, along with a letter explaining the circumstances around it. This was the last tee Mickelson used at Winged Foot in the 2006 US Open. His drive sailed far to the left on the 18th hole, like so many of his tee shots that Sunday, and caromed off a tent. From there, Lefty made double bogey and finished one shot behind. The US Open remains the only major keeping him from the career Grand Slam. Winged Foot haunts him more than his other five runner-up finishes. “I was on the tee at Winged Foot, me and a friend of mine,” Mahoney said. “Phil got out his driver and was bouncing the ball off the face. Phil looked over to the 17th green and there’s a scoreboard. It showed that [Colin] Montgomerie had just double bogeyed the 18th. His whole demeanor changed. But he hits this horrendous slice.” Thousands of fans who had crowded around the tee box took off down the sides of the fairway. Mahoney and his friend walked across the teeing ground. “We’re the only ones there. The marshals gave up,” he said. “They were the last group to hit. And there’s Phil’s tee.” Even after it was over, Mahoney’s said his friends told him he should put the tee on a plaque. Instead, he stored it in a drawer. He wanted Mickelson to win that day, as did half of New York. He roots for him at every major. And that’s why he thought it might help to give it back. Mahoney approached Mickelson’s caddie during the pro-am at the Deutsche Bank Championship in September.
He simply handed him an envelope that contained the broken tee and the letter. “I will trade the tee for a photo-op,” said the letter, addressed to Mickelson and Jim “Bones” MacKay. “You can make peace with it and win the Open in 2015. Good luck.” MacKay was looking for Mahoney after the round for the photo. He never found him. Moments like these give tournament golf its texture, stories that go beyond numbers on a scorecard and trophies on a mantle. Here are more from this year’s collection of “Tales from the Tour.”
CADDIE REMINDS RORY
RORY MCILROY had a long day at The Players Championship, and it wasn’t over when he signed his card. There was an interview with Sky Sports, Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour radio, Golf Channel, another radio station, the writers and then the PGA Tour’s web site. A large crowd behind a gated section began calling out to him as McIlroy walked away, wanting his autograph. McIlroy looked at the crowd, then at the clubhouse. That’s when his caddie, JP Fitzpatrick, stepped in. “Those kids over there have followed you all day,” he told McIlroy. “You need to sign for them.” McIlroy reached for the pen in his back pocket, walked over to the kids and spent the next 15 minutes with them.
Presidents Cup that year. The chair broke suddenly and Mediate injured an already tender back. He withdrew from the final major. He didn’t make the Presidents Cup team. That was before Kuchar joined the PGA Tour. He had never heard the story. Kuchar was running errands that afternoon when he was stuck in traffic so long that he wound up with a sore back. Three days later, he withdrew from the PGA at Valhalla. Beware the chair.
HAPPIEST PERSON IN BOSTON
JORDAN SPIETH describes her as the girl who keeps the family grounded, and the funniest member of the Spieth clan. That would be Ellie, his 14-year-old sister who was born with neurological challenges. And she was part of the entourage at the Deutsche Bank Championship, watching big brother Jordan on the course while walking with her other brother, Steven, who plays basketball at Brown. She was talking to anyone who would listen about her big brothers and what they do. The gallery was held back behind the seventh green, while players and their caddies got on carts to take them to the next tee. Spieth spotted his little sister and waved her over. Ellie ran to the cart and sat on her big brother’s lap as they drove off. She looked like the happiest person at TPC Boston. And so did Spieth.
DRAMATIC COMMENTARY
BRITISH humor has no rival in golf.
At the annual caddie awards dinner at the HSBC Champions, a slide show presenting the year in golf was on the screen. Bubba Watson won the Masters. Martin Kaymer won the US Open. Andrew Cotter of the BBC was the host for the dinner, and according to several caddies in attendance, Cotter mentioned how it wasn’t long before one player took over the world of golf by winning two majors. The dramatic commentary was accompanied by the next photo—Colin Montgomerie.
WAITING FOR A NOD
PATRICK RODGERS of Stanford was honored at the Memorial with the Jack Nicklaus Award as college player of the year. That included a trip to Muirfield Village and a presentation hosted by Nicklaus. That was memorable on its own. Typical of Nicklaus, he stayed around after the presentation to talk with Rodgers and the rest of the winners from the various divisions. Looking at Rodgers right in the eye, Nicklaus said, “You ever need anything at all, just call me.” Nicklaus didn’t break the eye contact until Rodgers nodded back.
NEVER SIT ON THAT CHAIR
MONDAY at the PGA Championship was a time to get registered, maybe hit a few putts but otherwise take it easy during the busiest stretch of the year. Matt Kuchar intended to do just that, and he pulled up a chair at a patio table to join Jim “Bones” MacKay, the caddie for Phil Mickelson. MacKay pointed out that Kuchar was sitting in a famous chair. Okay, it wasn’t the same chair. But it’s where Rocco Mediate was sitting at Valhalla during the 2000 PGA Championship. Mediate was close to qualifying for the
PHIL MICKELSON reacts to an errant drive on the 18th hole during the final round of the US Open in June. AP
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JORDAN SPIETH smiles with his caddy Michael Greller after a birdie on the 17th hole during the final round of the Hero World Challenge in early December. AP
CADDIE’S GREAT AUSSIE ADVENTURE
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ICHAEL GRELLER, who left his job as a maths teacher to caddie for Jordan Spieth, has often said that dealing with 30 sixth-graders for 10 years helped prepare him to work for a 21-year-old golfer who ended the year at No. 9 in the world. Not to be overlooked in his training was an adventure to Australia more than a decade ago. Greller was reminded of that last month when Spieth essentially ordered him to take a week off during the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan—his agent caddied for him—so Greller and his wife could take a second honeymoon Down Under ahead of the Australian Open. Greller had another name for the trip. “The redemption tour,” he said. In 2002 Greller already had been accepted to graduate school and had a six-month window before the start of classes. He had never been outside the US, so he saved money and decided to go to Australia for six months, staying in hostels and carrying nothing more than a back pack. “My only goal was to meet people from other cultures,”he said.
He never met the 10 people with whom he shared a room in Bondi Beach, a road house so seedy with so much “extracurricular activity” that Greller covered his head with a pillow. He woke up the next morning and realized his wallet (and about $200) had been stolen. The scariest moment was when he got sick with what later was diagnosed as ulcerous colitis. “I’m with this Aborigine guide in the middle of the desert, fighting this disease, no clue what’s going on,” he said. “My parents were very worried. I traveled for about four months until I ran broke in Perth.” Greller already had booked a flight from Darwin to Perth, and he already had his train ticket from Perth to Sydney, a journey of some 80 hours. And then the train broke down halfway there. But the goal was to meet people from different cultures, and he found plenty to like about Australia. “I was on the train with $50 and a credit card, nothing in my savings,” he said. “I was sitting by two 80-year-old women who fed me meat pies the whole way across Australia. We played cards. I played gin with them. And they had homemade meat
pies, which I had never had. They got me to the finish line.” Greller had one more day in Sydney before flying home to Seattle, and he had planned on a nice meal on his last day to celebrate. “I had $20 left,” he said. “I went to McDonald’s. And then I got on the plane.” The most recent trip was different. Greller got his “redemption,” along with some reflections. “In a lot of ways, it prepared me for caddying,” Greller said about his first trip Down Under. “I carried a back pack for four months. I was living as cheap as I could. I had no expectations. I didn’t know where I would be sleeping. And I operated on the fly, which I did all of last year.” Greller and his wife, Ellie, were married a year ago and spent their original honeymoon at Kapalua, Hawaii, a week before the 2014 season. In two years, the former school teacher has been on the bag for a kid who already has over $8.5 million in earnings and three wins worldwide. So the accommodations were better for this trip. And he didn’t run out of money. AP
By Bianca Cuaresma
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EUROPE’S Jamie Donaldson, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose pour champagne over captain Paul McGinley as they celebrate winning the Ryder Cup in September at Gleneagles, Scotland. Europe didn’t need to come from behind as it did in Medinah, Illinois, two years ago to win its third Ryder Cup in a row. Soon after, Phil Mickelson criticized his captain Tom Watson. AP
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cent. US guidelines allowing overseas sales of ultralight oil without government approval may boost the country’s export capacity and “throw a monkey wrench” into Saudi Arabia’s plan to curb American output, according to Citigroup Inc. US crude inventories are forecast to rºise to the highest level See “Oil,” A2
‘PHL economy shows signs of overheating’
THE tee used by Phil Mickelson for his last tee shot at the 2006 US Open. Jim Mahoney collected the souvenir tee. AP
Continued on A2
OIL SET FOR BIGGEST SLUMP IN 6 years ON OPEC-U.S. MARKET-SHARE BAT TLE
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starting in the first week of January. “The board, on December 26, made a decision to lift the authority of the airlines to impose fuel
he $270-billion Philippine economy has shown the first telltale signs of overheating that could force the central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), to make appropriate adjustments in monetary policy over the near term and not further back down the line, as a number of economists and ana-
PESO exchange rates n US 44.6170
lysts have said, according to financial services giant Goldman Sachs. Its global investment research unit called out the first signs of macroeconomic friction in a note to clients, saying, while the Philippines has one of the more dynamic economies in the region, more recent indicators suggest the birth of problems that could wreck the goal of sustainable
NEW YEAR SIGHTS AND SOUNDS Top photo shows sheep figurines on display at a shop in Binondo, Manila. 2015 is the Year of the Sheep on the Chinese calendar, and it represents solidarity, harmony and calmness. People born in the Year of the Sheep are polite, mild-mannered, shy, imaginative, determined and have a good taste. On the negative side, they are sometimes pessimistic, unrealistic, shortsighted and slow in behavior. Photo above shows a customer trying out the traditional torotot, trumpets used to welcome the new year, at a roadside stall in Cubao, Quezon City. KEVIN DELA CRUZ/NONOY LACZA
See “Economy,” A2
n japan 0.3706 n UK 69.4062 n HK 5.7489 n CHINA 7.1813 n singapore 33.6961 n australia 36.2063 n EU 54.3390 n SAUDI arabia 11.8899 Source: BSP (29 December 2014)