Businessmirror January 26, 2019

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Saturday, January 26, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 108

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2 FACES OF CRUISE TOURISM

Subic cheers ship arrivals, sees ‘phenomenal’ growth…

CRUISE ships like World Dream, which docked for the third time this year at the Alava Wharf in the Subic Bay Freeport recently, are expected to catalyze further economic growth in Region 3. HENRY EMPEÑO

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By Henry Empeño

UBIC BAY FREEPORT—Workers cheered and waved flags, dancers sashayed in ethnic costumes, while a marching band struck up an upbeat tune as the cruise ship World Dream moored along the concrete landing of the Alava Wharf here one morning recently.

A YOUNG Chinese tourist from the cruise ship World Dream gets welcome lei upon arrival at the Alava Wharf in the Subic Bay Freeport recently. HENRY EMPEÑO

The cacophony of music and drum beats and laughter at the quayside carried far into the Waterfront Road, where vendors and drivers waited expectantly in their souvenir booths and tourist buses for the disembarking passengers.

This festive scene is expected to be replicated many times over this year, as the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) ups the ante for its cruise ship tourism program, which is expected to catalyze inclusive growth in nearby areas in Central Luzon.

Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, who was among those who welcomed the mostly Chinese

passengers, said this premier free port expects to cement its reputation further as the newest cruise ship destination and top anchor tourist attraction in the country today.

“Right now we’re experiencing a phenomenal influx of cruise ships, and this is really a strong start for Subic, which recorded 17 arrivals last year,” Eisma said.

“We are very happy that our cruise ship program is really picking up, and this is just the start. By next month we hope to see more cruise ships coming in and some of them would be staying here in Subic overnight,” she added.

Continued on A2

…While cautious Boracay task force eyes ‘close-out’ dates for cruise trips

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By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo Special to the BusinessMirror

HE Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) is proposing to prohibit cruise ships from traveling to the resort island during major Philippine holidays, in an effort to stick to recommended carrying capacity numbers.

Environment Undersecretary for Attached Agencies Sherwin S. Rigor told the BusinessMirror that during a recent meeting of the task force, one of the measures

discussed was “a close-out schedule, such that during Philippine holidays, no cruise ships will be allowed to dock.”

See “Boracay Task Force,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.7350

VIEW of the Boracay Island from Mount Luho, October 11, 2015. TEE JUN HUEI | DREAMSTIME.COM

n JAPAN 0.4812 n UK 68.8666 n HK 6.7215 n CHINA 7.7694 n SINGAPORE 38.7586 n AUSTRALIA 37.3997 n EU 59.6433 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.0615

Source: BSP (January 25, 2019 )

A2 Saturday, January 26, 2019

News

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2 FACES OF CRUISE TOURISM Continued from a1

The cruise ship World Dream, flagship of the Chinese premium brand Dream Cruises owned by Genting Hong Kong, arrived here twice last year, when Subic started receiving regular cruise ship calls under Eisma’s cruise tourism program.

The ship is set to be back here on January 30, while another Subic regular—the Italian-flagged Costa Atlantica owned by Costa Crociere—has booked arrivals for January 15 and 29.

Costa Atlantica has been here 14 times last year, encouraging the SBMA and the Subic community to develop a new tourism niche.

According to SBMA Tourism Department Manager Jem Camba, an average of 3,000 tourists disembark in Subic from each visiting cruise ship and then go on tours of various attractions in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo City, Clark Freeport Zone, and the nearby provinces of Zambales and Bataan.

Among the favorite destinations of cruise ship passengers are the nature theme parks in Subic and historical places in Bataan and Pampanga, she said.

Last year the Central Luzon Regional Development Council cited the SBMA for developing Subic into a premier cruise ship destination in the country and noted that cruise ship arrivals in Subic had generated more than P85 million worth of economic activity in the first eight months alone.

Chairman Eisma said she expects a better record this year because of Executive Order (EO) 72 signed by President Duterte last December.

Calling it a “game-changer for Subic and Region 3,” Eisma said EO 72 is expected to bring in more visitors because it eased the entry of foreign nationals via the Subic sea ports and extended them a visafree stay of 14 days similar to those

SBMA employees cheer the arrival of the cruise ship World Dream, which docked for the third time this year at the Alava Wharf in the Subic Bay Freeport recently. HENRY EMPEÑO

entering though the Subic airport.

“This arrangement is less complicated, and thus, we foresee that the resulting ease of travel would make Subic Bay an even bigger tourist magnet and anchor destination in Central Luzon,” she added.

Eisma also said the new measure would encourage the develop-

ment of more tourism establishments in nearby parts of Region 3, which could make use of Subic as anchor destination and gateway.

“The EO, as well as all the support measures we get from the national government, dovetails with our strategy to develop Subic into an anchor destination that will

help catalyze inclusive growth in the region,” the SBMA chief noted.

“Subic and its neighboring areas are now coming up with curated experiences that they can commonly sell to tourists, specifically cruise ship passengers, so this way they can complement each other’s strong points,” Eisma added.

Boracay task force Continued from a1

A separate source who attended the meeting confirmed this proposal, adding that among the close-out periods mulled are: January 29-February 12, 2019 (Chinese New Year); April 16-23, 2019 (Holy Week); April-May 2019 (Summer); October 26-November 8, 2019 (All Saints’ Day/All Souls’ Day); and December 20, 2019-January 5, 2020 (Christmas).

A study commissioned last year by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources indicated that Boracay, considered by many foreign travel publications as among the best islands in the world, can only support 19,125 tourists at any given time.

“There will be a scheduling [of cruise trips]; but for now the travel of cruise ships are held in abeyance.

There will be decisions made how many passengers will be allowed to disembark from the ship,” said Rigor, adding that, “even if the ship has a 4,000 passenger capacity, not all of them will disembark. Limiting the tourists to the island will be part of the guidelines. If you’re just going on an island tour, that’s fine.”

Those who attended said meeting were cruise ship agents, shore excursion representatives, as well as Boracay Island stakeholders.

During said meeting, the source said tourism officials averred, “average arrivals in Boracay by all transportation methods

since it reopened has been [plus or minus] 4,500 per day. There was a peak of 7,000 arrivals on the day Genting Cruises’ MS World Dream cruise ship arrived in Boracay last December.” The tourism officials stressed that at no time did the carrying capacity of 19,125 tourists was exceeded.

The BIATF is also considering to direct large cruise ships to urban ports while expedition ships, which usually carry not more than 200 passengers, could dock in Boracay, Camiguin and Palawan. Alternative cruise destinations include Subic, Bataan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Bohol (Tagbilaran Port) and Bacolod, according to the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) presentation during the meeting.

For his part, Rigor said the DENR will be installing pontoons in two stations and at island-hopping destinations to ease the embarkation and disembarkation of cruise passengers. “One pontoon will be brought shipside…. Islandhopping tourist will start offshore from the pontoons. Another will be positioned at Station 3 for disembarkation of passengers to the main beach. The tender boats will not approach the shore,” said a separate source. “Other cruise tourists who will tour other areas of Boracay will use the Cagban port,” the source added.

Rigor stressed, “What’s important is that many hotels and tour

operators handling island-hopping activities, will benefit from the new guidelines. The cruise passengers no longer have to go to the island directly just to avail of these tours.”

He added, the agency will also be identifying “alternative anchor sites.” There were no discussions on the pollution caused by cruise ships during the meeting, he noted.

The Boracay Cruise Ship Assessment Team, chaired by the DOT, will have as its members officials from the DENR, Department of the Interior and Local Government, local and provincial governments, the Philippine Ports Authority, and the private sector (e.g., Tourism Congress of the Philippines and Boracay Foundation Inc.).

As per the DOT presentation, the agency will publish a travel guide for day trips for cruise tourists. “All cruise tourists will be guided by local guides or will be on local tour excursions,” according to the source present at the meeting.

DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P. Boncato Jr., who chairs the cruise ship assessment team, said the guidelines on cruises to Boracay will be issued “very soon.” According to the Clean Cruising web site, there were some 26 cruise tours scheduled from January to October this year, which included Boracay on their itineraries.

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Beijing uses AI to find threats to one-party rule, Soros says

Saturday, January 26, 2019

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US sails navy vessels through Taiwan Strait, challenging China

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MERICAN navy vessels sailed through the disputed Taiwan Strait, the United State’s first known show of force in the area since November.

GEORGE SOROS SIMON DAWSON/BLOOMBERG

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ILLIONAIRE George Soros warned of the “mortal danger” of China’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to repress its citizens under the leadership of Xi Jinping, who he called the most dangerous opponent of democracies.

“The instruments of control developed by artificial intelligence give an inherent advantage of totalitarian regimes over open societies,” the 88-year-old said on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“China is not the only authoritarian regime in the world but it’s undoubtedly the wealthiest, strongest and most developed in machine learning and artificial intelligence.”

The former hedge fund manager said China is developing a centralized database that will use a lgor ithms to deter mine whether a person poses a threat to the one-party system. While the so-called social credit system is not yet fully operational, “it will subordinate the fate of the individual to the interests of the one-party state in ways unprecedented in history,” Soros said.

“I find the social credit system frightening and abhorrent,” he said. Soros drew a distinction between Xi and the Chinese people, saying the latter remain a main source of hope.

Criticizes Putin

AT the Davos conference last year, Soros lashed out at socialmedia giants Facebook Inc. and Google. He compared them to

gambling companies that foster addiction among users and said that they exploit the data they control. Soros today reiterated the need to regulate technology firms while authoritarian regimes declare theirs as “national champions.”

“That’s what has enabled some Chinese state-owned companies to catch up with and even surpass the multinational giants,” he said.

In his speech, Soros touched on subjects including his childhood, running a hedge fund and his efforts to protect human rights. He spoke at length about China, criticizing Xi and the nation’s “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure project as self-serving. He also called out Russian President Vladimir Putin as another enemy of democracy.

“I’ve been concentrating on China but open societies have m a ny more enem ies, P ut in’s Russia foremost among them,” Soros said.

Soros has become a lightning rod for his political views and philanthropic efforts. A longtime supporter and financial backer of progressive causes and Democratic politicians, he’s become a target of right-wing activists. In October, an apparent explosive device was discovered at his suburban New York home.

In 2011, Soros closed his hedge fund and converted his firm into a family office—investing solely on behalf of himself, his family members and the Open Society Foundations, a worldwide network of philanthropies. Bloomberg News

Venezuela military brass pledges loyalty to Maduro, decries coup

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ENEZUEL A’s top mi l itary officials took to the airwaves on Thursday to swear their support to embattled President Nicolas Maduro after the US and a dozen other nations recognized his main political rival as the rightful head of state.

One by one, eight regional commanders and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez appeared on state television pledging their loyalty and denouncing a “coup” after Juan Guaido, the head of the National Assembly, declared himself president on Wednesday. While US President Donald Trump, Canada and the 11 Latin American countries that make up the Lima Group supported Guaido, the defense minister said Venezuela’s security forces would never accept an “imposed” government.

“We swore to die for the fatherland,” Padrino Lopez, flanked by his top lieutenants, told reporters at Caracas’s main military base.

“What we saw yesterday [Wednesday] was reprehensible.”

Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Wednesday in the capital and other major cities to back Guaido as he invoked a constitutional amendment that would enable him to lead a caretaker government. The move was

largely symbolic as the Supreme Court removed nearly all powers from the legislature, the only institution not controlled by Maduro’s allies, more than a year ago. But foreign leaders and opposition supporters have been quick to back Guaido’s plan.

Blanket amnesty

THE 35-year-old congressman is now aggressively calling on the armed forces, long seen as Venezuela’s key power broker, to break ranks. In return, he offers blanket amnesty for alleged corruption and human-rights abuses.

Some t wo doz en n at ion a l guardsman revolted on Monday at a base in west Caracas, stealing weapons and posting videos on social medial that called on other soldiers to defect. The rebellion was quickly quashed but quickly sparked unrest throughout Venezuela.

About 218 people have been arrested across the country since Monday, according to Foro Penal, a Caracas legal group. So far, 13 people have died in the protests, reported Social Conflict Observatory, a non-government organization. Guaido, seeking to keep the pressure on Maduro, is calling for protests to continue in coming days. Bloomberg News

T he warships sailed north through the strait on January 24, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a news statement on Thursday. It’s the US navy’s fourth passage since July last year, the island’s Central News Agency reported. An October sailby prompted China to “express concern” to the US. Chinese aircraft, including H-6 bombers and KJ-500 airborne early warning and control systems, also flew from the main-

land Thursday through the Bashi Channel for far-sea training before returning to their base via the same route, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.

“This routine transit through international waters of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Pentagon Spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan said in the CNA report. “ The US will continue to f ly, sail and operate anywhere international

A SAILOR stands in front of a US national flag aboard the US navy's USS Coronado littoral combat ship at the IMDEX Asia 2017 maritime defense show in Singapore, on May 16, 2017. NICKY LOH/BLOOMBERG

law allows.”

The US vessels’ transit comes during a period of rising tension between Taiwan and China, which considers the island one of its provinces. Since the election of

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen from a pro-independence party in 2016, Beijing has cut off formal communication with Taipei and stepped up military exercises in the area. Bloomberg News

MITCH MCCONNELL ALEX WROBLEWSKI/BLOOMBERG

New talks to end shutdown mark first hint of break in impasse

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ENATORS began a new effort to end the 34-day partial government shutdown after blocking two rival spending bills.

The White House signaled President Donald Trump was open to a plan to reopen agencies for three weeks, but at a price. “ The three-week CR would only work if there is a large dow n pay ment on t he wa l l,” White House Spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday, referring to a stopgap spending bill and the president’s demand for $5.7 billion for a wall at the southern border.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met privately in McConnell’s office to discuss a path forward, and Schumer came out later, smiling. “We’re talking, we’re talking,” he said.

But a Schumer spokesman, Justin Goodman, said on Thursday night that the minority leader “and Senate Democrats have made clear to Leader McConnell and Republicans that they will not support funding for the wall, prorated or otherwise.”

In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters the idea of Trump wanting a down payment for a wall is “not a reasonable agreement.” House Democrats plan to offer a proposal on Friday morning to boost border security, but not build a wall.

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he hoped a

deal could be reached after he spoke with the president about a bipartisan proposal to fund the shuttered federal agencies for three weeks. He said such a measure would have to contain additional provisions to satisfy both sides: funding for a “wall/barrier” to please Trump and disaster aid to please Democrats.

“If we can get in a room, we can fix this, and it won’t take three weeks,” Graham said.

Trump told reporters at the White House that if a stopgap spending bill passed without wall money, “I wouldn’t be happy. But we have a lot of alternatives.”

Two proposals

EARLIER Thursday, the Senate rejected two proposals—one by Trump and one by Democrats intended to reopen the government. They were the first votes the Senate has taken on funding the government since the December 22 start of the shutdown, now the longest in modern US history.

“We will not Cave!” Trump tweeted a few hours before the votes.

At the same time, a bipartisan group of 16 senators—eight from each party—took to the chamber’s floor to say they want to reopen the government for three weeks to allow time for work on a bipartisan border security deal.

“I think we can do this together,” said Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a leader of

the effort. “But we can’t do it with the government shut down.”

The Democratic proposal to reopen the government attracted two more votes than the Trumpbacked Republican plan, but both fell well short of the 60 needed to advance.The Democratic measure would have reopened agencies until Februay 8 to allow talks on a border security plan but wouldn’t have funded a wall. Trump’s proposal would have spent $5.7 billion on a border wall.

Six Republicans voted to advance the Democratic bill: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Murkowski and Mitt Romney of Utah. Three senators, two Republicans and a Democrat, were absent.

Just last month, the Republican-controlled Senate had backed the Democratic measure by voice vote before Trump suddenly opposed it, triggering the closure.

State of the Union

THE president late Wednesday acquiesced to Pelosi’s cancellation of his planned January 29 State of the Union address in her chamber until the government reopens. The Treasury Department, Department of Homeland Sec u r it y a nd Env i ron ment a l Protection Agency are closed as Trump fights for his 2016 campaign promise to build a wall at the border with Mexico.

In advance of the votes, McConnell called Trump’s plan a “pragmatic compromise that could end this impasse right away” by getting the president’s signature. He said the Democrats’ temporary measure creates the possibility of a new crisis in several weeks when funding expires.

Schumer said Trump’s proposal was a “ harshly partisan” plan that would give the president all he wants before reopening the gover nment. T he Democratic proposal would reopen federal agencies and allow time for negotiations over border security, he said.

T he pa i n i nf l ic ted by t he shutdown is “getting deeper and deeper every day,” with 800,000 federal employees set to miss anot her payc hec k on Fr id ay, Schumer said.

Trump’s proposal faced strong objections from Democrats who oppose the wall and the plan’s changes in immigration law, including new limits on asylum claims by Central American minors. It would have temporarily protected some young undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The W hite House had said Trump would veto the Democratic measure, which was previously passed by the House. Overcoming a veto would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, and votes so far have shown support well below that amount Bloomberg News

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A4 Saturday, January 26, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

Trade attachés tasked to work at achieving balanced trade

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HE government has tasked trade attaches posted abroad to work harder to achieve balanced trade with other countries, along with continuously pushing the entry of Philippine brands in those markets.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez identified addressing trade deficit with other countries among the challenges facing the export sector, as the country provides local products

greater access to markets abroad.

“So aside from the task given to the trade attaches to make sure that homegrown brands are introduced into the mainstream market, we are

now also giving them trade targets, in other words, export targets,” he said.

Lopez noted they need to also target a trade balance, and bring down tariffs as well as nontariff barriers.

“We try to work on really addressing this trade deficit because if you add up all these small trade deficits, it will result in a much larger trade deficit for the country,” he added.

He said the Philippines has a good trade balance with Japan, the US and other markets; but has huge deficits particularly with China and Indonesia.

“I know it is a difficult task so we have to really work on both the

production side, the manufacturing aspect, as well as the market side.

We also need to work on tariff issues, trade policies, our negotiations with other countries, our trade promotion despite the limited budget that we have,” Lopez said.

The trade chief also cited the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. for its contributions to export promotion.

“In promotion, there should be more support we can give to the export sector,” he said. “On manufacturing, providing the small and medium enterprises different kinds of support both fiscal and non-fiscal.”

German firms remain keen on PHL market

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HE interest of German companies in the Philippines remains high, although firms are on the lookout for the “clouds” in the local market.

German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) Executive Director Martin Henkelmann told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that German firms see great potential for trade and investments in the country.

Henkelmann said German companies are keen on investing, particularly in the sectors of businessprocess outsourcing (BPO), infrastructure and energy, as well as bringing in high-end machinery and exporting Philippine food products.

“The Philippines is a very interesting region as well for German companies. There’s great potential for both direction, and we have seen Philippine products are actually competitive in the German market,” he said.

He noted the Philippines’s strong BPO industry is the main driver for German companies to outsource services here to cater to these firms’ English-speaking clients.

The government’s “Build, Build, Build” program also attracts German firms in the engineering and construction sector to explore investment opportunities here, the GPCCI executive said.

In the energy sector, Henkelmann said there will be a German business delegation coming to the Philippines next month to look for possible local partners.

“There’s a lot of sunshine, but there’s a cloud for us on our side,”

EU amends food contact plastics packing regulation

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ILIPINO stakeholders are advised to comply with the latest requirements for food contact plastics in the European Union after the EU recently amended its “Food Contact Plastics” Regulation, the latest revision becoming effective on January 31, 2019.

The European Commission published the 12th amendment to the Plastics Regulation (EU) 10/2011 on January 11, 2019, in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This amendment, Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/37, adds new items to the list of substances that may be used in food contact materials (also referred to as the positive list or the Union list), makes corrections to preexisting substances on the positive list, and clarifies what food simulants should be used for the overall migration testing of milk products.

Specifically, Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/37 (https:// eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R0037) makes the following amendments, among others: Replaces four substances and adds three completely new substances to the Union list of authorized substances.

Adds one completely new entry

for a group restriction of three substances. These are to be expressed as crotonic acid.

Replaces the specification for 3-hydroxybutanoic acid-3-hydroxypentanoic acid, copolymer (FCM substance 744) with a specific migration limit for crotonic acid.

Replaces two rows on the use of food simulants for certain foods.

Based on favorable scientific opinions from the European Food Safety Authority, the substances added to the positive list in Annex 1 of the Plastics Regulation are: Poly((R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co(R)-3-hydroxyhexanoate), a biodegradable (co)polymer obtained from microbial fermentation used in the manufacture of packaging articles intended to be in contact with whole fruit and vegetables; Dimethyl carbonate as a monomer; and Isobutane as a foaming/blowing agent only.

According to the latest regulation, food contact plastics that are compliant with Regulation (EU) 10/2011 before the entry into force of this new regulation may be placed on the market until January 31, 2020 and may remain on the market until stocks are exhausted.

Industry clusters to advance inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship

T D.T.I. CHINESE FIRMS TO PROMOTE PHL AS INVESTMENT DESTINATION

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez (third from left) discussed possible investment promotions collaboration with Travelzen Worldwide Co. Ltd., Group of Companies and DCM Group of Companies Chairman Thomas Tar Pui Kwok (left) and Yeung Marine Holdings Inc. Chairman Donny King Shing Yuen (second from left). The collaboration will be in the form of a Philippine Investment and Tourism Center at Shanghai, China. Lopez said the partnership will aid the Department of Trade and Industry in its investment promotion programs and encourage more Chinese investors to visit the Philippines and look for investment opportunities in the areas of tourism, real estate and food processing. Travelzen Worldwide Co. Ltd., is the largest B2B hospitality related company in China. Meanwhile, Yeung Marine Holdings is a registered Filipino company that primarily engages in sales and trade of various marine products globally. The group is also involved in fruit distribution, food processing, freight forwarding, aquaculture and construction. The meeting was also attended by Special Envoy to the People’s Republic of China Ramon Tulfo (third from right), Board of Investments (BOI) Managing Head and DTI Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo (second from right), BOI International Investments Promotion Service Chief Lanie Dormiendo (right).

Henkelmann noted.

“We are a little bit worried about the TRAIN 2 law,” he said, pertaining to the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) of the administration, which targets to rationalize fiscal incentives.

“This will reduce the advantages in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority [Peza] zones. They might see some problems on this side,” he added.

Henkelmann said German companies want clear policies on the rationalization of tax perks given

by the government, so that firms, especially in the export manufacturing, can decide whether to pursue their investment plans in the Philippines or not.

“And we’re a little bit afraid that if we don’t see this in 2019, because investments, which will be done in 2019, had been decided before where people were normally discussing too much the problems of Peza,” Henkelmann said.

During the GPCCI’s economic outlook for the Philippines last week, Deutsche Regis Partners Inc. chief

strategist and cohead of research Rafael Garchitorena said there are positive developments in the local market for 2019, which he called “a break in the clouds” from last year.

“Last year is a bit of rough year for the markets,” Garchitorena said.

“We hope that not all of a sudden this will be a déjà vu.”

“We are granted a lot of macro fundamental reasons to be positive for 2019,” he added, citing the market’s bullishness reflected in the local currency and the stock market. PNA

HE country is working to grow anddevelopindustryclustersina bid to create an inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

A policy brief released by the Department of Trade and Industry— Bureau of Trade and Industrial (DTI) Policy Research said regional inclusive innovation centers (RIICs) will build upon the existing industry clusters in the regions, and capitalize on the cluster strategies being implemented by the national and regional governments.

It said RIICs aim to improve supply chain, value adding and agro-processing, as well as systems for food and agricultural research, access to technologies, financing, regulation and certification particularly for highvalue crops such as rubber, mangoes, coffee, cacao and coconut.

These will also promote the Philippines as an agribusiness regional hub and increase its participation in the global value chain as a supplier of semi-processed or finished farm products.

RIICs, likewise, will provide a directory of regional products and services and serve as venues for startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to connect and network with industry experts to enhance their entrepreneurial know-

how and enable them to be Industry 4.0-ready, it added.

“As common points for convergence, RIICs will be able to galvanize a shared direction among stakeholders and provide a venue to weave together and/or harmonize programs and projects in support of innovation and entrepreneurship in the regions,” the report said.

It noted that “connecting and integrating” the key elements and stakeholders of the Philippine innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem is crucial, as the country also addresses its weak innovation performance.

“These RIICs are envisioned to be at the heart of Philippine economic transformation and serve as linchpin of productive collaborations between and among industries, universities, government agencies, local government units, start-ups, MSMEs, research and development laboratories, science and technology, parks, incubators, FabLabs, investors, among many other agents in the ecosystem,” it added.

Apart from growing and developing industry clusters, the report identified other strategies meant to create an inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Philexport News and Features

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

Sports

BusinessMirror

Saturday, January 26, 2019

A5

ANOTHER LESSON ON SPORTS ABUSE

By John Leicester

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The Associated Press

ORDEAUX, France—The victims’ parents regarded him as a family friend, unaware of the tortures he was inflicting on their children behind closed doors.

His past glories as a champion swimmer helped lull admirers into thinking that Vincent Leroyer was reliable, someone to look up to. Yet, the truth, finally aired at his trial in southwest France this week for raping and sexually assaulting children, was that the ex-elite athlete—like other notorious sports officials and coaches—was using his position to brutalize young people.

The success of the championship-winning ice hockey team Leroyer managed also lent him an aura of prestige. It helped him to carry out and hide his abuses, spread across a decade in the 1980s and ‘90s, on boys aged six to 14. The 61-year-old was sentenced on Wednesday to 12 years imprisonment on five counts of child sex abuse and one of child rape. His victims, now in their 30s and 40s, hugged after the verdict was pronounced.

In the greater scheme of things, Leroyer is a sporting nobody. The court in Bordeaux heard how injuries derailed his swimming career in the 1970s before he could compete for France on the world stage in his specialty discipline, the backstroke.

Still, Leroyer’s three-day trial highlighted how, in the wrong hands, the lure and power of sports can act as poison. That lent this case relevance for all those engaged, near and far, in sports today.

Success in sports, as an athlete and administrator, opened doors that otherwise likely would have remained closed to the single man riddled with insecurities and with no family or children of his own.

It gave him access to kids, the most naïve and, by extension, most vulnerable admirers of sporting success.

And it helped him mystify parents who were grateful to have such a “friend,” a sports insider who not only could get match tickets for their hockey-playing kids but who also offered to transport them here and there and let them sleep over after late-night games. It was at his apartment near the ice rink, on a sofa bed, that some of the assaults took place.

“We talk of sport being a family. Well, here, there was a wolf in the family,” said the father of two of Leroyer’s victims, both men in their 30s who have wrestled with addiction, unstable relationships and other blockages to a happy life since they were systematically abused.

Because Leroyer committed his crimes decades ago, in the Normandy town of Rouen, it would be easy to think that his trial, which barely made national news even in France, offered little in the way of lessons for parents, kids or those involved in sports today.

But Leroyer’s victims specifically asked that the proceedings be held in open court because they feel their suffering could help inform others. If the destruction of their childhoods can spare others, then perhaps their pain might take on some glimmer of meaning.

And methods Leroyer employed to befriend families and abuse their children are by no means unique to Rouen or to France.

Former rugby player Sebastien Boueilh, who crisscrosses France delivering classes on how to combat pedophilia in sports and sharing his experience as a victim of child sexual abuse himself, says predators typically target families’ vulnerabilities.

“In a group of 20 kids, they’ll target the kid whose parents are separating or who don’t have the time,” Boueilh, who was not involved in the Leroyer trial, said in a phone interview. “When they have everyone’s trust, they go after the child.”

In Leroyer’s case, he wormed his way into families with marital difficulties and where fathers were often absent for work; families where his offers to help, to take kids to games,

TIGHT SECURITY: INSIDE AND OUT A

TLANTA—When Super Bowl 53 kicks off less than two weeks from now, legions of police and federal agents will be positioned to protect fans inside and outside the Atlanta stadium where the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams face off.

The game will bring international attention, which makes it a potential target for terrorism, said Brian Levin, a former New York City police officer

who is director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

“We fortify these events because we have to,” Levin said. “They’re the brightest bug lamps that attract an array of possible extremists and also unstable people, as well.”

Authorities won’t discuss specifics of their security plan. But they say they will safeguard

WORKERS use a lift to install a Super Bowl 53 wrap on the outside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. AP

for burger meals, on holiday and even to tuck them in at night, were gratefully accepted, out of trust or necessity.

One father told the court “it helped us out” when Leroyer offered to keep his son overnight after taking him to see hockey matches, not knowing the boy was being assaulted, abuse that left him an insomniac from age 11 and later led to battles with addiction.

The father with two sons who were abused said the Rouen Hockey Club’s success, with five national championships during Leroyer’s tenure as manager from 1986-1996, contributed to lower their guard.

“We had stars in our eyes,” he told The Associated Press in an interview during a break in the hearings. “In any other situation, I’d never have let this happen.”

In summing up the case against Leroyer for the jury, prosecutor Martine Cazaban-Pouchet said: “It helped the families to have someone who said, ‘I’m available.’” She had asked for a prison sentence of 12 to 14 years.

Without trust, there would be no grassroots sports: parents wouldn’t let kids out of the

house, depriving them of rich and rewarding relationships with adult coaches, and there’d be no carpooling, so sports clubs wouldn’t tick.

“There are many, many more good volunteers than predators,” Boueilh notes.

Still, he says families should protect themselves by never allowing kids to go back to the house of an adult coach or sports official.

Parents should insist kids come straight home from events. And kids should always sit in the back, out of reach of the driver’s hands, he says.

Advice that perhaps, just perhaps, might have helped thwart Leroyer and prevent the damage that endures for his victims.

“You have to be paranoid,” said the father of two victims in the AP interview. “Our only error was to have given him our trust and to never have thought to ourselves that we would be manipulated.”

areas beyond the downtown Mercedes-Benz Stadium and make officers visible across the city. The city’s police department has worked with more than 40 state, federal and local law-enforcement agencies to develop the plan, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said. Officers will work 12-hour shifts and will “position ourselves so that we can react immediately to whatever scenario we are confronted with,” Shields said.

The chief said law enforcers have been preparing for two years, during which time they visited Super Bowls in Houston and Minneapolis to observe safety measures taken by their counterparts.

Recent attacks in the US and around the world have taught authorities that they must be prepared to defend more than the obvious targets.

Atlanta knows this well. During the Olympic Games in 1996, a man set off a pipe bomb at Centennial Olympic Park, a downtown public space that lacked the high security of the athletic venues and Olympic Village where athletes were staying.

Shrapnel from the bomb tore through a crowd of concertgoers on July 27, 1996, killing a woman who was hit in the skull with a nail, and wounding more than 100 others.

“Our main focus at that time was on the Olympic Village,” said Richard Stogner, who was in charge of finances for the Olympics and as such

was involved in security meetings weeks and months before the games. Stogner witnessed the deadly violence from his office overlooking the park. He recalled walking onto his balcony and seeing a large cloud of white smoke and at least a couple of people lying on the ground.

Shields said there was a desire at the time to make the park “family friendly,” so the decision was made to keep security more lax there.

“In hindsight, that was a mistake,” she said.

In the days leading up to the Super Bowl on February 3, the park—which has been closed off with high chain-link fencing in some places— will play a central role as it hosts numerous concerts and other game-related celebrations.

In addition to increased security around the city, Atlanta Fire Rescue will put some of its paramedics on bicycles so they can reach patients in areas crowded with pedestrians, Chief Randall Slaughter said. And Shields noted that a joint operations center that will also include officials from Georgia Power and the city’s mass transit system is set to open on Saturday.

Authorities will not take their preparations for granted, however, because terrorists “never stop creating, they never stop thinking,” Shields said.

In Atlanta in 1996, “the guy just decided that he wanted to blow up people, so he set a bomb off,” Stogner said. “That’s hard to prepare for.” AP

Comaneci, Joyner-Kersee captains at Aurora Games

A

LBANY, New York—When asked last year to be part of a new sports and entertainment festival aimed at celebrating the power of women in sports, Olympic champion gymnast Nadia Comaneci was all in.

“It’s a great idea,” said Comaneci, who won five Olympic gold medals and is best remembered for being the first Olympic gymnast to record a perfect 10. “It’s wonderful to have an idea, but it’s much more wonderful to be able to put it in place. We’ve been talking about women’s sports for a long time.

I don’t think it actually got the position that it deserves in celebrating the history of what women in sports have done through the years.

“Hopefully, this is going to get bigger and bigger and everybody will know about the history and celebrate the history, celebrate what women can do.”

The 57-year-old Comaneci, who became a star at the 1976 Montreal Games, and Olympic track and field gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee were introduced on Wednesday as honorary team captains for the inaugural Aurora Games, which will be staged over six days in August in Albany, New York. Joyner-Kersee will lead athletes from North and South America and Comaneci will captain Team World. Athletes from more than 15 countries are expected to participate.

“This is a great idea because it hasn’t been

done,” Joyner-Kersee, 56, said. “On the other hand, the challenge of it would be to get enough support and why it’s important. I think now is the time. It’s one thing to have an idea. It’s another to bring that idea to reality.”

The festival is the brainchild of longtime sports agent Jerry Solomon, who is married to former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. He said the idea came to him while watching the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“There were more women than men on the US Olympic team for the first time ever and I thought they were doing better,” Solomon said. “I just felt that it was time to take women’s sports out from under the

RAFAEL NADAL savors his Australian Open 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 semifinal victory over 20-yearold Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday. AP

shadow of the men, which is what happens when they participate with the men, and to create an event that was all about celebrating the power and elegance and entertainment value and sheer strength of women’s sports—separate and apart from everything else, that it can stand on its own, it should stand on its own, deserves its own platform.”

The festival will feature competition in gymnastics, basketball, ice hockey, figure skating, tennis and beach volleyball. Solomon said the games will be televised live for three hours a day in 60 countries but did not elaborate. Athletes who will participate will be announced at a later date, he said, adding that some were competing in tennis at the Australian Open.

Solomon said he wanted to name the games after either a Greek or Roman goddess and chose the Roman goddess of the dawn. AP

Collins wishes roof stayed open at Rod Laver Arena

M

ELBOURNE, Australia—The way Danielle Collins looks at it, the end of her surprising run at Melbourne Park was something of an open-and-shut case.

The 25-year-old American was every bit Petra Kvitova’s equal during their Australian Open semifinal during the time Rod Laver Arena’s retractable roof was open—and she never really had a chance once it was shut as the temperature approached 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) on Thursday.

The match was even at 4-all after

35 minutes, when the tournament’s extreme heat policy was invoked, and the cover was closed to block out the scorching sun. Collins did not appreciate that switch and wound up losing 7-6 (2), 6-0 to two-time major champion Kvitova.

“They need to start the match the way it’s going to finish, I think,” Collins said. “I think they do that in football, and I think it certainly changed a little bit of the rhythm in the match.”

There’s no doubt that Kvitova’s level of play rose substantially once it became an indoor contest.

She has made clear over the years that she does not love playing in high heat and humidity.

As for Collins?

“Honestly, I like playing in the heat.

Don’t get me wrong, it certainly has its challenges,” said the 35th-ranked Collins, who won two NCAA titles at the University of Virginia.

“I grew up in Florida and am used to it being really hot all the time. So I kind of embrace that very well. Indoor tennis is a different game. Certainly had its effect.”

She also had her issues with chair umpire Carlos Ramos, who called three code violations on Serena Williams and docked her a game during the US Open final last September.

In the tiebreaker, then early in the second set, Collins went back-and-forth with Ramos, complaining about his procedural rulings. The exchanges did not help Collins and seemed to distract her as she let Kvitova seize control of the match.

It was an abrupt ending to quite a debut performance by Collins at the Australian Open.

She arrived at the tournament with an 0-5 record in Grand Slam matches and a losing mark of 17-22 overall on tour. But Collins managed to beat No. 2-seeded Angelique Kerber— who owns three major titles— along with No. 14 Julie Goerges and No. 19 Carolina Garcia.

“There is a lot of great things to build off of, and I think I had a really great learning experience throughout the entire tournament, and especially today,” Collins said.

“I’m really excited for my success to be recognized, and to continue playing on the biggest stage and against the biggest and best opponents in the world.” AP

DANIELLE COLLINS: They need to start the match the way it’s going to finish. AP

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BusinessMi

Saturday, January 26, 2019 | Editor: Jun Lomibao

Rider cleared despite positive test

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OSH VAN DER SANDE (Lotto Soudal) will not face suspension after returning a positive anti-doping test during the Gent Six Day track race held from November 12 to 18, Sporza reported.

“I’m very happy and relieved to be cleared by the UCI,” Van der Sande wrote on social media on Wednesday. “This afternoon I was notified by the UCI that they won’t pursue the case any further and consider the matter closed.

“Unfortunately I was initially depicted as a cycling doper, while I only had to make a statement about how the particular substance was found in my urine. It was merely an administrative mistake.”

Van der Sande’s lawyers successfully convinced the UCI Disciplinary Committee that

the prednisolone that was found in his urine sample came from the use of a nasal spray, Sofrasolone, which is permitted in competition if declared at the time of the anti-doping test, and that the rider accidentally wrote down the wrong medication in the corresponding paperwork.

“The Disciplinary Commission announced today that they are following our statement and the case is officially closed,” said Van der Sande’s lawyer Johnny Maeschalck.

Sofrasolone is a product that is permitted in competition. However, an athlete must declare its use in the paperwork at the time of the corresponding anti-doping test. Sporza reported that Van der Sande accidentally wrote down the wrong medication, Mometasone Nasal, which is what led to the anti-doping rule violation.

“My sample contained prednisolone, from the nasal spray Sofrasolone,” Van der Sande told Het Nieuwsblad. “This nasal spray is freely available, was delivered to me via the team doctor and is admitted within a competition as stated on the doping control form. I took this intranasally. In the hectic situation, the ‘Mometasone spray’ form was mentioned in error instead of ‘Sofrasolone’, which is used for the same medical indications. It is therefore only a material error. In the past I used the two nasal sprays alternately, always delivered via a team doctor.”

Van der Sande’s lawyers, Maeschalck and Kristof De Saedeleer, sent his defense to the UCI Disciplinary Commission with an explanation for the error, and it was accepted.

Lotto Soudal announced that Van der Sande had returned a positive test in December. The team explained that their rider had informed

them of the anti-doping rule violation. At that time, the team did not identify the substance but did say that Van der Sande took “a permitted one and occurs in the nasal spray Sofrasolone, that is freely available and allowed to be used in competition if mentioned during a control.”

Lotto Soudal said that Van der Sande would be suspended “in expectation of the investigation executed by the UCI and to allow the rider to underpin his defense in the best possible way.”

Van der Sande and six day partner Jasper de Buyst finished third at the Gent Six behind the Quick-Step duo of Elia Viviani and Iljo Keisse. The Baloise Insurance team of Robbe Ghys and Kenny de Ketele finished second.

Van der Sande will now turn his focus toward the road season with Lotto Soudal. “The coming weeks I will fully focus on the start of my new season. I will line up at the Ruta del Sol as initially agreed with the team.” Cyclingnews

Varnish loses employment case against British Cycling, UK Sport

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ESS VARNISH has lost the employment tribunal case that she lodged in December against British Cycling and UK Sport, according to a report published on BBC Sport.

The former track sprinter attempted to prove that she was an employee of the sport federations so that she could then sue them for wrongful dismissal and sexual discrimination.

Varnish and her legal team continue to digest the 43-page judgement and will look to offer a statement to media on Thursday, said a spokesman

for Varnish, according to BBC Sports.

UK Sport said that they are now more confident in the working relationships between contracted national team athletes but that they will continue to “reflect on the concerns that were raised through the case,” BBC Sport reported. UK Sport also said they have already taken action to “strength duty of care and welfare provided to athletes” and that they “regretted that pursuing this case was considered the best course of action [Varnish] had to address

JESS VARNISH has tried to prove that she was an employee of the sport federations so that she could then sue them for wrongful dismissal and sexual discrimination.

the concerns she felt.”

The employment tribunal hearing came to a close on December 17, and the presiding judge said the decision would be made in January.

Varnish was fighting for compensation, claiming unfair dismissal after she was dropped from Great Britain’s elite track program in 2016 and so missed out on the Rio Olympics. She claimed that she was an employee of British Cycling and UK Sport.

The employment tribunal considered if Varnish’s UK Sport funding and support from British Cycling meant that she was self-employed or an employee. Had she been successful in proving that she was an employee, all parties would then have faced another tribunal in this year.

Last year, Varnish had also accused former technical director at British Cycling Shane Sutton of using sexist and discriminatory language toward her, a claim that was supported by several other athletes. Sutton resigned from his position at the federation, but was later cleared of eight of the nine allegations following an independent investigation into the culture of British Cycling’s high-performance program.

In her testimony to the tribunal, Varnish accused British Cycling of extreme control and that she was an employee because of the “net of control” over her by British Cycling.

Simon Fenton represented Varnish and told BBC Sport that the case came in a line of other employment cases the tribunal has heard.

Israel Cycling Academy completes desert camp

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IDERS from the Israel Cycling Academy recently completed a final ride from the Negev Desert to Jerusalem as the team prepares for its fifth season in the UCI ranks and its third season at the Pro Continental level.

Last season saw the team make history on the start line of the Giro d’Italia’s roll out in Jerusalem, and the ambitious upstart program has even bigger plans for 2019.

The team revealed an “opening blitz” of 45 total race days over the first five weeks of the season, with squads competing in

Colombia, France, Argentina, Spain, Rwanda, Italy, Mallorca and Belgium. They’re also hoping for a return trip to the Giro, which is expected to announce teams later this month, and an even bigger push to get the attention of the Tour de France organizers for a possible wild-card berth in 2020.

The team added 10 new riders for 2019, and all were present at the final training camp in Israel, which featured four days of intense training, crossing through the desert to Jerusalem and then straight to the Gino Bartali memorial in the “Yad Vashem” Holocaust museum for some

cultural education about their new team and the country they represent.

“It was a great privilege to honor one of our greatest legends,” new recruit David Cimolai said of the Bartali Memorial, which pays tribute to the Italian champion who saved Jews from the Holocaust by smuggling forged documents hidden in his bike frame during the second world war. Yad Vashem has recognized Bartali as “Righteous among the Nations.”

“I was very emotional and proud to stand there in front of his memorial,” Cimolai said.

“I’m proud to be Italian and proud to be an Italian riding for an Israeli team dedicated to keep his memory alive.”

Following the camp, the riders will divide into groups once again to begin their 2019 “blitz.” Starting with the Vuelta a San Juan on January 27

“She was an employee [or worker], with the right not to be discriminated against,” he said.

“This case comes in a line of decisions from the cases of Uber, Addison Lee and Pimlico Plumbers, which show how tribunals are looking at what actually happened in practice rather than simply accepting what is said in the contractual documentation. And they are deciding that the individuals are workers.”

BBC Sport reported that the outcome of the case would be a blow to any other Olympic athlete who had considered suing UK Sport and/ or their respective governing bodies.

Varnish called three witnesses to provide evidence in her case against British Cycling and UK Sport, one of which was doctor Richard Freeman, the former head doctor at British Cycling. The judge accepted written testimony from Freeman after he failed to appear in front of the tribunal on his lawyer’s advice. He agreed with Varnish that the governing body had extreme control over the athletes.

Freeman is currently embroiled in an investigation by the General Medical Council over an apparently mistaken order of banned testosterone patches to British Cycling headquarters in Manchester, while he was the head doctor.

It was reported this week that the prehearing disclosure by the tribunal listed numerous allegations of “dishonesty” attributed to Freeman.

Freeman is expected to face the Medical Practitioners Tribunal in February. Cyclingnews

in Argentina, the team will put in 45 days of racing in a period of 34 days. The team also confirmed that they will race in the Tour of Rwanda, the Vuelta Valencia and in Tour Colombia, among others.

“We certainly want to get into the hunt for points from the very start of the season,” said team manager Kjell Carllstrom. “We want to get the season up and running. We know it will be a very tough challenge for us. Many teams want the very same thing.”

Team coowner Sylvan Adams, who has invested heavily in the first Israeli team and the Giro start in Israel last year, was clear about what he expects from the team in 2019.

“We want to be up there in the race for Pro Continental top ranking,” he said. “It’s the opportunity to get to the Tour de France and the other big races through the front door. Our second challenge: We want to see Israeli riders step on to the podiums.”

Coowner Ron Baron said he knows competing for the top Pro Continental ranking will be difficult, but the team already proved that it can punch beyond its weight.

“You just have to look at the historic Giro that started in Israel for proof,” he said.

Cyclingnews

CONTADO

BOUND TO

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LBERTO CONTADOR predicted a fifth Tour de France title for Chris Froome and a Giro d’Italia crown for Egan Bernal.

But Contador also warned Vincenzo Nibali and Tom Dumoulin about the fatigue of the Giro-Tour double and suggested that no current Grand Tour rider races with the aggression and panache that he did.

Contador was known for his attacking and tactically astute racing skills, as well as his strength of character. He overcame a cerebral cavernoma early in his career and stood up to Lance Armstrong during their time together at the Astana team in 2009.

He rode 18 Grand Tours during his career, winning seven—Tour de France in 2007 and 2009, Giro d’Italia in 2008 and 2015, and Vuelta a Espana in 2008, 2012 and 2014. His victories at the 2010 Tour and 2011 Giro were revoked after he tested positive for clenbuterol and the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed his defense that he had consumed Spanish meat that had been tainted by the steroid.

Contador retired in 2017 at 34, bowing out on home roads at the Vuelta with an aggressive performance and a stage win atop the Alto de l’Angliru on the penultimate day of his career. He now owns the Continental-level Kometa Cycling

Team and is a brand ambassador for Trek. He says he has no regrets about retiring when he did even if compatriot Alejandro Valverde won the world title in Innsbruck at 38.

“I’ve never had any regrets. I left at the perfect moment, at the top and with some great memories of even the final days of my career,” Contador told La Gazzetta dello Sport in a wideranging interview published on Tuesday.

“I could have carried on for another two or three years, I had some good options....

But I also had some personal plans, such as becoming a father, and that needs space in your life.

“I miss competing a little, because I was born competitive, but on the other hand, I’m no longer a slave when it comes to things like diet. I always had to be careful. There was also the tension of the races and the fear of crashing.”

Contador occasionally works for Eurosport in Spain. He knows that age plays a vital factor in Grand Tour racing, affecting the ability to recover day after day and between two Grand Tours.

Froome turns 34 in May but Contador thinks the Briton can win a fifth Tour de France. However, he warns about Bernal’s rapid rise and huge potential. “[Froome] has got another Tour in his legs and will have Team Sky to help him after

PENDLETON CONTEMPLATED SUICIDE V

ICTORIA PENDLETON has revealed she contemplated suicide last year, opening up about her mental health struggles in an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph.

Pendleton, a two-time Olympic champion and ninetime world champion on the track, was diagnosed with severe depression last summer. She had recently returned from Mount Everest, where hypoxia had cut short her summit attempt, and her marriage to former British Cycling coach Scott Gardner had fallen apart.

After suffering a panic attack, Pendleton was prescribed a range of medication, including Prozac and sleeping pills, but she said they didn’t help and only made her feel like “a zombie.”

In the interview she went on to revealed the darkest moment, when she came close to ending her own life.

“It must have been about 6.30 a.m., I had been awake for hours. I remember lying there with tears rolling down the side of my face. Not really crying but just feeling a sense of hopelessness. I was so low.

So helpless. And I just thought: ‘I don’t want to see tomorrow,’” Pendleton said.

“I had accumulated one-and-a-half times the dose of drugs to kill myself. And I had it there, in front of me, and I knew how much it would take. And how long I

would have to be left for it definitely to work. It wasn’t even like I was really upset about it. I just felt numb.”

Fortunately, she made the decision to pick up the phone and call British Cycling and Team Sky psychiatrist Steve Peters, who, in turn, told Pendleton’s brother to go over immediately. “It was the one bit of sanity in the whole process. I’m so grateful that he picked up. Because I don’t think I would be here if he hadn’t.”

Pendleton then moved in with her mother for two months over the summer, although her mental state did not improve immediately. She revealed that she would “fantasize” about suicide, working through all the practicalities and even asking her mom to forgive her if she went through with it. “You just can’t understand how much I was suffering on the inside,” she said.

Pendleton now says she has “turned a corner” and is feeling much better in herself. The turning point, she explained in the Telegraph interview, was an independent trip—against the advice of family and friends—to Costa Rica, where she went surfing every day.

“Within a few minutes of being on the water I would forget about how I’d felt on dry land,” she said. “There is something very healing about being on, or in the ocean. The way I felt when I came back was like: ‘This is way better than any of the drugs I was prescribed.’”

Pendleton is now a patron of The Wave Project, a charity that aims to use surfing as therapy for young people going through mental health or other issues. She firmly believes that taking herself out of her comfort zone helped her start to overcome her depression and she firmly believes that sharing her experiences publicly, however daunting, can help other people.

“The truth is I don’t know if I will suffer like that again.

People would say ‘Oh, you’re looking much better.’ Or ‘Are you feeling better?’ And I was so afraid to say yes, because I didn’t know whether the next day I might wake up and feel bad again,” she said.

“But I think since November I have felt much better.

I’ve turned a corner a little bit. That doesn’t mean that I won’t be more cautious in the future, if I start to feel similar symptoms. But I feel I’d be better prepared at least. I guess that’s why I’m speaking out now. In case my personal experience can trigger something of use and value for someone else.” Cyclingnews

AFTER suffering a panic attack, Victoria Pendleton is prescribed a range of medication, but she says they didn’t help and only made her feel like “a zombie.”

irror CYCLING

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Saturday, January 26, 2019

ALBERTO CONTADOR (center) with Chris Froome (left) and Elia Viviani at the Colombia 2.1 stage race.

Alberto Contador occasionally works for Eurosport in Spain. He knows that age plays a vital factor in Grand Tour racing, affecting the ability to recover day after day and between two Grand Tours.

OR: FROOME

O WIN 5TH TOUR [Geraint] Thomas took his chance last year.

Bernal could have been a major rival but he’s doing the Giro d’Italia, so Chris has a huge chance,” Contador explained.

“Bernal is already ready to take on the best.

He’s incredibly strong, his potential and ability are scary. I think Froome can win the Tour and Bernal the Giro.”

Contador twice tried to win the Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double, in 2011 and 2015, but struggled in July on each occasion due to an accumulation of fatigue. He is cautious about the chances of Dumoulin, Nibali, Mikel Landa or anyone else becoming the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to complete the Grand Tour double.

“It’s possible, but you need the right routes and a very, very strong team. Not everyone’s body is able to recover in the month after the effort needed at the Giro d’Italia,” he warned.

“Indeed, if lots of Chris Froome’s rivals go for the Giro and the Tour, it will in some way help him in France.

“In 2011, I’d prepared really well for the Giro d’Italia, while the decision to ride the Tour was made at the last minute. I had one bad day and my chances were over. In 2018, Dumoulin went close to winning the Giro and even the Tour, showing his consistency like Froome. But theory is one thing; putting it into practice is another. Everyone is different.

“Recovery plays a huge factor.

I knew at the Tour in 2015 that I hadn’t recovered from the effort of the Giro. If I’d been five years younger, things would have been different. That’s why I think it’s risky for Nibali to go for both the Giro and the Tour.”

Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick Step) has often been compared to Contador for his

riding style, his aggression and character.

Mas finished second overall to Simon Yates at the 2018 Vuelta a España at just 23, with Contador crowning him as his heir apparent.

“He’s strong and has huge potential, he’s the real deal. Perhaps it’s a little early to go for the Tour de France in 2019 but he could do well,” Contador said, adding, with a hint of pride, that he has still to see anyone with the same aggression and ability as he showed during his own career.

“There are a lot of strong riders out there but not one that raced like I did.”

Cyclingnews

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CALCULATED WIN DOWN UNDER

DARYL IMPEY performs with aplomb, and in fact his whole team appears not to put a foot wrong all week.

D

ARYL IMPEY’S second win in as many years made the South African the first rider to defend his title at the men’s Tour Down Under.

The Michelin-Scott rider was able to follow Richie Porte’s (Trek-Segafredo) stagewinning attack on Willunga Hill, tying up the overall win in the process.

While CCC Team’s Patrick Bevin had gone into the final stage as the race leader, with Impey seven seconds behind the New Zealander on the general classification, Bevin’s injuries from his crash the day before proved too much on the first ascent of two of Willunga Hill, and with him slipping out of contention, it left Impey just needing to stay in touch with the likes of Porte, Sky’s Wout Poels, Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) and Rohan Dennis (BahrainMerida) to ensure overall victory.

Impey performed with aplomb, and in fact his whole team appeared not to put a foot wrong all week. Impey was effusive

about their contribution to his win, but Lucas Hamilton, who was the last man at the race winner’s side on the two days that counted most—Stage 3, over the climb of Corkscrew, which was won by Impey, and on Stage 6 to Willunga—drew particular praise from both Impey and head sports director Matt White.

“It was incredibly well ridden by Daryl, but he’s had incredible support all week.

A fellow who really stepped up was Lucas Hamilton—a second-year pro—and although the whole team was incredible all week, what you saw on the final climb there to nullify some of the best climbers in the world, that’s what enabled Daryl to ride the way he did in that final and do enough to seal the win,” White said.

“If I didn’t have Lucas there for me in the final, I definitely wouldn’t have been that close to Richie in the end—and especially on the day that I won the stage,” added Impey. “He’s a young rider but has big potential. But the whole team was

fantastic—it wasn’t only one guy.”

Battling intense heat once again—just as Impey and his team had on their way to the win in 2018—White explained that it was important to make sage decisions en route to final victory on Willunga Hill.

“You’ve got to pick your moments, and when it was at 43 0C, it wasn’t the time to waste energy,” White said.

“We knew that we were going to have opportunities later in the week, and every effort you make in these sorts of temperatures, you pay for later in the week. We rode a pretty calculated race, as always, but it was always going to come down to the last three minutes of this climb.

“Until they change the format, that’s how it’s always going to be,” he continued. “The climbs are not long enough to be too decisive, but long enough to offer enough to the allrounders like Daryl and some of the world’s best climbers.” Cyclingnews

‘Race jury overreacted to Ewan’s headbutt’ CALEB EWAN is relegated for headbutting in the sprint in Stage 5 of the Tour Down Under.

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ORMER sprinter Robbie McEwen has told Cyclingnews that the race jury at the Tour Down Under overreacted and made the wrong decision in relegating Caleb Ewan in the sprint for Stage 5.

Ewan crossed the line first, having edged out Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), but within a few minutes of what he believed was his first WorldTour win in Lotto Soudal colors, Ewan heard that he’d been relegated after the race jury decided that the Australian had raced dangerously.

Ewan used his head several times as he fought Philipsen for position with what appeared to be headbutts as the line approached.

McEwen—a former Lotto sprinter and winner of the green jersey at the Tour de France— stuck up for his compatriot when asked by Cyclingnews if the race jury had made the right call.

“I don’t think so,” McEwen said.

“They’ve only seen it from one angle and I’ve got my doubts that Caleb Ewan’s head made contact with Philipsen on the third time.

There’s always contact coming into a sprint. The first two, absolutely not, the third one looked a bit spectacular and he threw the head, but I have my doubts as to whether it touched Philipsen.

“I don’t think it had any bearing on the result,” he continued.

“There’s always a fight for position in sprinting. That was my area of expertise, and I think that it’s an overreaction. The commissaires feel like they need to crack down to avoid accidents and aggression that’s over the top, but I think that it was just within the limits.”

The scenes in the finish were slightly reminiscent of the 2010 Tour de France when Mark Renshaw, then of HTC, clashed heads with Slipstream Sports’s Julian Dean. On that occasion, the Australian was disqualified from both the stage and the race. McEwen argued that Ewan’s actions were considerably less extreme.

“Those [Renshaw’s headbutts] were a bit bigger and more brutal.

They had more contact. That’s the thing for me: you’re looking at the picture and you think that Caleb is throwing the head, but I just don’t think that it got Philipsen. Caleb is that small that his head doesn’t reach. I just don’t think there was much in it.”

Cyclingnews posed the question as to whether the intent from Ewan to use his head in such a manner was dangerous enough.

The UCI regulation that was applied in Ewan’s case—2.12.007, article 5.—states: Deviation from the chosen line that obstructs or endangers another rider or irregular sprint (including pulling the jersey or saddle of another rider, intimidation or threat, blow from the head, knee, elbow, shoulder, hand, etc.).

“There might be intent to do a lot of things, but if you don’t do it, it doesn’t count,” McEwen, who is at the Tour Down Under as a television commentator, said. “I feel a bit let down after all that. It was a great finish and a great win.

Philipsen doesn’t want to receive a win like that. I’m sure he’ll take it—it’s a WorldTour win—but there wasn’t enough for a DQ [relegation].”

Finally, McEwen was asked what he would say to Ewan after watching today’s action and subsequent fallout.

“I’d say, ‘You were the best today. Fantastic sprint. Well done. You’ll get plenty more.’”

Cyclingnews

OurTime

A8 Saturday, January 26, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

‘Lola’ Estelita’s ‘patupat’ stays sweet forever

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ITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan— Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra joined thousands of Bulakenyos in celebrating the 120th Anniversary of the first Philippine Republic at the historic Barasoain Church here on Thursday, January 24.

The celebration is anchored on the theme “Unang Republika ng Pilipinas, Saligan sa Pagtataguyod ng Ganap na Pagbabago.”

Aside from Guevarra, Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, Vice Gov. Daniel Fernando, Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad, Vice Mayor Gilbert Gatchalian and National Historical Commission of the Philippines Executive Director III Ludovico Badoy led the commemoration.

Other local officials, government employees, senior citizens, volunteer workers, veterans, teachers, students

Special to the BusinessMirror

ITH its rolling terrain and the absence of irrigation water, local farmers have opted to plant sugarcane at the countryside village of Bannawag Norte, Santiago City, Isabela.

Since making sugarcane a dominant crop in the barangay, Bannawag Norte has been known for producing local native wine called basi and sugarcane vinegar. The far-flung village later became popular to local tourists and travelers traversing the area because of these sugarcane products.

That was until farmer Juan Paredes introduced the organic muscovado sugar in the area recognized by the local government of Santiago City that made muscovado sugar as the city’s One Town-One Product (OTOP).

His wife Estelita Paredes also introduced the glutinous rice cakes packed in woven coconut-palm pouches. The Ilocano delicacy has become popular not only in the city but also in the nearby provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya. It is also seen by many as a symbol of sweet bonding among families and friends because of its glutinous and sweet qualities. Actually, patupat was the original OTOP of the city until it was overtaken by muscovado sugar.

Cooked in boiling sugarcane syrup, patupat could be kept in room temperature without any

preservative up to five days without refrigeration, making it an ideal token for friends and relatives.

Because of the aforementioned qualities of patupat, many local residents discovered it as a good source of carbohydrates. Both children and adults love to eat patupat anytime of the day.

Like the high-value organic muscovado sugar, the patupat enterprise has placed the city into the regional map as it entices farm tourists that their trip to the city would not be complete without a cluster of patupat.

Lola Estelita said that making patupat has turned her once sleepy village into a progressive one. Many were encouraged to plant more glutinous rice and sugarcane as well, as they also get substantial and regular orders from groceries and malls in the city.

A cooperat ive was for med among local sugarcane farmers, muscovado and patupat makers.

Basic gover nment assistance keeps them organized and prolong their source of livelihood.

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DESPITE her elderly age of 73, Lola Estelita Paredes from the sugarcane-growing village of Bannawag Norte, Santiago City, Isabela, still manages to cook the Ilocano delicacy patupat (sticky rice tightly wrapped in a pouch out of coconut-leaf strands and dipped until cooked in boiling sugarcane syrup) right in her backyard. As her sweet legacy, the enterprising old woman first introduced the glutinous rice cake packed in woven coconut palm pouches said to symbolize sweet family bonding.

AOAG CITY—Three centenarian residents from the first district of Ilocos Norte received their cash gifts on January 22, courtesy of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte.

Of the P4-million budget allocation for this year as provincial counterpart for centenarian benefits in the province, at least P15,000 each were turned over to Mauricio Rosqueta from Valdez, Marcos; Nicolas Abaro from Fortuna, Marcos; and Doroteo Rivera from Talugtog, Solsona town.

“The gift checks were delivered personally by a team from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office to the ben-

Northern Antique gives assistance, aid to senior, indigent residents

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By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

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and other nongovernment organizations also took part in the annual event.

The program started with a flag-raising ceremony, followed by a wreath-laying activity at the monument of Emilio Aguinaldo, the country’s first president.

Alvarado encouraged Bulakenyos to participate in the activity since January 23 is declared a special nonworking day in the province, through Proclamation 651 issued by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea.

“Looking back at the past heroism of our ancestors, which led to Bulacan’s inclusion in the colorful history of the country, is a must, but it must always be done with nobility and love for the people,” Alvarado said.

The historic event, now called “Araw ng Republikang Pilipino, 1899,” is based on Proclamation 533 that took effect in 2013. PNA

3 Ilocos Norte centenarians get cash gifts

Surprised by age

OMETIMES, my wife and I find ourselves having difficulty accepting that we have arrived at this chronological stage of our lives.

“Whatever happened to those years?” is our shared plaintive refrain. “Can you believe we are this old?”

It’s as if we jumped-cut from an early sequence to a later sequence of a movie. There seems to be a big gap. Where did all the other scenes in-between go? Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flew the days?

Naturally, the mind resists and shifts defensively to denial mode: “You’re not old; you feel young.”

But the body slaps the mind back to reality. Again and again. Resistance or denial is futile, it says to the mind. Deal with it and all the pain that goes with it. Ouch.

At first, I thought of using the word “ambushed” in the title of this article, but on second thought, I went with “surprised” because, from another perspective, the senior age can spring welcome surprises along the way.

In my sphere of work, which is the business of advertising and marketing communications, people are biased or condescending toward anybody who is past 50. Brand managers want to be serviced only by gen X or millennials as if senior creatives have nothing more to give. Just like with old objects, the general attitude in our youth-oriented culture is to discard them, replace them with new ones. Retire the seniors; replace them with the young.

The door being closed, I have looked for new doors to open. As Victor Frankel said, “What counts is not what life does to you; it’s what you do with what life does to you.”

With this decision to plod on, I have made a lot of unexpected discoveries and gained new knowledge and kindled new passions, new avocations, and new interests which wouldn’t have happened if I were still a youthful employee working from 9 to 6, five days a week in an enclosure called the Office.

For one thing, I have stopped commuting by car and learned to walk. I park my dilapidated car in an open parking lot (sometimes for free, and sometimes with a fixed parking fee), and I ride public transportation. Of course, I go through the hassles of elbowing and being squeezed, but with

Bulacan to celebrate Malolos Republic’s 120th anniversary

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Story and photo by Suzanne June G. Perante

www.businessmirror.com.ph

an attitude of an open mind and heart, willing to absorb anything and everything, I find the experience enlightening. I have become a mindful observant of human behavior and traits. I discover the realities of being an ordinary Filipino.

The golden years have given me the freedom not only to wander, but also to wonder once more. With more time in my hands, I take leisurely walks to Binondo, Avenida Rizal, Carriedo and other old haunts of my college days. I have once again relished the taste of my favorite siopao and lumpia in old Quiapo.

I have more time to pay attention, which Buddhists like to call “mindfulness.” I am not pressured by deadlines or working hours. That frees me to do something else and to pursue new things or whatever I had put aside before because of my former life as a time-bound career professional.

Best of all, my body has benefited from long hours of walking on pavements and climbing footbridges.

Seniors like me should look at this stage in our life as an opportunity for building a new-found power.

I am talking about an advocacy of senior empowerment. Instead of lamenting our sorry state and moping that we have been cast aside as old and useless, let’s show the world we are not done yet and that we have more to give to humankind!

For one, we can enhance the newly emerging science of gerontology or geriatrics. Our collective experience can build a body of valuable knowledge that can help doctors and scientists gain more insights and open new pathways to the discovery of new drugs, new practices, new ways to alleviate or even cure knee problems, enhance memory and so on. It could probably even bring down the cost of medicines for geriatrics.

Going beyond senior discount cards and other senior-oriented benefits and privileges, why not organize Chambers of Senior Advisers, or initiate senior-driven business ventures or create a whole new blue ocean or business niche for seniors that have not yet been thought before?

Seniors can not only be a big market, but a powerful voice for the many.

Power to the seniors! “May asim pa,” as we say in the vernacular.

AN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique—Antique’s People’s Day activities resumed in Culasi town on January 17, highlighted by the release of assistance to senior and indigent Antiqueños.

Aileen Maguad, in charge of the “Kabalaka kang Gobernadora kay Lolo kag Lola” (Governor’s Concern for Grandfathers and Grandmothers), said in an interview on January 18 that five senior citizens received financial assistance.

“There were four elderly aged 85 to 89 years old who were given P2,000 each, with a 90-year-old senior receiving P3,000,” she said. The financial assistance was meant for their milk, food and medicines.

Meanwhile, 21 recipients received a total of P62,700 under the aid to individuals in crisis situation (AICS).

“There were five from Libertad town who were given AICS, while the rest were from Culasi,”she said.

The People’s Day is conducted twice a week—Tuesday at the provincial capitol in San Jose de Buenavista, and Thursday in Culasi. It has been running for almost three years now.

During the activity, the provincial government offers free health checkup and social welfare services, such as the Kabalaka and AICS. Antique Gov. Rhodora J. Cadiao also holds office in Culasi every Thursday so residents from the northern part of the province no longer have to travel to the capitol in the south for them to conduct their transactions with her.

The People’s Day was temporarily stopped during the holidays last December. PNA

DSWD eyes elderly in disaster-resiliency program

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AGUIO CITY—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will include senior citizens in its orientation programs under the Family Development Session (FDS) of disaster preparedness, an official said on January 18.

“Senior citizens will play an important role in educating their family members on how to be prepared and resilient in terms of disaster,” Janet Armas, DSWD-Cordillera regional director, said in an interview.

The official said the elderly belongs to the vulnerable sectors in the Philippines, so there is a need to equip them with the know-how on disaster preparedness.

“They should know at least how to help themselves if there are calamities,” Armas said.

She said the FDS is a requirement under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which beneficiaries are required to attend.

“Aside from the usual audience they have as part of the Family Development Sessions for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the senior citizens will also join the session,” she said.

The expanded 4Ps have senior citizens as beneficiaries, and the DSWD also intends to make their attendance required in the FDS. “If families are prepared for any calamity, there will be fewer casualties,” she said.

Armas said the FDS aims to promote, empower and nurture families to strengthen the capacity to meet familial and parental responsibilities through the conduct of community-based family psycho-educational activities.

She said they began last year with the FDS and oriented 63,000 households.

“Even if the local government units [LGUs] and the municipality are ready, if the families are not, then that is a big problem,” she said.

Armas explained LGUs should always revisit their mitigation, prevention and preparedness plans to anticipate their response during calamities.

Meanwhile, the DSWD is set to release P24 million to the victims of typhoons Ompong and Rosita in the Cordillera. The fund will be in the form of livelihood support to the affected families. PNA

eficiaries,” social welfare officer Lilian Rin said on Monday.

Under Provincial Ordinance 2018-10-063 approved last December, less fortunate senior citizens who struggle with the financial burdens of medical and funeral expenses get cash incentive.

This is apart from the centenarian gift of P100,000 each will receive from the national government under Republic Act 10868, or the Centenarians Act of 2016.

Signed on June 23, 2016, the Centenarian Act states that the centenarians shall also be awarded a plaque of recognition and a cash incentive by their respective city or municipal governments. PNA

China’s total population rises 15.23M in 2018, but rate slows

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EIJING — China’s population rose by 15.23 million people in 2018, marking a continued decrease in the growth rate of the world’s most populous nation.

Numbers released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, January 22, put the population at 1.395 billion in 2018, marking a growth rate of .0381 percent over the previous year.

The total included 30 million more men than women, considered a long-time outcome of the recently abandoned one-child policy under which boys were favored over girls for cultural reasons.

T he gover nment estimates China’s population will peak at 1.442 billion in 2029 before beginning to decline the year after.

India, the world’s second-most populous nation, has also been experiencing slower population growth. Its total population stood at 1.362 billion this month based on United Nations estimates.

China added more than 17 million people to its population in 2016 and 2017 following the scrapping of the one-child policy, but the effect hasn’t endured.

Care for the elderly is a rising government concern as the working-age population continues to fall as a percentage of the total.

Chinese increasingly enjoy better living standards, education and health care, but a yawning gap between the wealthy and the poor has experts saying the country will grow old before it grows rich.

Also on Monday, the government announced China’s 2018 economic growth fell to a three-decade low, adding to pressure on Beijing to settle a tariff war with Washington.

T he world ’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.6 percent over a year earlier, down from 2017’s 6.9 percent, official data showed. AP

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, January 26, 2019 A9

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LAUREEN UY, Camille Co and Rei Germar are three of the Philippines’s top content creators and influencers.

PHOTOS FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE INSTAGRAM PAGES

BLACKPINK

EXPERIENCE THE BEST OF ‘HALLYU’ WITH GLOBE

The truth about in�luencers PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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ESS than two years ago, before my daughter graduated from college, I was surprised to see that many people her age wanted to be influencers. Not being an influencer as a hobby, mind you, but as a professional.

As someone who has been in media for a number of years, I have seen several incarnations of the influencer.

It all started with the blogger. Around 10 years ago, the blogger was the hottest guest in any press event.

Bloggers, most of them professionals who blogged as a hobby, were everywhere.

Cecile Zamora, who was a newspaper columnist and designer before she became a blogger, was probably the Philippines’s first power blogger. She was probably the first blogger to monetize her blog via an ad with a Filipino fast-food giant.

Other power bloggers included the fashion posse of Laureen Uy, Camille Co and many others.

What did these girls all have in common? Most of them came from upper middle class to wealthy backgrounds. This is why they seemed to lead exciting lives. They seemed so posh, and they were even in real life.

Pretty soon, these power bloggers were being paid for their content and appearing at events such as product launches.

Many people in the industry raised their eyebrows, but if you look at it objectively, bloggers are content creators who run and operate their own sites. Yes, they come from affluence but they also need to make a living. Think of it this way: I get paid for writing this column. The blogger doesn’t get paid unless she or he is engaged by a brand.

The influencer slowly crept into the scene. I became conscious of their existence when I attended a four-day event hosted by a multinational. By my definition, an influencer does not need to be a blogger.

He or she just needs to have a substantial amount of followers on social media, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Speaking of Instagram, this photo-sharing site has given birth to a new breed of influencers, called Instagrammers. They are those who post aesthetically pleasing photographs with witty and/or cryptic captions.

So why does everybody want to become an influencer? Aside from the perceived glitz and glamour, influencers get paid well. Think P50,000 for attending an event and posting three times on social media. I mean, for a three-hour event, that’s not bad at all, right?

A YouTuber can get as much as P300,000 to attend an event and vlog about it. I mean, that’s someone’s salary for a year, right?

These influencers may seem really lucky, but they actually worked so hard to get to where they are right now. I’ve been on trips with them and those pictures you see on Instagram where they look so amazing?

Those took a lot of work.

So that is tip No. 1. You can earn a lot of money from being an influencer but you need to work hard and be patient. Do not think it all comes overnight. It does not.

Tip No. 2: Do not quit your day job. It will be awhile before you can monetize your content, so you need a source of income.

Tip No. 3: Always be nice. That assistant who texts you may be a brand manager in the future. Be nice and respect everyone. It is not just for your career’s benefit. You really need to treat people well.

Tip No. 4: Have a media kit and/or rate card. You can actually do this yourself at minimal expense.

Consider this an investment in your future. Having a rate card makes you seem professional. ■

FROM top-notch live K-pop acts to premium digital subscriptions enabling you to watch your favorite K-dramas even on the go, Globe continues to bring to subscribers only the best of Korean pop culture.

Filipino fans of world-renowned K-pop groups such as EXO, Super Junior and Wanna One all experienced how to party with their beloved idols and Globe last year. This February 2, it is finally time for BLINKs to experience the K-pop revolution with Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa, as Globe brings the highestcharting female K-pop group BLACKPINK to Manila for their In Your Area tour.

After a stunning debut year in 2016 filled with chart-topping records and best new artist awards, BLACKPINK continues to break records and garner prestigious music awards. Their smash hit track “Ddu-du ddu-du” became the most-viewed Korean music video on YouTube in 2018 with 36.2 million views in only 24 hours. Just last year, they won Best Dance Video at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan, the Bonsang Award at the Seoul Music Awards and was on the Global Top 10 Fans’ Choice in the Mnet Asian Music Awards. They’ve also had four No. 1 hits on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales Chart, making them the first female K-pop act to achieve the feat. To top it all off, they’ve already made history this year as the first K-pop girl group to be part of the Coachella Festival lineup. How’s that for girl power?

Want to further fuel your love for all things Korean? Globe Prepaid has got subscribers’ online experience covered, as well.

Just register to favorite promos like GoSAKTO90 and GoSURF50 and enjoy free 2GB data to access your favorite Koreanovelas on Viu. Plus, they can also avail themselves of a free 30-day one-time-only premium subscription to Viu. Now, they can take their oppas with them wherever they go.

Aside from Viu, the free 2GB data can be used for streaming on YouTube, HOOQ, Netflix, Cartoon Network, DisneyLife, NBA League Pass, iflix, iWant, FOX+ and ONE. The free data is also applicable for mobile games, such as “Arena of Valor,” “Mobile Legends,” “Clash of Clans,” “Clash Royale,” “Rules of Survival” and “Free Fire.”

Plus, enjoy 30-day premium subscriptions to HOOQ, DisneyLife, and iflix, as well as in-game items on “Arena of Valor” and “Rules of Survival” all for free.

Whether it be in person or right on screens, subscribers will surely experience the best of Hallyu with Globe (www.globe.com.ph/go/events/ blackpink.html).

Data breaches are inevitable—here’s how to protect yourself anyway

BY W. DAVID SALISBURY University of Dayton IT’S tempting to give up on data security altogether, with all the billions of pieces of personal data—Social Security numbers, credit cards, home addresses, phone numbers, passwords and much more—breached and stolen in recent years. But that’s not realistic— nor is the idea of going offline entirely. In any case, huge data-collection corporations vacuum up data about almost every American without their knowledge.

As cyber-security researchers, we offer good news to brighten this bleak picture. There are some simple ways to protect your personal data that can still be effective, though they involve changing how you think about your own information security.

The main thing is to assume that you are a target. Though most individual people aren’t specifically being watched, software that mines massive troves of data—enhanced by artificial intelligence—can target vast numbers of people almost as easily as any one person.

Think defensively about how you can protect yourself from an almost inevitable attack, rather than assuming you’ll avoid harm.

WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT NOW? THAT said, it’s unproductive and frustrating to think you must pay attention to every possible avenue of attack.

Simplify your approach by focusing on what information you most want to protect.

Covering the obvious, keep your software up-to-date. Software companies issue updates when they fix security vulnerabilities, but if you don’t download and install them, you’re leaving yourself unprotected from malware such as keystroke loggers.

Also, be smart about what links you click in your e-mail or when browsing the Web— you could inadvertently download malicious software to your phone or computer, or allow hackers access to your online accounts.

In terms of online data, the most important information to protect is your login credentials for key accounts—like banking, government services, e-mail and social media. You can’t do

much about how well web sites and companies safeguard your information, but you can make it harder for hackers to get into your account, or at least more than one of them.

How? The first step is to use a different username and password on each crucial site or service. This can be complicated by sites’ limits on username options—or their dependence on e-mail addresses. Similarly, many sites have requirements on passwords that limit their length or the number or type of characters that they can include. But do your best.

The reason for this is straightforward: When a bunch of usernames and passwords fall into malicious hands, hackers know it’s human nature to repeat usernames and passwords across many sites.

So they almost immediately start trying those combinations anywhere they can—like major banks and e-mail services. A chief information security officer we know in the banking industry told us that after the Yahoo! breach of a few years ago, banking sites were hit with multiple attempts to log in with credentials stolen from Yahoo!

USE LONG PASSWORDS THERE has been a lot of research about what makes a strong password—which has often led to many people using complex passwords like “7hi5!sMyP@s4w0rd.” But more recent research suggests that what matters much more is that passwords are long. That’s what makes them more resistant to an attempt to guess them by trying many different options.

Longer passwords don’t have to be harder to remember: They could be easily recalled phrases like “MyFirstCarWasAToyotaCorolla” or “InHighSchoolIWon9Cross-CountryRaces.”

It can be daunting to think about remembering all these different usernames and passwords. Password management software can help—though choose carefully as more than one of them have been breached. It can be even safer—despite conventional wisdom and decades of security advice—to write them down, so long as you trust everyone who has access to your home.

USE A THIRD LINE OF DEFENSE TO add another layer of protection—including

against troublesome housemates—many sites (Google, for example) let you turn on what’s called multifactor authentication. This can be an app on your smartphone that generates a numeric code every 30 seconds or so, or a physical item you plug into your computer’s USB port. While they can afford at least some protection, be wary of sites that send you a text with a code; that method is vulnerable to interception.

With these straightforward steps—and the new mindset of thinking like a target who wants to avoid getting hit—you’ll be far less worried when news breaks of the next breach of some company’s enormous data files. Bad guys may get one of your usernames, and maybe even one of your passwords—so you’ll have to change those. But they won’t have all your credentials for all your online accounts. And if you use multifactor authentication, the bad guys might not even be able to get into the account whose credentials they just stole.

Focus on what’s most important to protect, and use simple—but effective—methods to protect yourself and your information.

A10 Saturday, January 26, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

EU’s antitrust cop lays groundwork for more tech scrutiny /

THE European Union’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, delivers a speech on January 14 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Vestager has challenged big Silicon Valley companies, such as Google and Apple with high-profile cases, and is laying the groundwork for intensified scrutiny of tech firms as she prepares to end her term in office in late 2019. AP

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BY KELVIN CHAN The Associated Press

OPENHAGEN, Denmark—Silicon Valley’s notorious nemesis, Margrethe Vestager, plans to end her term as the European Union’s antitrust enforcer this year with a bang, laying out a long-term plan to intensify scrutiny of the world’s big tech companies.

As the EU’s competition commissioner, Vestager is arguably the world’s most important tech regulator.

Since 2014, she has slapped Google with eye-popping multibillion-dollar antitrust penalties, ordered Apple and Amazon to pay back taxes and fined Facebook over its WhatsApp acquisition—flagship enforcement cases that have struck fear into Silicon Valley while drawing attention in Washington.

Now, in her final year in office, the 50-year-old Danish politician is laying the groundwork for a new phase of regulation beyond the end of her term in October. She is planning a report meant to guide EU competition policies in the era of digitization.

Feedback from companies, business groups and experts shows many see the need for more regulation and when it is published in March, the report by three expert advisers will reflect the need for new or tougher rules, she told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

“The most important thing is that the majority of input is pro-enforcement,” Vestager said during one of her frequent visits to Copenhagen from her Brussels base. The digital technology industry can no longer be allowed to shape itself, she added. “We are way beyond that.” It’s unclear yet what shape the new enforcement will take but it may not bode well for the big United States technology companies that have landed in Vestager’s crosshairs.

Vestager has cultivated a down-to-earth image— she likes to knit elephants during meetings—that belies her formidable powers of enforcement.

She opened three antitrust cases against Google, including one that resulted in a record €4.3-billion ($5-billion) fine for forcing cell-phone makers to use the Internet giant’s software on Android phones.

Another €2.4-billion ($2.8-billion) penalty was punishment for manipulating shopping search results. She aims to wrap up a probe before her term ends of whether Google blocked rivals from its Adsense ad service.

Vestager ordered Apple to pay back up to €13 billion ($15 billion) in back taxes from Ireland. Apple CEO Tim Cook called it “total political crap” and President Donald J. Trump referred to her as the “tax lady” who “really hates the US.” The EU competition commissioner, with a 900-strong staff, is unusually powerful in the Brussels bureaucracy because it can enforce blocwide rules, giving it the power to take on countries and companies. Other departments typically share regulatory duties with national governments.

Vestager’s job includes approving or rejecting mergers and investigating cartels and antitrust behavior. She also makes sure EU states do not give tax breaks to individual companies that are not available to other corporations—legitimate business strategy in the US but illegal in Europe.

A lot of attention is now falling on data, the commodity that drives the digital economy.

Information collected by Web browsers, apps, smartphones and other devices can be enormously valuable to companies because they can provide

OPPO HOLDS PROMO FOR F9

PLANNING to make the most of your 2019 with a new smartphone companion? Get the best deal on a brand-new Oppo F9 starting January 25: enjoy P2,000 off the retail price with every purchase of this best-selling model at Oppo stores and authorized dealers nationwide.

“The P2,000-price drop is our way of thanking Filipino customers for a phenomenal 2018 and to celebrate the Chinese New Year,” said Zen Han, Oppo Philippines vice president for channel sales. “With a lower sticker price to one of our best sellers, there’s really no better time to get your very own Oppo F9.”

At the start of 2019, Oppo also released a stunning new colorway for the F9: Jade Green, which is inspired by the natural beauty of the Philippine islands. This limited-edition hue was in very high demand in the local smartphone market and stocks are fast running out.

The Oppo F9 in Sunrise Red, Twilight Blue, and Starry Purple will now retail for P15,990 from the original price of P17,990. The limited-edition Jade Green model, on the other hand, remains priced at P17,990.00.

The smartphone offers sleek style and powerful features perfect for on-the-go individuals with active lifestyles.

From the beautifully gradated back covers to the unique Waterdrop screen, the F9 is sure to turn heads—but it also comes with VOOC Flash Charging and AI Battery Management features to power users throughout the entire day.

insight about, for example, an individual’s buying habits and movements. Data can power artificial intelligence or be used to show targeted advertisements. Vestager is concerned that a small group of companies could corner the market and abuse their power.

She started confronting the problem with an informal probe launched last year into whether online shopping giant Amazon is using data to gain an edge on third-party merchants, who are both its customers and rivals. She hopes to decide within six months whether to open a formal investigation.

Many people still are not sure how to take control of their personal information. New European privacy rules introduced last year were a start, obliging companies to be more transparent with customers about what they do with people’s data. But consumers are often still overwhelmed by detailed consent forms for third-party tracking on each new site they visit or the fine print of an app’s service terms.

Vestager, a member of a small left wing political party who believes in free markets, said the private sector can play a role in finding solutions.

“I think you need products that will help you exercise your rights. Independent digital assistants that will make sure that your privacy settings are maintained no matter where you go. That kind of stuff,” she said.

Vestager, whose party was founded by her greatgrandfather, was Denmark’s deputy prime minister and economy minister before taking up her post in

Brussels in late 2014. She reportedly keeps a sculpture of a hand with an extended middle finger in her office, a gift from a Danish trade union angered by her welfare cuts. She is said to be one of the inspirations for the lead character in the Danish TV show Borgen, about an ambitious minor politician trying to become the country’s first female prime minister.

Although Vestager’s term runs out in October, she’s hoping for a second stint, an unlikely prospect because her party is out of power in Denmark and its prospects look uncertain in upcoming elections. The EU’s executive commissioners are nominated by their country’s governments.

“Sometimes things are unlikely but not impossible,” Vestager said. “I am in the middle of something and we are not done yet,” she added, referring to the new era of digital regulation.

Vestager brushes off criticism that she is stifling innovation by targeting US companies to help prop up European firms. She has also taken on Starbucks, McDonald’s and this month opened an investigation into Nike’s tax arrangements. But other targets have included Italian automaker Fiat and Russian gas giant Gazprom. “When you look at our cases you would see that what they have in common is not nationality. It’s the fact that they’re multinationals,” she said.

Her aim, she says, is to keep competition fair.

“That was the idea before the world became digital,” Vestager said. “And it becomes an even more important idea when the world becomes digital because things are so fast moving.” ■

Honeywell interested in upgrading Philippine tech infrastructure

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES HONEYWELL Philippines International Inc., a subsidiary of American aerospace and technology infrastructure provider Honeywell, recently expressed bullishness on the country’s economy and expressed interest in the government’s technology and infrastructure development projects.

Jeffrey Estrella, president of Honeywell Philippines International Inc., told the media that the company is interested to join in the “Build, Build, Build” program of the government. Moreover, he said the company has cuttingedge technologies that can catapult the country into a major technology center in the Asean region.

“We provide leading-edge technologies and solutions that meet the diverse demands of Philippines’s market, from oil and gas to buildings or aerospace. Our technologies and solutions, such as integrated avionics systems for aircraft, process controls and technologies for refineries, integrated

warehouse management systems and building automation have been supporting the Philippines in its development of a smarter country,” Estrella said.

Estrella added Honeywell is interested in joining the property development sector, particularly in the construction of buildings, as it is capable of providing state-of-the-art technologies for skyscrapers. He said Honeywell prime product for connectivity is its Internet of Things (IoT).

“It creates products, software and technologies found in more than 150 million homes and 10 million buildings worldwide,” he said.

For 2019, Estrella said the company is bullish that it can post at least double to triple growth of the gross domestic product. Since aerospace is a core business of Honeywell, Estrella said the acquisition of new aircraft by local airlines boosted revenue growth of the company.

Moreover, he said the defense modernization program of the government is a potential growth driver for the company

as it has the supply of new technologies to the new hardware of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Honeywell aerospace products and services can be found on virtually every commercial, defense and aerospace aircraft; and its turbochargers are used by nearly every automaker and truck manufacturer around the world.

The aerospace business unit develops innovative solutions that make possible more fuel-efficient airplanes, more direct and on-time flights, safer flying and safer runway traffic. They also enable advanced aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity services, logistics and more.

Honeywell Hometown Solutions is active in promoting increased awareness on the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as the exciting career opportunities it creates for Filipino students.

Other initiatives include efforts focused on humanitarian relief, habitat, conservation, family safety and security.

SHOWING THE WAY IN DIGITAL DENTISTRY GAN Advanced Osseointegration Center (GAOC, www.gaocdental.com), the Philippines leading group of dental clinics and one of the best in Southeast Asia, introduces another innovation in the country: digital dentistry.

Now the preferred system in countries like Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Thailand, digital dentistry involves the use of technologies, machines, equipment and devices that incorporate digital or computercontrolled components for dental procedures.

“For dentists, this innovation enables easy access to immediate and more detailed information,” says GAOC President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Steve Mark Gan. “It allows the delivery of accurate and efficient results for increased patient satisfaction.”

With digital dentistry, dental surgeries and work in laboratories are further streamlined and improved for higher quality patient care and more aesthetically pleasing results. Patient experience is more comfortable and convenient than before.

Among the dental procedures being digitized at GAOC’s 10 clinics are computer assisted design (CAD/CAM) that enables dental restorations; prosthodontics; oral surgeries and dental implants; radiographs and orthodontics, including digital x-ray and intraoral camera for accurate teeth and supporting structure imaging; laser gum recontouring and periodontics; and dental lasers.

To prepare for the full implementation of digital dentistry, GAOC dentists undergo various specialized training and seminars abroad, all made possible through partnerships with entities like Straumann, Zirkonzahn and 3Shape.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Saturday, January 26, 2019 A11

French watchdog slaps Google with $57-M fine under new EU law

Google and LG like Smart TVs. So should privacy cops

T

BY ALEX WEBB Bloomberg

HE world’s tech police have the opportunity to succeed in televisions where they initially failed with the rest of the connected world, and ensure that users retain a firm grasp on their data.

Smart televisions are nothing new. Nor is the shift in the platform wars, where tech firms duke it out for primacy of their operating systems, from smartphones to the television set. But the fact that Amazon.com Inc. is developing its own smart TV indicates that there’s enough value in the user data to offset the hardware’s otherwise feeble profitability— and that regulators should be quick to respond.

As ever, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office leads the way. It started an inquiry into smart TVs in 2017, and the first findings will likely be presented this year. But while Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation might assuage some concerns, very few other nations are on top of the issue. Consumers are mindlessly sacrificing reams of personal information and regulators are doing little to prevent it.

The timing has become urgent. The electronics industry’s annual bacchanal in Las Vegas has heralded many a false dawn when it comes to new technology (the Nokia N-Gage, anyone?), but last week’s edition

set the scene for an industry shift to intensify.

New alliances were forged in smart TVs: Apple Inc. said the iTunes Store would be available on television sets made by Samsung Electronics Co., while its smartphone nemesis, LG Electronics Co. said its new devices would support both Alphabet Inc.’s Google Assistant and Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa.

For regulators, the concerns focus on what are known as addressable ads. That’s where the same TV show carries different promotions for different audiences or demographics, above and beyond the segmentation of viewers that regional TV stations have long practiced. In 2016, addressable commercials accounted for just 5 percent of all ads, according to the World Advertising Research Center.

By 2022, that will jump to 32 percent.

Television makers sense an opportunity to boost their otherwise pitiful margins, and keep making money long after they’ve sold the initial device from selling content, apps and, most pertinently, ad space on welcome screens and channel guides. And those targeted ads inevitably rely on user data.

The appeal lies in tying the huge viewership that television continues to enjoy with the granular targeting of programmatic advertising, according to Mike Caprio, chief growth officer at adtech firm Sizmek. “If you can do both, then you’ll win.” It’s the holy grail that helps explain why Facebook and others

are accelerating into video content. Smart TVs are vying for leadership.

Take a new television set. Many include automatic content recognition technology, which can monitor the shows you watch in order to ascertain viewing habits. Each HDMI port has a unique identifier, and users might unwittingly consent for the manufacturer to log what devices are plugged in—the presence of a Sony PlayStation, satellite box and Apple TV could demonstrate a sizable household income. That data could be linked to your mobile browsing habits if you pair your smartphone to your set via Bluetooth.

If users aren’t fully aware of these risks, then regulators need to make it harder for firms to harvest all that data. As things stand, there’s very little stopping them.

Traditional TV manufacturers, cognizant of how handset makers’ adoption of Android helped Google become a dominant player in ads, have so far largely stuck with their own operating systems. That’s likely why Amazon is building its own set, to bypass those hardware gatekeepers. But that also means they should attract the same scrutiny over privacy to which Silicon Valley has become accustomed.

As smart TV adoption reaches an inflection point, regulators need to get their act together quickly and follow the German lead by finding an appropriate set of rules to stem the unwitting torrent of user data. ■

PARIS—France’s data privacy watchdog fined Google €50 million ($57 million) on Monday, the first penalty for a US tech giant under new European data privacy rules that took effect last year.

The National Data Protection Commission said it fined the US Internet giant for “lack of transparency, inadequate information and lack of valid consent” regarding ad personalization for users.

It’s one of the biggest regulatory enforcement actions since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, came into force in May. The rules are aimed at clarifying individual rights to personal data collected by companies, which are required to use plain language to explain what they’re doing with it.

Even though many tech multinationals like Google are headquartered in the US, they still have to comply with the new rules because they have millions of users in Europe. The commission said Google users were “not sufficiently informed” about what they were agreeing to as the company collected data for targeted advertisements.

Users have to take too many steps, “sometimes up to five or six actions,” to find out how and why their data is being used, the commission said.

Google’s description of why it’s processing their data is “described in a too generic and vague manner,” it added. The company’s infringements “deprive the users of essential guarantees regarding processing operations that can reveal important parts of their private life,” the commission said .

The commission acted on complaints by two data protection advocacy groups, NOYB.EU and La Quadrature du Net, filed immediately after GDPR took effect.

Google said in a statement it is “deeply committed” to transparency and user control as well as GDPR consent requirements.

“We’re studying the decision to determine our next steps,” it said. AP

New Fuji Xerox printer series launched to enable businesses work smarter

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor AS businesses today strive to work smarter to be at pace with rapid digitization, Fuji Xerox Philippines Inc. has launched 14 new models of its digital color multifunction printers: The ApeosPort-VII C/ DocuCentre-VII C series.

True to Fuji Xerox Smart Work Gateway concept, these new product lines provide improved security, basic features and design to support the flexible and diversified working styles of businesses for improved performance. Each series comes in seven speed ranges to match the customer’s business demand.

The ApeosPort-VII C/DocuCentre-VII C series offer an interactive experience for its users through its 10.1inch control panel that can be tapped and swiped just like a smartphone.

The paper trays boast of an easy-to-operate retraction mechanism that enables them to be opened and closed quietly when replenishing paper.

The printer’s lights and sounds alert users about job progress and confidential documents left behind

to help prevent the leak of vital information.

Security comes full circle as the printers have enhanced security functions for both hardware and software with expansive network communications.

This feature makes ApeosPort-VII C/DocuCentreVII C series compliant to new international standards for data privacy and device protection.

Each multifunction printer can be connected to two disassociated networks, thus allowing the user to separate communications, delivering data security within the office. The latest printer series of Fuji Xerox incorporate a host of services that deliver key operating information, such as preemptive alerts, usage data and required resources.

Because of their proactive and predictive printing capabilities, these equipment help users reduce downtime, optimize productivity and thus increase operating margin.

Alongside the unveiling of the ApeosPort-VII C/ DocuCentre-VII C series, the company also expanded its software and cloud services lineup to help achieve smart work in offices.

For one, the Cloud On-Demand Print service

lets the user to print from Fuji Xerox multifunction printers anytime, anywhere.

Up to 3,000 printers can be used by a maximum of 30,000 registered users. Bigger organizations stand to benefit from it.

With Azure Active Directory authentication, interfacing is allowed with the Microsoft cloud services OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online. The DocuWorks Tray 2 allows digital documents to be delivered through the document tray, facilitating the design of business workflows and the use of digital documents.

The Fuji Xerox-owned cloud document management service, Working Folder, enables unregistered users to send documents, making the exchange of documents with external business partners possible and convenient.

Connecting to the user’s current cloud platform is a breeze as Cloud Service Hub links multifunction printers with cloud storage services from different vendors using a single interface. With this kind of service, optical character recognition (OCR) is done when the user scans and stores a new document, as

well as searches for files across several cloud storage services on the single interface.

Meanwhile, ApeosWare Management Suite 2 allows scanned documents to be saved to OneDrive for Business.

Device Log Service is a cloud service of Fuji Xerox that aggregates data about multifunction printer usage via the Web. The enhanced features enable data aggregation of up to 1,500 multifunction printers and to automatically import and use information on LDAP/ActiveDirectory users—again beneficial for large organizations.

Fuji Xerox Philippines Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Xerox (Japan), a joint venture between FujiFilm Holdings Corp. (75 percent) and Xerox Corp. of the US (25 percent).

The company offers a holistic ecosystem of products and solutions to enable businesses to achieve increased productivity and efficiency.

This includes world-class office multifunction devices, cloud and mobility solutions, multichannel marketing solutions, and business process management solutions.

/

THE Google logo as seen at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

France’s data privacy watchdog has slapped the tech giant with a €50-million ($57-million) fine, in the first penalty for a US tech giant under new European data privacy rules that took effect last year. AP

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, January 26, 2019 A12

From visual aids to interactive showcases THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

A

COUPLE of weeks ago, I flew to Bangkok, Thailand, for Epson’s Regional Laser Projection Showcase 2019, and as I went around the exhibition area watching the various demos with the other media reps, I remembered how projectors were such a big deal when I was still in high school.

This was in the early-1990s, during the era of manila paper, blackboards and everything “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Back then, projectors were among the most high-tech equipment we had in our school. Using it inside the classroom was an event in itself, and I’m not even talking about video projectors—because those were reserved for very special occasions. I’m talking about those overhead projectors, which we rolled from classroom to classroom whenever we had a group reports. We would have our materials photocopied on “acetates” (transparencies) and “projected” these on the big rollup screen. One time, we forgot to print our last few slides and had to improvise by writing it on plastic covers that we cut into bond paper size. Everything was going well until the end when we noticed that our current slide was getting blurry, and that was because the heat from the projector was slowly melting our thin plastic sheet. Lesson learned.

At the event, Epson highlighted some of the creative ways projectors can be deployed to enhance collaboration and improve productivity at work, as well as create new experiences for play.

In the first booth, the production showroom demonstrated how their printers and projectors worked together.

Using the LightScene EV-100 series, users are able to work on their design through a customized app on tablets that allowed them to select from various templates and designs, and instantly view how it looks on an apron through a projection. Once they are satisfied with how it looks, they can send it for printing to the Epson digital textile printer and have their design out in just a few seconds. The LightScene projector uses colors and shape filters to mask the projection for a seamless viewing experience.

The next booth simulated a fashion designer’s workshop, showing how the design team is able to easily communicate and receive feedback from the corporate team even if they are located thousands of miles away through the Moverio smart glasses and KDDI Augmented Reality Recognition software.

The team is able to give feedback on the designs by annotating on an ultrawide 177-inch interactive panoramic screen, consisting of two EB-1470Ui projectors via video conferencing.

Another cool application of Epson laser projectors is in the retail space that enhances the consumer’s shopping experience. Instead of having to line up at the fitting room to try on different clothes, shops can create an interactive virtual fitting room using the EB1470Ui projector. Using gesture commands, customers can choose the clothes they’d like to “try on” and their image is projected on a mirror-like screen so they’d have an idea of how it would look on them before making their purchase. Another projector, the EV-100 can be used by shops to highlight products and display eye-catching content that can be easily updated, while the EB-700U can be used as digital signage and installed in any angle thanks to Laser Lightsource technology.

Restaurants and bars can also take advantage of laser projection with an interactive bar counter.

Epson demonstrated it using the EB-L610U laser projector enabling downward tilting installation on the countertop. The effect changes whenever a glass is placed on a specific location which can make it more entertaining or even informative for customers.

For those who want the ultimate home theater system, they can opt for the EH-LS100 that can project up to 100 inches with a throw distance of 26 cm. Meanwhile, those who want to work out in their “health cave” can view different scene landscapes projected by the sleek LightScene projector.

My favorites, however, were the booths which demonstrated how interactive these projectors can be. The new EB-1470Ui can project an ultrawide interactive panoramic screen of up to 177 inches diagonally. You can write or move objects across the dual screen using your fingers or with an interactive pen. This is great for video conferencing and conducting presentations at the same time without anyone having to squint to see the details on the screen. Another great application is for those who have remote education programs, where the teachers and the classroom are in different locations.

No event will be ever complete without a photo booth and it was the last one in the exhibit area.

Utilizing Epson’s High Brightness Laser projectors with Ultra short throw lens, the photographers say they’ve started to use it in their studios as a more economical alternative, allowing them to easily change the backdrop to suit the demands of the client.

Last, for those who need high-quality projections on a large scale, Epson’s latest laser projectors can easily handle the job. At the finale of the event, Epson’s brightest laser projectors, the EB-L25000U together with the ELPLU05 lenses, were used for a projection mapping on the Siam Museum, weaving a brilliant visual tapestry of Thai culture, in a stunning outdoor projection display.

Designed for installation flexibility, the EBL25000U delivers 25,000 lumens of color and white brightness at a contrast ratio of more than 2,500,000:1. It was certainly more than just a light show, and perfect for the grandest outdoor events.

ENHANCING THE MUSEUM EXPERIENCE

BEFORE the projection mapping, we also had the chance to go around the Museum of Siam and experience how projectors can be used to make the

museum experience more engaging and bring Thai culture and history to life. A total of nine Epson EBG7400U high brightness projectors, each at 5,500 lumens, were installed in four out of the 14 rooms in the museum. The projectors were selected for its flexible installation and ease of set up.

In the display “Birth of Thainess,” projectors were used to tell the history of Thailand, with three deployed in a 15-minute narrative utilizing lighting, music and hydraulic movement of blocks.

The “Thailand’s 3 Pillars” room shares the key concepts of Thainess—nation, religion and king.

Visitors are to fit the cubes tagged with QR codes to reveal the puzzle related to Thai national institutions and religion onscreen.

“Lessons in Thai” showed images of the development of Thailand’s educational system on a wall. Projections in a classroom allowed for a bigger display size, ensuring that every student in every corner could read even the details so they could learn more effectively. In an innovative showcase of Thai cuisine, visitors could play with empty plates. A Thai dish along with its story were projected onto the table when visitors placed the different plates tagged with the respective QR code. The system would then recognize the QR code and project the pertinent information accordingly.

The Museum of Siam is a discovery museum established in 2007, and is dedicated to share information about Thai national identity, the history of Thais, and the evolution of their culture and traditions. The museum invites guests to play and learn through a series of interactive exhibits, which demonstrates the development of Thailand from the past to present.

FIRST 20,000 LUMEN PROJECTOR

EPSON continues to be the No. 1 selling projector brand in the market and the launch of its two new 3LCD laser projectors furthers its commitment to bringing more innovations to its products.

There’s the EB-L12000Q, which is the industry’s first 12,000 lumen native 4K 3LCD laser projector, and is one of the lightest in class; and the EB-L20000U, Epson’s first model in the 20,000 lumen WUXGA installation projection sector.

Meanwhile, the new EB-L12000Q projector comes with the Epson-developed native 4K panel, delivering stunning 4K resolution at 3840 x 2160 pixels for more than ultra-high definition quality projections.

The EB-L12000Q and EB-L20000U come in a light and compact design, making them easy to integrate into existing infrastructure, and is a breakthrough in terms of size at this level of brightness. With Epson’s original laser light source structure and advanced electrostatic filter, the projectors deliver up to 20,000 hours of maintenance-free use.

The projectors come with a triple layer dust-proof structure housing a sealed optical engine for excellent durability and resistance, reducing airflow by 86 percent compared to the previous models, greatly reducing the risk of dust and smoke intrusion. A newly developed liquid cooling system maintains optimal temperatures of key optical elements within the sealed optical engine. Additionally, the projectors

come with a mechanical shutter that protects the lens from laser light damage.

The EB-L12000Q projector has been awarded the Good Design Award 2018 for its design. The awards are presented annually for designs that benefit and enrich people’s lifestyles and society in general.

The EB-L12000Q and EB-L20000U projectors will be available for sale in the region in the second half of 2019. These powerful projectors are designed to expand Epson’s lineup in the high-end AV rental sector, and are suitable for use in demanding environments including rental and staging events, large auditoriums and digital signage installations.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUDGET PHONE?

HONOR starts 2019 with a new look and a new addition to its already impressive midrange smartphone lineup—the Honor 10 Lite. Known as the younger sibling of Honor’s 2018 flagship, the Honor 10, the brand makes sure the Honor 10 Lite is nothing short of its predecessor and is definitely something that should not be taken lightly.

The Honor 10 Lite features a premium design that rises above the clutter of bold solid blues in the smartphone category. The Sky Blue version of the Honor 10 Lite passes off as a premium smartphone with a color gradient design that gradually fades from light to Honor’s signature blue.

It has a 24MP AI selfie camera with a low aperture level of F/2.0 combined with 4-in-1 light fusion technology and exposure compensation technology recognizes up to eight selfie scenarios that allow users to take beautiful selfies no matter what time of the day. Part of Honor 10 Lite’s selfie camera tech are stereoscopic photography lighting at different settings from soft lighting to stage lighting making studio-level portrait photography achievable even at home.

The Honor 10 Lite is the first handset from the brand that sports the dewdrop display notch letting users enjoy the phone’s full 6.21” Full HD screen with 1080 x 2340 screen resolution FullView Display. The almost bezel-less design allows for the 90+ percent screen-to-body ratio and pure 19:5:9 aspect ratio that comfortably fits in the grip of a hand.

Honor’s industry-leading AI tech enables the camera to recognize different subjects in the photos and make optimal adjustments depending on the current scenario. The rear camera shooters of the Honor 10 Lite is also armored with the AIS Super Night Shoot feature that allows users to take night shots in under six seconds of exposure paired with anti-shake feature that lets you capture every detail despite low lighting. Under the hood, the Honor 10 Lite is equipped with the powerful Kirin 710 chipset and comes with the latest Android OS (9.0 Pie) preinstalled so users can expect seamless performance and reduced power consumption.

A special treat awaits all Honor fans at Honor’s special activation happening today, January 26, at the third floor of The Annex of SM City North Edsa.

For one day only and open to all walk-ins, shoppers get to bring home exciting freebies worth P3,000 for every purchase of the Honor 10 Lite (3GB RAM plus 64GB ROM). ■