BusinessMirror July 14, 2019

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

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Sunday, July 14, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 277

2018 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

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OF BLESSINGS, LOVE OFFERINGS AND GREED A

By VG Cabuag

T the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), there’s this obscure unit that mainly hides its work—the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD).

pseudo investment firms throughout his career at the agency. He once headed the SEC Davao and Zamboanga Extension Offices where he launched capital market promotion activities as well as an enforcement program against investment scams. He worked with the SEC in early 2000 where he rose to the ranks to become the youngest director of EIPD, formerly called the Prosecution and Enforcement and non-Traditional Securities and Instruments departments. “We shall never let up on our crackdown on investment scams, as we uphold our mandate to champion and protect the interests of the investing public,” Aquino said.

Fresh from the laboratory: Startups make meat that avoids slaughter IN this photo taken April 11, 2019, Memphis Meats chief executive officer Uma Valeti shows chicken his company produced in a laboratory from chicken cells in Emeryville, California. A growing number of startups worldwide are making cell-based or cultured meat that doesn’t require slaughtering animals. AP

‘Trouble spots’

KAPA media promotional material

This division of the SEC is responsible, among others, for protecting the public from various forms of investment scams, which still prevail once every so often, despite campaigns of avoiding offers of huge investment returns for a small amount a person gives. However, with the assumption of new SEC chairman Emilio B. Aquino in June last year, there was a resurgence of investment scam cases that the agency has publicly disclosed.

“We shall never let up on our crackdown on investment scams, as we uphold our mandate to champion and protect the interests of the investing public.”—Aquino

Aquino is credited with having issued the most number of Cease and Desist Orders against pyramiding and boiler-room operations of

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.2590

SO far all of the cases disclosed by the SEC’s Enforcement Department this year came from outside Luzon, mostly in Mindanao, one of which is the Kapa-Community Ministry International Inc., whose officers are now facing criminal prosecution. Other active cases on EIPD’s file were Rigen Marketing, a company based in Tagum City; Ada Farm Agri Ventures, Mandaue, Cebu; Ever Arm Any Marketing, Tagbilaran City; and Organico Agribusiness Corp., Davao. According to data from the SEC, the agency was able to issue 122 cease-and-desist orders from 1997 through June this year, the latest of which was a mining cooperative operating in Alabel and Maasim in Sarangani province. Continued on A2

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By Terence Chea |

The Associated Press

MERYVILLE, California—Uma Valeti slices into a pan-fried chicken cutlet in the kitchen of his startup, Memphis Meats. He sniffs the tender morsel on his fork before taking a bite. He chews slowly, absorbing the taste.

“Our chicken is chicken...you’ve got to taste it to believe it,” Valeti says. This is no ordinary piece of poultry. No chicken was raised or slaughtered to harvest the meat. It was produced in a laboratory by extracting cells from a chicken and feeding them in a nutrient broth until the cell culture grew into raw meat. Memphis Meats, based in Emeryville, California, is one of a growing number of startups worldwide that are making cell-based or cultured meat. They want to offer an alternative to traditional meat production that they say is damaging the environment and causing unnecessary harm to animals, but they are far from becoming mainstream and face pushback from livestock producers. “You are ultimately going to continue the choice of eating meat for many generations to come without putting undue stress on the planet,” said Valeti, a former cardiologist Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4725 n UK 64.1916 n HK 6.5527 n CHINA 7.4570 n SINGAPORE 37.7793 n AUSTRALIA 35.7429 n EU 57.6971 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6669

Source: BSP (July 12, 2019 )

FEODORA CHIOSEA | DREAMSTIME.COM

Amid resurgence of investment scam cases, SEC chief reinvigorates drive vs suspected fraudsters

NewsSunday A2 Sunday, July 14, 2019

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Of blessings, love offerings and greed The pitch

INVESTMENT scams come in many forms, the famous of which is the Ponzi scheme. The most common of the scheme, however, is usually the offering of huge returns on investments in as little time as possible, luring and duping not only poor individuals, but Filipinos working overseas and affluent people as well. The Ponzi scheme is named after Charles Ponzi , an Italian businessman who duped people in the early 1920s when he promised clients a 50-percent profit within 45 days, or 100-percent profit within 90 days. He used buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the United States. Back then, people used an international reply coupon, which can be exchanged for one or more postage stamps for the purpose of allowing a person to send someone in another country a letter, along with the cost of postage for a reply. In reality, Ponzi was paying early investors using the investments of later investors. His scheme ran for over a year before it collapsed, since there were no assets to speak of. His scheme is married to another type called the pyramid scheme, in which companies are enticing their members to recruit more people to give out membership fees on a promise of commission payments depending on how many one was able to recruit. Such type of scheme is akin to multi-level marketing, only that the latter has a product or service to sell direct to the customers.

The ‘blessing’

IN the case of KAPA, SEC investigators found

it to have enticed the public to “donate” at least P10,000 in exchange for a 30-percent monthly “blessing” or “love gift” for life, without having to do anything other than invest and wait for the payout. An investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation in Caraga showed KAPA collected P7 million from hundreds of investors at some point. The religious firm mostly targeted teachers in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, according to complaints received by the SEC. The investment scheme operated by KAPA involved the sale and offering for sale or distribution to the public of securities, in the form of investment contracts, as defined under Section 3 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC). But for any government agency, the filing of a case against a suspected scammer is only one step, as the overall effort is still being measured by the number of its prosecuted cases. The SEC, though, has secured a handful of convictions it filed for SRC violation since July 2000. In November 2015, the Regional Trial Court of Makati Branch 56 convicted spouses Saturnino and Rosario Baladjay, who operated a pyramiding scam through Multitel International Holdings Inc. of 65 counts of SRC violation. The court sentenced the Baladjays to serve seven years in jail for each count of violation for a total of 455 years and ordered them to pay the complainants a total of P8 million. In addition, Rosario was sentenced to suffer life imprisonment in a separate conviction for syndicated estafa, affirmed by the Supreme Court in July 2017. For now, it is too early to tell if Aquino can track down celebrated investment scammers and bring them at least to the public’s attention.

IULIIA BELOVA | DREAMSTIME.COM

Continued from A1

Fresh from the laboratory: Startups make meat that avoids slaughter Continued from A1

who co-founded Memphis Meats in 2015 after seeing the power of stem cells to treat disease. The company, which also has produced cell-grown beef and duck, has attracted investments from food giants Cargill and Tyson Foods as well as billionaires Richard Branson and Bill Gates. A report released in June by consulting firm A.T. Kearney predicts that by 2040, cultured meat will make up 35 percent of meat consumed worldwide, while plantbased alternatives will compose 25 percent.

’Unnecessary evil’

“The large-scale livestock industry is viewed by many as an unnecessary evil,” the report says. “With the advantages of novel vegan meat replacements and cultured meat over conventionally produced meat, it is only a matter of time before meat replacements capture a substantial market share.” But first cultured meat must overcome significant challenges, including bringing down the exorbitant cost of production, showing regulators it’s safe and enticing consumers to take a bite. “We’re a long way off from becoming a commercial reality because there are many hurdles we have to tackle,” said Ricardo San Martin, research director of the alternative meat program at the University of California, Berkeley. “We don’t know if consumers are going to buy this or not.” As global demand for meat grows, supporters say cell-based protein is more sustainable than traditional meat because it doesn’t require the land, water and crops needed to raise livestock—a major source of greenhouse-gas emissions. Many consumers would love to eat meat that doesn’t require killing animals, said Brian Spears, who founded a San Francisco startup called New Age Meats that served its cell-based pork sausages to curious foodies at a tasting last September. “People want meat. They don’t want slaughter,” Spears said. “So we make slaughter-free

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here’s still many, many unknowns about these cell-based products. We really don’t know if it’s something consumers will accept from a taste perspective. We don’t know if it’s going to be affordable.”—Mittenthal meat, and we know there’s a massive market for people that want delicious meat that doesn’t require animal slaughter.”

Fish species

FINLESS Foods, another startup in Emeryville, is making cultured fish and seafood. It’s produced cellbased versions of salmon, carp and sea bass, and it’s working on bluefin tuna, a popular species that is overfished and contains high levels of mercury. The company has invited guests to sample its cell-based fish cakes. “The ocean is a very fragile ecosystem, and we are really driving it to the brink of collapse,” chief executive oficer Michael Selden said. “By moving human consumption of seafood out of the ocean and onto land and creating it in this cleaner way, we can basically do something that’s better for everybody.” The emerging industry moved a step closer to market in March when the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration announced plans to jointly oversee the production and labeling of cell-based meat. Food-safety advocates will be watching to ensure the agencies provide rigorous oversight and protect people from bacterial contamination and other health threats, said Jaydee Hanson, policy director at the nonprofit Center for Food Safety. “It will be important for the public that this be well regulated,” Hanson said. “Do these really solve the environmental problem? Do they really solve the animal welfare problem? That needs to be part of the review as well.”

Resistance

IF cultured-meat companies use genetically modified cells, they would face even greater scrutiny from consumers and government regulators, Hanson said. Cell-based meat companies also face resistance from US livestock producers, who have been lobbying states to restrict the “meat” label to food products derived from slaughtered animals and have been raising questions about the safety, cost and environmental effect of cultured meat. “There’s still many, many unknowns about these cell-based products,” said Eric Mittenthal, vice president for sustainability at the North American Meat Institute. “We really don’t know if it’s something consumers will accept from a taste perspective. We don’t know if it’s going to be affordable.” Uma Valeti at Memphis Meats said he wants to help educate people about the benefits of cell-based meats and eventually open up its production facility to show people how its meat is made. The company is focused on reducing the cost of cultured meat and producing larger quantities. A plate of chicken that used to cost tens of thousands of dollars to produce can now be made for less than $100, Valeti said. Memphis Meats hopes to sell its cell-based meat within the next two years, starting with restaurants, then moving into grocery stores, assuming it passes USDA and FDA inspections. “We’re actually preserving the choice of eating meat for people,” Valeti said. “Instead of saying, ‘Give up eating meat or eat a meat alternative,’ we’re saying continue eating the meat that you love.”

Editor: Angel R. Calso

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LAID-OFF EXPAT BANKERS STRUGGLE TO FIND NEW JOBS IN HONG KONG

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OR years, Hong Kong was a hotspot with plum jobs for overseas bankers as global firms hired aggressively. But many recently laid-off bankers in the city are finding that cost-cutting and a demand for Mandarin speakers have diminished the opportunities for expats in Asia’s financial hub. After Deutsche Bank AG announced plans for wide-ranging cuts this week, many employees worldwide are facing the challenge of job-hunting in a shrinking market. For foreign staff losing positions in Hong Kong, it could be harder than most. Other international firms such as Nomura Holdings Inc. have also cut jobs in Hong Kong. At the same time, the city’s famously expensive living costs, including some of the world’s highest rents, mean that even senior bankers need to find new jobs fast in order to stay. The upshot? Expat bankers who lost their jobs and want to remain in Hong Kong often have to consider lower-paying options or demotions. Some with longer-running ties to the city are looking at switching careers, weighing everything from consulting to cryptocurrency outfits. During the global financial crisis of 2008, Asian banks and local Chinese firms hired those who had been laid off by foreign players, said Will Glover, Hong Kong-based managing director for recruitment firm Macdonald & Co. That’s less

likely this year and some of those taking on new jobs may have to take pay cuts, he said. “You get that volume of people anywhere into a market at one time and inevitably a lot of people will leave the market altogether,” Glover said. “There will not be enough opportunities to absorb all that supply.” While global banks are ramping up their focus on China, more of them are looking for people with language skills and networks on the Chinese mainland. A senior banker in Hong Kong who is in his 50s and was laid off from a European investment bank earlier this year said he would like to continue to live in the city, where his children go to school. But he expects it to be hard to find a top job because banks are moving people internally or hiring more people locally. His monthly rent is about HK$100,000 ($12,800), making it essential to find a job soon if he decides to stay. It’s a dilemma that many others are grappling with. One European banker laid off from a top Asian bank said he took a holiday and is now pondering working in a startup or even moving out of Hong Kong after 20 years. Deutsche Bank’s website until Wednesday said it had more than 1,200 people in Hong Kong, although that statistic has since been removed. The bank has cut about half its equities staff in Asia and plans to reduce the group by another 25

percent within a month, a person familiar with the matter said earlier this month. Deutsche Bank didn’t comment on the size of its layoffs in Hong Kong. A Deutsche Bank employee in Hong Kong, recently laid off, said many of her colleagues plan to stay in Hong Kong and are looking at positions in banking, family offices, or asset management. She’s hoping to use her background in compliance for another job in finance. One former Deutsche Bank employee, Su Zhu, who worked at the firm in Hong Kong until 2012 and now runs a Singapore foreign exchange and cryptocurrency fund called Three Arrows Capital, said that over the past year many bankers have gone into the crypto industry. Foreign banks can now choose from a widening pool of young professionals raised in Hong Kong, who speak multiple languages, know Chinese culture, have trained overseas and don’t require expensive relocation packages. That makes it harder for foreign bankers currently in the city, as well as junior professionals attempting to move from overseas, to find new positions in Hong Kong. A British equities trader who lost his job at an American investment bank this year said he had spent almost four months interviewing at banks and hedge funds with no luck. He lost one position to a local candidate 10 years his junior, and is now considering leaving. Bloomberg News

Sunday, July 14, 2019

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Top US general: China poses threat for decades ahead

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HINA may remain the “primary threat” to the US military for as long as a century after learning how to fight more effectively by watching American wars in the Middle East, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. “China went to school on us,” General Mark Milley said in response to lawmakers’ questions during his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate

Armed Services Committee. “They watched us very closely in the first Gulf War, the second Gulf War. They watched our capabilities and in many, many ways they have

mimicked those, and they have adopted many of the doctrines and organizations.” Evolving threats from China and Russia are cited as the primary challenges in the current US defense strategy, supplanting the war on terrorism as the top priority. China, with the world’s second-largest economy, is making major investments in military capabilities to challenge America’s post-World War II dominance, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The US this month denounced Chinese anti-ship missile tests in the disputed South China Sea, underscoring the continued strategic tensions between the two Pacific powers even as they try to restart trade talks. Bloomberg News

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Sulu suicide bombing raises ante in govt’s counterterrorism drive S

PHILIPPINES CAN MANAGE SANS UNHRC INTERFERENCE–LACSON

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By Rene Acosta

HE attack on an Army camp in Sulu two weeks ago carried out by what appeared to be a Moroccan boy and a son of a Filipino Muslim convert, has raised to a higher level­—or into a new form— the government’s campaign against terrorism in Mindanao. The “suicide bombing,” which Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) commander Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana still refuses to acknowledge as such, also fulfilled the highest purpose of Moro radicalization that the government is struggling to stop. Sobejana said that by the definition of suicide bombing, the bomb should be detonated by the bomber itself, which, in the case of Norman Lasuca, one of the two men in the attack of the camp of the 1st Brigade Combat Team in Indanan, Sulu, brought the possibility that it could have been detonated by somebody else from a distance. While the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory has confirmed the identity and nationality of Lasuca after cross matching his DNA samples with members of his family, it did not probe the possibility raised by Sobejana. Nevertheless, the militar y’s general headquarters declared the attack as a suicide bombing. “The AFP and the PNP would like to allay the fears of our countr ymen, notwithstanding this development where we can confirm, and is now confirming, the incidence of the first suicide bombing in the Philippines perpetrated by Norman Lasuca,” said military spokesman Brig. Edgard Arevalo. “We wish to highlight the fact that the AFP has its keen focus on Sulu to defeat the Abu Sayyaf Group [ASG], put a stop to the terrorist activities and atrocities they commit against the people of Sulu, in Mindanao and the country,” he added during a joint news briefing with PNP Spokesman Col. Bernard Banac on Wednesday. Until the first suicide bombi ng by a Fi l ipi no h appened , Sobejana said they had been working to stop the continuing radicalization of the Moros in Mindanao, and he said this as

t he top mi litar y commander in Sulu in 2017, and later in Cent ra l Mi nd a n ao. Sobeja n a was being installed as the Wesmincom commander when the attack happened in Sulu. The attack that killed seven people, including Lasuca and the other suicide bomber, was blamed on the ASG, whose members are being relentlessly hunted by Sobejana and his men in Sulu. The bombing, however, was initially owned by the Islamic State. “We’ve been working hard to combat radicalization and its spread among the Moros in Mindanao. We are visiting schools, including Islamic schools, teaching students and the Moros about the dangers of radicalization,” Sobejana said. He said Moro leaders, local officials and community leaders were also involved in the initiative.

Islamic schools

E A R L I ER , Br ig G e n. R ome o Brawner, commander of the 103rd Brigade based in Marawi City, said they have monitored some Islamic schools, even those in the northern area of the country, including Baguio City, that have been teaching radical lessons about Islam. “ We t a l k e d t o t h e m a n d showed the battered Maraw i as an example,” he said. The government feared that moves by Islamic groups to radicalize the Moros would give birth

to Filipino suicide bombers, and that may have happened in the case of Lasuca. The 23-year-old Lasuca, a son of a Balik Islam, was only about 16 or 17 years old when he joined the ASG. “Another reason that he joined the group is to escape from his mechanic father, who constantly beat him,” Sobejana said. He sa id L asuca init ia l ly joi ned t he g roup of A SG Comm a nder Ya sser Iga sa n i n Su lu, but when Igasan died, he joined the g roup of Hajan Sawadja a n, who i s now t he ac t i ng leader of t he Dawl a Isl a m iy a i n Mi nd a n ao. Sobejana said the military in Mindanao was actively implementing the National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism that aims to stop the spread of radicalism and violent extremism, especially among the Moros. They were also using Executive Order (EO) 70 issued by President Duterte as a guide in dealing with terrorism and radicalization. “While EO 70 deals with the insurgency problem, we are also using it as a template in dealing with violent extremism,” Sobejana.

“Dangerous time ahead”

THE Philippine National Police (PNP), meanwhile, cited the need for lawmakers to understand the need to support measures that will enhance its capability to secure the country against the threat of terrorism. PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde made the remark after President Duterte asked the police and the military to be prepared for “dangerous times ahead”. Citing the case of the first suicide bombing perpetrated by a Filipino in Sulu last June 28, the PNP chief said he has earlier warned Congress to prepare for these situations. “I have been telling that to Congress that we really have to prepare for this. I think no less than the President said that there are dangerous times ahead it’s because

The AFP and the PNP would like to allay the fears of our countrymen, notwithstanding this development where we can confirm, and is now confirming, the incidence of the first suicide bombing in the Philippines perpetrated by Norman Lasuca.” —Arevalo

he foresees these kinds of global terrorism will not end in few years time,” Albayalde told reporters on the sidelines of a gun show in Mandaluyong City. “Unang-una def initely, t he play ing f ield w i l l evolve. I think the more that we should get serious on this, not only the A FP [A rmed Forces of the Philippines] and PNP but also the whole government. T here is a need to intensif y this campaign, especially our counterterrorism efforts,” he added. The countr y’s top cop said certain measures to improve the country’s response to terrorism is up to Congress to act on. “We need a lot of equipment and even the laws, these need to be amended for it to be applicable to the present situation. There is need to amend especially the Human Security Act and the [National] ID system. There are various surveillance equipment. Many are offering that we really have to determine what do we need,” Albayalde said. Albayalde added the PNP and AFP could not afford yet to improve on its surveillance capabilities because it is costly, for “political reasons” and because of the law, which protects the people’s privacy. Once amended, the country’s top cop said the Human Security Act could also boost the law enforcer’s surveillance capability and anti-terrorism and insurgency operations. Since Duterte’s assumption in 2016, the PNP has been prov ided w ith not just operational requirements but also morale a nd we l f a re ser v ices, wh ic h have improved living standards of u n ifor med personnel a nd their families. “Over the last three years, the PNP has been able to keep up with our modernization and development plan with the procurement of more and better equipment, and recruitment of more personnel,” PNP spokesman, Col. Bernard Banac said. “Between now and three years hence, the PNP is in a better position to perform its law enforcement and public safety maough enhanced operational capability,” he added. The June 28 incident is the third of its kind in Mindanao, with the first in a military checkpoint in Lamitan, Basilan on July 31, 2018, killing 10 people. T he second wa s i n a c at he d ra l i n Jolo, Su lu , t h at k i l led 20 persons, i nc lud i ng t he a ll e ge d s u ic id e b om b e r s , l a s t Ja nu a r y 27. With PNA

Japan crypto exchange loses $32 million of virtual money

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OKYO—A Japanese cryptocurrency exchange has reported a hack causing the loss of ¥3.5 billion, or $32 million, worth of virtual money. Tokyo-based Remixpoint, which runs the BITPoint exchange as well as travel, used car and energy businesses, apologized Friday, acknowledging the losses were confirmed starting on Thursday. The losses, which include Bitcoins as well as Ethereum, Ripple and other kinds of cryptocurrencies, are under investigation. Of the losses, about two-thirds affect customers while the rest of the missing assets belonged to the company, according to a company statement. All transactions have been halted. Japan has been relatively open to cryptocurrencies despite some high-profile heists. It has set up a licensing system to oversee their use. Bitcoin has been a legal form of payment in Japan since April 2017. AP

PHILIPPINE Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) workers walk along a Makati street where POGO gaming offices have recently proliferated. NONIE REYES

Manila plans to set up hubs for online casinos

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HE Philippines plans to set up hubs for online casinos catering to Chinese and other foreign markets, its chief gaming regulator Andrea Domingo said in a speech in Manila. “ We w a nt to show t h at POGO is lega l a nd is here to stay,” Domingo sa id, refer r ing to Ph i l ippine of fshore ga m ing

operators. T he indust r y employ s about 138 ,0 0 0 most ly Chinese workers in online casinos cater ing to ga mblers f rom t he ma in l a nd. The government has set up tax and labor rules to lure illegal gaming outfits to register, and will start issuing licenses to POGO workers, she said. Bloomberg News

EN. Panfilo Lacson on Friday said the Philippines can manage without the intervention of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Lacson made the statement following the UNHRC’s move to adopt a resolution that would allow the body to investigate the human-rights situation in the country. The Iceland-initiated resolution was adopted with 18 votes in favor, 14 against, and 15 abstentions. “We have a functioning criminal justice system that deals adequately with erring law enforcers,” Lacson said. “We regularly provide our Commission on Human Rights the budget they need to perform their mandate,” he added. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. questioned the validity of the resolution since it was “not universally adopted.” Locsin further described as politically par tisan and one -sided the Iceland

resolution, reiterating Manila’s position to reject it. “It cannot, in good conscience, abide by it. We will not accept a politically partisan and one-sided resolution, so detached from the truth on the ground. It comes straight from the mouth of the Queen in Alice in Wonderland, ‘First the judgment, then the proof ’,” he said. Among the 18 states that voted “yes” include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland, and Uruguay. A total of 14 nations, on the other hand, voted“no”, including Angola, Bahrain, Cameroon, Hungary, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. Meanwhile, 15 countries abstained, including Japan, South Africa, Brazil and Pakistan. PNA

Chinese software engineer accused of stealing US train maker’s secrets

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SOFTWARE engineer for a locomotive manufacturer in a Chicago suburb was charged with stealing trade secrets and sharing them with a company in China where he now works, according to US prosecutors. Xudong “William” Yao, 57, was accused in an indictment of nine counts of trade secrets theft and is believed to be living in China, prosecutors said in a statement Thursday. Yao, who was born in China but was a naturalized US citizen, allegedly stole copies of more than 3,000 electronic files that contained proprietary technical information and software source code, according to the statement. The Chicago-area company wasn’t identified. The theft began just two weeks

after Yao began working for the US company in 2014 and lasted for about six months until February 2015, according to the indictment. During that period, Yao allegedly sought and later secured a job with a Chinese company that provides automotive GPSlocating systems. The Chinese company also wasn’t identified. Yao was fired from the Chicago-area company for unrelated reasons a few months before he left for China. He allegedly took nine copies of the stolen source code and information about how the code worked, according to the indictment. Yao was charged in December 2017, but the indictment remained sealed until Wednesday, according to prosecutors. Bloomberg News

World’s biggest diamond mine is closing this year

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HE world’s biggest diamond mine—famed more for the fistful of coveted pink and red gems it yields each year than being a major producer of lower-quality stones—is being shuttered by Rio Tinto Group after almost four decades. Rivals from Russia to Canada hope that can help turn around the beleaguered industry. Rio’s Argyle mine in remote Western Australia has transformed the sector since 1983 when the operation began supplying gems for both ends of the market. RBC Capital Markets and Panmure Gordon are among brokers, banks and competitors forecasting the closure could kick-start prices that have waned since 2011, according to PolishedPrices.com, an industry data provider. Production at Argyle, about 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) northeast of the state capital Perth, is scheduled to end before the end of next year after finally exhausting its supply of economically viable stones, said Arnaud Soirat, Rio’s head of copper and diamonds. “There is going to be a fair bit of supply which is going to come out of the market,” Soirat said in an interview Friday at the mine site. “In late 2020 we’ll be stopping operations and will start the rehabilitation of the site.” Argyle is best known as the source of about 90 percent of the world’s prized pink diamonds rose-to-magenta hued stones that command among the sector’s highest prices. Sotheby’s auctioned the 59.6 carat “Pink

Star”, mined by Rio’s rival De Beers, for $71 million in April 2017, a record auction price for any gem. While they attract most attention, the pink stones account for less than 0.01 percent of Argyle’s total output. More than three-quarters of Argyle’s output is comprised of lower-value brown diamonds, and the mine’s overall output sells for an average of between $15 and $25 a carat, Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. estimated in 2017. That’s far less than the $171 a carat average price realized last year by De Beers. The mine also is the biggest diamond producer by volume and that’s what has put the operation at the center of global oversupply. A glut of cheap and small diamonds has eroded profits for nearly every miner and made it increasingly hard for the industry’s cutters, polishers and traders to make a profit. In December, some of Rio’s customers refused to buy cheaper stones, while De Beers has been forced to cut some prices and offer concessions to buyers. Yet, with consumer appetite for diamonds stable, and major mines including Argyle scheduled to shutter, “the rational offset between supply and demand should lead to price growth,” Stornoway Diamond Corp. Chief Executive Officer Pat Godin said in March. Declining output, led by Argyle’s closure, will help revive prices, Torontobased producer Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. said in May. Bloomberg News

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

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: ‘Luke 10:25-37’

Patriotism versus racism Msgr. Josefino S. Ramirez SUNDAY GOSPEL IN OUR LIFE

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e can take advantage of today’s parable to talk about a very important virtue and its corresponding corruption. The parable of the good Samaritan talks about the noble and charitable actuations of a man from Samaria toward a Jew who had been waylaid by robbers. At the time of Jesus, there was a bitter rivalry between the two nations. People of neither nation considered the other as a bitter enemy. Jesus’ parable demonstrated the need to overcome this narrow-mindedness, and to apply the commandment of love to all men, and not just to our immediate neighbor or countryman. The love for one’s country is a good and noble thing—it is a virtue called “patriotism” (patria, meaning fatherland). But it can be prevented by making this love a motive for hating or belittling other nations. Then we have a vice which can be called exaggerated nationalism or racism. It is but natural that we have a special regard for the things that surround us, for the land in which we grew up, for the customs that we have practiced. The Church has always had a high regard for the elements of every nation’s culture. But we should also be open to the good, though different, things that are present in other countries and cultures. C . S. L ew is once pointed out: How can I love my own countr y

without realizing that other men, by the same right, love their own? The last thing that we would want is that everything foreign would be the same as in our own home. Home would not be home if it were not different from other homes. True patriotism leads us to love our country and to, at least, appreciate the good thing of other countries. It is not blind to one’s own defects. False patriotism (exag gerated nat iona l ism) leads to hatred of other nations, or at least to be belittling of their legitimate differences. In a document about the social evil or racism, the Church pointed out the need for a more fraternal attitude toward all men. In that document, She condemned all sorts of unjust discriminations, especially those based on culture or nationhood. For a Christian, the universal brotherhood of all men occupies a higher place than love for things one own. How grateful we should be for those brave men and women who have given up their very legitimate attachment to their nation in order to spread the Gospel in other nations and cultures, at the cost of much personal sacrifice. They have adopted their new nation and have exerted all the effort to become one more among those people, in order to save those souls by spreading the message of Christ in new lands.

Sunday

Sunday, July 14, 2019

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Christian family details crackdown on church in China

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AIPEI, Taiwan—The Sunday service last week at an unassuming church in Taiwan was especially moving for one man. It was the first time Liao Qiang had worshipped publicly since authorities shut down his church in China seven months ago. The 49-year-old arrived in Taiwan last week after fleeing China with five family members. He and his 23-year-old daughter, Ren Ruiting, described living under constant surveillance for the past seven months after authorities detained them and dozens of other members of their prominent but not government-sanctioned church in December. China’s ruling Communist Par t y has carried out a widespread crackdown on all religious institutions in recent years, including bulldozing churches and mosques, barring Tibetan children from Buddhist religious

studies and incarcerating more than a million members of Islamic ethnic minorities in what are termed “reeducation centers.” President and Party Leader Xi Jinping has ordered that all religions must “Sinicize” to ensure they are loyal to the officially atheistic party. In contrast, Taiwan’s democratically elected government has long taken a handsoff approach to religion on the island, where most follow Buddhism and traditional Chinese beliefs, but where Christianity and other religions also thrive. Liao and Ren’s account is the first detailing what has happened since the detentions began at the Early Rain Covenant Church. It shows the determination of the Chinese government— and the lengths it has gone—to eradicate a congregation that has long been a thorn in its side.

Saint Gemma Galgani: Daughter of Passion By Corazon Damo-Santiago

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aint Gemma Galgani is blessed with the gifts of supernatural knowledge, ecstasy, vision, prophecy, stigmata and levitation. Often in ecstasy, she was seen in the dining room, with her arms around the crucifix while she was kissing the wound on the side of the crucified Christ and her feet raised from the floor, narrated Joan Caroll Cruz in Mysteries, Marvels, Miracles in the Lives of Saints.

Stigmatization

In February 1899, she joined a novena to Saint Margaret Mary. Saint Gabriel appeared to Galgani and promised to join the novena and pray with her. On the first Friday of March, she was completely healed of spinal meningitis. With a remarkable openness to God, her angel instructed her on the practice of virtues. On June 8, 1899, after Holy Communion, she was enlightened that she will be receiving

a gift from God. In the evening, the Blessed Mother, with her guardian angel, appeared and told her that she will receive a grace from Jesus. The Blessed Mother covered her with her mantle and Jesus appeared with His open wounds. Instead of blood, it was fire that were on the wounds and the flames touched her hands, feet and heart. Galgani felt she was dying due to intense pain. Blood flowed on her painful body parts. Her guardian angel helped cover her wounds. She went to sleep in perfect peace. She put on gloves to hide the wounds when she received Holy Communion the next day. She was in great pain until 3 p.m. of Friday, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.

A victim soul

On June 8, 1899, a victim soul was born, as she began to display the signs of stigmata. Suffering is anathema in a world of joy and pleasure. To suffer is to carry a cross in

Early Rain’s pastor, Wang Yi, who remains detained, has been critical of Xi and the party. He has made a point of holding a prayer service on June 4 each year to commemorate the 1989 bloody crackdown on democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, an anniversar y that China’s government has sought to wipe from memory. Ren told The Associated Press that she had to report her whereabouts to police using social media whenever she went out. She was told her safety couldn’t be guaranteed if she disobeyed. “That’s when I knew it was no longer safe for us here, and that my children were most in danger,” Liao said after Sunday’s service, attended by about 30 people, at the small Reformed Presbyterian Xinan Church in Taipei. Government officials in China did not

immediately respond to requests for comment. C h i n a’s g o v e r n m e n t r e q u i r e s t h a t Protestants worship only in churches recognized and regulated by the officially sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement, although many more are part of independent congregations. More than 100 members of Early Rain were taken into custody from the church or their homes on December 9 and 10, according to Human Rights Watch. Those detained included Wang, the pastor. His wife, Jiang Rong, was released on bail last month. Liao said the police tried to force him to sign a statement renouncing his church, but he refused. “If our elders decided to break up the church, then I can accept it,” he said. “But it’s not up to you to say it’s evil or illegal.” AP

life. A genuine disciple of God accepts the crosses of life. Jesus Himself died on the cross he carried to Calvary to save men from sinfulness—the sins of humanity. Christ Himself said: “No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be a disciple” (Luke 14:27). Someone who takes upon the punishment due the sins of others is a victim of love. So victimhood is “sharing the infinite merits of Jesus’ passion and death to share the redemption of sinful man.” Jesus shares the cross to all. But to those who dispose themselves to His wisdom, generosity and humility, He pours His grace of victimhood. In her diary, Galgani expressed how she felt the first time Jesus appeared to her: “Two sentiments were born in my heart the very first time I felt and saw Jesus dripping in blood. The first, to love Him, and to love Him to the point of sacrifice.... The other thing was a great desire to suffer for Him, seeing how much He had suffered for me.” Saint Gemma Galgani offered her sufferings

for the “conversion of sinners, and the suffering souls in purgatory, and for God’s love and mercy upon humanity.” In 1903, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. On the Holy Saturday of the following year, she died with a smile on her lips. On her tombstone were the inscription: “Gemma Galgani of Lucca, a most innocent virgin, while in her 25 year, consumed rather by the fire of Divine Love than by the violence of disease, flew into the arms of Her Heavenly Spouse on Holy Saturday, the 11th of April 1903. Peace be to thee, O sweet soul, in company with the angels.” Her relics are on the Passionist Monastery in Lucca, Italy, and her heart is in the Sanctuary of Saint Gemma Galgani in Madrid, Spain. Her feast day is on April 11. Damo-Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

A6 Sunday, July 14, 2019

Science

BusinessMirror

Sunday

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

2019 NSTW to focus on S&T’s role in attaining sustainable dev’t goals

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O you want to know the breakthroughs in science and technology (S&T) in the Philippines? You may learn about these at 2019 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW), which the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will hold from July 17 to 21 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. It is open to the public and admission is free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Through Proclamation 169 of 1993, the NSTW is celebrated every third week of July to highlight the significant contributions of S&T to national development. The celebration has become a platform for heralding S&T advocacy in the country. Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said that the NSTW celebration “has the noble intention of harnessing the power of innovative technological ideas and concepts to power the Philippines toward new, boundless opportunities to solve long-standing societal problems.” This year’s theme, “Science for the People: Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Development,” underpins the event’s showcase on the latest innovations in technologies, products and research that can help achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dotting the venue will be interactive exhibits that are free for public viewing. DOST agencies and partners, including the local S&T community, will showcase current innovative knowledge, products and services addressing the 17 SDGs. The products and services are in the areas of food security, energy and environment, aging society, health and medical care, S&T human resource development, equity and growth in the countryside, biodiversity and sustainable

use of biological resources, sustainable cities and communities, resilience and innovation, and international linkages. Moreover, the NSTW is the perfect venue for the science community and science enthusiasts, particularly the technology developers and investors, including the S&T service providers and clients, to interact, exchange ideas, and pursue potential opportunities in technology commercialization and linkages. Included in the NSTW celebration are the recognition of individuals in the science community who have shown great endeavors in basic and applied research, and technology transfer, promotion and commercialization. Also, scientific meetings, technical and investment forums, technology demonstrations, interactive exhibits and technical tours are lined up as part of this year’s NSTW.

Dressing up to perfection the scientific way

DO you find it difficult to get the perfect fit for your wardrobe? With S&T, your worries may now be the thing of the past because of the Perfect Fit 3D Body Scanner made available by the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) of the DOST to textile designers, artists and clothes manufacturers. The 3D Body Scanner will be the centerpiece of the DOST-PTRI exhibit during the celebration of the 2019 NSTW. “The Perfect Fit” Project under the Textile Product Development Center of DOST-PTRI is part of the Institute’s move to introduce modern technologies and innovations with the aim of becoming

the first textile R&D laboratory in the Philippines. A component of the Perfect Fit Project, the 3D Body Scanner was recently acquired by DOST-PTRI to give textile designers, artists, retailers and manufacturers easy access in the prototyping of their designs and products for evaluation before public offering. Wit h t h is tec hnolog y, t he textile and clothing industr y will be able to provide accurate measurements using the avatar specifically “tailor-fit” for the Filipino body type. Later, this is expected to provide a national sizing system for clothes in the country. Besides the 3D Body Scanner, the center will feature state-ofthe-art equipment for textile product development, such as the 3D visualization system and computerized fabric prototyping loom. Visitors to the NST W w ill have the chance to get their body measurements and find their perfect fit.

DOST-FPRDI to showcase latest technologies

THE DOST-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) will showcase its latest technologies and researches in the annual NSTW. Studies related to biodiversity

DOST, UP assessing urban heat islands in the PHL W

HAT are the land surface temperatures (LSTs) of the leading cities in the Philippines—such as Quezon City, Baguio City, Cebu and Mandaue City, Iloilo City, Zamboanga City and Davao City—and how can the public mitigate their harmful effects? Two government agencies are finding ways to mitigate the harmful effects of the rising temperatures in urban areas by assessing the development of urban heat islands in rapidly urbanizing and highly urbanized cities in the Philippines using satellites and modeling-simulation techniques. These agencies are the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), and the University of the Philippines-Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry. Dr. Ariel Blanco, project leader of Project GUHeat, or “Geospatial Assessment and Modelling of Urban Heat Islands in Philippine Cities,” said they will harness the power of thermal images from satellites to help the government “minimize the warming of urban areas or urban heat

islands (UHIs), and even reverse it to decrease electricity consumption and air pollution, reduce health risks and diseases, that will result to greater livability of our cities.” Project GUHeat will develop geographic information system-based methods and tools to map, model and characterize UHIs that are easyto-use by local government units which can be accessed through a Web-based GIS. They are currently studying and evaluating the land surface temperature (LST) of Quezon City, Baguio City, Cebu and Mandaue City, Iloilo City, Zamboanga City and Davao City using satellite imageries in order to assessed the effect of urban heat islands. The project also aims to build and enhance the capacity of local government units (LGUs) in incorporating thermal environment conditions in planning and development toward the attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goal (particularly Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable). “I’m happy to share that these LGUs are very enthusiastic and supportive, and shall utilize the project outputs in revising plans and implement measures to reduce

UHIs,” Blanco shared. A city experiences an urban heat island effect when it has warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas. The materials used in the construction of buildings and establishments, and the lack of trees and vegetation affect the distribution and persistence of heat in a city. Warmer temperatures increase energy consumption, emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, impair water quality, and compromise human health and comfort. DOST-PCIEERD Deputy Executive Director and Officer in Charge Engr. Raul C. Sabularse expressed hope that project will positively contribute toward climate change adaptation. “It is imperative that local government units plan and strategize using the GIS-based maps and models that will be developed through Project GUHeat for the thermal comfort of Filipinos. We, at the DOST, will continue to support the project and eventually launch more space technology applications to lift,” Sabularse said. Blanco said they intend to use unmanned aerial systems that have thermal cameras to thoroughly map and determine the changes of LST over time. S&T Media Service

and sustainable use of natural resources will be highlighted: propagation of forest vines in Bicol for handicraft and furniture production; bullet-resistant vest developed using the widely available and renewable bamboo; and currency base paper (CBP) using combined fibers of locally available plant materials. The Institute will also feature its newest program on Bamboo Musical Instruments Innovation Research and Development. “The Philippines is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, being home to a wide array of the world’s plants and animal species. The DOST-FPRDI is doing its best to sustainably tap these natural resources for a multitude of purposes,” said FPRDI Director Romulo T. Aggangan. He cited, for example, the Institute’s efforts in mak ing the country’s own paper money using fibers from abaca, salago and mangium. “For decades, we have depended on imported CBP to make our own paper money. With our promising research result, however, we are planning to team up with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to make our own CBP using 100 percent locally available fibers,” Aggangan explained. Meanwhile, the Institute is also bent on helping local craftsmen

find new sources of raw materials. “The Institute is leading a project aimed at determining the volume and location of significant forest vines in the Bicol region, as well as studying the factors affecting their natural growth and regeneration,” he added. “We invite science enthusiasts, businessmen, technology investors, and f ur niture and handicraft makers to visit our booth and see how FPRDI-developed technologies can make the way they do things a lot simpler,” Aggangan said.

PCIEERD activities

THE DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) has lined up the following activities during the NSTW: Up-close with our Talented Young Pinoy Innovators: Second YIP Forum at The Heritage Hotel in Pasay City on July 16 at 1 p.m.; The Balik Scientist Program: Challenges, Opportunities and Impact to the Society at the World Trade Center Manila in Pasay City on July 17, 2:30 p.m.; and, Turnover of Damage Assessment Map of Marawi City World Trade Center Manila, on July 19, 1 p.m. Raymond O. Torres and Apple Jean C. Martin-de Leon/S&T Media Service

SEARCA, PARTNERS HOLD WORKSHOP ON ESTABLISHING CLIMATESMART VILLAGES

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EING at the forefront of climate-smart agriculture and climate-smart villages, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) and the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) have partnered to implement a workshop on establishing CSVs for the weeklong Asean Climate Resilience Network (Asean-CRN) held this past week. “This program is grounded on Searca and IIRR’s proven experience in conducting innovative regional learning activities and working with communities on climate-resilient agriculture,” said Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Searca director. Searca hosted the workshop on establishing CSVs in the Asean region to improve food security and resiliency in local communities at its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. The CSV approach was developed by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) to help address climatic risks to agriculture-based livelihood. Specifically, it aims to enable farmers to learn from evidences generated at the local level and build their own CSVs. Designed for Asean member-states, the workshop was expected to provide the participants with experiential knowledge on the principles and practice of CCAFS’s CSV approach to promote climate-smart agriculture and its potential in enhancing food security in local communities. Th e wo r k s h o p h i g h l i g h t e d t h e experiences in establishing CSVs in Southeast Asia, particularly in Guinayangan, Quezon, that was initiated by IIRR. Since 2014, the Guinayangan climate-smart agriculture interventions has reached 1,500 farmers through farmer-to-farmer scaling. The Guinayangan CSV has also been a “go-to site” for agricultural development workers learning the par ticipator y approaches, technologies, and social learning methodologies to promote climatesmart agriculture and villages. The Department of Agriculture (DA) used it as a learning site for capacitating 17 DA regional field offices and their respective local government units in developing Adaptation and Mitigation Initiatives in Agriculture (Amia) villages—the Philippine adaptation of CSV—in all 17 regions in the country. “Often in partnership with like-minded institutions, Searca regularly organizes highlevel discussions that may support policy advocacy and encourage organizations to learn from best practices of their counterparts from the Asean region,” Gregorio said. Co-organizing the workshop is an initiative under Searca’s Umbrella Program on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation for Southeast Asia.

PHL robotics team bags silver in Australia

THE Philippine Robotics National Team takes the world stage again with their victories in the FLL in Houston and FLL in Turkey. The team (represented this time by Grace Christian College) poses with Mylene Abiva (left) of Felta Multi-Media at the FLL Asia Pacific Open Championship 2019 in Sydney, Australia, from July 4 to 7. FELTA

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HE Philippine Robotics National Team claimed victory for the Philippines at the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Asia Pacific Open Championship in Sydney, Australia, from July 4 to 7. The national team, represented this time by Grace Christian College’s gaged 43 teams (over 400 students) from 21 countries. Gracean Whiz is composed of students Alexis Diane Ngo, Heart Bernice Tan, Gen Bernardine Dy, Denzell Robyn Dy, Ethan Russell Uy, Zoe Angeli Uy, Arabelle Galupe, Ziyang Zhang, Kylie Danielle Sy, and Christian So with coaches Arlyn Jordan and Warren John Ong Pe. Gracious Professionalism originated

in For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST ), the ethos of encouraging high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and community. With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate, thereby improving both competitors. Grace Christian College also ranked Top 7 in the Robot Game and received high accolade for their projec t, the Infinity Board, an innovative solution that brings recreational activities in space to a whole new level by introducing a portable tabletop board game system that incorporates augmented reality and

classical board games with microgravity to its advantage. This project aims to eliminate the monotony of astronaut’s routines during their free time. The theme of FIRST Lego League is “Into Orbit.” Livingstone International School from Angeles City in Pampanga also represented the Philippine Robotics National Team and received Top 3 in Teamwork-Core Values for their Project Spirulina, which focuses on the cultivation of Spirulina, a bioluminescent bacteria and Kilo power for the production of energy in space. Dr. Josette Biyo, director of the Department of Science and TechnologyScience Education Institute (DOST-SEI), congratulated the participants and thanked the national organizer, Felta Multi-Media, for another hard-earned and deserving victory in international robotics arena. “These are truly impressive wins and indicative of Filipinos’ growing interest and talent in robotics. But more than that, we thank the team for exemplifying the values we hope all our young scientists would possess,” Biyo said. The silver award won by Grace Christian College in Sydney marked the end of the FLL Season 2019. Other awards won by the Philippines were the Championship Award (Finalist) by Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. at FLL World Championship 2019 Houston, Texas, USA, (April 2019) and Gold Award-Project Presentation by Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. at FLL European Open Invitational Turkey 2019, Izmir, Turkey, (May 2019).

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, July 14, 2019

A7

VEGAN TRAVELER FINDS GOOD EATS IN ANTIQUE

LOCAL woodworkers use bamboo, mahogany and Gmelina to build this structure.

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Story & photos by Celine Murillo

XPECTATIONS breed resentment, but that day in early May, upon being told I’d get to have a “proper” meal, I allowed myself some hope. It isn’t exactly a walk in the park, being vegan in the Philippines, so I tend to celebrate instances when the prospect of nourishment is within reach. Countless encounters that involved patis in what were otherwise vegetable dishes had not dampened my spirits. If anything, these had made a personal quest out of looking for vegan-friendly food purveyors. At any rate, our itinerary led us to the southern parts of Antique, in the town of Tobias Fornier, and I...well, I was so ready for lunch. We were brought to an odd but familiar structure. Sort of a squat pentagon, it appeared to be constructed out of mostly bamboo. We made way for the door, eager to

get out of the high noon sun. Eyes wide with unbridled awe, I took in the interior. A creaking sound accompanied each of my step. The floor was bamboo poles laid out beside each other. I ambled listlessly about, marveling at the intricacy of this building. The wooden columns rose high, branching out into wooden beams that supported the largest mesh of dried Nipa leaves I have ever seen. These thatched fronds made the roof from which a handful of rattan lamps drooped like earrings. This place was called Alpas—a Filipino word that meant “to go beyond” or “to be free.” It was birthed by Ken Cazeñas and Kimberly Eng. The former used to work as a sous

THE all wooden interior is warm and charming.

‘SARI not sari’ souvenir stall sells local products.

ALPAS operates a no-set-menu, whatever-isavailable-and-in-season system.

ZIDOFA makes available black, red and brown rice to consumers.

chef in a restaurant in San Francisco where the latter was the office and events manager. In 2016, they moved back to Cazeñas’s father’s hometown of Dao (now Tobias Fornier) and began setting up this wooden culinary haven. Construction started in March 2018 and took about seven months to complete. They employed local woodworkers and used, along with bamboo, locally sourced lumber like mahogany and Gmelina. From the get-go, the couple had been clear on what Alpas was going to be about. “We try to support local enterprises as much as we can,” shared Eng to our group. “Mostly, we want to uplift local farmers.” Since its opening last December, Alpas has been operating on a no-set-menu, whatever-is-available-and-in-season system. They source most of their ingredients from nearby farms and try to go organic as much as possible. To bolster to their front yard organic farm, the couple urges residents to sell them whatever crops they have “siniguelas, mangoes, squash” instead of letting it rot on the ground. Cazeñas, a trained chef, will then elevate these into dishes worthy

of its flavors. In this aspect, Alpas aims to nudge people to see beyond the intrinsic worth of common fruits and vegetables, to also treat them as goods with veritable economic value. This way, heirloom flavors— that are often taken for granted and tossed aside—would have a greater chance of getting preserved. What better incentive is there other than cash? The move to encourage reservations over walk-ins also circles back to a sustainable operation. By only preparing a known set number of dishes, food wastage is drastically minimized. Furthermore, Alpas only holds service during lunch and dinner (but breakfast is available for guests staying at the Consuelo guesthouse). Lunch is served with two complimentary drinks per person. Dinner comes with snacks, vegetable sides, a main dish, a dessert and two complimentary drinks. There are no a la carte options. That day’s lunch, I was served a plate of sautéed greens pechay, okra and eggplant. Familiar flavors I’ve grown up with and loved. It was paired with a pumpkin salsa and

homemade chili oil over a generous helping of heirloom black, red and brown rice from Zidofa (Zarraga Integrated Diversified Organic Farmers Association) in the neighboring Iloilo province. While I savored the flavor burst on my plate, I pondered about this concept of dining, how it falls neatly under the sustainability mantra of using what one already has. By making use of what’s available, Alpas not only operates with relatively less waste, it also provides other enterprises sustainable income, all the while promoting a sense of pride for their craft. In theory, the growing consciousness surrounding sustainable and ethical dining would foremost benefit local farmers. Especially after the consecutive disasters that were the tomato and mango surpluses (we have 2 million tons of mangoes in market limbo) and now the 70 million tons of garlic surplus, getting ingredients directly at the source would be a win-win for both consumers and producers: farmers won’t be swindled by middlemen and restaurants like Alpas get top-notch quality produce at a fair price. Plus,

patronizing in-season crops support the ideal farming method of crop rotation, ensuring farmlands remain fertile and soil erosion is reduced. Partnering with organizations like Zidofa, as well as a host of local artisans is also at the core of Alpas. In one corner of the restaurant is a “sari not sari” store which holds an assortment of products for sale. This includes woven bags, patadyong textile, handmade jewelry, and native delicacies all produced within the Panay Island. Dining in Alpas feels a bit similar to how it was when I became vegan. It felt like it’s the only way to go, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. As the bamboo floor groaned under my weight, I thought: this model of “supporting local” seems quite daunting, but perhaps only because it hasn’t been done yet— at least not on this scale and not in such an in-your-face, unapologetic manner. Yet, somehow, it also feels intuitive. I guess, when it comes down to it that makes a lot of sense. After all, “loving your own” is as straightforward as it can get.

Ancient boats and majestic weaves at Pakaradyan Festival

GAWAD Manlilikha ng Bayan Bai Estelita Bantilan.

GUINAKIT boats at the Pakaradyan Festival.

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S an archipelago, ancient Philippines takes pride of a rich tradition of sailing and maritime trading even during the pre-Spanish period. A prominent boat which is a common sight in southern Mindanao is the guinakit, used by Moro royalty in navigating the coastal and inland waterways. Such vessel is believed to be one used by Malay missionary Shariff Kabunsuan in preaching and spreading the Islamic faith in the south. But over the years, with the modernization of shipping, the colorful

iconic boat has been relegated to oblivion and is only revived occasionally during special occasions to showcase the rich Islamic culture. The town of Malapatan in Sarangani province is among the few localities which relive this rich seafaring heritage in the Guinakit sa Sugoda Malapatan as part of the annual Pakaradyan Festival. Now on its 14th edition, the event’s highlight is the maritime parade and competition of modern renditions of guinakit boats by entries from the town’s barangays. The recent festivity was doubly special as marked the 50th town’s

founding anniversary when it was carved out from its mother town of Glan, which was part of then part of the Empire Province of Cotabato which covers present-day Soccsksargen region. Other highlights during the festivity are the float parade, the 50 Icons of Malapatan photo exhibit, and the kuyog, a traditional march done by Islamic royals usually done during weddings, to commemorate the arrival of Moros during the preSpanish era. The march was led by outgoing Municipal Mayor Alfredo Singcoy to symbolize the unity in diversity of

the town’s tri-people—the Moros, dominated by the Maguindanaon tribe, the Blaan indigenous people and the Visayan Christian settlers. Adding glamor and cultural significance to this year’s Pakaradyan is the inauguration by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the weaving center of Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan Bai Estelita Bantilan, a master weaver of the traditional Blaan igem or mat. Also known as the National Living Treasure, Bantilan was given the accolade in early 2017 by President Duterte, and was officially honored at Malacañang early this year. Located at Upper Lasang village, the indigenous hut will become a cultural hub and the newest tourist attraction in Sarangani. Situated on the eastern coast of Sarangani Bay, the town is an agricultural and fisheries town, and is regarded as the cultural hub of the province. It was coined from the Blaan words mala and fatan which means a place that abounds in chilli. Malapatan is also known for the “inaul” Maguindanaon handwoven fabric under the “Fabli Guni” brand which forms part of the Moro exquisite regalia, as well as bags, purses, shawls and other fashion accessories.

TPB gears up for global competitiveness

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O achieve its global competitiveness goal and attract more travelers, visitors, and investors, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism, is conducting a series of Tourism Marketing Educational Seminars among participants from DOT Regional Offices and local government units (LGUs), which kicked off in Batangas City this June, and will go to Cebu and Butuan in August. The seminars will focus on skills training and upgrading competency level through workshops, case studies and collaborative research projects. This intends to boost employment rate, improve income opportunities, and subsequently increase tourism arrivals and receipts.

Moreover, the seminar-workshop is expected to empower LGU’s tourism officers with greater knowledge to initiate and oversee successful tourism marketing strategies that can significantly contribute to the country’s economic and social development. TPB will also discuss relevant issues affecting the tourism industry that may impact the market and provide opportunity to enhance performance and decision-making skills. The seminars, which anticipates approximately 60 participants per run, is part of TPB’s initiative to support the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2016-2022, aiming to build and upscale the implementation of tourism programs to deliver a more competitive, sustainable and inclusive tourism sector.

A8 Sunday, July 14, 2019

Sports BusinessMirror

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

By Ronald Blum

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The Associated Press

LEVELAND—Faced with a record onslaught of home runs that has convinced many pitchers that baseballs are juiced, Commissioner Rob Manfred says the sport has been unable to find any changes in the manufacturing process. A May 2018 report to Major League Baseball by professors specializing in physics, mechanical engineering, statistics and mathematics concluded there was less drag on the ball, causing more home runs. MLB still has not figured out why, and Manfred denied accusations by American League (AL) All-Star starter Justin Verlander and other pitchers that baseballs deliberately had been altered. “Baseball has done nothing, given no direction for an alteration in the baseball,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “The biggest flaw in that logic is that baseball somehow wants more home runs. If you sat in an owner’s meeting and listened to people talk about the way our game is being played, that is not the sentiment among the owners for whom I work. There is no desire on the part of ownership to increase the number of home

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OHN DALY is free to ride a cart during the week of the British Open—just not at Royal Portrush. Daly’s manager said Tuesday he is likely to play the Barbasol Championship next week in Kentucky, and the two-time major champion with osteoarthritis in his right knee already has been granted a cart to use in the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour event. Andy Pazder, the chief tournaments and competition officer for the PGA Tour, said Daly late last year was approved to use a cart through 2019 at PGA Tour events and PGA Tour Champions events that require walking. Daly, who has not played a regular PGA Tour event since The Greenbrier last summer, also is contemplating the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada, the following week. The R&A announced Tuesday that Daly had

A BASEBALL lies on the pitch during warm up for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Cleveland. AP

ARE BASEBALLS JUICED?

runs in the game. To the contrary, they’re concerned about how many we have.” Batters have hit 3,691 homers in 1,345 games, on pace for 6,668 over the full season. That would be 19 percent above last year’s 5,558, and 9 percent over the record 6,105 hit in 2017 that topped the Steroids Era high mark of 5,693 in 2000. “Pitchers have raised issues about particularly the tackiness and the seams on the baseball, and we do believe that those could be issues that are related to the performance of the ball and we’re trying to get our hands around,” Manfred said. He firmly rejected claims that MLB changed the ball to spark offense. “Manipulation of the baseball is a great conspiracy theory,” Manfred said. “How you

withdrawn from the British Open “due to a medical condition.” The nature of that condition—be it his arthritic knee or a spider bite—was not entirely clear. Daly has been dealing with arthritis in his knee, and he says he also was diagnosed as diabetic. That led him to request a cart for the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which the PGA of America approved after Daly submitted the required medical information. The R&A rejected his request for a cart over the weekend, saying it felt walking was an integral part of the tournament. “We must also ensure, as far as possible, the challenge is the same for all players in the field,” it said. Pulling out of the British Open, however, might also be linked to a social-media post from Daly on Sunday. In a Twitter note that he described as “My life

manipulate a human-dominated handmade manufacturing process in any consistent way, it’s a smarter human being than I.” Union Head Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman, said some of his members have sent balls to the players’ association office. “The ball suddenly changed and I don’t know why,” Clark said. “With something that seems to have changed as dramatically as it has, where does that put guys? How were those statistics represented? How did they manifest themselves in an overarching conversation so that you can compare yourself with somebody?” The balls have become baseball’s hot topic, especially among players who handle them the most. “I’d probably say the ball feels a little

chapter 84k,” Daly says he was on vacation in England last week when he was bitten by a spider without realizing it. He was taken to an emergency room on Friday—apparently at Uniontown Hospital in Pennsylvania, north of the Nemacolin Resort—and taken straight into surgery to remove a major infection in his abdominal area. He says he also was treated for early sepsis from a brown recluse. His post included hashtags that say he was in some serious pain, glad to be alive and the photos were too graphic. Daly won the PGA Championship in 1991 at Crooked Stick, making him exempt from qualifying for as long as he wants. He won the British Open at St. Andrews in 1995 and is exempt for that major through 2026 when he is 60. He still has past champion status on the PGA Tour, allowing him into tournaments that have room in the field. AP

different,” said Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito, who leads the major leagues with 11 wins. Astros ace Gerrit Cole maintains the feel is “tighter, smoother, compact.” “I had a game recently where I threw a ball out, it didn’t feel right,” he said. “The umpire threw me a new one, I threw that out. We went through several of them. And it wasn’t like the umpire was rushing me. We were on the same page. He was like, ‘Yeah, I know these feel weird.’” Clark and Verlander have questioned whether MLB has more input into the ball since Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. Inc., its manufacturer, was purchased last year by Seidler Equity Partners. Peter Seidler, the San Diego Padres general partner, has chief

oversight of all activities of Seidler Equity Partners. In addition, Manfred said MLB acquired a minority stake in Rawlings as part of the purchase. “That dynamic changes the perception and it changes the direct input that can be offered with respect to that piece of equipment, and it just happens to be one of the most important,” Clark said. Manfred said the optics were not an issue because MLB had been transparent in hiring outside scientists to investigate. “I see that as a positive,” he said of the purchase. “If we didn’t have some control over the company that produces our baseballs and something happens to that company, we would be in a very difficult position.” Rawlings manufactures major league

baseballs in Costa Rica, and then stores them in Washington, Missouri, at 70 degrees and 50 percent humidity. All teams store their balls at about 70 degrees, and Arizona and Colorado use humidors that maintain humidity at 50 percent. MLB has commissioned laser tests to measure seam width and height. Manfred said that if causes of the decreased drag are found, it is possible the ball’s specifications could be changed to decrease homers. “We just haven’t made a decision on that,” he said. “Changing the baseball is a mechanism by which you could manage the way the game is being played. We haven’t missed that idea. But if we were going to do it, we would do it in a way that was transparent to the media and the fans in advance.”

Daly can use cart on PGA Tour in Kentucky

JOHN DALY drives his cart off the 16th tee during the second round of the Professional Golfers’ Association Championship at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. AP

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IAMI—President Donald J. Trump’s company said Wednesday it has canceled a golf tournament with strippers serving as caddies that was to be held at Trump’s golf resort near Miami. The Washington Post reports the Trump Organization issued a statement saying the event would no longer take place because a children’s charity that was to benefit from it had pulled out. The statement said “all amounts paid will be refunded.” The Shadow All Star Tournament was organized by a Hialeah strip club, Shadow Cabaret. The club had advertised on Facebook and its web site that the event would be held Saturday at Trump National Doral. The tournament offered golfers a choice of dancers to be their “caddy girl.” Shadow Cabaret’s Marketing Director Emanuele Mancuso had said there would be no nudity at the resort. After the tournament, golfers and dancers were to go to a different venue for a burlesque show. A Trump Organization statement to the Washington Post said funds raised by the tournament were to go to the Miami All Stars charity. However, the organization’s director, Carlos Alamilla, told The Associated Press that he withdrew Wednesday because he wasn’t aware a strip club was involved. The Royal & Ancient, meanwhile, is raising the total prize money to $4.5 million for the Women’s British Open. R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers says the prize fund—up from $3.25 million a year ago—is an important first step toward achieving parity with the men’s game, but that it will take time. The British Open next week has a $10.75 million purse. The increase in prize money for the Women’s British Open comes in the first year of AIG’s five-year deal as the title sponsor. The winner of the Women’s British Open, to be played August 1 to 4 at Woburn in England, will receive $675,000. That makes it the second-highest payout among the women’s five majors. The US Women’s Open champion, Jeongeun Lee6, received $1 million from a $5.5 million purse last month. AP

Trump group cancels golf event with stripper caddies

INTENSE ACTION Atlanta United defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez

(5) collides with Saint Louis forward Russell Cicerone as they battle for the ball during a US Open Cup quarterfinal match recently in Kennesaw, Georgia. AP

Algae as spacecraft fuel? Possible, youth group says By Oliver Samson Correspondent

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AN kelp kick you off to space? A group of young Filipino spaceexploration proponents believes so. So much so these youth organized as Orbital Exploration (OrbX) is seeking funding from the government and spacefaring stakeholders abroad. “We are looking at the Philippine government, NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] and ESA [European Space Administration],” OrbX Co-Founder Dexter P. Baño Jr. told the BusinessMirror. Baño said they are also considering Russia, which has become a good friend of the Philippines, to ask for research support. Using software, the biofuel produced from algae would be tested on jet propulsions from small rocket models to bigger ones, he said. The aim of the research is to establish a particular ratio between rocket weight and the amount of algal fuel that provides rocket thrust, Baño explained.

Original, potential

ALGAL energy could revolutionize space exploration in the near future, according to Enzo Victor, another OrbX co-founder. “If proven that biofuel from algae can boost a spacecraft, I believe we can bring a new age of space exploration,” he said. As a renewable and environment-friendly source of energy, algae as fuel use can influence the downward movement of space, aviation and land-transport fuel prices, according to OrbX Co-Founder Paulo Sairel Don. Aside from being a renewable and environment-friendly energy source, algae also offers a number of benefits, Victor explained. He added that because an alga is a food source for small fishes and other aquatic animals, it’s an indirect source of human food. Algae also benefit marine biodiversity, Baño said. “Cultivating algae and protecting a particular endangered fish species in an area can prevent its extinction,” he added.

Leading to innovations

ACCORDING to Victor, domestic priorities have placed in the backburner research on the potential of algae to thrust rockets into space. “And if some people venture into a research like this, either they don’t get support or they get ignored,” he added. Many talented Filipinos have made remarkable contributions in various fields of science and technology, noted Victor. Hence,

DEXTER P. Baño Jr., co-founder during interview at a mall in Quezon City. OLIVER SAMSON OrbX believes the Philippine government should support research on these areas. “By supporting Filipino scientists in conducting a research like this, the government will attract more talented and passionate individuals to pursue theirs, which may lead to more innovations and inventions,” Don said. There’s an Internet buzz that fuel from algae has been proven to fly commercial and military aircraft. The buzz points to a Boeing 737 that took off from Houston with 50 percent of its fuel algae-based. Algal fuel may also eventually take its share of the land and aviation transportations market, which is currently dominated by fossil fuels, according to Victor.

Interest of the country

THE Filipino is gifted with talent in various scientific and technical fields, Baño noted. In fact, a number of Filipino experts in science and technology are employed overseas in different advanced fields, like aerospace, he added. Baño also expressed loss over talented Filipinos who have chosen to leave the country and work abroad due to lack of opportunity and support in order to share their talents here. He lauded the Balik Scientist Program of the Department of Science and Technology, which encourages Filipino scientists and experts in various technical fields working overseas to return home and share their expertise within the country.

Vroom, vroom

ALGAE require adequate sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide only to grow and generate energy, Baño said. It can grow and thrive in both salt and fresh waters. Carbon dioxide is more abundant in fresh water, he explained, especially in

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populated areas where garbage is directly or indirectly thrown into rivers and other bodies of water. Countries with high carbon emission have a higher chance to produce more algae, Baño explained. The ethanol produced from algae is more efficient than the ethanol converted from corn, he added. “Eighty percent of algae can be converted into methane,” Baño said. Unlike petroleum oil that only a few countries gifted with reserves can produce, algae can enable any country to produce fuel, Baño said. “The Philippines has a high carbon emission,” he said. The energy from algae could be converted into methane or kerosene, depending on the process of conversion, Baño explained. If proven capable of providing rockets with required power to travel into space, production of algal fuel may generate jobs across the globe for cultivating algae, he added.

Eventual goal

VICTOR admits that OrbX is still at its “infancy stage, and we have a lot to contribute.” “But it is an investment for the future of the Filipino people.” He emphasized that the Philippines and the rest of the world should be prepared for the worst scenario that could compromise the planet as habitat for mankind. “I think it’s about time we go deeper into the skills and talents of our great Filipino ingenuity,” Victor said. “It’s about time the Filipino takes advantage of his gifts and skills.” The research on the potential of algae as fuel source for space vehicles also aims to create awareness on biofuels as greener and

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renewable sources of energy, Baño said. Don had long expected that the worst scenario of global warming, which could leave the planet inhabitable, would prompt mankind to look for a new home outside the planet Earth. Mankind’s curiosity may also eventually lead to its colonization of space, he added. “With this research, we also want to create an awareness that Filipinos must think bigger and outside the box,” Baño said. “We really need scientists and innovators here in the Philippines.” The research on algae biofuel’s potential to power rockets is a pioneering work by an allFilipino group of space exploration exponents, Baño noted.

Research conclusions

THE group is confident research conclusions would point to algae as 100-percent fueling rockets for spacecrafts. But if that’s impossible, a rocket 50percent driven by fuel from algae will be a successful research just the same, Baño said. “This is a Filipino contribution to space exploration,” he said. “It’s time we explore the boundaries of science and technology because the possibilities are really limitless. If we can contribute to the space industry, then why not?” Baño emphasized the Philippines needs Filipino talent to advance itself from being a Third-world country to a First-world country. “Our goal is to make the Philippines part of the mission of other countries’ spacefaring,” Baño said. The OrbX is a nonprofit group of young Filipino space exploration advocates. The group is composed of, among others, a math wizard, a physicist, an electrical engineer, a space engineer and a astrophysics student.

BusinessMirror

MUSIC

PRINT

BETTER DAYS PREMIERES ‘NARARAMDAMAN’ MV

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by Harieth Tacis Escober Photo courtesy of Raina Cada

OLLOWING the release of their ‘Just Say It’ music video, fast-rising OPM band Better Days, composed of Daniel Paringit (vocalist and lead guitarist), Rosner Mabuti (keyboardist and backing vocals), Gelo Cabigon (bassist), and G2 Ventura (drummer), premiered the official music video of their song ‘Nararamdaman’ at The 70’s Bistro in Anonas, Quezon City.

‘Nararamdaman’ music video is the third release from their debut EP of the same title. The song speaks about romance, falling in love, trust, respect, faithfulness, loyalty and the emotions that these experiences bring. The video revolves around Daniel Paringit and Nikka Melchor of the vowels they orbit. They both played graffiti artists, who are always on the run and find solace in an abandoned house. Here, they developed a unique bond founded by their common interest in music which eventually makes them more deeply connected

to each other. Directors Darwin Hernandez and Jem Cadeliña allowed Paringit and Melchor to showcase their acting skills. The audience were also treated by the performances of Gracenote, the vowels they orbit and Kurei before the showing of the video and Better Days full-set performance capped off the night. It was truly an eventful night. ‘Nararamdaman’, along with “Just Say It” and “Sige Lang”, are available on YouTube. Their debut EP is also available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Deezer and Amazon Music.

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Sound BusinessMirror

JULY 14, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

MUS

HARMONY, COMF

WHAT LIES BEHIND TAH

E

VERYONE is going through their own personal battles in life and a lot of us have yet to overcome many of them.

COELI

As we go on looking for solutions to the countless number of our struggles, we try to seek comfort and relief in order to help us and motivate us to get back on track, whether it’s through family, friends, loved ones, or even through something just as simple as music. In making music, Coeli is

ALF

not just your ordinary artist. Because of her background in musical therapy, she creates music not only for entertainment and amusement purposes but for comfort and solace. She is one of the few artists who writes music about owning your strengths and weaknesses, finding comfort in loved ones, and loving yourself.

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soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | JULY 14, 2019

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SIC ON PRINT

FORT & PURPOSE

HAN NA 2 THIS AUGUST

CLARA BENIN

MUNIMUNI

FONSO MANALASTAS

Many of her fans, who are mostly millennials, resort to listening to her angelic voice and soothing music as a source of comfort, or maybe even strength, in order to deal with the daily battles that they’re going through and to remind them that they are not alone. This year, Coeli, with the help of Stages Sessions, will be

producing a repeat of the first successful Tahan Na gig in July of 2018 dubbed as Tahan Na 2. This is a night for those who are fighting their own struggles, who are feeling alone or lost and are looking for an experience that will comfort them and strengthen them—a place to remind them that everything will be alright. Performing along with Coeli

are indie-folk band Munimuni and acoustic Filipino singer/ songwriter Clara Benin. “Tahan Na II” also features spoken word artist Alfonso Manalastas who writes about people and their stories that dwell vastly on perspective and nuances. Let Coeli and the other artists be your source of comfort, strength and hope as we invite

you to join us in this celebration of resilience and empowerment through music and poetry on August 3, 9PM at Warehouse Eight Makati. For more information and other updates follow Stages Session on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You may also subscribe on their YouTube channel @stagessession.

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JULY 14, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

Sound trip BusinessMirror

MUSIC ON PRINT

INTRODUCING SPOTIFY LITE SMALL, FAST, JUST AS LOUD

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USIC is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of your network connectivity, data plan, and the phone you’re using. That’s why today, we’re officially introducing Spotify Lite. Spotify Lite is a small, fast and simplified version of our unparalleled music experience that works much like the main Spotify app - search and play your favorite songs and artists, save them, share them with others, discover new music, and enjoy playlists made just for you - but with a few extra features making it ideal for older devices and operating systems. “Spotify Lite was built from the ground up based on user feedback from around the world, allowing millions more to enjoy the world’s

best music experience, especially in areas with limited bandwidth and phone storage,” says Kalle Persson, Senior Product Manager at Spotify. Spotify Lite can be downloaded separately, available for both Free and Spotify Premium users, and used either alongside or independently from the main Spotify app on all Android devices running 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or higher. “Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing music markets in the world, but music streaming is only just taking hold. With mobile phone adoption skyrocketing and many users coming online for the first time, Spotify Lite opens up the Spotify experience to millions more music fans,” says Gautam

Talwar, Managing Director, Spotify Southeast Asia. With Spotify Lite, controlling your phone data and storage is a breeze. At only 10MB, Spotify Lite is quick to install and load while offering the same great listening experience that lets you discover, play, and enjoy millions of songs. You’ll also get the ability to set a data limit and get a notification when you reach it, so you can stop worrying about data and just focus on finding your next favourite song. No need to worry if you’re running low on storage—Spotify Lite also allows you to control your cache, and clear it with a single tap. Here are the most important Spotify Lite facts:

Small and fast. The app is only 10MB in size; Data friendly. Useful when the network is patchy or when you’re struggling with Internet on the go, or if you’d just prefer not to spend too much mobile data; Download the Spotify Lite app separately. Available for both Free and Spotify Premium users, and can be used either alongside or independently from the main Spotify app on all Android devices running 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or higher; and Spotify Lite is available on Google Play 36 markets, including Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, with more markets and features to follow as we continue to improve the Spotify Lite experience.

Beer brand San Miguel connects millennials, older generation

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S there really a chance to connect the older generation with the younger ones? At a time when the generation gap is more pronounced than ever, the country’s leading beer brand released its latest music videos offering both generations a reason to bond with each other.

On May 14 San Miguel Pale Pilsen made available on Facebook and YouTube two music videos in celebration of lasting friendships, which is part of the brand’s campaign aptly themed “Kahit Kailan, Walang Iwanan”. The first music video, “Side A”, perfectly captures how older disco-goers party in the day, complete with flared pants, long hair, disco music and their favorite beer. The second music video, “Side B”, is a more modern take, showing the millennials having fun in 2019, hitting clubs in street wear, showing off hip-hop moves, partying to electro beats and

enjoying the same bottle of beer. The videos, however, have a secret hiding in plain sight: Grab a friend and play these two videos side-by-side on two mobile phones and the videos interact as one. A basketball shot in “Side A” becomes a video game alley-oop pass in “Side B”. Electro-infused vocals in one video is harmonized by Motownstyled backup singers on the other. A classic disco dance move in one video is complemented by a pop-and-lock move in the other. The experience is a mind-blowing cinematic ride that encourages viewers

to grab a friend and watch together by simply pressing play simultaneously. No downloads or website required. What sets this campaign apart from previous campaigns that have used dual mobile-video executions is the merging of standalone songs from two contrasting genres to bridge the gap between generations. It is a triumph of painstaking filming, songwriting, choreography and production design. Themed #WalangIwanan, the event launch at WhiteSpace in Makati City was attended by celebrities led by music icon Jet Pangan, actress Ina Raymundo and Internet celebrity Kimpoy Feliciano. Leony R. Garcia

How one firm sees Millennials and Gen Z disrupting markets

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ANKS need to defend their turf as young consumers start to shape the U.S. economy, while Apple Inc. and Google Inc. are well-positioned to benefit, according to Morgan Stanley.

Millennials and Generation Z— children born post-2000s—will provide an above-average boost to the economy over a 20- to 30-year horizon, economists including Ellen Zentner wrote in a research paper dated June 9. They asked the firm’s analysts

for ideas about which stocks might gain. Big banks may suffer as younger customers, who are digital-banking or even mobile-banking natives, shift to financial-technology and Big Tech firms like PayPal Holdings Inc., Amazon.com

Inc. and Google Inc., according to analysts led by Betsy Graseck. They see Bank of America Corp. as a winner in mobile, Capital One Financial Corp. leading the way in products tailored to those under 18, and First Republic Bank ahead on products tailored to millennials. Discover Financial Services is succeeding with its strong customer service, they said. Young Americans tend to spend a disproportionate share of money on things like cellphones, apparel and food away from home, analysts led by Kimberly Greenberger wrote. Overlaying youth trends with demographic data, they see the likes of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Nike Inc.

as among consumer-discretionary names likely to benefit. Apple is well-positioned to benefit given its tech-enabled health-care offerings, along with employee-mobility and workforce-efficiency service providers like Salesforce.com Inc. and Adobe Inc., according to analysts led by Katy Huberty. The changing preferences of generations won’t be good for every company, though. Analysts led by Ravi Shanker see legacy parcel companies United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. being hurt by trends toward retailer incentives for picking up items at stores and delivering online orders out of stores. Bloomberg News

FDA should act fast amid youth vaping ‘epidemic’

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EEN vaping has skyrocketed in just a few years: Between 2017 and 2018, the share of highschool students using e-cigarettes rose by 78 percent, to one in five. Unlike other tobacco products, e-cigarettes have not been subject to a government health and safety review because of multiple decisions by FDA delaying that review. At long last, the FDA now says it wants to end this regulatory limbo, and move up a deadline for manufacturers to show that their products meet basic standards by two years — requiring action in 10 months, rather than by 2022. Even that is too long to wait. When the FDA assumed oversight of the e-cigarettes in 2016, it gave manufactures until 2018 to apply for review, at which point the agency would evaluate the products’ design, ingredients, health risks and impact on youth use. Shortly after President Trump took office, the agency moved that deadline back four years. In the meantime, manufacturers could continue to advertise and sell products already on the market. The thinking was that e-cigarettes could serve as a stop-smoking aid for adult smokers, or at least as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. “We must recognize the potential for innovation to lead to less harmful products,” the FDA’s then-

NO time to lose. BLOOMBERG director Scott Gottlieb said in 2017. The problem is that while the evidence on adult substitution is ambiguous, the growing threat to teenagers is not. Young people have taken up vaping in vast numbers: As of last year, more than 3 million high-schoolers and 500,000 middle-schoolers were using e-cigarettes. In December, the surgeon general called youth vaping an “epidemic,” noting that since 2014 e-cigarette use has overtaken traditional smoking among children. Public-health advocates fear the rise could reverse years of progress in cutting youth smoking rates.

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E-cigarettes are not harmless. In the US, many contain sky-high levels of addictive nicotine—often three times above the legal limit for Europe. There’s strong evidence that they are habit-forming; that most contain potentially toxic substances; that they may cause cardiovascular damage; and that shoddy products can explode and cause injury. Research also suggests that e-cigarette use increases the risk that young people will go on to smoke traditional cigarettes. The FDA’s proposed new 10-month deadline came after the American Academy of

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Pediatrics and other public-health groups sued the agency over the issue, and a federal judge ruled in their favor. The political landscape is changing, too: Vaping is now the subject of multiple congressional investigations, and San Francisco recently banned the sale of e-cigarettes until the FDA reviews their safety. Belatedly, a new consensus is emerging: Youth e-cigarette use is a serious public-health concern. There’s no time to waste. The court will say whether the FDA should adopt its proposed 2020 deadline—or a stricter one. The sooner the agency acts, the better. Bloomberg Opinion

Startup with AI-driven platform bags $6M-funding

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By Rizal Raoul Reyes

AKARTA, Indonesia-based SweetEscape, the photography platform driven by artificial intelligence, or AI, announced last June that it raised $6 million in Series A round funding, co-led by Openspace Ventures and Jungle Ventures with participation from Burda Principal Investments and existing investors. Openspace Ventures focuses on Series-A and Series-B investments in technology companies based in Southeast Asia. Key areas of investment for Openspace Ventures include fintech, healthtech, edutech, consumer applications and cloudbased solutions. Openspace Ventures is currently investing its second fund and has approximately $225 million in total committed capital. Openspace has invested in 25 companies, a statement said. Jungle Ventures is a Singapore-based venture capital firm that invests in and helps build tech category leaders from Asia. Burda Principal Investments is part of Hubert Burda Media, which is headquartered in Munich. Burda has been a pioneer in adopting digital technology and is a trusted partner for the long-term success of digital business. In a statement, SweetEscape said the fresh round of financing will be used to develop its AI technology and to strengthen its presence across Asia. The company currently has over 100 employees across Jakarta, Singapore and Manila. The company said it plans to double the team size by the end of this year. SweetEscape was founded in 2017 by David Soong and Emile Etienne, who were also the founders of Bridestory, Southeast Asia’s largest wedding marketplace platform, which was recently acquired by Tokopedia. The founders’ vision is to build a global photography platform that will bring accessibility and change the way consumers appreciate memories and photographers globally manage their business. SweetEscape said it has managed to scale to more than 500 cities across more than a hundred countries globally “with thousands of photographers in [its] network within the past two years.” “Our ultimate mission is to empower

the photographers’ community while providing consumers with affordable access to quality photos anywhere around the world. I have been a photographer for the past 20 years,” David Soong, CEO and Founder of SweetEscape, was quoted in the statement as saying. Soong added thata 70 percent of a photographer’s time is spent not taking photos. “Our platform makes their [life] easier with us handling 80 percent of the photographer’s workflow and postproduction, increasing photographers’ productivity and income and allowing them to pursue their passion,” Soong said. “To do this, our goal is to leverage AI image processing technology to accelerate and automate the post-production process.”’ The company said it is focused on being the first AI imaging technology in the region to lead the innovation and the transformation in

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the $80-billion photography industry. The business was first established to solve a very simple problem, which is to allow consumers to discover local photographers while traveling and to ensure the memories are captured by locally curated professional photographers. SweetEscape claims to having serviced thousands of customers across hundreds of countries. “The bookings have more than quadrupled since launching in 2017,” it added. “We started SweetEscape to address a problem in the Travel photography segment but as we continue to scale, we started to observe a broader usage of our platform beyond travel,” Emile Etienne, COO and Founder of SweetEscape, was quoted in the statement as saying. “The growth in nontravel—birthdays, baby showers, graduations, family photoshoots and others—[has]

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consistently exceeded our expectations.” Etienne added that the new funding will allow the company to “focus on strengthening our foothold in Asia while building our presence in new markets around the world.” “Sweet Escape is addressing a huge consumer shift in behavior towards the experience economy and we look forward to fully supporting the SweetEscape team in creating a deeper technology platform to extend their value globally,” Hian Goh, Partner at Openspace Ventures, added. “Given our multiple successful investments in the travel space and also software enablement of freelancers – we could clearly see the immense growth opportunity ahead to solve the gaps for consumers seeking experiences, and photographers seeking efficiency globally,” Amit Anand, Managing Partner at Jungle Ventures said. “The founders’ [respective] background makes them perfect to build this business and we are excited to be part of the journey.” SweetEscape said it has also started moving into the business photography segment, providing food photography, realestate photography, headshots and more. The company said it aims to provide “a very seamless experience for local business owners to create quality visual content for their businesses and allowing them to scale more efficiently through better imaging.” “SweetEscape is at the forefront of the increasingly dynamic travel and photography industry,” the company said. “With a tap of a finger, customers can book a photo session in less than a minute, edited photo can then be downloaded through the app within 48 hours.”