BusinessMirror July 29, 2019

BSP: MAJOR RISKS STILL ON RADAR IN 2019 By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

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‘BAMBOL’ NEW P.O.C. PRESIDENT Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (right) is elected new president of the Philippine Olympic Committee during Sunday’s special elections at the Century Park Hotel. The POC’s immediate past president, boxing chief Ricky Vargas, gives the cycling federation head a congratulatory handshake. Story on C3. ROY DOMINGO

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

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HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said major risks are still on its “radar” for this year, but vowed to keep a vigilant eye on these local and global developments to ensure a strong growth for the Philippines this year. Among these risks are the protracted USChina trade tensions, the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, and the US-Iran standoff on nuclear deal. These tensions have not been only affecting direct economic growth of advanced economies but are also increasing the risk of uncertainty in the global front, Governor Benjamin Diokno said when he addressed local bankers at a reception marking the BSP’s 70th anniversary and launching a book on the history of central banking in the country. On the domestic front, Diokno said the BSP

sees challenges arising from severe weather disturbances, and the delays in infrastructure projects. He called these risks “short term” and vowed to use policy to shield the economy from adverse effects coming from these risks. “We have our radars. We see the risks, threats, and even gaps and opportunities. We address all these—and we have our tool kits that we would willingly use as needed,” he said. “Despite the risks, we remain optimistic that the Philippines provides a unique value proposition that is not short-lived. It is anchored on a dynamic track record of a durable, resilient and sustainable economic growth,” he said. The BSP also reiterated its stance to protect not only the inflation numbers of the country but its ability to produce a good economic growth number, as well. “More than the notable statistics, for us in the BSP, the bottom line always is the Filipino people.

BusinessMirror

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A broader look at today’s business n Monday, July 29, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 292

Fallout from shutdown of PCSO lotto weighed

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HE President’s decision to shut down Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) lottery operations may only deepen and widen the underground economy, according to local economists.

This, as leading members of the House of Representatives sought a full investigation of the alleged corruption that led President Duterte to suspend all PCSO

operations late Friday, stunning licensed small lotto operators and workers, and putting in limbo the fate of the government’s multibillion-peso charity opera-

tions that ordinary Filipinos rely on for medical subsidy. The resulting revenue shortfall is also seen to impact the Department of Finance’s projections.

₧11.678 billion

PCSO’s financial assistance, subsidy and contributions to various funds and causes, per the 2018 COA audit as cited by a congressman The President’s spokesman said at the weekend Duterte lost his cool over the massive alleged shortchanging—at the rate of 60 to 70 percent—by PCSO of the national government when it declares its income, but offered no details of this. The Department of Justice said it was ready for lawsuits from disrupted businesses as a result of the President’s order. See “PCSO,” A2

Probe rice imports, Villar told

See “Rice,” A2

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LABOR SETS PROTESTS VS. SECURITY OF TENURE BILL JUNKING; REFILING NEXT By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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ABOR groups will mount a mass demonstration on Monday to signal the start of a series of protest expected to culminate in a big indignation rally over the junking of the security of tenure (SOT) bill last week. Partido Manggagawa (PM) said the first wave of protests will be held in Metro Manila and Cebu to show the outrage of workers over President Duterte’s decision to veto the bill, which took nearly two decades to go through the legislative mill before getting bicameral approval, only to be scuttled at the last minute as business groups mounted a last-ditch lobby against it.

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

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@jearcalas

FARMERS’ group urged Sen. Cy nthia A . Villar to focus on the reported undervaluation of rice imports, which caused the decline in farmgate prices and the closure of some mills. Federation of Free Farmers Inc. (FFF) said Villar, who will again chair the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food in the 18th Congress, should not shrug off the issue of undervaluation due to its adverse impact on local farmers. FFF made the statement after Villar was quoted in news reports saying that the issue of undervaluation of rice shipments is not her problem but that of the Bureau of Customs.

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“The security of tenure bill is the latest victim of killing under the Duterte regime. Workers vow to continue the fight to end ‘Endo,‘” declared Wilson Fortaleza, spokesman of Partido Manggagawa, referring to Duterte’s 2016 campaign promise to “end Endo [end of contract],” the catch-all term for illegal contractualization. Dubbed the “Black Monday Protest,”the noise barrage in Metro Manila will be attended by members of PM, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), at the Boy Scout Circle in Quezon City at 5 p.m. Sentro Secretary-General Joshua Mata said the militant labor group will also hold a small protest action in Mendiola, Manila, in the morning. See “Labor,” A2

June inflation for poorest slowest since Dec. 2017

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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And for this reason, we are pro-growth. Remember the maxim: A rising tide lifts all boats. An improved economy should benefit all, and so government economic policy should focus on broad economic efforts,” he said. In his earlier statements, Diokno—a known pro-growth BSP governor—said that the need for further monetary accommodation will depend, in part, on how strongly the Philippines’s growth drivers “kick into higher gear.” In the first quarter of the year, growth in the country disappointed as it entered the 5 percent territory because of the government’s inability to pass a budget on time. As such, several local and international think tanks believe the Philippines will grow slower than earlier expected for 2019. The latest of these is the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which cut the Philippines’s growth number to 6 percent down to 6.5 percent.

BETTORS of Lotto are seen at one outlet in Pasay City in this 2018 BusinessMirror file photo. President Duterte ordered the temporary shutdown of all gaming operations of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and his spokesman said Sunday the President was dismayed by information reaching him that PCSO has been cheating the government of its proper share of income by up to 60 to 70 percent. NONIE REYES

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

ITH cheaper food items, the poorest Filipinos experienced the slowest increase in commodity prices in nearly two years, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). In the latest Consumer Price Index for the Bottom 30% Income Households, PSA data showed inflation eased to 4 percent in June 2019. This was the slowest since December 2017 when inflation for the poorest was at 3.7 percent. In the January-to-June period, PSA data showed inflation for the poorest averaged 4.7 percent. This was slower than the 5.8 percent average in the same period in 2018. “The annual increase of the food index in the country slowed down to 3.9 percent during the month. Food inflation in May 2019 was noted at 4.3 percent and in June 2018, 6.2 percent,” PSA said. Data showed the 3.9-percent food inflation was the same rate it posted in April. This remains the slowest food inflation posted since this year and last year. PSA data also showed food inflation was the slowest in the National Capital

Region at 1.2 percent. In Areas outside of NCR (AONCR), food inflation was at 3.9 percent, the slowest in 2018 and 2019. It may be noted that inflation for rice was at 0.9 percent in June nationwide. There was a decrease in rice prices in NCR by 4.4 percent but in AONCR, price increases slowed to 0.9 percent. Fish prices slowed to 7.6 percent in June 2019, from 7.8 percent in June 2018 nationwide while meat prices only averaged 1.9 percent this year from 2.4 percent last year. “Inflation for the poorest eased to 4 percent, the slowest since December 2017 when it was at 3.7 percent. Average inflation experienced by the Bottom 30 percent in the first semester of 2019 was at 4.7 percent, already slower than the full-year 2018 figure of 7.2 percent,” PSA said. Previously, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the poorest Filipinos are very sensitive to food prices, and this may be explained by the difference in the inflation felt by all households versus the inflation experienced by the bottom 30 percent or the poorest Filipinos. The weight of food in the basket of goods used to compute inflation experienced by the poorest 30 percent is 70 percent— against 39 percent for all households.

US 51.1070 n JAPAN 0.4705 n UK 63.6742 n HK 6.5388 n CHINA 7.4355 n SINGAPORE 37.3835 n AUSTRALIA 35.5194 n EU 56.9792 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.6274

Source: BSP (26 July 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, July 29, 2019

‘Substandard steel bars pose big risk in disaster-prone PHL’

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

SENIOR lawmaker on Sunday said he will ask the House of Representatives to look into alleged collusion of government agencies and local steel makers in passing substandard steel bars being used in constructing high-rise buildings in the country. Buhay Par t y-list Rep. Lito Atienza said he will personally work with engineer Emilio Morales, former chairman of the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (Asep), to address this issue. “I am particularly alarmed by the lack of proper testing and labeling of steel rebars [reinforced steel bars]. We should not wait for the ‘Big One’ to strike before we act to save thousands of lives,” Atienza said.

Rice. . .

Continued from A1

“We are very disappointed with Senator Villar’s reaction of washing her hands off the problem and passing the buck to other people,” FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said in a recent statement. “She was the main author of the rice tariffication law, so she should bear some responsibility

PCSO. . .

Continued from A1

‘Wrong policy’

IN separate interviews at the weekend, Action for Economic Reform (AER) Coordinator Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III and political economist Maria Ella C. Oplas of the De La Salle University agreed that shutting down the lotto is not good policy. Sta. Ana said this will only drive the operations underground while Oplas said removing corrupt officials may be a better solution to the problem. “[It’s the] wrong policy. It will just drive the activity underground,” Sta. Ana told the BusinessMirror via SMS over the weekend. Oplas said for many of the poor, it is a means to achieve an end, especially when they become desperate. As such, they will resort to alternatives that could lead to the underground economy. She said the underground economy is unregulated and does not provide resources for essentials such as health. The biggest loser when it comes to these kinds of policies are Filipinos. Instead of shutting down lotto operations, Oplas said it would have been better to just remove the officials who committed misdeeds. “I believe that it will aggravate the underground economy in our country. Gambling is not limited to economics. For some, it is engraved in their systems and its hard to let go. Hence, they will look for alternatives. Which is the problem,” Oplas told BusinessMirror. Ultimately, the decision to shut down PCSO’s lotto operations will have dire consequences for the public health programs and investor confidence, she said. National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon told BusinessMirror that while the President’s decision will not have an impact on poverty, it will have an impact on PCSO funding for social programs. Private sector economist Calixto V. Chikiamco however, told the BusinessMirror that the suspension of PCSO’s lotto operations which are often used to finance medical projects, which could now be discontinued due to the shutdown. Chikiamco added that this also does not

In a recent news conference, Morales said substandard rebars find their way in construction sites due to the inaccurate way of testing steel products in the country. He added that substandard construction materials, particularly rebars, would not withstand a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. According to Atienza, the country has talented Filipino architects and structural engineers but the problem is the seeming corruption

for the flood of rice imports that is now wreaking havoc on the lives of millions of small rice farmers,” Montemayor added. He said Villar should be “more proactive in addressing the urgent problems besetting the rice sector at the moment” since she chairs the Committee on Agriculture and Food. The BOC earlier disclosed that it will look into rice imports that arrived in the country from January to June, to determine if the

bode well for investor confidence given the uncertainty it creates. “Part of the lotto revenues fund the medical projects of PCSO for the poor. We can expect these projects to be cut,” Chikiamco said. “But the greater risk is increased investment uncertainty and policy instability which will turn off investors.”

Congressional probe

LAWMAKERS on Sunday called for an investigation to assess the impact of Duterte’s order. Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco said an in-depth investigation will not only address alleged corruption in the agency but also look into the impact on the economy. Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin said Congress needs to know from the DOF how it will make up for the resulting revenue shortfall and how this new development will affect the social services, education and sports budgets. “I believe his action should prompt a more in-depth investigation into the gaming schemes not only to ensure that it is free from corruption, but to also assess its impact on the economy and the programs being funded by the PCSO,” Velasco said. “This way, we will have a better assessment of the situation. President Duterte is consistent in his strong stance against corruption and we are fully supportive of this policy,” he added.

P63.1-B income

GARBIN said Congress will wait for the briefing by the Executive Branch on Duterte’s decision to stop PCSO gaming operations. “We need to know the details because the PCSO is a significant government corporation,” he said. Citing the Commission on Audit (COA), Garbin said PCSO income in 2018 was P63.097 billion, while operating expenses were P49.285 billion, profit before taxes was P13.811 billion, and Net Income was P1.55 billion. He added the PCSO’s financial assistance, subsidy, and contributions to various funds and causes was at P11.678 billion, per the 2018 COA audit.

Boon to jueteng?

WITH the stoppage of all PCSO betting games, Garbin said the illegal jueteng operations will be swamped with bets from millions of people.

in government agencies and local government units responsible in issuing building permits and in strictly adhering to the national building codes. “Lives are at stake here, especially since we are located in a seismic area. There should be no shortcuts and they [steel makers] should strictly comply with international steel standards; we will investigate them to find out if they are fooling us,” said Atienza, a former threeterm mayor of Manila. He believes that local steel makers are not violating laws related to manufacturing steel products, but when they stretch the law by colluding with government agencies to have a grade 40 steel bar passed as grade 60, that is what worries him. Morales added that substandard construction materials, particularly rebars, are still being used to build high-rise commercial buildings and residential condominiums in key business districts. Based on a study Morales conducted a decade ago with a title “A Clear and Present Danger,’ he enumerated the real dangers of the quenched tempering (QT) process.

shipments were undervalued. BOC Assistant Commissioner for the Post Clearance Audit Group Vincent Philip C. Maronilla told the BusinessMirror in an earlier interview that the values declared by traders were inconsistent. Maronilla made the announcement after the BusinessMirror reported on July 9 that the FFF suspected the undervaluation of rice shipments by importers and traders.

“I therefore appeal to the Philippine National Police to boost their anti-jueteng operations now because more jueteng money means more funds for crime lords, warlords, smugglers, drug lords and their protectors,” he added. Meanwhile, Minority Leader Bienvenido AbanteJr.saidtheminorityagreesthatgovernment should be relentless and uncompromising in its campaign against corruption. “Personally, I believe that gambling is an issue of corruption, not only in terms of money, but also in terms of morals. This is the reason I have always been against it,” he said.

‘NG cheated of 60-70 percent’

THE PCSO has been“cheating off the government of its rightful share” by up to 60 percent to 70 percent, Malacanang said on Sunday. Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo revealed that the President discovered the massive corruption involves a“grand conspiracy of all players and participants of all gaming operations.” Panelo said in a radio interview on Sunday the corruption was “massive enough to make him decide to stop all of it. Because the government is being cheated of its rightful share. The government is losing around 60 percent to 70 percent. If the scoundrels are the ones who are benefiting from this, as far as the President is concerned, why are we still continuing this project [PCSO]?” In a video message late Friday night, the President ordered the stoppage of all gaming activities under PCSO, including lotto, Small Town Lottery and Peryahan ng Bayan due to massive corruption. Why he did not detail the corruption allegations, the President said he will talk more about it in due time. In the same interview, Panelo said that the corruption also involved local officials and the courts. For instance, the Palace spokesman said, a gaming operator was allegedly found not paying his dues which may have already reached a hundred million pesos, but was still allowed to operate. Moreover, courts allegedly issue injunctions to stop the government from going after those behind these activities. “There is a gaming operator who was found not paying his dues, which already amounted

“Lives are at stake here, especially since we are located in a seismic area. There should be no shortcuts and they [steel makers] should strictly comply with international steel standards.” —Atienza

In China and Taiwan, the use of QTbars have been banned since last year. “I am alarmed by Engineer Morales’s study and its findings. We should protect lives and property at all costs since the Philippines is a seismic belt country. Lives are more important than profit by big businesses. If there is corruption in the dealings between business and government, we will ferret this out,” Atienza added. Last Congress, the House of Representatives asked government agencies to conduct an audit and evaluation on the structural integrity of various edifices and file charges against contractors and manufacturers who have been using substandard and low-grade steel products.

Citing its computations, FFF earlier said rice importers could have shortchanged the government by up to P5 billion by misdeclaring the value of their shipments. He said rice shipments from March 5 to June 30, which are covered by the rice trade liberalization law, reached 966,690 metric tons. Tariffs assessed on 966,690 MT of rice amounted to around P4 billion to P4.5 billion, according to Maronilla.

to a hundred million then it still continues to operate, then a court issued an injunction. Where in the world can you see something like that? That means it [court] is involved. That is why the President ordered the stoppage. He strikes the sword of his office [in] this kind of massive corruption,” he said. But Panelo said he still does not know whether the PCSO ban would be temporary or permanent.

Spare lotto—Lacson

MEANWHILE, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Sunday that the State-run lottery, the proceeds of which are used to subsidize medical bills of ordinary Filipinos, should have been excluded from a presidential directive suspending gaming franchises. “If the intention is to stop gambling altogether,” Lacson said, “then all forms of gambling, including the Pagcor-regulated games like casinos and online should have been included.” The senator pointed out that “since it doesn’t appear that way, then lotto outlets should have been spared since there are no reports of revenue cheating as far as lotto operations are concerned.” Lacson explained,“this was because they are computerized and automated and, therefore, closely monitored—unlike STL where PCSO, for millions of reasons, has consistently resisted to make it more transparent and foolproof.” The Palace closure order is expected to be appealed by affected parties that indicated plans to plead with the President to reconsider his directive.

Ready for lawsuits

JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Sunday said the government is anticipating legal actions, including damage suits from those affected by Duterte’s order to shut down all games operated by the PCSO, due to “massive corruption.” “Such damage suits are always possible but the government will be ready to handle them,” Guevarra said in a text message to Businessmirror. Guevarra said Duterte has the authority to order the suspension, even the termination of these games upon prima facie proof that licensees have failed to comply with their legal obligation to remit the correct amount of the government’s share in revenues or that their

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P0.95/liter cut in price of gasoline on Tuesday O IL companies announced over the weekend that they will slash gasoline prices, but will increase the price of diesel and kerosene on Tuesday. On Sunday, oil firms said they will implement a P0.95 per liter rollback in gasoline effective 6 a.m. of July 30. At the same time, diesel and kerosene prices will go up by P0.15 per liter and P0.10 per liter,

Labor. . .

respectively. Pilipinas Shell, Petro Gazz and Seaoil Philippines announced their respective price adjustments. Other oil companies will follow suit. Most local oil firms adjust their prices every Tuesday morning. Phoenix Petroleum led the price decrease in gasoline at 6 a.m. of Sunday. It reduced gas prices by P1 per liter. Lenie Lectura

Continued from A1

The Cebu protest will be held at the Gate 1 of the Mactan Economic Zone in Lapu-Lapu City, also at 5 p.m. “After these events, labor groups will be meeting to discuss the big indignation rally,” Mata said. During these demonstrations, Fortaleza said they will hold Duterte accountable for “killing” the SOT bill in favor of business interests. Local and foreign business groups had campaigned against the SOT as crafted by the 17th Congress, despite observations the final version—the Senate bill as adopted by the House of Representatives—was “watered down.” According to an exclusive B usiness M irror report, a briefing paper sent to Duterte by some employers estimated that in manufacturing alone, business will have to shell out P49 billion annually as additional cost to comply with the measure if it is signed into law. “Workers will not forget this betrayal by Duterte of his promise to end Endo. He is parroting the lame capitalist alibi that businesses will die if workers are made regular. Duterte’s promise to end Endo is dead,” Fortaleza said.

Refiling next

THE protests also aim to drum up public support

for their renewed attempt to have the SOT bill refiled in the 18th Congress. According to labor leaders, several lawmakers have already committed to file the SOT bill, including Senators Joel Villanueva and Risa Hontiveros, and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Party-list Representative Raymond Mendoza. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto prodded Malacañang at the weekend to convene a tripartite summit before it submits to Congress its version of another SOT bill, to avert another veto. This, even as Villanueva ruled out a congressional override option to reverse the

operations are tainted with corruption. “It should be emphasized that a gaming license is not a contractual right but a mere privilege that may be revoked at any time by the State,” Guevarra added. The DOJ chief also denied that the government deprived PCSO-licensed gaming operators of due process for shutting down their operations without showing concrete evidence of corruption and without giving them an opportunity to refuse such allegation. Guevarra said his order for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct an investigation was precisely to give PCSO officials and licensees an opportunity to show that there is no corruption or fraud in their operations. “The President may order the suspension of operations based on preliminary information available to him, much like a judicial restraining order, but even more powerful because it emanates from a constitutional duty to faithfully execute our laws, if not from the inherent police power of the State,” the justice secretary explained. Except for its gaming operations, Guevarra said the PCSO will continue to perform its mandate although with limited resources now. Since the President issued the order, police have closed more than 2,000 lotto stores and other gaming outlets. Aside from Lotto, also covered by the order are Small Town Lottery (STL) and Peryahan ng Bayan. The NBI, upon Guevarra’s order, has started investigating alleged anomalies in the gaming activities of PCSO, particularly the nonremittance of the government’s proper share, among other corrupt practices. “I believe that until this investigation is completed and people responsible for cheating the government have been unmasked, PCSO gaming operations such as Lotto and STL, which are otherwise legal, may not resume,”Guevarra said.

Impact on UHC

THE DOF said over the weekend it is studying the financial impact of the PCSO ban on the funding for Universal Health Care Act next year. Despite this, Malacañang stood by the President’s decision, saying it would rather get its revenues or funds for medical assistance for PCSO beneficiaries from other sources, like

Palace veto. “Override is an option but I don’t think it’s a viable solution,”Villanueva said over the weekend, adding that“some lawmakers are not comfortable with it. Villanueva, however, confirmed his readiness to refile the vetoed measure. “We will refile the bill because it is the right thing to do,” Villanueva vowed.

Palace told: Write own version

FOR his part, Recto signaled determination to push passage of the bill. “But this time, the Executive Branch should write its own version and send it to Congress with an attached presidential certification as to its urgency,” Recto said, adding: “If it has changed its mind, then the version it now wants must be in black and white, so nothing will be lost in translation.” Recto explained this is needed because the Palace veto message did not cite the specific provisions that triggered the veto. “Let the burden of proposition fall on them this time,” the Senate President Pro Tempore said. “But this will be for the information of Congress only, and should not mean that it must be the one passed en toto.” Better still, Recto recommended that Malacañang convene a tripartite summit on endo, with business, labor and the government in a frank exchange of views. “Last, this episode underscores once again the need to strengthen its liaison work with Congress. I sympathize with Senator Villanueva who had worked hard on this bill...This was not an easy bill to write. Joel made sure that it was a balanced one. It was a tightrope act under stormy conditions. Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri recalled it was Duterte who reminded lawmakers about the Security of Tenure bill in his State of the Nation Address in 2018, only to veto it. “The Cabinet should get their act together as it would make us legislators look stupid and embarrass the President as well, as he mentions these measures during the Sona,” Zubiri said.

the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) or the Office of the President, which has discretionary funds. “If what we are getting [from PCSO] is little, like can you imagine they are getting 70 percent from the government...let us just get it from other sources, we still have other sources. There is still Pagcor,” he said. As for those who still need medical assistance amid the PCSO ban, Panelo urged the public to write a letter to the Office of the President. “Those who need help, please write a letter. We will direct your request to Pagcor... And you can expect that the government will help you,” he said.

Aid to workers

LABOR groups are calling for government aid for workers affected by the order. Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) asked government to provide aid to affected workers like emergency employment. Sentro Secretary-General Joshua Mata said, “If a policy has implications for workers, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure for their just transition.” For his part, Vice President of FFW Julius Cainglet said the government should also consider providing unemployment insurance. Cainglet said while they respect the right of Duterte to hold accountable government agencies under him, it should not be at the expense of labor rights. “Private-sector workers of the lotto outlets and other PCSO-sanctioned games will be in a more complicated situation,” Cainglet said. “Most would most likely be laid off. While others who are retained, but earning on commission basis, will take home less income from the retail operation of the lotto outlet,” he added. Mata hoped the workers will be given better treatment than those who were affected with the six-month closure of Boracay Island in 2018. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it was able to provide emergency employment and financial aid to almost 18,000 displaced workers from Boracay Island during that period. Reports by Cai U. Ordinario, Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz, Butch Fernandez, Joel R. San Juan, Samuel Medenilla and Bernadette D. Nicolas

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The Nation BusinessMirror

BATANES BISHOP ASKS FOR CASH AID, WARNS VS. FAKE FB ACCOUNT By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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ATANES Bishop Danilo Ulep is appealing for cash donations for those affected by the twin earthquakes which struck Batanes on Saturday. The prelate said the amount they will collect will supplement the relief goods already being provided by the government to quake victims. “We are accepting financial assistance because the other needs like food, water, medicines, etc., are being addressed by gover nment agencies a lready,” Ulep said. The Batanes prelature, however, warned against a fake Facebook account using the name of Ulep. “The prelature has not authorized anybody to solicit funds [for the said purpose],” Batanes prelature vice chancellor Fr. Rolando

Manabat said in an online article in CBCP News. Those who would like to give financial aid could do so via the official account at the Land Bank of the Philippines, Basco Batanes Branch, which was put up by the Batanes prelature. The account name is Prelature of Batanes, and its account number is 1081-0502-08. Ulep said he already sent a priest to assess the needs of the communities ravaged by the earthquakes, which struck near Itbayat located northeast of Batanes. For its part, Caritas Manila, the social development ministry of the Archdiocese of Manila, said it will be sending relief goods to Batanes. As of press time, authorities said the earthquakes have killed at least eight people and injured 63 others. They also reported at least 3,000 people were affected by the disaster.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Monday, July 29, 2019 A3

Duterte visits quake-hit Batanes as residents await additional aid

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By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM & Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

O less than President Duterte personally assured assistance to the residents of Batanes during a visit on Sunday, a day after two moderate earthquakes jolted the province, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 63 others. “The Palace offers its deep condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones during the earthquakes that hit Batanes. We send our sincerest prayers for the fast and speedy recovery of those who were injured,” Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement on July 27. “The national government has ordered all concerned departments to mobilize and render immediate assistance to those affected.”

Residents have been camping outside their homes or in temporary shelters put up or selected by the government. They continue to appeal for help as Itbayat continued to be rattled by aftershocks. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) stopped short from declaring that the two successive temblors displaced the whole municipality. “I could not say that all were displaced, but so far, as per our latest

count, 2,900-plus individuals were affected,” NDRRMC Spokesman Mark Timbal said. An official report by the NDRRMC listed 911 families or 2, 963 individuals that were affected by the earthquakes. The first quake, with a 5.4 magnitude, struck at around 4:16 a.m. on Saturday and was followed by a 5.9 magnitude at 7:37 a.m. The tremors also damaged at least 15 houses, two schools, two health centers and the belfry of the Roman Catholic Church in the municipality. “As of now, since aftershocks are still being felt, we have advised residents from going inside structures since their houses might collapse while they were inside,” Timbal said. “But the residents have put up temporary shelters and additional assistance were en route.” Accord ing to Timba l, t he NDRRMC sent tents and other relief items via C-130 last Sunday. Timbal added that while the government can still meet the required assistance of Itbayat and even the other areas which might be affected, they were already allowing the residents to appeal for help even from

private groups. Private organizations and provinces were also rushing aid to Batanes. “We are not still lacking with assistance, the NDRRMC can still cope with it. But we have already allowed other groups to come in since they have presented to send in reliefs,” Timbal said. The NDRRMC spokesman said that the damage in Itbayat is likely high to the point that some structures may be declared condemned. This, however, would still be up to the evaluation of local officials, he added. “As we have seen in the picture, a lot of the houses are for condemnation because they really collapsed, their first floors gave way or the second floors collapsed into the first floors, things like that,” Timbal said. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles was quoted in a statement on Sunday they are advising against families from returning to their homes given the state of structures on the island and the possible damage that can be caused by aftershocks.

A4 Monday, July 29, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Expert: Refine multidimensional poverty data

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By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) should first resolve questions concerning the indicators used in its multidimensional poverty (MP) statistics before institutionalizing it to prevent the release of flawed estimates that could affect policy-making, according to an expert. Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Jose R amon G. Albert said the PSA needs to

enhance its multidimensional poverty index (MPI) as some of its initial indicators are yielding “questionable” results.

For one, Albert pointed out that the PSA’s MPI considers a family as educationally deprived if one of its members did not finish high school. This, he explained, is not aligned with the global MPI which considers a family as educationally deprived when a member did not finish elementary. “For example, a tycoon did not finish high school. So his family is immediately considered as deprived. Would you believe that?” he told the BusinessMirror after a public seminar at the PIDS held in Quezon City last Friday. He said the PSA should subject the MP statistics to further scrutiny before it becomes comfortable in releasing it regularly. Albert and his colleague, PIDS Research Assistant Jana Flor V. Vizmanos, did a study on the crafting of the MPI in the Philippines and

found that data are not yet robust due to “conflicting” results from different indicators.

Pool of experts

HE also said the PSA should consult a pool of experts in crafting its MPI instead of just relying on government officials. Experts would be able to effectively point out issues with indicators such as the one about educational attainment, he said. He added that the PSA used to have committees comprised of technical experts in studying poverty statistics and even crafting surveys. Today, the PSA only has an interagency committee comprised of representatives from various government agencies. “It’s important that there should be more experts talking rather than only people from government agen-

cies talking among themselves,” he said. “Once data becomes an official statistics, everybody takes it as bible truth.” In November, the PSA released the results from its initial run of the MPI, which has yet to be approved by the PSA Board. In its initial methodology, the PSA, an attached agency of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), identified 13 indicators across the following four dimensions, namely: education; health and nutrition; housing, water and sanitation; and employment. The Neda explained that the MPI, which has already been adopted by several countries in the world, captures the multiple deprivations that each person experiences, in relation to education, health and living standards.

‘PHL can’t release accurate tourism data due to politics’ By Cai U. Ordinario

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@caiordinario

OLITICS and not just the lack of resources hinder the Philippines from releasing timely and accurate tourism statistics, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT). At the Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts (PTSA) Dissemination Forum last Friday, DOT Tourism Development Planning Assistant Secretary Robert P. Alabado III said while the department has not been remiss in training local government units (LGUs) in data collection, there

are many internal issues when it comes to local tourism statistics. Alabado said if local chief executives do not consider tourism and/or data collection a priority, no budget will be given toward these efforts, including the hiring of a local tourism officer who is tasked to collate the data and implement projects. “There are many issues. Sometimes it may go to the extent of being political so the local executives may not find it a priority to collect data and some would say ‘tourism is not my priority therefore I am not going to assign a tourism officer because its not

in the local government code that you have to have a tourism officer,’” he said. Alabado said this creates a dearth in tourism data and accuracy issues. He said that when he was a tourism officer in Davao, they found that some municipalities were submitting data only for excursionists. Excursionists are same-day visitors and do not stay overnight in a province or municipality. This means they spend less than tourists or those who stay overnight or more in a locale. This can also affect the number of visitors in a province or municipality. Alabado said this led to some municipalities reporting thousands of tourists when they only had two hotels. Apart from the shortcomings of government agencies, Alabado said the private sector also has failings, particularly in disclosing tourist information. “Even in the private sector, they are always afraid that if they will submit data, [it] might not match book number 1, book number 2, and book number 3. So they are also withholding data from us [out of] fear that it may be used for taxation purposes. But we always assure them that it is for our eyes only,” he said.

DOT’s efforts

EFFORTS to boost data collection are under way, including the possible expansion of data arrival cards and use of administrative and big data, according to DOT officials. Tourism Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon Jr. told reporters that information is badly needed to improve tourism planning and policy. “We have a checklist. The list is quite lengthy because we consolidated the list based on different industry partners, academe, the transportation companies, the hoteliers, travel agencies and operators,” Bengzon said. “A lot of it is really centered on market data. You have to look at it from two perspectives. One is what kind of information is available but is not being shared or what is not being processed immediately and therefore shared. The other one is what kind of information is really not available in the organization,” he added. Bengzon noted that existing arrival cards contain information that is not being collected. For one, the cards indicate the ports of entry. Knowing this information, he said, will make it easier to determine the impact of certain programs and policies on local tourism. One piece of information that is not yet available in arrival cards, he said, is where visitors purchased their plane tickets. Bengzon said it would help Manila if it could determine the exact location of travelers so it could expand its market development initiatives. He said, however, that expanding arrival cards needs careful study as a long form could discourage travelers from filling it out. However, the DOT is open to using big data, such as the one used by international airports when tourists access their free Wi-fi services. “Yes, it is being studied. We talked about this two years ago and this is going to be part of the discussions with PSA [Philippine Statistics Authority],” Bengzon said. Alabado added that in Singapore, there’s a SIM card that tourists can use which allows the company to determine where visitors go. He added that other ways to obtain tourism information is through credit cards. This, Alabado said, can serve as a means to cross-check the data obtained by the government from the arrival cards.

In its initial data released last year, PSA noted that Filipino families were most deprived in education. PSA data showed that, of the 13 indicators, educational attainment had the highest incidence of deprivation among families at 59.3 percent in 2016 and 49.4 percent in 2017. This meant out of 10 families in 2016 and 5 out of 10 families in 2017 were deprived of basic education. This also means that 6 out of 10 families in 2016 and 5 out of 10 families in 2017 had at least one family member aged 18 years old and above who did not complete basic education. The PSA pointed out it would still collect more relevant information to enhance its MPI methodology and would consult stakeholders to come up with an official one.

DOST contributes to improved PHL rankings in innovation

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HE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said its programs and projects have resulted in collaborations between and among the different sectors—academe, industry, agriculture, information technology, electronics and semiconductors, and health—which were reflected in the country’s innovation ranking. Recent reports said the Philippines’s ranking in innovation this year jumped to 54th, or by 19 notches, due to improvements in its scores for institutions, business sophistication, knowledge and technology and creative outputs. The Philippines improved its Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019 score to 36.18, from 31.56 in last year’s cycle. This put the country fifth among eight Southeast Asian economies surveyed in the index. The DOST said it is committed to vigorously advance science, technology and innovation (STI) of Filipinoowned companies, universities and research and development institutes as stated in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 to further boost the country’s innovation ranking. Among the DOST’s programs is Grants-in-Aid, which since 2015, has provided P8.5 billion for research and development (R&D) and related activities, including technology transfer and knowledge diffusion, and development of human resources for science and technology. The assistance is geared toward helping industry gain competitive edge in the market, through the development of innovative products, processes and/or services that are responsive to changing and global dynamics. It, likewise, encouraged collaboration efforts synergy between and among the different sectors. The DOST’s support is also demonstrated in the Science for Change Program (S4CP). This was created to accelerate STI in the country in order to keep up with the developments, wherein technology and innovation are game changers. The S4CP incorporates the socioeconomic agenda of the Duterte administration, the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, Science for the People approach and Harmonized National R&D Agenda. S4CP focuses on program expansion in 10 areas, new programs in five areas, grand plan for S&T Human Resource Development and four areas in Accelerated R&D Program for Capacity Building of R&D Institutions and Industrial Competitiveness. Meanwhile, the Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D (NICER) Program is being implemented to capacitate higher-education institutions in the regions to make significant improvement in regional research by integrating its developmental needs with the existing R&D research capabilities and resources. To date, a total of 14 centers have been established in 11 regions around the country with total approved funding of P528 million. The centers are in the areas of agriculture, aquatic and marine, environment, industry, emerging technology and health. By the end of 2019, the DOST aims to establish NICER in all regions, or one center per region per year so that by 2022 there would be 64 NICER nationwide. At the same time, the Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (Cradle) program aims to improve innovation in the country by creating the structure that facilitates the smooth transition of new knowledge and technologies from academe to the industries for practical use and application. Under Cradle, the DOST has created 18 governmentacademe-industry partnerships with total funding of P85 million. The partnerships cover the areas of agriculture and agri-processing, aquatic-related industries, electronics and semiconductors, waste management, ICT and health.

A6

Agriculture/Commodities

Monday, July 29, 2019 • Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Mindanao produces agri export winners By Manuel T. Cayon

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@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—Seven of the country’s top 10 agricultural exports are grown mostly in Mindanao or are produced in huge quantities in the island, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Two of the Philippines’s top export winners—coconut oil and bananas—are widely grown in Mindanao. Based on government data, the island accounted for 60.6 percent of the total export volume for coconut oil alone. Figures from the PSA showed that coconut oil remained the top agricultural export of the Philippines last year, with receipts reaching $1.11 billion, lower than the $1.6 billion recorded in 2017. Data also indicated that a huge chunk

of banana exports come from three Mindanao regions—Davao region, Northern Mindanao and Soccsksargen. These three areas account for 74.8 percent of total export volume. Mindanao is expected to contribute more in terms of banana production as other areas in the island, such as those in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, now cultivate bananas. The PSA reported that shipments of bananas last year were valued at

BANANAS, one of the country’s top farm export winners, are widely grown in Mindanao. BusinessMirror file photo

$1.5 billion, 32 percent higher than the 2017 record of $1.128 billion. Ot her major fa r m e x por t w inners are also produced in Mindanao. The main plantations of food com-

panies that are known exporters of canned pineapples are in Bukidnon and South Cotabato. Also, the rich fishing grounds of General Santos City and South Cotabato allow

the Philippines to export tuna. Desiccated coconut, another top dollar earner, is widely produced in the southeastern section of Mindanao, where Davao Oriental is located. The province is regarded as the leading producer of coconut in Mindanao. Davao Oriental remained as a major coconut-producing area despite taking a direct hit from Supertyphoon Pablo (international code name Bopha) in 2012. Seaweed a nd r ubber, wh ic h a l so brings in millions of dollars in export receipts, are widely cultivated in Mindanao. Farmers cultivate seaweed in the vast expanse of Moro Gulf, Davao Gulf and Sulu Sea, while rubber is produced in North Cotabato, Basilan and Zamboanga Sibugay. While Mindanao is not known as a major producer of sugar, the island contributed nearly 20 percent in sugar exports. Plantations in Bukidnon and Davao del Sur produce sugarcane. Mindanao has long been regarded as a potential “food basket” for the Philippines. Analysts said the region is more suitable for growing food because it is not usually ravaged by storms.

Irrigators’ associations collecting service fees perform better–study By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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RRIGATORS’ associations (IAs) that collect service fees from rice and corn planters tend to perform better than the ones subsidized by the government, according to a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). A policy note, titled “Evaluation of national irrigation systems in the Philippines,” published by PIDS revealed that IAs had mixed reactions to the government’s free irrigation scheme. The authors of the policy note were Roberto S. Clemente, Arthur L. Fajardo, Vicente G. Ballaran Jr. and Julie Carl P. Ureta. According to the National Irrigation Administration, farmers are organized into IAs and strengthened through training activities to make them more effective partners of NIA in irrigation development and management. An IA is a nonsectarian, nonstock and nonprofit organization of farmer-beneficiaries. Citing farmers’ anecdotes, the authors said that free irrigation “has improved the satisfaction of IAs.” However, some IAs claimed that the non-collection of the irrigation service fees (ISF) “has reduced their funds

for the maintenance of canals related to siltation.” Using regression analysis, the authors of the study found that the presence of ISF led to the better performance of IAs. “ The model result indicated that IAs with ISF were likely to increase the performance by 0.30 score point. This was particularly substantial in terms of increasing their performance,” the policy note read. The result of the regression analysis is in line with theories pertaining to resource maximization given that the presence of ISF showed a resource constraint that needs to be maximized. “The presence of this resource constraint represents opportunity cost for farmers hence, they need to make the most out of the resource given that it is scarce and has cost implication,” they added. In February 2018, President Duterte signed Republic Act 10969, or the Free Irrigation Services Act that exempted farmers tilling 8 hectares and below from paying ISF. Under the law, farmers tilling more than 8 hectares are still required to pay ISF to the NIA exchange for water services.

Performance

THE authors evaluated 39 national

irrigation systems (NIS) nationwide in terms of water supply and quality, conditions of irrigation structures and canals, profile of IAs, degree of satisfaction on water delivery, ISF collection, ground water potential, erosion, among others. The authors noted that only 23 percent, or 20 out of the 87 IAs, posted high irrigation performance. Also, 28 IAs recorded low performance while the remaining 39 had performed at the moderate level. “On the performance assessment, many IAs in Luzon had shown low performance levels [47 percent] because of inadequate water supply, especially in downstream areas,” it said. “Only 12 percent, usually those in upstream areas, showed high performance. Even with data limitations in the analysis of indicators, water delivery remained one major factor that caused low performance among IAs,” it added. In Visayas and Mindanao, 32 percent exhibited low performance, while 45 percent performed moderately, according to the study. This study identified several issues related to NIS, such as siltation issues in canals, flooding problems, deterioration of canal and canal structures, and water quality issues, among others.

Govt to open bamboo processing plants in Panay Island By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

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HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is keen on expanding bamboo plantations and establishing processing plants in Panay Island to boost the country’s wood supply. Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said he has directed DENR Western Visayas Regional Executive Director Francisco Milla Jr. to conduct an inventory of all existing bamboo plantations on the island, and to fasttrack the establishment of bamboo processing plants. Cimatu said he has also instructed Milla to plant bamboo in identified denuded areas around the island. “We will adopt the latest technology in producing lumber and timber out of the bamboo stands. This can usher in inclusive development in the island and provide income and livelihood not only to the marginal farmers, and promote Panay as the country’s ‘bamboo capital,’” he said in a statement. The DENR in Western Visayas had initially identified 60 hectares for the propagation of bamboo in Panay Island.

The DENR also estimated that there are more than 6,100 hectares of plantations in the entire island. The agency has committed to plant 13,500 hectares of industrial bamboo species such as bamboo tinik, giant buho, bayog and bolo by 2020. To achieve this, some P10 million has been initially earmarked in the 2019 budget for the production of planting materials and capacity building of farmers. Bamboo is envisioned as one way to address the country’s wood requirements as an alternative for high-value forest products. It has been included as selected species to use for reforestation activities under the government’s National Greening Program (NGP). Under the NGP, farmers would be capacitated on scientific methods of har vesting bamboo. They would be entitled to regular salaries while caring for bamboo plantations prior to harvest season. The development of the Philippines’s bamboo industry is mandated by Executive Order (EO) 879, Series of 2010 signed by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on May 14, 2010. The EO mandates the creation of the Philippine Bamboo Industry De-

velopment Council to promote the bamboo industry development project and directing the use of bamboo for at least 25 percent of the desk and other furniture requirements of public elementary and secondary schools, and prioritizing the use of bamboo in furniture, fixtures and other construction requirements of government facilities and allocating funds therefore and other purposes. According to various literature, bamboos are giant grass species and are naturally occurring in warm and moist tropical and warm temperate climates. Bamboo poles are often used as construction materials and were widely utilized in the early days in the Philippines in the construction of nipa huts. The establishment of more bamboo plantations was pitched during the third summit of the National Convergence Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development (NCI-SRD) held in Iloilo City recently. Cimatu said with Panay Island being naturally abundant with bamboo, the DENR will work to “transform [it] as the center for bamboo production and make it the DENR’s major contribution to the NCI-SRD.”

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

HOSPITAL INNOVATIONS

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Monday, July 29, 2019

A7

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE ACT MAKES MEDICAL SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR ALL

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By Leony R. Garcia

EOPLE seek treatment in the hospital or medical clinic for comfort and immediate diagnosis. Because when one is in the hospital or medical facility, he or she expects easy accessibility to medical devices. With that he is more likely to get a rapid diagnosis with the presence of precise and highly technical equipments. Whether it’s a scan, specialist opinion, or other invasive treatment, the patient expects the hospital to get what he needs quickly, often within hours. And thereby assuring him of immediate treatment. Here’s the good news to all Filipinos: With President Rodrigo Duterte signing the Universal Health Care Act, everyone would be entitled to an “essential health benefit package,” which includes primary care, medicines, diagnostic, and laboratory tests. It also includes preventive, curative, and

rehabilitative services. The passage of the law was considered a landmark for the Duterte administration as lawmakers who championed the bill gathered in Malacañang for a special ceremony last February 20. It was there that the President affixed his signature on the long-awaited law. The World Health Organization earlier has urged the Philippine government to make a real investment in health care, as it would save lives. The passage of Republic Act No 11223 was no easy feat. It was hailed as path-breaking as it set the direction for the reform of the health care sector

in the Philippines. This measure provides health care coverage for all Filipinos with a guaranteed equitable access to quality and affordable health goods and services and protection against financial risks. It automatically enrolls all Filipinos to the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP). Under the measure, membership in the NHIP will be classified as “direct contributors” or those who have the capacity to pay premiums, or “indirect contributors” or those sponsored by the government such as indigents, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.

What Filipinos can expect from the Universal Health Care Law ALL Filipinos will be granted health coverage. They will begin benefiting from the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act this year, with every citizen entitled to health coverage that will lower out-of pocket health expenses. Full effects of the law will be gradually felt over the years as the DOH and PhilHealth start transitioning to the universal health care system.

All Filipinos will be granted “immediate eligibility” and access to the full spectrum of health care which includes preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative care. This can be expected for medical, dental, mental, and emergency health services. Filipinos will also be enrolled with a primary health care provider of their choice. The primary care provider is the health worker they can go and seek treatment from for health concerns. They will also serve as the person in charge of referring and coordinating with other health centers if patients need further treatment. Citizens will not need to present any PhilHea lth ID to avail of these benefits. Meanwhile, poor Filipinos or those who are located in geographica l ly isolated areas w il l a lso be g iven pr ior it y when ensur ing access to health services. However, UHC does not mean every single health expense will be made free. As a patient, that means that if you’re admitted in a hospital you can expect regular meals, a bed in a shared room

with fan ventilation, and a shared toilet and bath to be covered. But it will no longer be free when one wants to stay in a hospital room offering private accommodation, air conditioning, telephone, television, and meal choices, among others. Meanwhile, public and private hospitals are expected to allocate a certain portion of their beds as basic accommodations in the following amounts: nGovernment hospitals–at least 90% of beds nSpecialty hospitals–at least 70% of beds nPrivate hospitals–at least 10% of beds As long as a patient avails of these basic accommodations, it will be covered by PhilHealth whether in a public or private hospital. DOH and PhilHealth are expected to craft and implement outpatient benefit services to be covered by the National Health Insurance Programs within 2 years after the law takes effect. Allocating more funds to PhilHealth will also strengthen its negotiating power with

health care providers, which will foreseeably improve the quality of services and lower health costs. Funds for public health coverage will be pooled from the incremental sin tax collections, charity fund from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), income from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), premium contribution of members, annual appropriations of the Department of Health (DOH), and government subsidy to PhilHealth. With multiple fund sources for PhilHealth, Filipinos will no longer need to troop to various government offices to secure funds to pay for health expenses. It will also make them less dependent on politicians to help pay for health services. By giving PhilHealth more funds, a goal of the UHC is to make PhilHealth the national purchaser of medicines. This can lower the cost of medicines as these will be bought in bulk. Another goals is to have quality of health services improve as PhilHealth can set continued on A8

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

A8 Monday, July 29, 2019

HOSPITAL INNOVATIONS

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New ideas, technology change the experience for patients and providers

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RTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI), design thinking, robotics and big data have made a splash across all industries in recent years. The greatest impact of these new ideas and technology is in healthcare. As technology and innovation have grown in the healthcare field, hospitals and startups have found amazing ways to improve their offerings and revolutionize the industry. The result is amazing applications of new technology and thinking that can forever change how patients are treated.

Here are examples of explosive innovative in healthcare from www.forbes. com showing how new ideas and technology can completely change the experience for patients and providers. Using Data for Better Diagnoses. Doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital have started using big data analytics to provide faster and more accurate diagnoses for its patients. The new system can comb through thousands of data points about each patient to diagnose the condition and find treatment options nearly instantly. Previous systems could take days or weeks and weren’t as accurate. Taking advantage of big data allows doctors and nurses to provide personalized treatment options that are backed by statistics and current research. VR Helps Patients In Difficult Situations. Certain

FE DEL MUNDO MEDICAL CENTER:

A beautiful transition from children’s hospital to Medical Center

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HE Fe Del Mundo Medical Center (FDMMC) in Banawe, Quezon City is a hospital of choice in the community. First, mainly because it carries the “Legacy of Caring”, as its founder, Dr. Fe Del Mundo, lived her life. Through the years, the hospital is dedicated in giving the appropriate service to its patients and business partners. It strives for excellence in the medical field and remains focused in re-shaping the future of healthcare. Currently under the management of Mount Grace Hospitals, the FDMMC was known as the Children’s Memorial Hospital when it was established in 1957 with a 107bed capacity and an array of services for pediatric patients. The new management inaugurated the upgraded private general hospital on February 2017 with new facilities and services in allergology, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, with various subspecialties in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, anesthesia and pain management, and comprehensive diagnostic services. “We are continuously improving and expanding our services to achieve our goal of giving our pa-

tients quality and affordable medical services,” said FDMMC general manager Ramoncito Sta. Maria. The new medical center was founded as a pediatric center by Dr. Fe del Mundo, the first woman pediatrician to be admitted to the Harvard Medical School in 1936, the first woman to be named National Scientist of the Philippines in 1980, and a recipient of various local and international awards. “This is a very good initiative and a very good response to the people’s need for quality health care,” Health Undersecretary Dr. Gerardo Bayugo said. “I think this will be very much affordable, especially now that PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corp.) covers 100 percent of the population.” To expand its services to cover adults, the FDMMC upgraded its facilities from 2015 to 2017 to become a complete medical facility with equipment for all medical needs. Dr. Del Mundo may have gone but the fruit of her efforts now benefit the new generation. Del Mundo was a historic first in more ways than one throughout her life. She is credited with revo-

lutionizing medicine in the Philippines, founding its first pediatric hospital as well as The Children’s Medical Centre Foundation in 1957, which provided medical care to rural communities lacking insurance. The Filipino pediatrician, fondly called “The Mother of Philippine Pediatrics,” passed away at age 99 in 2011. She is also acknowledged as humanitarian and award-winning inventor. She pioneered treatment for children with jaundice, creating a series of studies and inventions that led to jaundice-relieving devices and improved incubators. She has published over a hundred articles, reviews, and reports in medical journals. Her research about dengue has contributed greatly to the understanding of how the disease affects children. Del Mundo also authored “Textbook of Pediatrics”, which was used in medical schools nationwide for many years. Apart from promoting public health especially in far-flung areas, she also helped in facilitating and improving the coordination between hospitals, doctors, and midwives. For more information, contact us at (02) 712-08-45 to 50.

situations can be difficult for patients, such as going through childbirth or facing anxiety about an upcoming surgery. Startup VRHealth has partnered with healthcare providers to bring virtual reality to patients. The innovative concept is rather simple: patients are given VR glasses during painful or difficult procedures to minimize the stress. The technology makes for a more pleasant patient experience while also creating a better environment for providers to safely perform the procedure. VR technology also helps clinics gather new patient information and share treatment instructions for after the patient goes home. Chatbot Provides 24/7 Personalized Health Advice. Innovative technology puts patients in control. Chatbot Florence is an AI-powered chatbot that gives answers and advice whenever patients need. Instead of waiting to talk to their doctor, patients can simply ask Florence a question about symptoms or medication, and she’ll provide personalized responses. She can also remind users to take medication and track healthy habits. Florence is constantly learning new information to stay ahead of health trends and changing disease patterns. Cloud-Based Systems Streamline Data Access. Instead of keeping separate charts and systems for each department and patient, innovative healthcare systems are moving towards cloud-based data management systems. These programs combine patient data into a single system that can be accessed instantly and from anywhere. Instead of having to sort through multiple systems, healthcare providers can get all the information they need about a patient in one place and easily share it with other members of the care team. Companies like CloudCareallow providers to access protected data in real time. Changing Traditional Design. Instead of being

organized by department like most hospitals Pennsylvania Hospital has a new facility that will bring in new thinking and technology and will have a more cohesive feel. The goal is for every department to have ownership over every patient in an environment that feels more like a hotel than a sterile hospital. The Pavilion isn’t set to open until 2021. Throughout the design and construction phases, the hospital has involved patients and staff to provide feedback and recommendations for the best healthcare technology. Using 3D Models To Shorten Surgeries. Detailed operations can dangerous and long. The more time a patient is in surgery, the bigger the risk. A growing number of hospitals, including Boston Children’s Hospital, are using 3D operating models that allow surgeons to practice complex operations before they walk into the operating room. Practicing beforehand not only helps the surgeries go more quickly but also allows surgeons to test innovative practices to be more confident of their success. 3D printing allows hospitals to create exact models of a patient’s organs for detailed practice. Using Big Data To Treat Rare Diseases. One of the biggest challenges to creating new drugs and treatments for rare diseases is simply getting enough information to find the right treatment. Healthcare startup RDMD is trying to solve that problem by using AI to analyze data from medical records to find commonalities in rare disease cases. The company then sells that data to pharmaceutical companies so they can create cutting-edge treatments. RDMD’s approach shows that harnessing the power of data can help find better treatments, faster. Solving OR Bottlenecks With Predictive Analytics. A common problem for many hospitals is bottlenecks and slowdowns in the operating room, which is expensive and frustrating for patients

and doctors. The University of Chicago Medical Center uses predictive analytics to streamline the movements in and out of the OR. By combining real-time data and an AI-powered algorithm, the hospital has decreased turnover by 20%, or four minutes per room. The new system improves communication and workflows from all the moving parts in the operating room and is expected to save the hospital $600,000 a year, plus lead to more satisfied patients and staff. AI Robot Helping With Heart Treatments. Advanced robotics opens doors for surgeries and treatments that were previously more dangerous and invasive. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed HeartLander, a miniature robot that can perform heart therapy treatments. A doctor makes a small incision and then navigates the robot to particular parts of the heart, where the robots sticks to the organ and performs therapy. HeartLander is a huge improvement over traditional heart therapy procedures because it is more precise, safer and less invasive. Connecting Newborns And Parents With NICU App. Premature babies or newborns with health problems often have to stay in the NICU, even after their parents leave the hospital. To help ease a stressful situation and provide clear updates, researchers at the University of Chicago and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago use the PreeMe+You app to keep parents in constant contact with their babies and their care teams. Parents can track their baby’s progress in real time and know what their baby is doing at every moment. It’s a comfort for parents who can’t be at their baby’s side and helps parents and the care team stay on the same page. Indeed, as technology develops, we’ll be seeing more innovation and healthcare growth in the years to come.

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE ACT MAKES MEDICAL SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR ALL continued from A7

as a requirement for payment and contracting, standards for health care providers.

DOH will still be in charge of “population-based” health services

WHILE PhilHealth, along with other private health insurance companies, is expected to cover services for individuals, the DOH is still in charge of delivering health services that cover entire populations. These are programs for disease surveillance, health promotion campaigns, and mass immunization campaigns. The DOH will do this by contracting public health care providers in cities and provinces.

Health systems will become city-wide and province-wide

PROVINCES and highly urbanized cities will now be in charge of

overseeing health services in areas as opposed to the current set-up where municipalities are tasked with managing their own health centers. The DOH will need to work with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to have province- and city-wide health systems or networks in about two years after the law takes affect.

Return service in the public health sector

GR ADUATES of health and health-related courses who received government-funded scholarships will be required to work in the public health sector for at least 3 full years. This will address the need for health workers across the country. They will be paid by and under the supervision of the DOH. Those who serve for an extra two years will also be given incentives, which will be

determined by the DOH. Meanwhile, graduates of health courses in state universities and colleges and private schools are encouraged to work in the public sector. With UHC in place, the bottom line is to make every Filipino avail of the medical services they deserve. Gone are the days that many Filipinos die without seeing a doctor or visiting a hospital for treatment.

Now, which hospital should one choose?

Hospitals are classified as general, specialty, or government depending on the sources of income received. Specialized hospitals are said to help reduce health care costs compared to general hospitals. A teaching hospital, on the other hand, combines assistance to people with teaching to medical students and nurses.

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A BusinessMirror Special Feature

ManilaMed’s Gender Diversity Center

Dr. Ma. Lucia T. Alvarado, Assistant Dean, Emilio Aguinaldo College - School Of Medicine; Dr. Angeline Monica A. Arcenas, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Consultant, GDC; Dr. Susana P. Padilla-Campos, Medical Director, Founder GDC and; Mr. Timothy Charlton, Healthcare Asia Editor-in-Chief and Publisher at awards ceremony at Conrad, Singapore

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ANILAMED launched its Gender Diversity Center (GDC) last May 25, 2018. As the first of its kind in the Philippines, this center was conceptualized to address the needs of the ever expanding LGBTQAIGNCGQ community. This population is subjected to prejudice and discrimination and as such they are more predisposed to psychosocial and mental health problems, compared to the general population. The GDC is composed of a skilled interdisciplinary team of professionals which includes psychiatrists, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine, pediatric endocrinologists, adult endocrinologists, infectious disease specialists, and a psychometrician.

The GDC is designed to help individuals through comprehensive, compassionate, and gender-sensitive physical and psychological assessments and management. This includes individual counselling, family counselling, psychotherapy, treatment of medical and psychiatric co-morbidities, and if necessary, hormonal interventions. These efforts are coordinated with the Mental Health Section of the Emilio Aguinaldo CollegeSchool of Medicine so that the young health professionals are made aware of and educated on the health and psychological burdens this special group has to carry. For this, the Gender Diversity Center won the Healthcare Asia Awards 2019 under the

Clinical Service Initiative of the Year, held at the Conrad Singapore on May 23, 2019. ManilaMed’s GDC aims to bridge the gap between counselors and their students, and HR practitioners and the employees by building rainbow bridges that promote inclusivity and respect through understanding. This was the theme of the second lay forum held

on July 19, 2019 attended mostly by guidance counselors and HR heads of schools, companies and BPOs. It aimed to educate them on: how to accept the LGBT community, educating them on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE), gender sensitivity, how to create a safe place in schools and in the workplace, how important family and friends are in the journey towards self-discovery and in the long often painful process of coming out, how social media has contributed to an increase in risky sexual behavior and increased incidence of sexually transmitted illness in this digital age. This was tackled by our infectious disease specialists who also provided shimmering hope by explaining the availability of FREE government-funded anti-retroviral drugs for HIV patients and the approved use of pre-exposure prophylaxis for high risk persons. A legal counsel provided a final uplift by attesting to being an ally of the LGBT community in their quest for equality. Through the GDC, ManilaMed recognizes that health is defined not only by excellent clinical care but also by a social environment that provides and ensures social tolerance, equality and love. The GDC is a testament to ManilaMed’s advocacy for the elimination of prejudice, discrimination, and stigma, and the delivery of customized care especially for the marginalized. A sense of acceptance, inclusivity, sensitivity and compassion distinguishes the medical assistance available at the GDC. All these are true to ManilaMed’s promise: Only our best, to make you feel better.

Monday, July 29, 2019

A9

THE MANILAMED RADIATION THERAPY UNIT–ELEKTA SYNERGY LINEAR ACCELERATOR

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HE healthcare industry continuously finds ways and innovative solutions to help cure and eventually eradicate cancer. As the forefront in the war against cancer, patients can now benefit from the latest treatment advancements using ManilaMed’s newly acquired Elekta Synergy Linear Accelerator (LINAC). This is used for External Beam Radiotherapy such as 2D Conventional, 3D Conformal, intensity-modulated or IMRT, image-guided or IGRT, and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy or VMAT techniques. Older LINACs have to move from angle to angle, and the delivery of radiation is stopped so that the beam can conform to the two-dimensional shape of the tumor from the new perspective, but with the use of VMAT, the newest model in ManilaMed can adjust the beam’s shapes and sizes on the fly while continually delivering radiation. This technology is capable of millimeter perfect accuracy in terms of hitting only tumors, while sparing healthy tissue it needs to pass through to get the tumor. The LINAC housed in ManilaMed’s Radiation Therapy Unit has one of the latest inno-

vations in real time image-guided technology known as X-ray Volume Imaging (XVI). With IGRT and XVI, a low dose scanned image of the target area is captured to determine the actual location of the tumor, allowing the performance of necessary adjustments and provide patient-specific treatment with enhanced dose conformance. Radiation oncologists now have the ability to visualize dimensions and positions of the cancerous tissues and critical organs, all in real time. ManilaMed is also introducing a new paradigm in cancer care through its Multidisciplinary Team complete of cancer specialists, medical oncologist, radiotherapist, oncologic surgeons, nurses, nutritionists, rehabilitation therapists, palliative care specialist and other healthcare workers to provide specific services to patients. Ultimately, ManilaMed hopes to distinguish itself by putting the patient at the center in managing the disease. It is not only about having all concerned medical specialists working as a team to oversee a case, but it is enabling the patient and his family to be part of the process.

The World BusinessMirror

A10 Monday, July 29, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

World economy gets ready for ‘biggest’ week of 2019

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HERE will be no chance of a summer break for investors or policy-makers in coming days as they brace for what might be the busiest week for the world economy this year. The highlight is Wednesday’s decision by the Federal Reserve (Fed) with markets and economists virtually united in predicting Chairman Jerome Powell and colleagues will cut interest rates for the first time in more than a decade. Some Fed watchers predict officials will cut their benchmark by half a percentage point, but the signal is that they will eschew a bigger move in favor of a quarterpoint reduction. They will likely also leave open the possibility of further action down the road as they seek to sustain the recordlong US expansion and kick-start inflation. “While the Fed cutting rates by a quarter point will hardly be a surprise to financial market participants—as it has been well advertised and is priced in with a relatively high probability—the broader question will be how the Fed telegraphs its intentions regarding additional easing,” said Carl Riccadonna, chief US economist at Bloomberg Economics. “Policy-makers are keen to avoid getting ‘bullied’ by the markets into more than 50 to 75 basis points of rate reductions.” The Fed isn’t the only event with the ability to shape the outlook for the global economy this year. On Monday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to travel to China for the first high-level, face-toface trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies since talks broke down in May. Then on Friday, the monthly payrolls report will shed light on whether the Fed’s move was necessary. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict a 166,000 gain in non-farm jobs in July, slower than the 224,000 of June.

If that’s not enough, Bank of Japan policy-makers meet on Tuesday amid calls to reinforce their commitment to low rates and Brazil’s central bank may cut rates on Wednesday. Thursday sees the release of global manufacturing data amid concerns many industries are already suffering recession. Here’s Bloomberg’s weekly rundown of other key economic events:

United States

AS Fed officials begin their discussions on Tuesday they will have some more data with which to assess the economy. Personal income, pending home sales and consumer confidence statistics are all due that morning. Then on Thursday, the ISM manufacturing report is expected to show industry is stabilizing and continuing to expand. Friday’s trade data will be pored over for evidence that the skirmish with China is having an effect. Also next week, the Treasury will say on Wednesday how much money it needs to borrow amid rising budget deficits.

Europe, Middle East and Africa

IT’S a big week for data after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last week paved the way to cut interest rates in September, and perhaps, relaunch bond buying. Tuesday is set to witness another decline in euroarea confidence while the following day is likely to confirm that the economy slowed in the second quarter to half the pace of the 0.4 percent of the prior three months. Inflation data the same day is expected to show consumer price growth languishing well below the ECB’s target of just below 2 percent. Thursday sees the release

TREASURY Secretary Steve Mnuchin walks away from the microphones after speaking to members of the media at the White House in Washington on July 24, 2019. Mnuchin told reporters at the White House that he and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will spend Tuesday and Wednesday meeting with Chinese leaders in Shanghai. AP

of purchasing managers indices. In the UK, the Bank of England publishes its latest forecasts on Thursday with Bloomberg Economics reckoning it will turn more dovish as the October 31 Brexit deadline nears. The Czech central bank is predicted to leave its benchmark unchanged at 2 percent on Thursday. Turkey’s new Central Bank Governor Murat Uysal will face public questioning for the first time on Wednesday when he presents the quarterly inflation report. The lira was relatively unscathed after a 425-basis-point interest-rate cut at his first meeting, the largest in recent Turkish history, investors will be curious as to whether he shares President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s unconventional belief that high interest rates cause inflation. Banks across the Persian Gulf region will probably move to ease if the Fed cuts as expected.

Asia

BANK of Japan policy-makers finish a meeting on July 30. About a third of economists in a survey published last week said they expect policy-makers to strengthen their pledge to maintain rockbottom interest rates rather than do nothing and risk a sharp

appreciation of the yen should the Fed cut rates. Still, some officials see little to be gained from such a tweak, according to people familiar with the matter. Data released on Tuesday is forecast to show industrial production shrank again in June amid weak external demand. In China, Bloomberg Economics says purchasing managers’ indices will probably remain in contractionary territory as pressures on exporters persist. Elsewhere, a report on Thursday is set to show South Korean exports slid for an eighth straight month, which will unnerve those already worried about global trade. Inflation data for Australia, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand will help inform central bankers. Brazil’s central bank is widely expected to cut borrowing costs on Wednesday with economists and traders debating how deep it will go. The following day, July industry output data may shed light on whether Latin America’s largest economy slipped into technical recession in the first half of the year. Mexico will learn if it was able to avoid a technical recession on Wednesday, when the national statistics bureau releases preliminary output data for the second quarter. Bloomberg

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Trump targets China over WTO ‘Developing Nation’ crackdown

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RESIDENT Donald J. Trump opened another chapter in the trade war with China, ordering his top trade negotiator to pressure the World Trade Organization (WTO) to crack down on countries the US doesn’t think should be allowed to declare themselves developing nations. Trump singled out China in a memo to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, saying that “the United States has never accepted China’s claim to developingcountry status, and virtually every current economic indicator belies China’s claim.” In response, China said that it’s still a developing nation and needs flexibility and policy room, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The president, who has long been a vocal critic of the institution, called the WTO “broken” in a tweet that followed release of the memo. But analysts said it was unclear what power the US had to effect any change or to use it as justification for tariffs or other potential remedies, given that decisions at the WTO are made by consensus, and the issue has long been a point of contention. The move came ahead of a trip by Lighthizer and other officials to China, to try and restart trade negotiations that stalled in May. The US has insisted as part of those negotiations that China should give up its developing country status, something China has said it will not do. “The US is playing the old trick of threatening and pressurizing just before the two nations are set to have high-level trade negotiations,” CCTV said in its broadcast in Mandarin. Derek Scissors, a China expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said the move would do little to change China’s mind. “It’s just an American aspiration,” he said. “The WTO is incapable of making difficult decisions. The US would have to threaten to leave the WTO outright for the Chinese to start becoming nervous.” Trump in his memo gave Lighthizer 90 days to determine whether there’s been “substantial progress” toward limiting the number of countries considered developing nations. The US may act unilaterally if not, Trump said.

Developed vs developing

“ALTHOUGH economic tides have risen worldwide since the WTO’s inception in 1995, the WTO continues to rest on an outdated dichotomy between developed and developing countries that has allowed some WTO members to gain unfair advantages in the international trade arena,” Trump wrote. “Nearly two-thirds of WTO members have been able to avail themselves of special treatment and to take on weaker commitments under the WTO framework

by designating themselves as developing countries.” Seven of the world’s 10 wealthiest economies, Trump said, claim developing-nation status—Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Macau, Qatar, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. So do Mexico, South Korea and Turkey, who are all members of the Group of 20 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Trump said.

Trade laws

JENNIFER HILLMAN, a former WTO jurist now at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the benefits that self-declared developing countries receive under the WTO are actually fairly limited. They also relate mostly to negotiations of new multilateral agreements, the conditions of which they typically are given more time to meet. Given that few new major multilateral agreements had been negotiated at the WTO in the past decade that meant few new benefits had materialized. But she said, the substantive point that the Trump administration is making was correct. Rufus Yerxa, a former WTO deputy director general, said there are some provisions in the US trade laws and WTO subsidies agreement that require developed countries to treat developing countries differently in trade investigations. “It seems like what the Trump administration is saying is that it will not respect those provisions with respect to certain countries that it does not consider to be developing,” Yerxa said. “I’m not sure that this has huge commercial significance but symbolically it might be important.”

Special privileges

US concerns over the ability of countries such as China and India to accord themselves “developing” status and try to grab special privileges have been longstanding. It was a major factor in the breakdown of the Doha Round of trade negotiations at the WTO in 2008 when the administration of George W. Bush clashed with India over it. But the Trump administration has gone further than previous ones with the president even threatening at times to pull out of the WTO. Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said it was also unclear what measures the US could take going forward, though the administration could be setting the stage for a withdrawal some day. “It certainly adds fuel to the administration’s ongoing fire against the WTO,” he said. “The tactics of the Trump administration are different. They like to throw grenades at problems. But a lot of the concerns are longstanding ones.” Bloomberg

Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on Iran faces key test

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ASHINGTON—President Donald J. Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran is at a crossroad. His administration is trying to decide whether to risk stoking international tensions even more by ending one of the last remaining components of the 2015 nuclear deal. The US faces a Thursday deadline to decide whether to extend or cancel sanction waivers to foreign companies working on Iran’s civilian nuclear program as permitted under the deal. Ending the waivers would be the next logical step in the campaign and it’s a move favored by Trump’s allies in congress who endorse a tough approach to Iran. But it also would escalate tensions with Iran and with some European allies, and two officials say a divided administration is likely to keep the waivers afloat with temporary extensions. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The mere fact that the administration is divided on the issue—it’s already postponed an announcement twice, according to the officials—is the latest in a series of confusing signals that Trump has sent over Iran, causing confusion among supporters and critics of the president about just what he hopes to achieve in the standoff with the Islamic Republic. Some fear the mixed messages could trigger open conflict amid a buildup of US military forces in the Persian Gulf region. “It’s always a problem when you don’t have a coherent policy because you are vulnerable to manipulation and the mixed messages have created the environment for dangerous miscalculation,” said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Trump has simultaneously provoked

an escalatory cycle with Iran while also making clear to Iran that he is averse to conflict.” The public face of the pressure campaign is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he rejects suggestions the strategy is less than clear-cut. “America has a strategy which we are convinced will work,” he said this past week. “We will deny Iran the wealth to foment terror around the world and build out their nuclear program.” Yet, the administration’s recent actions— which included an unusual mediation effort by Kentucky’s anti-interventionist Sen. Rand Paul—have frustrated some of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. Those actions also have led to unease in Europe and Asia, where the administration’s attempt to rally support for a coalition to protect ships transiting the Gulf has drawn only lukewarm responses. Trump withdrew last year from the 2015 deal that Iran signed with the US, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China. The agreement lifted punishing economic sanctions in exchange for limits on the Iranian nuclear program. Critics in the United States believed it didn’t do enough to thwart Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons and enabled Iran to rebuild its economy and continue funding militants throughout the Middle East. Trump, who called it “the worst deal in history,” began reinstating sanctions, and they have hobbled an already weak Iranian economy. Iran responded by blowing through limits on its low-enriched uranium stockpiles and announcing plans to enrich uranium beyond levels permitted under the deal. Iran has taken increasingly provocative actions against ships in the Gulf, including the seizure of a British vessel, and the downing of a US drone. AP

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The World BusinessMirror

Monday, July 29, 2019 A11

Indonesia’s leader says sinking Jakarta needs giant seawall

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AKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesia’s president said in an interview that he wants to see the speedy construction of a giant seawall around Jakarta to prevent the low-lying capital from sinking under the sea, lending renewed backing and a sense of urgency to a slow-moving and politically contested mega project. President Joko Widodo and his government are up against a tight timetable, including a forecast by experts that at the current rate, one-third of Jakarta could be submerged by 2050. The existential crisis facing the city is the culmination of decades of unfettered development, almost nonexistent urban planning and misrule by city politicians who have served private interests over those of the public. Lacking a comprehensive piped water network, industry and homeowners have tapped into the city’s aquifers, causing rapid subsidence in northern Jakarta, home to several million people. In this area, the swampy ground has been sinking at an average of about 10 centimeters (4 inches) a year. Rising sea levels from a heated-up planet will compound the problem in decades to come. Widodo told The Associated Press on Friday that it’s time to move ahead with the seawall, a project the government first began to consider a decade ago. “This huge project will need to be done quickly to prevent Jakarta from sinking under the sea,” he said in the interview at a humble restaurant serving spicy Indonesian dishes. The president said he’s determined to push through key projects and reforms, even if potentially unpopular, noting that he’ll be less constrained by domestic politics in his second and final five-year term. Widodo was reelected earlier this year. He also addressed other ambitious plans for Jakarta, a congested,

polluted and sprawling metropolis of 10 million that swells to three times that number when counting those living in the larger metropolitan area. Widodo reiterated that he wants to build a new capital, suggesting it should be outside Indonesia’s main island of Java, where 57 percent of the country’s nearly 270 million people are concentrated. “We want to separate the capital, the center of government and Jakarta as a business and economic center,” he said. “We don’t want all the money existing only in Java. We want it to be outside Java, as well.” Jakarta’s vulnerability to flooding and earthquakes is also a factor, Widodo said. “We need to make sure our capital is safe from disasters,” he said, without naming the location for the new capital. The threats facing Jakarta are most visible in Muara Baru, a waterfront slum in the northwest of the city. A seawall along the shore is meant to protect the area’s makeshift shacks against the waters of the Java Sea, but the concrete barrier— raised and reinforced after a major flood more than a decade ago—has developed cracks. A steady trickle of seawater leaks through it, covering the street running alongside the wall with a shallow brackish brew. A half-submerged mosque on the bay side of the wall serves as a stark reminder of what could be in store for the entire area. Two women in the neighborhood said their homes are flooded frequently. Jakarta has been described as one

A MAN fishes near an abandoned mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday, July 27, 2019. Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said in an interview that he wants to see the speedy construction of the giant seawall to save the low-lying capital of Jakarta from sinking under the sea, giving renewed backing to a long-delayed multibillion-dollar mega project. AP PHOTO/ACHMAD IBRAHIM

of the world’s fastest sinking cities— a result of geographic misfortune and mismanagement. The city sits on swampy ground, with 13 heavily polluted rivers running through it. The main cause for the sinking is the overextraction of groundwater. The weight of taller buildings being constructed in recent years further compresses the ground. Heri Andreas, an Earth scientist at Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology, said that in some parts of northern Jakarta, the ground is already 2 to 4 meters (7 to 13 feet) below sea level and is sinking by as much as 20 centimeters (8 inches) a year. “Jakarta keeps sinking,” said Andreas, an expert in geodesy, or the measuring of the shape of the Earth. “If subsidence continues at the same rate, 95 percent of northern Jakarta will be underwater by 2050.” He said water would cover about one-third of the city. Andreas said it took time for his alarming forecasts to be taken seriously by Indonesian government officials, but that planning for a giant seawall encircling Jakarta Bay began about a decade ago. The $42 billion project envisions three stages, starting with strengthening 30 kilometers (18 miles) of existing coastal dams and creating 17 artificial islands. This would be followed by building giant seawalls on the western and eastern sides of the bay. However, implementation has been slow amid political arguments over the cost of the project and possible harm to the local fishing industry.

Russian police arrest more than 1,000 in central Moscow protest

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OSCOW—Russian police cracked down fiercely Saturday on demonstrators in central Moscow, beating some people and arresting more than 1,000 who were protesting the exclusion of opposition candidates from the ballot for Moscow city council. Police also stormed into a TV station broadcasting the protest. Police wrestled with protesters around the mayor’s office, sometimes charging into the crowd with their batons raised. State news agencies Tass and RIA-Novosti cited police as saying 1,074 were arrested over the course of the protests, which lasted more than seven hours. Along with the arrests of the mostly young demonstrators, several opposition activists who wanted to run for the council were arrested throughout the city before the protest. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail for calling an unauthorized protest. The protesters, who police said numbered about 3,500, shouted slogans including “Russia will be free!” and “Who are you beating?” One young woman was seen bleeding heavily after being struck on the head. Helmeted police barged into Navalny’s video studio as it was conducting a YouTube broadcast of the protest and arrested program leader Vladimir Milonov. Police also searched Dozhd, an Internet TV station that was covering the protest, and its editor in chief, Alexandra Perepelova, was ordered to undergo questioning at the

Andreas, who is occasionally consulted by the authorities and met with government officials last week, said he expects a scaled-back version of the giant seawall to be built for less than the initial budget. In this scenario, a 20-kilometerlong (12-mile-long) wall would enclose part of the bay to protect the most vulnerable area, rather than a loop that was intended to be three times as long. This would buy time for the government to deal with the other areas later. Local fishermen view the mega project with suspicion, fearing it will rob them of their livelihood. In Muara Angke, a small fishing port in northern Jakarta, 63-year-old Pandi dismissed the warnings by scientists, arguing that occasional flooding is part of life on the waterfront. Pandi, who uses a single name, catches mussels for a living, in an operation that provides a livelihood for about 30 people. On Saturday, several men scooped their catch from a small boat into large vats they placed on open fires nearby. Once the mussels were cooked, the men dumped them onto the ground, where women removed the shells, preparing the mussels for sale. Pandi said land reclamation already under way in the bay forced him to sail farther away from shore in search of mussels. He said he fears a giant seawall could drive him out of business for good. “If we can’t work, we will suffer for a long time,” he said. “Sinking” below water, he said, “is just part of the risk.” AP

Hong Kong police tear gas protest against mob violence

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POLICE officers detain a woman during an unsanctioned rally in the center of Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, July 27, 2019. Russian police clashed with demonstrators and have arrested some hundreds in central Moscow during a protest demanding that opposition candidates be allowed to run for the Moscow city council. AP PHOTO/ PAVEL GOLOVKIN

Investigative Committee. Police eventually dispersed protesters from the area of the mayor’s office, but many demonstrators reassembled at a square about a kilometer (half-mile) away, where new arrests began, with police beating some to the ground with wide truncheon swings while other demonstrators tried to push them away. Before the protest, several opposition members were detained, including Ilya Yashin, Dmitry Gudkov, Lyubov Sobol and top Navalny associate Ivan Zhdanov. All were released later in the day; Zhdanov and Sobol went to the relocated protest and were detained again.

There was no immediate information on what charges the detainees might face. Once a local, low-key affair, the September vote for Moscow’s city council has shaken up Russia’s political scene as the Kremlin struggles with how to deal with strongly opposing views in its sprawling capital of 12.6 million. The decision by electoral authorities to bar some opposition candidates from running for having allegedly insufficient signatures on their nominating petitions had already sparked several days of demonstrations even before Saturday’s clashes in Moscow. AP

ONG KONG—Hong Kong police on Saturday fired tear gas, swung batons and forcefully cleared out protesters who defied warnings not to march in a neighborhood where, last weekend, a mob apparently targeting demonstrators brutally attacked people in a train station. Protesters wearing all black streamed through the Yuen Long area, even though police refused to grant permission for the march, citing risks of confrontations between demonstrators and local residents. By nightfall, protesters and police were once again facing off in the streets, as they’ve done previously during the summer-long pro-democracy protests that are fueled by fears over the steady erosion of civil rights in the Chinese territory. Demonstrators threw objects and ducked behind makeshift shields, and police officers shot plumes of tear gas into the air. Later, police wearing heavy duty helmets and wielding batons suddenly charged into the train station where a few hundred protesters had taken refuge from the tear gas. Some officers swung their batons directly at demonstrators, while others appeared to be urging their colleagues to hang back. For the second week in a row, blood was splattered on the station floor. Police said in a statement they arrested 11 men, aged between 18 and 68, for offenses including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapon and assault. At least four officers were injured. AP

Green Monday BusinessMirror

A12 Monday, July 29, 2019

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

Red Cross: Heat waves are a ‘new normal’

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NITED NATIONS—It is barely the middle of the month, but the verdict is in: July has been hot. In recent weeks, climate scientists have monitored a freak heat wave in the Canadian Arctic, droughts around Harare and Chennai and forest fires across southern France that have sent holidaymakers fleeing from their burning campgrounds. Against this eerie backdrop, one of the world ’s top relief agencies has warned that heat waves are only becoming more frequent on our warming planet, and that we have to up our game to deal w ith their lifethreatening consequences. “Heat waves are one of the deadliest natural hazards facing humanity, and the threat they pose will only become more

serious and more widespread as the climate crisis continues,” said Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). “However, the good news is that heat waves are also predictable and preventable. The actions that authorities can take to save lives and significantly reduce suffering are simple and affordable.”

KIDS play in a fountain to cool off as temperatures approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) on July 18 in Kansas City, Missouri. AP/CHARLIE RIEDEL

On July 16, the IFRC released a 96-page guidebook designed to help city mayors prepare for heat waves, which explains that they have to prepare better, stay alert for coming hot spells and work harder to save lives. Some 5 billion people live in regions where extreme heat can be predicted days or weeks in advance, says the report. This gives officials and conscientious CEOs enough time to reduce the harm from an impending hot spell. Officials should let people

know how bad a heat wave will be, prepare medical staff to respond, set up “cooling centers” for folks who do not have air-conditioners, and hand out plenty of bottles of water, researchers said. Researchers offered plenty of architectural ideas, calling for more trees and landscaping to shade buildings from sunlight, gardens on rooftops and coats of reflective paint that bounce away the sun’s warming rays. Getting rid of cars and more people u si ng publ ic t ra n sit ,

What consumers can do as regulators weigh compounds’ risks

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ASHINGTON—At first, Tomas Monarrez didn’t notice the labels when he went shopping for pots and pans. “Completely toxin free!” said a big green message on a line of nonstick frying pans in the cookware aisle at a store in the nation’s capital. “No PFOA [perfluorooctanoic acid]!” boasted the label on a 12-piece kitchen set. “Will never release any toxic fumes,” another label promised. “Oh , wo w,” Mon a r re z , a n economist at a think tank, said, when asked if he had ever heard of the toxic chemicals that manufacturers were declaring their products free of. “I didn’t know anything. Should I buy these?” Monarrez asked. “So all these are bad?” Federal regulators are sorting out how to handle health risks from a group of w idely used nonst ic k a nd st a in-resist a nt compounds. But even reading labels may not be enough to guide consumers who want to limit their exposure to the man-made industrial material, known as perf luoroalkyl and polyf luoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Scientists say there are many steps people can take to minimize their contact with the compounds, which federal toxicologists say show links to health problems. Some c h a nges a re si mple, such as checking on the safety of your drinking water or buying different pots and pans. Others require spending and lifestyle changes—for example, passing up fast food or other takeout because of the containers the food may be packaged in. For those concerned about exposure, there’s one critical thing to know about PFAS compounds: “They’re everywhere,” Linda Birnbaum, head of the National Institute for Environmental Health

IN this June 17 photo in Washington, a label states that these pans do not contain PFAS. For consumers, the health information that state and local governments and industry are releasing about a family of nonstick and stain-resistant PFAS compounds can be a lot like the label messages on those pots and pans: a confusing mix of reassurances and alarm. AP/ELLEN KNICKMEYER

Sciences, told a recent gathering of her agency’s advisory council. “The carpets and the chairs and maybe the clothes you’re wearing,” Birnbaum said. She noted she used to love the ritual of spraying Scotchgard on newly bought tablecloths. No more, she made clear. There are thousands of different versions of the compounds, including PFOA and another early version, both now phased out of production in the US. PFAS are used in products including nonstick cookware, but also in stain- and steam-resistant bags for microwave popcorn and many other food containers and packaging, shaving cream, dental f loss, stain protection for fabrics and rugs and outdoor garb—for starters. Federal studies of people heavily exposed to the compounds have found links between high-blood levels of older kinds of PFAS and a range of health problems, including liver issues, low birth weights, and testicular and kidney cancer. High levels a lso have been found in many dr ink ing water

s y stem s. Military installations that use PFAS-laden firefighting foam and businesses that work with PFAS are two big sources of water contamination. It’s probably impossible to avoid all exposures, says Leonardo Trasande, a children’s environmental health specialist and vice chairman for research at New York University’s pediatrics department, and a PFAS expert. But there are “safe and simple steps to limit exposure based on what we know,” Trasande says. Tr a s a n d e h i m s e l f r e c o m mends two precautions. One is shunning nonstick cookware in favor of cast iron or stainless steel, Trasande said. That’s despite statements from industry and manufacturers that newer forms of PFAS in nonstick cookware are safe. The other is eschewing food packaging as much as possible. In practice, that can require changing habits—cutting your consumption of takeout and packaged food, and committing to cooking more at home, from scratch.

“Literature does suggest that diet is a major route of exposure,” Trasande noted. People also can contact their local water utility to find out if their water system is one of those testing with higher levels of PFAS, Environmental Protection Agency Spokesman Andrea Drinkard said. Eating certified organic food can guard against PFAS exposure from fields treated with human sewage sludge because federal rules prohibit use of the sludge on organically raised crops and livestock, environmental groups say. Older forms of the compounds are known to build up in people’s bodies for years. And the chemical bonds holding PFAS compounds together are among the toughest going, so they are expected to take thousands of years to degrade. There’s no across the board consensus on whether newer versions of the thousands of kinds of PFAS are safe. Industry says they are and that there’s no reason to swear off all nonstick cookware and PFAStreated food packaging. “Consumers should have confidence in the safety of products manufactured with today’s PFAS because they have been reviewed by regulators globally and found to meet relevant standards that are protective of health and the environment,” Jessica Bowman, executive director of the FluoroCouncil industry trade group, said in an e-mail. “Studies show that the newer PFAS do not present significant hea lth concer ns—they’re not carcinogenic and not endocrine disruptors.” Severa l nonindustr y researchers dispute that, and the Food and Drug Administration noted last month studies showing newer forms of the nonstick, g re a s e - a nd w ate r - re p e l l i n g compounds may also be a health concern. AP

Brazil adopts new labeling system for pesticides

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IO DE JANEIRO—Brazil last week adopted a new system for classifying and labeling the vast quantities of pesticides it produces, based on the chemicals they contain. Environmental experts welcomed the modernization of the system, used by over 50 countries, but said it was insufficient as it does not take

into account the long-term effects of certain residues known to cause cancer. Joao Paulo Torres, a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said the new classification and labeling system will not advance the larger debate ongoing in Brazil about the country’s use of highly toxic products to sustain its

agriculture, some of which are banned in other countries. The system looks at the immediate impact of chemicals on people’s health instead of “chronic intoxication,” linked to the longterm impact of toxic residue in food or the environment. A director at the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency, Renato Porto, told The

Associated Press the new system focused on providing better information to the primary users of pesticides, or rural workers, not consumers. According to Human Rights Watch, Brazil is one of the world’s largest consumers of pesticides. So far this year, Brazil has approved hundreds of new pesticides. AP

walking and cycling would also “sig n i f ic a nt ly re duce” em i s sions of heat, pollution and the greenhouse gases behind climate change, says the report. In particular, officials should focus on the people who are most likely to experience dehydration, heatstroke and other health worries—the elderly, youngsters, pregnant women and folks who live alone. “Heat waves are silent killers because they take the lives of people who are already vulnerable,” said Rocca, an Italian career humanitarian. “It’s vital that everyone knows how to prepare for them and limit their impact.” According to the report, 17 of the 18 hottest years in the record books have occurred since 2001. In this period, heat waves have caused more harm than just sweaty commutes on cramped buses and subway cars. Several major heat waves have killed tens of thousands of people worldwide so far this century, including a 2015 hot spell in India that killed around 2,500 people,

and the 2003 European heat wave that caused some 70,000 deaths. T he extreme temperatures seen across western Europe last month were in part a result of climate change, the report says, citing evidence that the hot spell was made at least five times more likely by global warming. The IFRC released its report on the sidelines of a high-level political forum at United Nat ion s ( U N ) he adqu a r te r s i n New York, which is focused on climate action and other parts of the world body’s so-called Sustainable Development Goals. Earlier this month, the UN’s envoy on disaster risk reduction, Mami Mizutori, warned that small-scale climate-related disasters were happening “at the rate of one a week,” though most attract little attention. Mizutori told The Guardian newspaper that “ lower-impact events” causing death and displacement were happening more frequently than predicted and urged policy-makers to “talk more about adaptation and resilience.” James Reinl/IPS

Carbon pollution price in Europe nears key €30 threshold

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UROPE’S carbon market is nearing the psychologically important threshold of €30 ($33.70) a ton after signs the region will tighten rules on polluters and curtail supplies of allowances. The value of the securities that cover greenhouse-gas emissions from industry and utilities has almost doubled in the past year, finishing last week at their strongest weekly close since 2006. That followed comments from the designated European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen placing green issues at the heart of the political agenda. The surge in the cost of pollution along with a plunge in natural gas prices has prompted some power generators to switch away from coal to the cleaner fuel. It’s also starting to revive debate about carbon pricing as a tool for combating climate change, eliminating years of malaise in the market that finally passed in 2018. “People thought the market might take a breather in July, but they were wrong,” said Ingo Ramming, head of corporate and investor solutions at Commerzbank AG. “The rally through Monday appeared to be driven by financial investors—everyone is waiting for the market to crack €30.” Crossing €30 would be a crucial milestone for the market, since that is the floor price economists and experts have suggested as a minimum needed to prod industry away from the most polluting fuels. Without putting a cost on pollution, big energy users are apt to opt for the cheapest fuel possible, which often is coal. The indications in the market last week were that carbon may soon breach that level: Carbon allowances for December jumped 4 percent Friday to €28.89 a ton, according to ICE Futures Europe. That’s up 0.4 percent from the previous week, marking the longest weekly rising streak since September. Calls to buy December futures at €30 a ton have the second-biggest open interest in the options market. Options to buy at €50 have the biggest interest. Utilities from RWE AG to Uniper SE are burning less coal this

year partly because the cost of carbon allowances has risen. RWE, Europe’s biggest emitter, will boost its gas-fired generation next year by starting up a Dutch plant that’s been mothballed since 2014. The EU’s Von der Leyen has thrown her weight behind efforts to bring net emissions in Europe down to zero by 2050, which implies tighter emission targets for the coming decades. She wants to deepen the EU’s emission-reduction goal toward 55 percent below 1990 levels by the end of the next decade, compared with the current 40-percent target. “It seems to me that’s a big deal,” said Mark Lewis, global head of sustainability research at BNP Paribas SA’s asset management unit, who’s followed the market since it began. Prices closed as high as €29.5 on July 15 before wobbling on concerns that Britain may exit the EU without a deal later in the year and hit carbon markets with allowances no longer needed by UK emitters. Not all analysts are bullish. “We are not necessarily seeing pr ices move above €30” this year, said S&P Globa l Platts Analytics’ analyst Jeff Berman, by phone. “We’re not that bullish on 2020 either.” Power prices across Europe have tracked carbon higher because the surge in permits make it more expensive to generate at coal and gas plants. The German benchmark for electricity delivered next-year reached its highest level this year last week. And as the region’s utilities are now selling their power many years in advance, it means they are beginning to hedge those sales by buying carbon allowances for the start of the next decade, too. The rally may continue into August, when the volume of new allowances released through auctions typically plunges as traders head off on holiday. “The real demand will come if we see volumes surging for carbon allowances with deliveries beyond 2020,” Commerzbank ’s Ramming said. “You don’t want to have a short position while heading off to the beach, not in this environment.” Bloomberg News

Biodiversity Monday BusinessMirror

Asean Champions of Biodiversity Media Category 2014

Monday, July 29, 2019 A13

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

Nickel industry ups reforestation efforts with 5.3M trees

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HE Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA), through its seven membercompanies, has once again boosted greening efforts as part of ongoing rehabilitation and reforestation in their respective mining areas. Ensuring environmental and ecological sustainability in areas where nickel is mined, members of the nickel industry have planted an estimated 5.3 million trees to date in the Caraga region and in Palawan as part of its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP). The number of trees planted has risen 27 percent since PNIA’s report of planting 4.2 million trees in June 2018. “The nickel-mining industry has real and continuing accomplishments in caring not only for our communities, but also for the environment. We contribute at least 3 percent to 5 percent of our operating cost to [EPEP] programs. No other industry is mandated to do this,” said PNIA Executive Director Charmaine Olea-Capili. On top of current reforestation efforts, mining companies are mandated to implement the Temporary Revegetation Program (TRP). PNIA member-companies have planted over 284 hectares of various vegetation and have spent P45 million. “We are required to plant 100 trees for every one tree we cut down. Our industry has made continued efforts to rehabilitate the areas where we mine since we started operations. With the ongoing TRP, we can provide short-term vegetation growth that can control soil erosion and assist communities during natural calamities,” Capili added. Indigenous and endemic tree and grass species have been successfully planted since the start of rehabilitation efforts. These include fruit-bearing trees and cash crops, among others. Furthermore, PNIA’s bamboo reforestation also serves as a strategic complement to ongoing reforestation and rehabilitation programs. To date, more than 22,000 seedlings have been planted by PNIA member-companies. The nickel companies’ reforestation and revegetation programs not only facilitates ecological rehabilitation of mined-out areas. It also provides employment to residents and to the indigenous community. It also creates livelihood programs that are vital to strengthening the local economy. These projects range from sponsoring backyard nursery projects; to plantations of coffee, rubber, cacao and bamboo; and even to the development of areas for productive use. These activities also allow the companies to help their respective host communities as seedlings can be donated to the community in support of various greening initiatives. Companies also regularly distribute seedlings and fertilizers to farmers in the community to increase their crop production and yield. These continued efforts demonstrate PNIA members’ commitment and contributions to the government’s “Enhanced National Greening Program,” which targets the reforestation of 1.2 million hectares between 2017-2022. Moreover, PNIA members also focus on other environmental preservation programs, such as biodiversity marine protection programs, mangrove plantations, coral transplantation, fish production and other activities that improve the environment. Organized in 2012 as nonstick, nonprofit organization, the PNIA seven nickel mamber mining companies, are Platinum Group Metals Corp., CTP Construction and Mining Corp., Citinickel Mines and Development Corp., Carrascal Nickel Corp., DMCI Mining Corp., Marcventures Mining and Development Corp., and Agata Mining Ventures Inc. Recently, it included 13 contractors providing ancillary services as new members.

Experts: Forensic science ‘a must’ to combat illegal wildlife trade

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

S the Philippines intensify efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade, organizers and participants of a three-day national conference on wildlife forensics held in Mandaue City in the middle of July have affirmed the need to enhance the country’s capacity in the application of science to pursue cases involving wildlife crime. The conference, dubbed “Wildlife Forensics as a Tool in Combating Illegal Wildlife Trafficking,” co-organized by the Department of Env ironment and Natura l Resources (DENR), the USAID through the Protect Wild life Project and the US Department of Interior through its Partnership for Biodiversity Conservation from July 16 to 18, tackled the lucrative illegal wildlife trade, globally estimated to be worth $10 billion a year.

Organized crime

W ILDLIFE traf f ic k ing is t he fourth most lucrative transnational crime, next to illegal drugs, arms and human trafficking. In the Philippines, with an illegal wildlife trade worth around P50 billion or $1 billion a year, law enforcers believe that wildlife trafficking is getting worse, with criminal syndicates becoming more clever to avoid arrest and prosecution. Roberto M. Aguda, head of the secretariat of the National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (Nalecc) for the DENR, briefed the participants, mostly wildlife law enforcers from various DENR field offices, of the current initiatives on wildlife forensics and criminal investigation training. Aguda represented DENR Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Marcial Amaro Jr. He said that unlike ordinary crimes, environmental crimes, wildlife crime in particular, has far-reaching effects to the environment, health, security and the economy of nations. As such, he said “all available methods and system that strengthen government programs to combat it must be utilized.”

Not lagging behind

FORENSIC science, he said, is one field that is currently being strengthened to bolster efforts against wildlife trafficking. The Philippines, once declared a consumer, source and transit point of illegal wildlife, is not lagging behind in this effort. He cited that the Institute of Biology of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP-IB) has established a wildlife forensics laboratory, which the DENR and other law enforcement agencies are able to tap to boost investigation and case buildup. He said the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) has entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with UP-IB for the DNA barcoding of some of the commonly traded wildlife species endemic to the Philippines. Moreover, during the first Wildlife Law Enforcement Summit in November 2016, as a way

forward for the Philippines on wildlife forensics science, wildlife law enforcement officers must undergo training, hence, the “Wildlife Forensics and Criminal Investigation Training” design was developed for the purpose.

Species identification

DR. Ian Kendrich C. Fontanilla, head of the DNA Barcoding Laboratory of the UP-IB, said with the country being one of the megadiverse countries in the world, identifying hundreds of thousands of wildlife species is already a challenge. At the minimum, he said it will require around 15,000 taxonomist to identify all species of flora and fauna in 7,641 islands and islets in the Philippine archipelago. High in endemism, he said the Philippines’s known f lora and fauna are endemic species or species that can be found only in the Philippines. DNA barcoding, he said, is so accurate and can be very useful in identifying species from specimen submitted for laboratory testing. Fontanilla, who is batting for the establishment of a network of forensic laboratories in the Philippines, said forensic science, however, also relies heavily on the identification of unknown samples to their known species, because many species have not been identified and properly recorded, yet. As such, ex perts in ta xonomy w ill be highly qualified as w ildlife forensics. Proper identification of species from a specimen, he said, can be via the taxonomic keys, guides, written description, specimen comparison usually from herbaria or museums, image comparison, and expert determination.

DNA barcoding

HOWEVER, Fontanilla said law enforcement agents are hampered by their inability to accurately and instantly identify species, either because they are not trained taxonomists themselves, or the animals they confiscate are no longer intact. In such case, he said DNA barcoding may come to play. DNA barcoding is defined as a taxonomic method that uses one or more standardized short genetic markers in an organism’s DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species. “ Through this method, unknown DNA samples are identified to registered species based on comparison to a reference library,” said Barcode of Life Data System (BOLDSystem) in its web site. BOLDSystem is an informatics workbench aiding the acquisition,

THE tour US Fish and Wildlife Service Forensic Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, in the United States gives the Philippine delegation a glimpse on the necessary elements, components and personnel and logistical needs in setting up a wildlife forensics laboratory. Members of the Philippine delegation examine skull specimens inside the laboratory. USAID PROTECT WILDLIFE PROJECT

storage, analysis and publication of DNA barcode records. DNA barcoding makes use of a small section of DNA sequence from a standardized region of the genome to identify species, according to Fontanilla. “Through barcoding, unknown individuals could be assigned to species,” Fontanilla said.

BOLD, CBOL

THE Philippines, he said, is doing its share in the global effort to build a wildlife database through DNA barcoding under the BOLDSystem. It is a member of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL). Launched in May 2004, CBOL now includes more than 120 organizations from 45 nations. The consortium fosters the development of international research alliances needed to build, over the next 20 years, a barcode library for all eukaryotic life. The Philippines—which started the initiative on DNA barcoding through the late Perry Ong, then the head of the UP-IB, and former DENR-BMB Director and now Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim, in 2008—have a modest contribution to BOLD. Under the DENR-BMB and UP IB partnership, specimens col lected by the DENR-BMB, including confiscated wildlife, are submitted to the UP-IB’s DNA Barcoding Laboratory for analysis and recording. T he Phi lippines’s barcodes on BOLD as far as barcode count is concerned include 27,639 sequences, 3,586 named species, 4,772 Barcode Inde x Numbers (BINs). Special Coverage includes 141 species of plants, 1,885 species of vertebrates, 1,076 species of arthropod, and 510 species of other inverts. BIN coverage includes 2,010 vertebrates, 1,460 arthropod, and 1,216 other inverts. The figures, he said, are a modest contribution compared to the country’s biodiversity in terms of numbers of species. “What we need is do more DNA barcoding, and get more samples or specimens to help build our database,” he said. According to Fontanilla, the applications of DNA barcoding

include the discovery of new species, biodiversity assessment, Phylogenetic studies of closely related taxa, and regulation of export and import of endangered species.

Effective fighting tool

DUR ING the conference, two actual wildlife crime cases were presented as proof that wildlife forensics is an effective fighting tool in wildlife crime investigation and in combatting the illegal trade in wildlife. Rainier Manlegro, Ecosystem Management specialist of the DENR Central Visayas Enforcement Division, presented the marine turtle case involving a dead female marine turtle discovered in the Acapulco Beach in Barangay Canaoay, San Fernando, La Union, on May 8, 2019. Through an examination of the carcass of the marine turtle, the cause of death was determined— gastrointestinal problem caused by ingested hook and line. In this case, however, the marine turtle was killed by accident. For his part, Esteven Toledo of the DENR-BMB cited the need to bring a specimen from still unidentified dried bush to the laboratory in UP to identify the species that led to the arrest of suspects involved in wildlife crime. A joint operation by the DENRBMB’s Task Force Pogi, the National Bureau of Investigation Environmental Crime Division and DENR Calabarzon region, the 2018 Bantigi Case stemmed from a report from members of a nongovernment organization regarding the alleged massive harvesting of the plant species. Bantigi is found in Australia, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. It is collected for trade as bonsai ornaments and as fuel wood despite being identified as a threatened species. It is nationally protected in the country under Wildlife Act with “endangered” category in accordance with DENR Administrative Order 2017-11 dated May 2, 2017. Upon confirmation that the species was bantigi, law enforcers were able to confiscate a total 34 sacks of illegally harvested bantigi plants. Eventually, the suspect pleaded guilty, sentencing by the local

court for six months incarceration and a fine of P10,000. Toledo said it would have been impossible for law enforcers to identify the species of the plant they discovered had it not been through the help of the laboratory tests conducted on the specimen.

‘A necessity’ in wildlife crime investigation

ORGANIZERS of the event said a fully functioning wildlife forensic laboratory has become a necessity that will require an interagency collaboration. “There is recognition and it is timely for the need to strengthen the capacity of the government in wildlife forensics,” said Ma. Ronely D. Bisquera-Sheen, in-country coordinator of US Department of Interior, International Technical Assistance Program for the Partnership for Biodiversity Conservation. Asis G. Perez, of Tanggol Kalikasan and former director of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said with such affirmation of the need to put up a forensic laboratory, a way forward is to determine the design or overall look, and what laboratory equipment is needed. “In preparation for the establishment of the laboratory, the participants agreed to conduct an assessment and inventory of the different collection or specimens we have and catalog it. Forensics is not just about genetics, there is also morphology. They saw the need to organize what we have,” Perez said. Aguda said a policy recommendation w ill soon be drafted and submitted to the DENR chief consistent w ith an action plan proposal. Being a major driver of biodiversity loss, illegal trade in wildlife—which experts believe is no longer just about hunger and poverty but an economic cr ime —requ ires, more of ten than not, intensive investigation and the proper application of forensic science. Indeed, to effectively combat illegal wildlife trade and the more lucrative wildlife trafficking in a global scale, wildlife forensics is an added tool and a must for wildlife law enforcement.

A14 Monday, July 29, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Closing down the PCSO

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BRIEF Internet search of “Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office” (PCSO) reveals three main topics. Dozens of press and media reports highlight stories, such as “19-year-old student bags P33-M lotto jackpot,” “Jobless man wins P61-M lotto prize” and—our favorite—“Tricycle driver dumped by wife wins P59-M lotto jackpot.” Then there are the articles about the “charity” of PCSO—“PCSO donates four ambulances to Cebu province” and “PCSO extends financial aid worth P518 million plus to 16,541 patients.” Unfortunately, there are far too many reports like this: “Senate told PCSO exec Manuel Garcia got P1.5B in kickbacks,” “Ex-PCSO officials Valencia, Aguas enter not-guilty pleas in plunder case” and “PCSO: Less than 4 pct of revenues fund health-related charity cases.” It is easy to say that allegations are just talk until—at the least—a thorough investigation is conducted or—at the most—proven in a court of law. Particularly when it comes to public funds, the first rule should probably be “where there is smoke, there is fire.” In most corporations, there is a high wall between the person/ department that requests a spending proposal and the person/department that approves that spending. This allows for “checks and balance” system and avoids the strong potential for a conflict of interest and corruption. That is not to say that there are no safeguards within the PCSO structure. However, there are just too many instances that arouse justifiable suspicion as to the way the PCSO does its business. In December 2015, “The Commission on Audit has directed the PCSO to refund P286.937 million of unauthorized allowances, bonuses, and benefits supposedly given to its officials and employees in 2014.” “In an audit report on the PCSO released on October 10, 2013, COA said the amount of disbursements made by PCSO for its provident fund, weekly draw allowances, cost of living allowances, car and medical plans, and per diems may be unlawful.” As early as September 2016, “Calling the PCSO the “most corrupt” government agency, President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted to study whether it should be abolished.” Apparently coming to the end of his patience even with new appointees to the PCSO, President Duterte on Friday said: “I have today ordered the closure, the stoppage of all gaming schemes of whatever nature, however done, that got their franchises to do so from the PCSO.” Immediately, there were voices that charged that the President had a hidden self-serving agenda. Of course, we heard the same thing when he ordered the closure of Boracay, supposedly to allow his “Chinese casino friends” to continue construction of a gambling site. Stopping the PCSO lotto operations is an extreme measure that may or may not be appropriate. However, the system needs to be changed. A government-owned and -controlled corporation must be operated in a manner to avoid even a suspicion of corruption. Perhaps there should be one GOCC to take charge of the “Sweepstakes” part and another to handle the “Charity” operations. The current situation is unacceptable.

Are we really helpless in the face of climate change? Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

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LMOST every day the reports are posted and each one does not offer too much hope. And yet, we don’t have much choice except to hope because we, together with our children, are already in the middle of this catastrophe. The Economist recently published a piece about the unprecedented heat waves being experienced in many places today, including Europe. The write-up offered a kind of a silver lining—that deaths and injuries arising out of heat waves are preventable. One thing to do, according to the article, is to establish an efficient information campaign to warn people about heat waves that are happening. People must know that it is not wise

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to stay out in the sun or to pass on the water during episodes like these. Social media is an excellent tool for this purpose. Cities must also establish cool, shaded areas like parks and provide fresh water for everyone. In communities where homes don’t have air-conditioning, public places like community centers and schools can serve as a haven for overheating humans.

LEGALLY SPEAKING

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XECUTIVE Order (EO) 06, signed by President Duterte on October 14, 2016, institutionalized the 8888 Citizen’s Complaint Hotline and established the 8888 Citizen’s Complaint Center. This is pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9485, otherwise known as the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, which provides that the State shall take appropriate measures to promote transparency in each government agency with regard to the manner of transacting with the public with the objective of reducing red tape and expediting transactions in the government. The 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center shall serve as a mechanism where citizens may report their complaints and grievances on acts of red tape, as defined under RA 9485 and other relevant laws, and/ or corruption of any national government agency, government-owned or -controlled corporation/government financial institution and other instrumentalities of the government (Section 2, EO 6). The 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center shall be under the direction and supervision of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS). Concerned government agencies and offices shall designate their respective focal and technical officers who shall assist the OCS in its collaboration efforts, and interconnection and integration of public feedback mechanisms (Section 4, EO 6). The 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center shall have the following minimum operating standards: a. Communication Channels. In

addition to the “8888” telephone hotline, the 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center shall provide other communication channels which may include: Short message service/Text access; Electronic mail (E-mail); web site/ Web page; and Social media, as well as any other emerging communication medium; b. Operating Hours. The 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center shall operate, through any of its communication channels, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from Monday to Sunday, excluding national holidays and work suspensions. As far as practicable, live agents shall respond to calls made through the telephone hotline facility; c. Process Flow. A citizen’s concern received through any of the communication channels shall immediately be referred, directly or indirectly, to the concerned government agency, office or instrumentality for appropriate action. As much

Those in charge of building structures must be mindful that their designs are resilient to the threat of extreme heat. Suggestions include installing “cool roofs” and white walls. There must be more green spaces, too, so everyone can breathe easier. According to an old WWF article from March of last year, there are many reasons why people must remain hopeful in the midst of all the negative predictions and updates. I believe the reasons for hope are still relevant today. For example, we must know that there are thousands of influential people working together to fight climate change. These are volunteers, student leaders, tribal leaders, government officials, school presidents, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and many others. More businesses and capitalists, along with communities, schools, tribes, cities, and countries, have joined or are starting to join the campaign to reduce carbon emissions and

adopt ways to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. There are strong campaigns ongoing worldwide that call for greater access to renewable energy sources. There are also more companies that are working to shift their power source to renewable-energy, and hopefully, more businesses will follow suit. People believe that their efforts, no matter how small, make a difference and so there are many campaigns and projects that seek to recycle/reuse trash, save energy or reduce one’s carbon footprint, revive the environment, clean the oceans, save animals and alter wasteful lifestyles. We have to keep believing that our concerted efforts will eventually bear fruit. We need to be positive and hopeful. We should learn to adapt to present-day realities while we take action—because adaptation is never enough. We need to do our share today. Not tomorrow.

as the circumstances permit, the complainant shall be given advice or feedback on the status of the concern until its resolution; and d. Period to Take Action. A citizen’s concern lodged through any of the communication channels shall have a concrete and specific action within 72 hours from receipt of the concern by the proper government agency or instrumentality (Section 5). After institutionalizing the 8888 hotline, the President, likewise, signed on May 25, 2018, EO 56 Institutionalizing the Emergency 911 Hotline as the Nationwide Emergency Answering Point which replaced PATROL 117 created on July 14, 2003, under EO 226 by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Prior to the inception of “117,” emergency services were reached through a myriad of telephone numbers, “117” was initially used solely in the Metro Manila area by the Philippine National Police for the reporting of ongoing crimes as part of the program called “Patrol 117 Street Patrol Program” in cooperation with the Foundation for Crime Prevention. In 1990, “117” was expanded with the addition of emergency medical services (https: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-1-1). To conform with international standards on emergency numbers for public telecommunications network, the National Telecommunications Commission through Memorandum Order 07-07-2016 dated July 20, 2016, made available the code “911” for the use of the government and ordered the assignment of code “911” as the Emergency Hotline Number nationwide (Whereas Clause, EO 56)

Under Section 2 of EO 56, the Emergency 911 National Program shall consist of the following: a. The Emergency 911 National Hotline Public Safety Answering Center (National Call Center) under the direction and control of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The local government units (LGUs) are enjoined to establish and run local 911 call centers within their area of jurisdiction using their own funds. These local 911 call centers shall, however, be under the supervision of the National Call Center; b. The Primary Service Responders composed of— 1. Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) as the lead agency in conducting fire suppression operations and providing the public with emergency medical services, hazardous materials protection, and technical search and rescue services; and 2. Philippine National Police (PNP) as the lead agency in providing police assistance in relation to public safety and crime prevention; c. The Major Support Service Responders, which shall provide appropriate and necessary assistance and support to the Emergency 911 National Program, consistent with their respective mandates, composed of— 1) Department of Public Works and Highways; 2) Department of Health; 3) Department of Transportation; 4) Armed Forces of the Philippines; 5) National Bureau of Investigation; 6) Bureau of Immigration; 7) Philippine Coast Guard; 8) Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency; 9) Metropolitan Manila See “Kapunan,” A15

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Opinion

To avail or not to avail?

Sleeping with the enemy

BusinessMirror

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

Joel L. Tan-Torres

THE PATRIOT

DEBIT CREDIT Conclusion

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O avail or not to avail the tax amnesties covered by Republic Act 11313? This question must be addressed by taxpayers who are now given this rare opportunity to resolve their long pending tax woes with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Taxpayers must decide and act soon. The period to avail of TA on delinquent accounts ends on April 23, 2020, while the availment for the estate tax TA ends on June 15, 2021. Is the TA solution automatically appropriate for your long pending tax problems on unsettled delinquent accounts of companies or estate taxes and obligations of family members who died years ago? I advise taxpayers to carefully evaluate if the TA is best for them. Each tax problem that may be covered by the TA is unique and has distinct issues and complications. There are other remedies available that perhaps may provide a better resolution for some tax problems. The process for availing of the TA requires several steps and multiple documentation. For these reasons, it is appropriate that a careful deliberation be made before proceeding with the decision to go ahead with availing of the tax amnesty. In the course of holding several seminars and consultations on the TA, I continue to come across questions from taxpayers that are not fully addressed by the current implementing rules of the TA. If these issues are not properly addressed and resolved, those who hastily plunged and availed themselves of the tax amnesties may not derive the outcomes that they expected for their tax problems. Therefore, I suggest that a careful approach be pursued for those contemplating on the TA options. I follow a Tax Amnesty Personalized Oriented Service (TAPOS) approach to taxpayers who consult me about their unresolved tax problems. My TAPOS methodology focuses on a personalized and customized approach that recognizes that each and every tax problem involves unique and distinctive issues and resolutions. The TAPOS provides a holistic and practical solution to each tax situation resulting in the favorable outcomes expected by the people who consult me. For those interested in knowing more about TAPOS, I follow a stepby-step process in providing this solution. These are: First step: Pre-amnesty availment discussion. I conduct a face-to-face meeting with you to give an orientation on the key features of the TA; gather information on the background and circumstances of your particular tax case/s; validate your expectations and concerns; present to you the checklist of requirements and processes; and, agree on the TAPOS timeline. Second step: Assistance in completion of all mandatory TA requirements and identified supplemental activities. We will hand in hand proceed with the compliance with the rules and regulations of the Tax Amnesty Returns. These include accomplishment of the TAR, securing all documentary and procedural requirements, liaising with the concerned government offices (BIR, DOJ, RD and LGU), and the completion of the TA availment. Third step: On call consultation and update services in the course of

Kapunan. . .

continued from A14

Development Authority; 10) local government units; and 11) Accredited nongovernment organizations, hospital and medical institutions and facilities, public safety

My TAPOS methodology focuses on a personalized and customized approach that recognizes that each and every tax problem involves unique and distinctive issues and resolutions. The TAPOS provides a holistic and practical solution to each tax situation resulting in the favorable outcomes expected by the people who consult me. the engagement. I shall be on standby to address your concerns and queries in the course of TAPOS. You will be provided with regular updates on the progress of the processing of the various documents and outcomes. In the event that there are new guidelines or updates issued by the BIR or the other government offices that may be relevant to the TAPOS, you will immediately be informed about these and how these may affect your particular situation. Fourth step: Delivery of all tax amnesty benefits and other supplemental outcomes. With our joint and close effort and collaboration, you can expect an expeditious and satisfactory resolution of your long outstanding tax woes and problems. At the conclusion of TAPOS, you will attain your expectation that you have a clean slate in the BIR with the cancellation of your previous record of unpaid tax arrears, or for your estate tax problems, you will have the final settlement of the estate requirements with the properties in the estate distributed to, and ownership of said properties already in the names of, the designated heirs. Fifth step: Post amnesty evaluation and debriefing. At the conclusion of TAPOS, you will be briefed on the relevant milestones that arose and you will have the opportunity to give feedback on your level of satisfaction on the services that I rendered. Sixth step: High-level diagnostic for enhanced tax compliance and planning on a moving forward basis. I will also present to you my high level assessment of what you or your business organization can consider to improve tax compliance, pinpoint tax planning opportunities, and minimize tax risks in your future and prospective transactions. Finally, after you and/or your company successfully availed of the tax amnesty and TAPOS, the prospect of a better tax environment awaits you.

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HEN my friends and I went on a golf vacation in the United Kingdom, our scores were principally dictated by the quality of rest/sleep we got. Traveling by car, by train and by plane, our group hardly got any sleep hours before our tee time. Having a roommate who snores compounded my own woes as I struggled to function effectively throughout each round of golf. Without quality sleep, our minds and bodies were deprived of the essential elements needed to conquer the different golf courses in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. Unknown to my competitors in golf, however, I was taking a sleep enhancing “drug” if ever it was one, called melatonin—a natural hormone to help people go to sleep faster and more soundly. Science says that there are four stages of sleep that make up two completely different types of sleep— Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep and the Rapid Eye Movement sleep. Each stage allows us to rebuild muscles and helps improve our memory. One sleep cycle contains both NREM (the very relaxed type) and REM (the very active type) every 90 minutes. Each night, a person will go through this cycle four to six times, spending an average of 90 minutes in each stage. Physicians say that during NREM sleep, the mind rests while the body heals, but in REM sleep the mind energizes itself while the body is immobile. During the first three stages, a person experiences only the NREM

type whereby he can have involuntary muscle movement, which can include snoring and sleepwalking. During stage four, a person experiences the REM type whereby he can be dreaming. American author Washington Irving wrote a fictional story about Rip van Winkle, a Dutch villager in colonial America who fell asleep and woke up 20 years later, completely missing the American Revolution. I have a friend who confessed that she had 12 hours of sleep one time and she loved it! That must have been one quality sleep. It begs the question then: What constitutes a good night’s sleep? Some say it’s the number of hours, between seven

Monday, July 29, 2019 A15

and nine hours for adults can be a good metric. Others perceive that snoring while sleeping indicates a deep sleep. In our daily lives, stress is the number one enemy that prevents us from getting a good night sleep. All of us are affected by challenges at work and at home. I used to work with a colleague who always brings home unfinished paperwork, saying that office hours are not enough for him to be able to finish all his tasks. He leaves his cell phone at his bedside with the conviction that he wants to be available to his boss, 24/7. He rarely goes to the gym, citing lack of time. And, worse, he manages to sleep with the “enemy” by taking sleep medications on a regular basis. Sadly, he never reached the age of 50 as he is now Resting In Peace (RIP). The absence of peace of mind plus prolonged use of electronic devices while in bed affects the quality of sleep we get. Clock-watching, especially in the middle of the night, causes unnecessary stress. Some doctors suggest the establishment of a quiet, relaxing bedtime routine (e.g., taking caffeine-free tea or coffee, a warm shower, a short prayer) can help us sleep better. In my own experience, Bikram yoga or a soothing massage helps me relax my muscles, reduce stress and ease tension before I sleep. So, amid all the challenges in the office, I have been sleeping with the enemy, soundly and restfully similar to Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples.

In the Bible, Acts 12:6 tells us, “The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.” It seems oxymoronic for Peter to be at peace while “sleeping with the enemy.” But he did sleep, despite being in between two soldiers, because of his trusting relationship with God. Pastor Steven Furtick opined that Peter was able to get some quality sleep principally because of Peter’s steadfast faith in Jesus. Peter was relaxed and at peace despite the likely prospect of death. In Furtick’s words, “God must have told Peter that I can do more for you if you were sleeping than you were awake.” Thus, whenever stress starts affecting our sleep, we should be mindful that adversities are gifts from Him to make us trust Him more. In the Bible, James 1:2-3 tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” For most, RIP means Rest In Peace. For some, RIP means Rest is Power. All of us will be sleeping with the enemy in our daily lives. But we can still manage to have a power rest/sleep, knowing that stress produces perseverance that leads us to a stronger relationship with Him. In golf, as in life, a restful sleep works wonders to our game! For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

Boris, Trump, Merkel and Putin: Walking clichés have taken power

Joel L. Tan-Torres is a Certified Public Accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010 and the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to August 2018. He is a partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com

In a paean to Johnson published on Quillette, his onetime Oxford schoolmate Toby Young recalled meeting the future prime minister: “It was as if I’d finally encountered the ‘real’ Oxford, the Platonic ideal. While the rest of us were works in progress, vainly trying on different personae, Boris was the finished article. He was an instantly recognizable character from the comic tradition in English letters: a pantomime toff.” In other words, the likable decadent straight out of Evelyn Waugh and P.G. Wodehouse. But Johnson is also instantly recognizable to those who, unlike Young, despise the stereotypical toff, coming off as arrogant, airheaded and unreliable. In a similar way, Donald J. Trump fits an American, even a specifically New York stereotype: “the brash, vulgar-yet-successful businessman that so many imagine they might someday become,” as Anne Applebaum put it in a Washington Post column. Obviously, there’s a flip side to that stereotype, too. I once asked Milton Glaser, the designer of the “I heart NY” logo, if he considered Trump a New York symbol. “His is a certain kind of personality that thrives in New York, which is narcissistic and self-absorbed, very aggressive, determined to exploit

every opportunity, take advantage of every situation, and profoundly uninterested in other people,” replied Glaser, who once designed a vodka bottle for Trump. “Everybody is there to be taken, at their expense and to his benefit.” Then there’s Vladimir Putin, who, at times, appears consciously to play to the cliché of the closefisted, calculating KGB man—and at other times to the Russian macho mythology, fishing and riding horses naked to the waist, romping with his dog in the snow. Both these stereotypes have their negative sides, too: The KGB man is a habitual liar and double-crosser, the macho a thug who only understands superior force. Angela Merkel, for her part, is the epitome of German moderation, caution and precision. (The flip side? Humorlessness, lack of charisma, an aversion to leading.) Significant numbers of Britons, Americans, Russians and Germans (this is not a complete list, of course) appear to buy the stereotypes whole, with the positives and the negatives. It’s as if they’re comfortable with a cartoon image of their supposed national character at the top. The mechanism behind this is perhaps the same one that makes us instinctively trust a pizzeria where

waiters speak with an Italian accent. Who better to defend the national interest than a typical (fill in the nationality blank)? The opposite may be true, though. It’s worth recalling the same countries’ most recent transformative leaders; they didn’t fit any national stereotype at all. Tony Blair has few fans in today’s UK, but he did bring the country into the 21st century, establishing it as a creative hub and—after two decades of fustiness—a fashionable place again. He also contributed significantly to making the UK a country of immigration, a country that, for a while, wasn’t institutionally hostile to foreigners. Regardless of what has followed, this was nevertheless a lasting change. The man who brought it about was a surprising character for the UK’s top echelons of power, a middleclass upstart and former rebellious youth who didn’t really fit any of the traditional political, social or behavioral molds, who, at times, looked like an American import and who may have permanently broken Labour, the party that brought him to power, by abandoning its leftist roots. Barack Obama, Trump’s predecessor, pulled the US out of the global financial crisis and its international image out of the tailspin caused by George W. Bush’s military adventures and backsliding on civil liberties. His eight scandal-free years at the White House and the way he treated people when he was president will keep many in the US pining for him for a long time to come. And yet, he doesn’t fit any kind of US stereotype; black, wonkish, born and raised in Hawaii outside of any church, he was a rare bird throughout his career. Mikhail Gorbachev, the man who did the impossible: Liberalizing Russia after 70 years of communism, then reluctantly overseeing the collapse of the Soviet

volunteers, and such other institutions and facilities recommended by the Emergency 911 Commission. d. The establishment of the National Call Center shall be with the participation of existing private communication carriers and telecommunications companies, which shall ensure and provide uninterrupted

connectivity and integration of all calls made by their subscribers to the Emergency 911 Hotline. In addition to 8888 and 911, a Malacañang press release announced the launching of a weekly public service program, Digong 8888 Hotline (hosted by Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel

Salvador Panelo) aimed at “bridging the gap between government agencies and the people through segments that will directly address the ordinary Filipino’s concern on various government services.” It is formatted to feature one agency a week. The agency will answer questions from Filipinos, culled from social media

or from field interviews. According to the press release, it is possible that some episodes will feature President Duterte himself. While the 8888 complaint hotline is intended to receive reports on red tape and corruption, what is important is that these reports are timely referred to the appropriate

Leonid Bershidsky

BLOOMBERG

O

NE of the most striking things about Boris Johnson, who became UK prime minister last week, is how precisely he fits the stereotype of the eccentric upper-class Brit. With his elevation, Britain joins several other major nations led by people who embody their national stereotypes, and not the best of them at that; it could be argued, however, that it’s leaders defying such clichés who take their countries forward.

empire. The transformation he brought about remains momentous, despite Putin’s efforts to revive the past. He, too, was a stereotype-defying figure. His obvious lack of interest in the oppressive kind of power, his easy gregariousness, his dyslexic torrents of unscripted speech and his highly untypical worship of his intellectual wife made him a maverick in the eyes of the Russian elite and the Russian public alike. Many fail to understand to this day how he managed to get to the top and stay there for more than six years. And in Germany, while some might argue that Merkel’s long rule has been transformative enough, it doesn’t rise to the high bar set by her mentor, Helmut Kohl, who unified the country 45 years after the last world war split it in two; he was also one of the masterminds behind the modern European Union. Margaret Thatcher famously, and unflatteringly, called him “so German” after he pulled one of his classic jokes on her, trying to feed her pig’s stomach. But Kohl didn’t quite fit many of the national stereotypes, especially those that apply to the country’s meritocratic elite. A known glutton with an ever-growing belly, he often irritated his intense, perfectionist fellow citizens; the first in his family to go to university, he was also known for a dislike of careful preparation—a German who rarely did his homework. Great leadership, of course, doesn’t lend itself to clear rules and patterns. Somehow I doubt, though, that in these precarious times conforming to national stereotypes is the right answer to very unusual challenges. Only a truly unusual leader could pull the UK out of its Brexit nosedive, the US out of its exceptionalism trap, Russia out of its slide into irrelevance and Germany out of its provincial complacency. As it is, we have to make do with the clichés. government agency or employee and timely acted upon. Otherwise, the President in his next State of the Nation Address will call upon a major earthquake to engulf Bahay Ugnayan in Malacañang, which serves as the “liaison” to various departments and agencies of government.

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DOF to Congress: Higher tax on alcohol to boost UHC fund

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By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Department of Finance (DOF) called on the 18th Congress to pass this year a measure that will increase taxes on alcohol products to at least P40 per liter and further raise taxes on heated tobacco and vapor products. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the new measure will help boost funds for the government’s Universal Health

Care (UHC) program while curbing smoking, binge drinking and other vices, especially among the youth. Dominguez noted that from 2020

to 2024, all current sources of government funding can cover UHC at around P200 billion annually. The cost of the program will start at P257 billion in 2020 and increase by an average of around P11 billion to P12 billion a year. Funding will amount to a total of P1.44 trillion by 2024. Without a substantial adjustment to the current “sin” taxes, the cumulative funding gap for the UHC will reach P426 billion by 2024. This is why raising excise taxes on tobacco products, Dominguez said, is a major step in ensuring that the UHC program is properly implemented. “President Duterte’s goal is to implement the UHC program the

way it was meant to be implemented: as a first-class law on a par with the world’s best health-care systems. It is meant to provide quality and affordable health care for all, especially for poor families,” he said in a statement. “We can only accomplish this by raising the taxes on sin products. The revenues we will collect from the higher or new taxes on regular tobacco products and their alternatives will help fill the funding gap in the UHC program,” Dominguez added. The DOF also said the new law that mandated higher taxes on cigarettes and the taxation of ecigarettes and other alternative devices for smoking will enable the

government to properly implement the UHC program. While Republic Act (RA) 11346 which was signed by the President on July 25 is primarily a health measure meant to wean smokers from their addiction and discourage young Filipinos from taking up this vice, the new measure will also bankroll the UHC. The finance chief said RA 11346 is in step with the President’s commitment in his fourth State of the Nation Address to lay the groundwork that “will ensure a secure and comfortable life for every law-abiding Filipino.” The new law increases the excise tax on cigarettes from the current P35 per pack to P45 starting Janu-

ary 1 next year, followed by a P5 increase every year until the rate reaches P60 in 2023. The rate will then be increased by 5 percent every year starting 2024. It also imposes a new tax on electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) including heated tobacco and vapor (vaping) products, with a minimum P10 excise tax for 0-10 ml of liquid solution or gel starting January 1, 2020. Every 10.01-20 ml is taxed P20; 20.01-30 ml, P30; 30.01-40 ml, P40; 40.01-50 ml, P50; and for more than 50 ml, P50 plus P10 for every additional 10 ml. Starting January 1, 2021, the rate will be increased by 5 percent every year.

PHL scientists to use radiation to sterilize, reduce dengue mosquito population W

ITH the Depar tment of Health declaring a national dengue alert due to the increasing number of dengue cases in several regions, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOSTPNRI) continues to harness nuclear science and technology to help mitigate the perennial dengue problem in the Philippines. Using radiation to sterilize mosquitoes, PNRI scientists are starting to develop the sterile insect technique (SIT) to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti, which serves as the vector for dengue, chikungunya and zika virus.

PNRI scientists rear male mosquitoes in the laboratories to be exposed to gamma radiation which sterilizes the insects. After which the mosquitoes will be released to partner with females in the target areas. Under natural conditions, female mosquitoes mate only once in their lifetime, and, unlike male mosquitoes, are the ones which transmit the dengue virus by biting a person since it feeds on human blood. Mating with sterilized male mosquitoes produces no offspring, and when sterile males are continuously released in the target area, the population of mosquitoes can be reduced. As the SIT for Aedes mosquitoes

is still being developed in the Philippines, researchers are focusing on the improvement of rearing protocols, studying various radiation doses at which sterilized male mosquitoes are still capable of competing for mates with mosquitoes in the wild, mosquito fertility and population dynamics, among others. Researchers aim to use the SIT, along with other conventional methods of pest control. However, unlike pesticides, sterilizing male mosquitoes does not pollute the environment and affects only the target insect while sparing many other natural mosquito predators. Moreover, it would be difficult, if

not impossible, for the mosquitoes to become resistant against radiation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an international organization within the United Nations system, also supports the development of SIT in many countries for use against pests, as well as vectors of various diseases. Recently, the SIT was successfully able to help suppress the mosquito populations in a pilot trial in Guangzhou, China, according to the IAEA. PNRI has previously used the SIT to help control the population of fruit flies in Guimaras Island, famed for its export-quality mangoes.

DEPARTMENT of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute researchers conduct research on an Aedes mosquito colony at the PNRI laboratory as a means against dengue. PHOTO COURTESY OF DOST

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, July 29, 2019

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PNOC, China state firm ink MOU to pursue LNG projects

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By Lenie Lectura

@llectura

HE Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) and the China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd. (CPP) will partner to look for opportunities in the LNG (liquefied natural gas) sector. Both signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) “to jointly pursue LNG, refinery, and oil depot projects all over the country.”

The state firm did not provide further details. Wang Hai Tao, CPP director; Dong Xu, CPP president

for Southeast Asia, and PNOC President Reuben Lista signed the MOU. Earlier, Phoenix Petroleum and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) also signed an MOU with PNOC. The MOU will allow the three companies to explore and discuss business oppor tunities and cooperation in relation to the equity investment in Tanglawan Philippine LNG Inc. and other companies relating to the project, as well as on PNOC facilities, market development, PNOC banked gas and future energy projects.

Tanglawan is a planned joint venture between Phoenix Petroleum and CNOOC Gas and Power Group Co. Ltd., China’s largest LNG importer and terminal operator. PNOC and Tanglawan are trying to find ways to maximize the remaining 97.67 petajoules Malampaya banked gas, valued at $700 million to $750 million. “If their LNG power plant will push through they will study if they can buy our banked gas. They will consider if it is viable for them to buy the banked gas from us when the power plant is operational,” Lista earlier said.

PERC’s RE unit setting aside ₧2.7B for PetroGreen’s solar, wind portfolio T HE renewable-energy (RE) unit of PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC) is allotting as much as P2.7 billion to expand the solar and wind portfolio of PetroGreen Energy Corp. PetroGreen Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Francisco Delfin Jr. said the company plans to put up 10-20 megawatts (MW) of solar power capacity in Palawan costing “a little over P1 billion, about P1.1 billion to P1.3 billion.” Delfin added: “This is a service contract we secured as early as 2017. We have already secured many of the necessary government permits including LGU endorsements, ECC clearances. We have completed the technical feasibility studies. The only thing holding us back from proceeding is the off-taker in Palawan. There’s only one buyer and that is Paleco [Palawan Electric Cooperative]. We are are still waiting.” In order for the company to supply Paleco, the electric cooperative (EC) must first conduct a competitive selection process (CSP). The CSP requires distribution utilities and ECs to hold competitive bidding for their supply requirements as against securing power deals via bilateral con-

tracts. This is meant to ensure transparency and fair competition. The plan is to put up 10 to 20 MW of solar power on a property that is already owned by PERC. The power facility will also include diesel and battery storage for continuous power supply throughout the day. Delfin said the solar power project could be constructed in phases, depending on the requirements of Paleco. When it will conduct a CSP “all depends on Paleco,” he said. “We can go with an initial 10 MW, but it depends on the customer. The diesel component will ensure the 24-hour availability. For the battery, we are looking at two to four hours of battery storage hours.” PERC, through it renewableenergy holding unit PetroGreen, operates four power-generating units—the 20-MW Maibarara-1 and the 12-MW Maibarara-2 geothermal plants under Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI), the 36-MW Nabas-1 wind farm by PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI), and the 50MWDC Tarlac-1 solar plant under PetroSolar Corp. (PSC). Last week, Delfin said PWEI will expand its 36-MW Nabas wind power project by 14 MW for P1.4 billion. The target commercial opera-

tion of the expansion project is first quarter of 2021. Delfin added that the target completion of the wind expansion project depends on the completion of various transmission line projects of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in the area. Without transmission lines, power from the impending Nabas 2 project cannot be delivered to an electric cooperative which, in turn, will distribute electricity to the households. Aklan’s electricity demand currently stands at 61 MW, half of which comes from Boracay Island. Delfin said that the project’s target completion date also depends on how fast it can procure a powersupply contract with a distribution utility firm. Aklan Electric Cooperative distributes electricity in Aklan. PWEI is eyeing to supply power to Akelco via CSP. “Our target is Akelco. With the cleanup of Boracay, hotels and establishments are going back to Akelco rather than operate their own generator sets. Our proposition to them is that by sourcing their supply from Nabas, it will not only stabilize Akelco’s d istr ibution system but a lso

IC puts Loyola Plans on conservatorship

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HE Insurance Commission (IC) has placed Loyola Plans Inc. under conservatorship, with the company unable to comply with the minimum unimpaired paid-up capital and trust fund requirements. In a statement issued on Sunday, Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa ordered the placing of Loyola Plans Inc. pointed to the company’s continuing inability to cover its capital and trust fund deficiencies required of preneed companies under Republic Act (RA) 9829 or the Preneed Code of the Philippines. “Loyola’s inability to cover up its paid-up capital impairment amounting to P126 million and trust fund deficiency in the amount of P149 million based on its 2016 Audited Financial Statements

as of December 31, 2016, is one of the grounds for placing the company under conservatorship,” Funa said. According to the IC, the company has a negative net worth based on the verification of its 2016 Annual Financial Statements, with its paid-up capital found to be impaired by P126 million. The company’s trust fund, on the other hand, is only P932 million as against its total preneed reserves (liability) of P1.48 billion. Preneed companies are required by law to set up a trust fund out of their premium collections, to answer for future delivery of services as provided in the preneed contracts, which is separate and distinct from the paid-up capital of the company. In 2018, the IC called the attention of Loyola

Plans Inc. directing it to cover its provisional capital and trust fund deficiencies based on the 2016 Annual Statement of the company. Funa said the company has yet to submit its 2017 and 2018 Annual Financial Statements despite issuance of a show-cause order. “At that time, the deficiencies were still considered provisional as the company only submitted its 2016 Annual Statement. It had failed to submit its 2016 Audited Financial Statements within the deadline provided under the Pre-Need. Code despite repeated orders and issuance of show-cause orders issued by the IC. Despite being provisional, the IC already required them to address these deficiencies,” he added. Rea Cu

promote investments compared to sourcing from outside Aklan,” explained Delfin. Lenie Lectura

With new jets, rationalized routes, Cebu Pacific targets flying 300-millionth passenger by 2022

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UDGET carrier Cebu Pacific aims to fly its 300-millionth passenger by 2022, as it continues to open more international and local destinations with the acquisition of new aircraft. Candice Iyog, the company’s vice president for Marketing, said this aggressive goal of reaching the 300-millionth passenger milestone is “doable” given the airline’s route rationalization program with the delivery of new jets. “We want to end up flying our 300-millionth passenger by 2022,” she said. “It is doable with the recent aircraft order.” Throughout 2019, the carrier is set to receive 12 brand-new jets—six Airbus A321neos, five A320 neos and one ATR 72-600. Through 2022, the company will engage in a massive refleeting program that will upgrade old

aircraft and add more fuel-efficient ones to end 2022 with at least 83 jets. Cebu Pacific also ordered 10 Airbus A321 XLRs, which are designed to have a range of up to 4,000 nautical miles and can potentially fly 220 passengers for up to 11 hours. Delivery for these aircraft is slated to start in 2024. “In Manila, we will be up-gauging. In terms of outside of Manila, we will be growing Clark and Cebu,” Iyog said. Cebu Pacific and subsidiary Cebgo fly to 36 domestic and 26 international destinations, with over 107 routes spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the United States. For 2019, it targets to serve as many as 23 million passengers, and reach the 200-millionth passenger mark by 2020. Lorenz S. Marasigan

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Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, July 29, 2019

LRWC expands gaming biz, to open 15 new sites

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By VG Cabuag

@villygc

AMING firm Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC) said it will open some 10 to 15 new sites for its bingo, e-casino and slot arcade businesses. The company said it will fund the expansion from the P4.38 billion in fresh money that came from private placement of its shares last March. “With fresh capital, LRWC can now aggressively implement expansion initiatives by developing new sites, buying existing ones and expanding profitable sites. LRWC will focus expansion programs on its retail and slot machine market entrants, which have been growing double-digit and are continuing to project a positive outlook,” the company said. The company said it plans to

open or acquire, as well as continue the renovation and modernization of existing outlets. LRWC ended 2018 with 192 sites, inclusive of the nine new sites. “LRWC is also set to introduce additional products to serve as new engines of growth. LRWC’s expansion phase will capitalize on the overall growth of the Philippine gaming industry, focusing mainly on our core busi-

nesses,” it said. It did not give further information on the new sites and products that it will introduce. “The capital infusion will not only help sustain LRWC’s dominance in the gaming sector through expanded footprint but will also greatly strengthen its financial position,” it added. In March, the company issued 1.21 billion common shares from its unissued capital stock at P3.60 apiece. Some 230 million common shares were each given to Fortunegate Holdings Philippines Inc., Millennium Pan-Asia Business Management Services Inc., XII Capital Inc. and Diamond Fortune Holdings Inc.; 121 million common shares to Euphonious Holdings Inc.; and 176.64 million common shares to Leisure Advantage Inc. In Januar y, the company’s shareholders approved the issuance of up to 1.3 billion common shares from its unissued capital stock.

Its share price on Friday closed at P3.74. The company earlier said the proceeds of the fund-raising will be used to refinance some of the company’s existing obligations and for general corporate purposes. In particular, the company said it will be used to refinance the P2.5 billion debt the company used to finance the acquisition of its 23-hectare Boracay property, eyed to be an integrated gaming resort in the island. LRWC said it had a record-high revenue performance in the first half of 2019, mainly driven by the strong growth of its retail and slot arcade businesses. “The company will continue to provide quality services and improve operations, technology and facilities to better serve its patrons and outdo the competition. With major transformations in the pipeline, LRWC will ramp up its expansion and improvement initiatives in order to achieve a sustainable and more profitable growth,” it said.

MUTUAL FUNDS

July 26, 2019

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 273.82 6.85% -0.38% 1.61% 8.57% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 1.6635 13.15% 6.26% 3.01% 15.46% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. -A 4.266 4.64% -1.03% 0.69% 9.3% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP. -A 0.9893 10.24% N.A. N.A. 9.8% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC. -A 0.9094 7.28% N.A. N.A. 10.81% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC. -A 5.6688 6.67% 0.57% 1.58% 7.5% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,6 0.9135 5.38% -3.72% N.A. 9.18% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. -A 121.17 11.96% N.A. N.A. 4.31% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC. -A 54.5026 9.74% 0.42% N.A. 10.72% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 567.42 9.17% -0.53% 1.55% 10.23% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC. -A 1.3813 10.49% 1.45% 3.6% 10.15% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC. -A 40.4867 10.94% 1.97% 3.25% 10.52% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC. -A,3 1.0895 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC. -A 5.5326 10.71% 1.42% 3.72% 11.57% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP. -A 923.9 10.77% 1.13% 3.69% 11.52% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. -A 0.9677 12.75% 0.46% N.A. 12.52% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC. -A 4.5132 10.75% 1.28% 3.16% 11.19% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC. -A 1.0612 10.2% 1.07% N.A. 11.2% UNITED FUND, INC. -A 3.8767 8.82% 2.65% 3.99% 10.74% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC. -A,C,2 123.6498 11.15% 1.96% 4.74% 11.65% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC. -B $0.998 -4% 4.63% -0.63% 7.42% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC. -A $1.3263 1.55% 8.92% N.A. 20.01% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC. -A 1.794 7.41% -1.31% -0.76% 8.65% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 2.3861 4.89% -0.29% 1.16% 8.01% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC. -A 2.732 5.44% 0.36% -0.7% 7.43% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION -A 1.3796 3.61% N.A. N.A. 5.77% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC. -A 1.9814 7.15% 0.39% 1.78% 7.5% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC. -A 3.8581 7.76% -0.57% 1.19% 9.32% PHILAM FUND, INC. -A 17.36 8.53% -0.41% 1.17% 9.13% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC. -A 2.1995 5.82% 0.73% 2.23% 6.3% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC. -A 4.0011 9.36% 0.6% 2.16% 9.58% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2028, INC. -A,D,4 1.0511 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2038, INC. -A,D,4 1.0515 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY ACHIEVER FUND 2048, INC. -A,D,4 1.0483 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC. -A 1.0235 9.82% 0.62% 1.86% 11.04% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC. -A $0.03746 6.21% 1.4% 1.99% 6.12% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC. -A $1.004 -0.15% 3.05% -0.94% 9.88% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC. -A $3.8067 3.08% 6.21% 2.97% 15.05% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC. -A $1.1186 4.04% 3.82% N.A. 10.75% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 351.8 3.61% 2.11% 2.26% 2.43% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC. -A,1 1.9051 2.12% -0.06% -0.12% 2.47% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 3.0611 5.38% 5.27% 5.3% 2.86% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC. -A 2.2007 3.81% 1.11% 1.99% 3.36% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC. -A 2.329 5.12% 1.13% 1.49% 5.62% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP. -A P 1.6067 1.9% -1.67% 0.11% 2.7% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC. -A 4.2402 7.42% 0.1% 1.57% 8.17% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC. -A 3.6931 5.86% 0.92% 1.46% 5% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. -A 0.9461 4.8% -0.55% N.A. 6.16% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC. -A 2.9989 8.87% 1.45% 2.4% 8.43% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC. -A 1.6645 8.83% 1.01% 1.95% 8.09% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $460.41 3.79% 1.72% 2.71% 2.68% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. -A Є218.83 2.57% 1.32% 1.54% 2.9% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -B $1.1868 6.4% 1.81% 2.45% 5.43% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $0.0257 3.63% 0.79% N.A. 3.63% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP. -A $1.7148 1.17% -2.09% 0.5% 1.46% PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC -A $1.088 5.16% -0.48% -1.95% 4.99% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. -A $2.3587 8.55% 0.91% 3.23% 8.66% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC. -A $0.0594383 4.74% 1.55% 1.84% 4.28% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC. -A $3.0963 7.37% 0.19% 2.7% 7.81% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 124.02 3.95% 2.52% 2% 2.6% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A,5 1.017 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC. -A 1.2244 4.57% 2% 1.22% 3.6% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC. -A 1.2482 3.83% 2.71% 2.09% 2.38% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC. -A $1.0296 2.19% N.A. N.A. 1.35% A - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY. B - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO. C - LISTED IN THE PSE. D - IN NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT (NAVPU). 1 - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018. 2 - ADJUSTED DUE TO STOCK DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JUNE 5, 2018. 3 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 3, 2019. 4 - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 28, 2019. 5 - LAUNCH DATE IS FEBRUARY 1, 2019.

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK LAST WEEK

SHARE prices fell last week, but most of the sell-off came from the shares of fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), which acquired Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf coffee shop, a decision frowned upon by the market. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined 86.08 points to close the week at 8,183.99 points. Average volume for the week was at P6.1 billion, lower than the previous week, while foreign investors were net sellers at P17.93 million. “Overall, we saw a pullback in blue chips and a lot of trading in second liners and speculative issues. One of the main reasons that the market was down this week, was because of the massive sell-off that we saw in JFC. The company is the biggest loser for the week, losing almost 10 percent of its market capitalization. It would have been down more than 15 percent if not for the recovery it had on Friday,” Christopher Mangun, research head at AAA Securities Inc., said. He said JFC was heavily traded this week, with more than a quarter of all trading value on Wednesday and Thursday. The losses also dragged the Industrials sector lower, ending the week down more than 2 percent or 236.96 points to 11,467.74 points. Among the subindices, only the Holding Firms index ended on the green, gaining 56.20 to close at 7,999.12. The broader All Shares index lost 55.11 to 4,955.60, the Financials index fell 28.79 to 1,848.49, the Property index was down 76.48 to 4,347.09, the Services index declined 29.81 to 1,651.90, and the Mining and Oil index plunged 255.30 to 7,870.97. Losers edged gainers 158 to 64, and 23 shares were unchanged. Top traded shares were Italpinas Development Corp., Philippine Seven Corp., Pryce Corp., Mabuhay Holdings Corp., Seafront Resources Corp. and AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. Top losers, on the other hand, were Prime Media Holdings Corp., Philippine Racing Club, Jollibee Foods, Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal Inc., MRC Allied Inc. and PTFC Redevelopment Corp.

THIS WEEK

TRADING is expected to be volatile this week, partly due to the month-end window dressing of firms and the start of the Chinese Ghost month, which starts August 1 through 29. “Having moved slightly below 8,200, market watchers will test the PSEi’s strength above this mark especially with July month-end closing...some may be prompted to go on a hiatus mode with the onset of Ghost Festival,” broker 2TradeAsia said. Many of the top conglomerate will announce their financial performance this week, including Ayala group and the Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which will perk up some trading activity in the market, it said. The US Federal Reserve will also meet this week and investors are expecting a 25-basispoints reduction in interest rates. “There is also the possibility of a 50-basis-points rate cut. Any decrease in interest rates will have a positive effect on equities markets. Overall, we may see the market go higher next week after the pullback last week,” Mangun said.

STOCK PICKS

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BROKER Regina Capital and Development Corp. gave a hold recommendation on the stock of Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. as the company has been reporting quarterly losses since 2017. “The continuous quarterly losses it booked, except during the second quarter of 2018, have pushed the full-year figure to a loss of P199.54 million, although the firm already started recording losses in fourth quarter of 2017,” the broker said. “Though the firm seems to be in recovery, it may take awhile for it to turn profitable again since there is no strong boost from its revenue,” it said. It gave a fair value price on its stock at P1.60 per share. Pepsi-Cola’s share closed last week at P1.67 apiece. Meanwhile, the broker advised to trade the range on the stock of Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) Inc. after its shares fell, unable to sustain its rise during the previous week. “Luckily for AEV, the support coincided with its 100-day moving and acted as a stable footing for prices, but the low volume of the stock is still preventing it from moving anywhere. Indicators remains bullish but sluggish,” it said. AEV shares closed Friday at P56 apiece. VG Cabuag

Belle blames 11% dip in H1 net income on Pacific Online’s weak performance

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ELLE Corp. said its net income fell during the first six months of the year, dragged down by the weak performance of Pacific Online Systems Corp., the company that leases out equipment to the government-owned sweepstakes agency. The company said its income for January to June fell 11 percent to P1.73 billion, from last year’s P1.95 billion. Revenues, meanwhile, was down 7 percent during the period to P4.2 billion, from last year’s P4.52 billion. For the second quarter alone, its income was down 6 percent to P1.02 billion, from last year’s P1.09 billion. “Although Belle continued to experience growth at City of Dreams Manila, its overall operating performance was affected by weaker results at Pacific Online Systems Corp., which leases online betting equipment to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office [PCSO] for their lottery and keno operations,” the company said. Belle’s gaming subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC), registered an increase of 9 percent in its share in the gaming earnings of City of Dreams Manila to P1.88 billion for the first half of the year from P1.73 billion last year. Pacific Online, which is 50.1 percent owned by PLC, saw its revenues cut in half to P599 million from P1.09 billion last year, due largely to competition from the small town lottery. “Pacific Online is working closely with the PCSO and its network of agents to boost the attractiveness of the pari-mutuel games it offers, and is working to implement cost efficiency measures across its operations,” the company said. Belle’s real-estate operations, meanwhile, saw a 4-percent growth in revenues to P1.75 billion from last year’s P1.69 billion. Some P1.33 billion of its real-estate revenues came from Belle’s lease of the land and buildings comprising City of Dreams Manila to Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp., a 16-percent improvement from last year. VG Cabuag

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Perspectives

Building an innovation culture

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H A NGE is imperative. Yet, many financial organizations’ large-scale transformation initiatives meet with setbacks, delays and even failure. Those that succeed are soon confronted with a painful truth: they are not leapfrogging. At best, transformation can put these organizations on par with their newer, more nimble competitors. As the pace of change continues to accelerate, organizations across the financial services industry are seeking the way forward. Financial institutions must create the agility and digital capacity to compete with the start-ups and hyperscales encroaching on the financial sector to achieve long-term success, but how? Creating the foundation for innovation T here are t hree steps to achieving success in the innovation space: n Build an innovation culture n Build innovative solutions in collaboration with the business n Acquire, partner or invest in new technologies All three of these steps are necessary, but they must be worked through in order to achieve success. Culture, therefore, is the foundation upon which all successful innovation must be built—and it is in the development of innovation culture where many financial institutions go awry. Creating an innovation culture is not a project or a task. Innovation culture is a by-product of broader business decisions. For this reason, leadership has the most critical role in sparking cultural change and encouraging that change to flourish over the long term. Looking at trends, we estimate 70 percent of the impact to culture comes from leadership decisions, guidance and modeled behaviors, while the remaining 30 percent is driven by elements such as training and engagement programs. Leaders looking to inspire cultural change need to consider the foundational elements of innovation culture as relevant to the organization and its position. This includes monitoring what is happening across the industry and in other sectors, as well as recognizing signals of change both within the organization and in the broader market. What is the business now—and what must the business be in the future in order to remain relevant? Only when an organization can answer this question will it become clear how the organization must think and behave in order to achieve its goals, and, thus, the cultural changes required in order to move forward.

Capacity to think, freedom to fail

WHEN people think of cultural change, most think of large-scale behavioral patterns. However, it is not organizations that change, it is individuals. Any cultural change visible on a team, departmental or organizational level is made up of many smaller, individual changes: employees inspired to think, act and engage differently. While, at a high level, we have to think about the broader patterns of transformation, creating cultural change is about finding ways to connect with individual employees’ hearts and minds.

Creating space for innovation

INNOVATIVE spaces matter. Experience shows a strong correlation between the physical workplace and a culture of innovation. This does not mean

interior decoration drives innovation; rather, in contrast to the traditional cubicle setup, spaces designed to encourage collaboration and creativity have a positive effect on employee mindset and motivation. Organizations are also finding that an innovative workspace that includes access to the right technologies improves candidate attraction and hiring, which can be imperative as financial institutions increasingly look to compete with the likes of Google and Amazon for top talent. One approach that many financial institutions are taking is the creation of separate innovat ion l abs where new thinking can f lourish. Innovation labs offer many advantages, including a break from the culture and routines of the core business. However, in order to be effective these innovation labs cannot be entirely separate entities that work in isolation and then pipe ideas back into the business. Labs that take this approach are likely to fail, as their solutions often make little contribution to the organization’s strategic direction, do not address real pain points or result in solutions that cannot be brought to scale. Instead, the innovation lab and the business must work together in concert. Ideas and issues should come from and be owned by the business, while the innovation lab first creates the space to draw out those pain points and then drives the creation of new models or solutions in response.

Build credibility–but expect resistance

CHANGE does not occur overnight. Throughout the process of cultural change, it is important to build credibility throughout the organization. Company leadership, from the CEO down, must be role models that visibly “walk the talk” and follow through on what they have communicated. W h i le i nc rement a l i n no vation may be less impactful long term, addressing the lowhanging fruit and implementing small changes that employees will notice in their day-to-day operations are critical steps for building credibility. Only once change is felt and employees have begun to think and behave differently with regard to innovation can you embrace the larger changes: business model innovation, new markets or customer segments, new consumer propositions, and more. The path to cultural change is a bumpy one and organizations need to expect resistance along the way. Change—as well as its personal and career implications—is frightening, and it is normal for employees to feel threatened. Yet, this resistance can be overcome. As you demonstrate the organization’s commitment to change, and show how innovation is beneficial for both the business and the employees themselves, mindsets will shift. With time, an innovative culture becomes self-sustaining: not only will employees want to be part of the change, but the business, as a whole, becomes a magnet for talent The excerpt was taken from the KPMG article “Frontiers in Finance Issue #59: Workforce shaping.” R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG network of independent membe- firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity.

Monday, July 29, 2019

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SSS’ Jan-May pension outlay increases 8.43% to ₧62.19B

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By Rea Cu @ReaCuBM

HE Social Security System (SSS) has reported a disbursement of P62.19 billion to its 2.5 million pensioners for the period of January to May this year, posting an increase of 8.43 percent year-on-year. Effectively, each pensioner received nearly P25,000 in the first five months of the year or about P4,975.20 a month. The staterun pension fund announced over the weekend its pension disbursement from January to May this year showed an increase of 8.43 percent compared to the P57.35 billion made in the same period for 2018. SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said the growth in disbursements was due to the increase in the number of pensioners: from 2.4 million in May last year to 2.5 million in May 2019. “We are happy to see our pensioners enjoy their monthly pen-

sions after many years of saving with SSS,” Ignacio said. “They are finally reaping the benefits of the years of their hard work when they were still part of the labor force.” The SSS provides three types of pensions, namely: retirement, death and disability. Based on data from the SSS, the pension fund has more than 1.5 million retiree-pensioners, over 940,000 survivorship-pensioners and 85,000 pensioners receiving disability benefit, as of May 2019. Retiree-pensioners are members who are 60 years old or older with at least 120 monthly contributions prior to the semester of retirement, while survivorship-

pensioners are primary beneficiaries of a deceased member who paid at least 36 monthly contributions prior to the semester of death. Disability pensioners are members who are incapacitated either temporary or permanent with at least 36 monthly contributions prior to the semester of disability. “We cannot overemphasize the importance of consistently paying monthly contributions to SSS so that in contingencies where there is loss of income, the SSS can provide them with assistance in the form of pension, cash allowances or loans,” she added. “If they also wish to have higher pensions, they must also save more with the SSS.” To date, the highest pension paid by SSS for a retiree pensioner is P18,945 while minimum pension is P2,000. These include the P1,000 additional benefit. Meanwhile, the SSS also reported that as of July 9, the pension fund has disbursed more than P1.16 billion to 48,505 pensionerborrowers through its Pension Loan Program (PLP). “We are seeing an increase in the number of SSS pensioners relying now on our PLP for their shortterm and emergency needs instead

of going to loan sharks,” she said. Under the PLP, qualified members can apply for a loan of up to six times their respective basic monthly pension plus the P1,000 additional benefit but should not exceed the maximum loan limit of P32,000. To qualify, the borrower must be a retiree-pensioner and is not more than 80 years old at the end of the month of loan term. He/ she must have no deductions from his/her regular monthly pension, no existing advance pension under the SSS Calamity Package, and should have received his/her monthly pension for at least one month, posted in the pension fund’s system. The pension loan has an interest rate of 10 percent per annum, computed on a diminishing principal balance, which will become part of the monthly amortization. Loan proceeds will be credited to the cash card of the pensionerborrower within five working days from the date of approval. Payment for the said loan will start after two months from the loan’s approval. Loan payment terms of three, six or 12 months will be decided depending on the loan amount.

Jack Ma’s $290-billion online lending machine changing Chinese banking J ACK Ma’s online bank is leading a quiet revolution in the way China lends to small businesses, taking aim at a credit bottleneck that has held back Asia’s largest economy for decades. Using real-time payments data and a risk-management system that analyzes more than 3,000 variables, Ma’s four-year-old MYbank has lent 2 trillion yuan ($290 billion) to nearly 16 million small companies. Borrowers apply with a few taps on a smartphone and receive cash almost instantly if they’re approved. The whole process takes three minutes and involves zero human bankers. The default rate so far: about 1 percent. The financial-technology boom that turned China into the world’s biggest market for electronic payments is now changing how banks interact with companies that drive most of the nation’s economic growth. As MYbank and its peers crunch reams of new data from payment systems, social media and other sources, they’re growing more comfortable with smaller borrowers that they previously shunned in favor of state-owned giants. For China’s $13 trillion economy, which expanded at its weakest pace since at least 1992 last quarter, the implications could be profound. Nonstate firms—mostly small businesses—account for about 60 percent of growth, employ 80 percent of workers, and have been disproportionately squeezed by a more than two-year government crackdown on shadow lenders. “Small and medium enterprises are really the boiler room of the economy,” said Keith Pogson, a senior partner in charge of banking and capital markets at Ernst & Young Llp. in Hong Kong. “It used to be a segment that banks thought was too difficult and too risky. But now they run their model and work out what the risks are so they feel more comfortable.” China is quickly becoming a world leader in the use of big data and artificial-intelligence technology to make loans, according to Cliff Sheng, cohead of Greater China financial services at Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm. Among

the country’s biggest advantages: it takes a more relaxed approach toward privacy than many other jurisdictions. “Our legal framework and regulatory environment—which raise fewer privacy concerns—make it easier to generate a huge amount of data and, thus, provide an unparalleled testing bed,” Sheng said.

670 million yuan last year, is far from the only lender using technology to boost small-business lending. Units of Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Ping An Insurance Group Co. both have similar offerings, while state-owned China Construction Bank Corp. is dramatically ramping up its presence in the space.

Data trove

THE nation’s second-largest lender unveiled a mobile app in September that can process loan applications for as much as 5 million yuan in two minutes. Construction Bank boosted its small-business lending by 51 percent last year, more than twice as fast as the industry. The bank charges an average interest rate of 5.3 percent for one-year loans, slightly above the 4.35 percent benchmark lending rate, and says defaults have held at a minuscule 0.3 percent. “It’s a profitable business as long as you can keep the risks in check,” said Zhang Gengsheng, a vice president at Construction Bank in Beijing. “We had suffered huge losses in the past with a bad-loan ratio running

ONE uniquely Chinese source of information for banks is the government-administered social credit system, which is being tested in cities across the country as a way to reward good deeds and punish misbehavior. In one potential scenario cited by MYbank President Jin Xiaolong in a recent interview, a small-business owner whose social credit score dropped because he failed to return a borrowed umbrella would find it harder to get a loan. But the biggest data trove may come from payments providers like the one operated by Ma’s Ant Financial, the biggest shareholder of MYbank. After obtaining authorization from borrowers, MYbank analyzes real-time transactions to gain insights into creditworthiness. For example, a drop in customer payments at a retailer’s flagship store might be an early indicator that the company’s prospects— and its ability to repay debt—are deteriorating. The upshot of more information is a loan approval rate at MYbank that’s four times higher than at traditional lenders, which ty pically reject 80 percent of small-business loan requests and take, at least, 30 days to process applications, according to Jin, who plans to double MYbank’s roster of borrowers in three years. He said the Hangzhou-based firm’s operating cost per loan is about 3 yuan, versus 2,000 yuan at traditional rivals. MYbank, which earned

Mobile app

at 8 percent. But now we’re back in the game.” While keeping defaults in check may prove more difficult as China’s economy slows, all signs point toward continued growth in smallbusiness lending. In February, the banking regulator called on stateowned lenders to boost credit to small companies by at least 30 percent this year. About two-thirds of the country’s 80 million small businesses lacked access to loans as of 2018, according to China’s National Institution for Finance & Development. For Zeng Ping’en, who runs a scooter store in Hangzhou with about 1.2 million yuan in annual sales, MYbank’s lending app has been a game changer. After allowing the bank to access his store’s transaction data, Zeng has been able to take out small loans to cover short-term cash needs. He pays an annualized interest rate of about 15 percent. “It was unimaginable a few years ago, when no bank would approve my request,” Zeng said. “Now I can borrow whenever I need to.” Bloomberg News

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LULJETTA’S BECOMES ONE WITH NATURE AND ETHEREAL FASHION HOLCIM SUPPORTS BACNOTAN’S SUSTAINABLE TOURISM GROWTH

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EADING cement manufacturer Holc i m Ph i l ip pi ne s I nc . i s supporting the multisectoral effort to develop a sustainable tourism master plan for Bacnotan, La Union, which ensures development over the coming decades, benefits the community and respects the environment. Holcim Bacnotan plant manager Erano Santos turned over on July 4 the Tourism Development Master Plan to Mayor Francis Fontanilla at the People’s Hall. The plan aims to maximize the economic potential of Bacnotan’s tourism industry and ensure

its positive impact on the environment, natural resources, cultural heritage and communities.It was presented to barangay officials, tourism and solidwaste coordinators from 47 barangays and guests from the business sector and non-governmental organizations. “We are grateful to our partner, Holcim Philippines La Union Plant, for its dedication to support our beloved hometown by crafting the Bacnotan Tourism Development Plan. We are confident that this noble work shall be a helpful tool in enhancing potential agritourism sites—the economic gemstone

of Bacnotan....,” Mayor Fontanilla said. Developed in consultation with Bacnotan’s 47 barangays and local of f icia ls, t he plan considers t he Department of Tourism guidelines for loc a l gover nment u n its, t he Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Bacnotan and the United Nations Su st a i n able De ve lopment Goa l s. It prov ides recommendations for strategic tourism development along with infrastructure and environment management, ordinances and design guidelines, investment opportunities, capacity development and monitoring. “We, at Holcim, are honored to have been given this chance to participate in the growth of Bacnotan. As a neighbor and corporate citizen, we hope that this plan will help the people of Bacnotan maximize the economic benefit of an agri-tourism destination as part of our inclusive growth focus, so no one gets left behind,” Santos said. In photo are (from left) municipal planning and development officer Francia Gonzales, consultant Aaron Lecciones of the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Fontanilla, Vice Mayor Divine Fontanilla, Santos and Sangguniang Bayan member Frank Almodovar after the turnover of the master plan.

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HIS year Luljetta’s Garden Suites focuses more on its venue halls. On that note, two talented designers from the province of Rizal are then invited to showcase what Rizalienos have to offer in the world of fashion and style. Jha Jha Miranda, a fashion designer with 16 years’ experience from Taytay, has catered to many celebrities, like Bangs Garcia, Toni Gonzaga, Liza Soberano, Morisette Amon, Jonalyn Viray, to name a few. He has enhanced his passion in fashion at the Cora Doloroso Career Center of Fashion Design and, since then, been gaining exposure from various TV shows, pageantries and fashion shows.

The young and millenial Rica Siena, a 22-year-old fashion designer from Antipolo City, studied at the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde. While studying, she started styling for commercials, print ads and celebrities, and pursued her passion as a designer and put up her own shop after finishing her studies. She has started styling under Liz Uy’s company. Luljetta’s Garden Suites wants to support local talents as way of promoting their vision through one with nature and ethereal fashion. Luljetta’s Garden Suites is at Sitio Loreland, Barangay San Roque, Antipolo City. Visit www.luljettas.com. for more information.

BRINGING LIFE BACK IN THE WILD

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M South Luzon took every one to a magnificent subzero adventure themed “Arctic In The South” at SM City Dasmariñas. This year SM collaborated with WWF Philippines in promoting awareness on global warming and climate change. WWF executives and ambassadors Xia Vigor and Karen Ibasco, together with Chi Chi the Panda, joined in on the unveiling of

those giant Arctic wildlife creatures. Tourism officer in charge regional director Marites Castro and Dasmariñas City Vice Mayor Rex Mangubat also graced the event. Kids in Arctic costume enjoyed exploring the Arctic world and also snapped their photos with the Arctic friends. Let us all be wildlife defenders— everyone deserves to see this magnificent wildlife!

NEW PCSO GENERAL MANAGER ROYINA GARMA ASSUMES OFFICE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) incoming general manager Royina Marzan Garma (left) accepted the agency’s flag from chairman and interim general manager Anselmo Simeon Pinili in a turnover ceremony at the PCSO Office held on July 15, as she officially assumed her new post. Garma replaces resigned general manager Alexander Balutan.

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AL THORENS, France— Perpetuating the tradition of great Colombian climbers, Egan Bernal left his mark on the Tour de France in the mountains. But unlike his flashy predecessors, he is also poised to win cycling’s biggest race. At just 22. Bernal kept the yellow jersey Saturday after the last Alpine stage, and barring a crash or a last-minute health issue he will become the first Colombian to win the Tour when it ends on Paris’s Champs-Élysées with a largely processional stage on Sunday. Bernal will also become the youngest post-World War II winner of the Tour. “Colombia always had great climbers,” Bernal said. “We won the Giro, the Vuelta, but it never happened before on the Tour. For many years we had great cyclists, we never managed to win. It did not work out on the Tour de France. Now we have it.” Long before Bernal was born, Colombian riders like Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra conquered the hearts of cycling fans with long and spectacular raids in the Tour mountains. But for all their brilliance, they never came close to winning the race. More recently, Nairo Quintana ended up runner-up twice behind Chris Froome but lacked the time trialing abilities required to overcome the British fourtime champion. This year’s route, the highest in the race history with five summit finishes—including three stages finishing above 2,000 meters and only 54 kilometers of time trialing— gave natural-born climber Bernal a golden opportunity. Unlike Bradley Wiggins, Froome and Geraint Thomas—the three other riders who won the Tour for the British outfit Ineos—Bernal is not a race-against-theclock specialist. He has built his success on consistent performances in the Pyrenees and a tremendous attack in the Alps after losing ground in the individual time trial. “The talent is there to see, he was born to go uphill fast,” said Bernal’s teammate and now deposed champion Geraint Thomas. “He has got many, many great years in front of him. A very bright future.” Thomas, lagging one minute and 11 seconds behind overall, should finish runnerup to give the Ineos team a 1-2 finish in Paris, like they did in 2012 when the squad was called Sky. Weighing only 59 kilograms (130 pounds), the super-light Bernal thrived in rarefied air, and it was fitting that he delivered his fatal blow in the Col de l’Iseran, the Tour’s highest point this year at 2,770 meters. A cycling star in the making, Bernal took the race lead Friday when Stage 19 was dramatically cut short by a landslide across the route to the Alpine ski station of Tignes and by a violent hailstorm that made road conditions too icy for riders racing on two wheels barely wider than their thumbs. He’d moved away from Julian Alaphilippe, the punchy rider from France who did more than anyone to make this Tour the most exciting in decades and held the race lead for 14 days, on a super-difficult climb to the Iseran. When the race was then stopped with Bernal racing away on the downhill, organizers decided the riders’ timings to the

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IPAQUIRA, Colombia—Tomás Moreno sneaks a quick glance over his shoulder before speeding across the white finish line and throwing his hands in the air. It’s the eight-yearold’s first-ever cycling win but he’s already looking to follow in the path blazed by Egan Bernal, who hauled himself up from a modest upbringing in this high Andean town outside Colombia’s capital to the pinnacle of competitive cycling. “I want to go to the Tour de France and do everything I can to win,” says Moreno, catching his breath after finishing a 1.5-kilometer sprint in a little over five minutes. He’s not the only Colombian child dreaming big these days with Bernal poised to win the Tour de France. A few blocks away, dozens of young cyclists, some of them on bicycles or dressed in the red, yellow and blue of Colombia’s flag, pack into Zipaquira’s “Plaza of Hope” to watch on a giant screen their town’s favorite son defend the yellow jersey in Saturday’s penultimate stage. Confetti rained on the tear-shedding crowd, which included several of Bernal’s relatives and cycling buddies, as he finished with a commanding lead heading into Sunday’s traditional procession into Paris. “He was always disciplined and a hard worker. You never had to tell him to do something twice,” said Fabio Rodríguez, who discovered Bernal at the tender age of 8 when against the wishes of his father, a frustrated semiprofessional cyclist himself, he enrolled in a mountain biking class for underprivileged kids run by the city government. Rodriguez said he realized Bernal would surpass the dozens of other hard-charging youth he’s trained in this oxygen-starved town at 2,650 meters above sea level when as a teenager he traveled to Europe and immediately racked up a string of impressive cross-country performances before turning to road racing at the relatively late age of 17. “That’s when I said to myself he will be the best.” Colombian riders have shined at the Tour before. Luis “Lucho” Herrera in 1984 became the first of 12 Colombians to win a stage victory at the race, while several others have worn the polka dotted “King of the Mountains” jersey. Nairo Quintana, who entered this year’s Tour as a favorite to win, finished second overall in 2013 and 2015 and is one of two Colombians behind Bernal in the top 10 of this year’s edition. But none of those memorable races have energized Colombians like the 22-year-old Bernal’s breakout performance as the Tour’s youngest post World War II winner.

CYCLING STAR AT ONLY 22 Sports BusinessMirror

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| Monday, July 29, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TEAM Ineos’ Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas are bound to finish 1-2 in the 106th staging of the Tour de France. AP

top of the Iseran climb would be used to determine the overall standings. And that put Bernal in yellow. He wrapped up his victory during Saturday’s Stage 20 to Val Thorens, won by 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali. Shortened to just 59 kilometers because of landslide on the route, it featured a 33-kilometer climb up to the ski station that was too difficult for Alaphilippe, who cracked after starting the day

in second place and allowed Steven Kruijswijk to secure a third-place finish overall. The ascent to Val Thorens was certainly not as terrifying as the Pacho, a Colombian mountain Bernal uses as his training ground. “It’s my favorite climb, a 23-kilometer-long ascent at 3,000 meters,” he said. “Every time before I travel to Europe, I go there and test myself. And to me, every time we face a long

climb at the Tour, it’s like climbing Pacho. That climb really helped me. I’m gaining confidence when I climb it.” On the road to Val Thorens, Bernal shook hands with Alaphilippe, who left his mark on the race with his unpredictable attacks and strategies. Throughout the race, Alaphilippe forced the teams of favorites to rethink their strategies as they tried to topple the unconventional Frenchman.

“I don’t think it was the parcours [race route], it was the fact that Alaphilippe started so strongly, had a good advantage and was so strong,” Thomas said. “It was incredible how he stepped up and improved. A big, big well done to him. He fought until the very end. Fair play to him and his team. That was the reason why the race was raced so differently.” Ineos was not as dominant as in previous

BERNAL FIGHTS ALL ELEMENTS TO REACH HIS DREAM

RESIDENTS celebrate as they watch on a giant screen Egan Bernal’s performance in the 20th stage of the Tour de France at the virtual champion’s hometown in Zipaquira, Colombia, on Saturday. AP

For days now, Colombians have been glued to their TV sets watching live every move by Bernal and his British team Ineos. Even President Ivan Duque dipped into a downtown café amid a packed schedule of events Friday to watch the final minutes of Bernal’s historic performance when he took the lead while riding through a violent hailstorm. On Saturday, with Bernal on the cusp of victory, the airwaves filled with news that one mother had named her newborn son after the country’s overnight sporting sensation. In Zipaquira, the town’s mayor, smelling victory, unveiled 10 days ago a giant graffiti rendering of Bernal’s tiger-like stare. While little known in Europe and the US,

Colombia’s cycling tradition forms an integral part of the national culture like nowhere else in Latin America. Much of it was written in the same steep hills surrounding Bernal’s hometown, from where one of the country’s sporting legends, Efraín “El Zipa” Forero, winner of the first-ever Tour of Colombia in 1951, also hails. With a first-place prize of barely $10,000—versus the €500,000 Bernal stands to win in France—the two-week Tour of Colombia until recently had been all but shunned by the sport’s top riders. But it’s a showcase for the unique brand of riders known in Colombia as Los Escarabajos—the beetles—for the relentless determination with

which they scramble up almost any mountain. Its toughest stage is a 3,265-meter pass known as “La Linea”—”The Line”—a full 500 meters above the highest point on this year’s Tour de France—in which riders setting off in a lush, tropical valley must grind their way 21 kilometers up to the freezing, oxygen-starved Andean plateau before embarking on a treacherous, winding descent back into the jungle heat. Bernal finished fourth at this year’s Vuelta, as the Tour de Colombia is known in Spanish. In a country torn apart by rugged topography and a half century of guerrilla warfare the race has managed to bring Colombians together in a way only sports can. And while the popularity of soccer and other sports have overshadowed

cycling, live radio broadcasts of the Tour still saturate airwaves nationwide. “I almost feel like I won too,” Santiago Botero, who competed in three Tours and finished first in the mountain classification in 2000, said of Bernal’s performance. “Watching Egan, you notice the difference between people who were born at high altitude and those who just train there.” While all Colombians share in Bernal’s triumph, Botero said it especially resonates with poorer Colombians, who frequently come from the same heavily indigenous, neglected mountains from where the champion climbers hail. He said they see in Bernal’s success a

years and, in addition to Alaphilippe’s bold moves, had to deal with challenges mounted by Thibaut Pinot’s FDJ and Kruijswijk’s Jumbo Visma. With new dynamics, the race was filled with suspense until Pinot withdrew with a leg injury and Bernal stamped his authority for good in the Iseran. If he wins, Bernal will achieve a feat unmatched by the Tour’s greatest champions—five-time winners Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain—who were all older when they first won. Although he went through a bad day in the Pau time trial, Bernal has really improved his technique over the past two years to morph into an all-rounder, making many observers believe his reign could be a very long one. “If you’re just a climber and can’t ride a time trial, you can’t win the Tour de France,” Bernal said. “I work on time trials a lot. I could have lost the Tour on this one.” Bernal has also proved stronger than Thomas, who threw his weight behind the Colombian heading into the penultimate stage. Bernal and Thomas crossed together in Val Thorens, with the Welshman warmly congratulating his successor. It has been a meteoric rise to the top for Bernal, who competed at his first Tour last summer and did an impressive job in support of Thomas and Froome. With barely any experience in road racing, he turned pro with the small Androni Giocattoli Pro Continental team before Ineos manager Dave Brailsford signed him two years ago following his victory at the Tour de l’Avenir, the most prestigious stage race for Under-23 riders. This season, Bernal was set to get a maiden leader experience at the Giro d’Italia. But he fractured his collarbone in a training crash, forcing him to miss the race and 76 days overall. He returned to competition in June to win the Tour de Suisse, another prestigious title to add to his success at Paris-Nice in March. “All I know is if I had not crashed before the Giro I would not be in that position,” Bernal said. “After riding the Giro at [age] 22, it would have been impossible to recover and to be in this position at the Tour. Things happen for a reason.” AP validation of traditional values such as hard work in one of the world’s most corrupt and economically unequal countries. Ironically, it’s the beetles’ gaunt, stringy physiques—the result of poorly nourished upbringings—that is a source of their aerodynamic strength in the saddle. As in Europe, the pressure to win in Colombia is huge—and like elsewhere has led to revelations of doping that have tarnished the wholesome image of the sport here. This year, one of the country’s premier teams, Postobon, folded ahead of the European season and was suspended by cycling’s governing body after two riders tested positive for banned substances within a 12-month period. The World AntiDoping Agency also suspended the governmentrun laboratory in Bogota charged with taking the samples of the cyclists and controlling anti-doping in races. Bernal has been surrounded by cyclists from an early age. While his father’s semiprofessional career was a bust, his girlfriend, Xiomara Guerrero, is a three-time Colombian mountain bike champion. His 14-year-old brother, Roland, and 8-year-old cousin Nicole Pachón, were among the kids who came out Saturday to the amateur race in Zipaquira. But unlike his more privileged European rivals, breaking into the cycling big leagues wasn’t easy for Bernal. Growing up his father worked at a security guard, first at a cathedral buried under a salt mine—Zipaquira’s main tourist attraction—and later at a dam while his mother picked stems at a nearby flower farm. They lived in public housing and at first didn’t have enough money to pay for a helmet or enroll their son in classes. The family received help from a Colombian philanthropist, Pablo Mazuera, who sponsors a half dozen Colombian cycling phenoms from in and around Zipaquira. Mazuera is with his star pupil in France. But at one point, frustrated with his disappointing results, Bernal stopped training and enrolled in a local university to study journalism. With patience, Mazuera lured him back onto a bike, promising that if after a year he didn’t show progress he would fund his entire academic career. “We always knew Egan had the perfect physique but he wasn’t just born a champion,” said Martha Cecilia Cortes, who works with Mazuera training the teenage cyclists. “He had to fight to reach his dream.” AP

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DARK SIDE OF SPORT MANY STILL LOVE I

By Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press

T’S impossible to reconcile, so I won’t even try. How can you love a sport so filled with tragedy and heartbreak? How can you cheer when you know getting hit in the head can cause so much harm? Maxim Dadashev wasn’t a world champion. He didn’t have an entourage like Manny Pacquiao, and no one paid $74.99 to see him fight on pay-per-view. Like many young boxers, though, the Russian did have a dream. He would become a world champion one day, a goal that seemed possible after he won his first 13 fights, 11 by knockout. “He was a lovely young man, totally dedicated to boxing,” said his promoter, Bob Arum. “We thought he was going to be somebody who would be contending for a world title in the 140-pound division.” Dadashev never got that chance. In a fight last week televised by ESPN-plus, Dadashev went 11 grueling rounds in Maryland with Subriel Matias, taking more and more punishment as the fight went on before his corner finally stopped it. Four days later, Dadashev was dead from bleeding in the brain. He was 28. Just what went wrong can be—and will be—debated. Arum’s matchmakers never thought Dadashev would take a beating to begin with. They thought he would win the fight, another in a progression that would hopefully lead to a title bout. “He seemed OK. He was ready,” trainer Buddy

McGirt, a former fighter and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, told ESPN. “But it’s the sport that we’re in. It just takes one punch, man.” It was McGirt who finally stopped the fight, even as Dadashev continued to fight back. Dadashev protested when told the fight would be stopped, intent on finishing the final round and maybe landing one big punch to turn it around. Sometimes fighters have to be saved from themselves. But sometimes they can’t be saved at all. Dadashev needed help leaving the ring and collapsed before getting to his dressing room. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he underwent surgery for bleeding on the brain, and died on Tuesday. A few days later there was another boxing death, this one in Argentina. Hugo Santillan, a 23-year-old Argentinian, died five days after collapsing following his super lightweight bout against Uruguayan Eduardo Abreu. The statistics will say it’s an aberration and, indeed, there are years that go by without even one death in a pro fight. Sports like cycling, football and baseball that more people engage in account for far more brain injuries. But no one disputes that boxing is an inherently brutal sport that can not only kill but cause long-term brain damage. Muhammad Ali was the most famous and celebrated fighter ever, but even he wasn’t immune. The punches he took over his career brought on Parkinson’s that silenced his once

magnificent voice in his later years. Still, we watch. Still, we celebrate the violence. “We know that any blow to the head is potentially traumatic,” said Martin Mortazavi, a brain surgeon and medical director of the California Institute of Neuroscience. “We also know football causes injuries but people still do it. But these are accepted sports and part of the sport is you take blows to the head. FOUR days after his fight, Maxim Dadashev is dead from bleeding in the brain. He was 28. AP

It intertwines with our cultural addictions when we are used to something.” I’ve covered boxing for the better part of four decades now, and if

there were any illusions about the dangers of the sport they were shattered early by the death of Duk Koo Kim at the hands of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini in 1982. I was ringside for that fight outdoors at Caesars Palace, and there when Kim’s family came from South Korea to take his body home. I also sat in a neurologist’s office with former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks and his family when he was diagnosed with brain damage, and spent an afternoon with former middleweight champion Gerald McClellan, who was left blind and brain damaged after his 1995 title fight with Nigel Benn. McClellan held my hand as we sat together on a couch and asked me the same questions over and over again. “Tim, what’s your favorite color? Tim, what’s your favorite food?” I walked out of McClellan’s home in Illinois shaken and wondering why I would be involved in a sport that did such damage. But a few weeks later I was back at ringside, writing about other fighters with the same dreams. That didn’t stop me—and many others— from cringing earlier this year when heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder said he needed to get a body on his record and that “this is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time.”Wilder was trying to sell a fight, but his comments were not only over the line but deeply troubling. Arum said this is the first time a fighter he promotes has died in the ring, though he has promoted fights with deaths three times, including Duk Koo Kim. He’s planning on paying funeral expenses and making what he said will be a large donation to a GoFundMe account for the fallen Russian fighter. “It’s a horrible, horrible tragedy,” Arum said. “He had a young family. It’s beyond tragic.” There are other things that can happen, too. Medical regulations need to be standardized across states, and all fighters need to have baseline brain scans and annual scans if they are to be allowed to fight. But Dr. Mortazavi says no one can easily predict who will be hurt by punches and who will emerge unscathed. So far researchers have not been able to figure out why a fighter with 100 fights might show no symptoms of any kind of brain trauma, while one with 13 fights does. I wish I had the answer. And I wish I didn’t care so much for a sport that can hurt so badly.

Hurd inspiration to young gymnasts to wear glasses MORGAN HURD in action—with eyeglasses—at the Pan American Games. AP

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IMA, Peru—Morgan Hurd is such an inspiration for young American gymnasts— and anyone who wears eyeglasses and practices sports—that some have dressed up in leotards and her trademark glasses for Halloween. The costume surprised her because the 2017 all-around world champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic hopeful still feels like any other 18-year-old. “Honestly, it feels kind of crazy because I still think of myself as almost no one—I’m just me,” Hurd told The Associated Press. “When people ask me for my autograph, I go like, ‘wow! Why would they do that?’ But I’m glad that I can inspire a generation, and I hope that I can be a good role model for them.” All eyes seemed to be on Hurd at the Pan American Games during her Saturday debut, where her performance contributed to the US team’s gold medal, although she failed to advance to the allaround and individual finals in the Peruvian capital. “It definitely wasn’t my best competition, and I’m a bit disappointed at myself, but I’m glad that I can contribute even slightly to team USA, and moving forward, I’m just going to go back to the gym and work

even harder. ”The US won its fifth-consecutive women’s team gold title at the Pan Am Games at an arena packed with local fans waiving red and white Peruvian flags and loudly cheered on the hosts. “Even though they just came from a national meet in America, it’s different when you’re in an international meet, especially with a lot of good countries. The crowd was really in favor of Peru, which was exciting. There was a lot of energy,” said Thomas Forster, the national performance team coordinator. “I was a bit surprised that [Morgan] felt some nerves because she has good experience, but all athletes do. So, it was a good opportunity for her to learn how to manage it. It was good overall. I’m glad that they hit all 16 routines. That was the hope.” The members of the US team who advanced to the all-around and individual event finals included: all-around, Riley McCusker and Kara Eaker; vault, Aleah Finnegan; uneven bars, McCusker and Leanne Wong; and balance beam and floor exercise, McCusker and Eaker. The Americans posted a team score of 171.00 in winning Saturday, ahead of Canada, the silver medalist, and Brazil, which won the bronze. AP

Dressel wins 3 titles in 1 night at worlds

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WANGJU, South Korea—Caeleb Dressel made history—again—at the world swimming championships. The American won three gold medals in a span of about two hours Saturday night, duplicating his feat from two years ago in Budapest, Hungary. Dressel has six golds and seven medals overall with one night remaining in the meet. He tied Michael Phelps’s record of seven medals—all gold—at a single worlds in 2017. “It was not easy in ‘17, it was not easy this year,” the 22-year-old Floridian said. “I don’t want it to be easy, I really don’t.” He capped his momentous night by leading off the victorious mixed 4x100-meter freestyle relay. Dressel joined Zach Apple, Mallory Comerford and Simone Manuel in setting a world record of three minutes, 19.40 seconds. That lowered the mark of 3:19.60 set by the US in 2017. Manuel dueled with Australian anchor Bronte Campbell over the final 50. The American clocked 52 seconds to Campbell’s 52.36 to keep Dressel golden. “I had a lot of help on that relay,” he said, pointing out that his 100 split of 47.34 would only have been good enough for bronze in the individual event. “Every time I do a race I always look for the bad.” There wasn’t much to criticize on this night. Dressel opened the evening

with a win in the 50 free to complete a 50-100 free sweep. He touched in 21.04 seconds, bettering the championship record of 21.08 set by Brazil’s Cesar Cielo at the 2009 worlds in Rome during the height of the rubber suit era. Bruno Fratus of Brazil and Kristian Gkolomeev of Greece tied for silver in 21.45. Coming back just 34 minutes later, Dressel won the 100 fly in 49.66 a night after breaking Phelps’s world record in the semifinals. AP DRESSEL

Felix winds up sixth in 400 meters, Hamilton takes misses spot in world championships pole position at German GP

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OCKENHEIM, Germany—Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the German Grand Prix on Saturday, while Sebastian Vettel’s miserable form continued for Ferrari as he was unable to even set a time and will start from the back. It got even worse for Ferrari as Vettel’s teammate Charles Leclerc was unable to start the last part of qualifying, known as Q3, and is set to begin from 10th place on the grid on Sunday. “I don’t know really how we did it today. I’m not quite sure what happened to the Ferraris,” Hamilton said. “I think if Leclerc had done a lap at the end, it would have been close between us.” Ferrari is winless in 10 races this season and that terrible run looks to continue, while Hamilton is aiming for a sixth win in seven. It was a record-extending 87th pole for the five-time world champion, who is 11 wins shy of Michael Schumacher’s record of 91. Hamilton starts on the front row alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who pushed Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas into third place. Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly goes from fourth. “A bit disappointed with qualifying and I just struggled,” said Bottas, who is level with Hamilton on four poles this season. “Ferrari [were] extremely quick and we knew it would be difficult to beat them...We’ve been a bit lucky.” AP

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ES MOINES, Iowa—Allyson Felix downplayed any hint of disappointment. This performance wasn’t about the now, but a year from now for the Tokyo Games. In that respect, the six-time Olympic gold medalist feels on the right track. Maybe even ahead of schedule in her return to racing eight months after having a baby. Felix finished sixth in the 400-meter final at the US championships Saturday and missed out on qualifying in an individual event for worlds for the first time as a professional. “I knew that it was a less-than-ideal situation for me,” Felix said. “But being in this environment and being back in the final, it kind of gets the juices flowing. It’s going to be a lot easier going into next year and getting a full year of training.” Felix fell behind early in the race and couldn’t

make up ground. Shakima Wimbley won in 50.21 seconds, with Kendall Ellis taking second and Wadeline Jonathas third. Felix finished in 51.94. After it was over, Felix went over to the stands and picked up her daughter, Camryn. Only 32 weeks into her pregnancy, Felix gave birth to Camryn on November 28 in an emergency Cesarean section after tests showed the baby’s heart rate had dropped to dangerous levels. Gradually, she’s worked her way back. The 33-year-old Felix can still make the US relay team for the world championships in Doha this fall. She’s made every world outdoor team, beginning in 2003. “This gave me a taste. I know it’s there,” said Felix, who will be attempting to make her fifth Olympic team next summer. “The fire is there. I’ll be back next year.” AP

ALLYSON FELIX holds her daughter Camryn after running the women’s 400 meters. AP

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Patrombon, Anasta on course in Biñan

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REP. ABRAHAM “BAMBOL” TOLENTINO (third from left) is the new Philippine Olympic Committee president. Also elected are (from left) Jesus Clint Aranas (board member), Steve Hontiveros (chairman) and Cynthia Carrion (board member). ROY DOMINGO

TOLENTINO: LET’S MOVE FORWARD By Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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BRAHAM “BAMBOL” TOLENTINO was elected president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) on Sunday, settling an ugly political issue that shrouded the highest sports body in the land precariously ahead of the 30th Southeast Asian Games. But Tolentino, the cycling federation chief since 2008, could still see his hands full with an executive board that could anytime turn uncooperative. That’s why Tolentino has called for unity after topping the exercise that elected the president, chairman and two members of the executive board. “Finally, the POC squabble is over,” he told reporters after the elections held at the Century Park Hotel in Manila. “Let’s set aside differences and move forward. Let’s focus on the Southeast Asian Games.” Tolentino garnered 24 votes to the 20 votes of Athletics Head Philip Ella Juico, who was pitted against the third-term congressman from Cavite’s Seventh District by the group led by former POC President Jose Cojuangco Jr. in the exercise ordered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Only Cynthia Carrion (gymnastics) from Tolentino’s ticket won—she earned 23 votes, second to Jesus Clint Aranas’s (archery) 24 votes. Cojuangco stalwart Steve Hontiveros (handball) beat Robert Aventajado (taekwondo), 26-18, in the race for chairman. Weightlifting’s Monico Puentevella (Tolentino, 21) and swimming’s Lani Velasco (Juico, 19) lost in the race for board seats. The elections were the third in the third year of the current Olympic cycle for the POC—the first was

in the regular 2016 polls which Cojuangco won and the second, the court-ordered exercise in February 2018 that ousted Cojuangco and installed boxing head Ricky Vargas. The POC will again elect its officers for the new Olympic cycle in November 2020. Vargas, however, was pressured to resign in June by the body’s 13-member executive board dominated by allies of his predecessor, sending the POC into turmoil. But the IOC sensibly reacted to the chaos and sent its representative, India Olympic Committee President Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, to witness the exercise. Two of the 46 voting members (national sports associations) did not attend the elections. Absent were shooting of Governor Luis Singson and rugby, which opted not to vote but sent an observer in the proceedings chaired by Atty. Teodoro Kalaw, Father Vic Calvo and Party-list Rep. Conrado Estrella of Abono. On the 30th SEA Games set November 30 to December 11 in several venues, Tolentino said preparations will go on as planned. “We will not lose direction toward the SEA Games. Phisgoc [Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee] will still be Phisgoc, and we will work with the Philippine Sports Commission,” he stressed. “We will continue the reforms made by immediate past president Ricky Vargas. I’m here to serve, not to be served,” added Tolentino, whose entire family, led by Tagaytay City Mayor Agnes Tolentino, were on hand for moral support. Tolentino announced the reinstatement of Patrick Gregorio as secretary-general and Richard Gomez (fencing) as Gregorio’s deputy, and axed Robert Bachmann (squash) from the membership committee in favor of retired general Lucas Managuelod.

TROPHY TOUR Samahang Basketbol

ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio (second from left) and national men’s team Head Coach Yeng Guiao (third from left) pose for the Fiba World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour, along with (from left) SBP Executive Director Renauld Barrios, Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Willie Marcial and naturalized player Andray Blatche on Saturday at the Lighthouse of the Lopez Building inside the Meralco Complex in Mandaluyong. The China Fiba World Cup is set from August 31 to September 15 in China. ROY DOMINGO

OP seed Jeson Patrombon and doubles partner No. 2 Vicente Anasta rolled past their respective rivals in contrasting fashions, while Loucas Fernandez stunned No. 5 Noel Damian Jr. to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) Fr. Fernando Suarez Open Championships at the Brent Tennis Center in Biñan, Laguna, over the weekend. Patrombon scored an abbreviated 1-0 ret. win over Eurydice Gaspar to arrange a Last 8 duel with No. 7 Rodolfo Barquin while Anasta ripped Marcen Gonzales, 6-1, 6-3, to set up a face-off with qualifier Julian Dayrit in the lower bracket of the 32-player men’s singles draw. Barquin also stamped his class over Jules Lazaro, coming away with a 6-1, 6-0 romp while Dayrit gained with a 1-0 ret. win over Ivan Torrecampo in the two weekend tournament highlighting the start of the second half of the PPS-PEPP tennis season. Other quarterfinalists were third ranked Fritz Verdad, who crushed Robin Santiago, 6-0, 6-0; No. 6 Leander Lazaro, who got past John Altiche, 3-1 ret.; fourth seed Mark Alcoseba, who also scored a 1-0 ret. victory over Roy Tan.

Fernandez, on the other hand, held his ground against Damian and carved out a 6-4, 6-3 decision although he will have his hands full against Verdad for a shot at the semis in the event held in honor of healing priest Father Suarez, a tennis buff, and sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-MEG. Meanwhile, Patrombon and Anasta also moved in the quarters in doubles play and will face the Fernandez-Joseph Victorino pair next, while the top-seeded Alcoseba and Damian will take on Ambrose Besas and Jeremiah Macias III for a spot in the Final Four. Joey Koh and Keff Gamana outlasted Robin Santiago and Robert de Guzman, 8-7(3) to seal a title clash with Tan-Victorino, who routed Jonathan Miranda and Altiche, 8-3, in the proam side of the event. In the Legends doubles, Aldrin Geluz and Nasser Mortiga clobbered Henry Escalante and Jackie Tomacruz, 8-3, to capture the 50-andabove title, while Eddie Gomez and Roy Tan nipped Efren Coros Jr. and Rico Hundana, 8-7(6), and Jonathan Bernardo and Jonathan Miranda also escaped with an 8-7(7) win in the semis of the 40-and-above division.

Engineers vs Vipers in D-League

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ECHNOLOGICAL Institute of the Philippines (TIP) shoots for the early lead in Group A as it battles Hyperwash in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Foundation Cup on Monday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. The Engineers are looking to earn their second straight win following their 37-point demolition of newcomers McDavid-La Salle Araneta, 108-81, in the conference opener last Thursday. The match is set at 5:30 p.m. Senegalese big man Papa Ndiaye, as well as Bryan Santos and Ivan Santos are expected to be at the forefront of TIP’s attack once more.

“We’re going to prepare really well, though marami pang kailangang ayusin sa mga patterns namin,” said TIP Head Coach Potit de Vera. The Engineers will be taking on a Vipers team that will parade ex-pros Jeric Fortuna and Ryan Buenafe. Joel Palapal will be the man at the sidelines for Hyperwash. Meanwhile, McDavid-La Salle Araneta aims to atone for its opening day loss when it takes on debutant Italiano’s Homme at 3:30 p.m. Raising the curtains for Monday’s tripleheader will be the clash of debuting teams Hazchem and Nailtalk-Savio at 1:30 p.m.

Ye thwarts Bourdage, claims US Girls’ crown

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EI YE watched Jillian Bourdage flub a 5-foot birdie putt on the 36th hole to escape with a 1-up victory and become the new US Girls’ Junior champion at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on Saturday. Ye went 3-up after the first half of their marathon 36-hole duel but needed to produce a pair of birdies on Nos. 33 and 35 to hang on to a 1-up lead as Bourdage kept fighting back with her clutch shots and putts. But the Florida ace missed the putt that mattered most, enabling the seventhranked incoming Stanford U freshman to clinch the victory and become only the second Chinese to win a US Golf Association (USGA) championship. “This tournament is the ultimate achievement

JOHN HAY CHAMP Princess Superal (third from left) holds her trophy as she poses with (from left) organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments

Inc. Executive Director Narlene Soriano, low amateur and third place overall Chanelle Avaricio and John Hay Golf Club General Manager Tim Allen after winning the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Camp John Hay Ladies Championship behind a solid closing eight-under 61 last Friday.

Hallasgo, Nerza top Manila elims

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HRISTINE HALLASGO kept the women’s title and Anthony Nerza debuted with a bang in the premier 42-kilometer race of the Metro Manila eliminations of the National Milo Marathon on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Grounds in Pasay City. Hallasgo clocked three hours, six minutes and 28 seconds to easily win the women’s race. Favorite April Rose Diaz was a far second with a time of 3:15:05 and Maricar Camacho was further back in

DUATHLON REPS TO SEAG

third with the time 3:26:03. Nerza, on the other hand, ruled the men’s division after clocking 2:32:50. Richel Languido who finished with 2:36:43 and Jeson Agravante was third with 2:38:48 in the weekend races that gathered some 30,000 runners in the 3K, 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K categories. Nerza and Hallasgo each banked P50,000 in cash and a trophy and, at the same time, booked slots to the National Finals in Tarlac City in January.

Despite training for only two weeks, Hallasgo ran a swift and steady pace, keeping Diaz around 1 km behind throughout the race. “I led from the gun and I built a considerable lead over Diaz,” said Hallasgo, who trains under the wings of the race’s record holder Eduardo “Vertek” Buenavista. It was a different story for 29-year-old Nerza. The Davao native had a different approach in beating his opponents, most especially Agravante. “I ran at my own pace in the early goings because my opponents are known for their explosive start,” he said. “But I persevered even with pain in my feet to surprise everyone.”

Members of the Standard Insurance Duathlon Team will represent the country in the 30th Southeast Asian Games after sweeping the recent Philippine Duathlon Series III at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The men’s elite team finishes 1-2-3, while the women’s elite placed 1-3 in the final qualification for the November 30 and December 1 Games. The Philippine team is managed by Standard Insurance group Chairman Ernesto “Judes” Echauz (sixth from left) and coached by Melvin Fausto and Bernie Llantada. Shown are duathletes Robeno Javier, Jarwin Banatao, Doy Comendador, Monica Torres and Pawie Fornea.

of junior golf, so yeah, it’s a perfect ending,” said Ye, who joined 2014 US Women’s Amateur Public Links winner Alice Jo as the only players from China to claim a USGA crown. Bourdage, who foiled top seed Yuka Saso in the semifinals, forced an all-square match thrice in the afternoon, the last on the par-three 16th with a par. And after Ye birdied the next to regain the lead, she came away with a solid 8-iron approach shot from 130 yards to within 5 feet on the 18th. In contrast, Ye’s second shot went to the back of the green but made a brilliant downhill putt from 50 feet to within tap-in range for par.

Bourdage stroked what she thought was a perfect putt but the ball trailed off to the left as it approached the cup, sending Bourdage to her knees in disbelief and Ye in jubilation. The Chinese then drained a 3-footer for par to secure the victory and join the elite circle of winners in the annual event for players 19 years old and below, who included Princess Superal, who reigned in 2014 in Arizona. “I think I just under-read it,” rued Bourdage. “But I felt really good when I walked over the ball and my aim looked great from where I stood. I gave it my best shot but that’s golf, sometimes they don’t all drop.”

RICK OLIVARES bleachersbrew@gmail.com

BLEACHERS’ BREW

Learning from Spanish Football SPAIN extended its Under-19 reign in the UEFA Championships defeating Portugal, 2-nil last Saturday, with Fernan Torres (who plays for Valencia) scoring a brace. La Roja have now won their eighth title in that age bracket. Now this team, led by Abel Ruiz, lifted the U-17 trophy two years ago. So this batch of footballers will be taking over from Spain’s Golden Generation that led them to glory in the previous years. Head Coach Santi Denia said: “It’s not just today—this group has been a family, there’s been a continuity with our work in the federation and this is the product of so much hard work, so many journeys and some bad times, but today it was their time to produce the performance they had to give in order to become champions of Europe.” Europe? They might not stop there. They could very well lead Spain to another World Cup triumph. They key word mentioned by Denia is continuity. While their grassroots program is well-known, including their tiki-taka style of play that is cascaded all the way down to the lowest and youngest levels of football, here is one other fact. There are 473 pitches registered with the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Four hundred seventy-three. That excludes the impromptu fields and unregistered ones where people play. Now, of that 473 pitches, less than 60 are considered dirt fields. Yes, fields with no grass. Your typical Earth variety. But even that number is shrinking because of an edict to convert them into artificial turf. Imagine that. In the near future, all those fields will be covered with turf. That will surely fast-track development more so now they are working on a women’s league. In recent years, their “fidelity strategy” has seen 77 percent of all Spanish players playing in La Liga becoming eligible to suit up for La Roja. That is an incredible number. They can find other players to suit up if one isn’t available. Furthermore, the fidelity strategy provides coaching and the opportunity to play for clubs. And it isn’t all football. There are specific teachers to guide the players into a life after football. This is seen as a welcome development especially by the parents of the kids who enter the program. And one of the goals is to see more homegrown players suit up for the clubs. The federation is clearly bent on giving the Spanish player all the chances to succeed. I believe this is something that the Philippine Football Federation should emulate. While, of course, basketball is the top sport in the country and volleyball, second, the program that Spain runs can be emulated in some way. By next year, it will be the 10th anniversary of the Miracle of Hanoi where the Philippine Men’s National Football Team and local football took off. The level of play has certainly improved across the board. I’m just wondering if there is a coherent plan. Nothing wrong with looking Westward to Spain. We might not have the support it has but at this point, it is all about mindset and attitude. I say, it is certainly possible. It is time to make serious inroads in local football.

God of salvation

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EAR God, on this day of the resurrection, we rejoice in our call to follow Christ as we pray: Make us true disciples, oh God. Increase our desire for God, our love for learning, and our compassion toward one another and the poor. Support the good zeal of the newly baptized and confirmed. Attune Your Church to the ways in which youth experience the call of the Holy Spirit. May God bless us with every gift of the Holy Spirit and lead us to know the inexpressible delights of love, through Jesus our Shepherd. Amen. GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

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

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ALL ACCESS: SPOTLIGHT ON THE PHILIPPINES IN MEXICO FILMFEST D3

Monday, July 29, 2019

Sarah Geronimo: Breadwinner, budding style maven PHOTO BY RENJIE TOLENTINO

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NLIKE her scandal-plagued contemporaries, Sarah Geronimo has kept her image prim, proper and pristine. That’s why brands are scrambling to get her services. A cursory look at her Instagram feed gives a glimpse into the various products she carefully chooses to promote but there are hardly any hints of her personal life. I first saw Sarah in 2003 when I was assigned to interview Regine Velasquez for the defunct Today newspaper. Regine was then the host of the singing search Star for a Night, which the future Pop Princess was destined to win. Over the course of her stellar career, Viva, Sarah’s home studio, has shielded her from intrigues while her famously overprotective mother has fended off heartbreaks. From a timid teenager back when I last saw her up close, Sarah has blossomed and a selfassured woman greeted me in early July. The occasion was Sarah’s formal introduction at Marriott Clark Hotel in Clark

Freeport Zone as the new ambassador of Gardenia, after the trailbazing bread brand opened a massive plant at the Teco industrial estate in Mabalacat, Pampanga. Simplicio Umali Jr., the president and general manager of Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc., said at the opening of the P2billion plant, “There are four major aspects to become successful in the bread business in the Philippines. You have to have the right plant. You have to have the right process. You have to have the right products which come from the best ingredients in the world. And, you have to have the right people.” Umali can easily be referring to Sarah as one of the “right people” making Gardenia a resounding success. “I’m so blessed because Gardenia has been a part of my childhood. It’s very clear in my memory that every time Daddy or Mama buys Gardenia, I always say, ‘Ang sarap talaga ng tinapay na ’to! Ang lambot-lambot tapos parang gatas. Kahit po hindi ko lagyan ng palaman, lagi ko po ’yang pinapapak at sinasawsaw sa gatas or sa hot chocolate,” said Sarah, whose favorite is the classic white bread and the choco chip loaf bread. Sarah couldn’t identify what brands she was wearing, as she was styled by Qurator Studio headed by Pam Quiñones. Since the theme was “Bake to the Future,” she was dressed in a luminous beige/cream blouse with puffed sleeves, red metallic pants and shoes encrusted with multicolored crystals. Among fashion items, which ones do you collect, I asked? “Shoes. But I lost track of

MONTBLANC JOINS FIGHT AGAINST MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY LUXURY brand Montblanc continues its support of Only Watch in the fight against Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Now on its eighth edition, Only Watch is a biennial auction of unique timepieces created by some of the finest brands that have raised over €40 million to date. Under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, and following the initiative of Luc Pettavino, president of the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, Only Watch is an international watchmaking charity event.

The auction unites watchmakers from both large groups and small independents who all express their creativity and generosity through great timepieces crafted from the heart. All of the funds collected from the sale of the watches are donated in their entirety to scientific and medical research units working on neuromuscular diseases in general and on Duchenne muscular dystrophy in particular. “We are honored to be part of this amazing charity event that stands up for such a special cause, uniting some of the world’s leading watchmakers,” says Nicolas Baretzki, Montblanc CEO. “The biennial charity auction established itself as a celebration of watchmaking traditions and expertise, giving collectors and connoisseurs the opportunity to own a truly unique watch, while supporting this honorable cause.” The watches will embark on a world tour on September 25, starting with the Monaco Yacht show in the charity’s hometown, and then continuing to Dubai, Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei, before the final auction in Geneva on November 9. The auction is organized in partnership with Christies, and will take place at the Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues in Geneva. For the auction and in the spirit of mountain exploration, Montblanc reinterprets an historical Minerva military monopusher chronograph from the 1930s with the one-of-a kind 1858 Split Second Chronograph Only Watch 2019. For the first time, Montblanc unveils a wristwatch which combines a 44 mm case in full satin-finished titanium, the hand-crafted Montblanc Manufacture Monopusher Chronograph calibre MB M16.31, a brandnew matching Sfumato alligator strap, and a special dial made of degraded blue Agate, a natural stone, giving a unique blue appearance—all these elements making it the ideal watch for collectors.

the number of pairs I have. It’s a must that your shoes are beautiful because even if you have on a simple outfit, they could serve as the accent. They also must be durable. But with heels this high, I can’t dance in them,” Sarah said. Besides The Voice Kids, Sarah is working on a new movie about dogs, titled Unforgettable. Following on the big beauty trend worldwide of celebrities having their own makeup lines, Sarah also launched her own Pop Studio, with prices ranging from P199 for a moisturizing primer, to P1,999 for a “starter set.” The range includes blush with contour, day and night eyeshadow palette, brow pencil with mascara, foundation stick with liquid concealer and matte lipstick with lip balm. What else would you like to achieve? “More on personal growth. I’m at a stage in my life that, when I started my goal was to become famous, to have lots of money because I came from a poor background. But my perspective in life and on my artistry has changed. I want more now to grow as an artist and as a person, as well,” said the multitalented entertainer. “I was previoulsy asked what fame has taught me. It’s like nothing. It doesn’t mean anything. What’s important is how you live your life, what impact you have on people, your legacy in case you’re gone.” n

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Monday, July 29, 2019

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Today’s Horoscope

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By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Munro Chambers, 29; Jason Belmonte, 36; Josh Radnor, 45; Martina McBride, 53. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Do what’s right. Don’t act in haste this year when it’s in your best interest to take your time and do things with finesse. Think matters through, and let your originality and your unique style take over. Much can be accomplished if you use precision and timing. Your lucky numbers are 7, 15, 24, 28, 32, 39, 46.

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep busy, and avoid conflicts in order to focus on personal and professional gains. Don’t get tangled up in other people’s problems. Stick to what you know, and do your best to get things done correctly the first time. Focus on fitness and health. HH

b EMBASSY of Sweden Consular Officer JC Jara (from left), Senior Trade Promotion Officer Giselle Yap, Communications Officer Charlene Balaan and IKEA Philippines Market Communications Manager Jasmin Cruz with an upcycled kimono made of Lindex Better Denim garments from previous seasons.

❶ A FASHION

revolution from H&M. Outfit made of Piñatex (left), an innovative natural textile made from pineapple leaf fiber sourced from the Philippines; Orange Fiber top made from fruit juice byproducts and winner of the 2016 Global Change Award; and sandals made of Bloom Foam, a plantbased flexible foam that uses algae biomass from freshwater sources at high risk of algal bloom.

❷ Dresses from H&M’s Conscious Collection made of organic silk from silkworms that live in mulberry trees and grown in an environmentally friendly way.

A ‘Fashion Revolution’ M ALL GOERS had the rare opportunity to get a glimpse of sustainable fashion during the recent Fashion Revolution exhibit at the Mega Fashion Hall of

SM Megamall. A joint project of the Embassy of Sweden in Manila and SM, the exhibit features Swedish brands’ efforts to reduce waste and make fashion a more sustainable industry Swedish brands H&M, Houdini and Baby Bjorn, joined in, showing how they were changing fashion with garments made of organic materials, as well as backpacks and baby carriers made of recycled PET bottles. The items displayed show how much companies can do to be more earth-friendly without losing functionality and style. Filipino artist and designer Patis Tesoro, who is known for her upcycling advocacy, showcased three textile art pieces made of various fabrics sewn together to create beautiful and intricate tapestries. Her take on the Malong Landap highlights the Maranao culture and Islamic architecture, while the delicate abaca pieces were salvaged from flooding in Aklan. The Fashion Revolution exhibit is on view at S Maison in Pasay City until August 2. n

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take the initiative to make changes at home that are sure to ease stress and make your life better. Moving things around, making adjustments to your living arrangements and looking for an alternative lifestyle are favored. HHH

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CANCER (June 21-July 22): Keep an open mind. If you let someone or something get to you, you will likely overreact. Think twice before you make a move that has costs involved. Rely on the people who have already proven to be trustworthy. HHH

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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take charge, and tidy up what’s been left undone. You’ll feel much better once you put everything in its place whether in your personal or professional dealings. It’s easier to move forward once you have nothing holding you back. HHHH

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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Participation will change your life. Listen, learn and experience what life has to offer and what others have to say. Create the type of environment you want to live in. Your intuition will not let you down. HHHH

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If you want something done, do it yourself. Take care of your responsibilities before someone complains. Expand your interests, and you will meet someone who motivates you to do what’s necessary to fulfill your dreams. Personal growth is encouraged. HHH

AMBASSADOR Harald Fries and Madame Susan Fries of Sweden

Mexico accuses Carolina Herrera of cultural appropriation A DRESS from the Carolina Herrera New York Resort 2020 collection.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your desire for change can lead to trouble. Consider the ramifications that could develop should you make choices that don’t sit well with others. Take care of issues that could slow you down first, and be willing to do the work yourself. HHH

NEW YORK—The Mexican government has accused the New York-based fashion house Carolina Herrera of cultural appropriation in its Resort 2020 collection. Mexican Minister of Culture Alejandra Frausto sent a letter Monday to the Venezuelan designer and to Wes Gordon, creative director of Carolina Herrera New York, asking for a public explanation to justify the use of “cultural elements” that belong to certain indigenous communities. Frausto used as an example the traditional embroidery from Tenango de Doria, in the state of Hidalgo, and from Istmo de Tehuantepec, in the state of Oaxaca. A spokesman for Carolina Herrera issued a statement Wednesday saying that the fashion house recognizes “the wonderful and diverse craft and textile work of Mexican artisans,” and that the collection is inspired “by the culture’s rich colors and artisanal techniques.” AP

DESIGNER and upcycling advocate Patis Tesoro (left) in front of her exquisite textile tapestry with SM Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications Millie Dizon

Barbie goes glam rock to honor David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust NEW YORK—Barbie has been many things over the years. Now, she’s dressed as Ziggy Stardust. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s iconic “Space Oddity,” Barbie overseers at Mattel released a collectible version of the doll dressed as Ziggy Stardust, one of his most beloved alter egos. Barbie wears the metallic Ziggy space suit with red and blue stripes, flared shoulders and cherry red platform boots. Mattel spared no makeup, featuring the astral sphere smack in the middle of Ziggy Barbie’s forehead. The doll’s hair is fiery red. The $50, limited edition doll was created in collaboration with The David Bowie Archive. The beloved rocker died in 2016 after battling cancer. He was 69. AP

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Engage in discussions, listen carefully and find out where you stand. Use experience to help guide you in a direction that will bring you greater happiness. Change may be difficult, but the result will be worthwhile. HHHHH

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Just do it. Sitting on the sidelines isn’t going to get you where you want to go. Take action, and follow the most fulfilling path. Don’t let anyone redirect you or tempt you to forgo going through the proper channels. HHH

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A physical change may not be your idea of fun, but in the end, you will discover that the experience will take you to a place that gives you greater peace. Embrace the future and what it has to offer. HHH

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Partnerships will go through a transformation. Whether it’s with someone you work alongside or live with, recognize what everyone has to bring to the table. Much can be accomplished if you are synchronized. HHH

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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Get involved, make a difference and unite with people who share your concerns. Today is about doing what’s right and using your knowledge and skills to bring about positive change. Walk away from anyone who is a detriment. HHHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are energetic, outgoing and spontaneous. You are original and expressive.

‘spirited away’ BY MAX CARPENTER The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Beetle in ancient Egyptian art 7 “That’s adorable!” 10 Fish that produces roe 14 Awake in the wee hours, say 15 Let sleeping dogs ___ 16 Used a loom 17 The Beatles, in 1965? 19 Nitpicky 20 Invoicing a trendy workout company? 22 Spiced Indian drink 25 Iraq War weapon: Abbr. 26 Scorching 27 Juice box brand 28 Diagram in many fantasy books 30 Letter-shaped steak 32 Final Greek letters 36 June birthstone 38 Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012, to Michelle? 41 Esther of Driving Miss Daisy 42 The “S” in GPS 45 Love, in Nice 48 Vientiane native

0 Pre-ambulance procedure, briefly 5 51 Bask 52 Oscar winner Mahershala 54 Fish sauce dish 58 Small square below an artsy jack-o’lantern’s smile? 61 Jobs rollout of 1998 62 Existential quest that 17-, 20-, 38and 58-Across may inspire? 66 “___ Your Enthusiasm” 67 Close, as a suitcase 68 Wacky weather source 69 Figure (out) 70 Org. that x-rays shoes 71 Fuel compound DOWN 1 Central California’s Big ___ 2 Technological brain, for short 3 Balkan nation: Abbr. 4 One reading from the Torah 5 Absorbed a loss 6 Milton of early TV 7 Jai ___ 8 Capital of Manitoba 9 Common doorstop shape

0 Clout 1 11 Big kahuna 12 Where Excalibur was forged 13 Erase, as a file 18 Tire-popping sound 21 Ejectable PC part 22 Comedian Margaret 23 That stag or ram 24 Taiwanese computer giant 29 Nighttime breathlessness 31 Club cousins, at delis 33 Zen master, e.g. 34 Extra-warm coat 35 Kate McKinnon’s NBC show, briefly 37 Early hrs. 39 Lincoln’s state? 40 Make art with acid 43 Green org. 44 3D med. scan 45 Savory jellies 46 Flowing Hawaiian garment 47 Where future humans may live 49 October birthstone 53 Hungarian composer Franz 55 Away from port

6 Boom box battery 5 57 Show gratefulness 59 Coolants once in wide use 60 Cocoon-bound bug 63 Coastal inlet (AIR anagram) 64 Erin Burnett OutFront channel 65 Loosen, as earth

Solution to Friday’s puzzle:

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Monday, July 29, 2019

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Spotlight on the Philippines in Mexico filmfest FROM left: Rafael “Bembol” Roco Jr., Mary Liza Diño-Seguerra and Kidlat Tahimik

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HE Philippines was the spotlight country of the Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF) for its very successful 22nd edition. Led by Philippine Ambassador to Mexico Demetrio Tuason and his team from the Mexican Embassy, and spearheaded by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), the focus was all about the Philippines—our films, our food, our culture, our people. Interestingly, Ambassador Tuason’s family used to coproduce films with Cirio Santiago’s Premier Productions in the 1960s. “Cinema always had a special place in my heart,” he shared, adding that it was a big honor for the Philippines to be the main attraction in this annual festival, attended by the who’s who in the Latin American film business. FDCP Chairman Mary Liza Diño-Seguerra was in cloud 9 all throughout the festival, with the warm reception that the Philippines got from the festival organizers, led by Sarah Hoch and her team. “The selection of the Philippines as the spotlight country in the Guanajuato International Film

Festival is truly special, especially that we are celebrating the 100 of Philippine Cinema. The Philippines is the first-ever Southeast Asian Spotlight Country in the festival, and, for the first time, our country was chosen as the Country of Focus at a Latin-American film festival—which turned out to be the biggest and most celebrated film festival in Mexico,” the FDCP chairman said, adding, “It is a perfect opportunity to bring the best of Philippine cinema and our culture to Mexico, a country with which we share a long history.” Diño-Seguerra, who is a professional chef, also prepared an eight-course dinner to treat festival VIPs to a Filipino-Mexican fusion cuisine, together with Mexican Chef Marcela Bolaño. The favorite dishes, included Chicken Inasal Taco

with Mango Salsa and Cotija Cheese, Bistek Tagalog Burrito with Pickled Papaya, Tostada Kinilaw, Pork Belly Adobo with Salted Egg Salsa and Molotinos de Platano con Mole Coloradito. The GIFF is Latin America’s largest, most competitive and prestigious film festival. It acts as a launching pad for game changers in filmmaking, where newcomers are pitted against the veterans in its national and international competition categories. The festival’s guest of honor was bestowed on Philippine actor Rafael “Bembol” Roco Jr., a highly respected actor with more than 40 years of contribution to Philippine cinema. Roco was overjoyed with the importance the festival gave him. “It was such a privilege to grace this wonderful event, and to celebrate with Mexico, Latin America and the

whole world the centennial of Philippine cinema. I was deeply honored to be invited as the festival’s guest of honor, and I will treasure this for as long as I live.” Roco’s film, Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila in the Claws of Light), directed by the late Philippine National Artist Lino Brocka, had a special wellattended screening at the Cinemex, the main cinema venue of the festival. National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik was given an international tribute at the GIFF along with Good Will Hunting director Gus van Sant and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote director Terry Gilliam for their contribution to world cinema. Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza served as the jury president of the competition section of the festival. Viva Filipinas! Muchas gracias, Mexico! n

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Monday, July 29, 2019

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‘A good scent is the mark of a lady’

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Y mother always said, “A good scent is the mark of a lady,” and I never forgot that. I never got to ask my mom what she meant by “lady” but I always assumed it was someone who smelled and looked good. I grew up smelling Joy by Jean Patou on my mother and she stopped wearing it only 10 years ago when she discovered Clinique Happy and found it to be more suitable for our weather. My mother would wear expensive perfume even to go to the market. This is something that many women of her generation would do. I love good fragrances and I can’t live without them. I started wearing my mother’s everyday scents—Estee Lauder Youth Dew and Diane von Furstenberg’s Tatiana—when I was in high school. Of course, I like baby colognes and those Bath and Body Works, and Victoria’s Secret Body Mists. But I’d choose a good fragrance over those if I could afford it. One of the first fragrances I purchased with my own money was Miss Dior. To me, it smelled like a lady, something a younger person right now may not aspire for but it was a scent I very much liked. I am not the fruity floral type but I like smelling it on people. Fragrance is really

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something that’s very personal. So, I don’t buy anything just because it smells good on another person without trying it out first. The new Miss Dior Eau de Parfum is different from the first expensive fragrance I bought with my own money. The new version “celebrates the beauty of a sensual Grasse Rose wrapped in fresh notes and woven with a lively Rosewood.” I was invited to the launch of the fragrance in the Philippines last year and compared with the original Miss Dior, this new version is definitely more contemporary. It is something that I imagine a woman in her late 20s or early 30s would wear. This woman has a strong personality and is very creative. She is an original, one who isn’t bound by rules and conventions. The new version of Miss Dior is a scent that grew on me, an acquired taste, if I may say so. I didn’t really like her at first but it’s now one of my favorites. Another favorite is Tom Ford Noir de Noir, described as “a dark oriental scent featuring warm and sweet gourmands. Rich feminine florals and the masculine earthiness of black truffle, vanilla, patchouli oud wood, and tree moss add a warm sensuality to this dark chypre oriental.” One of the things I love about Noir de Noir, aside from its elegant bottle, is that it is a complex fragrance. It’s not something you’d smell on just about anybody. Okay, any Tom Ford fragrance is expensive. Their fragrances cost over P10,000 per bottle. I doubt if even my mother would wear it to the market. But I’d say they’re worth every drop. They smell wonderful and they last the whole day. Whatever your favorite fragrances are, you are probably attracted to them as I am to my own favorites. Fragrances don’t just make us smell good. They also make us feel good, too. n

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Monday, July 29, 2019 E1

Questions hiring managers want you to answer P I

New versions spread differently than entirely new products

By Art Markman

NTERVIEWS have an outsize influence on whether you land the job you want. Even though your application materials reflect your lifetime of experience, a few hours of interaction with a recruiting team often end up being the determining factor in whether you actually get hired. So, clearly you need to stand out.

n What will it be like to work with you? You want to demonstrate to your prospective employer that you will be a valuable colleague and someone with whom they will enjoy interacting. If you treat your interviewer the way you would a trusted colleague—smiling, talking in a friendly way and making eye

contact—they will begin to think of you as someone who belongs at the organization too.

n Can you learn? You probably have the basic skill set required to do the job for which you are applying, but you’ll also need to learn as you go. How can you demonstrate that you’re willing and able to learn? One way to show that you intend to keep expanding your knowledge is to ask about continuing education opportunities. Inquiring makes it clear that you

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To do that, it helps to be mindful of what recruiters and hiring managers are trying to accomplish with the interview. Below are three of the questions they want answered.

are interested in further development.

n Do you take initiative? Interviewers want self-starters who take initiative (so much so that it’s become a cliché). The best way to demonstrate your effort and commitment is to arrive completely

Preparing for global Internet access By Jim Cashel

should prepare in four areas:

INCE the World Wide Web was popularized with the launch of the Mosaic browser 26 years ago, only about half the global population has gained access to the Internet. According to the United Nations’s State of Broadband report, 49.2 percent of people were online by the end of 2018 with reliable, affordable access. Regions vary greatly: Europe is 80 percent online, while Africa only 22 percent. Technology firms recognize this issue, and have started experimenting with innovations to provide broader Internet coverage.It is reasonable to predict that, in the next three to five years, most of the planet will have some access to broadband. The business community should consider this emerging market with astonishment, if for no other reason than its vast size. It will present challenges in terms of economics, geography, language and demographics. Specifically, businesses

n Distinct populations:

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Communications will need to be localized. Half the people on the planet speak one of five languages (Mandarin, Spanish, English, Arabic and Hindi). But the billions of people coming online could be speaking one of 7,000 languages. Communications will need to be driven by local partners who bring both cultural awareness and linguistic skills.

n Business models: Because many new consumers will be located in low-income countries and have limited resources, business models will need to adapt to their needs. In many cases a “pay-go” model, where consumers pay a bit each month from online accounts, can be effective. n Platform strategy: If past experience holds true, new markets coming online will quickly be dominated by a small number of global platforms, especially Facebook.

© 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)

Because of Facebook’s dominance, every business considering online expansion needs to factor in its stature. In some regions, this may mean, for example, abandoning plans for separate Web page communications and using Facebook for company information, communications and transactions.

n Audio and video communications: A large portion of the popula-

tions gaining access to the Internet may be illiterate. Communications may be further challenged as many will speak regional languages. Under these circumstances, audio and video communications will be particularly effective. Global broadband expansion represents an opportunity that can’t be ignored. Businesses that recognize the speed and magnitude of this transformation will be best positioned to take advantage of unprecedented opportunity. Jim Cashel is chairman of Forum One, a digital agency.

prepared. You should have a very clear idea of what the company does, its history, its strengths and its weaknesses. If you know people who work for the company (or have worked there in the past), ask them for inside information. Ultimately, the best way to stand out in interviews is to think

carefully about what prospective employers really want to know about you before you are hired. From there, you will be able to address concerns before they even have them. Art Markman is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

How to tame ‘automation sprawl’

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By Thomas H. Davenport

NE of the generally unheralded trends in enterprise information technology is the proliferation of automation tools. Dozens of vendors offer systems to automate tasks and processes. Many of these tools have begun overlapping, or sprawling, over time. It’s clear that one aspect of the future is more sprawl. “Automation” is an old term that has been used to describe virtually every type of computer system. More recently, it’s been focused on workflow-related capabilities. The focus of automation tools was at one point to automate structured, predictable workflows, typically within a specific domain. But robotic process automation, or RPA, has by now become the generalized tool for executing structured workflows, particularly for processes that involve data from multiple information systems. One indication of the expanding sprawl is that RPA and several other automation tools are now going after data-intensive decision tasks that are made within those structured workflows. They are either adding machine learning capabilities themselves or making it easy for customers to use other vendors for them. It’s clear that everybody is moving into each other’s territory and rapidly adding new

functionality. What should you do about it? One answer is to look for generalized automation tools that can perform a variety of task types. For many companies, that increasingly leads them toward RPA. Another approach is to create a classification system for different automation types. One global consumer products company, for example, created a system that includes content recognition, task automation and process monitoring and a set of technologies, including RPA and artificial intelligence to support each category. Finally, in managing sprawl, it’s important to let employees know what the plan is for the technology. Smart automation raises obvious concerns about the future of human employment. Human workers will need to assist in adopting, monitoring and improving automation technology. If they suspect that they are being targeted for automationdriven layoffs, they are unlikely to cooperate. Automation technologies will surely continue to sprawl. It is time for firms to establish the capabilities needed to harness this to their advantage. Thomas H. Davenport is a professor at Babson College and a research fellow at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy.

By Dashun Wang

REDICTIONS about how products spread are usually based on the assumption that a few early adopters encourage an increasing number of people to start using a product. But our research shows that when a product simply updates or replaces an existing product, the growth curve is very different. A better formula follows a power law, with rapid adoption in the beginning, followed by much more gradual takeoff as users make individual adoption decisions. This model generates more accurate predictions about adoption and, in turn, more realistic expectations. To study the adoption of replacement innovations, we examined four areas: mobile phones, cars, apps and scientists’ research focus. In each of these areas we documented the early growth of replacement innovations “following a power law with non-integer exponents.” (This means that when the product was introduced, it had a singular growth momentum that was fundamentally different from its growth in the rest of sales periods.) Consider what happens when Apple releases a new iPhone. There may well be lines of early adopters outside the store for the device’s release, but the next waves of adopters will have to decide that they’re ready to replace their current phones. The slower, more deliberate decisions they make help to explain why replacement innovations grow more slowly. We identified three mechanisms that are primarily responsible for the observed replacement dynamics: (1) recency or how recently the new innovation has been introduced; (2) replacement propensity, as some products are more “fit” to replace original versions than others are; and (3) popularity, since more successful products are more likely to attract more new users. A model that combines these three mechanisms enables us to explain the growth patterns of replacement products and to identify three parameters associated with this growth. These parameters are: fitness (how fit your product is to replace others), anticipation (initial excitement among potential users) and longevity (how long before the product may become obsolete). To understand intuitively how sales will go, ask yourself about each of these variables. The more recent or popular the innovation, or the better the product-market fit, the higher the sales. If you’ve been applying the traditional adoption model to what could be considered replacement products, you’re likely underestimating the initial excitement about your new product while overestimating the overall speed and size of adoption. This could mean wasted opportunities, unrealistic expectations and misallocated resources. Dashun Wang is an associate professor at Northwestern University.

E2 Monday, July 29, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Education BusinessMirror

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CDC and OB Montessori to help IPs through ‘Pagsasarili’ educational program

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By Ashley Manabat | correspondent

LARK FREEPORT—Calling it “the centerpiece” of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) launched here on Monday the “Pagsasarili Family Care Center” for Indigenous People. CDC Chairman Jose “Ping” de Jesus said the building will house the education and livelihood center for Aeta communities living in the Clark subzone covered by the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) 025A. The Pagsasarili Family Care Center was launched by the CDC in collaboration with the OB Montessori in cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd). T he center is temporar ily housed at the newly constructed

building at the Clark Skills and Training Center, formerly the Clark Polytechnic Compound here. The temporary facility features an exhibit hall, an auditorium and other amenities like dining area, kitchen and comfort rooms. However, it was announced that the permanent learning center for the program will be at the Barn House building 2092 here once the construction and improvement has been completed. De Jesus said the project in-

AIMING TO PRODUCE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE GRADS, PIA FILES EDUCATIONAL ROADMAP BILL

Caritas Manila offers 4K scholarships

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EN. Pia S. Cayetano is pushing for the establishment of a common national policy on education that will train Filipino students to be job-ready and globally competitive. In filing Senate Bill 62 or the “Educational Roadmap Act,” Cayetano aims to institutionalize an education road map that incorporates the needed skills and competencies that industries constantly look for in new graduates. The senator said her proposal seeks to guarantee gainful employment for Filipino s tudents after graduation by addressing current “overlapping and confusing education policies.” Furthermore, the measure aims to make the Philippines on a par with its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of producing a competitive work force. Under SB 62, an Educational Roadmap National Coordinating Council shall be created to design, formulate and monitor implementation of the educational road map. The council shall focus on five key components, namely, Global Languages, Graduate Competencies, Teacher Competencies, Capacity Building for Centers of Excellence and School-to-Work Transition. Furthermore, the national policy on global languages shall be aligned with the Common Framework of Reference for Languages to warrant national and global competitiveness, especially in the areas of education and labor. “The road map incorporates a careful review of existing curricula so that the skills required by local and international industries from new graduates are integrated in our academic programs,” the senator explained. “This road map also aims to strengthen capacity building for teachers so that they could properly equip their students with relevant skills and competencies,” she added. The bill includes a policy for the seamless progression of students from basic education to higher education and, eventually, to employment. This involves strengthening and expanding internship, apprenticeship, and dual-training programs for students, as well as dynamic collaboration among the government, academe and industry. “To ensure that our students’ training are aligned with the requirements of their future employers, industry sector representatives shall be consulted or tapped in developing and implementing the educational road map,” Cayetano noted. “Our education program must constantly keep up with the changing and growing needs of industries. We must also secure lifelong learning opportunities for our youth so that they will be globally competitive and jobready upon graduation,” the senator said.

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

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N its effort to contribute to economic inclusivity in the country and encourage the youth to become future entrepreneurs and farmers, Caritas Manila’s Youth Servant Leadership and Education Program will offer scholarships to 4,000 incoming college and freshmen for school year 2019-2020. Caritas Manila Executive Director Fr. Anton CT Pascual said developing the agriculture sector is an important task to ensure the country’s food security. Moreover, it is important to train future farmers the aspects of entrepreneurship so they can develop sound business decisions. “We now promote courses on agricultural entrepreneurship to encourage the youth to go back to farming and fishing. A support business program will be made available to help them earn a sustainable livelihood in rural communities. It is also hoped that this will contribute to the country’s food security in the long run,” Pascual said in a press statement. Moreover, Pascual said Caritas Manila also looks for ways to match scholars from the provinces with courses that will help them to get employment opportunities in their own rural communities.

CLARK Development Corp. (CDC) Chairman Jose “Ping” de Jesus with the Aeta kids during the launching of the Pagsasarili Family Care Center. The project which was made through the partnership of CDC and OB Montessori will cover 50 Aeta children who will be taught through a nontraditional approach of instruction. CDC-CD PHOTO

tends to develop the ancestral domain of the indigenous Aetas in the area by physically and economically developing its human capital to cultivate a sustainable

This new set of Youth Servant Leaders will join the existing beneficiaries who are now enrolled in different courses in different schools nationwide. Priority is given to qualified students who come from what the national government has identified as the poorest regions in the country. For the school year 2018-2019, Caritas Manila had a total of 3,443 beneficiaries including those midway through their courses and those who recently graduated. The program produced 1,061 graduates in Batch 2019, one of the highest, compared to other nongovernment organizations. Of the graduates, six were magna cum laudes, 41 were cum laudes, 42 had academic excellence or were in the dean’s lists, 13 were in the president’s list and 67 were special awardees in sports, music and the arts, quiz bee and others. Among those still enrolled, 154 are either in the dean’s list or are special awardees. Among the graduates, 744 are from Metro Manila, 149 from Luzon, 96 from the Visayas and 72 from Mindanao. The Caritas Manila YSLEP accepts students from all religions. Records show that in the same school year, the Youth Servant Leaders chose to enroll in the following top 8 courses: 283 in Business Administration; 231 in Education; 204 in Vocational

community for them. The early learning experience of the Aeta children will help promote the growth of their social and economic development pro-

Technology Courses (Hotel and Restaurant Services, Electrical Installation, Automotive Technology, Airconditioning Services, Office System); 76 in Formal Sciences (Information Technology, Computer Science, Statistics); 72 in Social and Behavioral Sciences; 52 in Engineering; 25 in Industrial Technology and 18 in Applied Sciences (Agriculture, etc). Caritas Manila is now in the final stages of processing scholarships for college opening in August. They start accepting applications and screening as early as February each year. Scholarship slots that remain after the school year begins are again offered for the second semester with application and screening starting in October. “From 4,000 scholarships this year, we are targeting 5,000 slots next year,” added Pascual. Despite being already professionals, Pascual noted YSLEP scholars remain in the Youth Servant Leaders. The Caritas Manila Scholars’ Alumni Association Balik-Handog program has raised millions to help incoming scholars. This initiative plus the support of dioceses and other religious organizations help sustain Caritas Manila YSLEP. Caritas Manila is the social services and development arm of the Archdiocese of Manila.

IN photo with Mayor Imelda Aguilar (center, right) and Vice Mayor April Aguilar-Nery (center, left) are City Councilors Rex Riguera, Boni Riguera, Boboy de la Cruz, Rey Balanag, Peewee Aguilar, Gerry Sangga, Lord Aguilar and Ruben Ramos, Barangay Captain Mark Nery and the officers of North Gatchalian HOA

Las Piñas LGU, Gatchalian village homeowners build public school

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A S Piñas C it y Mayor Imelda T. Aguilar and Vice Mayor April Aguilar-Nery recently inspected the soon-tobe-completed school building at Gatchalian North, Barangay Manuyo Dos.

The four-story building has 25 classrooms, which will accommodate junior and senior public high-school students. It is part of the Las Piñas City Government’s project of providing free and accessible edu-

cation to its constituents. The school will be operational by early next year. The project is a collaboration between the city government and the North Gatchalian Homeowners Association Phase II-A.

file, he said. The program is intended for IP communities in the CADT 025A area. It is also part of the CSR project of CDC and it will cover a total of 50 Aeta children from ages three to four. The program will teach the children useful information on cognitive learning and human and social development in their formative years. Their classes will be divided into two sessions where they will also be taught values and human development, proper sanitation, hygiene and basic health care for IPs. The beneficiaries of the program will also be provided school materials from OB Montessori, meals, vitamins, school uniforms and free transportation from CDC. Along with this, their parents and other adults will also learn practical and livelihood skills as they guide their kids during the entire duration of the project. Four katutubo (indigenous) teachers who were trained under OB Montessori will be commis-

sioned to teach the Aeta children and adults. To ensure the sustainability of the program, DepEd Region 3 also partnered with CDC and OB Montessori to help the children for further education once they finished the course of the program. The Mabalacat City local government unit and the Municipality of Bamban, Tarlac, also supported the project. Meanwhile, CDC President and CEO Noel F. Manankil; OB Montessori Child and Community Foundation Inc. Executive Vice President Sara Francesca Soliven-de Guzman; OB Montessori Child and Community Foundation Inc. Officer in Charge Beverly Joy Ciencia; DepEd Officer in Charge—Superintendent Leilani Cunanan; Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo of Pampanga, Bamban Mayor Jose Antonio Feliciano of Tarlac represented by Chery Pascua and CDC External Affairs Department Assistant Vice President Rommel Narciso signed a memorandum of agreement for the provision of the said program.

PHOTO shows San Jose Anyao Elementary School in Catanauan, Quezon, which is one of the 7,144 schools that have been identified as Last Mile School by the Department of Education. The DepEd defines them as schools without complete sets of school furniture, no computers, no Internet connection, very few textbooks and manuals, and lacking laboratory tools and equipment in Geographically Isolated, Disadvantaged and Conflict-Affected areas. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPED

Last Mile Schools: Basic education for all Filipinos

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ECOGNIZING the need to reach out to and close the gap between students from Geographically Isolated, Disadvantaged and Conflict-Af fected (GIDCA) areas and their counterparts in urban centers, the Department of Education (DepEd) has developed the Last Mile Schools Program. This, according to Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, is part of the Public Schools of the Future framework in line with the Philippine Development Plan 2017 to 2022 under the Duterte administration. It aims to provide GIDCA areas with unhampered and equal access to quality basic education. “In the next three years under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, we will continue to address the remaining gaps and challenges in education. We will do something about the 27,000 schools na kailangan pang tulungan [which must be helped],” Briones said. Last Mile Schools are schools that have multigrade classes, with fewer than five teachers, and a student population of less than 100 learners, more than 75 percent of which are usually indigenous people. They lack complete sets of school furniture, no computers, no Internet connection, very few textbooks and manuals and lacking laboratory tools and equipment. “School building projects did not push through in these areas because of problems in peace and order, and where private contractors, suppliers, and service providers find difficult to access in order to deliver the necessary equipment and services,” Briones added.

Since teachers are the frontliners of the DepEd in providing quality basic education to all learners, she said the agency will strengthen the National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines. “It will capacitate teachers with the latest, effective teaching strategies so they could develop critical thinking among learners. Critical analysis is to study and analyze problems and find solutions. Ito ang itinuturo natin sa [This is what we teach our] highschool students [now],” she added. The DepEd, under the Duterte administration, continues to provide quality basic education to all Filipinos regardless of their background, distance and personal circumstances. The DepEd reported that the agency has built 67,667 classrooms, repaired and reconstructed 66,654 classrooms and restored 284 Gabaldon Heritage School Buildings from July 2016 to March 2019. It also has delivered 4,447,150 armchairs, installed 486,635 Information and Communication Technology equipment, distributed 158,850,171 textbooks and manuals, provided 20,421 packages of math and science equipment, employed 177,218 teachers and fed 4,526,432 students for the same period. To ensure that senior high-school students taking technical-vocational (techvoc) subjects are employment-ready, the DepEd constructed 4,136 tech-voc laboratories and workshops, delivered 1,396,614 new tables and chairs, provided 1,338 packages of tech-voc laboratory tools and equipment and upgraded electrical systems in 2,191 schools. PNA

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Editor: Efleda P. Campos • Monday, July 29, 2019 E3

The best way to mine a good PR idea is to have a lot of PR ideas

By Bong R. Osorio

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PR Matters

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ECENTLY I was invited by a group of young PR minds to share my thoughts on how to think creatively in the PR practice. The challenges in their heads are varied: how to move away from a creative process that no longer works, how to become freer and more inspired, and how to think differently or what many call, “thinking out of the box.” What is out-of-the-box thinking anyway, and why are PR people always talking about it? The box is a bordered area that allows a more conventional way of handling a problem. It is a belief, a concept, a working hypothesis or a mental model you use to understand what is happening around you. Thinking out of the box is taking grip of a situation or a challenge in an untraditional way. For perspective, the origin of the idiom is commonly associated with corporate culture in the mid20th century. There are anecdotal declarations to the first coining of the phrase, but many trace it back to a peculiar puzzle involving nine dots that are arranged in a square shape, with three rows of three dots. “The puzzler is supposed to find a way to draw four lines that pass through all the dots, without redrawing over any lines. One of the most common solutions to the puzzle is to draw lines that extend beyond the edges of the dotsquare; in effect, going outside the box” created by the dots. In a superbly book, Thinking in New Boxes, collaborated by Luc de Brabandere and Alan Iny, it was alleged that more than the concept of “out-of-the-box thinking,” what is more important is how to build new and better boxes: How to breach nonperforming ideas and cerebral frameworks, and generate new and more effective methods of thinking. In truth, there is no such thing as outside-the-box thinking. Boxes as mental frames, paradigms, master narratives, theories, assumptions or philosophies are the only way you can understand the complexity of reality. Even if you believe that you’re finally thinking outside the box, all you are doing is stepping into a new one. You simply can’t run away from boxes, and your propensity to create new, improved boxes is the skill you need to retool. The push for an innovative PR thinking process is driven by business and life realities that are too intricate to be boxed into a simple, limited structure of understanding human experience. No matter how brilliant a box you can construct, you can’t construct a perfect one. All PR ideas you can possibly have are flawed and imperfect, Brabandere and Iny posit. As such, choosing boxes is an exercise that forever eliminates particular facets of reality from view, shuts out discussion and directs resources into a narrowly delineated and unrestricted guideline. As a practice, you often accept boxes given by your bosses and the experts you work with, believing that acceptance of such boxes and conformity with the demands of the boxes will be rewarded. You, likewise, accept that thinking out of the box can be uncomfortable, as it brings fear and anxiety of things unfamiliar. And since a box can provide a comfortable haven of certainty, stepping out of it can be terrifying, knowing that the reality inside a box is much more enjoyable compared to what confronts you in the real, outside world. It is only by questioning everything, all your beliefs and assumptions about yourself, your role, or your business enterprise and its value proposition, that you begin to see the invisible box or boxes that you live in. Below is a step-by-step process that will get you climbing out of those old boxes and diving into new ones. Doubting everything is the first

step to being creative. Adopt a disbelieving mindset and discover how to do things differently. Brainstorm and challenge every assumption since true creativity requires continuous skepticism. It is the initial stride to practical creativity. If you manage it well, you can stumble on a successful new box that can change the way you think about your customers, competitors or your own company. Questioning your current situation can pave the way to creative thinking. Google’s original aspiration, for example, was to build the best search engine ever; arguably the organization achieved that. But to enter a new era of growth, Google leaders needed to view their company another way. Only when the organization challenged its long-held assumption. “We are a search engine company,” could they then come up with the idea, “We want to know everything,” which generated closely associated ventures, such as Google Earth, Google Book Search, and Google Labs, along with additional enhancements to their legendary search engine. Probe the possible. Identify relevant megatrends beyond your industry like demographic and economic developments; within your industry like regulators, customers, and competitors; and inside your company like how the business runs, and other inclinations that could affect operations. Probing involves research and investigation. Once you become free of your box, you are ready to explore the world in all its multifaceted affluence and to see it in from a new perspective. To break the rules, you must know what they are. And to know the drill, you need research. It is a basic prerequisite to become a specialist in your interest, which prevents you from falling and failing. Immerse in as much information as you can about the state of the art in whatever area you wish to compete in, and you will be able achieve unassailable creativity. And fully recognize that constantly chasing information, increasing knowledge and honing skills are what matter most. Divergence brings you to the start of the creative process. It is driven and powered by your investigation. The process should be guided by a noticeably structured inquiry for which you’re trying to generate answers in the light of your exploration. People often fail by jumping straight into this as a first step. You need to doubt and see the sights first, so you can harvest more productive results. Hindustan Lever Limited executives in the 1970s and 1980s assumed that customers for laundry detergent in India were primarily wealthy individuals willing to pay for Surf. What they didn’t notice was Nirma, a low-cost competitor, which appealed to an increasing segment of lower-income customers who hadn’t used detergent before. The company learned from that lesson, as evidenced by Surf’s phenomenal launch and sustained success in the Philippine market. Convergence is the phase where you analyze the ideas gathered in the divergence stage. Prioritize the ones put on the table, take a good, hard look at them and select the most useful for your purpose. In the

selection process, understand how your publics think, knowing that they have a natural bias toward ideas and concepts that corroborate, as opposed to those that cancel out what they already hold dear. Such biases can interfere with their capacity for fresh thinking. A good example is the classic case of Henry Ford, who notably insisted that the all-black Model T would always remain desirable to customers or publics. Even as other car manufacturers built new car models and colors, even when his colleagues urged him to consider pursuing new directions, Ford refused to budge. After years of fantastic innovations that helped bring the automobile to the masses, Ford fell prey to the anchoring bias that leads people to make, or fail to make, new decisions by referencing

their prior experience. Structured brainstorming allows you to pose concrete questions that focus people’s thinking in ways that spark fresh idea. What businesses could you invent if you reproduced something children love in an extreme form for adults? This thought has catalyzed creation of more than 25 new product categories, including gourmet jellybeans, rollerblades, sneakers, 20-foot-high sand castles for corporate parties, space tourism, Disney collectibles, Hagen-Dazs ice cream, Spider-Man movies, baseball fantasy camps and paintball. The brainstorming process must be orchestrated to help people work effectively together. It must aim to clarify what constitutes a good idea in your case, select participants who can produce original insights, make social norms work for you and not to rely solely on one brainstorming session since ideas keep improving over time. To capture all the good ones, consider scheduling a follow-up meeting or two, or gather additional thoughts from individuals after the session. In an ever-changing environment, no PR idea is good forever. You will always have to reevaluate. Even if business is going well, there are two types of moments that every business will have to grapple

with at some point, the “eureka moments” and the “carumba moments.” A “eureka” or “aha moment,” is when you come up with a great new idea before everyone else, and you must change your box to fit the new idea, even when things are going well. A “carumba moment” is when someone else comes up with an amazing idea or a way to sell something efficiently, and forces you to change your box. Both out-of-the-box or new-box thinking must take the lead from Linus Pauling, who declared, “The best way to get a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Bong R. Osorio is a communications consultant of ABS-CBN Corp., SkyCable, Dentsu-Aegis Network, government projects among others, after retiring as vice president and head of the Corporate Communications Division of ABS-CBN. We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com

Perspective BusinessMirror

E4 Monday, July 29, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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The internet is rotting–let’s embrace it

By Viktor Mayer-Schönberger University of Oxford

I

THE CONVERSATION

HAVE just taken an entire website and gigabytes of data offline. It covered a highly successful series of conferences on the data economy. It brought together thought leaders and key decision-makers from around the world for annual retreats—over a decade ago. And now it is gone.

Every year, some thousands of sites—including ones with unique information—go offline. Countless further webpages become inaccessible; instead of information, users encounter error messages. Where some commentators may lament yet another black hole in the slowly rotting Internet, I actually feel okay. Of course, I, too, dread broken links and dead servers. But I also know: Forgetting is important. In fact, as I argued in my book, Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age, all through human history, humans reserved remembering for the things that really mattered to them and forgot the rest. Now the internet is making forgetting a lot harder.

Built to forget

HUMANS are accustomed to a world in which forgetting is the norm, and remembering is the exception. This isn’t necessarily a bug in human evolution. The mind forgets what is no longer relevant to our present. Human memory is constantly reconstructed—it isn’t preserved in pristine condition, but becomes altered over time, helping people overcome cognitive dissonances. For example, people may see an awful past as rosier than it was, or devalue memories of past conflict with a person with whom they are close in the present. Forgetting also helps humans to focus on current issues and to plan for the future. Research shows

In the internet age, many things are remembered that have long lost their relevance. This strains people’s mental processes, as recall of something they thought they had forgotten suddenly creates questions about what past information is still relevant and what isn’t. People can’t help asking these questions, much like they can’t consciously forget (or at least not in most cases). This increases the chances for errors. that those who are too tethered to their past find it difficult to live and act in the present. Forgetting creates space for something new, enabling people to go beyond what they already know. Organizations that remember too much ossify in their processes and behavior. Learning something new requires forgetting something old—and that is hard for organizations that remember too much. There’s a growing literature on the importance of “unlearning,” or deliberately purging deeply rooted processes or practices from an organization—a fancy way to say that forgetting fulfills a valuable purpose.

Choosing to remember

OUR human minds developed a rather effective mechanism to balance remembering and forgetting. Humans don’t have to do it consciously. (In fact people very rarely can—or can you forget something I tell you to forget?) The brain does it for us, mainly, during sleep. This system is far from perfect—yes, I do forget things I wanted to remember, and recall things like phone numbers I no longer need—but it is working sufficiently well to let us think, decide and act

in the present. Because humans have always forgotten so much, we learned about the importance of preserving the things that really matter. We have not preserved every commercial invoice from the 1800s, but kept photos of important or illuminating moments. Of course, people make mistakes, and recorded memory reflects the choices of those with the power and the means to preserve. But even these biased memories are being constructed and reconstructed all the time, amended, augmented, sometimes even disregarded. This means that humans are constantly defining and redefining what for us as individuals and as a society really matters.

Digital memories

THE internet is threatening this mental balancing. For the first time in human history, remembering is the default—simple, easy and seemingly free—and forgetting is hard. Think about your photos, your tweets, your documents. Our digital systems keep them, and you have to take action to get rid of them. I rarely do. It’s too tempting, too easy to just save everything.

What’s more, powerful, ubiquitous search has made this enormous amount of digital memories easily and swiftly accessible. Far more often than before, people now stumble over our collective past as they travel the net or look at their favorite social media. For example, Facebook’s “On This Day” feature caused distress to some users when it unexpectedly surfaced posts about deceased loved ones. That would be okay if humans had developed mental mechanisms to discount the past when it no longer tells us something relevant to the present. But humans never had to develop ways to forget deliberately. Because forgetting was automatic, when people remembered things, or were reminded of them, they gave them significance and importance—why would they otherwise remember? In the internet age, many things are remembered that have long lost their relevance. This strains people’s mental processes, as recall of something they thought they had forgotten suddenly creates questions about what past information is still relevant and what isn’t. People can’t help asking these questions, much like they can’t

consciously forget (or at least not in most cases). This increases the chances for errors. If someone is reminded of a person’s misdoing decades ago, they often can’t help but be shocked. They judge the misconduct in the context of the present. For example, a Canadian psychotherapist was banned from entering the US, because an immigration officer checking his ID was searching his name on the internet and discovered that he confessed in a scholarly article to taking drugs many years earlier. A young woman was refused a teacher’s certificate because she had posted a photo of her online that showed her with a drink in hand and that photo was discovered by her university. I fear that comprehensive digital memory may push people toward an unforgiving world, in which we deny each other (and ourselves) the capacity to evolve, to grow and to change. Losing the ability to forget is not simply an unreserved blessing, but a potential curse. As much as many dread the rotting internet, and may rightly want to preserve the parts that people care about, I think that everyone should consider embracing digital rotting as an opportunity, and the empty spaces it creates as lacunae of hope. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: http://theconversation. com/the-internet-is-rotting-letsembrace-it-116239.