Businessmirror June 15, 2019

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A plan, years in the making, to move General Aviation out of the Naia area in order to decongest the premier airport will finally come true. A 24/7 work schedule at the former US facility in Sangley will ensure it will be ready to host Gen-Av operations by November.

PLANES are parked at the 44-hectare General Aviation Area, an independent airport subsystem that can accommodate planes ranging from singleengine Cessnas to Airbus A320 airliners. NONIE REYES

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By Recto L. Mercene and Lorenz S. Marasigan

N the endless debates over why the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (Naia) network of terminals is congested, the problem with General Aviation (Gen-Av)—or the aircraft of private entities whose unscheduled flights compete with commercial airlines in the aviation router—is always brought up.

And yet, for decades, no one has decisively been able to move Gen-Av elsewhere, with aviation experts saying the giants of business and industry obviously will not stand for it and are always successful in putting down proposals to relocate them.

Till now. On Wednesday, Independence Day, the Department of Transportation said the promised freedom from airport congestion may finally see fruition—at least partly, as the DOTr has gotten marching orders from an impatient President Duterte to ensure that all infrastructure work needed to allow Sangley Point in Cavite to host the relocated Gen-Av will be

completed by November 2019.

To make this possible, a 24/7 construction schedule was set.

The trigger: lightning

THE announcement by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade that they will relocate the General Aviation sector to Cavite followed Duterte’s directive to ease congestion at the premier airport following a three-hour shutdown of operations last Sunday night, cancelling over 50 flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific.

Duterte made a surprise visit at Terminal 2 of the Naia at 2 a.m.

Monday, as he sought to get to the bottom of the latest avalanche of

complaints about the premier airport. There, officials of both the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) and PAL explained to him the closure was prompted by the Red Lightning Alert issued by meteorologists. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) issued the alert due to intense lightning activity over the airfield last Sunday, a precaution required under safety protocols since an airport employee was struck dead by lightning at the tarmac a few years ago.

As the DOTr guns to meet the November completion target set by no less than Duterte, Tugade or-

dered the hiring of additional manpower, extension of work hours and acquisition of new equipment for the ongoing construction works at Sangley.

The Sangley project under the DOTr’s blueprint involves construction works at the runway, apron, passenger terminal building, power supply and drainage system, among others.

“Whatever it takes, we need to make sure that the directive of the President is delivered. Hire more manpower to work 24/7. We need to finish this before the timeline set by President Duterte,” he said.

The 24/7 construction of Continued on A2

Experts: Spy used AI-generated face to connect with targets

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By Raphael Satter The Associated Press

ONDON—Katie Jones sure seemed plugged into the Washington’s political scene.

The 30-something redhead boasted a job at a top think tank and a who’s-who network of pundits and experts, from the centrist Brookings Institution to the right-wing Heritage Foundation.

She was connected to a deputy assistant secretary of state, a senior aide to a senator and the economist Paul Winfree, who is being considered for a seat on the Federal Reserve.

But Katie Jones doesn’t exist, The Associated Press has determined. Instead, the persona was part of a vast army of phantom profiles lurking on the profession-

al-networking site LinkedIn. Experts who reviewed the Jones profile’s LinkedIn activity say it’s typical of espionage efforts on the professional-networking site, whose role as a global Rolodex has made it a powerful magnet for spies.

“It smells a lot like some sort of state-run operation,” said Jonas Parello-Plesner, who serves as program director at the Denmarkbased think tank Alliance of Democracies Foundation and was the target several years ago of an espionage operation that began over LinkedIn.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.9230

THIS image captured on June 11, 2019, shows part of a LinkedIn profile for someone who identified herself as Katie Jones. The Associated Press has found it is one of many phantom profiles that lurk on the social-media platform. AP

William Evanina, director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said foreign spies routinely use fake social-media profiles to home in on American targets—and accused China in particular of waging “mass scale” spying on LinkedIn. “Instead of dispatching spies to some parking garage in the US to recruit a target, it’s more efficient to sit behind a computer in Shanghai and send out friend requests to 30,000 targets,” he said in a written statement.

Last month retired CIA officer Kevin Mallory was sentenced to 20 years in prison for passing details of top-secret operations to Beijing, a relationship that began when a Chinese agent posing as a recruiter contacted him on LinkedIn. Unlike Facebook’s friendsand-family focus, LinkedIn is oriented toward job seekers and headhunters, people who routinely fire out résumés, build vast webs of contacts and pitch proj-

ects to strangers. That connectthem-all approach helps fill the millions of job openings advertised on the site, but it also provides a rich hunting ground for spies. And that has Western intelligence agencies worried.

British, French and German officials have all issued warnings over the past few years detailing how thousands of people had been contacted by foreign spies over LinkedIn. In a news statement, LinkedIn said it routinely took action against fake accounts, yanking thousands of them in the first three months of 2019. It also said “we recommend you connect with people you know and trust, not just anyone.”

The Katie Jones profile was modest in scale, with 52 connections. But those connections had enough influence that they imbued the profile with credibility to some who accepted Jones’s invites. The AP spoke to about 40 other people Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4791 n UK 65.8228 n HK 6.6331 n CHINA 7.5020 n SINGAPORE 37.9943 n AUSTRALIA 35.8944 n EU 58.5640 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.8450

Source: BSP (June 14, 2019 )

News

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Sangley, here they come

TAXIWAY at the General Aviation Area. Spaces and hangars in the 44-hectare area are leased by the MIAA to general aviation operators engaged in air charter, air cargo, aviation training, aircraft maintenance and corporate flight operations. NONIE REYES Continued from a1

Sangley—a former communications and hospital site of the United States military, since renamed Danilo Atienza Air Base—started on Thursday, June 13.

Sangley of the past

THE US Navy maintained the Sangley Airport complete with TACAN (tactical air navigation), distance measuring equipment (DME), instrument landing system (ILS) and other aviation- associated facilities so that the P-3 Orion could operate on a 24-hour basis, according to Antonio Paglinawan, a former air traffic controller of the Area Control Center (ACC).

He said Sangley Airport and Subic Naval Base were the home bases of two squadrons (24 aircraft) of US military airplanes that also include Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and Agana Air Base in Guam. Their main headquarters was in Pearl Harbor.

When not engaged in patrolling the oceans, Paglinawan said the four-turbo prop engine plane is heavily engaged with their own weather forecasting service by actually flying into the eye of any storm approaching the Philippines and reporting their findings to Clark.

American pilots took off from runway 07 of Sangley Airport, and headed east toward the Pacific but had to traverse the airspace of the then-Manila International Airport. Thus, they had to coordinate with the ACC so they would not get in conflict with air traffic from the MIA.

Caap’s mandate

TO make Sangley fit for the GenAv operations this time around, Tugade has also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) to “work closely with the DOTr on the civil works so that the support facilities can be immediately incorporated for the airport to commence operations at the soonest time possible.”

To this end, a synchronization matrix will be submitted as a guide for monitoring.

Tugade also ordered the contractor to finish the port for the ferry service to Sangley within two months.

Cavite govt proposal

THE national government’s move to develop Sangley as a General Aviation hub in order to decongest the Naia—which will then be limited to just the commercial airlines-is proceeding even as it waits for

the local government of Cavite to finalize its unsolicited proposal to develop the air base as an international air hub.

The provincial government of Cavite proposed to develop Sangley Airport as a fully integrated facility with a total capacity of 130 million passengers per year and four runways through 2028. The P552.02billion unsolicited offer also has a provision for the construction of mass-transit systems and new roads.

Key to its approval is the funding source, which the Cavite government intends to fill by listing P200 billion worth of bonds.

By end of June, the government will decide whether or not to accept the Cavite LGU’s proposal. If it is rejected, the government will entertain a similar private-sector offer from All-Asia Resources and Reclamation, which said it will spend $12 billion to build the Philippine Sangley International Airport.

Whether or not the grandiose plan for an international airport pushes through, the DOTr is determined to make Sangley capable of hosting the Gen-Av operations later this year.

Indeed, the DOTr is heeding Duterte’s promise to airline pas-

sengers he would immediately address the problem of congestion when he saw hundreds of domestic passengers stranded at the passenger terminals.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo narrated how the President relayed to Cabinet members the details of his surprise visit at the Naia early Monday morning.

Aside from sharing his assessment, Duterte wanted airport security to be handled by a single entity, either from the uniformed services or civilian forces, Panelo said.

Duterte said he wanted to clear Sangley Point in Cavite for the immediate transfer of Gen-Av and the construction of hangars.

Plan from long ago

THE move to transfer the Gen-Av was planned long before the term of former Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Angel Honrado.

Then-Airport Manager Edgardo Manda, during President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term, started the relocation of Gen-Av to Sangley but succeeded only in driving away about five flying schools. These aviation schools were relocated to Plaridel Airport, Bulacan, to Clark International Airport, Marinduque Airport and Calapan Airport in Oriental Mindoro.

Despite repeated promises by succeeding airport authorities, the transfer to Sangley was never fully complied with.

“At that time we had difficulty convincing the corporate jet own-

ers to transfer to Sangley because they are owned by influential people,” Manda said on Facebook.

This time around, influence is up against political will. Tugade had announced on Monday, at a meeting with aviation officials— Naia General Manager Ed Monreal, Caap Chief Jim Sydiongco and others—that he wants the immediate transfer of Gen-Av from the domestic airport to Sangley in Cavite.

“Owners of Gen-Av aircraft have agreed that they will transfer to Sangley as soon as the hangar facilities exclusively for them are built,” Tugade said on radio.

Among others, Gen-Av executive jets and helicopters are owned by the following: the Soriano and Ayala groups, the companies of Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., San Miguel Corp.’s Ramon Ang, Gov. Chavit Singson, brothers Charlie and Jack Po, and Subic Aviation.

The Miaa said there are 87 companies operating at the GenAv area, comprising 47 hectares of prime real estate. Here, the hangars of major government agencies and private companies are also located, including: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, DOTr, National Grid Corp; Asian Aerospace Support Service and Delta Air. Back in Honrado’s day, the only business that heeded the transfer was the so-called fish run, which airlifts live seafood daily from Palawan and Roxas City to Sangley and onto a Hong Kong-bound airliner on the same day.

The fleet of the fish run consists of World War II vintage propeller-driven airplanes.

PAL’s support

THE move to transfer to Sangley is supported by PAL, which concurs in the notion that moving Gen-Av out of the Naia will ease the ongoing congestion.

PAL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Lucio Tan had said in a statement (July 16, 2016), “We declare our full support to the new government’s decision to move the operations of Gen-Av out of the Naia to either Sangley, Clark or Subic.”

The move by the DOTr, if followed by big-time Gen-Av operators, will significantly decongest the Naia, according to airport insiders.

Any measure to reduce airtraffic congestion at the Naia will not only improve airlines’ flight schedule reliability but also enhance passenger’s convenience, PAL said.

Ferries

THE DOTr is not oblivious to concerns that road traffic from Metro Manila to Cavite could pose a challenge and hinder operations of those using Sangley. Tugade told Cabinet members that they are now testing the concept of using ferries to transport people to Sangley, from the Mall of Asia area, in, believe it or not, 18 to 24 minutes.

“The President directed the operations at Sangley Point to start immediately,” said Panelo, who clarified that the term “immediately” means by November this year.

Under the DOTr, the move to transfer to Sangley has been scheduled by year-end to wrap up the P500-million rehabilitation works at the former military base.

Experts: Spy used AI-generated face to connect with targets Continued from a1

who connected with Jones between early March and early April of this year, many of whom said they routinely accept invitations from people they don’t recognize.

“I’m probably the worst LinkedIn user in the history of LinkedIn,” said Winfree, the former deputy director of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy council, who confirmed connection with Jones on March 28.

Winfree, whose name came up last month in relation to one of the vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said he rarely logs on to LinkedIn and tends to just approve all the piled-up invites when he does.

“I literally accept every friend request that I get,” he said.

Lionel Fatton, who teaches East Asian affairs at Webster University in Geneva, said the fact that he didn’t know Jones did prompt a brief pause when he connected with her back in March.

“I remember hesitating,” he said. “And then I thought, ‘What’s the harm?’”

Parello-Plesner noted that the potential harm can be subtle: Connecting to a profile like Jones’s invites whoever is behind it to strike up a one-on-one conversation, and other users on the site can view the connection as a kind of endorsement.

“You lower your guard and you

get others to lower their guard,” he said.

The Jones profile was first flagged by Keir Giles, a Russia specialist with London’s Chatham House think tank. Giles was recently caught up in an entirely separate espionage operation targeting critics of the Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab. So when he received an invitation from Katie Jones on LinkedIn he was suspicious.

She claimed to have been working for years as a “Russia and Eurasia fellow” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, but Giles said that, if that were true, “I ought to have heard of her.”

CSIS Spokesman Andrew Schwartz told the AP that “no one named Katie Jones works for us.”

Jones also claimed to have earned degrees in Russian studies from the University of Michigan, but the school said it was “unable to find anyone by this name earning these degrees from the university.”

The Jones account vanished from LinkedIn shortly after the AP contacted the network seeking comment. Messages sent to Jones herself, via LinkedIn and an associated AOL e-mail account, went unreturned.

Several experts contacted by the AP said Jones’s profile picture appeared to have been created by a computer program.

“I’m convinced that it’s a fake face,” said Mario Klingemann, a German artist who has been experimenting for years with artificially generated portraits and says he has reviewed tens of thousands of such images. “It has all the hallmarks.”

Klingemann and other experts said the photo—a closely cropped portrait of a woman with bluegreen eyes, copper-colored hair and an enigmatic smile—appeared to have been created using a family of dueling computer programs called generative adversarial networks, or GANs, that can create realistic-looking faces of entirely imaginary people.

GANs, sometimes described as a form of artificial intelligence, have been the cause of increasing concern for policy-makers already struggling to get a handle on digital disinformation. On Thursday US lawmakers are due to hold their first hearing devoted primarily to the threat of artificially generated imagery.

Hao Li, who directs the Vision of Graphics Lab at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, reeled off a list of digital tells that he believes show the Jones photo was created by a computer program, including inconsistencies around Jones’s eyes, the ethereal glow around her hair and smudge marks on her left cheek.

“This is a typical GAN,” he said. “I’ll bet money on it.”

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US: Video shows Iran involved in Strait of Hormuz tanker attack

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UBAI, United Arab Emirates— The US military on Friday released a video it said shows Iran’s Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the oil tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting the Islamic Republic sought to remove evidence of its involvement from the scene.

Iran denies being involved, accusing the US instead of waging an “Iranophobic campaign” against it.

The US Navy rushed to assist the stricken vessels in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Iran, including one that was set ablaze on Thursday by an explosion.

The ships’ operators offered no immediate explanation on who or what caused the damage against the Norwegian-owned MT Front Altair and the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous. Each was loaded with petroleum products, and the Front Altair burned for hours, sending up a column of thick, black smoke.

While Iran has denied being involved in the attack, Tehran previously used mines against oil tankers in 1987 and 1988 in the “Tanker War,” when the US Navy escorted ships through the region.

T he bl ac k-a nd-wh ite footage, as well as still photographs released by the US militar y’s Central Command on Friday, appeared to show the limpet mine on the Kokuka Courageous.

A Revolutionary Guard patrol boat pulled alongside the ship and removed the mine, Central Command spokesman Capt. Bill Urban said.

“The US and the international

community stand ready to defend our interests, including the freedom of navigation,” Urban said.

“The United States has no interest in engaging in a new conflict in the Middle East. However, we will defend our interests.”

Iran earlier denied involvement via a statement from its mission to the United Nations.

“The US economic war and terrorism against the Iranian people, as well as its massive military presence in the region, have been and continue to be the main sources of insecurity and instability in the wider Persian Gulf region and the most significant threat to its peace and security,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the owner of the Kokuka Courageous said its sailors saw “flying objects” before the attack, suggesting it wasn’t damaged by mines. Company president Yutaka Katada offered no evidence for his claim, which contradicts the US military account.

Katada also said crew members saw an Iranian naval ship nearby, but did not specify whether this was before or after the attacks.

The suspected attacks occurred at dawn on Thursday about 40 kilometers off the southern coast

of Iran. The Front Altair, loaded with the flammable hydrocarbon mixture naphtha from the United Arab Emirates, radioed for help as it caught fire. A short time later, the Kokuka Courageous, loaded with methanol from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, also called for help.

The US Navy sent a destroyer, the USS Bainbridge, to assist, said Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a 5th Fleet spokesman. He described the ships as being hit in a “reported attack,” without elaborating.

Thursday’s attack resembled that of an attack in May targeting four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah. US officials similarly accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines, which are magnetic and attach to the hulls of a ship. The mines disable, but don’t sink, a vessel.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told journalists on Thursday that the US assessment of Iran’s involvement was based in part on intelligence, as well as the expertise needed for the operation.

It was also based on recent incidents in the region, which the US also blamed on Iran, including the use of limpet mines in the Fujairah attack, he said. He also tied

Iran to a drone attack by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on a crucial Saudi oil pipeline around the same time.

“Taken as a whole, these unprovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by Iran,” Pompeo said.

He didn’t elaborate and took no questions.

Iran denied being involved in the attacks last month and its foreign minister questioned the timing of Thursday’s incidents, given that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.

Pompeo noted that Abe had asked Iran to enter into talks with Washington but Tehran “rejected” the overture. “ The supreme leader’s government then insulted Japan by attacking a Japanese-owned oil tanker just outside Iranian waters, threatening the lives of the entire crew, creating a maritime emergency,” Pompeo added.

At the United Nations, the Secur it y Counci l held c losed consu lt at ions on t he t a n ker

incidents late Thursday at the request of the United States but took no action.

Tensions have escalated in the Mideast as Iran appears poised to break the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord that President Donald J. Trump repudiated last year. In the deal, Tehran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of crippling sanctions.

Now, Iran is threatening to resume enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels if European nations don’t offer it new terms to the deal by July 7.

Already, Iran says it quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium. Meanwhile, US sanctions have cut off opportunities for Iran to trade its excess uranium and heavy water abroad, putting Tehran on course to violate terms of the nuclear deal regardless.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said early Friday its militar y intercepted f ive d rones l au nc hed

by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting the kingdom, including the Abha regional air port. The kingdom said a similar attack Wednesday on the Abha airport wounded 26 people. AP

ExportUnlimited

A4 Saturday, June 15, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

PHL start-ups shine at Taiwan InnoVEX 2019

By Louise Kaye G. Mendoza

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Senior Trade-Industry Development Specialist DTI-EMB-Knowledge Processing Division (KPD)

START-UP from the Philippines was adjudged the most promising start-up during the InnoVEX 2019 Conference held from May 29 to 31, 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan.

A nt ipa ra E x plorat ion w a s among 11 Philippine companies that participated in the event.

The country’s participation was organized by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) and Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)-Taipei, in close partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTIEMB) and QBO Innovation Hub. A delegation of 11 local start-ups

IN coordination with the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)Taipei and the QBO Innovation Hub, Philippine start-ups get the opportunity to introduce their companies and network with possible investors in the Slingshot Philippines Startup Ecosystem Pavilion during the InnoVEX 2019 Conference from May 29 to 31 in Taipei, Taiwan.

with Spring Valley Philippines exhibited at the Slingshot Philippines Pavilion at the exhibit.

The 11 start-ups were chosen from 40 applicants that offer innovative products from various fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, geospatial mapping, innovative housing solutions, cyber security, smart advertising and e-commerce, education, financial technology (fintech), logistics and data science-enabled market research.

The pavilion aimed to expose Philippine start-ups to the global market and showcase the country’s talent, ingenuity and strength as a budding start-up nation.

Also, PTIC-Taipei organized facility tours for the participating

start-ups to various incubators and accelerators located in Taiwan. Among the facilities visited by the delegation were the Center of Industry Accelerator and Patent Strategy (IAPS) in Hsinzhu City and New Taipei City, and the Center of Innovation Accelerator in National Tsing Hua University.

The tours gave the start-ups a chance to learn, connect and partner with Taiwanese start-ups, and be part of the incubation programs offered by these facilities.

Moreover, four Philippine startups, including GYPSY, Antipara Exploration and Cryptors, were among the 10 start-ups handpicked to pitch their platforms on stage during the Investor Matchmaking session on the second day of the

conference. These start-ups were chosen out of 467 start-ups that exhibited at InnoVEX. The session was attended and judged by participating international investors and partners.

Antipara Exploration will get exclusive assistance from Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) and access to the Asia Pacific Accelerator Network (AAN) global partners.

The Global Demo Day InnoVEX was also held on the last day of the conference to showcase selected start-ups from four exhibiting countries. Five Philippine start-ups and Spring Valley Technology and Innovation Hub presented their solutions, alongside start-ups from Canada, France and Poland.

Halal, natural boosting purchases for beauty, personal care in Indonesia

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EAUTY and personal care in Indonesia is expected to a have positive outlook albeit slower growth, with halal and natural mainly driving local purchases.

The Euromonitor Digest, the online publication of the Export Management Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said many brands continue to issue halal certification.

“Reflecting on this, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the halal-brand presence in Indonesia and are choosing to purchase these products. As a result, international brands that had not acquired halal certification at the end of the review period will begin to do so,” it said.

The report noted that consumers are expected to continue to purchase beauty and personal care, though increasingly looking for discounted products, indicating that many brands will be offering bundled packages.

“Retailers are also expected to boost their sales by adding a greater number of discounted products in their stores, as consumers’ buying habits are shifting, as evident in many drugstores such as Watsons or Guardian,” it added.

Within beauty and personal care, the Euromonitor Digest further said international brands compete directly with domestic brands.

The report further underscored the increasingly important role of In-

ternet retailing in the distribution of beauty and personal care. Many companies and brands increase their presence in the channel to boost sales, it said.

“Looking at this trend, Indonesian banks are also participating in the competition by offering discounts when consumers purchase using their credit/debit cards.

Companies are expected to continue their promotional activities through establishing distribution in their online official stores on the e-commerce platform and on their own web sites,” it added.

The report said new product development in Indonesia revolves around new packaging.

Philexport News and Features

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

TORONTO Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard (center) holds the Larry O’Brien National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship Trophy after the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors, 114-110, in Game Six of NBA Finals on Thursday in Oakland, California. AP

JEROEN MEIJERS of Taiyuan Miogee Team tops Stage 1 of the 10th Le Tour de Filipinas on Friday. STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

Saturday, June 15, 2019

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Saturday, June 15, 2019 | Editor: Mike Besa

HOW TO GROW GOLF IN THE PHILIPPINES W

By Mike Besa

HEN we get around to discussing golf over a few drinks, one topic inevitably comes up; how do we grow the game of golf in the Philippines?

First, let’s take a look at the state of the game today. The Philippine Golf Tour has been with us now for almost a decade. It may not look it, but in my view, the PGT has revitalized the game with its very existence.

Golf was in the doldrums before the Philippine Golf Tour started in 2011. There was nothing going on; no professional tour, sponsors were indifferent to the sport, club share prices were down and golf languished.

Since then, things have turned around. The faces of Philippine golf today are younger, more dynamic, of mixed backgrounds and are just better all around. Miguel Tabuena has thrilled golf fans all over the world and is working hard to get on the PGA Tour. He has inspired a new generation of golfers.

This new enthusiasm affected golf club share prizes positively. The clubs that have made progress have seen their shares appreciate, others have maintained their value. New golf courses are being built all over the country. There’s an air of optimism in Philippine golf.

It begs the questions—Is Philippine golf finally out of trouble? How can we continue to grow golf in a sustainable manner?

The National Golf Association of the Philippines is the governing body of the game in the Philippines. It’s had its share of troubles in years past, but the new board has given the game a big shot in the arm. Still the NGAP’s formula of growing the game has been to put on amateur tournaments to identify and develop golfers for the country’s national team. The association also puts on tournaments for other predominantly male golf demographics—the Philippine Senior and Mid-Amateur series.

There are a couple of associations handling junior golf. Not the best setup for junior development. Women’s golf has been administered by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines, which again focuses on tournaments for women.

Is that the extent of golf development in the Philippines?

Putting on as many tournaments as possible? Surely, there’s more to growing the game than this. Also, why are efforts to grow the game so fragmented? Why can’t we all work together to grow the game?

Today, golf competes with every other sport and pastime that exists in the country. Team sports, extreme sports, traditional sports all vie for the attention of the young and not-so-young. Heck, even video games take people away from the game.

HAS the sun risen on Philippine golf?

True growth lies in inclusivity. Ideally, the people on the fairways should mirror the people on the street. In the stuffy game of golf, one would be forgiven for thinking that it’s going to take some doing.

But if one looks closely, perhaps not. A quick trip to the Army Driving Range in Fort Bonifacio reveals a broad spectrum of people working on their swings. Some servicemen, some old, some young, many in-between. People that span the economic spectrum. One must conclude that if this was the face of golf in every golf club, the

game would be pretty robust.

To infuse new blood into golf, we have to create entry points for interested individuals. A comprehensive series of free golf clinics and other activities designed and organized to take the prospective golfer from a newbie on the driving range to his first foray on the fairways needs to be created and appropriately funded. This needs to be done on a nationwide level at every public golf course. These activities should target people that don’t currently play but would if they had an opportunity. Golf, to the uninitiated, is an intimidating sport. We need to do everything we can to create opportunities for people to pick it up.

Another complaint is that golf takes too long to play.

If local golf courses encouraged more people to play nine holes, that could address that issue sufficiently. Ideally, there would be nine-hole golf courses or par 3 golf courses to further cut the amount of time it takes to play a round, but if you can show up a couple of hours before sunset and get nine-holes in, that’s enough.

We need to market the game somehow so it can compete for attention in a time where attention spans have shortened. In neighboring countries, billboards advertising golf course promos or golf tournaments are regular sights. It might not seem like much, but social awareness shapes opinions and creates interest. We need to move golf to the forefront.

Philippine golf needs a makeover to make it cool. It needs a new image.

Golf is very popular with practitioners of advertising and media. Why not create an advisory board to oversee this? Billboards aren’t always booked. It would be easy enough to persuade members of the Outdoor Advertising Association to put up at least one billboard promoting golf on each of the major expressways if someone thought to work out a deal to do so.

Made for TV events like a long drive or skills contest can draw positive attention to the sport and encourage participation. Just look at how the sport of MMA has grown in recent years. Its level of recognition and the number of people that are now practitioners of the sport can be credited to the amount of time it spends on the air.

Perhaps we need a brand ambassador for the game. If Miguel Tabuena ever qualifies for the PGA Tour and wins.

It would be automatic. There are many celebrities that are avid golfers. It wouldn’t be hard to get several of them to serve as ambassadors of the game. Their presence would virtually guarantee a long list of participants at one of those hypothetical free clinics we discussed earlier.

Golf equipment isn’t that prohibitively priced when compared to some other recreational activities.

It’s more affordable that scuba diving or cycling or triathlon and since it doesn’t wear out, buying used is a real option. Many that currently play the game have

PRESIDENTS CUP - CAPTAIN’S BLOG

Diversity can be our strength, says International Team Captain Ernie Els

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HE past couple of months have been really exciting for the International Team, with many of our potential players producing some wonderful golf and enjoying success worldwide.

In a span of six weeks, we witnessed three PGA Tour wins by Canadian Corey Conners (Valero Texas Open), CT Pan of Chinese Taipei (RBC Heritage) and Korea’s Sung Kang (AT&T Byron Nelson) which have improved their chances of qualifying for the International Team to face the United States Team in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia from December 9 to 15.

Winning on the PGA Tour is one of the ultimate dreams for every aspiring golfer and seeing how Corey, CT and Sung Kang fought for their maiden wins in the US was very impressive. More important, I was encouraged to hear all three players saying how determined they are in wanting to fight for their places in the Presidents Cup. Their enthusiasm will help generate a lot of positive buzz and energy in the team room, which is important.

I was pleased to see Sung Kang following up on his victory with a seventh-place finish at the PGA

Championship while Adam Scott, who is one of our team’s stalwarts, finished T8. Another international player who has caught my attention recently is Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, whom I had the opportunity to play with in Malaysia recently. This kid has got talent and at Bethpage Black, he showed us what he can do with a solid T14 finish to move up to 12th in our team standings.

Though it may seem as if the world was introduced to Jazz last week, this 23-year-old has had his fair share of professional success after turning pro at age 15. He won three times on the Asian Tour and defeated a strong field at the Singapore Open this year. With the PGA being just his fourth PGA Tour start, it was quite encouraging to see him perform so well under an enormous amount of pressure.

I would be remiss if I didn’t congratulate Brooks Koepka for his impressive victory at Bethpage Black. What he has accomplished in the past few years is nothing short of remarkable, and he is going to be a formidable opponent as part of the US Team in December.

Currently, our top-8 players on the International Team points list consist of four established Presidents Cup team

MIGUEL TABUENA has been an inspiration to Filipinos.

spare clubs lying around in their storerooms. How hard would it be to ask for donations of experienced golf equipment that could be then used for outreach programs?

There may be some that will be quick to disparage these methods, but we need to think outside the box to move the game forward in this country. The lack of funds means that we must be creative, even unorthodox with our methods. The industry must move on this as one. If that can be managed, anything is possible.

Those that truly love the game are eager to share it with anyone they can. It is the nature, nay, the spirit of the game. Fostering that desire is key to the growth of golf in the Philippines. members in Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day while Cameron Smith, Haotong Li, Justin Harding and Abraham Ancer are in good position to book their maiden appearances, with qualifying concluding in mid-August. I’ll then have four captain’s picks to round up my 12-man team in early November following the PGA Tour’s Asia swing.

We’ve already seen on numerous occasions what Cameron can do on the golf course and I’ve been impressed by Haotong and Justin as well following some eye-catching performances.

Haotong, whom I played with when he shot that amazing 63 in the final round of The Open Championship in 2017, is tenacious and fiery when he gets into the “zone” and he showed a lot of heart in finishing second to Dustin Johnson in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

We all saw how he backed it up with another strong showing at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play where he reached the round of 16 following outstanding group wins over two top players in Alex Noren and Brooks Koepka.

I’ve followed Justin’s progress very closely since he started playing on the Sunshine Tour and it’s been amazing to see his rise over the past 18 months where he has won five times in Asia, South Africa and on the European Tour. He is quite a fighter with a wonderful short game, and he showed all those qualities with wins over Luke List and Matthew Fitzpatrick in the Match Play before being stopped by Rory McIlroy.

It’s been really fun to see how his confidence and game have soared to new heights and Justin showed us at the Masters Tournament that he can become a global player with an impressive T12 finish in his debut appearance. A career first PGA Tour top 10 at the AT&T Byron Nelson has only cemented his growing reputation and I’d be the least

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, June 15, 2019

A7

Tiger, PGA Tour stars return to Asia

By Chuah Choo Chiang

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LL it took was one tweet to set abuzz what will be a “fun” Fall season when the PGA Tour’s juggernaut swings to Asia for its annual odyssey, with a promise of raising the decibels and extending the game’s rising popularity in the Far East.

In 27 words, Tiger Woods informed his 6.5 million Twitter followers that he will play in the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan, which is one of three mega PGA Tour tournaments in Asia in October.

The Asian swing, which offers nearly $30 million in

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By Bobbet Bruce

combined prize money, also features The CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in South Korea and World Golf ChampionshipsHSBC Champions in China, delivering a true celebration of golf at the highest level in the region.

This will be the first Tiger sighting at a PGA Tour tournament in Asia since his appearance at the now-concluded CIMB Classic in Malaysia in 2012 and the first time in 13 years that he will be in Japan following the 2006 Dunlop Phoenix. Woods also played in the World Cup of Golf in Japan in 2001.

“I’m excited to play in the inaugural Zozo Championship in October, and return to Japan, one of my favorite countries. It’s going to be a fun fall,” said Woods in a tweet that resonated around the world.

In golf, they say timing is everything and organizers of Japan’s first official PGA Tour tournament couldn’t be more pleased with Woods’s early commitment being made 11 days after he produced a Masters Tournament victory for the ages.

It will also coincide nicely with Asia’s continued rise on the PGA Tour following career breakthrough victories by Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan and Korea’s Sung Kang in recent months.

Following years of dealing with debilitating knee and back injuries, his 81st PGA Tour victory at Augusta National, which put him one win shy of matching the winningest record held by Sam Snead, has cemented Woods’s legacy in the sport. It also led him to becoming only the fourth golfer after Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Charlie Sifford to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Donald J. Trump in May. With Woods committed to the Zozo Championship, the PGA Tour’s newest showpiece in Asia in what is the world’s second-largest golf market will undoubtedly complement an already all-star lineup of mega events featuring the established WGC-HSBC Champions, the region’s lone World Golf Championships tournament, and The CJ Cup, which has celebrated two successful editions by heralding great champions in Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka.

The new generation of PGA Tour stars have fully embraced the Tour’s vision of going global as they have made a beeline to Asia that even without the presence of

ADAM SCOTT

points during the Fall schedule is a key motivation for players as well. The well-traveled Adam Scott of Australia expects to see many other top guns like Woods heading full speed to the Far East this year.

“They are great events,” enthused Scott. “I feel I have great fan support which is always fun when you go to a place and they support you. The tournaments are so good, they are smaller field and there are a lot of [FedExCup] points up for grabs. It’s important this year as more players will have to play more events toward the back end of the year. I’m sure there will be a balance of the guys who like to come to Asia to play and those who like to stay home. It’s going to be a good thing in regard to the strength of field for the tournaments in Asia.”

That said, October can’t come soon enough. n Chuah Choo Chiang is senior director, communications of

the PGA Tour and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

DUSTIN JOHNSON at the WGC-HSBC Champions.

PHOTOS BY GETTY IMAGES

Korean junior golfer wins inaugural US College Golf Camp Philippines Tournament

AE-WON HA won the premier Boys 15-18 years old division and garnered the slot to the 40th North mental game, fitness and instruction. and South Junior Championship in Pinehurst, North The tournament, which was open for all camp Carolina, at the recent 2019 USCC Philippines Summer Junior participants, saw more than 50 junior players compete in Challenge hosted by US College Sports Camp (USCSC) Asia.

Boys and Girls Division for 15-18, 13-14, 11-12, 9-10 and Run by their local partner representative, USCC 8 under age groups. The tournament was the first junior Philippines, the three-day tournament and the 2019 USCC event outside of the events of the National Golf Association Philippines Summer US College Golf Camp were the followof the Philippines (NGAP) that awarded World Amateur Golf up events to the very successful US College Golf Camp held Ranking (WAGR) points. last November 2018, a groundbreaking event in Philippine It is the only local junior event that had Junior Golf junior golf where US college coaches ran golf camps in the Scoreboard (JGS) ranking and Global Junior Golf Ranking country for the first time.

(GJGR) event and the only event in the country in Bluegolf.

The tournament was held from May 29 to 31 at the The tournament also served as a qualifier for the Boys and Southlinks Golf Course, and the Orchard Golf and Country Girls 15-18 years old to the 40th North and South Junior Golf Club with the camp held right after the tournament also at Championships in Pinehurst, North Carolina next month. the Orchard Golf and Country Club on June 1 and 2.

Jed Dy finished second to Ha followed by Josh Jorge, Coby Rolida and Santino Laurel.

Tae Soo Kim ruled Boys 13-14 ahead of Zachary Castro, Francis Lanuza, Rico See and Emilio Carpio. Dylan Castillo won in Boys 11-12 edging Tae Won Kim, Zach Blanco, Mikelson Lee and Ethan Flores. Patrick Tambalque dominated Boys 9-10 ahead of Eno Cham, Seth Koa and Gabriel See. Ayeesha Ong (15-18), Jody Castillo (13-14), Stevie Umali (910) and Nicol Gan (7-8) topped their respective Girls division.

The camp gave the participants a college training day experience in a small group setting directly under the US coaches. Each camper received in-depth expert instruction on full swing, short game, course management, TOURNAMENT champ Tae-won Ha tournament preparation,

surprised if he seals his ticket to Australia.

I was happy to see Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace reaching the round of 16, as well at the Match Play which will put our team in good stead when we face what will be a strong US Team led by Tiger Woods.

Leading as team captain for the first time requires a lot of preparation and thoughts and I believe we had a fruitful week during the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Being the only official two-man team FedExCup tournament on Tour, it allowed our players to bond closer and also try out some partnerships in the fourball and foursomes format.

Many of our guys opted to pair up with the likes of Jason Day partnering with Adam Scott, Louis teaming up with Charl Schwartzel, Justin playing with Branden, Abraham Ancer getting together with Jhonattan Vegas and Anirban Lahiri combining with Shubhankar Sharma.

We also stayed in the same hotel in New Orleans and enjoyed some fun team building sessions where the aim was to get the new guys familiarizing with the more established players. As you know, our team is made up of golfers from different nationalities and cultures and it’s really important to gel us as one team, hence the reason for our new International Team logo which incorporates the respective players’ national flags.

I also liked what my friend, Trevor Immelman said during our press conference together at the Zurich Classic where we teamed up. He believes our team’s diversity can be our strength which I fully agree. This is something we will continue to harness in the coming months as part of our plans to wrest the Presidents Cup from the US.

Woods in recent times, tournaments in the region have thrived due to the strength in depth available on the PGA Tour’s reservoir of talent which membership now includes 46 of the world’s top 50 golfers.

World No. 2 Dustin Johnson has become a regular visitor to China after winning his first WGC-HSBC Champions title in 2013. Past winners of the prestigious event include Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter and Hideki Matsuyama, a caliber lineup of the stars that it regularly attracts yearly.

“I’ve had a lot of success in China,” said Johnson, who was also runner-up in 2017. “I’ve played well there, and I like the golf course ever since the first time I went. I always go back... it’s a World Golf Championship and I enjoy playing in it.”

With the number of Korean golfers competing on the PGA Tour growing with each passing season, The CJ Cup at Nine Bridges is also beginning to create a legacy of its own despite its infancy. The tournament’s hospitality is first class, the Korean culture is intriguing, and Jeju Island provides a stunning backdrop which the stars of the game enjoy, both on and off the golf course.

The Korean tournament has also built itself a nice reputation of crowning champions who are the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year. Thomas won the inaugural CJ Cup just weeks after concluding a stunning 2017 season which saw him become the FedExCup champion. Last October, Koepka enjoyed a magnificent victory in front of massive galleries after arriving as Player of the Year following a 2018 campaign which yielded two major victories.

Koepka, triumphant in Jeju by four strokes last year after a final back nine of 29, said: “I enjoy Asia...it’s one of my favorite spots to go on vacations. I always feel relaxed, and I like the culture. It’s always a fun place to go and everyone is very respectful and it’s a fun place to play. I felt it was important to win in Jeju especially after a year that I had. I had to back it up and the way I did was special. It was a good way to start the 2018-2019 season. I like the place, and obviously I enjoy playing on the golf course.”

With October’s Asian swing events counting toward the 2019-2020 PGA Tour Season, accumulating early FedExCup

Speaking of Trevor, I’m delighted and honored that he, along with Mike Weir and KJ Choi, have agreed to be my captain’s assistants, joining Geoff Ogilvy who we announced in November at the World Cup of Golf. I have played alongside the three guys in numerous Presidents Cups and tournaments around the world and I know they have the same passion, drive and determination to create a winning formula for our team. All of them still compete regularly on the PGA Tour and I believe their relationships with our International players will be an asset to our team.

On a personal note, I was over the moon to become the first golfer to register 300 career top 10s since the introduction of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986 following my T7 finish at the Maybank Championship.

Admittedly, my last three or four years have been a struggle, so I was really happy I played some good golf in Malaysia.

Another player who also played some good golf recently was Tiger and I want to congratulate him for his sensational victory at the Masters Tournament. What he did at Augusta National was amazing and I could not be happier for him knowing what he has been through in recent years following his battles with back injuries. However, when we meet at Royal Melbourne in December, I’ll be doing my best to outwit him.

I hear that ticket sales for the Presidents Cup has been very good and if you are an international golf or sports fan living in Melbourne or anywhere close to Australia, do make sure you buy your tickets now on www.presidentscup.com and cheer us on at Royal Melbourne!

Bye for now.

The camp was handled by US NCAA Division I coaches, Richard Church, the golf director for Men’s and Women’s Golf at Southern Utah University; Lisa Strom, the Women’s head coach at Texas State University; and Katie Brophie-Miles, the former head coach for Women at Georgetown University.

“It is our advocacy to grow the game and fill in gaps in the golf ecosystem,” said Atty. Bobbet Bruce of USCC Philippines “We want to broaden the horizon of our local junior golfers to include the possibility of going to the US on golf scholarships. We have the talent. It’s just a matter of

matching these talents with the more than 1,000 colleges and universities in the US,” he added.

In other sports, USCC Philippines plans to have camps this year in football, tennis and swimming, to hold periodic UTR events in tennis, a coach’s upgrade seminar in football, a cohosting of a regional tryout for a Major League Soccer team and the selection of a Filipino footballer to attend the MLS Division II Draft Combine.

Other participants were Jona Magcalayo, Joaquim Yu, Cedric Aunzo, Joaquin Gomez, Miguel Fusilero, James

Luguban, Kenn Aquino, Iseah Malsi, Sam Sagaral, CJ Alcantara, David Gaungko, Damien See, Robin See, Mathew Lee, Mickelson Chua, Jacob Chua, Rey del Rosario, Tejawn Mercado, Jose Radovan, Dominic Villamor, Pocholo Medina, Dylan Recto and Dustin Recto.

The events were made possible by US College Sports Camps Asia in cooperation with Netlogic Solutions Asia Inc., Golf Globally, Llc., J.L.M. Hotel and Food Management, Inc. (JollibeeLopez, Quezon), G & W Clubshares Inc. and venue benefactor, The Orchard Golf and Country Club and Southlinks Golf Course.

OurTime

A8 Saturday, June 15, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Makati seniors to get cash gifts till July 15

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By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | Correspondent

BOUT 84,111 senior citizens, who are Blu Card holders, started receiving their midyear cash gift, Makati Mayor Abby Binay said.

Binay said the Elderly Welfare Section of the Makati Social Welfare Department (MSWD) will conduct the distribution on scheduled dates from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in each barangay until July 15, 2019.

The yearly cash gift is given in two equal installments every June and December, and varies according to specific age groups: P3,000 for those aged 60 to 69 years old; P4,000 for 70 to 79 years old; and P5,000 for those aged 80 and above. Thus, the first age group this June will receive P1,500, the second group, P2,000, and the third group, P2,500.

For 2019 the city has allocated

P533 million for the cash gift and centenarian incentive under the Blu Card Program.

The standard mode of distributing the cash gift is in cash. However, Blu Card holders have the option to receive their cash gift either in cash or check, subject to certain guidelines.

On June 10, Blu Card holders of Barangay Magallanes can claim their cash gift at their barangay hall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., while beneficiaries from Barangay Northside can get their cash gift at the lobby of Makati City Hall Building II. For beneficiaries from Barangay Olympia, distribution was sched-

uled for June 10 and 11 at the lobby of Makati City Hall Building II. On June 11 only, beneficiaries from Barangay La Paz got theirs at their covered court.

On June 13, Blu Card holders of Barangay Bel-Air can claim their cash gift at their barangay hall, while distribution for those from Barangay Valenzuela was done at the lobby of Makati City Hall Building II also from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On June 14, cash gift distribution was done at the respective barangay halls of Barangays Dasmariñas and Forbes Park.

Blu Card holders of Barangays Poblacion and Guadalupe Nuevo can get their cash gift at their respective covered courts on June 15 and 17.

On June 18, beneficiaries from Barangay Pitogo can claim their cash gift at the South Cembo covered court. Blu Card holders of Barangay South Cembo can get theirs at their covered court on June 19.

On June 20, distribution will take place at the covered court of Barangay Santa Cruz. Recipients from Barangay Southside can claim theirs

at the Palar open court on June 21.

For Barangay Bangkal, cash gift distribution will be on June 22 at Bangkal Elementary School, and on June 24 at the barangay hall.

On June 25 and 26, cash gift distribution will take place in front of the barangay hall of Barangay Palanan. On June 26 only, Blu Card holders of Barangay Carmona can get their cash gift at their covered court.

On June 27 and 28, cash gift distribution will be done at the open court of Barangay West Rembo. On June 28 only, beneficiaries from Barangay San Antonio can claim theirs at the La Paz covered court.

On June 29 and July 1, distribution will take place at the barangay hall of Barangay Rizal.

On July 2 and 3, distribution will be done at the barangay hall of Barangay Cembo. On July 3 only, Blu Card holders of Barangay Urdaneta can get theirs at their barangay hall.

On July 4, beneficiaries from Barangay Kasilawan can claim their cash gift at Mendoza Street corner Cagayan Street. For Barangay Tejeros, distribution will be on July 4 at

Makati Homes 1, and July 5 at H. Santos Saint Parking Area. On July 5 only, distribution will be done for beneficiaries of Barangay Guadalupe Viejo at their barangay hall.

For Barangay Pio del Pilar, distribution will be on July 6 at the San Isidro National High School, and on July 8 at Ben Harrison’s Saint/Parada covered court. On July 9, Blu Card holders of Barangay Pinagkaisahan can get their cash gift at their barangay hall.

On July 10 and 11, cash gift distribution will be done at the covered court of Barangay East Rembo.

On July 11 only, distribution will take place at the barangay hall of Barangay Comembo.

On July 12, cash gift distribution will be done at the covered court of Barangay San Isidro and at the barangay hall of Barangay San Lorenzo.

On July 13, distribution will be done at the open court of Barangay Singkamas. For Barangay Pembo, distribution will be on July 13 and July 15 at their covered court.

In claiming the cash gift, beneficiaries who are unable to come in

person can send their duly authorized representative, whose name appears at the back of the Blu Card, to the Cash Division at the third floor of Makati City Hall. The representative should be able to present a medical certificate as proof of the beneficiaries’ condition, whether bedridden, disabled or confined in a hospital.

Authorization forms are available at the MSWD office at the fifth floor of Makati City Hall main.

Senior citizens who are out-oftown or abroad during the distribution of the cash gifts are not entitled to claim the said benefit, and authorization presented by a representative will not be honored by the Cash Division.

The Blu Card holder or his/her designated beneficiary shall be given five working days to claim the cash gift. In case the cash gift is not claimed during the scheduled distribution in the barangay, the Blu Card holder/designated beneficiary may claim it at the Cash Division. If not claimed within the given period of time, it will be reverted to the general fund and deemed forfeited.

US seniors more likely to work longer in big metro areas

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HICAGO—Seniors in major metropolitan areas, especially in the Northeast and around Washington, D.C., are more likely to continue working past age 65 than those in other areas around the country, according to an analysis of Census data by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

“Those are the areas where all of the jobs are, really,” said Anqi Chen, assistant director for savings research at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research. “The coastal areas recovered well from the recession, while other areas have not.”

But it’s also the types of jobs in those areas—government, finance, law and academia—that keep seniors working longer, analysts said.

Older workers can be a boon to regional economies, increasing tax

revenues, stimulating growth with more consumer spending and providing additional talent and expertise at a time of low unemployment, said Paul Irving, chairman of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging.

Among counties with at least 6,000 residents, about 12 percent have at least 21 percent of their seniors working or actively looking for jobs, according to an analysis of the Census’ 2017 American Community Survey report. Of that group, nearly 25 percent are located within the Northeast or in Maryland or Virginia. And nearly 15 percent are within 70 miles (113 kilometers) of New York, Boston, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C. “I consider myself to be a very fortunate person to still do what I loved at 27 at 74,” said Steve Burghardt, a professor of social

The dance called marriage

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PON marrying me, Aurit, my wife, put a finis to a promising career as a concert pianist. That was a decision that I failed to appreciate fully at that time.

But it didn’t mean she could not touch the piano keys again.

After so many years of raising our three children, one day my wife sat down and played the piano again. I couldn’t help, but marvel at the way she could still summon her music muse from a long slumber. I sat ensconced on the sofa, delightfully relishing each note—a one-man audience instead of hundreds in a concert hall who would have jumped up and exulted “Bravo! Encore!”

As for me, I could only offer a bouquet of love, gratitude and fidelity for her sacrifice at the altar of marriage.

Is this what marriage is all about? The willingness to sacrifice, to give up something because of your great love for that one person who is so special to you?

As we approach our 46th wedding anniversary, I reflect on what has helped us survive and thrive as a married couple, ever mindful of the failed marriages of many of our friends and contemporaries. There but for the grace of God go we.

Oh no, we’re not saints. We’re not the poster couple of an ideal marriage. Truth be told, it has not been smooth sailing all the way. To mix metaphors and clichés, it has

been a bumpy ride. There were occasional sparks but none that led to full combustion or conflagration.

But our years together certainly made us wiser persons and more deeply appreciative of each other.

Someone said that “marriage is our last, best chance to grow up” and he was right. After all, you cannot expect “to reach the promised land without going through some wilderness together” as someone named Charles Shedd advised. Far from being just passion or romance, it’s also three meals a day, washing the dishes, doing the laundry and remembering to carry out the garbage.

The old joke is that an enduring marriage is a matter of give and take. You give, she takes.

Kidding aside, there is some truth to it. Ours has been more of a relationship of continual accommodation, adjustment and collaboration. Giving each other space to breathe. Not to mention learning more about each other. Even now.

To use the piano analogy, I am the good appreciative listener to her piano playing, and vice versa, although in my case, it’s the pen that I wield.

It was never the case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. At times, we tug and pull or push each other, whatever the moment calls for.

Which leads me to think of a dance like tango. Sometimes I take the lead, she follows. Sometimes, I

work at the City University of New York. “I feel advantaged being in New York, where you’re exposed to sights and sounds, and differences that are always exposing me to new ways to understand myself and to learn from other people.”

Two Washington suburbs, Falls Church, Virginia, and Alexandria, Virginia, are among the nation’s leaders in terms of senior labor force participation, with rates of nearly 37 percent and nearly 30 percent, respectively. This area is also home to one of the fastestgrowing senior labor forces in the country—three of the 11 counties that saw senior participation rates climb the fastest between 2009 and 2017 are located within 70 miles (113 kilometers) of Washington.

But large, populous counties don’t have a monopoly on senior participation in the labor force. AP

let her lead, and I follow. The trick is you know each other so intimately well, you can read the cue instinctively. Moving together as one is a magical way of discovering yourself, as well as the partner with whom you are dancing.

No, I don’t dance the tango.

My skewed legs aren’t made for dancing. But my fascination with this dance started when I saw Al Pacino in the movie Scent of a Woman. I also read about Hollywood actors like Robert Duvall who go to Buenos Aires to do authentic tango. Dancing lessons can be viewed on YouTube.

There are things about tango that can be applied to relationships. The key is respect for each other which means giving one another space for both of you to be solid and rooted in your own respective selves while being passionately connected to one another. For you to be able to dance with another person, you need to know where your center is and to be in it. One tango dancer calls it “axis.”

An axis is an imaginary line about which a body rotates.

If one or both of you have no solid core, one person starts putting pressure on the other. The balance is upset and the dynamic falls apart. As the saying goes, don’t hold on too tight that you squeeze one another away.

It’s the same thing with other dance forms, be it ballet or cha-cha.

One needs to trust each other. One

BOTTLED WILD HONEY An elderly couple sells bottled wild honey on a roadside in Baguio City. Despite their elderly age, they still find a way to entice local tourists to buy their sweet merchandise. SUZANNE JUNE G. PERANTE

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH needs to read the cues instinctively.

But always, there is a need to have an axis so you don’t lose your balance when you pivot or let go of each other from time to time. So the marriage dance that endures is a relationship that allows us to have an axis, encouraging us to grow as unique personalities while living together as a couple. As one marriage counselor puts it, marriage is where independence is equal, the dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

Why was my wife able to give up her career as a piano artist without falling apart? Because she was solidly rooted to her axis. She was so focused on her commitment to be my good companion in our life’s journey together, she did not lose her balance when she gave up her ambition to be a concert pianist. The thing is I never cramped her love for playing the piano. She has not been forced to change who she is just to please me.

On the contrary, she was encouraged to bloom in other ways.

In my case, I adjusted my life to become a proficient provider without losing my axis. I chose a job that involved creative work, which put me on solid footing because creativity happens to be my thing, the very

air I breathe.

However, it’s not that simple.

Learning to ground yourself or finding your axis is a continuous process. As in training to dance better, it’s repeat, repeat, repeat.

Life, even in marriage, is all about learning how to find and sustain your axis more and more consistently over time. Sometimes you fall. It’s just a matter of how quickly we recover back to ourselves. More important, each partner must have that encompassing love to allow the other to get back on his/her axis, again and again.

That means the capacity to forgive many times. It ultimately means falling in love again and again with the same person.

And so, metaphorically speaking, marriage is a dynamic dance of togetherness swaying to the beat of love. For without love, there can be no music to dance by. Day after day, as somebody puts it, “we keep on recreating our fragile relationships, making them last through the power of caring love. To dare to make and care to keep commitments.”

But I must immediately add that it’s a kind of love that is enhanced and cemented by a shared faith in the Divine. After all, we

never forget that our marriage was solemnized in a church. The two of us are not the demonstrative type when it comes to expressing our faith and spirituality but privately, we often pray for Divine guidance and compassion. Our deep faith has buoyed us through all kinds of trials and challenges, including calamities.

It’s a marriage that has endured, but far from perfect. Is there such a thing as a perfect marriage? One comic says there is perfect marriage, but it could only happen between a blind wife and a deaf husband.

When our friends see us together on social media, they shower us with complimentary comments and likes. Maybe it’s just me but I can also sense something more—surprise, envy and even cynicism. But the general tone is that of amazement that we are still together, especially coming from those who are now living with their “new” partners. Worse, those new partners had been previously married and sired children.

It appears that we are becoming a minority, couples who have stayed together all these years. Exchanging partners or finding new partners seems to be the “in” dance craze for married couples nowadays.

As for me, thanks, but no thanks. This journey together has taken us this far. I’m saving the last dance for the one I married.

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

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THIS was our view of the stage from the balcony

BusinessMirror

Saturday, June 15, 2019 A9

What really happened during the Blackpink meet-and-greet for Shopee?

PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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AST week started out quietly enough, with a nonworking day in the middle. It was on that day when I first saw tweets about the Shopee event for the Korean girl group Blackpink.

Some fans and Shopee users began to complain about being issued tickets to the event only for Shopee to revoke said tickets allegedly due to a glitch.

As the day went on, I started to see more and more tweets, and people getting more and more irate. On the actual day of the event, the hashtag #ShopeeScam trended on Twitter worldwide. People said they spent hundreds of thousands so they could join the meet-and-greet with Blackpink, which is composed of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa. The group debuted in 2016 and has since performed before soldout crowds everywhere.

Full disclosure: I attended the event to cover it for this paper. The members of the press (newspapers and television) were seated in the balcony area. We occupied half of one row. Up until we arrived at the venue, we did not know whether we were going to get tickets or be given press passes and just be allowed to stay in a certain area to take pictures.

I found out later on that there were different people who handled different groups. I only know that the traditional media, of which I was a part, was in the balcony area. Among our group were representatives from the TV stations.

I will enumerate my observations and knowledge of people and situations involved in the event.

Note: I am only writing about the things I saw and experienced. There are hardly any opinions here: 1. Fans of Blackpink, who are known as Blinks, were made to understand that the top spenders on the app would get tickets and entry to the fansign, wherein they’d be able to go up the stage to have their Shopee-supplied posters occupied.

2. It is true a number of fans got notifications that they would get tickets to the event but they got another message later on from Shopee that it had been a mistake. I talked to some of these people and they showed me the screenshots of their exchange with representatives of the e-commerce app.

3. Yes, there was a section for celebrities and influencers. I could make out some in the first six or seven rows on the right side from where we were.

I don’t know how they were invited but usually, brands issue invitations and even pay celebrities and influencers to grace their events for the glitz factor. I have confirmed that two of the celebrities who used the hashtag #shopeeblackpinkinmnl were paid in cash and given a ticket each to be there. Aside from attendance, they also needed to post the event in their social-media accounts. I don’t know about the others. I am just sure about these two celebrities. The thing is that sometimes, even when a brand doesn’t want celebrities and influencers in their events, it is regional or global headquarters who require that they be invited. Abroad, influencer marketing is very big and influencers are in all the events, big or small.

4. The host of the program, Kring Kim, never said that “Blackpink has no energy.” She said something like, “Let’s have more energy for Blackpink.” She was addressing the audience.

5. After Jennie Kim, one of Blackpink’s members, showed signs of not feeling well, Kring Kim asked for a short break in the program.

6. Nobody intentionally threw water on Lisa. I think one of the fans accidentally nudged a bottle of water during the fansign.

7. There were portions during the program where the audience seemed unenthusiastic. That’s because we were told not to be too loud.

8. MMI was not involved in the production. How do I know this? When a production company is involved, you’d normally see their staff in uniform shirts all over the venue. This was not the case here. I saw the staff of another production company involved in the program.

9. The girls stayed onstage for around seven minutes for the program proper and another 25 minutes for the fansign. This isn’t unusual. Koreans are very efficient when it comes to programs like this one. I don’t know if the program was cut short for one reason or another.

10. I cannot comment on the girls’ behavior whether they seemed subdued or uncomfortable because this was the first time that I saw them. But they all seemed nice and Lisa continually waved to their fans in the balcony during the fansign. They all had smiles on their faces that seemed natural. They looked happy to be seeing their fans.

11. According to another colleague who was seated in another part of the balcony, there were many empty seats. I didn’t see this personally. She only told me about it.

12. We were not allowed to take pictures during the fansign. This, too, is not unusual. ■

Magical weekend with Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ and Globe IT was a shining, shimmering, splendid weekend as families celebrated the opening of Disney’s Aladdin at “A Wondrous Place” with Globe Postpaid (www.globe.com.ph/ postpaid). Held at SM Aura Premier in Bonifacio Global City on May 25 and 26, the event dazzled guests with awesome sights and sounds as they experienced what it felt like to be in the

middle of a souk street market.

The different booths allowed guests to take their photos as they rode through the diamond sky on a magic carpet ride, customize their own jewelry, support locally made sustainable products, build sand castles, and search for Genie and his magical lamp.

For every booth activity

accomplished, they received gold coins which they exchanged for movie passes to Disney’s Aladdin.

Aside from shopping for ecofriendly alternatives, customers continued to show their support for the environment at the Perfect Pledge booth. They readily donated trees—each worth P100 via Gcash—to support the Hineleban Foundation’s

efforts to restore rainforests in Mindanao. For every donation, the pledge wall slowly grew to a lush forest, portraying how every step, no matter how small, can do wonders for the environment.

With all these exciting activities at “A Wondrous Place,” Globe Postpaid definitely made it a memorable weekend for its customers.

Salesforce buying Tableau as businesses embrace data SAN FRANCISCO—Salesforce, a maker of customer-management software, is buying Tableau Software in an all-stock deal valued at $15.7 billion.

By scooping up Tableau, which provides easyto-use tools for visualizing and organizing data, Salesforce is the latest big tech firm to carve itself a role in helping businesses analyze data and make smarter decisions.

Cloud computing giants Microsoft and Amazon offer similar insights, and Google stepped up its game last week when it announced it was acquiring private data analytics firm Looker for $2.6 billion to expand its Google Cloud business.

It’s part of a “democratization of business intelligence” using software tools that work like “Microsoft Excel on steroids,” Baird analyst Rob Oliver said, referring to the widely used spreadsheet tool.

“Instead of having just lines of data, you can press a button and create charts,” he said.

“Tableau’s vision has always been it could be as ubiquitous as Excel.”

He said Tableau has been the “premier asset” in the increasingly competitive business intelligence sector, with a rabid following among data analysts.

Companies that use Tableau’s services include Charles Schwab, Verizon and Netflix.

Forrester analyst Boris Evelson said it’s become harder for independent business intelligence vendors such as Tableau to remain profitable on their own because the market has matured and bigger companies such as Microsoft can offer lower prices as part of a package.

He said Tableau and Salesforce complement each other, and the deal could be successful if Tableau is able to stay “laser focused” on its core analytics product.

Salesforce Chairman and co-CEO Marc Benioff said in a statement that the deal will pair Tableau’s strengths in helping businesses understand data with Salesforce’s focus on helping businesses understand customers. The acquisition is expected to add about $350 million to $400 million to Salesforce.com Inc.‘s fiscal 2020 revenue.

Each share of Tableau common stock will be exchanged for 1.103 shares of Salesforce. The deal was approved by both companies’ boards and is expected to close by October.

The companies said Tableau will operate as an independent subsidiary and stay headquartered in Seattle. Salesforce is based in San Francisco.

Shares of Tableau Software Inc. jumped 34.2 percent in afternoon trading on Monday.

Salesforce’s fell 5 percent. AP

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www.businessmirror.com.ph

PORTZO SEEKS TO DISRUPT HEALTH-CARE INDUSTRY

VISITORS look at a display of smartphones from Chinese technology firm Huawei at the Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai, on June 11. AP

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

China mum on Trump-Xi meeting as Huawei says sales slowing

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BY WONG WAI BOR The Associated Press

HANGHAI—Attention is turning to a possible meeting of President Donald J. Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in Japan later this month as the next step in the vexing trade standoff between the two biggest economies.

The Chinese government would not confirm on Tuesday that such a meeting will take place.

“We note that for some time, the US has made multiple public statements that it looks forward to a meeting between the two heads of state during the G20 Osaka Summit,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters in Beijing when asked about the issue. “We will release information on this when we have it.”

Trump has imposed 25-percent tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese exports and is preparing to expand them to cover another $300 billion. Beijing has hit back with its own retaliatory tariff increases.

Trump wants China to commit to curbing its longstanding, huge trade surplus with the US. The conflict also reflects deeper concerns over China’s ambitions to help its own industries gain a lead in key technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

Nearly a year after Trump began imposing the higher tariffs to ramp up pressure on Beijing, hopes are focused on a possible top-level compromise to break a stalemate in talks that were suspended last month. Trump said in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday that if Xi doesn’t meet with him at the Group of 20 major economies gathering in Osaka, more US tariffs on Chinese exports may go

into effect, though he expects Xi to attend.

No talks are planned in Beijing or Washington before the Osaka event, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters over the weekend.

Each side is blaming the other for the logjam in negotiations.

“We do not want a trade war, but we are not afraid of fighting one,” Geng said, reiterating earlier statements. “If the US is ready to have equal consultations, our door is wide open. But if it insists on escalating trade frictions, we will respond to it with resolution and perseverance.”

Meanwhile, at a consumer electronics show in the business hub of Shanghai, a top executive of telecom gear maker Huawei Technologies hinted that pressure from Washington on other countries to exclude it from next-generation, or 5G, telecom networks is taking a toll on its sales.

Huawei vaulted past Apple to become the No. 2 global smartphone brand behind South Korea’s Samsung last year, as its total sales surged almost 20 percent to exceed $100 billion.

“If we had not encountered anything unexpected, we would have become No. 1 in the world by the fourth quarter,” Huawei’s chief strategist, Shao Yang, said on Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai.

“But now we have to wait a little bit longer to achieve that,” he said, without referring directly to Trump or the trade war.

Washington last month put Huawei on a blacklist that effectively bars US firms from selling to the company without government approval. US officials have accused Chinese technology companies such as Huawei of stealing trade secrets and threatening

cyber security—possibly at the behest of the ruling Communist Party.

Chinese authorities say the United States is exaggerating security concerns to block a potential competitor.

Huawei has denied it would share user secrets with the Chinese government and demanded that the US provide evidence to show that such a risk exists. Earlier, it insisted that the trade friction with Washington was not taking much of a toll on its global business.

But US officials have made it their mission to persuade other governments to avoid working with Huawei, warning that Washington might not share sensitive information with allies if they are using Huawei equipment and networks that the Washington suspects could be compromised.

Apart from the US pressure, which has effectively shut Huawei out of the world’s most lucrative market, growth in smartphone sales overall has been slowing.

And some phone carriers, such as Japan’s SoftBank Corp. and KDDI, have delayed sales of Huawei brand smartphones to assess their safety, potentially detracting from earlier forecasts.

In his comments to the electronics show, Shao said the company will march on in its development of the technology.

“People see 5G, but we see beyond that,” he said.

“Those who are not brave will not progress, they will lag behind. So everything that we do is to define our direction in the new round of competition.”

■ The Associated Press writer Yanan Wang and researcher Liu Zheng in Beijing and Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok contributed.

YouTube FanFest inspires Manila with first-ever Moms Edition FILIPINO moms and YouTube fans gathered at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall on May 17 and 18 to catch the exciting celebrations and festivities of the first-ever YouTube FanFest Moms Edition.

The show brought together top parenting, beauty, lifestyle, travel and food creators from the Philippines and abroad for two days of fun exhibitions, educational presentations and insightful panel discussions about being a mom in the modern times.

Local creators Bianca Gonzalez, Andi Manzano Reyes, Fun Fun Tyang Amy, Haidee and Hazel, Crisha Uy, Lyqa Maravilla, Isha Borromeo (Purpleheiress) , and Live Love Party joined international sensation and mommy vlogger Judy Travis for workshops and live demonstrations

about all things mom.

Fans also got up-close and personal with their favorite creators during the meet-and-greets and discussions on stage about parenting and personal stories on being a mom.

“Women in the Philippines are using YouTube to upskill themselves and create economic opportunities with our platform. It is truly inspiring to see how the Filipino creative community is coming together to produce educational, enriching and empowering content for women, leveraging YouTube as a platform to drive positive changes,” said Marc Lefkowitz, head of YouTube Creator and Artist Development for Apac.

YouTube FanFest Moms Edition was made even more memorable with booths and activities from presenting

sponsors Nido 3+ and Maggi.

“Nido Growing Up Milks understand that being parents, especially to toddlers and preschoolers has never been easy.

And so with the help of our panel of experts in toddler nutrition and development, we are excited to share parenting and nutrition tips during the YouTube FanFest Moms Edition,” said Missy Ayson, vice president and Lead CMM for Nido Growing Up Milks, Nestlé Infant Nutrition.

Pixie Eraña, service pillar executive from Maggi, said, “Helping Filipino moms cook the fresh food they love is the core of what we do here at Maggi.

That’s why we’re very excited to be a part of the first ever YouTube FanFest Moms Edition with our special guest Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo.”

A GLOBAL software company aims to create disruption in the local health industry by introducing a solution that promotes efficiency in the workplace, according to major official of the company.

“The same way that Uber and Grab have changed the rules of the game in transport, Portzo is changing the rules of the game inside hospitals. Patients now receive prompt and better medical care and healthcare facilities see improved efficiency. This is the result of achieving the right balance between artificial intelligence and human intervention,” said Anand Surana, cofounder and chief executive officer of Toronto-based Icegen in a recent press briefing held in Makati City.

Portzo, also known as Porter Management Solution, was developed by Icegen computing and locally distributed and implemented by Radenta. “It has shown to increase porter efficiency by 70 percent and the time taken by nurses decreased dramatically from 40 minutes to just seven minutes,” Surana said.

By using the Icegen software, each porter will be issued a specially designed WI-FI badge that transmits a unique ID number correlated with his ID in the Icegen software. If a nurse requires a porter, Surana said the nurse clicks on Portzo installed on her desktop computer, mobile phone or on a smart watch, presses a prompt to make her request and selects the type of task that she requires, such as moving a patient or trolley, along with the destination.

Surana said Portzo receives the request along with the nurse’s desktop-based location, and then assigns the closest porter automatically. The system searches for porters within the nurse’s vicinity, based on the transmission of those individuals’ badges, and screens out those already responding to an order.

The software selects the proper recipient and the superintendent can also view that assignment in real time, prompting the system to transmit a message to that porter’s badge, indicating the request.

The porter then presses the blue button on the specially designed tag to acknowledge receipt. In case he does not acknowledge the request, the porter supervisor is alerted. The porter can be tracked to check if he is moving to the right destination.

The real-time location of the porter can be viewed with the position of the porter shown in the map included in the software. Upon delivering the person or item to the desired destination, the porter presses the red button on the badge, thereby indicating that the request has been fulfilled. If the task is not completed within the expected amount of time, an alert can be issued to the supervisor.

Once the porter has pressed the red button, the software updates his status as available for more orders and gets the closest task to him automatically.

Different types of reports can be generated, like the number of requests handled by a porter under different categories, the number of requests handled by every individual porter in a day, time-wise and the time taken in minutes by a porter to complete a task.

Reports can be generated at end of day.

Portzo is user-friendly and can be modified to suit the requirements of any hospital or health-care facility. It has been in use by leading hospitals in seven countries benefiting more than 2 million patients.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Saturday, June 15, 2019 A11

GenieTech urges business transformation in PHL, Asean neighbors to survive global competition

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

SENIOR students and media scouts Leon Zielinski and Chantal Hueben, in the background, teach younger pupils during a lesson in social media and Internet at a comprehensive school in Essen, Germany, on March 18. AP

How do you teach kids about texting? Bring in the teenagers

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BY KIRSTEN GRIESHABER The Associated Press

SSEN, Germany—How do you teach tech-savvy kids to safely navigate the digital world? In Germany, you bring in the teenagers. On a recent day, 18-year-old Chantal Hueben stood in front of a group of fifthgraders and asked them to brainstorm about the messaging program WhatsApp, which most are using to participate in a group chat for their class.

They spoke about themes like cyberbullying and what material is OK to post.

“Many are not really aware yet of the impact their messages can have on others,” says Hueben, dressed all in black except for white sneakers.

“We’re teaching them not to post anything private on the class chat, not to send photos of others and not to insult anybody.”

The session at the Gesamtschule Borbeck high school, in the western German city of Essen, is part of a large-scale program in which teenagers teach their younger schoolmates how to stay safe and sane online.

As they grow older, they also participate in workshops about media copyright issues or sexting, and, at the end of eighth grade, they take a test to get a laminated “mobile license” that allows them to use their smartphones at certain times at school.

The exam includes 10 multiple choice questions.

One asks what to do when somebody sends an embarrassing Snapchat photo of a fellow student.

The answer, of course, is to not forward the picture to others. Over two-thirds of kids in Germany have smartphones by the age of 11 and, like children around the world, many are stressed by the huge number of messages they receive and don’t know how to handle inappropriate and hurtful posts. With many parents and teachers lacking in digital skills and unable to relate to what it means to grow up with a smartphone, German authorities decided peer education was the best approach.

At Borbeck, which has about 1,000 students and is considered one of the most advanced schools in Germany when it comes to teaching digital skills, there are 32 students teaching in the “Medienscouts,” or media scouts, program.

“We’re also students, so we have this buddy and role model relationship with the younger kids that definitely motivates them to learn from us,” Hueben says. With the program, Germany is ahead of many other countries, where “media skills” are often taught by teachers and are more about how to read or watch news media rather than the personal impact.

It was founded in 2011 by public authorities in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In Germany, education is managed by the country’s 16 separate states, and now 11 of them have established similar programs in hundreds of schools.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, 766 schools have so far participated in the media scout program. More than 3,120 high-school students have been trained as scouts and around 1,500 teachers have acted as guidance counselors to help the kids grow up as mature cyber world citizens.

“It would be great if the media scouts would be established at every high school,” said Sven Hulvershorn from the media authority agency for the western German state, who oversees the media scout program. “We’re not there yet, but we’re working on it.” Beyond teaching children how to deal with the daily stress of digital communications, experts in Germany agree there’s a need to coach them in how to protect themselves from online bullying, sexual predators or fake news.

“We first had a complete ban on phones in our school,” explained teacher Vera Servaty, who is the media scouts’ guidance counselor at Borbeck high school. “But the reality is that media is a central aspect of the students’ lives. If the school doesn’t help them navigate the media and the parents aren’t of any help either, then how should the children learn responsible ways with the digital world?”

The program is more developed than in many other countries. In the United States, many schools have not fully embraced peer-to-peer tutoring in social media, says Liz Kolb, a professor of education technology at the University of Michigan.

US schools are required by a federal program to teach appropriate online behavior, but that is done by teachers and while some schools offer peer-topeer tutoring, it is not on the scale of what Germany is doing. “Schools are pretty much figuring out their own way because there really is no strong mandate they have to have a certain curriculum or specific goals,” Kolb said of the US. “It’s definitely needed and schools are seeing that it’s needed; they just don’t know how to go about fitting it into the already tight curriculum they have.”

At Borbeck high school, the media scouts spend several hours teaching the fifth graders how not to let WhatsApp take over their lives. Beyond practical tricks, like turning off the setting that lets the sender know if a message has been read, the older students also talk with the fifth-graders about learning how to take breaks from their smartphone.

After the end of Hueben’s workshop, 11-year-old Simon Scharenberg looked relieved.

He said he often felt overwhelmed by the hundreds of WhatsApp messages he receives every day, most of them from schoolmates in the class group chat.

He felt obliged to follow up on all of them out of fear of missing important information about homework or school activities. After the WhatsApp workshop, Scharenberg said he felt more confident about taking a break from messaging.

“I will put down my phone in the kitchen when I come home from school,” he said, explaining his new strategy. “Before I go to sleep, I will check all the messages. But I only reply if I really feel like it.”

■ Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

Realme Philippines shakes up PHL entry-level segment REALME Philippines once again claims the entry-level throne with its newest budget smartphone royalty, the realme C2. With its sleek and sophisticated build, higher-tier performance and long-lasting battery, the latest budget segment disruptor is poised to change the Filipinos’ common expectations of what a budget smartphone.

Realme Philippines launched the realme C2 through a Facebook and YouTube livestream highlighting the supremacy of the phone in its segment. The discussion revolved around realme Philippines’s mission of elevating the smartphone experience of Filipinos, even of those who have limited budget. The two-hour discussion was hosted by Apple David, with leading tech critic Abe Olandres, famous parenting blogger Mommy Phepot and realme squad member Tetam as guests. Three

winners who actively engaged with the hosts during the livestream each got a brand-new realme C2.

“Some Filipinos forego premium experience because in most cases it comes with a hefty price tag. This is what we want to change. At realme, we want Filipinos to experience a premium smartphone without having to break their savings. We all deserve to enjoy the real value of the products we invest in, and offering real value happens to be our expertise,” says Eason de Guzman, realme Philippines marketing lead.

The device is anticipated to set new records as it meets the needs of smartphone users for great power, performance and design without the premium price.

Powering the realme C2 is a MediaTek Helio P22 octacore processor for smooth and fast software executions to guarantee top performance in different scenarios

and without consuming too much power. The phone packs powerful image-processing capability and can run multiple games and applications without lagging. Its large-capacity 4000mAh battery delivers many hours of mobile application use and connectivity.

Available in 2GB RAM+16GB and 3GB RAM+32GB storage variants, realme C2 features 13MP+2MP rear dual cameras and a 5MP AI-supported selfie camera.

The dual cameras enhance portrait gradation, making photos more defined and appealing compared with snaps from single-camera smartphones. The phone is the first in the C-series to have the Chroma Boost feature which improves saturation and contrast to optimize scenes and reveal richer details, highlights and shadows.

It also has a slo-mo feature with 80fps/480p capability, giving users the chance to highlight special moments.

VARIOUS industries in the Philippines and its comember-states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are advised to level up to be on a par with their international counterparts.

This is highly needed now that the region is on the investors’ radar due to its strong growth potential.

Citing data from Thomson Reuters, GenieTech Chief Operating Officer Mahesh Gopinath said that the total inward foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the country and its Asean peers, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, increased to a record high and surpassed the $200-billion level last year.

The same growth is likewise observed here, especially that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) noted that investors continue to view the country as a favorable investment destination. In fact, it expects FDI inflows to reach up to $10.20 billion in 2019.

Despite the hike in FDI inflows in Southeast Asian countries other than China, there are still factors that hinder the growth of the region.

“With this continued growth, the challenge now for Asean countries is to rise up to the goal of achieving its regional economic integration as a single market,” said Gopinath.

“Manufacturers, retailers, distributors, or logistics providers should start reinventing and transforming their businesses with necessary strategies to leapfrog the global competition,” he added.

To elevate the discussion on this trend, and to provide a venue for interactive and insightful sessions, including an industry panel, GenieTech, in partnership with JDA, recently held JDA’s Supply Chain Asean Summit-Manila at the City of Dreams Manila-Integrated Resort, Hotel and Casino.

This conclave gathered businesses and professionals to present trends that could help in synchronizing end-to-end supply chain from planning to execution; delivering agility by managing diverse multi-echelon plant, warehouse, and retail inventory; as well as bolstering productivity by tasking, scheduling, and forecasting work force across the store and warehouse.

Also, it provided insights into achieving the ideal mix of new products, best sellers, and private labels to maximize profitability and shopper satisfaction; driving higher margins and be profitable with far higher demand forecast accuracy, the right assortment and allocation in the world of omnichannel fulfillment; and delivering true space awareness, offering the flexibility to match available space with the optimal product mix.

GenieTech is a partner of supply-chain solutions provider JDA, which helps in optimizing customer experience with the enterprises’ product and services.

Over 4,000 JDA global customers use its integrated retail and supply-chain planning and execution solutions to improve costs, increase revenue, and reduce time to value.

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, June 15, 2019 A12

FACEBOOK on Tuesday launched an app that will pay users to share information with the social-media giant about which apps they’re using. AP

Facebook launching app that pays users for data on app usage

BY RACHEL LERMAN The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO—Facebook on Tuesday launched an app that will pay users to share information with the social-media giant about which apps they’re using.

The company previously rolled out two similar apps that tracked what activities people did on their phones. But both were shut down after drawing criticism for infringing on privacy and violating Apple’s App Store guidelines.

Facebook said the new app, called Study, is different than the previous two and was built from scratch. And it is only available on the Google Play Store, though Facebook said it might work to expand it to iOS in the future.

The new app will collect information about which apps people are using and for how long, including which app features are used. That could give Facebook valuable insight into how people use its competitors’ services. Facebook said it will not track passwords or account IDs and it will periodically remind people that the app is collecting their data.

A previous market-research app from the company, called Research, got in hot water earlier this year when a report found that teens were using it and it was sidestepping Apple’s guidelines. Apple booted it from its app store and Facebook eventually shut it down completely.

The other app, called Onavo Protect, was a virtual private network service used to keep information private in public settings—but it was also collecting information about app usage and sending it to Facebook. That app, too, has been shut down.

Facebooks appears to be acting in a more upfront manner this time, said Lance Cottrell, chief scientist for the cyber security firm Ntrepid.

“They are being a little less intrusive with this one,” he said, noting that Facebook says it won’t collect some of the more sensitive information from people’s phones, such as photos and Web searches.

What it will do, Cottrell suspects, is give Facebook further advantage over competitors because it will be able to tell how long apps are being used, and even which features within them are most popular.

Facebook already has a step up when setting up such market research, Cottrell said—not many other companies could release a similar service and get as many participants as Facebook is bound to.

Some privacy experts are concerned users will still not know exactly what information they are sending.

Many people skip reading privacy policies, noted mobile app security researcher Will Strafach, who studied the underlying code of Facebook’s Research app earlier this year. And if Facebook updates the privacy guidelines, there is no guarantee they will be upfront about it, he said.

“I think that it’s Facebook’s job to make it extremely clear [how it works],” he said. “They haven’t done that in the past.”

In any case, one thing the app is sure to do is give Facebook more insight into personal data and use of not only its own services, but others, as well.

Day of the dads TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

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GREW up in family where gift-giving was, and still is, compulsory. And we are not just talking about birthdays and Christmases—there’s also the anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, and of course Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Now getting a gift for my mom was always easy—get her a bag or perfume, and she’s happy. But when it comes to getting my dad, Eddie, any sort of gift, our conversation would always go something like this: Me: “Dad, what do you want for [insert occasion/holiday here]?”

Him: “I don’t know. You don’t have to get me anything.”

When we were young, he’d tell us to just study hard, get high grades and be good kids—but I guess we’ve all outgrown that excuse.

Let me tell you something about Eddie, as he is quite different from all the other dads that I’ve met. He is half Chinese and since he was in his teens, he had been running his own business. He doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t gamble, doesn’t watch sports, hates traveling and the only restaurant he truly loves is Chinatown’s Best Food buffet in Banawe. He does love to watch movies and just recently, after installing Spotify on his phone, I discovered that he loves to play music—very loud. Oh and he also hates buying expensive stuff—especially if he is the one paying.

My dad isn’t perfect and we often argue, but if there’s one thing I love about him, it’s that he has devoted his entire life to us. He has always been there every single day; he drove us to and from school from elementary until I was in college. And not once did I ever hear him complain about it.

If you’re lucky enough to have a dad like mine, a father figure in your life, or a partner who tries hard to be the best they could be for you, there’s no better time to show him a little extra love than tomorrow, Father’s Day. A hug, a pat on the back, or a phone call can go a long way, but if you want to get him something to really show your appreciation, we’ve rounded up a bunch of last-minute gift ideas that are useful, practical great buys (read: discounted) and will definitely put a smile on his face.

FOR YOUNG DADS AND NEW DADS

FOR the young working dads who finally landed their dream jobs or are moving up in their careers, it’s important to note that dressing to look the part is quite important, and that a guy’s bag tells a lot about a man’s personality. U Elements offers three work bags that are perfect for every hardworking dad that is as versatile as he needs to be.

The U Basic Tech Haul is a versatile two-in-one carry-on with an innovative detachable design that allows the user to carry the bag as a backpack or as a briefcase/messenger bag.

Its smart features include anti-theft technology and hidden

zippers to ensure valuables are safe and protected at all times, spacious compartments such as its dedicated laptop sleeve that can hold up to 17” laptop, additional internal pockets and dividers for a tablet, wallet, powerbank, car keys, and other everyday essentials and small items.

The U Basic Tech Sling Bag on the other hand, is a work and lifestyle bag rolled into one. It’s perfect for days when you want to switch from a bulky to a small cross-body with multiple internal pockets, just enough to carry his 10” tablet, wallet, phone and other essentials, be it for work or just hangout with the family.

In times when dad needs to hustle and squeeze in a client meeting during weekends to meet deadlines, he needs a bag that will compliment his cool vibe. The U Basic Switch Tech Carry has a main compartment with a dedicated tech sleeve which can accommodate up to a 15” notebook, and a bonus sleeve for a tablet. It also has a dedicated luggage strap and its convertible feature allows him to switch from a backpack to a sling bag with ease. And most of all, it’s made of super materials with water-repellent technology to withstand the harshest elements in the city.

From its slash-proof and water-repellent material, to its anti-theft features and dedicated compartments for laptop and other essentials, the Elecom Escode Backpack was built for the mobile lifestlye. The abundance of spacious internal pockets saves your dad from having to fish to the bottom of the bag for small items that are usually hard to find, like his car key. If dad is constantly traveling, the Pacsafe Vibe smart backpack is probably the most practical gift you can give. More than its cool aesthetic design, it is packed with features, such as RFID safe blocking pockets and materials to protect his transit cards, PopNLock security clip, CarrySafe slashguard materials, Puncture resistant Tough Zip and Sport locking system for optimum security, ensuring all his valuables are protected at all times.

The Pacsafe Vibe can be worn as a regular backpack or a carry-on, which is extremely ergonomic and meets most airline carry-on standards. For stability and weight distribution, the bag has adjustable and padded hip belt; and this can be tucked away if not in use. The best thing about this bag is that it has enough internal pockets that are spacious enough to make sure he carries all his devices—from a 15” laptop to the small essentials, such as wallets, passports, car keys and water container.

If your dad travels and finds himself using his credit cards most of the time, the Pacsafe RFID safe TEC Slider will conveniently protect all his travel cards. Its blocking materials have been tested and met the global RFID standards to make sure he travels with ease; going from one airport check to another without any worry.

If dad likes to keep his IDs and transit cards with him all the time, then the C-Secure Double Card Holder wallet is for him. Its cardholder has RFID protection to keep his private data secure at all times with a sturdy structure to prevent his cards from bending. The wallet’s interior is made up of aluminum with a patented sliding mechanism that can hold up to 14 cards all at once without the bulky feeling.

As the head of the family, your dad is probably missing a lot of sleep trying to balance between his work responsibilities and quality time with his family. If so, then coffee is definitely his go-to drink in order to stay awake while at work or driving on the way home. Make sure he doesn’t spill anything on his

laptop by gifting him the Dumbo Suction Mug from Urbanize.

This vacuum insulated mug will keep your dad’s beverage warm and neatly glued on wherever while working to avoid any accident or spillage.

MIDYEAR MADNESS SALE

WHETHER your dad is a techie, you’d easily find some really great steals and last-minute buys at the Digital Walker Mid-Year Madness Sale happening until this weekend at the Santolan Town Center. Get up 90-percent off on selected items from brands, such as AEE, Insta360, Mio, Momax, Yell, Scosche, UbTech and many more. I dropped by opening day and found several items that would make great gifts for dad.

If dad is a Star Wars fan (who isn’t?), make sure to grab either the Plox Death Star Wireless Bluetooth Levitating Speaker (now priced at less than P3,000) or the Sphero Droids BB8 or BB9E! Each one will make a fine addition to his Star Wars collection.

Help dad create immersive images of your family experiences by getting him a new 360-camera. The Insta360 easily attaches to an iPhone or Android smartphone. Now at 80-percent off, the Insta360 Nano White is just P2,598 while the Insta360 Air is down to just P1,398.

Let dad relive and record his adventurous spirit with the AEE action cams. Get up to 75-percent off on the AEE S71T+ that originally retails for P11,990 but is now just P2,990.

Is dad the designated driver? Make sure he has an eyewitness on the road with this reliable dashcam from Mio. The Mio Mivue 698 even has Wi-Fi and Digital Walker makes it an even better buy with 70-percent off its original price If dad’s phone looks more abused than overused and he still has no plans to replace it, make sure to scour the corners of the Digital Walker store and look for cases from Bodyguardz, Element case, Gear 4, Incipio, Laut, Patchworks, Switcheasy, Tech21 and UAG. Priced from P100 to P500 it will instantly give his phone a much-needed overhaul and protect it from future drops. There are also a lot of micro USB, USB C, and lighting cables on sale and if your dad easily loses or breaks his cables, you might want to get him the Native Union Key LC instead that functions both as a keychain and charging cable in one.

Finally, there are also lots and lots of earphones/ headphones and Bluetooth speakers on sale. Cloud has a buy1-take-2 promo and you could choose from the Cloud Boom Block, Pop Block, No. 4 and No. 8. Or you can ask for secret stocks of the Motorola Headphones, which are now sold at an almost unbelievable price. Another great deal is the Scosche Boombottle H20 speaker, which is now 80-percent off.

Digital Walker also has an ongoing promo for Marshall speakers. For every purchase of the Marshall Acton II Voice with Google Assistant, you can get two pieces of the Yeelight Smart Bulb Tuneable White. If you go for the Marshall Stanmore II Voice with Google Assistant, you get two pieces of the Yeelight Smart Bulb Color (P2,780).

The Marshall Acton II Voice with Google Assistant is the smallest speaker in the lineup, but it boasts a sound that’s larger than you might expect, while the Marshall Stanmore II is the most versatile speaker, making it great for both small and big rooms alike. Both smart speakers have far-field voice recognition, which allows them to hear your voice even when the music is turned up loud, and both are also compatible with multiroom setups. ■

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If you have any information / objection to the above mentioned application/s, please communicate with the Regional Director thru Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (EPWW) Division with Telephone No. 400-6011.

ATTY. ANA C. DIONE, CPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A18 Saturday, June 15, 2019

2019 HAPPIEST PINOY WINNER TO EXPAND BICYCLE PROJECT AQUA PLANET HOSTS WORLD’S LARGEST SWIMMING LESSON TWICE

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HE percentage of Filipinos considering their lives as “very happy” has increased in the first quarter of 2019, according to the Social Weather Stations (SWS), which was fielded over the period of March 28 to 31.

Zaldy Bueno, a 37-year-old teacher from Gumaca, Quezon, has all the reasons to be happy. His winning as the Fourth Happiest Pinoy comes with a grand prize of P1 million.

Bueno bested nine other finalists clinching Cebuana Lhuillier’s search, which honors and celebrates the Filipinos’ innate “optimism, resilience, and hope amidst different life crises.”

For Bueno, happiness is seeing more youth going to school. That’s why he cofounded Project Pidal Apakan, Dunong Yayaman, Asenso’y Kakamtan (Padyak), which provides free use of bicycles as mode of transportation for students who could not afford to travel to school.

The project turned out huge with people donating new and used bicycle units from all over the country and even from OFWs abroad. This project drastically increased attendance for students at school, for which their school received a perfect attendance award.

Currently the head teacher of the English department of Gumaca National High School, he is also eyeing the post as principal.

As a kid, he said, his family would often encounter financial difficulties. He would help his mom wash clothes for their neighbors and sell vegetables he planted to augment the family income.

In 1995 typhoon Rosing hit the town of Gumaca. With their house completely ruined, the family was forced to stay at the barangay health center. In those clinic days, they had to move their things on the street to accommodate the influx of patients.

In order to get a college education, Bueno had to work two jobs, including stints at a tile store and as an advertiser scout for a local radio station. He finished college after six years.

Today, aside from the student bikers, another recent source of happiness for Bueno is having her own mother graduate from High School under his tutelage, as volunteer teacher for the alternative learning education.

“Now, I am challenged, motivated and more determined to always smile and be happy, despite all the challenges we are facing every day. Part of my prize money is to buy more bike units, which more youth can use to get to school. I will also invest on insurance for my family and bring my parents abroad for a well-deserved vacation,” Bueno said.

But no one is happiest than Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier. “I am very happy with the results of this year’s search—with over 800,000 entries. It’s been amazing to read the entries of the 10 finalists that inspire countless people to push on despite life’s difficulties. Bueno exemplifies the commendable Filipino spirit of rising up from your current predicament and using that as fuel to make a difference in the lives of others,” he said.

LAS PIÑAS FOOD FESTIVAL PROMOTES LOCAL CUISINE, FOOD SECURITY

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N line with her livelihood advocacy, re-elected Sen. Cynthia Villar pushes for the promotion of local cuisine and food security, as thousands of Las Piñeros and people from nearby provinces join the celebration of the Sixth Las Piñas Food Festival at the Villar Sipag Complex in Pulang Lupa Uno, Las Piñas City.

“We are very glad that this food festival has become a yearly event for the city and nearby areas not only to promote our local delicacy, but also to promote our advocacy for safe and nutritious food,” Villar said.

Joining the senator is her daughter Rep. Camille Villar of Las Piñas City.

“As we conduct it every year, we aim to encourage more of our countrymen to plant their own crops, which will eventually turn into their source of livelihood and income,” she added.

Since the launch of the Las Piñas Food Festival in 2013, Villar says there has been an increase in the participants for various festivities, such as the cooking competition and urban gardening.

Now on it’s sixth year, the cooking competition is participated in by the city’s 20 barangays. Each team presents one viand/ulam and dessert expressing the

theme “Cook Healthy, Eat Happy”.

Declared as the champion of the interbarangay cooking competition is Barangay Pamplona Uno, which gets P20,000; in first place is Barangay Talon 4, which receives P15,000; and in second place is Barangay Daniel Fajardo, which is awarded with P10,000.

Meanwhile, the contest for urban gardening is held in three categories. The winner in interbarangay is BF International CAA, interhomeowners’ association is Castellan Classic Talon 2, and the interschool champion is Las Piñas East National High School. One winner for each category gets P50,000. A special award is given to Barangay Talon 4 with an additional of P20,000.

A food retailer’s fair is also featured in the festival where micro and small enterprises from Las Piñas City and nearby areas of Cavite, and cities of Muntinlupa, Pasay and Quezon promote their products and services.

According to Villar, who is the managing director of Villar Sipag, the annual activity has been successfully promoting food tourism, urban gardening and the city’s culinary heritage, as well as provide a platform for Las Piñas entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services.

COMMEMORATION A giant Philippine flag made out of 5,000 rice cakes was on display at Southwoods Mall in Binan, Laguna, in commemoration of the country’s 121st Independence Day. Locally known as puto Binan, this variety of the Filipino rice cake is a popular delicacy in the city.

QUA Planet, the largest water park in the Philippines, is set to host again the 2019 world’s largest swimming lesson in the country on June 20. The Philippines is one of the many countries that will join this global initiative, with the aim of educating people around the world that “Swimming Lesson Save Lives”.

As one of the members of the World Waterpark Association, the Aqua Planet Water Park in Pampanga will be at the forefront of this noteworthy advocacy.

This modern water park in the country gives utmost importance in setting international water safety standards, thus, the first and only facility in the Philippines to participate in this worthwhile cause.

Last June Aqua Planet gathered 1,200 children from selected schools, orphanages, government and nongovernmental organizations. They also includedchildrenfromAetacommunities and persons with disabilities to be part of this biggest water event in the province.

They joined forces in taking swimming lesson together in an attempt to break the Guinness Record.

The said event serves as a platform that helps the global aquatic industry to work together in providing basic swimming skill to children to prevent

drowning.

According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the thirdleading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. Individuals with increased access to water are most at risk of drowning.

Drowning is also one of the leading causes of child death in the Philippines.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund reported that drowning is the second-leading cause of death

among Filipino children under 15 years old, and the fourth-highest cause of injury in the Philippines. Philippine Health Statistics recorded that accidental drowning and submersion are two of the leading causes of child mortality in the country.

Aqua Planet saw the fundamental need to teach children to swim at an early age, believing that this life skill will prepare them for any eventuality, thus, saving the lives of the future generation.

CANADIAN MANUFACTURING, HARIBON SAVES NATURE WITH BAMBOO PLANT

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EADING manufacturer of highquality bed linens and towels Canad ian Manufact ur ing marks its 60th anniversary with Haribon Foundation for the launch of its new bamboo-cotton collection.

Canadian’s Get a Sheet, Adopt a Tree campaign, which supports Haribon’s Adopt a Seedling program, encourages consumers to take part in bringing back the beauty of the country by helping rebuild its lost biodiversity.

“We believe that it is high time we take a more active part in restoring our lost natural resources and promoting environmental sustainability. Our partnership with Haribon Foundation is one of the activities we’ve lined up for the celebration of our 60th anniversary this year. We hope that many Filipinos will #GoNatural and make the switch to a more sustainable lifestyle,” Canadian Manufacturing Sales and Marketing Director Chand Daryanani said.

The Philippines is home to a very diverse fauna and flora, but 90 percent of the country’s primary rainforest is gone due to aggressive commercialization.

To help save the country’s biodiversity and keep its natural beauty, Canadian is working with Haribon Foundation, which advocates various activities, such as conservation of sites and natural habitats of animals, to protect Philippine biodiversity. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the Canadian bamboo-cotton collection will fund Haribon’s Adopt a Seedling program and will support restoration in denuded forests around the country.

With the launch of the campaign, C a n ad i a n mou nts T he Ba mboo Experience activation, which allows consumers to experience first-hand the entire Canadian bamboo-cotton collection, which includes bed linens and bed accessories made of 100-percent bamboo. The first leg is held at SM Aura

Premiere Event Center from May 21 to 26, May 28 in SM Makati, June 2 in Davao and Cebu in July.

The bamboo is the fastest-growing plant in the world, reaching maturity in just three to five years. It is a better alternative to plastic and being a sustainable raw material causing minimal environmental impact.

The Canadian bamboo-cotton collection is made of 100-percent bamboo and uses little to no chemicals during production. The sheets feature a thread count of 300 and are breathable with odor protection, antimicrobial and smooth as silk. The sheets’ thermo-control feature is perfect for the Philippine weather and users with sensitive skin.

Completing the eco-friendly line is Canadian’s waterproof mattress and pillow protectors, all made of 100 -percent bamboo. T hese bed accessories protect the sheets from spills, stains and dust mites.

THIS YEAR’S MAFBEX OPENS DOORS TO A FUSION OF FLAVORS, BUSINESS

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OW on its 13th year the Manila Food and Beverage Expo (Mafbex) has officially opened its doors once again to a whole new world of tastes, flavors and opportunities.

Living up to its reputation as the country’s “Ultimate Foodventure”, this year’s Mafbex is occupying a total of 12,500 square meters of exhibit space as it houses 500 booths and 300 companies from all over the Philippines and countries, such as Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Italy and Vietnam As it has been the tradition, a grand opening launch was held on June 12 at

the lobby of the show venue. Present at the program and the ceremonial ribbon cutting were Worldbex Services International’s key executive officers, Joseph Ang, Levi Ang, Architect Francisco Flameño, Jill Ang, Rene Ramos, and Tessie Roque, along with VIP guests including Cynthia Villar and Emmanuel Piñol.

Inspired by the idea of opening up the F&B industry to new and novel perspectives, the key objective of this year’s show is to let everyone “Experience the Fusion” of gastronomic wonders and robust business opportunities.

With this key objective in mind, taking center stage at this year’s Mafbex are not only a substantial array of F&B products and services that represent the future of food, but also ones that will help F&B businesses refine and enhance their processes. This is evidenced by the product lines of this year’s exhibitors, which will include POS systems,

franchises, food equipment, packaging and raw materials.

But more than just about the products and services, distinct to Mafbex are other show components that focus on nurturing development and knowledge-building among its community of professionals, enthusiasts and aspiring players alike.

Amongthesehighlightsarelivecookoffs and products demos, the all-new Brew District, organic products and regional homegrown goods, and the “Chefs of the World”. Meanwhile, also making a highly anticipated comeback are the Mafbex competitions, such as the YHE Culinary Competition, Mafbex Culinary Cup: Home Chef Edition and the flair competition.

Very much in line with the show’s theme of fueling innovation, visitors are also encouraged to watch out for Mafbex seminars. Free of charge and open to all, the topics to be presented at this year’s seminars include “Kitchen Innovation through Diversity and Inclusion’’ by Chef Jester Arellano, “Evolution of Fusion Cuisine: A Breakthrough In Nutrition Trends for Millennials” and “How to Open a Coffee Shop” by Ros Juan.

More than just a food show, MAFBEX is truly the country’s most significant annual F&B event.