Businessmirror June 22, 2019

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PROTESTERS carry a broken fishing boat to symbolize a recent incident of a Chinese fishing vessel hitting a Filipino fishing boat during a rally near Malacañang on June 19, 2019. President Duterte called the sinking “a little maritime accident” and urged calm amid an outcry. AP/AARON FAVILA

AN ‘INCIDENT’ WAITING TO HAPPEN Sinking of Filipino boat a glimpse of Chinese ships’ ‘true’ mission in West Philippine Sea

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By Rene Acosta

HE sinking of a Filipino fishing boat at the Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea more than a week ago after being hit by a Chinese maritime militia ship apparently masquerading as a fishing vessel was an incident (or an accident) bound to happen with the “swarming” presence and virtually unregulated activities of Chinese ships in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The FB Gem-Ver 1, which was struck by a Chinese ship identified as Yuemaobinyu 42212 while on anchor in waters just 80 nautical miles off Palawan, is seen as a significant shift in the tactics of intimidation and harassment employed by the Chinese against Filipino fishermen in territory that China claims to be its own in its entirety. The incident also left 22 Filipinos to the mercy of the sea for three hours before they were rescued by a Vietnamese fishing vessel. The Yuemaobinyu 42212, and those of the other ships used by the Chinese maritime militia, which have steel-reinforced hulls—with crewmen trained and equipped by the Chinese Coast Guard under which they were initially under their employ—were in the West

Philippine Sea to intimidate, coerce and enforce China’s overlapping maritime claims. By deploying the steel-hulled paramilitary ships in the West Philippine Sea under the not-so-secret guise of fishing, China has employed the lessons that it learned from the “ramming battle” that it had previously employed with Vietnam in 2014. That incident arose from its action of sending an oil rig into the waters claimed by Hanoi. Ships from both countries were either damaged or sank from that encounter.

‘Swarm’ count

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has said that since January this year, more than 250 Continued on A2

PRESIDENT Duterte holds a pair of binoculars as he watches a demonstration during the 121st Philippine Navy anniversary at Sangley Point, Cavite, on June 17, 2019. RICHARD MADDELO/MALACAÑANG PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO VIA AP

Robots might turn out to be great coworkers

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By Noah Smith Bloomberg Opinion

HE idea that automation will drive up unemployment or drive down wages—in other words, that robots will take people’s jobs—has become almost an article of faith for many Americans. Everyone can point to instances of automation reducing demand for certain workers. And with so-called artificial intelligence (AI) technology improving rapidly, there’s widespread worry that many humans will simply be made obsolete. News outlets are full of eye-grabbing forecasts of the percentage of jobs that will be replaced. But those estimates are little

more than guesswork. The truth is, nobody knows how many jobs will be replaced by automation, or how automation will affect wages and inequality. There’s the possibility that AI, rather than replacing workers, will mostly just allow them to do their jobs more easily. And even as some jobs are eliminated, new ones will pop up, possibly at higher wages. That may

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 51.7170

IN this June 26, 2015, file photo, workers assemble parts next to robot arms at an auto parts manufacture factory in Dafeng city in east China’s Jiangsu province. CHINATOPIX VIA AP

involve painful, stressful transitions for people who have to switch jobs, but it doesn’t represent a robot apocalypse - in fact, it would be exactly what happened in the Industrial Revolution. So far, broad trends don’t look like they show a robot takeover. Prime-age employment rates are healthy at about 80 percent. Meanwhile, wages now are rising fastest at the lower end of the income distribution - not the kind of pattern one would expect to see in a world where low-skilled workers are competing with robots. Some economists have done studies that purport to show a negative impact from automation. For example, a 2017 paper by Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo claimed that regions with more robots lost more jobs between 1990 and 2007. And a paper by Osea Giuntella and Tianyi Wang found something similar going on in China. But these Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4821 n UK 65.6961 n HK 6.6201 n CHINA 7.5474 n SINGAPORE 38.1422 n AUSTRALIA 35.7985 n EU 58.4040 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.7883

Source: BSP (June 21, 2019 )

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A2 Saturday, June 22, 2019

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AN ‘INCIDENT’ WAITING TO HAPPEN Continued from a1

Chinese maritime militia ships have been spotted near and within the surrounding waters of Pagasa Island, either on anchor or just moving around. Officials from the military’s Western Command, however, even put the number of vessels to as high as 600. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the United States-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the number of Chinese boats monitored in the area swelled at the time the Philippines began its much delayed construction of a beaching ramp and the repair of the Rancudo Airfield on Pagasa Island. In the islands of Kota and Panata, which are claimed by the Philippines but are also being owned by China, a rise in the number of Chinese maritime militia ships on the prowl has also been noted. The CSIS viewed China’s maritime militias as a paramilitary component of Beijing’s sea forces, using them for a wide variety of missions that include patrol, surveillance and resupply. For their highly trained crewmen, they are used in the harassment and “dangerous standoffs” with ships from other contending states.

Targets

THE US military, which conducts freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, and which has taken it close to the Chinese man-made islands that were built into military fortresses, has considered the Chinese maritime militias as targets in the event of a confron-

tation. It declared that these ships have been working for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy, a fact that China does not deny. In a meeting in January this year with Chinese Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong, US Navy chief for Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson told the Chinese Navy official that the US will respond to the aggressive acts of the paramilitary ships in the East and South China Seas. In deploying ships from its maritime militia in the West Philippine Sea, China has been accomplishing tasks in place of its Coast Guard and Navy, and this includes denying Filipino fishermen entry, or, at the least, hampering their access to traditional fishing grounds. By their swarming number, the ships also siphon off marine resources in waters whose use and exploitation were supposed to have been for Filipinos under the EEZ. An example of this was the case of Scarborough Shoal where China has been harvesting even giant clams without hindrance or regulation. Militarily, Chinese maritime militia ships, working in tandem with the Chinese Coast Guard, are being employed to challenge patrols in the country’s maritime waters just like what happened in Scarborough Shoal two weeks ago when a Philippine Coast Guard ship was asked about the purpose and its presence in the area. At the Ayungin Shoal, the ships and Chinese Coast Guard vessels also intimidate and harass the regular resupply for Filipino troops guarding the feature and are based aboard the partly sunken BRP Sierra Madre.

IN this undated June 2019 handout photo, the damaged Filipino fishing boat F/B GemVer 1 lies on the shores at San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIA AP

Case of 2 parties

CHINA is also apparently using its maritime militia vessels in skirting the PHL-US Mutual Defense Treaty since these ships—even as-

suming they engage in aggressive acts like intimidation, harassment and even ramming as in the case of the FB Gem-Ver 1—are supposedly civilian ships for which the 1951 defense pact could not be invoked. The ploy suited the Philippine government’s narrative in the case of FB Gem-Ver 1 when it decided that the issue of ramming, or allision, whatever the case may be, should be limited to the two involved vessels. Some critics insist that with their hardened hulls, Chinese maritime militia ships form part of the first line of defense for the Chinese military since they are already in the West Philippine Sea in great numbers.

Fund boost

IN response to the maritime in-

cident, Sen. Richard Gordon on Thursday batted for an additional budget for the Philippine Coast Guard to boost its capability to assist distressed Filipino fishermen imperiled in midsea. Gordon proposed to increase its annual budget “to ensure that the Coast Guard is capable of immediately coming to the rescue of Filipino fishermen who are in peril of the sea.” Gordon indicated he will move to allocate additional funding for the Coast Guard in the annual national budget following the Recto Bank incident. In a news statement, Gordon prodded the government to “put additional budget to our Coast Guard so we’ll have the ability to rescue our fishermen, not to attach foreign vessels.”

He noted that as the Philippines is a maritime country having one part land and nine parts bodies of water as well as a coastline twice the size of the United States at 36,289 kilometers, “the Philippine Coast Guard should be wellequipped to patrol its territory.” Aside from having a capable Coast Guard and Navy, the country should also have a capable Air Force to protect its territory, he added. “If we had ships, we would still need a capable air force to protect them, something we don’t have either. Our coast line is twice the size of the coast line of the United States at 36,289 kilometers, yet we only have 90 functioning planes to cover it, placing the ration at one rickety plane for every 403 kilometers,” Gordon said. With a report by Butch Fernandez

Robots might turn out to be great coworkers Continued from a1

trends don’t seem to be showing up at the national level - some countries that use more industrial robots, such as South Korea, Germany and Japan, have unemployment rates as low as or lower than that of the US. Meanwhile, Lawrence Mishel and Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute concluded that when the definition of “robots” is broadened to include investment in information technology in general, the result found by Acemoglu and Restrepo disappears. But despite the lack of evidence for a robot takeover in the present, people are still worried about the future. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to extrapolate from current trends, especially since technology changes in such unpredictable ways. To overcome this uncertainty, economists have started turning to mathematical theories. One such effort can be found in a paper is by economists Francesco Caselli and Alan Manning. Their mathematical model is pretty flexible - it allows for many kinds of workers, and many different consumer and capital goods. They found that if the price of investment goods falls relative to consumption goods—something that seems to be happening in real

life—then average wages will rise as technology improves. This result is powerful because it’s counterintuitive—a fall in the price of investment goods sounds a lot like cheap robots. But this is precisely the condition under which Caselli and Manning found that wages rise. The key to the result, of course, is that in this model robots help humans produce things more efficiently - just like automated assembly lines made factory workers more productive in the Industrial Revolution. But the conclusion comes with several caveats. Caselli and Manning’s result only holds if the economy has perfect competition and no monopoly power - an assumption that looks increasingly out of date in a world of rising industrial concentration. Also, their result for average wages doesn’t say much about the fate of the workers at the bottom of the distribution. They also assume that there’s one overall level of technology. But what if there are multiple types? In a blog post in 2017, economist Paul Krugman created a very simple model in which there are two ways to produce things - one that uses more human labor, and one that uses more machines. If the latter becomes more ef-

ficient—in other words, if robots get better—it can shunt humans to the labor-intensive sector while lowering their wages. Meanwhile, in a series of four papers from 2017 through 2019, Acemoglu and Restrepo showed that the effect of automation on jobs depends on what type of technologies get created. They showed that it’s possible to make mathematical models in which automation complements human labor, allowing people to do their jobs more efficiently. But they also made models where robots depress wages and under some conditions render human labor obsolete. In other words, economic theory can shed some light on the relationships between technology, jobs and wages, but it can’t give any definitive answers. There are just too many unknowns. The only thing we humans can do is wait and see how technology affects the labor markets of the future, and adjust our policies accordingly. If robots and humans work together in harmony, so much the better. And if robots start to displace lots of people, schemes like basic income will become necessary. Should robots turn out to be versatile enough to replace everything humans do, there will certainly be enough wealth to go around.

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Millions of pigs culled as swine fever spreads through Asia

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ANOI, Vietnam—Millions of pigs have been culled in China and Vietnam as a UN food agency urges Asian governments to make containing virulent African swine fever (ASF) their top priority.With an announcement by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization that (UN-FAO) infections have spread to Laos, some experts are saying it is the largest animal disease outbreak in history. The FAO said in a report late Thursday that more than 3.7 million pigs in the region had been culled since the outbreak began in China last August. Vietnam has been the hardest hit, culling at least 2.6 million pigs followed by

China, which reported more than 1.1 million. All the figures were provided to the FAO by governments of countries affected by the epidemic. Smaller outbreaks have been reported in Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, Cambodia and Mongolia after cases were first reported in China’s northeast in August. ASF is harmless to people but fatal and highly contagious for pigs, with no known cure. With pork supplies dwindling as leading producer China and hard-hit Vietnam destroy huge numbers of hogs and tighten controls on shipments, prices have soared by up to 40 percent

globally and caused shortages in other markets. “This is the largest animal disease outbreak in history,” said Dirk Pfieffer, a veterinary epidemiologist at the City University of Hong Kong. “We’ve never had anything like it.” In South Korea, where diets rely heavily on pork, there is concern an outbreak could hurt an industry with 6,300 farms raising more than 11 million pigs. “Animal disease containment in its broadest sense should be prioritized within the highest levels of governments,” the FAO said, warning, “Outbreak control strategies must be in place.”

Saturday, June 22, 2019

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SEA’s 1st 5G internet for homes is in PHL

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lobe Telecom Inc. will offer next month a fifth generation, or 5G wireless broadband, for Philippines homes, the first commercially available internet with such speed in Southeast Asia (SEA), the company said. “We made a crucial step in fulfilling our goal of connecting more Filipino homes,” Ernest Cu, president at Globe, said in a news statement.

Offering 5G speed, which is faster and more secure, will help the company’s 2020 goal of connecting 2 million households to its various home

internet products from 1.7 million in the first quarter, Cu said. The venture of Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. will initially offer 5G packages in Pasig City in the capital region and in nearby provinces of Cavite and Bulacan. Globe’s share price was little changed at P2,218 on Friday morning. Globe’s statement didn’t say which company it tapped for the home 5G. Last month, a Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd spokeswoman in the Philippines said Globe and rival PLDT Inc had both committed to continue 5G initiatives with the Chinese tech company. Bloomberg News

Manila rejects Beijing’s call to jointly probe sea collision T

he Philippines rejected China’s suggestion to jointly probe the June 9 collision in the South China Sea involving

the two nations’ boats. “There will be no joint investigation. China and the Philippines will conduct their respective investigations,”

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. said Friday on his official Twitter account. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman

Lu Kang, at a briefing Thursday, proposed a joint probe of a Chinese vessel’s collision with a Philippine boat near Reed Bank, which left 22

Filipino fishermen floating at sea and rescued later by a Vietnamese crew. The two countries “can exchange respective findings and

properly handle the matter through friendly consultations” by jointly investigating the incident, the Chinese official said. Bloomberg News

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A4 Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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Premium PHL food exports to delight visitors at Food Taipei

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FTER the successful turnout of Ifex Philippines NXTFood Asia last month, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem) now sets its sights on the Taipei International Food Show (TIFS) from June 19 to 22, 2019, at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center and the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC).

As the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) export promotion arm, Citem will be managing the Philippine delegation at this year’s TIFS. The Philippine Pavilion will be at the ground floor of the TWTC Hall 1. More commonly known as Food Taipei, this year’s TIFS will also be held concurrently with four other food-related shows (Foodtech and Pharmatech Taipei, Taipei Pack, Taiwan Horeca and Halal Taiwan). This 5-in-1 food show provides visitors and exhibitors a one-stop shop

to engage companies, brands and suppliers from all facets and related sectors of the food industry. For this edition, the Philippine delegation will be bringing with it both returning and first-time exhibitors to Taiwan which will all be united under the theme “FoodPhilippines.” The theme’s goal is to highlight the natural and healthy food products of the Philippines while putting a special focus on the country’s premium tropical fruits (e.g., banana, mango, pineapple, calamansi), coconut products (e.g., virgin coconut oil,

coco water, coco powder, desiccated coconut), natural sauces and condiments, and ready-to-eat processed foods and beverages. Some companies returning to Food Taipei this year are Destileria Limtuaco, Year Luck and Century Pacific Food. Joining them are TIFS newcomers like GainCoco, Leonie Agri Corp. and JND Manufacturing Industries. Many of these exhibitors will be going to Taiwan with the goal of raising their brand awareness, promoting their new product lines and exploring the Taiwanese market in

the hopes of landing foreign clients not only in Taiwan, but also in mainland China. Last year’s Philippine participation in Food Taipei generated $25.83 million in sales from 18 participants. For the 2019 edition, DTI-Citem has a sales target of $26 million along with an increase in the number of business inquiries. With the number of health-conscious consumers on the rise, the FoodPhilippines theme is bound to make an impact on both the international and Taiwanese buyers at the show.

DTI-Sydney promotes PHL award-winning DTI conducts B2B chocolates, craft spirits at June 12 celebrations activities in Ifex 2019

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre (PTIC) in Sydney featured two award-winning products from the Philippines at the Independence Day celebrations in Australia on June 10, 2019. Guests sampled Malagos Chocolates, the award-winning Philippine chocolates from Davao. The renowned chocolates were made from tree-to-bar—a process by which the sowing, tending, harvesting, fer-

menting, drying, sorting, roasting and producing the chocolate is done right on the company’s farm—giving the products a more distinctive and pronounced taste. Due to the distinctive quality of its product, Malagos Chocolates has garnered prestigious international awards putting the Philippines, specifically Davao, in the chocolate map of the world. Meanwhile, Manille Liqueur de Calamansi and Paradise Mango Rum were also served during the celebra-

tions in Sydney and Perth. Manille Liqueur de Calamansi is a vodka-based drink that uses the essence of the zesty calamansi or Philippine lime rind sourced from the Mangyan farmers in Mindoro province in the Philippines. Another product, Paradise Mango Rum, is a natural fruit-based liqueur made from world-renowned Philippine mangoes and premium aged rum. The product has garnered numerous awards overseas and is a testament to the capability of the

Philippines to produce global brands recognized and appreciated by international connoisseurs. “We want Australians to know we have good quality products in the Philippines recognized and appreciated internationally. Our goal is to make these products available in supermarket shelves, boutique stores, duty-free shops, hotels, bars and specialty stores in Australia soon,” Philippines Special Trade Representative to Australia Alma Argayoso said.

DTI chief wants Cebu to support ease of doing business

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EBU—Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez urged Cebu industry players to be part of government reforms on the ease of doing business (EODB) by filing a complaint and reporting corrupt practices and unfair treatment in all government transactions. “The [EODB] law is in effect already, which entitles everyone to file a complaint. Your support, through filing proper complaints, is very important in enforcing the law and to put those government employees and officials accountable and liable for wrong practices and making doing business in the country difficult,” Lopez told Cebu’s business community during the Entrepreneurs’ Summit on June 13, 2019, organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Lopez highlighted the two-strike

policy for violations, as well as the administrative and criminal liabilities for government employees and officials under RA 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act. With RA11032, government services shall have more improved systems and procedures that will reduce processing time, cut bureaucratic red tape and eliminate corrupt practices. Government personnel shall also be capacitated to improve the quality of regulations. Further, the law provides the institutionalization of regulatory impact assessment to improve the quality of regulations. Lopez said the city or municipal business process and licensing office shall not require the same documents already provided by an applicant or requesting

party to local government departments He also emphasized that government agencies and personnel cannot sell, offer, or recommend specific brands of fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment to applicants, requesting parties or business entities. The trade chief also cited the Doing Business Design Sprint, one of the reforms that the government is working on, which will allow business registration to be completed with the use of smartphones and through an online portal that will only require one form and one number for all transactions. A prototype has been launched in 2018. “When everything can be transacted through a smartphone 24/7, that’s the ease of doing business,” Lopez said. “There are a number of government initiatives we’re currently implement-

ing. If properly executed, with your support, the whole business process— from starting your business to trading across borders—should become faster, easier and less costly.” Lopez also called on the business community to join the entrepreneurial revolution through mentoring aspiring and thriving entrepreneurs in their community. He said change in mindset is one of the most important ingredients in starting a business. He encouraged business executives and owners of big companies to partner with DTI in giving mentoring sessions through DTI-initiated events, as well as through the Negosyo Centers in the country. He also emphasized DTI’s efforts to reach the grassroots level and identify negosyo advocates in each barangay to help in this mission.

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HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), conducted business-to-business (B2B) matching activities of the recently concluded International Food Exhibition (Ifex) Philippines. It was held from May 24 to 26, 2019, at the World Trade Center (WTC), Pasay City, Metro Manila. The B2B matching activities were coordinated with the active support of DTI-EMB’s partners, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions and the Foreign Trade Service Corps through the Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in servicing buyers and exporters. “DTI-EMB took the lead in the business matching with the use of special venue called Ifex Connect. Several matches were determined, and commitment between buyers and exporters transpired. DTI will continuously support our partners in export to meet their counterparts through B2B as one of EMB’s programs, and bring more products in the international market,” DTI-EMB Director Senen M. Perlada said. The meetings took place at the Ifex Connect, the event’s primary business matching area for exhibitors and buyers to come together, meet and do business negotiations. It also served as a venue in promoting Philippine food products, exchange ideas and negotiate further on the details. Prearranged business sched-

ules were facilitated where buyers’ requirements are properly matched with the right exporters. Buyers were able to maximize their desire to find the right partners for their products. Leading buyers and top grocers from the United States, Canada, Asean, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, East Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa and South Asia attended the activity. The Philippine exporters who took the opportunity in meeting the buyers were able to promote various products like fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, bakery and confectionery, snack food, beverages, sugar, sauces and condiments, meat and poultry, dairy products, cacao, coffee, seafood and coconut products. The presence of companies that are halal-certified, with natural and organic food and ingredients and other certifications was considered primarily by the buyers in the negotiation panel. Philippine exporters met more potential buyers this year. Filipinos are receptive to the requirements of the buyers and the technology necessary to their products. Some buyers discovered new products as well and were enlightened on the uses of some healthy products. Due to an increased number of matches, sales succeeded to an amazing $13.81 million, booked and under negotiation, from 568 business matches assisted.

South Korean market growing for video games as female gamers increase in number

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EMAND for video games is increasing in South Korea, with software expected to continue recording strong growth over the next few years. The Euromonitor Digest, the online publication of the Export

Marketing Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry, said new video games hardware, an Internet-connected one which enables access to the Steam platform, allows game producers to upload their games to the platform and

pay a commission of 30 percent. The report said it does not require storage place or inventory, and this is set to support growth of video games software (digital) over the forecast period. Manufacturers of console game

hardware are also following this trend, which will likely lead to lower sales of video games software (physical), it added. The Euromonitor Digest said the already-high possession rate of smartphones is expected to in-

crease, thus supporting growth of mobile games which are set to record strong constant retail value growth. It noted online games have a spending limit while mobile games have no budget limitation.

The report cited data indicating that the number of female gamers is increasing gradually. Thus, unlimited gaming spend and the increasing number of game players will likely support the growth of mobile games, it said.

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

Sports

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Saturday, June 22, 2019

S OFFICIALS from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority led by its President and CEO Vince Dizon and infrastructure developer MTD Philippines headed by Patrick Nicholas David pose with Senators Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio Honasan II at the Athletics Stadium in New Clark City.

ENATORS got a glimpse of the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) in New Clark City as the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) showcased the latest developments on the facilities with the sports complex now nearing completion. Led by BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon, Senator Gregorio Honasan II and Senator Panfilo Lacson toured the 20,000-seat Athletics Stadium, 2,000-seat Aquatics Center and the 1.4-kilometer Riverpark. The world-class and international sports federation-standard sports facilities are the first of their kind in the country. They are the centerpiece venues when the country hosts the 30th Southeast Asian Games from November 30 to December 11. “Full government support is key in any

PAGUNSAN HANGS ON J

JUVIC PAGUNSAN loses his energy and aggressiveness but hangs tough in the third round. ROY DOMINGO

Cargo Movers vs Tornadoes

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2 Logistics seeks its third straight win when it collides with Foton in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Imus Sports Center in Cavite. The Cargo Movers try to extend their winning run in their 4 p.m. battle with the Tornadoes, while PLDT Home Fibr and Sta. Lucia seek to avenge their previous setbacks when they tangle in the 2 p.m. match. In her first game since transferring from the disbanded United VC, the former Arizona standout delivered 17 points to power F2 Logistics to a very impressive 25-15, 27-25, 2522 victory over PLDT. F2 Logistics coach Ramil de Jesus said he liked what he saw, especially with the way Mau blended with former La Salle stars like Aby Marano, Dawn Macandili, Ara Galang, Kianna Dy and Majoy Baron. “Not bad for a first timer,” said de Jesus, who guided the Lady Spikers to 11 titles in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. “She’s still making some adjustments in training. The good thing is that she’s very open to suggestions and she’s willing to adjust.”

Cool Smashers take on Angels

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REAMLINE finally gets the chance to get even with PetroGazz as the early semifinalists tangle in what could serve as a preview of the championship in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan on Saturday. The defending champion Cool Smashers bowed to the Angels in

UVIC PAGUNSAN dispatched James Ryan Lam and Pete Vilairatana of the US despite slowing down in the heat with a 68 after back-to-back 66s but found a new challenger in Nilo Salahog in pursuit of a second straight championship in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Negros Occidental Classic in Bacolod City on Friday. Pagunsan said the rigors of playing two straight weeks in hot conditions while battling some personal woes have started to take their toll but the region’s former No. 1 still put in a decent round of three birdies against a bogey for a 32-36 card to barely hold on to a one-stroke edge at 10-under 200. “I sort of lost my energy and aggressiveness after seven holes due to hot conditions but I still aimed for at least a two-under card,” said Pagunsan, who birdied the first two holes and No. 9 in exactly the same fashion he anchored his second round charge. Unlike in his Thursday’s 66, however, the defending

champion bogeyed No. 12 and settled for a 68 at the par-70 Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club. “I think I’m tired,” Pagunsan said. Far from being exhausted in chase of a maiden victory on the Philippine Golf Tour is Salahog, who hit five birdies in the first 13 holes then bucked a bogey on No. 15 due to wrong club selection with a birdie on the next to shoot the day’s best 65 and assume the challenger’s role at 201. “This is my best game. Played so relaxed and inspired, hit all fairways and all but one green and made quite a number of oneputt feats,” said Salahog, who tied for 27th in Club Filipino de Cebu Invitational and shared 17th place in last week’s Bacolod Golf Classic of the Visayan swing of the circuit put up by ICTSI. With a crack at a breakthrough win, Salahog hopes to buck the pressure playing alongside the fancied Pagunsan and the longhitting Lam by staying focused on the task at hand. “I will just have to concentrate although it would be tough to be playing against Pagunsan,” said the 33-year-old Victorias

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Go For Gold top Philippine team in Le Tour de Filipinas 10th edition

LENDING its youth with stamina and tenacity, the Go For Gold Philippines Continental Cycling Team accomplished the goal that other Filipino cycling squads craved for in the recent 10th Le Tour de Filipinas. Jonel Carcueva and Daniel Ven Carino formed a formidable and cohesive unit with Ismael Grospe and Jericho Lucero to install Go For Gold as the best Filipino team in the five-day UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) 2.2 category race. “As a young team with young Pinoy riders, I believe this validates the faith we have given our developmental team and shows the enormous improvement they have made against other powerhouse Filipino teams,’’ Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go said. It was an impressive followup to the performance of the team in two previous races held in the Philippines early this year—Ronda Pilipinas and PRURide PH—where Grospe and Carino earned the best young rider accolades, respectively. ``Of course, we would have preferred to get a better placing, especially in the best young rider category, which we had successfully won in our two previous UCI races,’’ said Go, who also sits as vice president for marketing of Powerball Marketing & Logistics Corporation. The best young rider award is reserved for the best-performing cyclist under 23 years old. Go For Gold immediately took control of the race for Filipino riders in Stage 1 in Tagaytay City despite losing team captain Elmer Navarro due to curfew. The solid teamwork in the succeeding stages worked wonders as the quartet of Lucero, Grospe, Carino and Carcueva followed the strategy laid out by Go For Gold project director and head three in the inaugurals of the third season of the league organized by Sports Vision as top local Alyssa Valdez went down and left the match after sustaining an ankle injury in the second. And as PetroGazz piled up wins after wins—in straight-set fashions— to clinch the first Final Four seat, the Cool Smashers recovered and strung up six straight victories with Valdez

native and a pro at Eagle Ridge. The rest will need to score in low 60s to get a shot at the top P550,000 purse in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. with Lam fumbling with four bogeys against three birdies for a 71 and dropping to third at 204, four shots off Pagunsan. Vilairatana, just three strokes adrift of Pagunsan after 36 holes, blew an even par 35 start with three bogeys in the last eight holes, limping with a 73 and falling to joint 10th at 208 with Reymon Jaraula (67), Richard Sinfuego (70), Gerald Rosales (70) and Club Filipino de Cebu Invitational winner Guido Van der Valk (70). Jay Bayron shot a second straight 67 to move to solo fourth at 205 while another stroke farther back at 206 are 2012 titlist Zanieboy Gialon (71) and Japanese Kei Matsuoka (68) and Elmer Saban, Jhonnel Ababa and Ryui Hashimoto assembling identical 207s with 67, 70 and 71, respectively, in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and MY Shokai Technology Inc.

GO for Gold cyclists Jonel Carcueva, Daniel Ven Carino, Ismael Grospe, Jericho Lucero and and project director and head coach Ednalyn Hualda impress in the recent Le Tour de Filipinas.

coach Ednalyn Hualda to the letter. They showed the character that Hualda wanted them to display from the second stage onward in Pagbilao, Quezon to Daet, Camarines Norte going to the final three laps in Legazpi City, Albay and Sorsogon. back in harness to nail the second slot in the crossover semis. But the Angels remain confident of scoring a repeat over the Cool Smashers in their 4 p.m. clash that will also put in focus four of the league’s leading imports and a bunch of talented locals eager to slug it out for the second time. Motolite, on the other hand, tries to boost its semis drive as it faces winless BaliPure in the 2 p.m. opener.

In the end, Go For Gold riders edged the Philippine National Team by two minutes and the 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Road Bike Philippines by 31 minutes and 26 seconds to become the best Filipino squad in the race that offered UCI ranking points to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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world-class development and we’re fortunate that a respected institution such as the Senate got to see the huge progress we made here in New Clark City,” Dizon said. “These lawmakers play a big role in inspiring the creation of more ambitious projects that provide comfort and growth to our people.” The NGAC, which is part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to decongest Metro Manila, is situated at New Clark City, the country’s first and only smart and green city to rise within the Clark Special Economic Zone. The facility is BCDA’s most ambitious project to date in partnership with infrastructure developer MTD Philippines. Senator Lacson lauded the progress of New Clark City, Phase 1A of which is already more than 80 percent complete. “This is an example of hard work and

ZION WILLIAMSON emerging as the top pick is a surprise to nobody who watched basketball this past season. AP

PELICANS PICK ZION NO. 1 IN NBA DRAFT N

EW YORK—Zion Williamson plays with force and ferocity, a Hulk in hightops who looks as though he’d never show a soft

side. Draft night proved otherwise. Williamson was the No. 1 pick of the New Orleans Pelicans—a surprise to nobody who watched basketball this past season. But afterward he couldn’t hide his emotions, even though he along with everyone else knew what would happen Thursday night. “Because I love the game of basketball,” he said. “You can hear people say things like, ‘Oh, that it was likely I was going to go No. 1.’ But I guess you don’t know until you actually go through it. Hearing my name called and I was able to make it on stage without a tear, shake the commissioner’s hand, but in the interview my mom was standing beside me, and my emotions just took over.” There might be tears of joy in New Orleans, too, after the Pelicans were able to get the Duke powerhouse who is considered one of the most exciting prospects in years. The 6-foot-7, 285-pounder compiled a college career worth of highlights into just one season, becoming the third freshman to be voted player of the year by The Associated Press. His assault on the rims made him a favorite of college basketball fans, but his game is more than just dunks. Williamson averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 68% from the field. Wearing a white suit, he hugged members of his family and National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver after his name was called first at Barclays Center. Williamson will step into an open position in New Orleans, which recently agreed to trade All-Star Anthony Davis, the last freshman to win the AP award, to the Los Angeles Lakers. “I’m going to do anything to win. I’m just going to do anything to win,” Williamson said. The Memphis Grizzlies also quickly addressed a positional need by taking Murray State’s Ja Morant with the No. 2 pick. The Grizzlies agreed to trade Mike Conley, their longtime point guard, to Utah a day earlier.

US unbeaten in Women’s World Cup

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E HAVRE, France—The United States is showing just how fiercely it is prepared to defend its Women’s World Cup title. The Americans faced their toughest test of the tournament on Thursday night and dominated in a 2-0 victory over Sweden, the rivals that stunned them in the last Olympics. The US went undefeated in the group

efficiency paying off,” Lacson said, “a dream becoming a reality because the people assigned here are performance-oriented.” “This is a classic example of what happens if there is a political will,” said Honasan as he encouraged more sustainable developments. The 200-hectare mixed-used government center, meant to decentralize state offices from the capital, will primarily host offices of various government agencies. Phase 1A of the NGAC development also involves the construction of sports facilities that include the Athletics Stadium, Aquatics Center and Athlete’s Village. Nearly 10,000 athletes from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam are for the SEA Games.

stage, posting wins against Thailand and Chile before beating the Swedes, all without conceding a goal. It is the first time the Americans have shut out all their group opponents in the World Cup. They also scored a group-stage record 18 goals. “We come here, we want to win, all the time,” goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher said. “Every

They got a good replacement in Morant, who led Division I with 10 assists per game as a sophomore while averaging 24.5 points. “I have some big shoes to fill in Mike Conley,” Morant said. “He’s a great player. I wish him the best. Like I said before, it just means the Grizzlies see a lot in me.” RJ Barrett then made it two Duke freshmen within the top-three picks when the New York Knicks took the guard who actually edged out Williamson to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring. Knicks fans hoped they would get Williamson after finishing with the worst record in the league but seemed happy to end up with Barrett, loudly cheering and chanting “RJ! RJ!” when the pick was announced. “That was great,” Barrett said. “I’m glad that the city wants me here as much as I want to be here.” De’Andre Hunter of national champion Virginia was taken fourth but won’t be teaming up with Williamson. The Pelicans acquired the rights to the pick in the Davis deal but agreed to trade it shortly before the draft to Atlanta. The original trade can’t be official until July 6, so Hunter was outfitted with a Lakers hit and the draft board behind the stage listed the pick as belonging to the Lakers. The Cleveland Cavaliers then took Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland, who played in just five games because of a knee injury. Then it was another pick who won’t be playing for the team that made it, with Jarrett Culver taken at No. 6 by Phoenix with a pick that the Suns agreed to trade to Minnesota for the No. 11 pick. That turned out to be Cameron Johnson, the second North Carolina player to be drafted after Chicago took Coby White at No. 7. Kentucky then had two straight picks, with PJ Washington going 12th to Charlotte and Tyler Herro 13th to Miami. Duke did even better by placing three in the top 10. Cam Reddish went 10th to the Hawks, making the Blue Devils the only team to pull off that feat since Florida placed Al Horford third, Corey Brewer seventh and Joakim Noah ninth after winning the 2007 national championship. AP game we come out with that mentality: We want three points, we want to score goals, we want shutouts. That’s something we take pride in.” Lindsey Horan scored within the first three minutes, the fastest goal of this tournament. The United States went up 2-0 on an own goal off Jonna Andersson in the 50th minute. Already assured a spot in the round of 16 before the game, the United States finished atop its group and will head to Reims to face Spain on Monday. Sweden will play Canada in Paris. AP

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BusinessMi

Saturday, June 22, 2019 | Editor: Jun Lomibao

TOUR WON’T BE THE SAME WITHOUT CHRIS FROOME By John Leicester

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CHRISTIAN PRUDHOMME: Chris Froome has been the central character of the Tour de France since 2013. AP

The Associated Press

ARIS—The Tour de France just won’t be the same without four-time champion Chris Froome in the field, race director Christian Prudhomme told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Froome was injured last week in a crash in France that left him with multiple fractures. He let go of his handlebars to blow his nose and hit a wall at speed. “Clearly, it changes things,” Prudhomme said. “The Tour de France with Chris Froome and without is not the same thing. He has been the central character since, we’ll say, 2013. “So other scenarios are going to open up.” Defending champion Geraint Thomas was also hurt in a crash this week at the Tour de Suisse. The 33-year-old Welshman required stitches above his eye but he is still expecting to defend his title. “Luckily I’m all OK,” Thomas wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “It just means I’ll need some big training rides next week now.” The setback cast further uncertainty over Team Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky, which has won six of the last seven Tours. Bradley Wiggins won in 2012, while Froome took the title 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and Thomas last year. But with Froome out and Thomas recovering, that

Froome thankful for ‘overwhelming support’ F ROM his hospital bed in France, Chris Froome reached out to thank his Team Ineos fans and the wider cycling community for the show of support he’s received after the Criterium du Dauphine crash that fractured his hip, femur, elbow and neck. “Firstly, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has sent their best wishes to me since the crash,” Froome said in an article posted on the team’s web site. “This is obviously a tough time, but I have taken a lot of strength from the

support over the last three days. The outpouring of support has been really humbling and something I would never have expected.” Froome was previewing the Stage 4 time trial course in Roanne with teammate Wout Poels when he took his hands off the bars to clear his nose on a 60 kph descent. A gust of wind took out his front wheel, according to Team Ineos Principal Dave Brailsford. Froome crashed into the wall of a house, causing the severe injuries. He was taken to hospital in Saint-Etienne, where he

underwent an eight-hour surgery to repair his broken bones. “I’d also like to extend my gratitude to the team, especially Doctor Richard Usher and his medical staff, who have been exemplary since the crash,” Froome said. “In addition, I am so thankful to the emergency services and everyone at Roanne Hospital who assisted and stabilized me, as well as the surgeons, doctors and nurses at the University Hospital of Saint-Etienne, who have really gone above and beyond the call of duty, for which I am ever so grateful. I know

could open the door for 22-year-old teammate Egan Bernal. “Of course, Dave Brailsford’s team will weigh on the Tour de France, as in previous years. But will it do so to such an extent and in the same way?” Prudhomme asked. “I imagine that he, Dave Brailsford, is asking himself lots of questions, too. “Who will be the leader? The evidence, logic, dictates it will be Geraint Thomas, of course,” Prudhomme said. “But will that still be the case after his crash? There are lots of question marks. But we know that Egan Bernal is ready, it seems to me.” After an impressive win at the Paris-Nice race in March, the Colombian then also crashed in training in May. He broke his collarbone, ruling him out of the Giro d’Italia. But he is racing at the Tour de Suisse and Prudhomme expects that the mountainous terrain of the Tour will play to Bernal’s climbing strengths. This year’s Tour will be the first with three stages that finish on summits above 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), where the thin air will sap riders. “We’re going very high this year,” Prudhomme said. “But nearly all of us believe that the Colombians won’t be less strong at 2,000 meters and Bernal, obviously, is Colombian. “At first glance, on paper, it cannot be unfavorable for Bernal,” he added. “He is super-talented in the mountains. He can attack from far out.” how lucky I am to be here today and how much I owe to all the paramedics and medical staff on the race.” The team reported that Froome will need up to six months recovery, ending his chances to add a fifth tour title to his palmares this year. “While this is a setback and a major one at that, I am focusing on looking forward,” Froome said. “There is a long road to recovery ahead, but that recovery starts now and I am fully focused on returning back to my best. “Finally, I want to thank my wife Michelle and my family. They’ve been with me every step of the way, and their love and support will motivate me to return as quickly as possible.” Cyclingnews

10 YEARS OF LE TOUR DE FILIPINAS A horseman

that started in Tagaytay City, passed through Daet, Camarines Norte, and Sorsogon. PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

THOMAS: FROOME’S ABSE MAJOR SETBACK FOR INE Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas were set to share leadership, but now the Welshman becomes the main figure, even though Ineos have another potential winner in young Colombian Egan Bernal, who was set to lead the line at the Giro d’Italia until he broke his collarbone.

CHRIS FROOME’S absence will significantly alter the complexion of the race—where Geraint Thomas is the defending champion— and indeed the approach at Team Ineos.

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ERAINT THOMAS said that Chris Froome’s absence from the Tour de France will not change his own personal approach but is a setback for Team Ineos as a whole. Froome, a four-time winner of the race, will miss this year’s Tour after sustaining serious injuries in a horrific crash during the recent Criterium du Dauphine. The 34-year-old suffered fractures to his sternum and the C7 neck vertebrae, as well as his right femur, elbow and ribs after crashing during a recon of the Stage 4 time trial. Thomas, who raced in the Tour de Suisse, said the news of the crash had come as a “big shock” in his latest column for British magazine GO. “Hearing about any crash is bad enough, let alone when it’s one or your close teammates and friends,” he wrote. “I haven’t spoken to Froomey yet, but I spoke to Wout [Poels], who was there with him, and Dan Martin, who was just behind him, and

they said it was pretty scary. Someone crashing at high speed into a wall isn’t the best thing to witness. “The doctors have said it’s all going well, though, and they’re hoping to move him over to a hospital near Monaco, near where he lives. Froomey has a long recovery ahead of him now, but by the sound of things it could have been worse. We’re all lucky it wasn’t.” Froome’s absence will significantly alter the complexion of the race, and indeed the approach at Team Ineos. He and Thomas were set to share leadership, but now the Welshman becomes the main figure, even though Ineos have another potential winner in young Colombian Egan Bernal, who was set to lead the line at the Giro d’Italia until he broke his collarbone. “The biggest implication for the team is that there’s now an extra space in the line-up. Chris Froome was always guaranteed a ride,” Thomas wrote.

irror CYCLING

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Saturday, June 22, 2019

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‘A crash like Chris Froome’s is a life-changing experience’

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OSEBA BELOKI believes Chris Froome’s recent crash represents a “life-changing experience” and “one from which it will be very tough—but by no means impossible—to return to racing.” Beloki was victim of a major downhill high-speed crash in the 2003 Tour de France when he skidded off the road close to the finish in Gap in the Alps. Like Froome, he broke his femur and elbow, as well as his wrist, while Froome also broke several ribs, as well as fracturing his sternum and vertebrae. While repeatedly underlining that he does not know the exact medical details of Froome’s current injuries, and that he cannot make a direct physical comparison, Beloki says that, based on his own experiences, such a huge crash is life-changing. “I’m not forgetting that each person’s body is different, and each crash is different, but as soon as I heard the news about Chris, I noticed how his accident was in some ways similar to mine in terms of injuries in the same zones, even if the fractures themselves will of course be different,” Beloki told Cyclingnews. “From what I’ve read and heard, even with things like the surgeons saying it’ll be at least six months before he’s fully recovered, it seems clear that he’ll get through this and get better. Partly because these days medical practice is much more sophisticated and effective than it used to be. “So whilst emphasizing that I’m Joseba Beloki, and I’m not in absolute possession of the truth about Chris’s situation, I do know injuries like these present a lot of problems, and his recovery process is almost certainly not something that will happen in a straight line. It’ll likely be two days forward, one day back. It’ll be hard.” Beloki says the road back mentally will be an

n watches participants pass by during the recent 10th Le Tour de Filipinas , the next day, and wound up in Legaspi City and the provinces of Albay

SENCE EOUS

“From my point of view, it doesn’t really change much— I’ve always just been trying to get to the race in the best shape I can be in and then compete. For the team, though, we’re going into the Tour without one of the greatest riders ever. Tactically, we had a strong hand to play in the finale of the biggest stages so it’s a setback, but we’re still strong as a team. “We’ll go into the race with me and Egan [Bernal] very much still in contention, looking to get the best result possible. I’ll still be a protected rider, but it looks like we’ll have one less leader and one more domestique. I don’t know yet who that will be—there’s a long list of 10 to 12 riders and Sir Dave Brailsford will name eight from there. It’s a decision that’s not usually made until a week before the race, anyway.” Thomas, meanwhile, confirmed on Twitter that he was left needing stitches above his right eye after a crash took him out of the Tour de Suisse on Stage 4. The defending Tour de France champion crashed with just under 30 kilometer to go on the stage and was soon on his way to the hospital for checks after his head took the brunt of the fall. He passed the immediate roadside checks for a concussion, but doctors decided to remove the British rider from the race. Hospital checks later revealed that Thomas came out of the fall without any fracture, but he will spend several days off the bike as he recovers from the head injury and loss of skin on his back and right side. Thomas’s early exit means that he misses the final and arguably most important stages of the Tour de Suisse, with the final block of stages set in the mountains. Thomas was looking to use the Tour de Suisse as his final stage race before his Tour de France defense, and he confirmed on Tuesday evening that he and coach Tim Kerrison would need to alter the rider’s training program ahead of next month’s Grand Depart in Brussels. In a Tweet posted on Wednesday morning, Thomas stated, “Thanks for all your messages!! Gutted to leave @tds but luckily I’m all ok. I hit my head and needed stitches above my eye, so the doctors stopped me getting back on my bike. It just means I’ll need some big training rides next week now.” With Thomas out of the Tour de Suisse, the Team Ineos leadership lies solely with Egan Bernal. The Paris-Nice winner missed the Giro d’Italia in May after breaking his collarbone on the eve of the event. Team Ineos leadership at the Tour de France will be decided between Thomas and Bernal after last week’s horrific crash for Froome. Cyclingnews

extremely challenging one, as well. As he puts it, “the thing is that when faced with injuries like these, it’s impossible to be prepared for them.” Furthermore, a whole year has gone by, Beloki points out, since Froome was last racing at 100 percent, in the Tour de France last year. Now the Team Ineos racer faces another six months off the bike. The knock-on effects of such a long time away in 2020 will be unpredictable, to say the least. “He may need further surgery, for example, to remove the rods placed inside the femur. Although I didn’t have the operation, other people do,” Beloki said. “Then when he’s riding again, the whole situation can be complicated by other questions, like if he needs to adopt to new positions on the bike or on the TT bike.” Beloki is far from being alone in the professional cycling world in wishing Froome a speedy recovery from his terrible accident, saying: “Chris has already shown that he’s a real fighter. Above all, you could see that in the Giro d’Italia last year and how he won that after all those setbacks. Psychologically, he’s strong.” He also emphasized there has been a collective outpouring of wishing Froome well. “This is one of those crashes when everybody feels sorry over what has happened. Sometimes something serious happens to a rider and it doesn’t have the same impact, it doesn’t resonate with people. But this one, definitely.” Furthermore, Beloki is convinced that Froome will return to racing again. “Froome deserves to win a fifth Tour, I’d love him to do that. It’d also be a great way for people to realize that injuries can be overcome, and that you can fight against them, no matter the odds.” In Beloki’s case, his career post his 2003 crash was definitely a case of a half-empty, half-full glass. The triple Tour podium finisher returned to racing the following year but he never reached the same high level as before the fall on the road to Gap. Even now, Beloki—who is currently writing a book about his crash and the aftermath, which he hopes to publish this winter—still has a slight limp as a result of it, and he says he can feel in his body when there are changes in the weather. However, based on his own experience, the biggest changes, Beloki says, are almost certainly going to be mental. “When you have a crash like this, during the time you’re recovering—and above all, from July 6th onwards, when the Tour starts—you start evaluating things. You look at what you’ve achieved as a cyclist, but psychologically it sinks in too, what kinds of risks you’ve taken, and you ask yourself, ‘should I be more careful, should I brake more?’ “Generally speaking—and I’m not forgetting events like the 2014 Tour—Froome’s career has unfolded fairly smoothly. But in my experience something like this, something as big as this, is different. “Every time you take a shower, you see the scars on your elbow or your hip, and you remember the hours the operation took to heal them. After a crash like this, you remember what you’ve done and you think about what you can do. But I believe your value system changes.”

Cyclingnews

Cyclists’ Alliance urges riders to file formal complaints against abusers

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HE Cyclists’ Alliance head Iris Slappendel urged cyclists to file formal complaints with the International Cycling Union (UCI) Ethics Commission and Safe Sport programs if they find themselves in situations of abuse on a cycling team or witness abuse within the sport. Slappendel spoke with Cyclingnews after we reported that three riders had formally reported allegations of abuse against Health Mate Ladies Team Manager Patrick van Gansen. In the wake of that report, six more riders have come forward to corroborate those allegations, five riders wrote an open letter describing their experiences to the Dutch

news outlet WielerFlits, and Liz Hatch confirmed similar experiences while racing on his team in 2013 in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. All riders have alleged that van Gansen was verbally aggressive and made sexually inappropriate remarks toward them. Slappendel said that filing a complaint is the best way to protect the riders and the sport from offenders. “It’s very much case-by-case but it’s important that the riders who experience these types of situations file a formal complaint, even though it is not an easy process,” Slappandel told Cyclingnews. “It’s the only way to get these people out of the sport.”

FILING a complaint is the best way to protect the riders and the sport from offenders.

Cyclingnews reported on Tuesday that Esther Meisels, Sara Mustonen and Chloë Turblin all left the Health Mate Ladies Team in the last three months. Meisels and Mustonen, and Turblin’s father had separately filed formal complaints against van Gansen with the UCI Ethics Commission. Their complaints center around the UCI Code of Ethics: Appendix 1, which covers protection of physical and mental integrity, sexual harassment and abuse. Van Gansen has denied all of the allegations levelled against him and told Cyclingnews that he intends to take legal action against the women who have accused him of

abuse and inappropriate behavior. The Cyclists’ Alliance is an association that represents the competitive, economic, personal interests of all professional women cyclists, advocating for fairness and equality and providing assistance in resolving all types of disputes. The association also helps riders with the process and procedure of filing formal complaints with the UCI Ethics Commission, by providing them with the appropriate point of contact and explaining what details need to be included in a formal complaint. They also help answer questions such as: How do I get out of an abusive situation? What should I do when I am in an abusive situation? And specific questions concerning different types of abuse such as psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and emotional harm by abusive coaches. Slappendel told Cyclingnews that any rider, whether they are a member of The Cyclists’ Alliance or not, can contact the association if they are experiencing abuse within the sport. As is the case with the UCI Ethics Commission, for purposes of confidentiality, any discussions surrounding such cases will remain confidential with The Cyclists’ Alliance. “They can always call us. They don’t have to be a member in order for us to help riders who are in these types of situations. It helps [for the riders] to realize that this is not normal behavior. It’s important to make the sport safer and to help protect their sport. “In the end, it’s the rider who has to take the step to file the complaint. “In short, riders can come to us and we connect them with the UCI Ethics Commission and advise them on what they will need to provide to make a formal complaint. Now, a rider can also file a complaint anonymously.” The Cyclists’ Alliance published a statement regarding the Health Mate Ladies Team case on its web site at Twitter channel on Monday. “We do support the riders that have spoken out, and also through our legal network. It’s up to the UCI Ethics Commission and relevant official bodies to make a verdict in this case, but we will make sure just and effective measures are taken by these bodies. Cyclingnews

OurTime BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Miscommitment to the aged

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T 85, Nanay Celia Aguirre of Barangay San Nicolas, Bacoor City, Cavite, rode a tricycle early in the morning to avail herself of the free medical service brought by the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) Serbisyo Caravan. She had a hard time getting out of bed because of her aching knees; nevertheless, she made her way to the covered court of Barangay Molino 2 with the hope of getting the medical attention she needed. Nanay Celia lives with her younger sister at home. Her children are now living with their own families. She said they rarely visit her and it usually makes her feel upset and alone. “One of my children lives in Ma-

nila, very busy. I ask them to call me once in a while because I am getting old. They seldom call me. My oldest used to take care of me, but she is gone,” she said in Filipino. The death of her first child took a toll on Nanay Celia. She said she

avoids talking to anyone about it since it is an incredibly emotional subject for her. “I avoid talking about my oldest because it saddens me and I cry. When they were children, they always called me, Mother, Mother, Mother. Now that they are adults, they barely have time to speak with me,” she said, wistfully smiling. “I can barely walk. My knees buckle down,” she said. But even though her knees are giving her a hard time, she said she does not want to be left in the confines of her wheelchair. “I do not want to keep on sitting down. I will get weaker,” she said. “I prefer to be up and about, as long as I can do so,” she said, smiling. “Nothing else ails me. It is just my knee.” However, despite her age, she said she still has a lot to be thankful for. “I am thankful I am not diabetic and I do not have any heart condition.” “I could even do push-ups,” she jokingly said. “But now, my knees buckle down from underneath me.

I can’t do anything about it.” Nanay Celia is a prime example of what it’s like to grow old without support here in the Philippines. Her medical needs are constrained since she has a difficult time going to the doctor without assistance. When she heard about the Serbisyo Caravan Program through her neighbors, she made sure to go even without her wheelchair. “It does not always happen this way. The doctor is now close by. A doctor gives the vitamins and medicine I need as I grow old,” she said. She said she hopes there will be more programs like the Caravan. “These programs are a big help to the old ones like me. Especially since I need a walking cane and I have a hard time walking,” she said. Through the continuous efforts toward creating programs like the Serbisyo Caravan, along with the Urban Poor Privilege Card and Adopt-a-Community program, the PUCP wants to reach more people like Nanay Celia who need the support of government services more than ever.

More than 38,000 social pensioners validated in Antique

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AN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 6 has validated 38,683 out of the 40,440 target social pensioners in Antique. DSWD Regional Director Ma. Evelyn B. Macapobre, in an interview on Tuesday, said Antique is one of the provinces that reported a high number of validated social pensioners, or those 60 years old and above receiving a social pension of P500 per month or P1,500 every quarter. “Antique province is able to report a high percentage of 98 because of the 38,683 validated social pensioners,” Macapobre said. She lauded the diligence of local social workers in assisting the DSWD in its validation, which aimed to clean up the list of social pensioners. “There are cases where social pensioners are not supposed to receive a social pension because they are also receiving pension from the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System,” she said. She said the social pension given

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OVELETA, Cavite—Free maintenance medicines for senior citizens, especially for those with hypertension and diabetes, are now available at the local health office. The local government launched here on June 3 the “Free Maintenance Medicines for Senior Citizens” to ease the burden of the elderly due to the high cost of medicines. Mayor Dino Chua said the town’s senior citizens could avail themselves of common maintenance drugs, such as Lozartan 50 grams, Amlodipine 5 grams, Simvastatine 40 grams, Metformin 500 grams, and Gliclazide 30 grams, at the municipal health office. “This free medicine would be of great help to us senior citizens. We could use our money instead for other daily expenses,” Gloria Fernandez, a senior citizen from Poblacion, said during an interview. The town mayor also assured senior citizens of other much-requested benefits aside from free medicines, such as free movie passes for them at the SM Rosario cinemas, as well as the “Doc-toDoor” medical consultation program. PNA

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BACKYARD FARMING Pelagio Ramirez, 83, prunes

his lemon shrubs around the Aguinaldo Museum in Baguio City. Ramirez has been the caretaker gardener of the museum for years. He also promotes backyard farming in his barangay. MAU VICTA

Read, read against the dying of the light I S anyone out there still reading books? The realization hit me a while ago as I was looking at the array of books I have accumulated over time. I realized that in my late 60s, I can never finish reading them all. So many books, so little time. I have a confession. I am an addict. A book addict. A printed book addict. “Read in order to live,” advised the French writer Gustave Flaubert. Au contraire, Monsieur: I live in order to read. The trouble with me is that I never stopped wanting to learn after graduation. I describe myself as a prodigious, promiscuous, voracious, omnivorous, compulsive, obsessive and impulsive devourer of knowledge. Hungry for knowledge, I looked for it in books. Words spoke to me, gave up their secrets and so whole universes opened. I became irrevocably a reader of books. Since then, I have built a firehazardous and termite-attracting library in my house, overflowing with books of any subject. Maybe a wealthy home will have a huge library of books like mine, but I have the satisfaction of knowing that I got the same collection at one-third of the cost. I bought most of these books at bargain prices. I have scavenged in all the city’s bargain bookshops as

by the national government through the DSWD is intended for indigent senior citizens not receiving any form of pension from any other institution so they could be assisted in terms of buying their basic needs like milk and medicines. “We really expect there would be persons whose names will be removed from the social pension, but these will also be replaced by those who really need the government support,” she said. Of the 40,440 total social pensioners in Antique, the remaining 1,757 seniors needed to be validated by June 14. They were requested to coordinate with the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers in their respective municipalities or for any member of their immediate family to report if they already died. The DSWD has hired 71 validators for the ongoing validation. “Please provide the correct information during the validation so we could be sure that the social pensioners are really those qualified to receive the assistance,” she said. PNA

Cavite LGU offers free meds for senior citizens

Kidapawan exec assures continuous pension for seniors IDAPAWAN CITY—Mayor Joseph Evangelista ordered on Thursday the validation of the list of social pensioners in the city. Evangelista also instructed the Kidapawan City Social Welfare and Development Office to look for the 600 senior citizen pensioners who failed to show up during the validation. As of the latest count, there were 8,578 social pensioners in Kidapawan City’s 40 villages, but only 7,978 showed up to prove they are still alive and avail themselves of the social pension from the city government. “Maybe some of those listed just failed to show up for validation or may have rejoined the Creator,” the mayor said. The validation aims to cleanse the list of social pensioners and delist those who have died so that their slots can be given to incoming senior citizens. As of June 9, an additional 343 senior citizens were entered on the list of beneficiaries of the city’s social pension program. Every year the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs of Kidapawan City honors and recognizes centenarians as part of the local government’s recognition and assistance program. Each qualified centenarian receives P100,000 cash from the city government. PNA

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far as my legs would take me. If one’s personal library is a reflection of he or she is, then my eclectic collection will probably confuse the personality diagnostician. I am not selective when it comes to books. Astronomy, art history, science of sleep, rock music history, biographies, espionage, reincarnation, esoteric theology, name it—there’s no subject that doesn’t interest me. I agree with Gilbert K. Chesterton, English author and mystery novelist, when he quipped: “There is no such thing on Earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.” Lately, I have been bingeing on biographies of famous writers, politicians and Broadway musical composers, and I can’t get enough of them. I am also predisposed to nonfiction books. Would you believe I have a shelf filled with books on native Americans? I also have a sizable collection of books on the English race that would qualify me as an Anglophile. But that’s just a small sample. The problem with so many books within your grasp is you don’t know what to read first. Right now, I am reading five books at the same time; I don’t mean real time simultaneously. I pick up one book and read a few chapters,

and next time, I go pick another book and go through it for a while. When I get bored, I go back to the previous book or get another book. With so many subjects and topics to read, I never get bored. There’s always something interesting to learn. Writer Kathleen Norris said exactly what I feel: “Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier.” Thomas à Kempis, the writer of Imitation of Christ, found joyful solace in book reading: “In all things I have sought rest, and nowhere have I found it save in a corner with a book.” But here is a caveat. Because you tend to become a voracious devourer of books, you tend to shut out the rest of the family. My wife rolls up her eyes when she sees me carrying a book first thing when I wake up in the morning or from a nap. She knows it’s a signal for me not to be disturbed or to be engaged in serious conversation. I would be lost to my books for a while. Is there a future for a book junkie like me in the electronic age? Good question. Come to think of it, have you ever encountered a boy or girl reading a book nowadays? I recall the time I once proudly

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH showed my book collection to my own grandkids, and they just stared at the books nonchalantly, giving me their most blasé “so what?” look. Then they turned away to pick up their electronic gadgets or smartphones to fiddle with all day long. I am not totally knocking down electronic gadgets. In fact, I have a collection of books on my Kindle and e-Book. But apart from straining my eyesight, the electronic books do not engage me as much as printed books. As they say in the vernacular: Basta iba! In his book The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate Reading in an Electronic Age, self-proclaimed bibliophile and literary critic Sven Birkerts asserted, “Words read from a screen or written onto a screen…have a different status and affect us differently from words held immobile on the accessible space of a page.” As they say in the vernacular: Basta iba, e! Thanks to my book collecting, I have been immunized against the electronic age. My passion for read-

ing books has not waned. Every book I bring home renews my passion for books. Reading a printed book is a deliciously indulgent act of protest for all those who treasure the joys of the printed word in this electronic, digital age. I am consoled by what Groucho Marx once said referring to the electronic entertainment: “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” Besides, I am not electronicgadget savvy. As a print guy, I think that books, newspapers and magazines are the ultimate portable media. I always bring a pocketbook or magazine with me when I know that there would be periods of waiting in my next appointment. For example, if I bring my wife to the doctor, I know I will wait for hours. Or I pick her up from a gathering of friends, I make sure I am there before the agreed pickup time and I park the car and open a book or magazine, which I never forget to bring. As long as I have a book or magazine to read, I

don’t mind waiting forever. To my fellow senior citizens who have plenty of time to spare, now is the time to take up book reading. It does not involve much physical effort— nothing that will put pressure on your knees or strain your heart. All you need are good reading glasses. Without getting up from your rocking chair, you get to meet lots of great people. As one professor said, “You can at any moment converse with Socrates or Shakespeare or Carlyle or Dumas or Dickens or Shaw or Barrie or Galsworthy.” Or Jose Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, Renato Constantino, Nick Joaquin, Horacio de la Costa and other greats. There is nothing more pleasurable than the power of the text to immerse us, enchant us, surprise us and teach us. What you get from books can be so uplifting, transporting and enriching. And take note. Reading also helps jog the mind, which effectively shoos away dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and tells it to come another day. So if you have been reading this far, congratulations. Let’s keep the light shining on the printed text before it’s finally and totally dimmed by the digital age.

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

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Battle of the dongles will benefit commuters PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

Saturday, June 22, 2019 A9

GERMAN STATE TO SHUT FACEBOOK PAGE OVER DATA PRIVACY WORRIES

BERLIN—A German state government announced plans on Thursday to shut down the region’s Facebook page because of concerns over the company’s handling of data-protection issues. The governor’s office in the eastern state of SaxonyAnhalt cited a year-old ruling by the European Union’s top court stipulating that the administrator of a “fan page” on Facebook is jointly responsible, along with the social-media company for the processing of visitors’ data. It said that, since that decision, Facebook’s Ireland-based European subsidiary had taken no measures to give page operators insight into its processing of personal data. The office said it will soon take down the region’s Sachsen-Anhalt.de Facebook page on the advice of the state’s data protection commissioner. Germany is strongly protective of data privacy. Facebook declined to comment on the decision, but pointed to past company statements outlining steps it had taken to make its data use more transparent. AP

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USED to be envious of those people on the MRT who would watch TV shows on their MyPhone mobiles (complete with antennas) on the commute home. This was the time when video-on-demand (VOD) and streaming services were not available to most people, and you really had to go home and catch your favorite TV shows. Last week, I read that ABS-CBN had launched a version of its TVplus digital TV service for mobile devices. ABS-CBN TVplus Go follows the success the media company has had with ABS-CBN TVplus and iWant, a streaming app. The P799 dongle attaches to the bottom port of Android phones, allowing users to watch TVplus channels on their gadgets. The product, according to a press release, “will transform our customers’ daily inconveniences into moments of comfort and entertainment, and it will help change their outlook, as commute struggles will now become lighter and more bearable,” according to ABS-CBN Access Head Charles Lim. The dongle, which has an antenna, reminds me of the MyPhone mobile that I so coveted before. ABSCBN TVplus Go is a jazzed-up version of that. There are VOD apps like Netlix, Viu and HOOQ for which we pay monthly subscriptions. ABS-CBN TVplus Go is for people who are stuck in a long commute but don’t have Netflix, Viu and HOOQ. As of 2018, ABS-CBN has sold 6.2 million units of TVplus with digital terrestrial television (DTT)

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THE infamous Nancy Pelosi fake video shown side by side with the actual video. The fake was slowed down to make it appear that the Speaker of the House was slurring her words.

penetration in Mega Manila reaching over 64 percent as of August 2018. Meanwhile, GMA Network Inc. will launch a DTT device, called MyGMA Go, in the second half this year, which will allow users to stream its freeto-air shows through mobile phones. This device was announced by the network as early as 2015, and about P1 billion is being spent to roll out this phase of GMA’s digitization project. When connected to the Internet, MyGMA Go users can also enjoy other features of the device, including “streaming of GMA’s online videos and messaging with friends and Kapuso artists, among others.” The network said all the features will be seamlessly integrated within the mobile application and can be accessed even while watching live TV channels. I’m very excited about MyGMA Go because I

want to see the added features they will have, which includes an active Internet connection. GMA has started transmitting digital TV on its assigned UHF frequency channel 27. Analog TV viewers can still watch its programs on its free-to-air channel 7 broadcast. To be honest, it is GMA Network that has the advantage right now because they are in a position to tweak their device and improve on what the competition is currently offering. In technology, consumers will always go for something newer and better. The thing about the country’s two top networks launching these dongles is that in the end, it is the commuting public— suffering through crowded trains and buses, and in crawling traffic—that will benefit from this development. ■

‘Deepfakes’ called new election threat, with no easy fix BY SUSANNAH GEORGE The Associated Press WASHINGTON—“Deepfake” videos pose a clear and growing threat to America’s national security, lawmakers and experts say. The question is what to do about it, and that’s not easily answered. A House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday served up a public warning about the deceptive powers of artificial-intelligence software and offered a sobering assessment of how fast the technology is outpacing efforts to stop it. With a crudely altered video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, fresh on everyone’s minds, lawmakers heard from experts how difficult it will be to combat these fakes and prevent them from being used to interfere in the 2020 election. “We don’t have a general solution,” said David Doermann, a former official with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. “This is a cat-and-a-mouse game.” As the ability to detect such videos improves, so does the technology used to make them. The videos are made using facial mapping and artificial intelligence. The altered video of Pelosi, which was viewed more than 3 million times on social media, gave only a glimpse of what the technology can do. Experts dismissed the clip, which was slowed down to make it appear that Pelosi was slurring her words, as nothing more than a “cheap fake.” Rep. Adam Schiff, the committee chairman, said the Pelosi video “demonstrates the scale of the challenge we face.” But he said he fears a more “nightmarish scenario,” with these video spreading disinformation about a political candidate and the public struggling to separate fact from fiction. The technology, said Schiff, D-California, has “the capacity to disrupt entire campaigns, including that for the presidency.” Doermann said the threat has grown worse due to the proliferation of what was once specialized technology. Creating convincing fabricated videos once required expensive equipment and software, but now “a high-school student with a good computer” can

CHRIS CUMMINGS, director of instructional technology and digital learning, demonstrates piloting a distance-learning robot at Southeast Community College. He was on his cellphone running the robot through the halls at the Lincoln campus. AP

Robot system puts long-distance students inside classrooms

do it, he said. “It’s not something that you have to be an [artificial-intelligence] expert to run. A novice can run these types of things,” he said. Schiff told reporters after the hearing that he believes federal regulation aimed at curbing deepfakes is “worthy of serious consideration.” But he said the problem will never be completely solved, only suppressed. Clint Watts, a research fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, suggested tech companies should play a role in deciding which false videos should be taken down from the Internet. But that idea drew skepticism from the committee’s top Republican, California Rep. Devin Nunes. He raised concerns about granting too much authority to tech giants, such as Facebook and Twitter, to make judgment calls about content. Nunes claimed that current filters have a proliberal bias. “Most of the time it’s conservatives who get banned,” he said. “It’s all in who’s building the

filter, right?” (Nunes has sued Twitter and several of the platform’s users, accusing them of defaming him.) Danielle Citron, a University of Maryland Law professor, told lawmakers that many of the laws regulating online video date back decades and need to be overhauled to keep pace with the growing threat. “We have an audience primed to believe things like manipulated video of lawmakers,” Citron said. “I would hate to see the deepfake where a prominent lawmaker is purported to...[be] seen taking a bribe that you never took.” US intelligence officials have repeatedly warned about the threat of foreign meddling in American politics, especially in the lead-up to elections. US officials determined Russia carried out a sweeping political disinformation campaign on US social media to influence the 2016 election. The director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, has said Russia attempted to meddle in the 2018 midterm elections, but was unsuccessful.

LINCOLN, Nebraska—A southeast Nebraska community college is using robots to put long-distance students inside the classrooms. Four of the machines are based at the Lincoln campus of Southeast Community College, and one is available at the college district’s Beatrice and Milford locations. The college district has invested for years in distancelearning technology that allows students on one campus to plug into a course offered on another. Those opportunities expanded with the advent of the college’s six learning centers. But the teleconferencing equipment can sometimes be “the incorrect tool for what the instructor is trying to accomplish,” Christopher Cummins, the college’s director of instruction technology, told the Lincoln Journal Star. Robots give students chances to interact in classes, join small-group activities or linger behind after classes to ask follow-up questions, he said. Students establish communication through a tablet computer mounted on a self-balancing chassis on wheels. They can then navigate the class locations as robotic avatars, guided by personal digital devices. Cameras, microphones and speakers on the robots let the long-distance students talk to students in the classrooms and to instructors. Audra Podliska, a district resource development specialist, said the robots are intended to help students living in rural areas connect with college offerings that would otherwise be out of reach. “This is the closest thing to being in a classroom without being in a classroom,” Podliska said. The district bought its first robot for use in the health sciences department before receiving a $120,582 Rural Utilities Service grant from the US Department of Agriculture. The grant let the district purchase five more robots. AP

A10 Saturday, June 22, 2019

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KYLE KASHUV, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, speaks at the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum in Indianapolis. On Monday, Kashuv said that Harvard University revoked his acceptance over racist comments he made online and in text messages about two years ago. AP

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Harvard pulls Parkland grad’s admission over racist comments

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BY COLLIN BINKLEY The Associated Press

OSTON—A survivor of the Parkland school shooting announced on Monday that Harvard University withdrew his admission over racist comments he made in a shared Google Doc and text messages nearly two years ago. In a series of posts on Twitter, Kyle Kashuv shared several letters he received from the Ivy League school first notifying him that his admission offer was being reconsidered in light of the comments and, later, that it was being revoked. The decision stems from comments that have surfaced online recently and that Kashuv says were shared among friends when he was 16, months before the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Screenshots that have circulated on social media appear to show Kashuv using racial slurs on Google Docs, an online word processor, and in text messages. The comments include anti-Semitic barbs and repeated use of a slur referring to black people. Kashuv, now 18, has apologized for the comments and said he didn’t remember them until they spread online. In a May 22 statement on Twitter, as the comments began to spread, he said they were made by a “petty, flippant kid” and not the person he has become. He later said he made poor choices but bears no real racial hatred. “We were 16-year-olds making idiotic comments, using callous and inflammatory language in an effort to be as extreme and shocking as possible,” he wrote in his May 22 apology. “I’m embarrassed by it.” Two days later, Kashuv received a letter from Harvard demanding an explanation for the comments, noting that the school reserves the right to withdraw offers of admission for behavior that calls into question an applicant’s “honesty, maturity or moral character.” Kashuv told Harvard that he “unequivocally” apologizes and that the remarks don’t represent the person he is today. “I take responsibility for the idiotic and hurtful things I wrote two years ago,” he wrote in a letter. “I made absolutely no excuse for those comments.” In a June 3 response, Harvard’s admissions dean thanked Kashuv for his candor but said the school’s admissions committee, which makes the final call on applications, had voted to withdraw his offer. “The committee takes seriously the qualities of maturity and moral character,” William Fitzsimmons wrote in a letter that Kashuv shared online Monday. “We

Skills gap in cyber security must be addressed BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

are sorry about the circumstances that have led us to withdraw your admission, and we wish you success in your future academic endeavors and beyond.” Harvard spokesman Rachael Dane declined to comment on the decision, saying the university does not publicly discuss individual admission cases. Only rarely do colleges withdraw acceptance offers, but it occasionally happens. Harvard sparked debate in 2017 when it pulled offers from 10 incoming freshmen after they reportedly made racist and sexually offensive comments on Facebook. Some experts said the 2017 case raised questions about freedom of speech, while others said colleges are right to have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes

to racism and hate. While some Parkland survivors have gone on to become prominent advocates of gun control, Kashuv has championed gun rights and the Second Amendment as he pushes for other school safety measures. Kashuv said he had been planning to take a year off before starting at Harvard, so he could continue his work promoting school safety. Now he’s “exploring all options,” he said, but has missed the deadline for many colleges and already turned down other offers. Kashuv’s posts on Monday drew mixed reactions on social media, with some saying he deserved to be forgiven and others saying Harvard made the right decision. ■

Citi partnership part of Grab’s big push into financial services sector BY PAULINE JOY M. GUTIERREZ SINGAPORE-BASED everyday app platform Grab sees long-term growth in its partnership with multinational bank Citigroup as they launch co-branded credit cards to tap Southeast Asia’s burgeoning Internet economy, which is projected to amount to over $240 billion by 2025. The Citi-Grab cards were first issued in the Philippines on Tuesday, and will soon be available in Thailand and then rolled out in other Southeast Asian markets. “We believe that the way moving forward is to harness the benefits of the digital economy and, as such, Grab will always put prime importance to innovations in the spaces that it operates—be it transport, food delivery, parcel services or payments,” said Grab Philippines President Brian Cu. Grab has roughly around 16 million customers in Asia, a large percentage of which are smartphone users but belong to the under-banked population. To address this gap, Grab is aggressively introducing digital-payment solutions under GrabPay in sectors like e-commerce and ride-hailing, as well as a suite of financial services geared toward small- and mediumsized enterprises and start-ups in the region. The co-brand card partnership expands an ongoing collaboration between Grab and Citi’s Citi Ventures, the bank’s venture capitalist arm. Both firms announced their first partnership in 2016 across six markets in Southeast Asia that enabled Citi cardholders to use their earned points and miles to pay for rides on the Grab platform. “Partnering with the best companies like Citi allows Grab, as an everyday super app, to offer more

reliable, convenient and rewarding services to its users,” said Cu. He added that the cards will provide significant and exclusive benefits for cardholders. They will receive Grab points on each spend using the app, and will receive three times more points from Citi on online subscriptions, and dining and entertainment spend. A platinum tier upgrade, which will give cardholders priority booking benefits and dedicated customer support for the first six months upon card issuance, is also included. Cardholders will get 12 complimentary Grab rides upon spending P10,000

within 60 days of getting the card. Membership fees for principal and supplementary cards are also waived for the first year. “Citi has been a partner since 2016, and there is great synergy between both Citi and Grab. The Citi-Grab credit card is a natural next step as we create more value for our users. With [this initiative], cardholders will be introduced to a whole new level of access, value and convenience. This will bring us one step further in realizing our vision of becoming the leading everyday super app in SEA,” said Huey Tyng Ooi, managing director of GrabPay Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

THE global community will need more cyber-security experts as challenges on cyber security are getting bigger and becoming more complicated, according to a top official of computing colossus International Business Machines (IBM). “The world is not producing enough talent to work on cyber-security problems as they get worse by the day,” said Malcolm Rowe, business unit executive for Asean of IBM Security, in a recent briefing with Manila-based IT journalists. Rowe lamented a lot of organizations are reluctant in investing in strengthening their cyber-security infrastructure because of the cost factor. Although cost is an important factor in managing and running the operations of an organization, he stressed that chief information officers must push in implementing a cyber-sercurity program to protect its business. Moreover, he said automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning can complement a cybersecurity program. “It is a combination of all the above,” Rowe pointed out. In a recent survey, IBM pointed out that the cyber-security skills gap weakens cyber-security networks, as organizations are understaffed and unable to properly manage resources and needs. Survey participants stated they lack the head count to properly maintain and test their incident response plans, and are facing 10 to 20 open seats on cybersecurity teams. “In fact, only 30 percent of the respondents reported that staffing for cyber security is sufficient to achieve a high level of cyber resilience. Furthermore, 75 percent of respondents rate their difficulty in hiring and retaining skilled cyber-security personnel as moderately high to high,” the report said. “Adding to the skills gap, nearly half of respondents [48 percent] admitted their organization deploys too many separate security tools, ultimately increasing operational complexity and reducing visibility in overall security posture,” the report added. The report also noted organizations are finally acknowledging that collaboration between privacy and cyber security improves cyber resilience, with 62 percent indicating that aligning teams is essential to achieving resilience. Most respondents believe the privacy role is becoming increasingly important, especially with the emergence of new regulations, like GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act, and are prioritizing data protection when making information-technology buying decisions. When asked what the top factor was in justifying cyber-security spend, 56 percent of respondents said information loss or theft. This was in response to the demands of consumers to businesses to exert more efforts in protecting their data. According to a recent survey by IBM, 78 percent of respondents say a company’s ability to keep their data private is extremely important, and only 20 percent completely trust the organizations they interact with to maintain the privacy of their data. In addition, most respondents also reported having a privacy leader employed, with 73 percent stating they have a chief privacy officer, further proving that data privacy has become a top priority in organizations. Conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by IBM Resilient, “The 2019 Cyber Resilient Organization” is the fourth annual benchmark study on cyber resilience. The global survey features insight from more than 3,600 security and IT professionals in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Middle East and Asia Pacific.

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Saturday, June 22, 2019 A11

GCash leads in building a connected future

Behind Libra, Facebook’s new digital currency

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BY ANICK JESDANUN The Associated Press

EW YORK—Facebook is unveiling a digital currency called Libra, as the company seeks to make its ads more valuable by enabling smoother transactions and payments online, particularly among those without credit cards or bank accounts. Libra will use the same security and recordkeeping principles as Bitcoin, the most popular digital currency system today. But unlike Bitcoin, Libra is backed by several traditional financial companies, including PayPal, Visa and Mastercard, and will base its value on multiple real-world currencies such as the US dollar and the euro. Libra also faces additional scrutiny over privacy, given Facebook’s poor record on the matter. Here’s a look at Libra and other cryptocurrencies: ■ WHAT’S A CRYPTOCURRENCY ANYWAY? It’s a form of digital cash that uses encryption technology to make it secure. Cryptocurrencies exist not as physical bills or coins, but rather as lines of digitally signed computer code. Records are typically kept on ledgers known as blockchain. People can store their cryptocurrency stashes in virtual wallets that resemble online bank accounts. Facebook is developing a wallet app for Libra; others will be able to, as well. As with other cryptocurrencies, people will be able

to buy and sell Libras on exchanges for traditional currencies. It’s not clear what fees, if any, consumers will have to pay for such transfers, although Facebook says they should be low. ■ WHY NOT USE BITCOIN? Although Bitcoin has gotten a lot of attention, it isn’t widely used. For one thing, its value fluctuates wildly, meaning that $100 in Bitcoins today might be worth $300 a month from now—or $2.50. Only a handful of merchants accept Bitcoins as payments. Facebook is hoping to keep the Libra’s value stable by tying it closely to established currencies. Unlike most other cryptocurrencies, the Libra will be backed by real-world bank deposits and government securities in a number of leading currencies. Facebook is also recruiting partners ahead of time. Lyft, Uber and Spotify have already joined the Libra group. They will likely accept Libras when the system launches. They’ll also help fund, build and govern the system. That’ll make Libra ess of a free-for-all than Bitcoin. Facebook says Libra will embrace regulation, but it isn’t providing many details on how. With most cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, anyone can lend computing power to verify transactions and to prevent anyone spending the same digital coin twice. With Libra, the verifications will initially be managed by its founding companies, such as Facebook and PayPal. Facebook believes the closed approach will mean better security.

■ ARE CRYPTOCURRENCIES ANONYMOUS? Although it’s possible to trace Bitcoins and some other cryptocurrencies as they are spent, owners of accounts behind the transactions aren’t necessarily known. That makes such currencies a favorite among certain cyber criminals. But it is sometimes possible to tie cryptocurrency transactions to a real person who has cashed out digital coinage into a traditional currency. And if someone spends Libras while logged onto Facebook, it’s theoretically possible Facebook could tie it back to a real person. Facebook says it won’t use Libra data to target ads, but may share data “to keep people safe, comply with the law and provide basic functionality.” Facebook is creating a subsidiary, Calibra, to try to keep the operations separate. ■ GETTING STARTED. Libra is scheduled to launch publicly in the first half of next year. Whether consumers will embrace it is another matter. Discounts potentially offered by Uber and other partners might be enough to get people to at least try the system. But many people find it easy enough to pay for goods and services online with credit and debit cards. There could be greater appeal among people who don’t have bank accounts. Libra could open up e-commerce to them. Though Libra could be a way for Facebook to drive spending when people interact with Facebook ads, the company says the currency will be independent and won’t require a Facebook account to use. ■

HMD Global, CGI, Google Cloud partner to build phones for the future HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has announced a partnership with consultancy firm CGI and Google Cloud to move and store phone activation and performance data at the Google Cloud region in Hamina, Finland. The move will deliver an even better customer and device experience for Nokia phone users by improving the speed and accuracy of device enhancements delivered to Nokia phones. By using Google Cloud’s advanced data analytics and machine-learning technologies, combined with CGI’s cloud and data science expertise, HMD Global can fully leverage data analytics to benefit Nokia phone fans around the world. The first Nokia smartphones to begin storing data to the new center will be new Nokia smartphones starting from the Nokia 4.2, Nokia

3.2 and the Nokia 2.2, with data from earlier Nokia smartphone models being migrated to Hamina after the Android Q update starting later this year and completed in 2020. Juho Sarvikas, chief product officer, HMD Global, said: “Fans worldwide value our unique product promise; that every Nokia smartphone on Android One will receive regular security updates for three years, alongside OS upgrades for two years. We want every Nokia smartphone to stay fresh longer, and to ensure everyone can enjoy the latest innovations from Google, and so we strive to bring the latest OS upgrades from Android faster than any other manufacturer. This is why consumers can rely on their Nokia smartphone; they just keep on getting better with time. “And now, we are taking another significant step

forward in upholding their trust. Staying true to our Finnish heritage, we’ve decided to partner with CGI and Google Cloud platform for our growing data-storage needs and increasing investment in our European home.” This move further reinforces HMD Global’s commitment to adhere to all applicable European security measures and legislation, including EU data privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation. “As Google matches 100 percent of its global, annual electricity use with renewable energy, the Google Cloud Platform doesn’t just meet HMD Global’s software and data needs, but it also ensures the solution is fully sustainable, deepening our investment in the future,” added Eva Fors, managing director, Google Cloud Northern Europe.

GCASH, operated by Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), has taken a bolder step to bring its digital financial services closer to more Filipinos, aiming to marry the Filipino’s tech-savvy lifestyle and the growing need for financial inclusion. As a leading architect of the future, GCash strives to bring its brand of service to everyone in the country. The telco-agnostic app leads in the digital realm, as it continues to enable more Filipinos to participate in the digital economy. GCash has made financial technology services readily available for over more than 20 million Filipinos so far, and it continues to do so even for Smart, Sun and TNT subscribers. “Increasing enablement by adopting a telcoagnostic strategy allows us to bring finance to all. By providing quality service via our breakthrough technology and adapting to the changing consumer behavior, we are helping more and more Filipinos to have access to digital finance that were previously not available to them,” Mynt President Anthony Thomas said. Smart, Sun and TNT subscribers have been enjoying the benefits of the GCash platform since late 2018, affording them access to a variety of digital finance tools including pioneering digital payments, remittances, credit, investments and insurance, among many others. The hassle and worry-free financial experience is available for all, regardless of their mobile networks. “It’s not just about being able to provide an efficient experience with the GCash app, it’s about what we’re building. We have built an easy-to-navigate and reliable platform that is open for all, and we continue to innovate to provide more financial services especially to the unbanked and underbanked Filipinos,” Thomas said. The GCash app democratizes the banking experience, as users nationwide can open savings accounts, not needing to worry about the numerous papers and arduous process often required by formal banks. GCash also continues to make life easier for the Filipino by enabling bills payment with just a swipe on their mobile phones. Another first in the country, the app has even partnered with local government units to introduce a cashless payment system for barangay fees, including expenses for local permits and certificates, IDs and clearances, with just a scan of their QR codes using the GCash app. With more than half of the country’s population owning a smartphone, and only 31 percent maintaining a formal bank account, GCash seeks to synthesize the Filipino’s tech-savvy culture and the need for financial services. As GCash continues to be a major architect of the country’s digital frontier, it remains at the forefront of promoting mobile money technology that is open for all, unlocking more opportunities for more Filipinos to manage their finances in the easiest, most inexpensive way. GCash creates a space for the ordinary Filipino to be able to utilize available finance technology to the fullest. Being able to access services for credit and insurance through the GCash application is part of GCash’s vision: democratizing finance technology. “Our goal is to provide a well-rounded service, and we want to bring finance to everyone. With the technology we have, we’re making some solid steps— steps that would make life much easier for Filipinos,” Thomas said.

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

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TWICE BURNED: WINKLEVII OVERSHADOWED BY ZUCKERBERG YET AGAIN

Maximizing that LTE connection TECHNIVORE ED UY

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EN hours and two minutes. That’s how much time we Filipinos spend on the Internet each day—whether it’s for work, school, entertainment, and, most of all, for getting those social-media updates. When it comes to being the world’s heaviest internet users, we Pinoys have overtaken the Thais to claim the top spot. We are also the world’s most voracious social-media users spending around four hours and 12 minutes on various social-media platforms every day. In comparison, the global average online time is just six hours and 42 minutes. This was according to the Digital 2019 Report of social-media management firm Hootsuite and creative agency We Are Social released earlier this year. And because smartphones are becoming more affordable than ever, it also comes as no surprise that a growing number of Pinoys are switching to the small screen, watching YouTube or their favorite TV shows and movies from streaming services like Netflix, HOOQ, iFlix, Fox+, iWant, etc. And to think we don’t even have the fastest of Internet speeds, so imagine once we get 5G. The good news is that our Internet speeds have been improving and are on a par with our Southeast Asian neighbors. In the latest report from OpenSignal, Manila posted a Download Speed Experience score of 11.2 Mbps putting us behind Ho Chi Minh (14.7 Mbps) and Kuala Lumpur (11.8 Mbps) but ahead of Bangkok (9.8 Mbps), Jakarta (8.2 Mbps) and Phnom Penh in Cambodia (6.3 Mbps). The analysis also showed that Manila posted a “fair” mobile video experience score of 45, alongside the cities of Phnom Penh, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, who also fell in the same category. The new OpenSignal report covers data gathered from February 1 to May 2, 2019. While the current report has no information per operator, OpenSignal previously released a Mobile Network Experience Report on the Philippines which showed how the country’s operators performed. In the earlier study released in March, it showed that in Manila, Smart posted a Download Speed Experience score of 15.2 Mbps and a “good” video experience score of 55.4. These findings were based on crowdsourced data gathered from November 1, 2018, to January 29, 2019. Smart’s scores in the March report was well ahead of competition in the Philippines, and places its performance at levels similar to Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh in terms of

Download Speed Experience and Video Experience. At the country level, Smart also led in four metrics— download and upload speed experience, video experience and latency experience—while it tied with the competition in terms of 4G availability. Download speed experience factors in both 3G and 4G speeds along with the availability of each technology, whereas OpenSignal’s video experience metric uses an International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-based approach for measuring video quality. It is derived from several underlying parameters based on real-world measurements of video streams from the world’s largest video content providers. So the question now is: “How can you maximize your LTE speed and enjoy the fastest internet available?” ■ CHECK YOUR DEVICE: First is to check if your device supports LTE. All you have to do is check your device’s specifications, but if you have one of those newer phones, you’re probably good to go. ■ UPGRADE YOUR SIM: Now that you have an LTE device, you’ll also need to get an LTE sim. You can upgrade your old SIM to an LTE SIM by heading to your network’s business center and request for an LTE sim. LTE SIMS are tri-cut, which means that they work on devices with standard, micro or nano SIM slots. ■ CHECK YOUR LOCATION: Sadly, not all areas in the Philippines have LTE yet, so you need to check if your area has LTE coverage. ■ SUBSCRIBE TO A DATA PLAN: Of course you can’t connect to the internet without a data subscription. If you love watching videos, Smart has boosted its data-packed prepaid bundles with their new Giga offers. Now that we’re done with the network tips, here are some other things you can do on your smartphone to speed things up. Keep in mind that sometimes, it’s not the Internet connection but your device that’s lagging and slowing down things. ■ CHOOSE LTE: If you are in an area where there’s LTE coverage make sure your network is set to 4G. Go to Settings > Mobile Network > Tap Preferred Network Type and choose LTE. ■ TURN ON DATA SAVER: If you are using an Android device, you’re probably using Chrome as your default browser. Open Chrome, tap the menu icon in the top right hand corner, go to Settings, and scroll down to Data Saver. Switch it to on. Data Saver uses Google servers to compress pages before you visit them, which will in turn make them load faster. ■ GO “LITE”: Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, Instagram and a lot of apps now have a “lite” version, which are designed to use less data and run faster. ■ USE AN ADBLOCKER: Some ads can make up as much as half of a Web page file size, so if you block them, there should be faster loading times. ■ DISABLE OR UNINSTALL APPS OR WIDGETS: Last, get rid of the stuff you rarely use like widgets, apps or even games. They might be useless but they still can consume a lot of data while running in the background.

Same goes for unused widgets; delete and free up space to speed up your phone.

SAN FRANCISCO—Can a Libra and two Geminis get along? How about Facebook and the Winklevoss twins? Back in the day, Mark Zuckerberg’s hunky Harvard classmates claimed the Facebook CEO stole their idea for the social network when he was just a nerdy undergrad. Now, Facebook’s grand plan for a new digital currency, called Libra, could bring the three men together again—though it remains to be seen whether there’ll be enough drama to warrant a sequel to The Social Network, the 2010 film based on the story of Facebook’s founding. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have busied themselves since their Harvard days—they’re 37 now, while Zuckerberg is 35—investing heavily in Bitcoin, currently the best-known “cryptocurrency.” With Libra, though, Facebook is hoping to change that, and so once again, Zuckerberg seems to be oneupping the “Winklevii” in their own backyard. Perfect for a dramatic retelling, right? But how about a rom-com or at least a bromance? The Winklevoss twins, it turns out, have also founded Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange based in New York City. The idea behind the exchange, started in 2014, was to create a secure ecosystem that is “free of hacking, fraud and security breaches,” to move cryptocurrency out of Wild West days and into something that’s regulated, secure and used by regular people. Facebook’s Libra, meanwhile, hopes to be the first Bitcoin-like currency with mass appeal, thanks to its backing by familiar corporations like Uber, Visa and Mastercard. Is there room for some cooperation? Or will the twins get burned again? In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Cameron Winklevoss said he was not worried about Libra’s launch. “There’s so much pie to grow, I mean, at this point, we need to be frenemies,” he said. Representatives for Facebook and Gemini did not immediately return messages for comment on Tuesday. AP

HISENSE STRENGTHENS GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

ANOTHER Chinese brand that’s established a global footprint is Hisense. Just like some of the world’s biggest, multibilliondollar tech companies, Hisense started out from the humblest of beginnings. Starting out as a small, fledgling electronics brand in the beautiful seaside city of Qingdao in China’s Shandong province, Hisense is now available in more than 130 countries in several continents around the world. While many deem the Chinese as mere technology copycats and is nowhere near other global brands in terms of technological innovation, Hisense completely thumped that belief. They made the meaning of the word “Hisense”— essentially “high” and “sense”—apply to its corporate philosophy of using high technology, high quality and high sense of taste to create products that suit consumers’ discriminating preferences. For five decades, Hisense has devoted itself to making long-term investments in innovation through research and development, and followed a truly “flexible” corporate culture to bolster its capability to respond to a swiftly changing market and rise above the competition. After conquering most of North America, South America, Australia and large parts of Europe, Hisense turned its sights on other emerging markets like the Philippines. Hisense is undoubtedly a perfect fit for Filipinos on the lookout for home appliances particularly TVs, refrigerators and air-conditioners that are of quality workmanship, innovative and affordable. As a still relatively new brand in the Philippines, there is no way to go but up for Hisense. Employing its four key elements for a successful business—Technology, Quality, Integrity and Responsibility—it believes it has all the capabilities to capture the attention of Filipino homemakers and consumers with its quality energy-saving and environment-friendly products. The products available in the Philippines include its highly acclaimed TV sets, its current best sellers, plus air-conditioners and refrigerators. So far, reception among Filipino households is encouraging despite Hisense being a young player in the market. The potential for growth continues to motivate and inspire Hisense to persevere and give the more established brands a run for their money. It is not common for many companies to survive 50 years in the business, especially when companies’ average age went down to 20 years from the previous 60-year lifespan projected during the 1950s, according to a study done by Wall Street investment firm Credit Suisse. This is the reason Hisense continuously adheres to constant innovation to not only ensure its rapid development but also become a more globally recognized brand that is sustainable enough to survive the competition. Hisense has over 80,000 global work force, 14 production facilities, 12 Research and Development Centers, plus regional offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. ■

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PARTIES MORE INSTAGRAMABLE SET aside your favorite on-the-go compact Bluetooth and waterproof speakers as Sony reveals their newest addition to the High Power Audio System speakers that can definitely get your outdoor parties started: the GTK-PG10. Complete your Instagram entries alongside the unique design of this “like”-worthy speakers that would be the next star of your feed. The fresh design of the GTK-PG10 is perfect for your chill beach weekends and barbeque parties. With the top panels open, the built-in tweeters face upward and outward which spreads the sound wider for outdoor parties. The DSP (Digital Signal Processor) automatically adapts audio settings to optimize outdoor performance. It is easy to carry so that you can party just about anywhere, with a cube shape and built-in handles which makes it especially easy to transport the GTK-PG10 anywhere. It is tripod-compatible and has a built-in rechargeable battery so you can enjoy up to 13 hours of listening flexibility. The outdoor speaker also incorporates a table and cup holder on the splash-proof top panel to let nothing get in the way of your celebration. There is a mic input so you can enjoy karaoke with your friends and family. The speaker also has an FM tuner function and USB play and charge, so you can charge your smartphone on the go. The GTK-PG10 is compatible with the Sony Music Center and Fiestable app, providing additional fun features at your fingertips, via your phone.

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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