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Weaker peso, profiteering made goods more expensive–experts

IN this November 3, 2015, file photo, customers line up with their shopping cart to pay for their items in a grocery in Antipolo City.

Junpinzon | Dreamstime.com

F

By Cai U. Ordinario

ilipinos should brace for higher commodity prices in the coming months, but local economists said it’s not because of the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

Local economists expect inflation—the rate of increase in commodity prices—to breach the 4-percent high-end target of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in the coming months.

Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development Director Alvin P. Ang said inflation could be higher than 4.2 percent in February and peak to around 4.5 percent in May.

“It’s not TRAIN, but mostly the lack of a good communication

plan. Full impact [of TRAIN] may be felt in May,” Ang said.

University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Senior Economist Victor A. Abola said oil prices is one factor that has pushed up inflation in recent months. Abola said the United States Department of Energy estimated that international oil prices have risen by 15 percent on average, which is significantly higher than the initial forecast of 5 percent.

UA&P School of Economics Dean Cid Terosa said factors that

add to higher prices include the weakening peso and the current problem with the rice supply. The National Food Authority recently reported that it only has 1.7 days’ worth of rice stocks in its warehouses. Terosa said this is a bigger cause of inflation than the TRAIN.

“Rice supply definitely [has a bigger impact on inflation than TRAIN] since it is consumed daily without fail. The accumulated effect of the TRAIN law, however, can have Continued on A2

‘I

t is also possible that certain merchants have taken advantage of the situation by raising the prices of their goods prematurely. It is so easy to point a finger at TRAIN.”—Pernia

Two Pinays make a million-dollar Toronto success

B

By Roger Pe

efore their shop became one of the most sought-after multicultural communications agencies in Toronto, Marvi Yap and Anna Maramba had to work almost 24 hours a day in their first few years.

They were busy marketing the agency during the day and doing small projects during the night.

The agency billing was nowhere enough to pay the bills or even buy their meals. They also worked on graveyard shifts in factories, packing frozen bagels every night.

At one time, they delivered Toronto Star, the city’s daily paper, to residential homes. They would be at the depot at 1 a.m. to get more than 200 copies and deliver it to a village equivalent to Forbes Park or Das-

mariñas Village in Manila. They had to finish the delivery by 6 a.m. or the residents would complain.

In that daily grind, Yap and Maramba asked: “We wondered what these people did for a living, their houses were huge! Were they once struggling immigrants like us?”

But after surmounting all kinds of challenges like funding (no bank, big or small, nor credit union was gracious enough to give them a small loan) and no support

PESO exchange rates n US 52.0150

system (no network of friends or relatives whom they could ask for help on how to set up the business), they are now on a roll, working side by side with known marketing and mainstream ad agencies in Toronto, even winning awards.

How they ended up in Canada

The two didn’t really intend to go to Canada. Maramba’s twin sister was applying for immigration and they just decided to “tag along.”

That short-lived adventure became a turning point in their lives.

Yap studied in Maryknoll from grade school to high school and majored in Broadcast Communications at the University of the Philippines. Maramba studied in Assumption from grade school to high school, went to De La Salle University and went further studying at the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) to become a licensed interior designer.

The idea of putting up a communication business came while they were both walking around To-

ronto and they realized that advertising all over was not speaking to the ethnic diversity of the city.

“We were in the subway one morning when we saw an ad for a financial institution that said: ‘Why break the bank?’ We both looked at each other and said, ‘Naintindihan mo ba ‘yung ibig sabihin noon [Do you understand what the ad is saying]?’”

Yap and Maramba figured that if they didn’t understand some of the English-language ads in Canada when they were both educated in North American-style English in Manila, what more of other immigrants from China and Latin America who came to Canada not speaking a word of English?

Thus, AV Communications was born, a niche-advertising agency that catered to multicultural communities in Toronto.

“Our multicultural niche is a very relevant positioning in Canada,” Yap said. She backs it up with these facts: See “Two Pinays,” A2

ANNA MARAMBA and Marvi Yap, two successful Pinay communication experts in Toronto.

n japan 0.4899 n UK 71.6559 n HK 6.6453 n CHINA 8.1817 n singapore 39.3071 n australia 40.3532 n EU 63.7964 n SAUDI arabia 13.8699

Source: BSP (March 2, 2018 )

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A2 Saturday, March 3, 2018

Weaker peso... an almost similar effect,” he said.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has already admitted that the TRAIN will have a 0.7-percent impact on inflation. This, however, can be abused by certain businessmen.

“It is also possible that certain merchants have taken advantage of the situation by raising the prices of their goods prematurely. It is so easy to point a finger at TRAIN,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

Terosa agreed and said the TRAIN law raised transportation cost and trade margins. This cost is passed on to consumers by businesses, which is a natural reaction to protect their bottom lines.

The Capital Markets Development Initiative of the First Metro Investment Corp. and UA&P said in its latest Market Call report that price markups will likely increase in the coming months.

This will be due to higher prices of fuel, automobiles, sweetened beverages, among others, due to higher excise taxes.

“It prompts many retailers to explore possibilities to profit from the situation,” Terosa added.

Earlier, Neda Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon also attributed the increase in the prices of food commodities, such as corn and meat, to typhoons that hit the country in December last year.

In order to address these price increases, Edillon said there is a need to encourage more investments or for existing firms to expand production.

“For these, the second round of tax reform, or TRAIN 2, is critical. This should be accompanied by the passage of the ease-of-doing-business bill,” Edillon said.

Earlier, the chairman of the Sen-

continued from A1

ate Economic Affairs Committee said implementation of the first package of the Duterte administration’s tax-reform measure should not be blamed for rising prices.

“As of this point, TRAIN is not the reason for the rise in prices,” Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian said. “It is a fluctuation on the global oil prices, as well as the depreciation of the peso.”

Saying “these are the two main causes,” Gatchalian noted recent fluctuations on oil prices. “Definitely, these are the ones affecting inflation right now. We will see the full effect of TRAIN in terms of inflation come May,” the senator said, adding: “All the way until August, this is really the timetable wherein we will feel the effects of tax reform; but, right now, not yet.”

But he confirmed he will convene another committee hearing before then to review, among others, the mitigating measures in the tax-reform law.

“The mitigating measures are there; for example, the cash-transfer subsidy adjusted to P200 this year, and we urged the Department of Finance and Neda to really implement it. The money is there, [amounting to] P24 billion,” he added.

In January, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported the increase in commodity prices reached 4 percent, which is the high end of the BSP’s target for the year.

The uptrend was primarily due to the higher annual increment in the heavily weighted food and nonalcoholic beverages index as it accelerated by 4.5 percent from previous month’s growth of 3.5 percent.

Moreover, the index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco registered doubledigit annual mark-up at 12.3 percent in January 2018 from 6.4 percent in December 2017.

Two Pinays...

An immigrant joins Canada almost every two minutes, almost 41 percent of Canadians are either first- or second-generation immigrants, 1 out of every 5 Canadians currently living in Canada was not born in Canada, every year 250,000 immigrants arrive in Canada and this does not include temporary workers who come with short-term contracts, or even international students.

She added that within 10 years, 70 percent of growth in consumer spending will come from Asians and South Asians alone (not even including other ethnicities, such as Latin Americans, East Europeans, etc.)

Working with mainstream agencies

From a struggling small company, the shop is now working hand in hand with mainstream agencies, which realized they do not have the core competency to speak to multicultural communities.

“They hire agencies like us to work together with their agency-of-record. For example, we work with Saatchi on the Toyota account,” Yap proudly said.

AV Comm has grown to a full-service ad agency offering strategic planning, creative development, ethnic media buying and planning, events marketing, and everything that an ad agency does.

What makes it unique is that it has an ethnic or multicultural focus with a mantra to create an emotional bond between the ethnic consumer and mainstream brand.

Another core competence is its ability to immediately adapt to trends that are happening in the world and filter these using the agency’s ethnic lenses from traditional to digital.

Today, the shop that the two established as a partnership in 2003 and fully incorporated in 2005 has 16 professionals from Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia, Brazil, Pakistan, India, Jamaica and, of course, the Philippines, working in Vancou-

www.businessmirror.com.ph

continued from A1 ver, Calgary, Winnipeg and across different Canadian provinces where large population of immigrant communities can be found.

A number of people, even clients, have also expressed interest in investing in AV Communications but the two believe that it is best to leave the ownership to the original “cooks” who really gave up blood, sweat, tears, sleep and social life to grow it to where it is now.

Awards? The agency has plenty of them.

AV Comm started submitting entries to the Marketing Awards, an award-giving body that has been recognizing the best in Canadian advertising since 1908.

To win the “Golden M” as it is called, is a big thing even for mainstream agencies. In 2011 it opened a category called Multicultural, to herald the best work in multicultural advertising in Canada. AV Comm has been consistently winning for three years now, particularly for its work on BMW (Chinese New Year campaigns).

The agency also holds the distinction of being the only multicultural agency that has won a Cassie, a prestigious creative and marketing effectiveness award where the “bigboys” (McCann’s, JWTs, Y&Rs and many, many more) also compete. It was for an integrated advertising done by the agency for Western Union where it combined out-ofhome, digital and grassroots experience to promote Western Union’s holiday campaign.

Artsy side of Toronto

Like Soho of New York, where most ad agencies are located, the agency is on the topmost floor of a Toronto heritage building called The Robertson. It is often described as an architectural gem among many warehouse/ loft structures in the area built between the years 1911 and 1913.

Yap and Maramba are usually the first in the office, and the last to go. Even now that the agency is on its 15th year in May 2018, they

still have the same passion and attention to the day-to-day stuff, as if they were still in Day 1. The only difference is, they are now able to delegate work outside of each other. Plus, they now don’t have to pack frozen bagels from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. or deliver newspapers at the wee hours of the morning.

Asked if a Filipino-managed company can stand with the best in Canada or anywhere else, Yap said: “There are many successful entrepreneurs in Canada–but they tend to be invisible, not recognized, as they should. In North America you need to toot your own horn so people can take notice.

This is not something we are used to. We let our work showcase our success and not the loudness of our voice.”

Yap is proud to be a Filipino because “we are known for our good work ethics. We are very hardworking, trustworthy, ‘talk-less, work-more’ type of people,” she added.

What advice would she give to Filipinos who are planning to work in Canada? “Believe in your capabilities and your talents.

Hindi dahil puti sila, or mas diretso at slang sila mag-Ingles, e mas magaling na sila [Just because they are white and speak the language well, it doesn’t mean they are better]. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t be the first one to say you are not as good as they are, because you are. Don’t be discouraged. Starting over is never easy. Reinventing oneself is an exciting concept, but the road toward fulfillment, that is not glamorous. Just keep on going and enjoy those little ‘stopovers.’”

The two miss Jollibee, Via Mare bibingka, Chocnut, Kowloon siopao, Pinoy dirty ice cream, the warm weather and our beaches.

“Our country is so beautiful we never really get to appreciate it until we were far away from it,” Yap confided.

On their next vacation back to Manila, Marvi and Anna say it would truly feel it’s so good to be home. “Because people are so much more genuine and helpful.”

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Japan to help fund 6 of 13 new infra projects

O

FFICIAL development assistance (ODA) from the government of Japan will help fund almost half, or six of 13, of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board newly approved infrastructure projects.

“Japan is one of our longtime and most trusted development partners.

We recognize its commitment to technical excellence in infrastructure,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said during last week’s 36th Joint Meeting of the Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation Committee of the Philippines and Japan.

Of the six new projects, the total cost of which amounts to around P715 billion, five are related to transportation while one is related to flood management.

“Our focus on the transportation sector is part of the bigger mission to decongest Metro Manila, and bring development to the regions, which is embedded in our National Spatial Strategy,” Pernia said.

In view of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) study’s estimated P3.5-billion cost of traffic in Metro Manila, the Cabinet official said the government is acting to ease traffic congestion in the megacities of the country.

“This estimated economic loss in daily traffic is massive, and we must act fast. We are looking at this problem in a comprehensive way. We recognize that transportation is the enabler and driver of socioeconomic development that is why we have the National Transport Policy approved by the Neda Board,” Pernia said.

Guided by this policy, the InterAgency Technical Committee on Transport Planning and the Neda Board Cluster on Infrastructure will review plans, projects and programs for the long-term development of the transport sector, he added.

The government’s transport vision is “a safe, secure, reliable, efficient, integrated, intermodal, affordable, cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, and people-oriented national transport system that ensures improved quality of life of the people.”

“Let me reiterate that infrastructure is crucial. It is a sine qua non in development. What we aim is an infrastructure boom that serves not just the economy but, more important, the Filipino people,” Pernia said.

Aside from the six new projects that will be funded by Japan, seven new projects will be f unded w ith assistance from other ODA partners.

Projects to be funded through Official Development Assistance Project Title

Proponent Agency

Total Project Cost/Total Required Investment Cost (in PhP M)

Funding Source Code

Funding Source

Sector

Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project / DPWH

Department of Public Works and Highways

25,257.22 (including P4,062.87 million Tawi-Tawi Bridges)

ODA

ADB

Infrastructure

Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility / DOF

Department of Finance

7,919.20

ODA

ADB

Infrastructure

Priority Bridges under the Pasig River, Marikina River and Manggahan Flood Bridges Construction Project (BinondoIntramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon Bridges) / DPWH

Department of Public Works and Highways

5,974.10

ODA

China - Grant

Infrastructure

Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project (CIA-FRMP)

Department of Public Works and Highways

9,891.50

ODA

JICA

Infrastructure - Social Infrastructure

Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase III - Request for Change in Source of Financing (formerly Plaridel Bypass Road Project)

Department of Public Works and Highways

5,260.64

ODA

JICA

Infrastructure Transportation

Metro Manila Flood Management Project (MMFMP), Phase I

n Department of Public Works and Highways n Metro Manila Development Authority n Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council n Department of Interior and Local Government

23,451.32

ODA

World Bank

Infrastructure - Social Infrastructure

Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – EDSA

Department of Transportation

37,760.00

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

ODA

ADB (portion only, excludes the PPP portion of project cost that is subject for future ICC/NB approval)

Infrastructure Transportation

Malolos-Clark Railway Project (PNR North 2)

Department of Transportation

211,425.20

ODA

JICA

Infrastructure Transportation

PNR South Commuter and South Longhaul Project (formerly NorthSouth Railway Project (NSRP)South Line)

Department of Transportation

n 299,400 (new revised cost for South Commuter and Long Haul Projects) Japan to fund PNR South Commuter Project (P124,143) n 170,699 (revised cost considering narrow guage rails) n 213,974 (original approved cost)

ODA

PNR South Commuter Project JICA

Infrastructure Transportation

PNR South Longhaul Project China

New Cebu International Container Port

Department of Transportation - Cebu Ports Authority

9,194.67

ODA

Korea

Infrastructure Transportation

Maritime Safety Capability Project II

Department of Transportation and Communications - Philippine Coast Guard

n P8,017.41 million (revised project cost) n P4,922.59 million (original approved cost)

ODA

JICA

Infrastructure Transportation

Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) – Phase 1

Department of Trasportation

n 356,974.17 (updated cost noted by the ICC-CC on Jan 26, 2018) n 355,588.46 (originally approved cost)

ODA

JICA

Infrastructure Transportation

Safe Philippines Project, Phase 1

Department of Interior and Local Government

20,313.92

ODA

China

Infrastructure

Saturday, March 3, 2018

A3

DENR chief wants to keep Boracay open

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo | Special to the BusinessMirror

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ORACAY ISLAND, Malay, Aklan—Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said he could not recommend a total closure of the island until the sewage problem is solved. “I gave Boracay Island Water Corp. one month to solve the sewage problem. If we close the island, we can’t monitor if the sewage system is working or not because there won’t be tourists and no hotels are operating,” he told reporters

This developed as leading property developer DMCI was named on Friday as having allegedly illegally constructed structures in a forest area in Boracay Island.

During the Senate hearing at the Paradise Garden Resort Convention Center here, Valentin T. Alabero, provincial environment and natural officer (Penro) for Aklan, revealed that Alta Vista de Boracay is built on a forestland which, under environmental rules, should be protected from any building or structure.

Alta Vista is an all-suite resort in the forested hills of Barangay Yapak. The location also includes leisure homes sitting on 40,000 square meters.

He also revealed that the Seven Seas Hotel, D’Mall and Kingfisher Hotel are built on wetlands, which is supposed to be free from structures, as well. Seven Seas is an ongoing construction on Puka Beach, and has been the subject of several complaints by locals and tourism industry stakeholders. D’Mall is a popular site in central Boracay for retailers, bars and restaurants.

Alabero made the disclosures after Sen. Loren Legarda, chairman of the committee on finance, lashed out at officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for allowing the construction of resorts and structures in sensitive areas like wetlands and forestlands.

Legarda, a staunch environmental advocate, also took the DENR to task for allowing the construction of resorts in Boracay without environmental clearance certificates. Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, chairman of the committee on trade and industry, also declared

that based on the information he had received, there were 173 establishments operating on the island without ECCs. The senators also zeroed in on the Boracay West Cove Resort, which they said was already found to have already built illegal structures, but was still allowed to operate by the DENR and the local government of Malay.

This developed as Malay Mayor Ciceron Cawaling admitted that his office has “not issued a business permit” to Boracay West

Cove. The DENR, on the other hand, said it had already canceled the forestland agreement for tourism purposes (FLATP) of Boracay West Cove in 2015.

But DENR Regional Director Jim Sampulna said the owner of the resort has appealed the FLATP cancellation to the office of former President Benigno S. Aquino III. No action had been taken on the appeal of Boracay West Cove to this day and is pending in the office of President Duterte.

Meanwhile, Sen. Nancy Binay told the BusinessMirror that she was not in favor of the closure of Boracay Island, as suggested by some national government agencies. “There are too many people who will be affected,” she said, referring to the number of people depending on tourism for their livelihood.

She also called the proposal of the Department of the Interior and Local Government to declare a “state of calamity” in Boracay as “masyadong exaggerated naman.” She added that “there are still other measures that can be taken to rehabilitate the island.

Among these are reducing the number of tourists that come here, cutt ing t he number of chartered f lights [that bring in foreign tourists] to the island, and teaching the people how to properly segregate and manage their wastes.”

During the hearing, she also

appealed to the Task Force Boracay, headed by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, to not include the closure of island option in its recommendations to President Duterte. This was seconded by Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairman of the committee on environment and natural resources, who said it was better to close the establishments found violating environmental and easement laws, and keep the compliant establishments open.

“We should reward the compliant ones and punish the violators,” Villar stressed.

Tou r i sm Sec ret a r y Wa nd a Corazon T. Teo had said on Thursday that one of the recommendations being considered by the task force is to close the island for two months to allow the rehabilitation of Boracay. She had recommended to the task force that the closure, if ever that decision is made, would be done during the monsoon season, perhaps in June and July.

At the hearing, Cimatu said the waters on Bulabog Beach had exceeded the fecal coliform standard of 100 most probable number (MPN) per 100 milliliters based on recent tests by the DENR. Water-quality tests on February 13 showed the fecal coliform bacteria in Bulabog Beach reached 350 MPN, but the waters at main White Beach are “below standard,” meaning these waters are safe for swimming.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo (third from left) explains to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources why it is more prudent to close Boracay Island to tourists not earlier than the monsoon season, during the meeting of the interagency Task Force Boracay on Thursday. Many resorts are especially booked solid with domestic travelers, who only have time to visit the island with their families or friends during summer, when schools are on break. photo courtesy D.O.T.

Sainsbury CEO warns UK food crisis looms without Brexit deal

B

REXIT would lead to an unprecedented food shortage if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal, the CEO of the country’s second-biggest grocer said. “ The impact of closing the borders for a few days to the free movement of food would result in a food crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen,” J Sainsbury Plc. Chief Executive Officer Mike Coupe said in an interview. “It’s inconceivable to me that there won’t be a solution found.”

Tensions are simmering bet ween L ondon a nd Br ussels, with UK Prime Minister Theresa May saying on Wednesday that no one in her position could ever agree to the draft Brexit treaty

published by the EU. May is seeking to get the European Union to sign on to a transition phase at a summit of leaders later this month, but Michel Barnier, the EU ’s chief Brex it negotiator, warned on Thursday that any such agreement could still unravel before Britain’s scheduled exit in March 2019.

A lmost ha lf of the food eaten in t he UK is impor ted.

Trade bar r iers wou ld be espec i a l ly d a m ag i ng to Br it a i n’s f resh-food reta i lers, who rely heav i ly on t he unencumbered movement of per ishable goods t hroughout t he EU. In 2016 t he UK impor ted £22.4 bi l lion ($30.8 bi l lion) wor t h of meat, f ish, d a ir y products, f r uit and

veget ables, accord i ng to t he Depar tment for Env ironment, Food and Rura l A f fa irs.

Spanish tomatoes

OFFICIALS at Dover, the islandnation’s busiest port, estimate that an extra two minutes to clear trucks through customs would lead to 27-kilometer traffic jams. EU President Donald Tusk warned on Thursday that frictionless trade would be impossible with the UK if it sits outside the customs union.

“At the moment we put tomatoes on lorries in southern Spain, they drive for 24 hours and arrive directly in our distribution centers unencumbered,” s a id Coupe, whose compa ny

trails only Tesco Plc. in UK food sales. “Anything that puts a barrier in that f low will increase the cost and reduce the freshness.”

Former Prime Minister John Major said this week that the likelihood of the UK leaving without a deal is increasing because of May’s intent to exit the customs union and single market.

May is scheduled to give a speech outlining her vision for t he UK ’s f uture relationship with the EU. The UK government is seeking to leave the European Union single market and customs union so that it can take control of its own laws, curb immigration and have the freedom to sign new trade deals with other countries. Bloomberg News

A4

The World BusinessMirror

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Trump says tough tariffs are coming, riling rivals, allies

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RESIDENT Donald J. Trump said the US would slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to protect national security, prompting threats of retaliation from Canada to China.

Trump said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum for “a long period of time,” and he expected to sign a formal order next week. He didn’t elaborate on the details of the planned action, including whether any products or countries would be exempted.

“You’re going to have protection for the first time in a long time,” Trump told metals industry executives at a meeting in the White House on Thursday.

The planned tariffs, justified on the basis that cut-price metals imports hurt both American producers and national security, now raises the prospect of tit-for-tat curbs on American exports and higher prices for domestic users. While the practical impact may yet turn out to be limited, the political environment for global trade has just taken a turn for the worse.

A s i a n s t e e l a nd a lu m i nu m stocks took a hammering on Friday morning, adding to declines

that came before the tariffs were first reported on Thursday. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index slumped to session lows, US stocks for companies that consume the metals like Ford Motor Co. fell, and Treasuries climbed as investors reacted to the news, while shares of US steel and aluminum producers jumped.

‘Retaliatory measures’

CHINA didn’t have an immediate official reaction on Friday.

The US measures “overturn the international trade order,” Wen Xianjun, vice chairman of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said in a statement. “Other countries, including China, will take relevant retaliatory measures.”

Li Xinchuang, the vice chairman of China Iron and Steel Association, called the move “stupid.”

US allies, seeing their industries threatened, responded with bafflement and dismay.

“Steel and aluminum imports from Japan, which is an ally, do not

President Donald J. Trump speaks during a meeting with steel and aluminum executives in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 1 in Washington. From left, Roger Newport of AK Steel, John Ferriola of Nucor, Trump, Dave Burritt of US Steel Corp. and Tim Timkin of Timken Steel. AP

affect US national security at all,” Japan’s Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters in Tokyo on Friday. “I would like to convey that to the US when I have an opportunity.”

Canada—the biggest foreign supplier of steel to the US—said the measures were unacceptable, while the European Union vowed to “react firmly” with World Trade Organization-compliant countermeasures in the next few days.

Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo ca lled the move “ disappointing” and said his country is seeking an exemption.

The punitive measures would level the unfair playing field that has persisted for years, and make it easier

for American companies to expand and hire workers, Trump said.

US companies from beer brewer MillerCoors to candymaker Hershey Co., which use aluminum for manufacturing and packaging, said operations would be hurt by the tariffs.

“We buy as much domestic can sheet aluminum as is available, however, there simply isn’t enough supply to satisfy the demands of American beverage makers like us,” MillerCoors said in a tweet. “American workers and American consumers will suffer as a result of this misguided tariff.”

Soybean response

A United States move on tariffs risks provoking retaliation from China, the world’s biggest steel and aluminum producer.

China has already launched a probe into US imports of sorghum, and is studying whether to restrict shipments of US soybeans—targets that could hurt Trump’s support in some farming states. While China accounts for just a fraction of US imports of the metals, it’s accused of flooding the global market and dragging down prices.

“China’s total exports of steel and aluminum are equal to about 0.5 percent of GDP, most of that from steel,” Bloomberg’s Chief Asia economist Tom Orlik said. “Relative to fears from Trump’s campaign trail rhetoric, in which he threatened an across-the-board 45-percent tariff on all imports from China, these measures are extremely limited.”

Trump announced the tariffs despite lobbying of his administration by foreign governments, and while Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser is in the country on a mission to defuse tensions.

The impact of the step hinges in part on which nations will be affected, said Alex Wolf, senior emerging markets economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments in Hong Kong who previously worked at the US State Department. Bloomberg News

Editor: Lyn Ressureccion | www.businessmirror.com.ph

China GDP target to set tone for Xi’s 2-week power summit

A

momentous fortnight for China’s economy begins next week when leaders set policies for the year and detail plans to curb financial risk, air pollution and excess industrial capacity.

Things kick off on Monday morning in Beijing with Premier Li Keqiang’s work report outlining 2018 goals for economic growth, money supply, credit growth, inflation and the fiscal deficit.

Senior appointments, including those for central bank governor and, potentially, chief of a merged financial regulator, will also be announced or discussed at the meeting, providing more fodder for analysts and economists to shape the outlook for the coming year. It all wraps up around two weeks later with Li’s annual press briefing on policy goals.

The pow-wow comes as concern is creeping into analysts’ views on the economic outlook. Though 2017 outperformed and economists have been upgrading forecasts for this year, Nomura Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley and State Street Corp. have all warned of a slowdown.

Key to watch will be policy targets and economic policy appointments. The report itself is long and detailed: last year’s ran more than 15,000 words in English.

President Xi Jinping didn’t specify a longer-term growth target at the twice-a-decade Party Congress last October, and policy emphasis has shifted toward quality of growth over quantity. That’s led some to say China should ditch its long-standing practice of setting a numerical growth target in favor of a forecast. But Yang Weimin, an official from the Communist Party committee overseeing economic policy, says targets won’t be abandoned before 2020.

The annual target remains a crucial barometer of official thinking because it shows how policymakers seek to balance competing aims of growth, reform and financial deleveraging, says Shane Oliver, the head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney.

While markets anticipate a target of about 6.5 percent again this year, a wider goal of 6 percent to 7 percent would signal seriousness in reducing financial risk, cutting pollution, and reining in local government finance and excess capacity, says David Loevinger, a former China specialist at the US Treasury.

Market jitters

THERE’S a chance markets, which are now sanguine about the growth outlook, may be roiled if the target looks “softer” than usual with greater tolerance for slower growth, Oliver says.

“The growth target will remain extremely important for them because they’re still bound by the 10-year objective of doubling GDP by 2020,” Dariusz Kowalczyk, a senior emerging-market strategist at Credit Agricole SA in Hong Kong, said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Thursday.

“The good thing is this objective requires growth to average only 6.3 percent in the coming three years, so they can afford a weaker growth target.”

Li will also unveil objectives for inflation, money supply, aggregate finance and the fiscal balance, and may signal more tightening of debt controls. China plans to reduce its annual budget-deficit target to just under 3 percent of total economic output, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA sees the inflation ceiling remaining at 3 percent. China International Capital Corp. sees the aggregate finance target staying at about 12 percent.

Li may downplay the M2 money-supply target, which is becoming less important because it’s less controllable and relevant to the economy as markets and financial products become more complicated, CICC says. January M2 growth of 8.6 percent was far below the target.

Personnel changes

THE new economic policy team is another mustwatch area, specifically the role for Xi confidant Liu He and Zhou Xiaochuan’s replacement as central bank governor.

Liu is widely expected to become vice premier in charge of the economy, replacing Ma Kai, and lead the Financial Stability and Development Committee overseeing financial regulation. Research firm Trivium China says he also has the inside track to be central bank governor and that banking regulator Guo Shuqing will likely be the PBOC’s party secretary.

A Liu-Guo combination at the central bank would be “a dream team for foreign investors and a nightmare for shadow bankers,” says Loevinger, now an analyst at fund manager TCW Group Inc. in Los Angeles. Hubei provincial party chief Jiang Chaoliang is another contender.

China is also considering a merger of its banking and insurance regulators, Bloomberg has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Trivium says it likely will be headed by People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Yi Gang. Bloomberg News

Sports BusinessMirror

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

Saturday, March 3, 2018

A5

UNCERTAIN FUTURE GONDOLAS make their way through a thinned forest up the ski slope that played venue for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics at the Jeongseon Alpine Center in Jeongseon, South Korea. AP

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By Kim Tong-hyung The Associated Press

EONGSEON, South Korea—As hundreds of Olympic spectators flocked to a sparkling white ski slope cutting through the rugged mountains of Jeongseon, the marquee venue of this year’s Winter Games, Cho Myung-hwan stepped back and looked up. He let out a sad chuckle.

“It’s dreadful to watch,” Cho, 62, a landscape photographer from Seoul, said as he examined the steep downhill course one day during the Olympics.

“Under all the cheers and fun, there are the screams of buzzed-off trees.”

Cho has visited Mount Gariwang 16 times since 2006, including several trips after 2014 to document the construction of the slope, which was finished in late-2016. He pointed to a spot near the spectator stands where he said the last tree had stood—a 78-foot-high Manchurian walnut tree with red and yellow ribbons wrapped around its trunk. Locals had come to the tree for generations to pray for good luck, health and childbirth.

“I came here wondering whether there was a slight chance that the sacred tree would still be there,” he said. “But it isn’t.”

With the Pyeongchang Games just concluded, South Korea walks into a future with questions about the long-term environmental consequences of hosting an expensive sports event in one of its poorest, oldest and most underpopulated areas.

One major issue: the future of the scenic Jeongseon Alpine Center, which was built after some 60,000 trees were razed in a forest on the 5,118-foothigh Mount Gariwang. The area had been protected by the government in the past because of its old trees and botanical diversity.

The course was supposed to be demolished after the Olympics and restored to its natural state. Fierce criticism by environmentalists over the venue being built on a pristine forest caused construction delays that nearly forced pre-Olympic test events to be postponed.

But Gangwon provincial officials now say they want to keep the course, or at least a significant part of it, as

a future “comprehensive leisure” zone. They also say it would be difficult for the province to foot the bill for the restoration project, which experts say could cost $90 million over 20 years.

A new hotel has already been built on the site; another is on the way. Regional officials talk of building mountain bike courses, sledding parks and concert halls to complement the ski course.

“It’s too late to talk about the environmental damage over Mount Gariwang,” Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Munsun said. “There’s no way to restore the forest 100 percent, and parts of the area should be used for sports facilities.”

Whether Gangwon gets space to develop will be decided by the Korea Forest Service’s central mountain management committee, which will determine the restoration’s scale and method. The committee rejected a tentative reforestation plan that Gangwon was required to submit, calling for more specifics.

Experts say it would be impossible to restore the forest entirely as it was.

During construction of the skiing course, workers dug out hundreds of trees from the slope and replanted them in nearby hills so that they could be transplanted back to their old spots after the Olympics. But nearly all of these trees are already dead or dying, said Seo Jae-chul, a senior activist from the environmental group Green Korea, who visited the area in December and January.

Video from the inspection trips provided by Seo also shows huge trees uprooted and fallen outside the slope’s boundaries, which he said was likely caused by the trees facing stronger winds in their new location. Construction workers also likely made soil disruption worse by bulldozing huge roads around the slope so they could move construction equipment more easily.

“This had been such a core area for biodiversity,” Seo said. “But it’s destroyed.”

Kim Yong-chul, a Gangwon official, said he couldn’t immediately confirm the state of the trees around the slope.

The 1.8 million square meters (19.8 million square foot) of woodland that was shaved for the Olympics had long been part of one of the country’s best-

preserved pieces of nature.

The 16th-century kings of Korea’s Chosun Kingdom barred common people from entering the area because of its abundance of wild ginseng plants, whose roots have long been prized for supposed healing powers. The forest was also left unscathed during the 1950-1953 Korean War and the earlier part of South Korea’s postwar industrialization that left the country with severe deforestation.

In 2008 the government designated the forest as a “forest genetic resources reserve,” prohibiting unauthorized entrance into the area.

The national government lifted the protection on the area in June 2012 at the request of Gangwon officials and Olympic organizers, who said they could find no other spot near Pyeongchang to fit an Olympic-size downhill course. The International Ski Federation requires alpine courses to be longer than 3 kilometers, have an altitude difference of more than 800 meters from start to finish, and an average incline of higher than 17 degrees.

Critics say South Korea could have had a better shot at saving the forest had it embraced the International Olympic Committee’s “Agenda 2020” initiative announced in 2014. It called for creating a more compact games and allowing host cities to use existing venues to lower costs.

Then, South Korean officials quickly dismissed calls to move the downhill course away from Mount Gariwang, saying construction had already started and it was difficult to make such a significant change so close to the Olympics.

“If Gangwon Province had focused on [environmental] sustainability and considered future reforestation even as it proceeded with the construction, it might have found a more economic and compact way to build the ski course,” Seo said. “But they didn’t.”

Reviving the forest of Mount Gariwang would require a patient, creative approach. Instead of transplanting trees, workers would have to start from germinating seeds in the patches of soil around the slope that were less damaged, Seo said.

Kim Heung-sook, 57, one of the dozens of residents whose homes were moved to make way for the course, says she can’t wait that long for a forest

Patrimonio, Pingris rock STI LP Sportsfest Alvin Patrimonio and Marc Pingris receive the Hand of Excellence Award from STI Las Piñas officials, headed

by Senior School Administrator Donna Ancheta, Academic Head Grace Gutierrez, Student Affairs Chief Bernadette Rejano, program heads of the different colleges and representatives from B&G Lifecasting.

that might never fully return.

Kim said life was much better in her old home, where she had a yard to grow corn, pepper and other crops. She now lives alone in a smaller house on a hill near the ski area’s entrance, subsisting off the money she received for the relocation.

It was painful to watch neighbors leave and see the destruction of a forest she knew for decades. But like so many in this poor and aging town, she needs to find a way to live.

“I want to see more development here—more hotels, more restaurants, wider roads. Then maybe there will be jobs for people like me,” she said. “If you were going to rebuild the forest, you shouldn’t have made the slope in the first place.”

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OUR-TIME Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Most Valuable Player and Hall of Famer Alvin Patrimonio and many-time All-Defensive team member Marc Pingris rocked STI Las Piñas’s Sportsfest recently.

Both key members of the Magnolia Hotshots were given a rock star treatment by students, faculty members and staff. They were mobbed by fans for autographs and photo opportunities.

Patrimonio and Pingris were welcomed by STI Las Piñas officials, headed by Senior School Administrator Donna Ancheta, Academic Head Grace Gutierrez, Student Affairs Head Bernadette Rejano and other program chiefs of the institution.

Also in attendance was courtside reporter Mara Aquino,

DESPITE ABSORBING 2 SETBACKS EACH

DLSU-ATENEO RIVALRY UP

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HE glitter of their fabled rivalry remains but this time around, De La Salle and Ateneo de Manila clash with dented armors in the Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball tournament today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

For the first time since Season 74, Ateneo and La Salle take on each other sans unblemished records but with four wins and two losses each, numbers that sent them fighting for the solo second spot behind National University (NU).

NU was on a five-match winning streak until Far Eastern University (FEU) stopped the Lady Bulldogs on their tracks, 25-22, 25-27, 25-13, 25-20, on Wednesday.

But even with their reputations to dominate in Season 80 on the line, the Lady Spikers-Lady Eagles 4 p.m. showdown is still expected to send the arena into a massive sea of green and blue.

The Lady Eagles are entering the match without Head Coach Tai Bundit, who has gone home to Thailand to attend the death anniversary of his father-in-law. In his place would be assistant Sherwin Meneses.

“As we always say—Ateneo-La Salle no stats needed, no standings. Ateneo-La Salle will be AteneoLa Salle,” Ateneo star Bea de Leon said. “Hopefully we get to take a slight advantage, but I think it’s going to be really close.”

For the two-time defending champion Lady Spikers, it will be all about getting their acts together.

They went 3-0 to start the season, but fell flat to NU in five sets and were even shoved to the wall by University of the East and were shocked by Adamson University, 18-25, 25-15, 19-25, 22-25, last week.

“The team was very emotional after that loss [to Adamson University]. I hope that the loss would wake the girls and make them play with character,” De La Salle Head Coach Ramil de Jesus said.

“Whenever you wear the La Salle jersey, you have to play the La Salle way,” he said. “The loss seemed to have transformed the girls into a barangay team.”

FEU (4-2) and struggling University of Santo Tomas (2-4) open the day’s hostilities at 2 p.m. match.

Lance Agcaoili

ATENEO ace Bea de Leon expects a close fight, while De La Salle Head Coach Ramil de Jesus wants his wards to play the “La Salle way.”

who was sent by her mother network, ESPN5, to cover the event as part of a segment in PBA games.

Recognized as two of the best power forwards to play in the old Purefoods franchise, Patrimonio and Pingris also took time out to join AB Communications in their segment “Breakfast Forum @STI LP” where they answered relevant questions.

They judged the cheer dance competition before STI Las Piñas honored them with the Hand of Excellence award.

The most touching scene, however, came in between snacks when a senior high-school student, Paul Dailan, approached Pingris and showed a replica of his Gilas Pilipinas and San Mig Coffee jerseys, sending the fan to tears in a surreal moment of a fan meeting his idol.

A6 Saturday, March 3, 2018 | Editor: Mike Besa

The comeback g –Riviera Golf a

The finishing hole on the Langer course.

M4 and M3 drivers

Twist Face hits Philippine fairways!

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TaylorMade product launch is a big event and in 2018, their launch of the new M3 and M4 at the Army Driving Range in Fort Bonifacio was no exception. A huge crowd turned out to see the latest golf clubs from the golf-equipment giant from Carlsbad, California. TaylorMade Golf has a huge following here all anxious to see and test the much-hyped Twist Face Technology.

To sum Twist Face up—according to TaylorMade, the company studied “more than half a million shots” from golfers of all skill levels, using data-recovery devices—for swing path, launch and landing location—to determine trends. They found that most golfers tend to miss on the high-toe and low-heel areas. To help minimize the amount of curve missing in said areas would generate, TaylorMade “twisted” the clubface by adding a degree of loft in the high-toe area and subtracting the same amount from the low heel. The minimized curvature should help a majority of golfers find more fairways off the tee.

Pacsports Philippines had the TaylorMade touring professionals and endorsers out in support of the event. Each had had a preview of the both drivers and had been fitted for the one that most suited them. All gushed over the drivers’ feel, length and ease of use.

To get the driver into the public’s hands quickly, Pacsports offered the first 100 buyers of either an M3 or M4 a free custom shaft with their purchase—a phenomenal deal for the money. The hundred drivers were sold well before the event ended.

Although the full range of M3 and M4 fairway woods, hybrids and irons were present and available for testing that evening, it was the drivers that were the stars. People stayed around to watch the long drive and most accurate iron contests and test golf clubs well into the evening.

Congratulations to TaylorMade and Pacsports Philippines. Looks like it’s going to be another big year for TaylorMade in the country. Mike Besa

Looking for something different?

Cobra’s got you covered

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olf manufacturers struggle to outdo and out-hype each other in their attempts to separate us from our hard-earned cash. Twist Face. Jailbreak. Dragonfly technology. You’ve seen the ads and surfed their web sites.

You know what I’m talking about.

Last year Callaway’s Epic drivers wiped the floor with every other manufacturer as it was the top-selling driver in the world.

That success sent the competition straight back to the drawing board to cook something new and exciting up for 2018.

Cobra has always been a little different. In their case, competing with the likes of Callaway, TaylorMade and Titleist, Cobra has had to have unique, innovative products just to play on the same field with the big boys. The drubbing issued them (and everyone else) by the Epic turned out to be a good thing, because the product they produced in response is arguably the most unique and innovative driver on the market for 2018.

Indeed, the Cobra F8 and F8+ are more than just a product refresh, they use the kind of visible technology that grabs consumer attention and, hopefully, loosens those purse strings. Whether it’s enough to compete with the big boys and their new offerings this year remains to be seen but there’s one thing for certain, the features of the F8 line make it one of the most compelling drivers of 2018.

True to form, Cobra has put out two F8 drivers; the F8 and F8+. The standard version features what Cobra calls a full profile. That means it has a shallower face and is more elongated than the traditionally shaped F8+. The latter offers a taller face and is more compact overall.

The standard F8 is more forgiving and offers higher launch, while the F8+ is more workable and offers a flatter, more penetrating trajectory.

Both models feature Cobra’s MyFly8 adjustability. The F8 is adjustable from 9°-12° (draw settings at 9.5°, 10.5°, 11.5°). The F8+ is adjustable from 8°-11° (8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5°). Both are CG adjustable too, though it’s notable that Cobra has shifted from the F7’s 3-weight design to a new 2-weight system.

The reason for the simplification was that Cobra discovered that very few people (15 percent total of people that had bought the F7 and F7+) were taking advantage of the settings that were provided. So, instead of offering a myriad of settings that customers were largely ignoring, Cobra simplified the design and provided only the settings that their customers were actually using.

Both F8 drivers have two weights (one much heavier than the other). Moving the heavier weight to the front lowers the launch angle and backspin, and adds a bit of ball speed at impact, albeit at the expense of some forgiveness.

Moving the heavier weight to the back raises the launch trajectory, raises spin and forgiveness slightly and, in the F8’s case, adds a bit of draw bias to the trajectory.

The most significant feature of the F8 driver is the industry’s first 100-percent CNC milled face. By using a 100-percent milled face, Cobra is able to eliminate the hand polishing necessary to remove the outer face welds. Because milling can be done to much tighter tolerances that what you can achieve with humans, Cobra can design closer to the limits prescribed by the USGA and R&A. The company isn’t claiming every head is at the limit, but it’s saying it can get closer than its competitors can with traditional manufacturing technologies.

Milling the face also gives Cobra more precise control over the thickness in the various regions of its E9 face. The result is higher ball speeds over portions of the face; most appreciably in the high toe area where Cobra is claiming ball speed gains of 1.6 mph. The 25-minute milling process also results in more consistent bulge and roll, which means more consistent performance from driver to driver.

More visible technology stares right back at you at address. In the quest for ultimate performance, equipment manufacturers have added aerodynamic packages to all their drivers. Cobra calls theirs Aero Trips.

As with similar features used by the competition, Aero Trips are designed to keep airflow close to the head and reduce turbulent wake (drag) leading into impact. What differentiates Cobra’s offering from its competitors’ is that, instead of using the same material used in the crown (titanium or carbon fiber), its drag-reducing features are made from a polymer that’s 90 percent lighter than titanium. The weight savings mean that the aerodynamic features don’t raise the center of gravity in any appreciable way, which helps Cobra keep comparatively more weight low in the head.

Cobra has also refined the shape of the hosel transition area to reduce drag during the part of the downswing where face isn’t square. Finally, Cobra has added titanium Aero Trips to the sole, as well, something not done by the competition.

Cobra is specifying real-deal shafts in the F8 line.

All manufacturers have shafts made for them in slightly different specifications than the aftermarket line. Cobra received flak for doing so in the past, but this won’t be the case with the F8. Our market will be getting global spec Fujikura shafts, something that serious golfers will appreciate greatly.

As it did in 2017, Cobra will include Arccos/Cobra Connect sensors with every driver. Building on the Arccos Driver functionality, all F8 clubs (drivers, fairways, hybrids and irons) will come with Arccos sensors installed in the grip, which means that golfers who buy Cobra drivers get Arccos Driver, while golfers who buy Cobra irons will be able to leverage the full power of Arccos 360 under the Cobra Connect system.

Cobra Connect now includes a driver-tuning feature, which takes data from rounds recorded with the system and leverages Arccos’s AI to make recommendations on club setting adjustments to improve your driving. There will be no extra charge for Cobra Connect.

Cobra has eschewed bright colors for the F8. Perhaps, the colorful clubs were too frivolous for the serious performance features of the new Cobra drivers but, whatever the case, the F8 drivers are available in Black and Nardo Gray. Nardo Gray is a popular color in the automotive industry and with some sports teams, so Cobra thought it would make a good addition to the now more limited F8 palette. It will certainly stand out on the tee box.

No word yet from J-Ten Enterprises on when the Cobra F8 and F8+ drivers will be available in the country, but don’t pull the trigger on a new driver before you test the F8s. You might regret it. Mike Besa

The 17th hole on the Couples course will test your ball-striking skills.

Justin Rose

Cobra F8 driver

Cobra F8 face

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, March 3, 2018 A7

golf course of the year and Country Club T

Story & photos

by Mike Besa

he Philippines is in an odd position when it comes to golf. As the rest of our Asian neighbors plunge head-long into the game of golf by building more and more golf courses to woo tourists to their shores, we stand pat and don’t do much (if anything at all) to grow the game and reap the benefits that brings.

It’s a sad thing, really. The game of golf has so much to offer—from the discipline and life lessons that the game imparts to all those that play in earnest to the employment and financial benefits that trickle down through the economy from golfers and tourism, that the country loses so much with each passing day that we do nothing to grow the game.

The apathy has had a more insidious effect on the developers that have invested millions on their golfcentric properties. All but the most successful clubs are facing some sort of financial crisis. The root cause can be found in the great club share crash of the late 1990s.

It’s been almost two decades hence, but the ill-effects continue to be felt throughout the industry today.

Clubs that were built in areas more distant from the metropolis and those that were built in the tail end of the building boom have been the most seriously affected.

Clubs like Eagle Ridge, Summit Point, Sherwood Hills and the Riviera Golf and Country Club and others have all suffered financial hardships in the past. Some have handled it better than others.

We at the BusinessMirror want to take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of one golf club that’s managed to weather the crisis and move forward in spite of the challenges. That golf club is the Riviera Golf and Country Club.

In the curious case of the Riviera, the club not only had to deal with external pressures but internal issues, as well. In spite of the amount of tourist traffic on their fairways, the club was suffering from financial pressures.

There was much talk about malversation of funds and accusations all pointed to the sitting board of directors for the sad state of affairs at the club.

The bunkers were almost devoid of sand, the fairways were brown and the greens were completely uneven in quality. The employees were disheartened, as many of them were not paid on time. Members stopped playing at the club, and quite a few left to join other golf clubs. Not a good situation for a club that was voted as best in the country by Asian Golf Magazine.

Fast forward to today, and a new board is in place. We were invited to Riviera to see the changes for ourselves, and we came away most impressed. Impressed enough to bestow our recognition on the club for their hard work and dedication.

Both courses are now in beautiful condition. The greens are rolling fast and true again. The bunkers have sand in them again. The club has cleaned up the scrub areas on both golf courses that were threatening to overrun the manicured areas of the course. The Couples and Langer are both looking like the golf courses that won the club the international recognition that was bestowed on them.

The Riviera has two of the most unique golf courses in the country. Both are the only works of two legends of the modern game and are the sole examples of either designer in the Philippines.

The Langer figures in any conversation about the best golf course in the Philippines. Its opening corner

Riviera’s clubhouse sits on a hill above the Langer’s final green.

Together, anything’s possible on the PGA Tour S

By Chuah Choo Chiang

uch has been the impact of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour’s Together, Anything’s Possible charitable platform that Swedish golfer Jonas Blixt succinctly explained what it meant to see thousands of lives being touched beyond the ropes.

“I feel like playing on the PGA Tour almost comes second,” said the threetime Tour winner. “What we get to do for charity, what the PGA Tour gives back to the community is the greatest thing about playing on the PGA Tour.”

Indeed, beyond the push to excel in the professional game and beyond the pursuit of golfing greatness, the PGA Tour’s stars and the tournaments that form its annual schedule have joined forces to go beyond the game and impact the lives of people at destinations where the Tour visits.

In 2017 the PGA Tour and its tournaments generated more than $180 million for charitable causes, surpassing the previous year’s record amount by approximately $14 million. The landmark announcement raised the all-time total generated for charity by the PGA Tour to $2.65 billion.

From supporting children’s hospitals to mobilising disaster relief, building homes for disabled troops and providing educational opportunities for kids, the PGA Tour has taken the lead to making a difference beyond establishing global golf stars who make headlines every week.

“The entire PGA Tour family takes tremendous pride in the positive impact that we continue to make each year through the millions of dollars that are raised for very deserving charitable organizations,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “As we often note, beyond the sheer

dollar amount, the real story is in the hundreds of thousands of lives that benefit from these contributions every year.”

In 2017 five PGA Tour events raised more than $10 million for charity—the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Valero Texas Open, Dean & Deluca Invitational, the John Deere Classic and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. In addition, the Presidents Cup announced a record donation of more than $10.7 million while the Tour’s flagship event, The Players Championship, generated $8.7 million.

In the spirit of giving back, golf stars, both past and present, have chipped in over the years to make a difference for the less fortunate. Golf’s Big Three—Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and the late Arnold Palmer— participated in a one-day event back in 2010, which raised an astounding $15.2 million in a single day for a mission school.

Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy, launched the “Birdies for the Brave” programme over 10 years ago to help build homes for disabled troops and provide educational support for spouses and children of servicemen and women killed in action.

Olympic gold medallist, Justin Rose, and his wife, Kate, used their foundation to help underprivileged students via a school lunch programme called “Blessings in a Backpack” where, for many kids, lunch at school on Friday is their last meal until they return on Monday for breakfast.

As part of its sponsorship of the season-long FedExCup on the PGA Tour, FedEx commits $1 million in annual donations to benefit nonprofit organizations. The donations align with FedEx Cares, a global giving initiative, in which FedEx is investing $200 million in over 200 global

communities by 2020 to create opportunities and deliver solutions for people around the world.

South Korea’s KJ Choi, the first Asian Tour graduate who made it big in America by winning eight PGA Tour titles, including The Players Championship in 2011, has a big heart, as well. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Choi donated $100,000 for relief efforts. “Watching the chaos and devastation, I felt the need to get involved and support the residents of Houston,” he said.

As the lifeblood of professional sport, corporate support has been important too with the likes of Tour marketing partner, Metlife entering a second year with its innovative season-long charitable initiative called Metlife MatchUp, a weekly competition between two players who most successfully navigate tough situations on the golf course. The winner is determined through a fans’ vote, and $1 million will then be channeled to his chosen charity.

Last year’s MetLife MatchUp winner Bubba Watson said: “My fans are really the ones who made this happen. They made it possible for me to give back to the Pensacola community, where the $1-million prize was used to further two causes, our local children’s hospital and junior golf efforts in the area.”

Indeed, when everyone comes together for a worthy cause, anything’s possible.

n Chuah Choo Chiang is the senior director of Communications of the PGA Tour and is based at TPC Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

measures over a mile in length and is the longest that we’ve encountered in the country. With just three par fours less than 400 yards in length and a monstrous 604yard, uphill par-5, the one thing you need to score on the Langer Course is a good, long game.

True to the character of its designer, the Couples Course is more laid back than its German stepbrother.

That doesn’t mean that it’s a pushover (because it’s not), but it is a more relaxed and more enjoyable than the Langer. Having two golf courses so different in character works very well for the Riviera, and it’s good to see them hale and healthy again.

On the Langer, the stretch of fourteen through sixteen is most impressive. The holes offer serene settings that mask the enormity of the task at hand.

Fourteen is the 2-handicap and, after the second hole, it’s the longest of the par fours. It plays 456-yards uphill, dead into the stiff Cavite breeze. The green is miniscule given the hole’s prodigious length and sits hidden to the left guarded on two sides by a ravine.

Fifteen is a gem. It’s short, and the green is reachable off the tee from the forward tees, but that’s where the genius of the hole lies. A ravine sits on one side of the green, while a phalanx of bunkers defends the others. It’s a tricky little hole that offers the golfer several ways to play it.

Sixteen is the most beautiful hole on the golf course.

The 577-yard par-5 doglegs to the left to the double green shared with three. The tree that defends the ideal placement of the second shot has fallen victim to years of typhoons, but that has only slightly diminished the degree of difficulty the hole dispenses. The aesthetics are certainly worth it.

The par-3 17th is the Langer Course’s signature hole.

A mere 156-yards long, the green sits such a long way below the tee mounds that little more than a wedge is required to reach it. It’s a stunning hole that can wreak havoc on your score.

Interestingly, the Couples really comes into its own on the exact same stretch of holes. Holes twelve through fifteen is a magnificent stretch of holes that mimics a course on the garden isles of Hawaii. It’s as good a quartet of holes as you’ll find anywhere in the country.

Thirteen will test you from tee to green. The fairway turns to the right and the ideal landing position is defended by the fairway bunker at the corner of the dogleg. The approach into the green requires the utmost precision to avoid the hazard short and right of what seems to be the smallest green of the lot.

Fifteen is a great golf hole; a long, sweeping 459-yard monster. Yet another forced carry to a fairway that moves to the left to a green very heavily defended on the left side. Use the contours of the fairway to find the heart of the green.

Your entire range will be tested on the Couples Course, but you won’t feel like you got beaten up when you walk off. You’ll be recharged, refreshed and, perhaps, a bit sad that the round’s come to an end.

There is still much that needs to be done, but the work that was prioritized has already made a huge impact on the club. You can see the effects on both courses and on the faces of the members and staff.

The mood is up at Riviera, and hopefully the current leadership will keep it that way.

The club has worked hard, bitten the bullet and made the necessary changes to keep their golf courses beautiful and playable for all. They are a ray of hope in an industry beset with challenges, and their hard work deserves recognition. It is because of this that we bestow the recognition as the most-improved golf course of 2017.

Jay Monahan

A8 Saturday, March 3, 2018

AD SUMMIT PILIPINAS 2018 LINEUP OF SPEAKERS INTRODUCED T

HE Ad Summit Pilipinas 2018—tagged as the biggest and much-awaited biennial advertising and marketing event in the country—has just announced the first batch of speakers who are set to share their insights on exploringnewwaysofmeasuringbrandsuccess.

Aptly themed “DIY Your ROI”, the summit, scheduled from March 7 to 10 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center, promises to bring together powerhouse speakers from around the globe to enlighten participants on the most relevant topics shaping the marketing communication industry today.

FirstonthelistisAnselmoRamos,cofounder and chief creative officer (COO) of David, a creative-driven agency born in the legacy of advertising icon David Ogilvy. He will discuss how to DIY one’s Return On Ideas.

Ramos is the creative mind behind Burger King’s famous “Proud Whopper” campaign; Heinz’s “Wiener Stampede”, which is David’s first-ever Super Bowl spot; and Heinz’s “Pass The Heinz” campaign, an idea David brought to life from the hit television series Mad Men. Before David, Ramos was COO of Ogilvy & Mather Sao Paulo, where he created the “Dove

RealBeautySketches”campaignin2013,winning for his team the first Titanium Grand Prix Award at Cannes forLatinAmerica. Ogilvy& Mather Sao Paulo also won the 2013 Cannes Lions Agency of the Year for the same campaign.

Ramos has won 195 Cannes Lions to date, as well as multiple metals from The One Show, CLIOs, and D&AD, among others. He was also featured on Adweek’s Creative 100 list, which recognizestheindustry’smostimportantleaders in technology, media and marketing.

Because of Ramos’ leadership, David Miami wasselectedasanAdvertisingAgeA-ListAgency in 2017, under the Creative Innovators and Agency Standouts categories.

Ad Summit Pilipinas will also bring in Josy Paul, chairman and COO of BBDO India, an agency respected for delivering some of the world’s most compelling commercial content across all mediums and screens. At Ad Summit Pilipinas 2018, he will discuss ways to bring a Return on Innovation.

Avisionaryinhisownright,Paulandhisteam believe that India needs more “acts not ads”, and this thinking has produced such revolutionary ideas, like Gillette’s “Women against Lazy

Stubble”, which bagged such international awards as the Inaugural Gold for Effectiveness at Cannes in 2011.

Together with his team, Paul won the prestigious White Pencil at the D&AD Social ImpactAwardsin2016andtheYellowPencilatthe D&ADawardsin2017.Theyhavealsoclinchedthe Grand Prix at AdFest, Spikes Asia and APAC Effies.

Paul is listed in the Top Ten Most Influential People in Indian Advertising. He was awarded as the Creative Person of the Year for India and SouthAsiain2012,2015,and2016,andwasnamed Creative Agency Head of the Year by the Indian Advertising Association (IAA) in 2016. Before BBDO, Paul was National Creative Director of JWT in 2000 and cofounder of “rmgdavid”, a second agency of Ogilvy.

Last of the first batch of speakers is Lionel Carreon, who has held the position of global directorofCreativeRecruitingatR/GAsince2013.

As a global Filipino, his talk will focus on how a Return on Identity can bring one success, be it for campaigns or career in general.

Carreon,whohasover22yearsofexperience intheadvertisingindustry,startedasaninternbut soon became a copywriter due to his hard work

JOSY Paul

LIONEL Carreon

and creative excellence. He started his career at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco.

In 2006 he decided to leave the creative department and landed a recruiting position, supervising the creative recruiting at AKQA San Francisco and Deutsch Los Angeles.

Of this first batch of speakers, Ad Summit Pilipinas 2018 chairman Norman Agatep said,

“We are gathering some of the most brilliant minds in the world to enlighten attendees on how best to measure brand success in the fastevolving marketing communication industry.

Monetary profit is no longer the only relevant metric today. It’s time to DIY your ROI.” Interested participants may contact at 813-4397 or 893-1205, or e-mail at 4asp@pldtdsl.

ANSELMO Ramos net. Registration may also be done through the summit’s official page at www.adsummit. ph. Tickets will be sold in regular price until today, February 2. For more information, visit www.adsummit.ph. Like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AdSummitPH, and follow them on Twitter @ADSummitPH and on Instagram @adsummitpilipinas.

BusinessMirror

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

Saturday, March 3, 2018 A9

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FRAME grab from a video shows the Nest Cam IQ camera.

Google’s voiceactivated assistant is branching out to Nest’s deluxe security camera.

The virtual assistant is being offered to owners of the Nest Cam IQ in a free update. AP

Google’s digital assistant branches out to Nest camera SAN FRANCISCO—Google’s voice-activated assistant is branching out to Nest’s deluxe security camera in an expansion that may amplify the privacy concerns surrounding Internet-connected microphones.

The virtual assistant is being offered to owners of the Nest Cam IQ in a free update that was rolled out last week. The move comes just two weeks after Nest moved back under Google’s direct control after spending nearly two-and-a-half years as a separate company owned by the same parent, Alphabet Inc. The $300 Nest Cam will give Google another potentially valuable earhole in its battle with Amazon and Apple to build digital command centers in people’s home.

That ambition has already spurred warnings from privacy watchdogs about the potential for Internetconnected devices being used as surveillance tools.

Google’s assistant already can be used to control Nest’s cameras and Internet-connected thermostat through its Internet-connected speaker, Home, and smartphones running on its Android software. This will be the first time that people will be able to interact with the digital concierge through a security camera.

The assistant is only supposed to be activated with keywords, such as “OK, Google,” although there have been instances when the Home speaker has been caught listening when it was supposed to be turned off. Even if Google’s assistant doesn’t eavesdrop, its presence on an indoor security camera is likely to focus more attention on the handling and protection of the data collected through Internetconnected devices. Privacy watchdogs are particularly worried that Google eventually may use some of the information collected from devices inside homes to get a better understanding of a person’s specific interests so it can sell ads for products that the targeted individual might like.

Google already has used the data that it collects through its ubiquitous search engine and other free services, such as maps and e-mail, to build the Internet’s most lucrative Internet marketing network.

Since Google bought it for $3.2 billion, Nest has steadfastly maintained that it doesn’t share its customers’ personal information with Google’s ad network. But a patent application filed by Google in 2016 floated the possibility of using the video recorded by security cameras to deliver ads based on the kinds of furnishings and other merchandise already in people’s homes. AP

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THE Sony Xperia XZ1 with a powerful 19MP Motion Eye main camera

PRESENT during the Uber Philippines fourth anniversary luncheon are Cat Avelino (from left), Uber Philippines head of communications; Aileen Lizada, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board spokesman; Projjal Ghatak, acting general manager of Uber Philippines; and Uber Philippines’ first Uber driver Ronnel Cayetano.

Has it really been four years, Uber?

PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

R

ONNEL CAYETANO was Uber Philippines’s first driver-partner. A former driver for a car rental company, Cayetano’s services’ were employed by Uber officials before the transportation network vehicle service (TNVS) franchise started operating in the country.

It’s been a fulfilling four years for Cayetano.

“Uber has been a big help to me. My pay as a car-rental driver was quite small. The money I get from driving an Uber is bigger and they also give us incentives,” he said in Tagalog.

Even when Uber was suspended in 2017, Cayetano and other driver-partners still received compensation from the company.

Cayetano drives a Toyota Vios 2016 (his own) with the plate number VB584. If you happen to book him as an Uber driver, he is very friendly and doesn’t mind chatting with passengers.

“But I always wait for them to talk to me first. I

never initiate conversation,” Cayetano said.

What he likes about being an Uber driver-partner is being his own boss and being answerable to no one except Uber and his passengers. For instance, he is able to bring his wife to work and his son to school every day. During its fourth anniversary luncheon celebration at Blackbird recently, Uber Philippines also honored other driver-partners. They included Ceferino Dolong (121,575 km driven) and Paul Gavino (with almost 3,000 Uber rides) and six-star driverpartners Marlon Fuentes and Alberto Lopez (who returned P500,000 to a passenger).

For its fourth anniversary in the Philippines, Uber is teaming up with HOPE by making a P1.5million donation to help rebuild public-school classrooms in Marawi.

Uber is also partnering with the Philippine National Red Cross to encourage its passengers to give back. Throughout the year, Uber will be supporting blood drives and dispatching cars to collect donations during times of calamity.

Uber has put together several Driver Forward features to help make driving with Uber easier.

Through the Momentum program, a partnership between Uber and several oil and tire companies, driver-partners can now get major discounts and save on fuel and other automobile expenses. Uber is also increasing assistance for drivers with extended phone support hours and friendlier ratings.

Safety remains a top priority at Uber so they are introducing a new in-app feature for their driver-

partners: Rider Identification, which verifies cashonly rider sign-ups by asking for a Facebook account.

This assures drivers their riders have verified accounts, and builds on Uber’s guidelines, ratings and reporting systems to help ensure the safety of all users.

Later this month, Uber will also be having their first Safety Day for driver-partners.

Created in partnership with Petron, drivers get free vehicle inspections and may attend a Defensive Driving Seminar, as well as be invited to attend a talk about Safety at Uber and Community Guidelines, among others.

Uber constantly works together with the government to help drivers, riders and cities move. Through Uber Movement, they will help to provide the Department of Public Works and Highways with data derived from daily Uber trips to help in urban planning.

Uber has announced that they are expanding their business into Pampanga to help give drivers more opportunities for livelihood and riders more choices and ways to get around their city.

Riders who are also Smart/Sun/TNT subscribers can now book Uber rides without incurring data charges. By downloading the freenetPH app on their phones, they can immediately book Uber rides. A P1 load balance is required for this.

Uber is also planning a special surprise for their riders during the fourth week of the celebration. This will be announced in the app. ■

5 tips to elevate your travel photography game PACKING light is the way to go when your travel itinerary is busy so you can be mobile. But that comes with a dilemma: How are you going to take the best #travelgoals photos if you can’t bring your trusty DSLR camera with you?

That’s where a good smartphone comes in handy. Doubling as a communication device and camera, it’s the best travel companion that goes with busy itineraries. Take it from Angel Juarez, the man behind the travel blog The Lakwatsero (www.lakwatsero.com). His entries often show stunning photos and videos—often taken with a smartphone.

His choice of mobile shooter: the Sony Xperia XZ1 (www.sony.com.ph).

“The Xperia XZ1 made it easier for me to travel light. I’m still amazed that I get features of digital camera in a smartphone. It also has all the useful travel apps that I need while on the road, too,” Juarez shares.

Having a smartphone as your primary camera during your trip affords you convenience and still allows you to take the best photos. Juarez says it’s all about knowing how to utilize your tool—and

here he shares five tips on how you can elevate your travel photography game using your phone.

TIP #1: FIND OPTIMAL LIGHTING. Juarez’s trusty XZ1 is good even in lowlight conditions. However, he stresses that having as much natural light as possible is still crucial to great photographs. “It’s still best practice to have great lighting when taking a shot,” he says.

TIP #2: FOLLOW BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY RULES. Snapping good shots means knowing the basics. “The composition rules and techniques of photography will always apply. The rule of thirds, framing and timing are important things you should know,” he says. Prior to your trip, read up on these rules online and take test shots on everyday scenery.

Which leads to his next tip....

TIP #3 PRACTICE OFTEN. To master taking travel photography, you must know your tool very well. “You need to explore the features of your phone and with constant practice, you can learn to maximize it during your trip,” Juarez shares. On busy days, take a break and walk around a nearby park and practice

TRAVEL blogger Angel Juarez on one of his adventures, snapped by the Sony Xperia XZ1.

taking shots of the scenery. Just imagine just how much better the shots you’ll take during your trip will look like.

TIP #4 CLEAN YOUR LENS. “Since we always use our phones, we can’t prevent dirt or fingerprints on the smartphone’s camera lens,” Juarez says. Give it a good wipe with a micro fiber cloth to ensure that it stays clear when it’s time to take a shot of beautiful scenery.

TIP #5 TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS. The key to getting the best shot possible is to take lots of them. Juarez encourages travelers to take photos from different angles and settings to find the one that stands out.

Using smartphone features like the XZ1’s predictive capture, for example, allows you take multiple shots while in motion or pressed for time, and allows you to choose the best one.

A10 Saturday, March 3, 2018

BusinessMirror

Stores make push in scan-and-go tech, hope shoppers adopt it N

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press

EW YORK—Shoppers at self-checkout lanes scanning all their groceries after they’re done shopping? Old school. More stores are letting customer tally their choices with a phone app or store device as they roam the aisles.

For customers, scanning as they go can be faster and make it simpler to keep track of spending. For stores, the big expansion of this technology coming this year costs less than installing more selfcheckouts.

Like many changes in retail, the expansion of scanand-go comes from retailers trying to make store shopping more convenient and hang on to customers used to Amazon, which just opened a cashierless store in Seattle. And like other automation technologies, it shifts more of the work to shoppers while freeing up employees for higher-value tasks.

That’s especially critical as stores look for ways to make their workers more efficient as they wrestle with rising wages.

The convenience of scanning while she shops is what Kari Malinak likes. She just started using the technology at a Walmart in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I’m a persnickety shopper,” Malinak said. “I can’t stand it when they bag my produce. It gets all bruised.

I like to have control. And I like the quick and easy aspect.” She says she also likes the idea of having a running total of spending as she shops.

The technology, while slightly different from chain to chain, allows shoppers at stores like Kroger and BJ’s Wholesale Club to scan UPC codes on items as they shop. It can be used for lots of products beyond just groceries and people change their minds about something, they can delete items and change quantities before they check out.

Some stores allow payment directly from the

JASON CHEN, chairman and CEO, Acer Inc.

phone, with a greeter then checking over the digital receipt, while others require shoppers to go to a selfcheckout lane or a kiosk to finalize their purchases.

A big push is coming this year from big chains: Kroger Co., the nation’s largest traditional grocery chain, is adding the scan-and-go technology to 400 stores. Walmart is testing the service in 120 stores, while all its Sam’s Club stores, which number around 600, have it. BJ’s Wholesale Club has launched the service in a handful of stores and plans to add it to about 100 clubs this year.

One reason is that stores are investing less in their self-checkout lanes and opting for scan-and-go technology that’s less expensive because it doesn’t need as much special hardware—just an app or the scanners, says Jason Goldberg, senior vice president of commerce and content practice at consulting group SapientRazorfish.

But while some customers feel comfortable scanning while shopping, plenty of others don’t.

“It’s a huge barrier for most retailers to get a consumer to download their app,” Goldberg says. He said stores also need to work on letting shoppers pay with their phones, so customers don’t have to go to a kiosk to finalize their purchases. Most executives wouldn’t say what percent of their transactions come from the service. But Dusty Lutz of retail technology company NCR Corp., which works with major grocery clients, says scan-and-go mobile-shopping accounts for 5 percent to 15 percent of customer transactions, based on an analysis of 40 retailers.

Walmart—which tested scan-and-go in a few stores in 2013 but ended the trial because shoppers found the technology too clunky—says the improved service is now the most preferred checkout method among those who tested it. Sam’s Club says 80 percent of its members who use it use it again within 90 days and its scan-and-go transactions have doubled this year. Some stores are enticing shoppers to spend more by pinging them with coupons while

they shop with the phone. Executives from BJ’s and NCR say shoppers are actually throwing more in their cart with this new technology.

Still, not everything can be scanned. At BJ’s clubs, jewelry and gift cards can’t be scanned but can be purchased at a pay station. Stores also have to be careful about theft. At Walmart, there’s an honor code when shoppers scan the barcode on the produce and enter in the weight. But the company says some purchases are randomly checked on their way through the express lane.

And the technology the big chains are using isn’t as effortless as the sensors and automatic payment at Amazon’s cashier-less stores. There, shoppers enter by scanning their phones. The store technology itself keeps track of what they pick up and charges them after they leave. It uses computer vision, machine learning algorithms and sensors to analyze what people are grabbing.

Amazon’s store isn’t without employees—there are workers making food, stocking shelves and helping customers. And grocery executives say the scanand-go services won’t eliminate jobs—rather, some cashiers will move to other parts of the store, like new online pickup stations.

“I don’t see the death of the cashier,” NCR’s Lutz said. “They will be doing things that provide more service to the shopper.”

Stores declined to say whether their ultimate goal was to replicate Amazon’s Go technology, saying the plan is to keep investing in the latest technology and improve customers’ experience.

“We’re trying to make our trips more convenient,” said Chris Baldwin, CEO of BJ’s.

And for shoppers who find it most convenient to go the traditional route with a cashier scanning their purchases? “Our goal is to provide members with a variety of options so they can check out however they prefer,” said Carrie McKnight, a Sam’s Club spokesman. ■

FROM left: Chen; Romnick Blanco, GreenEarth Heritage Foundation scholar and incoming student, Harvard University; Dr. Mylene V. Matti, founder and executive director, GreenEarth Heritage Foundation Inc.; and Manuel Wong, managing director of Acer Philippines Inc.

Acer celebrates 15 years of partnership MARKING its 15th anniversary in the country, Acer Philippines recognized its key business partners at its annual ePinnacle Awards.

“This celebration coincides with Acer’s ninth year as the country’s No. 1 PC vendor and 12th year as No. 1 notebook vendor. We wouldn’t be enjoying this success and the trust of Filipinos without the support of our partners and distributors,” said Manuel Wong, managing director of Acer Philippines Inc. Wong also underlined how from 2003 to 2017, their partners have helped them grow as a company, with their revenue skyrocketing to 50 times what they had made in their early operational years.

“The support of our friends has added to our passion and empowered our strong resolve to open up new possibilities for our consumers and business partners alike through a synthesis of our hardware, software and services,” Wong said. “Our partnership has allowed us to mutually prosper so much that it has given us the wonderful opportunity of giving back.”

As part of the celebration, the tech giant also

acknowledged their partner in Corporate Social Responsibility, GreenEarth Foundation.

Since 2011 Acer has been supporting GreenEarth Foundation, a non-government organization that aims to restore and preserve the forestry at the foothills of Sierra Madre while helping the communities residing in the area. In six years, the partnership has flourished and restored the region with 8,000 trees.

Likening their development as a company to how trees grow, Wong proudly announced how their efforts with GreenEarth have borne fruit.

Romnick Blanco, a farmer’s son and one of the many beneficiaries of the organization, has recently been accepted for a full scholarship from Harvard University. As a gift, Acer also provided him with his own notebook PC to aid him in his studies abroad.

“Romnick is only the first fruit of this special tie-up. We continue to pursue our commitment as a company until more young people like him have great opportunities opened to them. And with partners

like you, we are confident this is a reality we will be witnessing in the many years to come,” Wong said.

With the send-off, the ePinnacle awards night drew to a close. A total of 46 partners were awarded that evening in the following categories: Acer Provider Awards, Marketing Awards, Associate Partner Awards, Commercial Partner Awards, Consumer Partner Awards, Acer Distributor Awards and Partner of the Year Awards.

The prestigious awards ceremony was held at Cove Manila with over 500 partners in attendance.

Ending the evening on a high note were pop-music icons Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez-Alcasid serenading the guests.

“Through tonight’s celebration we opened the year strong,” Wong said. “Together with our partners, Acer Philippines will continue its legacy of providing the best quality tools and break the barriers between people and technology. Filipinos should get ready to see and experience the exciting things we have in store for them because the best is yet to come.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Kaspersky warns of relationship perils in the digital age

BY RIZAL RAOUL REYES ALTHOUGH the digital world allows couples greater opportunities to connect, leading network security provider Kaspersky warned of the perils if their relationship ends on a sour note. If things start to collapse, it pointed out that sharing intimate memories on devices or online accounts goes from being a perfectly natural part of a loving relationship, to a potential privacy nightmare.

“The digital world offers a great way for couples to connect, but also presents significant privacy risks if partners decide to go their separate ways,” said Andrei Mochola, head of consumer business at Kaspersky Lab said in a news statement.

“With a sizeable proportion of individuals seemingly willing to abuse the intimate data they have on their ex-partners, individuals should always make sure they are careful when sharing anything intimate and know exactly where it is being stored. Moreover, there’s always the option of a digital prenuptial agreement to determine the ‘custody’ of data before it becomes a privacy problem,” Mochola added.

According to Kaspersky Lab and Toluna, 21 percent of people have spied on their ex-partner via an online account they had access to but, with revenge also a key motivator for scorned lovers, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the privacy risks that accompany modern-day partners after a breakup.

Nevertheless, Mochola pointed out that a breakup doesn’t have to put the privacy of the people involved at risk. He reminded that people should make sure to change passwords to accounts that their expartner has access to, using the Kaspersky Password Manager to help generate strong passwords and store them securely.

Furthermore, he said the Kaspersky Total Security features a File Shredder feature which permanently deletes files that you don’t want anyone else to see, while intimate messages on your Android device can be hidden using the Privacy Protection feature.

The study noted 70 percent of couples share passwords, PINs or fingerprints to access their personal devices and 26 percent store some type of intimate data on their partner’s device: such as intimate messages from/to the partner (14 percent), intimate photos of themselves (12 percent) and intimate videos of them and their partner (11 percent).

In addition, people keep sensitive data on the accounts and devices they share with their partner—for example, financial information (11 percent) or workrelated data (11 percent).

Of those who have experienced a breakup, the study showed 12 percent have shared or wanted to share their ex-partner’s private information publicly as an act of revenge, 12 percent have damaged or wanted to damage their ex’s device, and 21 percent have spied on their former partner via accounts they had access to. There’s also a potential financial impact, with one in 10 people admitting to having spent their ex-partner’s money online.

Interestingly, Kaspersky noticed glaring differences between the sexes, as men are much more likely than women to share their ex-partner’s private information publicly as a form of revenge (17 percent versus 7 percent) and use their ex’s information for their own benefit (17 percent versus 8 percent). In comparison, women are much more willing than men to take the high road by deleting all their ex-partner’s information from their device (55 percent versus 49 percent) and deleting all partner photos or videos following a breakup (56 percent versus 48 percent).

Women, however, are also prone to some sneaky tactics, with 33 percent admitting to spying on their ex-partner via social networks compared to 28 percent of men.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Saturday, March 3, 2018 A11

German appeals court says Google doesn’t have to check links

Microso�t fights US in high court to protect global business

BY MARK SHERMAN The Associated Press

W

ASHINGTON—Microsoft has an eye on its international customers as it confronts the Trump administration in a Supreme Court fight about turning over e-mails to investigators.

The justices will hear arguments on Tuesday over whether the company, as part of an international drug-trafficking investigation, must comply with an American warrant for e-mails stored on a server in a Microsoft facility in Dublin, Ireland.

The case turns on a law written in 1986, long before the advent of cloud computing, when lawmakers couldn’t imagine a world in which Microsoft and other technology companies store data around the world. The Stored Communications Act sets rules for authorities when they want to gain access to electronic communications.

A federal appeals court agreed with Microsoft that the e-mails were beyond the warrant’s reach because they are kept outside the United States.

But the larger context is the technology sector’s need “to give customers around the world confidence that they can rely on us,” Microsoft president, Brad Smith, told reporters in a telephone call last Thursday.

The concerns stem in part from the 2013 leak of classified information detailing America’s surveillance programs and the role Microsoft and others played in turning over e-mails and other information.

Smith recalled a conversation in Berlin in which

a German official warned that Microsoft and its American rivals risked losing foreign business if they couldn’t protect their information from the United States government.

“I said then that we’d persist with this case all the way to the Supreme Court, if that were necessary.

That’s where we are today,” Smith said. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and IBM are among other technology companies backing Microsoft.

The Trump administration said it’s wrong to look at this case as involving foreign data. Microsoft can send data wherever it wants and retrieve information from around the world with a few clicks of a mouse at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters, the administration said, holding the same view as the Obama administration.

The problem is even more complex for information held by Google, which “stores the e-mails of US users all over the world, sometimes breaking an account into multiple ‘shards,’” Solicitor General Noel Francisco wrote in his Supreme Court brief. Google sometimes stores the text of an e-mail in one place and attachments in another, Francisco said.

Thirty-five states on the government’s side say a win for Microsoft would especially hamper drug and sex-crime investigations.

The technology companies have built data centers around the world to keep up with customers’ demands for speed and access. Microsoft maintains servers at more than 100 locations in 40 countries, according to court papers.

A federal judge in New York signed the warrant for the Microsoft account in December 2013.

Investigators believed it was being used in illegal-drug transactions. Court documents say nothing about the account holder’s citizenship or country of residence, but Smith said Microsoft’s policy is to store data in the country where the user lives or in a center closest to that country.

Microsoft turned over information about the user of the account, but went to court to defend its decision not to hand over the e-mails from Ireland.

For as much interest as the case has drawn—30 briefs from other technology companies, foreign governments, civil-liberties groups, media companies and privacy experts—Congress could limit the effect of a high court ruling or make the case go away altogether if it were to pass bipartisan legislation updating the 1986 Stored Communications Act. The proposed legislation, known as the Cloud Act, has the backing of the administration and Microsoft.

Smith said Microsoft agrees that “law enforcement needs information across borders,” but that should happen under “a new generation” of US and international laws.

The Cloud Act says “the location of data shouldn’t matter,” said Jennifer Daskal, an American University law professor. But it also includes a provision that would allow technology companies to resist some government requests for information, Daskal said.

Privacy experts say the legislation does not do enough to protect consumer interests either in the United States or abroad.

A decision in US versus Microsoft, 17-2, is expected by late-June. ■

BERLIN—A top German appeals court has ruled Google does not have to check the content of pages it links to for possible legal violations before providing search results.

The dpa news agency reported the Federal Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that Google does, however, have to react when “concrete evidence” of violations of law, such as child pornography or acts of violence, are reported.

The court upheld a lower ruling in a case brought by a couple who argued Google should be responsible for blocking links to sites where they said they were defamed.

Presiding Judge Gregor Galke says to compel Google and others to check every link would paralyze the service in practical terms.

Galke says “a general responsibility to regulate is incompatible with the function of search engines.” AP

YouTube dings InfoWars for slamming shooting survivors INFOWARS, a web site that suggested survivors of the Florida school shooting were coached on their pleas for gun control, says its video account was temporarily frozen by YouTube.

The suspension for harassment and bullying was subsequently lifted. YouTube, which is owned

by Google, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

InfoWars says it had multiple videos removed from YouTube, including one in which host Owen Shroyer alleges that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg “can’t remember his lines” during a TV interview following the February 14 shooting that left 17 dead.

The site says it also received a strike, or warning, for harassment and bullying. It says a second strike that it says was assessed early Tuesday was removed hours later. AP

NESSOTECH LAUNCHES TOGETECH AND MONEYGMENT APP NESSOTECH, an information-technology firm and systems solutions provider engaged in software development with a decade of experience, has been serving companies, such as banks and nonbank remittance firms, applying for their technical accreditation with the Philippine Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

(PhilHealth) and the Home Mutual Development Fund of the Philippines (Pag-IBIG Fund), to enable collection of contribution and loan payments of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), selfemployed and voluntary members.

Managed by a seasoned team from the financial and IT sectors, and headed

by President and CEO Ma. Jessica Palmiano, Nessotech has diversified with the recent establishment of Togetech, whose mandate is the creation of mobile applications that directly serve the customers, which includes retail and peer-to-peer client.

Togetech envisions itself to be a provider of applications geared toward connectivity, financial inclusion and convenience of customers. It initially launched the Moneygment, which is a

payments solutions mobile app providing remittance for government contributions and loans, as well as computation, filing and tax payments.

The founders of Moneygment understand the importance of these contributions, especially to the OFWs and their families that they have been serving for the past few years.

This inspired them to work continuously in improving their systems in order to provide the most up-to-date services and reports to their customers.

They are aware of the difficulties regarding delays in processing and unposted transactions causing benefits to be delayed, as well.

That’s why they developed the Moneygment app that customers can easily access through their mobile devices and, consequently, immediately generate reports and get updates about their transactions.

Moneygment caters, as well, to the growing number of self-employed individuals, freelancers, homemakers paying for the mandatory contributions of their kasambahay or household help, and micro and small enterprises to make

paying and filing taxes and government contributions easy and convenient.

“Moneygment does not only focus on providing convenience for spending, but spending on things that will help ‘futureproof’ our customers,” says Palmiano, also the president and CEO of Togetech.

“Future-proofing means being responsible citizens through filing and paying taxes, ensuring savings and

insurance coverage through government initiatives provided by SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG. We are all focused on the now, yet we may lose sight of what we need to prepare for the future, so we give you Moneygment to help you secure that future. The future does not only refer to when you are 60 years old and above. This is as simple as ensuring you have medical funds when you get sick, claiming for

calamity loans when calamities happen, applying to own your home or looking for a funding source for your desired trip to another country. Future-proofing is also helping you achieve financial confidence by being able to provide financial tax returns even if you are operating a microenterprise, enabling you to secure financial assistance in growing your business.”

The Moneygment app is available for download on Android via the Google Play Store and soon on iOS. Through this mobile application, customers can enjoy the convenience of paying for their government contributions anytime from wherever they are. Customers can transfer payments through Moneygment accredited partners without the need for owning a bank account.

Togetech will continuously integrate with partner institutions, such as insurance companies, microfinance and government institutions, in order to provide customers with the convenience in paying for these types of contributions, and achieve real-time posting of payments. Reports are also made available in every step of the process.

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, March 3, 2018 A12

GALACTIC or microscopic? Neither, it’s volcanic! Views of Mayon Volcano feature the eruption materials from the crater, and areas with steepest slopes.

The naked Mayon THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

W

E were barely done with all the firework displays of the New Year when our most-prized Mayon decided to join in and began to show

signs of activity.

After four years of seemingly peaceful slumber, the country’s most active volcano once again roared back to life, as if to remind us of all that destructive force beneath her picturesque “perfect cone.”

It was January 13, 2018, when the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology first reported a “phreatic” or steam-driven ash eruption.

In the days that followed, the 8,070-foot volcano began incessantly releasing spurts of incandescent molten rock, spewing clouds of smoke and ash into the sky, eventually forcing over 30,000 local residents to evacuate and save themselves from her intensifying fury.

Mayon has always been the most active volcano in the Philippines. Its first recorded eruption was in 1616 with the most explosive eruption happening in 1814, when columns of ash rose miles high, destroying nearby towns and killing 1,200 people. There have been roughly 58 known events—four of them in the last decade, these events ranging from small sputters to full-on disasters.

Each time Mayon erupts, many describe it as a “Beautiful Disaster” as it induces both awe and fear.

I’m pretty sure your social-media feed has also been erupting with photos from friends and friends of friends who either shared or even went to Albay (or is it Naga?) to experience this rare occurrence.

What caught my attention, however, were a totally different set of photos that stood out from the rest.

Instead of those scenic angles and filtered snaps, these pictures showed the nakedness of the beautiful mound of earth and molten lava.

The photos were from a company called Iraya Energies. At first, the photos reminded me of the ones you see during typhoon reports and earthquakes, but after a short chat with the Iraya team, it turned out to be so much more than terrain photos.

Iraya Energies is a geoscience start-up that applies artificial intelligence (AI) to understand the earth. It is founded by Niña Marie Hernandez, a Bicolano herself, and scientist with an experience of 15 years in the energy and geoscience industry. She now leads a team of six young and dynamic Filipino geoscientists after starting operations a year ago.

The recent eruption of Mayon Volcano in the Bicol

region of the Philippines, Hernandez says, serves as a reminder of how much natural disasters can disrupt human activities and further stresses the importance of science and technology to predict consequences and limit losses to communities.

They believe that by using the power of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and deep learning, they can solve complex earth problems.

“We at Iraya are developing algorithms that learn geoscience concepts through the big earth data examples we’re showing them. We organize and analyze earth data so that we can help companies and governments explore and manage earth resources more effectively, and sustainably. Oftentimes, we are even surprised ourselves by how efficient these machines are in organizing, classifying and quantifying data to aid us in understanding the earth that we live in. Nature in numbers is both beautiful and powerful.”

In the case of Mayon Volcano, Iraya used Sentinel satellite data to monitor the deformation of the volcano in 3D. The processed data images the inflation corresponding to the build-up of magma prior to eruption and deflation corresponding to the release of pressure post-eruption.

“Amazingly, it’s almost as if we can see the volcano as a living, breathing being,” she described.

The risks associated with Mayon Volcano are not merely hot lava and ash fall due to the ongoing eruption. There can still be catastrophic consequences further down the line, like in 2006, when Typhoon Reming triggered deadly landslides of volcanic materials from previous eruptions, and this is what we need to avoid.

Iraya used unsupervised clustering techniques to fast-track mapping of potential affected areas.

Niña adds, “It is essential to constantly monitor the surrounding communities and map high-risk areas because geology is dynamic. This is where highresolution data acquisition, artificial intelligence and automation can help. There’s still a long way to go in field validation, but through close communication with government agencies, new techniques can provide timely information to manage natural disturbances and limit their detrimental effects to communities.”

Apart from looking at satellite data, Iraya’s day job is the application of artificial-intelligence techniques to unlock earth’s energy resources in the subsurface, dealing with a type of data called well logs and seismic data. Log data are acquired by digging through holes in the ground 2-4 km deep, while seismic data are acquired on land, or at sea by ships which send sound waves through the earth so that we can image whether there’s oil, water or gas, and understand the types of rock that are present in the subsurface. Seismic data are like a CT scan or x-ray, but instead of scanning the human body, it is applied on the earth’s terrain and covers several thousands of square kilometers to show what is happening beneath the earth.

“While most artificial-intelligence companies

focus on other areas such as retail, consumer products, marketing, etc., we are focused on the earth.

Our company is registered in Singapore, because we’re also positioning ourselves as a technology company in Southeast Asia, while maintaining focus in the energy needs of the Philippines.”

Iraya is the one of first companies doing such research in Asia, and one of the few in the world.”

After Mayon, Hernandez says they will continue their machine learning work on the subsurface, which is developing algorithms for automated feature identification. She compares it to “face detection” technology which has become a popular feature in smartphones, but applied to the resources in the earth.

I must admit that even after our chat, it is still a bit difficult for ordinary people to understand AI and geoscience, but Hernandez is optimistic about the future of Deep Technology. “I think there is a lot of public and private funds available in the Philippines, but we need to encourage more investments in Deep Technology. While these take a longer time, typically several years to bear fruit and has higher risks, it positions Filipino scientists as a leading technology developer, rather than being simply a technology adaptor or user, in the same way as other developed countries, such as the United States, Europe or China.

And when we talk of technology, the market base automatically becomes bigger, i.e. the global market rather than just Philippines. This is how we recoup the big investment needed to develop such deep technologies.”

“Raising funds is a means to an end, not the end itself. Many start-ups are pressured to deliver within months, but, as we know by experience, it takes years to create value. Meanwhile, if you are a private individual or investor interested in an investment opportunity in a woman-led AI company in energy space in Southeast Asia, with love for the earth, send me a message, I know just the right opportunity for you!”

For more information on the applications of AI in geoscience, send an e-mail to info@irayaenergies.com or visit www.irayaenergies.com.

MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS FOR THE DIGITAL AGE ADULTING—it’s one of those made-up words that have become a favorite among millennials. It means “to carry out one or more of the duties expected of fully developed individuals” (i.e. paying off that creditcard debt, getting a regular job, doing grown-up stuff, etc). The older generation (me included) used a similar term—it’s called being responsible, but I guess one word sounds way cooler than two.

Becoming responsible also means buying your own stuff—things used by real adults, like your own plates, a desk or a couch. And if you’re really adulting big time, it’s moving into your own place and buying your own furniture.

If you fall into the latter category and are searching for fine furniture for your new crib, you’re in luck as

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FILIPINA scientist Niña Marie Hernandez leads a geoscience artificial-intelligence start-up called Iraya Energies.

the Philippines International Furniture Show (PIFS) will be held next week from March 8 to 10 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Mall of Asia Complex.

Considered as one of Southeast Asia’s premier trade fairs, PIFS showcases an extensive range of furniture products, accessories and décor. It is jointly organized by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc., the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines and the Pampanga Furniture Industries Foundation.

Keeping true to its promotion as the “Milan of Asia,” the Philippines has a strong reputation for originality and new, often groundbreaking interpretation. That’s why PIFS continues to attract of buyers who want to see first-hand what Filipino design and craftsmanship has to offer. They come from countries as far as the United States, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Australia, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany and India.

Branded as the ultimate design event, PIFS will once again be held alongside the Interior & Design Manila, the most sought-after event for architects, interior designers and design enthusiasts.

Stimulating and interactive activities are conducted for young professionals, namely, Interior Design Plus, Interior Design Excellence Award Pavilion and the Continuing Professional Development Conference where known personalities in the industry, local and international, are invited to share knowledge on their field of expertise.

Last year PIFS reached another record breaking 11,453 in visitor count, 40 percent of which were trade buyers from 32 different countries across the world.

For more information about the show, visit the web site and preregister at www.pifs.ph. ■