Businessmirror may 20, 2017

BusinessMirror Bicol ‘gold rush’

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Unregulated ‘kamote mining’ begs for Minahang Bayan

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

mall-scale miners continue to literally reap gold from this highly lucrative trade, and there’s no stopping the so-called gold rush in known mineral-rich areas, like Aroroy and Paracale, in the Bicol region.

Miners have barely scratched the surface of the huge gold deposit in the Bicol region, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said, underscoring the trade’s huge potential to boost the country’s economic growth and the region’s economic development. Bicol is endowed with rich mineral resources, which include gold, copper, guano, rock phos-

phate, marble, silver, lead and manganese. In 2016 the region contributed 6,414.26 kilograms of gold, with an estimated production value P13.57 billion. The figure represents outputs of large-scale mines. Small-scale miners’ gold production remains unaccounted for, as these types of gold miners sell them to the black market to avoid government taxes.

Small-scale mines in Bicol are concentrated in the towns of Aroroy, Mobo, Milagros and Baleno. In Camarines Norte there are smallscale mining in the towns of Labo, Paracale and Panganiban, and a small area in Capalonga. While there is a huge economic potential in small-scale mining in the Bicol region, the environment official said there is currently no Continued on A2

₧13.57B

The total estimated value of gold mined in the Bicol region last year. Despite the staggering figure, however, a Bicol DENR official says miners have barely scratched the surface of local gold deposits.

House mulls over higher taxes on sodium, alcohol drinks for a ‘healthier’ population

Pricier ‘salty’ foods, booze he House of Representatives is now seriously considering the passage of proposals imposing “sin” taxes on salty products and adjusting the current excise taxes on alcoholic beverages. Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Scott Davies S. Lanete of Masbate and Deputy Speaker Sharon S. Garin of AAMBIS-OWA said their House Bills (HBs) 3719 and 4839, respectively, are both revenue and health measures. The two bills are both under deliberations before the House Committee on Ways and Means. In HB 3719, Lanete proposed the imposition of an excise of P1 on

every milligram of sodium in excess of one-third of the allowable daily intake of sodium chloride as prescribed by the Department of Health. These proposals are different from the Duterte administration’s tax-reform package, which seeks to lower personal income-tax rates; expand the value-added tax base; adjust excise taxes on petroleum and automobiles; imposing excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages;

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and ease the rates of estate and donor’s taxes. The leadership of the lower chamber has already expressed confidence that tax package will be passed before its sine die adjournment on May 31.

Silent killer

“During the ancient times, salt was heavily taxed due to its importance in various cuisines and rarity. However, as civilization improved, salt became more and more available. Its ready availability placed it outside of states’ interest as subject of sin taxes. Thus, at present, it is no longer subjected to heavy taxes,” Lanete said. “But nowadays, salt has acquired a new image. It is now treated as a silent killer as its consumption has a correlation with high blood pressure, which consequently leads to increased risks of having a heart attack and stroke,” he added. Continued on A2

HBs 3719 & 4839

The two measures filed by Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Scott Davies S. Lanete of Masbate and Deputy Speaker Sharon S. Garin of AAMBIS-OWA that are now undergoing deliberations, proposing the imposition of an excise tax on salty foods and an adjustment on the tax on alcohol beverages

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Source: BSP (19 May 2017 )

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A2 Saturday, May 20, 2017

Bicol gold rush Continued from a1

designated area for the miners to legally extract minerals, stressing the need to designate Minahang Bayan in the two provinces to legalize the trade. The small-scale mining industry continues to attract investors who act as financiers, because of the huge return on investments. In some cases, small-scale mining operators even have acquired heavy equipment, such as dump trucks, payloaders and backhoes to haul ores. While small-scale miners do not pay taxes, mining can be very lucrative or at least sustain a decent livelihood, Director Christian O. Oropesa, division chief of the Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Region 5, told the BusinessMirror in an interview. In Masbate, as well as in Camarines Norte, he said, small-scale mining is not so small, as some large-scale miners merely “pretend” to be small time.

A way of life

Although illegal, small-scale mining has been a way of life in the two provinces for centuries. Ironically, these miners are yet to realize its full potentials. According to Oropesa, smallscale mining has been going on

for centuries and is begging to be regulated. “It was the Chinese who started mining here. Then the Spaniards came. Then the Americans. Now that they are gone, the locals are the ones mining for gold,” Oropesa said in Filipino. There are around 500,000 small-scale miners operating in the Philippines. In Masbate province alone there are around 30,000 engaged in small-scale gold mining, including artisanal gold mining or gold-panning activities. The number, he said, occasionally goes up and down, depending on the gold find. “Sometimes, when small-scale miners hit a bonanza, the number of small-scale miners goes up,” he said.

Environmental degradation

Since artisanal and small-scale gold miners operate illegally, environmental degradation and destruction caused by their operation remain unchecked, Oropesa lamented. Some small-scale miners, he said, operate their own processing plants, maintain small tailings pond where they dispose of mercury-tainted waste, but in the end, these are inadvertently dumped into streams and rivers, especially during heavy rains. Unlike large-scale mining companies, small-scale miners do

not have the capacity to minimize environmental impact of their operation. They also lack financial resources to rehabilitate areas affected by their operation.

said, does not seem to apply well, because whenever the Mines and Geosciences Board-Bicol recommends the cancellation of the MPSA, the holder of the mining rights suddenly “awakens” to fight for his or her prior right to mine in the area.

Small-scale miners do not have their own mining areas, and are often encroaching on mining tenements of large-scale mining companies. “Sometimes, when they encroach, mining companies go to us to complain,” he said. Expressing his dismay over the inaction, Oropesa said small-scale miners are deprived of the right to legally extract minerals, also because of the fact that large-scale mining already owns the right to mine over vast tracts of land with potential gold deposits. There are currently 35 Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) in Region 5, covering almost all gold-rich areas, but only seven are considered “active”. Aside from the existing MPSAs, there are five more applications for MPSA, leaving little space for small-scale miners to have their own Minahang Bayan. Oropesa said in the past, he recommended the cancellation of several MPSAs, but the mining companies would not let go of their mining tenement. The “use it or lose it policy”, he

Illegal mining

MPSAs

As there are no declared Minahang Bayan in the area, small-scale mining activities in the two provinces operate “kamote mining” in tenements of large-scale mining companies, he said. Under Republic Act 7076, or the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991, and Executive Order 76, small-scale mining activities are supposed to be conducted within a declared Minahang Bayan, where there will be a central processing plant for gold processing. Oropesa said the establishment of Minahang Bayan in the two provinces is a must to regulate small-scale mining. There are currently five Minahang Bayan applications waiting for approval by the DENR Central Office since 2014. The five Minahang Bayan applications, he said, are in Aroroy, particularly Barangay Habayuan— one covering a total of 81 hectares and another covering 233 hectares. In Paracale, Camarines Norte, there are three potential Minahang Bayans covering a total of 350 hectares. These are in barangays Bagum-

Pricier ‘salty’ foods, booze Continued from a1

Lanete said a significant number of countries have imposed sin taxes on salt to deter people from consuming it, saying it is also a way for these states to pressure their citizens into adopting a healthier diet. Among the countries that impose heavy taxes on salt are Vietnam, Uganda, Tanzania, Suriname, Sri Lanka, Panama, Morocco, Kenya, Jordan and Cambodia.

The lawmaker, citing the 1987 Constitution, said the state shall protect and promote the right of health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

High time

“Thus, it is high time the Philippines adopted strict measures in ensuring the safety and well-being of Filipinos. Imposing a tax on the production, sale and consumption more than the prescribed daily intake will also generate additional

funds for the government,” he said. The proposal seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 8424 by inserting a new provision that states all manufactured goods that have sodium chloride, or any of its derivatives, as an ingredient and which included, but are not limited to, canned goods, processed food and junk food, a tax of P1 shall be levied on every milligram of sodium in excess of onethird of the allowable daily intake of sodium chloride, as prescribed by the health department.

Under the bill, the Department of Finance, in coordination with other government agencies concerned, shall promulgate not later than 30 days from the effectivity of the act the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this measure. Dr. Cecilia Cristina Acuin of the Food and Nutrition Research of the Department of Science and Technology has already backed the proposal, saying moderate

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bayan, Gumahos and Palanas. “It is best to regulate smallscale mining. But the application for Minahang Bayan needs to be approved first,” he said.

Life or death

friends to stop selling dynamites to small-scale mining, but to no avail. “I’ve been asking them to stop selling dynamites. Without these dynamites, small-scale mining will stop,” he said.

Even if they are operating illegally, Oropesa said gold mining is a matter of life and death for many artisanal and small-scale miners. “It’s their livelihood. It has been their traditional source of income, so you can’t stop them. Even if you stop them once, they will return the next day when you are no longer watching,” he said in Filipino. Oropesa added that smallscale miners face grave danger, especially when they use dynamite to dig deeper. He said the MGB-Bicol continues to conduct training for smallscale miners, hoping that one day, when they have their own Minahang Bayan, they will finally do it right, and pay the government taxes, and prevent soil, air and water pollution with toxic mercury. “Right now, they are operating illegally, and pollution is inevitable, because they use dynamites to blast in tunnels, dump mercury they use in makeshift tailings pond and don’t pay taxes. Imagine the money flowing in the pockets of those financing their operation?” he said. According to Oropesa, he has been talking to some military

Lucrative trade

consumption of sodium is needed. “Salt is about 40-percent sodium. A teaspoon of salt [about 5 grams] contains about 2 grams of sodium, which is the recommended amount to be consumed in a day by a healthy adult. This amount would be much less in children, and even more so in infants,” Acuin told the Ways and Means Committee during the measure’s first hearing. “It must be acknowledged, though, that salt is added for taste and safety—to reduce the microbial contaminant of food—as well as to extend the shelf life of food,” Acuin said. Other sources of sodium in the diet, aside from salt, include monosodium glutamate or vetsin, sodium bicarbonate or baking soda, and baking powder, she added. Acuin added that the food groups that contribute significantly to the sodium intake of Filipinos are fish, meat and poultry products that are canned and processed; fish, meat and poultry products that are minimally processed; baked products; and instant noodles.

law,” he said. For his part, Deputy Speaker and Liberal Party Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina City said the lower chamber should determine first whether RA 10351, or the sintax reform law, was able to meet its objectives as a health-promotion and revenue-generation measure. Under the bill, on distilled spirits, an ad valorem tax equivalent to 25 percent of the net retail price—excluding the excise tax and the value-added tax (VAT)— per proof and in addition to the ad valorem tax herein imposed a specific tax of P30 per proof liter. In addition to the ad valorem tax herein imposed, the specific tax rate of P30 imposed under this section shall be increased by 5 percent every year thereafter, effective on January 1, 2018, through revenue regulations issued by the secretary of finance. On wines, the bill said sparkling wines/champagnes, regardless of proof, if the net retail price per bottle of 750-milliliter volume capacity (excluding the excise tax and the VAT) is P500 or less, the tax shall be P300, while if more than P500, the tax shall be P800. It also said for still wines and carbonated wines containing 14 percent of alcohol by volume or less, the tax shall be P40. Meanwhile, for still wines and carbonated wines containing more than 14 percent but not more than 25 percent of alcohol by volume, the tax shall be P70. Under the bill, the said tax rates shall be increased by 5 percent every year thereafter, effective January 1, 2018, through revenue regulation issued by the secretary of finance. On fermented liquors, which include beer, lager beer, ale and porter, the bill said if the net retail price (excluding the excise tax and VAT) per liter of volume capacity is P50.60 or less, the tax shall be P28 per liter. It added if the net retail price (excluding the excise tax and VAT) per liter of volume capacity is more than P50.60, the tax shall be P30 per liter.

Alcoholic drinks

In her House Bill 4839, Garin intends to bring the level of the sin tax imposed on alcoholic products on a par with the “heavily taxed” tobacco and cigarette products. According to Garin, 70 percent of the total excise-tax collection came from tobacco and cigarette products, while only 30 percent was collected from alcohol products. “This means that tobacco and cigarette products are heavily taxed than that of alcohol products because of health effects. Tobacco and cigarette products have adverse health effects, while alcohol is believed to have certain benefits when drunk moderately,” she said. Lakas-CMD Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. of Surigao del Sur, however, warned that an increase in taxes on alcohol products may subsequently reduce government revenue collection because of the expected decrease in alcohol consumption. “This situation will ultimately defeat the purpose of the proposed

Small-scale mining, Oropesa said, is somehow sustainable, because those who have hit the “bonanza” or “jackpot” can earn as much as P50,000 a week for months. “Some have already built mansions. Small-scale mining is profitable,” he said. Even small-scale mine workers can earn a small fortune and become owners of a tunnel themselves with a little luck. “If they are good at managing their income, they can become owners of tunnels. Some have become rich because of gold mining already. Some already built mansions out of small-scale mining,” he said. Oropesa reiterated that smallscale mining in the Bicol region should be regulated, starting with the establishment of a Minahang Bayan, and organization of smallscale miners into mining cooperatives, for them to maximize the benefit, ensure safety, prevent pollution and for governments— both national and local—to earn revenues from this very lucrative, but highly extractive, trade called gold mining.

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Progress made on draft of sea code

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hina and the 10 countries in the Asean have agreed on the rough outline of a legally binding code of conduct designed to prevent clashes in the strategic South China Sea, officials said. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin was quoted in state media on Friday as saying the agreement laid a “solid foundation” for further negotiations. “A ll parties have vowed to

continue to constructively advance the negotiations” toward the early conclusion of the code of conduct, Liu was quoted as tel l ing X in hu a News A genc y following Thursday’s meeting

in the southern Chinese city of Guiyang. T he Ph i l ippines welcomed the finalization of the draft of the framework. It contains elements that the parties agreed upon a nd w i l l be presented to Chinese and Asean foreign ministers in August for consideration, the statement from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said. No details were given and Liu said the text of the framework agreement would remain secret for now. No date was given for the adoption of a full code of conduct. Also on Friday, China

and Asean member the Philippines were to meet separately to discuss an agenda for future talks on their dispute over islands and waters in the eastern portion of the South China Sea. China was enraged by a ruling last year from a Hague tribunal invalidating most of its South China Sea claims in a case brought by the Philippines. President Duterte has downplayed that ruling as part of his push for a broad improvement in relations between the sides since taking office in June that has cast a shadow over Manila’s ties to its longtime ally, the US.

Despite the thaw in relations, China protested a visit last month by Manila’s defense and military chiefs to a disputed island in the South China Sea. The Philippine government maintained that it owns the territory where Filipino troops and villagers have lived for decades. China and the members of Asean committed 15 years ago to signing a code of conduct, but progress has been slow amid disputes over the body of water that China claims virtually in its entirety. In the absence of such an agreement, they have followed a separate document called the Decla-

ration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, or DOC, which, among other provisions, commits the parties to “exploring ways for building trust and confidence...on the basis of equality and mutual respect”. Along with the Philippines, Asean members Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam also maintain claims in the South China Sea that overlap with those of China and Taiwan. An estimated $5 trillion in global trade annually passes through the South China Sea, which is also home to rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of oil, gas and other natural resources. AP

BOI streamlines reporting requirement World’s best casino stock Melco for its registered firms, simplifies S-1 Form buoyed by Duterte’s China pivot

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n an effort to further streamline its processes and transactions, the Board of Investments (BOI) has simplified the reporting requirement for its registered business enterprises (RBEs) with the issuance of Memorandum Circular 2017-003. Signed by Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo by authority of the Board on February 15, the new circular provides for the implementation of the revised S-1 Form requiring RBEs to submit only an Annual Report on Actual Operations. The S-1 Form contains an RBE’s report on operations, including attachments, such as income-tax returns, audited annual financial statements, and production and sales reports. The revised S-1 Form will be used for reporting starting year 2016. The BOI, however, extended the deadline for submission of the reportorial requirement operations for year 2016 from April 30 to May 15, 2017, to give RBEs enough time to be more familiar with the revised S-1 Form. RBEs

should submit the revised S-1 Form notarized and in hard and soft copies (MS Excel Format) within the prescribed period as follows: for Calendar Year—April 30 of every year; and for Fiscal Year—four months after the end of Fiscal Year. RBEs are required to submit one report for each registered project. The revised S-1 Form is universal and replaces the eight different types of S-1 Forms for various industries and sectors. With the more compact and simplified S-1 Form, RBEs are no longer required to submit S1-2 Forms, or the Semestral Report on Actual Operations. The submission of such reports within the prescribed period are required by law, under Rule XI of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order 226, or the Omnibus Investments Code, which provides the board to periodically check and verify the compliance by RBEs with relevant provisions of the code, its rules and regulations, and terms and conditions for registration. The revised S-1 Form is downloadable at

the BOI web site (www.boi.gov.ph). To help RBEs in filling out the form, a Glossary and Guidelines of S-1 can be also downloaded at the web site under “BOI Applications” tab, “Downloadable Forms” sub tab, “Monitoring” sub tab, then “Annual Report” sub tab. All mandatory fields must be accomplished and the data pertaining to the enterprise and registered project must be accurate. The BOI is planning to offer online submission of reportorial requirements in the future to make submissions more convenient and easier for BOI-RBEs. The BOI also conducted a series of Compliance Information Drive in April and May of this year as part of its effort to foster constructive partnerships and to keep BOI-registered enterprises abreast with the new policies and guidelines in relation to their registration with the agency. The information drive covered familiarization and a walk through of the participants on the new S-1 Form.

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elco Crown Philippines Resorts Corp. is the bestperforming casino stock in the world this year. To punters playing baccarat at the company’s City of Dreams venue in Manila, that’s no surprise. “Foreign players have multiplied and they’re mostly Chinese,” said Fernando, 49, a Filipino supply manager who has been gambling at City of Dreams—which boasts gold-tinted windows and a children’s theme park—since it opened officially in 2015. He didn’t want to give his surname. “There are times that you need to wait to get a seat at the tables and when there’s a thick crowd it’s not rare that you’re playing with a Chinese tourist.” China is key to this year’s 122-percent surge in shares of Melco Crown Philippines, a subsidiary of Hong Kong gaming behemoth Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. The close connection with Macau puts Melco Crown Philippines in the box seat to benefit from President Duterte’s bid to ease tensions with Beijing. At the same time, an anticorruption drive in the former Portuguese colony is sending gamblers south to Manila. Ironically, the company’s link to the Chinese betting enclave— Melco Resorts owns four casinos in Macau—has been a factor in its stock’s success. The Philippines’s embrace of phone ga mbl ing , banned in Macau last year, is also a big plus for Chinese punters. Since the end of 2015, Melco Crown Philippines has returned almost eight times more than a Bloomberg Intelligence index of global casino stocks. The company is posting the steepest gains among casino operators with a market value of at least $500 million this year—and it only just started turning a profit. A mong Philippine casinos, “City of Dreams Manila has the strongest Macau connection, so the expectation is, at some point, its gaming revenue will grow faster and become the biggest in the industry,” said Noel Reyes, who helps manage $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at Security Bank Corp. in Manila. Melco Crown Philippines “is getting revalued on prospects it will soon become profitable because of the renewal of ties between Beijing and Manila”.

Chinese tourists

Duterte, who’s attracted controversy over his anti-US rhetoric and a bloody drug war, announced a pivot to China and Russia last October. He’s repeatedly touted the benefits of warmer ties with Asia’s largest economy. The rhetoric appears to be paying off, with Chinese tourists to the Philippines up 25 percent in the first two months of 2017, accounting for about 14 percent of total visits, government data show. China overtook Japan as the Philippines’s third-biggest source of tourists last year. Gross gaming revenue, meanwhile, rose 20 percent in the first nine months of 2016, from the same period a year earlier, according to the latest data available from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Cor p. T he Southeast Asian nation—which r e l i e s o n r e m it t a n c e s f r o m workers overseas for about 10 percent of its economy—could ultimately surpass Singapore on gaming, Universal Entertainment Cor p. Chair man K azuo Okada said last December. Melco Crown Philippines has trod a rocky road to casino-stock supremacy. The shares slumped 83 percent in 2015 as Beijing’s crackdown on graft and official excess sparked concern the nascent flow of Chinese gamblers could ebb. While the anticorruption drive remains in place, that pullback lured investors like BDO Unibank Inc., which began buying Melco Crown Philippines stock last year.

More gains

“We were seeing signs of a recovery based on the inflow of tourists and growth in industry gaming revenue,” said Frederico Ocampo, BDO Unibank ’s chief investment officer. “There’s more

City of Dreams Manila has the strongest Macau connection, so the expectation is, at some point, its gaming revenue will grow faster and become the biggest in the industry.” —Security Bank’s Noel Reyes

room for stock appreciation once investors realize that prospects have changed.” The equity gains reflect the strength of the Philippine gaming market and the success of City of Dreams Manila, Melco Resorts Chairman Lawrence Ho said in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News. “Our successful investment in Manila reinforces our confidence in identifying and investing in new markets.” Shares of Melco Crown Philippines rose as much as 3.2 percent on Friday. The Philippines has jumped on phone betting amid the Macau ban, with punters able to place bets at City of Dreams Manila via phone while watching the game play out through a live video stream. Casino gambling by phone is also banned in Singapore. Having a parent active in Macau has helped Melco Crown Philippines gain momentum, according to Richard Laneda, an analyst at COL Financial Group Inc. City of Dreams Manila’s hold rate for high rollers—the portion of a VIP’s buy-in held by a casino—is about 20 percent above the industry’s long-term average, Laneda said. But the link to Melco Resorts could also be a liability.

Macau link

“City of Dreams, because it is highly exposed to the Chinese market, will be more sensitive to the state of politics between Manila and Beijing,” Security Bank’s Reyes said. L ooser v i s a requ i rement s agreed to last year are expected to boost Chinese visitor arrivals to the Philippines in 2017, and Citigroup Inc. is predicting growth for all casino operators. At the same time, a revival in VIP gaming and a pivot toward catering to casual punters and tourists is underpinning a recovery in Macau. That shouldn’t worry the Philippines, Fernando said, the supply manager playing baccarat at City of Dreams Manila. “I haven’t been to Macau but the Chinese are coming here to Manila to play so the casinos here must be the same to what they have there,” he said, while cashing in his chips. “My friends who have been to Macau say the service and atmosphere here in Manila is friendlier.” Bloomberg News

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Saturday, May 20, 2017

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Germany’s Angelique Kerber returns the ball to Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, on May 17. AP

Unbeaten FC Meralco Manila defends title vs JPV Marikina

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NBEATEN leader FC Meralco Manila guns its third straight victory against JPV Marikina on Saturday in the Philippine Football League (PFL) at the Biñan Football Stadium in Laguna. The match is set at 4 p.m. Meralco, following its second straight win in beating Ilocos United at home, 2-1, last week, seeks to get its ninth point of the tourney to tighten its grip on top. JPV Marikina will try to get its second straight win in its third match. Kaya Makati, meanwhile, shoots for first win, as it hosts the winless Davao Aguilas at 7 p.m. at the University of Makati Football Stadium. Both Kaya and Davao have yet to win a game in the PFL. The Makati-based team lost its first match, 0-1, at the helm of Global Cebu on opener, while Aguilas was held to 1-1 draw in its first match with Ilocos two weeks ago and lost to JPV Marikina, 2-3, last week. On Sunday second running Global Cebu eyes its second win in visiting Stallion Laguna at 4 p.m. at the Biñan Football Stadium. Fresh from a 2-2 draw with Singapore’s Home United in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup Asean Zone semifinals, Global Cebu resumes its PFL bid after a weeklong hiatus since its 2-1 win over JPV Marikina two weeks ago. Stallion Laguna will play its second straight game trying to rebound from a 1-5 rout to Meralco on opener.

NOT IN TIP-TOP SHAPE R

OME—Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber, the top-ranked men’s and women’s professional tennis players, have charted largely parallel wayward courses in 2017, struggling to summon the form that earned them their top rankings last year. Neither will head to the French Open, which begins on May 28, with momentum of any sort, after each lost in their first match at the Italian Open this week. Murray lost in straight sets to 29th-ranked Fabio Fognini on Monday night in front of a raucous Italian home crowd. Kerber followed Murray out of the tournament on Tuesday, losing the final 10 games against a qualifier, 68th-ranked Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, in a 6-4, 6-0 defeat in only 56 minutes. “I just feel like I’m not playing well,” Murray said on Monday. “I’m not playing my best tennis right now,” Kerber said on Tuesday. Their arcs have more similarities than differences. Murray, 30, and Kerber, 29, assumed the top spot in the rankings for the first time last year. Murray won Wimbledon and reached the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open. Kerber won the Australian Open and the US Open, and reached the Wimbledon final. Both may have not adequately rested after grueling campaigns. Murray ended the year by winning five tournaments in seven weeks; Kerber said she did not allow herself enough time “being in the moment” and resetting. As top seeds at a Grand Slam event for the first time, both lost in the fourth round at this year’s Australian Open, falling on the same day in January. Murray’s worst loss came at Indian Wells, California, in March, when he lost in straight sets to a qualifier, 129th-ranked Vasek Pospisil. Tuesday’s loss to Kontaveit represented the worst loss of Kerber’s year, though a loss last week to No. 60 Eugenie Bouchard added injury to insult, as she was forced to retire with a hamstring injury while trailing, 6-3, 5-0.

Lance Agcaoili

Asian soccer body to probe claims of Kuwaiti bribery

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UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—A new investigation into claims that Kuwaiti leaders of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) bribed the region’s soccer officials has been opened by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The AFC announced the internal probe on Wednesday in fallout from the US Department of Justice’s sprawling investigation of corruption in international soccer. It could identify leaders of AFC member-federations suspected of taking bribes. The investigation would look at “the circumstances surrounding the prosecution of former Guam Football Association President Richard Lai,” the AFC said in a statement. Although Lai was also a member of the Fifa audit committee, a bigger target of the American case could be longtime Olympic powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah of Kuwait. Lai was an influential AFC executive committee member until last month, when he pleaded guilty to charges, including wire fraud conspiracy, in a Brooklyn federal court. Lai admitted to receiving more than $850,000 from Kuwait between 2009 and 2014, including from OCA accounts. He said he helped recruit Asian soccer officials who he understood would be offered bribes. The American citizen is awaiting sentence and agreed to pay more than $1.1 million in penalties. The AFC, which already suspended Lai, is “duty bound to investigate”, newly elected head of integrity Mohammad Ali Al Kamali said. “The allegations contained in Richard Lai’s indictment are, if substantiated, extremely serious.” Sheikh Ahmad, president of the OCA and the global group of national Olympic bodies known as ANOC, was identified as “coconspirator 2” in documents published by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and from the Brooklyn court. The sheikh denied wrongdoing, but resigned his Fifa Council seat representing Asia one week ahead of his expected reelection. He also contacted the ethics committees of Fifa and the International Olympic Committee, where he has been a member for 25 years. Coconspirator 3 was identified as OCA director general Husain al Musallam of Kuwait, who is also senior vice president of world swimming body Fina. Another unnamed official, coconspirator 4, was “at various times” an OCA employee and assistant to Al Musallam, the DOJ document said.

By Ben Rothenberg

New York Times News Service

Andy Murray of Britain returns the ball to Fabio Fognini of Italy during the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome on May 16. AP

Quality wins have been few and far between: Kerber is 0-7 against top-20 opponents, and Murray is only 3-2 because he has often lost before facing one. Their struggles have grown worse on clay, the weakest surface for both; Fognini exploited this especially well in his win over Murray, with frequent drop-shot winners. After his loss to Fognini, Murray grew frequently frustrated by questions he has been asked many times recently, including queries about Maria Sharapova’s return—”It’s killing me, I’ve got no interest in discussing it anymore, I’m having struggles of my own”—and whether the No. 1 ranking feels like a burden. “It really doesn’t to me,” he said. “I’m not lying. That’s just how—that is how I feel. I’m just not playing well, and I don’t think it’s to do with my ranking. I mean, the last couple of weeks, they have been tough and I haven’t played well. “I think sort of that Indian Wells and maybe like Monte Carlo, you know, the injury and stuff was more understandable,” he said, citing an elbow injury that forced him to withdraw from a tournament in Miami. “But the last few weeks, there is no reason for it from my end. Kerber, who has spent less time as a star attraction than Murray, conceded that her No. 1 ranking had brought new challenges. “It’s not the best time now,” she said, “but you have always up and downs, and this is a challenge to come back—maybe stronger.” Kerber said she hoped a turnaround in form, and in belief, might be just around the corner: “I need one good match, maybe, to get also my confidence back and then to see that it works.” In a mixed blessing of sorts, neither Murray nor Kerber is likely to lose the No. 1 ranking anytime soon. Murray has a 3,515-point lead over Novak Djokovic, the No. 2 men’s player, who like Murray has struggled, and he has a title to defend at the French Open. Among women, second-ranked Serena Williams is on maternity leave and will continue to fall in the rankings, and third-ranked Karolina Pliskova is at her least comfortable on clay courts. No. 4 Simona Halep has a chance to make up the 1,830-point gap between her and Kerber with deep runs in Rome and in Paris, but she has often underachieved at Grand Slam events.

Lookin At Lee eyes Preakness glory after strong run in derby

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ALTIMORE—Charging hard down the stretch, Lookin At Lee barely missed winning the Kentucky Derby as a 33-1 long shot. His second-place finish seemingly impressed no one. Lookin At Lee has received little attention at Pimlico Race Course this week and is a 10-1 underdog in the Preakness behind Always Dreaming, the 4-5 favorite in Saturday’s race after outlasting Lookin At Lee by a mere 2-3/4 lengths at Churchill Downs. What gives? “We don’t worry about that too much,” Lookin At Lee assistant trainer Scott Blasi said after Wednesday’s draw. “He’s a blue-collar horse and probably easy to overlook, but he’s not for us.”

Lookin At Lee hasn’t won a race since last August but has finished in the money in seven-of-10 career races. On April 15 Lookin At Lee finished 1-1/2 lengths behind Classic Empire and a length behind runner-up Conquest Mo Money in the Arkansas Derby. He’s a gritty competitor, which goes a long way toward explaining his impressive run in the slop two weeks ago. “His personality and gamesmanship are what gave us confidence in him going into the Derby,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “You have no control over how the other horses run, but you always feel Lookin At Lee is going to do his best.” Lookin At Lee was ridden expertly in Kentucky by

jockey Corey Lanerie, who never sat on the horse until hopping onboard in the paddock before the Derby. Lanerie rallied the bay colt along the rail, passing most of the field before coming up short at the end. At one point, he thought: “I’m going to win the Derby!” It almost happened, but... “Always Dreaming just wouldn’t come back,” Lanerie said. “You come so close and you don’t get it done, it’s tough. But to run second on only my third Kentucky Derby mount, it was pretty special.” Though the odds maker at Pimlico may not have been impressed, Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Always Dreaming, expects another close race on Saturday.

“I think he’s a very good horse,” Pletcher said of Lookin At Lee. “He ran a terrific race in the Kentucky Derby. We were fortunate to win. I thought he ran a very good second, so that makes him certainly a horse you have to keep your eye on for this race.” Speaking from experience, Blasi expects Lookin At Lee to build on his showing at Churchill Downs. “Very proud of his effort in the Derby,” Blasi said. “Historically, I think the horses that have run well in the Derby run back well in the Preakness. We’ve won this race twice with Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, both coming back off two weeks rest, and we’re very familiar and very comfortable with what’s getting ready to happen.”

A6 Saturday, May 20, 2017 | Editor: Mike Besa

Home o Philippine Mas Villamor Golf Club

Approach on 12

PHOTOS BY MIKE BESA Chipping up on 14

Paul Harris–A life on tour

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rom where we all sit, the life of a professional golfer is a glamourous one. Lots of travel to foreign lands, lots of golf on some of the best golf courses and free golf clubs. On the surface, it’s an easy life with perks the rest of us can only dream of. Only, there’s a lot more to it than that. For the top guys, things are grand. But for the newbies on tour, the guys struggling with the challenges of a life on the road with a golf bag, maybe not so much. Life on Tour is hard. Many come to take their chances, but only a few succeed. The rest toil on the fringes, putting in long hours to make it to the next Tour stop. Take Paul Harris. I met Paul when he was in the Philippines contesting the Asia Development Tour stop at the Orchard in 2013. He was as green as he could get. It was his first season in Asia and on Tour. He had just settled into his Asian home in Bangkok and had begun his campaign on Tour. We followed Paul at the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Orchard Championships on the Player Course during his first round. Paul is a very talented golfer. He’s not very big, but hits the ball a very long way. He has a good short game and is a pretty good putter; in short, he has the tools he needs to make it on Tour. Paul grew up in Oneonta, Alabama, and like most American kids his age, he played baseball. When he was twelve, his parents moved to Limestone Springs where there was a pretty good golf course. Paul started spending free time at the golf course there and got into the game through the club’s junior programs. Paul’s game progressed as he grew older. By the time he was sixteen, he became aware that golf could hold the key to many things that he desired in life. Things like a college education and a career in the game that he had grown to love. College scouts came to the Harris household and, after some soul searching, Paul decided to sign with Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, Alabama, in 2009. He worked diligently on his game while he was at Central Alabama; refining his skills and knowledge of the game.

In two years Harris was ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association nationwide rankings, and scholarship offers started to appear on the Harris household’s doorstep once more. This time, they were from the big Division 1 schools. Paul was moving up. He eventually signed with the University of Kansas and finished out his college days there in 2013. After graduation, he had surgery done on his right shoulder to fix a nagging injury that had plagued him during his college career. After four months or rehabilitation, a friend brought up the idea to move to Asia for the Asian Tour Qualifying School. Paul jumped at the chance and moved to Bangkok, which would serve as his base of operations in Asia. It’s been nearly four years since that fateful day that Paul Harris turned professional. He’s still traveling Asia with his golf bag, playing the Thai mini-Tours, the Asian Development Tour and what events he can on the Philippine Golf Tour. He’s managed to keep his chin up despite the relative lack of success. Yes, he makes enough to make a comfortable living in Thailand, but Harris has bigger dreams. He dreams of winning, of the ultimate success. He dreams of making the Tour his life. But the success he seeks has eluded Harris thus far. He’s had good results. He’s led or has been close to the lead in a few events but is still winless. When I asked Paul about it, he said, “It’s all about putting four good rounds of golf together. If I can do that, then I know I will win. Sure, there are things to work on, but I’m close. I just have to do it.” Still, through it all, Harris remains focused and patient. He has confidence in himself and his abilities, and knows that he has the talent and skill to win on Tour. Even with his confidence in himself, Harris is a realist. He’s given himself a deadline to achieve his goal on Tour, and if he fails, then it will be back to America for a more normal life. I asked him what that life would be, and he began to answer, but balked and said simply, “I really want to make it here on Tour. It’s been my dream to make this my life. I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen.” Mike Besa

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Story & photos by Mike Besa

aptain Jesús A. Villamor was among the Filipino officers who followed Gen. Douglas MacArthur to Australia following the outbreak of World War II. Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for downing two Japanese enemy planes in 1941, Villamor was appointed director and instructor at the Officers’ Training Unit in Williamstown. Upon his return to the Philippines, Villamor was assigned to lead the Sixth Pursuit Squadron (now Sixth Tactical Fighter Squadron) shortly before the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December 1941. In the skies above Zablan and Batangas Fields, against Japanese Zeros, his squadron of Boeing P-26 Peashooter fighters engaged the enemy. Despite the disadvantage, Villamor and his squadron was credited with four kills—one Mitsubishi G3M bomber and three Mitsubishi A6M Zeros. Two of them by Villamor himself. For leading his squadron and for his two confirmed kills, Villamor was twice cited by the US Army for bravery, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for actions on December 10, 1941, and an Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a second award of the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for actions on December 12, 1941. Villamor is the only Filipino to receive the DSC twice. The Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) principal facility in Metro Manila, which was first known as Nichols Field, then later Nichols Air Base, was renamed Col. Jesús Villamor Air Base in his honor. The golf course that bears his name is built on some 60 hectares of the Villamor Air Base that sits, ideally located, adjacent to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the sprawling Resorts World complex just South of the Makati Central Business District. The fairways are carabao grass and the greens are zoysia matrella; both are endemic to the Philippines and require minimal maintenance to flourish. With the demise of the old Fort Bonifacio Golf Course to make way for the development of the Bonifacio Global City, Villamor is the most prestigious of the military courses and the only one of those left whose design is of championship caliber. Built in the 1960s on relatively flat terrain, the golf course at Villamor Golf Club continues to pose challenges to golfers of all skill levels with its tree-lined fairways and strategically placed water hazards. The latest redesign of the course that was intended to improve the surface drainage added a couple of hundred yards to Villamor, which now tops out at 7,000 yards from the tips. The added length combined with firm, fast, tree-lined fairways, keep Villamor competitive as a championship golf course. The outward nine is relatively forgiving, and allows ample time to get in the game, but things get progressively tougher from there.

The ninth hole at Villamor will be the finishing hole at the ICTSI Philippine Masters.

Holes three through five hold the crux of the challenges presented by the first nine. Three is a long, narrow, 416-yard par four that will test the golfers ball striking skills. The green is tucked behind a large acacia tree. Four is a 208-yard par 3 that plays slightly uphill. The green is heavily guarded by bunkers and slopes significantly from back to front. Five is the one-handicap; a 420-yard dogleg to the right, the golfer must place the tee shot just short of a water hazard before going for the green, but must flirt with the out of bounds on the right to get there. You will be treated to some tough holes on the inward nine, but none more so than 14. A 459-yard par 4, 14 runs alongside the Newport condominiums just behind the Marriot Hotel in the Resorts World Manila complex. The sight on the tee is frightening; out of bounds on the left and a thick stand of trees on the right defend the tee shot. A water hazard short and to the right of the green and an array of bunkers on the left fortify the green. No discussion about Villamor Golf Club is complete without mention of the Philippine Masters. Held sporadically between 1976 and 2000, the Philippine Masters was held as a precursor to the Philippine Open Golf Championships to attract professional golfers in the region. Its schedule made it worth their while to travel to the Philippines for two of the most prestigious tournaments on

the old Asian Golf Circuit. The Masters was spearheaded by Col. Nereo Andolong and Col. Alvarez, both of the Philippine Air Force. Andolong was the head of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) at the time, which funded the tournament. Support for the tournament later came from the San Miguel Corporation after the arrangement with the PCSO expired. The list of former winners speaks to the international significance of the Philippine Masters; you have golfers from all over the world on it; His Chi San and Hsieh Min Nam from Taiwan in 1978 and 1980, respectively; Myanmar’s Mya Aye in 1979; EJ Pfister in 1990; and Olle Nordberg from Sweden in 1994. Filipinos that have won here read like the hall of fame of Philippine golf; Arda (twice), George Olaybar, Rodrigo Cuello, Robert Pactolerin and Frankie Miñoza (twice each) are all past champions. Felix “Cassius” Casas won the last Philippine Masters back in 2000 before it faded into oblivion. About three years ago, during the early years of the International Container Terminal Services Inc., Philippine Golf Tour, Mike Carr, who was then-tournament director of the Tour, Jun Arceo of Villamor Golf Club and the National Golf Associatiown of the Philippines and then general manager of Villamor, Col. Oscar Calingasan, got together for discussions to revive the Philippine

Custom fitting for M

Jeff Kimble appointed as commercial director of Asian Tour and European Tour for Asia

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he Asian Tour and European Tour have jointly appointed Jeff Kimble as commercial director. Kimble will assume his role from May 15 and work from the Tours’ office in Sentosa, Singapore. A senior business professional with over 25 years of marketing, commercial and management experience in consumer and luxury goods across Asia, Kimble will be tasked to lead the Tours’ commercial and businessdevelopment programs. He will hold the position of commercial director on the Asian Tour and commercial director, Asia on the European Tour. Following a strategic alliance established between the Asian Tour and European Tour last year, Kimble will drive new business opportunities for properties, including the Ryder Cup, EurAsia Cup, joint-sanctioned Asian Tour-European Tour tournaments, Asian Tour full-field tournaments and Tour-wide partnerships for both organisations. Asian Tour CEO Josh Burack said: “On behalf of our team, I am delighted to welcome Jeff Kimble on board to lead the Asian Tour’s

commercial team and to become a key member of our senior management team. Jeff has vast expertise in strategic planning, business development and implementation of marketing programs and will certainly be a valuable member of our team as we aim to expand our tournament schedule and line Kimble up of corporate sponsors.” Kimble graduated from the Arizona State University with a bachelor of science degree in advertising and has spent his entire professional career working and living in Asia, being based in Singapore, Shanghai and Bangkok. His vast work experience includes stints for leading FMCG brands, luxury hotels and the banking sector, and he has held senior positions with Tiger Beer and Pernod Ricard Asia, which is the leading international spirits and wine company. European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said:

“When we announced the strategic alliance between ourselves and the Asian Tour in July, we promised we would explore and maximize opportunities together and the appointment of Jeff Kimble is an important step in that direction. We are delighted to welcome him to the European Tour and look forward to utilising his experience in Asia to enhance our joint vision.” Kimble said: “I am looking forward to working with the team to help drive the commercial efforts of the Asian Tour and European Tour in Asia. These are exciting times for professional golf in the region. With the strategic alliance between the Asian Tour and European Tour firmly in place, I believe there are numerous opportunities to continue to grow the game and to create more playing opportunities for the memberships, more value for the sponsors and more excitement for the fans.”

Masters under the aegis of the Philippine Golf Tour but sadly, nothing came of them. In 2016 Gen. Edgar Falorina, commanding general of the PAF, approached Arceo with the intent of reviving the Philippine Masters. Arceo believed it would be a simple matter since the Tour wanted to resurrect the Philippine Masters, Villamor Golf Club’s proximity to the city and the history and prestige of the tournament. The two parties met again, and by April 24, the two signed a memorandum of agreement to hold the Philippine Masters as part of the Philippine Golf Tour from May 24 to 27. It might not precede the Philippine Open, but the new schedule of the Philippine Masters puts it at the end of a four-week run of tournaments by the Philippine Golf Tour following Tour stops in Luisita, The Orchard and Manila Southwoods Golf and Country

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Expect to hit a few golf balls during the fitting process. Photos by Gina Miranda

hen the subject of custom fitting comes up, the reaction invariably boils down to the fact that most golfers believe that only better golfers stand to benefit. What rubbish. We get fit for clothes, shoes, gloves and hats. Why should golf clubs be any different? One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to most things. Why should golf clubs be different? Would you make do with shoes that don’t fit? Of course not! Then why tolerate ill-fitting golf clubs? The fact of the matter is that beginners stand to gain the most in a custom fitting, even if it’s just a static fitting to determine grip size and shaft flex. Mizuno is one manufacturer that gets it. They produce, by most accounts, the best irons in the game. If touring professionals had to spend their own money to buy their golf clubs, most would have a set of Mizunos in their bag. Mizuno doesn’t just make good player clubs these days. The JPX900 Hot Metal is a great club for the highest handicap golfer. One of the great benefits of forged irons is that they can be bent to accommodate golfers of all stature. Say you’re short and need a lie angle that’s 4-degrees flat. No problem. Or say you’re 6-foot-10 and need a club that’s 4-degrees upright. Again, not an issue. Mizuno’s challenge was to develop a fitting system that could help a golfer, any golfer—from a touring professional to a weekend hack, fit into the best fitting irons he’s ever purchased and do it in a foolproof, science-based method that could properly put a golfer into

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of the sters

Clubs. A full field of local and international players will be on hand to contest the first running of the tournament in 17 years. The club has been hard at work in the interim, sprucing up the golf course and getting it into tournament condition. Will this venerable fixture of the local golf scene stand up to the power game of the new professional golfers? I believe it will. There are many nuances to playing Villamor Golf Club that must be understood and dealt with to score. The pros will have to figure that out on the run. Someone will figure it out eventually. the premium on course knowledge could give local professionals the upper hand. If I were a betting man, my money would be on a Filipino to win. Whatever the outcome, it should be really fun to watch.

The fifth hole is the toughest hole on the golf course.

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Saturday, May 20, 2017 A7

Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Sub Zero

A mouthful to describe the hottest driver in golf

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arbon fiber is no stranger to Callaway Golf. Callaway has been adding carbon fiber to its driver designs for more than a decade, using the material to make lighter and lighter crowns that have steadily improved the performance of new models. This year the company brought carbon fiber to the soles of its drivers. According to Callaway, more than 50 percent of the Epic Sub Zero is made from carbon fiber. But carbon fiber, even the triaxial carbon used in both Epic drivers, isn’t the story here. The marquee technology for both the Epic Star and Epic Sub Zero, however, is something we can’t see. It’s called Jailbreak—two parallel 3-gram titanium rods behind the club face that connect the sole and crown. The rods serve to tie the crown and sole together so they don’t flex at impact which, in turn, allows the club face to return more energy to the ball. More energy means more ball speed and more distance, and Callaway is claiming an improvement of up to 2 mile per hour in its player testing. Because of the added carbon fiber, internal titanium rods and many more changes, the Epic twins are the most difficult to manufacture of all of Callaway’s drivers...ever. It takes twice as many steps and twice as long (roughly seven to 10 days) to manufacture the Epic and Epic Sub Zero drivers. The payoff is increased moment of inertia; the Epic Sub Zero’s MOI is so high that it puts other player’s drivers to shame. Callaway claims that even a mid-handicap golfer will have no trouble playing the Sub Zero. That’s a real breakthrough. Normally, deep-faced drivers, like the Sub Zero, aren’t the most forgiving. In fact, many are intended for better golfers only but not the Sub Zero. Its MOI numbers are high enough that one might think it a game improvement club. Beyond its accessibility, it is the prodigious distances you’ll hit the ball with the Epic Sub Zero that will endear it to you. People buy new drivers to hit the golf ball further than they did with their old one. If your driver is two or more years old, you should see a healthy jump in driving distance with the Epic Sub Zero. Although we have yet to test the Epic Sub Zero on a launch monitor to confirm Callaway’s claims of faster ball speeds, field tests indicate that the ball leaves the clubface in a hurry. In my rounds with it, I’ve reached parts of the golf courses that I’ve played that have been out of range with my other drivers. Not scientific, to be sure, but most encouraging. The Epic Sub Zero backs that up with forgiveness and ease of use that you’d normally experience in a game improvement driver. Obvious mishits get far better results than they deserve, validating Callaway’s claims of high MOI. Feel at impact is unique. It’s not the sensation of the ball flattening against the clubface before taking off. The sensation is akin to that of the ball jumping off the face at impact, much like that of an aluminum baseball bat. It feels like a home run. If you’re considering one of the Epic twins as your next driver, here’s a quick guide to help you find the model best suited for you. If you struggle with your shot shape (be it hooks or slices) then the Epic Star with the weight on a sliding track should be a better fit for you. If the height of your drive is the issue (you hit some high others low) and you generally play one shot shape, then the Epic Sub Zero is the more appropriate choice. Whichever you choose, you can rest easy in knowing that you’ll have one of the longest drivers in golf in your bag. Let your playing partners beware. Mike Besa

Mizuno irons getting the most out of your set a set of irons optimized for his abilities. The Mizuno Performance Fitting System has been the industry’s leading fitting system at local golf club level since its introduction in 2009. The Mizuno Shaft Optimizer is a real shaft that can be attached to any of Mizuno’s demo heads—when you hit a real golf ball. Within the Optimizer is a series of strain gauges that measures the sequence of forces your swing created by your swing. In just three swings the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer can measure everything the fitter needs to know—without checking or measuring the ball flight. The Optimizer’s screen displays five data points that create your Swing DNA. The readings are all taken from the shaft rather than the ball—so there’s no pressure to make perfect contact. Your readings for a pure strike and a mishit will be the same. The loads your “different” swings place on the shaft are incredibly consistent. From your Mizuno DNA—a certified Mizuno fitter can shortlist three suitable shafts for you to test (from over 50 possibilities). The system can’t factor in your personal preferences for feel and sound—that’s why the fitter makes the effort to involve you in the process.

Mizuno’s Performance Fitting System

The right shaft could find you 20 yards to 30 yards in wasted distance, as well as improving your consistency. Intent on adding value to their already very capable irons, Mizuno Philippines has embarked on a mission to spread the number of fitting centers for their irons throughout the country. To that end, they brought in Edmund Tan of Mizuno’s Golf School and Regional Fitting Center in Singapore to train their dealers

in the Swing DNA System, as well as use of the Swing Optimizer at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. The session was comprehensive and attendees left excited to put their knowledge to the test. Look for Mizuno fitting professionals making the rounds of the local driving ranges with their Swing DNA System to help you find the Mizuno irons best suited for your game.

Mike Besa

day, May 13, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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avite’s ‘Masa’ programs benefit nearly 8,000

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A8 Saturday, May 20, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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At age 100, Kalinga tattoo artist keeps PHL alive Thetradition ethical dilemma

the highest, with more than RECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite— garnered 2,500 persons. PSWDO said under the social-proThe provincial government of tection program for displaced famiCavite disbursed more than P28 lies, individuals in crisis are those By Aurora Almendral | living in hazardous places or victims n for medical, burial and various of fire, delivery of “food to work” for disaster-related activities/events. USCALAN,7,772 Kalinga—She ance that benefited socially wakes This category also includes other up every morning at quardawn and development antaged Kabitenyos, a first services or special cases like the abandoned and chilmixes an ink outreport of pine soot dren, or children whowomen isbursement summary have problems andMonday. water. She threads a thorn from awith the law. sed on Other “help” programs include

Learning Training System, financial and capability development assistance for out-of-school youth, capability development for child development workers and financial assistance for New York Times News Service child laborers. Children who are in conflict with the law are given protection assistance and various projects, such as the governor’s “give-a-gift”, children’s month event and the children’s congress that is held annually. PWDs are extended educational or learning advancement “sulong-dunong” and capability building trainings medical assistance in the form of cash or medicines and livelihood training in and seminars, not only for students, but l Social Welfare DevelopCavite province, which ranks eighth also, their teachers. the food or nonfood categories. PSWDO) officer in charge among the country’s top 10 high-per“Applicants may walk in anytime PSWDO also provides business R. Servanez said the disforming provinces has embarked on and per the governor’s directive, these start-up kits under its self-empowering were in pursuit of Cavite its “6-17 Challenge” thrusts to put up various forms of assistance are open to assistance for those who wish to open us Crispin Remulla’s varivital and necessary social infrastrucall Kabitenyos,” Avila said. a sari-sari store or a feasible business ms to uplift the lives and ture to help meet and satisfy the needs The amount of financial assistance in their barangay. Cavite’s children, youth, and requirements of the prospective 6 the applicants can avail themselves Assistance for children are categons and persons with dismillion Caviteños by 2017. of depends on the evaluation and recrized based on their rights. The woman, Maria Fang-od 170,000 in 2016. Fang-od Oggay gives a tattoo in a hut in Buscalan, on Mayworker 10. Fang-asDs). Burial assistance for senior citizens ofKalinga, the social For theMARIA “survival” category, assis-to a visitorommendation Oggay, will finish 14 tattoos Most come to see Fang-od. od, thought to be 100 years old, has single-handedly kept an ancient tradition alive, and vincial government protopped the list of disbursements, with signed to the case, Avila said. in the tance is in the form of supplemental before lunch—not a bad day’s They take a number and hope to process transformed this remote mountaintop village into a tourist destination. a sa masa-para sa masa’ P2.321 million that benefited 1,203 The processing time takes one to feeding, food for growth projects and NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE work for someone said to be be tattooed by her, while others ople, for the people] are to senior citizens. two weeks, and all financial assistance nutritious-food training to parents. 100 years old. Moreover, she settle for a tattoo from one of her he peoplehas the service they For the numberwho of peomasse at the ProvinThe PSWDO first-quarter 150 homes,en there is little space to single -ha nded ly kept a n highest In the 1930s thereport nationa l is distributed grandnieces, have begun to vincial Social Welfare Of- alive, ple and whoinwere afforded help, the ascialaccommodate Gym every Tuesday, Avila added. said the development assistance intourists. The Kaancient tradition government, then administered carry on the tradition. Gladyscare S. Pino/PNA lvy Avilathe said.process, transformed sistance in crisis support Alternative linga tradition of taking of thisfor individuals by the United to States, began sup“I was surprised,” Fang-od cludes said access

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bitter citrus tree into a reed, crouches on a 3-inch-high stool and, folded up like a cricket, hand-taps tattoos onto the backs, wrists and chests of people who come to see her from as far away as Mexico and Slovenia.

all visitors, generously and withremote mou nt a i ntop v i l l a ge pressing trophy tattoos, and of the many people who have come out payment, has disappeared. into a mecca for tourists seeking women started to cover their to see her. Tourists ignore the curfew and adventure and a piece of history u p p e r b o d i e s . He a d hu nt i n g She says she is still waiting for wander around in immodestly under their skin. went from being an act of valor a visit from her celebrity crush, short shorts. Buscalan, population 742, is a to a crime. the Filipino actor Coco Martin. “It ’s an honor for us t hat mile hike from the nearest dirt Students were told to attend For now, she contents herself with people come here for our tradiroad through foggy forest and school in long sleeves to cover their a life-size cardboard cutout. tions,” said Anyu Baydon, 26, a centuries-old rice terraces. The tattoos. Missionaries and teachers Fang-od is thin and hunched, Buscalan native who volunteers stilted huts are made of wood told the Kalinga their markings but strong from a life of farming at the elementar y school, but and thatch or galvanized tin and were barbaric, would keep them Buscalan’s terraced slopes. She is she w ishes the tourists were concrete blocks. There is no mofrom getting jobs and identified toothless, but wears bright denbetter ma naged. T he Butbut bile-phone service and little electhem as criminals. tures, and is quick to laugh and tell children, she said, are being tricity. Black pigs and chickens jokes. Her thick gray hair is twisted But changing values are again inf luenced by the st yles and roam the narrow paths of stone around a headband of ocher stone changing Buscalan. AO—Macao’s statistic manners of outsiders. and dirt. beads, and her wrists are stacked On a recent Sunday, Conradine partment on May 6 pubAnalyn Palicas, 29, also from Fang-od, also spelled Whangwith bracelets. King-Gonzalo, 27, a businesshed the detailed results Buscalan, said that despite a longod, is a ritual-tattoo artist of the Along her collarbone, and from woman, traveled 13 hours by bus ulation by census carried standing liquor ban, people bring Butbut tribe of the Kalinga ethnic her shoulder blades to the backs of from Manila to get a tattoo from ecial administrative regroup in the northern Philippines. gin and rum, upsetting the elders, Fang-od. her hands, she is tattooed in faded showing anWaccelerated hen the Spanish ar r ived and that some bring meth to barter “She’s a legend,” King-Gongeometric patterns of snakeskin, growthincoupled with 1521, tattooing was widefor marijuana. zalo said. This was her second python and caterpillars, Kalinga opulation agingacross in thethe islands that spread The bigger problem, she said, is trip. The first time, Fang-od was symbols of protection, strength rs. would eventually make up the the young men of Buscalan have away, so she went to one of her and guidance. Small tattoos are Over the centuries, grandnieces. dropped out of school and become settled into the creases of her chin stics andPhilippines. Census Service “addicted to guiding”, relying on discouraged by colonial powers “I won’t stop until I get a tattoo and forehead. She never married, ulation of Macao totaled the easy money. Catholic teachings, the trafrom Apo,” she said, referring to but barely legible on her wrists August and 2016, up 17.8 “Fang-od isn’t going to live fordition faded. Fang-od using the Kalinga word are the names of some of her m 552,503 in the 2011 ever,” she said. The Kalinga, in the inaccessible for grandmother. boyfriends—Bananao, Basongit Census, attributable to a Fang-od’s success, however, has mountains known as the Cordiland Francis. Paulo Vega, 29, an Austraresident workers living inspired a younger generation to lera Central, fiercely guarded their She loved them all the same, lian tattoo artist from Prague, d a rebound in birth rate. learn the trade. villages against outsiders and held she said, and tells tourists the losaw his trip as a pilgrimage. He ge annual-growth rate of O ne o f t he m i s D e n - d e n on to their customs. But by the tion she smears on a fresh tattoo came to photograph his electric Despite Corneliogun Sebastian still manages an organic tomato farm right the border of the opulation between 2011 Wigan, 22, at from the neighbormiddle of the 20th century, even is made from the semen of his herage, 17 farmertattoo alongside Fang-od’s OceanaGold Sustainable Agro-forestry Inc. central nursery in Tucod Village, Cabarroguis, Quirino. He believes mining and agriculture can coexist. ched 3.3 percent, the highing village of Ngibat, who is detheir tattooing practices were slipboyfriends. It’s coconut oil, but the simple tools. LEONARDO PERANTE II st 20 years. Local ping intopopulahistory. “It’s so much more special getscended from the man who inked joke gives her a good laugh. Fang-od belongs to the last ting a tattoo from her versus walkFang-od. He learned the craft Fang-od was born before the ng nonresident workers bearing a full set of ing into a parlor and getting one from her and now tattoos at an tribe kept birth records, but her students generation living in Macao, traditional tattoos and is one of from me,” he said, as he watched art gallery outside Manila. family estimates she turned 100 018, up by 10.7 percent the few who remember how they in February. Fang-od tattoo a tourist with “I want to continue the tradith 2011. were done. A century ago, tattoos for Karapid, precise taps. “There’s a lot tion that my grandfather left,” he also showed the SAR popShe was set to die in obscurity linga women were decorative. They more soul to it.” said. “So it doesn’t disappear from nued to until age. an The elderly American anthropologist, represented beauty and status. B u s c a l a n h a s ne w g ue s t our culture.” ged 65 and older increased Lars Krutak, included her in his Kalinga men earned tattoos houses, a restaurant and small W hether tourists will still by 48.6 percent from five series, Tattoo 2009 documentary through acts of bravery, notably shops selling canned goods and climb the mountain to Buscalan ACOOR through CITY, Cavite—Bacoor Bayani Men de Leon. and physical 59,383, accounting for 9.1 Hunter. Today, she is at the center ritual headhunting. (Osca) Head souvenirs. work as guides ageafter Fang-oddisability. is gone remains to Lani MercadoThe Rev. Santos on She also reiterated her support for e total population, by hoping toCity of a rush ofup visitors get Mayor A boy could earn his first tatand Father porters,Erickson communicating be seen. depends on by her, toothe by inauguration walking up behind unwalkie-talkies. Revilla led of anconsecrated the new facilities as city them, The who village are provided funds the ge points.a tattoo from a woman who hersaid, and for shetheir worries self seems likeofan artifact fellow and villager officials, and Tou r ismand h a beneficiaries s enr ic hed t he cityshe a newfrom building suspecting for senior citizens councilors government free when admis, the percentage share its people go hungry. another time. spearing him in the village, allowing it to pave some sionshe persons with disabilities (PWDs) on buttocks, toured the facilities. todies, movies in allwill theaters in the population to the youth “They’re too lazy to work in the Before the documentary, if Businflicting a flesh wound, before paths and trade thatch roofs Monday at the Bacoor Government The two-story building has six ofcity every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday nder 14 rose by 15.6 pershe said. wasPopulaknown for anything, it for tin. Fang-od’s relatives, working his way up to joining Center, Bayanan. fices that will attend to various serviceswho andfields,” Thursday. ts to 76.3calan percent. Five years ago, she chose a spot was for growing marijuana. The used to have no water buffaloes, headhunting expeditions. Mercado-Revilla officiated the for the city’s Osca and PWD group’s She said Bacoor City is the only to 64 took up 13.5 percent right up against her house where now own 50. Even the blackoccasional hikers passing through Hand-to-hand combat with ribbon-cutting rites with the PWD 66,000 members. local so farand that he total. The pace of popushegovernment wants to be buried hadproa smith, who sells bolo knives to to buy hash oil have since turned a spear, a shield and an ax spegroup President Jerwin Bautista, who The city mayor also thanked the vides free admission to movie houses is expected to accelerate tourists, has been able to buy two crypt made. into a wave of tattoo tourists. cifically for chopping off heads also the Panapaan village chief, Osca andwater PWDs who serve in their for the elderly four e next decade. buffaloes. For now, and she PWDs is using it days to Tourism in Kalingais province, earned the bravest chest tattoos. Citizens Affairs respective communities despite their ensus found theBufemale But the attention has been a a week. storePNA empty gin bottles and her where sc a l a n i s tand he Office most of Senior Warriors who killed more than 10 outnumbered male coffee mill. W hen she dies, she mixed blessing. popu l athe r dest inat ion, has inmen earned symmetrical tattoos said, tattoos are the only thing Litter has become a problem creased than fivefold, from that covered the torso and arched Females and malesmore totaled she will take with her. and in a village with only about about 30,000 in 2010 to almost into the upper arms. d 314,018, respectively,

o prepares mbrace aging of population

GRANDPA’S CONTOUR FARM

Mayor inaugurates new building for senior citizens, PWDs in Bacoor City

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Dementia: not take personal of agedDocare init PHL

Marc A. Daubenbuechel

The Age of Eldercare We are starting a column on Eldercare this week, authored by Marc Daubenbuechel who has been based in the Philippines since 2006. He last week’s column, we talked 83 years. If you are born in isNan expert in elderly care and assistsaround in developing the geriatric sector about the importance of gerithe Philippines, your average life exin the Philippines through international projects. atric-care services and nursing pectancy is 68 years. Marc earned a bachelor of arts degree in international business homes in various forms for our elAs dementia occurs only in older management from the Cologne School. He worked for 4 years derly. A big contributor to the rising Business people, it explains why until sevwith the Sozial Betriebe Köln, an operator of nursing and homedemand of this services is dementia. eral decades ago,homes we almost never care services in Germany, and has in-depth experience in running resIn this week’s column, I will give an heard about dementia in the Philiptaurants, hotels, spa and wellness institutions. overview about dementia, its history pines. Today, we have an estimated 2009 to 2016 Marc was thenumber executive directordementia of the Retireand theFrom frustration it can cause. of 300,000 cases ment and Healthcare Coalition, a project of the European Chamber of Dementia is a topic very close to forecasted to reach 315,000 by 2020 Commerce of the Philippines. my heart, as my own “Lola” back in and 1.2 million by 2050. The rapid Since 2015 Marc has been an independent for Germany was diagnosed with vasrise willhealth-care continue toconsultant put pressure various companies interested to get involved in the Philippine geriatric cular dementia after a stroke back on families, health-care systems in June 2015. market and for Philippine institutions wanting to learn more about geand health-care providers. The World Organization riatric careHealth and education in Germany. Our nurses, caregivers and my-

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(WHO) describes dementia as “a synself are dealing with persons with drome in which there is deterioration dementia symptoms every day here COMMON statement when I bring up the topic of nursing homes, in memory, thinking, behavior and the at RainTree Care. It can be frustrathome-care services or geriatric-care services is “We do not need ability to perform activities”. ing and forlook our after team any ofeveryday these facilities or services. Ourheartbreaking tradition is to It isour important to note that dementia at times as we develop an emotional own elderly.” is not aIdisease, but the that attachment overhundred time. But imagine have heard thesymptom comment in different ways a few times over is accompanying the disease. For exthe painful emotions families are the last 10 years in the Philippines. Almost every time, there is a fierce ample, cough is the symptom that a facing, seeing their loved ones slowly reaction from some people in the crowd when I talk about the necessity flu causes; cough is not the disease. slipping away. Persons with dementia of nursing homes. This might be due to the fact that I am a foreigner, but Dementia is not associated forget places they have been to, forget the same reaction can be seen when fellow Filipinos bring up the same with one common disease, but is the rooms in their house, forget how So what leading to this thetopic. umbrella termisfor a number ofdenial? to get home and, unfortunately, also Why isconditions, it okay to have forforget several in the most are. exneurological withseniors the whomonths their family members pensive hospitals of the country (which ruins families financially for major symptom of a decline in brain While it is difficult for those years)?Simply But theput, moment the of transferring function. peopleyou withbring up who arepossibility close to the patient, it is your parents to become a nursing home, you are difficult criticizedfor forthe “giving your dementia symptoms forgetmost dementia or foris“disposing that loved youthey all your life”.unful parents because away”, the disease stealing those sufferer. Often, do not This common perception and judgment of society is the for many their memories. derstand what is cause happening to emotional conflicts among families and suffering for the elderly need There are more than 100 diseases them and around them. in Everyofmay professional care. OnThe onemost hand, families in desperate need forfuzzy. help, that cause dementia. thingare becomes blurred and common causes ofthey dementia in- for help“As but on the other, fear to seek as family members, community our mom’s dementia proclude disease, so did the mood swings. andAlzheimer’s society might blamevascular them for notgressed, being able to “love and take careShe of dementia and dementia withsupposed Lewy to could their parents as they are do”. be totally happy one moment, bodies.Where Alzheimer's disease is the and the next,headed? she would be are yelling is geriatric or aged care in the Philippines What the most common cause of dementia and and getting violent. It remained measures taken to come up with services for local seniors? Have we evera contributes to an estimated number mystery to us as to what prompted asked ourselves why there is a national government agency mandated to of 60 percent to 80 percent of all deher outbursts,” is what the children of attract foreign retirees to the Philippines, but there is no national agency mentia cases worldwide. one of our residents shared with me. looking after the welfare of Filipino seniors and their families? Why does seem the thatDepartment dementia of Social TheWelfare mood swings and losing conWe canitargue and Development is is on a rapid rise and, yet, we only trol over the situations is what brings mandated to do so. Yes, but only after the elderly who are “poor, vulnerable know very little about it? To unmany families to the edge. The difand disadvantaged individuals”, leaving seniors and their families who derstand this, we need to look into ficulties in communication and not are not “poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged” without anyone to turn to. history and statistics. On a global understanding each other anymore To show the urgent needrare for action, let us look at the statistics from perspective, dementia was very can be one of the most frustrating Philippine The number of for senior citizens is before the 20thStatistics century. Authority Only a few (PSA).aspects of caring someone with increasing faster than the growth of the total population in the Philippeople lived until old age. From the dementia—and it is depressing for pines. In 2000 there were 4.6 seniorwith citizens, (6 percent the 15th century onward till around themillionthose the disease andoftheir total population). By 2010 this grew to 6.5 million seniors, or about 6.9 year 1800, life expectancy was beloved ones. percent of theand total The PSA projects that by 2030, older people tween 30 years 40population. years of age. Very often, it is hard to under16 million, percent of the with totaldementia population. It iswill onlymake sinceup thearound 18th century that or 11.5 stand why people act The issue increased, of aging previously littledo, attention the counlife expectancy actually merited theonly way they but the in explanation try. Foruntil example, it was only since 2014 Philhealth mandated doubling today. Nowadays, is that the changes thewas disease causes to in global life expectancy isPrior at around cover senior citizens. to this, no health-care wasto available. the brain. It coverage is important remem70 years. it was notofuntil berinsurers your loved onecover is notsenior behaving Sadly, Therefore, up until now, most the private do not citithezens, mid-1970s dementia like this on purpose. The aggression puttingwhen families under betremendous financial pressure. gan toWhile be described as we know it is usually triggered by something, improvements are happening, the speed in which the Philiptoday. About 40 years later,faster we have such as physical discomfort, in pines is aging demands action and more geriatric services tobeing ensure an estimated millionold. people with an unfamiliar situation or place and dignity in 51 growing dementia worldwide. Theabandoned number seniors, poor communication. I visited places for and I saw the pressure on the is expected to increase to an estiThe most important advice I have system. Whatever the reasons—family conflicts, financial constraints, mated 76 million by 2030, and 136 received when dealing with a person fear of judgement and “burned out syndromes” among the family memmillion by 2050. with dementia is: “Do not take it perbers—seniors from all classes of society are being abandoned at a rate While historic data before 1960 sonal and let it go.” faster than new facilities can be established. Other families hide their on the life expectancy in the PhilipThere are many guides you can “difficult” seniors at home because dementia is still a topic of shame, and pines is difficult to find, the recent find online on how to deal with perfamilies do anot know who to turn to for help. Thankfully, this is still the numbers draw clear picture. From sons with dementia. exception, but if you visit or volunteer inRemember a place foryour the abandoned, you the 1960s to today, life expectancy childhood. How can see it with your own eyes. in the Philippines has been 10 years many times did your parents not take Today, nursing in the are associated with the negaless than in the US andhomes 15 years lessPhilippines it personal when you misbehaved and tive perception that only seniors “given away” by their families aretime living compared to Japan. Today, if you are just let it go? Now, it is your to there. Manyyou people do nottoconsider the possibility that nursing homes born in Japan, can expect live return the favor. can be happy places. A home away from home. Places where specialized geriatric nurses, caregivers and dedicated doctors give their loving care to seniors. Some seniors are entirely alone at home as all members of the family are working. Others are stroke victims, have a form of dementia or just simply need assistance in performing the most basic activities of ingdaily Basicliving. Japanese Careinstances, Giving andit is simply stream, by several In some notfed possible to age tributaries, at home. Japanese language onprefer a “study now,in a nursing descending seriesthe of seven waterSome seniors also to age homeintoa keep “burden” payoff later” scheme. falls and cutting through the center of their families. Mambukal owned resort, thehomes water holes Without aResort, doubt, most of and us prefer of to the grow old infeeding our own tooperated by the provincial and boating lagoon,” it said.Rapid gether with our family. So do I.govThis is, however, not always possible. ernment of Negros Occidental, also “boasts a number urbanization, increased cost of living, theThe factresort that 10 million Filipinos “lies 1,200 feet above sea level of hot sulfur springs whose mediciare living abroad, are proofs of the burden the traditional family systems and serves as a gateway to Mount nal waters are a balm for the weaare under. To make matters worse, cardiovascular diseases, stroke and Kanlaon Natural Park”, according ry flesh and continually feels the dementia are on the rapid rise. to the resort’s web site. warm dipping pool Ishiwata BathWe should start to 23.6 consider services in their various Located in a sprawling hect-that aged-care house and the newly constructed forms are a much-needed service and a direct response to the rapid rise ares, Mambukal has “a big mountain Japanese Ofuro.” of aging of the Philippines. I do not claim that nursing homes and geriatric-care services are the ultimate solution. Rather, they should be seen as an option for those in

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Are grandkids safe when grandparents raise them? Japanese retirement home, caregiver center inaugurated in Negros Occidental

or 51.8 percent and 48.2 e total. The gender ratio LMOST 3 million grandparents in responding to 93.2 males down a very high fever.” But ice baths can the US are raising their grandchilles. As regarding the local cause hypothermia. the gender ratioBydropped dren, but outdated health practices The study alsohe revealed Marchel P. Espina Hatsue Kato and Country Manager group, added.nearly oneve years ago to 90.2, and and myths may be putting some of those quarter of the grandparents know and Philippines News Agency Hideaki Tanahashi. In March 2015didn’t Marañon f females over males was youngsters at risk, new research contends. that “infants should be put to sleep onconLacson, acting governor this Tanahashi signed a 25-year nt. “When grandparents step up to the their back, not on their stomach or side” URCIA, Negros Occidenweek since Gov. Alfredo Marañon tract of lease for the establishtal—A retirement Jr. is in for a business ment ber of households totaled plate, home it can be wonderful forAustralia grandchildren, to reduce the riskofof Sanko sudden Mambukal infant-deathLife and caregiver center opertrip, said although the facility will Care Home, which used to be the increase of 10.5 percent but can also pose challenges in terms of syndrome. ated by Japanese firm Sanko Group cater to Japanese retirees, Filipino Governor’s Lodge in Mambukal. five years ago. The averlifestyle, finances and mental and physical In two related studies surveying nearly of Cos. was inaugurated inside the caregivers will be hired to work at The lease for the property d size was 3.07 persons, health to a somewhat older or elderly co800 grandparents, the same research team is Mambukal Resort here on Friday. the retirement center. P100,000 per month, or P1.2 million ase from 3.08 persons in hort,” senior investigator Dr. Andrew Adesfound that one in 10 grandparents raising The opening rites was led by It will generate employment annually. After the signing, the lesed by the household size, man said. He is chief of developmental and their grandchildren didn’t have any supVice Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, and allow the province foster see already paid its advance rental and households predominatbehavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children’s port systems, and as another 12 percent said Sanko Group Chairman Kaicho stronger ties with the Japanese deposit stipulated in the contract. ng for 24.5 percent of the Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York. their support system didn’t meet their most olds, up by 1.3 percentage More than 600 grandparents raising important needs. five years earlier. By contheir grandchildren completed a quesAlso, 71 percent of those grandpar-

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grandchild had negatively affected their spouse or relationship. Many the grandparents wereestiinter Theof two-story structure, ested in receiving counseling (43 percent) mated to be worth P40 million, inor joining supportrooms groupwith (61 percent), and cludesaprivate complete those without an adequate support system amenities, toilet and baths, kitchen, living room,togarden, dippinggenerally pool, were less likely report feeling classrooms and dormitory, among happy (54 percent versus 86 percent). others. can accommodate 10 Japa“In theirItquestionnaires, a fairly large nese elderly expected to arrive in the sample size of grandparents felt they were province the end of the year. they doing a goodby job, but acknowledged About 120 caregiver-trainees can didn’t have the support they often needed be accommodated for the training andthat thatwill their role be alienating run forcould six months, includ- in terms of their own peer group,” Adesman said in a Northwell Health news release. Pediatricians can help grandparents

news.businessmirror@gmail.com

The Millennials BusinessMirror

Saturday, May 20, 2017

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Want to buy a home? Skip the avocado toast, real estate mogul says

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ILLENNI A LS have enough problems as it is. Must they give up their avocado toast, too? In an interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes on Monday, Tim Gurner, a 35-year-old real-estate mogul in Melbourne, suggested that young adults would be more likely to be able to afford to buy a home if they curbed their discretionary spending, like on this trendy and expensive brunch item. “When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,” he said. “We’re at a point now where the expectations of younger people are very, very high. They want to eat out every day, they want travel to Europe every year. “The people that own homes today worked very, very hard for it,” he said, adding that they “saved every dollar, did everything they could to get up the property investment ladder”. The advice spread on social media and it was not well received. Some found the statement impractical or insulting. Research suggests that people between the ages 18 to 34, a group often referred to as millennials, are no more freewheeling with their spending on travel and dining than other generations. And it would take a lot of skipped avocados to put a dent in the heavy costs of homeownership, which is not always a prudent financial goal. According to the Food Institute, which analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics expenditure data from 2015, people from the ages of 25 to 34 spent $3,097 on average on eating out. Data comparing this age group against itself through the decades was not readily available. But the bureau’s report indicated that this group spent $305 more than people between the ages of 55 to 64—a group that encompasses some baby boomers—and $89 more than the overall average, including spending among people ages 35 to 54. The truth is, even if a millennial assumed the eating-out habits of a baby boomer, it would take around

113 years before they could afford a down payment on a home (assuming a 20-percent down payment on the median price for a home in the US, $315,000 in March 2017 and a 1 percent yearly yield rate). Yes, you would surely save money by choosing to make your own avocado toast at home. The average price of a single avocado in March was $1.25, according to the Hass Avocado Board. One Twitter user, Nora Biette-Timmons, calculated that it costs her about $1.65 per serving—or about 1/477,896, the price of an average home in Brooklyn. Compare that with New York City brunch prices, where you are likely to spend $10 to $20 for ornately dressed toast, and the savings are clear. But all generations of Americans are eating out now more than before, with food away from home rising from 25.9 percent of food expenditures in 1970 to 43.1 percent in 2012. It is not clear if millennials are driving that trend. As for Gurner’s second suggestion—skipping the European vacation—there is, indeed, an opportunity for savings, but research suggests millennials are the generation spending the least on travel. Millennials spent $4,832 per year on vacations, just below $5,078 by Gen-Xers and $5,012 by Boomers, according to MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travelers in 2016. The study surveyed 2,948 adult travelers with annual incomes above $50,000. Millennials were less likely than older generations to say they were cutting back on travel because of budget concerns, but were most likely to have difficulty getting time off work. They were also most likely to say they were too busy to get away. Another wrinkle in pitting agespecific preferences against buying a house: Homeownership is historically lower among young adults and has declined across most age groups since the financial crisis, as the ratio of home prices to median household income climbed. New York Times News Service

Graduation gifts that pay for themselves

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ITH graduation gifts, it’s the thought that counts. The cash is nice, too. Spending on graduation gifts in the US is expected to reach $5.6 billion this year, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF). That tops last year’s $5.4 billion and is the highest level in the 11 years of the NRF’s graduation spending survey, which covers high school and college. The biggest spenders are 45 to 54 years old, presumably parents, who expect to spend an average of $119.84. Their parents, those 65 and up, plan to spend an average of $112.34. Cash is the most popular gift, given by 53 percent of the 7,335 consumers surveyed by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the NRF—though gifts of cash (so retro) are at their lowest point in the survey’s history, down about 10 percent from the highs reached in 2007 and 2009. Greeting cards, with or without cash inside, are the next-most-popular gift, at 41 percent, followed by gift cards—cash in sheep’s clothing. Plastic was chosen by a third of the gift-givers surveyed (and you know some people are going to Venmo their graduation gift). Gift cards were followed by apparel, at 16 percent, and electronics, at 11 percent. All that plastic is a far cry from the gift that money manager Richard Bernstein, who heads his eponymous firm, got when he graduated: His parents gave him a suit to wear for his first job. It started him on a Wall Street career of more than 30 years.

Real stuff

GIFTS of real stuff aren’t dead yet. Financial planner Douglas Boneparth, 32, of Bona Fide Wealth, got graduation gifts of a briefcase and an initialed leather passport cover to use on a planned trip overseas with his college roommate. Those in the financial industry, unsurprisingly, have a lot of suggestions for thoughtful financial gifts. A few months of student loan repayment is one idea Wen Jie Lin at Brewster Financial Planning in Brooklyn, New York, will consider when she’s ready to give a

graduation gift to her children. Or she might offer to pay for a career-coach/resume-help session. When she graduated from college in 2000, her grandmother bought her a very simple ring that has the year of her graduation on it. “It is a very thoughtful gift, and I truly treasure it,” she said. Shares of stock or mutual funds are what Ian Weinberg, a financial planner at Family Wealth & Pension Management in Woodbury, New York, recommends. He’s seen “how well my own sons’ 529 accounts have grown over their 18 and 15 years” and how helpful a financial lesson it’s been for them to see that growth. It spurred his sons to begin investing other gift money into stocks “like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, Netflix—large disruptive businesses that dominate their spaces,” he said. Weinberg himself got a couple hundred dollars for graduation. “I wasn’t an investor then, but I was a saver and used the money to save for a car, since I worked my way through college. Always had a car and a job, thanks to the car,” he said, adding that his modest start is “why I do well with firstgeneration wealth—they are business founders; they value their wealth and do good things with it”.

Millennials

A brokerage account seeded with some money was the college graduation gift for Benjamin Yeung, a 40-year-old financial planner at FAI Wealth Management in Silver Spring, Maryland. “I appreciated it at the time, but I appreciate it even more now, since it’s part of what steered me to become a financial planner,” he said. “I wasn’t that interested in money and finance then, and it helped me get over the hump to actually do something.” Yeung himself hasn’t given any graduation gifts yet, but he said that if a child has earned some income, opening a Roth Individual Retirement Account for them “would be a great way to get them started learning about the value of tax-advantaged accounts.”More gift-givers this year are themselves millennials, according to the NRF. Bloomberg

Melissa Feliciano tries out the Sephora Virtual Artist at Sephora’s flagship store in New York on March 31. The top beauty retailer in the world is embracing technology, not fighting it, and making its stores into playgrounds. Karsten Moran/The New York Times

How Sephora thrives amid a retail crisis

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T was hard to tell if the opening of Sephora’s new store near Herald Square in New York was a red-carpet affair or a girl’s night out at the spa. A DJ played techno-pop while guests sipped Moet Champagne and dabbed Jo Malone on their wrists. One twenty something wrapped her hair in a paper headband while an attendant dabbed cream on her cheeks. Another stood before a screen with a front-facing camera and sampled virtual eyelashes, swiping left to explore an array of styles before committing to the real thing. “Oh! Do another!” said her friend, who was snapping photographs. “This is so much fun.” Much has been written about the crisis in retail, with shoppers deserting department stores for e-tailers and fast fashion, if they shop at all. The beauty business, though, has not had the same fate. Prestige beauty sales in the US rose 6 percent in the 12 months ending in February, tallying $15.9 billion, according to the market research company NPD Group. Makeup alone is up 11 percent, totaling $7.3 billion. But that industry, too, is in the midst of its own upheaval, driven in part by the success of stores such as Sephora, the No. 1 specialty beauty retailer in the world, according to Euromonitor International, which tracks beauty sales.

Clerks replacement

BLOGGERS and YouTube stars, Instagram videos and virtual assistants are replacing department store sales clerks, whose customers now know as much as they do (or more) about mermaid eyes and ombré lips. Brand loyalty is out, replaced by Sephora’s try-more-buymore ethos. Friends hold as much

sway these days as trained experts. “For the older consumer it can be confusing,” said Karen Grant, the global beauty industry analyst at the NPD Group. “But for the younger consumer, it’s like, ‘Wheeeee! Look at that! Look at that!’ It’s all about play. And the more time you stay in the store or online, the more money you are likely to spend.” Grant estimates that two out of five women between ages 18 and 54 wear five or more makeup products every day. “It defines the selfie-obsessed, image-driven culture of our time,” she said. Deborah Yeh, Sephora’s senior vice president for marketing and branding, said: “The lady at the counter has been replaced by hundreds of people on YouTube. There are more voices. And we are trying to cut through the confusion,” in part by allowing customers to try before they buy.

Tech doodads

SEPHORA, which is owned by the French luxury conglomerate LVMH and has more than 2,300 locations in 33 countries, offers digitally savvy customers, enough technological doodads and computer displays to make a Silicon Valley engineer blush. Want to try 50 shades of lipstick without getting chapped lips? There is a mobile app using augmented reality for that. Customers can scan their faces to get their Color IQ, a reference number used to find products that match their skin tones, or sit at digital workstations to take classes in contouring cheekbones. Sephora even has its own version

of Smell-O-Vision, a touch screen with a fan that lets visitors smell the scents—floral, earthy—that characterize most fragrances. Rebecca Pahle, a writer and editor in Manhattan, visits the two Sephora stores near her Times Square office twice a month. “It is easy to kill time, play around with things and then spend more money than I should,” Pahle said. “I am experimenting a lot, trying to figure out what I like.” She doesn’t shop at department stores. “I don’t associate them with makeup,” she said. What she appreciates most is autonomy. “At Sephora they ignore me, which I like,” Pahle said. “I don’t like the hard sell.” In 2015 Sephora opened its Innovation Lab in a converted warehouse in San Francisco to experiment with ways to combine mobile apps and in-store shopping into a cohesive experience. As a result of their efforts, customers can have as little or as much personal contact they want in stores like the one at Herald Square, which Yeh called the company’s “store of the future”.

Following suit

NOW depa r t ment stores a re scrambling to follow suit. In a few months, Bloomingdale’s will begin a major renovation of its cosmetics department, which could take as much as a year to complete. “The new in-store experience will have more technology and an ability to ‘play’,” said Francine Klein, who oversees cosmetics at Bloomingdale’s. “The challenge is to keep pace.” Macy’s, long the domain of beauty counters for established brands like Estée Lauder and Lancôme, has begun displaying staff favorites in its Dallas store. Salespeople, explained Muriel Gonzalez, the executive vice president and general merchandising manager for beauty, are shifting away from promoting only one brand. Macy’s also recently

acquired Bluemercury, a spa and beauty boutique, in an effort to expand its cosmetics business. Kohl ’s, meanwhile, has revamped all of its beauty stores, adding high-end brands, like Lorac and Bliss. And last year Barnes & Noble began testing the Glossary, its beauty-store-within-a-bookstore, on college campuses, among them William & Mary, Emory and Tulane. There, students can test brands without having to leave campus.

Stiffest competition

AT the moment Sephora faces its stiffest competition from Ulta Beauty, a cosmetics retailer, which is the No. 1 specialty beauty retailer in the US (and No. 2 in the world, behind Sephora), according to Euromonitor. Founded by a former drugstore chain executive, Ulta sells high-end and drugstorebrand cosmetics to customers who want prestige brands and salon service. Naturally, the changing industry makes traditional brands nervous. Of particular discomfort to some is that Sephora is owned by LVMH, and thus, stocks many of the brands the group owns, including Make Up For Ever, Fresh, Benefit, Givenchy, Guerlain and Dior. This has led to complaints among beauty companies that fear an even more powerful Sephora will favor LVMH brands or new cosmetic makers that appeal more to millennials than heritage brands. Yeh pointed to Sephora’s partnership with Estée Lauder to create the Estée Edit, a line of brightly colored lipsticks and eye shadows marketed to millennials, as an example of the company’s broadmindedness. Even so, an update doesn’t mean much if those young consumers don’t buy it. “Now everything is agnostic, and you have to play differently,” said Grant, the NPD Group analyst. “You just have to get the traffic.” New York Times News Service

Snapchat’s growth stalls in Facebook’s shadow

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EW YORK—Facebook has been bent on copying Snapchat ever since the socialmedia giant tried unsuccessfully in 2013 to buy what was then an ephemeral photo-messaging app. Now, the company behind Snapchat is hoping to copy some of its larger rival’s own practices, at least with respect to courting new users—and, with them, advertisers.

But it’s not going so well

On Wednesday Snap Inc. announced a massive loss and a continued slowdown in user growth, while revenue fell below Wall Street’s expectations in its first earnings report as a public company. Just a week earlier, Facebook posted double-digit revenue growth for the first quarter—much as it has consistently since its initial public offering in 2012. Snapchat reported 166 million daily active users in the latest quarter, an increase of just

36 percent from a year earlier. In its first postInitial Public Offering report in 2012, Facebook also disappointed investors when its daily user base grew by only 32 percent. But at that point, Facebook had 552 million regular users, more than three times as many as Snapchat.

Where the money went

ALMOST $2 billion of Snap’s $2.2-billion loss in the January-to-March period involved stock compensation costs related to the company’s initial offering. Facebook had similar costs of roughly $1.3 billion. But Facebook’s revenue was $1.18 billion in its first quarter as a public company. Although Snap’s revenue nearly quadrupled in the latest quarter, it only rose to $150 million. And that still undershot the $158 million analysts polled by FactSet had expected. Snap’s stock fell $5.50, or 24 percent, to $17.48 in after-hours trading.

Copycats

GROWTH in Snapchat’s user base began to slow down last year after Facebook’s Instagram copied Snapchat’s “stories” feature, which lets users post short video clips that disappear after 24 hours. Not to miss out on the trend, Facebook also launched disappearing stories this year. And let’s not forget about WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging service that came out with “status”, which lets people post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. See a trend here?

All about the messaging

MATT Britton, CEO of social-media marketing company Crowdtap and an expert on millennials, believes Snapchat has “gotten ahead of itself” in pushing out new features, when what it does best—and what it’s most used for—is

one-on-one messaging. “If you ask any teen how they use Snapchat, [most] say they use it to text people,” Britton said. He said he’s seen a lot of teens replace the telephone icon at the bottom of their phones’ most-used apps with the Snapchat app. Why call when you can snap, after all?

Not a social network

SNAPCHAT’S Stanford-dropout CEO, Evan Spiegel, has long insisted that his company is not a social network but a “camera company”. Unlike Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, Snapchat isn’t connecting networks of people. You could use it with just one other person, if you wanted. Britton sees challenges for Snapchat’s non-messaging features, such as stories and a “discover” option that lets users keep up with news, sports or celebrities. These features aren’t what many users go to Snapchat for. AP

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Digital advertising seen to grow by 20 percent D IGITAL advertising is expected to grow by 19 percent to 20 percent this year as more advertisers pursue the digital route to harness the tools of the Internet. However, Eduardo Mapa Jr. told reporters that many advertisers are still grappling on how to use digital technology in advertising.

“We will see digital transformation focusing now on the economic side of it. E-commerce will be the fastest mover going to the digital route,” said Mapa, president and Digital Convention director in charge of the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (Immap). Mapa also pointed out that the advertising industry will be focusing more on the economic side of it. He also stressed advertisers will possibly pursue the e-commerce

route because it is the fastest path to enter the digital route. Later, Mapa said, advertisers will explore other digital tools while they learn to harness the other tools of digital technology. “We will see more and more advertisers go beyond social and start discovering other facets,” Mapa said in an interview on the sidelines of the recent launching of the first Immap Digital Congress. With digital advertising still in its infancy stage in the country,

Singaporean grocery app launched in PHL

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INGAPOREAN online grocery-service operator Honestbee Pte. Ltd. announced recently it has made available its eponymous application in the Philippines. In a statement, the company said Honestbee Philippines Inc. would offer the app as a “personal concierge” service platform. Operating in Metro Manila initially, the company said the services available are grocery, delivery and laundry services. According to the firm, a grocery concierge handpicks the produce at in-store prices. The concierge checks expiration dates and suggests substitutes.

“The service on the app is customer-centric, and there is room to leave specific instructions for the items to be purchased,” the company said. Honestbee explains it does not stockpile goods in a warehouse. The items are listed on the app from their chosen partner merchants. The company said the concierge operates only between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, including weekends and holidays. Deliveries are marked for two hours. There is a P150 concierge or shopper fee. Free delivery is offered for a minimum spend of P1,500. Otherwise, a delivery fee of P99 applies.

Mapa said television and broadcast will still be the dominant platforms for advertising. “Brands will play an important role, but not at the speed of e-commerce players, like Google primarily, because it is the nature of their business to explore since digital media does not cost too much. In its recent survey, Mapa said Immap noticed that budget for digital advertising has increased, bordering 15 percent last year from a single digit in the previous years. “Advertisers are moving into digital in a calibrated pace, indicating they are initially using social media as entry point going to digital,” he explained. Mapa pointed out that digital transformation, also known as DX, does not only involve digital technology, noting that changes will occur when a big player, such as SM, enters the picture. “DX uses digital technology as an enhanced process because it allows speeding up the process. Pure players will have an advantage because they understand the way digital works,” he said. “Take note that TV is also evolving, such as Netflix.

At the end of the day, traditional media needs to change.” For Immap, Mapa said the leadership wants to make sure members are prepared to do the transformation and prepare for digital transformation. “The way we see it is not how to jump into digital, but how to start if the organization is not yet ready.” To celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, Immap will hold the first “Immap Digital Congress” to encourage practitioners to “ramp up their skills in the rapidly evolving digital industry”. According to Mapa, “the array of speakers gathers the best of the best, the brightest of minds when it comes to digital marketing.” “We are glad that they are willing to speak during this event to help spread the word on the importance of digital marketing and, eventually, help transform the marketing landscape to make it even more vibrant and dynamic in the 21st century.” Mapa said they expect to draw around 3,000 delegates from various industries across the country. Rizal Raoul Reyes

D-Link inks deal with Google

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ETWORKING equipment maker D-Link International Pte. Ltd. announced on May 18 that it has sealed a partnership with Google to provide upcoming mydlink products that work with the Google Assistant. In a statement, the company headquartered in Singapore, said the compatibility will provide consumers with the ability to control their smart home products with voice commands. By saying “Ok Google” to the Google Assistant on

Google Home or Android phone, users can ask and receive answers, manage tasks and control mydlink devices around their home. “D-Link is proud to become Google’s partner and be a part of the increasingly expanding home automation industry. We hope to continue providing our customers with new smart home experiences that encompass more possibilities than ever before,” said Anny Wei, CEO and President of D-Link Corp. Rizal Raoul Reyes

Google unveils latest technology tricks as computers get smarter

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OUNTAIN VIEW, California—Google’s computer programs are gaining a better understanding of the world, and now it wants them to handle more of the decision-making for the billions of people who use its services. CEO Sundar Pichai and other top executives brought Google’s audacious ambition into sharper focus Wednesday at an annual conference attended by more than 7,000 developers who design apps to work with its wide array of digital services. Among other things, Google unveiled new ways for its massive network of computers to identify images, as well as recommend, share, and organize photos. It also is launching an attempt to make its voice-controlled digital assistant more proactive and visual while expanding its audience to Apple’s iPhone, where it will try to outwit an older peer, Siri. The push marks another step toward infusing nearly all of Google’s products with some semblance of artificial intelligence (AI)—the concept of writing software that enables computers to gradually learn to think more like humans.

Science fiction

GOOGLE punctuated the theme near the end of the conference’s keynote address by projecting the phrase, “Computing that works like we do”. Pichai has made AI the foundation of his strategy since becoming Google’s CEO in late 2015, emphasizing that technology is

grunt work so humans have more time to think about deeper things and enjoy their lives with friends and family.

Top priority

Google CEO Sundar Pichai talks about Google Lens, which lets you point your phone’s camera at places and objects to get information about them, during the keynote address of the Google I/O conference on May 17 in Mountain View, California. AP

rapidly evolving from a “mobilefirst” world, where smartphones steer the services that companies are building, to an “AI-first” world, where the computers supplement the users’ brains. A I u n ner ves m a ny people because it conjures images of computers eventually becoming smarter than humans, and eventually running the world. That may sound like science fiction, but the threat is real enough to prompt warnings from respected technology leaders and scientists, including Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking. But Pichai and Google cofounder Larry Page, now CEO of Google corporate parent Alphabet Inc., see it differently. They believe computers can take over more of the tedious,

OTHER big tech companies, including Amazon.com, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook, also are making AI a top priority as they work on similar services to help users stay informed and manage their lives. Google believes it can lead the way in AI, largely because it has built using a gigantic network of data centers with billions of computers scattered around the world. This, along with people use its dominant internet search engine and leading e-mail service, have been feeding the machines valuable pieces of personal information for nearly 20 years. Now, Google is drawing upon that treasure trove to teach new tricks to its digital assistant, which debuted last year on its Pixel phone and an Internet-connected speaker called Home that is trying to mount a challenge to Amazon’s Echo. Google Assistant is on more than 100 million devices after being on the market for slightly more than six months, and now is trying to invade new territory with a free app released on Wednesday that works on the operating system powering Apple’s iPhone. Previously, the assistant worked only on Google’s Android software. Google’s assistant will be at a disadvantage on the iPhone, though, because Siri—a concierge that Apple introduced in 2011—is built into that device.

New power

A new service called Google Lens will give Assistant a new power. Lens uses AI to identify images viewed through a phone. For instance, point the phone at a flower and Assistant will call upon Lens to identify the type of flower. Or point the camera at the exterior of a restaurant and it will pull up reviews of the place. Pinterest has a similar tool. Also called Lens, it lets people point their cameras at real-world items and find out where to buy them, or find similar things online. Google Photos is adding a new tool that will prompt you to share photos you take of people you know. For instance, Photos will notice when you take a shot of a friend and nudge you to send it to her, so you don’t forget. Google will also let you share whole photo libraries with others. Facebook has its own version of this feature in its Moments app. One potentially unsettling new feature in Photos will let you automatically share some or all of your photos with other people. Google maintains the feature will be smart enough so that you would autoshare only specific photos—say, of your kids—to your partner or a friend. Google is also adding a feature to Photos to create soft-cover and hard-cover albums of pictures at prices beginning at $9.99. The app will draw upon its AI powers to automatically pick out the best pictures to put in the album. AP

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The mysterious digital currency called Bitcoin

A Bitcoin automated teller machine at the Staten Island Ferry’s Whitehall Terminal in New York on January 14, 2016. While real-world transactions have been slow to take off, bitcoin has continued to be popular for black market uses, like ransomware. Danny Ghitis/The New York Times

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S the hackers behind the global ransomware attack demand payment in bitcoin, here is a look at the basics behind the electronic currency.

Why are hackers using bitcoin?

The digital currency bitcoin has emerged as a favorite tool for hackers demanding a ransom for a simple reason: You can start accepting bitcoin anywhere in the world without having to reveal your identity. For criminals, this makes bitcoin much more attractive than systems like Western Union, which generally require customers to provide identification before opening an account and receiving transferred money.

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital token that can be sent electronically from one user to another, anywhere in the world. Bitcoin is also the name of the payment network on which the bitcoin digital tokens move (Some people differentiate between Bitcoin capitalized, as the token, and bitcoin lowercase, as the network). Unlike traditional payment networks, like Visa or American Express, no single company or person runs the bitcoin network. Instead, it is a decentralized network of computers around the world that keep track of all bitcoin transactions, similar to the decentralized network of servers that makes the internet work. Because there is no central authority running bitcoin, no one has the authority to force new users to reveal their identities. The network was designed this way to create a currency and a financial network outside the control of any government or single company. The computers that join the network and track bitcoin transactions are motivated to do so by the new coins that are released to the network every 10 minutes, and are given to one of the computers helping to track the transactions and maintain the network.

How do you buy and receive bitcoins?

There are companies in most countries that will sell you bitcoins in exchange for the local currency. In the US, a company called Coinbase will link to your bank account or credit card and then sell you the coins for US dollars. Opening an account with Coinbase is similar to opening a traditional bank or stock- brokerage account, with lots of verification of your identity needed. For people who do not want to reveal their identities, there are services like LocalBitcoins, which will connect local people who want to buy and sell bitcoins for cash, generally without any verification of identity required. To start accepting bitcoins is even easier. One needs only to create a bitcoin address, which can be done anonymously by anyone with internet access. The price of bitcoin fluctuates constantly and is determined by open-market bidding on bitcoin exchanges, similar to the way that stock and gold prices are determined by bidding on exchanges.

Can the authorities track criminals using bitcoin?

All bitcoin transactions are recorded on the network’s public ledger, known as the blockchain. Law enforcement or financial authorities can sometimes use the blockchain to track transactions among criminals. But, as long as the criminals do not associate a real-world

identity with their bitcoin address, they are generally safe. Complicating matters further, there are increasingly sophisticated bitcoin laundering services, known as tumblers, which mix large quantities of transactions together in order to make it harder for the authorities to track the transactions. Where it can get more difficult for hackers is when they want to convert the bitcoins they have received into a traditional national currency. Most companies that convert bitcoins to dollars in the US require their customers provide identification. If a criminal registered with a company like that, it would be relatively easy for the police to track them down. But there are many bitcoin exchanges outside the US that do not require customers to register with a real-world identity. Local Bitcoins also makes it easy to find someone in any city around the world who will meet you in person and pay cash for bitcoins without requiring any identification—a sort of Craigslist for bitcoin exchanges. It is also getting easier to buy goods online using bitcoins, without ever converting the digital currency into dollars or euros.

What’s happening with the price of bitcoin?

The price of bitcoin has recently hit a high above $1,800. Like gold, the price of bitcoin has always been driven by the scarcity of the digital tokens. When bitcoin was created in 2009, it was determined that only 21 million coins would ever be created. Technology investors have purchased coins and pushed up the price out of a belief that the tokens and the system will be a sort of global digital currency and financial network for the future. While real-world transactions have been slow to take off, bitcoin has continued to be popular for black market uses like ransomware, and online drug markets like the Silk Road and its successors. The corporate world has also taken interest in the technology that enables bitcoin, especially its decentralized financial network and the blockchain, Many banks are making big bets that real-world financial transactions will one day be run on networks similar to bitcoin, which can operate more quickly, efficiently and securely than traditional financial networks. There are now many competitors to bitcoin, like Ethereum, and their value has also been pushed up by growing interest in the bitcoin technology. But bitcoin has remained the largest so-called cryptocurrency and is generally the one that people use to buy and sell other cryptocurrencies.

What are the currency’s origins?

Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 by a shadowy creator going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, who only communicated by e-mail and social messaging. While several people have been identified as likely candidates to be Satoshi, as the creator is known in the world of bitcoin, not one has been confirmed. So the search for Satoshi has gone on. Satoshi created the original rules of the bitcoin network, and then released the software to the world in 2009. Whether it is he, she or they, Satoshi largely disappeared from view two years later. Anyone can download and use the software, and Satoshi now has no more control over the network than anyone else using the software. New York Times News Service

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What we currently know about the global cyber attack

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EW YORK—The danger from a global cyber attack that spread to some 150 nations continues to fade, and that’s only some of the good news.

After two security researchers greatly slowed down that attack, which effectively held people’s documents, photos and other digital files hostage, hard-hit organizations, such as the United Kingdom’s National Health Service seem to be bouncing back. While it’s a crude measure of the impact, it also appears that relatively few of those affected were desperate enough to actually pay the ransom demanded by the attackers. On the other hand, the attack has served as a live demonstration of a new type of global threat, one that could encourage future hackers. Here’s what we currently know about the ransomware known as WannaCry, which locked up digital photos, documents and other files to hold them for ransom.

Where it came from

RESEARCHERS are still puzzling out how WannaCry got started. Figuring that out could yield important clues to the identity of its authors. The malware spread rapidly inside computer networks by taking advantage of vulnerabilities in mostly older versions of Microsoft Windows. That weakness was purportedly identified and stockpiled for use by the US National Security Agency; it was subsequently stolen and published on the internet. But it remains unclear how WannaCry got onto computers in the first place. Experts said its rapid global spread suggests it did not rely on phishing, in which fake e-mails tempt the unwary to click on infected documents or links. Analysts at the European Union

cyber-security agency said the hackers likely scanned the Internet for systems that were vulnerable to infection and exploited those computers remotely. Once established, WannaCry encrypted computer files and displayed a message demanding $300 to $600 worth of the digital currency bitcoin to release them. Failure to pay would leave the data scrambled and likely beyond repair, unless users had unaffected backup copies.

Ransom payments

IN V EST IGATOR S are c losely watching three bitcoin accounts associated with WannaCry, where its victims were directed to send ransom payments. The digital currency is anonymized, but it’s possible to track funds as they move from place to place until they end up with an identifiable person. So far, there have been no withdrawals from those accounts. Given the scope of the attack, relatively few people appear to have actually paid the ransom. According to a Twitter account that monitors those accounts, they’ve received only about 250 payments worth a total of slightly more than $72,000.

North Korea

SEVER AL sets of investigators have now reported tentative findings that suggest hackers linked to North Korea might have been involved with WannaCry. But they could all be drawing conclusions from a very small set of clues. On Monday the Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab said portions of the WannaCry program use the same code as malware previously

Security industry faces critical issues–McAfee

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HERE is a need to form a solid effort in combating cyber criminals as malware, ransomware and mobile malware attacks rise, McAfee Inc. said. “The security industry faces critical challenges in our efforts to share threat intelligence between entities, among vendor solutions and even within vendor portfolios,” McAfee Vice President Vincent Weafer was quoted in a statement as saying. Those challenges include the following:

n Volume. A massive signal-tonoise problem continues to plague defenders trying to triage, process and act on the highest-priority security incidents. n Validation. Attackers may file false threat reports to mislead or overwhelm threat-intelligence systems, and data from legitimate sources can be tampered with if poorly handled. n Quality. If vendors focus just on gathering and sharing more threat data, there is a risk that much of it will be duplicative, wasting valuable time and effort. Sensors must capture richer data to help identify key structural elements of persistent attacks. n Speed. Intelligence received too late to prevent an attack is still valuable, but only for the cleanup process. Security sensors and systems must share threat intelligence in near real time to match attack speeds.

n Correlation. The failure to identify relevant patterns and key data points in threat data makes it impossible to turn data into intelligence and then into knowledge that can inform and direct securityoperations teams. “Working together is power,” Weafer said. “Addressing these challenges will determine the effectiveness of cyber-security teams to automate detection and orchestrate responses, and ultimately tip the cyber-security balance in favor of defenders.” McAfee reported 974 publicly disclosed security incidents in 2016. The company noted the public sector in the US experienced the greatest number of incidents by far. McAfee believes this may be caused by implementation of stricter requirements for reporting incidents, as well as an increase in attacks related to the US election process, mostly voterdatabase incidents and defacing of election web sites. In the third quarter of last year, there was also an increase in incidents in the software-development sector was due to the rise in attacks on gaming platforms. In the finance sector, the SWIFT attacks on the banking sector led to a jump in incidents. “Increasingly sophisticated attackers are evading discrete defense systems, and siloed systems let in threats that have been stopped elsewhere because they do not share information,” Weafer continued. Rizal Raoul Reyes

In this April 22, 2015, file photo, Stijn Vanveerdeghem (left), an engineer with Cisco, shows graphics with live wireless traffic to FedEx employee Barry Poole during the RSA Conference in San Francisco, where threat analysts, security vendors and corporate Information-technology administrators gathered to talk about malicious software, spear-phishing and other attacks that can steal money or secrets from companies and consumers. AP

distributed by the Lazarus Group, a hacker collective behind the 2014 Sony hack. Another security company, Symantec, related the same findings, which it characterized as intriguing but “weak” associations, since the code could have been copied from the Lazarus malware. Two law-enforcement officials, likewise, said US investigators suspect North Korea based on code similarities; the officials called that finding preliminary. The officials spoke to The Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation. But WannaCry remains a puzzle, in part because some of its elements seemed amateurish.

Salim Neino, CEO of the Los Angeles-based security firm Kryptos Logic, said the WannaCry worm was “poorly designed”—patched together and consisting of a “sum of different parts” with an unsophisticated payment system. Typical ransomware also generates a unique bitcoin account for each payment to make tracing difficult. That wasn’t done here.

Digging out

ONE of the organizations hardest hit by WannaCry—the UK’s National Health Service—appears to be recovering. On Friday many NHS hospitals had to turn away patients after WannaCry locked up computers, forcing the closure

of wards and emergency rooms. NHS Digital, the body that oversees cyber security in Britain’s health system, said that as of now, it has “no evidence that patient data has been compromised”. The agency told hospitals to disconnect all infected computers, apply a Microsoft patch that closes the vulnerability, then “roll back” the infected computers and restore them from backed-up files. UK hospitals are supposed to back up data frequently and at multiple locations. It’s possible that some data that wasn’t backed up could be lost.

Sign of hacks to come

WANNACRY could also serve as a

kind of template for future cyber attacks. Neino of Kryptos Logic, for instance, said the leak of the NSA hacking tools have significantly narrowed the gap between nations and individuals or cyber gangs. “The concern has always been, when are the real bad guys, the ones that don’t care about rules of engagement, the ones who are really out to hurt us, will they become cyber-capable?” he said in an interview on Monday night with the AP. “I think today we found out that those who really want to hurt us have begun to, because they became cyber-capable the moment that the NSA cyber tools were released.” AP

How to piece together the cyber-security jigsaw

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By Oscar Visaya

YBER Crime is evolving in ways we could never have imagined. Attacks are increasingly becoming more sophisticated, new attack vectors are opening and criminals are becoming more persistent. Organizations that wish to safeguard their data should not content themselves with tools and security measures currently in place. After all, staying ahead of cyber criminals is a continuous uphill battle. There is another angle to cyber security in Southeast Asia. The region’s fragile geopolitical situation, increasingly important role in the world, and rising technology usage and adoption have turned Southeast Asia into an attractive cyber-attack target. The Philippines alone witnessed a major cyber breach last year: The data of 55 million voters were compromised when cyber attackers hacked the nation’s voter registry.

As private firms and governments alike struggle to adapt amid a risky and on-demand environment, there is a greater urgency to understand the nature of new threats, reevaluate security strategy, and find the right resources and processes to ensure integrated, intrinsic protection. With the following three simple processes, companies and governments can be assured of having all the pieces of the cyber-security puzzle to confidently protect customers and secure their data: n Clarity. Can’t protect what you don’t know. To “know,” you first must be able to “see” into all your application traffic. n Context. Seeing is meaningless without an understanding of all applications and the external factors that can affect your ability to secure them. n Control. Without the ability to apply the right security control, it

doesn’t matter how much visibility or context you have. Organizations focus too much on implementing a full-scale security program and spending time and money on areas that aren’t at risk (low likelihood of exploit and low impact), while failing to devote enough time to areas that are frequently targeted, possess the highest security risks, and have the greatest impact during cyber attacks. The digital economy is upon us, yet the cyber-security landscape remains fragmented. This leaves businesses feeling inadequate in their ability to tackle cyber attacks confidently. The trick lies in learning how to best apply security controls in ways that enable visibility without hindering an application’s safety or performance. Hence, it is important to understand how adding context, clarity and control to existing architecture can combat the threats of tomorrow, today.

n Oscar Visaya is the country manager of F5 Networks Philippines Inc. The views he expressed in this abridged version of his column do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror’s.

Threats to Internet evolving–Akamai

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LOUD -delivery platfor m prov ider A k amai Te c h nolog ies I nc . a n nounced on May 17 that threats to the Internet continue to evolve. “If our analysis of the [first quarter] tells us anything, it’s that risks to the Internet and to targeted industry sectors remain and continue to evolve,” said Martin McKeay, Akamai senior security advocate. “Use cases for botnets like Mirai have continued to advance

and change, with attackers increasingly integrating Internet of Things vulnerabilities into the fabric of DDoS botnets and malware.” McKeay and Akamai released its report five days after the Wannacry ransomware was detected. “It’s shortsighted to think of Mirai as the only threat, though. With the release of the source code, any aspect of Mirai could be incorporated into other botnets,” McKeay added. “Even without

adding Mirai’s capabilities, there is evidence that botnet families, like BillGates, elknot and XOR, have been mutating to take advantage of the changing landscape.” McKeay said Akamai customers in the financial services industry were also targeted in the first quarter with a DNS (domain name system) query flood included in the Mirai malware. According to Akamai, the US remained the top source country also for Web application attacks,

show i ng a not her sig n i f ic a nt year-over-year increase—up 57 percent from the first quarter of 2016. The Netherlands, in second for the top source of Web application attacks of the first quarter of the year, dropped to 13 percent from 17 percent in the previous quarter, remaining a consistent source of attack traffic and a large proportion of attacks from a country of only 17 million citizens. Oliver Samson

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Converge ICT rolls out fiber-optic connection By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

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@brownindio

OCAL information communications technology (ICT) provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. believes there’s still a lot of room for growth in the telecommunications sector. “We are bullish on the business. If you look at it, broadband is still [at a] slow speed, primarily the digital subscriber line [DSL],” Converge ICT Solutions Inc. COO Jesus Romero said in an interview. “We think, especially with our pricing plan, the market is still big even if there is PLDT [Inc.] and Globe Telecom [Inc.].” Romero said, on the sidelines of the launching of the firm’s newest products on May 17 that the company is pursuing its expansion in Metro Manila. Romero added the company plans to triple its subscriber base in the consumer segment this year. At present, Converge ICT has 100,000 subscribers, while corporate users number 2,800. He noted the company is pursuing further expansion plans and continued strengthening of its fiberoptic network. At present, Converge already laid out more than 6,000 kilometers of its fiber-optic reach and is still growing, Romero said in Pasig City. We are already servicing clients from as far north as Baguio and further down south to Batangas, he added.

Fiber optic

IN Metro Manila Converge ICT’s pure fiber-optic offering has already

covered cities, such as Valenzuela, and Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, down south of the metropolis. It plans to further expand its reach by putting up networks in Nasugbu, Batangas, and even far north, such as San Fernando in La Union. Since the company is still growing, Romero stressed it requires them lesser effort. “Being a small company, it is easy to expand.”Romero said Converge ICT spent close to P1.5 billion last year in modernizing its information-technolog y platform and backbone network. Furthermore, he added the company hopes to complete the modernization program this year to prepare to push their expansion in the National Capital Region. “We’re also looking for acquisitions, whether it is a telecom or a cable company. There are also ongoing discussions on acquiring possibly a medium-sized telecom company,” Romero said. “Converge ICT is also open to partner with anybody.” Eventually, fiber broadband offerings will soon be enjoyed nationwide, according to Converge ICT President and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy.

Faster, better

ROMERO said the company is ad-

Jesus Romero (from left) COO; Alan Smyth, Head of Sales Enterprises; Janeena Chan, brand ambassador; Angela Gutierrez, marketing director; and Edith Agayan, head of Sales for SME and Consumer, during the launch of Converge Fiber Reloaded on May 17 at Marco Polo Hotel. NONIE REYES

dressing the perennial problem of Filipinos in dealing with slow Internet connection through a “best-ofbreed” pure fiber-optic connectivity to power the Internet usage of home, micro, small-, medium- and largescale enterprise users. “With Converge ICT ’s fiber broadband products, whether you are at home or at the office or your place of business, your Internet experience will surely be made better,” Uy was quoted in a statement as saying. “And the best part of it is that, it costs the same as your DSL connection, but made faster.” To make them different from their competitors, Romero emphasized the company’s “no data cap” tack in Internet access will be a clincher to get a big number

of subscribers. “We thought, ‘What’s the use of having fast Internet connection if there is a limit to data access?’ With FiberX, there is no more data cap to Internet usage,” Romero explained. “We feel we will just be short-changing our customers if we put a limit to their Internet usage.” Aside from bringing faster Internet to Filipinos, Romero said they will limit the existing difficulties customers experience when applying for an Internet connection. “Part of the experience is to make sure that customers will not wait long to get connected,” he added. “We have made the application process simple, easy and fast. No more hassles, no more waiting.”

Pure fiber

INITIALLY, FiberX is offered in three different plan types for a variety of home users relative to their Internet usage. FiberX 1500 comes with a burstable speed of up to 25 Mbps, FiberX2500 at up to 50 Mbps, while FiberX 3500 offers connectivity of up to 100 Mbps. With pure end-toend fiber technology that’s lightyears better than traditional DSL, FiberX will surely enhance everyone’s online experience with better speed, larger bandwidth and consistent performance for either work or play. But for those who want even faster connectivity, there’s FiberXtreme that comes in burstable speeds of 300 Mbps and 500 Mbps, and priced competitively at P4,500

and P7,000, respectively. For small and medium enterprises, we offer our iBIZ pure Fiber plan that allows businesses to operate faster and more efficient, with an Internet connection that has fewer interruptions and totally reliable, Romero said. Each iBIZ plan comes with free Webmail, free Web hosting and free Public IP, he added. And for larger enterprises, Converge ICT offers Converge Enterprise, which comes with scalable Internet connection of up to 1 gigabytes per second (Gbps), an IP MPLS (Internet protocol multiprotocol label switching), disaster recovery, managed data-center services and other benefits for more efficient business operations.