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ENACTMENT OF RIGHTS-BASED MENTAL-HEALTH LEGISLATION NEARS

Right to (mental) health

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

W

ith 1 in every 3 Filipinos facing mental issues, the House of Representatives is now preparing for the final approval of the proposed “Comprehensive Mental Health Act” this month.

The measure is now inching its way into becoming a law. The Senate already passed on third and final reading its version of the bill, which, Deputy Speaker Romero Quimbo of Marikina, principal author of House Bill (HB) 6252, said, will give mental health the attention it needs.

“The state lacks resources to effectively provide for and sufficiently address the growing number of mental-health disorders,” he said.

Quimbo, quoting a recent

research, said 75 percent to 85 percent of people from low- and middle-income countries suffering from mental disorders do not receive treatment for at least a year.

“There have been several studies in the Philippines, which show the need for a more intensive mental health-care delivery system,” the deputy speaker added.

Student suicide rate

According to the lawmaker, the Global School Based Health Survey of the World Health Or-

ganization, in 2011, stated that 16 percent of students between 13 and 15 years old have considered attempting suicide, while 13 percent have actually attempted suicide one or more times.

In the Philippines, Quimbo said, a study conducted by the Department of Health (DOH) in 2006 among government employees in Metro Manila revealed that 32 percent of the 327 respondents have experienced a mental-health problem in their lifetime.

“The incidence of suicide in

males increased from 0.23 to 3.59 per 100,000 between 1984 and 2005, while rates rose from 0.12 to 1.09 per 100,000 in females,” Quimbo said.

He added a DOH report in 2003 showed that intentional selfharm is the ninth leading cause of death among 20 to 24 years old.

According to Quimbo, the WHO and other institutions have pushed for a “rights-based” mental-health legislation.

Continued on A2

New Palace mouthpiece vows to deliver the loudest scream to Duterte’s critics

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

for new media of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO). Prior to her appointment, Badoy was reportedly tapped by the President to serve as spokesman of the PCOO.

obody thought Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella was touchable as he stood, and spoke in behalf of the Chief Executive with his faultless diction and calm baritone voice, at the podium in Malacañang.

Not until President Duterte himself last Friday announced he is removing Abella as his official mouthpiece, and is placing Rep. Harry L. Roque Jr. of the Kabayan Party-list as his new spokesman.

The announcement came days after Abella made clear in a news briefing he is “the one and only spokesman” in Malacañang, following the appointment of Lorraine Marie T. Badoy as undersecretary

PESO exchange rates n US 51.4880

Didn’t see it coming?

Newly appointed Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. holds his first press briefing in Malacañang on November 2.

VALERIE ESCALERA/Presidential Communications Operations Office

Apparently, there is really a new spokesman in town, and Abella might or might not have known it. He is, after all, on the chopping board of Duterte, without him anticipating it.

The President gave no reason he wanted his longtime pastor-friend out of Malacañang. However, he said he tapped Roque because both of them speak the same vocabulary and has the same rhetoric—nasty, foulmouthed and unorthodox.

See “Mouthpiece,” A2

n japan 0.4513 n UK 67.2485 n HK 6.6002 n CHINA 7.7906 n singapore 37.8922 n australia 39.7075 n EU 60.0350 n SAUDI arabia 13.7302

Source: BSP (3 November 2017 )

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A2 Saturday, November 4, 2017

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Right to (mental) health I Continued from a1

He said the WHO’s Mental Health Legislation and Human Rights states that people with mental disorders constitute a vulnerable section of society, and mental-health legislation is necessary for protecting the rights of people with mental disorders.

Scope

A legislation that provides a legal framework to address critical mental-health issues, such as access to care, rehabilitation and aftercare, full integration of people with mental disorders into the community, and the promotion of mental health in different sectors of society, are also included, Quimbo said.

Citing the WHO, Quimbo noted that there is no national mental-health legislation in 25 percent of countries with nearly 31 percent of the world’s population.

Moreover, Assistant Majority Leader Ron P. Salo of Kabayan Party-list, another author of the bill, said in 2015 that the DOH has reported more than 8,000 cases of mental-health disorders, with schizophrenia comprising a large percentage at 3,457.

“There were more than 2,000 cases of bipolar affective disorder, followed by psychotic disorder and depression. As early as 2004, the Social Weather Stations survey found that almost 1 per 100 households has a family member who has a mental disorder. The WHO reported 2,558 cases of suicide in the country in 2012,” he said.

Aside from Quimbo and Salo, House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas Sr. and Minority Leader Danilo E. Suarez are also among the authors of the bill.

Status

In the lower chamber, HB 6252, which would address the growing

need for a national mental-health system that really works for Filipinos needing psychological care, was already passed on second reading.

The measure intends to deliver integrated mental-health services, while protecting the rights of persons availing themselves of psychiatric, neurologic and psychosocial health services.

The bill refers to “mental health” as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

It refers to “mental-health services” as psychosocial, psychiatric or neurologic activities and programs along with the whole range of mental-health support spectrum, including promotion, prevention, treatment and aftercare, which are provided by mentalhealth facilities and mental-health professionals.

Ultimately, the proposed law wants to ensure that Filipinos are able to contribute to the development of the country, and are able to attain better quality of life because their mental needs are assured along with their overall physical and health needs.

The bill integrates mentalhealth care in the general healthdelivery system, especially in the programs being implemented by the DOH and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. It also promotes the study of mental health in both elementary and secondary educational systems to prevent depression, obesity and teenage pregnancy among students of this age group.

It also strengthens the functions and reconstitutes the composition of the Philippine Council for Mental Health (PCMH), which was created under Executive Order 470

nvoluntary psychiatric treatment normally means administration of irreversible mind-altering procedures (electroshock, psychosurgery) and pharmacologic and mechanical restraints, which have established adverse effects and cause profound suffering.

—Janice Cambri

Psychosocial Disability-Inclusive Philippines founder and psychiatric torture survivor

and attached to the DOH to provide a coherent, rational and unified response to mental-health problems, concerns and efforts through the formulation and implementation of the National Mental Health Care Services Delivery System.

Likewise, it provides for the rights of person with mental illnesses, or someone being treated for a mental illness, such as the right to freedom from social, economic and political discrimination and stigmatization.

Under the bill, mental-health professionals shall have the right to have a safe and supportive health environment; participate in a continuous professional development program; and participate in the planning, development and management of health services.

Mental-health program

Currently, the DOH’s National Center for Mental Health said the country’s National Mental Health Policy shall be pursued through a mental-health program strategy prioritizing the promotion of mental health, protection of the rights

and freedom of persons with mental diseases, the reduction of the burden and consequences of mental ill-health, mental and brain disorders and disabilities.

The DOH also said several committees and teams were created to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the National Mental Health Program.

In 2017 the DOH has allocated a P1-billion funding for the agency’s mental-health programs.

Opposition

Meanwhile, the Psychosocial Disability-Inclusive Philippines (PDIP) has criticized the mentalhealth bill.

PDIP founder and psychiatric torture survivor Janice Cambri, in a recent statement, said both substitute bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives include discriminatory provisions contravening international humanrights standards.

“The bills allow involuntary treatment and commitment to a mental-health facility on the ground of the existence of mental

impairment or incapacity. These are against the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [CRPD], which the Philippines is a signatory of. They are considered forms of torture,” she said.

“Aside from the CRPD Committee, other UN bodies have also joined the call for the abolition of nonconsensual treatments in mental health, including the Offices of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Special Rapporteur on Health who is also a psychiatrist,” Cambri said.

She added: “The WHO has, in fact, sent its comments to these bills that are aligned to the CRPD. The CHR, in its official position, recommended giving primary reference to the CRPD. I have invoked the CRPD during the hearings, but the legislators refused to listen.”

According to Cambri, involuntary psychiatric treatment normally means administration of irreversible mind-altering procedures (electroshock, psychosurgery) and pharmacologic and mechanical restraints, which have established adverse effects and cause profound suffering.

She said permanent, long- and/ or short-term serious damages are well documented in mainstream psychiatric research and humanrights organization literature.

“If the bills genuinely promote our human rights, coercive treatments must have no place in legislation. We need to be treated on an equal basis with others before the law,” Cambri added.

PDIP, a member of the 15-country Transforming Communities for the Inclusion of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities Asia (TCIAsia), is the country’s pioneer and sole CRPD-based human-rights advocacy organization of persons with psychosocial disabilities.

Mouthpiece…

Continued from a1

Hollow blocks

Without wasting any time, Roque proved why he was handpicked by Duterte to speak for him. In an online interview over the weekend, the incoming Palace official told critics of the Chief Executive to prepare for him, as he will “throw hollow blocks” at them should they cast a stone at his principal.

This was followed by his statement he will not emulate the President in throwing profanities here and there, but will just scream at those who, instead of working with the government, choose to criticize it.

Verbal mileage

Roque, in just a matter of days, said words Abella could not utter in his more than one year as presidential spokesman.

In his stint as Duterte’s official mouthpiece, Abella never cursed the critics of the President, nor did he threaten to throw anything or scream at anyone. At times his principal badmouths the European Union or the United States, he would repackage those statements and make them appear they were all but gestures of nationalism.

Apparently, the President did not like this and wanted a spokesman that would echo his style. And Roque vowed to do just this.

Rank

The appointment of Roque also revealed Duterte’s plan to reactivate the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson (OPS), which has been inactive under the Duterte administration.

The OPS is headed by the presidential spokesman, who, commensurate or not to his primary duty of speaking for the President, holds a Cabinet rank.

Abella was an undersecretary of the PCOO and never got the chance to hold a secretary post nor run an office with Executive powers. On the other hand, Roque was given the secretary badge as soon as Duterte gave him the post and will soon lead the OPS, which will be revived by the President most likely through an executive order.

The switch

In a news briefing on Thursday, Roque said he will continue his human-rights advocacy, in spite of serving under Duterte, who is accused of encouraging policemen to shoot suspected drug criminals. At the same time, he said, in his duty as presidential spokesman, he will defend the war on drugs, which has allegedly claimed thousands of lives in police operations and vigilante-style executions.

Roque added that he will bring legal explanations to some of the Chief Executive’s confusing statements, which he expects will shed some light on some policies of the administration.

He also said he will, like Abella, clarify to the public what the President means should he curse again at the EU, the US and other international organizations.

’Direct line’

Expect more concrete and precise statement from Malacañang, too, as Roque revealed he has a “direct line” to Duterte that he can use to transmit his principal’s position to the public. This direct line to the President was reportedly never available to Abella, the reason he has to interpret and repackage Duterte’s statements in most occasions.

Fire them later

In respect to Abella, Roque said he will retain most of his predecessor’s men until December, so they will be able to claim their Christmas bonuses. However, come January, Roque said he will bring in his own men and, due to this, must remove some of Abella’s underlings in the process.

As for Abella, no one knows what will happen to him. Malacañang reporters attempted to reach him to know what is next for him, but was not met with any response.

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Political, security The souls in purgatory issues in Asean to be P tackled in a forum

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ays on how to protect the Asean community from evolving political and security challenges will be tackled by experts in a conference to be held on November 8 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City.

The one-day summit, with the theme “Asean leadership amid a new world order,” will also discuss the issue of strengthening the sociocultural foundation of Asean cooperation.

This was announced by Prof.

Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase ADR Institute, a private think tank and event organizer.

Former Ambassador Albert F. del Rosario, chairman of Stratbase, w i l l key note t he highprof i le con ference t h at w i l l be attended by distinguished leaders in security, economics and international affairs from different countries.

The first session of the conference will tackle “Protecting the Asean Community from Evolving Political-Security Challenges.”

Stratbase partnered with the Philippines Inc. and US-Philippines Strategic Initiative to facilitate the session.

Manhit said the topic is relevant as the Asia-Pacific region continues to cope with threats to the stability of interstate relations and to the welfare and ways of life of its people.

“For Southeast Asia, the challenge in the South China Sea persists, as states trade moves aimed at improving their respective positions in the waterways.

In this panel, we focus on the state of play in the disputes, and how the affected countries intend to pursue avenues of cooperation that reduce the risk of violence and escalation, such as the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, and promote the peace and stability of the region such as through cooperation on m a r it i me hu m a n it a r i a n a nd search and rescue activities,” Manhit said.

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana will keynote the first session, which will have four other panel speakers, including Dr. Renato de Castro, a professor at the International Studies Department of the De La Salle University and a trustee of Stratbase; Gregory Poling, director of Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative; Dr. Masashi Nishihara,

president of Research Institute for Peace and Security (Japan); and Dr. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea. The second session, in partnership with Asia Society, will take place in the afternoon to tackle “Strengthening the SocioCultural Foundations of Asean Cooperation.”

To expound on the issue, former Foreign Secretary Roberto R. Romulo, who now serves as chairman of Carlos P. Romulo Foundation, will keynote the second session that will have three other panelists, including Prof.

Yorizumi Watanabe from the Faculty of Policy Management, Graduate School of Media and Governance of Keio University; Aekapol Chongvilaivan, country economist for the Philippines at the Asian Development Bank; and former Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, who is now governor for the Philippines of the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia.

Manhit said the chorus of Southeast Asian states aim “to contribute to realizing an Asean Community that is people-oriented and socially responsible with a view to achieving enduring solidarity and unity among the peoples and member-states of Asean.”

“As part of their sociocultural cooperation, the governments of Southeast Asia have worked to protect their citizens from health emergencies; participate in joint efforts to a d d r e s s e n v i r o n m e nt a l a n d maritime resource challenges; transition to knowledge-based societies; and create a sense of belonging to the Asean Community,” he said.

Manhit said, however, that there seems to be a gap when it comes to executing the Asean sociocultural agenda. “In a region composed of several different cultures, religions and languages, cooperation among memb er - st ates c a n b e c h a llenging. There is also a lack of awareness about Asean and a lack in people’s participation.

To sustain our cooperation, we need to understand our neighbors. How do we create oneness amid diversity? How can ord inar y citizens par ticipate in Asean integration?” he said.

Japanese firms dive into Asia’s deepening pool of dollars

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sia’s growing pool of dollar funds is catching the eye of traditionally conservative Japanese issuers, who in the past focused on selling debt in the US when they went offshore for funding.

Japanese borrowers have churned out $17.6 billion in dollar debt targeted to Asian and European buyers—the bulk of which market players say has gone to Asia. That’s a record high, and already more than 60 percent greater than such sales for all of last year, according to data compiled

by Bloomberg.

Behind the surge is a recognition of the benefits that Japanese issuers can get from a relatively new investor base closer to home. The rapidly expanding Asian dollar-bond market is being propelled by China, which makes up more than half of both sales and purchases. It’s even drawing Latin American issuers to the region.

“Increasingly this year one of the reasons for Japanese issuers to tap the dollar-bond market is to reach out to Asian and China-based money,” said Akihiro Igarashi, an executive director

at Nomura Securities Co.’s syndication department in Tokyo. “The region’s abundant liquidity helps them achieve good pricing.”

The strong demand from Asia is helping Japanese pull off issuance sizes that were unthinkable in the past without participation from US investors. The volume of Japanese dollar bonds that are sold under United States issuance rules has dropped about 18 percent so far this year compared with 2016.

Komatsu Finance, for example, bagged a total of $800 million from Asian and European investors in early September, bigger than the usual size for such a sale in the past, says John Wade, head of debt capital markets for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Securities Asia.

The size of the typical Japanese bond sale to Asians and Europeans used to be no more than $750 million, but that amount has climbed because “Asia has more dollars than in the past and investors are looking to put that money to work,” Wade said. Bloomberg News

arents and yayas use the idea of hell to keep their young charges in line. The Church, too, has been criticized for teaching the existence of hell, and of course, the modern, “enlightened” adult says, “there’s enough hellishness on earth in our lifetime, why worry about hell in the hereafter?” Obviously, if hell as an idea is dismissed, the idea of purgatory is considered even more absurd.

W hile the notion of purgator y is associated more particularly with the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, belief in purgatory has ancient roots, is well attested in early Christian

free enterprise

Mercedes B. Suleik writings and even non-Christians have some kind of belief in some kind of temporary place where a soul awaits its final disposition. Even pagans had some shadow y belief in such a place, as one might glean from

Saturday, November 4, 2017

some of the Greek epics. Judaism, Islam and the Church of the Latter Day Saints also believe in some kind of purgatory or place of purification. The Eastern Orthodox Church, however, while admitting of an intermediate state after death refrained from defining it, but combined it with a firm belief in the efficacy of prayer for the dead. On the other hand, Protestants and the Anglican church (with the exception of a small minority known as Anglo-Catholics) reject the “Romish doctrine concerning purgatory.”

The Catholic Church teaches that purgator y, which comes

A3

from the Latin purgare, is a condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing from this life in God ’s grace and are not entirely free from venial sins, or have not f u l ly paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. This is one reason why the Catholic Church com memorates a l l sou l s on November 2. It inv ites all the faithful to pray and offer suffrages for the souls in purgator y, so that, in the words of Pope John Paul II, “whatever residue of hu m a n wea k ness still remaining in them to delay their happy encounter with God be definitively wiped out.”

Security, trade challenge Trump on first Asia trip

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orth Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs are likely to be the issue dominating the first part of United States President Donald J. Trump’s trip, which includes stops in South Korea’s capital and Beijing as well as Tokyo. Trade will figure throughout, both in North Asia and at his stops in Southeast Asia for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Vietnam and the Asean Leaders’ Meeting in the Philippines.

A look at the top issues from veteran AP correspondents:

North Korea

For North Korea, the more blustery Trump comes off during his visit, the better.

It has insisted that the US president’s threatening comments and tweets reveal a belligerence that has driven decades of Washington’s policy on North Korea and proves the North’s decision to develop nuclear weapons was a defensive measure and not only justified but a laudable example of resistance. North Korea’s staterun media have been hitting that argument hard over the past week.

“It has become clearer who is a harasser of peace,” the ruling party’s newspaper said in an editorial on Wednesday. “Owing to the US, there is constant danger of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula and peace and security is always at peril.”

The editorial added that if North Korea hadn’t developed nuclear weapons, its “sovereignty and national dignity would have been mercilessly violated” by the United States.

North Korea has long said that, but also clearly believes Trump’s unfiltered words have opened a way for it to gain sympathy among potential critics of Trump in the US media, academic circles and foreign governments.

An added bonus for North Korea would be discord during the visit on regional trade or military burden-sharing issues with Japan and South Korea. Or any problems with China. At a background briefing on the trip, a senior US administration official said the White House believes the Chinese have done a great deal and “the US is working more closely with China on the North Korea problem than ever,” but added it wants more out of Beijing.

North Korea will be weighing the nuances of those meetings particularly closely.

Trade

Trump has often named Asia, and China and Japan in particular, as a source of American economic woes. A persisting US trade deficit with most Asian countries and the president’s frequent threats to impose sanctions or raise tariffs on exports from the region make trade a fraught issue.

“We have trade deficits with China that are through the roof,” he said on Wednesday. “They’re so big and so bad that it’s embarrassing saying what the number is. But you know what the number is. And I don’t want to embarrass anybody four days before I land in China, but it’s horrible.”

Trump repeatedly called China a currency manipulator during the presidential campaign in 2016, saying “they’re killing us” by devaluing the yuan to make it harder for American companies to compete against Chinese products, even though Beijing was struggling to prevent the yuan’s value from falling. He threatened to impose tariffs of up to 45 percent on Chinese goods.

Since he took office, though, the need for Beijing’s help in countering threats from North Korea has helped temper his approach. His administration is pressing Beijing to give American companies more access to its state-dominated economy and held talks aimed at lowering the huge trade deficit with China. But it has refrained from designating China a currency manipulator.

Trump’s decision to pull the US. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact left the other 11 members bereft of the agreement’s $12-trillion anchor consumer market. The remaining TPP countries, from vast Canada to tiny oil sul-

tanate Brunei, are thrashing out a framework for moving forward without the US. An agreement may be reached in time for the regional Apec economic summit in Vietnam.

The country-to-country agreements that Trump prefers over multination deals, such as the TPP, could be discussed during stops in Tokyo, Beijing and other regional capitals. That includes a free-trade agreement with South Korea, which Trump is seeking to renegotiate. He said Wednesday that it’s very important for the US to renegotiate its trade deals.

“Our trade deals are horrible,” he said. “They were made by people that, honestly, it’s sad. It’s very sad for our country. Every trade deal we have is disastrous.”

South China Sea

One of the world’s busiest sealanes, the South China Sea is a trouble spot where Trump can showcase American leadership and commitment to the region in a high-profile way. Or display a lack of both. China, the largest and most aggressive of six claimantstates in the disputed waters, has alarmed others by transforming seven barren reefs and atolls into islands—three with military-grade runways—in an impressive feat of engineering. It has even reportedly installed a missile-defense system

on newly built islands in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago.

While China denies that it has hegemonic ambitions in the strategic waterway, it insists it has indisputable sovereignty over virtually the entire sea and declares itself ready to fight for every inch of it.

It ignored a landmark ruling by a United Nations-linked arbitration tribunal last year that invalidated China’s sprawling territorial claims, despite calls by the US and others to uphold the rule of law.

Under Trump, the US Navy has continued “freedom of navigation operations” and naval drills in the South China Sea in a challenge to China’s claims, but many wonder whether Trump will do more at a time when he is seeking Beijing’s help in reining in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, an issue which tops his national security concerns.

The dynamics of the territorial disputes have changed too. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, unlike his predecessor, has tried to veer away from his country’s close alliance with the US and reached out to China and Russia.

Duterte, who will chair the Asean summit meetings that Trump will attend, has stopped joint patrols with the US in the disputed waters and considerably toned down his country’s criticism of China over the sea disputes. AP

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Saturday, November 4, 2017

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Europe’s biggest fund sticking to top emerging dollar-bond bet

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olicy normalization at some of the world’s biggest central banks may have some emerging-market investors nervous, but Europe’s largest fund manager is sticking to its playbook.

Amundi Asset Management, which oversees the equivalent of $1.6 trillion, is continuing to bet on developing-nation dollar debt as policy-makers from the United States to Europe start to wind in the easy money that has fueled the emerging-market rally. Despite the run-up in hard-currency bonds the past few years, the firm still sees value, particularly in Latin America.

“This is our safest asset class, the most defensive asset class,” said Sergei Str igo, cohead of emerging-market debt for Amundi in London. Bonds are currently in a “really sweet spot,” he said, as “growth is returning but it’s not very high, which means it’s not driving up inflation.”

The clouded outlook for emerging-market currencies has Amundi favoring dollar-denominated notes, assets that have underpinned the surge in developing

markets since early-2016. The Paris-based investment firm is sticking to the position even as local-currency bonds edge ahead, with a Bloomberg Barclays index up more than 10 percent this year, versus the 8-percent gain in hard-currency notes.

Amundi is targeting a mixture of sovereign, provincial and quasi-sovereign bonds, said Strigo, whose fund has returned 8.9 percent this year, according to the company. He spoke about the firm’s investment outlook in an interview this week in Singapore:

Which region globally offers the best value?

Latin America, where Amundi has been overweight, said Strigo, citing cheaper valuations and improvements on the political front. Brazil has become cheap, and the spread between quasisovereign yields and sovereigns

has also widened quite a lot. “If you look at Asia or if you look at Eastern Europe, there’s still value in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.”

dollar debt. While Amundi sees more value in Indonesia, relative to Latin America it’s expensive.

What was your most successful trade this year?

The firm was a buyer at China’s recent dollar-bond offer, Strigo said. It was the country’s first dollar-denominated debt sale since 2004.

“Brazil was a very successful trade for us, and that’s really across all asset classes.” Domestic bonds performed well, with inflation slowing and Brazil’s central bank cutting rates. Currency stability also helped, he said. Russian debt did well, given the steady ruble. While Turkey and South Africa have become “a bit painful” to trade, people have still made money year-to-date. Amundi has become more defensive on Venezuela after previously being overweight and holding short-dated debt that matured in April.

What about Asia?

“In Asia, we’ve got really two main countries which are liquid: Indonesia and the Philippines on the dollar-denominated bonds,” Str igo said. T he Philippines, however, is pricey. “It has great fundamentals, but it has been quite expensive for reasons of abundant dollar liquidity,” he said, citing overseas remittances from overseas workers that are then invested in the country’s

And China?

How will emerging markets fare in 2018?

The biggest risks are from the outside, not from the inside, Strigo said. Uncertainties include Federal Reserve leadership, the outlook for US fiscal stimulus and tax cuts, general ambivalence around the Trump administration and its ability to pass initiatives through Congress. The prospect of protectionist measures against the likes of Mexico or China also remains a concern.

In Europe there are risks posed by the European Central Bank tapering its quantitative easing program, as well as issues such as Catalonia and Italy’s debt situation. North Korea is something to keep an eye on, he said.

There is room for more gains in emerging-market debt as investors haven’t been “massively overweight” on the sector, Strigo said. Bloomberg News

In this June 20 file photo provided by South Korean Defense Ministry, US Air Force B-1B bombers (top and second from top) and South Korean fighter jets F-15K fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea. A South Korean military official on Friday said the B-1B bombers based in Guam were escorted by two South Korean F-16 fighter jets during the drills on Thursday at a field near the South’s eastern coast. The drills simulated attacks on land targets but didn’t involve live weapons, said the official, who did not want to be named, citing office rules. South Korean Defense Ministry via AP,

US bombers from Guam conduct exercise over Korean Peninsula

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wo United States supersonic bombers f lew over t h e K o r e a n Pe n i n s u l a for bombing e xercises t hat are a lso a show of force aga inst Nor t h Korea a head of President Dona ld J. Tr u mp’s f irst of f ic i a l v isit to A si a.

A South Korean military official on Friday said the B-1B bombers based in Guam were escorted by two South Korean F-16 fighter jets during the drills on Thursday at a field near the South’s eastern coast. The drills simulated attacks on land targets but didn’t involve live weapons, said

the official, who did not want to be named, citing office rules.

North Korea’s state media denounced the exercise as a “surprise nuclear strike drill” and says “gangster-like US imperialists” are seeking to ignite a nuclear war.

T he North Korean nuclear threat will likely overshadow Tr u mp’s t r ip to A si a, wh ic h starts on Sunday in Japan and will include stops in South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

In recent months North Korea has tested intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland with further

development and has conducted its most powerful nuclear test.

It also flew powerful new midrange missiles over Japan and threatened to launch them toward Guam, the US Pacific territory and military hub.

T he United States has re sponded by sending its strategic assets to the region more frequently for patrols or drills.

That has angered North Korea, whose foreign minister said in September the North had “every right” to take countermeasures, including shooting down the US warplanes, though many experts

doubt it has the actual intent or ability to do so.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency on Friday said that the “US imperialist warmongers” should not act rashly. “ T he U S i mp e r i a l i s t s a re ma k ing l ast- d itc h ef for ts to check the dynamic advance of the DPRK by deploying their nuclear strategic assets in succession, but its army and people are never fr ightened at such moves,” the report said, referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. AP

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Trump heads to Asia with an ambitious agenda but little to offer

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resident Donald J. Trump departs on his first trip to Asia on Friday weakened and scandal-scarred, ready to face off against newly empowered Chinese and Japanese leaders in a region increasingly determined to set its course without American direction.

The White House is framing the trip as a chance for Trump to showcase his budding personal rel at ionships w it h President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan— a forceful world leader pressing his peers to negotiate fairer trade deals with the United States and to intensify the pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea.

But Tr ump’s er ratic statecraft, compounded by the shadow of the Russia investigation, leaves him in a questionable position to extract concessions from Xi or even allies like Japan and South Korea. The South Koreans may actually draw closer to the Chinese after settling a dispute this week over the rollout of an US anti-missile system.

On the eve of the trip, White House aides also have a more basic concern: putting the 71-year-old president through a grueling 11-day, five-nation marathon they originally conceived as two trips before Trump opted to do it all at once.

While Trump is skipping a summit meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in the Philippines to head home a day earlier, it will still be the longest tour of Asia by any president since George H.W. Bush in late 1991—a trip that ended in Tokyo when Bush, tired and ill with the flu, collapsed after vomiting on the Japanese prime minister.

In Vietnam, his aides said, Trump will articulate a new policy for Asia built on the concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region. The idea, they acknowledge, originated with the Japanese, who have been urging the United States to bond with three other maritime democracies—Japan, Australia and India—to contain a rising China.

“This trip is a great opportunity to demonstrate America’s, and the Trump administration’s, commitment to the Indo-Pacific,” said the national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, using what seemed likely to become a catchphrase for the Trump administration, much as the “Asia pivot” was for the Obama administration.

Japanese officials planted the Indo-Pacific idea with two US counterparts: Brian H. Hook, the State Department’s policy planning director, and Matthew Pottinger, the Asia director in the National Security Council.

But it dates further back, to a 19th-centur y American naval officer and histor ian, A lfred Thayer Mahan, whose writings about maritime power have long been studied in Japan but who has only recently drawn attention in the W hite House.

The problem is, it is unclear that Trump is bringing any initiatives to Asia to further that vision. He withdrew the United States from the most obvious regional project, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He is pushing bilateral trade deals to replace that accord, but Japan and other Asian countries are reluctant to open negotiations, while South Korea is balking at Trump’s demand to renegotiate its existing trade agreement.

“W hen the region looks at Trump, they see uncertainty, they see unpredictability, they see a stepping back from key agreements like TPP,” said Evan S. Medeiros, a former senior adviser on Asia to President Barack Obama.

“Asian policy-makers have a really

hard time understanding if he has a coherent strategy.”

And yet, Medeiros added, “Nobody in Asia can afford to alienate the American president, as unreliable and distasteful as he and his policies may be.”

Indeed, Asian leaders are sparing no fanfare for Trump. Abe has invited him to play golf in Tokyo on Sunday, reciprocating for a round at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in February.

Xi is throwing him what officials characterize as a “state visit-plus,” with a tour of the Forbidden City and an inspection of troops.

Trump is bringing 29 chief executives to Beijing, where the administration hopes to announce billions of dollars of new deals for US industry. But officials are playing down expectations that China will agree to any meaningful opening of its markets.

In some respects, said Michael J. Green, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Trump’s visit is more akin to a trade mission by a Dutch prime minister or a French president than a summit meeting of the leaders of two super powers.

Trump plans to make the North Korea crisis the centerpiece of his stops in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing.

McMaster said on Thursday that the administration was considering putting North Korea back on the government’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

In Beijing Trump will press Xi to do more to use China’s influence to curb Pyongyang’s behavior.

Among his requests, said a person briefed by the White House, are a total cutoff of purchases of North Korean coal, closing North Korean bank accounts and sending home North Korean workers.

“China is def initely doing more,” McMaster said, “but obviously it’s not enough.”

He sa id Tr u mp’s rel at ionship with X i, nurtured in their meeting at Mar-a-Lago in April, would help the president. But a na lysts noted t hat X i, who emerged from the recent Communist Party congress as perhaps the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, has less of a reason to avoid friction with Trump—either over North Korea or trade, where Trump’s protectionist instincts cou ld antagonize Beijing.

Xi demonstrated his self-confidence by reaching out to South Korea to settle the dispute over the South’s deployment of a US anti-missile system on the Korean Peninsula. At one level, that underscored China’s inability to drive a wedge between the United States and its ally. But it also complicated Trump’s efforts to build a coalition to pressure North Korea, since it more closely aligns the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, who favors diplomatic engagement over threats of military force, with China, which also favors diplomacy.

Beyond that, the rapprochement illustrated that Asian nations are finding it harder to resist China’s embrace, especially at a time when the US seems unpredictable and unreliable.

“In Southeast Asia, you see countries tilting toward China, particularly after the A merican withdrawal from TPP,” said Green, who served as a top Asia adviser to President George W. Bush. “They’re not switching sides, they’re just hedging.” “ I t ’s n o t c l e a r w h a t t h e Sout heast A sia n pa r t of t he tr ip is about,” he added, “other than Tr ump for ming persona l relationships w ith Southeast A sian leaders, some of whom are problematic.” The New York Times

Sports BusinessMirror

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

CEU Lady Scorpions ‘WNC’ champs anew

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FTER seven seasons, Centro Escolar University (CEU) remained on top of the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) seniors basketball division.

The CEU Lady Scorpions conquered the Philippine Women’s University Patriots, 70-37, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum over the weekend to rule the 48th season.

CEU carried a twice-to-beat advantage after sweeping the four-game elimination round that also automatically sent them to the finals.

Game One of the junior best-of-three finals saw De La Salle Zobel (DLSZ), whipping two-time defending champion Chiang Kai Shek College, 65-37, while Miriam College also drew first blood in the midgets championship, upending Saint Paul College Pasig, 59-48.

DLSZ and Miriam will try to clinch the titles on November 11 in the same venue.

In the best-of-three volleyball finals, DLSZ and San Beda College Alabang also moved one win away from repeating as midgets and seniors champions, respectively.

DLSZ outlasted Saint Scholatica’s College, 25-23, 19-25, 27-25, and San Beda overcame CEU, 25-23, 26-24, 25-19.

In the juniors level, DLSZ will defend its crown against CKSC with Game One slated also on November 11.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

A5

DODGERS FANS FIGHT BACK TEARS

Some fought back real tears.

“Houston deserves this,” said Rene Lopez of Pomona, choking up. “It was a great baseball series, and that’s all I can wish for.”

Fans did their best to stay optimistic, but the Dodgers made it hard, falling behind 5-0 in the opening innings and never getting close.

“I smell a comeback!” one person shouted during the fifth inning at Tom’s Urban, a sports bar in downtown Los Angeles.

But the comeback never came.

Sasha and Ryan Mendeville from nearby Torrance were still glad they got tickets, and went to the game.

“We don’t regret it,” Sasha said. “This is history, and we’re huge Dodger fans.”

Joanne Lopez-Rojas, 71, said she was going to “cry and stop on the way home and have a drink.”

She and her husband, Delfino Lopez-Rojas, 71, are retired restaurant owners from Ventura, who watched the game at Tom’s Urban.

Joanne had her face painted. One side was white with colorful flowers painted in celebration of the Day of the Dead—the Mexican holiday where people celebrate loved ones who have died—but her right cheek had the Dodgers logo: the linked blue letters “LA.” Now, both cheeks were likely to be streaked with tears.

It was a far cry from Wednesday afternoon, when the city was buzzing with excitement and bursting with joy at the thought of a Game Seven in town.

In the city’s Solano Canyon neighborhood, which leads into Dodgers Stadium, houses had shed their Halloween decorations overnight in favor of Dodgers signs, flags and other memorabilia for Tuesday’s game.

Public-relations professional Ross Goldberg of Westlake Village flew his 22-year-old son, Josh, out from the East Coast, where he recently graduated from Georgetown University, to see the game.

“Tonight is the biggest game in the history of baseball in Los Angeles,” Goldberg said. “It’s not just a matter of waiting 29 years. You don’t know if this will ever happen again.”

On Wednesday night the city desperately hoped it would, someday, happen again.

“I’ll survive,” Lopez-Rojas said. “They’ll be back.

They’ll be back. I’ll be a fan forever.”

PSL triple-header in ‘Spike on Tour’ in Bacolod City

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2 LOGISTICS opens its Chooks-to-Go Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix campaign with a tough battle against unbeaten leader Petron today in the league’s “Spike on Tour” at the University of Saint La Salle Gymnasium in Bacolod City.

PSL visits the “City of Smiles” for the first time with an action-packed triple-header capped by the protagonists in the All-Filipino Conference Finals. The Blaze Spikers and Cargo Movers take the floor at 6:30 p.m.

Two-time reigning champion Foton, meanwhile, tries to tighten its hold of second place as it eyes win No. 3 against Generika-Ayala (1-2) at 2 p.m.

The Cignal HD Spikers, who also lost two of their first three matches, try to get back on track against Cocolife (0-2) at 4 p.m.

The Cargo Movers finally see action after missing the first four play dates because their core players from De La Salle Lady Spikers competed in the University Games last week in Dumaguete City.

But their first assignment will be against their tormentor in the All Filipino Finals—the Blaze Spikers, who swept their first three games with Americans Lindsay Stalzer, Hillary Hurley, Japanese libero Yuri Fukuda and local stars Ces Molina, Mika Reyes, Rhea Dimaculangan and Aiza MaizoPontillas gelling well together.

F2 Logistics Coach Ramil de Jesus opted to get only two imports—Kennedy Bryan of the United States and Maria Jose Perez, an Olympian from Venezuela—unlike the other teams, which have three reinforcements each. Lance Agcaoili

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By Robert Jablon The Associated Press

OS ANGELES—Everyone in Los Angeles knew it.

This was the Dodgers’ year. And then it wasn’t.

The boys in blue, who had the best record in Major League Baseball, never threatened Wednesday in a Game Seven World Series loss to the Houston Astros. And people who thought they would be watching a parade through the city streets this week will have to turn their thoughts to next spring, again.

On a day the team’s fans thought they would finally get the sweet taste of 1988, the last time the Dodgers won a World Series, they instead got the bitter taste of 1978, the last time they lost it.

“I’m more heartbroken over this loss than I was over my last relationship,” Dodgers fan Jess Bishop said.

“Heartbroken” was a word that came up constantly in the Dodgers corners of Facebook and Twitter after the 5-1 loss.

ON a day the team’s fans thought they would finally get the sweet taste of 1988, the last time the Dodgers won a World Series, they instead got the bitter taste of 1978, the last time they lost it. AP

BULLDOGS FIGHT FOR F4 SURVIVAL

PARTNERS Steve Thorne (left) and Charlie Winn hold the Bingham Cup trophy after one of their four wins together in the international gay rugby championship in Sydney in 2014. AP

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ATIONAL University (NU) fights for dear life against a defending champion De La Salle, eyeing to seal a twice-tobeat advantage in the Final Four in Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bulldogs and Green Archers clash in the all-important match at 4 p.m.

Unbeaten Ateneo de Manila, meanwhile, tries to move a win shy of a 14-game sweep of the eliminations when it battles winless University of Santo Tomas (UST) at 2 p.m.

NU remained in the semifinals hunt with a 4-7 won-lost record at sixth place. But the Bulldogs must win all their remaining three games—including today’s duel with the Green Archers—to force at least a playoff for the fourth semifinals spot.

But the Green Archers—bannered by reigning Most Valuable Player Ben Mbala, Ricci Rivero, Aljun Melecio, Santi Santillan, Abu

Aussie sport supports same-sex marriage

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RY telling Charlie Winn and Steve Thorne that sports and politics don’t mix.

As Australia votes in a postal survey on same-sex marriage, Winn and Thorne, who helped found the gay rugby team, the Sydney Convicts, hope a positive result might mean the government will allow same-sex couples to be legally married in their country.

And, if it happens, it could be due to the widespread support of most of Australia’s major sporting organizations.

The Australian Football League (AFL), which runs the top level of Australian Rules football, replaced its logo on its head office in Melbourne with a prominent “Yes” sign in mid-September to send the message that is supports same-sex marriage.

The AFL joined the Australian Rugby Union, the

National Rugby League, Cricket Australia and Football Federation Australia, which governs soccer, in declaring their support for the yes vote in the officially-called Marriage Law Survey.

The postal survey forms must be received by next Tuesday to be counted, and the result is expected to be announced by November 15.

The government would still have to vote on it, even if the result of the informal, nonbinding postal vote is a resounding yes, to legislate for same-sex marriage. So there’s still some way to go.

For Winn and Thorne, who have been in a relationship for 13 years, it’s a step in the right direction. They’re both former players with the Convicts, Australia’s first gay rugby club, which was formed in 2004. The Convicts have won the

Bingham Cup, emblematic of the international gay rugby championship, four times—with Winn and Thorne having each captained the team to two titles.

Winn, a 44-year-old digital consultant, and Thorne, 40, who owns a printing business, had an unofficial marriage ceremony in the Blue Mountains near Sydney in 2012. But that has given them no rights as a married couple—they recently had to pay several thousand dollars in lawyer’s fees while selling separate residences, something that wouldn’t have been required if they were legally married.

They point to other issues as being discriminatory—for instance, if one of them becomes ill and is in hospital, and the other is not officially listed as family, they’d have to remain in the waiting room because they are not listed

Tratter and Kib Montalbo—are not expected to relax as they try to improve on their second-running 10-2 card.

A victory by the Green Archers will seal their grip of the No. 2 seed in the semifinals for a guaranteed twice-to-beat advantage.

With their back against the wall after losing seven of their 11 matches, the Bulldogs’ graduating point guard J-jay Alejandro vowed not to go down without a fight.

“Mathematically, we can still do it. But it’s up to us, how we play in our remaining matches. We have a good game plan, it’s just the commitment and execution that we need badly,” said Alejandro, who is averaging 17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

NU Head Coach Jamike Jarin echoed his playmaker’s observation, and encouraged the rest of the Bulldogs to keep on pushing.

“We’re just going to continue pushing and, hopefully, we get a break, and barge into the playoff, or in the Final Four,” Jarin said. Lance Agcaoili

as a relative or spouse. Or the complications arising if one of them dies and the other has no legal status in the relationship.

“Fundamentally, it is about equality in the eyes of society,” Winn said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Support from the AFL, rugby league and rugby union means that it is not OK to be discriminated against, and that is a humungous step forward.”

Thorne said the widespread support of sporting groups helped emphasize to him and his gay friends that they aren’t alone in pushing for marriage equality.

“We often surround ourselves with like-minded people, and when major organizations and sporting groups come out in favor of same-sex marriage, that to me takes it a step

beyond,” Thorne added. “We can often have an underlying assumption that we are alone in our thinking.”

Not everyone in Australian sport agreed: Rugby fullback Israel Folau became the most prominent Australian sports star to say he’d be voting no in the postal survey, and 3,500 people replied to his tweet, many voicing their opposition to his views.

“I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. But personally, I will not support gay marriage,” Folau tweeted.

That view was countered by Wallabies teammate David Pocock, who held a wedding ceremony with his partner Emma Palandri in 2010. But they have refused to sign the legal documents, making it official until their gay friends are able to do the same. AP

A6 Saturday, November 4, 2017 | Editor: Mike Besa

The Other Side of Ma

Ever discover the of your golf cour Story & photos

by Mike Besa

Octoberfest

By Josh Burack | Asian Tour CEO

Josh Burack with PGTI CEO Uttam Singh Mundy (left) and H.R. Srinivasan, Vice Chairman and managing director, TAKE Solutions at the Presidents Cup.

O

ctober is a significant month for me because it has been a year since I joined the Asian Tour.

I’m pleased about the many positive developments across the Tour and our organization as a whole that we’ve accomplished together as a team since I came on board 12 months ago.

Recently we announced the return of the Indonesia Open on our schedule, which is very positive news for the Tour. The popular tournament will offer a prize purse of $300,000 and will be played at the Pondok Indah Golf Course from October 26 to 29.

Last year’s Indonesia Open was such a great tournament when we witnessed an exciting duel between two-time Asian Tour No. 1 Jeev Milkha Singh and eventual winner Gaganjeet Bhullar, who won his seventh title before turning 29!

With the addition of the Indonesia Open on our schedule, we will have a total of 26 events with a potential of one more new event that will be announced very soon. This year our members also shoot for a total prize pot of 33.5 million.

This is very solid growth for the Asian Tour in 2017, as we will stage three to four more tournaments compared to the 23 events we had in 2016. The total prize money has also grown by 1.5 million and we are aiming to increase the number of tournaments for 2018!

As you already know, the Asian Tour has strengthened our presence in Korea after reaching a five-year agreement with the Korea Golf Association (KGA) for our two golf bodies to cosanction the Kolon Korea Open and GS Caltex Maekyung Open tournaments from 2018 onward. With the Shinhan Donghae Open also scheduled, we will have a minimum of three events in the golf hotbed of Korea from next season.

2018 also sees the return of the EurAsia Cup from January 12 to 14 at the Glenmarie Golf & Country Club in Kuala Lumpur. This Ryder Cup-style event pits the top 12 players from Europe against the top 12 players from Asia competing for a massive $4.8 million.

Over the last few weeks, we welcomed some worthy champions, including Richard T. Lee of Canada at the Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea. It was his second victory and it came at a timely period as he just recovered from an injury.

The following week Daisuke Kataoka of Japan won the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf, his first win on the Asian Tour. It was a big relief to Kataoka, since he regained his Asian Tour card that he lost by finishing outside the top 60 in 2016.

After three runner-up results, Gavin Green of Malaysia secured an emphatic victory at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.

What a year it has been for the young Malaysian who is now firmly in the running to become the first player from his country to win the Order of Merit.

A big congratulations also to Pat Perez who won the CIMB Classic and our member Anirban Lahiri of India, who enjoyed another top-10 finish in the $7-million tournament.

Outside the ropes, we are continuing to promote the Asian Tour through other means. Recently I made a guest appearance on CNBC and I also took part on a panel discussion about golf at the Sports Matters conference.

We will continue to position the Asian Tour at the forefront of the dynamic golf landscape in Apac at every opportunity.

After all, this is #whereitsAT Thank you and best regards, Josh

G

etting to know a person takes time. It takes time and patience.

Lots of both. The more time you spend with the person, the more of yourself that you invest in that person, the more open you become to that person, the better you will get to know him/ her. When things are going smoothly, it’s lovely. But you have to take the good with the bad. Coping with the bad side of the person is the key to the relationship.

Despite calling Silay City home, I have not had the pleasure of playing the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club, which everyone calls Marapara, very long at all. Since I started writing about golf for 13 years now, I’ve only played five complete rounds here. There was that one PAL Interclub when I was covering the tournament for a magazine. I played the back nine and that was it. But including the two rounds played on this visit, my total rounds on this course comes to just five.

Ironic.

Previous visits were well timed, which resulted in fabulous golf in good to very good conditions. But the timing of this visit left us open to less than pleasant weather. Masskara isn’t the best time to visit Bacolod unless you want to experience the festival. Streets close, the airports are full and ticket prices are at a premium. Prices, thankfully, are stable in spite of the deluge of tourists.

The fly in the ointment was a tropical storm within the country’s area of responsibility. It brought erratic weather but mostly a lot of rain. Most of which coincided with the playing dates of the Mayor’s Cup golf tournament, which was being held to celebrate Bacolod City’s Foundation Day. Bad luck. For me and for everyone else that played that week because the storm brought out Marapara’s dark side.

On my first article on Marapara, I wrote, “True to Golem Silverio’s preferences as a golfer, Marapara is a true ball striker’s golf course. The course is tight and lined with trees so keeping the ball in play is a must.

You don’t have to be long to score well but you do have to play from the fairway. A fairway wood or even a hybrid off the tee is sufficient in most cases. The greens are receptive; a well-struck shot will hold or spin back. The greens roll very well for zoysia but do allow for the grain for which the stuff is famous for. The dry conditions made for plenty of roll and one needs to be mindful of that in the course of the round.”

When conditions were such as we encountered on this visit, you can throw the part about the course not being that long, as well as that last sentence right out the window.

The soggy golf course at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club was already playing a lot longer than memory served.

The arrival of typhoon-strength winds really bared its fangs. There weren’t too many issues with wind on the first nine. The wind hits these holes from the South sweeping across the fairways. The tree lines negate much of it. However, on the longer, tougher inward nine, from holes 11 through 15, the wind was either with you or directly in your face making the longer windward holes unreachable in regulation.

Eleven is the 4-handicap and measures an even 400 yards from the tips. The hole doglegs around and over a hazard to a very difficult green. The front half of the green has significant slope to it with green speeds much quicker than you’ll find elsewhere on

the golf course. The ideal tee shot just skirts the trees on the inside of the dogleg, leaving you a long iron or hybrid to the green. No issues with the tee shot but the approach to the green plays directly into the wind. When the wind is up you can hit a full 3-wood and not reach the green.

Twelve and 13 are short. No issues here.

Fourteen plays downwind. This helps you get to the long par 4 over water in regulation in spite

The 15th hole is unreachable in wet and windy conditions

of the conditions. But 15 was almost unplayable.

We all hit driver and the longest club we carried and were still 50 yards to 60 yards short of the green. Seventeen has always been a very difficult hole. Under these circumstances, it played even harder. Without any roll, it is well out of reach of the average golfer in regulation.

The finishing par 5 will break your spirit if you’re not striking the ball well. With the fairway soaked and squishy, you feel every

single one of the final hole’s 618 yards. The relief is palpable as you saunter into the clubhouse, muddied and bruised but not broken.

As distasteful an experience as this may sound to many of you, I quite enjoy rounds like this. They teach you things about yourself. Your shotmaking is ruthlessly examined. Poor shots are punished, big numbers lurk on every hole.

They test your guile and resiliency and toughen

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, November 4, 2017 A7

arapara

e bad side rse?

The third green

Callaway Epic Sub-Zero Fairway Woods

There’s a new sheriff in town I

t’s been said before, fairway woods are the most difficult clubs in the bag to replace. Look at any touring pro’s bag and you’ll most likely find an ancient fairway wood there amid the new irons, wedges and putters. Fred Couples played a prehistoric Callaway Big Bertha 3-wood for most of his career and never swapped it out until he started his career on the Senior Tour.

My RBZ Stage 2 TP fairways are still very effective weapons but the 80-gram, Tour-stiff shafts were getting a bit heavy for this old body to motivate, which is what prompted a search for replacements. Callaway has been a leader in fairway woods since the Big Bertha hit the market in 1991, some 26 years ago. In that time Callaway has established itself as one of the friendliest, easiest to hit fairway woods on the market.

Their latest offering, the Callaway Epic Sub-Zero fairway woods build on the technologies that Callaway has established over the years and add tricks like a carbonfiber crown, aerodynamic aids and what surely must be the hottest face in a fairway wood on the market today to assert its dominance.

What the Epic fairways don’t have that the drivers do is Jail Break technology. The fairway woods don’t seem to need it since the shorter sole-to-crown distance (when compared with the driver) isn’t as great and thus the head doesn’t distort as much as impact thereby robbing you of ball speed and distance.

What the Epic Sub-Zero fairways have is

an extremely lightweight triaxial carbon crown that weighs in at less than 6 grams. This enabled Callaway engineers to use the weight saved to help launch height and ease of use. It also makes this one sexy fairway wood.

There is also the Speed Step crown to improve the aerodynamics. In this size of head, the effect of the Speed Step will be positive, but not as much as the driver and probably equal to its role as an alignment device.

Callaway’s Opti-Fit adjustability hosels offer golfers a 3-degree range of loft adjustability, as well as two different lie angles (standard and draw). The Epic Star comes with a fixed hosel and better suits golfers that don’t like to tinker with their clubs.

Callaway’s forged face cups are now in their fourth generation. What’s different about this iteration is that the Face Cups now have a thinner rim on their inside edge. Callaway says it flexes and releases more uniformly and efficiently at impact to increase ball speed across the face.

Just like the Epic Sub-Zero driver, the SubZero fairway has adjustable weights. The weights weigh 3 and 22 grams—a huge difference over the 2 and 12-gram weights that come with the driver. That huge jump in discretionary weight means that, although this is a head meant for the better player, Callaway have made the Epic Sub-Zero fairway remarkably user friendly.

The Callaway clubs that make it to our market do so by way of Japan. This means access to some of the best shafts on the planet. We

chose Fujikura’s 60-gram Evolution IV fairways in ours. They’re light, stout and yield very impressive results.

Those that need more help would be advised to check out the Callaway Epic Star fairway wood.

The glued hosel, a slightly more draw-biased internal wieghting and 50-something gram shafts shafts make this even friendlier and more accessible than the Epic Sub-Zero fairway.

We took the 3- and 5-woods to Navy for our Pinoygolfer Facebook group’s rookie and legends game at the Navy Golf Club in Makati City. From the first to last hole, the Epic Sub-Zero fairways were nothing if not impressive.

It is very easy to hit for a pro-type fairway. Ball flight was high but not inordinately so. You can lower that ball flight by swapping the position of the sole weights, but I suspect that you’ll need serious clubhead speed to make that work.

The Sub-Zero fairways acquitted themselves very well in all facets of the game. They are workable. If you have the skill to do so, you can bend the ball with these things on demand. The 60-gram Fujikura Evolution IV fairway is just stout enough that you can swing with abandon without fear of the ball going too far to the left on you while giving the feedback that we all crave.

They performed admirably in some unusual conditions. They dug the ball out of the rough and picked the ball off the tee with similar ease.

This is a very, very good club and I expect that it will stay in the bag for several years at least.

Mike Besa

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MENTAL GOLF

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By David MacKenzie

hese Ten Commandments of Mental Golf should be fresh in your mind before every round to give yourself the best chance of success.

you up for your future battles on the golf course.

It was...an experience.

Now that I’ve seen the ugly side of Marapara, I am more enamored with the golf course than ever. Yes, it isn’t the best conditioned golf course in the country. Yes, it gets muddy in the rain; in fact, some fairways are almost impossible to walk as they turn into mud bogs. And yes, the course is far from perfect.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a good time. Every good score at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club makes me puff out my chest and fills me with pride. As the course designer, Golem Silverio would want, it is a ball striker’s course. It requires thoughtful aggression and exacting distance control to post a good score. It is ultimately exciting and exhilarating to play well here and there are ever so many reasons to return

to the sock-shaped isle and not all of them are on the golf course.

The warmth and openness of the people here are legendary. Their hospitality and gentle manner will melt even the most callused of hearts and this is the most compelling reason to make Negros Occidental a favorite stop on any trip to the Visayas.

Personally, I can’t wait to return to challenge myself and the golf course again.

The Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club’s clubhouse

1. THOU SHALT MAKE PROCESS YOUR NO. 1 GOAL During a round of golf, you can only control what you can control. When we focus on what we can’t control (our score) the uncertainty of it all causes the body to start “the stress response.”

No one can predict the future and in a game with so many variables and possibilities, it’s especially hard to do so. But so many of us try to do it! “If I can make a birdie here and par in, then this will happen...”

A better way is to focus on doing what you can control, i.e., Your “process.”When we talk about process, it can include many things, but simply put, process goals are the actions that you can decide to do, that give you the best chance of hitting good shots, one by one. Execution of these process goals is the measure of success.

What you’ll need to determine is what the best process goals are for you during a full shot, short game shot and putt. What are you focusing on when you’re hitting your best shots and putts? Once you know this, you’ll have your recipe for success.

2. THOU SHALT STAY IN THE MOMENT Learning how to stay present is a skill that transcends golf, but it can do wonders for your scores. I have a daily practice routine that helps me quiet my mind on demand and reduce mental chatter. It lowers stress and improves focus. Being able to “switch off” your mind in between shots is a great way to stay calm and conserve mental energy ahead of the next shot. Playing without consequences (not thinking about the future) is how to play without performance anxiety. The primary goals for every round should be staying present and being absorbed by your process.

3. THOU SHALT ACCEPT THE OUTCOME OF EVERY SHOT Unless you are able to look at mistakes objectively and not become emotional about bad shots, you’re likely to worsen your mood and hit more bad shots. If you don’t have

planned responses for bad shots (which you will inevitably hit), you’ll likely react, and reactions are usually negative. Negative emotions change mood and lower confidence. Choose a positive response, instead of a negative reaction.

4. THOU SHALT TRUST YOUR SWING Overthinking swing mechanics on the course is one way to shoot a high score.

Your practice sessions (or part of) is when to consciously think about, and improve, your technique. The golf course is about trusting your mechanics and letting it flow subconsciously.

5. THOU SHALT PLAY WITHOUT EXPECTATION OR HOPE OF A GOOD RESULT Hope of a good result creates fear of not getting that result. It’s one thing to believe you can go out there and shoot a good score, but heading to the course with a good score as a target will only create pressure and a tentative swing. The goal is to give every shot 100 percent effort, without thinking of how it will affect your score. If you can do this, you will be free to access the best skills you have.

6. THOU SHALT BUILD CONFIDENCE AND SELF-BELIEF Using mental skills and golf psychology to improve confidence is key to reaching your potential. Sure, there’s external confidence, which comes from results, but there’s also internal confidence, which is created from within. In addition to my daily practice to improve my focus and quiet my mind, I use techniques to nurture my confidence and inner belief. My players do the same thing. By using techniques such as NLP, we can make our subconscious mind align with our conscious goals and instead of feeling fear in the big moments, we can learn how to feel confident and powerful.

7. THOU SHALT LEARN HOW TO CONTROL NERVES Are you aware of what happens mentally and physically when you feel fear and nerves?

Nerves should be welcomed as when you’re aroused, your senses are heightened, you’re more focused and the surge of adrenaline gives you more fight and power. But if you get overwhelmed by fear, you’ll trigger the fight or flight response (fast heart rate, tension,

confusion, etc). Did you know there are techniques to reverse the effects of the body’s stress response? With practice it’s easy to do.

8. THOU SHALT HAVE GOALS AND KNOW HOW TO ALLOCATE PRACTICE TIME All my students have five-year and one-year (long-term) goals, and an eight-week (shortterm) goal. Through stat tracking we know exactly where their strengths and weaknesses are and what they need to improve (in the shortterm) to take them closer to their long-term goals. This allows us to put together a practice plan with drills to make sure every minute practicing is spent as effectively as possible.

9. THOU SHALT EAT AND DRINK PROPERLY This is one of the most overlooked areas of golf improvement. I’ll often give a playing lesson where a student has nothing to eat or drink for nine holes in summer heat! Most of my current students have a nutrition plan (for on and off the course), which helps them stay mentally and physically fresh for 18 holes.

10. THOU SHALT HAVE A GREAT COURSE STRATEGY Course strategy represents a huge difference in the pro and amateur games. If you were to give a weekend golfer a Tour player’s course strategy for one round, they’d probably save five or more shots. Tour players know where to miss to avoid the big numbers, have a better idea of their strengths and weaknesses (and play to them) and know more about their distances and shot dispersion.

How well you do these 10 things will make a big difference in how well you play.

David MacKenzie is a performance coach and the founder of Golf State of Mind.

Throughout David’s playing career, he learned quickly how attitude, self-belief and mental toughness affect performance in golf. David now works with players of all levels (and coaches), and has had a huge amount of success with his system. His mental coaching system is taught one on one (in person or remotely), in groups, and via his mental game training products. The system develops mental toughness, improves emotional control and teaches golfers how to stay focused on what’s most important.

OurTime

A8 Saturday, November 4, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

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Tacloban City honors World War II veterans Story and photos By Elmer V. Recuerdo | Correspondent

T

ACLOBAN CITY—They are now in the twilight of their life. Their bodies hae been weakened by age and the many battles they fought—in life and war time— but their spirits remain willing.

The soldiers of World War II (WW II) were present during the annual celebration of General Douglas McArthur’s landing in Leyte every October 20.

With each passing year, the number of surviving veterans of WW II is rapidly dwindling. In this year’s 73rd celebration, only 11 of the 19 remaining war veterans from this city were present when the city government hosted them a commemorative dinner on October 19.

The war veterans, aged between 89 and 101 years old, came in their veterans’ uniform on wheelchairs assisted by their close family members.

“At least for one day in a year,we are being remembered,” said one veteran through his son.

Tacloban City has been observing October 19 as a “City WW II Veterans Day” by virtue of a city ordinance passed in February 2007. On this day, local war veterans are given recognition as local heroes where they

are paraded within the city’s main thoroughfare and feted in a commemorative dinner.

For many veterans, this is also an occasion to tell the younger generations how they fought the war that liberated the country from Japanese occupation.

Fely Varona, 101 years old, said she was part of the Women Auxiliary Corps (WAC), a support group to the male soldiers.

“I did my share for my country,” she proudly beamed.

But for Aquilia Closa, being asked about the war brings back memories of the horrors of the war that she would rather forget.

A press release by media consultants of Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez said “the city has pampered” the war veterans by picking them and their families up in air-conditioned cars from their houses to the venue of the commemorative dinner. It added

the veterans were also treated to a sumptuous dinner hosted by the city government.

Romualdez lauded the courage and heroism displayed by the Tacloban City WWII veterans during the 1944 fight for freedom that greatly contributed to the liberation of the entire Philippine Republic.

“You are the reason for this 73rd Leyte Gulf Landing celebration,” she said.

“I salute the living WWII City veterans and those veterans who didn’t live to see the fruit of their sacrifice. For their bravery, we owe our freedom,” Romualdez added.

MacArthur’s landing in Leyte was made possible by the local guerillas led by Col. Ruperto Kangleon, whose soldiers, positioned in strategic areas in Leyte and Samar, provided information and guided the United States army and its allies in to the region.

During the commemorative dinner, the veterans from this city were given plaques of recognition, a cash incentive of P5,000 each and groceries worth P2,000.

The city ordinance declaring October 19 as a “City WWII Veterans Day” also requires family members of the veterans to inform the city government when the veteran dies so that all government agencies in the city will raise their flags at half-mast as an expression of gratitude for the service the veterans rendered.

The family of war veterans who

AN unnamed World War II veteran attends the commemorative dinner hosted by Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez on October 19.

die is also given P10,000 burial assistance and the right to be buried in the city’s Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Tacloban City played a key role during the WWII. On October 23 MacArthur, accompanied by thenPresident Sergio Osmeña, made

Tacloban the temporary seat of the Commonwealth Government and temporary capital of the Philippines until the complete liberation of the country.

Some structures prominent at that time remain intact and are

now part of tourism sites of the city including the Leyte Capitol Building used as the seat of the government; Price Mansion, which served as MacArthur’s residence; and the Redona Family home, where Osmeña took residence.

Secret Service agent: I wish I The lost children of Tuam: Dead to keep shameful secret had been quicker to save JFK T

W

ASHINGTON—It was just before noon, in the last hours of a half-century wait for government documents about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, that the octogenarian Secret Service retiree shuffled into his first TMZ moment.

“A lot of people always have these different conspiracy theories,” a cameraman for TMZ, the gossip site, began, ambushing the former agent, Clint Hill, outside his hotel last Thursday. “Do you sometimes hear it and wonder it yourself?”

Hill stared back at him.

“Never,” he said flatly. “I was there.”

T he relea se of doc u ments concerning Kennedy’s death has captivated historians both professional and amateur, returning a seminal moment of the modern presidency to the forefront of the American psyche.

Purveyors of conspiracy have long awaited the documents, eager to find in them any cracks in the authorities’ official account from Dallas.

For Hill, 85, there has been no mystery. There is, instead, a final reckoning, 54 years on.

On November 22, 1963, Hill, long assigned to protect Jacqueline Kennedy, was positioned on the “running board” of the car behind the president’s, poised to move quickly if necessary.

As the vehicles rolled, Hill heard an explosion from his right. He turned toward the sound. Kennedy was grabbing at his throat and lurching to the left. Hill raced toward the vehicle—the heroic agent in nowiconic images from that day, climbing aboard Kennedy’s car.

Hill did not hear the second shot as he hustled to the first family. He heard, and felt, the third. Then he draped his body over the Kennedys.

If a fourth shot came, Hill resolved, it would hit him instead.

“I wish I had been quicker,” he said last Thursday.

Making the Washington rounds on the occasion of the documents’ release—somberly greeting wellwishers, signing photographs of his act, demurring at any suggestion of

his bravery—Hill spent his Thursday in search of something more complicated than closure, less tidy than simple vindication.

For decades, Hill has hoped for clarity on certain questions: Why did Lee Harvey Oswald do it? What was known about his activities in the months before the shooting?

Hill has not wondered who, precisely, was responsible for the violence of November 22. It was one man, he said—a single gunman, three shots.

He believes he is right not because he guessed right, not because he obsessed over it remotely, but because he was there, a fact that has informed every day of his life since.

There has been deep depression, unshakable self-interrogation, a nasty drinking habit.

It was Hill who could see the hole in the president’s skull that day; Hill who supplied the instant prognosis, turning to flash his colleagues a frantic thumbs-down; Hill who informed Robert F. Kennedy by phone, “It’s as bad as it can get.”

The president’s brother hung up.

“You have to relive it all,” Hill said softly on Thursday, shifting slightly in his seat. “But I’ve been doing that for 54 years.”

Traversing the capital last Thursday, Hill leaned into the introspection, recounting...a career spent serving Kennedy and four other presidents—Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford.

He wondered aloud why the current one had often floated a baseless theory connecting Oswald to the father of Sen. Ted Cruz, a rival for the Republican presidential nomination last year.

“It’s damaging to the presidency, to the office,” Hill said of President Donald J. Trump’s handiwork.

He held forth on Caroline Kennedy (“smart girl—I guess I should say ‘lady’ now”), Poland Spring water (“Eisenhower’s water! We used to carry that”) and Roger J. Stone Jr., the longtime conspiracy monger and informal adviser to Trump, whose name was invoked on cable television before Hill was scheduled to appear on Thursday morning. New York Times News Service

UAM, Ireland — A slight girl all of 6, she leaves the family farm, where the father minds the livestock and the mother keeps a painful secret, and walks out to the main road. Off she goes to primary school, off to the Sisters of Mercy.

Her auburn hair in ringlets, this child named Catherine is bound for Tuam, the ancient County Galway town whose name derives from a Latin term for “burial mound.” It is the seat of a Roman Catholic archdiocese, a proud distinction announced by the skyscraping cathedral that, for generations, has loomed over factory and field.

The girl passes through a gauntlet of gray formed by high walls along the Dublin Road. To her right runs the Parkmore racecourse. And to her left, the mother and baby home, with glass shards embedded atop its stony enclosure.

Behind this forbidding divide, nuns keep watch over unmarried mothers and their children. Sinners and their illegitimate spawn, it is said. The fallen. But young Catherine knows only that the children who live within seem to be a different species: sallow, sickly—segregated.

“Home babies,” they’re called.

The girl’s long walk ends at the Mercy school, where tardiness might earn you a smarting whack on the hand. The children from the home are always late to school— by design, it seems, to keep them from mingling with “legitimate” students.

A sensitive child, familiar with the sting of playground taunts, Catherine nevertheless decides to repeat a prank she saw a classmate pull on one of these children. She balls up an empty candy wrapper and presents it to a home baby as if it still contains a sweet, then watches as the little girl’s anticipation melts to sad confusion.

Everyone laughs, nearly. This moment will stay with Catherine forever.

After classes end, the home babies hurry back down the Dublin Road in two straight lines and disappear behind those Gothic walls.

Sometimes the dark, wooden front door is ajar, and on her way home, Catherine thrills at the chance of a stolen peek.

Beyond those glass-fanged walls lay seven acres of Irish suffering. Buried here somewhere are famine victims who succumbed to starvation and fever a century earlier, when the home was a workhouse for the homeless poor.

But they are not alone.

Today, few photographs exist of the grim building that once loomed over this corner of Tuam (pronounced Chewm), perhaps because few desired the memory. In its place stand drab rows of subsidized housing and a modest playground.

Now the slight girl of 6, Catherine Corless, nee Farrell, is 63 and a grandmother. A few years back, she began to inquire about the old home that had stoked her schoolgirl imagination. She set out on an amateur’s historical quest, but whenever she

focused on the children who lived there, so many questions arose about the children who died there —the ones who never made it to the classroom, or even past infancy.

What, then, of Patrick Derrane, who died at 5 months in 1925, and Mary Carty, at 5 months in 1960, and all those in between, children said to have been “born on the other side of the blanket?”

Would people pause at their graves?

Would they be remembered?

In asking around, what Catherine heard was: Ah, them poor children. Them poor children.

The Saint Mary’s Mother and Baby Home was a way station for 50 single mothers and 125 children born out of wedlock.

The building opened in 1846 as a workhouse but, almost immediately, it began receiving victims of the Great Hunger, a horrific famine. It later became a military barracks, serving the new Irish government formed after a treaty between Irish rebels and Great Britain in 1921.

The government later repurposed the building to be among the institutions intended as ports of salvation where disgraced women might be redeemed. These state-financed homes were invariably managed by a Catholic order.

Given the misogyny, morality, and economics that informed the public debate of the time— when a pregnancy out of wedlock could threaten a family’s plans for land inheritance, and even confer dishonor upon a local pastor—imagine that naive young woman from the country: Impregnated by a man, sometimes a relative, who would assume little of the shame and none of the responsibility.

She might flee to England, or pretend that the newborn was a married sister’s—or be shipped to the dreaded Tuam home, run by a religious order with French roots called the Congregation of Sisters of Bon Secours.

Their motto: “Good Help to Those in Need.”

The sisters frequently threatened banishment to the mental asylum in Ballinasloe, or to one of the Magdalen Laundries: institutions where women perceived to be susceptible or errant— including “second offenders” who had become pregnant again—were often sent to work, and sometimes die, in guilt-ridden servitude.

Catherine graduated from secondary school, left a Galway art college for fear of lacking the necessary talent, and found satisfaction as a receptionist. In 1978 she married Aidan Corless.

Four children quickly followed. Before long, Catherine was minding the children of neighbors as well, immersing herself in the homework, play and exuberance of the young.

Her mother, Kathleen, died at 80 in 1992, leaving behind so much unsaid. Catherine eventually headed up to Armagh to examine public records that might explain why her mother had been so withholding, so unsettled.

The answer was provided in the absence of

one. On her mother’s birth certificate, in the space reserved for the name of the father: Nothing.

Her mother had been conceived out of wedlock.

Other telltale strands to the woman’s early years came to be known: Fostered out, moving from family to family before finding work as a domestic. Then harboring until death a secret she found shameful enough to keep from her husband.

“That she went through her life, that she didn’t like telling us,” Catherine said. “That she was ashamed to tell us ...”

The revelations about her mother fueled in Catherine an interest in understanding the forces that shape who we are and how we behave.

While attending a rigorous night course in local history, she learned an invaluable lesson—“If you don’t find something, you don’t leave it.

You ask why it’s not there. You use ‘why’ a lot.”

Catherine began contributing essays to the Journal of the Old Tuam Society about local history, all the while grappling with debilitating headaches and anxiety attacks. The episodes might last for days, with the only relief at times coming from lying on the floor, still, away from light.

Burrowing deep into the past, though, provided welcome distraction and, at some point, she chose to delve into the subject of the old mother and baby home: Its beginnings as a workhouse, its place in Tuam history, the usual. Nothing deep.

When her headaches and panic attacks eased, she pored over old newspapers in a blur of microfilm. She spent hours studying historic maps in the special-collections department of the library at the national university in Galway City.

In December 2012 Catherine’s essay, titled “The Home,” appeared in the historical journal of Tuam. After providing a general history of the facility, it laid out the results of her research, including missing burial records and a disused septic tank where two boys had stumbled upon some bones.

“Is it possible that a large number of those little children were buried in that little plot at the rear of the former home?” she wrote. “And if so, why is it not acknowledged as a proper cemetery?”

Her daring essay raised a provocative question: had Catholic nuns, working in service of the state, buried the bodies of hundreds of children in the septic system?

Catherine braced for condemnation from the government and clergy—but none came. It was as if she had written nothing at all.

Seeing no other option, she contacted a reporter forTheIrishMailonSunday,anationalnewspaper.Not long after, in the spring of 2014, a front-page story appeared about a certain seven acres in Tuam.

It became the talk of Ireland.

All who had been quiet before— the clerics, politicians and government officials—now

conveyed shock and sadness, while the besieged Bon Secours sisters hired a public­-relations consultant whose e-mail to a documentarian did little for the religious order’s reputation: “If you come here, you’ll find no mass grave, no evidence that children were ever so buried and a local police force casting their eyes to heaven and saying ‘Yeah, a few bones were found—but this was an area where Famine victims were buried. So?’” In 2015 a geophysicist, equipped with a ground-penetrating radar, hunted for secrets concealed in the ground of the old mother and baby home as part of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, a panel created by an embarrassed government in response to Catherine’s research. Its charge: To examine a once-accepted way of Irish life in all its social and historical complexity.

The commission’s investigation into the homes—a network that by the late-1970s was falling into disuse—is focused on 18 institutions scattered across Ireland: in the capital city of Dublin, and in Counties Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kilkenny, Meath, Tipperary and Westmeath. The high infant-mortality rate in some of these facilities was startling. In the Bessborough home in Cork, 478 children died from 1934 to 1953—or about one death every two weeks.

The investigation’s broad mandate also includes scrutiny of the networks’ links to the notorious Magdalen Laundries. The apparent coercion of unmarried mothers to surrender their children for adoption, often to Catholic Americans. The vaccine trials carried out on mother-and-babyhome children for pharmaceutical companies.

The use of home-baby remains for anatomical study at medical colleges.

In early-March of this year, the Mother and Baby Homes Commission reported that “significant quantities of human remains” had been discovered on the grounds of the Tuam home.

The ground-penetrating radar and delicate excavation had revealed what appeared to be a decommissioned septic tank. And, in 17 of that septic system’s 20 chambers, investigators found many human bones. A small sampling revealed that they were of children, ranging in age from 35 fetal weeks to three years, and all dating from the home’s 36 years of operation.

Expressing shock, the commission vowed to continue its investigation into “who was responsible for the disposal of human remains in this way.”

His voice trembling with passion, the prime minister, Enda Kenny, addressed the Irish legislature on what he called the “chamber of horrors” discovered in Tuam. In the “so-called good old days,” he said, Irish society “did not just hide away the dead bodies of tiny human beings.” New York Times News Service

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Saturday, November 4, 2017

A9

As Uber surges, ‘Taxi!’ seems almost a relic

N

EW YORK—Taxi or Uber?

It is not even a question for Samantha Forrest, 22, a single mother who sees so few taxis that she does not consider them an option.

There is only Uber when she is late for her cashier’s job, lugging groceries home or going to the doctor with her young son.

Forrest lives in the Soundview neighborhood in the Bronx, a working-class enclave that is one of the fastest-growing bastions of Uber riders in New York City. Uber pickups in the area surged to an average of 6,132 a week in August, from 1,189 the year before.

“Uber is everywhere,” Forrest said. “When I think of cabs, I think of Uber because that’s the main thing to take now.”

Uber has deployed thousands of black cars across Manhattan, going bumper-to-bumper with yellow taxis for passengers and fares in lucrative commercial and tourist areas. But the ride-hail app has increasingly shifted its focus to the city’s other four boroughs, where frustration over subway overcrowding and constant delays and fewer taxi options have made it the ride of choice for many.

Gentrified

AS a result, Uber is booming in the other boroughs, with half of all Uber rides now starting outside Manhattan—up from one-fourth just two years ago—not including pickups at the city’s two airports in Queens. The growth has been so explosive that it has helped produce a milestone moment—for the first time, more people are using Uber in New York than the city’s fabled yellow cabs.

In July Uber recorded an average of 289,000 rides each day compared with 277,000 taxi trips.

While some of this growth is in freshly gentrified outposts filled with millennials and families priced out of Manhattan, it is also happening in more diverse neighborhoods, including some poor and minority areas that have long been shunned by yellow taxis.

“It gives safe transportation to people in communities where the cabs don’t stop, where the color of your skin prohibits you from access,” said the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, 68, who is African-American

29,503 daily rides, down from 42,979 the year before.

Customers

and a senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Westchester County.

Many of his church members live in the city and now arrive for service in Uber cars.

Love

RICHARDSON said that drivers of yellow taxis have sometimes refused to pick him up because they assume the worst about blacks—that they will rob a driver or jump out without paying. He said he has yet to be turned away by an Uber driver.

(Nonetheless, Uber and other ridehailing apps have been accused in other cities of refusing service to African-Americans).

Uber has showered the boroughs with “neighborhood love” promotions, such as free rides, $5 car pools within each borough and free pizza just for showing the Uber app. It has also opened driver support and recruitment centers, called “Greenlight Hubs,” in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, while closing its only one in Manhattan this year. Much as it has done to New York’s yellow cabs, Uber’s popularity is coming at the expense of livery cars and green taxis that operate in northern Manhattan and the other boroughs.

Expansion

UBER closely guards its ride data, but agreed to provide The New York Times with recent numbers that show its service expanding rapidly in 50 sample residential areas in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and on Staten Island with limited access to public transportation. Uber made a total of 167,194 weekly pickups in these areas in August, nearly triple the 56,721 weekly pickups from the year before.

A similar pattern has emerged in other cities, including San Francisco, Chicago and Houston, with the demand for Uber service initially concentrated in the downtown or central business district and then spreading to outlying neighborhoods and suburbs. This has helped Uber continue building ridership amid a series of high-profile missteps

Two people make their way through double-parked cars at a designated Lyft pick-up point outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, on September 30. Ridehail apps Uber and Lyft have increasingly shifted focus from Manhattan to the other four boroughs, where frustration over subway overcrowding constant delays and fewer taxi options have made it the ride of choice for many. The New York Times

and scandals that have provoked widespread condemnation and incited a global backlash against the company, with some riders deleting the app in protest. In a significant setback, London declined to renew Uber’s operating license, declaring that the company was not sufficiently “fit and proper.”

Cheap

FOR many passengers, though, the bottom line is that Uber gets them where they need to go.

Leo Martinez, 30, a sales agent who has ta ken U ber around Queens, said that, while she has heard the concerns about Uber, what matters most to her is that it is cheap—usually less than $10 a ride—fast and reliable. “Every single company has complaints,” she said. “It’s not just Uber.”

More than half of the 50 sample areas with increased Uber pickups were in Queens, a sprawling borough where many residents live far from the subway. In Saint Albans weekly pickups rose to 6,370 from 1,870 the year before, while neighborhoods, including South Jamaica, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Rosedale, Bayside and Glendale also saw large increases.

In the Flatlands neighborhood in Brooklyn, which has no subway station, there were 13,380 weekly pickups, or nearly four times the 3,598 pickups the previous year. In Starrett City, a vast housing development, weekly pickups rose to 2,261 from 699.

Deserts

NINE areas were on Staten Island, a borough where public transit is sparse, including Port Richmond, New Brighton, Westerleigh and Arden Heights. In the New Springville area, weekly pickups soared to 1,494 from 591.

“We really want to make sure we’re fulfilling the needs of New Yorkers wherever they live,” said Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s general manager for the Northeast. “Taxis have long ignored some of these communities.”

Maredia said that Uber complements the public transit system, especially in “transit deserts” outside Manhattan where subway stations and bus stops are far apart. Uber cars ferry riders from their homes to the closest station, or provide a one-way alternative.

Other ride-hail apps, like Lyft and Via, are also finding customers beyond Manhattan. Just over half of the pickups on Lyft, not including the airports, now come from outside Manhattan. It has stationed its operations staff in Queens, where it also has a driver support center, and hosts monthly social events for drivers in Brooklyn. Lyft is the official rideshare partner of Barclays Center, offering up to $10 off the first two rides to the arena. Other promotions have included 50-percent off 10 rides in the boroughs outside Manhattan.

Via

VIA, which started in Manhattan, has branched out to downtown

Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg and Greenpoint, and to Long Island City in Queens. It also has a driver center in Queens, and has dangled a $5.95 flat fee for rides between Brooklyn and Manhattan, $7.95 for rides between Long Island City and Manhattan and $5 for rides within Brooklyn.

Meera Joshi, the commissioner of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, said all these new choices have improved the transportation landscape. “More options expand mobility for passengers, and they become a greater part of our city’s social and economic life,” she said.

There are about 61,000 black cars providing rides for Uber, though they may also work for the other apps, too.

In contrast, yellow taxis are capped at 13,587.

Though more for-hire cars mean worse traffic in some neighborhoods, Bruce Schaller, a transportation consultant who has found that the ridehail apps contribute to congestion, said that their expansion outside Manhattan was generally positive.

“I think the incremental increase in traffic is way overshadowed by the improvement in mobility in these neighborhoods,” he said.

Just as the apps have upended the yellow-taxi industry, their expansion has hurt the green taxis, which were started in 2013 to serve northern Manhattan and the other boroughs, and neighborhood livery services. Currently, there are 4,251 green taxis on the road; in July, the green taxis provided an average of

Inconveniences

Living in the Land of Smiles

Vernon Velasco

John Patrick Solano

millennial universe

I

WAS on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) during rush hour, and this guy to my right accused me of touching his butt. This after the back of my hand accidentally brushed against his ass when I stuffed my pockets with my hands to keep safe my billfold and cell phone, which I always do when riding a train.

In a desperate attempt to save face, I wanted to explain that it was, indeed, an accident. But, in the nickoftime,Istartedtopanic,asIwasoverwhelmed by a copious amount of equally accusing stares.

“Faggot!” their eyes seemed to say.

This was the men’s section, rather than the women’s, which means those excruciating stares could result to me being mugged. The guy was burly, and looked as if he could twist my arm with one hand. But this was the MRT where, at peak hours, it’s too tight to take a swing at someone when he gets on your nerves. And again, this is the MRT where, with passengers packed with nary a square inch of space to spare, it’s so easy to get on someone’s nerves.

It was surprising how some men’s borderline homophobic attitude can make them so sensitive as to irrationally react with aversion to a potential harassment. At my old apartment, I had a friend who, after he took a shower and came out only with a towel wrapped around his body from the waist down, refused to begin to dress up in the presence of another friend, whom he seemed to refer to when he said, “Wait until the gay man is gone.”

Beyond old wives’ tales and hearsays across

the school dormitory or the boys’ locker rooms, I have heard of stories of pedophilia in the Church and guys being raped or pimped or coaxed to macho dance, and they sometimes make it to prime-time news. But news material or not, I maintained that there was no way I would want to touch his boo-boo.

The guy didn’t say it, but I thought he thought, and so might others with us on that car, that I was better off relegated to the women’s section, where I also once have been on a rush hour. Being in the women’s section when you’re obviously not a woman feels like being a male in a female washroom: You have to constantly, and convincingly, explain to everybody who enters the room why you’re there. “I’m just checking the view,” for instance. Or, “My girlfriend is drunk, and she is in that cubicle.”

With the MRT being “gender responsive,” me finding myself in the women’s section posed a serious challenge, and I alternated between “nice bag” and latching on to someone as if she was a companion.

This, of course, would not sit well with everybody. Take this surly woman behind me; the way her eyebrows met seemed to say she wanted me out of there. She looked at my way as if I were a sex offender and, hands stuffed in my pockets as I would always do when riding a train, I looked at her way as if she was planning to steal all of my belongings.

Vernon Velasco is a millennial and part of the BusinessMirror’s advertising department. The views Velasco expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror.

millennial universe

H

AT YAI, Thailand—Upon arriving at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, I was greeted by the airport staff with a warm smile. It’s true, then, that Thailand is the Land of Smiles.

I went to Thailand to study for two years under a master’s scholarship grant. I must admit I experienced language barrier, especially in buying food. Once, I went to a carinderia to buy dinner. I asked the vendor if he sells chicken. His eyebrow wrinkled. I knew he didn’t understand what I said, but

I still repeated my question, and he repeated his reaction.

I gestured with my hands to mimick flying wings. That’s when he finally understood what I was asking and pointed to a viand looked like it’s made from chicken. When I ordered and ate it, it, indeed, tasted like chicken and was delicious. I smiled.

I’m not a fan of spicy food. Almost every, if not all, Thai dish is spicy: from noodles to chicken to rice. Everything is spicy. Another thing, I’m not a fan of vegetables. I don’t eat ampalaya and okra, to name a few.

I tried tom yum, a spicy and sour broth cooked with shrimp and vegetables and crispy pork with kale, a type of vegetable I’ve never tasted before. These turned out

to be palatable! They instantly became my favorite Thai cuisines. I smiled.

Studying far away from my home makes me feel homesick. With the help of my classmates and other international students, I’m now slowly adjusting, and I’m sure I can survive homesickness. I also have to commend the Thai professors, university staff and students for being so welcoming to international students like me. It was easier for me to adjust in this new environment because they are very hospitable and accommodating. They just always put a smile on my face.

I’m planning to go back to the Philippines during our semestral break to spend the Christmas season with my family. I think that when I finally get home, I will immediately

SERGIO Sanchez, who once owned five green taxis, said Uber siphoned off his drivers with hefty signing bonuses and other incentives, and won over riders with heavily discounted rides. “People were standing on the corners waiting for Uber,” he said.

“The green taxis were invisible, like they weren’t even there.” Sanchez said he simply could not compete, and his taxis were repossessed by his lenders. He now drives for Via. Some livery services have banded together against the threat from Uber and the others, pooling their cars and creating a unified network to ensure that there is always a car available to pick up a passenger. Jose Altamirano, the president of the Livery Base Owners Association, said that may not be enough if the apps continue to rapidly expand. “If they go up, we’ll go down,” he said. “There’s only so many customers.”

Convenience

THE ride-hail apps have not only benefited passengers but also drivers, many of whom are immigrants with few good job options. At the Bronx driver center, which opened in February, 2,000 drivers come through the door every week.

Sabrina Ortiz, 28, earns about $800 a week driving for Uber, or twice as much as she did as a receptionist for an auto shop. Another benefit is that she can set her own hours and does not have to check with anyone to stay home if her two children are sick.

Ortiz said that she is aware of Uber’s scandals and strained relations with drivers who have criticized the company for underpaying them and cutting rates so low that they cannot make a living. One passenger recently asked, “How can you work for Uber?” “It does kind of bother me,” she said. “But, at the end of the day, I haven’t had any experience like that.”

Ricardo Peña, 24, who lives in the Bronx, began hopping into Uber cars two years ago because he could not bear another packed bus or subway.

Soon he was taking Uber up to 10 times a week. He eventually quit his job as a security guard and went to work for Uber as a driver.

“A lot of people need this form of transportation,”hesaid.“Theyneedthe convenience.” New York Times News Service

miss the language, the food, my international student friends, the people of Thailand and, of course, their smiles.

Thailand being the Land of Smiles not only reflects its people always smiling. I think it also reflects how Thais’s smiles affect other people and make them smile back.

And it creates a ripple of smiles.

John Patrick Solano, 26, is a BS Applied Mathematics graduate at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and currently a freshman of MS Mathematics at the Prince of Songkla University in Hat Yai, Thailand. This is Solano’s first contribution to the BusinessMirror.

Young Muslims have caught a $100-B travel bug–report

C

OUNTRIES will need Muslim-friendly tourist industries if they want a slice of one of the world’s fastest-growing traveler markets.

Millennial Muslims—those aged between 18 and 36—are projected to spend more than $100 billion annually on traveling by 2025, almost double last year’s figure, according to a report from MasterCard and Muslim travel web site HalalTrip. All age groups belonging to the religion are expected to spend around three times that much.

“It’s definitely an overlooked segment the broader travel industry should look at and be prepared to cater to,” said Douglas Quinby, an

Atlanta-based travel analyst at research firm Phocuswright Inc. “There are some countries, whose populations are predominantly Muslim, that are growing very fast, where the population is increasingly becoming middle-class and and the demand for travel, both leisure tourism and pilgrimage travel, is growing quite significantly.”

For now, the top destinations for millennial Muslims are Malaysia and Indonesia, nations where the religion’s followers make up a majority of the population. However, the next popular holiday spots are Japan, Thailand and Australia, non-Muslim countries where tourism is a key engine of economic growth. Some are starting to recognize the opportunities.

In Japan’s Okayama prefecture, the local tourism industry has started certifying Muslim-friendly restaurants, hotels and other facilities with a special logo. Local businesses around the country are starting to reach out to mosques to learn about Islam and better cater to Muslim tourists, according to Halal Media Japan Co. Ltd, an online information portal for Muslim visitors.

South Korea has organized a Halal-themed restaurant festival in an effort to boost tourism receipts after a decline in Chinese visitors due to tensions over missile deployments. In Australia, however, challenges remain. A survey of more than 2,000 people this week found that nearly

half supported a partial ban on Muslim immigrants. The number of Muslim international travelers is expected to grow to 156 million by 2020, partly due to the growth of the religion’s population: It’s expected to reach nearly 3 billion worldwide by 2060, a 70-percent jump from 2015, according to the report. Come 2030 almost a third of the world’s population aged 15-29 is forecast to be Muslims.

“The Muslim traveler market is growing rapidly as a highly lucrative segment in contemporary tourism and will be entering their peak earning, spending and traveling life stage within the next five to 10 years,” said Fazal Bahardeen, chief executive of HalalTrip. Bloomberg

BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, November 4, 2017

www.businessmirror.com.ph

YOU CAN SHOWER WITH THE NEW KINDLE–YOU JUST CAN’T READ

BY ANICK JESDANUN The Associated Press NEW YORK—Amazon’s top-of-the-line e-reader is now waterproof—an excellent feature for a $250-andup investment.

But don’t go scuba diving just yet. Your Kindle Oasis might not survive.

Huh? How is that waterproof then? And what about the optional cover?

THE FINE PRINT ON WATERPROOF THE new Oasis is designed to survive up to an hour in up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) of fresh water, not the higher pressure of anything deeper—such as a scuba dive.

Fresh-water protection is great, but you’re more likely to read by a swimming pool or on the beach. Amazon says you’ll still get some protection from chlorinated or salty water—just not as much as what’s promised for fresh water. Same goes for coffee spills.

As for that cover, the standard version with woven fabric ($45) is “water safe” but not “waterproof.”

Amazon says that means minor spills, but not lengthy submersion. To be safe, choose a dark color to conceal any stains. The pricier leather covers ($60) won’t resist water at all, which defeats having a waterproof e-reader in the first place.

THE Defender series is the patriarch of the OtterBox family of smartphone cases.

READING WHEN WET WATERPROOFING is meant to protect the device from accidental splashes and spills, not underwater reading. Common with other gadgets, the touchscreen gets errant when wet. Reading during an ice-cold bath was fine, until I submerged the device. The font size started changing, and all sorts of other settings popped up. During a hot shower, pages turned on their own.

While walking in a storm, rainwater distorted the text, like a magnifying glass, and I had to wipe many drops away. (In any case, I probably should have been paying attention instead to what’s in front of me.)

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ

OTHER FEATURES OVERALL, the Oasis is a great device for booklovers— though the waterproofing, with its limits, isn’t enough on its own to justify the premium model. You can pair the new Kindle with Bluetooth headsets and enjoy integration with Amazon’s Audible audiobook service.

You can switch between the text and audio versions of your book without losing your place. Unfortunately, you have to buy both versions to do this.

The larger 7-inch screen on the Oasis makes the other devices’ once-adequate 6-inch screens seem too small. Amazon says the Oasis fits 30 percent more words. The Oasis also has more built-in lights for greater brightness. And unlike phones and tablets, the e-reader isn’t prone to glare—or to such distractions as Facebook and text notifications. Though you can get other Kindles for that—and pay far less.

/

MANNY MIRANDA, operations head of 1Go Tech

Setting the standard for phone protection PRIMETIME

@dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

A

DMITTEDLY, looks matter when it comes to choosing cases for our iPhones. We also consider the cost. For P150, you can already get a cute phone case.

When it comes to iPhone protection, the brands OtterBox and LifeProof come to mind. When I got my iPhone 6, I purchased an expensive case (an Otterbox Defender) for the first time and it lasted for a year until I got tired of it. During that year, I dropped my phone twice without any damage, minor or major, on my phone.

OtterBox and LifeProof have recently launched a full lineup of cases for the Phone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. OtterBox is the top-selling smartphone case in the United States. It has set the standard for smartphone protection. It has a full lineup of cases for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. Starting with Defender Series, OtterBox has innovated 26 different case styles for iPhone over the past decade. Oh, and if looks are very important, Otterbox collaborates with designers on colors and trends. I read somewhere WGSN, Stylus, Pantone, Clariant and PolyOne provide insights on trends and consult with the OtterBox designers so that colors are vibrant and attractive to customers.

Worth noting is that each OtterBox is chosen not just for its look. Each iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X case design has gone through a minimum of 24 tests across more than 238 hours to earn the OtterBox Certified Drop+ Protection seal. These tests ensure lasting protection from drops, bumps, scratches and dings.

Here is the lineup of OtterBox cases for the new iPhones: ■ The fashionable Symmetry Series is sleek with a raised, beveled edge that provides extra protection for the touchscreen during facedown drops. Available in classic solids, trendy graphics, fully clear and clear graphics, it's the perfect fashion statement.

■ The Pursuit Series guards against drop, dust, dirt and snow intrusion, perfect for an outdoor adventure or average day in the office. This two-piece case snaps around each device for a perfect fit. The openface design seals directly to the display and the case includes an optional lanyard.

■ Defender Series is the original protective case for iPhone with 10 years of design and development behind it. The rugged multilayer case features a shell and outer slipcover to absorb and dissipate shock.

■ Two form-fitting layers combine to create the thin, protective Commuter Series. The outer shell and inner slipcover combine to pull shock away from the device, and port covers keep debris out.

■ Strada Series Folio offers a luxurious 100-percent genuine leather cover and trusted protection. The folio front clasps securely closed with a magnet to guard the display from scratches and includes a card slot.

■ The uniVERSE Case System features a slim, protective OtterBox case with a modular rail mount on the back that allows attachment of a variety of accessories. OtterBox has partnered with other industry leaders to enhance uniVERSE with accessories like a contactless card reader, additional

Logistics innovation on offer A 100-PERCENT Filipino-owned informationtechnology services and business-process outsourcing company offering a suite of value enterprise solutions in project and sales force management, logistics, distribution and supplychain systems, In1Go Technologies introduces 1Go Loadr (www.1go-load.me), a Web- and mobileenabled collaborative platform where both logistic outsourcees and services providers (haulers and shippers) converge to address the numerous delivery requirements of customers.

Through a revolutionary mobile app that’s downloadable from the Google Play Store, or on the Web at www.1go-load.me, haulers of varying scales—whether operating just one truck or an entire fleet—can gain access to a wide variety of goods and items available for shipment, resulting in increased productivity and convenience for both haulers and shippers.

“We realized the existence of a gap, a sweet spot, that fleet managers couldn’t fill,” said Manny Miranda, operations head of 1Go Tech. “Through 1Go Loadr, we are creating a marketplace among our users.

Our business-to-consumer model allows them to

THE LifeProof Slam iPhone X case in Aloha Sunset

open their fleets of trucks to a larger community.”

Small-scale operators can benefit from expanded business, while larger fleet operators will enjoy reduced truck downtimes and better operational efficiency, as well as the ability to manage and deploy their fleets with ease. Shippers will find it is so much easier to find a reliable hauler and the right vehicle that fit their exact shipping requirements, as the service has over 2000 enrolled trucks to take a load on demand.

Peace of mind is assured as the exact truck location can be tracked in real time, including the updated estimated time of arrival through GPS. A photo of the driver and the truck is provided for increased security, together with full transaction details.

By downloading the 1Go Loadr app on a smartphone and enrolling, a secured log-in enables shippers to post their requirements and to find from an extensive directory of enrolled haulers, with complete vehicle specs, the ones capable of matching their needs. Eligible haulers will then be notified.

Posted shipping requirements will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Once a hauler accepts, the shipper can then monitor the whole delivery

process from pick up to final unloading.

1Go Loadr harnesses the power of technology to revolutionize logistics, resulting for cheaper, faster and highly efficient delivery for utmost customer satisfaction and better business backed by 1Go’s solid experience, impressive roster of world-renowned clients and robust end-to-end technology solutions.

storage, bike mounts, tripods, wallets and more.

■ Keep the touchscreen brilliant with Alpha Glass fortified screen guards. Compatible with Symmetry Series, Pursuit Series, Commuter Series, Strada Series Folio and uniVERSE Case System, these screen guards protect from scratches and complete device protection.

Symmetry Series, Pursuit Series, Defender Series, Commuter Series, uniVERSE Case System, Strada Series Folio and Alpha Glass screen guards are available now for iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

LifeProof, which OtterBox has acquired, makes sleek and ultraprotective iPhone cases. It has expanded its lineup of cases with NËXT and SLAM, two next-generation LifeProof cases that complement water-resistant devices, available now for iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and coming soon for iPhone X. “LifeProof changed the iPhone protection game with its industry-leading waterproof cases,” OtterBox and LifeProof CEO Jim Parke said.

“Now, even those who don’t need a waterproof case can experience LifeProof protection with the introduction of NËXT and SLAM. With the features available in today’s iPhones, sometimes all you need is a thin, light case that protects from drops and dirt.

NËXT delivers that in style without sacrificing the quality we’re known for.”

NËXT has six layers of protection in an ultrasleek package to keep the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X safe from drops, dirt and snow. The twopiece outer shell wraps securely around the phone and delivers maximum durability and drop defense. A raised bevel bolsters drop and touchscreen protection while the display is left uncovered for direct access to the glass. A clear outer layer prevents scuffs, scrapes and scratches, and an inner lining seals the case and phone from dirt. An audio-transparent mesh covers the speakers to block dust and debris while audio flows freely.

NËXT protects from drops up to 2 meters, carries an IP5X rating for blocking dirt and dust and keeps snow out. It is available in four colors—Black, Beach Pebble, Seaside and Cactus Rose—and is also compatible with iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

SLAM, engineered to withstand drops of up to 2 meters while maintaining a slim profile, combines sport, style and safety for the iPhone.

A transparent shell reveals iPhone’s factory finish while the perimeter flashes one of four available color aoptions—Night Flash, Lava Chaser, Aloha Sunset and Free Flow—and is also compatible with iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. NËXT and SLAM for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are available now. Suggested retail price for the NËXT iPhone 8 and iPhone X cases is P3,490 and P3,990 for the iPhone 8 Plus. Suggested retail price for the SLAM iPhone 8 and iPhone X cases is P2,490 and P2,990 for the iPhone 8 Plus LifeProof’s best-selling waterproof case line, FRE, will also be available for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. To learn more or to sign up for product notifications for FRE, visit www.lifeproof.asia.

OtterBox is available at OtterBox retail kiosks, Power Mac Center, iStudio, InBox and Mobile1, while LifeProof is available at Power Mac Center, Otterbox retail kiosks, iCentre, iBook, InBox and Timeline.

For more information, visit www.otterbox. asia and www.lifeproof.asia. ■

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Saturday, November 4, 2017 A11

FROM left: OPPO Marketing Manager Stephen Cheng; OPPO influencers Gabbi Garcia, Janella Salvador, Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia; OPPO endorsers Sarah Geronimo and Alden Richards; Product Expert Charles Ng; OPPO COO Ananda Pan; OPPO Sales Manager Mark del Mundo; and OPPO Vice President Garrick Hung

‘New generation of selfies’ unveiled T

HE global smartphone brand OPPO (www.oppo.com/ph) just set another groundbreaking technology during the official unveiling of the F5 last week: the AI Beauty Recognition, a technology designed to personalize beautification based on personal facial traits of a subject, giving a customized selfie that is unique to every person.

The OPPO F5 was officially launched led by brand ambassadors Sarah Geronimo and Alden Richards, together with brand influencers Joshua Garcia, Julia Barretto, Toni Gonzaga, Gabbi Garcia, Janella Salvador, Apple David and Carla Lizardo.

OPPO’s AI Beauty Recognition technology learns the specific facial features of different people from a database of millions of human faces spanning the globe. Professional photographers and makeup artists were consulted during the research and development process, resulting in the AI technology having the ability to capture the real you that can help selfies look more attractive and natural.

In addition, the AI would recognize the subjects’ skin tone and type, gender and age, match them against its database and subsequently make beautification enhancements that are personalized for each individual in the selfie.

The AI can analyze up to a million faces and with more than 200 facial feature spots scanned, it is able to detect your face in detail and refine your selfie more than just any

other phones.

“OPPO has yet again created an opportunity that will truly elevate everyone’s selfie experience. The AI Beauty Recognition technology feature of the OPPO F5 allows anyone to take selfies that are not only crisp, but also natural looking. This is because OPPO wants you to capture the real you—capturing every natural moment of your life that’s worth having and sharing,” said Stephen Cheng, brand marketing manager of OPPO Philippines.

At the launch, Sarah Geronimo said, “Ever since I used OPPO, I’ve been very impressed with the quality because of the supernatural photos. Every time I take a selfie, sobrang natural lang tignan kaya the photos always look good. So when they showed me the new F5, I was really amazed kasi mas naging maganda ang selfies ko. OPPO’s front cam has always been remarkable pero ngayon, it’s even much better because of OPPO’s latest AI Beauty Recognition technology.”

“Mas madali na mag-take ng selfies because of the sleek design, plus full-screen display feature, and not to mention, kaya niya na magdetect ng gender so it’s easier for us. Then, I was able to try the AI Beauty Recognition technology and I must say that my selfie really turned out great. It really captures the real you,” Alden Richards said.

The F5 features a 20-MP front camera with an F2.0 aperture and a 16-MB rear camera with F1.8 aperture. Compared \with other competitors’ 13-MP or 16-MP

camera in the same price range, the F5 has a higher resolution (2160x1080) and better photo quality. The cameras can deliver Bokeh effects and the front HDR solves any overexposure issues.

The F5 will be OPPO’s first 6.0-inch fullscreen FHD+ display device, giving the user a vivid visual enjoyment without the need to increase the size of the phone. It features a high-resolution 2160 x 1080 dpi screen with 18:9 aspect ratio.

The new smartphone follows OPPO’s streamlined design philosophy—the sleek unibody offers a visually slim appearance without any cutoffs, with a gracefully curved body that fits well in the palm, expressing a simple and elegant look.

A user’s palm will not feel tired even after using the phone for a long time, either from playing games or chatting. The 0.4-mm laser string is carved onto the phone—a delicate linear finish that adds detail to the phone body.

The F5 comes with another technology that perfectly suits everyone’s convenience needs.

The Facial Unlock is the new face-recognition technology that recognizes its user and unlocks the phone.

This feature is perfect for people who are constantly on the go, a quick and much easier way to accessing your phone.

OPPO’s very first full-screen display is priced at P15,990. The F5 goes on sale starting on November 4. All preordered F5 units will come with an Olike Bluetooth Speaker worth P2,990. ■

Reconnecting with the Nokia brand

BY RIZAL RAOUL REYES HMD Global Country Manager for the Philippines, Singapore and Pacific Islands Shannon Mead is quite excited these days, as the local subsidiary of the Espoo, Finland-based company is celebrating its ninth month in the Philippines in December. In a recent interview with BUSINESSSMIRROR, the Melbourne, Australian native pointed out that HMD emphasizes partnerships in bringing back the Nokia brand to the local market.

To start, HMD transferred the manufacturing to Foxconn and it obtained the brand license for phones and tablets from Nokia. It also focused working with with Android operating system, and Mediatek for high- and midrange devices.

In his previous job at Microsoft, Mead noticed that Nokia as a brand still had strong recall in the Vietnamese, Indonesian and Sri Lankan markets in the feature phone portfolios and the candy bar phones. When HMD decided to acquire the brand from Microsoft, he was not altogether surprised because he was aware that Nokia could still be on a par with the other brands in the market.

When HMD acquired Nokia from Microsoft, Mead moved to the HMD. “I’m always working for the Nokia brand but with three different employers,” he said. “I guess it’s an incredibly human brand. People developed a connection with Nokia. It’s not just about throwing the logo on the phone. That, for me, is one

of the reasons this journey, this opportunity is very exciting,” he added.

Personally, Mead thinks Nokia is an absolutely iconic brand. He said the Nokia blue and the Nokia ringtone evokes a memory among Filipinos.

During his meetings with dealers, consumers and promoters, he observed that these people have a strong attachment to the Nokia brand.

“It’s a brand that seems to, like, have strong emotional connection with the market. Many of our dealers were saying they were able to put their kids through school because of the money they made selling Nokia phones. This is a really strong connection,” Mead explained.

In his recent provincial tour, Mead received warm responses from the people in Batangas, Pampanga, Tarlac, Iloilo and Bicol during the promotional campaigns of Nokia. Mead went to Sydney to work for Nokia and was assigned to different roles. Later, he was assigned to New Zealand to push the brand to the top 3. After delivering on that target, he was reassigned to Sydney. He was also assigned to Vietnam to work on a project.

When Nokia mobile was acquired by Microsoft, Mead, who led the sales operations in Australia, said he had to adjust because they didn’t have their own brand anymore.

After the transition from Microsoft to HMD, Mead said he had to develop another mind-set as part of adjusting to the new work environment. Since Nokia

and Microsoft are heritage brands, Mead described the HMD shift as a huge undertaking because it didn’t have systems, processors and label.

“It has actually been an incredible challenge, a positive challenge for myself and my colleagues, as essentially we had to set up the company on our own.

Nevertheless, we learned from each other to hurdle the challenges,” he said. “I don’t know everything

about the Philippine market. It’s actually been incredibly humbling for me in learning a lot about this new market. At the same time, I hope to inspire the team with ideas and insights to future trends and what we can try,” he added.

Mead said HMD is developing its own values, an amalgamation borne of the fact that the company’s work force is composed of Europeans, Americans and Asians. However, he added the country managers, regional managers and the department heads will decide the type of culture they want to implement in the workplace.

The HMD executive quipped that his college degree is not relevant to his current job, With a degree in hospitality and tourism management, many would consider Mead to be in the wrong field. However, he pointed out that his college degree has significance because it also involves meeting people, engaging them and talking with customers. “I was doing event security that gave you the opportunity to meet many people and that for me is the most amazing thing, and you can relate this to sales,” he said.

Mead is cherishing all the experiences he is gaining from different working environments. In the corporate world, he observed that tolerance toward religion, race and culture is only one of the factors at play when hiring an individual. At the end of the day, it is meritocracy. “You hire the right person for the role and you pay the right person the right amount of money.”

/

THE OPPO F5 features the AI Beauty Recognition technology that promises the perfect selfie.

/

SHANNON MEAD, HMD Global country manager for the Philippines, Singapore and Pacific Islands

Primetime: Setting the standard for phone protection A10

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, November 4, 2017 A12

I listened to the world’s most expensive headphones—and cried THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, �light to the imagination and life to everything.”—PLATO

I

LOVE headphones and speakers. They’ve become sort of a guilty pleasure for me, and I’ve collected over a hundred of them—most of which are still unused and in their boxes.

I once spent a day trying to contact a manufacturer abroad because the cushion ear pads on one of my headphones (which I rarely used) had chipped, and I couldn’t work until I found a replacement.

Still, I don’t consider myself an expert, as I really can’t talk about the technical specs, although I’ve tried and experienced the so-called “best” headphones with oftentimes jaw-dropping prices from some of the top audio brands.

But of all the headphones I’ve tried, nothing even comes close to the Sennheiser HE 1—both in sound quality and price—P3,000,000. That’s not a typo: it’s really priced at P3 million.

THE ORPHEUS REBORN IN 1991 Sennheiser engineers set out to create the best headphones in the world. The result of this effort is the now legendary Sennheiser Orpheus.

Priced then at a whopping $16,000 (now selling for $30,000 plus on eBay), the headphones were so sophisticated that it even came with its own tube amplifier, which made it look like something that came out of Bruce Wayne’s lab.

Last Tuesday I got the privilege to see and experience the successor of the Orpheus, the HE-1.

Sennheiser flew one unit all the way from its HQ specifically for the event, and let me say that the short experience was nothing sort of...glorious.

The HE 1 is an entirely new experience from the moment you turn it on. Press the power button and watch the whole “set” come to life as the control dials slowly pop out, the tubes rise up from its base like a mini nuclear reactor and the box cover opens to reveal the headphones. This setup sequence actually has a purpose, as it allows the tubes of its amplifier to reach

the optimum temperature.

I say set because the HE-1 isn’t just a pair of headphones you can just plug in. It actually comes in a package you can’t just move around, as you can see in the photo. Its amplifier sits on a housing crafted from glass, and a solid block of marble. Not just any marble but Carrara Marble, a luxurious natural stone made famous by Michelangelo’s Renaissance sculptures.

The marble case not only gives it an elegant look but also prevents structure-borne noise. To create a visually stunning design, the control dials have been painstakingly crafted in the highest quality. Each dial is milled from a single piece of brass before being plated with chrome.

According to the description from its web site, “The Sennheiser HE 1 is the first electrostatic headphone with a Cool Class A MOS-FET highvoltage amplifier integrated into the ear cups.

Eliminating the capacitive reactance of the cable, delivering an ultra high-impulse fidelity 200 percent more efficient than any other solution currently available. The 2.4-micrometer platinum-vaporised diaphragms are employed as their size was shown

by Sennheiser’s research to deliver optimal sound reproduction. Outstanding electrical and acoustical performance is ensured through gold-vaporised ceramic transducers, while 99.9-percent silverplated OFC cables are used for optimal conductivity.

To allow you to immerse in the result of all of this are Sennheiser HE 1’s ear cups, precision-machined from solid aluminum, featuring handmade ear pads of finest leather and a soft, allergen-free velour/ microfibre construction.”

Only the true audiophiles would probably understand the previous paragraph, but what it means is that the Sennheiser HE 1 electrostatic headphones is totally different from any other headphones you’ve tried in your entire life.

Putting it on feels like you are wearing a crown instead, as you can immediately sense the premium materials as it comfortably hugs the sides of your head. The ergonomics are outstanding, and they wrap perfectly around your ear, and the weight is welldistributed to allow for extended listening sessions.

There were only a few tracks available for us to try and, although I would have loved to listen to “Hotel California,” I settled for the next best song on the list: Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” As soon as the first notes played and Ed started to strum his guitar, it seemed as if he was transported directly inside my ear, playing a live concert.

Every little detail in the recording was there, and you can hear the separation of the instruments. Turn up the volume, and the separations get even clearer. It

was way better than the best I’ve heard in my entire life. I also listened to a few seconds of an orchestral song, and it was even more spectacular.

According to Martin Low, Sennheiser Asia’s managing director, each of the 6,000 individual parts used in the HE 1 are selected and processed by hand, as it demands precise craftsmanship. “It takes an entire day to make a single set of the HE 1, so the company said they could only produce around 250 a year, making it truly an exclusive piece of premium technology,” he added. Each order takes a month or so to process and each HE 1 will be delivered right to your doorstep, as it requires expert installation.

Just like the original Orpheus, Sennheiser clearly wanted to make a statement when it set out to create the HE 1. It threw away all the the usual design constraints of budget and convenience, opting to craft a truly unique set of headphones with one goal: being the absolute, undisputed best in everything.

I had mixed emotions as I handed back the headphones, not just because I wanted to listen longer or because I know I could never afford such an exquisite piece of technology but because I heard that they already received not just one, but two orders of the HE 1 from the Philippines. I guess we will have to wait for a month or so before it appears on someone’s Instagram account.

SOUND HEROES BESIDES the HE 1, Sennheiser also highlights their new products, including three wireless music and entertainment neckband headphones for people on the move: CX 7.00BT (P9,490), Momentum In-Ear Wireless (P12,590) and Momentum Free (P12,590).

All three models feature Bluetooth and NFC integration, a three-button remote, and an integrated, high-quality in-line microphone for making calls and controlling music.

Other notable wireless Sennheiser headphones include the award-winning active-noise cancelling Bluetooth wireless travel headset, the PXC 550 Wireless (P24,190), and HD 4.50 BTNC (P12,590) wireless noise-cancelling headphone for active lifestyles on the go.

The latest Sennheiser Gaming models such as the GSP 300 (P5,990) PC/console gaming headset and GSX 1200 Pro (P14,990) gaming audio amplifier will also be available for avid Filipino gamers.

For mobile journalists and serious vloggers, Sennheiser is also introducing a series of microphones in the form of the MKE 2 elements (P7,629), a highquality waterproof action microphone for GoPro Hero4 cameras; the Handmic Digital (P12,019), a rugged, dynamic handheld microphone for interviews

and music recording on iOS, Mac and PC; and ClipMic digital (P8,229), a clip-on microphone for mobile recording with iOS devices.

At the event, they also featured a couple of 3D audio-recording devices, such as the Ambeo VR Mic (P77,889), a 3D audio-recording microphone developed in cooperation with virtual-reality (VR) content producers and the audio and VR communities, as well as the Ambeo Smart Headset (P19,990), a compact, mobile headset that captures 3D sound for iOS devices.

Sennheiser’s wide range of consumer audio products are available in the Philippines at authorised Sennheiser retailers, as well as the Sennheiser Official Store on Lazada.

‘GAME OF MARKETING’ IT seems a lot of the marketing peeps are also fans of Game of Thrones, as proven by the Philippine Marketing Association’s (PMA) upcoming “Unconference,” dubbed “Game of Marketing.”

“I am proud to organize the first Asian UnConference, an unstructured marketing conference where topics are discussed, voted on and decided before the conference officially starts. We are spicing up this UnConference by playing around with the most popular TV series, Game of Thrones. Fans would understand the many marketing learnings in the series, and we intend to bring that to life in this first of its kind UnConference,” says Donald Lim, country CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Philippines, CPM Asia Pacific, and overall chairman of the 48th PMA National Marketing Conference.

Kicking off the first day is a pair of master-class Opening Keynote speakers: David Hearn, regional head of Strategy, dentsu X Asia Pacific; and Hermawan Kartajaya, cofounder of Asia Marketing Federation, president of Indonesia Council for Small Business and president of ACSB. Added to this lineup of marketing greats is Merlee Jayme, chairmom/chief creative officer of Dentsu Jayme Syfu, who will introduce the Three Dragons of Creativity. Meng Liu, head of Asia and Oceania Networks of United Nations Global Compact, will discuss Making Global Goals Local Business. Lim closes the UnConference as the closing keynote speaker.

“Game of Marketing,” the first Asian Marketing UnConference, will be held on November 27 and 28 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, CCP Complex Roxas Boulevard, Barangay 76, Pasay City.

/ TECH THOUGHTS: “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”—BOB MARLEY

Google-bred Waymo aims to shift robotic cars into next gear GOOGLE’S self-driving car spin-off is accelerating efforts to convince the public that its technology is almost ready to safely transport people without any human assistance at all.

Waymo, hatched from a Google project started eight years ago, showed off its progress on Monday during a rare peek at a closely guarded testing facility 120 miles (193 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. That’s where its robots complete their equivalent of driver’s education.

The tour included giving more than three-dozen reporters rides in Chrysler Pacifica minivans traveling through faux

neighborhoods and expressways that Waymo has built on a former Air Force base located in the Californian Central Valley city of Atwater.

The minivans smoothly cruised the roads—driver’s seat empty and passengers in the back—at speeds of up to 35 mph (56 kph). By contrast, the Waymo-powered minivans that have been driving volunteer riders in the Phoenix area still use safety drivers to take over control if something goes wrong. But Waymo’s real goal is to get to the point where people in cars are nothing but passengers.

Waymo CEO John Krafcik told reporters that the company will be making some cars and freight trucks totally driverless fairly soon, though he didn’t provide a specific timetable. “We are really close,” he said. “We are going to do it when we feel like we are ready.” Since Google began working on selfdriving cars in 2009, dozens of established automakers, such as General Motors and Ford Motors have entered the race, along with other big technology companies, including Apple and ride-hailing service Uber.

The competition is so fierce and the stakes so high that

Waymo is currently suing Uber, alleging that one of its former managers stole its trade secrets and took them with him when he joined Uber in 2016 as part of an elaborate scheme.

The trial in that high-profile case is scheduled to begin in early December.

Waymo is hoping to infuse its technology into ride-hailing services, such as its current partner, Lyft, and big-rig trucking companies. It also intends to license its automated system to automakers, such as Fiat Chrysler Automobile, which is already using it in 100 Pacifica minivans. AP