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MORE LOCAL EXECUTIVES FACE CHARGES FOR FAILING TO IMPLEMENT R.A. 9003
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By Jonathan L. Mayuga
he Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is bent on closing more than 400 open dumps before President Duterte’s term ends in 2022 to compel local government units (LGUs) to implement Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
RA 9003 The 25-year-old law that, among others, mandates the closure of open garbage dumps, segregation, recycling and composting By the end of the year, the target is to close down 40 open dumps, leaving LGUs with no choice but to establish their own engineered sanitary landfill, or spend huge amount of money for hauling and disposal of the garbage they produce every day elsewhere. Under RA 9003, LGUs are mandated to implement segregation at source, composting and recycling and, eventually, disposal of the residual waste. More than 25 years after RA 9003 took effect, however, much of the provisions of the law, particularly the closure of open dumps, segregation, recycling and composting, remain unimplemented by many LGUs.
Cracking the whip
Last year the DENR, in coordination with the Office of the Ombudsman, started cracking the whip by filing charges against local officials for failure to implement the law. This year the DENR intends to file cases against officials of 100 more LGUs.
Serious environmental, health issue
Often, uncollected garbage end up clogging canals and esteros, and find their way into rivers and lakes, causing environmental degradation. In Metro Manila alone, the clogging of canals, creeks and rivers causes massive flooding. Continued on A2
A local resident inspects a mountain pile of trash at the Irisan dump in Baguio City, which eroded and claimed six lives and destroyed and damaged 20 houses in September 2011. Floodwaters brought by Typhoon Mina caused the retaining wall of the dump to collapse. Richard Balonglong | Dreamstime
Sustaining the gains to remain out of the ustr 301 special watch list
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ntellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Josephine R. Santiago reported that the office has sustained efforts to ensure strengthening of the intellectual-property regime in the country, as it remains out of the 2017 Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights (Special 301 Report) of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for the fourth consecutive year. Named after Article 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, the annual USTR Special 301 watch list takes into account global developments on trade and intellectual property (IP). It identifies US trading partners that may be considered potential hubs for IP violations,
particularly those relating to protection, enforcement, or market access for US innovators and creators. According to Santiago, “being excluded from the watch list for the fourth year in a row is a remarkable achievement for the Philippines. This is proof that our
PESO exchange rates n US 51.1660
NCIPR Seizures of Counterfeit Goods, 2006-2017 P13,328,159,112.16
12 Billion
10 Billion P8,384,994,228.00
8 Billion
P7,839,004,211.00 P6,519,376,647.00
6 Billion
P5,680,527,736.00 P5,295,596,875.50
4 Billion
P5,266,234,068.00
P3,519,739,148.03 P2,993,353,617.60 P2,003,712,006.55
2 Billion
P1,441,782,729.00
P1,353,225,596.96
Inspection Search warrant WSD *2017 (January to June)
2006 926 788 26
2007 2,503 486 33
2008 1,838 562 41
2009 1,134 563 18
2010 1,054 618 8
2011 1,868 1,748 8
2012 2,502 1,127 -
2013 2,471 843 10
2014 2,192 597 31
2015 1,507 356 -
2016 2,580 508 1
2017 1,283 248 -
dedication and efforts in the promotion and protection of IP rights has contributed to an improved intellectual-property regime that benefits our IP stakeholders.” As part of its continued enforcement efforts, the IPOPHL takes the lead in coordinating the activities of the members of the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR). The member-agencies of the NCIPR include the departments of Trade and Industry, Justice, and of the Interior and Local Government, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Customs, the Philippine National Police, the Optical Media Board, the National Telecommunications Commission, the National Book Development Board, the Food and Drugs Administration, and the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime. Santiago said the activities of the NCIPR have resulted in the seizure, detention and destruction of P62 trillion worth of counterfeit and pirated goods and equipment See “USTR,” A2
n japan 0.4642 n UK 66.1423 n HK 6.5388 n CHINA 7.7564 n singapore 37.6691 n australia 40.4416 n EU 60.8108 n SAUDI arabia 13.6443
Source: BSP (31 August 2017 )
A2 Saturday, September 2, 2017
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Era of open dumps closes Continued from a1
According to the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), around 20 percent to 30 percent of the garbage produced every day in Metro Manila end up in vacant lots, or worse, rivers leading to Manila Bay or Laguna de Bay, or some other water body.
A good law
“RA 9003 is a very, very good law. If we can only compel the LGUs to comply with the provisions of the law, there will be no problem. But with the lack of capacity and financial resources, they cannot really comply,” DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas R. Leones said. The law mandates the closure of open dumps, or their conversion into an engineered sanitary landfill, the only disposal facility allowed under RA 9003. It promotes ecological solid-waste management through volume reduction by way of waste segregation, composting and recycling.
LGU failure
However, most LGUs are apparently failures when it comes to implementing the law. While households fail to observe proper waste segregation, LGUs, Leones said, aggravate the problem by collecting and dumping unsegregated garbage in open dumps. “The only way we can compel the LGUs to implement RA 9003 is to close the open dumps. If we will prohibit the operation of open dumps, if we are to close open dumps by law, they [LGUs] will be forced to undertake waste segregation and recycling,” he said. According to Leones, if LGUs have no financial resources to dispose of their garbage elsewhere, they will have no choice but to establish an engineered landfill, or the people will blame them for failing to address the garbage problem.
While there are many junk shops, Ildefonso added investors also have to start recycling facilities to encourage waste segregation.
Waste to energy
Leones said LGUs will be made to find a way to establish their own sanitary landfill, and eventually, consider waste-to-energy (WtE) solutions. According to Leones, WtE remains as the only viable solution to the garbage problem with the failure of LGUs in implementing RA 9003. Leones, a former director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), is an advocate of WtE conversion, noting that more than 20 years of implementing RA 9003 failed to address the garbage problem. “We are producing more garbage than we can dispose of properly. That is the problem. Say we start to effectively implement RA 9003 now, what about the millions of garbage that are already there in the open dumps? We cannot start segregating them now,” he said. The Philippines produces 40,000 tons of garbage every day, with Metro Manila’s over 12 million population producing about 9,000 tons a day.
Win-win solution
“I do not want to quarrel with advocates of RA 9003. But WtE is a win-win solution to the garbage problem,” Leones said. According to Leones, no less than the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark case that not all waste incineration is bad and causes air pollution. He added that, over the years, the DENR has been enhancing its capacity to detect dioxins/furans so it can properly measure air pollution in preparation for the implementation of WtE projects. “We now have the capacity to measure dioxins and furans. We have a laboratory for that,” Leones said. Last week Leones toured environmental advocates and those who oppose WtE to the EMB’s improved laboratory, which will allow
More landfills needed
scavengers rummage for recyclable items at a dump in Cavite on February 12, 2010. Antonio Oquias | Dreamstime
the DENR to measure the air pollution, including dioxins and furans. “Well, they may not be happy, but they have no question or protest neither,” he said.
No-burn WtE technology
Besides, he argued that not all WtE uses incineration. The NSWMC has recently approved the guideline that would allow the use of energy from waste technologies with certain standard and compliance with existing laws. Some WtE technologies do not necessarily involve incineration, such as gasification, pyrolysis, bioreactor, biomethanation, hydrolysis, pyrolytic gasification, plasma and other thermal processes. According to Leones, even developed countries have chosen to go for WtE a long time ago in managing their waste and generating electricity at the same time. Eli Ildefonso, executive director of the NSWMC secretariat, said WtE is just one of the solutions to the country’s garbage problems. He added that, with the directive of Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu to close down all remaining open dumps in the next five years, LGUs will have to make garbage part of their development agenda, mainly through annual appropriations or budget allocation.
Poor implementation
According to Ildefonso, while 90 percent of all LGUs, which include provinces, cities and municipalities, have their 10-year ecological solid waste-management plans, many LGUs remain reluctant when it comes to closing open dumps, and implementing proper waste segregation, recycling and composting. “Only around 30 percent of all LGUs have fully implemented waste segregation based on our records,” he said. According to Ildefonso, this is mainly because LGUs do not have the political will to enforce waste segregation, lack the technical and financial capacity, or worse, are not at all interested in making the law work.
Lack of recycling facilities
The reason for the failure to encourage waste segregation and recycling, he added, is the fact that there are not enough recycling facilities in the Philippines, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao. “We do not have enough recycling facilities. In Metro Manila we have the plastic city in Valenzuela City, where plastic is being recycled. But we do not have this in the Visayas and Mindanao. We need recycling plants for bottles and papers, too,” he added.
Besides, Ildefonso said, with the closure of all open dumps, there is a need to put up more engineered sanitary landfill. Asked if the country has enough sanitary landfills as alternative disposal facility, he said: “That is the problem. We do not have enough sanitary landfills.” At present there are still over 400 open dumps in various parts of the country, while there are only 120 engineered sanitary landfills. According to Ildefonso, more than half of all LGUs have no engineered sanitary landfill of their own. This means they are either operating open dumps or are paying huge amounts of money for the disposal of their garbage elsewhere. It costs around P7 million to P10 million per hectare to establish an engineered sanitary landfill. It would also require hiring of technical experts to run the facility.
Shrinking space
Finding a location, even for engineered sanitary landfills, he said, is a big challenge, noting that people in the communities are sure to strongly oppose such project. “People think that it is nothing more like an open dump. But an engineered sanitary landfill is not an open dump,” he said. In highly urbanized areas like Metro Manila, Leones said, there is no more space to put up an engineered sanitary landfill. This, he added, poses a big problem, considering that Metro Manila is one of the biggest producer of garbage. “That is why we want to close the open dumps so the LGUs will be forced to implement ecological solid-waste management…or go for WtE,” he said.
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USTR… Continued from a1
from 2006 to 2017. IPOPHL statistics show that the biggest year of IP enforcement was 2014, when the IPOPHL and its partners seized P13.28 billion worth of pirated goods and equipment. Partial data for 2017, covering January to July 2017, show an estimated seizure of P1.441 billion worth of counterfeit and pirated products. The Philippines is also the country champion on enforcement in the Asean region as part of its membership in the Asean Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation. As country lead, the Philippines drafted the Asean IP Enforcement Action Plan, which was adopted recently. The Philippines has also been designated chairman of the Asean Network of IP Enforcement Experts for a period of two years from September 2017.
Improved IP-awareness efforts
Santiago said “the success of IP enforcement begins with the public becoming aware of the importance of respecting IP rights. This can be done by making IP understood and appreciated by more sectors of society.” The IPOPHL stepped up its high-level coordination efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy by creating stronger organizational ties with NCPIR member-agencies and the Judiciary, through the Philippine Judicial Academy. Various capacity-building seminars for law-enforcement agencies were conducted to improve the skills of officers tasked with IP enforcement functions. In addition, selected women employees of the NCIPR comprised the first batch of the Women in IP, an activity that focused on training female members of NCIPR agencies to help them become better advocates of IP. The IPOPHL also reached out to government employees and the general public through advocacy efforts, such as Youth in Intellectual Property Advocates and Families United for Intellectual Property for high-school students and their families. The IPOPHL also hosted focus group discussions with large online commerce players, such as the Association of American Publishers, lazada.com, zalora.com, olx. com and superdeals.com to engage these players in dialogues about the rights of IP owners and the public in the e-commerce arena.
IPR Month and National IP Strategy
To recognize the importance of intellectual property to the country’s development and the need for better awareness, President Duterte declared April of every year as Intellectual Property Rights Month through Executive Order 4 of 2016. The monthlong celebration, which is an upgrade from the former intellectual property rights week held in October for more than two decades, is expected to encourage multistakeholder participation. Finally, the IPOPHL is drafting a National IP Strategy (NIPS) that follows a whole-of-society approach and includes the participation of the government and other stakeholders. Its ultimate goal is to strengthen the Philippine IP system by promoting a creative, competitive, and innovative Philippines and the inclusion of IP in the innovation and other related road maps of government agencies. The crafting of the NIPS is set to be completed in the IPR Month of 2018. Keeping in mind the IPOPHL’s role in balancing the private rights of creators of intellectual property and that of the public, the IPOPHL will continue to develop a creative, innovative and competitive Philippines that appreciates and respects intellectual-property rights.
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A3
Military coup de grâce
Fighting still rages in Marawi 100+ days later
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By Rene Acosta
he Marawi City siege precipitated by the military’s “intelligence failure” has breached its 100th day. Yet, the fighting has shown only a few indications of abating. Worse, it appears it wouldn’t cease in the succeeding days, or even weeks, not even maybe under the present martial rule in Mindanao.
Except for the oft-repeated words from military officials that they could end the fighting—the longest in the modern history of the Armed Forces—not a single of them could give a timetable as to when the operations will finally end. Not even Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, who has imposed three “false” deadlines in the past for the soldiers to finish off the rebellion of the MauteIS Group, could not say whether an end is already in sight for the terrorists.
Effects of fighting
R at her t ha n t a l k ing about the campaign to drive away the terrorists from the city during the 100th day of the operations on Wednesday, Lorenzana elaborated on the destruction brought about by t he f ighting, which Islamic leaders have mainly attributed to the bombings by the militar y. “ Today is the 100th day of the terrorist-inspired rebellion in Marawi City. In such a short time, v iolent extremism and ter ror i sm c l a i med cou nt less number of lives, damaged properties, and shattered a thriving city with rich customs and traditions,” Lorezana said. “The fighting spared no one— Muslims and Christians alike, combatants and noncombatants,
young and old. It has displaced hundreds of thousands of residents,” he added. Various groups, including Islamic scholars, have been prodding the government to stop the continued bombings, although they were fully supportive behind the government’s effort to end the rebellion and the neutralization of the members of the Maute-IS Group. Lorenzana said that, amid the fighting, the government has begun rehabilitating the city from the destruction of the war. “As our troops continue to mount their offensives against cornered leaders and members of the Maute-Daesh group, we are pleased that the Task Force Bangon Marawi has made headways in the rehabilitation and recovery programs we have planned for our affected residents,” he said. “Most important, we are working with the internally displaced persons [IDPs] themselves, our Maranao brothers and sisters, who are as eager as we are to start a new life, and chart a better future for their beloved city,” Lorenzana added. On Wednesday Joint Task Force Marawi Spokesman Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay said at least 617 terrorists, 133 soldiers and 45 civilians have been killed in the fighting. The military has also recovered at least 667 firearms and has rescued 1,728 civilians.
Asean should unite against extremism, terrorism–expert
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aving a harmonious relationship among the so-called BIMP-Eaga—or the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area—partners is important to promote peace and cooperation, and achieve long-term development in the Asean region, according to Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy President Amina Rasul-Bernardo. Bernardo said this in a public symposium on Building Asean Sociocultural Community and Nation-Building organized recently by the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Mindanao Development Authority and the Asean Society in Davao City.
Wars, extremism, terrorism
At present, Asean member-states face different kinds of conflict, ranging from territorial to armed conflicts, with marginalized communities as the most affected. “They [marginalized] are the poorest and they’re the least served communities. Given that kind of situation, the growth of ISIS and the growth of extremist networks, peace in our communities—not just in BIMPEaga but in the entire Asean—is now at risk,” Bernardo said. Relating this to the situation in Mindanao, she pointed out that in its initial years, there was a “high level of investor confidence” in the area because the “peace process had succeeded”. However, with the recent turn of events, the subregion has become a “neighborhood that is now the playground of extremist and terrorist groups”, Bernardo explained, adding that it cannot “go on with current investment priorities, disregarding completely that Mindanao, and some parts of Indonesia and Malaysia [have] now become the arena for ISIS-related activities”. “Generally, businesses don’t seem to think that extremism affects them when, in fact, it does. If your communication towers blow up, then yes, you’re affected. If you can no longer use trucks to send your grain to market, yes, you are affected,” she explained.
Stronger Asean community
Bernardo urged Asean to consider peace as a primordial concern when discussing about economic development, because “if we have peace, then we have investments, we have business growth,” she said. She also called on the Asean to put more effort in strengthening the sociocultural ties of Asean member-states to be able to move ahead with their economic, political and security plans. Meanwhile, she advised those in the religious sector to “come together because in many of these areas, religion is used as a flag”, adding that while “it may not be the cause of conflict, it is certainly a very attractive flag to rally troops”.
Indigenous peoples, including Muslims from the besiege city of Marawi, converge near the Presidential Palace during a protest against the continued siege by Muslim militants of the city and the martial law imposed by President Duterte in the whole Southern Mindanao region, which has now surpassed 100 days on August 31 in Manila, Philippines. Hundreds of indigenous people from all over the country arrived in Manila Thursday after traveling for nine days to also protest alleged militarization in their ancestral communities. AP/Bullit Marquez
Deadline for operations
Even Armed Forces Chief of St a f f G e n . E du a rdo M . A ño could not give a deadline to the operations, although the soldiers and the terrorists were already confined in the less than 500-square-meter battle zone. He also said the military is already prepar ing for the final battle with members of the Maute-IS Group. “It’s just a matter of time for this thing to end. What we want really is to minimize still the loss of lives and destructions, we want
this to end without additional casualties, especially from the civilians,” Año said. “Their [terrorists] area is getting smaller and the enemy is also consolidating. Before, they were spread out, but now they are consolidating. So, we expect that there will be fresh fighting when we reach the final phase…,” he added. The chief of staff said he was expecting that the terrorists will fight it out to the last man as they have earlier announced. “That’s because the enemy has said that they will fight it out up
Their [terrorists] area is getting smaller and the enemy is also consolidating. Before, they were spread out, but now they are consolidating. So, we expect that there will be fresh fighting when we reach the final phase.”—Año
PAL’s planned Naia Terminal 2 expansion plan could face delay
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By Recto Mercene
he Manila International A irport Authority (Miaa) on Friday said it welcomes Philippine A irlines’s (PAL) proposal to expand the Ninoy Aquino International A irport (Naia) Terminal 2 to increase its passenger capacity by extending the facility to a nearby lot that was once the Nayong Pilipino. “Any offer of partnership to improve Terminal 2 is a welcome move,” Miaa General Manager Ed Monreal said. “We are happy that Philippine Airlines’s offer is aligned to the government’s own plan to improve the terminal. While this option can be explored, progress of any discussion in this regard is remote at this time because the area being considered is subject of a longstanding legal case.” Monreal said the property—formerly occupied by Nayong Pilipino and the now-defunct Philippine Village Hotel— is owned by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). The Naia Terminal 2, which PAL has been using exclusively since 1999, has far exceeded its maximum capacity of 9 million passengers a year, as it was originally built as a domestic airport during the Ramos administration. Since the property does not belong to the Miaa, which acts only as its administrator, Monreal said the only way it could help is to endorse PAL’s proposal to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) to
find out the viability of the proposal. “We assure Philippine Airlines that we are always open to initiatives that will redound to the best interest of Terminal 2 users,” Monreal said. PA L President Jaime Bautista on Wednesday presented the proposa l dur ing a membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines, where he said the new termina l wou ld be desig ned to hand le 12 mil lion to 15 mil lion passengers a year, and wou ld have aero br idges capable of ser v ing 12 to 17 w idebodied and single-aisle jets. Bautista stressed that it needs the government’s full support, especially in securing crucial land leases from agencies like the Miaa and Pagcor. The proposed 89,000-square-meter annex building will rise on a 16-hectare area adjacent to Naia 2. Aside from the passenger terminal, the complex will include multilevel parking for 1,000 vehicles, a new cargo terminal and ground service facilities. PAL is keen on the annex building project to consolidate its operations and provide adequate room for its growing fleet of jets and international and domestic passengers. From its current fleet of 87 widebodied and single-aisle jets, PAL expects its aircraft count to reach 96 by 2021. The proposed air terminal would help decongest the airport and provide passengers much-deserved space, amenities and modern conveniences, PAL said.
to their last breath, so with that declaration, we expect that they will do a do or die,” Año said. But while the top military chief looks forward to the final battle, military officials on the ground admits that they still have to clear at least 500 houses and buildings from homemade bombs, thus, the end of the fighting may not come sooner as they expect. The bombs and even ordnance have not only slowed down the military operations, but are even contributing to the high number of wounded soldiers. The homemade bombs exposed another vulnerability of the military, as evidenced by the statement of Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command commander Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez that they need foreign assistance in dealing and in dismantling the said ordnance. The country’s laws do not allow foreign governments to be directly involved in actual military operations. On Monday alone, soldiers have recovered at least 32 homemade bombs and unexploded ordnance, according to Petinglay.
Last week they have also recaptured from the terrorists the city’s Islamic Center, a Roman Catholic Church and key government installations. Meanwhile, prosecutors have dismissed rebellion complaints against 59 men who were stopped by police and Army troops at two checkpoints in the south and accused of attempting to join Islamic State-linked militants who laid siege to a southern city. Senior government prosecutor Peter Ong said on Thursday the complaints filed by the military against the Muslim men were dismissed because of a lack of strong evidence, and authorities were ordered to free all the men. “It is clear that respondents were not committing the crime of rebellion or any crime at the time of their arrests,” Ong and two other prosecutors said in their findings, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press. The men, who traveled in two big groups, may have sparked the suspicion of troops and the police at checkpoints because of the Marawi siege, “but suspicion alone is not sufficient to arrest, detain, charge and indict respondents,” the prosecutors said. Military Spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the military respects the prosecutors’ decision, but that security officials still believe the men could “perhaps be eventually deployed to Marawi.” The ruling shows that the rule of law continues to work under martial law that was declared in the south by President Duterte to deal with the Marawi crisis, Padilla said, adding that the men were treated well and would be f lown back to the south on an Air Force plane. The 59 were taken into custody in southern Zamboanga city and Ipil town on July 25, amid intelligence reports that Muslim militants would attempt to reinforce the gunmen who attacked Marawi and were being bombarded by military air strikes and ground assaults. With AP
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Most accurate economist sees more pain from Modi’s cash ban
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Alain Cisneros, a community organizer for the Immigrant Families and Students in the Struggle, an advocacy group known by its Spanish acronym FIEL, speaks with Ricxy Sanchez (left) a Honduran woman who came to the US illegally a year ago, and Wendy Zamora, a neighbor who came from Honduras illegally three years ago, as he counsels Harvey evacuees who are in the country illegally at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. AP/Elliot Spagat
Immigrants battle deportation fears in Harvey’s aftermath
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ouston, Texas—Alain Cisneros walked past thousands of cots filled with storm victims at the Houston convention center holding up a poster with the words, “Do you have questions?” written in Spanish in bold black letters.
He pulled up a chair next to a woman from Honduras and tried to deliver a reassuring message as the 23-year-old recounted in an exhausted voice how waters rose to her chest in her Houston apartment, forcing her to wade to safety with her three young children. Ricxy Sanchez listened to Cisneros’s assurances that, although she is in the country illegally, she shouldn’t worry about being deported if she asks for help and that she should consider applying for disaster relief. With almost everything she owns destroyed in the storm, she’s thinking about moving back to violence-ravaged Honduras. “ St ay here to su f fer w it h our children? ” Sanchez asked, sha k ing her head. The encounter illustrates the complexity of responding to a disaster on the magnitude of Harvey in a city where an estimated 600,000 residents are in the country illegally and immigrants have been on edge, amid stepped-up immigration enforcement under the new White House. Authorities have gone out of their way to tell jittery immigrants that they will not be arrested for seeking help, and outreach workers like Cisneros have been delivering that message in person at shelters like the George R. Brown Convention Center and on social media and Spanish-language media outlets. The Har vey victims Cisneros met at the shelter shared the same concerns as almost everyone
600K
The estimated number of illegal immigrants in Houston
else: When can they return home? When can they start earning money again? How will they replace their belongings? The ones in the country illegally had deeper fears of deportation, amid the chaos of having their homes wiped out. “We basically lost everything,” Sanchez said, drinking from a Styrofoam cup half-filled with black coffee. “Everything.” Sanchez, who arrived a year ago from Honduras, told Cisneros she has been raising her three young children—ages 5, 2 and 1—alone on wages cleaning houses since being abandoned by their physically abusive father two months ago. She recently skipped a date in immigration court, but Cisneros suggested seeking legal status under protections for victims of domestic violence. Then the 38-year-old Cisneros, himself an immigrant from Mexico who has lived in Houston since coming to the United States 20 years ago, said good-bye to her with a favorite line. “Don’t stay here with your arms crossed,” he said. Houston is one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the
country: Only Los Angeles and New York have a larger population of immigrants in the country illegally. The percentage of Latinos and Asians in the Houston area nearly doubled in 20 years, according to a 2015 report by the Migration Policy Institute, which also found the percentage of immigrants who are USc itizens to be well below the national average. The city has the third-largest population of Mexicans, Vietnamese and Hondurans, with large pockets of Pakistanis, Nigerians, Filipinos and Indians. A sharp increase in immigration arrests under President Donald J. Trump and Texas’s tough law against cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities—which was largely put on hold on Wednesday by a federal judge—created an uneasy climate before Harvey struck. The Houston office of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made about 10,000 arrests this year, second-highest in the country after Dallas. Immigration advocates applauded Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s comments on Monday that he would represent anyone arrested on immigration violations after seeking help. “It was a big deal,” said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of Immigrant Families and Students in the Struggle, an advocacy group known by its Spanish acronym FIEL. “People hear from us and say, ‘Well, you guys are going to tell us that to keep us calm.’ When they hear it from an official, they say, ‘OK, now we believe it.’” Some were unnerved, at least initially, when the Border Patrol brought boats from stations on the Rio Grande to help in the Houston rescue effort. An Associated Press photographer who joined three uniformed Border Patrol agents and two Houston police officers on a flatbottom boat on Wednesday got no takers as they navigated receding waters and passed a commercial area that had store signs
in Spanish. People there politely waved off the agents. John Morris, the Border Patrol’s chief of staff in South Texas, said the agency had 35 boats in the city’s flooded neighborhoods on Thursday and had rescued about 450 people since Monday. “The agents and the assets that are here in Houston as part of the recovery effort are absolutely 100 percent only here for rescue and safety,” Morris said. “There is no enforcement activity being undertaken while we’re doing this safety mission.” Immig rat ion a nd Customs Enforcement, which has dispatched about 200 employees for search and rescue, also said it was “not conducting immigration enforcement operations in the affected area.” Groups like FIEL have made it their mission to help immigrants who are fearful of immigration authorities. Its staff has been working around the clock since last week in its office on the second floor of a two-story building in immigrant-heavy southwest Houston, and has dispatched outreach workers like Cisneros, who has also counseled immigrants following Hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Ike in 2008. After driving on a near-empty freeway to the convention center, Cisneros found 35-year-old Adabella Fonseca resting on a cot with her 10-month-old daughter while her husband was out inspecting damage to their trailer home. She fled on Saturday when the water reached her chest; her husband stayed until it was neck-deep. Fonseca, whose parents brought her to the US from Mexico when she was a year old, said she had wanted to avoid the convention center because she feared immigration authorities. Now she was scared to leave. Cisneros clasped her hand, told her not to be afraid, and promised support. Before leaving, he asked how she felt. “Better,” she said, managing a faint smile. AP
he only economist who accurately predicted India’s growth slump sees a bit more pain ahead. India’s GDP will recover only slightly to 5.9 percent in July to September, from the previous quarter’s 5.7 percent, which was the slowest pace since 2014, predicts Hugo Erken, a senior economist at Rabobank International. Government data on Thursday showed consumption continued to fall under the impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clampdown on cash and investment stayed sluggish. “The effects of the cash ban were likely to be felt for a few quarters,” Erken said by phone from the Netherlands. “The high level of nonperforming assets are contributing to subdued private investments.” The data will probably bruise Modi’s administration, which is battling growing perceptions of the futility of its policy after a central bank report on Wednesday showed that demonetization didn’t meet its targets. With private surveys indicating worsening business conditions following the July 1 rollout of a nationwide sales tax, the monetary authority may be pressured to keep interest rates lower for longer even as inflation accelerates. Governor Urjit Patel cut the benchmark repurchase rate this month to 6 percent, from 6.25 percent, to help meet an “urgent need” to boost investment. Minutes of the meeting show he’s now counting on commercial banks to lower borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve’s tightening limits room for policy easing. India’s inflation is also rebounding from a record low in June, further closing the window. Modi’s ability to stimulate the economy is limited because figures from the national auditor on Thursday showed the budget deficit touched 92 percent of the full-year target in the first four months of the year started on April 1, compared with 74 percent for the same period last year. The outlook for consumption, long considered the main driver of the economy, is also bleak as a survey from Mastercard Inc. published this month shows that Indian consumers are no longer Asia’s most optimistic. Meanwhile, loan growth languishes near a two-decade low as companies staggering under bad debt, with factories operating at less than 75 percent of capacity, await evidence of a pickup in demand before they buy machinery or hire more workers.
‘Double whammy’
Thursday’s data come on the heels of a
central bank report on late Wednesday, which showed that Indians deposited nearly all the currency bills voided by Modi, dealing a blow to his drive to unearth unaccounted wealth. Modi’s government is “picking the pockets of consumers” to strengthen its coffers, said Salman Anees Soz, a spokesman of the opposition Congress party and former World Bank official. The “GDP print, along with yesterday’s underwhelming revelations about the impact of demonetization in wiping out black money, is a double whammy for the Modi government,” said Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow for South Asia at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “This government’s calling card was responsible economic stewardship, but its performance on this front is raising serious doubts.” Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist at Crisil Ltd., the local unit of S&P Global Ratings, is downgrading his growth forecasts for India from 7 percent for the year through March 2018. However, the trajectory will be upward, he said. Gross value added, a key input of GDP that the central bank closely tracks, came in at 5.6 percent in April to June compared with the 6.2 percent estimate. Export growth slowed to 1.2 percent from more than 10 percent the previous quarter.
GST impact
The disappointing numbers are because companies and retailers were paring inventories of goods to prepare for a change in prices under the new goods and services tax and GVA may revive in July to September, said TCA Anant, India’s top statistician. “So this is something which we may want to keep in mind,” he told reporters at a briefing in New Delhi soon after the data was published. The Reserve Bank of India forecasts GVA will grow 7.3 percent this fiscal year. It doesn’t provide a GDP projection. Erken, who plays in an indie/rock/ pop band called Overdwars when he isn’t making economic predictions, sees GDP growing 6.9 percent in the current fiscal year. He began covering India for Rabobank at the start of 2017 after stints with the Dutch government. “The reforms will weigh on India in the short term, but in the medium term, growth should rebound,” Erken said. Bloomberg News
France unveils contentious labor overhaul in big test for Macron
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fter 30 years of fraught attempts to make France’s labor market more flexible, the government announced sweeping changes on Thursday with the potential to radically shift the balance of power from workers to employers. The step was the first of several that President Emmanuel Macron and his government are planning to take to galvanize the French economy. It was cheered in European capitals, where an invigorated France is considered critical to the survival of a European Union that is finally showing signs of revival after a lost decade. The changes to France’s labor law, the Code du Travail, have proved contentious for Macron, who toppled the old political order with his election just three months ago. His popularity has already slumped, in par t because of the uncer taint y surrounding his labor overhaul. Economists in France and across Europe expressed optimism about the new law, however, suggesting that Macron had seized the moment just after his election, when the country might be more receptive to what was being characterized as a revolutionary change. France has stagnated for years under chronically elevated unemployment and slow growth. Its strong worker protections and expensive benefits have been blamed by some for being at least partly at the root of the problem. But some analysts fear that the government is going too far, giving employers too much of an upper hand and greatly eroding the power of unions, prompting at least one of them to promise a nationwide strike. Macron’s changes make it easier to hire and fire workers and allow some workplace issues to be negotiated at the
company level, rather than with national unions, in hopes of stimulating both growth and job creation. The government focused especially on smaller businesses with fewer than 50 employees—the majority of French businesses—which have complained bitterly about excessive red tape and regulations. “This reform brings a radical change, a big bang in the functioning of the Fre n c h l a b o r m a r ke t,” s a i d G i l b e r t Cette, an economist at the University of Aix-Marseille. “This is a new approach that turns the market upside down completely,” he said, referring to the decentralization of labor negotiations, especially for smaller companies. The step by France was also important to Europe, where far-right and populist forces have fed on economic stagnation, as well as on the disruption caused by globalization. The new law by Macron tries to answer both those challenges, belatedly, on France’s own terms. It had put off fundamental changes to revitalize its economy far longer than its EU partners. Germany crossed that Rubicon in the 1990s under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. More recently, painful changes were forced on a host of other nations by the euro and debt crisis. “There’s no long-term sustainability for the euro zone if France is not managing to reform structurally, like, for example, what Spain did, what Portugal did a bit, what Ireland did,” said Karel Lannoo, chief executive of the Center for European Policy Studies, a research organization in Brussels. “If one of the core partners doesn’t reform or just piggybacks off Germany, then one day or another, the currency collapses,” Lannoo warned. The New York Times News Service
Sports BusinessMirror
Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph
Saturday, September 2, 2017
A5
ATENEO, ARELLANO U KICK OFF PVL COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE
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EBUILDING Ateneo de Manila and reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion Arellano University stake their mettle at the start of Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Collegiate Conference when they take on separate foes today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. The Lady Chiefs take on NCAA rival College of Saint Benilde Blazers at 4 p.m. in Group B. The Lady Eagles, runner-up for the past two years in the league organized by Sports Vision, take the floor at 6:30 p.m. against the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Lady Bombers in a Group A clash. The men’s division will also kick off with matches pitting De La Salle University against College of Saint Benilde at 10 a.m. and University of Santo Tomas against University of the Philippines at 1 p.m. Two years after the departure of threetime University Athletic Association of the Philippines Most Valuable Player Alyssa Valdez, the Lady Eagles remained on rebuild mode. Ateneo lost three key players—ace setter Jia Morado, who opted to forgo her final playing year, as well as spiker Michelle Morente on academic issues and libero Gizelle Tan to graduation. The Lady Eagles’ head coach, Tai Bundit, would be relying on mainstays Bea de Leon, Jho Maraguinot, Kat Tolentino Maddie Madayag, Ana Gopico and Kim Gequillana. The Lady Eagles will also lean on new setter Dani Ravena, daughter of former volleyball star Mozzy Ravena and ex-pro cager Bong Ravena. Dani is the third Ravena to play for Ateneo after her brothers Kiefer and Thirdy in basketball. Arellano University Coach Obet Javier retained the core of his Season 92 champion team that includes skipper Jovielyn Prado, Regine Arocha, Andrea Marzan, Mary Ann Esguerra and setter Rhea Ramirez. The Lady Blazers, on the other hand, are playing for the first time without star middle blocker Jeanette Panaga. Head Coach Macky Cariño will now rely on his holdovers Ranya Musa, Rachel Austero, Melanie Torres, Ariane Daguil and setter Pauline Cardiente.
PLAYING in the main draw at the US Open, Allie Kiick wants badly to show she belongs, that she could summon her best tennis just like she would have before she was sidelined for so long. AP
WHAT bothers No. 4-seeded Alexander Zverev so much is not merely that he didn’t play well but that there is a real opportunity for him to have a true Grand Slam breakthrough. AP
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Victorious ice hockey squad warmly welcomed on SM ice
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By Brian Mahoney The Associated Press
EW YORK—After the battle with cancer and the four knee surgeries, Allie Kiick finally came up against something she couldn’t overcome. Nerves. Playing in the main draw at the US Open and facing a ranked opponent on the Grandstand, Kiick—the 22-year-old daughter of former National Football League star Jim Kiick—wanted badly to show she belonged, that she could summon her best tennis just like she would have before she was sidelined for so long. But it didn’t happen, and Kiick lost 6-2, 6-1 to No. 25 seed Daria Gavrilova of Australia on Wednesday in the first round. “I’m super competitive, so no matter who you put me up against, I want to win and I expect to win,” Kiick said. “Doesn’t matter that I’ve only been back four months, I played against the 25th seed or I don’t even know what she was seeded, but I expected to win, so it hurts.” She’s dealt with far worse pain. There’s been two surgeries on each knee, with the two major ones both coming in 2016. Kiick was recovering from one of her knee injuries in 2015, when she announced that she had a rare form of the skin-cancer melanoma, and she ended up missing more than two years of action. Her ranking has fallen to 643, but she qualified for the tournament by beating close friend Victoria Duval—who has also overcome cancer. Though she had made just $3,854 in prize money this season, Kiick celebrated in New York by buying a pair of expensive red shoes at Valentino—she decided to treat herself once she was given a wild card into doubles—that she wore to see “Book of Mormon” on Broadway. The one thing she hadn’t done since qualifying
Lance Agcaoili
HE gold medal-winning ice hockey team in the just concluded 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur vowed to raise its performance to a higher level as it tries to fan the momentum the team earned from the Malaysia competition. “It was an amazing journey for everyone,” team captain Steven Fuglister said. “I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone for giving us the chance because ice hockey is not yet a popular sport in the country—so it paid off we got the gold.” The team, along with Olympian Michael Martinez who clinched a silver medal in Kuala Lumpur, and Jules Alpe were given a warm welcome on Thursday at the Skating Rink of SM Megamall. The Philippines edged Thailand, 5-4, to win the first ice hockey gold medal of the SEA Games. Fuglister missed the final to serve a suspension. “We want to defend our gold medal in two years,” said Fuglister, who will lead the team anew in the Asia
KIICK OVERCOMES CANCER, BUT NOT U.S. OPEN NERVES
Challenge Cup Manila is hosting next year. Martinez, on the other hand, said he would continue to improve his craft. “We did our best and we all know that we are called champions with all the sacrifices we’ve made just to be able to compete,” said Martinez, who will vie in the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers in Germany this month. Alyson Kirstie Perticheto also clinched a medal in figure skating, a bronze in the women’s contest. Lance Agcaoili
was call to tell her father, a running back for the Miami Dolphins in the 1970s. Jim Kiick was diagnosed with dementia/early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and has been placed in an assisted living facility in South Florida. Allie says it’s difficult to talk to him over the phone, though said she would probably call him Wednesday night. She probably wouldn’t want to share details of the match, anyway. Kiick was already playing a rising opponent who last week won the Connecticut Open, and then battled her own nerves. She committed 27 unforced errors and had five double faults while hitting just 10 winners. “Playing like I did kind of made me even more nervous, because it wasn’t necessarily how I wanted to play and I was missing shots that I would’ve never missed before,” Kiick said. “So it was a little rough.” But just getting into the tournament was achievement enough for those who know how much Kiick had to overcome to do it. “I mean, to see young Allie Kiick come back from two-anda-half years out with four knee surgeries, you know, the unique stories,” US Fed Cup Coach Kathy Rinaldi, who has worked with Kiick at the USTA training facility in Lake Nona, Florida, said earlier Wednesday. Kiick will get a little more time in New York, scheduled to play doubles with fellow American Francesca Di Lorenzo. She’s aware more people have become aware of her story in the last week and hopes she can be an inspiration. “Most people see the fairy tale, my happy part, and all that stuff, but what they fail to see is the tears, the pain and the failures that I’ve encountered,” Kiick said. “So I like to make that known to people and know that it was not easy getting back here.” Meanwhile, it seems fair to conclude that No. 4-seeded Alexander Zverev found his 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) upset loss to Borna Coric in the second round rather, well, upsetting. “It’s upsetting. Today was upsetting,” Zverev said. “The way I played was upsetting. The tournament so far is upsetting for me.” The 20-year-old German is the highest-ranked man to exit Flushing Meadows so far and what bothered him so much was not merely that he didn’t play well but that there was a real opportunity for him to have a true Grand Slam breakthrough.
He was all too aware of that. Because of the injury withdrawals by past champions Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, Zverev was the highestseeded man on the bottom side of the US Open bracket. “It’s upsetting because the draw is pretty open in the bottom part. I felt like I should have been the favored there,” Zverev said. “You know, I just played a very, very bad match, so it’s unfortunate. But that’s how it is.” He is widely considered the Next Big Thing in the sport, by virtue of his success outside of the majors: He has won five titles in 2017, including a pair of Masters tournaments. That includes a victory over Roger Federer in the final of a hardcourt event at Montreal this month. “I know that I could have done some big things here. I know that I could have done something that I haven’t done before,” Zverev said. “But I won’t. It’s just as simple as that.” His Grand Slam record is not as impressive as what he’s shown at lesser tournaments. He has made it as far as the fourth round at one of the four most prestigious sites in tennis only once, losing at that stage at Wimbledon in July. Not that long ago, the 61st-ranked Coric was being spoken of in the same expectation-filled tones as Zverev. Coric is only about five months older, and he actually beat Zverev in two previous encounters—in the US Open junior event when they were 16, and at a professional tour event when they were 18. Zverev’s analysis of what went wrong this time: “I just played very, very bad in the second and third set. I should have won the third. I definitely should have won the fourth.” Toward the end of his news conference, Zverev—whose older brother, No. 23 Mischa, did make it to the third round in New York by eliminating Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (3), 7-5—was asked what he would need to happen for him to consider the rest of this season a success. That did not go so well. “I just lost (in) the second round of a major where I shouldn’t have lost,” he replied, “so I’m not thinking about the rest of the year.”
Pyeongchang warned of white elephant venues
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YEONGCHANG, South Korea—The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has warned organizers in Pyeongchang they risk creating white elephants from 2018 Winter Games venues. In a final full inspection visit before the February 9 opening ceremony, an IOC panel predicted a successful Olympics but says “definitive legacy use for several venues is still outstanding”. The IOC says it “has once again requested that final plans be presented as a priority”. An IOC statement after a three-day visit by its coordination panel did not mention political tensions fueled by North Korea’s missile testing program. On a weekend visit to China, North Korea’s closest ally, IOC President Thomas Bach said there was no immediate concern because the Pyeongchang Games were “appreciated by all the national Olympic committees and by the governments”. US Sailing says Olympian Bora Gulari of Detroit, meanwhile, lost parts of three fingers on his right hand when his catamaran capsized during training for the world championships. The governing body says Gulari’s fingers became
entangled in the rigging of his Nacra 17 when it capsized in strong winds on Wednesday. His crew, Helena Scutt of Kirkland, Washington, wasn’t injured. Earlier this month, Nacras that had been converted to foiling catamarans were recalled due to a problem with the daggerboards. It wasn’t clear if there was a problem with the daggerboards in Gulari’s capsize. Italian coach Gabriele Bruni came to the US crew’s rescue, with US Coach David Howlett arriving a few minutes later. Scutt, who also is a U.S. Olympian, sailed the boat back to shore with help from Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist Santiago Lange of Argentina. Gulari was recovering at a hospital after surgery and is expected to be back sailing in a month. AP INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach says there is no immediate concern because the Pyeongchang Games are “appreciated by all the national Olympic committees and by the governments”.
A6 Saturday, September 2, 2017 | Editor: Mike Besa
Pradera Verde
Sand and water are the primary defenses of the golf course at Pradera Verde.
Coming a
The clubhouse at Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club
The villas provide generous accommodations for guests.
Fantastic August By Josh Burack | Asian Tour CEO
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t was an exciting August for the Asian Tour and our members. Our biggest headline of the month was the Asian Tour was accepted by the R&A to become an affiliate member. The Asian Tour is the first tour outside Europe to become an R&A affiliated body. We join the European Tour and Ladies European Tour, which are existing R&A affiliates. The Asian Tour and R&A will work closely together to further develop the game across Asia. As part of our expanded cooperation with the body that officially governs the rules of golf, we will start to include a select number of top amateurs in our Asian Development Tour (ADT) events and the R&A will provide us with some support to bolster our rules officials. The Asian Tour will now also be represented at the R&A’s quadrennial International Golf Conference in Saint Andrews. This partnership with the R&A clearly shows that the Asian Tour and ADT are the top men’s professional golf Tours of the region for players to develop and continue their rise to become world beaters like Thongchai Jaidee, Anirban Lahiri, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Scott Hend. In an outstanding development for golf in Indonesia, we also announced that the Indonesian Masters will be the seasonending flagship event on the Asian Tour. The prestigious tournament boasts a prize purse of $750,000 and will be played at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club from December 14 to 17. As a flagship event, the winner of the Indonesian Masters will also receive 20 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, greatly enhancing its status as a world-class tournament.
As the final tournament of our 2017 season, we will crown our new Asian Tour Order of Merit champion at our glamorous Awards Night where our respective stats category winners, Players’ Player of the Year, Best Golf Course and Best Spectator Engagement tournament will be honored. The Indonesian Masters is also the third leg of the Panasonic Swing, which is an aggregate points race that spans five events— in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. Our Asian Tour players are accumulating points with the top 3 earning a share of a lucrative bonus pool. By the time you are reading this, the Asian Tour would have broken new ground by being part of the Fiji International. This is the first time the Tour will be a sanctioning partner alongside the Professional Golfers’ Association
Tour of Australasia and European Tour for this high-profile tournament that features a A$1,500,000 prize purse. The Fiji International will also kick-start the second half of our season where our members will play in at least 12 events with more than $12 million on offer. We also expect to potentially add a few more tournaments in the final quarter, which will increase this figure. I will provide more updates on our expanding tournament schedule in my next column. On the digital aspect of the Asian Tour, we also launched phase two of our highly successful #whereitsAT campaign through a series of monoloque video promos. The goal is to use our players to highlight the growing prominence of the Asian Tour in world golf. The success of phase one of the campaign was overwhelming and would not have been possible without the strong support of the print plus online media and, of course, all of our fans. We hope that you will continue to support the Asian Tour and our initiatives! All the best, Josh #whereitsAT
The clubhouse at Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club
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Story & photos by Mike Besa
his time of the year doesn’t usually present the best opportunities for golf travel. It is the wet season, after all. But with a lot of faith and a little bit of luck, sometimes things work out in the best way possible. Such was the case on this adventure back to Lubao, Pampanga, and the Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club. It had rained heavily the two days prior to our planned departure for Pradera Verde. Then things turned ugly as the weather disturbance intensified into Tropical Storm Jolina. It was too late to back out now. All the arrangements had been made. We determined to press on. If the weather turned sour, we could spend the long weekend learning how to wake board or lounging on one of the pools. It would be good. Good weather greeted us on Friday morning.
Cautious optimism. The weather held as we made our way to the North Luzon Expressway and even turned slightly sunny as we stopped for coffee. But as we got off in San Fernando things took a turn for the worse. By the time we got to Lubao, parts of the national highway were flooded and the rain was still coming down in sheets. Things weren’t any better when we got to the club. The rain was still coming down hard. The course was soaked but I figured that it would be a good test of the golf course’s construction. We checked into our villa and prepared to tee off the next morning. The first impression that you get driving into the club is one of expansiveness. The streets are wide and with proper sidewalks. The parking spaces allow you to open your door comfortably without fear of dinging the door of the car next to you. The clubhouse continues this theme; it’s generous with plenty of space for big events
and function rooms for smaller ones. Even the showers are huge by any club’s standards. The second impression is that of quality. Everything was done correctly. No shortcuts were taken here. The best thing is that they’re working to make all facets of the club better. Those efforts are paying dividends. We got up before dawn the next day. It was still raining but you could see breaks in the clouds. By the time we got to the club for breakfast, the clouds were still massing but the rain had abated. After a hearty Capampangan breakfast, we hit the golf course. It held up very well considering the amount of rainfall the course had to soak up. Yes, there were areas on the course that were soaked but nothing that you couldn’t play from. That’s nothing short of remarkable! The greens were a bit slow but that was understandable. All in all, the course held up much better than most. A tribute to the quality of the construction here at
QUE RELISHES LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE O
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Asian Tour and R&A officials at The Open.
entosa, Singapore, August 21: Angelo Que is easy to spot on the golf course. Not only is the Filipino known for his swashbuckling shotmaking skills, his bright, colorful and striking sense of fashion has made him a standout star on the Asian Tour. Nicknamed the Human Highlighter by his peers, the affable golfer, who is a three-
time Asian Tour winner, has been plying his trade with success since 2003. Throughout 15 seasons, Que has made many lasting memories both on and off the golf course on the region’s premier circuit. “The Asian Tour is family. This is where I started my career, where I made my name, where I made a lot of friends,” said Que during
the filming of the second phase of the Asian Tour’s digital #whereitsAT campaign. “Without the Tour, I would be a nobody, just another guy on the street trying to live their life.” In 2004 just days before Que won his firstever professional title at the Carlsberg Masters Vietnam, the Filipino was a lowly 122nd-ranked player on the Order of Merit, which prompted
www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, September 2, 2017 A7
e Golf and Country Club
along nicely
KZG INTRODUCES THE RSG WEDGES
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ALM DESERT, California—KZG, the No. 1 Custom ProLine, launches the RSG Wedges, the ideal short game tools. The RSG Wedges feature a classic profile with a standard grind. They are engineered with a slightly softened leading edge to preclude digging and a relieved trailing edge for shot versatility. Every RSG Wedge features a micro-milled face and laser-cut scorelines to assure increased spin rates from all lies and in all conditions. KZG uses a softer grade of stainless steel and heat treats the RSG clubheads to give a “Feel of Forged” without the cost of a forged clubhead. Each Wedge is beautifully balanced for consistent performance. The RSG Wedges are best suited for those golfers playing on softer conditions. The relieved trailing edge aids the golfer in adapting to more mid to firm courses when needed. Traveling or tournament golfers who play in a myriad of course conditions will find that the RSG Wedges will give them the versatility they need to accommodate various conditions. For players who habitually play on harder conditions they may want to consider KZG’s XRS or XSC Wedges with a C Grind. “KZG takes great pride in offering every golfer the design features suitable for their unique swing,” reported Jennifer King, president of KZG. “The RSG is one of five models of wedges offered in a myriad of loft and bounce options to perfectly fit every conceivable golfer. We know the performance of the RSG Wedges will be ideal for so many golfers preferring the more popular standard grind and who play in softer conditions. And the RSG truly have the ‘Feel of Forged’ at half the price.” The RSG Wedges are available in a soft satin finish in the following lofts and bounce options: RH: 50,52,54, 56/8, 56/12, 58, 60/4, 60/10 LH: 52, 56, 60 RSG Wedges are available solely through KZG authorized dealers. Every wedge will be personally fit and custom built for the golfer. For more information contact Custom Clubmakers at Mandala Park, Unit 1 2nd Floor Building C, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City 1552.
Pradera Verde. No shortcuts were taken here. The golf course is maturing quite well, thank you. The fairways are lush. The ball sits up so nicely that you’d be tempted to take the driver off the deck, should you have need. The bunkers are perfect. The sand is fine and they drain very well. The greens are still a bit firm but they’re more receptive than the last time we played them. They roll very true. No hops or bumps here; just the ball rolling end over end into the cup. The club tweaked the course to toughen it up a bit. Early assessments were that it was too easy. It was wide open and most misses were playable. Bunkers were added to many of the easier holes to put pressure on the tee shot. If they need to toughen it up some more, all they need to do is grow the rough. It’s really sticky when the ball sits down in the long grass. The opening nine is the more difficult of the two. It’s over 200 yards longer and home to the most demanding holes on the golf course. That’s
ON ASIAN TOUR him to submit his application for the following year’s Qualifying School. As fate would have it, Que upset the odds and defeated a top field that included Thongchai Jaidee and Corey Pavin to triumph in Vietnam. Que has consistently finished inside the top 60 on the Order of Merit every year, including a stellar 2014 season where he broke into the top
not to say the second nine is a pushover because it isn’t, it’s just not as tough as the first. All things considered, the first 18 at Pradera Verde is a very pleasurable golf course. With just two holes that demand forced carries, it’s a good golf course for neophytes. Tee it up at one of the back tees and it’s long and interesting enough to put some pressure on your game. While a lot of the holes are wide open, others offer stern tests. They demand precision from the tee shot and even more on the approaches into the greens. That’s where water comes into play the most. Pradera Golf and Country Club is blessed with a natural freshwater spring. This means the lakes are always full, even at the height of summer. This also explains the size and abundance of the water hazards. They are the golf course’s primary defense. There are two holes with island greens; 15 and 18. The par-3 15th hole has a very generous green with four 10 for the first time with a sixth placing. He also achieved his best result on the European Tour that year with a second-place finish following a playoff defeat to Scott Hend at the cosanctioned Hong Kong Open. Que pulled off a stunning approach shot from thick rough on the 72nd hole for a closing birdie, which saw him tie Hend in regulation play. Que is excited that the Asian Tour is collaborating closely with different international Tours, which he believes will offer players a window to world golf.
distinct levels. You could be faced with a very, very long putt if you mishit the tee shot or choose the wrong club. Eighteen, on the other hand, is a par 5. Flush the drive and put yourself in a good position to attack the pin and you’ll have a shot at a closing birdie. The green in large and slopes off toward the edges so you’ll have to hit it close for a good birdie try. Lubao isn’t exactly next door, so most golfers will want to stay at least one night and play the course again. There isn’t a hotel but the club has some very nice villas by the wake park. It should be easy for golfers to get the rest of the family to sign off on a trip to Pradera Verde. There’s plenty to do for the whole family. There are swimming pools and the wake park was built to the Olympic standard. There are lagoons designed specifically for beginners. The park is heaven for wakeboarders. “With the Tour growing and growing, it’s going to have more playing opportunities for everybody. It’s going to be tougher for everyone but, at the same time, it’s going to be more fun,” the 38-year-old father-of-two said. Although he has been searching for an elusive fourth title the past seven years following his last success at the 2010 Selangor Masters, Que relishes every moment of being on Tour and believes the experience has shaped his life beyond the golf course. “The Asian Tour has given me a lot of
Look for Pradera Verde to host an international wake boarding competition in the future. The 800-hectare property is far from a finished product. A second 18-hole golf course is already under construction. The third nine will reportedly be ready for play by the end of the year. It’s supposedly more difficult and hillier than the first two. Even with the two golf courses and the water park fully completed, there is still a lot of land waiting to be developed. Resort residences are on the drawing board, as are other attractions intended to make Pradera Verde a multiactivity destination resort. If they’re built to the same standard as their existing facilities, Pradera Verde will make a great international destination for travelers in Asia and beyond. It’s world class. knowledge and understanding of different cultures. Spending time with different people, making new friends, it is my home. It is my home Tour and I wouldn’t change it for anything else,” Que said. “Every country is different. You learn their ways and understand more of how people think. It broadens your perspective in life. You will appreciate more of what you have and be more content. “It has made me a better person, I think, because of this, I’m happier in life.”
QUE
OurTime
A8 Saturday, September 2, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos
BusinessMirror
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Animal-rights advocate sells meat-free treats to 4K customers
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By Beatriz Zamore | Special to the BusinessMirror
ERCHED peacefully in the midst of the busy hubbub of Makati is the little shop 66-yearold Nonie Fernandez also calls home.
Even with at least 4,000 people subscribed to his Facebook page, the shop owner keeps things simple: His business staff consist only of himself, his wife, his cook and his household help. Sometimes, his friends—also good cooks like him—help out with manufacturing. Every day for the past 10 years,
he sells Filipino vegetarians food that are rarely be found in typical restaurants. Chicken nuggets crafted from soya, meat-free barbecue and vegetarian-friendly food are produced under the label Veggie Boutique. Customers either pick up their goods from his home or have them delivered directly to their houses.
For transactions within Metro Manila, Fernandez makes use of Grab and bank deposits. “It’s harder in the provinces,” he said, adding off-Metro deliveries would have to be shipped through air cargo within the time limit of one day. As a strong advocate of animal rights, Fernandez’s business is more than just a means of making profit. Veggie Boutique is also a way for fighting what he believes in and pushing others to do the same. The time is ripe for vegetarian businesses to prosper, he said. Nowadays, with the outbreak of avian flu in the country and vegetarianism on the rise due to what Fernandez calls a form of “human awakening”, he could not be more
happy to continue his trade. Over the last five years, his market had grown, a feat which he also attributes to the advent of technology—Facebook, in particular. “There are customers of every kind—from students to yuppies, and yes, even working people. Sometimes even those recovering from cancer,” he said. Aside from keeping his staff to a minimum, Fernandez said operating as a microenterprise develops his relationships to customers into a more personal level. “It makes me happy because our customers, our clients, are really nice people. Vegetarians are people who refuse to eat animals, so there’s something there,” he said. Since 1972, Fernandez had been
abstaining from meat. His decision to do so was not a difficult one, which is a regular misconception associated with vegetarianism. Enlightenment, he said, came when he was 21 years old, when he was spending his life as a monk in India. “From then on, I gave up on meat, as easy as that,” he said, a laugh escaping from his lips. The idea to share his wisdom through business did not come until much later when he visited Taiwan and discovered there was a wide variety of vegetarian spices and restaurants in the country. “I got to know some manufacturers. They weren’t greedy and also wanted to help people transition [into vegetarianism],” he said.
Everything f lourished from the flight back. Fernandez would have vegetarian produce imported to Manila and resell them for a reasonable price. Although capital was not difficult to acquire, only costing him at least P5,000, his first few years as a microenterprise were not as thriving as he expected. “Of course, there were struggles,” he said. “But at least, I can eat the food when no one buys them.” This was always part of the process of building a business, but things have ultimately proven their worth and value in the long run, Fernandez recalled fondly. “The key is to love what you’re doing. My business is also a passion and a philosophy,” he said.
Aging parents, lots of stuff and children who don’t want it
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FRESH ‘SALUYOT’ Lola Lucia Padillion harvests the fresh saluyot leaves she planted in the backyard of her house and sells it in the public market of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur. LAILA AUSTRIA
Best and worst states to grow old in, according to a new ranking
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TAH residents who look for ward to retir ing in their state just got some good news in a report that names the state as the best in which to grow old. Those who hope to age gracefully in Wyoming, North Dakota and New York may face more of a challenge. Those states are ranked as the three worst. All 50 states were ranked by the elder-care resource site Caring.com on 13 categories, including quality, cost and availability of health care for seniors. The calculations also incorporated a state-by-state well-being ranking for older Americans. Utah, No. 17 in well-being, had respectable scores across all the categories and was the only state to make it into the top 15 for both quality of life/health care (No. 7) and cost (No. 14). Here are the best and worst states for growing old, according to the report, followed by the median monthly cost of an assistedliving facility. Best states: Uta h, $2,950; Iowa, $3,518; South Carolina, $3,000; Washington, $4,500; Nebraska, $3,510; Worst states Wyoming, $3,995; North Dakota, $3,340; New York, $4,136; Indiana, $3,528; and West Virginia, $3,263 New York, No. 33 in the wellbeing ranking, was singled out by Caring.com for its extremes. The very high cost of the state’s health care doesn’t produce results close to commensurate with that spending, according to the report. While New York ranked 46th in cost (the lower the rank,
the higher the cost), its life/ health-care quality rank was 34 (the lower the rank, the worse the quality). Massachusetts had a similar pattern; it ranked 49th in cost and 18th in quality. That’s reflective of a larger trend in the US—high spending on health care isn’t translating into longer lives, as this interactive graphic demonstrates. Higher costs show more of a payoff in Washington state and California. Washington is 38th for cost and is the top state for quality of life and health care. California has a cost ranking of 36 and quality ranking of 3 (it’s tied with Oregon for quality). The ranking, which drew on data from the US Census, the insurer Genworth, AARP, the Commonwealth Fund and GallupHealthways, among others, also factored in 150,000 consumer reviews from Caring.com’s database of facilities and care providers for seniors. The availability, quality and cost of care for the elderly got greater attention in the report than some of the common measures used in retirement destination rankings. “One reason we call this report the best states to grow old, versus best states to retire, is because it’s rea l ly important for people to plan out their 60s, 70s and 80s with as much care as they plan their retirement in their 30s, 40s and 50s,” said Tim Sullivan, vice president at Caring.com. “Your needs change as you age, and they are not always going to be driven by the sort of leisure or amenities or
weather considerations that are what a lot of people think about retirement.” That’s true, but since many Americans don’t even have clear retirement plans, it’s also a tall order. In addition, quality and cost of health care can be wildly different for someone who lives in, say, New York City and someone who lives Buffalo, New York. And older Americans living in Wyoming, North Dakota, or New York aren’t going to make plans to pack up at 70 and truck on over to Utah. The report’s greatest utility is in sparking serious thought about how you want to grow old, and in helping you get a feel for how realistic that is given how and where you’re living now. R ank ings are just a star ting point for more investigation, and an e xcuse for initiating conversations with loved ones and friends about the options they’re considering. To help with that conversation, Genworth has an interactive you can use to see the median cost of various levels of care, from a home health aide to a private room in a nursing home, by state and for selected cities (also a good substitute for a horror movie). For a sense of how widely costs vary within states: The median daily cost for a semi-private room in a nursing home in Manhattan in 2016 was $450, while just across the river in Queens the figure was $329. In the Utica area upstate, about five hours from Manhattan, it was $304. Bloomberg News
OTHERS and daughters talk about all kinds of things. But there is one conversation Susan Beauregard, 49, of Hampton, Connecticut, is reluctant to have with her 89-yearold mother, Anita Shear: What to do—eventually—with Shear’s beloved set of Lenox china? Beauregard said she never uses her own fine china, which she received as a wedding gift long ago. “I feel obligated to take my mom’s Lenox, but it’s just going to sit in the cupboard next to my stuff,” she said. The only heirlooms she wants from her mother, who lives about an hour away, in the home where Beauregard was raised, are a few pictures and her mother’s wedding band and engagement ring, which she plans to pass along to her son. So, in a quandary familiar to many adults who must soon dispose of the beloved stuff their parents would love them to inherit, Beauregard has to break it to her mother that she does not intend to keep the Hitchcock dining-room set or the buffet full of matching Lenox dinnerware, saucers and gravy boats. As baby boomers grow older, the volume of unwanted keepsakes and family heirlooms is poised to grow—along with the number of delicate conversations about what to do with them. According to a 2014 US census report, more than 20 percent of America’s population will be 65 or older by 2030. As these waves of older adults start moving to smaller dwellings, assisted-living facilities or retirement homes, they and their kin will have to part with household possessions that the heirs simply don’t want. “We went from a 3,000-squarefoot colonial with three floors to a single-story, 1,400-square-foot living space,” said Tena Bluhm, 76, formerly of Fairfax, Virginia. She and her 77-year-old husband, Ray, moved this month to a retirement community in Lake Ridge, Virginia. Before the move, their two adult children took a handful of items, including a new bed and a dining table and chairs. But Tena Bluhm could not interest them in “the china and the silver and the crystal”, her own generation’s hallmarks of a properly furnished, middle-class home. The competitive accumulation of material goods, a cornerstone of the American dream, dates to the post-World War II economy, when returning veterans fled the cities to establish homes and status in the suburbs. Couples married when they were young, and wedding gifts were meant to be used—and treasured—for life. “Americans spent to keep up with the Joneses, using their possessions
TENA and Ray Bluhm in their new home in the Westminster retirement community in Lake Ridge, Virginia. The Bluhms moved in to their new home in early-August, and needed to sort through items to determine what they needed and could fit in their new place. NEW YORK TIMES PHOTO
to make the statement that they were not failing in their careers,” wrote Juliet B. Schor, the Boston College sociologist, in her 1998 book, The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need. But for a variety of social, cultural and economic reasons, this is no longer the case. Today’s young adults tend to acquire household goods that they consider temporary or disposable, from online retailers or stores, like Ikea and Target, instead of inheriting them from parents or grandparents. This represents a significant shift in material culture, said Mary Kay Buysse, executive director of the National Association of Senior Move Managers, a professional organization of moving specialists who help older people downsize. “This is the first time we’re seeing a kink in the chain of passing down mementos from one generation to another,” Buysse said in a telephone interview from the group’s headquarters in Hinsdale, Illinois. Accordingly, the senior move management industry has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, Buysse said. These move managers usually charge an hourly rate, typically $50 to $125. They spend time with clients, helping them sort through years of accumulated possessions and make decisions about what to dispose, what to donate to charities and what to try to fit into. “Some go to auction, some to eBay, and some go to our retail shop,” said Chris Fultz, an owner of Nova Liquidations, an estate liquidation company in Luray, Virginia, that works closely with companies like Wise Moves. Niro said her company also works with nonprofits, like Habitat for Humanity, to find new homes for discarded items. Yet, even these operations are feeling overwhelmed by the growing inventory of household goods delivered at their doorsteps. “We are definitely getting overrun with furniture, and about 20
percent more donations of everything than in previous years,” Michael Frohm, chief operating officer of Goodwill of Greater Washington, said in a telephone interview. Changing aesthetic tastes are also responsible for the overflow. “The whole 1990s were the English country look, collections, chintz,” said Jennifer Lacker, an antiques dealer in Mystic, Connecticut, who cited the influence of interior designer Mario Buatta (known as the “Prince of Chintz”). The look, she added, was decidedly “rich and lavish”. Beginning in the 2000s, though, clutter was out, and minimalism in. Buatta’s paradigm has been replaced most recently by that of Marie Kondo, whose 2014 book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, remains a steady best seller. Millennials are also less inclined to want their parents’ household goods simply because they have no place to put them. As his parents begin to contemplate moving from their two-story colonial home in Annandale, New Jersey, to a smaller living space, Travis Miscia, a 30-year-old lawyer, would like to lay claim to a good number of his family’s belongings. But he and his wife live in a twobedroom apartment in Jersey City that is too small to hold them. “I am very interested in family history, and I would like a lot of my parents’ things on some level,” Miscia said, “but I have had to limit myself to taking what I would call primary-source documents, like books and some pictures.” Another option for older people and their heirs is self-storage. Like the industry that manages moves for older adults, the $32.7-billion storage business is experiencing rapid growth, projected at 3.5 percent annually over the next five years, according to statistics reported this month by SpareFoot Storage Beat, an industry tracker. Yet, often this strategy only postpones the inevitable. New York Times News Service
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The Millennials BusinessMirror
Go shopping with Claire, Pinay Millennials urged W Claudette Mocon-Ciriaco
OMEN millennials in the country can now shop online through a digital platform called i amClaire.com.
The platform is being touted by Singapore-based Altus Capital Digital Pte. Ltd. (ACD) as “a fully integrated community and media and online buying platform that synergizes three elements in new and meaningful ways”. “iamClaire. is about joining a community; a sisterhood that stands for positive transformation and about becoming a better you,” ACD Vice President and COO Liam Mendoza said. According to Mendoza, women
millennials can consume tips and “life hacks” from videos on beauty and articles on lifestyle and product reviews. “Then there is a simple, fun way to buy them that is tied to the content and the community elements.” She said users can create accounts, post content, connect with other platform members and create their own “online buying experience”. According to Randy McGraw, ACD managing director and cofounder,
the launch of iamClaire.com in the Philippines “represents the perfect opportunity to address the needs of both female millennial consumers and the brands in the beauty, health and wellness and overall lifestyle sectors”. “ T he shopping e x per ience should be new— more social, more fun, more informed and much less intrusive than what e-commerce presents them today,” McGraw said during the launch on August 22. T he iamClare social-media platform features two- to threeminute videos that provide tips for women millennials on beauty, lifestyle and health and wellness created by women targeting women consumers. Mendoza said they targeted millennials, as majority of Internet users in Southeast Asia (70 percent to 75 percent according to the Comscore Report, as cited
by an ACD white paper) are under the age of 35. Not only is the region the most social on the planet, but social elements influence purchase decisions more than any other global population, ACD said in its white paper. “Up to 83 percent of our target markets are consumers who are influenced by ads on social media, compared to a global average of [more or less] 60 percent and the US average of [more or less] 50 percent.” ACD tapped actress Bea Binene as the platform’s “cover girl” for the month of August. According to Binene, the platform resounds to her, since she considers the name “Claire” as “a common term for all empowered women”. She promised “to influence the ‘Claires’ [out there], to love themselves, to respect themselves, to take care of themselves and to be confident with who [they] are.”
Women of Sex Tech, unite
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EW YORK — For Janet Lieberman, making sex toys started as a bit of a joke. In 2013 she was living in Brooklyn and getting ready to leave MakerBot, where she worked as an engineer. When people asked her what she planned to do next, she’d say she wanted to start a sex-toy company. But she noticed that women never laughed. Instead, they told stories about their sex lives. “Sex is this topic that’s really important to people, but they’re not allowed to talk about it,” said Lieberman, 32. Seeing an opportunity, she teamed up with Alexandra Fine, another Brooklynbased entrepreneur, to start Dame Products. They designed two vibrators, the Fin and the Eva. Since then, the company has gotten widespread media attention (including in The New York Times), and broken down barriers: Last year, Dame became the first company to receive funding through Kickstarter for a sex toy. Dame, along with other new companies, like Unbound, House of Plume and Sustain, is part of a tech-savvy and female-led women’s sexuality movement that has made its home in New York instead of, say, Silicon Valley. Women, many of them younger than 40, are updating sex toys and related products with their own needs in mind, and leading the companies that sell them.
“Sex tech”
IF the movement has an ideological center, it’s probably Women of Sex Tech, a group founded last year by Polly Rodriguez, 30, the chief executive and cofounder of Unbound, a Manhattan-based sex-toy company that sends subscribers a box of products every quarter, and Lidia Bonilla, 38, who started House of Plume, which sells storage boxes for sex toys. Based in New York, the group has since expanded to include more than 70 people, including members in California, Spain and China. New York City-based members include Meika Hollender, cofounder of Sustain, which makes organic and fair-trade lubricants and condoms; Mia Davis, who created a sexeducation app called Tabú; and Bryony Cole, host of the popular podcast, Future of Sex. Cindy Gallop, a member of the group and the founder of the web site Make Love Not Porn, helped popularize the term “sex tech” and defines it as technology “designed to enhance, innovate and disrupt in every area of human sexuality and human sexual experience”. So far, Women of Sex Tech has organized three New York events, including a pop-up marketplace for sex-tech start-ups last winter and a panel discussion on sexual-health policy at the Museum of Sex in Manhattan in July, and its members have been a part of countless others, such as a live taping of the ‘Future of Sex’ podcast at Fifth House in Brooklyn on August 14.
Home is New York
NEW York has long been a home for educa-
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Anchal Lamba prepares a drink at a Gong Cha bubble-tea shop, one of eight she owns in New York on August 15. Chewy tapioca balls are the key ingredient to boba tea, a beverage that entrepreneurs are hoping will become the new coffee. The New York Times
Bubble-tea purveyors continue to grow along with drink’s popularity
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HE Starbucks on Waverly Place in Greenwich Village was all but empty at 8:30 on a recent Wednesday night, but across the street at Boba Guys, a bubble-tea shop, the line was long. A wave of first-time customers had just arrived at the front counter, uncertain of the drill and even more about bubble tea, which has had a niche following in the United States for some time. An employee behind the counter guided the customers through their options, which were also explained on wall signs: Select a tea (classic milk, or, say, jasmine milk or horchata), and pick a topping like tapioca balls (the bubbles, or “boba”), almond jelly or grass jelly (an Asian treat similar in texture to Jell-O). Then, more choices: Would you like the milk in your tea to be organic, soy or almond? What about the sweetness level: 100 percent, 75 percent, 50 percent, 25 percent or none? “One hundre-percent sweetness,” the clerk said helpfully to a customer, “is like a Coke.” Also: Small or large? Hot or cold, and, if cold, lots of ice or just a little?
After Taiwan
Polly Rodriguez, founder of Unbound (center) holds a meeting with her team at The Wing, a work and community space for women in New York on August 15. New York is becoming a cultural center for young women trying to disrupt the male-dominated industries of design engineering and sex toys. New York Times News Service
tors, entrepreneurs and activists focusing on women’s sexuality. In the late-1960s and early 1970s, sex educator Betty Dodson led masturbation workshops for women here, which included demonstrations of the Hitachi Magic Wand vibrator, said Hallie Lieberman, a historian and author of the forthcoming book Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy. In 1971 Duane Colglazier and Bill Rifkin opened the Pleasure Chest. The West Village store was the first to sell sex toys in a boutique environment without blacked-out windows, and it attracted many female customers despite its initial focus on gay men. In 1973 the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women held a women’s sexuality conference that introduced vibrators to the feminist community and helped inspire Dell Williams to open a women’s sex-toy store, Eve’s Garden, in Manhattan in 1974. Today’s tech-focused entrepreneurs are less likely to open a store and more inclined to design products, apps or online services to fill what they see as gaps in the market. Too many sex-toy manufacturers assume women don’t appreciate good engineering, Lieberman said. The result is vibrators made from materials that aren’t safe, or that break after a few uses or short out, potentially injuring sensitive body parts.
Connection is important
Made of medical-grade silicone, Dame’s vibrators are designed to maximize pleasure and connection, not to mimic the male anatomy or get in the way of an intimate experience. The Fin, for example, is a small vibrator designed to feel “like a natural extension of your fingers”, said Fine, 29. People don’t like the feeling that a vibrator is doing all the work, she explained. “They still want to feel connected.” Connection is important in business, too. When Mia Davis, 25, tried to get investors and others in Silicon Valley interested in Tabú, the sex-education app, she grew frustrated. A lot of men “just sort of tensed up” and “couldn’t get past the discomfort of the subject”, she recalled.
In February in Brooklyn, however, Davis had a different experience. When she participated in the Women of Sex Tech’s pop-up marketplace there, men and women asked how they could get involved in the company, offered to spread the word, and promised to tell their little sisters about the app, she recalled. A man who worked at a sexual-health clinic talked to her about the kinds of questions patients tend to have.
Unifying force
INVESTORS and others in the New York business community are more comfortable with consumer products than their counterparts in Silicon Valley, who tend to focus on business-to-business companies, said Liz Klinger, cofounder and chief executive of Lioness, which makes a vibrator that collects data on women’s sexual responses. Klinger, 29, whose company is based in Berkeley, California, concurs that Silicon Valley can be difficult because it’s so maledominated. She has been told that femalefriendly products are less interesting because “women are only half the population”. Products for men, she said, somehow avoid the same scrutiny. Klinger recalled one male investor who was unimpressed with her ideas but excited about a device to treat male incontinence. “Silicon Valley welcomes innovation and disruption in literally every other area except this one,” said Gallop, founder of Make Love Not Porn. While there is a sex-tech scene in California, she said, it lacks a “unifying force” like Women of Sex Tech.
Still a minority
IN 2017 women entrepreneurs in the field still seem to be very much in the minority. Today around 70 percent of sex-product companies are run by men, according to an analysis by Unbound. But women, many of them millennials, are starting to harness their economic and social power to disrupt the industry, both on the business and on the consumer side, Fine said. Millennials can be more comfortable talking about sex than their elders, explained
Helen Fisher, an anthropologist and research fellow at the Kinsey Institute. “It’s a transparent generation that’s practical, go-getting, tech-oriented and eager to have it all.” The cliché that millennials want to make a social impact at work has a lot of truth to it, Fine said. “We got called entitled,” she added. “I think we all just really, really, really wanted to help and be at the table. And now we’re at the table.” Elizabeth Galbut, 28, and Pocket Sun, 25, cofounders of the firm SoGal Ventures, which has offices in New York and Singapore and has invested in Unbound, see their age and gender as assets. “We’re millennials ourselves,” Galbut said. “We’re the consumer; we’re the target market for all of the companies we’re investing in.”
Sales approach
AS more female entrepreneurs enter the sex-toy industry, many are adopting less pornographic-sales approaches than older brands used. Rodriguez, of Unbound, tries to market her products the way a health or beauty company might, without an overtly sexualized aesthetic. Unbound’s web site features tongue-incheek photos of fruit (a peach, for instance), not women in lingerie. Rodriguez said she never wants a visitor to think, “I don’t look like that, so then these products must not be for me.” Bonilla, meanwhile, describes House of Plume, her company, as “Jimmyjane meets West Elm”. Even if they’re based in New York, though, female sex-tech entrepreneurs can face discrimination. Rodriguez, who became interested in the business after her sex drive decreased at 21 because of radiation treatment for colon cancer, was told by a potential investor that she’d be a good CEO because “you’re not Kim Kardashianattractive, but you’re girl-next-door attractive”, she recalled. Another asked if she was going to demonstrate her products for him. New York Times News Service
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ANCHAL Lamba, 27, owns eight Gong Cha bubble-tea shops in New York City and has franchised others elsewhere in New York state and in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Texas. “My stores in Flushing did well from Day 1,” she said of a location in a section of Queens, “because the Asian customers are there” and were familiar with the product. According to the Tea Association of the USA, a trade group, 87 percent of American millennials drink tea. Understandably, Lamba has made them a key target of her marketing efforts, sponsoring events at New York University and supplying drinks to club meetings there. The drink she is trying to push further into the mainstream was created, so the story goes, at a teahouse in Taichung, Taiwan, almost 30 years ago when, on a whim, a manager poured the tapioca balls from her pudding into a glass of iced Assam tea. After becoming a hit in Taiwan, bubble tea was embraced throughout Asia. It started to become increasingly available on the East Coast and West Coast a few years back.
Trying everything
ON a recent visit to Boba Guys, Patrick Lin, a regular customer, ordered four drinks, including a matcha latte and a horchata, which is made with cinnamon and rice milk. “I’m trying to try everything on the menu,” Lin, a restaurateur, said. Lamba of Gong Cha acknowledged that it could take time for some people to appreciate the chewy, gelatinous bubbles in the tea.
“Sometimes, people are a little freaked out by it,” she said. “They’ll have a sip and say, ‘This is interesting,’ and then they’ll have another sip and think, ‘Hmmm, maybe I— will—have it again.’” In recent years, iced tea and hot tea have been making inroads against coffee, but there are signs of stress: Starbucks recently announced that it would close its standalone Teavana stores, calling into question the future of a brand it bought for $620 million in 2012. Purveyors of bubble tea hope they can take advantage of the growing popularity of tea. Some shops offer dozens of beverage options—like fruit-based teas, smoothies and slushes—with some of the drinks even incorporating coffee.
Curious foodies
BUT it is the basic bubble tea, or bubble milk tea, that is the main event. Vivi Bubble Tea, a franchise business, has 45 shops in the US, most of them on the East Coast, and seven more under construction. Ten Ren Tea and Ginseng Co., which is based in Taiwan, has four stores in New York City and 26 in other states. CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice has 32 locations in the country, 22 of them in New York City. Boba Guys began in San Francisco in 2011 as a pop-up stand inside a ramen-noodle restaurant. It was a testing ground for the founders, Bin Chen and Andrew Chau, to refine their three flavors (classic black milk tea, jasmine and soy-milk tea) and to work on new concoctions. “We were in the Mission area, where there were a lot of curious foodies and a lot of AsianAmericans who had grown up drinking bubble tea,” said Chen, a former creative director at a messenger-bag company. He and Chau opened their first stand-alone store in San Francisco in 2013 and have since expanded to six in the Bay Area and three in New York City. Their goal is to differentiate Boba Guys by positioning it as a premium brand, the bubble-tea equivalent of upscale coffee spots like Blue Bottle and La Colombe.
Non-Asian friends
MANY bubble-tea companies have opened stores near college campuses. The thinking, said Derrick Fang of Ten Ren Tea, “is that Asian students will introduce the culture to their non-Asian friends—and it works”. There is also a concerted effort to guide newcomers. “We introduce people to the way to order, and we explain the toppings and the different flavors,” Fang added. “And we had to make adjustments for the US market. People in America like a sweeter taste than in Asia.” New York Times News Service
Netmarble’s ‘Lineage2 Revolution’ starts fortress siege regular season
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ETMARBLE Games Corp. announced on August 24 its mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) “Lineage2 Revolution” opened a new regular season of the fortress siege. Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Games is a mobile-game company with more than 3,500 employees. The company has developed mobile game “Everybody’s Marble” and “Seven Knights”, among others. Netmarble Games is the largest shareholder to casual-game developer Jam City and is parent company to Kabam, also a game developer. The company has strategic deals with Asian entertainment firm CJ E&M Corp., Internet company Tencent Holdings and NCsoft, a prominent massive multiplayer online enterprise. Considered the minor league of the castle siege, the fortress sieges in Lineage2 Revolution take place for 30 minutes, from 9:30 p.m. every Friday. The lords of 128 fortresses emerge from the one-on-one clan battles. The fortress has various factors, including defending the enemy team and increasing the
abilities of clan members, so using this to the advantage is important. The clan that carves the opponent’s holy artifact first within the first 30 minutes wins the fortress and is rewarded with bonus items and buffs, which will vary depending on the fortress seized. Clans that wish to take part must participate in the bid held from 12 a.m. to 9 p.m. every Thursday. With the arrival of regular season, the Dion territory was added to the fortress siege and the winning rewards were strengthened. Spot fortresses, where fierce battles are expected, will be designated and will give away extra rewards to the clans who become victorious. Netmarble also introduced a new field boss called Marsha. Players are encouraged to take down Marsha quickly, as she attacks with a blowing skill called and Bladewind and summons guardian monsters that protect her. As part of a player giveaway, Lineage2 Revolution is introducing a player experience (Exp)-boost event until September 5. When taking part in the event, players receive medals that can later be exchanged to Exp boxes and summoning-stone fragments.
BusinessMirror
A10 Saturday, September 2, 2017
SAP, Accenture collaborate to nurture next-gen IT talent SAP SE, in collaboration with Accenture, announced a new next-generatwion program that aims to provide mentorship and skills development for future information technology (IT) talent in the Philippines. The program aims to benefit 500 IT students from top universities in the Philippines through a curriculum that incorporates SAP technologies that drive digital transformation. This collaboration between SAP and Accenture is part of both companies’ strategy to address market needs in the Philippines to groom new talents and prepare them for the digital economy. The three-year program is part of SAP Next-Gen, which enables SAP customers and alliance partners to introduce in disruptive innovation and accelerate their exponential enterprise journeys and digital futures through connecting with students, start-ups, academic thought leaders and researchers, accelerators, venture firms and other partners in the SAP University Alliances (UA) innovation network. To kick off the program, students from the University of Santo Tomas and the Mapua Institute of Technology, both of which are members of the SAP UA, have been provided with individual trial accounts on SAP Cloud Platform. It provides them access to the curricula that comprises a combination of teaching materials from SAP UA and SAP Cloud Platform Tech Academy, as well as industry expertise from Accenture. The IT students will undergo a series of lectures and workshops. From the pool of participants, SAP and Accenture will select several participants for further engagements. “As society and businesses advance in the digital economy, enterprises need to invest in not only innovative software solutions but also in their people to build new capabilities and succeed in today’s market environment. As a company, we are committed to learning excellence for our current and prospective employees. We’re excited to be working with our community of university students alongside our partner, Accenture, and look forward to seeing some great project ideas transpire from this program,” said Ryan Poggi, managing director of SAP Philippines.
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How to keep your child safe on the Internet PRIMETIME
DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com
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ESPITE my having a column on “Digital Life”, I’m no techie. Nor am I an outspoken netizen with an opinion about anything and everything. But I know the basics enough to survive. I know enough to realize that the Internet can be a dangerous place for anyone, especially innocent children. Disclaimer: I’m not a parenting expert. What I will say is based on my own experiences. My daughter’s first foray into the Internet was via Yahoo! Messenger and Multiply. She was around 11 or 12 then. I let her be but I realized it would be better if I guided her. From that time on, I was her “web shadow”. I was the one who created her Facebook account, I was the one who told her which friend requests to approve or disapprove, I urged her to block people who were being abusive or exhibited disturbing behavior, and I would tell her if her posts and photographs were appropriate. For many parents, this may sound like I was a controlling mom and maybe I was. But my daughter was only 13 and bullied when she was younger. I was
scared just to leave her alone. Now that she’s 20, she is grateful for what I did. I remember telling her then, “Remember, whatever you post now can be brought up when you’re older.” This brings to mind some popular local and international stars whose posts would later be dug up by their detractors. It’s just sad. Teenagers do the silliest things. For example, I remember my friends and I finding it so cool to take pictures of each other while we were drunk. We were lucky there was no social media then and that we could at least hide the photographs when we were sober. This is just my opinion and it might be an unpopular one, but I think that anyone below 18 should have some sort of guidance on social media. There are all sorts of predators out there, and I’m not only referring to the pedophiles and child pornographers. There are people just waiting for others to make mistakes and (I’m about to make a lola statement) turning these all-too-human mistakes into memes for likes, retweets and follows. Anyway, here are tips on how to keep your minor safe on the Internet, short of keeping her or him off it until the age of 18: ■ Help your child create accounts on social media as soon as he or she says he or she wants to. Saying no will only mean your child will do it behind your back. ■ Ask your child if you can have the passwords and tell him or her if you could access it once in a while just to check friend requests and private messages. If I sound like a lunatic at this point, I assure you I’m not. People send the craziest messages. A few years ago, a relative who is a drug user was harassing my daughter to give him her old laptop. My daughter
was too scared to tell me and her father. She was also afraid to block him. ■ Porn is something every teenager is curious about. Use filters and software to block porn. If your kid wants to watch porn, he or she can do it when he or she is older. Not on our watch. ■ Give your child a lecture on what is not appropriate for the Internet. Not cool: Posting pictures of herself wearing a bikini. Some people might take the picture and use it for nefarious activities. Also not cool: Posting lyrics of sexually suggestive songs. ■ Remember that your child is a minor. As the parent, you’re there to protect him or her. You can be a cool mom without jeopardizing his or her safety and security. ■ When tweeting or posting pictures on Instagram, tell your child not to post his or her present location, or not give clues where he or she is at present. ■ Tell your child to inform you of anything that he or she finds disturbing/unusual/strange online. Make this a habit so he or she gets used to telling you about how he or she feels. ■ Teach him or her about privacy settings, particularly on Facebook. ■ Instill the fear of strangers in him or her. Remind your child the Internet can be a scary place for innocent people. ■ I never had gadget restrictions for my daughter when she was younger. Instead, I taught her to be responsible and to know her priorities. I realized that no matter what you do, kids will go on the Internet if they want to. They will borrow their friend’s phone or go to an Internet café if you confiscate their phones.
What’s the deal with Wi-Fi dead spots? And what can you do about it? IMAGINE booking a much-coveted “seat sale” flight online for you and your friends. You walk over to the kitchen to grab a snack while waiting for the booking confirmation page to load. All of a sudden, the connection lags and then you are disconnected. You’ve just entered a Wi-Fi dead spot. A Wi-Fi dead spot, also sometimes called a dead zone, is quite simply an area within your house wherein the Wi-Fi does not work. Anyone who has ever experienced it knows how extremely frustrating and disruptive it can be, especially if your lifestyle or job is Internet-dependent. What causes Wi-Fi dead spots? WiFi connections work by transmitting radio waves that can be picked up by any device with the right receiving technology. If these waves are interrupted, obstructed or altered, the result is poor network performance or, worst, a completely dead spot. Radio waves can be hampered by thick walls, doors, large metal objects and signal interference-
producing devices and appliances like microwave ovens, wireless security and sound systems and baby monitors, among others. If you live in an area with a dense wireless network (e.g., a residential
building where every unit has a wireless connection), signal strength will be diminished, possibly creating dead zones. When it comes to the reliability and consistency of your Wi-Fi connection at
home, it’s not just the signal strength and the speed that matters. Here are some tips to help you get out of that dead spot: ■ ASSESS THE PROBLEM AREAS. You can use an application like WiFi Analyzer (available on Google Play Store) to assess the strength of your network and the frequency of the surrounding networks. Once you have the application on your mobile device, you can go around your house to see where the signal fluctuates. ■ MAXIMIZE SIGNAL STRENGTH. Remember: The farther you are from the router, the weaker the signal becomes. Reposition your router to make sure it is in a central spot in the house. The antenna should be up and pointing vertically. Remove obstructions by rearranging furniture and appliances that block radio waves. ■ UPGRADE YOUR ROUTER. Part of maximizing your signal strength is ensuring that your firmware or driver software is updated for optimal performance. ■ SET UP A WIRELESS REPEATER. As the name implies, a wireless repeater can
extend your Wi-Fi coverage to a larger area. This is ideal, especially if you have a large or multilevel house. ■ MIGRATE YOUR CONNECTION. If possible, look for a less crowded channel so you don’t have to share your bandwidth allocation with multiple users. ■ ASK YOUR SERVICE PROVIDER. Your service provider knows best how to help you maximize your Wi-Fi connection. You can ask about a customized plan to amplify your connection based on the unique structure of your home and your online habits. Even with the rapid pace of today’s Internet and mobile technology, Wi-Fi dead spots are still unavoidable because of structural and network factors that are sometimes beyond our control. Although there are ways to manage dead spots at home, the jury is still out on a holistic and reliable solution that can address Wi-Fi issues for the entire home. Hopefully, the same technology that allows us to enjoy meaningful digital connections at home can also empower us to overcome pesky Wi-Fi dead spots.
BusinessMirror
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Saturday, September 2, 2017 A11
THE Epson SureColor F9200 printer was employed by designer John Herrera for his latest collection.
Epson Philippines seeks footprint in other local market segments
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BY RIZAL RAOUL REYES
PSON Philippines is going to reach out to other sectors to boost its market share in the local market. Eduardo Bonoan, senior general manager marketing division of Epson Philippines, told reporters in an interview on August 29 that the local subsidiary of the Owa, Suwa, Nagano, Japanbased Epson group of companies sees a big potential in the local sector for their printers. “Epson is trying to reach out to different segments,” Bonoan said. “We see many applications in many sectors such as label printing, fashion printing, medical brands printing and various forms of printing,” Bonoan added. He said the office remains the biggest consumer for Epson products. Citing International Data Corp.’s second-quarter report in the current year, Epson Philippines dominated the inkjet printer market with a 61-percent market share. Based on the data, Bonoan pointed out that one of out every two users of inkjet uses an Epson product. Nevertheless, Bonoan reiterated Epson is looking out for newer markets, as well. He said the entry of Epson in the fashion industry is a good indication that the brand is being recognized as a vital component in their respective businesses. Bonoan added recruiting fashion designer John Herrera as an Epson brand ambassador is bringing a lot of mileage to the company, especially in the fashion and textile industry. He said the company collaborated with Herrera on the technology side to help him in printing his textile designs. “This is the second time John has tapped Epson’s digital textile printing technologies to create a totally different concept in fashion and design, and we’re very happy to collaborate with him once again,” Bonoan pointed out. As the brand ambassador of Epson Philippines’s Professional Printers Group, Herrera has captured the
of the medieval map by Diogo Ribeiro and present designs on opaque and translucent objects. “The combination of sheer and stiff materials with soft fabrics creates new silhouettes, reminding us of sailing to new worlds,” Herrera noted. Ribeiro’s map, which dates back to 1529, is the first map in history that included the Philippine Islands. Charisse Balmaceda, product manager of textile and signage of Epson Philippines, said Herrera used the SureColor F9200 for his printing requirements. The company is positioning the product as “a lifestylefashion printer to help designers in the printing of their products,” Balmaceda said. Balmaceda said it would take one day to print a design in the conventional method. The F9200 can finish the printing in less than an hour.
BOSTON—Alexa, meet Cortana. Microsoft and Amazon are pairing their voice assistants together in a collaboration announced on Wednesday. Both companies say that, later this fall, users will be able to access Alexa using Cortana on Windows 10 computers and on Android and Apple devices. They’ll also be able to access Cortana on Alexa-enabled devices, such as the Amazon Echo. Microsoft said the tie-up will allow Alexa customers to get access to Cortana features, such as for booking meetings or accessing work calendars. Cortana users, in turn, can ask Alexa to switch on smart home devices or shop on Amazon’s web site. The use of voice assistants is growing. Google and Amazon already have smart speakers on the market. Apple has HomePod coming with its Siri assistant, while Samsung plans one with Microsoft’s Cortana. Amazon has little to lose from the partnership, and Microsoft’s Cortana—which has been largely limited to laptops—might get discovered by more users because of it, said Carolina Milanesi, a mobiletechnology analyst at Creative Strategies. “Cortana might get a little bit more out of it because it gets Cortana out of the PC,” she said. “For Cortana to really get to be more important, it needs to be consistently used every day for different tasks.” Milanesi said that for Amazon especially, which wants more people to consider Alexa as their first choice, the partnership also might be designed to send a message to customers and rivals. “They both get something out of it, which is mainly showing Apple and Google that they’re willing to work together to get stronger,” Milanesi said. AP
4. REVEL IN A NEW AGE STORYTELLING FESTIVAL. There is nothing like getting lost in a great story. What more if it’s enhanced with technology? The Immersive Storytelling Festival will treat participants to mind-blowing performances, digital experiential art, futurist talks, and other new narrative means. The festival will also cover topics on Investigative Journalism, Performing Arts, Film and Advertising. 5. EXPLORE THE BIGGER AND BETTER TRADE EXHIBIT. The trade exhibit will bring together key players in various spheres—from fashion and tech to marketing and start-ups. Participating brands and institutions will share how technology allows them to innovate and be at the forefront of digital transformation. Also new for this year is the Start-Up village, where upcoming businesses will showcase their solutions alongside established companies. 6. ENGAGE YOUR SENSES WITH DYNAMIC ART INSTALLATIONS. Artistry and technology come together at DigiCon with a number of engaging art installations. Playful examples of how technology
has begun to intercept cultural touch points—such as virtual fitting rooms and interactive walls—will be on display. 7. SPEND NETWORKING NIGHT, HAPPY HOUR-STYLE. Cap off a day’s worth of learning with engaging conversations over food and drinks with industry leaders and fellow participants. Held at the end of days one and two after the closing plenary, these networking opportunities will be attended by like-minded individuals that you can work with or learn from. 8. NAVIGATE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE DIGICON APP. Central to the DigiCon 2017 experience, the DigiCon app will be every delegate’s companion, offering convenience, information about the conference tracks and speakers, and a new way to engage with fellow delegates. Key features of the app include QR-based registration, a Personalized Conference Schedule, a new Networking Feature, Speaker Q&A function, a Newsfeed to post and get updated on conference highlights, and the Trade Exhibit Guide.
EDUARDO BONOAN, Epson Philippines marketing division senior general manager
world’s attention with his ingenious marriage of art and technology. “This latest collection, called Ärmada, is the designer’s avant-garde take on our history and roots, a creation that we are confident will put the Philippines on the map once again,” Bonoan added. Fresh from his victory as Britain’s Top Designer 2017 for his Aguila collection, Herrera probes Philippines history in crafting new digitally printed masterpieces. Britain’s Top Designer is “a cuttingedge fashion designer competition hosted by Fashions Finest, which takes place every February during London Fashion Week, that aims to find the best emerging designer in the UK,” according to the competition’s web site. In a statement, Herrera said Epson’s digital textile printing technology has enabled him to render parts
Alexa, Cortana talk to each other in Amazon-Microsoft deal
8 things to expect at DigiCon 2017 THE Internet Mobile and Marketing Association of the Philippines (Immap) sees the digital future as a culture of openness and collaboration. To help us deal with the radical changes in the way we navigate the world, Immap’s upcoming Digital Congress (DigiCon, www.digicon.com.ph) will kick off with the theme “DX: The Culture of Digital Transformation”. This year’s three-day event seeks to aid Filipino marketers in adapting to the fast-paced era of digitalization. Happening at the Philippine International Convention Center from October 11 to 13, DigiCon 2017 will be more dynamic and interactive, highlighted by a number of engaging sessions and activities. Here are some things to watch out for: 1. FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED US. Think data-driven stories on social media, algorithms for music streaming and improving urban mobility via an app. Understanding the world as it is now means knowing how technology has changed behavior and business. The congress’s
Culture Track, a new addition to the yearly event, will delve into how digitization has impacted and will impact society. 2. TAKE NOTES FROM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PURVEYOR BRIAN SOLIS. The Altimeter Group principal analyst, award-winning author, prominent blogger and in-demand keynote speaker will share his expertise on emerging technology. His plenary session is a perfect way to get an overview on how new technology can help you and your profession. 3. LEARN FROM A STELLAR ROSTER OF SPEAKERS. The keynote speakers in the various tracks are all esteemed leaders in their respective fields, including Google Director of People DN Prasad, WARC Managing Director for Asia Pacific Edward Pank, Kantar TNS Apac Director for Digital Zoe Lawrence, LOWE Global Head Wayne Arnold, Dentsu Aegis Philippine CEO and Immap Founding President Donald Lim, Deloitte Digital Regional Strategy Director Amer Iqbal, McCann Millennials Founder Shun Matsuzaka and many more.
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AN Amazon Alexa device is switched on for a demonstration of its use in a ballpark suite before a Seattle Mariners baseball game in Seattle on May 17. AP
Alexa, Cortana talk to each other in AmazonMicrosoft deal A11
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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
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PERSONALIZED FITNESS GUIDANCE AND COACHING ON OFFER
JUSTIN DENISON, vice president of strategy for Samsung Telecommunications America, talks about the company’s Galaxy Note 8 during the phone’s introduction in New York on August 23. Samsung is trying to move past last year’s disastrous Galaxy Note 7 launch with a successor sporting a dual-lens camera, animated messages, expanded notetaking and lower battery capacity. AP
Up from the ashes: Samsung unveils successor to Note 7 phone
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BY ANICK JESDANUN The Associated Press
EW YORK—Samsung is trying to move past last year’s disastrous Galaxy Note 7 launch with a successor sporting a dual-lens camera, animated messages, expanded note-taking—and lower battery capacity. The South Korean tech giant is no longer trying to squeeze more battery power into each phone. Last year’s Note 7 had to be recalled after dozens spontaneously caught fire because of defective batteries. Samsung responded by subjecting new phones to multiple inspections and giving the battery more physical protection, taking up room normally available for the charge. Although the success of this past spring’s Galaxy S8 phone suggests that Samsung has recovered from the Note 7 debacle, which included bans on airline flights, any further mistakes could prove fatal. “Here it is from the ashes, literally, a rebirth of this pretty iconic brand,” said Bob O’Donnell, a veteran consumer-tech analyst at Technalysis Research.
THE PRICE TAG UNVEILED on Monday, the Galaxy Note 8 will go on sale September 15 in the United States, about the time Apple is expected to come out with new iPhones. Advance orders for the Note 8 begin on Thursday. The phone is among the most expensive, starting at about $930. By contrast, the iPhone 7 starts at about $650 and the S8 at $750. Samsung’s Note phones tend to be niche products aimed at people who use their phones more than the average consumer. But O’Donnell said the Note 8 launch could boost interest in Samsung’s mainstream phones. “Having a halo product at the top of the line helps drive interest across the line,” he said. “The Note 8 will make more people aware of the S8.”
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KEVIN CHENG, global marketing manager of Biostar
Saturday, September 2, 2017 A12
Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, said the phone should be popular among loyal Note users who have had to wait two years since the last model. But Dawson said the price could give consumers pause.
NEW AND NOT THE Note 8 phone offers significant improvements over the last Note model still selling. But the S8 already has one of the Note 8’s signature features, an “infinity display” that maximizes screen size by reducing the frame, or bezel, surrounding the display. The Note 8’s screen will measure 6.3 inches diagonally, up from the Note 7’s 5.7 inches, without feeling much bigger. The Note 8 also matches the S8 in offering the ability to unlock phones with iris patterns, free premium earbuds from Samsung’s AKG brand and a slot for adding storage beyond the 64 gigabytes included. Unlike the S8, the Note 8 will have two camera lenses on the back—one with twice the magnification—allowing for sharper close-ups. The Note 8 will match Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus in using that second lens for software tricks that blur out the background in portrait shots. Samsung offers more tweaking capabilities after the shot, though Apple may be adding improvements as well in the upcoming iPhones.
PEN FEATURES SAMSUNG’S Note line is notable for its stylus, and the new pen restores some of the hardware improvements introduced—then taken away—with the Note 7. A popular feature has been the ability to write notes on the phone’s lock screen, much like a chalkboard. Samsung is expanding how much people can write—up to 100 screens full of notes, rather than just one. Also coming is the ability to handwrite text
messages, rather than just typing them. They are sent as animated GIF files, so friends without Note 8 phones can read them too. With Apple’s Messages app, recipients must have iPhones or iPads with a recent software update for animation to work. The pen will also enable full-sentence translations for travelers, with automatic conversions of currencies and units such as feet and meters.
POWER MATTERS SAMSUNG is taking a conservative approach to its battery, as it did with the S8. Capacity is reduced by 6 percent, as thicker walls and other safety measures take away room once devoted to the charge. Still, Samsung says the capacity is enough for all-day use, thanks to efficiencies from better software. To boost confidence, Samsung is also seeking certification from an outside safety lab, UL. Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said the fact the S8 outsold last year’s S7 shows that “consumers are well past the Note 7 issues. Consumers are a forgiving bunch, and as long as there aren’t strings of issues, they quickly forgive and forget.”
PROSPECTS
THE leading global wearables brand, Fitbit (www.fitbit.com) has introduced a new premium guidance and coaching paid offering designed to analyze your Fitbit data and activity level to deliver a custom curriculum of workouts, programs, content and other tools tailored to your specific goals. The first tools to launch with this offering include a new Fitbit Coach app, which rebrands the current Fitstar Personal Trainer app and combines its popular dynamic video workouts with new Audio Coaching sessions, expertdesigned to help you increase endurance, speed and form. Also introduced are Guided Health Programs, which provide step-by-step guidance, personalized insights, educational tools and rewards to influence positive behavior change and health outcomes. Throughout 2018 and beyond, Fitbit’s new premium offering will grow to include advanced tools with a library of programs and workouts developed with Fitbit’s Advisory Panel, to deliver adaptive health and fitness coaching personalized to you. “This new premium service marks the next chapter for Fitbit—bringing smarter, adaptive and more personalized software experiences to our users that help drive positive health outcomes, thereby creating lifelong Fitbit customers,” said Jon Oakes, vice president of product at Fitbit. “With plans to open the platform to second- and thirdparty partners in the future, our premium offering will grow with new content and tools to give users an easy-to-follow path to improve their health.” The newly rebranded Fitbit Coach app incorporates Fitstar’s proven dynamic workout content that adapts as you progress, and uses your Fitbit data to recommend video and new audio workouts based on your fitness level and goals. Research shows 85 percent of people who use the video workouts from Fitstar now in Fitbit Coach for at least five sessions see an increase in strength. ■ PERSONALIZED BODYWEIGHT WORKOUTS: Select your preferred trainer to guide you through video workouts that adapt to your progress and feedback. The technology that powers Fitbit Coach will update each future workout based on your feedback, like a real-time personal trainer. ■ NEW AUDIO COACHING SESSIONS: Increase endurance, speed and form by listening to 40-plus, expert-designed run and walk audio sessions, and stay motivated with varying difficulties, durations, trainers and music stations; new sessions, such as elliptical and weights, are coming in 2018. ■ ON-DEMAND EXERCISES: Access favorite workouts, or select bodyweight sessions based on duration, difficulty or exercise type to receive step-by-step instructions focused on form and technique. ■ RECOMMENDED WORKOUTS: See recommended exercises in the Fitbit Coach app based on your Fitbit activity data. For example, if you did a bike ride yesterday, the app will suggest a session that targets your abs, arms and chest so your legs can recover. “For a health program to have truly long-lasting effects, it has to be tailored to you,” said Dr. Sherry Pagoto, professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and member of the Fitbit Advisory Panel. “With one of the world’s largest health databases, Fitbit is able to provide deeper, more meaningful insights to help you stay on track, get encouragement when you need it most, and celebrate your successes to keep you motivated. This type of personalized coaching will enable people to build healthier habits and have better success in achieving and maintaining their health goals.”
MOORHEAD said Samsung’s new Android phone represents its “best opportunity to gain market share from Apple, as this is the first super-premium phone they’ve had for years”. But it comes as Apple is expected to release its own super-premium phone for the iPhone’s 10th anniversary. Apple hasn’t said anything about it, though it’s likely to make an announcement in the coming weeks. Carolina Milanesi, a mobile tech analyst with Creative Strategies, said high-end users tend to stick with the system they already have, whether that’s iPhones or Android.
BIOSTAR: THE FUTURE OF GAMING THE renowned leader in gaming hardware, Biostar celebrates its 31st anniversary and kicks off another successful year with a bang by introducing exciting innovation and more powerful motherboards. With the rise of do-it-yourself (DIY) PCs and the boom of the gaming market in the country over the years, there has never been a more opportune time than now for the brand to expand. Biostar elevates your gaming/digital experience by offering you more powerful boards and innovative products that boasts a sporty, trendy aesthetic. ‘“Beyond Better, Racing to the Future’ has served as our motto, embodying our commitment to our customers for continuous development and improvement,” shares Kevin Cheng, global marketing manager of Biostar. “The company integrates all the must-have benefits into a high-performing gaming motherboard and proudly offers more exclusive and optimal features to the eSports and gaming industry. In the next five years, we aim to be the no. 1 brand in gaming, as well as in the cryptomining industry.” Established in 1986 Biostar changed the game by catering to the urgent gaming demands of customers, and, with each
new product, it exceeded customer expectations. Over the next three decades, Biostar has shipped over 100 million motherboards all around the globe and aims to ship another 100 million more in the next decades. Today the company has expanded its operations to four business units that produce motherboards, graphics cards, industrial PCs and other technology for health care. In the Philippines, Biostar, through EA Global, has been catering to the growing market that demands higher, better specs for its AMD motherboards. Responding to the evolving needs of the market, this year, the company proudly launched its second-generation Racing series motherboard. This motherboard excited gamers and the eSports market with its ATX, uATX and Mini-iTX series. Biostar also cares about gaming enthusiasts on every game level, so it also introduced its Racing B250GT5 for mid-level gamers and Racing Z270GT7 for high-level players, offering the same performance, but more choices. For AMD lovers, Biostar becomes the first to launch the Racing X370GT5 for mid-level gamers and Racing X370GT7
for high-level players. By offering AMD AM4 Mini iTX motherboards, Racing X370GTN and Racing B350GTN, the company fulfills its promise of providing gamers the best quality products at competitive prices. Gaming enthusiasts can find more exciting designs from the Super 5 concept of Racing series, which include Super Face, Super Power, Super Sound, Super Easy and Super Fun. The Super Face features cool F1 racing-car styles with a carbon fiber-like heat sink, while the Super Sound boasts a Hi-Fi zone design for pure audio enjoyment. Super Easy, on the other hand, features a GT Touch of Sport and ECO mode for performance-boosting and energy-saving. Super Power delivers ultimate performance with manualcontrol Dual-BIOS protection as the backup chip, as well as Digital Power+ for extreme overclocking. Finally, the Super Fun design concept makes use of Vivid LED DJ and Vivid LED Fun Zone with RGB full-color lighting and dual 5050 LED headers for stylish PC DIY lovers. Biostar’s uniquely exceptional Super 5 designs bring you to a whole new level of gaming appreciation by enhancing speed, sound and visual enjoyment.