BusinessMirror September 19, 2020

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Owning the sun

Lifting the 60/40 equity yoke on Renewable Energy investments, as advocated by DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, sparks an interesting debate on the ownership limits for RE.

‘I

By Pedro Maniego Jr.*

’M looking at allowing 100-percent investment or ownership in renewables.”

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi made this bold statement during an online forum of the Philippine Energy Independence Council in July. Cusi was also quoted having said he is “hoping it could be done with a circular through DOE, but if not, I will go through legislation. I will seek the help of the Joint Congressional Energy Commission to help expedite that so we can accelerate the development of renewables in our country.”

We agree with Cusi. The need to attract investments in renewable energy (RE) is urgent. It’s high time we tackled the 60/40 equity requirement on RE projects and the way the ownership restrictions have befuddled investors and dampened clean energy investments in the country.

Cusi posed a critical question: Can the equity requirement be lifted through a circular, without need of legislation? Our answer: Yes.

Leader to laggard

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By Drew Armstrong | Bloomberg News

VERY effort to develop a new medicine is like launching a ship across the ocean to hunt for riches. Over the years, we’ve improved the hulls and masts, the maps are better, the sailors more experienced. But even so, vessels get turned back or new lands are barren.

And, sometimes, a squall takes down the boat and all her crew.

Continued on A2

Trump’s vaccine promises defy the lessons of pharmaceutical history

COMPARED to other Asian countries, the Philippines fares well in terms of RE share at 29 percent of installed capacity (in megawatts or MW) and 20.8 percent of power generation (in gigawatt hours or GWh) as of 2019.

This is attributable to large hydropower and geothermal power plants, most of which were initiated during the Marcos administration. However, the 20.8-percent RE share in 2019 is less than half of the 44-percent peak RE generation share reached in 1996.

The Philippines installed the first utility scale solar and wind power plants in Southeast Asia.

When Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco) completed its 1-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in 2004, it was at the time the largest solar power plant in the developing world. The Northwind Bangui Bay Wind Farm at 33 MW was completed in 2005. Both projects went into operations before the 60/40 equity was imposed. Republic Act 9513, also known as the RE Act, was enacted in 2008, ahead of other Asean countries. With its host of fiscal and nonfiscal incentives, the RE Act was hailed as one of the most comprehensive laws on RE development. Despite the RE Act’s incentives, other Asean countries have surpassed the Philippines in terms of RE development. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the installed RE power generation capacity of Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were 19 GW, 10 GW and 9.5 GW, respectively, in 2018. In contrast, the installed RE capacity of the Philippines has stagnated at around 7 GW since 2016.

The Philippines has always lagged behind its Asean neighbors in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs). In 2018 our country ranked fifth behind Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand with just $9.8 billion out of a total $155-billion FDI inflows to Asean. The 60/40 equity restriction was cited by many as a major obstacle to FDIs. On the other hand, Vietnam has met great success in attracting FDIs by allowing 100-percent foreign ownership in the power sector. In 2009 Vietnam only had two FDIs in RE projects with registered capital of $90.5 million. By 2016, Vietnam’s FDIs in RE reached a cumulative amount of $8.4 billion.

Construing that ALL forces of potential energy are owned by the State does not make technical sense....

While natural resources located within our national boundaries rightfully belong to the State, the same attribution cannot be applied to solar and wind energy.

VAMPY1 | DREAMSTIME.COM

Do the Constitution and relevant laws mandate 60/40 equity for RE projects?

TO determine whether the 60/40 equity requirement should be imposed on RE projects, we must start with the fundamental law of the land—the Constitution. Here is the relevant provision: Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.4540

n JAPAN 0.4626 n UK 62.8836 n HK 6.2522 n CHINA 7.1633 n SINGAPORE 35.7041 n AUSTRALIA 35.4102 n EU 57.3938 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9187

Source: BSP (September 18, 2020)

NewsSaturday BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, September 19, 2020

Owning the sun Continued from A1

Resources (RE Resources)” refers to energy resources that do not have an upper limit on the total quantity to be used.

Such resources are renewable on a regular basis, and whose renewal rate is relatively rapid to consider availability over an indefinite period of time. These include among others, biomass, solar, wind, geothermal, ocean energy, and hydropower conforming with internationally accepted norms and standards on dams, and other emerging renewable energy technologies.

Article XII: National Economy And Patrimony, Section 2: All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. ... (emphasis supplied) Potential energy is the latent or stored energy in an object at rest.

Did the framers of the 1987 Constitution intend that ALL forces of potential energy are owned by the State? Such interpretation would lead to absurd assumptions such as State ownership of latent energy in springs, an object on top of a building, or a rooftop swimming pool.

How about natural resources?

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), natural resources are natural assets (raw materials) occurring in nature that can be used for economic production or consumption.

It is our view that the forces of potential energy should be attributable only to natural assets occurring in nature and NOT to those resulting from human intervention.

What does the RE Act say?

Republic Act 9513 aka RE Act of 2008: Chapter I, Section 4-(uu).

Definition of Terms.

“Renewable Energy

Although the RE Act provides an enumeration of RE resources, it does not classify these as natural resources.

What does the DOE circular state?

Department Circular No. DC2009-05-0008. Rules and Regulations Implementing RA No. 9513: Part IV.- Rule 6, Sec. 19 A. State Ownership of All Forces of Potential Energy All forces of potential energy and other natural resources are owned by the State and shall not be alienated. These include potential energy such as kinetic energy from water, marine current and wind; thermal energy from solar, ocean, geothermal and biomass.

Construing that ALL forces

of potential energy are owned by the State does not make technical sense. As proposed by Cusi, we believe that DOE needs to re-examine and revise this provision in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the RE Act. Kinetic energy is the energy of mass in motion. When an object falls, it generates kinetic energy.

For example, water flowing from a higher to lower level exhibits kinetic energy.

Is solar power kinetic energy?

Is light mass in motion? Moreover, the RE Act’s IRR specifies thermal power from solar, ocean, geothermal and biomass. Solar PVs generate voltage and electric current upon exposure to light. By harnessing the light and not the heat from the sun, solar PVs are photoelectric, not thermal.

For biomass, burning converts stored chemical energy to kinetic energy as heat. But should agricultural waste and plants commercially grown specifically for biomass power be considered as natural resources? Unlike fossil fuels, biomass fuels were not formed as a result of geologic processes acting on the remains of organic matter over billions of years.

Since time immemorial, humans have harnessed wind power to generate mechanical energy for milling and grinding. If a company puts up a wind mill for milling, grinding and other mechanical purposes but not to generate electricity, the 60/40 equity rule will not apply. In wind power systems, mechanical and electrical genera-

tion are integrated. In hydropower, the water storage facility can be separated from the power plant; in geothermal plants, the steam facility is distinct from the generating plant. Thus, the power generation facility can be 100 percent foreign-owned. Water rights, however, will continue to be owned strictly by Filipinos, while steam fields are subject to mineral production sharing arrangements with government.

Most sources of energy on our planet actually derive from the nuclear reactor located 93 million miles away. That nuclear power plant does not belong to any State.

The sun is the source of almost all forms of energy on earth. Fossil fuels and biomass come from plants which use photosynthesis to transform light to chemical energy. Solar energy is both thermal and photovoltaic. The sun drives the water cycle affecting all water sources, including calderas of geothermal sources. Wind is produced by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. In turn, ocean currents are generated by winds.

While natural resources located within our national boundaries rightfully belong to the State, the same attribution cannot be applied to solar and wind energy. The earth rotates around its axis every 24 hours, causing day and night.

Are the light and heat generated by the sun while shining over the Philippine territory owned by the State? When the wind blows from the ocean and passes through our

www.businessmirror.com.ph territory, does the State own it?

Could a country impound the wind while within its territories based on the concept of State ownership?

This might be a wild or farfetched idea now. But by analogy, some countries have already built and are planning to build large dams to control the supply of water from rivers flowing through their territories. Other than the Philippines, are there any other countries claiming ownership over solar irradiation and wind flows?

Proposed IRR provision and call to action

WE maintain that solar, wind and biomass are not included among the listed forces of potential energy and natural resources defined under the Constitution. Furthermore, the RE Act of 2008 does not classify RE resources as natural resources. It was only in the IRR, where solar thermal (not PV), wind and biomass were considered as forces of potential of energy owned by the State.

The IRR is a Department of Energy circular which could be revised by DOE without having to go to Congress. We recommend the applicable IRR provision be revised as follows: Department Circular No. DC2009-05-0008. Rules and Regulations Implementing RA No. 9513: Part IV.- Rule 6, Sec. 19 A. State Ownership of All Forces

of Potential Energy From Natural Resources All forces of potential energy directly attributable to and obtained from natural resources are owned by the State and shall not be alienated. These include potential sources of energy such as water, marine current and tides, as well as thermal energy from ocean and geothermal.

We likewise recommend the National Renewable Energy Board to actively support the policy directions of Secretary Cusi in order to more quickly realize the potential of this reform agenda.

Over the long term, the Philippines may consider 100-percent foreign ownership of all RE resources. Unlike mineral resources, renewables are not depletable. RE resources are naturally replaced with a perpetual supply for the enjoyment of future generations.

The Philippines has a lot of catching up to do in attracting foreign direct investments needed for RE development. In line with the Green Energy Tariff Program auction, and to bring in far greater FDIs, we urge the DOE to fast-track the removal of the 60/40 equity requirement by amending the IRR of the Renewable Energy Act. * Atty. Pedro Maniego Jr. is the senior policy advisor of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities. He is a former chairman of the National Renewable Energy Board.

Vaccine vow Continued from A1

The Trump administration has set sail on one of the most ambitious vaccine development efforts in history. “Operation Warp Speed” is likely to deliver a Covid-19 inoculation in a fraction of the years it would usually take. If it does so, it could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and economies around the world.

Enough doses

BUT the administration has also offered timelines for a vaccine that fly in the face of almost every experience in pharmaceutical history.

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump said a shot could be ready in three or four weeks. Then, on Wednesday, Paul Mango, deputy chief of staff for policy at the Department of Health and Human Services and one of the senior leaders of the Warp Speed program, said every American could be vaccinated by the end of March.

Mango said that there are enough doses in production and that trials are moving at a speed so that “the combination of those two will permit us to vaccinate every American before the end of first quarter 2021.” A few hours later, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that “we do believe that it will be widely available by the end of” this year, though she also referred to doses of the vaccine being in production by then, as opposed to actually distributed.

‘Aspirational’

MANGO’S and McEnany’s remarks were contradicted by the head of the Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield, who told Congress Wednesday that it would likely take until late spring or the summer of next year for most Americans to have access to a vaccine.

Other top US health officials have said it’s not likely a vaccine will be ready until the end of the year, and that expanding access to the more than 300 million people living in the US will take longer.

“It would be aspirational to do that,” said Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “But I think it’s more toward the middle to the end of the year that you can get people vaccinated. It depends on what the vaccine is.”

PRESIDENT Donald Trump said a shot could be ready in three or four weeks. AP/EVAN VUCCI

Doing it right

THE US has launched many ships.

Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc have headed out at a rapid clip. The early data look promising, and late-stage trials in tens of thousands of volunteers could produce a rapid answer.

But to deploy a vaccine widely by early next year, it’s worth keeping in mind what has to go right: • One of the vaccines has to work.

• The vaccine that works has to be one of the handful that are already in late-stage trials.

• There can’t be a major safety concern, or delay.

• The clinical trials have to generate strong evidence.

• The Food and Drug Administration has to accept that evidence and review it rapidly.

• The manufacturing has to go near perfectly.

• Hundreds of millions of doses must be delivered around the country, likely with some degree of lowtemperature storage requirements.

Even in vaccination efforts that the US runs every year, it’s hard to meet the goal of wide uptake. For the 2017-2018 flu season, only 37 percent of Americans actually got a vaccine, according to the CDC. Many people get it at work, at school, at drugstores or in hospitals—places that are largely closed or that many Americans are avoiding because of the pandemic.

Cardinal rules to follow

THERE are a few loosely understood rules of running a pharmaceutical company, outside the necessity of making a reasonable return for shareholders.

A first rule is don’t kill anyone.

A second one is to help people live longer, better lives. The third is not to get sued by securities regulators.

It’s a simple set of goals that often runs into the brutal reality of drug development, often summed up by insiders with the oft-repeated pearl, “science is hard.” Every year, the pharmaceutical industry spends billions on failure.

Drugs seem like miracles, then turn out to be a mirage.

Much of the money companies invest in research goes toward projects that are stopped because they either don’t help people, or might hurt them.

The result is that most companies—there are, of course, exceptions—are conservative in their pronouncements. And some have been in preparing for a vaccine.

Merck & Co. has been quietly betting that the first shot across the line won’t necessarily be the best, and that its experimental vaccine could top the early winners.

Some form of vaccine is likely to be needed for years, as well, leaving plenty of room for incremental improvements like better protection, more durable immunity, and more certain safety.

To that end, earlier this month, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine published a report summarizing expert recommendations for distributing a Covid-19 vaccine.

On page 11, it cites a key lesson from past mass vaccination efforts: “Under-promise and over-deliver.”

Having violated the first half of that advice, the best hope now is that the US delivers on the second.

News

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Ex-DFA chief: UK, France, Germany boost case for raising SCS issue again

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NE of three former government officials who want the Duterte administration to bring the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea to the UN general assembly hailed the position of France, Germany and the United Kingdom against China’s SCS claims in the Note Verbale to the United Nations dated September 16, 2020.

France, Germany and the UK invoked the primacy of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) in the SCS and the Arbitral Ruling won by the Philippines against China, noted former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario.

Del Rosario said along with the US, “these European nations confirm our position that there is international support for our country’s lawful rights in our West Philippine Sea, as ruled by the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague.”

Incumbent Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. earlier frowned on the suggestion to raise the arbitral ruling at this week’s UN general assembly as a way to enforce it in some way. Locsin, who was Manila’s Permanent Representative to the UN for two years before assuming the DFA post, said

bringing the issue once more to an international body will not work the same way, as the numbers game always wins in the UN, where China holds sway over many nations for its development “aid” the past years.

Del Rosario said on Friday, “Given the clear international and domestic suppor t for our arbitral ruling, it is both incomprehensible and disappointing that our government refuses to invoke the arbitral ruling for the sake of the Filipino people. It is our fervent hope that our government will finally listen to its people.”

In an earlier media briefing, Locsin said: “We won it already. Now, why would you want to re-litigate something that you won? It’s like, you don’t [that] like you won? That doesn’t make any sense. So I rejected it.”

“If brought back to the UN, “it becomes a question of numbers. And this has nothing to do with numbers. This has something to do with law,” added Locsin.

“We will lose in UN which is dominated by countries grateful to China for its indisputable generosity in development aid,” Locsin also said in a tweet. Recto L. Mercene

Women in PHL work force boosts profitability, productivity–survey

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ajority of the companies in the country recognize that having more women in their work force is good for business, according to a new sur vey of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

In its “Leading to Success: The Business Case for Women in Business and Management in the Philippines” report, ILO said 84 percent of the 389 Filipino firms it surveyed said “gender diversity has brought several benefits to their businesses.”

Of the said establishments, 73 percent reported increased profitability and productivity, as well as greater creativity, innovation and openness in their operations.

By adopting a women-inclusive employment policy, 69 percent also reported that they were able to better attract and retain talent, while 61 percent said the scheme improved their company’s reputation.

Smart thing to do

Activities Director Deborah France-Massin said they hope the findings will encourage more companies to adopt a similar policy.

“This research shows there is a clear business case for companies in the Philippines to implement initiatives on gender diversity in terms of being able to attract and retain the best possible talent. So action

in this area is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing to do,” France-Massin said in a statement.

Pandemic impact

ILO expressed concern that the employment of some these women were affected by the ongoing pandemic.

It noted these Covid-affected workers may have lost their jobs since they are employed in industries, which were badly hit by the pandemic, such as the service sector. In some instances, they practice flexible work arrangement.

“While this crisis has highlighted the importance of flexible work arrangements and telework, it has also exacerbated women’s double burden in balancing family and work responsibilities,” ILO said in its latest report.

ILO Country Office for the Philippines Director Khalid Hassan urged the government to ensure working girls and women will not be left behind especially during the crisis.

“By working together towards reaching our sustainable development goals on gender equality and decent work, and harnessing women’s full potential, countries are assured of a more inclusive and innovative environment that can achieve higher levels of development,” Hassan said. Samuel P. Medenilla

DepEd rushes guidelines on homeschool regulation

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

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he Department of Education (DepEd) is rushing the formulation of guidelines on the operation of homeschools amid the anticipated influx of learners on school opening.

The guidelines, the DepEd said are also meant to scuttle the possible proliferation of “fly by night” homeschools.

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said education officials are deliberating on the governing rules that would apply to homeschools, even as she admitted that they may still have resolve some “complicated” issues on the matter.

“So, in the process na of finalizing the guidelines ang ating curriculum group dahil sila ang mag -aaprove kung pwede ba ang isang homeschool [to operate] or not?” she said.

Briones said that they need to come up with the guidelines on homeschooling since some parents may choose to avail of such program “as an alternative to lack of connectivity and as an alternative to the dangers of Covid.”

“That’s why we really need to address this. Ano ba talaga ang ibig nating sabihin ng homeschooling? At ano bang gusto nating ituturo sa homeschooling? Pwede bang kung ang mother homeschool ay nandito sa Pilipinas, mag -operate ng homeschool sa ibang bansa . [What is really the meaning of homeschooling? What do they want to teach? Will it be possible that the mother homeschool is here in the Philippines operating but will also operate homeschool in other country]?”

Briones asked.

She added: “At saka yung paano natin ma assess ang competence ng mga nagtuturo sa homeschool. Kasi at the end of the day, ang mga

bata na nag-aral sa homeschool ay mag take parin sila ng mga National Assessment Tests [And how can we assess the competence of those teaching in homeschool? At the end of the day, the children enrolled in homeschool will still take the National Assessment Test]. Like those who finished high school and would like to go on to university, then they will have to pass the admission requirements of the university or those who want to go on to high school, etc.”

For his part, Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said that in their new concept, they are proposing that the homeschool parent or child should enroll in an authorized homeschool of private schools so that the assessment will be done in the school itself and there is no need to go to the Bureau of Education Assessment.

San Antonio said that the guidelines discussed with the Executive Committee and Management Committee of DepEd “is almost done.”

He cited that among the things that was agreed upon was that “Filipinos should enroll in homeschools based in the country that would only cater to Filipinos living in the country.” “ S e co n d l y, w h i l e we a c k n o w l e d g e n a naiba na nga ang ayos ng homeschooling kasi nagkaroon ng mga homeschool providers na ang purpose lang naman talaga nila ay magprovide ng suppor t sa magulang . S o, pinapayagan din natin ang mga magulang na gumawa ng ganitong desisyon . [The structure of homeschooling is already different for there are homeschool providers whose only purpose is to provide support to the parents. So, we allow the parents to decide on this],” San Antonio said, stressing the need to revise the 1997 guidelines and 2019 memorandum on homeschooling.

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AVAO CITY—The Land Registration Authority (LRA) has reminded holders of land titles to avail of the agency’s program to replace traditional land titles with more secured electronically generated copies.

LRA Administrator Renato D. Bermejo said the holder of the traditional

manual title should present the old title to the LRA for verification and issuance of the new electronic copy.

Bermejo issued the appeal in a notice to the public memorandum dated June 24 this year to ensure that individuals would not be delayed in their transactions involving land titles.

Bermejo said the LR A has embarked on a Land Titling Computer-

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State of national calamity extended until Sept. 12, ’21

By Samuel P. Medenilla

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m i d t he ongoi ng Co vid-19 pandemic, President Duterte has decided to extend the declaration of state of calamit y nationw ide for another year.

In his Proclamation 1021, President Duterte said his new order extends the declaration of a state of calamity from September 13, 2020 to September 12, 2021, “unless earlier lifted, or extended, as

circumstance may warrant.”

He made the declaration after his Proclamation 929, which he issued last March, placing the entire country under six months of state of calamity expired last Wednesday.

T he President sa id t he e xt e n s io n a i m s t o a l l o w c o n cer ned gover n ment agenc ies a nd loc a l gover n me nt u n it s (LGU ) to cont inue using t heir supplement a l budget, suc h as t hei r Q u ic k R esponse Fu nd ,

for t heir Cov id-19 measu res.

The measure will also allow the government to monitor and control prices of basic necessities and prime commodities during the pandemic.

“All government agencies and LGUs are enjoined to continue rendering full assistance to and cooperat ion w it h eac h ot her and mobilize the necessar y resources to undertake critical, urgent, and appropriate disaster response aid and measures

in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the threat of Covid-19,” President Duterte said in his two-paged proclamation.

He also directed law-enforcement agencies and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to ensure the peace and order situation in the country during the crisis.

The President sig ned Proclamation 1021 on September 16, 2020, but was on ly released to t he med i a on Fr id ay.

Palace: Cemeteries, columbariums closed from Oct. 29 to November 4

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ll private and public cemeteries, memorial parks, and columbariums will be closed for a week during the commemoration of Undas next month.

Th e I nte r -Ag e n c y Ta s k Fo rce f o r t h e Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) issued the decision on Thursday in its Resolution 72, Series of 2020 as part of its measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 in mass gatherings.

Under the new issuance, the nationwide closures will take effect from October 29 to November 4, 2020.

However, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said people will still be allowed to visit the graves of

their departed loves ones before or after the said date on the condition they follow the necessary guidelines.

“The number of visitors shall be limited to a maximum of 30 percent of the venue capacity,” Roque said in an online briefing on Friday.

The visitors will also be required to wear face masks and face shields, as well as observe social distancing.

Roque noted children as well as senior citizens, who are not usually allowed to go out of their homes in areas under community quarantine, will be allowed to visit cemeteries, memorial parks and columbariums.

Filipinos traditionally commemorate Undas , or All Saints’ Day, by visiting cemeteries, memorial

parks, and columbariums to remember and pray for their deceased loved ones.

Antigen testing Aside for guidelines for the celebration of Undas , Resolution 72 the IATF also approved the recommendation of the Department of Health Technical Advisory Group to start the pilot studies for the use of Rapid Antigen Tests.

If approved, Roque said the measure will be a game changer since it will serve as a faster and cheaper option to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, which is currently the gold standard for Covid-19 testing.

He explained the antigen testing will still rely on swab samples and a machine for processing but he noted the result will be known in 10 to 20 minutes, which is shorter than RT-PCR which could take one to two days.

“The accuracy of the result does not vary much from that or PCR testing,” Roque said.

Furthermore, he also said the price of the kits for antigen is lower priced between P1,000 and P1,250.

He said Baguio City will be one of the areas covered by the pilot study, thus people who will be traveling their must undergo antigen testing first.

Samuel P. Medenilla

Neda says 104 flagship projects ready for implementation next year

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By Cai U. Ordinario

he National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is confident that 1 0 4 f l a g s h i p p ro j e c t s o f t h e D u te r te administration would be implemented by 2021.

During the budget hearing at the Senate Finance Committee, Ac ting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said, “The selection of the 104 is based on the readiness [of each project] to be implemented in 2021.”

He continued: “So all of these [projects] are included [in the budget] At least certain segments of their implementation. For instance, the construction phase, implementation of right of way. That is the basis of including the 104, they start next year, or continue next year.”

Data from the Neda web site showed the 104 projects carry a price tag of P4.13 trillion.

However, only a portion of the amount will be included in the budget since only portions of some projects will be implemented next year.

Based on the list provided by Neda, the 104 projects include mostly new projects as less than 40 original projects were included on the new list. Some projects on the original list were also lumped together so even more new

projects were added to the flagship projects.

Chua already hinted at the changes when he said some of the new projects are related to the Covid-19 response such as the P500-million Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines.

Of the projects on the list, the most expensive is the P735.65-billion New Manila International Airport and the P628.42-billion North South Commuter Railway Ex tension or Philippine National Railways (PNR) North 2, PNR South Commuter railway.

Other big-ticket projects, or those costing over P100 billion, are the P356.97-billion Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1; P175.32-billion PNR South Long Haul; P149.13-billion North South Commuter Railway (PNR North 1); and P102.12-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport project.

Apar t from the flagship projec ts, the Neda said it has facilitated the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) approval of 27 new projects amounting to P770.8 billion.

It also increased the share of Regional Development Council (RDC)-endorsed projects in the National Expenditure program to 25 percent in 2020 from only 4.84 percent in 2019.

Under the Regional Project Monitoring and

3 foreigners nabbed for passport fraud in Lucena, Quezon–DFA

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By Recto Mercene

he Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has warned the public of attempts by unscrupulous individuals to commit passport irregularities following the arrest of three foreign nationals who were allegedly attempting to secure Philippine passports from the consular office (CO) in Lucena City, Quezon.

The DFA said the suspects were arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives “for attempting to commit acts in violation of the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 and other related laws.”

“We commend the sharpness of the CO Lucena staff in immediately identifying the spurious documents presented by these foreign nationals, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Neil Frank R. Ferrer said.

Despite threats to their lives and attempts at bribery, Ferrer said, the staff “followed the law to the letter and immediately coordinated with NBI to apprehend these individuals.”

He said the DFA will continue to cooperate with the NBI against all forms of passport irregularities, including those detected at the DFA Office of Consular Affairs at Aseana, Parañaque and other COs nationwide.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs continues to be vigilant against any and all forms of passport irregularities,” Ferrer added as he assured that such transgressions and illegal acts “will not go unpunished.”

“The department looks forward to the results of the investigations and possible prosecution of these foreigners and other individuals involved in the attempts to circumvent our laws in order to gain rights given only to Filipinos,” Ferrer stressed.

LRA reminds holders of ‘traditional’ land titles to secure electronic copy

By Manuel T. Cayon

Saturday, September 19, 2020

ization Project (LTCP) that already scanned 16.6 million titles of 159 registries nationwide. These scanned document titles were already uploaded in the agency’s database.

“However, the scanned image in the system is not the title itself but is only the picture thereof. The title remains the paper title kept in the vault of the registry office,” he clarified in the memorandum.

He said the surrender of the traditional titles would allow the agency to verify and certify the authenticity of the document.

“As of recent time, of the 16.6 million titles nationwide, only 28.54 percent, or 4.7 million titles were upgraded to electronic title, leaving 71.46 percent, or 11.9 million titles in a paper title status,” he said.

Evaluation System (RPMES), Neda monitored 930 ongoing and completed projects and subprojects across the 15 regions.

These projects had an aggregate cost of P898.84 billion were monitored and reported by the Regional Project Monitoring Committees.

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Saturday, September 19, 2020

The World BusinessMirror

Citi to hire 6K young people in Asia as joblessness soars

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itigroup Inc. is embarking on hiring 6,000 young people in Asia over the next three years in an effort to help cushion the region from a blowout in youth unemployment.

It’s also offering 60,000 job training opportunities for youth below the age of 24 over the next three years across its retail and institutional businesses in the region, the New York-based bank said on Friday. Citi and its Citi

Foundation pledged to invest $35 million in philanthropic contributions and grants to improve the employability of youth from lowincome and underserved communities in Asia by 2023.

Asia Pacific is home to more

than half of the world’s youth population, estimated at 700 million people. They now account for almost half of the region’s unemployed, even though they make up just 20 percent of the working-age population, according to the International Labor Organization.

Projections through the end of 2020 in 13 countries show sizable jumps, with youth unemployment rates doubling from 2019 in some cases, the bank said.

“Communities in Asia Pacific are facing a youth unemployment crisis, especially among low-income and underserved groups, due to the impact of Covid-19,” said Peter Babej, Citi’s Asia Pacific

chief executive officer.

Asia Pacific is Citi’s largest region by revenues outside North America, contributing around 25 percent of global revenues based on 2020 earnings reports year to date.

The jobs will be offered across different businesses in the region including banking, capital markets and advisory, markets and securities services and consumer banking, a Hong Kong-based spokesman said.

The program will cover a mixture of new positions and annual hiring needs, the spokesman said.

Hiring will be done across Asia Pacific, but many of the jobs are expected to come in Southeast Asia, he said. Bloomberg News

Almost half of UK firms plan to cut or freeze hiring–CBI

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lmost half of firms plan to cut hiring or not recruit at all over the next year, the UK’s biggest business lobby group said, adding to the gloom surrounding the country’s job market.

While 51 percent of companies said they plan to expand, or maintain, recruitment levels, 46 percent said they would not, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) annual survey, which drew responses from 248 firms. The positive balance of 5 percent was down from +56 percent last year, the CBI said.

The survey comes three days after official data showed the UK has shed 700,000 jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with the unemployment rate increasing to 4.1 percent from 3.9 percent.

Economists warn that might be the calm before the storm, predicting as many as 3 million people may be out of work by the end of the year, up from 1.4 million currently. That’s because the government’s furlough program, currently supporting 1 in 10 jobs, is due to end on October 31.

“The UK labor market has been under heavy stress since the outset of the Covid-19 crisis and, although the economy has started to reopen, pressure on firms remains acute,” CBI Chief UK Policy Director Matthew Fell said in a news statement. “With ongoing social distancing, higher costs, lower demand, local lockdowns and fears of a second wave, firms are tempering their recruitment plans.”

Other findings of the survey, carried out in conjunction with recruitment company Pertemps,

include:A balance of +7 percent of firms expect their work force to be bigger in a year’s time, compared to +28 percent in last year’s survey.

Some 48 percent will examine options to restructure their company.

A third of companies plan to freeze pay across all roles.

Half of companies said, in light of the pandemic, had taken steps to protect jobs, including through reducing working hours, cutting bonuses and slashing overtime pay. Bloomberg News

China eyeing stronger clean energy goals in next 5 years

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hina is considering proposals to accelerate its adoption of clean energy as part of its next five-year plan that begins in 2021, as the world’s biggest polluter takes steps to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases.

China’s current goal is to derive as much as 20 percent of its primary energy use from non-fossil fuels by 2030. One option under consideration is to bring forward that target, according to people familiar with the discussions who asked not to be identified, possibly to 2025.

Another proposal is to cut the share of coal in the energy mix to 52 percent by 2025, from the 57.5 percent planned for the end of this year, one of the people said.

The nation’s top leadership will next month lay out its broad strategy for 2021 to 2025, with specific details to be released in March next year. The new energy policy is likely to be an exercise in juggling the sometimes competing d e m a n d s o f d e l i ve ri n g e co n o m i c grow t h , promoting energy security and mitigating the worst effects of global warming.

The National Energy Administration, which is fielding the proposals, didn’t immediately respond to a fax seeking comment.

“The target setting is in early discussions that require opinions not only from the NEA but also industrial regulators,” said Peng Peng, secretar y-general of the China New Energy Investment and Financing Alliance.

Promoting renewables at the expense of dirty energy like coal doesn’t necessarily mean that consumption of fossil fuels would fall, as total power needs to rise as the economy expands. Unlike other major economies, China is expected to show some growth this year as it emerges more quickly than other countries from the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, China has done a little better than it expected in its transition to clean energy so far, even as it remains the world’s biggest miner and consumer of coal. The share of non-fossil fuels in the energy mix was 15.3 percent in 2019, surpassing the 15 percent goal set for 2020.

Moreover, as a major producer of both energy sources, China is likely to favor renewables and coal over imported fuels when it comes to assessing its energy security needs at a time of worsening trade relations and fraying supply chains. “Security of supply is firmly back on the agenda,” Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said in a note this week.

Chinese renewable energy stocks have been on a tear on speculation that Beijing could increase its requirements for solar and wind power. Bringing forward the 20 percent target to 2025 could see solar installations more than triple from 2019 levels to 105 gigawatts (GW) a year, while wind could almost double to 48 (GW), Zhu Yue, an analyst at Industrial Securities Co., said in a note.

Longi Green Energy Technology Co., the world’s largest solar company, dropped 2.6 percent in early trading Friday in Shanghai, pairing gains since Sept. 10 to 13 percent.

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd., one of the top producers of polysilicon, which is used to make solar power cells, gained as much as 4.9 percent in Hong Kong and extended its rally over that period to 19 percent. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Sloppy’ poisoning of Navalny turned Merkel against Putin

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lexey Navalny’s team was at breakfast in the Siberian city of Tomsk when they received word that the opposition leader had fallen violently ill on his flight home to Moscow.

The activists raced to the room in the Xander hotel he’d left hours before and scrambled to collect evidence. “It was obvious to us that Navalny hadn’t just gotten a bit sick,” they recalled in an Instagram post Thursday. “We decided to take everything that might be of use.”

A plastic Svyatoi Istochnik (“Holy Source”) water bottle they picked up would weeks later be found by a German military lab to have traces of Novichok, the weapons-grade nerve agent first developed by the Soviets. The use of a banned chemical weapon in the August 20 attack has left German authorities with little doubt that the operation was ordered from the highest levels of the Russian government, according to three officials in Berlin familiar with the findings.

Quick action by the pilot of his flight to make an emergency landing and the medical personnel that first treated him likely saved the 44-year-old’s life, German officials and his colleagues said. The “sloppiness” of his would-be assassins left a trail of evidence pointing to the Kremlin that Berlin could not ignore.

What Western officials call a botched attempt to kill a leading opposition figure has triggered a new downward spiral in Russia’s ties with Europe, and above all with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose patience had already been tested by President Vladimir Putin. Her government was grappling with how to respond to a 2015 cyber attack on the Bundestag and a 2019 killing in Berlin, both of which were ordered by Russian state actors, German prosecutors say.

Even against the Kremlin’s track record of malfeasance, the brazen targeting of a chief critic would be devastating to Putin’s already low standing in the West, a European diplomat said.

The Kremlin says it found no proof Navalny was poisoned and has rejected Merkel’s calls to open a criminal investigation. Russian officials have presented a variety of conflicting accounts of what may have happened, ranging from claims Navalny was merely sick to suggestions he was poisoned after he was taken to Germany in a medically induced coma for treatment days after the attack.

Western officials dismiss those claims. Calling on Moscow to answer for the attack, the European Union and others are weighing a response that could range from expelling Russian diplomats to more painful economic sanctions. Merkel has suggested she could even take action against the 9.5-billion-euro ($11 billion) Nord Stream 2 pipeline to carry Russian gas to Germany.

From his Berlin hospital room, Navalny has begun posting Instagram shots.

Known for his YouTube videos exposing official corruption and targeting the ruling party, Navalny has long been a target for Kremlin ire. Putin and other top officials go to elaborate linguistic lengths to avoid saying his name in public. Putin’s spokesman calls him “the Berlin patient.”

But while over his years of activism, he’s been repeatedly jailed for weeks at a time and attacked on the streets by opponents—at one point nearly losing sight in one eye—the poisoning attack marks the first clear attempt on his life.

The Kremlin has a long and deadly history of using such weapons to go after those who fell out of favor, with mixed success. The 2018 attack on former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, UK, didn’t kill him but sickened several others and killed one bystander who came into contact with the Novichok.

The attack on Navalny took place in the heart of Siberia, where he would seemingly have been an easier target for assassins from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, whose agents had been following his every move for years, according to his allies.

Navalny and his team were in Tomsk filming a video about local corruption ahead of regional elections, hoping to mobilize supporters to defeat the ruling party. A few of the team had stayed with the camera crew to finish shooting while Navalny with several others went back to Moscow.

Shortly after the aircraft took off, however, Navalny was stricken, screaming in pain and losing consciousness, according to witnesses and video from the flight. The crew asked if any doctors were aboard and made plans for an emergency landing in Omsk, the nearest city.

As they descended, the airport tower warned them that a bomb threat had been phoned in to the terminal. But the pilots weren’t fazed, asking for the ambulance to be dispatched directly to the runway.

Had the plane continued its 4.5-hour flight to Moscow, Navalny could have died, according to allies.

On the ground in Omsk, medical personnel quickly read his symptoms as poisoning and rushed him to the toxicology ward. He was administered atropine, the only drug effective against agents like Novichok.

Back in Tomsk, police still hadn’t secured his hotel room even as news of his illness spread around the world. Navalny’s colleagues took the water bottle and other evidence and headed for the airport to make their way to Germany, where they hoped he’d be taken for treatment.

“The FBK brilliantly outplayed the FSB,” opposition politician Vladimir Milov wrote on Twitter, referring to the Russian initials of Navalny’s AntiCorruption Foundation. “They took evidence from under their noses [pa bottle with Novichok from the Tomsk hotel] and got it out of the country.”

Vladimir Uglev, an expert from the team that developed the poison decades ago, said he suspects the Novichok was put on the water bottle in an effort to kill Navalny during the flight or shortly after. “The people who did this calculated everything down to the smallest detail, but they failed to take into account one crucial thing: the human factor,” he said.

Officials initially refused to allow Navalny to be flown to Germany, delaying the private jet that had come to fetch him long enough that its crew had to spend hours longer resting under aviation-safety rules. But by Saturday morning, less than 48 hours after falling ill, he was flown to Berlin by a private group backed by Merkel’s government.

Medical tests at the Charite hospital in the heart of the German capital quickly showed that Navalny had been poisoned with a cholinesterase inhibitor, a category of chemicals that includes pesticides, medications and nerve agents.

Days later, the German military’s Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, one of the few laboratories in the world with first-hand knowledge of the toxin, made the Novichok conclusion. That Wednesday morning, Merkel gathered six top cabinet members to inform them—and agreed that a swift response was necessary. Police tightened security around the hospital, fearing another attempt on his life.

For Merkel, a self-described Russophile who grew up in East Germany, a deep well of patience had been emptied. Her message to the Kremlin was blunt by her standards.

“It’s clear that Alexey Navalny is the victim of a crime,” Merkel told reporters gathered hours later. “The intent was to silence him.” Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World

Justice dept: Protesters may face sedition charge

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ederal prosecutors should consider charging violent protesters under a criminal sedition law, which doesn’t require proof that they were plotting to overthrow the government, the justice department said in a memo on Thursday.

The federal statute governing sedition charges applies to other acts, including preventing law-enforcement officers from carrying out their duties and forcibly taking property belonging to the government, according to the memo issued

by Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.

The guidance marks a move by the justice department to use federal prosecutions against violent demonstrators when state and local officials decline to bring charges.

The memo was issued in response to mounting alarm and criticism that the department would look to charge protesters with plotting a coup, which carries a prison term of as much as 20 years.

Rosen said the department’s position has been “misrepresented” by “secretive leaks” that appear “designed to misrepresent what the department is actually doing to protect the rights and interests of the American people.”

Rosen said the “seditious

conspiracy” statute is one of several federal offenses that prosecutors should consider in charging defendants involved in riots.

Rosen’s boss, William Barr, last week pushed US attorneys to pursue sedition counts.

Barr and President Donald J. Trump have frequently criticized the violence accompanying some of the demonstrations that arose in May after the death of a Black Minneapolis man in police custody.

Trump’s response has been to fashion himself as the “law and order” candidate in the November presidential election, a defender against anarchy and socialism. The President, in an address at the National Archives in Washington on Thursday, denounced school curricula that emphasize the impact of slavery and racism on American history and blamed “left-wing indoctrination” for the demonstrations against police brutality.

And in a speech in Virginia on Wednesday night, Barr said the Black Lives Matter movement didn’t care about Black lives but instead wanted to use African Americans who were killed at the hands of police as “props” to advance its political agenda. Bloomberg News

Hemingway’s favorite Key West bar reopens from virus closure

In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Ernest Hemingway look-alikes, including from left, Dusty Rhodes, Tim Stockwell and Charlie Boice chat with bartender Lou Gammel, right, at Sloppy Joe’s on September 17, in Key West, Florida. The iconic Florida Keys bar reopened Thursday after being sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic, with the annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, that was to mark its 40th anniversary and take place in July, a highlight of Key West’s Hemingway Days festival. Boice won the contest in 2015. AP

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EY WEST, Florida—Sloppy Joe’s, the iconic Key West bar that Ernest Hemingway frequented during the 1930s, reopened Thursday after closing six months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.

By noon, the bar had already reached the 50 percent capacity allowed by law, including three Ernest Hemingway look-alikes.

Concerns about Covid-19 had forced cancellation of the 40th Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest held at Sloppy Joe’s each July during the subtropical island’s annual Hemingway Days festival.

Charlie Boice, who won the contest in 2015, traveled nearly 400 kilometers from Jupiter, Florida, to attend the reopening.

“Coming back to Sloppy Joe’s is a wonderful thing,” Boice said. “For most people, it’s just a destination on a cruise, or a destination on vacation.

But for the Papas, this is home.”

The three-night competition typically draws about 150 stocky, bearded entrants from the US

and other countries, as well as their supporters and hundreds of spectators. The Duval Street bar has been associated with the legendary author since he lived in Key West during the 1930s.

With the noted exception of the Key West Marlin Tournament, most other area festival events were canceled, as well.

The reopening of Sloppy Joe’s comes three days after bars were allowed to resume business operations throughout most other Florida regions.

“With the pandemic, we did the best we could to minimize our costs,” Sloppy Joe’s brand manager Donna Edwards said. “We had limited income with online sales, so we’re very happy to have the doors open and to be able to share Sloppy Joe’s Bar again with everyone in the world.”

Besides operating the bar at 50 percent capacity, management is maintaining strict social distancing and requiring patrons to wear face coverings except when seated to eat or drink. AP

BusinessMirror

Saturday, September 19, 2020

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China launches more military drills in Taiwan Strait amid US envoy visit C

hina launched a fresh round of military drills in the Taiwan Strait, as a top US diplomat demonstrated increasing American support for the democratically ruled island with a visit to Taipei.

The Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army will conduct “scenario-based exercises” in the Taiwan Strait starting Friday, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang told a news conference in Beijing.

Ren, who was speaking at a briefing on the Chinese military’s international

peacekeeping efforts, didn’t elaborate on the nature of the drills or how close they would come to the sensitive median line of the strait.

“It is a legitimate action of the Chinese army in promoting our security and sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Ren said. “The US and Taiwan authorities have been in close contact recently, frequently stirring up trouble.

In fact, it will only be a day dream for Taiwan to promote independence by colluding with foreign countries.”

China has stepped up military activities in the

waterway, as Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen courts greater military and diplomatic support from the US and its allies. Beijing regards the island as part of its territory and reserves the right to take it by force, even though the two sides have been ruled separately for more than 70 years and have deep social and economic ties.

The latest announcement came after Undersecretary of State Keith Krach began a visit to Taiwan, ostensibly to attend the Saturday funeral of former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui.

It’s the second such visit in as many months, after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar became most senior American official to travel to the island since Washington switched diplomatic ties to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.

The People’s Liberation Army has conducted more than 30 maritime drills in all four of its major sea regions since late July, the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper reported Monday, citing unidentified experts. The US and Taiwan have also increased military drills in the area.

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ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

PHL, Asean SMEs seen benefiting from eBay’s global export platform

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By Roderick L. Abad

S the economy gradually recovers its footing from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines and neighboring countries in the region can leverage on eBay’s platform for global export with the launch of its e-commerce accelerator program called “Global 24/7.”

It provides start-up incentives, necessary tools, trainings, and assistance for business owners to tap into eBay’s global marketplace of over 174 million active buyers. Apart from the Philippines, it is extended to markets across Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

“Global e-commerce has experienced exponential growth due to a shift in consumer behavior following the Covid-19 pandemic. Philippines’s SME exporters on our platform have seen a corresponding increase, especially in health and beauty; jewelry, gems, and watches; computers; business and industrial; and auto-parts categories, where volumes have more than doubled from the same period last year,” said Tam Yong Sheng, head of business development at eBay Southeast Asia.

“This shows that e-commerce is a key driver for SMEs to recover from the economic downturn. Our aspiration with the Global 24/7 program is to empower businesses by helping them move online more quickly and giving them the opportunity to participate in an international marketplace with approximately 1.5 billion live listings at any given time across 190 markets,” he added.

Ongoing until December 31, this initiative offers manifold benefits to new sellers.

To help SMEs reduce the cost to grow their business online, eBay will waive 100 percent of store fees at the basic subscription tier and 50 percent of fees for businesses to use promoted listings to advertise their products. Total incentive for each seller can be up to $1,000.

Webinars will be held bi-weekly

for business owners to gain insights on cross market selling opportunities on eBay, best practices to maximize listing ranking and visibility, and tips on developing a traffic generation plan to their virtual storefront. There will be free access to product listing tools worth up to $700. Sellers will have full access to Viewider, enabling easy product information migration from their existing online selling channels.

Those in the automotive category will have additional listing assistance to map their items to eBay’s Master Vehicle List, enhancing visibility through its fitment finder.

In collaboration with DHL Express, new businesses can have discounted shipping rates from Southeast Asia, and a dedicated account manager to expedite the account opening process. For those who are keen to store their items in the United States for a better buyer experience, eBay will provide a subsidy (worth $1,200) of 12 months of storage fees in partner warehouses.

Every business with over 100 products on eBay will also have a dedicated account manager for personalized guidance and consultation to optimize the use of their online store. For exporters to have better informed decisions and strategies, eBay will be creating local market intelligence reports for their specific product categories and industries. Recorded webinars and self-help tutorials will be available at the eBay e-commerce Accelerator webpagee.

SMEs with an existing business but sans an eBay store are eligible

to apply for this program. Large and small businesses across the value chain—from manufacturers to dealers to retailers—can also join. They will need to apply on eBaySEAforbusiness.com and follow the instructions in the subsequent e-mail. Application are now accepted until September 30.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Canada are the top 5 export markets for Philippine SMEs on eBay with health and beauty being the leading category of sales globally, followed by jewelry, gems, and watches; computers; business and industrial; and auto-parts.

Simultaneously, retail exports by Filipino sellers on the platform continue to grow rapidly in a variety of product categories, hence, indicating the opportunity for SMEs in the global marketplace.

In the first quarter of 2020, women’s clothing category has seen a growth of more than 290 percent in terms of items sold by Philippine sellers to the US market, while men’s apparel has increased by over 190 percent compared with the same period last year.

During the two periods in review, women’s wear has increased by about 160 percent in Australia; digital cameras have recorded a hike of 320 percent as headphones and men’s accessories rose by 120 percent in the UK; sales of handy phones and smartphones have grown by 680 percent in Germany; motorcycle-part sales have expanded by more than 80 percent in France, Italy and Spain.

Japan exports dip 15% in August as contagion pummels trade M ITO, Japan—Japan’s trade surplus widened in August as the pandemic pummeled a wide array of industries and sapped consumer demand.

The 15-percent drop in exports from a year earlier was outpaced by a more than 20-percent decline in imports, according to preliminary data from the Finance Ministry released Wednesday.

In one rare bright spot, exports to China rose 5 percent. But both exports and imports with the US fell more than 20 percent, helping reduce the politically sensitive trade surplus by 20 percent to 373 billion yen, or $3.5 billion.

Many Japanese manufacturers provide chemicals, equipment and components for products assembled in China. Robust exports have helped drive growth in recent years but suffered as China’s economy slowed and the pandemic took hold.

The pace of the decline in exports has been lessening as pandemic-related shutdowns in China, the US and Europe eased.

Exports fell 28 year-on-year in May, 26 percent in June and 19 percent in July.

Exports in August totaled 5.23 trillion yen ($49 billion), outpacing 4.98 trillion yen in imports ($47 billion), leaving a surplus of 248

billion yen ($2.4 billion). That compared with a 152.2 billion yen deficit a year earlier.

Trade in most categories of products declined in August, with exports of transport equipment such as vehicles falling 23 percent.

Exports of computers and phones rose, however, reflecting strong demand as many companies and schools adjust to remote work.

Weakness in exports to Southeast Asia took a toll, falling nearly 24 percent, as trade and travel have languished amid strict quarantine restrictions.

Helping to boost the trade surplus, imports of oil, gas and other fuels plunged 45 percent, partly thanks to lower prices for many commodities. Overall, imports have been falling for 16 straight months, in part due to lower prices for oil and other goods resource-scarce Japan must source overseas.

Despite the latest weak data, surveys of manufacturers show new export orders are recovering, said Tom Learmouth of Capital Economics.

“But while goods exports will continue to recover as activity picks up in Japan’s trading partners, exports of goods and services may not reach pre-virus levels until early-2022,” he said in a report. AP

Exporters in the regions propose strategies to implement PEDP devt plan amid Covid

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HE Department of Trade Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), Export Development Council (EDC), and Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) held a series of virtual consultations to gather recommendations from exporters in the regions on the implementation of the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2018-2022 strategies amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Consultations were held in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao on August 12, 19, and 26, respectively.

“This PEDP Regional Consultation is a venue to assess plans and programs before the crisis and if they are still doable despite the pandemic,” said DTI Undersecretary for Trade Promotions Abdulgani Macatoman.

The organizers presented updates to stakeholders—direct and indirect exporters, logistics providers, and government agencies—on the implementation of the PEDP and solicited commitments on how to update the plan amid the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly on the implementation of the three strategies: (1) improve the overall climate for export development, (2) exploit existing and prospective opportunities from trade agreements, and (3) design competitive packages of support for selected products and services sectors.

“We need to seriously assess, plan, and decide on our next courses of action. We need to focus and keep trying for our companies, our employees, our industry, and our country,”

said Philexport Chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. The PEDP 2018-2022 aims for the Philippines to export at least $122 billion worth of goods and services by 2022. It identified four key sectors for development, namely, electronics, IT-BPM, processed food and beverages, and tourism and travel-related services.

DTI-EMB Director Senen Perlada said that the Philippines was on track in achieving PEDP’s export goals before the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that this year, exports are slowly recovering after bottoming out in April.

A top concern for exporters is better access to trade credit grants and stimulus packages. Medium-sized exporters, in particular, requested

financial assistance as they are not covered in programs targeting micro and small businesses.

Other common suggestions from all regions include streamlining of regulatory requirements for exporters. These include online applications for Certificates of Origin, and fast-tracking approvals from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among others.

Exporters from Region 6 cited poor logistics as its top challenge, experienced by 82 percent of respondents. They said there was a lack of international flights in and out of Western Visayas and limited operations of logistics companies now.

To solve this, they recommended a dialog with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) or

the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to resume international flights to facilitate trade. Region 6 exporters said they also need post-Covid-19 targeted market intelligence from export markets in Asean, USA, Europe, and Latin America.

Suggestions from the National Capital Region (NCR) include intensified training on halal and major international certifications, export requirements and procedures, and export financing. They also recommended subsidized business missions, especially for pioneering and promising industries and products.

As top exporters of bananas, Davao region exporters want to fast-track the reduction of tariffs for bananas and other agricultural

products to South Korea and Japan.

To expand the market for agricultural exports, they also proposed to strengthen market access through an aggressive market intelligence network by DTI-Foreign Trade Service Corps (DTI-FTSC) and Agricultural Commercial Attaches, a continuous info session on Export Trade Facilitation Agreements, and online sessions for networking and business matching.

Perlada said that suggestions from exporters for the government to implement strategic policies and programs will be crucial in adjusting the PEDP targets because of the pandemic. He said that applying a WON or a whole-of-nation approach is crucial to lift exports and revive the economy.

OurTime BusinessMirror

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Marcelino Ballesteros: ‘I was driven to bake because of the lockdown’

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By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

HE emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically transformed the lives of many people. In the past six months, for example, a lot of plant lovers fondly called plantitos and plantitas have been flooding social media with photos of their latest plants and planting activities. Meanwhile, other people became conscious of their health and suddenly they became gym rats.

Others have tried putting up mini gyms in their homes to burn excess calories caused by their eating binge.

As far as Marcelino Ballesteros is concerned, it was baking that caught his fancy while staying at home. “Baking has always fascinated me. My father was a baker who set up the first bakery with Chinese partners in Tabuk, Kalinga, Apayao. I learned the ropes early in life as my father’s apprentice,” Ballesteros, a principal consultant and senior partner at ProActive Business Solutions, said in an e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror.

Ballesteros did not find it difficult to summon his baking skills, which he compared to riding a bike.

“It stays with you despite the passage of time,” he said.

He was also fascinated by the

chemistry involved in baking— how yeast makes the dough rise, the effect of varying temperatures on the ingredients, how kneading combines the ingredients evenly and how the oven works to cook breads and cakes.

For a restart, Ballesteros decided to bake high-end Western and European bakery products and at the same time make them available at reasonable prices. The first item he baked was the Dresden Stollen, a German sweet bread made with sourdough filled with glazed dried fruits, sultana raisins, and walnuts—flavored with Cognac. The stollens are brushed with top grade butter before and after baking, and dusted with

BALLESTEROS

confectioner’s sugar.

“They are best eaten in thin slices and served with tea or coffee and can keep for as long as two months in the ref without losing their good flavor,” he said.

Interestingly, it was not in Dresden, Germany but in Paris, France where he got a first taste of the famous bread while he was attending an IBM workshop.

Right now, Ballesteros is working on his version of the English fruit and nut cake, to be followed by plum cake.

In his baking, he found out that tweaking or modifying tried and tested formulas sometimes work wonders. Ballesteros discovered this one morning when he tweaked a revered recipe he’s been using to produce Dresden Stollen, a wellloved sweet German bread. “I allowed the rich sourdough, the base of the bread, to stay for two more hours in the fridge and used the oven temperature for baking fruit and nut cake [several of which I have baked and are now aging in liquor] to cook the Stollen. The result: bigger loaves, crustier crust,

and softer and moist inner bread that complement the liquor-flavored glazed fruits and walnuts.

Perfect with piping hot tea or coffee,” he explained.

“Oozing with the heavenly aroma, flavor and tastes of combined grated orange peel, prunes and walnuts, this bread is a treat when combined with your favorite cold or hot drink,” he added.

The born again baker has been getting good reviews for his baked products. “With the continued patronage of customers and friends, and my generally light work and leisure schedules at present, I continue to enjoy producing what my new-found niche market wants,” he said.

Ballesteros said a “good problem came later when projects in his consultancy work started trickling in—giving him less time and energy for his new-found racket.

Moreover, he said the increasing cost of raw materials and other supplies make baking a bit prohibitive and costlier. Nevertheless, he is not giving up an activity he finds fulfilling. He is making adjustments to cope with the demands of his preoccupations.

Ballesteros, however, is reducing his baking hours to accommodate the increasing demand for time in his professional work.

“I was driven to bake because of the longest lockdown in the world.

I wanted to be productive. Baking gave me a chance to have not only mental but also physical and artistic exercise,” he said.

“In addition, baking serves as an outlet for pent up energy and desire to produce something you and others can appreciate,” he added.

Filipino World War II veteran gets Congressional Gold Medal in US

MR. Erdulfo Garcia (center) displays his Congressional Gold Medal as he poses with Philippine Consul General to Chicago Gina A. Jamoralin (third from left). Others in the photo are (from left) Cultural Officer Noly Dulay, Consul Ryan Gener, Ms. Jelly Carandang, Ms. Annie Brotonel, and Mr. Ed Brotonel. CHICAGO PCG PHOTO

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HE Philippine Consulate General in Chicago and the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP) organized the awarding ceremony in honor of Mr. Erdulfo A. Garcia, a Chicago-based Filipino World War II veteran, at his home in Berwyn, Illinois, a suburb in Greater Chicago.

Philippine Consul General to Chicago Gina A. Jamoralin thanked Garcia for his invaluable service, bravery and

sacrifice for the Filipino and American people. In normal times, his heroism would have been recognized during a more formal ceremony at the Kalayaan Hall of the Consulate in commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor).

Jamoralin said the importance of continuing to honor World War II (WWII) veterans through the special ceremony, held despite the pandemic and in observance with the current protocols,

noting that her own grandfather was also a war hero.

Jamoralin also thanked FilVetREP, led by its Chairman, Ret. Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, and its Regional Director Jelly Carandang, for their leadership in recognizing Filipino and American soldiers of the Second World War who fought in the Philippines in 1941-1946, particularly through the Congressional Gold Medal.

The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United

States Congress to honor recipients from the military. Together with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award in the United States.

Carandang served as master of ceremonies and introduced the guest of honor.

Garcia was born on December 29, 1919, in San Antonio, Zambales. He and his wife migrated to America in 1992, under the veterans program. His wife died in 1993, and together they have three daughters and four sons, whom he petitioned as children of veterans. He fought alongside other Filipino and American soldiers from December 1941 to May 1946 as part of the USAFFE Guerilla Unit in Zambales and was a prisoner of war (POW).

For his sacrifices, Garcia receives veterans’ benefits and the Filipino American Equity Benefits.

Garcia, together with his daughter Imee, accepted the award and expressed utmost appreciation to the United States Congress, FilVetREP, and the Consulate. They shared that the Congressional Gold Medal is the culmination of Mr. Garcia’s long and storied journey as a soldier and veteran, and thanked FilVetREP and the Consulate for honoring him. Garcia, a centenarian, was visibly overjoyed and upbeat during the ceremony.

Carandang also acknowledged the presence of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) Illinois Chair Edward Brotonel and Filipino American National Historical Society (FAHNS) Midwest Vice President Annie Brotonel.

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, September 19, 2020 A7

Suffocating me softly

By Nick Tayag

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MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

ANY of us were shaken by the video in which a black man was kneed down hard by the police. And as he was gasping for air, we will never forget the three words the man kept saying over and over: “I can’t breathe!”

Recently, as I was clearing my shelf of old magazines, I came across this article about the shooting of Adrian Lyne’s Unfaithful, an adultery drama starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

The article revealed that in the shooting of one scene in an office in Manhattan, smoke was pumped into the room. This is a technique used to give a film more depth and warmth, making the colors more muted, although it’s undetectable to the viewer in the finished movie.

The smoke was killing everyone on the set and to confound it, the shooting often would go for up to 20 hours. In fact, it was so toxic that the actors brought with them oxygen bottles for quick fixes of fresh air. There was even a special doctor who was injecting people with antibiotics for bronchial infection. Talk about toxic work environment!

Equally undetectable is another toxic work atmosphere that I experienced when I worked in an ad agency. It was impressively housed in a very smart-looking office in the best business section of the city. The outside visitor would not be able to detect anything wrong about it. In fact my friends would gape at the sight of the sophisticated office.

But the truth was working there was so oppressive it was creatively suffocating for us. I would have anxiety pangs whenever I reported for work, and I felt as if I was gasping for fresh air. The heavy-handed style of management was so pervasive that the oxygen of creativity was sucked out. There was no air or space to breathe. Like the others before me, I had to get out. Fast.

A closed-minded boss can make the most creative person clamp up. One time I had a boss who already had his own idea in mind.

Any idea that doesn’t fall within that framework, he would dismiss and toss out. This is sort of what experts call confirmation bias. It involves paying more attention to things that confirm our existing beliefs or ideas, while at the same time discounting evidence or alternative ideas that challenges what we think.

Pretty soon, we quickly found this weakness and exploited it and presented ideas that sucked up to his biased thinking. The “safe” ideas got faster approval but the creativity left the office but I lasted long because the salary paid the bills and kept the family afloat but I didn’t thrive creative wise.

It was only later on when I had the fortunate chance to work under an unconventional but enlightened creative boss. When we had no pressing assignments, he would tell us to go out, listen in to people in the streets and pick up some new word, see a movie, go to a museum or a bookstore but always keep the antenna attuned

to an insight or creative triggers.

A creative eureka moment can happen most likely in those open places than sitting inside an enclosed space.

When we would come back next day to bring our collected ideas on the table, our boss would be delighted to see everyone so juiced up with a cornucopia of ideas.

Creativity needs that space of open-minded acceptance so that ideas no matter how wild and crazy can be aired out and not repressed.

But even love or too much love can suffocate too. Take a step back and consider what you’re now doing as your child is attending an e-learning class. You get overly involved in her academic works.

You constantly prompt and prod her. You provide too much help for her class project. You do for your child what she can actually do for herself.

When we parent this way, we deprive our kids of the opportunity to be creative, to problem solve, to develop coping skills, to build resilience, to figure out what makes them happy, to discover who they are.

This is why in our case, we are careful about imposing anything on our children. We allowed them to choose their respective careers. Our “current project” involves our youngest child, a slacker who has yet to find his own direction in life. We are now gently nudging him towards the type of work that fits his personality and aptitude. We know he is talented but he just seems unfit for work in a conventional corporate setting. We just hope he will find his own bliss.

But even in the most loving and caring relationship, one should be quick to sense when it becomes emotionally suffocating. This comes about when one or both partners is critical, overprotective, jealous, and/or has rigid beliefs and thinking.

A n emotiona l ly suf focating relationship can be really toxic. Fix it before it gets worse.

Sometimes taking a break from each other can do a lot of good.

It gives you time to be yourself, and to reflect and address your individual needs.

In our case, my wife and I have agreed to set boundaries. When I have to work she lets me alone. I encourage her to read and to write her thoughts and share them with her social-media friends. Her selfworth increases with the positive feedback she gets in return. That’s practicing self-care.

So whether at work or at home, one thing everybody needs is room to grow, to thrive, and express your thing. An environment where one can truly exclaim: “I can breathe!”

Once that is respected, the atmosphere becomes less and less toxic and healthier, emotionally or creatively.

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BusinessMirror

Saturday, September 19, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Supermarket chain grows digital presence

ZONE Wired Headset

LOGITECH PHILIPPINES ANNOUNCES VERSATECH INTERNATIONAL AS NEW OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTOR

A NEW door opens for the Philippines’s pro audio and video community as Versatech International becomes an official distributor of Logitech for its video and conferencing room solutions. As the companies integrate, this year also welcomes the release of additional models for Logitech’s video collaboration lineup that include professional conference cameras, webcams, and accessories for audio and videoconferencing.

“We’ve tackled small, medium and large meeting rooms with high-quality room solutions,” said Philippe Depallens, general manager of personal collaboration at Logitech.

“Now, we’re establishing a category of products designed for the personal workspace that provide a complete personal collaboration experience, whether that’s with audio or webcams. As video collaboration continues to grow, our goal is to provide solutions that are simple to use so you can perform your best no matter where you take your meetings and calls.”

The brand partnership aims to power up the market’s growing demand for professional business conferencing solutions, and to streamline its delivery services for personal workspace and industries such as corporate, government, education, entertainment, broadcast, hospitality, and BPO sectors. Though Versatech has widened its brand portfolio with Logitech, it’s been a B2B ICT distributor for over 40 years with its roots from Lamco International.

“This partnership with Logitech is a great opportunity to build value for our customers and I am anticipating a positive reception as we introduce their state-of-the-art collaboration systems that will certainly enhance our customers’ productivity,” said Stephen Yu, executive vice president of Versatech International. “Customer success through a partnership is what defines Versatech International. Bringing together the world’s premier brands in unified communication and collaboration creates a multitude of possibilities to deliver more value to our customers. Logitech is at the forefront of solutions that address the need for remote working environments by developing systems that enable businesses to seamlessly connect with their customers through cloud, social, and IoT technologies.”

To enhance people’s experiences on video conferencing platforms for office or work-from-home environments, Logitech has designed the Swytch, a one-cable link that enables your laptop to connect to a room’s AV equipment and run any video meeting or webinar; and the Zone Wired Headset, a USB headset for busy workspaces with premium audio drivers and advanced noise-canceling mic technology.

“Most room solutions are great and have made strides in becoming easier to use, but it’s often difficult to join meetings with any video service you want,” said Scott Wharton, vice president and general manager of Logitech Video Collaboration. “For video to become ubiquitous, joining video calls with different platforms needs to become as easy as making a telephone call. With Swytch, we’re taking it a step beyond ‘making every room a meeting room’ and enabling a native experience in conference rooms that anyone can use and enjoy.”

More information on Logitech’s products can be found at bit.ly/35Gfym7.

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NLINE selling used to be a niche market.

Now, everyone with a business, whether big or small, is doing it. While I miss going to brick-and-mortar stores, I am glad that e-commerce in the country is growing. We don’t know when this pandemic will be over so even if you’re technically challenged, this is the best time to learn about online shopping and how to do it.

Since early this year, Puregold has been working on strengthening its online presence. First, the supermarket chain launched its own Puregold Mobile app, or Sally or Shopping Ally, which allows shoppers to purchase products conveniently via an app.

In the new normal, Puregold is reaching out to more customers and audiences.

“We want to be where our customers are, and we all know that means having a strong presence in the digital space,” said Vincent Co, president of Puregold Price Club Inc. Puregold has launched The Puregold Channel on Facebook and YouTube, a move to further expand its digital footprint and increase its engagement with shoppers. By creating new and unique kinds of content that appeals to a diverse set of audiences, Puregold hopes to keep its customers engaged, such as entertainment content with an instant link to e-commerce. With its 2.3 million and growing followers on Facebook alone, the potential is huge.

Puregold is strategically building its “consumers of the future” by directing them to the Puregold Mobile app and its brick-and-mortar stores.

Among the celebrities who have been confirmed to host a segment on The Puregold Channel are Luis Manzano, Alex Calleja and Arra San Agustin.

“This is the foundation of Puregold’s ‘New Retail.’

For us, this is a great opportunity to effectively reinforce our offline and online integration. We see it as a territory that will expand our business further as customers continue to adopt new ways of grocery shopping,” said Co.

BROTHERS ARE MUSHROOM FARMERS

BROTHERS Ted and Bong Quemado were raised on a farm in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, where they learned to love farming. Today, with the help of technology from Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), they are the owners of the social enterprise Mushroom City.

Mushroom City makes crunchy, healthy, guiltfree chicharon out of oyster mushrooms grown naturally in the highlands of Bukidnon.

Ted is a graduate of plant pathology (cum laude), while the older Bong’s background is marketing.

While completing his studies at Central

PUREGOLD Price Club Inc. President Vincent Co

Mindanao University, Ted worked as an apprentice in a mushroom processing center in Malaybalay. He learned that the cool climate and the humidity level in the highlands of Barangay Kalasungay, where their family lives, were suitable to growing mushrooms.

This gave him the idea to start a mushroom farm business. The brothers attended trainings under Digital Farmers Program (DFP), jointly run by the Agricultural Training Institute of Department of Agriculture and Smart.

The DFP seeks to empower farmers nationwide through digital technologies. The first phase familiarizes trainees with social media platforms for business use, as well as Internet safety. It also trains farmers how take photos, shoot videos and edit them; conduct interviews and write stories to accompany their visual materials and produce their own agrirelated online content.

Along with parent company PLDT Inc., Smart is committed to helping the Philippines attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through various CSR initiatives. DFP falls under programs for SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, wherein societies are tasked to create conditions to help ensure quality jobs.

The DFP gave the brothers the direction they needed to push their venture to a much broader market. Soon after they finished their trainings, Ted and Bong developed the online presence of

Mushroom City.

“Technology has been our tool in marketing our products,” said Bong.

With the rise of online sellers and health advocates, Mushroom City has been attracting more and more buyers, especially those who are looking for all-natural and keto-friendly food. “We harvest 20 to 40 kilos of mushrooms a day,” Ted says. Their products include fresh oyster mushrooms, known for its delicate texture and savory flavor. Other products include mushroom fruiting bags, mushroom chili garlic sauce, and variants of their bestseller mushroom chicharon.

Mushroom City has recently opened the business to resellers, wholesalers and retailers not only in the Philippines but also around the world, thanks to the Internet. Further proof of Mushroom City’s online influence is their constant appearance in agripreneurial webinars, where the brothers are able to display their tech-savvy in proper video production.

Their trainings via social media have taken the place of Mushroom City’s hands-on seminars on the proper way to cultivate mushrooms, wherein they also give participants a tour of their farm.

The Quemados hope to lift the farming community as well by raising awareness about e-commerce and the digital tools that could help farmers sell their products directly to the consumers and be more profitable. ■

Digital infra provider makes distance learning in PHL possible

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor STILL confronted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippine educational system will adapt the distancelearning approach to ensure that classes will continue in October this school year.

This strategy, for Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, underlines the importance for academic institutions to take advantage of technology in order to thrive even in the face of an unprecedented health crisis.

In this new setup, schools need to ensure the availability of its information technology (IT) network for educators to access student information, such as enrollment, class records, among others, even when they are not physically present in the campus.

They also need to ensure the accessibility of its IT systems to make modules and other learning materials available for the teachers. For example, learning references in public schools can be accessed

by educators, parents and students using DepEd Commons, a project of the Department of Education (DepEd) aimed at supporting the continuous delivery of basic education to Filipino learners through open education resources.

Learning institutions must also ensure they can support mobile learning via social and content interactions using personal electronic gadgets.

“Educators must have the capability to innovate and experiment with available online tools to make virtual classes more engaging. In recent years, modern classrooms have been harnessing the power of technology to equip their learning facilities with the necessary digital tools not just to support the teaching-learning process but also to provide a more interactive learning experience, especially for distance-learning approach,” said Jason Lim, country manager of Vertiv Philippines.

Another challenge would be the management of IT assets, from hardware to software, to ensure that sensitive student information is protected against

cyberattacks and other threats.

To help schools address these issues, Vertiv has been innovating solutions that can help empower the education sector. One of these is its range of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) solutions that help ensure the availability of the school’s critical data center, so access to vital records online remain unhampered. In addition, its range of data center infrastructure management solutions enable IT managers to monitor the school’s IT infrastructure even when they are not there physically.

Vertiv’s full-range of Liebert UPS is future-proof, eco-friendly and highly efficient. With the school year coinciding with the typhoon season, there is a higher risk for downtimes due to potential power interruption. Its UPS technologies will help cover the backup power needs of the IT infrastructure.

The SmartCabinet is a fully integrated, micro data center solution that helps provide an intelligent and integrated infrastructure that allows schools to quickly deploy a data center even in tight locations.

It combines power, thermal management, and IT management in a simple, rapidly deployable design.

What’s more, this solution allows IT managers to standardize processes and centrally manage applications and infrastructure remotely, while still providing low latency computing which is crucial for distance learning. With remote IT management, combined with Vertiv’s efficient and effective deployment services and remote IT management capabilities, expensive truck rolls are also reduced, thus lowering the total cost of ownership.

The SmartCabinet is also easy to deploy due to Vertiv’s standardization, factory integration, and industry-leading deployment services. It also decreases security risks with rights-based access and control, optional onsite intrusion prevention and detection, as well as video surveillance. Lastly, the solution helps reduce downtime risks with its secure remote IT management, on-line double-conversion uninterruptible power supplies, and next-day on-site emergency services.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Saturday, September 19, 2020

CLOUD PROVIDER URGES SMES TO USE SUBSCRIPTIONBASED MODEL

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES THE country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) don’t need to spend a huge investment in building their information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure as the market keeps on introducing new developments in a rapid manner.

In a recent webinar, Lawrence Ng, managing director of Boomi in Asia, told reporters that technology companies like Boomi are ready to provide SMEs in the Pilippiines and the rest of the Asian region solutions that are within their budget to enable them to grow.

“Boomi’s cloud-based subscription services is suitable for organizations of any size. We have customers ranging from SME to Fortune 500 companies,” Ng said.

“SMEs would be able to take advantage of Boomi’s low code solution for quick integration to allow them to go to market faster,” he added.

Since it is using a subscription-based model, Ng pointed out that local SMEs would not be constrained by an IT staff because the low code features of Boomi do not require extensive coding experience. Features such as Boomi Suggest that capitalize on the collective intelligence of the Boomi community to suggest data mapping of fields would allow SMEs to increase their productivity.

Moreover, Ng said automatic upgrades would not require SMEs to set aside IT manpower to maintain the integrations once they are in place.

He said the introduction of cloud computing technology in a sense has leveled the playing field as SMEs would now be able to enjoy the benefits of Boomi’s technology because the cloud-based solution on subscription has made it accessible.

“SMEs nowadays are able to access the same Boomi technology as larger enterprises. This has improved the ability of SMEs to compete in the market,” he said.

Being a Dell Technologies company, Ng said Boomi is in a strategic position to play an important role in empowering the local SME market.

Although Boomi is a cloud native company, Ng said the company also gives an option for clients that would like to operate behind their firewall for integrating their on-site IT systems.

With its established presence in the Philippines, Ng said Dell Technologies would allow them to work and collaborate with their local SME clients to provide them the business solution they need. “In addition, we are constantly looking out for partners in the Philippines to build our ecosystem to serve our SME customers better,” Ng said.

Celebs join Instagram ‘freeze’ to protest Facebook inaction

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BY KELVIN CHAN The Associated Press

ONDON—Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities are taking part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” on Wednesday to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook’s failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation.

Hollywood stars and influencers are lending their backing to the “#StopHateforProfit” movement’s latest campaign. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day.

“I can’t sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation—created by groups to sow division and split America apart—only to take steps after people are killed,” Kardashian West posted on her Instagram account on Tuesday.

Facebook declined to comment but pointed to

recent announcements about what it’s doing to limit the reach on its platform of groups that support violence and its efforts to protect the US election in November.

With 188 million followers, Kardashian West is one of the most influential people on Instagram and support from her and other big names for the boycott saw Facebook shares slide in aftermarket trading late Tuesday. They were down 1.7 percent ahead of the market open on Wednesday.

The organizers behind “#StopHateforProfit,” including civil rights groups such as the AntiDefamation League, the NAACP and Color Of Change, had previously led a campaign that got hundreds of brands and nonprofits to join a Facebook advertising boycott in July.

Ashton Kutcher, Mark Ruffalo, Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx and Sacha Baron Cohen were among about two dozen Hollywood stars and celebrity influencers supporting the campaign, the organizers said.

DiCaprio said he was standing with the civil rights groups to call “on all users of Instagram and Facebook

to protest the amplification of hate, racism, and the undermining of democracy on those platforms.”

Facebook, which earned nearly $70 billion in advertising revenue last year, is facing a reckoning over what critics call indefensible excuses for amplifying divisions, hate and misinformation on their platforms.

“We are quickly approaching one of the most consequential elections in American history,” organizers said.

“Facebook’s unchecked and vague ‘changes’ are falling dangerously short of what is necessary to protect our democracy.”

The movement also singled out for criticism Facebook’s handling of online material ahead of the shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last month.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the company made a mistake in not removing sooner a page belonging to a militia group that called for armed civilians to enter the town. It only took the page down after an armed teenager killed two people after violent protests sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, who is Black. ■

Huawei expands all-scenario product portfolio with six new products SONGSHAN LAKE, China—In a global launch event, dubbed “Seamless AI Life,” which was streamed live last September 10, Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) announced six new products that further enrich what the company called the “1+8+N” all-scenario ecosystem.

The new products revealed during the keynote include: the Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Huawei FreeLace Pro, new pro-variants of highly acclaimed audio products featuring improved Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), new designs and user-centric features; the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro and Huawei Watch Fit, the latest entries to the company’s wearable product line-up with striking aesthetics, new fitness data tracking features and workout modes; and the Huawei MateBook X and Huawei MateBook 14, two new lightweight notebooks that revolutionize mobile productivity with compact form factors and smart experiences enabled by the innovative Huawei Share feature.

During the keynote, Huawei also reaffirmed its commitment to the All-scenario Seamless AI Life Strategy and working with partners to nurture the 1+8+N ecosystem.

The products launched are all designed to bring a more cohesive connected experience to consumers in their everyday lives, in scenarios ranging from work, health and fitness to audio entertainment, echoing Huawei’s mission to build a better connected world.

Richard Yu, executive director and CEO of Huawei Consumer BG, said: “Great user experiences are always founded on innovation, but our journey of innovation always begins and ends with consumers. In the future, we will continue working with our valued partners to offer more smart and high-quality experiences to consumers worldwide.”

The Huawei FreeBuds Pro is the world’s first true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones to support intelligent dynamic noise cancellation. Featuring a hardware and software integrated solution, the new TWS earphones intelligently identify the type of ambient noise based on the user’s immediate surroundings and switch between three profiles—General,

Cosy and Ultimate—to offer the optimal noise cancelling performance. Further, the earphones deliver the best noise cancelling performance yet on a Huawei audio product with an industry-leading noise cancellation rating of 40dB. Also announced during the event, the new Huawei FreeLace Pro offers great audio and a stylish design.

Supporting noise cancellation up to 40dB, the neckband earphones take advantage of industry-leading algorithms to provide stable noise cancelling performance in any situation.

The global tech giant continues to expand the Huawei Watch family with new products that are steeped in innovations that add scientific flair to make keeping fit and healthy easy. The new Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro, for one, not only comes with features that consumers have come to love

on the series, but the elegantly modern smartwatch also offers up to two weeks of battery life, more than 100 workout modes, plus pro-grade fitness data tracking features. Health tracking features, meanwhile, are at their most advanced yet with the upgraded Huawei TruSeen 4.0+ providing more accurate heart rate readings.

The new flagship smartwatch launches with a rugged design featuring premium materials, including a sapphire watch crystal, titanium case and skin-friendly ceramic case back that combines with another sapphire glass black to enhance monitoring accuracy and wearing comfort.

Launched alongside the GT 2 Pro, Huawei Watch Fit is the brand’s first sports smartwatch to feature a rounded rectangular watch face design. The smartwatch combines

a dazzling 1.64-inch AMOLED display, which lends itself to displaying more content and a better interaction experience.

It also features Huawei TruSeen 4.0 plus Quick-workout Animations that provide a quick and easy way for users to workout at a moment’s notice.

The latest entry to Huawei’s flagship PC product line, Huawei MateBook X combines the flagship series’ iconic design and innovative technology with improved lightweight design and smart features. Weighing just 1kg, the notebook measures just 13.6mm at its thickest part and is smaller than a piece of A4 paper, so users can easily slide it into a backpack and carry it with them wherever they go.

The new MateBook X is the first notebook to feature the 3K Infinite FullView Display, realized with a borderless design that offers an immersive viewing experience and stunning image quality. The display is also multitouch-enabled with gesture support such as Fingers Gesture Screenshot, which lets users quickly take a screenshot by swiping downwards on the screen with three fingers, as easy as it is on a smartphone. The touchpad, meanwhile, is 26 percent larger compared to the previous generation for better ease-of-use, and now features Huawei Free Touch to offer full haptic feedback. The new full-size keyboard features scissors switches that offer 1.3mm of key travel to make typing a joy, and comes with two tweeters and woofers forming a quadspeaker sound system that provides immersive surround sound right in front of the user.

Huawei also unveiled MateBook 14, the benchmark of high performance laptops in the era of mobile productivity 3.0.

Featuring a highly portable design and powerful performance, the MateBook 14 integrates the AMD Ryzen 4000 H Series processor, with Huawei Shark Fin Fans delivering superior thermal performance even under intense workloads. Besides performance, it has a 2K Huawei FullView Display, and supports smart features including Multi-screen Collaboration to help consumers stay productive on the road.

More information about these new products is available at

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A10 Saturday, September 19, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

BusinessMirror

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Banning apps like TikTok and WeChat is a good way to ensure a country will trail in tech leadership and profits MORE USERS, MORE MONEY

SOCIAL-MEDIA companies have little choice but to behave globally—something clear from their massive number of users.

Facebook, for example, had 2.7 billion monthly active users at the end of June—representing more than a third of the world population—and only about 10 percent of them are in the US. WhatsApp had 2 billion, while WeChat and Instagram are at about 1.2 billion and 1 billion, respectively.

Most social-media apps are quickly translated and released in dozens of languages early on in their life spans. Tinder, Uber and Pinterest are all available in over 30 languages, while Airbnb can boast over 50.

Social-media technology is inherently global because of a concept known as network effects. While the costs of running a social network increase with growth at a fairly constant rate, the profits jump exponentially with each additional user.

It’s a simple equation. More users, a lot more revenue, a lot more profits. And most of this explosive growth is in overseas—not local—markets.

CUTTHROAT COMPETITION

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BY HUATONG SUN University of Washington

HE Trump administration’s decision to force the sale of TikTok to a US buyer is, to many, the latest sign the global Internet is splintering into national and regional blocs.

This has been a concern for several years now, as authoritarian countries such as Russia, China and Iran erect walls around their cyberspace, and democracies like the US, India and the European Union cite national security when blocking specific

foreign companies like ByteDance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat.

The reality, however, is a lot more complicated—at least when it comes to social-media companies.

I study global media design and the localization of technology. My research suggests that while socialmedia users are indeed splintering regionally and nationally, the companies themselves are becoming more globally intertwined than ever. This means countries that try to restrict apps with bans and the like will end up hurting companies based within their borders, as well.

SOCIAL-MEDIA companies that don’t compete globally and continue to find new users will fall behind. That’s one lesson from a case study involving four leading messaging apps I examined in my recent book Global Social Media Design. WhatsApp, founded in 2009, was the first in this space and quickly inspired similar offerings in other countries, such as WeChat in China, LINE in Japan and KakaoTalk in South Korea.

In its early days, WhatsApp had a strong position in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, but its failure to innovate in voice messaging left an opening for WeChat, which launched a hold-to-talk feature in 2011—two years before WhatsApp unveiled a similar feature—and quickly snared a big share of the market.

And when WhatsApp finally launched its own push-to-talk voice memo feature, it helped it become one of the top social-media apps in Argentina.

This proves companies need to constantly innovate and learn from one another to expand—and to avoid losing market share to rivals. This is possible by competing in as many countries as they can.

Companies also invest in their global competitors

to help them get ahead. China-based Tencent, for example, invested in WeChat rival Kakao, becoming one of its largest shareholders in 2012, with a 13 percent stake. And early this year Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, an Indian ecommerce platform, to enhance its digital payment feature on WhatsApp.

ALGORITHMS NEED DATA

ANOTHER lesson concerns the nature of algorithms and the importance of refining them.

One of TikTok’s most valuable assets is its recommendation algorithm, which highlights short videos for users. TikTok has managed to quickly amass 100 million mostly young users in the US because of how skilled it is at recommending videos on its “for you” page.

The Chinese government reinforced this fact when it threw a wrench into efforts for a US company to buy TikTok by adding personalized content recommendation algorithms to its list of exportcontrolled products. This meant that TikTok’s most valuable tool couldn’t be sold with the company without government approval.

While Silicon Valley excels in artificial intelligence-powered algorithms, the US as a market lacks the massive quantities of users and data needed to test and refine those algorithms.

China, on the other hand, has served as a testing ground to perfect TikTok’s algorithm because of its large population and loose government guidance over user privacy as of now.

To compete with rivals in China, India and elsewhere in the future, US social-media companies need access to more users and more data—which they are less likely to get if other countries put up barriers to entry in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on TikTok and WeChat over their Chinese ownership.

Even Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook—a company that would certainly benefit if TikTok’s US operations foundered—recently warned in an employee meeting that Trump’s effort to ban TikTok would set “a really bad long-term precedent”—despite some short-term gains for the social network.

Facebook and other Silicon Valley companies pioneered the social media world. They could lose out on social media’s future if other countries decide to retaliate with bans of their own. THE CONVERSATION

Addressing work-related mental health issues of educators THE sudden shift in the way education is delivered in the country was truly jolting, but it can also be the best time to learn new methods in teaching and learning. However, the move by the Philippine education system to a “new normal” vector may also bring certain transition issues not just physically but also mentally.

Everyone is affected by the pandemic in different ways. Psychosocial concerns include stress, anxiety and depression. Prolonged and chronic stress can lead to anxiety that manifests through body aches and pains. Depression can already be preexisting but can also be triggered by the crisis and may become excessive and affect one’s daily functions.

To help take care of educators, Globe Telecom’s “#StartANewDay—Let’s Talk About Mental Health: A Forum for Educators” addressed this topic in partnership with the Department of Education-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DepEd-DRRMS). The session was part of the DepEd-DRRMS Wellness Check Series and discussed ways on how educators can detect and overcome workrelated mental health problems.

One of the speakers, Dr. Carolina Uno-Rayco, national executive director of the Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA), noted the importance of teachers doing a self-check of their mental health based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

“Self-care is just a matter of mindset and is not selfish.

You cannot give what you don’t have. So it is important for educators to prioritize self-care first before they can take care of and do better things for others,” she said.

Rayco offered some strategies to cope with the situation such as encouraging social connectedness by reminding co-teachers, students, even family and friends of one’s presence with the help of technology. But at the same time, she suggested digital detoxification so teachers won’t be overloaded with information from the Internet where they might feel overwhelmed or depressed. Teachers can also promote help-seeking behaviors if they feel that something is

not right and is affecting their relationship with others.

For Ronald John Recio, clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and also an advanced level clinical behavioral therapist, being a mental health professional and educator affords him a unique perspective.

“Laban lang [fight on]. We have to admit that we were not prepared, so we just have to do what we have to do. We can’t blame ourselves because this is the situation. We just have to learn to manage our expectations and what we think of our performance versus the reality of the situation and learn to look at the bigger picture,” he said.

Dr. Ruby Festano Avelino, English teacher at Santolan High School, a guidance advocate and active journalism adviser at the school, shared ways on how she takes care of her mental health.

“Develop to put yourself on the positive side of life.

I always seek feedback from my mentors and I also get inspiration from my family [in Capiz]. With them around me, I feel that I can do anything in spite of what’s happening around us. The support system is really important.”

Rayco and Recio also discussed on “toxic positivity” to help teachers know if what they’re doing is something positive or they may be reaching a toxic positivity level.

Rayco said that having positive emotions all the time can’t be expected and acknowledging this is important.

“We need to actually do something and not just think that we can do it, and be able to do something concrete or positive like learning those new platforms needed in the new normal.

Only then will we realize that we were able to overcome the negative emotions.”

Recio, on the other hand, said that “toxic positivity happens when you are lying to yourself that you are okay even if you know that things are not—failure to acknowledge that you yourself are undergoing something, that you’re not OK with what’s happening around you, which then manifests in

how you act, how you interact with other people, and affects your train of thought.”

What to do, then? “Just be honest and avoid making statements like ‘we can do it’ even if you know you can’t. Just be truthful to admit that things are difficult, and believe in your own skills and competencies to come up with an action plan and resolve the problem or situation,” Recio said.

“We just need to manage our time amid the heavy workload and remind ourselves that what we are doing is for the benefit of the learners.”

As the country’s leading telco, Globe (www.globe.com. ph) continues to actively support the promotion of mental health in the country through its various programs. It

also encourages its customers to support frontliners and patients suffering from Covid-19 and other illnesses via messages of hope at Hope Bank (bit.ly/3kq1YaB), an online support community for those who need upliftment and encouragement.

To contribute, members can just post messages, photos, artworks, quotes, song lyrics, poems, videos or anything that expresses hope and positivity using hashtag #StartANewDay both on their personal profiles and in the group.

Globe also partnered with organizations like the UP Diliman Psychosocial Services and New Good Feelings Mindstrong’s HOPELINE for free counseling or psychotherapy services for frontliners, Covid-19 patients and their relatives.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BusinessMirror

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Saturday, September 19, 2020 A11

U.P.D.A.T.E.: Protecting your online identity

J

UST because of the insane amounts we spend on our smartphones and PCs, most of us like to think we’re pretty tech-savvy. But being able to use different apps and upload TikTok videos is way different from knowing how to protect your online identity.

For example, do you use a password manager? Do you use two-factor authorization on Facebook? Do you use a different password for each of your accounts and change it regularly? With everyone now working or studying from home, it is time to learn how to protect your accounts and devices from being hacked and maintain a safe online identity.

Let’s start with Marc Goodman’s “UPDATE” acronym. Goodman is a futurist, book author and founder of the Future Crimes Institute, Global Security Advisor and Chair for Policy and Law at Google and NASA-sponsored Singularity University.

Goodman’s book Future Crimes is a must read for anyone connected to the Internet, and includes the following tips for protecting yourself and your family online: UPDATE (REGULARLY). There’s a reason for all those updates and that is to prevent hackers from exploiting those bugs in software programs. The most vulnerable are operating system software, apps, browsers, plug-ins and other computer programs.

PASSWORDS. Using “password1234” or your birthday + initials is just like leaving your bag open while on the MRT. Using the same password on all your accounts also makes it an easy target as once hackers get your password they’ll try it on everything else they can connect you to. Use a long mix of symbols, numbers, upper- and lowercase letters — the more difficult for you to remember, the better. Just be sure to write these passwords down and store in a secure place. It’s a pain, yes, but getting your account/s hacked is even more painful. You can also try a password manager if you wish to protect your more sensitive accounts.

DOWNLOAD (ONLY FROM AUTHORIZED SOURCES).

Remember that video you just watched teaching you how to sideload apps or maybe those Google services and apps on your phone? You might be surprised by the bonuses you get! Spyware or adware and those additional toolbars and add-ons that change your default search engines are the biggest culprits. Unless you are pretty sure about those sites, it’s best to only download programs and apps from trusted and official sites.

ADMINISTRATOR (SHOULDN’T BE YOUR DEFAULT SETTING). Even if you are the only one using the computer, it would be better to create another account for your day-to-day use (except when you have to install stuff that requires administrator access). If you download something dodgy or have already been compromised, hackers can track, install and change pretty much whatever they like.

TURN (IT OFF). Many of us are guilty of just closing our laptops, or leaving it on sleep mode. But to be safe, it’s better to log off the sites and shut down your computer when you are done for the day or when leaving the house. Shutting down your computer completely while you sleep reduces cyber-crime risk by over 33 percent. It’s also a good idea to disconnect from the WiFi when you are not using it.

ENCRYPT. Windows and Mac both include free programs for full hard disk encryption (Bitlocker and Filevault, respectively). Use a virtual private network (VPN) software especially when on public WiFi networks such as airports, coffee shops and hotels to protect your communications. Set a password on your smartphone as it not only limits access to snooping but gives you an extra layer of privacy and security.

More than just UPDATE, here are some other practical tips you should know.

1. BE CAREFUL OF UNKNOWN E-MAIL: Yes, you know that e-mail from a surviving member of some African royalty is a scam, but what about those other e-mails with a Dear Sir/Ma’am, offering some job opportunity or collaboration project? If you get an e-mail from a source with an identity you can’t trace, you’re best off just not clicking the link.

2. COVER OR TURN OFF THE COMPUTER’S CAMERA WHEN NOT IN USE: Now that online meetings are happening almost everyday, you have to be extra careful about that camera. Its like having an open window to your house. Hackers can take control of digital cameras and take photos. Unless you want to have some “paranormal activity” footage of your room out there, its a good idea to cover your web camera.

This also goes for your cellphone and other digital device cameras too.

3. DON’T TRUST FREE WI-FI: Its best to avoid logging on to it when doing more confidential online transactions. It’s best to just get your own mobile data or one of Smart’s newest Pocket Wifi LTE-A for fast and reliable connection. Never open your private accounts or do banking transactions when renting public computers.

4. THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK—AND SHARE: There’s a thing called TMI (too much information) and while you may get a lot of likes sharing your new shoes, bags, or travel plans, hackers, burglars and other criminals can use this information that could enable them to bring harm to you or your loved ones.

Remember that just because a post got a lot of likes and shares doesn’t mean it’s true. Learn to fact-check because you might just be sharing spam or fake news.

5. CHECK YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS ON YOUR SOCIALMEDIA ACCOUNT/S: Because you just keep on clicking OK when you install a new app, you may have

inadvertently given all sorts of apps and websites permission to interact with Facebook using your profile. Use Facebook’s Off-Facebook Activity tool to address this situation. It’s a bit of work and timeconsuming but it’s worth it.

■■■ FOR better or worse, TikTok was probably the most popular app during this quarantine season for Pinoys, keeping them busy and entertained with all sorts of videos from dubs, lipsyncs, dance moves and challenges which range from cute to cringey.

But it does present a welcome breather from the all the fake news shared on Facebook, the culture wars and clashing opinions on Twitter, and the neverending bashing on Instagram. TikTok often presents an alternative version of online sharing. Simple, goofy, irreverent and mostly wholesome content, and it’s OK to look silly because everyone else is creating similar content, too.

TikTok has since been used by the government to promote travel (before the pandemic) and even instructional dance videos for Covid-19 prevention.

To keep the app safe and wholesome, TikTok recently held a webinar that detailed the safety thrusts of the platform. “Safety is a TikTok priority,” said Donny Eryastha, head of public policy for the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. He provided viewers with a brief background on the app’s safety policies and features, and the continuing efforts made to ensure the security of their users.

Among these were Screen Time Management where TikTok users can limit their screen time to two hours. Users will be able to select if they want to spend 40, 60, 90, 120 minutes per day on the app. This feature is password-protected; if users reach their screen time limit, they will need to enter a password to continue to use TikTok. Another is Restricted Viewing Mode, an optional account setting that will limit the appearance of content that may not be appropriate for all audiences. This tool, powered by machine learning algorithms, empowers users to take control of the content they watch. Direct Messages, on the other hand, limits who can send messages to the connected account, or turn off direct messaging completely. For example, approved followers can message each other, and images or videos are

not allowed to be sent in messages. TikTok also automatically disabled Direct Messages for registered accounts under the age of 16.

In April 2020, TikTok introduced Family Pairing which allows parents and teens to customize their safety settings based on individual needs. It is part of the company’s continued work toward providing parents better ways to guide their teen’s online experience while allowing time to educate about online safety and digital citizenship.

TikTok has one of the most customizable Privacy and Safety settings, offering users the option to decide who can follow them, who can react to their videos, who can send them comments or messages, and who can duet with them. They can block their video from being downloaded, create a block list, filter comments, and ultimately set their account to private.

In January 2020, TikTok released a comprehensive, expanded publication of the Community Guidelines as part of its commitment to a safer space for creative expression. The platform is built to “support our users and their diverse thoughts, experiences, and interests. The goal is to provide tools for users to foster their creativity and enjoy content that’s expressive, authentic, refreshing and sometimes delightfully quirky—all within a supportive community environment.”

Eryastha emphasized that the app’s safety features can be fully realized if content creators and users actively use it, saying, “We encourage our content creators and users to help foster a safer online community. We designed the app with your safety in mind. Our privacy settings enable every user to filter who can view, react, or comment on their posts, as well as to who can duet or download their videos.”

The Internet isn’t always a safe space to be. Abuse from digital predators, cyberbullying, and identity theft are among the dangers that teens and their parents need to be wary of online. And because most teens have their own phones and computers for browsing, it can be difficult for parents to monitor their Internet use, placing them at greater risk compared to smaller children. TikTok has made a commitment to do their part, and provide parents with tools they can use to boost their teens’ safety on the platform. ■

German study highlights carbon footprint of video streaming

BY FRANK JORDANS The Associated Press BERLIN—Streaming high-definition videos and games can result in significant greenhouse-gas emissions, depending on the technology used, according to a German government-backed study released Thursday.

The report published by Germany’s Federal Environment agency calculated the amount of carbon dioxide produced by data centers where material is stored for streaming, and by the transmission technology used to get it to consumers.

It concluded that streaming video over fiber optic cables results in the lowest amount of CO2 emissions—2 grams per hour. Using copper cables produces twice that amount, while 3G mobile technology results in a hefty 90 grams of CO2 per hour. The report’s authors said streaming over nextgeneration mobile technology, known as 5G, would result in carbon dioxide emissions of 5 grams per hour, suggesting that widespread rollout could help cut energy consumption.

Data centers, meanwhile, accounted for only a small share of the overall energy use, though the amount varied significantly depending on how

efficiently servers were used and cooled, according to the report.

Christian Stoll, an energy expert who wasn’t involved in the study, said the figures appeared plausible but noted that they didn’t take into account the amount of electricity consumed by the devices used to watch the streamed videos. “[This] represent a significant part of the total emissions,” said Stoll, a researcher at the Technical University Munich’s Center for Energy Markets and the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.

Presenting the report, German Environment

Minister Svenja Schulze said the study was an attempt to help provide solid data for decisionmakers as digital infrastructure becomes increasingly important at the same time as countries try to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that heat up the atmosphere.

“It is possible to stream data without negatively impacting the climate if you do it right and choose the right method for data transmission,” she said.

“From an environmental perspective, it would be a good idea to set up more public Wi-Fi hot spots, as this is more climate-friendly than streaming in mobile networks.”

Sports BusinessMirror

A12 Saturday, September 19, 2020

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

INEOS, FINALLY, GETS STAGE WIN L

A ROCHE-SUR-FORON, France—Paris, and victory at the Tour de France, are almost within reach for Primoz Roglic.

The Slovenian rider safely negotiated the last truly mountainous stage of this year’s race on Thursday, moving a big step closer to adding what would be his first Tour win to the Spanish Vuelta title he conquered last year.

Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski won the saw-tooth Stage 18, up and down over a leg-burning succession of five Alpine ascents.

His first stage victory at the Tour was also the first at this race for his Ineos Grenadiers team, a consolation prize after its leader, 2019 Tour champion Egan Bernal, withdrew Wednesday having struggled since the weekend.

By avoiding any mishaps on a brutal stage that included a treacherous stretch of gravel path that punctured the thin front tire of another top contender, Australian Richie Porte, Roglic has just two more stages to digest before being able to ride into Paris on Sunday with the yellow jersey on his shoulders to the finish.

“One day less,” Roglic said. “Still some days to go. We just need to maintain our focus.”

Kwiatkowski finished arm-over-arm with teammate Richard Carapaz. They did not sprint to the line, instead crossing together, all smiles, their faces caked with dust, and with Kwiatkowski’s front tire just ahead.

Kwiatkowski is a former world champion and veteran of seven Tours who likely would have won other stages before now had he not devoted much of his career to helping other

Heat rally past Celtics for 2-0 lead

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AKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—Down by 14 in Game One, the Miami Heat found a way.

Down by 17 in Game Two, they did it again Thursday night. And after making the Boston Celtics lose another big lead on the court—as well as their cool in the postgame locker room—the unheralded Heat are two wins away from the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

Goran Dragic scored 25 points, Bam Adebayo led a big third-quarter rally to finish with 21, and the Heat pulled off another comeback to beat the Celtics, 106-101, and take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

“We got grit,” Adebayo said. “That’s about all I can tell you. We got grit, man.”

Duncan Robinson scored 18 points, Jimmy Butler had 14, Jae Crowder 12 and Tyler Herro 11.

The Heat were down by 17 in the second quarter and trailed by 13 at halftime.

They had been 0-21 in playoff games when trailing by at least that many at intermission.

They’re 1-21 now, and two wins away from their first NBA Finals since 2014—and the team said the 17-point comeback matched the biggest in Heat postseason history.

“We like to make it hard on ourselves,” Butler said. “We like being down double-digits and being the comeback kids.”

Kemba Walker had 23 points for Boston, which got 21 apiece from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Brown missed a corner three that would have tied it with 15 seconds left, and Butler sealed it with two free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining.

The Celtics had a loud, animated conversation in their locker room postgame, the walls unable to hold in the sound. They tried to downplay whatever was happening afterward.

“It was nothing,” Walker said. “It was nothing.”

Tatum Added: “We’re frustrated.

But that’s team sports. Not supposed to be happy we’re down 0-2.

But that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Just talking about the game. It’s cool.”

Dragic—playing on the third anniversary of his fondest

basketball moment, that being when he led Slovenia to the EuroBasket Championship— scored nine points in the fourth quarter.

“Feels exactly the same,” Dragic said, when asked to compare Slovenia’s golden moment to the Heat win Thursday. “A great day.” AP

riders win the Tour title.

Carapaz said Ineos’ goals for the day were both winning the stage and putting him in the red-spotted jersey awarded to riders who vacuum up the most points on the Tour’s climbs.

They did both. With Carapaz having secured the jersey on the ascents, the Ecuadoran rider then graciously left the win to his loyal teammate who had helped him up the climbs.

“Basically, he decided,” Kwiatkowski said of Carapaz, who last year became Ecuador’s first Grand Tour champion by winning the Giro d’Italia. “He’s an incredible person.”

“We are going to celebrate big time tonight because we all deserve it after so many stages,” he said. “We put in a show today.”

Further back, in his own battle to keep the overall race lead, Roglic again kept Tadej Pogacar, his Slovenian countryman and closest rival, firmly in his grasp. Roglic surged ahead of Pogacar on the dusty gravel track at the top of the day’s toughest climb, making clear that he was in no mood to cede even seconds so close to Paris.

Roglic remains 57 seconds ahead of Pogacar overall, and has a lead of one minute and 27 seconds over Colombian rider Miguel Angel Lopez, still third.

Thursday’s 175-kilometer route northward from the mountain resort of Meribel led the race out of high Alps to the foothills of La Roche-Sur-Foron, which claims to have been the first town in Europe to illuminate its streets with electric light, in 1885.

Part of a large and early breakaway,

Carapaz quickly found himself locked in a battle for climbing points with powerful Swiss rider Marc Hirschi. Hirschi, a 22-year-old Tour rookie who has been among the most dynamic riders at this race and won Stage 12, had the measure of Carapaz up the first three climbs, beating him to the top.

But he charged too hard on a mid-stage descent, and his wheels slid out from under as he leaned wildly into a left-hand bend.

“He took that corner way too fast,” said Kwiatkowski, who was just behind.

Shedding skin in a slither across the tarmac, Hirschi finished in a heap in grass. He picked himself up and hared off in pursuit of Carapaz, bashing on his displaced left-brake lever as he descended, trying to hammer it back straight on his handlebars.

But his challenge was over. Points that Carapaz picked up by finishing first on the last two ascents were enough for him to wrest the polka-dot jersey from Pogacar.

After 3,157 kilometers of racing over four mountain ranges since the August 29 start in Nice on the Mediterranean, Roglic has just 203 kilometers left to ride before the final stage into Paris, traditionally a leisurely procession with a sprint fiercely contested at the end by riders who weren’t chasing the overall title.

The only cloud Thursday for Roglic was an announcement from Tour organizers that a director of his Jumbo-Visma team, Merijn Zeeman, was being tossed out of the race for

Chess online seminar up

T

POLAND’S Michal Kwiatkowski (right) celebrates with Richard Carapaz after winning the Stage 18 on Thursday. AP

insulting an official during a bike check.

Still, Friday’s bumpy Stage 19 shouldn’t be a problem for Roglic. The former ski jumper can count on his teammates, who have controlled much of the racing, strung out like fairy lights in their yellow jerseys in front of him, to reel in any threat to his lead on the 166-kilometer stage.

That leaves a time trial Saturday as his last significant hurdle. But Roglic’s lead

should, barring a mishap, amply fend off any final challenge over the 36-kilometer race against the clock.

Staying focused, Roglic isn’t yet allowing himself to savor his Tour. That can wait until Sunday.

“I also try to enjoy it. Yeah, it’s crazy, eh?” he said. “Still, more time for more enjoyment will be then, after the Tour.” AP

PBA brass hopeful of IATF’s approval of bubble in Clark vargas

P

marcial

HILIPPINE Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Willie Marcial stressed his optimism on the league’s Clark bubble starting on September 26 despite the absence of an official approval on the league’s return to competition by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging

Infectious Diseases.

The IATF, chaired by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, has yet to allow indoor sports, more so competition and collective training, which a modified general community quarantine is imposed.

But Marcial said the league is taking the risk and expressed confidence on a positive reply from the IATF. “The PBA governors have decided on the resumption of the 45th season,” Marcial told reporters via zoom after the PBA board meeting late Thursday evening. “We were also advised that to get the IATF approval, we have to move

out of Metro Manila and that’s why we chose Clark.”

Marcial didn’t reveal the identities of the individuals who tipped them on how to convince the IATF, but stressed Clark is a perfect venue for the bubble.

PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas was also confident of an IATF approval, saying the season’s resumption “is good for the PBA, the people and the economy.”

“It opens up your television, set to a content that is going to be very important to us who loves basketball,” said Vargas, noting he junks negative thoughts. “But if

it happens, I’m sure we’ll be able to survive that. Here we are, we’re going to push through with your [media] help.”

In the PBA’s Clark bubble—patterned after the National Basketball Association model in Florida—everyone involved in the league will be restricted to the fenced facility.

“Once inside the bubble, you can no longer go out,” Marcial said. “And one you go out, you can never come back.”

A hefty fine of P100,000 on top of a five-game suspension will be imposed on violators.

The PBA bubble will last for two months.

Saso 3 shots behind with 1st round 68

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ULTI-TITLED Ai Suzuki is back with a bang, so did Player of the Year frontrunner Yuka Saso.

But Taiwanese Pei-Ying Tsai quietly worked her way past two of the fancied names in the Descente Ladies Tokai Classic with a blistering bogey-free seven-under 65 to wrest a onestroke lead in Aichi, Japan, on Friday.

Tsai, who never finished better than joint 11th in the first five tournaments of the pandemicshortened Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) of Japan Tour, bucked the Shinminami Aichi Country Club’s Mihama course’s narrow fairways and menacing water hazards and roughs with a solid iron game then capped her stirring round with a near-impeccable touch on the greens for a 32-33 card.

But she could only wrest a

lead so shaky and precarious in a 54-hole championship that featured the region’s best and the brightest as four turned in identical 66s, led by 16-time LPGA of Japan Tour champion Suzuki, another four fired 67s, and five more submitted similar 68s, including Saso, also the money race leader with two victories in her rookie campaign.

Twenty three others from the starting field of 107 broke par in a day of torrid scoring, guaranteeing a wild, wooly chase for the top Y14.4 million purse from the total prize fund of Y80 million.

The 26-year-old Suzuki, out to make up for her missed cut stint in the year’s first major— the JLPGA Championship in Okayama last week, actually tied Tsai on a stirring four-birdie binge from No. 12 but failed to go up-and-down on the par-three 16th and settled for a pair of 33s.

Other six-under par scorers were Saiki Fujita, Ayaka Furue and Kokone Yoshimoto while Mami Fukuda blazed home with five birdies in the last seven holes to shoot a 67 for joint sixth with Naruha Miyata and Miki Sakai, who also birdied four of the last five to crash into the early mix.

Saso, who gained early star status with

YUKA SASO again flaunts her vaunted long game.

her impressive victories in the NEC Karuizawa and Nitori Ladies but struggled with joint 29th and tied for 13th finishes in the last two tournaments, flaunted her vaunted long game again, birdying all but one of the four par-5s.

She added two more on Nos. 2 and 14 to negate her lone bogey on the ninth for a share of 10th with Rieru Shibusawa, Hiroko Azuma, Mone Inami and Chie Arimura.

The International Container Terminal Services Inc.-backed Saso, 19, also outdueled veteran Momoko Ueda in their face-off with her power game and steady putting as the LPGA Tour campaigner continued to grope for form and hobbled with a double-bogey and two bogeys against a couple of birdies.

Ueda, 34, ended up with a 74 and in danger of missing the cut at joint 83rd.

Diaz empowering women weightlifters in Malaysia

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HIDILYN DIAZ is propagating her advocacy while training in Malaysia.

IO 2016 Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz is not only lifting iron as her training

intensifies in Malaysia for the Tokyo Games qualifiers the international weightlifting federation postponed for next year.

The Filipino pride who won gold in the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games has an equally novel mission— help hoist women power among Malaysians.

“That’s my advocacy—to inspire young

generation of women in sports. The women need an inspiration here [Malaysia],” Diaz, also a gold winner in last year’s Southeast Asian Games, told the BusinessMirror during an overseas call on Friday.

Diaz, the pride of Zamboanga City who has competed in three Olympics beginning in Beijing 2018 when she was only 18, said women empowerment in Malaysia has to be approached in a manner that faith has to play a major role.

“This is a Muslim country and the women here are conservative. Most of them stay in the house, while the women in our country are more empowered, that’s why men are stronger here in weightlifting,” she said.

“The men here [Malaysia]? They are all hardworking,” she added.

Diaz said she wanted to serve as an influencer

to Malaysia’s women weightlifters, showing them how to be successful in the sports through hard work and perseverance—qualities that earned her the Malaysians’ admiration and respect.

“I just want to show them weightlifting is not a joke. If they want to win something—if they want to be an Olympian—they really need to work very hard...with commitment and consistency,” she said.

“I try my best to encourage them,” said Diaz, who trains alongside 18- to 19-year-old athletes and members of the Malaysian national team.

Diaz got stuck in Selangor and had to celebrate her 29th birthday last February 20 on foreign soil because of travel restrictions wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With Diaz are her Chinese coach Kaiwen Gao and strength and conditioning Coach Julius

HE Philippines aims to produce worldclass chess trainers and coaches as it hosts the International Chess Federation (Fide) Trainers’ Online Seminar slated from September 25 to 27 via Zoom platform.

World-renowned trainers Grandmasters (GMs) Dejan Bojkov of Bulgaria and Melikset Khachiyan of Armenia, International Masters Jesper Hall of Sweden and Vishal Sarin of India along with top local mentors GMs Jayson Gonzales will conduct the three-day webinar.

About 40 participants from Australia, Fiji, Guam, Japan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taipei, Vietnam and the Philippines have already registered.

The Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence is organizing the event sanctioned and backed by the Asian Chess Federation, FIDE Trainers Commission and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for those aspiring to be world-class coaches and trainers,” said Gonzales.

Gracing the opening of the event are NCFP President Butch Pichay, Oceania Chess Confederation’s Paul Spiller, Asean Chess Academy’s Ignatius Leong, FTC’s Peter Long, ACF’s Hisham Al-Tahir and Sami Khader.

Seminar fee is pegged at Euro $200 with the first 15 Filipino registrants getting a 25-percent discount. For inquiries, interested parties may call Michelle Yaon at 0966-8108378 or send message to Philchesstournaments’ Facebook page.

OBIENA BAGS BRONZE MEDAL IN ROME MEET

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HE stars continued to align themselves in Ernest John “EJ” Obiena’s pursuit of a successful Tokyo Olympics as the top Philippine pole vaulter clinched another OBIENA Diamond League bronze medal this time in the prestigious series’ Rome leg on Wednesday.

Obiena cleared 5.80 meters, a centimeter short of his personal best, to share the podium with Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, who again rocked the event with a new world record leap of 6.17m, erasing the previous mark of 6.14m the legendary Ukrainian, Sergey Bubka, set in 1994.

Ben Broeders of Belgium posted 5.80 meters for the silver medal.

Obiena went for 5.85m hooping to set a new national record but failed.

It was Obiena’s sixth podium finish since returning to competitions in the last two months, netting one gold, two silvers and three bronze medals.

Just recently, the 6-foot-1 Obiena clinched gold at the 59th Ostrava Golden Spike tournament in the Czech Republic where he cleared 5.74m. His silver came at the 13th Triveneto International Meeting in Trieste, Italy, last August and earned his first Diamond League bronze medal at the Monaco leg also in August.

The 24-year-old Obiena will again compete in the Doha leg of the Diamond League on September 24.

Obiena is based at the World Pole Vault Centre in Formia, Italy. Annie Abad Naranjo. The Philippine Sports Commission takes care of the team’s needs while in Malaysia.

Diaz said qualifiers are expected to be set in April with the Tokyo Olympic srescheduled for July 23 to August 8.

Diaz clinched silver in the -53 kg women’s class in Rio and gold in the 2018 Asian Games. In the SEA Games, she moved up to the -55 kgs class and was as successful.

She bagged three gold medals—snatch (93 kg) and clean and jerk (119 kg) for a total lift of 212 kg in the women’s 55kg event—in the 2020 Roma World Cup last January, her fifth Olympic qualifying tournament.

She needs to participate in one more Olympic qualifying tournament to formalize her entry to the Tokyo Games.