BusinessMirror December 21, 2019

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AS a Sports Tourism awardee and a suitable venue for various sports-related activities, Clark has seen its readiness to conquer the international stage with its hosting of the recently concluded 30th Southeast Asian Games in the country.

CLARK’S A LARK

THE Freeport is also being poised as a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibits (MICE) destination with its growing number of hotel rooms, conference sites, and exhibition centers. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CDC

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By Ashley B. Manabat

OME to many of the country’s biggest businesses and multinational companies, Clark continues to be one of the most preferred investments and tourist destinations in the Philippines today.

Like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes, so is Central Luzon’s tourism industry, as worldclass facilities are now being built and operated within the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ).

Also, the government’s vision to have a sustainable tourism industry is now being realized by facilitating integrated multi-industry growth areas in Clark, as emphasized by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

“The national government is aiming for a more resilient economy by building regional growth centers across the country, and part and parcel of this outlook is ensuring the availability of public infrastructure and facilities to enable and support the economic progress,” the DOT chief said.

With its growing number of locators and attractions, the Freeport has proved its potential to be Continued on a2

Nearly three decades after its conversion from a US military base to an economic zone, the CSEZ emerges as a preferred business, leisure—and, after the successful SEA Games, a sporting—destination.

A major shipping change is coming, and so are higher fuel prices

By Firat Kayakiran, Jack Wittels & Rachel Graham

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The cost of shipping a twentyfoot box-load of goods from Latin America to Europe could rise by $26, according to IHS Markit, a consultancy. A week-long ship cruise could go up by $130 per cabin, the firm estimates. Add 5 cents onto a crate of bananas.

It’s still too early to say exactly who the biggest winners and losers will be among refineries because there are thousands of variables that shape their profit—more than 600 grades of crude, and many ways of setting up the plants.

Bloomberg News

DEFINING moment in the history of the oil-refining and shipping industries is at hand.

In fewer than two weeks, thousands of ships the world over will be forced to use fuel containing less sulfur in order to comply with global rules set out by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Those who don’t could face penalties and even imprisonment.

Ports are deploying drones to—literally—sniff out wrongdoers. The regulations are having a profound effect on oil refineries and the cost of seaborne trade looks set to rise.

What’s the big deal? For decades, shipping has been the oil market’s dumping ground for a pollutant blamed on aggravating human health conditions, including asthma and causing acid rain.

That’s because refineries have struggled to eradicate it when

turning crude into fuels. Even so, when the regulations were mandated back in October 2016, they came as a shock to many observers who had expected a later start date. While a panic about getting ready has subsided, there’s clearly still work to do—as a slump in the price of non-compliant fuel demonstrates.

“IMO 2020 is the most fundamental and dramatic product specification change the oil industry has experienced, with an impact on both shipping and refining,” said Torbjorn Tornqvist, the chief executive officer of Gunvor Group, one of the world’s largest oil and gas traders. “It has the potential to change every product and crude differential out there.”

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.6300

Safety concerns

THE Northern Jubilee container ship sails into New York Harbor on November 3, 2019. PETER FOLEY/BLOOMBERG

THE shipping industry has been consistent in flagging a safety concern about the rules. As yet, there’s no single global standard. The new fuel must simply have certain properties—including sulfur and other important metrics—that don’t exceed specified levels.

But the lack of a single global product means refineries can make a compliant fuel in different ways. It’s thought that some will essentially be low-sulfur crudes that are careContinued on a2

n JAPAN 0.4634 n UK 65.8949 n HK 6.4966 n CHINA 7.2225 n SINGAPORE 37.3819 n AUSTRALIA 34.8689 n EU 56.3208 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4981

Source: BSP (December 20, 2019 )

A2 Saturday, December 21, 2019

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LIKE A LARK IN CLARK Continued from a1

the nucleus of economic development in the region.

It is currently host to 1,123 locator companies with actual investments of $4.85 billion. Among the industry leaders currently in Clark are Texas Instruments, Samsung, Posco E&C, MercedesBenz, SM Prime Holdings and Yokohama Tires. These companies also provided job opportunities for 135,114 workers in the Freeport.

All these were achieved in the 26-year existence of Clark Development Corp. (CDC), the managing arm of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for the former Clark Air Base (CAB).

CAB, during the heyday of American soldiers inside the former military airbase, had only about 30,000 direct and indirect jobs that peaked in their 50-year stay.

Evangeline Tejada, CDC vice president for business development, underscored that Clark is a multi-faceted area where one can do both business and leisure travel.

“Clark is not just a Freeport. It has an international airport, which serves as a plus factor. It caters to both business people and tourists,” Tejada said in a recent interview.

Connectivity

ADDED to the Freeport’s advantage is the Clark International Airport, which makes it not only an ideal business hub but also a favorite tourist destination. The number of domestic, regional and interna-

tional flights in the airport have continuously increased and there are now 246 international flights per week to 12 destinations, and a total 488 domestic flights to 28 destinations.

The construction of a new airport terminal, which will accommodate an additional 8 million passengers yearly, will also usher in more improved passenger experience. And because of the expected influx of tourists in the coming years, leading companies in tourism-related industries have turned to Clark to accommodate local and international visitors.

The construction of the new terminal building is in full swing and will be finished by June next year.

MICE destination

THE Freeport is also being poised as a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibits (MICE) destination with its growing number of hotel rooms, conference sites and exhibition centers. Globally acknowledged brands like Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton are only a few of the many hotels with a presence in Clark.

The ongoing construction of additional facilities by multinational companies here, such as Widus International Leisure Inc., Donggwang Properties, Mirej Hotel and Royce Hotel, is also expected to boost tourism growth in the area. Aside from this, boutique hotels such as On Hotel, Sophia Hotel and W Hotel, among others, are also ready to accommodate guests for a budget-friendly travel.

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The current room inventory stands at 2,900—a level somewhat manageable but the target is to have 5,000 in a year or so.

Complementing an economical staycation are the 111 dining facilities available in the area.

From local to international cuisines, guests and tourists have a variety of meals to choose from to tickle their taste buds.

For leisure and entertainment, gaming facilities are also in the Freeport. These include casinos at Widus Hotel, Mimosa Plus, Royce Hotel, Fortune Gate Casino, Donggwang and D’ Heights, among others. Aside from these, guests can also enjoy attractions such as the Aqua Planet, a 10-hectare water theme park with 38 slides and attractions, and other leisure sites that have encouraged tourist arrivals.

Sports tourism destination

AS a Sports Tourism awardee and a suitable venue for various sportsrelated activities, Clark has seen its readiness to conquer the international stage with its hosting of the recently concluded 30th Southeast Asian Games in the country. The aquatics and athletics games took place at the newly constructed world-class 20,000-seater athletics stadium and aquatics center at the New Clark City (NCC).

Aside from proving the readiness and value of NCC facilities, the Freeport (or the former 4,400-hectare CAB proper) has been frequented by a lot of sports buffs and aficionados, averaging about 200 sports events in a year.

GLOBALLY acknowledged brands like Marriott (in photo), Hyatt and Hilton are only a few of the many hotels with a presence in Clark.

With the green lush spaces in Clark, the existing golf courses in the area are also being frequented by foreign guests. These golf courses are those of Mimosa, Sun Valley, Korea CC and others.

Accordingly, annual running events such as Clark Animo and Color Manila Run have also grown with the Freeport as they have been utilizing the Clark Parade Grounds as their venue for their activities.

Aside from this, the wide area of the parade grounds is also being used as training facility for both local and international players.

It also serves as a site for football games like Pinas Cup and baseball games such as Little League.

Infrastructure

TO upgrade the traveling experience in the Freeport, various infrastructure projects were also made by CDC. The ongoing roadwidening and asphalt overlaying on major highways in Clark are meant to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, especially at the

main entry and exit points of the Freeport. Along with these improvements, CDC is also strictly implementing the 60-kilometerper-hour speed limit in the entire Freeport to avoid untoward incidents, especially for motorists.

In Clark, one can be assured of a maximum 10-minute travel time, say, from hotel to airport, hotel to shopping areas, hotel to golf courses—wherever inside the Freeport, one luxury that will never be had especially in Metro Manila.

Aside from the road improvement projects, the state-owned firm also upgraded existing parks such as the Children’s Playground and Clark Parade Grounds. A new attraction that showcases local cuisines and delicacies was also recently opened called the “Mangan Tamu” Pampanga Food Street.

The food street features more than 50 concessionaires, which are also merchants from Comercio Central.

These facilities were not only developed and opened in time for the SEA Games but

they have also been a part of the state-owned firm’s plans to boost and encourage more tourists to explore the Freeport.

Safety

TO assure safety and security of business operations and other events in Clark, the CDC has also installed several CCTV cameras inside the Freeport to create a central monitoring system that will help strengthen the operations of security officers. Cutting-edge technology and equipment are also being utilized in the Freeport, which are all operational 24 hours a day.

Complementing the Public Safety Division security force of CDC are the Philippine Air Force, the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police who are also present in Clark.

These and all the other upcoming developments in the Freeport will surely make Clark an area of choice whether for business or leisure by people from here and across the globe.

Major shipping change…

Continued from a1

fully mixed with other oils, for example. Another way of making the product is to mix the residues from crude that have gone through what’s known as vacuum processing in a refinery with other material.

These different approaches mean the ships’ chief engineers will need to be vigilant so as to avoid mixing incompatible fuels.

Proof of the greater risks have emerged in northwest Europe, where supplies of the new fuel have been found to contain too much sediment. If such fuel found its way onto ships, it could potentially clog filters and lead to engine problems.

“We still have concerns over safety and availability of compliant fuels,” said Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, an umbrella group for maritime trade associations.

“This is a pressing issue.”

Trade impact

THERE are already signs that the changeover is having an impact on maritime logistics.

In Singapore, the world’s biggest refueling center, vessels have had to wait longer than normal to collect bunker fuel. Likewise, the government of Gibraltar said that a lack of refueling barges has emerged.

“When you consider that 90 percent of global trade is carried out by seas, it is very important,” said Robert Hvide Macleod, the chief executive officer for the management unit of Frontline Ltd., one of the world’s biggest supertanker owners. “It will surely be disrup-

tive and create some supply chain bottlenecks in the early goings and logistics constraints when it comes to sourcing marine fuels.”

In broad terms, fuel represents shipping’s single biggest expense and the new types are trading at several hundred dollars per ton more than the old variety. So the cost of seaborne trade could creep up if owners manage to pass on the higher prices.

“I think we will see its impact on global trade in terms of waiting days and increased costs,” said Sadan Kaptanoglu, president of BIMCO, the world’s largest shipping association. “There could even be chaos in extreme situations, where fuel shortages could delay cargo deliveries and non-compliance by ships ending in port state punishments and court cases.”

Compliance complications

IT’S important to remember that oil refineries and shipping companies spent billions getting ready.

Some ship owners installed scrubbers, units that can cost several million dollars each and allow carriers to remove sulfur from fuel as it’s burnt. This enables them to keep using today’s cheaper product. Likewise, refineries have invested in technology to convert sulfur-rich crude into higher-quality fuels.

For compliant companies, cheating by others is a problem. Yet there could be non-compliance, at least initially. Industry estimates are that something like 10 percent to15 percent of the fleet won’t comply with the rules at the start.

Not every country in the

world signed up to the regulations, including some large coastal states with significant refining capacity. Even among those that did, not all look likely to start with strict enforcement. There’s also a disparity between what penalties will be imposed from one nation to the next.

South Africa, which sits on a shipping lane connecting eastern and western hemispheres, doesn’t yet have the domestic laws in place to punish non-compliant vessels. The United Arab Emirates, a vital refueling hub in the Middle East, has pledged to avoid draconian enforcement.

Bottom line

NEVERTHELESS, these rules should work.

Full enforcement may happen more slowly than the IMO and some in the shipping and refining industries would like.

There’s a big financial incentive to cheat, and an opportunity to do so on selected trades.

Barring any obvious safety concerns, though, the overriding view of analysts is that there should nonetheless be substantial compliance.

That means less airborne pollution and be a positive for those companies that invested in conforming.

“There’s almost certainly never been a simultaneous global specification change in the oil industry,” said Spencer Welch, oil markets and downstream director at IHS Markit.

“For the whole world to change specification of a product on the same day is almost unheard of.”

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

Saturday, December 21, 2019

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Southeast Asia may soon need a Plan B to deal with ‘lowflation’

THE BRP Gabriela Silang during the Change of Flag Ceremony for the Philippine Coast Guard vessel in France on Thursday. The ceremony officially designated the vessel as under the ownership of the Philippines. The vessel is expected to reach Manila on February 10, 2020.

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OUTHEAST Asia is set for another year of low inflation, generating difficult choices for the region’s central banks.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PCG

PCG’s most modern ship flies colors for the first time

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HE Phi lippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) newest and largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV) is now officially under the ownership of the country after it flew the Philippine flag for the first time on Thursday.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the PCG said the 83-meter BRP Gabriela Silang, which was built by French shipbuilder OCEA, had its Change of Flag Ceremony that was led by Philippine Ambassador to France Ma. Theresa Lazaro.

“Ambassador Lazaro represented the DOTr [Department of Transportation] and the PCG in the historic event, which marks the first time the OPV will be flying the national flag, and will now be under the official ownership of the Republic of the Philippines,”

the post read.

The OPV is scheduled to depart from France on December 30 with its 35-strong personnel and crew from the PCG and is expected to arrive in Manila on February 10, 2020.

Last month, Transportation Secretar y A r thur Tugade ap proved the provisional acceptance of the OPV through BRP Gabriela Silang’s incoming commanding officer, PCG Commander Alberto Ferre, in the signing of the vessel’s certificate in France.

The BRP Gabriela Silang was commissioned for the PCG by the DOTr. Its design was based on the OPV-270 Mk. II that was first unveiled in Euronaval 2014.

The ship was also the first OPV acquired by the Philippines and the most modern vessel of the PCG. PNA

MMDA lifts number-coding scheme for provincial buses during holidays

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HE number-coding scheme for provincial buses will be suspended during the holiday season to ensure the availability of public transportation for the influx of passengers to the provinces.

In a memorandum d ated December 16, the MMDA said number coding, also known as the Unified Vehicle Volume Reduction Program (UV VRP), will be lifted for provincial buses on December 23, 24, 26, 27 and 31, and on Januar y 2, 2020.

Number coding is also lifted for all vehicles on December 25 and 30, 2019, and January 1, 2020.

“In order to accommod ate more pa ssengers du r i ng t he hol id ay season going to provinces and back, the implement at ion of t he [U V V R P] or nu mber cod ing for prov inc i a l bu ses i s he reb y l i f te d ,” t he memora ndu m read.

The memo also restricts MMDA traffic enforcement units from apprehending all provincial buses only on the said dates. PNA

Asian shares mixed as markets yawn at Trump’s impeachment

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TOCKS were mixed in early trading in Asia on Friday after Wall Street posted more record highs, extending the market’s gains for the week.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.2 percent lower to 23,809.33, while the Kospi in Seoul was almost unchanged, at 2,196.45. The S&P ASX 200 in Sydney slipped 0.2 percent to 6,821.10.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.1 percent higher to 29,538.00.

Technology companies led stocks higher on Wall Street Thursday, extending the market’s gains for the week and pushing the major indexes to more record highs. Reports that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a trade deal with China was finished and ready for signing after the holidays also spurred buying.

“Indeed, agreement of the ‘Phase 1’ deal between the US and China has removed quite a lot of uncertainties in the outlook for 2020, and with the global growth revival trade is looking better and better by the day, equity investors are reveling in the holiday cheer,” Stephen Innes of AxiTrader said in a commentary.

The broad gains on Wall Street erased the S&P 500’s slight losses from a day earlier. The benchmark index has notched gains 6 out of the past 7 days.

A batch of encouraging earnings reports from several big companies helped keep investors in a buying mood. Rite Aid, Conagra Brands and Micron Technology rose after posting quarterly results that exceeded analysts’ forecasts.

Stock indexes were little changed for much of the day. Stocks, bonds, gold and a measure of fear among investors on Wall Street made only modest moves in the first day of trading after President Donald Trump’s impeachment by the

House of Representatives.

“We’ve kind of known how this was going to play out for months,” said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments. “That just means that everybody has had an opinion, and whatever opinion that is it’s been priced into the market.”

The S&P 500 rose 14.23 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,205.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 137.68 points, or 0.5 percent, to 28,376.96, a record.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.7 percent to 8,887.22, a record. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks added 0.3 percent to 1,667.09.

More stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange than fell.

Treasury yields slipped. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 1.91 percent from 1.92 percent late Wednesday. The two-year yield was unchanged at 1.62 percent and the 30-year yield rose to 2.36 percent from 2.35 percent.

The major stock indexes climbed to record highs late last week as investors welcomed news that the US and China had taken steps to de-escalate their trade conflict. Stocks have mostly continued their record-breaking run this week, shrugging off the House’s impeachment of President Trump.

Trump became just the third US president to be impeached after the House voted Wednesday on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress in an investigation.

The President had warned months ago that his impeachment would roil markets, but traders say it has virtually no impact. That’s mostly because they see it as extremely unlikely that he or his market-friendly policies will leave office before the end of his term. AP

S&P Global Ratings sees inflation remaining below central bank targets in most cases in 2020, according to Shaun Roache, S&P’s chief Apac economist in Singapore. Policy-makers may soon have to think about using tools other than interest rates to achieve their policy goals, he said.

“The story will quickly turn to ‘Plan B,’ which could be some combination of forward guidance, negative rates and quantitative easing, even in an emerging market like Thailand,” he said in an e-mail.

PHL stock index threatens to wipe out gains for 2019

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HE Philippines’s benchmark stock index fell as much as 2.4 percent on Friday to cut its gains this year to barely 0.1 percent.

The index slumped to as low as 7,469.41 in morning trading, touching its lowest level since January 2. Volume was at 123 percent of the threemonth daily average. It was the biggest decliner in Asia on Friday.

Foreign funds led the sell-off, with barely any gains to show for the Philippine market while US stocks are hitting record highs, BDO Unibank Inc. chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said.

Negative news about the impeachment of US President Donald Trump has also overshadowed local investors, he said. The Philippine market has been in turmoil in recent days after uncertainty over Manila’s water service contracts triggered a plunge in water stocks. The benchmark has tanked 3.3 percent this month, set for the worst month since September 2018.

DMCI Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., shareholders of water supplier Maynilad, led the declines on Friday. Both fell as much as 5.6 percent. Bloomberg News

Davao City public school gets first batch of ‘upcycled’ chairs

By Manuel T. Cayon Mindanao Bureau Chief

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AVAO CITY–A public high school here received the first batch of chairs from waste plastics four months after a consumer food and beverage company and local chain of shopping malls partnered to collect and recycle waste plastics into school chairs.

The Matina Elementary School in Barangay Matina here received on December 12, 2019, the early Christmas treat from Universal Robina Corp.’s (URC) Refresh Mineral Water with the delivery of 50 plastic chairs.

The chairs were made from used plastic bottles that were collected during the mineral water brand’s Refresh-Return-Recycle program.

“We are really amazed by the project, making chairs out of recycled plastic bottles. It is the first time we saw the process of making these chairs. Thank you for the opportunity,” said Jocelyn Lucena, master teacher at Matina Elementary School during the turnover ceremony in the school.

Refresh Mineral Water partnered with NCCC Supermarket in Davao City in August this year to place disposal bins in 30 NCCC Supermarket branches where mall-goers can return or dispose of used plastic bottles. The Winder Recycling Co. (WRC) turned the waste plastics into classroom chairs.

The URC said Refresh plastic bottle is made from recyclable material, and launched its RefreshReturn-Recycle campaign “to encourage everyone to incorporate more sustainable practices in their lifestyle, especially on the proper disposal of single-use plastics.”

“Aside from providing fresh and clean-tasting water, Refresh is doing its part in caring for the environment,” the company said.

Aside from its partnership with NCCC, Refresh Mineral Water has been conducting activities to further encourage people to practice proper waste management, it added. It held a road show last September in select universities in Luzon where students learned about the value of recycling.

“This could be the big story of 2020.”

Central banks in Southeast Asia’s main economies—Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam­— eased monetary policy in 2019, unwinding some of the previous year’s tightening as growth prospects worsened. Some have scope to ease again in 2020, but policy-makers will need to balance that against currency and financial-stability risks.

Policy space is closing fastest in Thailand.

The central bank, which left its benchmark rate unchanged this week at 1.25 percent, has struggled to get inflation back into its 1-percent to 4-percent target amid a surging

currency. The Bank of Thailand is expected to narrow the target band, possibly to 1 percent to 3 percent, according to Standard Chartered Plc. In Indonesia, policy-makers will drop the inflation target to 2 percent to 4 percent in 2020, from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent this year. Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti said in a recent interview that the economy has entered “a new norm” of historically low inflation.

Below-trend growth “will prevent the economy from soaking up spare capacity,” keeping price pressures subdued, Roache said. Bloomberg News

A4 Saturday, December 21, 2019

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

DTI-EMB sets outbound business mission to Mexico and LA in 2020 I

N an effort to increase trade with Latin America and the United States, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Mexico and Los Angeles will conduct an outbound business-matching mission for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in 2020. The OBMM will include participation in Expo ANTAD and Alimentaria in Guadalajara City in Mexico, and businessmatching activities in Mexico City and Los Angeles, California.

Expo ANTAD and Alimentaria is Latin America’s largest food and supermarket show. It is an international event aimed at the entire food industry from distribution (importers, distributors, retailers, supermarket stores, department stores and specialty stores) to the food service sector (restaurants, hotel chains, industrial canteens and cruise ship suppliers). It also includes FMCG, like personal-care products, housewares and wearables.

The three-day event will offer a great opportunity for exhibitors to experience the potentials of the Latin American market. During

last year’s participation, exhibitors were able to meet buyers not only from Mexico, but also from other Latin American countries, like Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama, and from California and Florida in the US. This will be the second engagement of EMB in Mexico following an OBMM and participation in the same expo this year, which was participated by Chat Noir Co. Inc. (Don Papa Rum), Republic Biscuit Corp., Monde MY San, Nattural Quality Corp., See’s International, Business People, Nutribiz International Inc., McCormick, Potato Corner and the Filipino Food Movement.

In 2018, Mexico was the Philippines’s 26th major trading partner (out of 222), 15th export market (out of 213), and 41st import supplier (out of 198). Total bilateral trade was valued at $756.81 million.

The OBMM to Mexico and Los Angeles will be from March 28 to April 7, 2020. Interested participants may e-mail Gina Yap (GinaYap@dti.gov.ph) and Benedict Santos (JohnBenedictSantos@dti.gov.ph) of the DTI-EMB or call +63 8 465.3300 local 230 and 218.

Metal sector bullish on 25% growth next year amid ‘BBB’ and Pogo construction

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PHILIPPINE Trade and Investment Center-Mexico Commercial Counselor Vichael Angelo Roaring (sixth from left), together with the Philippine delegation during the Expo ANTAD and Alimentaria 2019 held at Guadalajara, Mexico. Leading the delegation was the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau, headed by the Market and Innovation Division Chief Rafaelita Castro (fifth from right). FILE PHOTO

DTI, Seipi to promote electronics industry players to US market

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N a unified approach and collaboration, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Export Marketing Bureau, in cooperation with Philippine Trade and Investment Center Silicon Valley, PTIC Los Angeles, and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) partnered with the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) to promote Philippine electronic capabilities and explore investment opportunities to the US market on from January 6 to 14, 2020.

“The Consumer and Electronics Show in Las Vegas is the biggest electronics in the US, where all the relevant decision-makers attend and emerging industry trends on electronics are presented. Philippines stands to benefit from this exposure, especially coming in strong with a delegation of major players in the electronics industry in the Philippines, under a country presentation, unified government approach and relevant linkage for R&D [research and development] in collaboration with the DOST and the academe,” DTI-Trade Promotions Group Undersecretary Abdulgani M. Macatoman said.

This will be the second electronics industry mission to actively campaign for the electronics sector significantly seen to create a pipeline of opportunities to boost trade and investments.

“We present the Philippines as

leveling up in the age of innovation and technology, as we become competitive by providing an ecosystem that promotes ease of doing business, we also focus on Philippine capabilities in cutting-edge technology, such as in artificial intelligence and with enough support mechanism for logistics, R&D and start-ups,” DTI-Competitiveness and Innovation Group Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba said.

The mission focuses on Philippines as a major player in the electronics industry global value chain, and will present its capabilities to top technology companies with strong R&D support and partnership with academic institutions under the “Product and Technology Holistic Strategy” (PATHS), the electronics industry road map. This road map identifies niche products and technologies that the Philippines should focus on in the next five years.

The Philippine delegation is composed of Airfreight 2100 Inc., De La Salle University, Integrated MicroElectronics, Ionics EMS Inc., LGC Logistics, Macro Wiring Technologies Co. Inc., Meralco, and Xinyx Design Consultancy and Services Inc. The key components for the mission include individual client meetings, business forums, networking activities, meeting with government agencies, as well as company and facility visits in the United States.

According to Science Undersecretary for Research and Development

Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, DOST will play a major role in supporting R&D for smart agriculture, renewable energy, disaster warning, and collaborative robots, among others.

The PATHS study was funded by the DTI and administered by the DOSTPhilippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) and is currently being implemented

by Seipi.

The electronics industry remains resilient with $36.07 billion in exports (year-to-date, from January to October 2019), or 2.68 percent, higher than the same period in 2018.

Seipi would like to convey the industry’s value proposition and to potentially participate in the supply chain of Apple and its Tier 1 suppliers, and pitch the Philippines as both a market and investment destination for Amazon.

The Philippines has a strong affinity with the US, being its 29th largest supplier of merchandise imports ($12.6 billion in 2018, 35 percent of which are electronics), has GSP status (meaning zero or reduced tariffs to over 5,057 products), with electronic products (under HS Code 8541 and 8542) duty free as a most favored nation by the US. The Philippines has an existing cluster of 18 suppliers of components and box builds for globally known brands in mobile devices, smart home and office technologies, automobiles and submarines. They are

located in economic zones, managed by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, with tax holidays of four to six years for pioneering projects, a competitive rate on gross income earnings after tax breaks, and import duties exemption.

A seminar and business matching event will take place at the South Hall Las Vegas Convention Center for the Philippine delegation, which will be attended by US companies invited by the posts on January 8, 2020. Other activities will include meetings/factory visits, information session and the World Electronics Forum.

This mission is pursuant to the Philippine Development Plan 20172022 and Philippine Export Development Plan 2018-2022. It is aimed at meeting the PDP objectives and export targets by improving the overall climate for export development, exploiting existing prospective opportunities from trading arrangements, and designing comprehensive support for selected products and services sectors, among others.

In 2018, the electronics industry remained as the Philippines’s top exporter, which comprised 55 percent of the total Philippine merchandise exports amounting to $38.2 billion, and posted a double-digit compounded average growth of 9.26 percent for the period between 2014 and 2018.

The US also ranked as the Philippines’s second market in 2018 with growth rate of 12.69 percent, which is valued at $5.13 billion.

HE Philippine metal sector sees about 25-percent growth in 2020, with the demand for steel expected to continue grow ing amid more construction activities.

Jimmy Chan, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. trustee for the metals sector, said while exports only comprise a small portion of its total revenues, the domestic market is huge.

“In the Philippines, we are very fortunate because we have the construction—‘Build, Build, Build’ [infrastructure program] and also the local construction activities where Pogos [Philippine offshore gaming operators] are giving a very big boost to our local economy,” he said.

Chan said there are a lot of construction activities for the steel sector, particularly for Pogos. “Pogo is more like a consumer

type. The only thing is, there are a lot of these Pogo businesses that are more centered toward China.

So they are serving the Chinese market which basically is very big but what they cannot do in China, they bring it here,” he added.

Chan also said the government is also expected to pick up the pace on infrastructure development after it slowed because of the budget deadlock in Congress.

President Duterte signed the 2019 budget only in April. Chan said the world economy is, likewise, seen to be much better in 2020 than this year as many of the companies started retooling.

“A lot of economies are forecasting that there will be upcoming slowdown in the US and actually in Europe, it’s all slowdown and the rest of Asean is also slowing down. But everybody is retooling so it will go up,” he added.

Exporters push for immediate slash of corporate income tax

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HE umbrella organization of exporters in the country is pushing for the passage of a bill immediately reducing corporate income tax (CIT) rate to 20 percent with no condition to make the country on a par with Southeast Asian neighbors.

Phi l ippine Ex por ters Confe der at ion I nc . ( Ph i le x por t) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the group strongly sup por ts t he CI T bi l l of Senate President Pro Tempore R a lph G. Recto, which proposes a ta xpayer seg mentation. “[This] will help MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises] enjoy even lower tax rates than the proposed 20-percent CIT,” he said.

Ortiz-Luis said the group also recommended the removal of the performance threshold to avail of incentives, such as tax refunds for start-ups and MSMEs. Recto filed the Senate Bill 595, otherwise known as “An Act Instituting Income Tax Reform For Corporate Taxpayers,” which seeks to lower the CIT rate from the current unitary or single income tax rate of 30 percent with graduated rates ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent.

In Asean, the Philippines has

the highest CIT rate at 30 percent, while the average corporate CIT is at 22.4 percent in the region, it said.

A new version of the proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act is set to be filed at the Senate as stakeholders in the government sector seek a “win-win” type of support for industries. The second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, Citira reduces CIT from 30 percent to 20 percent over 10 years.

Apart from passage of bill lowering CIT, Ortiz-Luis said export stakeholders will continue pushing for the enactment of legislation that will leave an impact on businesses.

These are the Warehouse Receipts Act, Bamboo Industry Development Act, Murang Kuryente Act, Open Access in Data Transmission Act, Customs Amnesty Act, National Quality Infrastructure and Amendments to the Magna Carta of MSMEs, Philippine Ports Authority Act, Public Services Act and ASIN law.

“We are also involved in blocking attempts to pass unfriendly labor bills, such as the security of tenure, which has been refiled,” he added.

OurTime BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Drug can curb dementia’s delusions, researchers find

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AN DIEGO —A drug that curbs delusions in Parkinson’s patients did the same for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in a study that was stopped early because the benefit seemed clear.

If regulators agree, the drug could become the first treatment specifically for dementia-related psychosis and the first new medicine for Alzheimer’s in nearly two decades. It targets some of the most troubling symptoms that patients and caregivers face—hallucinations that often lead to anxiety, aggression, and physical and verbal abuse.

Results were disclosed on Wednesday, at a conference in San Diego, California.

“This would be a very important advance,” said one independent expert, Dr. Howard Fillit, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.

Although the field is focused on finding a cure for dementia and preventing future cases, “there is a huge unmet need for better treatment” for those who have it now, said Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association’s chief science officer.

The drug is pimavanserin, a daily pill

sold as Nuplazid by Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. It was approved for Parkinson’s-related psychosis in 2016, and is thought to work by blocking a brain chemical that seems to spur delusions.

About 8 million Americans have dementia, and studies suggest that up to 30 percent of them develop psychosis.

“It’s terrifying,” said Dr. Jeffrey Cummings of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. “You believe that people might be trying to hurt you. You believe that people are stealing from you. You believe that your spouse is unfaithful to you. Those are the three most common false beliefs.”

He consults for Acadia and helped lead the study, which included about 400 people with dementia and psychosis. All were given a low dose of the drug for three months, and those who seemed to respond or benefit were then split into two groups. Half

continued on the drug and the others were given dummy pills for six months or until they had a relapse or worsening of symptoms. Neither the patients nor their doctors knew who was getting what.

Independent monitors stopped the study when they saw that those on dummy pills were more than twice as likely as those on the drug to relapse or worsen—28 percent versus nearly 13 percent.

There were relatively few serious side effects—5 percent in the drug group and 4 percent in the others. Headaches and urinary tract infections were more common among those on the drug. Two deaths occurred, but study leaders said neither was related to the drug.

Carrillo said the study was small, but the drug’s effect seemed large, and it’s not known whether the federal Food and Drug Administration would want more evidence to approve a new use.

Current antipsychotic medicines have some major drawbacks and are not approved for dementia patients.

“They’re often used off label because we have very few other options,” Fillit said.

All carry warnings that they can raise the risk of death in elderly patients, as does Nuplazid.

Cost could be an issue—about $3,000 a month. What patients pay can vary depending on insurance coverage. AP

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, December 21, 2019 A5

How my wife taught me what good writing should be

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

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S the eldest of eight children, my wife, Aurit, had put it upon herself the burden of caring for her mother, a widow, in her declining years. She was then living next door with my wife’s two other siblings.

During that time, she chronicled her mother’s day-to-day condition by way of e-mail to her two brothers and a sister living in California.

Similar to writing a diary, she extemporaneously related the latest happenings regarding her mother’s circumstances as well as her feelings about it directly on the keyboard.

So that she would have a ready hard copy reference to what she had previously written, my wife then asked me to print all her correspondences at the office where I had a printer. One day, as I was flipping through my wife’s letters and her siblings’ comments and responses, I began to see a thread of an interesting story. The letters made me laugh, angry and cry in frustration. Some letters filled me with rage, sometimes joy and understanding. They contained the varying colors and nuances of ordinary life as experienced from day to day. For a while I was suspended, as if witnessing and observing another family. No story of a mother and her children had moved me like this since I saw the movie trilogy of Satyajit Ray, the Indian filmmaker. Except in this story I was part of it. For I lived the joys and trials she wrote about.

Writing with unadorned candor and without her knowing it, my wife was writing a chapter of her life story. Her simple, direct and spontaneous style revealed a natural flair for clear and persuasive writing. I realized that she is really a gifted writer, unfolding right before my very eyes, a raw talent being polished with each passing day.

And I could see then that she was having a blast. When she was in front of our old Macintosh, she seemed to be in that altered state which psychologists termed as “flow.” No one could pull her away from it. She couldn’t wait to open the computer early in the morning as soon as our kids were out, either off to school or to work.

In an article I read somewhere, a novelist said that the true purpose of writing is above all else “to develop a form of communion with our inner life.”

The article was sort of saying that writing is a way to know ourselves. What we think. What we feel.

I believe that’s what my wife was experiencing.

At the same time, chronicling allowed my wife to reach out and share her experiences with others. For one, her e-mail reports from the “front” had enabled her to reconnect with her siblings, especially with her “prodigal” brother who seemed to have detached himself from the family for years. Now judging from his eager queries, he couldn’t wait to get updated on the latest happening from the Philippines and about his mother. And my wife was only too willing to oblige. She was now mining her memories of the past, relating stories from her childhood, particularly about incidents previously unknown to her brothers and sisters. Ironically, now that they were distant from each other, the siblings were becoming a close “family” once again.

I now know what that novelist meant when she said, “Writing is worthwhile, because it gives us to ourselves, and then to each other.”

My wife’s mother since then has passed away. Technology has moved on. My wife is now active on Facebook where “friends” not only give of themselves and to each other, but also give away so freely about themselves, putting their privacy at risk, which is another story.

Realizing it then, I learned a lot from my wife about what good writing should be. I am supposedly the more accomplished writer in our family. Writing was and is still my bread and butter. But it took her daily e-mail chronicles of her mother’s fading life to help me see the essence of what good writing should be, as stated in the lines of a poem by Langston Hughes: Go home and write a page tonight.

And let that page come out of you— Then, it will be true.

Singapore to raise retirement age with power transition approaching

S ILOKANA CENTENARIAN Minervina Dario Singson was serenaded by her students, scholars and loved ones during her 100th birthday. Minervina is Ilocos’ wellkept secret in musical arts, having composed more than 100 songs and anthems and put to music all the 456 psalms in the Bible. She is one of the first graduates of the University of the Philippines College of Music and said to have easily reached the flat e or the highest note. It was only in 1971 that she became a composer. In 2008 she founded the MDS Heritage Music Foundation, which sent almost 200 young kids in Candon to Music Scholarships. PHOTO BY MAU VICTA

INGAPORE extended support for older workers in the aging island nation as the current leadership prepares to hand over to a new generation in the next few years.

The retirement age will be gradually raised to 65 from 62, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday in his annual National Day Rally speech. The re-employment age, where employers must offer work in the same organization, will rise to 70 from 67.

The city-state will also increase pension-

contribution rates for workers so that by 2030, any worker age 60 or below will get the full rate, Lee said.

The government is looking ahead to elections that must be held by 2021, and Lee—son of the country’s founding leader—is preparing to hand power to new leaders “in the next few years.” The measures build on support Lee’s government is already giving to older citizens, including S$6.1 billion ($4.4 billion) it set aside this year for a fund that includes subsidized health care for those in their 60s. Bloomberg News

Longer lives: Longer retirements, more chance to get scammed

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EW YORK—Retirements are growing longer than ever, which means more decades to pay for—and more decades to avoid getting scammed out of your savings.

The financial and investment industries have noticed how often their elderly clients are targeted by fraudsters, unscrupulous family members and others. After seeing too many clients fall for fraudsters telling them they’d won the lottery—but would receive the jackpot only after paying a fee—Michele Kryger started the elder and vulnerable clientcare unit at AIG. It tries to protect elderly and other vulnerable customers, often by delaying disbursements when they try to withdraw their money for possibly suspect reasons.

Kryger recently talked with The Associated Press about what seniors can do to protect themselves, particularly those who want to handle their finances by themselves. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: What kinds of scams were

you seeing that showed a need for this kind of unit?

A: One of the very early cases we

had involved an elderly client who requested a $72,000 withdrawal. It was unusual for the client, so his financial adviser decided to go out and meet at his home. When he talked to the client, the client indicated that he was going to come into a large sum of money, and he’d be able to replenish his account pretty soon. But first, he needed to pay this upfront sum. That’s a red flag.

And then his wife said, “Hey, we won the lottery! And by the way, why are we getting called by some foreigner?”

We tried to convince the client not to take the $72,000 out. We reached out to adult protective services, who also tried to talk him out of it. But then he submitted a request again a few days later, and it took coordination between the financial adviser, the daughter and us to make sure that he did stop the withdrawal. And he never did send that money out. So we were able to prevent a $72,000 loss.

Q. What’s the reaction when you tell a client to hold off on that withdrawal?

A. It’s tricky. When we delay disbursements, the person that’s the most upset with us is the person who wants the money.

Q: What kind of training are your workers getting, in looking for these red flags?

A: We have annual training, and we have new-hire training. But you have to continue the training because red flags change. Just in the last couple weeks, we saw scams involving liens on properties where our clients are told, “You have this lien on the property, and you have to pay a certain sum of money to clear it out.”

Q. What can people do to protect themselves?

A. In the cases that we handle, sadly, a lot of the clients do not have powers of attorney in place and the types of protections we would want to see. They don’t have a trusted contact, and I think that’s

because they don’t want somebody else involved in managing their finances.

Those two types of protection are very helpful: To have a trusted contact who’s different than your power of attorney provides a check and balance.

Q. Power of attorney means?

A. Power of attorney is somebody

that an individual selects to manage their finances, health or different types of activities.

What we like is where you have a power of attorney that identifies two attorneys-in-fact who have to act jointly on behalf of the client. The reason I like that is because we’ve had withdrawal requests come in from one of the attorneys-in-fact that seems unusual.

And we take a look at the case, and we say, “Hey, we can’t accept this. It needs to be signed by both.” Oftentimes, it hasn’t come back, which means we may have prevented some loss for our client.

Q. And trusted contact?

A. The trusted contact is a relatively

new concept. There was a rule passed in

2018, and it tells financial advisers and broker-dealers you need to make best attempts to obtain a trusted contact from a client. And that trusted client contact becomes an added resource if we have concerns that an individual is suffering from cognitive health issues or may be subject to financial exploitation.

We’re hoping that more and more trusted contacts are signed and provided to us.

Q: Do you see certain types of clients getting disproportionately targeted?

A: From an age standpoint, the age

that we see the most activity impact is in the 80s and 90s.

But we also handle any case involving an adult where we think that there are cognitive concerns. We’ve had cases where an individual was in the hospital, temporarily incapacitated, and the brother had him sign an irrevocable beneficiary form. The client did not know what they were signing.

Q: It’s often a family member

or someone the client knows who’s trying to get the money?

A: Yes. Most people don’t think something like this can happen. I don’t want to think that my kids can exploit me either. But it exists. It’s real.

Q. What tips would you give elderly clients?

A. Be prepared for a decline in cog-

nitive ability. It’s something that’s just natural with age.

I don’t like to see those cases where we have a client who could be being exploited or doesn’t seem to be managing their finances in the way that they originally intended, and we’re not able to have a conversation with them because they don’t appear to be cognitive. But when we have no family member involved, no power of attorney and trusted contact, it really ties our hands as far as what we can do.

And if you’re caring for somebody else: Just talk to them. Don’t let them be siloed. Talk to them about what they need to do to prepare for the future. AP

A6 Saturday, December 21, 2019 | Editor: Mike Besa

THE 10th at Baguio Country Club with the clubhouse in the background

‘BAGUIO COUNTRY CLUB THROUGH THE YEARS’

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HE history of Baguio Country Club is inextricably linked to the history of the City of Baguio itself. When William Howard Taft was tasked with governing the Philippine Islands, he directed his friend William Cameron Forbes to look for a cool place in the Sierra Madre Mountains of which he had heard rumors. Taft was a large man who found the heat and humidity of the tropics too much for his corpulence. He longed for the cool temperate climes of the Northeastern United States and was determined to find such a place on the Islands.

This determination oversaw the building of the Benguet Road and the establishment of the City of Baguio.

Forbes then enlisted his associate Dallas McGrew to start a club. The founding members, including Forbes and McGrew, established Baguio Country Club in 1905 and circulated the prospectus for membership the next year. For a fifty Peso initiation fee and a twenty Peso annual fee, one could avail of membership, provided they met the social criteria.

They purchased 32 hec tares of land from Mateo Cariño, an Igorot chief who also owed the land on which Club John Hay now sits, for the princely sum of 2,400 Pesos. The first clubhouse was little more than a large hut with a thatched roof; it was built in one day for 400 Pesos. The club’s first facilities were two tennis courts, croquet grounds and a three-hole golf course. In 1907, Major Gallagher of the US Army, Mr. Marshall of International Bank and Mang Dangal, from the Manila Club were retained by Forbes to redesign the golf course. And on March 25, 1908, the club began serving food to its patrons; a tradition that extends to this day.

Later years saw the Baguio Country Club take firm root, improve, and expand. It continues to offer, now luxurious accommodations, provides a meeting place and a place for recreation in the highlands of the Cordillera. It carries the chic luxury of its past, and the feel and hospitality of a modern private home. The Club is rated as one of the Triple A (AAA) Hotels & Resorts of the Philippines by the Department of Tourism. Having reached its 100th year of existence in 2005, the National Historical Institute recognized Baguio Country Club as a national heritage site.

What started as a one-room shack and 3-hole setup is now the most celebrated venue for social and business gatherings. The Club’s passion for excellence in everything it does, always mindful of its corporate social responsibilities that go with power and privilege, has made it an enviable institution.

Baguio Country Club is a resort course in what some consider classic construction, i.e. a short course with smallish, elevated Bermuda greens with carabao grass fairways.

The course was redesigned in the mid-1970s by Luis “Golem” Silverio, arguably the best amateur golfer the country has ever produced.

Although it is short with a par of just 61 and measuring a hair over 4,000-yards in length, it regularly reduces the best amateur golfers in the country to tears. The FilAm is the largest and longest-running amateur golf tournament in the world. It attracts golfers from all over the world and many make the trek to Baguio City an annual tradition. Four rounds of tournament golf are contested on the fairways of Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay Golf Club. Poll any of

the over 1,400 golfers and to a man, they will tell you that Baguio Country Club presents the greater challenge.

It is perplexing as to how such a short course can frustrate the most accomplished amateurs in the country. The greens are the course’s best defenses. They are small and quite firm, which makes hitting them from distance quite the task. This makes holding one an exercise in aiming for the front of the green, reducing the size of your target significantly.

Getting up and down presents a whole set of different challenges. Miss in the wrong spot and par is almost impossible. Rolling the ball up onto the green should be a priority but this is exceedingly difficult given the elevation of many of the greens.

Holes No. 1 and 10 are both par 3s and share a large, common green fronting the club’s veranda. The tee shots crisscross each other making the experience even more enter taining. The tee shot on either tee during the club’s busiest season must rank as the most nerve-racking in Philippine golf.

Nos. 3 and 4 are two of our favorite holes on the golf course. Three is a short walk across Country Club Drive; the 386-yard par 4 is one of the few places where long hitters can take the driver off the tee. A well-placed drive will be rewarded by an even lie to another elevated green that sits by the club’s perimeter fence on Leonard Wood Road.

The front nine is the more forgiving of the two as its par 4s offer a more forgiving field of play for the amateur.

Here, you at least have opportunities to recover from a missed shot. The inward nine is more exacting. A series of long par 3s make this side the greater challenge.

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, December 21, 2019 A7

LA SALLE CROWNED 2019 COLLEGE GOLF CHAMPIONS Story & photos by Bobbet Bruce

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N undermanned La Salle team edges team medal play winner and archrival Ateneo to capture the 2019 Philippine Golf Foundation (PGF) School Championship and end their five-year title drought last December 1, 2019, at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club.

The Green Archers who scored a threepeat title run from 2012-2014, nipped the Blue Eagles, 85-83, in team aggregate Stableford scoring with the three out of four scores counting to snatch the crown from the pre-season favorites.

La Salle rode the fiery performance of former Callaway Junior World Champion and national team player, Kristoffer Arevalo who punched in a championship round best 35 points, 1 over par 73 in stroke play scoring, to buck the absence of their team captain. Mike Uy’s 27 points and Jaime Oposa’s 23 points were mandatory scores but was enough to keep the Blue Eagles at bay.

Coby Rolida led the Loyola squad with a 31 but incurred the most painful penalty in the tournament. Rolida’s teammate caddy was called for an infraction standing behind him and in the lie of play as he teed off on hole No. 2. That two-stroke penalty would haunt Ateneo at the end of the round as it caused them a chance to go to sudden death play-off for the championship.

Ateneo had the luxury of fielding a complete lineup but they still fell short with Nathan Kawpeng and Quito Diaz both submitting 26 points with Santino Gatmayatan’s 25 points not counting.

It was a sorry loss for Ateneo who took their fourth runner-up trophy in the past five years as they dominated the medal play rounds winning the first leg and the overall medal round title with their second team even winning the second leg. They easily disposed of UP in the head-to-head team match-off round to set up a dream final with their perennial archrivals.

La Salle on the other had difficulty fielding a full lineup and barely qualified for the next round where they disposed of 4-time defending champion Lyceum University but came up big when it mattered.

In the High School Invitational Division, De La Salle Zobel took the overall

LA SALLE’S Kristoffer Arevalo

THE victorious La Salle golf team with Eagle Ridge director Ramil Villanueva

team title with Miguel Ilas and Bernadette Morillo winning the individual crowns for the Junior Archers.

The 14th edition of the only collegiate league in the Philippines took a new direction by opening the championship to both team and individual golfers whether they are recognized or not by their respective schools as a club or varsity team sport.

The championship this year aims to fur ther push college golf competition in the consciousness of traditional big school leagues like the UA AP and the NC A A by displaying that there is a healthy college level golfing population waiting to be tapped by schools

for league tournament s.

The tournament aims to show the leagues and colleges not familiar with the sport that golf is a viable and exciting sport to support.

“We are very happy with the tournament this year as it achieved our modest goals.

More participation from more players and schools. Next season, we plan to further expand the field and have more players and hopefully more schools invested in college golf” said Arsenic Laurel of the PGF. More than 40 college level players were registered to play representing Ateneo, LPU, UP, De La Salle University, UST, TIP and Mapua.

THE REAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRACTICE AND PLAY

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By David MacKenzie

ERE’S something I hear all the time: “I’m playing great in practice rounds, sometimes shooting under par, but in tournaments I can’t find anywhere near the same game and often shoot in the 80s, why is this?”

To figure out why this is and how to do something about it, we need to look at what’s changing between these rounds, which is essentially what mental coaching for golf is all about.

The first 3 points, identify the causes of the changes, and the fourth explains the resulting physical change which causes the disconnect in the golf swing. At the very end, I’ll tell you what you can do to change it, so you start playing your best more often, when it counts.

THE 15th green at Baguio Country Club

Pressure in golf

THE 11th tee at Baguio Country Club

No. 11, the only par 4 on the inward nine, is universally regarded as the most difficult hole on the golf course. The tee shot is played out of a narrow chute of ancient Benguet pine; the fairway starts 50 feet or so below the tees and climbs another 80 back up the hill. The green has been enlarged to make it more

accommodating, but par here is still quite the task.

Baguio Country Club has not only withstood the test of time, it has blossomed into one of the most desired memberships in the country. Its once simple facilities have morphed into some of the most luxurious in the country. The club continues its

time-honored tradition of serving excellent food to its guests, in fact, its restaurants are the finest in the city.

Baguio Countr y Club is an institution of Philippine golf and a principal at trac tion in the Cit y of Baguio. For the intrepid golfer, it is a challenge not to be missed.

IN a tournament round, most golfers feel some pressure to play well. This usually comes from within, and in some cases from parents or coaches (without them knowing it). You feel like your game is about to be measured­— all the ef for t you’ve been putting in practicing is about to be put to the test, and the results will be there for all to see. Are you becoming a better player or not? In a tournament we find out…

Golfers are inherently competitive and they want to prove themselves against other players. In a tournament, you’re also up against the field, so there’s pressure from having your game measured in relation to other players.

Fear in golf

FEAR doesn’t really exist in practice, but in tournaments it exists in many forms: fear of failure (finding out you aren’t good enough), fear of trouble (where you don’t

want to hit it), fear of what others will think (potential embarrassment), fear of a ruining a good score or getting off to a bad start etc. It’s important that you understand more about what type of fear you are facing and how it changes your focus.

In tournaments, you’re more aware of the things you fear, which means your mind is not as quiet (a pre-requisite for a fluid swing). Your focus in a practice round is on the target and your routines, but in tournaments, there’s noise from the things you fear might happen. The tendency becomes more about playing to avoid the things you fear, instead of being aggressive and swinging to the target.

Consequences

IN a prac tice round there are fewer consequences. As your score is not being measured, there’s no real penalt y to missing the target. Once you’ve chosen a target, you can play without really focusing on the trouble. In a tournament however, trouble such as water, out of bounds and trees can mean dropping 2-3 shots, so immediately, hitting the target becomes more impor tant. Not only is there a consequence to missing in tournaments, there’s a consequence to making. E.g., If you’re standing over a chip shot knowing that getting up and down will win the tournament, it’s hard not to think about that future consequence, which can also af fec t focus and the way that shot is played.

This creates a shift from “just hitting golf shots” to what the shot means in relation to your overall success.

Physical changes in your swing or stroke

WHEN we experience those things that we’ve discussed above, they clearly cause physical changes in the way we move our

body. In a prac tice round, we’re able to move fluidly and access our best swing more of ten.

However, if we allow fear and pressure to set in, this can cause the following, which will causes changes to our technique: n Increased grip pressure n Tension in the muscles (less fluidity) n Change in tempo

How mental coaching for golf can help

DURING the mental coaching for golf process, we work on techniques to reduce fear and increase focus on desires. To become a top player (whether at your local club or in the world), you’ll need to learn techniques to deal with the pressure of playing tournament golf, and when you learn these tools, you’ll automatically see an increase in per formance and results.

The mind is malleable, meaning you can change your habits and the way you think.

Just as in the same way you train your swing, you can train your brain.

Mental coaching for golf is about: n Focusing on a process: your unique plan to accessing your best skills during your shot routine n Staying present (fear only exists in the future) n Responding well to bad shots (acceptance) n Building confidence and setting goals n Becoming self-aware, so you can notice changes in your physical and mental state, and with the right tools, you’ll know how to move toward your ideal per formance state during rounds.

David MacKenzie is a performance coach focusing on the mental game of golf. He lives in Washington, D.C., and coaches players of all levels from beginner to Tour Player.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, December 21, 2019

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

TOKYO 2020 COST: $12.6B T

OKYO—Tokyo Olympic organizers said Friday they are spending ¥1.35 trillion— about $12.6 billion—to stage next year’s games. Organizers said the expenditure is unchanged from a year ago, although robust sponsorship and ticket sales have generated a contingency fund of an extra $30 million.

However, Japan’s National Audit Board, in a 177-page report prepared for the national legislature, said next year’s Olympics will cost much more than organizers say.

The audit lists an added $9.7 billion (¥1.06 trillion) it says are Olympic-related costs that have not been included. In addition, the city of Tokyo has previously said it would spend another $7.4 billion (¥810 trillion) on Olympic-related projects.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said at the time the spending was “for projects directly and indirectly related to the games.”

She said this included building

barrier-free facilities for Paralympic athletes, training programs for volunteers, and advertising and tourism plans.

Organizers argue that many of these costs are not tied directly to the Olympics.

The audit board, however, came up with similar findings a year ago.

“As in the previous year, their report did not classify the cost of these items and activities based on their direct relevance to the games,” Tokyo organizers said in a statement to The Associated Press. “It aggregated a wide range of projects that could be seen as contributing

to the games, including those that were implemented without regard to the games.”

The respected Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei and the daily Asahi also calculated Olympic costs. They said spending was far above what organizers contend. They also placed overall spending at about ¥3 trillion, or about $28 billion.

The audit board report urged more transparency.

“In order to disclose information to the public and gain their understanding about operations that the government should shoulder, the government Olympic and Paralympic office should disclose more by grasping the overall picture of the operations and costs,” the audit said.

The only non-public money being spent to fund the Olympics is from the privately funded, $5.6-billion operating budget. Revenue for this budget comes from sponsorships, ticket sales, and marketing—and from a contribution from the International Olympic Committee.

The rest is taxpayer money from the national government, the city of Tokyo, and other government bodies.

W hen Tokyo was awarded the Olympics in 2013, the bid committee projected total costs would be $7.3 billion.

Organizers also reported this week that demand in Japan for Olym-

pic tickets is about 20 times over supply. This has led to criticism on social media by Japanese upset they cannot get tickets to an Olympics they are funding through their taxes.

Tracking Olympic costs is always disputed amid arguments over what are—and what are not—Olympic expenditures. The IOC and local organizers usually claim a lower figure. In fact, the IOC has repeatedly emphasized how it has cut billions in Tokyo by having organizers use existing venues, or build temporar y venues.

T he Tok yo Oly mpics open on July 24 and close August 9. They are followed by the Paralympics on August 25 through September 6.

The International Olympic Committee has been criticized for the rising costs of the Olympics, and the perception it forces host cities to build “white elephant”sports venues.

In the last several years it has tried to re-brand itself, emphasizing the use of existing venues and giving host cities choices in how they organize.

In a study on Olympic spending done in 2016 by the University of Oxford, author Bent Fly vbjerg explained the Olympics and cost overruns.

“It’s the most amazing thing that the Oly mpic games are the only t y pe of mega-project to a lways exceed their budget,” Fly vb jerg said in an inter v iew.

Velez, Nocos share honors in Dagitab tilt

J

OHN DAVID VELEZ survived two tough rivals to escape with a twinkill while Tiffany Claire Nocos dominated the girls’ side with two victories as they clinched the MVP honors in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) Dagitab Festival national age-group tournament at the City of Naga Tennis Courts in Cebu on Thursday.

Velez dropped just one game in three matches in an imposing start but the top seeded bet needed to dish out his best in thwarting Eric Tangub, 7-5, 7-6(5), in the boys’ 16-and-under final of the Group I tournament presented by Dunlop.

The country’s leading junior netter also had to toughen up against Vinz Lominoque, 4-6, 6-1, 10-7, in the semis before holding off local ace Venz Alforque, 6-4, 6-4, to secure the 18-U diadem.

The third ranked Nocos, on the other hand, stamped her class in girls’ 14-U play, overpowering No. 2 Faith Banico, 6-0, 6-1, before the rising star from Green Garden Christian School in Lapu-Lapu City stopped Joshea Malazarte, 6-7(3), 6-1, 11-9, to claim the 16-U trophy in the event put up

by PPS-PEPP headed by President and CEO Bobby Castro.

Sharing the spotlight in the event which also served as run-up to the men’s singles Open, featuring three of the country’s gold medalists in the recent SEA Games, were Dipolog City’s Pete Bandala, Feb Villar from Consolacion, Cebu, Siquijor’s Banico, and local bets Vincent Canete and Mitch Largo.

Bandala foiled Christian Laguna, 4-2, 4-3(4), for the 10-unisex crown; the unranked Villar upset top seeded Bliss Bayking, 4-1, 4-2, in the first round and went on to clinch the girls’ 18-U plum with a 6-3, 7-6(2) win; Banico routed Shaira Paliwag, 6-2, 6-1, for the girls’ 12-U crown; the unseeded Canete stunned No. 1 Prince Lim, 6-2, 6-4, in the semis then trampled No. 4 Gio Manito, 6-2, 6-4, for the boys’ 12-U title; and Largo stopped upset-conscious James Quino, 6-4, 7-5, for the boys’ 14-U diadem.

TOKYO firefighters conduct a simulation disaster drill at the new Ariake venue that will be the site for gymnastics during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. AP

PREPARING FOR THE WORST, INCLUDING AN EARTHQUAKE

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OKYO—Tokyo Olympic organizers and government officials are preparing for everything, including an earthquake taking place during next year’s games.

They ran a simulation disaster drill on Thursday at the new Ariake venue that will be the site for gymnastics during the Olympics.

The drill presumed a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in neighboring Tokyo Bay. Just over 100 firefighters, police, and Japan Self-Defense Force personnel took part. Japan is hit regularly by earthquakes and takes preparedness seriously. The threat of quakes and the summer Tokyo heat are the major worries as organizers prepare to open the Olympics on July 24, 2020.

“I think we were able to achieve our primary objective, which was to make sure of smooth cooperation between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee,” Hiroya Yarimizu, director of security for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, told reporters.

He also credited the police, firefighters, and soldiers for playing their part.

“I believe we were able to coordinate smoothly,” he added.

Medics simulated treatment on real people and mannequins on stretchers, and distributed water as they moved victims

outside the venue to safety.

The marathon courses, meanwhile, are set for the Tokyo Olympics.

The races were moved out of Tokyo over a month ago to the northern city of Sapporo to avoid the capital’s summer heat. Organizers finalized the course plans on Thursday.

Both the men’s and women’s courses will start and finish in the city’s Odori Park. The course for both races will consist of three loops. One loop will be about the length of a half-marathon and will be run first. The other loop will be about 10 kilometers and will be covered twice.

The women’s race will be run on August 8 and the men’s marathon on the following day—the final day of the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee unilaterally moved the marathons and race walks out of Tokyo because of the summer heat, which angered Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. She fought the move, losing a chance for Tokyo to show off its colorful streets lined with shrines and temples, skyscrapers, and packed restaurants and bars.

The Paralympic marathons will remain in Tokyo and should avoid the heat since the Paralympics begin two weeks after the Olympics end and extend into the cooler month of September. AP

RUSSIA PLANS TO APPEAL AGAINST BAN IN OLYMPICS

M TNT UP 1-2 TNT import KJ McDaniels drives against Meralco’s Raymond Almazan during Game Three of their Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup semifinals duel on Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. McDaniels scatters 18 points to help the KaTropa to a 101-97 victory for a 2-1 lead. TNT goes for the Finals berth on Saturday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Bulldogs emerge ‘Prince of Hoops’

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ALFWAY through the third quarter, it was already apparent as to who will emerge as the country’s “prince of hoops.”

And there was no doubting the result as National University (NU) overpowered San Beda University, 105-80, to become the first back-to-back champion of the Philippine Secondary Schools Basketball Championship-Freego Cup recently at the SGS Stadium in Quezon City.

With Gerry Abadiano scoring almost at will, the Bullpups steadily pulled away until they practically settled the issue with five minutes left in the third when their lead ballooned to 26 points (80-54).

At the end of the third quarter, the 5-foot-11 Abadiano had already 29 points to his credit on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the three-point zone.

He went on to finish with 35 points with Terrence Fortea backing him up with 23 points spiked by six triples in the event also sponsored by Poly-Gloss, IronCon Builders, Macbeth Underwear, Happy Toothpaste, Jumbo Plastic Linoleum, MEC Networks and Blackwater Sports.

NATIONAL University players and coaches pose with league sponsors after winning the Freego Cup for second straight year.

“Magaling talaga ang batang iyan,” said NU Coach Goldwin Monteverde, who also drew stellar performances from two of his big men in Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao.

Quiambao and Tamayo wound up with 14 points and 12 points, respectively, apart from anchoring the team’s rock-solid defense that held SBU star Justine Sanchez to just three points.

Quiambao was named tournament MVP for the second straight year while Abadiano was the hands down choice for the Final MVP in the event also supported by Molten,

Gerry’s Grill, Cherrylume, Sumo GI Sheet and Choi Garden.

Far Eastern University wound up third after edging Ateneo, 82-76, thanks to the 29-point show of John Rey Pasaol.

NU’s title win was its 12th in a row counting its triumphs in the UAAP, Palarong Pambansa and Asean Schools championships.

The Bullpups also collected P50,000 from Freego big boss Eduard Tio while the Red Cubs settled for P30,000. The Baby Tamaraws received P20,000.

OSCOW—Russia has signaled it will file an appeal against its four-year Olympic ban due to World AntiDoping Agency (Wada) sanctions which President Vladimir Putin on Thursday branded “unfair.”

The Russian anti-doping agency’s supervisory board voted Thursday to file an arbitration case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. Wada last week ruled Russia had manipulated doping laboratory data to cover up past offenses.

Putin said it was not fair to threaten Russia with more doping-related punishment, and that any sanctions should be on an individual basis. “I think it is not just unfair but not corresponding to common sense and law,” Putin said.

The case will likely be referred to CAS within the next 10-15 days, supervisory board chairman Alexander Ivlev said. After a panel of three CAS arbitrators is chosen, a verdict will be issued within three months.

“The ball will be in Wada’s court and the issue will be discussed in a legal context,” Ivlev said. “We consider the argumentation to be fairly strong and we will see how the issue develops.”

Thursday’s decision must be approved by another panel of Russian sports and antidoping figures, but that seems a formality.

Most of the panel’s members, including the Russian Olympic Committee and Russian Paralympic Committee, have said they want an appeal. Sports officials are likely to have substantial influence over how the case is argued and the hiring of lawyers, rather than leaving it in the hands of Russian anti-doping agency CEO Yuri Ganus. He is a frequent critic of top officials and has said the appeal has little chance of success.

Senior political figures including Putin

had also signaled they wanted an appeal filed.

“We need to wait calmly for the relevant rulings, including the arbitration court ruling and we’ll know what position we’re in,” Putin said Thursday. “Russian athletes have been training and will keep training for all competitions.”

The Wada sanctions, announced last week, ban the use of the Russian team name, flag or anthem at a range of major sports competitions over the next four years, including next year’s Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup. However, Russian athletes will be allowed to compete as neutrals if they pass a vetting process which examines their history of drug testing, and possible involvement in cover-ups at the lab.

That has prompted anger from some Western athletes and organizations like the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which wanted a blanket ban on Russian athletes.

Usada Chief Executive Travis Tygart said he wasn’t surprised by Russia’s plans to appeal and said it was another example of the country refusing to take responsibility for its doping program.

“Yet again, they deny accountability and continue to waste precious and limited resources in an effort to weasel out of the consequences, all the while leaving clean athletes of the world without justice or clarity on their path forward,” Tygart said in a statement. “Let’s hope CAS has the independence and courage to see through these machinations and finally stand firm and take decisive action that puts in place a complete ban, which is allowed for and proportional to the intentional fraud, deception, and destruction of clean athletes and the Olympic values seen here.” AP

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

BusinessMirror

Korean superstar IU falls in love with Manila PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

O

F course, fans set to watch IU’s first Manila concert expected to fall in love with her.

But what was unexpected was for her to fall in love with her audience.

IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, was in Manila for her Love, Poem concert tour on December 13, at the Araneta Coliseum.

IU, who starred in the 2019 hit drama Hotel del Luna, debuted when she was only 15. She has had one of the most successful solo careers in Korea.

She opened her concert with “Unlucky,” a track from her Love, Poem album released last November.

She followed that with her 2017 song “Palette.”

She came out like a queen in a lavender dress and sparkly silver props. Her makeup was also sparkly and her eye makeup was exquisitely done in such a way that she looked like she was teary-eyed. She wore her signature bold lip.

Props to IU’s stylists for dressing the 26-year-old singer in clothes that fit her personality.

Later on, IU would say that it was the first time for her to hear a fan chant for “Unlucky.”

“Today feels like a festival,” she said.

“It’s my first time performing in Manila, first time being here since I was born. Right now, I’m very thrilled and so excited. You guys are so passionate.

I’m so surprised. I can’t hear my voice. I’m sorry that I came here too late,” she said.

IU’s Love, Poem tour concert in Manila was presented by Kakao M and Pulp Live World.

Happee Sy Go of Pulp Live World promised months before that it would be a four-hour concert and it was. It was slightly longer than a plane ride to Singapore and so worth every minute.

IU performed so many songs, including some covers. There were two encores and at the end of it all, the audience gave her a standing ovation.

IU sang a full range of songs ranging from ballads to fast songs. She showcased not just her singing and dancing talents but her endurance as a performer.

To sing and perform for four hours with only short breaks for changing.... I mean, there are a few singers in the world who can do that. The quality of her voice was unchanged from beginning to end.

Among the songs she performed were “The Visitor,” “Jam Jam,” “Twenty Three,” “BBIBBI,” “Hold My Hand,” “Last Night Story,” “Last Night Story” (originally by the Korean group SoBangCha or

Firetruck and was used in the Reply 1988 drama series, which happens to be my favorite Korean drama of all time), “Knees,” Meaning of You,” “Lullaby,” “Through the Night,” “dlwlrma,” “The Red Shoes,” “Above the Time” and “You and I.” IU also performed “Say You Love Me,” the Filipino group MYMP’s version of the Patti Austin original. IU said she started singing this when she was young. She even asked the audience to tell MYMP that she likes them and is a big fan.

She sang “Hold My Hand”, which she said she wrote when she was 17. It was then that we were all reminded that IU doesn’t just sing and dance. She also writes music. Oh, and she acts, too.

Throughout the show, IU kept saying how amazed she was at the audience.

“If my concert will have the 360 stage where I was surrounded by my fans, I will never ever like lose from the energy from the fans. But for tonight’s concert from the first song I realized, tonight I lost.

Because I’m I quite tough to beat but you guys are too strong. It’s okay, I like strong people,” she said.

IU also crowned Manila as the city of passion because of the crowd’s cheers.

“I actually thought that the city of passion was Busan in Korea. If you guys come to Korea, please visit Busan. The city of passion and they have really loud voices like you guys, and very warm hearts exactly like you guys. You guys might be brothers with Busan.

But today, the ranking will be changed,” she said.

For the encore, she performed the 2011 Song of the Year “Good Day” and “Love Poem,” and the additional encore included songs like “Leon,” “Raindrop,” “Someday,” “Merry Christmas In Advance,” “Ending Scene” and “Heart.”

It was a good night for IU and her fans.

“This is not something that I just say really. I’m gonna bet everything that no one can beat Manila. I feel all my staff are so shocked right now. You guys are really the best,” she said. ■

Instagram won’t let influencers promote vaping products

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BY SARAH FRIER Bloomberg News

NSTAGRAM is finally making rules to govern content in influencer advertising.

Influencers, the photo-sharing app’s mostfollowed users who are paid by brands to post, will no longer be allowed to promote products related to vaping, tobacco and weapons, Instagram said Wednesday in a blog post. The decision came after the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority ruled this week that British American Tobacco can’t use influencer marketing to advertise e-cigarettes. An Instagram representative said the move to ban such posts more broadly was unrelated.

Instagram, owned by Facebook Inc., has long allowed people with thousands or even millions of followers to operate their own sponsored-content operations, outside the Facebook ad-buying system, without the level of oversight applied to the rest of the company’s advertising. For years, the company felt that if an influencer had cultivated an audience willing to hear their messages, Facebook shouldn’t get in the way.

However, there’s been a surge of sponsored content

promoted by influencers, so Instagram wants to “establish clear rules to help protect our community,” at least when it comes to vaping, weapons and tobacco, according to a spokesman.

Facebook already has rules against such products in its official advertising programs.

Instagram reaches a younger demographic than Facebook’s flagship social-media app, and that audience may be more easily swayed by promotions from famous users of the platform. Influencers popular with teens on Instagram have especially helped spread the appeal of e-cigarettes, drawing US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) scrutiny over their promotional tactics. Beginning next year, Instagram, which recently started requiring new users to disclose their birth dates, will restrict the audience for influencer ads about alcohol and diet supplements.

Having new rules doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be enforced. A few years ago, after pressure from the FTC on advertising disclosures, Instagram started to require influencers to use a specific brandedcontent tool to disclose the money behind their posts. Influencers regularly flout that rule with little consequence, and sometimes don’t even disclose whether they are paid to post about a product.

Saturday, December 21, 2019 A9

INTEL BUYS ISRAELI A.I. CHIP START-UP HABANA FOR $2B SANTA CLARA, California—Intel is paying $2 billion to buy an Israeli start-up that specializes in processing chips for artificial intelligence.

The California-based chipmaker said on Monday that the purchase will help it speed up computing power and improve efficiency at data centers.

The move is part of Intel’s broader strategy to strengthen its AI business. The company expects AI services will generate more than $3.5 billion in revenue this year, an increase of more than 20 percent from last year.

Habana, founded in 2016, will remain an independent business led by its current management team in Caesaria, Israel, according to Intel.

The start-up’s first processing chip, the Goya, is commercially available. Its second was announced earlier this year. AP

So you want ad-free YouTube and YouTube Music?

SAMSUNG partners with YouTube to let Galaxy smartphone users experience the many perks of the streaming platform simply by being part of #TeamGalaxy. Loyal Galaxy customers can now watch videos without interruptions with YouTube Premium, as well as get exclusive access to their music streaming app—YouTube Music.

YouTube Premium (www.youtube.com/premium) allows subscribers to enjoy background play so they can continue to listen to music or watch videos even when they exit the YouTube or YouTube Music app.

They can also download videos and watch them offline, and view clips ad-free.

Owners of the Galaxy A Series (A80, A70, A50s, A30s, A20s and A10s) can avail themselves two months of access to YouTube Premium and YouTube Music. Meanwhile, customers who have the Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Note Series (Note10 and Note10+), Galaxy S Series (S10e, S10 and S10+), and Galaxy Tabs (S5e and S6) can enjoy four months of access.

To avail, customers must have purchased and activated their Galaxy devices between February 20 and February 29, 2020. They can redeem their subscription on the account section of the YouTube app, where they can click on “Get YouTube Premium.”

Galaxy owners can only avail themselves of this promo if they have not been a recipient of a trial to Google Play Music, YouTube Premium, or YouTube Music Premium in the past 12 months. Eligible customers must redeem this offer on their devices before March 31, 2020.

“Offering complimentary access to YouTube Premium is just one of the many ways we want to thank our customers for their support. It is also our way of showing that Galaxy devices are the perfect lifestyle companion for them to watch their favorite channels and listen to their much-loved music,” says Jerry Manus, Samsung Philippines business unit head for IT and mobile.

BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, December 21, 2019

FTC MAY TRY TO BLOCK FACEBOOK FROM INTEGRATING APPS SAN FRANCISCO—Facebook’s stock dropped almost 3 percent in regular trading after news reports suggested that the Federal Trade Commission may take antitrust action to prevent Facebook from integrating its disparate messaging apps.

The reports said the FTC may seek a court injunction that would block Facebook’s “interoperability” plans for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram, which involves revising them to use the same underlying software.

Both the FTC and Facebook declined to comment on the reports.

Facebook has been planning to integrate the apps since early 2019. Federal regulators are concerned that Facebook’s plan could make it hard to break up the company should the FTC find that necessary.

The news was first published by the Wall Street Journal. AP

JABRA Elite Active 65t

Holiday promo for Jabra wireless headsets TECH enthusiasts who are on the lookout for holiday season deals are in for a treat, as Jabra runs its “12 Gifts of Christmas” promo featuring its top wireless headset range including true wireless earbuds, such as the Elite 65t, Elite Active 65t and the Elite Sport.

A global leader in personal sound and office communication solutions, Jabra is raffling off over P300,000 worth of prizes, including an iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 10, Huawei P30 and a Samsung Galaxy A80.

To qualify for the raffle, customers who purchase Jabra’s featured products from participating authorized dealers from now until January 15, 2020, must register their product at www.jabraphwarranty.com for product warranty.

Customers must completely fill out the online form with their contact and purchase details to be eligible for the raffle draw.

“This is our way of encouraging our customers to register their Jabra headsets for warranty right after purchase. We provide a one-year local warranty on our products purchased from local authorized dealers, but select products come with an even longer two- or three-year warranty,” announced Gladee Lee Manantan, Jabra Philippines country sales manager for consumer products.

Aside from the cited Elite models, there are many other featured products for the 12 Gifts of Christmas promo, including the Elite 65e, Elite 85h, Elite Active 45e, Move Style Edition, Talk 45 and Talk 55. More information is available at www. facebook.com/JabraPhilippines.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Finland offers crash course in artificial intelligence to EU

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BY JARI TANNER The Associated Press

ELSINKI—Finland is offering a techy Christmas gift to all European Union citizens—a free-of-charge online course in artificial intelligence in their own language, officials said Tuesday.

The tech-savvy Nordic nation, led by the 34-yearold Prime Minister Sanna Marin, is marking the end of its rotating presidency of the EU at the end of the year with a highly ambitious goal.

Instead of handing out the usual ties and scarves to EU officials and journalists, the Finnish government has opted to give practical understanding of AI to 1 percent of EU citizens, or about 5 million people, through a basic online course by the end of 2021.

It is teaming up with the University of Helsinki, Finland’s largest and oldest academic institution, and the Finland-based tech consultancy Reaktor.

Teemu Roos, a University of Helsinki associate professor in the department of computer science, described the nearly $2 million project as “a civics course in AI” to help EU citizens cope with society’s ever-increasing digitalization and the possibilities AI offers in the jobs market.

The course covers elementary AI concepts in a practical way and doesn’t go into deeper concepts like coding, he said. “We have enormous potential in Europe but what we lack is investments into AI,” Roos said, adding that the continent faces fierce AI competition from digital giants like China and the US. The initiative is paid for by the Finnish ministry for economic affairs and employment, and officials said the course is meant for all EU citizens whatever their age, education or profession.

Since its launch in Finland in 2018, “The Elements of AI” has been phenomenally successful—the most popular course ever offered by the University of Helsinki, which traces its roots back to 1640—with more than 220,000 students from over 110 countries having taken it so far online, Roos said.

A quarter of those enrolled so far are aged 45 and over, and some 40 percent are women. The share of women is nearly 60 percent among Finnish participants—a remarkable figure in the maledominated technology domain.

Consisting of several modules, the online course is meant to be completed in about six weeks full time—or up to six months on a lighter schedule—and is currently available in Finnish, English, Swedish and Estonian.

Together with Reaktor and local EU partners, the university is set to translate it to the remaining 20 of the EU’s official languages in the next two years.

SOCIAL democrats minister Sanna Marin speaks to the media after she was elected as Prime Minister of Finland, in Helsinki, Finland, last December 10. Finland’s parliament chose Marin as the country’s new prime minister, making the 34-year-old the world’s youngest sitting head of government.

AP

Megan Schaible, COO of Reaktor Education, said during the project’s presentation in Brussels last week that the company decided to join forces with the Finnish university “to prove that AI should not be left in the hands of a few elite coders.”

An official University of Helsinki diploma will be provided to those passing and Roos said many EU universities would likely give credits for taking the course, allowing students to include it in their curriculum.

For technology aficionados, the University of Helsinki’s computer science department is known as the alma mater of Linus Torvalds, the Finnish software engineer who developed the Linux operating system during his studies there in the early 1990s.

In September, Google set up its free-of-charge Digital Garage training hub in the Finnish capital with the intention of helping job seekers, entrepreneurs and children to brush up their digital skills, including AI. ■

Sagesoft Solutions bullish on partnership with Acronis International

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES LOCAL information-technology solutions provider Sagesoft Solutions Inc. recently announced it has formed a partnership with Schaffhausen, Switzerland-based Acronis International to supply businesses with a heightened on-premises and cloud software for backup, disaster recovery, and secure file sync and data access.

Anson Uy, president and CEO of Sagesoft, is confident it can form a great synergy with Acronis International, With a 15-year experience and a work force of more than 250 employees focused to meet the specific needs of over 5,000-plus clients, including small and medium enterprise (SME) and large enterprise, Uy said Sagesoft carries marketleading software solutions developed by handpicked international partners to ensure quality of service.

To date, the company works with 40-plus first-rate authorized suppliers.

Uy said Acronis is a global technology company operating in Singapore plus 18 offices worldwide. The company’s research and development centers, called Acronis Labs, are based in the US and Singapore. It was established in Switzerland in 2013, with cloud

data centers in several countries, including Germany, the US, Japan, France and Singapore.

He said Sagesoft decided to form a tie-up with Acronis because it offers one of the world’s most reliable and easy-to-use backups for businesses big and small. The Acronis Backup Advanced is the first release of the most advanced hybrid backup solution in the market. It is the world’s easiest and fastest backup solution protecting all data on 21 platforms on-premises, in remote systems, in private and public cloud, and on mobile devices.

“Acronis ensures full availability with no downtime. It keeps every bit of data no matter what technology a client is using, or the amount of data the latter generates. It allows a business to run backup as often as needed with no impact on performance,” Uy said. Acronis is a new-generation data protection solution that has Proactive Ransomware Protection.

This avoids downtime by actively protecting files from unauthorized modification and/or encryption.

It uses AI and machine-learning technologies and white-listing to keep data safe.

It offers complete protection whether a client has a growing amount of data, is adopting new business processes, or migrating to new applications,

platforms or cloud. Acronis employs Instant Restore to manage recovery time objective and minimize process disruption to seconds, while maintaining the company’s overall productivity with its unique run MV technology.

Blockchain Notarization is another technology employed by Acronis to prevent damage or tampering by attacks on archive files.

The Hybrid Cloud Architecture of Acronis manages all forms of data protection within one workflow through a centralized management and unified control interface.

Finally, Acronis offers licensing and education; integration and daily operations can be done with a simple scalable tool that manages any data protection task. Even IT generalists can perform backup tasks efficiently.

Uy said the business relationship with Acronis has great potential. “Acronis offers us endless possibilities,” he said.

He added any client from any industry can benefit from this almost-unparalleled technology. “We welcome Acronis into our stable of partners, and we foresee a fruitful long-term relationship with them,” he said.

BusinessMirror

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Saturday, December 21, 2019 A11

FACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. AP

PLDT, SMART ADVOCATE I.T. COMMUNITY COLLABORATION AT DEVCON MORE than 500 information-technology professionals, tech enthusiasts, and students from Mindanao joined the DevCon Summit 2019 held recently at Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro. DevCon 2019 was organized by Developers Connect Philippines in collaboration with the private sector, including PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. It featured talks by tech community leaders and breakout sessions focusing on how developers could leverage current trends for skills development, career opportunities and best practices.

Highlighting the theme “The Future of Jobs, Embracing Industry 4.0,” PLDT Innolab lead Dara Ever Juan put emphasis on community collaboration in improving the skills of IT students and professionals.

“Being active in the community has helped me become empowered. From that experience, I have learned more tips on how I could improve our programs and create solutions for the community,” she said.

PLDT Innolab is the innovation laboratory of the company’s B2B arm, PLDT Enterprise. It serves as an incubator to test and develop upcoming products and business solutions. It also focuses on business development with start-ups; strategic partnerships with the academe, government, and developer communities; and programs, such as prototyping, innovation studio, and co-development with start-ups and universities.

“We’ve been active in supporting start-up communities and meeting more students, leaders and members who are interested to collaborate with PLDT. Today, we have innovation studios nationwide and, hopefully, we could have it also in Cagayan de Oro because the developer community here is very active,” she added.

Alyssa Primacio, a business administration student of Central Mindanao University and DevCon participant, said aspiring start-ups should look for the problem of the community first before creating solutions.

“Some farmers in Bukidnon have little to no access to vehicles to transport their products to their buyers. Because of this, I started a minimum viable product, or MVP, which would help them reach their market by transporting their products directly to the buyers,” she said.

“With technology, we could develop a web site or an app integrating this initiative to make the lives of our farmers easier,” she added.

PLDT Innolab is looking for start-ups, community partners, developers and interns. More information is available to interested parties via innolab@pldt.com.ph.

UK watchdog set to challenge Google, Facebook ad dominance L

BY KELVIN CHAN The Associated Press

ONDON—Britain’s competition watchdog on Wednesday signaled its willingness to push for stricter rules to counter Google and Facebook ’s dominance of online advertising.

The Competition and Markets Authority said in an interim report it’s concerned that the US tech giants have become “entrenched” players in the UK’s £13 billion ($17 billion) digital advertising market, with “negative consequences” for the people and businesses that use them.

Google’s £6 billion in search advertising revenue last year accounted for more than 90 percent of the UK total, while Facebook’s £2 billion in display ad revenue was equivalent to almost half the UK total.

Big doesn’t necessarily mean bad and the two companies provide innovative and valuable products

and services, the authority added.

However, it said a “lack of real competition to Google and Facebook could mean people are already missing out on the next great new idea from a potential rival.”

Lack of proper choice for consumers and higher prices for advertises could mean higher costs for flights, electronics, insurance and other online purchases, it said.

“Most of us visit social-media sites and search on the Internet every day, but how these firms work can be a mystery,” the authority’s chief executive Andrea Coscelli said.

“Digital advertising fuels big businesses like Google and Facebook, and we have been building a picture of how this complex new market works,” he added.

Coscelli said the authority looked at how the big tech platforms collect and use personal data, which

lets Google and Facebook more effectively target ads than their rivals.

They looked at how the companies monetized this data, and what it means for rivals, as well as people and businesses that use their services.

There’s a strong argument for a new regulatory regime that includes rules covering the behavior of online platforms and giving people greater control over their own data, the authority said.

It will now hold a consultation, which Google and Facebook said they will contribute to, before issuing a final report next year.

Google said it will “continue to work constructively with the CMA and the government on these important areas.”

Facebook said it’s “fully committed to engaging in the consultation process” and agrees with the CMA “that people should have control over their data and transparency around how it is used.” ■

PHL remains target of cyber criminals—study

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor ONLINE threats continue to rise in the Philippines as its global ranking with the most ransomware detections jumped to 73rd as of third quarter (Q3) of 2019 from 85th in the same period last year, according to Kaspersky’s latest report.

The country recorded a slight increase in the number of users infected with ransomware from 0.91 percent to 0.92 percent year-on-year (YOY).

A new type of ransomware targeting networkattached storage (NAS) is now gaining ground, per researchers of the cyber-security company. It puts back-up data usually stored on such devices at risk.

Encryption ransomware applies advanced encryption methods so files cannot be decrypted sans a unique key. This makes the owner of infected tool stuck with a locked device. Without choice, he or she gives in to the demand of attackers to pay a ransom so as to get access again to their files.

This malware uses a different vector. It can scan ranges of Internet Protocol or IP addresses looking for NAS devices accessible via the Web. While only Web interfaces secured with authentication are accessible, a number of tools have integrated a vulnerable software.

Hence, attackers can install a Trojan using exploits, which will then encrypt all data on the devices connected to the NAS. “Previously, encryption ransomware targeting NAS was hardly evident in the wild and, this year alone, we have already detected a number of new ransomware families focused solely on NAS,” said Fedor Sinitsyn, security researcher at Kaspersky.

“This trend is unlikely to fade, as this attack vector proves to be very profitable for the attackers, especially due to the users being completely unprepared for them as they consider this technology highly reliable. NAS devices are usually purchased as complete and secure products, which as it turns out is not the case. Consumers and especially business users

need to, therefore, remain cautious when protecting their data,” he added.

The Kaspersky’s IT Threat Evolution Report Q3 2019 shows that its products identified and repelled encryption ransomware attacks on 229,643 users from July to September of this year, which is 11 percent less than the same period in 2018.

Despite this, the study reveals that the number of new encryption ransomware modifications rose from 5,195 to 13,138 during the two periods in review, marking 153-percent hike. It means that it’s very lucrative for cyber felons.

Data from Kaspersky, likewise, bare that the WannaCry Trojan family remained the most popular with over a fifth of attacked users having been targeted with malware identified as belonging to this group.

The top 3 most popular verdicts that account for almost 50 percent of users attacked by cryptors were Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Wanna (20.96 percent users attacked), Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Phny (20.01 percent)

and Trojan-Ransom.Win32.GandCrypt (8.58 percent).

Kaspersky detected and repelled 989,432,403 malicious attacks from online resources in around 200 countries and territories worldwide. The figure represents a 4-percent growth YOY. Attempted malware infections to steal money via online access to bank accounts of 197,559 computerusers were registered, or a decrease of 35 percent, the study added.

Kaspersky’s anti-virus file tracked down a total of 230,051,054 unique malicious and potentially unwanted objects (4 percent decrease compared to Q3 2018), while its mobile security products detected 870,617 malicious installation packages (33 percent decrease compared to Q3 2018).

To lessen the risk of infection by encryptors, the firm advises consumers and businesses to always update their operating system, use a security solution, regularly make fresh back-up copies of their files, and never pay any ransom. They need to report it to the local law enforcement agency.

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, December 21, 2019 A12

The do’s and don’ts of regi�ting TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

T

HERE are only four days left until the most festive (and expensive) time of the year.

By now you are probably done with all the company parties, and looking forward to reuniting with your college buddies and the (sometimes dreaded) family reunions.

It also means that you’ve probably gone through all the gifts or giveaways you’ve received, and the raffle prizes you’ve won, and have decided which ones to keep and those ready for...uhmm...“redistribution.”

I used to feel guilty about regifting, until that time I had to check several storage boxes full of unopened presents, and discovered the contents were either expired or unusable. The worst was a present which I thought contained tea (since it was in a TWG box) but, instead, turned out to be a takeout sandwich of some sort. Yup, it was the same reason I had to check all boxes in the first place since I couldn’t figure out where the stench was coming from.

Now, I just think of it as another way of recycling, being eco-friendly and doing my part to save Mother Earth. But before you go rummaging through your cabinets, and rewrap some long forgotten shirt, gadget or accessory, know that there are certain regifting rules and etiquette to follow to save you from embarrassment.

■ REGIFT OUTSIDE YOUR CIRCLE OF FRIENDS. Nothing could be more embarrassing than seeing a friend open the gift given to you by another friend. It’s not just awkward, it may even be FO (Friendship Over). If you want to regift, make sure there’s no way the original giver would know you gave away their gift.

■ ONLY REGIFT BRAND-NEW ITEMS. I know some pre-loved bags and even shoes are expensive but still, I would advise you to stay away from gifting other “used” items. Items should only be regifted if they are brand-new and still contained within the original packaging. If you’ve opened the package, tried it on or used it, it’s best to keep it. If you really want to give it away, don’t frame it as a “gift” or give it during a special occasion. Instead, let the recipient know that the item has been used and “offer” it to them with the option to pass if they don’t want it.

■ DON’T REGIFT PERSONALIZED, HANDMADE, OR FAMILY GIFTS. Even if you have the same name as your recipient. If that gift came from someone really special or was made especially for you, it’s best to keep it rather than risk hurting their feelings.

■ CHECK FOR SIGNS OF A REGIFT. Do not regift it in its original wrapping! Best to rewrap it and remove all signs that you were the original recipient. Check the item for a gift tag, leftover wrapping paper, tape, price tag, or if it has your name on a personalized message

(like in a book).

■ REGIFT SOONER THAN LATER. Yes. Even if its fruitcake. This is also true when giving away gadgets or accessories like powerbanks or charging cables. What may be great when you first received it, could be useless by the time you are regifting it. For example, I don’t think a lot of people still have CD or DVD players, so just keep those music and movie DVDs, those pin-type charging cables/adaptors, or other items which are already discolored or looks quite old.

■ BE THOUGHTFUL WHEN REGIFTING. Don’t give it away because you hate the item. It’s still a gift, so make sure that the recipient will feel special and have use for it. The rule is to give an item that you would have otherwise bought in a store to give to that person.

■ WHEN IN DOUBT, REGIFT TO CHARITY. Stuck with something you can’t use or for which you couldn’t find the right recipient. Maybe it’s best to give it to charity instead. You’ll feel much better knowing that you’ll eventually make someone happy.

The art of regifting used to be taboo for a lot of Pinoys, but if done tactfully, carefully, and with thought, it can work wonderfully. I don’t recommend simply passing on an unwanted item to the next victim, but if you really can’t use something and know someone who would appreciate it, regifting can be a win-win situation for the both of you.

■■■ FOR the second part of our gift guide, here are some more ideas that are guaranteed to make your recipient (regifted or not) feel special.

■ YEELIGHT WIRELESS CHARGING NIGHTLIGHT. I’ll bet my bottom dollar that you place your smartphone near your bed and leave it plugged in overnight most of the time—and that you’ve been wanting a nightlight so that it’s not you who goes bump in the night. The Yeelight Wireless Charging Nightlight solves both of those inconveniences. First the Yeelight supports fast wireless charging, eliminating the trouble of having to plug in and unplug your charger. It is also designed to prevent overcharging, and features current and voltage regulation design, overvoltage protection, and foreign object identification powering off for foreign objects. The magnetic night light, on the other hand, provides you with warm light whenever you need it, and is even detachable so you could bring it to your late-night fridge raids.

■ MOMAX Q POWER PRO. Another two-in-one device, the Momax Q Power Pro is a wireless battery pack and a smart dock. Available at a discounted price at Digital Walker and Beyond the Box stores, the Momax Q Power Pro is perfect whether you’re at your office desk or traveling. It sports an 8000 mAh battery, USB-C and USB-A ports, and a secure and stable dock for wirelessly charging your phone.

It supports up to 10w wireless charging and 18w wired charging using Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 protocol. It is also designed to support wireless charging in both portrait or landscape mode so you can still browse or watch movies while you charge your phone.

■ BASEUS CAR KIT SET. For your car-owning friends, I found this Christmas deal from Baseus.

The set includes 1) a Grain Car charger, with 1a Dual USB fast charge, hidden ambient light, intelligent control for charging; 2) mini electric Car Phone Holder with infrared induction, automatic lock and stable clamping; 3) a 1-in-3 USB made of braided high-density nylon so you can charge your iPhone, USB C and micro USB devices; and 4) a mini Volcano fragrance holder to keep the car smelling good. It even comes in a special Christmas box so you don’t need to gift wrap it.

■ HUAWEI WATCH GT 2. Once considered a niche device within geeky tech circles, smartwatches— or wearables—have now gained widespread adoption. Wearables have evolved to function as a sort of smartphone companion that allows you to access some functions without the need to take out your phone. Besides being an extension of your phone, it can also be your personal assistant and sports trainer rolled into one. The Huawei Watch GT 2 tracks your workouts with precise positioning systems and monitors your heart rate with the accurate TruSeen 3.5. It also supports features like Bluetooth calling, in-device Music, Message Notification, TruSleep 2.0 sleep tracking, and TruRelax pressure monitoring. Powered by Huawei’s wearable chip Kirin A1, it can last you a couple of weeks on a single charge.

■ HONOR BAND 5. If you want a budget-friendly fitness tracker, the Honor Band 5 is one of the best in the market. It features a large 0.95 AMOLDED true color screen, with customizable watch faces, and incoming call and message notifications. It is equipped with TruSeen 3.0 Heart Rate Detection, with 24-hour real-time continuous heart rate monitoring, night infrared monitoring, and heart rate warnings. It is a personal trainer on your wrist with an advanced running planner for high-level fitness tracking displaying data, such as heart rate, workout time, distance, stride frequency, speed, calories, and aerobic/anaerobic results for a more in-depth workout plan. The Band 5 is water-resistant up to 50 meters and swim-proof so you can use it in the shower or track time in the pool. A six-axis sensor recognizes the four main swim strokes—freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly—recording speed, distance, calories, etc.

■ PREPAID HOME WIFI. Everyone wants to be connected this holiday season so now is the best time to get or give a PLDT Home WiFi Prepaid. Now priced at only P1,295 (until January 15, 2020), it also comes with free 10GB worth of data good for seven days. It’s a practical alternative to wired connections and, because it is prepaid, you don’t have to worry about lock-in periods or additional monthly bills to your utilities. Since it is just plug and play, anyone can install it and quickly get connected to the Internet.

Once you use up the free data, you can simply load from authorized PLDT and Smart retailers, nearby sari-sari stores, telco tiangge stalls, PayMaya app, and at 7-11 branches nationwide.

FamLoad packages come in every family size that are ideal for the entire family’s digital activity and budget: FamLoad 199 comes with 24 GB, FamLoad 599 with 80 GB, FamLoad 999 with 130 GB, and FamLoad 1499 with a whopping 200 GB. ■

TOYOTA Motor Corp.’s human-shaped T-HR3 robot (right) is remotely controlled by its staff member, during a demonstration in Tokyo. AP

Toyota’s humanoid duplicates movements in robotic mobility

BY YURI KAGEYAMA The Associated Press TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp.’s upgraded version of the human-shaped robot T-HR3 now has faster and smoother finger movements because the wearable remote-control device has become lighter and easier to use.

In a recent demonstration in Tokyo, a person wearing a headset and wiring made the robot move in exactly the same way he was moving, waving or making dance-like movements, as sensors sent computerized signals to the robot of what they detected as human movements.

Smaller robots that look like the mascots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were controlled in the same way. Japanese automaker Toyota is an Olympic sponsor.

Toyota engineer Tomohisa Moridaira said human-shaped robots can be controlled intuitively because all one has to do is move naturally.

Toyota believes the technology is a kind of mobility, the automaker’s longtime mission, and mobility includes moving people emotionally, Moridaira said.

Developing a robot that mirrors human movements may, in the future, mean it would be able to perform surgery in a distant place where a doctor might not be able to travel.

The robot may also allow people to take part in events vicariously, according to Toyota.

The challenge still lies in securing reliable and speedy telecommunications connections so that signals are accurately relayed, said Moridaira.

The robots were connected by local networks in the demonstrations.

“The robot now has enhanced finger movements,” Moridaira said. “By offering better mobility, we hope to make for a better world.”

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Regional Office No. IV-A 4th Flr. Andenson Bldg. II, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City Telefax No.: (049) 545-7362 December 21, 2019

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP)

Notice is hereby given that the following employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s.

Name and Address of Company/Employer

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

Saturday, December 21, 2019 A13

45

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. YUEMEI WEI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

46

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. DIANDE DONG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

47

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. HUI JIANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

48

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIAOSHAN ZENG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

49

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. BINGBING XUE/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

50

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YANSONG LIU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

51

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. QIANCHUN TANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

52

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIAOPENG WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

53

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. HUANLONG SUN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

54

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JUN WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

55

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. CHUNGEN HUANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

56

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. TENG LUO/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

57

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIANGHUA LEI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

58

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. MINGLONG JIANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

59

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. SHUN DU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

60

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIAO ZHANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

61

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHIKUN XIE/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

62

LJI KOREAN FOOD PRODUCT INC. Guitnang Bayan 2, San Mateo, Rizal

MR. WAN QUEN PARK/ Korean

63

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WEIXIANG ZHU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

64

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. QIONG LI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

65

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JIANYONG LIAO/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

66

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. YILU SONG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

67

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. GUOCHENG LAI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

68

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. TING SHE/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

69

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. LIBO WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

70

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. ZHUOYUE CHEN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

71

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. RENCAI LI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

72

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XINYUAN LYU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

73

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YOULIN YANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

1

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MS. YINGWEI GUAN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

2

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. LI WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

3

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. SHUAIPENG LI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

4

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. XUEFENG WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

5

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. WEI FANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

6

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. QINGSONG GUO/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

7

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. SHUAIQI LI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

8

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MS. YANGYANG LU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

9

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. KAN KHAING OO/ Myanmari

Myanmari Customer Service Representative

10

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MS. LAI SOOK WAN/ Malaysian

Malaysian Customer Service Representative

11

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. GUOZHU YI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

12

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. XIAOQIU FAN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

13

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. JINGYONG WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

14

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. ZHANPENG JIA/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

15

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. JIYONG ZOU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

16

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MS. YING ZHANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

17

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. XUEFENG ZHONG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

18

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MS. NGO THI THANH XOAN/ Vietnamese

19

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. LI WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

20

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. TAO WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

21

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. WEIKAI XU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

22

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MS. CHANG WANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

23

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. JUNXIAO LI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

24

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. DAWEI LIU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

25

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. JING LIBIN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

26

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. KANGJUN XU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

27

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MR. XIAOBAO CHEN Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

28

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MS. CHAI SHU PIENG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JASON YAP CHOW SHENG/ Malaysian

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. DONGSHENG QIN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. YUANHUA CAO/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. MINGJIN HUANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

33

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. YUMEI LIAO/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

34

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. RONGFU LI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

74

MR. WEI-NUNG HUNG/ Taiwanese

35

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. FUJIN LI/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

GENTHINK INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION Magdalo Putol, Kawit, Cavite

75

PHILIPPINE BOBBIN CORPORATION CEPZA, Rosario, Cavite

MS. KARENA MARGARET ETON/ New Zealander

Factory Manager

36

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. CHAOFU LIU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

76

GOSHI PHILIPPINES, INCORPORATED Laguna Technopark, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. MITSUHIRO NISHIMOTO/ Japanese

AVP for Production, Equipment Facilities & Maintenance and QC

37

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JIANMING YAN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

77

38

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. CHAO SONG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

ATLANTIC GULF & PACIFIC COMPANY MR. MARTIN ANTHONY OF MANILA, INCORPORATED KNOX/ AG&P-SEZ, Brgy. San Roque, Bauan, Irish Batangas

78

MAXAM QED PHILIPPINES, INC, San Antonio , San Pablo City, Laguna

39

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. DEQUAN SU/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

79

C-JOY POULTRY MEATS PRODUCTION, MR. KORAKOT INC. SANGBUATHONGVILAI / Brgy. Sta. Teresita, Santo Tomas, Batangas Thai

40

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. CHENGYI YAN/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

80

MR. CHAO LIN SHENG / Taiwanese

41

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WANG YANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

KINPO ELECTRONICS (PHILIPPINES), INC. FPIP II-SEZ, Sta. Anastacia, Santo Tomas, Batangas

81

MR. AKIMITSU YANO / Japanese

Factory Manager

42

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIAOMING CAO/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

J & J PHILIPPINES CORPORATION FPIP-SEZ, Sta. Anastacia, Santo Tomas, Batangas

MR. LUHUAN HUANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

82

MR. GEN SUGANUMA / Japanese

Sales Manager

43

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MURATA ELECTRONICS PHILIPPINES, INC. Laguna Technopark, Santa Rosa City, Laguna

44

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHONGPING ZHANG/ Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

83

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. MINMIN ZHOU/ Chinese

29

30

31

32

Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

MR. DANIEL FLORES CASTRO / Spanish

Supervisor

Business Administration Executive

E&I Superintendent

Country Advisor Broiler Production Specialist Research and Development Director

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

BusinessMirror

A14 Saturday, December 21, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

84

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. HANG HU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 123 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. YUNYUN PAN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

85

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHIFEI ZHANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 124 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WENCHAO WU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

86

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. PEI LIU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 125 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. LINGLING LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

87

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JIANBO ZHU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 126 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. GUIHUA ZHANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

88

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YANGQIAN CAI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 127 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JINLIN ZHANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

89

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. CAIFANG QIN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 128 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. KAI GUO/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

90

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. DAOQUN WANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 129 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JIAXING ZHU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

91

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JIANHUA ZOU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 130 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. WENWEN TAO/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

92

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHONGFU LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 131 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHENGWEI SONG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

93

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. HUANHUAN LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 132 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIAOHUI LONG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

94

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. HUACUI XIE/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 133 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIAOPING TIAN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

95

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. XIN ZHANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 134 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. RONG HU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

96

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHIXIANG LIANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 135 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. DA SUN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

97

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHIXING LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 136 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. DINGHUI ZHAN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

98

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WENTAO QI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 137 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. RONGYUE SHI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

99

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. XIAOCHAO WANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 138 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. HONGXIANG ZHANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 100 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. KUN WENG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 139 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. HUAFU XIE/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 101 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WEI QU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 140 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WEN CHENG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 102 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. MEIFA ZHONG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 141 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. CHUANHONG HUANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 103 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. TIANLI YANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 142 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. NAY LIN TUN/ Burmese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 104 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JIAN GUO/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 143 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JIANWEI ZHANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 105 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHIZHONG LUO/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 144 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. MINGCHUAN LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 106 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. DONG HAN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 145 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. TAO ZHU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 107 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. HUAGUI XIE/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 146 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WEI PENG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 108 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YUCAI CHEN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 147 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. QIXIANG SHI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 109 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHANGYU NIE/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 148 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. GUANGCAN DAI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 110 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. PENG WANG/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 149 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YU AN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

MS. LINA LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 150 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YANGYANG LIU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 112 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. WENCONG LIU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 151 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. JIANMEI LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 113 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. CHENG ZOU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 152 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YANGYANG LIU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 114 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. JINSHAN XIE/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 153 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. JIANMEI LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 115 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. SHUWEI SHEN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 154 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YONGBIN WU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 116 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. CONG YAO/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 155 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YANFEI DING/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 117 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. LONG CHEN/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 156 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. ZHENGXIONG FU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 118 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. LEI LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 157 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YI MI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 119 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. PAN XU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 120 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MS. HONGYAN YU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 121 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. YETAO HOU/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 122 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

MR. CHAO LI/ Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

111

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at the DOLE Regional Office within 30 days from the date of publication.

Please inform the DOLE Regional Office if you have an information of any criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

HENRY JOHN S. JALBUENA Regional Director

To avail of free job referral, placement, and employment guidance services, visit the nearest Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) or log on at http://www.philjobnet.gov.ph AEP20191007295

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Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE NCR Regional Office located at 967 Maligaya St., Malate, Manila, within 30 days after its publication.

Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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If you have any information / objection to the above mentioned application/s, please communicate with the Regional Director thru Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (EPWW) Division with Telephone No. 400-6011.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR