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Sunday, January 19, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 101

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Desperately waiting for white knight

AERIAL photo of the Hanjin shipyard in Subic reveals two vessels that are being built at Drydock 6.

Text & photos by Henry Empeño

UBIC, Zambales—Like giant fishes out of water, the two ships awaiting completion here on Drydock 6 of Hanjin’s Redondo Peninsula shipyard mirror the sad state of the Koreanowned facility that had once put the Philippines on the map as the fifth largest shipbuilding country in the world.

The vessels being built, respectively known as Project 166 and Project 167, are crude oil tankers reminiscent of the bulkers that Hanjin-Subic annually turned out by the dozen until just two years ago. Insiders said one of the vessels is already 85 percent finished, while the other 65 percent

complete. But these could very well be the last ships that Hanjin would build here before the financially troubled operation is taken over by another investor. Or totally goes under. It has been one year since Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.Philippines (HHIC-Phil) stumbled and fell hard.

DISPLACED worker Jose Gardoce Jr. keeps a positive outlook at home despite financial difficulties.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.7600

Then the biggest foreign company in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone with foreign direct investments totaling $2.3 billion, HHIC-Phil went to court on January 8, 2019, and filed for voluntary rehabilitation under Republic Act 10142, otherwise known as “An Act Providing for the Rehabilitation or Liquidation of Financially Distressed Enterprises and Individuals.”

Rise and fall

THE move stunned shipyard workers and caught even the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the manager of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, by surprise. More significantly, it sent shockwaves across the Philippine business community, which had watched, and, as it turned out, partly financed the meteoric rise of the South Korean shipbuilder since it broke ground here in 2006. As the BusinessMirror reported a day after Hanjin’s fateful court visit, the company “still sounded optimistic” barely two months earlier when it announced the delivery of two units of 114,000-deadweight crude oil tankers to its Singapore-based client, Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS). At about that time, Hanjin also reported on its website that it would provide EPS “two more tankers of the same kind for delivery in the first quarter of 2019.” Having delivered 123 vessels since July 2008, HHIC-Phil was considered a behemoth too big to fail. But as SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma would confirm after Hanjin went to court, the firm owed some $400 million in out-

VACANT housing units at the workers’ village.

standing loans from Philippine banks, aside from $900 million in debts with lenders in South Korea. “The bottom line is that the company said it does not have enough cash to repay its loans, and that it cannot continue with its operations under these circumstances,” Eisma, who had met with a top HHIC-Phil official days before, said then. And while the company had, at that time, six pending multimillion-dollar new building projects, these may have to be canceled if a rehabilitation plan does not materialize, Eisma also said then.

Financial disaster

WHEN giants fall, ordinary mortals get crushed under. And while HHIC-Phil has effectively availed itself of court relief from its creditors, its financial ruin had produced a domino of fallouts that had financially dislocated shipyard workers and crippled local downstream businesses as well. Following Hanjin’s filing for rehabilitation in January last year, the BusinessMirror spoke to some of the 7,000 newly laid-off workers at the Hanjin Village in Castillejos, Zambales, and learned that most did not have prospects for alternative

sources of livelihood. “Hindi na rin kami magtatagal dito kung ganito [We won’t last much longer in this condition],” Jose Gardoce Jr., one of the displaced workers then, said, as he expressed his fear of losing his house that he could no longer pay for. The same fate awaited 3,000 others who were dismissed from work in the first quarter of 2019, when Hanjin opted to retain just about 300 local workers and a few Korean supervisors to maintain the 326-hectare shipbuilding facility. Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4609 n UK 66.4042 n HK 6.5316 n CHINA 7.3779 n SINGAPORE 37.6866 n AUSTRALIA 35.0142 n EU 56.5416 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.5313

Source: BSP (January 17, 2020)

NewsSunday HANJIN, A YEAR AFTER BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, January 19, 2020

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Continued from A1

“Para kaming binalian ng pakpak [It’s like our wings were clipped],” Gardoce now said a year after. Gardoce, who worked as a crane maintenance man at the shipyard, is now a full-time tricycle driver. But as his earnings were just enough for their daily household needs, he had agreed for his wife Weng to work as househelp in Angeles City so they can continue sending their three children to school. At one time Gardoce tried working in a shoe factory in the Subic Bay Freeport, but the pay was only P400 a day and he spent much money on transportation and food. “Nakaabang na ang mga tumatanggap ng sangla na ATM [The loan sharks were already waiting to pounce on our ATM cards],” Gardoce recalled now. So, after two months he went back to his reliable tricycle. Gardoce said a lot of his former colleagues at Hanjin had left for work in Cavite and Bulacan, while others went home to their native provinces because they can no longer pay for amortization for their Pag-IBIG-funded houses. “Si Diogreth Mendigorin, nagcollapse na [has given up],” Gardoce said of another worker that the BusinessMirror interviewed at the workers’ village last year. He, however, couldn’t bear to leave their home for which he had already spent some P100,000 on improvements.

A WOMAN walks past the shuttered eateries near the Hanjin shipyard gate.

“Ngayon, ay ginigipit na kami at pinapaalis pero nagmamatigas na lang ako dahil gusto kong makapagtapos muna ang mga anak ko [The developer is now pressuring us to leave, but I stand firm because I want my children to finish school first],” Gardoce said.

Shuttered shops

OTHER income earners who relied on the disposable income of shipyard workers likewise went under in the wake of the Hanjin bankruptcy. Along the road leading to the HHIC-Phil shipyard are closed eateries, buses parked in vacant lots, and houses and former workers’ dormitories with “For Sale” signs. Claire dela Cruz, a native of the former fishermen’s community where Hanjin shipyard is now located, used to operate one of the 20 or so canteens that catered to shipyard workers who worked three shifts. She says they used to cook six different kinds of dishes when the facility was fully operational, and posted average daily sales of P12,000. Today, with only 300 workers maintaining the shipyard, Dela Cruz only sells bread, candy, chips, and cigarette which earn her about P1,000 a day. Buses that ferried the thousands of workers to and from work were also among the first casualties of the Hanjin downfall. Arturo Dumaguing, who operated two units that plied the Castillejos-Hanjin route, said that a total of 65 bus units were fielded in the heyday of Hanjin, and these units each earned from P2,400 to P3,600 for the two or three trips they had each day. Now, only two units are doing business for the 300 remaining shipyard workers, he added.

Lack of alternatives

THE sudden crash of HHIC-Phil sent government agencies in a mad scramble to find alternative jobs for the displaced workers. But there simply was not enough new jobs to fill the void. According to the SBMA Labor Department, various agencies joined hands to organize a jobs fair in February last year to drum up assistance and support for displaced Hanjin workers. These included the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bases Conversion

and Development Authority (BCDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The event held at the Subic Gymnasium announced 25,200 job openings from various locators in Subic and Clark, as well as businesses in Manila and neighboring provinces. SBMA labor officials also reported that 8,000 applications were received from walk-in applicants, and a total of 5,000 jobseekers were interviewed. Of these, more than 400 were eventually hired, with close to a hundred hired on the spot during the job fair. On top of these, the SBMA Labor Department said that a total of 115 former Hanjin workers and their relatives were hired last year by investor-firms in the Subic Bay Freeport. Most of them found employment as production operators, sewers, assembly operators, and welders in factories, manufacturing firms, and automotive remanufacturing companies.

Needed changes

THE lack of jobs to solve the unemployment problem created by the Hanjin debacle has left affected workers without any hope other than the arrival of another investor to take over the operation of the Subic shipyard. Efren Vinluan, president of the Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Hanjin, said only a new operator can bring about favorable changes that would benefit the former shipyard workers. Vinluan, a deputy foreman at the shipyard, is among the 53 holdouts who had not resigned from work after Hanjin announced a retrenchment prior to filing for rehabilitation last year. The holdouts, who were supposed to be among the 300 workers who will remain to maintain the facility, had been barred from the shipyard since March last year. With a new operator, one of the changes that need to be made, Vinluan said, is doing away with subcontractors, which insulate the mother company from responsibilities of an employer. These, too, had shielded Hanjin from liabilities for most of the accidents and work-related injuries and deaths that had happened at the shipyard, he added. “Sa ngayon ay ayaw na kaming kausapin ng subcontrators at mga abogado na lang ng Hanjin ang

humaharap sa amin, kaya wala kaming magawa [As of now, the subcontractors have left the talking to the lawyers, and we can’t win over them],” Vinluan said. Jenzen Mauricio, another Samahan officer, pointed out that Hanjin is mandated by law to absorb employees of subcontractors that have shut down. “Sabi ng DOLE, tama kami, pero dahil sa sitwasyon ng Hanjin ay wala rin silang magawa [Even the DOLE agreed with us, but they can’t do anything now that Hanjin is up for rehabilitation],” Mauricio said.

Long wait for white knight

LIKE damsels in distress, the displaced workers now hope for the arrival of a new shipyard management. But the waiting is proving to take longer than expected. As early as August last year, the court-appointed receiver to handle the process of Hanjin rehabilitation, lawyer Rosario Bernaldo, has announced that Hanjin’s creditor banks were already in “exclusive talks” with a prospective company to take over the Hanjin shipyard. Bernaldo identified the probable white knight as the Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd., which has reportedly formed a consortium with American private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. To this day, nothing concrete had ever been announced to have come out of this supposed alliance. Prior to this, SBMA Chairman Eisma had also mentioned some North American firms and European companies to be interested in the Subic shipyard, but these, too, have not made any public offering yet. Meanwhile, the displaced workers and their families can only wait. And hope. When word came out last December that HHIC-Phil would take in some 500 workers to finish the two ships being built at Drydock 6, a lot immediately filed their application. But there has not been any actual hiring so far. At the Hanjin Village, despite the odds, Jose Gardoce Jr. keeps a positive outlook, as he firms up the family decision to stay and wait out the crisis. “Para na lang sa mga anak namin ito. Sana ay mapasukan kami ng magandang ihip ng hangin [What we’re doing is for the sake of our children. I can only pray that good fortune would come our way sometime soon],” Gardoce added.

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Sunday, January 19, 2020

EU trade chief Hogan calls Trump ‘obsessed,’ questions US-China deal

he European Union’s new trade chief pulled no punches on an inaugural visit to Washington, saying President Donald J. Trump’s tariff threats amount to short-sighted electioneering and warning him about widespread economic damage from protectionism. In this January 3, 2020, photo, workers make sneakers in a factory in Jinjiang city in southeastern China’s Fujian province. China’s economic growth sank to a new multi-decade low of 6.1 percent in 2019 as consumer demand weakened and Beijing fought a trade war with Washington. Government data on Friday, showed growth was down from 2018’s 6.6 percent, already the lowest since 1990. Economic growth in the three months ending in December held steady at the previous quarter’s level of 6 percent. AP

China’s ’19 economic gain weakens amid trade war

EIJING—China’s economic growth sank to a new multi-decade low in 2019 as Beijing fought a tariff war with Washington, but forecasters said a US-Chinese trade truce might help to revive consumer and business activity. The world’s second-largest economy grew by 6.1 percent, down from 2018’s 6.6 percent, already the lowest since 1990, gover nment d at a showed Friday. Growth in the three months ending in December held steady at the previous quarter’s level of 6 percent over a year earlier. Business sentiment received a boost from Wednesday’s signing of an interim deal in the costly war over Beijing’s technology ambitions and trade surplus. The Trump administration agreed to cancel planned tariff hikes on additional Chinese imports and Beijing promised to buy more American farm goods, though punitive duties already imposed by both sides stayed in place. T he Chinese dow ntur n might not have bottomed out yet, but improved activity in December suggested the cooling of tensions might be encouraging companies and consumers to spend and invest, privateector economists said. The agreement “is a signal that the situation is unlikely to deteriorate,” said Chaoping Zhu of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report. “Cor p or ate con f ide nce keeps improving,” said Zhu. That might help to “provide strong support” to economic growth. Chinese exporters have been battered by President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes, but a bigger blow to the economy came from weakness in consumption. Households, spooked by the trade war and job losses, put off big purchases. Auto sales fell for second year in 2019, tumbling 9.6 percent. Growth in retail spending decelerated to 8 percent over a year earlier, down from 8.2 percent in the first nine months of the year. The economy faces “downward pressure” and “instability sources and risk points” abroad are increasing, the government said in a statement. The trade war adds to pressure on Chinese leaders who

also are struggling to shore up growth and rein in surging food costs following a disease outbreak that slashed supplies of pork, the country’s staple meat, and sent prices soaring. The cost of pork spiked 42.5 percent in 2019, propelling food price inflation to 7 percent, more than double the ruling party’s 3-percent target. Chinese e x por ts ended 2019 up 0.5 percent despite the tariff war and weaker global demand. Manufacturers stepped up efforts to sell to other markets, recording to double-digit gains in exports to France, Canada and other economies. “Sluggish global growth will continue to challenge the external outlook, but we expect the phase one deal with the US to have a favorable impact on exports and support domestic sentiment and confidence,” said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report. 2019 economic g row t h came in at the low end of the ruling party’s official target of 6 percent to 6.5 percent. The International Monetary Fund and private sector forecasters expect this year’s growth to decline further to as low as 5.8 percent. That would be barely one-third of 2007’s record 14.2 percent expansion but still would be among the world’s strongest. The party is trying to steer China to slower, more manageable growth, but an abrupt downturn in activity and the clash with Washington forced the ruling party to step up government spending and take other measures to support growth. The central bank has tried to lower borrowing costs and channel credit to entrepreneurs who generate China’s new wealth and jobs. But Beijing has avoided a large-scale stimulus that might reignite a rise in debt that already is so high that rating agencies have cut its credit rating for government borrowing. Factory output rose 5.7 percent over 2018, down from 6 percent for the first six months of the year. “The outlook for 2020 is for continued resilient growth, boosted by the phase one trade deal with the US and the continued positive impact” of government stimulus, said Rajiv Biswas of IHS Markit in a report. AP

Ph i l Ho g a n s a i d Tr u m p ’s “A me r ic a Fi r s t ” a ge nd a h a s he lped br i ng about “a h ighpressure crisis moment for the international trading system.” He urged the US government to work with the EU to uphold open commerce. “If we go about this in the right way, working together, the mutual benefits can be very significant,” Hogan told a conference in the US capital on Thursday. “But, if we fail to do so, the damage will be significant, not alone for us both, but for the world.” Hogan is seeking to prevent a deterioration in transatlantic commercial ties that have been fraying for months as a result of disagreements over everything from aircraft subsidies to farm tariffs. He spoke bluntly about growing EU unhappiness over US unilateralism, saying it was driven by Trump’s desire for reelection.

‘Managed trade’

“It’s short-term thinking,” Hogan said in a separate video interview with Global Counsel Chairman Peter Mandelson, a former EU trade commissioner. “Between now and the November elections is what Mr. Trump is thinking about.” Ho g a n t o ok a s w ip e at a preliminar y trade ag reement reached bet ween the US and

China, saying the deal smacked of “managed trade” and threatening an EU complaint to the Wo r l d Tr a d e O r g a n i z a t i o n ( W TO). T he pact was sig ned w it h much fanfare in Washington on Wednesday, two days after Hogan arrived in the city. The EU is concerned about a Chinese pledge in the accord to increase purchases of US goods and services by at least $200 billion over the next two years. “We haven’t analyzed the document in detail, but we will, and if there’s a WTO-compliance issue of course we will take the case,” Hogan told the Washington conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “We’re not trigger-happy about taking cases to the WTO—we don’t want to create that impression. But we’ll stand up for our own economic interests.” Hogan said Trump is misguidedly “obsessed” with a US deficit in goods trade with the bloc and should also take into account services, where the country has a $60 billion surplus. Altogether, transatlantic trade in goods and services is worth over $3 billion a day, according to Hogan. “Sounds like a fairly healthy relationship to me,” he said. “So why put tariffs on these EU products to make them more expensive for your people?”

Phil Hogan, European Union trade commissioner, speaks during a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Hogan is due to meet US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other American officials during a visit that follows a general fraying of ties in recent months between the world’s biggest economic partners. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

‘Let’s talk’

Hogan sharply criticized the Trump administration’s invocation of national security to apply duties in 2018 on EU steel and aluminum, and threaten similar levies on European cars and auto parts. The metal duties prompted tit-for-tat EU tariffs, and the bloc has pledged to react the same way were European automotive goods to be targeted. “We reject the US labeling the EU as a security risk in order to justify the imposition on tariffs,” Hogan said. “This narrative is hurtful to both our people.” The two sides are locked in arguments on other points too, including: n A US threat to hit $2.4 billion of French goods with tariffs as retaliation over a digital tax in France n A deadlock on the WTO’s appellate body caused by a US refusal to consider new panelists n US tariffs on a range of European products fol low ing a W TO ruling about illegal aid to A irbus n American demands to add

agriculture to the agenda of talks that are due to address charges on industrial goods; and n Hogan, who has met US government officials as well as member of Congress this week, pleaded for a more diplomatic and collaborative approach from the Trump administration. “If we continue to beat each other up then the future risks being lost to new competitors,” he said. “Let’s talk, let’s cooperate, let’s lead.” In remarks to reporters later on Thursday, as he prepared to depart Washington after meetings with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Com merce S ec ret a r y W i lbu r Ross, Hogan toned down some of h is ea rl ier c r it ic isms. He praised the “cooperative spirit” of the American side, and said its trade accord with China also has “positive elements” that offer opportunities for the US and EU to work together. “It’s a good start, I would describe this week,” Hogan said. “A lot done, and more to do.” Bloomberg News

‘American exceptionalism’ fades for now as US growth weakens

merica’s days as pace-setter for the world economy may be coming to an end. With the International Monetary Fund releasing new forecasts on Monday, a rising number of economists are predicting that the US’s momentum will fall behind that of the rest of the world as global growth bottoms out and looks set to slowly pick up in 2020. “The world leads and the US lags,” Joachim Fels, global economic adviser for Pacific Investment Management Co., which oversees $1.91 trillion in assets, told Bloomberg Television. In one of the more pessimistic forecasts out there, Pimco predicts the US expansion could slow to about 1 percent in the first half of this year before accelerating. The projected 2020 pattern would be in contrast to what happened in the past two years, when US demand was boosted by President Donald Trump’s tax cuts while economies elsewhere were weaker and weighed down by his America First trade policies. “We are turning on its head the story we’ve been telling each other for the last two years, namely that Europe was bad and the US was good,” said Torsten Slok, chief economist for Deutsche Bank AG. That reversal of fortunes has implications for investors. European stock markets should outperform the US while yields on German bunds should converge upward toward those on US Treasury securities, Slok said. To be clear, the US economy is still projected to climb faster in 2020 than that of other major industrial countries including Japan and Germany. What’s changing is what JPMorgan Chase & Co. global economist Michael Hanson called “the delta on growth.” Hanson sees US growth slowing to 1.7 percent this year from last year’s 2.3 percent, even as the worldwide expansion holds steady at about 2.5 percent. He and his colleagues have dubbed the shift “the end of US exceptionalism.”

What Bloomberg’s economists say... Optimism about prospects for 2020 growth makes sense. 2019’s monetary easing adds a little momentum. A mini-trade deal has been done. Still, “better than expected’ is not the same as ‘good’. A fractional acceleration in global growth won’t reflect outperformance in the US and China—which face a continued if moderate slowdown.

—Chief economist Tom Orlik The switch in the composition of growth is being driven by policy. The stimulus from

Trump’s 2017 tax reductions and government spending increases is disappearing just as other economies, particularly in Asia, begin to benefit from their own expansionary steps. Expor t- dependent economies such as Germany and Taiwan will gain more than the US if fading fears about an all-out US-China trade war and a Brexit blow up spur a pick-up in international trade. What’s more, “a cloud of uncer tainty will hang heavily over the US economy throughout the year” in the run-up to the November presidential election, said Moody’s Analytics Inc. chief economist Mark Zandi. “Businesses are going to be focused on what’s

going to happen on the other side of the election” and will be inclined to delay spending plans as a result, he said. That could prove to be particularly the case this year given the likely big policy differences between Trump and whomever the Democrats choose to run against him, Zandi added.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

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Putin fast-tracks effort to extend rule in Russia By Vladimir Isachenkov The Associated Press

OSCOW—President V l ad imir Put in on Thursday fast-tracked work on constitutional changes that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024 while lawmakers quickly sealed his choice for new prime minister. Speaking to a working group created to draft constitutional changes, Putin cast his proposals as a way to strengthen parliament and to bolster democracy. Kremlin critics described the proposed changes as an attempt by Putin to secure his rule for life. The Russian leader proposed the sweeping amendments to the country’s constitution in Wednesday’s state of the nation address. Hours later, he fired Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had the job for eight years, and named tax chief Mikhail Mishustin to succeed him. The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, quickly approved Mishustin in a unanimous vote Thursday. The reshuffle has shaken Russia’s political elites, who were left wildly speculating about Putin’s

intentions and future Cabinet appointments. A constitutional reform announced by Putin indicated he was working to carve out a new governing position for himself after his current six-year term ends in 2024, although it remains unclear what specific path he will take to stay in charge. The former KGB operative has been in power for more than 20 years, longer than any other Russian or Soviet leader since Josef Stalin, who led from 1924 until his death in 1953. Under the law now in force, Putin must step down when his current term ends. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, tweeted that Putin’s proposals reflected the 67-year-old president’s intention to “rule until he dies.” Putin suggested amending the constitution to allow lawmakers to name prime ministers and Cabinet members. The president currently holds the authority to make those appointments. Speaking to the group that will draft the amendments, Putin emphasized that the changes are intended to “strengthen the role of civil society, political parties and regions in making key deci-

sions about the development of our state.” “The role of parliament will grow, and the interaction between parliament and the Cabinet will strengthen,” he said. At the same time, Putin argued that Russia would not remain stable if it were governed under a parliamentary system. The president should retain the right to dismiss the prime minister and Cabinet ministers, to name top defense and security officials, and to be in charge of the military and law-enforcement agencies, he said. In his address, Putin said the constitution must also specify the authority of the State Council, a body that consists of regional governors and top federal officials. Observers speculated that Putin might try to stay in charge by shifting into the prime minister’s seat again after increasing the powers of parliament and the Cabinet and curtailing presidential authority. Others suggested that he could continue pulling the strings as head of the State Council, similar to what the longtime ruler of Kazakhstan did last year. Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned as president and had a protege elected to the

post, but the 79-year-old retained his grip on power by securing a prominent position as head of the nation’s security council. Another potential option is a merger with neighboring Belarus that would create a new position of the head of a new unified state. That prospect has been rejected by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an autocratic ruler who has been in power for more than quarter century, but the Kremlin has kept pushing him to accept stronger integration. Few observers expect Putin to follow the example of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who in 2017 had term limits abolished, which would effectively keep him in power for life. Putin, a law faculty graduate, appears to favor more intricate ways of staying in charge that have a democratic veneer. Among other amendments suggested by Putin is a proposal to give the constitution a clear priority over international law—a tweak seen as a reflection of the Kremlin’s irritation over the European Court of Human Rights’ rulings that held Russia responsible for human-rights violations. Putin charged Thursday that the Strasbourg-based court had made some “unlawful” decisions, calling the situation when Russia is obliged to unconditionally follow its verdicts “unacceptable.” Putin said that the constitutional changes need to be approved by the entire nation, but it wasn’t immediately clear how such a popular vote would be organized. Upper house speaker Valentina Matviyenko said that lawmakers will work on amending the constitution and complete it in the spring. Obser vers say that Putin’s move to modify the constitution four years before the end of his term may reflect the Kremlin’s concerns that his popularity may suffer amid an anemic economy and stagnant living standards. Pa rl i a me nt a r y e le c t ion s a re scheduled for 2021, but some speculated that an early vote could be held. Putin has kept his longtime ally Medvedev in his close circle, appointing him to the newly created post of deputy head of the presidential Security Council. Medvedev’s popularity has suffered in recent years amid Russia’s economic troubles. Mishustin also joined the council on Thursday. Medvedev served as president from 2008 to 2012, keeping the seat warm for Putin who continued calling the shots as prime minister when he was forced to step down from the top job due to term limits. Under Medvedev, the constitution was amended to extend the presidential term from four years to six, although it limits the leader to two consecutive terms. T he 53-year-old Mishustin is a career bureaucrat who has worked as the tax chief for the past 10 years, keeping a low profile and showing no political ambitions. He has won a good reputation among experts who praised him for boosting tax collection and streamlining Russia’s rigid tax administration system. Mishustin vowed to focus on social issues and improve living standards. “The president wants the Cabinet to spearhead economic growth and help create new jobs,” he said. Raising real incomes is a priority for the government.”

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Strength in weakness: Why Iran fights the way it does

hether eventually it proves a strategic triumph, disaster or just another bloody chapter in Middle East history, US President Donald Trump’s order to kill one of the most senior figures in Iran is exposing the strengths and weaknesses that make the Islamic Republic fight the way it does. The pinpoint accuracy of Iran’s immediate response to the January 3, 2020, killing of Al Quds commander Qassem Soleimani, striking two US bases in Iraq while avoiding causing casualties that could have led to war, has clearly signaled Iran’s capacity to harm American assets and personnel if it chooses—as well as the limitations on Iran’s freedom to openly do so. That dilemma in turn appeared to confirm what many military analysts have long assumed: Iran resorts to asymmetric warfare—the use of unconventional weapons and tactics to take on a far greater military might—because it cannot afford to provoke a conventional conflict it would lose. Weaknesses in Iran’s regular air, land and sea forces are the result of decades of economic sanctions and constrained budgets, as the US, its Sunni Gulf allies and Israel sought to isolate and weaken the Shiite Islamist regime from its revolutionary birth in 1979. Those shortcomings help explain the prominence achieved by Soleimani’s Al Quds force, a unit of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) that works with a stable of mainly fellow Shiite proxy militias across the region to challenge the US and its allies. It explains, too, the decision of Iran’s leaders to invest in ballistic missiles, submarines and— most controversially—a nuclear fuel program that could enable Tehran to build atomic weapons, and has propelled the West’s confrontation with the Islamic Republic for much of the past two decades. The Trump administration is now seeking to rein in all of the asymmetric capabilities Iran has built to compensate for its conventional weakness. Last year, Iran became the first state to have its military forces designated by the US as a terrorist organization. Iran’s missile response to Soleimani’s killing was an exception, according to Anniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, a London security think tank. “What you are likely to see now is a reprisal of low-level conflict,” pursued under a cloak of deniability, she said. She recalled a series of attacks on shipping and oil facilities in the Gulf last year for which Iran denied responsibility, as well as more far-flung undeclared operations, such as the 2012 suicide bombing of an Israeli tourist bus in Bulgaria. Both Washington and Tehran have made it clear that for now they are taking a step back from further military confrontation. But Soleimani’s killing—which followed actions by Iranian proxies in Iraq that killed a US contractor—will leave leaders in Tehran less certain of where the US threshold for escalation now lies.

Air force

For Western militaries, air forces provide a first line of defense and attack. Not so Iran, where decades of sanctions and limited spending power have restricted the purchase of new planes, as well as of spare parts, modern electronics and weaponry. Iran on paper has 300-plus combat aircraft—more than the UK—but the vast majority were bought before the 1979 fall of the Shah and are obsolete, if not grounded. Most, such as Vietnamera F-4 Phantom IIs and Soviet MiG-29s, couldn’t compete in any contest with the US, its Gulf allies, or Israel. The “slight wild card,” according to Justin Bronk, an aviation specialist also at RUSI, is that Iran claims to have updated versions of the long-range Phoenix air-to-air missiles carried by its 43 F-14 Tomcats, a plane retired by the US Navy in 2006. Though a limited resource, that could make them able to stand back while putting an opponent at risk.

Ground forces

Iran’s regular army, at 350,000, is considerable, especially once you add the IRGC’s 100,000 ground troops. Yet, it has been starved of investment, especially since the US toppled Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003, removing the only credible threat of a ground invasion across Iran’s expansive and difficult terrain. Iranian analysts, like those abroad, believe any eventual US attack would come from the air. As Saddam discovered, aging battle tanks and artillery are just target practice for an adversary that establishes air superiority.

Air defense

After more than a decade of trying to buy highly capable S-300 anti-aircraft systems from Russia, Iran received its first shipments in 2016 and now has 32 launchers, organized in groups of eight around four 300-kilometer radars. Yet this number falls far short of the blanket protection Iran would want. While the Iranian military also deploys an impressive array of other surface-to-air systems, many are old and pose little threat to new generation aircraft. The capabilities of domestically made or upgraded systems are largely unknown. Adding to this patchwork effect is that air defense networks are complex, combining layers of systems to defend against anything from high-altitude bombers to low-flying cruise missiles and helicopters. These need to be fully integrated to work efficiently, but in Iran responsibility is split between the regular armed forces and the IRGC. The accidental downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 on January 8, killing all 176 on board, could be in part a product of this lack of a fully integrated air defense. The Russianmade TOR-M1 launcher used against the airliner was a mobile system under the control of the IRGC, and not hardwired into wider communications and radar networks under regular army control, creating more scope for error. “The command and control process in the Iranian military is often tangled and overlapping, and that’s especially problematic for air defense,” says Henry Boyd, research fellow for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Navy

Iran’s navy is similarly split between the regular armed forces and the IRGC, with the latter having full control of assets in the Gulf. Unable to buy or build cruisers and destroyers to compete with US 5th Fleet, Iran has again looked for low cost ways of leveling the battlefield. It has invested in underwater mines, submarines, and about 200 small speed boats armed with missiles and designed to swarm a potential enemy. That might be enough to close the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost chokepoint for oil shipping, for a time but doing so would represent a nuclear option for Iran. More than the US, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, closing the route would damage Iran’s biggest trade and investment partner, China, as well as friendly Gulf States such as Qatar and Oman. The US now relies less on Gulf oil imports than China, which gets more that 40 percent of its crude via the strait; the Saudis and Emiratis can pipe oil out by land if need be. Closure could also invite the massive retaliation Iran seeks to avoid, making it valuable mainly as a threat that Iran’s mini-navy is there to make.

Ballistic missiles

Iran has developed a cheaper tool to perform many of the functions of an air force: surfacelaunched missiles. Had the US, for example, wanted to carry out a similar precision strike to the one Iran made in Iraq earlier this month after Soleimani’s killing, it probably would have used a combination of attack aircraft and cruise missiles, according to Boyd at the IISS. Iran used its suite of land-based ballistic missiles, and not for the first time. In 2017, it launched six surface-to-surface missiles against Islamic State positions in Syria, retaliating against attacks by the extremist group in Tehran. In 2018, it struck the Iraq bases of Kurdish groups running insurgencies in Iran. Proliferation to proxies in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq has allowed Iran to attack Saudi Arabia, Israel and the US at arm’s length. The missiles by now also form Iran’s most important deterrent, creating a retaliatory threat from southeastern Europe to India, an area that’s home to more than 70,000 US troops.

The Revolutionary Guard and its proxies

The IRCG remains the bedrock of the Iranian leadership’s defense—more ideologically aligned, and better equipped and trained than the regular army. It also has huge commercial and financial interests embedded in the economy. Abroad, the network of proxies that Soleimani operated, from Hezbollah in Lebanon to Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq, remains one of the most potent, deniable and therefore usable weapons in Iran’s armory. Deploying affiliates carries two other advantages: they are cheaper to operate and any casualties incurred are less likely to stir anger at home. The new Al Quds commander was Soleimani’s deputy and has pledged to continue his strategy unchanged. It remains to be seen whether he can maintain the same level of control.

Cyber

Iran is widely seen to have become serious about its cyber-security program only after the 2010 Stuxnet virus attack attributed to the US and Israel, which infected controllers for centrifuges used in Iran’s uranium enrichment program, tearing them apart. Iran’s cyber capabilities have lately become a major focus for discussion, as their low profile and deniability make them a potentially ideal weapon for striking back at the US over the long term. However, for now, Iran isn’t considered to pose the same level of cyber threat as Russia, China, or even North Korea. Bloomberg News

Buenavista surfing site in Gubat

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»life on the go

A5 | Sunday, January 19, 2020 • Editor: Tet Andolong

Story & photos by Bernard L. Supetran

N recent memory, the province of Sorsogon has been synonymous to the sought-after butanding or whale shark, the world’s biggest fish and “gentle giant” of the sea. Its sighting in the late 1990s in Donsol town brought the spotlight in this once sleepy part of the Bicol region.

Siama Hotel pool

love gazing or listening to the ripples of the sea. The resort also has several cabanas with cushions which provide shelter to surfers as they wait for more exciting waves to come about. Visitors can also sink their teeth into timitim, a vernacular version of the cassava cake made up of grated cassava, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and pili nuts, and which can only be found in Gubat.

Siama Estate gate

But despite the tourism boom, visitors would still elect to return to nearby Legazpi City to spend the night. This scenario would be altered with the entry of a boutique that would offer a cozy and comfy sleep after an exciting water adventure. For almost a decade now, Siama Hotel has been playing the role of a game changer which has helped Sorsogon become a consummate nature getaway. Tucked in a 10-hectare coconut plantation in a barangay in the provincial capital Sorsogon City, the 30-room property boasts of minimalist but beautifully designed creation of noted interior artist Milo Naval. The 4-hectare luxury lodging takes pride in its designer furnishings and elegant homey ambiance in a tropical setting. Guests are welcomed in an expansive lobby punctuated with hardwood furniture—dining tables, butakas, love seats and ottomans, which lend it a contemporary Filipino spirit. The entire facility exudes decorative quality with its industrial rough cement finish and slotted walls. For authentic resort living, Naval extensively used the endemic luktog tree for slats for the façade and common areas. He said that the resort maintains its countryside feel which incorporate all creature comforts, and the rooms were designed as plain shells for ease of movement and keeping a fresh look.

Side trips

Siama Surf pool with beach view

Siama Hotel room

Three clusters surround a scenic swimming pool lined with giant ferns and coconut trees, with each building sporting a different room configuration, but all with a hotel-grade bed. A rattan hammock hangs above the pool where guests can laze under the sun and tree canopy. On the kitchen front, Siama Hotel is a

culinary escape with its all-time Filipino favorites, signature spicy Bicol dishes, pizza, pasta, local desserts and short orders. A peninsular province, Sorsogon abounds in an assortment of seafood which the resort can serve with the flair of a starrated resort. A must-taste is baluko curry, an oversized tasty seashell which is abundant in its waters, and whose empty shell is widely used as a decoration or design accent by the resort.

Siama Surf

Last year, Naval extended his design creativity in the nearby town of Gubat,

the province’s surfing mecca situated on the Pacific seaboard, with the opening of Siama Surf. Guests can extend their staycation here for some surfing 101 action, fly a kite or explore the natural wonders in the vicinity. Situated at the famed Buenavista Beach, it started as an open-air pavilion for surfers and later evolved into a trendy seven-room beach house, four of which are in the main edifice and have an enviable balcony with a view of the pool and the ocean. Closer to the sleepy powdery shores are two wooden aircon cabins for people who

With its strategic location, Siama Hotel is an ideal staging point for a sortie around Sorsogon. Just a few minutes away is Bacon District, a former municipality which has become the beach colony of Sorsogon City. Beach bums can bask in Pagol Beach or Paguriran Island, an atoll which has a clear lagoon as natural pool. At low tide, beachgoers can walk on its powdery white sandbar and wade into the chest-deep lagoon. On the opposite direction is the postcard-pretty Greco-Roman themed Provincial Capitol Complex with its spick-andspan tree-lined plaza, Spanish cannons, and a bandstand gazebo reminiscent of the simple public recreation in the olden days. Guests can also travel as far as Bulusan Volcano Natural Park, a haven of biodiversity in Bulusan town which was once the top tourism icon of Sorsogon. Its most photographed portion is the 16-hectare lake which is dubbed as “Switzerland of the Orient” due to its resemblance to Alpine mountain lakes and suitability for kayaking. For a seamless sortie with nature, leisure and adventure, Siama Hotel offers custom-made tours, and shuttle service to and from Legazpi City Airport.

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A6 Sunday, January 19, 2020

MunaTo Festival: A celebration of ancient roots

ARANGANI has the unique distinction of being one of the country’s youngest provinces and, at the same time, one of the oldest. This Old World charm took center stage once more as it recently celebrated the 17th MunaTo Festival to mark the province’s 27th founding day.

Derived from the Blaan phrase Muna Toh or “first people,” festivities kicked with the MunaTo Run, Employees Day, Flowerhorn and Betafish Show, and the Municipal Village which showcased the local produce, cuisine, souvenirs, and tourist attractions of the seven municipalities. The Craft Conference and Exhibition with Cultural Presentations displayed the intricate handweaving tradition of the Lumad tribes, such as Blaan, Tagakaolo, Tboli, as well as Moro communities such as the Maguindanaon, Maranao and Taosug. Weaving demonstrations showcased the Blaan Mabal Tabih fabric, the crown jewel of Sarangani’s cultural resources which is woven at the Lamlifew School of Living Traditions in Malungon. According to Provincial Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon, the festival once more highlighted the

Glan Municipal Village

Fyu Kura parade of well-dressed horses

unique blend of culture, nature and adventure attractions that Sarangani offers to tourists. He said this year’s celebration has become special because of the series of awards that the province

has received this year. Sarangani was recognized by the Department of Tourism for having biggest same-day visitor arrivals of 1,120,249 in the Soccsksargen region for the fifth straight year. Meanwhile, Lamlifew Village Museum won in the Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility Project in Arts and Culture of the League of Corporate Foundations

Guild Awards. One of the province’s top tourist spots located in Malungon town, it won the prestigious award with the support of ABS-CBN Foundation’s Bantay Kalikasan which helped craft the Eco-Cultural Experience. The fest also put the spotlight on the work of Bai Estelita Bantilan, a Blaan igem (mat) weaver of Malapatan, who was accorded

Delta announces in-house start-up and studio partnerships at CES 2020

VER found yourself tearing up during an in-flight film? Especially during one that wouldn’t normally trigger waterworks? There’s a reason people are more likely to cry on planes. Research reveals that customers enter a heightened emotional state while flying— deepened introspection or sadness can be amplified at altitude. And Delta’s own research shows entertainment can play a key role in helping customers relax while traveling. That’s why Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), which already offers the most seat-back screens in the sky and pioneered free streaming content and free messaging on board, is doubling down on entertainment, with partners and its wholly owned start-up Delta Flight Products. “Our research tells us that customers really enjoy and appreciate entertainment—it is their ultimate de-stressor in flight,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s chief marketing and communications officer. “That’s why we keep extending our position as the entertainment

airline and continue growing our in-house expertise through Delta Flight Products—allowing us to explore a future where captivating content becomes part of the entire customer journey, not just in the air.” “This is just one of the many steps we’re taking to redefine inflight experience for our customers. All customers who fly from Manila to the US can enjoy free entertainment with their seatback screens in all cabins. In March, we will deploy our newest widebody aircraft, A330-900s neo, equipped with the industryfirst wireless IFE system on the Manila-Seoul route,” added Patricia Celis, country manager for Philippines at Delta Air Lines. Building the future of travel entertainment with Delta Flight Products. Delta sees the future of travel entertainment as one that serves up free, captivating content for customers across their day of travel—not just in the air. Imagine a world where connectivity is seamless, allowing movies, shows or music to be accessed via per-

sonal devices using the Fly Delta digital concierge the moment you check in for a flight, then seamlessly continued on a seat-back screen once on board. Delta can dare to imagine this new era of entertainment now because in 2016 it launched a startup called Delta Flight Products— it’s that powerhouse inside Delta you might have never heard of, but should. By focusing on the most complex aspects of Delta’s aircraft interiors, DFP has enabled the airline to be nimble in developing best-inclass experiences for customers, like the groundbreaking wireless IFE system now flying on Delta’s A220s, A330-900s and modified 767-400s. The new wireless system—an industry first—is built with a modern, flexible architecture that makes it easier to bring on new features and functionality to the platform in less time. Launched with just 10 employees, Delta Flight Products has grown to more than 300 professionals who are making the future of entertainment a reality today for Delta customers.

Testing new features with a nod to the future

This year, Delta will take the first step toward the future era of entertainment by testing new features like a “binge button” that will allow customers to kick back, relax and watch entire seasons of their favorite new shows uninterrupted. For customers who prefer a personalized experience, Delta will pilot a “recommended for you” feature that serves up a curated recommendation based on previous viewing behavior. Delta will also test features like “do not disturb” or “wake me for meal service” for Main Cabin customers on select long-haul flights.

Expanding diverse entertainment through industry-first ReFrame partnership

As part of the global airline’s work to seek diversity, create equity and increase representation, Delta will become the first airline with dedicated in-flight channels spotlighting films and TV shows that meet the ReFrame Stamp standard—a mark of distinction for features that include femaleidentifying people in four of eight key areas of their production, including writer, director, producer, lead, colead, speaking parts, department heads and crew. “We are thrilled to partner with Delta to celebrate gender-balanced films and television shows,” said ReFrame cofounders Keri Putnam and Cathy Schulman. “We believe that diverse, impactful stories from artists around the world help us connect to new perspectives and drive meaningful dialogue—bringing all of us closer together.” Delta’s dedicated channels will debut on board in February with the films and shows below, and will continue building the collection throughout 2020 as new titles receive the stamp. Delta will also support ReFrame through a $100,000 donation—in addition to the airline’s annual $125,000 in-kind contribution to Women in Film—to help support a number of their initiatives, including the Film Finishing Fund and the Crystal & Lucy Awards.

the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasures) through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Fringe events included the Pearl of Sarangani pageant which selected the province’s ambassadresses of goodwill and tourism, MunaTo Youth Day, Week of Peace, Indigenous’ Peoples Day, Jesus Reigns, and Tribal Sports, which

relieved the traditional sports. Sarangani was created in 1992 from South Cotabato’s coastal towns, and dates back to the Metal Age based on the anthropomorphic burial jars unearthed in the caves in Maitum town. Now on display at the National Museum, the jars are described as “exceptional archaeological assemblage and unparalleled in Southeast Asia.”

Marco Polo Ortigas Manila welcomes the Year of the Metal Rat

Baked Slipper Lobster in Supreme Stock

Sautéed Tiger Prawn with homemade sweet chili sauce

grand celebration awaits with the coming of the new Lunar New Year at the Marco Polo Ortigas Manila. To usher in this auspicious season, the hotel is pleased to share special events and promotions that guests may enjoy this Year of the Metal Rat.

CULINARY CELEBRATION

Glutinous rice cakes, or nian gao, are traditionally shared among loved ones and friends to wish each other good tidings and prosperity for the year ahead. This 2020, Lung Hin offers Nian Gao variants that guests may purchase ahead of the Lunar New Year. The Double Gold Bar Nian Gao is available in brown sugar flavor for P1,888 per box, while the Single Round Nian Gao in red dates sugar flavor may be enjoyed at P798 per box. The classic Large Round Nian Gao is available in two flavors: pandan and coconut, and red dates sugar. Each variant in this size may be purchased for P1,388 per box. All prices indicated are subject to relevant taxes. Orders may be placed through lunghin.mnl@marcopolohotels.com. Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s award-winning authentic Cantonese restaurant also showcases flavors that are mastered by its team, led by Executive Chef Ken Leung. Available from January 24 to February 3, 2020, gourmands may look forward to special set menus that fit dining parties of five, or 10 persons. The Good Wealth set menu features Lung Hin’s signature Sauteed Tiger Prawns with homemade chili sauce, Steamed Fresh Garoupa with superior soya sauce, and Crispy Roasted

Prosperity Toss with Salmon Yusheng

Baby Duck. On the other hand, the Good Fortune set menu, includes Baked Slipper Lobster in Supreme Stock, Braised South African Abalone with Japanese oysters and vegetables, and Signature Salt-Baked Chicken. Reservations may be made through (632) 7720 7720 or restaurant.mnl@marcopolohotels.com.

A BLESSED START

To officially usher in the Year of the Metal Rat, a special blessing ceremony will be held at the Ground Floor Lobby on the first day of the Lunar New Year (January 25, 2020, Saturday). This ritual will be led by renowned Master Hanz Cua at 11 a.m. Guests may also look forward to the traditional lion and dragon dance after the blessing ceremony. Please log-on to marcopolohotels. com for more details on the Hotel’s ongoing promotions. Subscribe to updates via social media through the Hotel’s official social-media accounts: facebook.com/MarcoPoloOrtigasManila and @MarcoPoloManila on Twitter and Instagram.

ney

»life on the go

sMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

OYO boosts start-up European-inspired hotel in Alabang

OMANTIC, sophisticated and rich with history—this is how most people would describe Europe, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

It is this affinity to the continent and its diverse cultures that inspired the Abantos, the family behind the Abanto Group of Cos., to build OYO 171 Amore Hotel Manila. They wanted to bring exquisite European-style interiors and hospitality to the Philippines, and let more Filipinos experience Europe-style hotel experience. Located at the heart of the Alabang Business District, OYO 171 Amore Hotel Manila offers highquality service without hurting the pocket. Named after the Italian word for love, Amore Hotel Manila’s Executive President and Managing Director Donna Abanto shared that the property aims to impart the feeling of love, passion and dedication through the services they offer. It sounded easy at first, but actualizing that goal was a huge challenge that Abanto had to conquer—until they partnered with OYO. The three-star boutique hotel, which used to be a department store ran by the corporation, is the family’s first diversified business in line with their expansion from retail to the hotel industry.

Abanto admits facing challenges in manpower, marketing and bookings in the first few months of operations. “Our location has always had a good amount of foot traffic, but we were not able to maximize that opportunity since we lacked the appropriate marketing tools. We also experienced difficulty in identifying the right people for certain positions. We ended up constantly hiring new ones,” she added. Abanto has been hands on in managing Amore Hotel Manila since it opened in October 2018, including supervising housekeeping, kitchen and in-house restaurant. The hotel used to adopt a Property Management System to streamline the booking process, but they could not maximize it due to the lack of proficient personnel to handle regular system updates. “Running the hotel required a lot of my personal time. Managing Amore Hotel Manila became my daily routine, and this made me eager to look for a partner that would support our team.

Other companies reached out to us but OYO had the ‘most ideal’ offer,” Abanto said. As the managing director of OYO 171 Amore Hotel Manila, Abanto appreciates that OYO is able to provide operations management services and consultations on how to improve the hotel. OYO’s pool of professionals, and experts, in the field of hospitality worked closely with Abanto and other hotel key executives to improve all aspects of hotel operations from marketing, booking, pricing patterns to revenue management. This allows Abanto more time to attend to other aspects of hotel management that need improvement. In addition to putting in place modern technology, such as an RFID door lock system, OYO’s world-class technology enabled Amore Hotel Manila to easily manage its back-end opera-

tions through a worry-free booking process. With the OYO Operating Manager’s app, Abanto is able to monitor daily activities remotely. “Before OYO, we would reach only 50 [percent] to 70 percent occupancy, and that was during the weekends. Now, we are able to hit 80 [percent] to 90 percent occupancy on a daily basis,” Abanto proudly shared. OYO assigned Amore Hotel Manila its own OYO Captain. The OYO Captain assists Abanto in giving regular staff training, including guest management and property supervision, to maintain OYO’s global standard of service. The captain also supervises the cleanliness and orderliness of the hotel, and gives consultations on the proper management of each hotel department. Partnering with OYO has helped Amore Hotel Manila es-

tablish its online presence on multiple platforms, such as the OYO web site, OTA partners and OYO app. “A huge number of our clients expressed excitement upon learning about OYO promos for Amore Hotel Manila. We are also able to record multiple bookings of foreign clients, proving that OYO’s network is wide enough to reach an audience we were not able to tap before,” Abanto said. Abanto noted how finding the right partner is essential in growing and sustaining a business. “I am really impressed with the capabilities of OYO. Their expertise helped us understand the industry better. We are looking forward to more accomplishments with them,” Abanto said. The European-inspired hotel is just one of OYO’s numerous partners in the Philippines. OYO is present in key cities in Metro Ma-

nila, Cebu, Baguio, Pampanga, Boracay, Batangas, Iloilo, Bataan, Tagaytay and Davao. With more than 260 hotels and 4,300 rooms, OYO is committed on upgrading the tourism and hospitality industries in the country with technologydriven asset transformations. OYO has revolutionized the fragmented and legacy-driven budget hospitality space by empowering small and independent asset owners w ith the operational capabilities and technology that enable them to compete with big hotel chains a nd achieve high occupancies and, therefore, yields. Globally, OYO is present in 800-plus cities across 80 countries. OYO is the No. 1 hotel chain in Southeast Asia with over 2,500-plus hotels and 75,000plus exclusive rooms under management in Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

DOT promotes sustainable local tourism with new #SaveOurSpots online GIFs

In photo with the plaques of the awards are Belmont Hotel Manila department heads led by its General Manager Lorenzo Tang (center, front)

Belmont wins World Luxury Hotel Awards

ELMONT Hotel Manila, a prestigious brand of property conglomerate Megaworld Corp., recently won in two major categories in the World Luxury Hotel Awards for 2019 held in Helsinki, Finland. It was named Luxury Airport Hotel Global Winner and the Luxury City Hotel Southern Asia Regional Winner, and was also nominated for the Luxury Business Hotel category as voted online by travelers who mixed work, play, and leisure. Defining excellence in global hospitality since 2006, the World Luxury Hotel Awards

gathered votes from over 300,000 international hotel guests in a four-week period to determine the top brands that represent luxury and the finest quality service. In 2017, Belmont was recognized as the Airport Hotel of the Year by the London-based Travel and Hospitality Awards. Opened in 2015, it is the first of the seven hotels in the premier entertainment and lifestyle destination Resorts World Manila at Newport City in Pasay City. The 10-story business hotel exhibits a fine balance between sophistication and simplicity that nurtures

repose from a busy, on-the-go lifestyle. It has 470 well-appointed rooms, Café Belmont restaurant, a fitness center with sauna, steam room and shower areas, a business center, meeting rooms and function rooms, an outdoor swimming pool jacuzzi and a kiddie pool. It also has a rooftop bar overlooking the Naia Terminal 3 runway, and is conveniently connected to the airport via the upscale footbridge Runway Manila. For more information on Belmont, log on to www.belmonhotelmanila.com, or visit www. rwmanila.com.

The Oriental Leyte rated 4-star by DOT

ollowing the “Ayoko sa Plastic” Viber stickers, the Department of Tourism (DOT) starts the new year by promoting sustainable local tourism with the newly released #SaveOurSpots GIFs on Instagram. The newly released artworks primarily include the #SaveOurSpots frame, daily Filipino conversation lines, responsible tourist badge and many more to encourage mindful traveling around the Philippines. Tourists can also join the fun in geolocation tagging their local travel posts when visiting Anilao

in Batangas, Baguio City, Bohol, Boracay Island, Coron in Palawan, Donsol in Sorsogon, La Union, Luneta or Rizal Park, Panglao Island, Puerto Galera, Sagada in Mountain Province, Siargao and Vigan in Ilocos. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat highlighted, “We first rolled out this campaign by showing simple yet impactful acts toward environmentalism and patriotism, by respecting cultures and managing wastes. This time around, we are encouraging travelers to promote and preserve our local tourist spots.”

The DOT also takes advantage of the 1 billion active Instagram users worldwide, where over 10 million Filipinos share a part of, for this campaign to promote domestic tourism internationally. To take part on this worthwhile fun, tourists should click on the GIF button on Instagram Stories and type in “sustainable tourism,” then choose the appropriate GIFs for the post before sending it out. The DOT urges every Filipino tourist to use the GIFs to help raise awareness on sustainable local tourism because, collectively, it can go a long way.

HE Oriental Hotel Leyte was recently rated by the Department of Tourism as a four-star resort, the first star rating in the Eastern Visayas region. Located beside the MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park in Palo town, the property was given such rating based on the assessment conducted by the third-party auditor and accreditation officers of the DOT’s Central Office and Region 8 Office. With an accumulated 716 points, the star rating system indicated that the property has met the mandatory requirements of DOT’s standards for premium accreditation. The hotel is part of The Oriental Hotels and Resorts, the leisure arm of the LKY Group of Cos., which also has two properties in Legazpi City, one in Bataan and a luxury suites mansion in Tagaytay City. It was opened in 2012, damaged by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013 and was reopened in 2016. Its facilities include 129 rooms, eight suites, 13 function rooms, five videoke rooms, a business center, a fitness gym, three swimming pools and a spa.

Themed with Asian motifs, it offers oriental and international cuisine, evening fire dance and entertainment shows,

barrio fiesta dinners, tour services around Leyte and Samar, and butler service on demand.

Journey

»life on the go

Editor: Tet Andolong

BusinessMirror

Sunday, January 19, 2020 A8

Seda Lio—fun, adventure and bliss all in one destination

HE natural beauty of Seda Lio hotel’s location along Bacuit Bay in Northern Palawan along with the innate warmth of its staff, allow the 153-room resort to sell itself to honeymooners, families, celebrities, as well as the corporate groups that frequent the place, according to General Manager Brett Hickey.

Located within one of the most biodiverse locations of the Philippines, Seda Lio is emerging as the destination where one can truly be reinvigorated by nature. Bacuit Bay, after all, is home to nearly 900 species of fish, 110 species of birds, 5 out of the 7 known sea turtles, and lush sceneries featuring a broad range of other fauna and flora. Seda Lio’s beachfront, which is part of a 4-kilometer stretch of pristine ivory sand, serves as an inviting gateway to its unique surroundings. Kayaks, pedal boats and paddleboards draw guests to venture further into the clear azure waters. A complimentary hour of snorkeling courtesy of Seda Lio further entices them to swim with colorful parrotfishes and damselfishes in large schools,and savor the rich and diverse marine life. “It takes no more than 90 minutes from takeoff from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila via AirSwift to land in Lio, then to be shuttled to the hotel,” said Hickey. But this hotel” destination is “truly a world away from any metropolis.” Bacuit Bay’s iconic natural attractions further drive home the uniqueness of Seda Lio’s setting. These sites include the world famous Big and Small Lagoons, both highlighted by dramatic limestone cliffs; the sand bar which appears and reappears with the tide; hidden caves, and many more natural attractions. Seda Lio can arrange for guided tours at one’s preferred pace—via festive motorized bancas best for large groups; to sleek speedboats to rustic yachts that allow visitors up to 2x to sun bathe, lounge or party on board. In addition, Seda Lio offers its own recreation options highlighted by a grand two-level infinity pool with a special area with a water feature guaranteed to keep kids thoroughly engaged. Cabanas, on the

Seda Lio Spa Villa

other hand, have been designed for adults who want to just lounge and laze under the Lio sun. Nearby is the Pool Bar offering refreshments, cocktails and a daily wine buffet with free pica-pica. More food options, including homebaked breads, cakes and pastries, and matched with highly attentive service are offered at Misto, Seda’s all-day dining outlet. Most guests, however, say that a visit to Lio would be incomplete without a Seda Spa massage in private villas that peer out to the hotel’s tropical gardens. The spa is also open to visitors billeted outside the hotel. In this soothing nature-focused setting, well-trained professionals ensure that guests savor each treatment. Truly, Seda Lio invites guests to be in the moment and to lose themselves to all that nature offers around them. “Each room has been designed with a balcony so visitors wake up to the sounds of Palawan’s endemic birds, and go to sleep to the lullaby of the cicadas and other insects,” according to Hickey. Seda Lio guests have a choice of 45-square-meter deluxe rooms to 76-sq-m. suites that include a living room and are highly appreciated by families. The hotel provides as a bonus to families a children’s outdoor area and an indoor playroom with play sets and activity sessions. For older children, a game room with an air hockey table and video games is available. Both offer ways to keep youngsters occupied in case the weather keeps them indoors. Hickey said, “Seda Lio is indeed a place to reconnect with nature. Whether one is at a corporate meeting or part of a wedding party or a family reunion, the beauty that surrounds you and our people’s natural warmth make a stay with us highly memorable. ”

Seda Lio Suite

Seda Lio pool

Seda Lio Children’s Playroom

Science

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion

Sunday

Sunday, January 19, 2020 A9

Earth was hottest in last decade

W Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano Jr., acting director of DOST-Asti and program leader of Stamina4Space, speaks at the forum, dubbed “Diwata-2: A Year in Space,” on October 29, commemorating the first anniversary of Diwata-2’s launching into space in Japan. The event was held at UP-EEEI. Lyn Resurreccion

DOST-Asti chief Marciano appointed 1st space agency head

alacañang announced early this month the appointment of Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano Jr. as the first director general of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). President Duterte signed the appointment of Marciano on December 5, 2019. Ma rc i a no is t he act i ng d i rector of Depa r t ment of Sc ience a nd Tec hnolog y ’s A dva nce Sc ience a nd Tec hnolog y Inst it ute (DOST-A sti) and program leader of St a mina4 Space before he was

appoi nted a s Ph i l SA head. D uter te on Au g u st 8 , 2019, sig ne d R e publ ic A c t 1136 3 c re at i ng Ph i l S A . T he Ph i l SA , c h a i red by a d irector genera l, is a n at t ac hed agenc y of the Office of the President t a sked to be t he cent r a l go v e r n me nt a ge nc y t h at w i l l pl a n, develop a nd promote t he Nat iona l Space Prog ra m i n l i ne w it h t he Ph i l ippi ne Space Pol ic y, wh ic h is t he cou nt r y ’s pr i m a r y st rateg ic road m ap for space development. PNA

3 African countries trying out 1st malaria vaccine in babies

OMALI, Malawi—A pinch in the leg, a squeal and a trickle of tears. One baby after another in Malawi, is getting the first and only vaccine against malaria, one of history’s deadliest and most stubborn of diseases. The southern African nation is rolling out the shots in an unusual pilot program along with Kenya and Ghana. Unlike established vaccines that offer near-complete protection, this new one is only about 40-percent effective. But exper ts say it’s wor th a tr y as progress against malaria stalls: Resistance to treatment is growing and the global drop in cases has leveled off. With the vaccine, the hope is to help small children through the most dangerous period of their lives. Spread by mosquito bites, malaria kills more than 400,000 people every year, two-thirds of them under five and most in Africa. Seven-month-old Charity Nangware received a shot on a rainy December day at a health clinic in the town of Migowi. She watched curiously as the needle slid into her thigh, then twisted up her face with a howl. “I’m very excited about this,” said her mother, Esther Gonjani, who herself gets malaria’s aches, chills and fever at least once a year and loses a week of field work when one of her children is ill. “They explained it wasn’t perfect, but I feel secure it will relieve the pain.” There is little escaping malaria—malungo in the local Chichewa language—especially during the five-month rainy season. Stagnant puddles, where mosquitoes breed, surround the homes of brick and thatch and line the dirt roads through tea plantations or fields of maize and sugar cane. In the village of Tomali, the nearest health clinic is a two-hour bike ride away. The longer it takes to get care, the more dangerous malaria can be. Teams from the clinic offer basic medical care during visits once or twice a month, bringing the malaria shot and other vaccines in portable coolers. Treating malaria takes up a good portion of their time during the rainy season, according to Daisy Chikonde, a local health worker. “If this vaccine works, it will reduce the burden,” she said. Resident Doriga Ephrem proudly said her five-month-old daughter, Grace, didn’t cry when she got the malaria shot. When she heard about the vaccine, E p h re m s a i d h e r f i r s t t h o u g h t w a s “protection is here.” Health workers explained, however, that the vaccine is not meant to replace antimalarial drugs, or the insecticide-treated bed net she unfolds every night as the sun sets and mosquitoes rise from the shadows. “We even take our evening meals inside

the net to avoid mosquitoes,” she said. It took three decades of research to develop the new vaccine, which works against the most common and deadly of the five parasite species that cause malaria. The parasite’s complex life cycle is a huge challenge. It changes forms in different stages of infection and is far harder to target than germs. “We don’t have any vaccines against parasites in routine use. This is uncharted territory,” said Ashley Birkett, who directs PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, a nonprofit that helped drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline develop the shot, brand-named Mosquirix. The bite of an infected mosquito sends immature parasites called sporozoites into the bloodstream. If they reach the liver, they’ll mature and multiply before spewing back into the blood to cause malaria’s debilitating symptoms. At that point, treatment requires medicines that kill the parasites. Mosquirix uses a piece of the parasite—a protein found only on sporozoites’ surface—in hopes of blocking the liver stage of infection. When a vaccinated child is bitten, the immune system should recognize the parasite and start making antibodies against it. Scientists also are searching for nextgeneration alternatives. In the pipeline is an experimental vaccine made of whole malaria parasites dissected from mosquitoes’ salivar y glands but weakened so they won’t make people sick. Sanaria Inc. has been testing its vaccine in adults, and is planning a large, late-stage study in Equatorial Guinea’s Bioko Island. And the US National Institutes of Health soon will start initial tests of whether injecting people periodically with lab-made antibodies, rather than depending on the immune system to make them, could offer temporary protection during malaria season. Think of them as “potentially short-term vaccines,” NIH’s Dr. Robert Seder told a recent meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. For now, only babies in parts of Malawi, Kenya and Ghana are eligible for the Mosquirix vaccine. After the vaccine was approved in 2015, the World Health Organization said it first wanted a pilot rollout to see how well it worked in a few countries—in real-world conditions—before recommending that the vaccine be given more widely across Africa. “Everyone is looking forward to getting it,” said Temwa Mzengeza, who oversees Malawi’s vaccine programs. Those eager for the shots include her husband, whom she had to stop from trying to get them, she said. AP

ASHINGTON—The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the secondwarmest year on record, two US agencies reported on Wednesday. And scientists said they see no end to the way man-made climate change keeps shattering records. “If you think you’ve heard this story before, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Gavin Schmidt, director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said at the close of a decade plagued by raging wildfires, melting ice and extreme weather that researchers have repeatedly tied to human activity. Schmidt said Earth as a whole is probably the hottest it has been during the Holocene—the past 11,500 years, or so—meaning this could be the warmest period since the dawn of civilization. But scientists’ estimates of ancient global temperatures, based on tree rings, ice cores, and other telltale signs, are not precise enough to say that with certainty. The 2010s averaged 58.4 degrees Fahrenheit (14.7 degrees Celsius) worldwide, or 1.4 degrees (0.8 degrees C) higher than the 20th century average and more than onethird of a degree (one-fifth of a degree C) warmer than the previous decade, which had been the hottest on record, according to the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The decade had eight of the 10 hottest years on record. The only other years in the top 10 were 2005 and 1998. Nasa and NOA A also calculated that 2019 was the second-hottest year in the 140 years of recordkeeping. Five other global teams of monitoring scientists agreed, based on temperature readings taken on Earth’s surface, while various satellite-based measurements said it was anywhere from the hottest year on record to the third-hottest. Several scientists said the coming years will be even hotter, knocking these years out of the record books. “This is going to be part of what we see every year until we stabilize greenhouse gases” from the burning of coal, oil and gas, Schmidt said. “It’s sobering to think that we might be breaking global temperature records in quick succession,” said Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb. “2020 is off to a horri-

fying climate start, and I fear what the rest of the year will bring to our doorsteps.” Nasa’s Schmidt said that overall, Earth is now about 1.2 degrees C (nearly 2.2 degrees F) hotter since the beginning of the industrial age, a number that is important because in 2015 global leaders adopted a goal of preventing 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) of warming since the rise of big industry in the midto late 1800s. He said that shows the global goal can’t be achieved. (NOA A and the World Meteorological Organization put the warming since the dawn of industr y slightly lower.) “We have strong human-induced global warming,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford. “What we observe here is exactly what our physical understanding tells us to expect and there is no other explanation.” Other explanations that rely on natural causes—extra heat from the sun, more reflection of sunlight because of volcanic particles in atmosphere, and just random climate variations—“are all much too small to explain the long-term trend,” Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said. Scientists said the decade-long data is more telling than the yearon-year measurements, where natural variations, such as El Niño, the periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean, come into play. “Human-caused climate change is responsible for the long-term warming—it’s responsible for why the 2010s were warmer than 2000s, which were warmer than the 1990s, etc.,” Texas A&M University climate scientist Andrew Dessler said in

In this August 16, 2019, photo, large icebergs float away as the sun rises near Kulusuk, Greenland. AP/Felipe Dana

an e-mail. “But humans are not responsible for why 2016 was warmer than 2015, or why 2019 was warmer than 2018.” NOAA said the average global temperature in 2019 was 58.7 degrees (14.85 C), or just a few hundredths of a degree behind 2016, when the world got extra heat from El Niño. That’s 1.71 degrees F (0.95 degrees C) higher than the 20th century average and 2.08 degrees F (1.16 degrees C) warmer than the late 19th century. Parts of Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and South America had record-high temperatures in 2019, as did Alaska, New Zealand and New Mexico, NOAA said. Alaska was 6.2 degrees C warmer than average, at 32.2 degrees F. It was the first time in recorded history that Alaska’s average annual temperature was above freezing. The US, which had only its 34thwarmest year, was nevertheless hit by 14 weather disasters that caused $1 billion or more in damage last year, according to NOAA. Globally, the past five years stand out as the hottest five on record, nearly 1.7 degrees F (0.9 degrees C) warmer than the 20th centur y average. T he last year Earth was cooler than the 20th century average was 1976, before Democratic Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, French President Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump Jr. were born. If you want to know what this means for people and the world, just look at wildfire-stricken Australia, Schmidt and others said. Global warming is already being seen in heat waves, ice sheet melt, more wildfires, stronger storms, flood-inducing downpours and accelerating sea level rise, said HansOtto Portner, who heads the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change team that looks at the impact of climate change. Sea ice both in the Arctic and Antarctic reached their second-lowest levels in 40 years of monitoring, NOAA reported. Dr. Renee Salas, a Boston emergency room physician and Harvard professor who studies climate change’s effects on health, said “these temperatures are not just statistics but have names and stories,” mentioning a construction worker and an elderly man with no air-conditioning who were her patients this summer. “The planet has a fever,” Salas said, “and that’s its symptom.” AP

After pollutants were detected in a study

Scientists called for close monitoring of Laguna Lake

cientists from the University of the Philippines (UP) recently urged for the extensive monitoring of Laguna Bay against potentially harmful pollutants like antibiotics, steroid hormones, industrial chemicals, fecal bacteria, protozoa and heavy metals after their study established the presence of those pollutants in the lake. Although, most of the pollutants are still within the limits of the water quality standards as set forth by law, the detection of antibiotics, steroid hormones and protozoa is a cause for the conduct of further studies in order to establish a more comprehensive data. “The study, which established lower concentrations of pollutants when compared to other parts of the world, is a good start for more in-depth studies,” said Dr. Mylene G. Cayetano, a professor from the UP Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology who led the third team of scientists that studied the presence of heavy metals in the fishes of the Laguna de Bay. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), in collaboration with the Laguna Lake Development Authority, commissioned the UP scientists’ study, the Program Synergistic Capacity Advancement in the Management of Laguna Lake (Program Scale). The group studied the Laguna de Bay and

selected tributaries for one year. Scale’s Project 1 was led by Dr. Maria B. Espino of the Water Research and Management Laboratory of the UP Diliman Institute of Chemistry. It studied the lake’s level of steroid hormones, such as estradiol and estrone, and industrial chemical plasticizer bisphenol A, which are known endocrine disruptors; among beta-lactam antibiotics, such as cefalexin and penicillin G; and heavy metals, such as arsenic, chromium, nickel and copper. According to Project 1 study, among the betalactam antibiotics, only cefalexin and penicillin G were detected in concentrations up to 4.53 ng (nano grams)/L and 4.75 ng/L, respectively. And among the endocrine disruptors, the estradiol and estrone, as well as bisphenol A, were detected in the lake water in concentrations up to 0.36 ng/L, 2.74 ng/L, and 50.89ng/L, respectively. These concentrations are low compared to those found in lakes in other countries. The Project 1 study added that heavy metals—arsenic, chromium, nickel and copper— were consistently detected with concentrations up to 0.007 mg (milligrams)/L, 0.004 mg/l, 0.003 mg/L and 0.015 mg/L, respectively. These levels of heavy metals are below the water quality guidelines for Class C waters as provided in Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order 2016-08.

However, higher concentrations of arsenic, up to 0.1 mg/L, were found in the south bay of the lake near Los Baños. This may be due to volcanic origins based on other studies. Scale’s Project 2 was led by Dr. Windell L. Rivera of the Pathogen-Host-Environment Interactions Research Laboratory of the UP Diliman Natural Sciences Research Institute. It studied the Microbial Source Tracking in Laguna Lake and selected tributaries. The study revealed that based on the presence of fecal bacteria, Escherichia coli and Bacteroides species, domestic source contributes the most fecal contamination, particularly human origin in most river tributaries. Among the animal sources—swine and duck feces—are abundant in the rivers of Sapang Baho in Cainta, Rizal and in Pila, Laguna. The Project 2 added that these results corroborated with the findings that zoonotic pathogens or microorganism that cause diseases like Cryptosporidium species from humans, swine and poultry are detected in five river tributaries—Bagumbayan, Biñan, Santa Rosa, Sapang Baho, and Pila. Giardia spp. were also detected in all tributaries, namely, Bagumbayan, Mangangate, Sapang Baho, Tunasan, Biñan, Pila, San Cristobal and Santa Rosa. The presence of these intestinal protozoan parasites may pose a threat to water safety and human health since Laguna Lake serves as a catch basin.

Consistently, Bagumbayan River has been marked to be the most contaminated among the sampling stations. Scale’s Project 3 was led by Cayetano. It studied trace metals and organics in commodity fishes of the lake: method optimization, extent of contamination and health risk due to fish intake. Project 3 results showed that 0.43mg/kg was the average lead concentration detected in bangus from Biñan but below the detection limit for the samples from Pila. For tilapia, the lead average value of 1.10 mg/kg and 0.48 mg/kg were obtained from Biñan and Pila, respectively. For cadmium, Biñan samples have an average concentration of 0.04 and 0.24 for the tilapia and bangus, respectively. The mean cadmium content in bangus from Pila is 0.20. The study also noted that the mean arsenic content in bangus samples remains high on both dry and wet season, and higher than the tilapia. The daily human intake of lead and cadmium in tilapia and bangus does not exceed the guideline limits set by the World Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization. For the arsenic content in bangus, higher daily consumption (90th percentile) exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency’s oral reference dose, while the daily intake of arsenic in tilapia does not exceed the oral reference dose of the US EPA. S&T Media Service

Faith A10 Sunday, January 19, 2020

Sunday

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion •www.businessmirror.com.ph

Churches of different faiths aid Taal evacuees Catholics providing relief, succor

atholic churches have joined fellow Filipinos in providing much-needed disaster relief to people caught up in the Taal Volcano eruption. Parish churches, some seminaries and religious centers in Batangas and Cavite provinces have also opened their doors to evacuees. Second collections in all Masses on Sunday are expected to be conducted nationwide to help victims of the disaster. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on dioceses to acts of charity and solidarity in the midst of “this difficult situation.” A rchbishop Romulo Valles, CBCP president, said a possibility is to do a second collection in Masses “and give this to the most affected local churches.” “Another form of solidarity is to respond to other needs, such as

medical care and attention to those in evacuation centers,” he said. In Batangas, more than 35,000 persons fled their homes and evacuated in centers from 27 cities and towns in the province following the eruption. The figure is expected to rise as more residents within the 14-kilometer danger zone continue to be evacuated. An estimated 450,000 people are residing within the danger zone around the volcano. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said there are no reported casualties from the eruption to date. Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa has earlier appealed for aid to augment their ongoing relief operations. Among the most urgent needs, he said, are food, potable water, hygiene kits, blankets, towels,

medicine and face masks. The Lipa Archdiocesan Social Action Center has also called for volunteers to assist in the repacking of goods at its headquarters at the Saint Francis de Sales Major Seminary, in Lipa City. It also needs volunteers to join a crash course on psychological first-aid to help debrief “our stressed brethren who were affected by the eruption.” Father Flavie Villanueva, SVD, said in his Facebook account that the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City is open for shelter. Another evacuation center is Saint Mary Euphrasia Parish in Archdioce of Lipa, he said. Diocese of Imus Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, chairman fo the CBCP Permanent Committee on Public Affairs, also said the diocese is open to evacuees who need a place to stay. CBCP News

People fleeing Taal Volcano’s fury find temporary shelter at the Parish and National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio in Santo Tomas, Batangas. Facebook page of Parish and National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio

The Church of Jesus Christ opens its chapels

esidents throughout the Metropolitan Manila area are preparing for risks associated with the volcanic eruption, and members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are gathering in local meetinghouses for precautionary measures. Such precaution is being taken in the cities of Lipa, Tanauan, Balayan and Agoncillo. All missionaries in the impacted area are safe and have been relocated, or are staying in their homes. Chapels have been opened as evacuation centers, Relief Society sisters and Elders Quorums have been preparing and cooking food for all evacuees, and buses have been rented to help in the rescue. When evacuees arrived in the chapels, hot meals and clothes were ready. The priesthood leadership in Batangas was thanked for the speedy response and es-

pecially for following the teaching and examples of Jesus Christ to serve others. Elder Quentin L. Cook, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, arrived last week with his wife, Mary, to spend a week ministering to Church members and leaders, and to meet with top religious leaders, members of the media, government officials, and humanitarian partners and recipients. Cook met with prominent Manila-area interfaith leaders at a luncheon at the Philippine Area Office on January 13, and “expressed our concern as a Church over the Taal [Volcano eruption victims]. We’re concerned about everybody that’s affected and we hope that we can contribute to anything that’s necessary to bless all faiths. They have our prayers and our faith.” Prior to the escalated threat

from the volcano, Cook praised the resilience of Filipinos in the face of frequent Philippine disasters at a special devotional held for members and friends of the faith from the Mandaluyong-area congregations on January 12. He said, “I know that there are a lot of trials and hardships. The Filipinos have always faced those in such a glorious way. I was here not too long after Mount Pinatubo [1991] had blown up, and almost a million people had to leave their homes. But there is something about Filipinos that even when bad things happen, they rally, and they lift their spirits and they smile, and they go forward.” He blessed them with “the assurance of the Savior’s atonement, which gives peace regardless of what we are faced with.” The Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsPhilippines

Ministering to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and friends of other faiths are ongoing as everyone awaits the imminent eruption of the Taal Volcano.

Two popes–one retired, one reigning–cause a furor Elder Cook meets with Duterte

ATICAN CITY—Ever since Benedict XVI announced he would become the first pope in 600 years to resign, Catholic theologians, canon lawyers and others warned of the potential confusion in having two popes living side by side in the Vatican, one reigning, the other retired but calling himself “emeritus pope” and still wearing the white cassock of the papacy. Their worst fears came true this week. In a saga befitting the Oscar-nominated movie The Two Popes, Benedict cowrote a book reaffirming the “necessity” of a celibate priesthood. There was nothing novel with his position, but the book is coming out at the same time Pope Francis is weighing whether to ordain married men in the Amazon because of a priest shortage there. The implications of Benedict’s intervention were grave, since the issue of priestly celibacy is, perhaps, the most consequential and controversial decision on the current pope’s agenda. It raised the specter of a parallel magisterium, or official church teaching, at a time when the church is already polarized between conservatives longing for the orthodox purity of Benedict’s reign and progressives cheering Pope Francis’s liberalizing reforms. “It’s one thing to publish, as a private citizen, a book about Jesus as Benedict did before he resigned,” the Rev. Jean-Francois Chiron, a theologian at the University of Lyon, wrote in the French Catholic daily La Croix. “It’s another thing to take sides in important, current questions facing the universal church.” On Tuesday, Benedict distanced himself from the publication and asked to be removed as the coauthor of the book, From the Depths of Our Hearts, which is coming out in French on Wednesday and in English next month. Benedict’s longtime secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, said there had been a “misunderstanding” with his coauthor, Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, and that while Benedict contributed an essay to the book, he never intended to be listed as the coauthor.

In this September 28, 2014, photo, Pope Francis (right) hugs Pope Benedict XVI prior to the start of a meeting with elderly faithful in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Retired Pope Benedict XVI has broken his silence to reaffirm the value of priestly celibacy, coauthoring a bombshell book at the precise moment that Pope Francis is weighing whether to allow married men to be ordained to address the Catholic priest shortage. AP/Gregorio Borgia That should have closed the matter, albeit imperfectly. However, the book’s Englishlanguage publisher, Ignatius Press, refused to back down, saying the book would carry Benedict’s name as coauthor. In a statement, the San Francisco-based Ignatius said it had worked from the text provided by French publisher Fayard, which listed two authors contributing a chapter apiece and a jointly written introduction and conclusion. “Ignatius Press considers this [as a] coauthored publication,” it said. Ignatius, Fayard and all other publishers clearly have more to gain selling a book authored by a former pope than one written by a Vatican cardinal.

Benedict’s association with the book was surprising, given that he had vowed to live “hidden from the world” when he stepped down in 2013, precisely to avoid any suggestion that he still wielded papal authority. But the controversy made clear, once again, that the unprecedented reality of a retired and reigning pope still has some wrinkles to be ironed out. Some commentators have called for new rules for future retired popes, including not allowing them to be called emeritus pope or wear the papal white cassock, to remove all real and symbolic associations with the papacy. Instead, they said, they should be called “emeritus bishops of Rome,” wear the traditional

black of the priesthood and revert back to their pre-papal names. Others noted that the lines in Benedict’s case were particularly blurred—and should be corrected in any future papal abdications— because of Ganswein’s dual role: He is both Benedict’s private secretary and the prefect of Pope Francis’s papal household. Villanova University theologian Massimo Faggioli said the main problem has been that Benedict and his entourage have been winging it for seven years, making up the office of the emeritus pope as they go, answerable to no one and regulated by no rules. “Just as no one is in charge of accepting the pope’s resignation, no one was in charge either of telling Benedict XVI what he could and couldn’t wear, where he could live, what kind of entourage he could have,” Faggioli wrote in the National Catholic Reporter. He noted that retired bishops at least have official Vatican guidelines to live by. The guidelines, which are available on the Vatican web site, read: “The bishop emeritus will be careful not to interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, in the governance of the diocese. He will want to avoid every attitude and relationship that could even hint at some kind of parallel authority to that of the diocesan bishop, with damaging consequences for the pastoral life of and unity of the diocesan community.” The Rev. Thomas Reese, a longtime Vatican watcher, said Benedict had for the most part abided by his pledge to keep a low profile and not speak out much. “However, whenever he did, he made headlines, and discussions of how his views differed from those of Francis followed,” Reese wrote this week in Religion News Service. “This is problematic for a church that prizes unity.” “We don’t want to imprison them, as Pope Celestine’s successor did to him, but the church needs to make clear that there is only one pope,” Reese said, referring to the last pope to abdicate. AP

Elder Quentin L. Cook (second from left) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presents to President Duterte a leather-bound personalized copy of the Book of Mormon. With them are other leaders of the Church and Philippine officials. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-Philippines

lder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with Philippine President Duterte on January 15 for a 35-minute courtesy visit. “The visit was exceptional. He was warm and gracious,” said Cook, who was joined at the Malago Clubhouse at Malacañang Palace by Elder Evan A. Schmutz, Philippines Area president; Elder Aretemio C. Maligon of the Seventy; and Edwin B. Bellen, deputy secretary for legislation of the Philippine Senate and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. Among the topics discussed were the eruption of Taal Volcano, located about 35 miles south of the capital city, and the Church’s efforts to provide evacuation centers in Church meetinghouses not only for Latter-day Saints, but for anyone in the community. “We did stress that we’ve got five of our chapels that are being used for those who are evacuated who are fleeing from the effects of the volcano,” Cook said. To help alleviate pain and suffering due to the Taal calamity, Cook presented Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista with a donation of P1 million ($20,000) on behalf of the Church. In addition, a humanitarian project fund of P5 million ($100,000) was announced. These funds will provide 5,200 food kits, 3,000 hygiene kits, 1,000 sleeping kits and

face masks to protect from volcanic ash. Duterte was the mayor of Davao in the Southern Philippines when the strongest typhoon on record at the time struck Tacloban in 2013. A devasting storm surge killed thousands and destroyed property. He was aware of the Church’s immediate relief efforts during that disaster, which included building temporary houses. “He [Duterte] expressed gratitude for the history that he’s had in observing members of our church step up in times of calamity or natural disaster,” Cook said. “He had a preexisting familiarity with the Church, and it was very positive.” Programs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, such as Self-Reliance Services and Family Services’ Addiction Recovery Program, were also discussed. There are more than 800,000 members of the Church in the Philippines, in more than 1,200 congregations. Missionaries serve in 23 missions in the country. Cook presented Duterte with a leatherbound personalized copy of the Book of Mormon. “He really liked it. He liked the fact that his name was embossed on it. He said, ‘I won’t read it right now, but I’ll promise you that I’ll read it before I finish [my term in office].’ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints-Philippines

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, January 19, 2020 A11

Return to the rock I

Story & photos by Benjamin Layug

t’s been six years since my last visit to the tadpole-shaped, 9-square-kilometer Corregidor (nicknamed the “Rock”), and I jumped at the invitation, coming from Cynthia Carreon, president and chief executive of the Corregidor Foundation Inc., to join the 12 out of 40 Miss Millennial candidates (of the noontime TV show Eat Bulaga) who were to tour the island. Battery Hearn, one of the many seacoast guns at Battery Way.

During my last visit, we departed for the island at Sun Cruises terminal at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex but, this time around, our embarkation point was the Esplanade Seaside Terminal at the Mall of Asia Complex. We left the terminal, on board the 150-pax MV Sun Cruiser by 7:30 a.m. and, after a two-hour/26-km trip, we arrived at the island’s North Dock. At the dock, “tranvias” (replicas of prewarstyled street cars) awaited to tour us around the islands. South Dock, at Bottomside, was where the gallant allied garrison surrendered. Lorcha Dock, on the other hand, was where MacArthur departed via PT boat for Australia. It contains a life-size bronze statue of the general and a plaque with the immortal MacArthur words “I Shall Return.” We then proceeded to Battery Way and Hearns at Topside which contained all the major caliber seacoast guns around it, as well as the prewar Army headquarters (Harbor Defense and Senior Officers Quarters), American High School, parade ground, golf course, theater (Cine Corregidor), old Spanish lighthouse, the “Mile Long” barracks, the Pacific War Memorial, and the famous flagpole where the American flag was lowered during the surrender and raised again during the liberation. En route to Battery Way, we passed by the ruins of two three-story buildings of Middleside which housed the 60th Coast Artillery Regiment and the 91st Philippine Scout Coast Artillery Regiment, and the post hospital. Battery Way, completed in 1913, was

armed with four 12-inch mortars capable of firing in any direction with a maximum range of 14,610 yards at the rate of one round per minute per mortar. Considered as the most effective antipersonnel weapon in Corregidor, the vertical plunging trajectories of the mortars of Battery Way, as well as Battery Geary, made them ideal for use against enemy entrenched on higher grounds in Bataan. Battery Hearn, a 12inch seacoast gun with a maximum range of 29,500 yards, was capable of firing in all directions. It was captured nearly intact by the Japanese and used for propaganda purposes after the island’s surrender. The US government-built Pacific War Memorial, standing on the highest part of Corregidor on the island’s west, completed in 1948 at the cost of $1,230,000, and is dedicated to the Filipino and American soldiers who shed their blood on Corregidor. The memorial’s dome has an opening at the top through which sunlight shines through to exactly fill a circular altar on the week of May 6, the Fall of Corregidor. Left of the acacia tree-shaded entrance is the Cine Corregidor Ruins and behind it is a small, modest marble museum. To the right of the museum are the remains of the Bachelors Officers Quarters and the Post Headquarters. Within the complex is the steel wing-shaped sculpture Eternal Flame designed by Greek-American sculptor Archimedes Demetrius. The 880-meter long, three-story high and hurricane-proof “Mile Long” Barracks, reputedly the world’s lon-

The tranvia brings Old Manila charm to the island.

A 30-minute light and sound show entertains visitors at Malinta Tunnel.

Japanese naval guns at the Japanese Garden of Peace Park

gest military barracks, housed 8,000 men and the headquarters of General MacArthur. The highlight of our visit to the island is Malinta Tunnel, an 836-foot long, fish bone-shaped system of bombproof tunnels built between 1922 and 1932 which, besides being the headquarters, also housed a 1,000-bed hospital, a US Navy command unit and storage areas. MacArthur stayed here from December 29, 1941, to March 12,

1942, and occupied the third lateral (north side) from the entrance. Here, a 30-minute light and sound show, scripted by the late National Artist Lamberto Avellana, reenacts dramatic events during World War II, like the Japanese invasion, the surrender and the liberation of Corregidor. Other places we visited include the 2.2-hectare Japanese Garden of Peace Park (a Shinto shrine and garden built as a memo-

rial to the Japanese soldiers who served and died on the island during World War II), the 6,000-sq-m Filipino Heroes Memorial (consists of 14 murals, chronologically encircling the park, done by sculptor Manuel Casal) and the Spanish Lighthouse (at 628-feet above sea level, it has a breathtaking view of Manila Bay and the West Philippine Sea). After our tranvia tour, we had a filling lunch at the La Playa Restaurant at the Corregidor Inn, strategically located on top of Signal Hill, at the center of the island (Middleside), between the North and South Dock. After lunch, we again boarded our respective tranvias for the short drive to North Dock where we again boarded MV Sun Cruiser for the scheduled 2:30 p.m. departure for Manila.

Four-day ‘Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Carnival’ for families to enjoy

s the Year of the Rat kicks off a new 12-year cycle, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is going to celebrate Chinese New Year in a brand-new way—the “Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Carnival.” Rather than simply staging the night parade on the first day of Chinese New Year, they, together with title-sponsor Cathay Pacific, have organized a carnival, that will run from the first day (January 25) all the way to the fourth day (January 28) of the Year of the Rat, which will be held at the Art Park of the West Kowloon Cultural District—also a first time for the HKTB’s Chinese New Year event. In addition to the signature parade, the event will feature a variety of family elements for people to kick off an auspicious new year with their loved ones. HKTB Chairman Dr. YK Pang said, “The HKTB has been staging its Chinese New Year event for nearly a quarter of a century to spread happiness across the city. This year being the Year of the Rat, the leader of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, it is not only the beginning of a new cycle, but also marks the staging of the 25th edition of this signature event in Chinese New Year. This provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate the much-loved festival in a new way. While enjoying the carnival, we hope the people of Hong Kong will share the festivities with their families and friends living abroad. We will also certainly show to visitors from around the world with our fun, vibrant celebrations that Hong Kong remains an open and welcoming travel destination.” Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Of-

ficer Ronald Lam said, “As the home carrier of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific has always sought to promote and showcase our home hub as much as possible, while also playing our part to help develop Hong Kong into a truly international city. We are delighted to once again be sponsoring this fabulous event for the 22nd year in a row as we celebrate the Chinese New Year. We hope that both the people of Hong Kong and visitors from all over the world will enjoy this spectacular carnival, and experience the rich and vibrant festive culture of this city. We look forward to another great celebration, showcasing the fun, jubilant atmosphere and energy that embodies the character of Hong Kong.”

Brand-new four-day carnival pumping up festivities day and night

The four-day International Chinese New Year Carnival is free to all. Both international and local performing groups will join the daily parades along the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade. Even if you miss the parades, you can enjoy their stage performances from day to night. The stimulating programs, along with the family friendly activities, will guarantee festivalgoers a great time whenever they join the event. The three highlights of the carnival are: Greatest number of international performing troupes in the event’s history. The carnival will introduce 26 international performing troupes, a record for the event, plus 22 local performing teams, adding up to over a thousand performers. On top of taking part

HKTB Chairman Dr. YK Pang (right) and Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam (left) are eager to welcome the Year of the Rat with the people of Hong Kong and foreign visitors.

in the parades, they will provide stage performances on roster from day to night. The 26 international teams come from 19 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa. Among them, 22 teams will be performing in Hong Kong for the first time, doubling the number of last year’s event. International teams that are performing in Hong Kong for the first time include: India’s V. Unbeatable, which rose to international fame in reality show America’s Got Talent, will stun with their hair-raising flipping acts and captivating dances; NBC World of Dance and HHI Philippines Varsity champions UPeepz and VPeepz from the Philippines will steal the spotlight with their dynamic hiphop dance moves. Photo spots with giant installations and decorations. Visitors and locals can take plenty of photos against various backdrops incorporating Hong Kong’s skyline, which is especially mesmerizing during sunset. Photo hot spots include: Festive mouse cartoon characters; A giant inflatable of the caterpillar from children’s favorite The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a picture book by American children’s literature writer Eric Carle. Food and Games. The first Chinese New Year market will feature 15 booths serving food and fun workshops: Enjoy flavorful Hong Kong, American, Taiwanese and Korean snacks, including Korean fish cake skewers in soup by Kelly’s Cape Bop, a street food joint recommended by Michelin Guide Hong Kong for five years in a row; Workshops on balloon twisting and face painting are available to keep children happily busy.

Eye-catching photo spots can be easily found in the carnival venue.

Luxe Duty Free in Pasay City

Duty Free Philippines Corporation doubles growth rate in 2019

uty Free Philippines Corp. (DFPC) has doubled its year-on-year sales growth to +4 percent in 2019 compared to +2 percent in 2018. DFPC has maintained its strong growth trajectory as the agency’s consolidated sales reached more than $226 million in 2019, from $217 million in 2018. According to DFPC Chief Operating Officer Vicente Pelagio A. Angala, the Philippines’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games and the opening of Luxe Duty Free have significant contributed to the upswing. He also noted that the growing number of tourists visiting the newly rehabilitated Boracay Island via Kalibo Airport has been beneficial to DFPC sales. Filipino tourists, balikbayans or visiting Filipinos who live overseas, and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remained the top source market with a share of 85 percent. Confectionery is still the major growth driver, with 31-percent share of the total sales, followed by liquor (21 percent), fragrance and cosmetics (18 percent), and fashion merchandise (10 percent). DFPC has met a number of significant milestones last year, including the opening of Go Lokal’s Marahuyo in November. “In line with the directive of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat and in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry [DTI], we have augmented our product portfolio which now includes more local artisans,” said Angala.

The initial collection featured at Marahuyo shows the country’s creativity as the pieces are distinctly Filipino. With the agency’s strong commitment to giving top local products a global audience, DFPC was recognized as “Highly Commended CSR Initiative of the Year “at the 2019 Frontier Awards in Cannes, France, for supporting the micro, small and medium enterprises. “We have always recognized the vital role that we play in making the Philippines a globally recognized quality destination. To realize that vision, we have officially launched Luxe Duty Free. It is a downtown store that will put the Philippines as a top-of-mind shopping destination to boost the country’s shopping tourism,” said Angala. DFPC has expanded the list of exclusive brands that it carries which now includes—Gucci Beauty, Armani Beauty, Hogan and MCM. In 2019, DFPC has also embarked on the long-awaited renovation of the Fiestamall and Naia Terminal 1 Arrival stores. “Before the end of 2019, we have unveiled the newly renovated Fiestamall. The elegant and more functional design will welcome customers particularly the remodeled food court, building façade, customer relations registration lobby, and tourist lounge,” Angala added. DFPC is expected to maintain the momentum in 2020 with the opening of Duty Free store at the Hilton Clark Sun Valley Resort inside Clark Freeport Zone, by the first quarter of 2020.

A12 Sunday, January 19, 2020

Sports BusinessMirror

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

A TRIATHLON LIKE NO OTHER ROB LEA climbs the Mount Everest through whipping wind, swims in the frigid waters of the English Channel wearing nothing more than a Speedo—enduring constant jellyfish stings, as well—and rode his bike through painful saddle sores from one American coast to the other. AP

By Pat Graham The Associated Press

HE real-estate agent from Utah indulged in a triathlon training program that, at times, was straight out of a couch potato’s handbook. All the beer, pizza (cheese, mostly) and heavy cream he could consume. Rob Lea needed that not-so-routine diet to gain a little extra weight for his not-soordinary sort of climb, swim and bike endeavor he called “The Ultimate World Triathlon.” Lea scaled Mount Everest through whipping wind; swam in the frigid waters of the English Channel while enduring constant jellyfish stings; and rode his bike, through painful saddle sores, from one American coast to the other. All in six months, too. He started on April 25 as he acclimated at Everest base camp, and finished on October 7 by holding his bike aloft while standing in the waves. He did take a brief timeout in the middle—to get married. “What a great adventure,” Lea said in a phone interview. The concept struck him while sitting in a doctor’s office. Dealing with ankle pain, the physician recommended he give up running. His mind wandered. A former swimmer at the University of California at Davis, he began to think about the English Channel. Then, a random thought: Would the English Channel or Everest be more difficult? More thoughts: How about accomplishing both? Maybe a bike ride thrown in, as well? A plan was hatched. Joining him on the expedition was

professional ski mountaineer Caroline Gleich, who married Lea after the English Channel portion of the journey. To train for Everest, the couple scaled Cho Oyu, which is one of the highest summits in the world. It’s also the spot where they took their relationship to an even higher plateau with Gleich proposing to him. Lea said yes. About two months before their Everest departure, though, Gleich tore the ACL in her left knee. She climbed Everest, anyway. Instead of trying to summit along the south side through Nepal (there was a viral photo of a traffic jam created by climbers waiting to ascend), they took a northern route. Despite all the wind gusts, they reached the summit on May 24 with the thermometer reading minus 35 degrees Celsius. “I’m literally speechless, and trying to find the words on what it all means,” Lea wrote on Instagram. “Guess it’s time to start thinking about swimming the English Channel.” After arriving back in Utah, Gleich had surgery to fix her knee, while Lea started his training regimen for the swim. That meant gaining 30 pounds for insulation in the cold water. He ordered pizza from a local joint place in Park City that sponsored him. He drank Fat Tire amber ale courtesy of New Belgium Brewing. And he used plenty of heavy cream in his coffee. It was gluttonous. “I was eating slices of pizza in bed,” said Lea, who didn’t swim much because he couldn’t afford to burn off the calories. “I was eating, even when I was full.” The 38-year-old flew to England and started his English Channel trek on July 9 from

‘Armless Archer’ Stutzman: A disarming sense of humor

OKYO—Matt Stutzman has no arms. He was born that way. But he has—pardon the pun—a disarming sense of humor. The American is known as the “Armless Archer,” a silver medalist from the 2012 Paralympics who will be among the favorites for gold at this year’s Tokyo Paralympics. Asked in a visit to Tokyo what sport he would pursue if he weren’t an archer, Stutzman replied: “I want to be a champion arm wrestler.” This from a guy who has no arms, but only small stumps protruding from his shoulders. “I want people to know that I’m just a normal guy, and I like to laugh. And I like to make people laugh,” Stutzman said in an interview with The Associated Press. If normal means commonplace, or ordinary, that’s not Stutzman. A better word is “extraordinary.” He uses humor to put people at ease, or poke fun at misconceptions they have about disabilities. “The other day, I was walking up a flight of stairs and I passed a guy, and he says: ‘Whoa, how are you doing that?’ I mean, I have legs. Because I don’t have arms people sometimes assume I can’t do anything—ever. Including

walking, apparently, or thinking.” Matt can do everything he says, except— and here comes the humor again—wash dishes, vacuum or change diapers. Actually he can do those chores, too, but jokes about his disability as a way out. With no arms or hands, he has learned to use his feet. He shaves with his feet, drives a car with his feet and eats with his feet. In fact, he said he can also use chopsticks with his feet. “I’m not that efficient,” he said, much like any chopstick beginner. His house where he’s raising three sons as a single father has no modifications, which is the way his father and mother—Leon and Jean Stutzman—raised him when they adopted him at 13 months. He also shoots a bow

Samphire Hoe at approximately 4:33 p.m. local time. No wetsuit could be worn (rules), so he donned a Speedo. What helped early on were the jellyfish bites. Sure, they stung, but they also provided an adrenaline rush. At one point, he went through a bloom of jellyfish. Now that didn’t feel so good. He got stung about 50 times. Gleich offered constant support from the boat (no contact is allowed). Every 30 minutes, or so, she provided food and water. She also documented every swim stroke of the journey. At about 4:22 a.m., he climbed onto the shore in Wissant, France. It took less than 12 hours. He envisioned much longer. “Reaching out and touching the sand on the French shoreline was a moment of joy, relief, confusion and elation,” he wrote on Instagram. Back to Utah. More training awaited. First, though, their wedding—on August 10 at the top of Snowbird Resort. One slight hiccup: There was a massive rain storm leading up to their site, and the road was closed due to a mud slide. About 30 minutes before the wedding, the path reopened. “Just like in our adventures, there were obstacles thrown at us and we had to make contingency plans,” he wrote on Instagram. “There were moments of distress and worry, but Caroline stayed calm and dealt with the adversity extremely well.” No time for a honeymoon, though. A bike ride awaited. He began on August 30 from Anacortes, Washington, and got a flat tire right away. Gleich followed along in a support vehicle (Lea’s mom took over when Gleich had to go back to work). They stayed in motels at night, where they planned out the next day’s ride. “The bike ride crushed me,”Lea said. “Every time I had a good day, the next day was super hard.” On October 7—day No. 39—he reached his destination of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Standing in the water, he held his pink specialized bike over his head to celebrate. Later, he cracked open a beer. “I’m sort of speechless,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m overjoyed, and kind of emotional.” Celebrating just as much that day was Gleich. Through this endeavor, they wanted to raise awareness for gender equality. It’s bothered Lea that he’d be out skiing with Gleich, and everyone assumed he was the guide and not her. “Rob doing his alternate world triathlon isn’t going to directly change the world,” Gleich said. “Riding your bike, swimming and climbing mountains, they have just a really amazing power to bring people together. It’s a great starting point to talk about bigger issues.” Lea’s already mulling over another adventure. Perhaps ski the largest mountain in Antarctica with Gleich? It’s a thought for later. “I just need a little bit more time for reflection,” Lea said. and arrow with his feet. He sits in a chair, uses a strap around his chest that lets him grab the arrow. To draw back the bow, he pushes his leg away from his chest. Then sets himself and releases. He has beaten all comers—archers with disabilities and the rest—and holds a record for the longest, most accurate shot by an archer—310 yards. He has also hit targets at 500 yards, and even 800 yards—though these are not officials records. Unable to find work and trying to support a family, Matt went deer hunting about a decade ago to put food on the table for his family in Fairfield, Iowa, in the southeastern part of the state. It was his early experiment with the bow. AP

Matt Stutzman will be among the favorites for gold at this year’s Tokyo Paralympics. AP

Photo by Nonie Reyes

Rays of hope Shining through the horrors of the Taal Volcano eruptions are tales of heroism and humanity

The eruptions of Taal Volcano this time last week has blanketed affected areas in ash and gloom. Quick to respond are several companies, celebrities and private citizens who are eager to help in any way they can. Nonie Reyes | bernard testa | roy domingo By Jt Nisay

Y2Z Editor

t started as a small cloud. Several people attending a wedding at a luxury mountain resort in Tagaytay City last Sunday began to notice something unusual. Looking through the floor-toceiling windows and onto the postcard view of Taal Lake, they saw steam coming from Taal Volcano. The sight, however, did not strike them as a cause for concern. Some even pulled out their phones and posed for photos. But as the ceremony proceeded, the steam appeared more to be a column of ash, growing taller and taller in the periphery, gaining width, turning darker, and, within a few hours, finally becoming representative of the true danger it posed. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) described the event as a phreatic eruption, or steam-driven explosion that happens when magma heats the ground or surface water. It’s a type of eruption that often spells a more traditional volcanic eruption. A handful of guests recognized the pending peril and skipped the reception to retreat to safety. The rest stayed and got caught stranded in the venue as the eruption reared its ugly head.

The nightmare developed quick. Later that evening, Phivolcs issued Alert Level 4 from a scale of five, meaning that a hazardous eruption is imminent in hours or days. The stranded spent the night at the venue in their formal attires, shaken by periodic volcanic earthquakes and thickening ashfall. They weren’t able to do anything except hope for morning to come. When it finally did, they went out of the venue and saw the colors of Tagaytay taken by Taal. What’s left was a sea of gray. Guests manually scraped ash off the roads with anything from umbrellas to plywood, desperate to give their cars a chance to take them away from the property and make their way home. They all came out of the ordeal safe. “Akala ko ‘yun na ‘yung katapusan ko,” said one survivor. Theirs was just among the countless horrifying experiences from the eruptions of Taal Volcano, which dominated news cycles last week. Media coverage ranged from the profile and history of Taal as the second most active volcano in the country next to Mayon, the state of evacuees, the affected areas of the ashfall, its harmful effects to people and the hoarding of N95 masks, among others. As the country awaits in bated breath for developments, there are servings of inspiration from the heroism of corporations, celebrities and private citizens, including those from the youth sector, who want to help in this time of crisis. One is a community development initiative called Luntian Movement, which is focused on organizing youth-oriented programs. Chaired by 20-year-old college student John Soriano, the group is comprised mostly of student volunteers. Luntian Movement currently welcomes donations and volunteers for the repacking of relief goods that will be donated to the victims of the Taal eruptions. For those interested, contact Soriano at 0995-133-5517, or e-mail luntianmovementph@gmail.com.

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Another youth organization lending a hand to the disaster victims is YesPinoy Foundation. The group promotes volunteerism among young Filipinos toward nation-building and sustainable development. As of January 13, the foundation has sent 324 packs of rice to affected areas in Batangas through its partners from the military and Philippine Red Cross. Parties who want to help YesPinoy Foundation can reach its executive director, Pebbles Sanchez-Ogang, at 0977-811-2015. A number of private citizens are playing their part, as well. Angelie Saberon (0945-4966-568) and Gelen Macaraig (0917-502-2695) both work for Yan and Sotto Architects and Builders. They ask donations primarily from friends and family, and are focused on reaching less-visited sites that are also in need of help, such as Santo Tomas in Batangas. Meanwhile, the family of Dennis Payawal is willing to house rescued animals from the affected areas in their farm in Jala-jala, Rizal. Payawal can be reached through 0906-937-5020. Twitter user Paty Tabas (@kalaPatyyy) also offers assistance to animal rescuers, volunteering a 6,000-squaremeter lot in Baras, Rizal. Several people also handed out free protective gear. Philippine-based Syrian vlogger Basel, also known as The Hungry Syrian Wanderer, as well as the family of Twitter user Acchi Clay (@ClayKley), distributed N95 masks and goggles free of charge. Even American stand-up comedian Dave Chapelle joined in on the helping spree. Married to a Filipino-American wife, Chapelle was in the country recently for the first time to do two shows. After which, he donated P1 million to Rayomar Outreach Foundation Inc. to provide aid to those affected by the Taal Volcano eruption. Amid all the consuming uncertainty and fear, it’s definitely reassuring to see an overwhelming display of humanity in times it is needed the most. With reports from Pauline Joy M. Guiterrez January 19, 2020

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YOUR MUSIC OUR BUSINESS Christian Lloyd

RHYTHM AND SOUL

ALREADY A FAMILIAR FACE, CHRISTIAN LLOYD NOW WANTS HIS VOICE TO TAKE CENTERSTAGE By Leony R. Garcia | Interview By Edwin P. Sallan

S the Chinese say, 2020, the year of the Metal Rat, is the best time for new beginnings and renewals.

Artist-performer Christian Lloyd just did that. By reinventing himself and focusing on what he does best, the R&B slash soul specialist has scored big with his debut single, “I Want You.” Lloyd, however, is no overnight sensation. the younger brother of singer-actress Jessa Zaragoza has been in the entertainment industry for years. For a time, Lloyd was also to known to many as the sidekick of John Lloyd Cruz in a series of Greenwich Pizza TVCs. He also played Coco Martin’s sidekick in the teleserye, Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin. “I realized that my first

exposure to music was watching my sister perform on various stages, and admittedly during my early years, I was driven by something else: money, popularity… As a young performer, I went through the whole nine yards: I released an album which was produced solely on the basis of my surname, I was made to choose between being an actor instead, and during the years that followed, I was travelling to Japan and Hong Kong as a member of a boyband, then ultimately as a paid musician doing glam rock covers, then I returned to Manila and traversed the Malate

showband circuit.” “I realized di biro ang pagkanta. Kailangan, ang puso at damdamin ang mananig sa ‘yo, to stay in the business,” he told Soundstrip. The stories and trials he went through are both amusing and amazing, he said. The pivotal moment and decision came when he returned to the country as a jack-of-all-trades kind of personality: commercial model, singer, basically doing any work he could get his hands on. “So I was a ‘biyahero’ doing gigs even as a wedding and campaign singer. I was singing for a living for a span of 15 years. In between, I was doing showbiz acting, commercials, and so on,” he narrated. Not too long after, Lloyd made the decision that he would pursue music as his main purpose in life, and grow old as a

bona fide musician. He said it was his older brother, Ralph Louie, who prodded him to write his own original material. Obviously, the brother knows he had the stories to tell. “I cover songs by various artists. My brother who’s based in the US said I should write and sing my own composition to gain respect as a singer,” Lloyd said. Heeding his brother’s advice, Lloyd set out on a path to start from scratch, and make music the focus of his career. “It’s very exciting – I’m like a kid who finally finished his project, who’s super proud of what he was able to accomplish… I feel like 21 all over again,” revealed Lloyd. “I want to share it, but for the right reasons: to share that energy to the people, to give them hope, Continued on page 6

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JANUARY 19 , 2020 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

NO D’SCOVERY

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BIGBANG’S DAESUNG CLEARED OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES By Sabah S. Themis B.S. of Political Science, J.D. in Law and LL.M. in International Law

N January 2, Big Bang’s member Daesung was officially cleared during the investigation of illegal activities discovered in a building he owned. Seoul Gangnam Police Department decided not to pursue any charges against Daesung. This decision comes after five months of investigation into the building and a police interview with Daesung as a witness during December 2019. In addition, based upon the investigation, the Police have decided to forward charges of 56 suspects to the Prosecution with a recommendation for indictment of Violation of Food Sanitation Act and Sex Trade Punishment Act. In July 2019, during Daesung’s military service, Channel A’s “News A” program broke an exclusive exposé into possible illegal businesses operating in Daesung’s building. Among the allegations were illegal adult entertainment businesses and alleged prostitution services. On July 26th, Seoul Gangnam Police responded to the allegations in its official statement. “We are currently investigating to determine if aiding or abetting is applicable to Daesung regarding the illegal businesses [in his building].” Daesung, through his agency YG Entertainment, released a statement that he had purchased the building just before enlisting and that the businesses were already in operation. He affirmed his innocence as he had no knowledge of illegal activities and promised to take legal actions. His real estate representative added, “We will check whether illegal business activity is taking place and cancel our lease with those tenants who are breaking the law.” Since then Channel A has followed up with several news releases and interviews that seemly implied and indicated Daesung knew of illegal activities and must be held criminally

accountable. Channel A’s second report also included an interview from an owner of entertainment business in Daesung’s building. The entertainment owner alleged, “There’s no way he doesn’t know [about illegal activities] because his representative had a meeting at night with us and they came down to the store and talked with us in the room.” The same source claimed, “There are so many celebrities that come to this building. Many celebrities who are in contact with Daesung also come.” Contrary to reports, Daesung repeatedly stated he did not know about any illegal activities. Furthermore, Daesung’s real estate representative expounded, “Daesung is the owner of the building but he is not in any way affiliated with its businesses. He thought that the businesses were operating as they said they were on the business licenses.” True to his word, Daesung took action upholding the law and his responsibilities as a landlord even while in active duty in the military. He made himself available throughout the investigation process. In December, the Seoul Gangnam Police summoned him as a witness for an interview into the case. The Police summon came after Daesung was discharged from service. Duringtheexamination,itbecame clear that Daesung had no part in any illegal activities and he also had no prior knowledge. Daesung’s statements matched perfectly what the police had uncovered through their investigations that he was not involved. The Police stated, “...could not find

Daesung (Photo by Karen Yau)

evidence(for Daesung) to be booked after comprehensive study of the data.” The data mentioned apparently shows when Daesung became involved with the building after he assumed ownership, and that the illegal activities in question were previously existing. This includes extensive review into details of the illegal businesses in question and other crucial factors such as the record of Daesung’s entry and exit of the building. Moreover, the credibility of the data was confirmed by the Police since it was “secured through search and seizure” and contained “the statements of those involved (with the businesses)”. The Police revealed, “we investigated dozens of people related to the illegal entertainment case, collected hair, urine, etc and sent to the National Institute for Scientific Investigation to conduct drug examination and provide an expert opinion.” Results came back negative. The investigation also addressed tax matters, “we will also notify the Gangnam District Office and Tax Office to request administrative actions towards the owners and employees (of the illegal entertainment businesses).”

Why was aiding or abetting charges not applicable to Daesung? Aiding and abetting charges, also known as “accessory to the crime,” are not applicable to Daesung. For such a charge to take place, some conditions must apply such as 1) a crime must have been committed by someone, 2) the accused must have assisted that person in the commission of the crime, 3) the accused must have known a person’s criminal intent or criminal plans. In the case of Daesung, the first condition can only be applied. The Police further explained, “To the allegations of aiding and abetting illegal adult entertainment business, it must be proven that he or she was involved in the related operations.” However, Daesung did not know about the operations and thus could not have been involved. All testimonies prove that Daesung had no prior knowledge. The previous allegation made by Channel A’s source was also proven false. The investigation failed to find indications that Daesung or any close celebrity had visited the premises. The earlier mentioned data showing his entry and exit status plus questioning all back up the fact that Daesung had no knowledge and thus is not liable.

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soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | JANUARY 19 , 2020

SIC OUR BUSINESS

UPWARD SPIRAL

CEBU’S THE SPIRALS STILL AIMING HIGH AT 20

By Rick Olivares

HE Spirals are a six-piece band (Louell Lopez on vocals, Patrick Gallito and Filman Andaya-Bongco on guitars, Francis Rivas on bass, Breezneb Rosende on drums, and J Martino Olivo on synthesizers) that hail from Cebu that in my opinion, released one of 2019’s best albums – "The Curse of the Spirals." The 12-track album released through Pawn Records in their hometown and then through United Cassettes Philippines in Manila, has sparked interest, and brought in a new audience; myself included. I really cannot get enough of post-punk bands who draw their influences from Joy Division, The Mighty Lemondrops, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Sisters of Mercy, and Interpol. Sheila and the Insects dropped their fifth album, "Love or Limbo" in May of 2019 and they also took the same path; a divergent sound from their New Wave roots. "The Curse of the Spirals" on the other hand features the same taught sound like a someone about to lose it and go ballistic. The songs of disappointment and bittersweet memories are wrapped in that with a sliver of Goth and the downward spiral sound of post-hardcore. This is a band that has had to work hard. In the words of Lopez, “their get-inthe-van-Henry-Rollins moment when they navigated Manila’s traffic choked thoroughfares for two gigs in one nights – Mow’s in Quezon City to BF Parañaque for a punk benefit gig. You want pissed? There’s Manila traffic." The result of all these experiences is a stunning concoction that is "The Curse of the Spirals" that reminded me of the first time I heard Siouxsie and the Banshees, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s BRMC, and Interpol’s Turn On the Bright Lights. From the second that the first track

The Spirals

“Days of Wine and Roses” ambles in then raises the stakes, you’re hooked. They pace the album well; clearly understanding the dynamics of soft and loud, and different time signatures. “Proto Martyr”, the second track, has that “Ghostrider” type intro of the Rollins Band that is propelled forward by that military staccato snare drum sound before the song erupts in a dizzying haze of noise. By the third track, “Oh, phantasm!” The Spirals curt loose. And it continues up to the final track, “This Is Not the Spoliarium”. There isn’t one weak track. “One last scream into the human abyss,” Lopez sings at the start of “Revenge Is Forever” that takes everything down a notch, but not on the darkness. And that is why I named that album on my year-end best-of list. Thus, I wanted to know more. To find out if there was more of this desolation; so, I reached out to the band. "The Curse of the Spirals" was initially self-released as a five-song EP, A Decade After, in 2017. Pawn Records picked it up in 2018 for a re-release and the band managed to record a fulllength album last year that became "The Curse of the Spirals." Just the like that, The Spirals have waxed prolific. According to Lopez, The Spirals will be releasing a 20th anniversary album this 2020. Looks like more will be cursed by the Spirals.

JANUARY 19 , 2020 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

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SoundSampler by Tony M. Maghirang

Fresh Haul from MilesExperience, The Ridleys, Bita and the Botflies, The Who and Black MIDI MILESEXPERIENCE Cyber World War

THE RIDLEYS Reflections on Moonlight & Poetry The sophomoric title of pop-rockers The Ridley’s new album can be off-putting at first brush. It brings to mind a collection of high school literary pieces aimed to impress preadolescent friends and peers. First track “Aphrodite” opens with “You’re the moon that glows in the sky” which deserves a wry chuckle while the accompanying instrumentation reminds of a light-hearted Orange & Lemons. The follow-up starts on a quasi-“Tin Man” riffs which the four-man boy band manages to extend to something lush and interesting courtesy principally of guitars that quietly build to ear-grabbing hooks. The guitars are touchstones on how The Ridleys transform simple tunes into finely crafted songs. They carve out pleasurable moments in tracks like “Raconteur,” “Meaningful Silence” and “Stay.” Along with the drums, the guitars put the bossa swing in “Maybe” and the rock heart in “Rorschach Blot.” This album should keep young hormones humming as the hot summer nights draw nearer.

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inspire and set a good example, and most of all, teach people that it’s okay to be real…to be honest,” he added. The single, which was produced by Marcus Davis, is not just your ordinary run-of-the-mill R&B track. The beats are definitely happening in all the right places and are infectious to the bone, yet there’s a sincerity in the lyricism where Lloyd offers the idea of properly ending relationships and men taking care of their ladies, instead of the usual lust-flavored and sexed-up ditty listeners have

Their 2017 debut “Soberhaul” placed Milex Experience in “feel good” mode amid the swirl of light pop and jazzy sounds. Two years later, the five piece combo wants not just to rock but to engage as well in global albeit cyber warfare. The drug war and quite possibly the unwanted presence of war vessels in disputed waters must have gotten to these naturalborn brown warriors. Opening with tribal drums, “Firewall” quickly blasts into Lenny Kravitz hard rock territory, Early ‘70s Carlos Santana haunts the psychedelic virulence of “Perks of War” while “What Goes Around” reimagines thrash metal in funky attire. “Break” just might be the odd deal breaker, affecting a Phantom of the Opera ghoulishness in a shamble of piano and flashy guitar face-offs. Kudos to vocalist Jose “Miles” Bondoc for rising above the loud clangor of his combative outfit.

although in “Manghuhula,” she skillfully belts out the taunting purr of a conquering sex kitten. She retains her presence throughout as the rest of the Botflies concocts a heavy brew of blues, classic rock, reggae and a little bit of jazz. There’s a hint of Eddie Perigrina in the rock balladry of “Tumilapon Pupulutin.” The spirit behind “Peklat Cream” draws from a pre-rock tradition. It’s just swell Bita and the Botflies got their groove from unimpeachable sources.

BLACK MIDI Schlagenheim

THE WHO The Who

The taut bass rumble erupting all over Bita and the Botflies debut album is a serious attention getter. More than that, it’s the pivot on which the indie fivesome sells their dark tales of exploitation, dashed hopes and quirky delights. The awesome bass works in the welcoming intro of “Chop Chop Blue,” the hypnotic dance element in “Anna and Ricky” and the distorted rockabilly stride of just about every track on Peklat Cream. And there it is, a great album title that suggests a balm for every scar to hide the memory of prior wound and pain. Bita sings out with aplomb the gloom of a victim

Now well into their 70s, The Who mainstays guitarist and chief songwriter Pete Townshend and lead vocalist Roger Daltrey continue to extend their legacy as one of the architects of modern rock. Critics may frown at granddads actively playing the music of their youth but for a band that weathered the challenges of hard rock and punk, The Who aren’t going away to their mythical sunset yet. They still have a few things to say even if on their latest studio, Townshend and Daltrey plus select session musicians keep circling the essentials of the much ballyhooed maximum r&b. The track titles such as “All the Music Must Fade,” “Rockin’ In Rage” and “I Don’t Wanna Get Wise” draws from the same punkish arrogance of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” or “My Generation.” Still, “I’ll Be Back” is the kicker in all of these. The newly-minted music from these ageless gentlemen remains rooted in their late ‘60s heyday. There are bristling rockers, a few reminders of their ‘70s arena rock glory days and mid-tempo songs that can only come from old men. Amazingly, Townshend has the last word: “I don’t give a fuck!” This could be the band’s last studio album but fans aren’t counting

come to expect from the genre. Lloyd said it’s part of the promise to flip the script on stereotypical themes and characters, while still paying the proper homage and respect to the elements that make Pinoy R&B and soul world-class. “With Cacai as my love interest [in the music video], I want to break the stigma, na kapag hindi matangos ang ilong, hindi na maganda? I also want to leave a lesson, that all women need to be loved, pampered, and all,” he said. “Nakakalimutan na ng kabataan ngayon ang turo ni lola. Dapat mapagmahal, may

respeto sa kababaihan. Mas pogi pa rin ang pagiging magalang,” he added. Soon, he said, he would be dishing out Tagalog songs in the mold of favorite ditties such as ‘Dalagang Pilipina,’ and ‘Pauwi na Ako.’ “I’ve talked with the young composers already. I appreciate their works and like them, gusto kong abutin ang masa,” Lloyd concluded. Christian Lloyd’s debut single “I Want You” is distributed by MCA Music and is out now on Spotify, Apple Music, and on all other digital music platforms.

BITA AND THE BOTFLIES Peklat Cream

out that Townshend has one final hurrah before the curtain falls.

Talk about new music and here comes a Brit rock band unlikely named Black Midi, The name stinks of studio polished synthpop that even a millennial wouldn’t seek out in her favorite music channel. But listen. The English foursome got shortlisted in the Mercury Prize 2019 and has been quoted to have said they’d rather be terrible than middle of the road. Tell you what. Between terrible and MOR exists Black Midi music that echoes guitar-driven bits and pieces of the Gang of Four, Velvet Underground, The Fall and The Strokes, which means they’re at the threshold at the next wave of hipsters to re-prop rock’s crumbling ramparts. Seriously, take a chance on these guys and you’ll hear glorious snippets of the best in indie rock. On their 2019 debut titled Schlagenheim, opening track “953” explodes, retracts then implodes in Gang of Four meets Wire bravado. “Speedway” slides in quietly but on a jagged, less discordant rhythm with the vocalist singing what appears to be an e e cummings sort of a song. “Reggae” is crash and burn dissembling of the Caribbean sound that’s more to do with The Fall than the Rasta heroes. Dare you then. Take on six more of these uncannily gorgeous head music and if you come through unscathed and satisfied, be the first to tell your friends about this remarkable work of art. It’s that special!

Christian Lloyd

Start-ups see a market in renting couches by the month By Joseph Pisani The Associated Press

EW YORK— Zachariah Mohammed’s living room is filled with stuff he doesn’t own.

He pays $200 a month for the sofa, side table, bar cart, dining table and four chairs in his living room. It’s worth it, the 27-yearold New Yorker says. If he needs to move, which he’s done twice in the last 12 months, he won’t need to lug a sofa across the city or worry if it will fit in a new place. The furniture-rental start-up, Feather, will swap out items for something else. “We don’t want to be stuck with a giant couch,” says Mohammed, a social-media manager at a software company, who lives with his partner and their dog, Remy. Feather, Fernish and other companies aim to rent furniture to millennials who don’t want to commit to big purchases or move heavy furniture and are willing to pay for the convenience. It’s part of a wave of rental culture that includes Rent the Runway, focused on women’s designer clothing, and even Netflix and Spotify, which let you stream from a huge catalog rather than buy individual TV show episodes, movies or songs. “They’re moving a lot. They’re changing jobs a lot,” says Thomas Robertson, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, describing the types of people who would use the services. “Why would you want to be saddled with furniture?” The furniture-rental companies target high-income city dwellers who want a $1,100 orange love seat ($46 a month) or $980 leather bench ($41 a month)— but only temporarily. The furniture it-

self is a step up from Ikea. “I’m 32 years old and have lived in 25 different places, five different countries, 12 different cities,” says Chan Park, who cofounded online furniture rental company Oliver Space last year. He constantly bought and discarded cheap furniture. Then he moved to a furnished rental apartment in Singapore. “It was probably the first time my adult life that I felt like I was truly at home,” Park says. These start-ups are in just a handful of coastal cities, with few users, but seek to grow. They offer furniture from Crate & Barrel, West Elm and smaller brands. Others are renting out home goods, too. Rent the Runway recently added West Elm pillows and quilts. Ikea is testing a rental service in several countries outside the US, including Switzerland and Belgium. Renting may make sense for a generation that sees “life as transient,” says Hana

Ben-Shabat, the founder of Gen Z Planet, a research and advisory firm that focuses on the generation born between the late 1990s and 2016. Young people today get married and buy homes later than they used to, and young people move more than older people do. Still, millennials are moving less than previous generations did at their age, and Americans overall are moving less. Moving her furniture from New York to Los Angeles would have cost Clarissa Wright $3,000. Instead, she gave away most of what she owned, traveled in Europe for two months and then rented a couch, bed, mattress, bar stools and other furniture in her new place, for $255 a month. Feather delivered and assembled everything in one day. Wright, a 28-year-old marketing consulting for fashion and beauty brands, says she can switch out the furniture, add more stuff, move to a new apartment or city. But right now, she doesn’t

know what the future holds. “I don’t think too far ahead,” she says. That comes at a price. Critics have called the furniture-rental business exploitative in the past. Stores like RentA-Center target low-income shoppers who can’t afford to buy a fridge or couch outright and charge higher prices overall than competitors. Some of the new batch of furniture renters charge for membership, and there are fees for late payments or for furniture that is badly damaged. Customers can keep furniture if their monthly payments add up to full price. Prices are the same at West Elm and Crate & Barrel, but you could buy more cheaply directly from the store if there’s a sale. “If people think this is the best way to buy a couch, they are wrong,” says Margot Saunders, the senior counsel at the National Consumer Law Center. “They should recognize that they are paying for the convenience of renting.”

Gen Z willing to pay more for eco-friendly products

eneration Z is generation green. The cohort of shoppers typically 22 and under is more willing to pay up for sustainable brands compared to other demographics, according to a study by First Insight Inc. The findings by the digital research company found that 73 percent of those it surveyed would pay more for sustainable items, with the majority of that chunk willing to pay a 10-percent price premium. “With Generation Z on track to becoming the largest generation of consumers this year, retailers and brands must start supercharging sustainability practices now if they are to keep pace,” said Greg Petro, chief executive officer at First Insight. “With every generation, sustainability is becoming further embedded in purchase decisions.” Retailers are racing to meet rising consumer demand for sustainable or environmentally friendly

products. Apparel is a notoriously wasteful industry, sucking up vast amounts of water and easily discarding clothing. Some retailers like Gap Inc. and Everlane Inc. have in-

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January 19, 2020

vested in sustainable business practices, while others have built their business models around it. The secondhand apparel market comprised of apparel companies like the RealReal Inc. and thredUP Inc. that buy and sell high-quality clothes are gaining in popularity as environmental concerns gain traction. The study of 1,000 US respondents showed the Gen Z population beat out the preceding cohort known as millennials, as well as Generation X, which refers to the group of people born after the baby boomers, in terms of preference for sustainable items. The baby boomer demographic, often the grandparents of Gen Z, were the “hold outs,” according to the study. Still, it showed that sustainability is becoming more important in consumer choices overall and the majority of respondents expect brands and retailers to become more sustainable. Bloomberg News

Crafting for critters: Australian fires prompt global effort

GrAy-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tablelands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian bushfires. Some animal rescue groups, however, say monetary donations are needed more. Jackie Maisey via AP By Holly Ramer

The Associated Press

ONCORD, New Hampshire—Kyla Gill had never so much as touched a sewing machine or picked up a crochet hook two weeks ago. Now, she’s hooked on crafting for critters 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) away, to the point of temporarily putting aside her floor refinishing business in Pittsburgh. “I do hard labor, so I’m rough with my hands. Sewing, knitting—that’s just completely out of my realm,” she said. “But to go to work the next day knowing that there are animals and people suffering? I just pretty much wiped my schedule clean and put my projects on hold.” Hoping to help wildlife harmed in the Australian wildfires, thousands of crafters worldwide are churning out swaddling wraps for bats, hanging enclosures for kangaroos, and cozy pouches for wallabies and other animals. But confusion abounds about whether the items actually are needed or will be used.

The Animal Rescue Craft Guild, based in Australia, and associated groups have told their members to pause work while they take stock of donated items. And some wildlife organizations say what they need most is money, not handmade goods. Monetary donations can help pay for enclosures and cages, medical supplies, specialized animal feed and other critical items as needs evolve over time, said Megan Davidson, CEO of Wildlife Victoria. “While we have been overwhelmed by the kindness of people wanting to donate items for wildlife, physical donations of clothes, knitted items and food are very difficult for relief agencies to sort through, distribute and store—especially during peak periods like the bushfire crisis we’re experiencing at the moment,” she said in an e-mail. “It is so lovely that people care and want to help. The most practical way to help native animals in Victoria right now is by a direct donation to Wildlife Victoria.” The unprecedentedly fierce fires in southeast Australia have claimed the lives of at least 28 people since September, destroyed more than 2,600 homes and razed more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), mostly in New South Wales state. The area burned is larger than the US state of Indiana. With experts estimating the animal death toll in the hundreds of millions, Australia’s federal government recently established a $50-million emergency fund for wildlife. Half of the money will

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Gibson Griffith, 10, holding a stack of fabric crate liners he and others sewed to send to wildlife injured in wildfires in Australia in Lee, New Hampshire. Griffith, who organized a sewing party, is among thousands of people worldwide who have been making everything from bat wraps to kangaroo joey pouches for the animals affected by the wildfires. Meg Hydock via AP go to front-line responder groups, with the other $25-million funding an advisory panel to analyze affected areas and plan for long-term habitat restoration. In the short term, however, kindhearted crafters are eager to help. Much of the outpouring can be traced back to Anna Key, who gathered together a bunch of sewing, knitting and crochet patterns approved by wildlife rescue groups and posted them on Facebook on January 4. Within a week, they had been viewed more than 17 million times, and multiple Facebook groups popped up to coordinate and collect donations. Key, who lives in Yamba in New South Wales, said she was inspired by her mother, who was knitting animal pouches, and figured she could put her own skills in marketing to good use. She called the response to what she’s dubbed the #globalcraftmovement overwhelming, but said participants should not be discouraged. “Rescuing our animals is a marathon, not a sprint—this will take months if not years to even try to recover from,” she said in an e-mail. “We will still require crafts, just need to find out what is still needed first.” Key has heard from groups in Singapore, Portugal and Hong Kong who are making items, along with schools across the United States. In Lee, New Hampshire, 10-year-old Gibson Griffith organized an event at his church to sew dozens of bed liners for crates and cages. About 15 people donated fabric, and more than a dozen showed up to help January 19, 2020

make the liners. “It felt really good, and after the project, all of my volunteers that were there felt really good as well,” he said. In Haverhill, Massachusetts, Kimberly McCullough had cut fabric for about 50 pouches and was about to start sewing when the confusion erupted. “There were a lot of posts going around about stop-don’t-stop-stoppause-keep-making-stuff, but we’re not shipping it,” she said. “So there was frustration about mixed messages, and then compounded with that, the disappointment, because everyone wants to help.” McCullough has reached out to local animal shelters to see if they could use the items. “It really opened my eyes to ways crafters can help other animal rescue organizations,” she said. “So, it felt better to realize, OK, I cut all this stuff out and maybe it’s not going to make it to Australia, but it might just make it to the Boston Animal Rescue League.” Similarly, Gill has no regrets about her efforts, which included staying up until 2 a.m. one night, getting to the fabric store before it opened the next morning, sewing more than 60 pouches with her partner and learning how to crochet bird nests. They’ve become online friends with a woman in Australia, who has invited them to stay with her next year. “It’s uplifting for her, and it made her feel better to see the humanity,” she said. “It makes me cry. It really touches me.”