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SHIPS carrying construction materials are docked at the newly built beach ramp at the Philippine-claimed island of Pag-asa, also known as Thitu, in the disputed South China Sea on June 9, 2020. DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE PAS VIA AP

PORT OF HOPE Kalayaan residents dream of bigger projects to come after the completion, launch of a delayed port project

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By Rene Acosta

HE recent completion and inauguration of a military harbor project on Pagasa Island in the Municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan, has sparked a ray of hope within a small Filipino community there that the much-awaited undertaking could pave the way to bigger infrastructure projects and full-scale development of the island.

Dubbed in military parlance as a “beaching ramp,” the port project should usher improvement to the island’s underdeveloped state by allowing the repair of its airfield, the improvement of the living quarters of soldiers guarding the island, and a stable power supply in the future, while hastening the delivery of other basic and essential services, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Lorenzana led a group of defense-military officials at the recent inauguration of the port, one of the two similar projects on the island being claimed by China in the vast expanse of the South China Sea (SCS). Along with the repair

of the airfield, the entire undertaking costs P1.8 billion.

The other project, a sheltered port, was built through funds from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which is building another, but bigger, harbor.

Although it has yet to commence construction, the project is expected to play a bigger role in the island’s full-scale development.

Occupy, develop Kalayaan

IF Pagasa were to be developed, its residents want that the whole Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) be improved and repopulated, both for economic and military purposes— with the transformation of Subic Bay Freeport, which allows both

commercial and military use, as a possible template.

“It could also be developed into an ecotourism zone,” said former Kalayaan mayor-turned-municipal councilor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., noting his long-pending proposition for this purpose that he sent the Senate.

The proposal wants the government to declare Kalayaan and its cluster of islands, also known as Spratlys, into an ecotourism area, with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) taking charge of this development and spinning its shift into a tourism haven.

Bito-onon believes that unless the shoals and reefs claimed

and occupied by the country in the Kalayaan are populated by civilians, there is no guarantee that it could not be taken by China, which disputes the territory by way of a sweeping claim.

He fears that KIG would end up like Scarborough, a shoal comparable to the size of Quezon City, that China has already secured and exercises a de facto control after the government “failed” to establish its presence there before.

“We have six Scarborough shoals that are closest to Palawan,” Bito-onon said, naming them as Alitia Ani Shoal, Rizal Reef, Royal Captain Shoal, Half Moon Shoal, Sabina Reef and Ayungin Shoal.

Continued on A2

Race for virus vaccine could leave some countries behind

By Maria Cheng & Christina Larson

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Multiple layers

The Associated Press

ONDON —As the race for a vaccine against the new coronavirus intensifies, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunized first—leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccine before the pandemic ends.

Earlier this month, the United Nations, International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a “moral imperative” that everyone have access to a “people’s vaccine.” But such grand declarations are unenforceable, and without a detailed strategy, the allocation of vaccines could be extremely messy.

“We have this beautiful picture of everyone getting the vaccine, but there is no road map on how to do it,” said Yuan Qiong Hu, a senior legal and policy adviser at Médecins Sans Frontières in Geneva. She said numerous problems must be resolved to manage distribution and that few measures have been taken.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.0380

IN this May 25, 2020, file photo, a lab technician extracts a portion of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center, run by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. AP

IN the past, Hu said, companies have often applied for patents for nearly every step of a vaccine’s development and production: from the biological material like cell lines used, to the preservative needed to stretch vaccine doses and even how the shots are administered.

“We can’t afford to face these multiple layers of private rights to create a ‘people’s vaccine,’” she said, urging “very open conditions” so every manufacturer capable of doing so can produce a vaccine once it is proven effective.

Speaking at a vaccine summit earlier this month that addressed the thorny issue of equitable distribution, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo agreed.

“The global spread of Covid-19 has told us in no uncertain terms that disease knows no boundaries and no country can afford to go it alone,” he said. “Only a people’s Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4681 n UK 62.1972 n HK 6.4562 n CHINA 7.0593 n SINGAPORE 35.8953 n AUSTRALIA 34.2660 n EU 56.0826 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3406

Source: BSP (June 19, 2020)

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A2 Saturday, June 20, 2020

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Port of Hope Continued from A1

The regular resupply in Ayungin Shoal, military officials and even Lorenzana declared, is always challenged by Chinese patrols.

“If we want to protect Kalayaan, if we want to control the Spratlys, we have to occupy it, develop it,” the municipal councilor declared. “The problem is, it is not being developed.”

The government has stakes on nine reefs and shoals in the KIG, or Spratlys, and all of them, according to Lorenzana, are occupied by soldiers.

Bito-onon said the KIG, which resembles the shape of a hexagon, the entire length of which is bigger than the island of Mindanao, could be developed for an industry for which it is most fitting—fishing— due to its rich marine life.

“It could also be a fishing destination with the needed infrastructure,” he said.

“It could be developed for the fishing industry,” Bito-onon said.

“All of its rich marine resources will go to waste if it will not. Instead of the Filipinos and the whole country benefiting from these resources, it will just go to the Chinese who exploit them.”

Chinese fishermen “in swarms,” aided by Chinese military and paramilitary ships, have been exacting a heavy toll on marine resources in Kalayaan, harvesting even the prohibited giant clams, known lo-

cally as taklobo, and destroying corals—damage mostly inflicted by the Chinese government when it reclaimed and developed manmade islands in the SCS.

“Giant clams are a billion-dollar industry in Hainan,” Bito-onon revealed, referring to China’s province.

By transforming Kalayaan into a mariculture and fishing development zone, it could turn into and support ocean farming and be protected like Tubbataha in Palawan and even other diving destinations.

Waning hope

WHILE the residents of Pagasa and even Bito-onon took note of Lorenzana’s “messianic” message of development at the recent turnover ceremony and inauguration of the beaching ramp, the islanders’ hope, however, is beginning to ebb due to the absence of a firm and concrete stance from the national government on what it would do next with Kalayaan.

“We were hoping to hear a policy stand on the development even for Pagasa, a development blueprint, from the national government, but there is none,” Bito-onon noted.

Bito-onon, who had long advocated for the development of the island and even the whole of Kalayaan into a maritime economic zone, was expecting to hear Malacañang reinforce Lorenzana’s message of hope with a strong “policy direction.”

The municipal councilor and the residents are eager to hear

the Duterte government unveil its whole development package for the KIG, but it may not be coming at all, given the absence, or perhaps an oversight, of a concrete development plan.

“What is the national government’s policy direction for Kalayaan? There is none,” Bitoonon lamented.

Still, the former mayor was very appreciative of Lorenzana’s military plans, at least for Pagasa, as jumpstarted by the construction of the beaching ramp by its contractor, Luzviminda Engineering Construction. This, he said, would also benefit them.

Luzviminda finished the project at a rather extended and “unreliable” performance record of nearly three years, although it was supposed to have been constructed a year after the project was awarded in 2017. In comparison, the sheltered port was completed in 24 months.

For the residents, the two ports, especially the one built by the transportation department, have ended their constant near-encounters with death, which occurs when they have to bring in their supplies.

A boat tapped to ferry the goods into the island stops at least one kilometer away from the Pag­asa shoreline, and as it drifts, the goods have to be carried and transferred manually to the “utility” boat of the local government of Kalayaan, which sails them closer to land.

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (fourth from right) and the other military officials are welcomed by residents wearing masks during a short ceremony at the newly built beach ramp at the Philippine-claimed island of Pag-asa, also known as Thitu, in the disputed South China Sea, on June 9, 2020. DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE PAS VIA AP

Sometimes, the boat would even drift away by as far as five kilometers from the shoreline, and as it moves, the utility boat has to follow. The transfer of goods happens as both boats are in motion, or are drifting, as the case may be.

It was worse when Pagasa did not yet have its utility boat.

“It was really a game of death every time we had to bring in supplies for the whole of Pagasa,” Bitoonon recalled.

Triangular development

THE development of Kalayaan, let alone the island of Pagasa, should not be improved at a purely military standpoint, but it has to be economically viable also, if it has to grow and sustain its existence.

As such, its improvement

should be pursued along three components—security, development and investment.

Bito-onon said Pagasa alone will not improve if the government is only after its military development, as shown by the construction of the beaching ramp and the upcoming repair of the Rancudo military airfield.

“Okay, you will have security development, but where is the investment?” he asked.

Bito-onon said that if facilities and infrastructure are only built for the military’s restrictive use, Pagasa cannot encourage civilian investors to come in.

“The civilian government should come in, Tieza should come in,” he said, encouraging projects such as those of the transportation

department and even the building of at least an “aerodrome.”

When he was still a mayor, Bito-onon tried to persuade a group of big-time fish exporters from Hong Kong to invest in the island. The businessmen, however, moved back after seeing that the island is bereft of facilities and infrastructure.

This time around, he hopes that the recent developments encouraged

by Lorenzana will lead to a more sustained initiative by the national government to pursue the long-term, comprehensive development of the island. Who knows? Subic’s stunning success was built on big dreams, but also some stumbling moments along the way. And yet it has triumphed against all odds, because there was political will.

Race for virus vaccine could leave some countries behind Continued from A1

vaccine with equality and solidarity at its core can protect all of humanity from the virus.... A bold international agreement to this end cannot wait.”

Early orders

WORLDWIDE, about a dozen potential Covid-19 vaccines are in early stages of testing. While some could move into late-stage testing later this year if all goes well, it’s unlikely any would be licensed before early next year at the earliest. Still, numerous rich countries have already ordered some of these experimental shots and expect delivery even before they are granted marketing approval.

Britain and the US have sunk millions of dollars into various vaccine candidates, including one being developed by Oxford University and manufactured by AstraZeneca.

In return, both countries are expected to get priority treatment; the British government declared that if the vaccine proves effective, the first 30 million doses would be earmarked for Britons.

Separately AstraZeneca signed an agreement to make at least 300 million doses available for the US, with the first batches delivered as early as October. In a briefing Tuesday, senior Trump administration officials said there will be a tiered system to determine who in America is offered the first vaccine doses. Tiers likely would include groups most at risk of severe disease and workers performing essential services.

Last week, the European Union moved to ensure its own supply. On Saturday, AstraZeneca struck a deal with a vaccines group forged by Germany, France,

Italy and the Netherlands to secure 400 million doses by the end of the year.

Among several global efforts underway to try to ensure developing countries don’t get left behind is an “advance market commitment” from the vaccines alliance GAVI that aims to persuade manufacturers to make enough for both rich and poor countries.

That can “prevent countries from scrambling to try to invest,” said Seth Berkley, chief executive officer (CEO) of GAVI, which used the approach to secure Ebola and pneumonia vaccines for a global market. “Because if you’re investing in one or two vaccines, of course the...probability of those vaccines working is quite low. And so yes, you may hit the jackpot and have a vaccine that works. But you also may end up with no vaccine and be left behind.”

Two global vaccine groups have inked a $750-million deal with AstraZeneca to supply 400 million doses by the end of 2020.

The Anglo-Swedish pharma giant has also agreed to license its vaccine to India’s Serum Institute for the production of 1 billion doses.

Johnson & Johnson’s chief scientific officer, Dr. Paul Stoffels, said the company plans to make its coronavirus shot for poor countries at a not-for-profit price, because of the complexity of the technology and expertise needed.

Likewise, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has pledged to make the vaccine available at no profit during the pandemic.

Sharing

THE World Health Organization (WHO) and others have called for a Covid-19 “patents pool,” where intellectual property rights would be surrendered so pharmaceuticals could freely share data and technical knowledge. Numerous countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada and Germany have already begun revising their licensing laws to allow them to suspend intellectual property rights if authorities decide there is an overwhelming

need given the pandemic.

But the response from the industry has been lukewarm.

Executives at Pfizer and some other major drug makers say they oppose suspending patent rights for potential Covid-19 vaccines.

Although vaccine stockpiles exist for diseases like yellow fever, cholera and meningitis, these are required only for a few developing countries during acute outbreaks.

There is no precedent for divvying up vaccines that would arguably be needed by every country on the planet.

“We can’t just rely on goodwill to ensure access,” said Arzoo Ahmed, of Britain’s Nuffield Council on Bioethics, noting that precedents of how innovative drugs have been distributed are not encouraging. “With HIV/AIDS, it took 10 years for the drugs to reach people in lower-income countries.

If that happens with Covid-19, that would be very worrying.”

Other experts pointed out that there are billions of dollars devoted to every stage of vaccine development, but little oversight over how the funds are spent and few guarantees the shots will get to those who need them most.

Consensus on distribution

SUERIE MOON, co-director of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute Geneva, said it’s unclear how any vaccines meant for developing countries will actually be distributed. “We don’t know what the process will look like or how transparent it will be,” she said.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said the UN health agency is currently working on developing an “allocation framework” for how coronavirus vaccines should be given out. But this guidance would not be binding.

“We don’t want to be in a situation where there are doses of a vaccine but they’re just available to some countries,” she said.

“We need to have a consensus on that so we can agree to share the vaccine in a way that protects the most vulnerable.”

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ADB extends $126-M loan for MWSS’s aqueduct project

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By Cai U. Ordinario

he Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended a $126-million loan to the Philippine government for the construction of a new water pipeline for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

An ADB news statement issued on Friday said new loan would bankroll the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project that aims to strengthen the water system’s downstream transmission capacity.

The project aims to complete a 15-kilometer water transmission pipeline to secure water supply for Metro Manila’s nearly 13 million residents.

“Climate change is making annual rainfall unpredictable, putting tremendous pressure on water resource use,” said Vijay Padmanabhan, director of the Urban Development and Water Division of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department.

“The Philippine government is increasing investments in clean infrastructure for environmentally sustainable water resource management across the country. Through this project, ADB is helping the Philippines secure Metro Manila’s water supply,”he said.

The project is part of the MWSS’s effort to rehabilitate the Umiray-Angat-Ipo dam system, which supplies about 90 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirements.

MWSS, a government- owned and - controlled corporation, owns and operates Metro Manila’s bulk water system, from which two private concessionaires source, treat, and distribute water to customers.

The new aqueduct, with a 3.6-meter diameter, will have a welded steel concrete-coated pipe. With cutting-edge

technology to help it withstand 7.2-magnitude earthquakes, the project will reduce the risk of a system breakdown and increase the resiliency of Metro Manila’s water supply.

The aqueduct will increase the system’s water transfer capacity to 66 cubic meters per second (m3/sec) by 2025, up from 50 m3/sec in 2019. It will allow MWSS to retire its two oldest aqueducts and repair others through 2032.

“The project will further enhance MWSS’s capacity to operate and maintain the system’s water tunnels and aqueducts and raise public awareness of water conservation,” ADB said.

ADB said the project is part of the government’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure development program. Once construction starts this year, the project will provide a stimulus to domestic material suppliers and boost demand for construction jobs.

The loan supplements ongoing ADB financing to MWSS approved in 2016 to fund the construction of a 6.3-km modern, earthquake-resilient upstream water tunnel. The tunnel is expected to be completed in June, three months ahead of schedule.

Prior to this loan, ADB’s total lending to the Philippines has reached $2.6 billion this year, already exceeding its record lending of $2.5 billion in 2019.

A week ago, the Manila-based multilateral development bank also extended a $500 million worth of loan to expand the country’s Conditional Cash Transfer program.

Since 1974, ADB has supported more than a dozen Metro Manila water projects, which, in addition to the current loan, includes four other loans supporting the Angat supply system.

DepEd exec cites Region 11 teachers’ fervor to ‘upskill’ under ‘new normal’

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By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

tressing that the demand for online learning is huge, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday underscored the importance of bayanihan from Internet service providers, telecommunications companies, local government units (LGUs), and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to provide Internet services and connectivity to teachers who are ready to learn and be capacitated to facilitate learning “under these very trying times.”

The DepEd issued the statement following a Facebook post that went viral where some public school teachers went camping out beside a highway in Maco, Davao de Oro to look for signal coverage so they can participate in a webinar. The webinar was organized by DepEd Region 11 and the DepEd Central Office Information and Communications Technology Service-Educational Technology Unit (ICTS- EdTech).

Looking at the situation from a different perspective, Undersecretary Alain del Pascua said,“...While news and posts on social media portray DepEd as heartless and unaware of our public teachers’ challenges, these very same teachers are thankful for the opportunity to learn and equip themselves with the skills appropriate for the unique challenges posed by the ‘new normal.’ Their desire to ‘upskill’ themselves and their excitement over the webinar sessions is testament of their resourcefulness and fortitude despite the lack of mobile coverage in their areas.”

All these experiences, Pascua stressed, are part of the learning process the department and each stakeholder is going through in proactive response to the new normal.

“While the department is ramping up the skills of its teachers, it is also moving towards orienting the millions of parents, learners, and teachers who have expressed their desire to continue learning through the DepEd Commons,”Pascua said.

“It is worthy to note that, as the various web sites experienced technical difficulties, DepEd Commons with about 8,228,287 unique users as of June 17, 2020 has not encountered major server issues since it was launched on March 15, 2020, and even at the height of webinars with huge number of participants and remains functional and accessible for its users,” he added.

The webinar conducted and viewed by more than a hundred thousand participants was free and voluntary.

The webinar was initiated by DepEd Region 11 Human Resources and Development Division, through Regional Director Evelyn Fetalvero and Mr. Guinto, the Regional IT Officer.

The activity, titled “The New Normal Classroom Modality Teaching”covers three days (June 17 to19, 2020), with sessions running from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Around 45,000 teachers from all over Region 11 participated in the webinar with many others joining via watch parties and shared over Facebook.

By far, it is the largest DepEd online activity that has reached so many participants and viewers, beating all other webinars conducted at the national level. Such was the scale of the activity that Kotobee and Streamyard, two online tools used during the webinar, reported server issues due to the sudden influx of users.

Geige Vandentop, Streamyard’s cofounder got in touch directly with ICTS through Mark Anthony Sy, EdTech unit head, when their server began to experience an unexpected number of users accessing from the Philippines in the morning of June 17, 2020.

This was followed by Kotobee encountering technical issues in the afternoon session when about 45,000 teachers simultaneously accessed the site. Both online tools apparently reached their limit of the number of users accessing their servers at the same time.

ICTS Director Abram Abanil, for his part, congratulated Fetalvero for the successful webinar, albeit the unprecedented number of participants brought down the web sites used.

“This is because our teachers really want to learn about the new teaching modalities in the new normal classroom.

We can take it as a positive note how open and passionate our teachers are towards the capability-building program of the region to prepare them for the new normal. They really exerted effort to join the virtual training as the same time observing stringent health and safety measures,” Fetalvero pointed out.

Pascua assured that ICTS is currently getting in touch with both developers to prevent similar issues from happening in the future, especially when classes are expected to open on August 24, 2020.

Streamyard is used by ICTS to conduct large-scale trainings.

Previous webinars averaged between 15,000 and 40,000 participants but the limit was reached that day with 45,000 teachers attending the webinar.

Streamyard was a crucial tool that ICTS used when it trained 324,486 public school teachers to respond to Covid-19 using ICT-based teaching between April and May in various webinars. It is an essential tool that will be used to prepare millions of learners who will be using DepEd Commons for the incoming school year.

Kotobee is the software that ICTS uses to convert SelfLearning Modules (SLMs) into e-books. Teachers are being trained so that they can create their own e-books that are inclusive and contextualized to the local requirements of their learners. This tool is simply the “Manila paper of the future” that will empower teachers to use technology in their respective classes.

Aside from Streamyard and Kotobee, ICTS trainings brought down another education web site called WIX last May 28, 2020. WIX is an Israeli-based system that allows teachers to create Curriculum Pages or web sites, Instructional Video Materials, and Teacher Video Blogs.

PHL, GGGI ink host country accord in historic virtual signing ceremony

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n a virtual ceremony held on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. and Global Green Growth Institute Director General Dr. Frank Rijsberman, signed in Manila, and Seoul, Republic of Korea, respectively, the Host Country Agreement (HCA) between the Philippines and the GGGI. In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippines and the GGGI agreed to hold the virtual signing ceremony where the agreement was signed simultaneously in two locations, making it the first virtual signing ceremony in the history of both the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and GGGI. The HCA will formalize and facilitate the GGGI’s presence, operations and activities in the Philippines.

It also aims to enhance the Philippines’s partnership with the GGGI, which has been extending technical and financial assistance to the country since 2012 to support the Philippines’s goal in transitioning to a more sustainable, climate resilient and inclusive green growth.

In his remarks during the ceremony, Locsin expressed appreciation to the GGGI for ex tending valuable suppor t to the Philippines since 2012, even without a formal HCA. He noted that the GGGI has facilitated some $10 million worth of financial and technical assistance to the country’s growth projects and has mainstreamed and integrated climate change sensitive policies into public consciousness and national plans.

In response, Rijsberman conveyed the GGGI’s readiness

to support and work with the Philippine government to green the recovery package for Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to continue advancing economic growth that is environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive and delivers green jobs that the Filipinos need.

The GGGI, with headquarters in Seoul is an international treaty-based organization, dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies.

The Philippines became one of GGGI’s founding members in 2012.

Since 2012, the GGGI has partnered with various national government agencies, including the Department of Energy, Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Climate Change Commission (CCC), as well as local government units such as those in Palawan, Oriental Mindoro and Bataan, in advancing the country’s green growth and climate-resilience ambitions.

The GGGI’s continued assistance to the Philippines in the coming years is embodied in its (1) Country Planning Framework (CPF) 2021-2025, a five-year planning framework between GGGI and its member-countries; and the (2) Country Business Plan (CBP) 2021-2022, a two-year action plan that outlines GGGI’s priority programs to be implemented in the Philippines.

Officials from the DFA and the GGGI were present to witness the virtual signing ceremony.

Saturday, June 20, 2020

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Contagion offers telecommunication challenger a boost in Philippine rivalry

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he pandemic is giving a Philippine telecommunication company an opportunity to grab market share from its well-entrenched rivals as vast swathes of the population remain stuck at home.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc., which specializes in fiber-optic broadband services, saw a record jump in subscriptions in May, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony Uy said in an email interview. New activations surged 150 percent from a year earlier to more than 50,000, driven by retail and cor porate clients like call centers

equipping their employees to work remotely, he said.

Converge is accelerating its expansion, and is recasting revenue, spending and subscriber growth forecasts to account for the uptick in demand, Uy said.

PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. are looking to scale back spending this year amid delays in their network rollout.

The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping the telecommunication landscape in a country with a young, technology-savvy population and an increasing amount of services moving online. The Philippines is home

to the world’s heaviest Internet users despite having one of the slowest connection speeds, according to a Hootsuite report.

O t he r D et a i l s Conve rge, backed by a $225-million investment from Warburg Pincus, is betting that broadband penetration will double over the next five years from less than 15 percent of households today. From a fiber network that is limited to the island of Luzon and covers 2 million households, it plans to expand nationwide by 2021 and boost its international bandwidth.

“We see a long runway for

Converge to continue to grow rapidly,” Warburg Pincus Managing Director Saurabh Agarwal said, adding that the company saw 75-percent average revenue growth over the last three years.

Asked about prospects for an initial public offering, Uy said the company will focus on rolling out its infrastructure nationwide in the immediate term. He also nixed the idea of a merger or acquisition. “At this point in time, we think we can reach our aspirations for scale through organic growth.”

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Philexport seeks support for MSMEs to reopen, sustain ops amid contagion

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S the government eases lockdowns and more businesses reopen, the umbrella organization of Philippine exporters is pushing for the immediate passage of measures that will help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) recover from the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and adapt to the new normal.

The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) has developed the New Normal Export and MSME Roadmap urging also the speedy implementation of programs and policies that can help these enterprises to reopen gradually from the crisis until reaching their full capacity, sustain their operations, and create jobs.

The road map, anchored on three pillars called Recovery, Resilience and Resurgence (3Rs), was launched at the 3-part Philexport 2nd Quarter General Membership Meeting on June 9. It cited as one important intervention the need for the full implementation of the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act of 2020 and

the New Normal Act with amendments from the private sector. Pesa has evolved to be the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (ARISE) Act. The House of Representatives has approved the P1.3-trillion ARISE economic stimulus package that shall provide allocations for interest-free loans, as well as provision of education, training, and guidance, to pandemic-hit MSMEs. The MSME sector, comprising about 99 percent of all industries in the country, has been identified among the three hardest hit sectors of the Covid-19 pandemic, aside from tourism and transportation.

The Philexport also pushed for the

passage of the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act by reducing corporate income tax (CIT) immediately to 25 percent to help attract investors and increase cash flow particularly for MSMEs. Citira is now CREATE, or Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act. “Insulate exporters from the growing risks of globalization by removing [the] disincentive of sell to [the] domestic market. Remove the export threshold in the proposed Citira bill, especially in this crisis where exports is in an extra difficult challenge and regime,” its New Normal Export Roadmap states.

The exporters’ group likewise underscored the need to revive a pending bill and pass the Customs Amnesty Act which can be one major source of government revenues much needed to fund crisis recovery programs and projects.

To help pandemic-affected MSMEs, it cited the importance of fully rolling out the P1-billion Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program of SB Corporation, in collaboration with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Negosyo Centers and possibly industry associations to help ensure that loan applications are compliant.

The group also pushed for the provision of an export promotion budget as a subsidy for all exporters for at least one

year. “Increase DTI budget by at least 100 percent every year, with 75 percent of which to serve as [an] annual subsidy for export promotion and marketing,” the New Normal Export Roadmap added.

As business opportunities emerge under pandemic outbreak, Philexport said it is imperative to assist companies to repurpose their facilities to help boost the production of Covid-19 essentials, and support others in the shift to more viable business options.

It, likewise, pushed for the continuing conduct of market and product research on emerging trends and new business models that evolved from this crisis.

“Countries that are heavily affected by the increasing Covid-19 cases have to rely on imports to feed their people who are locked in their homes, a boost to current export uncertainties,” it said.

Philexport President Sergio OrtizLuis Jr. said the road map aims to control the epidemic, restart and expand economic activities, and finally transition exports and MSMEs to the digital economy. “While development plans remain valid, there is [a] need to transition from this stage of the crisis toward recovery, resilience and resurgence leading to the targets spelled out in these development plans, including the Philippine Export Development Plan,” he said.

Expert: Digital tools, platforms to boost business

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ETAILERS and brands are advised to utilize digital tools and platforms more effectively to strengthen customer relationships and boost sales amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.

“Your digital strategy comes into play once you have [a] clear understanding of your customer and channel and well-developed product and messaging,” said ByHand Consulting co-founder Karen Gibbs in a webinar.

Gibbs said the biggest part in terms of determining the digital tools to be utilized is knowing the customers, the consumer trends, and what are their expectations of an overseas company.

She said there is a need to define their brands, have an effective web site, create an e-mail strategy, and use social media appropriately. Branding will create continuity between different digital tools, she said.

“Absolutely, 100 percent, you need to have an effective web site. I’m hoping all of you do and if not, you really do it now. This is now one that we can’t wait for long,” she added.

Gibbs underscored the importance of employing search engine optimization (SEO) marketing for the web site, which is the practice of optimizing a web site’s content and functionality to provide the best possible solution or service to potential visitors searching for the business.

She also considered e-mail marketing as the most effective tool in terms of return on investment, both in selling direct to customers and wholesale. “It is easy, there are so many platforms to do it and it is an essential way to stay connected with your customers,” she added.

Gibbs said using social media properly is also imperative.

“A couple of ways to do that is look at your competitive landscape. Who are your competitors, within the Philippines who are your competitors? Outside of the Philippines, do they have active social-media accounts, are they investing a lot into it?,” she said, adding the need to select no more than two channels.

There’s no money in specialty coffee for growers affected by pandemic

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OVID-19 is making coffee growing unprofitable for Adan Rojas.

Like thousands of small Colombian farmers, the pandemic forced him to use out-of-work locals to harvest his beans as travel restrictions kept out experienced seasonal pickers.

Rookies are fine for standard coffee. But his 17-acre spread in the foothills of the Andes relies on specialty markets for much of its earnings, and beans used in $4 lattes in New York have a much smaller harvesting window. Without access to professionals who can pick five times faster, the cherries that encase the beans overripened and fell off the trees.

“You can still sell that coffee, but once it hits the ground, it’s contaminated,” said Rojas, who expects to break even this season. “There’s no way you can sell it as specialty.”

The skilled labor squeeze is the latest pandemic-era blow for growers like Rojas. With many cafes and restaurants still shut, fewer Starbucks lattes are being sold. Futures of smooth-tasting arabica beans have lost 27 percent this year, closing the gap with more bitter robusta. People are still drinking at home, but it’s

typically more standard brews and instant coffee.

The labor alarm bells are also

ringing in Central America, where harvests rely on migrant labor. Weakening currencies help cushion the

blow for growers in the region, but the Brazilian real has tumbled even more, making the top coffee nation

even more competitive. Brazil’s more mechanized industry is also less exposed to labor disruptions.

While tapping pools of local labor has allowed smaller growers to deal with regional lockdowns and maintain output, hidden behind that success are some worrying signs.

Using friends and neighbors as pickers won’t work when larger producers begin Colombia’s main harvest in September: There simply aren’t enough locals to get the job done.

The industry is counting on an easing of restrictions to allow seasonal workers back in. But letting in more outsiders increases the risk of spreading the disease in areas that so far have containeditmuchbetter thanbig cities.

“I’m very worried about the impact on the harvest in the second half,” said Oscar Gutierrez Reyes, who heads Colombian Agricultural Dignity, which advocates for better prices for growers. “Although we are loosening restrictions, we still don’t know when the peak of this virus will be in Colombia. It’s an incredibly complex situation for farmers.”

Like Colombia, Costa Rica is looking to use pools of locals who have

lost their jobs to harvest its mainly premium beans. Normally, growers there rely on pickers from neighboring Nicaragua, but the two countries have traded barbs over measures to fight contagion, with Costa Rica criticizing Nicaragua’s lax response.

Nicaraguan labor probably won’t be available this season amid fears of a second wave, said Xinia Chaves, who heads the Costa Rican Coffee Institute, which is helping develop social distancing and tracing protocols.

While bumper crops in coffee heavyweight Brazil mean there is plenty of supply, exports from Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras are all down amid lower demand and logistical delays.

Honduras, Central America’s top exporter, relies on workers from Guatemala and Nicaragua for the harvest that begins in September in some areas. With borders shut, Enrique Salazar, general manager of specialty exporter Bicafe, is worried the industry won’t be able to find enough people. He’s also anxious that roasters and importers will be unable to make their usual trips to inspect beans in situ. Bloomberg News

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OurTime BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, June 20, 2020 A5 A7

Senate bill seeks to protect senior citizens from fraudulent activities

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BILL seeking to protect senior citizens from fraudulent activities, such as scams and phishing, has been filed in the Senate.

Sen. Nancy Binay, who introduced Senate Bill 1376, otherwise known as the Senior Citizen’s

Fraud Education Act, said her bill seeks to protect and promote the welfare of senior citizens by edu-

cating them, their families, their caregivers and the public on how to identify and combat fraudulent activities.

“Bad people make a liv ing by defrauding others. Unfortunately, senior citizens have become primary targets of scams and fraud because of their age,” Binay said.

She noted that the advance technology today has made it easier for

tricksters to target senior citizens who might find it difficult to adapt to the high technology.

Binay said government should create awareness in detecting the scams before they happen.

Under the bill, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), after consultation with the Justice department, health secretary and the postmaster general shall periodically disseminate information on

Nursing home residents allowed comfort of family

By Luca Bruno & Colleen Barry The Associated Press

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LZ A NO, Ita ly—A f ter more than three months of separation and worry, loved ones are being allowed to reunite with residents of the Martino Zanchi Foundation nursing home in the northern Italian town of Alzano.

Alzano, close to Bergamo, is the site of one of Italy’s biggest coronavirus outbreaks, centered around the town’s hospital, and there is an investigation into whether officials failed to take swift action to make the town and nearby Nembro a “red zone.” It is in this context that many family members appreciated the unilateral move by the nursing home staff to close on February 23, in defiance of local authorities who said the measure was too stringent.

“It was a form of disobedience, out of common sense, that has paid off,” said Maria Giulia Madaschi, the nursing home’s director.

Since May 18, family members have been allowed to visit—at a safe distance and when possible in the nursing home’s

garden. Each afternoon for a couple of hours, close relatives of the 77 residents visit at 20-minute intervals.

“It was very emotional,” Sergio Moioli, 63, said of his reunion with his 86-yearold mother, Carmela Bergamelli. He stood on one side of a bridge, while she sat in a wheelchair on the other. “She asked about everything.... When she sees me, she can’t stop talking. She has this desire to communicate. We let her talk.”

But they avoided telling her everything. She doesn’t know that her only brother died, probably from the coronavirus, during the lockdown.

Moioli acknowledged concern for his mother as the virus peaked, when a handful of people died every day in his nearby town.

Now that the contagion has slowed, and he is permitted weekly visits, the only thing missing is a hug. “That will come.

We need more time,” he said.

Stefano Terzi is his mother’s second son, and the only one she recognizes since dementia set in.

Terzi, 52, said he was called to the nursing home during lockdown and told to come say farewell to his 85-year-old

mother, Anna Maria Alborghetti. She had a high fever and was breathing with difficulty. Doctors didn’t think she would make it through the night.

Besides suffering dementia, she is also a heart patient.

Mother and son were dressed in surgical gear and allowed a brief visit. “I didn’t think I would see her the next day,” Terzi said. That night, the doctor decided to try one more therapy. She survived.

The nursing home lost 20 residents in the month of March. None was tested for coronavirus but they showed symptoms compatible with Covid-19, Madaschi said.

That compares with a normal death rate for March of four or five, she said. While prosecutors are investigating many nursing homes for improper care, Madaschi said they haven’t received any such notification from prosecutors.

“Fingers crossed, that it continues that way,” she said.

For Terzi and his mother, their next reunion was more tranquil, under a blue sky in the nursing home’s garden.

“I see her very serene. For an elderly woman with all of her problems, she is doing well,” Terzi said.

Amid tears and laughter, visits resume in US nursing homes

By Rodrique Ngowi The Associated Press

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OSTON—She wore a mask and sat across the nursing home patio from her elderly mother, but Marcie Abramson’s emotions were on full display as the two connected in person for the first time in nearly three months.

Like many states, Massachusetts in midMarch limited visits to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to protect those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, which has exacted a heavy toll among older Americans. More than 60 percent of the state’s nearly 7,500 Covid-19 deaths have involved nursing home residents.

Nationally, over 35,500 people have died from coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, about a third of the national toll, according to a running tally by The Associated Press.

But in Massachusetts, in-person vis- MARCIE ABRAMSON (left), gestures as she speaks to her mother, Cynthia, outdoors at the Hebrew its resumed on Wednesday with masks, Rehabilitation Center on June 10, 2020, in Boston, under the state’s new nursing home visitation social distancing—and plenty of tears guidelines, which requires social distancing. The two haven’t been able to visit in person since March. and laughter.

AP PHOTO/ELISE AMENDOLA “You wanna give me a kiss?” Abramson called out to her 89-year-old mother, Cynperature taken and were screened for symptoms—additional thia Abramson, at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston steps that all visitors must take. Facilities also are taking care in the pair’s first encounter since the pandemic began. to disinfect chairs and other objects that visitors have used Kisses were strictly off-limits, so the pair exchanged an or touched. “air hug.”

“I have to say that I was nervous to see my mom today,” she “Oh, Ma! I love you so much! I really, really missed you,” the said. “I was really, really nervous. I didn’t sleep because she daughter gushed, choking back tears. “The day finally came. had been thinking that today may never come, that no one The day is here. I get to visit you.” would ever be able to visit again and that’s where she would Under strict Massachusetts guidelines aimed at avoiding a end up.... The emotional and mental toll on people has been spike in coronavirus cases, visits must be scheduled and take extremely difficult.” place in designated outdoor areas, with the exception of endHunt said his mother-in-law developed some major health of-life situations.

Nursing home residents are allowed only two visitors at a challenges just as the pandemic began. time, and everyone must wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet “So her ability to just process information and understand (2 meters) apart. Residents with confirmed or possible cases what’s happening to her, what’s going on around her, was of the disease cannot have visitors, although those who have significantly compromised. And that just made the whole recovered can. quarantine situation exponentially more difficult for her,” Abramson and her husband, Jeffrey Hunt, had their temhe said.

mail, telemarketing and Internet fraud, including common fraud schemes to senior citizens, their families and caregivers.

The DTI should also periodically disseminate information to senior citizens, their families and caregivers on how to report frauds such as referring their complaints to the police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or calling a DTI number for

reporting mail, telemarketing or Internet fraud.

The DTI should also maintain a web site to serve as a source of information for senior citizens, their families and caregivers on the methods of fraudulent activities and, upon inquiry, provide them with history of fraud committed by a particular entity or individual based on law-enforcement records.

Something light to cap the night’s TV bingeing

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

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HAVE been gorging on documentaries and selected movies during the long lockdown.

Many of them are heavy on the mind, so to cap the night with something light, I would click on a Japanese drama series Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories, with 3 seasons now available on Netflix.

Every episode is compactly packaged in a 30-minute long vignette, with each story set in a typical Tokyo casual diner for after-work drinking that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks, managed by a master chef called Sensei whose visage shows etchings of a mysterious past. I read that it is based on a Japanese manga.

This setting brings me back to the masterworks of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu’s who loved to locate some of his films’ memorable scenes in such pubs called izakaya where his main characters would get inebriated with sake after office hours before trudging home.

In Midnight Diner, the 12-seater bar accepts all kinds of customers, some regular, others who just drop by and go. They are accorded a warm “irishaimase” as each enters through the sliding door panel. The characters are eclectic: office workers, retirees, gays, models, sex workers, yakuza types, and artists from the demi-monde world of Metro Tokyo.

Who else but their kind would still be roaming the streets at this time of the night? Among them are the dreamers, failures, driven, discontented, desperate, frustrated, disconsolate, suicidal, even perverts. They all seem to be sinners, with a past, which they are all trying to escape or to mask.

Come to think of it, the diner is more like a confessional or a psychiatric couch where people come to pour their hearts out about something and everyone is presumed to keep it all confidential. It serves as a refuge of sinners, a comforting place for the afflicted. Best of all, no one tells people to say or do a penance at the end.

What I like about this world is that it is not judgmental. It seems there is a tacit understanding that no one should judge because we are all blemished, imperfect and damaged, so no one should dare cast a stone. Just enjoy the meal or your glass of beer, talk a while, then pay the Sensei and take your leave.

And throughout, the laconic Sensei attends to them all, no questions asked. From time to time, he may ask questions just for small talk and to show his concern for what’s happening to his customer at the moment but he lets the customer talk without too much prying. He has the look of someone who has seen it all, and from time to time dredges out some pithy insights or counsels to the characters going through some painful or discomfiting episode in their lives.

The program is like a revolving melancholy-goround where each episode focuses on one character at a time, sometimes a regular customer, at other times a non-regular customer who just happens to stumble into the place randomly.

At the end is a resolution of some kind, not a fantasy kind of happy ever after ending, but more of a catharsis or epiphany that induces a change or transformation in the character.

The actions or non-actions (for most of the time the characters are just sitting around relishing their short-order food prepared by the sensei) unfold slowly, with 80 percent of the shots in medium close-ups. This contributes to the confining atmosphere, which, thanks to the inviting ambience, is felt more like convivial intimacy as in a family dining together. From time to time the scene shifts somewhere, usually when there

are flashbacks meant to explain the backstory of the character in focus.

The episodes unfold as short vignettes which to me are just like parables, easy to absorb illustrations that shed light on humanity and offer insights or lessons in life that are there served on a platter. It is for us to take it or not.

The tone is light mood like light oil on the wok. The pacing is just short-order right, with the timely smattering of salty jokes and peppery witticisms and aphorisms, and then a little sizzle of voyeuristic scenes to enliven or whet the appetite during the cooking.

Watching the show, one can learn much about eating places for after office, a subculture of Tokyo life. Food is ordered one at a time over several courses rather than all at once. The chef will serve the food when it is ready and before perusing the menu, one typically orders beer.

Quickly prepared dishes are ordered first, followed with progressively more robust flavors such as yakitori or kara-age, finishing the meal with a rice or noodle dish to fill up. This is why in each episode, characters can spend plenty of time making small talk.

There’s another peculiar cultural facet I found interesting about the Tokyoites. Strip teasers or models of adult magazines are not shunned or disdained. In one episode I just watched, a strip teaser sits and engages in friendly banter with customers who had just watched her strip show in a nearby bar. They even praise her act and she, in turn, does not blush or show any shame in the company of such men. From what I saw, Japanese sex workers are treated like normal, average people who need to make a living. It’s so casual and normal for the Japanese. At least, as portrayed in that show.

The Sensei—what about him? There was this song that said what if God was just like one of us?

I also read about this new popular manga, which depicts the adventures of Jesus and Buddha who have decided to come down to Earth as roommates in Tokyo. That is what I was thinking: what if God was just a chef of a small diner, serving us good and tasty dinner and indulging us with our small favors and requests, listening to our petty troubles and squabbles and constant whining with grandfatherly understanding and pointing us to the right path. As customers drawn to his accommodating nature, we come to be fed in body as well as spirit; our thirst slaked by a glass or two of refreshing and intoxicating words from the barrel of distilled wisdom. I look forward to an episode devoted to revealing his backstory.

In conclusion, I have come to use Midnight Diner as a meditation aid. Each episode helps trigger deep thoughts and reflections about human beings and my person in particular. It can also inspire a poem or an essay if the muse happens to be with me.

As a postscript, I am also left with cravings for the mouthwatering food items expertly prepared by the Sensei, which are meant as sideshow short cooking lessons for the faithful viewers. My Japanese cuisine IQ became suddenly richer upon encountering appetizers like boiled and salted soybean called edamame, as well as chilled tofu with toppings called hiyayakko, not to mention other delectable items like plum rice ball, chicken fried rice, fried chicken breast with cheese, yakisoba sandwich, and so on. Talk about mixing show genres: drama anthology and cooking show. It’s truly a delightful recipe that works, especially for hungry binge viewers like me!

A BusinessMirror Special Feature

A6 Saturday, June 20, 2020 | www.businessmirror.com.ph

No place like home this Father’s Day N

By Leony R. Garcia

OW celebrated in many parts of the world, Father’s Day has become a time to recognize the many different father figures in our lives: old and new dads, granddads, dads-in-law, stepdads, serious and funny dads, and all men doing dad duties.

There may be a hundred fatherly types out there—but without a doubt—there are many reasons to honor them.

Our 2019 family’s dining experience tells it all: Practically all restaurants at the SM North Park Inn bridgeway was filled to capacity. We waited almost two hours before we can be seated for our turn to lunch at our favorite resto, Aristocrat. Adjoining restaurants, coffee and specialty shops had the same long queues as that of Aristocrat’s.

That was last year. With the ongoing quarantine,

the social distancing implementation and virus scare, it would really be wise to celebrate Father’s Day -- and all other celebrations—at home.

So for 2020, we ought to go back to the basics —simple, yet meaningful celebration —in the presence of every member of the family at home.

Maybe like the very first Father’s Day celebration 110 years ago, we can give flowers again or any small items as token of love and appreciation, a thank you card or note, a kiss and a hug to our sons’ first hero and our daughters’ first love.

Father’s Day 2020 quarantine edition

BECAUSE of the pandemic, millions of parents have been home full-time, many for the first time in their children’s lives. And while many women are used to working and parenting at home all day, most men do their work either in the office or in the field.

Surely there are lost income and earning opportunities but the quarantine ended up being a good thing for dads who got uninterrupted family time, gave their kids important daddy-children time, and much-deserved break time for their wives. Moreover, they’ve learning new virtue which is patience as my young dad friend shared.

Surprises at home

START Father’s Day with a feast fit for a king, a breakfast or brunch of dad’s favorite meal and round it out with a morning cocktail.

If he’s a breakfast skipper, then a sumptuous lunch is called for. Don’t forget the sweets to steal his heart. Find or bake the best Father’s Day for him that best matches his flavor preferences, and then dress it up with decorations that suit his interests. Movies or Netflix time follows with popcorn and soda to complete the ambiance.

Then have his favorite beer and barbecue in the afternoon. Your dad may want to battle out the lazy afternoon over a few board games, or see how well you can work together with complicated jigsaw puzzles. Let him pick which game he wants to start with.

With food and drinks all day, dinner may be light and easy depending on dad’s preference.

Wrap the night away with dad by revisiting the best games in sports history.

If he’s the type to hunker down in front of the TV and watch his team on Father’s Day, then track down their best games for a night marathon.

No matter how grand or simple Father’s Day 2020 celebration is, it should be something the whole family shall look forward to in the future.

It’s not every year that dad stayed home for a long time and literally shield his kids from harm and health threats of the outside world.

www.businessmirror.com.ph | Saturday, June 20, 2020

CELEBRATE DAD’S DAY WITH SM CITY NORTH EDSA crafted coffee beverages that have always brought us together. nLet the whole family give Dad a toast with coffee and tea specialties from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Café Amazon’s refreshing favorites, and Milk Tea from Black Scoop Café, The Alley, Tiger Sugar, and Macao Imperial Tea.

The good news is that there is so much

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T’S Father’s Day on Sunday, June 21! And in new normal times, the celebrations go on at home as SM City North EDSA presents exciting and innovative ways through drive thru, take out, pick-up and online app delivery options of your favorite dining establishments.

SM City North EDSA has also partnered with food online apps such as Grabfood, Foodpanda and lalafood to provide shoppers their favorite food takeaway and delivery service.

Here are some tips on how to make Dad’s Day real special for him from SM City North EDSA.

nTreat him to an #EatLikeAViking experience with Viking Luxury Buffet feast sets. Order now and create your own buffet via SM City North EDSA’s Facebook messenger: m.me/ VIKINGSSMNORTH. nIndulge him with great taste and warm memories with Kapampangan gourmet favorites like crispy tadyang, kare-kare, knockout knuckles, and more from Bistro Remedios.

Visit them at The Block at SM City North EDSA or contact them at 83724077 or 0915-284-0837. nDelight him with specialties from Michelin star restaurants like Tim Ho Wan and Hawker’s Chan. You can order from the restos or through our hotlines or viber groups: 0945-3303314, 0945-330-3317, and 8374-2966.

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4 nExperience a New York moment with him with S&R’s New York style pizzas, burgers, fries, salads, chicken, hotdog and pasta. Available for takeout or delivery from our outlet at The Block via lalafood and foodpanda. nBring home the #UltimateGrillandHotpotExperience! Tong Yang Plus at SM City North EDSA is now accepting orders through a create your own hotpot and grill feast using its wide selection of soup bases, barbecue, and sliced meats. nHost that Dad’s Day celebration by bringing #ContisFavorites right where you are. Now open for take-out and delivery at The Block at SM City North EDSA. nMake it a fun day with a seafood boodle from Seafood Island.

Just imagine great food piled on top of banana leaves and eaten with bare hands. Call 8441-4913 to order. nOrganize a pizza party with Amici’s Al Quattro Formaggi and Pepperoni and Three Cheese always #GreatWhenShared; Grape Escape’s brick oven pizzas; and Sbarro’s timeless tradition of fresh and handmade pizzas and pastas. nCreate a dessert buffet with Famous Amos cookies, Mary Grace’s all-time favorite baked goodies, donuts from Krispy Kreme and JCo, French Baker’s Parisian delights.

These go well with Starbucks’s hand-

more to celebrate with from your favorite food and restaurants at the mall. If you want to get the most out of the Take Out & Delivery? Join SM Viber Community for the latest news and deals of restaurant open for take-out and delivery in SM Malls in Metro Manila and nearby Bulacan and Rizal. Link: bit.ly/SMTakeOutAndDelivery.

1 MAKE your own Starbucks coffee at

Home! Your favorite handcrafted beverages are now available via GrabFood and at SM City North EDSA for take-out and delivery.

2 TIM Ho Wan’s authentic HK cuisine is now available for delivery through the @foodpanda_ph app!

3 YOUR next Michelin-starred meal

at Hawker Chan is just one call away!

It’s now open at SM North EDSA thru hotlines: 0945-330-3345, 0945-330-3340 and 8253-4162

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BISTRO Remedios’s Kapampangan gourmet food brings back great taste and warm memories. Find them on Grabfood and Foodpanda or visit them at The Block SM City North EDSA.

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Lenovo relaunches smartphones in PHL, introduces smart home devices THE Lenovo Robot Vacuum Cleaner

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HE last time Lenovo launched a smartphone in the Philippines was in 2017. Last year, there were talks that the brand’s smartphones, which are known to be affordable and reliable, were going to make a comeback in the country. Finally, Lenovo announced its reentry into the Philippine smartphone market with three new models: the Lenovo K5 Play, Lenovo K5 Pro and Lenovo S5 Pro. The brand also introduced a range of smart home devices in the Philippines for the first time, including a robot vacuum cleaner, a smart home hub connected to Google Assistant, and a 2-in-1 tablet hybrid.

“Bringing our expertise as the world’s leading PC provider into our new smartphone and smart home technology solutions, we are able to give customers the ability to experience the world in a more intuitive, immersive way by providing end-to-end solutions across the entire customer journey. Our new smartphones bring people closer with integrated AI, powerful mobile processors, intuitive camera setups and advanced biometric security at a lower price point,” said Lenovo Philippines President and General Manager Michael Ngan.

These new smart devices are part of Lenovo’s overall summer campaign, the “Lenovo Summer Sale,” and are available in Lenovo partner stores nationwide and online, or through the Lenovo Mobile Flagship store on Lazada (bit.ly/3dbXMqX).

Lenovo phones are known for having good features such as multiple camera setups and advanced chipsets at affordable prices.

The Lenovo K5 Play, for instance, performs well and has a good camera at P3,990. It has a 5.7-inch IPS LCD screen, with a resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels.

Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 octa-core chipset, with up to 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, the Lenovo K5 Play has a dual rear camera setup with 13MP F/2.2 + 2MP shooting capability, and an 8MP F/2.0 front camera.

Meanwhile, the K5 Pro (P5,990) has a 5.99-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. It is run by a Snapdragon 636 octa-core chipset and has 4GB/6GB memory and 64GB of internal storage. Both front and rear cameras carry the same 16MP + 5MP camera setup, with additional flash in the front. The Lenovo K5 Pro also has USB Type-C connectivity, a rearmounted fingerprint reader for additional security when logging in, and a 4050 mAh battery that has 18W QuickCharge 3.0 support for faster charging.

The Lenovo S5 Pro (P7,495) has a 6.2-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 2246 pixels,

Twitter kicks off notification service in native tongue

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

and this ensures clear and crisp photos and videos.

It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octacore processor, coupled with 4GB/6GB of RAM, 64GB/128GB of internal storage, and Adreno 509 for graphics. Mobile photography is enhanced with 12MP F/1.8 + 20MP F/2.6 rear cameras and 20MP F/2.2 + 8MP front cameras. Security is assured with the S5 Pro’s rear-mounted fingerprinted reader and infrared camera face unlock feature. It also has a USB Type-C port for further connectivity.

For the first time in the Philippines, Lenovo introduced smart home devices designed to ease home management tasks.

Designed to provide users a smarter home experience, the new Lenovo Smart Tab M8 (starts at P8,490), M10 HD (starts at P9,990) and M10 FHD Plus (starts at P13,990) function as smart home hubs through Google Assistant, which allows the devices to control parts of a smart home such as lights and outlets. The tablets can also perform tasks through voice commands, even when hooked up to its hardbundled Smart Charging Station (worth P2,995) that comes free with every purchase. The tablets all come with dual front-facing speakers and dual microphones powered by Dolby Atmos to deliver all-flowing and

clear audio. For added connectivity purposes, both the M10 HD and M10 FHD Plus have been equipped with USB Type-C 2.0 ports.

The Lenovo Smart Tab (P14,990) variant comes with a built-in kickstand for ease of use and a threedigital-mic array with 360 far-field voice recognition which allows voice commands to come from almost anywhere.

Lenovo is also bringing 9 new variants of the popular D330 (price starts at P14,995) 2-in-1 device.

It can be used as a tablet or a laptop through its detachable display. The D330 can have up to Intel Pentium Silver N5000 processor and the Windows 10 Home operating system.

Further enhancing the smart home experience are Lenovo’s Robot Vacuum T and E series that sweep the floor so the homeowner can focus on more important tasks. They also come with Automatic Dirt Disposal that spontaneously empties dust bins for easy discarding. All three Robot Vacuums can readily be controlled and customized using the Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant app.

The smart home devices launch is timely because many people are still staying home and will continue to do so in the coming months. ■

Superstore offering free online workshops for kids HERE’S a fun online learning activity your kids can do in the comfort of your own home.

Landers Superstore’s Mommy Club, in partnership with Child’s Home Educational Center, is offering weekly online workshop classes open to children of Landers members who are aged four to seven. Kids can learn about nature, science, animals and health.

The classes will have storytelling, arts and crafts activities, science experiments and games to ensure a fun and educational time for your kids. The workshop classes are being held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 11 am and 4 pm, and will run for four weeks.

Each class will be 45 to 60 minutes long and will be facilitated by two preschool teachers from Child’s Home Education Center.

The best part of all this: everything is for free! No payment will be collected but participants are required to have a stable Internet connection, as well as a phone, tablet, or laptop with the Zoom app.

They will receive the Zoom meeting ID and list of materials needed on the day of their kid’s scheduled class.

If you’re not yet a Landers Superstore member but want your kids to join, you can easily sign up for a membership at bit.ly/37Fnjrw.

After signing up, go to the Landers Mommy Club Facebook page and join the group.

Only 15 kids will be accepted for each class and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The registration link for each week’s classes will be posted at least tthree days before the first class of the week.

SOCIAL-media platform Twitter has launched a pioneering local language search-prompt in the Philippines at the onset of gender-based violence (GBV) worldwide resulting from lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

It works when people search on Twitter for Filipino keywords associated with GBV. By doing so, they will see a notification written in the country’s national language directing them to the hotlines of local organizations where they can seek help, together with a list of nongovernment organizations that can provide support they need.

“During this pandemic, we continue to promote the protection of women from violence. We are utilizing all the tools and platforms, including digital channels and socialmedia platforms, to make sure all women know that we are here to help,” said Atty. Kristine Yuzon-Chaves, executive director, Philippine Commission on Women.

“Through this search prompt, we hope survivors, or their family and friends will be emboldened to speak up, seek safety, stand up against violence, and hold the perpetrators accountable,” she added.

Twitter has partnered with local NGO, the Women’s Care Center, as well as PCW in providing assistance via the referrals of the #thereishelp service.

The Philippines is among the seven markets in AsiaPacific where the kick-off has taken place, in partnership with UN Women Asia-Pacific, which played an advisory role, as well as leading NGOs and government agencies that provide critical emergency care, support and counselling.

Such service is now also available in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam, as well as in other countries across the region in the coming weeks and months. Building on Twitter’s notification service on mental health and suicide prevention, vaccination, child sexual exploitation and Covid-19, the firm is the first technology company to introduce such feature.

This is apparently because the global lockdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic have led to a “horrifying surge” in GBV, which deepens further existing gender inequalities given the burden of caring for other vulnerable individuals at home—such as young children and/or sick or elderly family members—falls disproportionately on women, according to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.

Based on the recent report by UN Women, 243 million women and girls aged 15 to 49 years old globally have been subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. Emerging data reveals that since the Covid-19 outbreak, GBV, particularly the one that victimizes the female population, has intensified internationally.

In Asia-Pacific, violence against women and girls is prevalent and widely under reported, per UN Women AsiaPacific Regional Manager on Ending Violence Against Women Melissa Alvarado. She cited that one in three women globally experience violence at least once in their lifetime.

“In fact, in many countries in our region, the number is even greater, with as many as two out of three women in some countries reporting experiences of violence. Less than four in 10 women experiencing such violence actually report these crimes or seek help of any sort,” she said.

“As lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are getting prolonged by countries around the world to contain the spread of Covid-19, women with violent partners increasingly find themselves isolated from the people and resources that can help them.

“At UN Women, we hear that keeping services open has been hard in many countries. We are pleased to team up with Twitter to help connect women to local services currently available in their countries if they are experiencing violence or abuse,” Alvarado stressed.

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EU authorities open twin Apple antitrust investigations

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BY KELVIN CHAN The Associated Press

ONDON—European Union regulators opened two investigations on Tuesday into Apple’s mobile app store and payment platform over concerns its practices distort competition, opening a new front in the EU’s battle against the dominance of big tech companies.

The EU’s executive Commission said it formally launched the investigations over concerns that Apple’s way of doing business hurts consumers by limiting choice and innovation and keeping prices high. Apple dismissed the complaints as “baseless.”

The Commission is examining whether Apple Pay’s rules require online shops to make it the preferred or default option, effectively shutting out rival payment systems. It’s also investigating concerns that it limits access for rival payment systems to the “tap and go” wireless function on iPhones.

The Commission opened a second investigation into the App Store over concerns Apple forces developers to use the company’s own in-app purchasing system, which charges them a 30 percent commission, and restricts them from telling iPhone

and iPad users about other ways to pay for digital services like music subscriptions. The investigation follows complaints from music streaming service Spotify and an e-book distributor on the impact of the App Store’s rules on competition.

“It appears that Apple obtained a ‘gatekeeper’ role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple’s popular devices,” EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said.

Regulators want to make sure Apple’s practices don’t affect competition in markets where it competes with other app makers, she said, citing its music streaming service and e-book services.

It’s also “important that Apple’s measures do not deny consumers the benefits of new payment technologies, including better choice, quality, innovation and competitive prices,” she said. Vestager noted that the coronavirus crisis has accelerated the growth in mobile payments as more people make online payments or “contactless” payments in stores.

Apple rejected the allegations, saying it has created new products and services in the world’s most competitive markets. “We follow the law in everything we do and we embrace competition at every stage because we believe it pushes us to deliver

even better results,” the company said in a statement.

“It’s disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else,” it said. Spotify welcomed the EU’s investigation, accusing Apple of creating an “unlevel playing field” and depriving consumers of choice. It refuses to use Apple’s payments system, which it says makes its subscriptions more expensive than Apple Music’s.

Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, has earned a reputation as one of the world’s toughest technology regulators. Four years ago she ordered Apple to pay €13 billion ($15 billion) in back taxes linked to a deal it made with the Irish government—a ruling that the company is challenging. She has also led antitrust investigations into other Silicon Valley giants including Google, which resulted in multibillion dollar fines.

Apple is perhaps best known for the iPhone but sales have been slowing lately as the smartphone market hits a plateau and the EU commission’s focus on Apple Pay and the App Store also highlights the tech giant’s efforts to expand revenue in its services business to offset the weakness in hardware. ■

Technology can boost sustainable development

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES THE world needs to harness technology to make a better planet and change the way people live, according to the head of a global pro-environment organization.

“Our planet is under pressure and technology must be part of the solution. We must harness technology for good—for nature, for people, and for our planet,” Grethel Aguilar, acting director of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said in her opening remarks during the recently concluded “Webinar for a Better Planet.”

IUCN is an umbrella of both government and civil society organisations. It has more than 1,400 member organizations and of more than 15,000 experts focused on conserving nature and accelerate the transition to sustainable development.

To achieve sustainable development, Aguilar said the world must pursue three main issues: connectivity, accessibility and accountability, all of which help people achieve their sustainable goals.

By giving access to the networks, Aguilar said it will empower women and communities because this helps them to find information that will improve their lives. Through connectivity, Aguilar said people, particularly women, and communities can establish partnership with individuals and organizations that will help improve their standing in society.

By pushing accountability as a top agenda, Aguilar said people can ensure that their leaders will keep their promises in protecting the environment.

In today’s environment, Aguilar said people must realize that technology is a great enabler to help people solve environmental challenges. “Digital technology can make innovation to change the conditions,” she said.

She also acknowledged that technology companies are important partners in solving environmental problems of the world. “With their vast expertise and resources, technology companies like Huawei can help a lot in tackling issues on the environment,” she explained.

“It does not only bring accessibility but credibility to the work we do. Through advancing knowledge, we help the world improve the environment,” she added.

IUCN plans to partner with Huawei in their future activities.

Aguilar admitted that environmental problems are herculean in scope that require global responses, and she stressed that technology can be part of the solution if properly used.

“By using technology, we can preserve natural resources to achieve conservation and sustainable development,” she explained.

Saturday, June 20, 2020

NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES

SHOPPING in the new normal just got more rewarding.

Nowadays, when every purchase is crucial not only for its value but also for the level of safety the shopping experience offers, every peso being spent counts. But how does one make the most bang for their buck? A lifestyle rewards program that is equipped with its own mobile application, Limitless offers an array of features to let members enjoy exclusive perks that add more benefits to every transaction with participating merchants.

With Limitless, members can earn points, claim rewards, and have access to exclusive promos and privileges. By downloading the free mobile app from the App Store or Google Play Store, users can register to become members and instantly be rewarded with 100 points. Members can earn more points through transactions with accredited merchants, such as Phoenix Petroleum and FamilyMart Philippines. For further convenience, members only need to show their QR code on the app upon transaction in order to earn points.

Every P200 worth of purchase earns 1 point, while every point earned is equal to P1, which can be used toward purchases and vouchers. The points can also be donated to a cause, including one that raises funds to acquire ventilators, which will be turned over to a partner medical facility.

The perks don’t stop there. Aside from earning, redeeming, and monitoring points, the Limitless app also offers other fun and useful features, including a game that allows members to earn even more points. Making it more convenient, the app also features a store finder for accredited merchants, and a directory of different establishments that offer delivery. These include Phoenix Super LPG, FamilyMart, Wendy’s, Conti’s, Shakey’s, and Lalamove. Meanwhile, the Communities function allows members to easily join group chats based on their preferred location for buy-and-sell purposes. True to its name, more features will eventually be added to the app to offer unlimited possibilities.

Joining Limitless is easy as signup options include using one’s mobile number, Facebook account, or Gmail account, so registration is done with just a few taps. Earning and redeeming of points currently available in partner establishments in Luzon, coverage will soon expand to Visayas and Mindanao to welcome more Filipinos to a world of possibilities.

HUAWEI P40 SERIES NOW ON PREORDER FROM SMART

For his part, Tao Jingweng, director of the board and director of the corporate sustainability development committee of Huawei, said technology should work with the environment to achieve sustainable development. “Information and communications technology [ICT] can help the planet to make it beautiful,” he said in his presentation.

Tao added environmental protection is part of the corporate strategy of Huawei, and it is also active in promoting the reduction of carbon emission, and accelerating the development of renewable energy, among others.

Tao said Huawei will work with partners from the private sector, government, academe and other sectors to preserve natural resources.

Moreover, he said Huawei is also active in promoting innovations to their products to achieve energy efficiency. “Huawei is the first company in the world to produce an outdoor 5G station,” he said.

Huawei walks the talk as far as promoting renewable energy is concerned by continuing to promote this in their offices.

“Huawei never stops in protecting the environment,” Tao pointed out.

Tao said Huawei believes in digital inclusion and that technology should be accessible to all. He said the tech giant is exerting more effort in terms of connectivity, applications and skills to promote digital inclusion for all. He said the company’s overarching goal is to bring digital technologies to every person, home and organization.

Tao said Huawei is also an ardent believer in the development of green ICT solutions. It also wants to have an active role in leading industries to conserve energy and reduce emissions, and build an environmentally friendly low-carbon society that saves resources. Tao added that the company has introduced innovative energy solutions to help its customers and users reduce their power consumption and carbon emissions.

At the same time, he said Huawei is careful in assesing their products’ environmental impact throughout the entire supply process. The company pursues to carry out waste recycling, product trade-in programs, and other such activities to improve the reuse rate of returned materials, reduce the landfill rate of waste, and minimize the negative impact on the environment.

CONSUMERS in the market for a new flagship smartphone could look to mobile services provider Smart Communications, which is now accepting preorders for the much-anticipated Huawei P40 Series at Smart Stores nationwide and on the Smart Online Store at bit.ly/37A9WZz until June 21.

Smart offers the Huawei P40 Pro with lower monthly cash-outs so it’s so much easier for mobile users to get hold of the groundbreaking device. Smart also offers discounted rates for subscribers who are renewing their postpaid plans.

The Huawei P40 Pro+ is also on offer.

These are both under the data-packed Smart Signature Plan L, which is inclusive of monthly 15GB open access data; Unli AnyNet Texts; Unli On-net Calls; and 150 minutes of AnyNet Calls under a 24-month contract.

Consumers with approved preorders will also get exclusive Huawei freebies worth up to P13,990. Subscribers with approved Huawei P40 Pro preorders will get Freebuds 3 and Talkband B3 Lite, while those with approved Huawei P40 preorders will get Band 4 and Talkband B3 Lite.

Designed to revolutionize mobile experience, the Huawei P40 Series promises visionary performance with the cuttingedge speed and power of its Kirin 990 5G Chipset, which supports multi-tasking across different apps.

The Huawei P40 Series also lets users enjoy visionary photography with its advanced Ultra Vision Leica Quad Camera system, which is touted to capture life moments effortlessly. The Huawei P40 Pro comes with a powerful Ultra Wide Cine Camera and ToF Camera alongside 50x SuperSensing Zoom, while the Huawei P40 delivers stunning images with ultra wide-angle, wide-angle, and telephoto lenses.

Huawei’s latest flagship smartphones also sport a visionary design with its Quad-Curve Overflow Display that offers the user an immersive view over the entire fluid screen as they browse websites and apps, view photos, stream videos, and play mobile games.

The Huawei P40 Series is the latest addition to Smart’s portfolio of innovative devices as the company continues to bring about solutions and experiences powered by what third-party mobile analytics firms cited as “the Philippines’s fastest mobile data network.”

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BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, June 20, 2020

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THIS September 2019 photo shows Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos arriving to a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. AP

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Bezos may testify on Big Tech, but with other CEOs WASHINGTON—Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is willing to testify to the congressional panel investigating the market dominance of Big Tech, but along with other tech industry CEOs, lawyers for the company say, according to a published report Monday.

Last month, leaders of the House Judiciary Committee from both parties asked Bezos to testify to address possible misleading statements by the company on its competition practices. They held out the threat of a subpoena if he didn’t agree voluntarily to appear. Amazon is willing to cooperate with the probe and to make “the appropriate executive” available to testify—including Bezos with other tech CEOs at a hearing this summer, an attorney for Amazon told the lawmakers in a letter, The Wall Street Journal reported.

However, the letter also said Amazon would first want to discuss timing and format of Bezos’s possible testimony and the committee’s pending requests for documents, according to the Journal.

Amazon.com Inc. used sensitive, confidential information about sellers on its marketplace, their products and transactions to develop its own competing products, the Journal has previously reported. An Amazon executive denied such a practice in statements at a committee hearing last July, saying the company has a formal policy against it.

If the news report is accurate, Amazon’s statements to the committee “appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false” or constituting perjury, said a letter to Bezos signed by the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, and others. “Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary.”

Spokesmen for the committee had no immediate comment on Monday on the Amazon letter.

In response to the Journal report, the company said last month: “We strictly prohibit employees from using non-public, seller-specific data” to determine

which of its own products to launch. “While we don’t believe these claims made in the º story are accurate, we take these allegations very seriously and have launched an internal investigation.”

Officials in California and Washington state also are reviewing Amazon’s practices with an eye to possible violations in its treatment of independent merchants that sell products on its platform, according to reports on Saturday in the Journal and the New York Times.

The Judiciary antitrust subcommittee led by Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, has been conducting a sweeping investigation of Big Tech companies and their impact on competition and consumers, focusing on Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission also are pursuing antitrust probes of the four companies, and state attorneys general from both parties have undertaken investigations of Google and Facebook. AP

Driver free but virus free?

Robo cars hit new speed bump

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BY TOM KRISHE� The Associated Press

ETROIT—The latest challenge for the autonomous vehicle industry: How to assure passengers that the car they are getting in is virus free, even if it doesn’t have a driver. Widespread use of autonomous vehicles already had been delayed by a March 2018 fatal crash involving an Uber test vehicle in Tempe, Arizona, forcing the industry to pause to make sure its vehicles are safe.

Now it has to deal—just like other ride-hailing companies and traditional taxis—with passenger anxiety over getting into tight spaces with people who may have the virus, or after infected people who rode

in the vehicles before them.

An executive with self-driving car company Waymo said Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic forced it to put its limited ride service in the Phoenix area on hold to make sure human backup drivers and passengers were safe. The passengercarrying service hasn’t resumed yet, but testing restarted on May 8. Some of the rides were shifted toward delivery, Patrick Cadariu, Waymo’s head of supply chain operations, said on a webinar.

Waymo, a unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc., has been running the service with selected riders since 2018, sometimes without human backup drivers.

Waymo and outside supply companies are now focused on putting technologies in place to clean vehicles between rides, Cadariu said.

The technologies, which he did not identify, have been ready for the last few years, he told the Society of Automotive Analysts’ webinar.

Waymo is looking at what to do between rides when there isn’t time to return to a depot for a full cleaning, Cadariu said.

“Those are the sort of questions that people are thinking through both at Waymo and outside of Waymo right now given how the pandemic has affected us and also our anxieties around germs,” he said. The Arizona vehicles have been delivering school supplies, protective equipment and food for nonprofits in the meantime.

Waymo, seen by many as the leader in autonomous vehicle technology, is a ways from running a largescale ride-hailing service with its Chrysler Pacifica minivans and Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs, he said, without giving a target date.

“The way we scale our technology, the way we scale our business will be incremental, safe and thoughtful,” said Cadariu, who also runs Waymo’s Detroit factory where stock vehicles are modified with autonomous sensors and hardware. “We’re really at just the beginning in terms of scale.”

Waymo has gradually expanded its service around Phoenix and now can run autonomously in an area about the size of San Francisco, Cadariu said. The company said that before the pandemic, it was running 1,000 to 2,000 rides per week. Between 5 percent and 10 percent were fully autonomous without human safety drivers, Waymo said.

The company, however, has yet to solve the difficult issue of self-driving vehicles in inclement weather. This despite its use of multiple laser, radar and camera sensors connected to artificial intelligence. Cadariu said Waymo has a team in the Detroit area working on snow and wet roads, while other teams in Florida and San Francisco are figuring out heavy rain and fog.

Waymo also is investing heavily in technology to keep sensors clean so they can always view the road, something it sees as important to reaching large-scale services, he said. ■

We’re more online than ever; what does that mean for our privacy?

SINCE the Covid-19 outbreak, many of us have adapted to the new normal and withdrawn to the safety of our homes. It’s only natural, then, that our Internet use has spiked significantly—around 70 percent, according to Forbes. But now that we work from home, communicate with our distant loved ones, and commune with friends through our devices, our private information is at risk more than ever.

You’ve probably heard of the privacy concerns that plague many of the communications apps that have grown in popularity during the quarantine. These are usually video conference apps or mobile video social networking apps that leave you vulnerable to third parties and data leaks.

There are also warnings against using apps designed for contact tracing to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Though these apps may be helpful in these times, they do process

and store location data in real-time.

So this leaves us with the question: What app can you really trust with your privacy in the era of social distancing? Rakuten Viber, one of the top messaging apps in the world, gives you several ways to prioritize your security online. This is keeping in line with its commitment to protecting the data of its users. “Unlike other apps, which mine user data to improve their marketing campaigns or to sell to other companies, the private messages sent via Viber are by default encrypted, which means it is virtually impossible for anyone from Viber to view users’ chat. On Viber, you can be sure that every private message you send can only be read on the device you send it to,” says Rakuten Viber CEO Djamel Agaoua.

You can even go a step further and follow some guidelines to secure the info on your device. For one, you can check your

phone’s Privacy Settings. Here, you can see which apps you have and if you’ve granted them permission to access data elsewhere on your phone. If you spot an app that has access to something you don’t want it to, just tap on the toggle switch to turn it off.

If you’re on a shared device, it’s especially important to turn off autofill to protect sensitive info you may have typed in.

Of course, you should log out of apps you’ve finished using, so the next user doesn’t see your private profile.

Be vigilant when it comes to the apps you install. Only get apps from trusted stores, like the App Store or Google Play Store, and only get them if they are trusted and secure. Remember, many apps can actually access your data for collection, commercial, and advertising purposes. Go through every single app on your phone, and keep in mind that each one is a potential

privacy problem. You may not think of it, but your even your photo editing app can be a gateway to your contacts, location, and profile. If you encounter an app that you hardly use anymore, delete it—it will be one less security risk on your phone.

Since Viber is by default encrypted, you don’t need to worry about your data getting leaked or sold. “At Rakuten Viber, we’re proud to say that we put customer privacy first. We will never sell your data. In fact, we can’t even see it in the first place,” says Rakuten Viber CEO Djamel Agaoua.

Moving all your personal interactions online may present some security risks, but if you’re careful with the apps you use and take the measures to protect your privacy online, you can dodge all the traps in the data minefield of the Internet and connect with those who matter most with some peace of mind.

Covid-19 response app RC143 now free for Globe/TM subscribers AS most of the country transitions to general community quarantine, the sense of normalcy that we so missed is slowly coming back. However, it is still best to be informed and practice safety precautions as quarantine protocols ease up and more people begin to leave their houses.

In times like this, a tool like RC143, a contract tracing app created by the Philippine Red Cross, is a must-have on every mobile phone. With this app, users can easily track their risk level, identify and avoid high-risk zones, and directly communicate with Red Cross personnel for questions about Covid-19 and medical assistance. Globe recently partnered with the Red Cross to provide support for RC143 by enabling mobile services like SMS alerts and app advisories. With this, the Red Cross can update and coordinate with more users efficiently and make accounts authentication and verification more convenient for users.

While anybody who has an active PH mobile number can use RC143, Globe and TM mobile customers may now access the app all for free. You can make the most out of the app’s features without worrying about spending mobile data. Users can download the app via the Google Play Store. RC143 is currently available for Android (version 6.0 and above) users.

“With GCQ and MGCQ policies now slowly being implemented to more areas, we can now expect more people to resume their daily outdoor activities. This makes it more critical to equip our kababayans with access to the right digital tools such as the RC143 app to safeguard their health and safety, and in turn that of their bigger communities,” said Albert de Larrazabal, Chief Commercial Officer at Globe.

The Philippine Red Cross developed RC143 to help more Filipinos protect themselves and their community from Covid-19. Through the wireless geo-location and sensory capabilities of phones such as Bluetooth and GPS, the app traces contact events between users that allows the Red Cross to notify users if they had contact (direct or indirect) with a Covid-19 positive patient. All necessary information are gathered and used with user’s consent.

Aside from the RC143 app, Globe customers can also access the official websites of the Department of Health and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for free as part of the company’s effort to keep the public informed on the latest Covid-19 updates.

More information is available at www.globe.com.ph and rc143.voxptech.com/faq.

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Saturday, June 20, 2020 A11

Huawei P40 review: 2 months a�ter, same old love with the scanning area increased by 30 percent. The Huawei P40 misses out on the highly advertised “Quad-Curve Overflow Display” display found on the P40 Pro, but it’s not really much of a deal and the flat form of the P40 does give you a better grip.

COMPACT FLAGSHIP CAMERA CHAMP

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HE other Sunday, I had our car “bac-to-zeroed.” If you haven’t heard of it, it’s actually an increasingly popular cleaning system that uses mist and a disinfecting agent that can kill bacteria and viruses inside your car (office or room) and gives it a fresh scent.

As Dan (the guy we contacted) and his girlfriend were taking some photos and videos of the process, I noticed that they were using a Huawei Nova 7i, (it was hard to ignore the crush green color). I asked him about his thoughts on the phone and the lack of Google Mobile Services (GMS). He said he bought it for gaming and that it didn’t really matter as he could easily sideload the apps he needed or download them from App Gallery or other sources.

For Huawei users like us, finding workarounds have become our new normal—and while it does require a bit of an effort and a few extra taps, your experience will very much depend on how deeply rooted you are within Google’s ecosystem.

So when I got the Huawei P40 a couple of months ago, it wasn’t as big of a shock as compared to the Mate 30 Pro last November—and I didn’t even use Phone Clone (the easiest way to transfer apps)—or think about sideloading GMS. This year, the Huawei P40 series returns with three options yet again, but instead of a “lite” version, we get the vanilla P40, the P40 Pro and the P40 Pro Plus.

Of the three, I think the standard P40 is probably the easiest to recommend. It’s the smallest and least expensive of the trio (same launch price as the P30 last year) and has far less competition in the compact flagship niche. Maybe that’s why there’s a 5:1 ratio disparity in reviews between the P40 Pro and the P40 (or maybe more), and while it’s understandable that Huawei is pushing for its more premium models, I feel the P40 deserves the same old love as its bigger siblings.

DESIGN AND DISPLAY

THE Huawei P series has always championed industry-leading design innovation combining eloquent minimalism and modernist beauty. Color has also been a standout feature of the P Series, and just as it made gradient finishes a smartphone standard last year, the P40s looks to be starting another trend with color options that can be described as understated but premium. For those who want it shiny, there’s glossy Deep Sea Blue, a reminder of the summer that Covid-19 canceled. If you prefer a matte finish like I do, I’d go for Silver Frost.

The Huawei P40 measures 148.9 x 71.1 x 8.5mm and weighs 175 grams. The futuristic design is complemented by exquisite craftsmanship with the glass panel and metal frames perfectly and smoothly connected for a comfortable grip. It already looks premium on photos but even more so once you hold it in your hands.

Exploring the phone, you’ll see the power button and volume keys on the right, while the bottom houses the dual nano SIM tray, USB-C port, mic and a single downward firing speaker.

On the back is the camera bump that houses its triple cameras, and on the front, we have the 6.1-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340, making it Wide Full HD with a sharp 422ppi density. Unlike the P40 Pro, the P40 only supports the standard refresh rate of 60Hz, which is so 2019 and is a bit of a bummer for a flagship.

The good news is that the difference between 90Hz and 60Hz isn’t that noticeable, so I guess that’s why Huawei’s decided not to push it across the entire series. Housing the 32MP dual selfie cam is a capsuleshaped cutout at the top left corner. So where is the earpiece you ask? The display doubles as an earpiece just like on the P30 Pro and P40 Pro and vibrates to produce sound, and call quality is clear and loud.

Also hiding beneath the display is one of the fastest under-display fingerprint reader on a smartphone

SAYING that three times is harder than convincing anyone otherwise.

Huawei has been pushing the envelope for smartphone photography with its P Series, and the P40 devices are the culmination of that continuous effort—for now. All three members feature the Ultra Vision Leica camera system with the largest camera sensor ever embedded in a Huawei smartphone.

The P40 has a main 50MP Ultra Vision Camera, a 16MP ultrawide snapper and an 8MP tele shooter for 3x optical zoom. It also has the same high-res 32MP front sensor of the Pro models, and thanks to IRdepth scan, Face Unlock works even in the dark and is even faster than the fingerprint reader.

Huawei’s default camera app has a pretty robust selection of modes, tap More to access even more selections such as slow-mo, panorama, monochrome, AR lens (which really needs to be updated), light painting, HDR, Timelapse, Stickers (also badly needs an update), Documents, Super Macro, and new ones like Underwater, Dual View and High-Res. Underwater mode advises you to use a Huawei underwater case and changes the phone’s camera interface. Instead of the shutter, you press the volume up to take photos or volume down to take videos. Dual view on the other hand lets you capture different perspectives via split screen. Lastly, the dedicated High-Res mode allows you to shoot in full 50MP (default is 12.5MP). Snapping an image is quick and saves a high-res photo with a bit wider field-of-view than the default mode. The downside is that you don’t get to use the AI assist.

Speaking of AI, Huawei has been pioneering smartphone on-device AI and camera technologies since the Mate 10 series and it can now recognize up to 1,500 different scenes in 25 categories. I usually leave it on (its less aggressive than before)—except when taking portrait photos as it does tend to blur the background a bit too much, and could ruin your photo especially if you want to show the stuff or scenery behind you.

That said, the P40 cameras are a big improvement over its predecessor. Utilizing the Da Vinci-based NPU inside the Kirin 990, the XD Fusion Engine enhances the images mimicking how the human brain processes visual information. The pixel-level imaging processes detail, color, dynamic range, bokeh and other factors to generate a high-quality portrait image. As you’d expect, daylight and outdoor photos are outstanding with great detail and dynamic range, with no visible noise and excellent color accuracy. But while other phones struggle in the dark, this is where the P40 outshines them all. Night shots are superb and it can even take photos in near total darkness and see things barely visible in the dark—its almost like magic, but then of course it’s not. It’s Huawei’s engineering ingenuity, integrated into a complete solution that brings a noticeable improvement to any and all photos.

The P40 only offers 3x optical and 5x hybrid zoom instead of 5x optical and 10x hybrid on the P40 Pro. But let’s be honest, the 100X zoom on the P40 Pro are just for bragging rights and gimmicky at best— regardless how some reviewers hype it to be. Photos at maxed zoom are generally unusable with mushy details and you can barely make out faces and shapes of very far-away objects. As for the P40’s zoom, up to 15X is still quite good but beyond that, images become full of artefacts.

Thanks to the AI capabilities of the Kirin 990 Series SoC, the Huawei P40 has this ability to support real-time AI recognition and processing allowing it to offer three new functions: AI Best Moment, AI Remove Passersby and AI Remove Reflection— collectively referred to as Huawei’s Golden Snap.

Golden Snap requires moving pictures to be enabled for these to work. For AI Best Moment, it detects and compares more than 30 posture detection and over 90 facial expressions on subjects in the frame to select the best image. AI Remove Reflection scans for reflections and glare and removes them from the final photo; while AI Remove Passersby takes care of photobombers and removes them from the images.

PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY

THE P40 might be a thing of beauty, but it’s also a beast in when it comes to performance. The Kirin 990 processor not only excels in benchmark tests but even more in real-life daily use.

It might not be a chart-topping device when it comes to scores, but I didn’t have any problems when using it for all sorts of tasks, whether its multitasking and opening several apps for work, watching movies, or playing games.

It’s partnered with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storagem and is currently the only high-end chipset with integrated 5G, and will work with the dedicated 5G networks of the future, as well as with the current hybrid LTE/5G networks.

Thermal management is likewise quite good, and the only problem I ever encountered with our review unit (it wasn’t a retail unit) was the overheating and shutdown of the camera app when taking videos past seven minutes. I do think it’s an isolated case, but you might want to check it out for yourself.

The Huawei P40 is powered by a 3,800mAh battery, which lasted a full day of moderate to heavy usage, considering the ECQ conditions. It supports 22.5W fast wired charging, but sadly no wireless charging like the P40 Pro.

EMUI AND EXTRAS

THE Huawei P40 runs the latest version of EMUI 10.1 on top of Android 10, but as you probably know by now it has no Google Mobile Services (GMS) and no access to the Google Play Store. Instead, you either have to get your apps via Phone Clone, Huawei’s App Gallery or other app markets—more on this in a bit.

EMUI 10.1 also allows you to use MeeTime for HD video calls and hopefully Huawei’s new voice assistant Celia in the near future. Finally, EMUI 10.1 expands the multi-screen collaboration feature available

between Huawei smartphones and MateBooks. In addition to the screen sharing and file exchange via drag and drop, you can make phone and video calls from your laptop.

FINAL WORD

THE P40 is an excellent all-around device, with the best cameras at its price point. For those who want a smaller and more “affordable flagship,” this is a much better choice especially during these financially challenging times when we all should be more costconscious. But just like the P40 Pro and the Mate 30 series before it, the biggest deterrent that prevents me from just telling you to go and get it is the lack of GMS. Huawei’s App Gallery may be the 3rd biggest app store in the world, but there are still a lot of great apps missing. The good news is that compared to its anemic state when it launched with the Mate 30, Huawei is doing a great job of bringing more essential apps to its users beyond China. The addition of App Go also makes it easier to find the apps that aren’t on the AppGallery so you don’t have to keep shuffling between APK Pure, Apptoide, etc. It’s still an early work in progress as there are only around 200 apps in total.

Finding the apps you need isn’t the only problem though, because even if you are able to install the app, it doesn’t guarantee that will work, since some do require GMS to run. While there are browser versions of Google Maps, Gmail, Photos and YouTube, others simply won’t work or run properly. The Googlefree Huawei experience may be much better than it was, but I still suggest you make a list of the most important apps you use and check first if it runs properly on the P40.

E-mail me for comments and questions at whereiseduy@gmail.com with TECHNIVORE on the subject line. ■

Sports BusinessMirror

A12 Saturday, June 20, 2020

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

FROOME FUTURE: UP IN THE AIR S

PECULATION is mounting over Chris Froome’s future with the usually well-informed Tuttobici web site suggesting the new WorldTour squad Israel Start-Up Nation is ready to offer the Briton a three-year contract.

The start date on the contract is said to be August 1, before this year’s Tour de France and during the International Cycling Union (UCI) transfer window, but Cyclingnews learned that Froome has not yet signed any agreement for 2021 and that his future remains “up in the air,” according to one source close to the Ineos rider.

Cyclingnews revealed in mid-May that Froome was approached over a possible midseason transfer as he looked to guarantee Tour de France leadership. A decision on his future is expected in the week.

Froome is currently training in France with a small number of his Ineos teammates as they step up

Ian Poulter holes a 30-foot birdie putt and follows with a 5-iron to 4 feet for a birdie that closed out his round of seven-under 64 for a share of the lead on Thursday. AP

A little rain, a little sunshine, a lot of birdies at Hilton Head

preparations ahead of the resumption of racing.

Any mid-season move would require the consent of Team Ineos Manager Dave Brailsford, and whether he would be willing to let Froome leave ahead of the Tour France and thus become a major rival is unclear.

However, Brailsford does have history in allowing riders leave without financial compensation, having let Mark Cavendish leave one year into a three-year contract back in 2013.

Froome is out of contract this season and has naturally attracted

T

HE RBC Heritage began two months later than usual with a little rain, a little sunshine and a lot of birdies, most of them from Jordan Spieth to turn a rough start into a furious finish.

Ian Poulter holed a 30-foot birdie putt and followed with a 5-iron to 4 feet for a birdie that closed out his round of seven-under 64, giving him a share of the lead Thursday with Mark Hubbard at Hilton Head.

“I’ve always loved coming here to play golf,” said Poulter, and he has plenty of company this year.

The RBC Heritage, typically a week after the Masters in April, is the second tournament since the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour returned after 90 days from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The top 3 players in the world are at Hilton Head—Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas—and none broke par on a day in which 66 players in the 151-man field shot in the 60s. A year ago, only 38 players in the 132-man field opened with rounds in the 60s.

Spieth wouldn’t have guessed he would be one of them after a tee shot what was 5 yards right of the 12th fairway hit a tree and didn’t stop rolling until it was out-of-bounds. He made triple bogey and was 3 over through three holes.

“All of a sudden, I’m 3 over through three, and you start to see guys going 2 under through two, 2 under through three early,” Spieth said. “It’s not a great feeling.”

Determined to at least try to get under par for his round, Spieth had a career-best six straight birdies on his back nine and finished with seven birdies over his last eight holes for a 66.

Poulter and Hubbard, who started birdieeagle, were a shot ahead of a group that included Webb Simpson, Ryan Palmer and Viktor Hovland, Colonial winner Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Ernie Els and that incredible bulk, Bryson DeChambeau, were in the large group at 67.

DeChambeau, who added some 40 pounds of mass to increase his swing speed, was hammering shots over the range during practice earlier in the week. He had to tone it down on the tight, tree-lined Harbour Town Golf Links.

“I couldn’t unleash the Kraken today,” DeChambeau said, a student of physics and Scandinavian folklore. “It was just too tight out there. The wind was swirling all day, and I couldn’t feel comfortable to give it a good whack, but I was still able to manage keeping it mostly in the fairway.”

Dustin Johnson was poised to make a move until hit into the water on the par-three 14th and compounding the error with a three-putt triple bogey. He still managed a 68.

It was the first PGA Tour with spectators on the property, just not on the golf course with tickets.

Harbour Town is lined with vacation homes, villas and townhouses, and plenty of people spilled onto their decks and into their yards to watch. The

Shaq to compete with Gronk in virtual live party, fund-raiser

interest from a number of teams including Israel Start-Up Nation. He also discussed his future with Rod Ellingworth at Bahrain McLaren but Cyclingnews found out that Israel Start-Up Nation is leading the chase for Froome’s signature, while interest remains from CCC Team which is currently looking for a new title sponsor for 2021.

Team Ineos is also currently negotiating with Froome but has not yet offered fresh terms.

Froome’s contract situation is extremely delicate as the transfer market for Grand Tour team leaders begins to move after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sport. Froome is just one—albeit large—piece on the board, with the Simon and Adam Yates also out of contract at the end of the season.

The unstable situation at Mitchelton-Scott has prompted speculation over the future of the brothers. Simon Yates was offered a contract at Trek-Segafredo two years ago before eventually deciding to stay put but the American team would have room for the British climber if it decided not to extend Richie Porte’s current terms.

Team Ineos is stacked with Tour winners, with Chris Froome vying for leadership alongside 2018 champion Geraint Thomas and 2019 titlist Egan Bernal.

BLACK CYCLISTS MATTER L

tour has ropes to line the fairway. This year, they put up ropes to line the yards to keep people from coming all the way onto the course.

One family had a sign up for Spieth as he walked along the eighth fairway, one of only two holes on the front nine where he failed to make birdie.

That shot out-of-bounds had all markings of bad breaks he has seen too often during three winless years. With a provisional tee shot in the fairway, Spieth went over to look at the trees, and then some 20 yards to the right at his original tee shot nestled in the pine straw. And then he three-putted.

Instead of getting down, he told caddie Michael Greller on the next tee, “That’s over. Let’s get four [birdies] today and shoot under par.”

“I ended up getting a few more than that,” he said.

Just like last week’s opening round at Colonial, he got hot on his back nine. The streak began with an 8-foot putt on the par-5 second hole, and included a 7-iron to 4 feet to a left pin near the water on the par-3 fourth. He was on such a roll that Spieth began to contemplate eight straight birdies to end his round. But he saw enough mud on his ball from the fairway on No. 8 that he played conservatively to 30 feet, and then finished with another short birdie. AP

N

EW YORK—Shaq and Gronk are about to throw down with each other for a cause.

The men with seven championship rings between them will compete against each other on June 27 in Shaq’s Fun House Vs Gronk Beach, a virtual party combining fun and music as a benefit for social justice.

“We’re all about bringing people together,” O’Neal said. “We’re all about

ondon-based cycling club the Black Cyclists Network announced the creation of the first British domestic racing team for black, Asian and minority ethic (BAME) riders.

The club aims to fund a 10-rider squad for the 2021 season, as well as hosting events and establishing an outreach program.

The Black Cyclists Network was founded in 2018 by Mani Arthur and currently boasts of more than 100 members, “including white members and supporters of diversity.” The stated mission of the club is to connect and encourage cyclists of color and the wider community to take up cycling.

The domestic racing team is currently made up of nine riders, including one at Elite level and four in the second category. The aim is to add one further rider in order to race next year.

A GoFundme page has been set up by the club, with a £10,000 aim which will go toward supporting the team in 2021, as well as grassroots efforts. These will include developing an outreach program to encourage beginners to take up cycling and funding events to raise awareness about diversity in the sport.

“The Black Cyclists Network is more than a club,” said Arthur in a statement released by the club. “We are a community built to address the lack of representation in the cycling world.

There are a lot of cyclists from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in the UK and

If Froome does move to Israel Start-Up Nation, it’s highly likely that the team will sign further reinforcements to help bolster its general classification capabilities in the years ahead. For example, Froome was interested in having Mitchelton-Scott’s Mikel Nieve as a key teammate.

The Spaniard is also out of contract and was recently voted the best domestique in the world by Cyclingnews readers. Ion and Gorka Izagirre have also been linked with moves from Astana to Israel Start-Up Nation due to their skills as trusted stage racers.

The 35-year-old Froome has made no secret of his desire to keep on racing for the next few years. The four-time Tour de France winner has also declared his mission to win a fifth and record equaling Tour. However, the situation has been complicated by a number of overlapping issues. First, Team Ineos is stacked with Tour winners, with Froome vying for leadership alongside 2018 champion Geraint Thomas and 2019 titlist Egan Bernal.

The Colombian has already stated that he will not sacrifice his 2020 chances for a teammate, even though Team Ineos is currently planning on running with three leaders at the Tour.

Froome has also not raced a Grand Tour since finishing third in the 2018 Tour de France.

He suffered a career-threatening crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné last year and although he has returned to full health, he is still racing into the unknown as he prepares to test his body over three weeks for the first time in two years. Cyclingnews

around the world, yet very few resources cater for our communities.”

“With the launch of the Black Cyclists Network team we aim to give much-needed visibility to people of color in the sport to inspire and engage a new audience to the physical, mental and social benefits of cycling,” the club added added.

The clubs’s GoFundMe page, which was set up on Wednesday evening, has already seen over 200 people donated, reaching the halfway point of the fund-raising target within 24 hours.

Peter Sagan, meanwhile, has put his trust in the International Cycling Union and race organizers for the safe return of racing, suggesting there is no reason to be scared of catching the Covid-19 coronavirus while racing in a peloton as long as riders are tested before events and everyone respects the health and safety protocols.

The UCI is expected to reveal its medical protocol this week, with leading race organizers and teams also looking at measures to protect the riders, the race caravan and the crowds.

Speaking to the media during a conference call from altitude in Sölden, Austria during the Bora-Hansgrohe training camp, Sagan confirmed that he will miss the rescheduled cobbled Classics in October and so respect his agreement with race organizer RCS Sport to ride the Giro d’Italia.

He will return to racing at Strade Bianche and then ride Milanp-Torino and Milan-San

Remo in early August, and then the Criterium du Dauphine (August 12-16), before lining up in Nice for the Tour de France on August 29. He will skip the World Road Race Championships if they remain on the mountainous course in Switzerland to recover for the Giro d’Italia.

Sagan will race the 42 stages of the two Grand Tours in just 58 days due to the rearrangement of the calendar but he also refused to rule out leaving the Giro d’Italia in the final week so that he can line up for ParisRoubaix on October 25.

Sagan revealed he spent the Covid-19 pandemic under lockdown in Monaco, rarely posting on social media and keeping a low profile as a sign of respect for the people suffering during the global crisis. He selfisolated for three weeks from his son Marlon and ex-wife after riding Paris-Nice, and then spent time training indoors until early May. “For sure it was a strange situation. It wasn’t a normal life. I’d been in contact with a lot of people so when I went home to Monaco, I closed myself in my apartment for three weeks to avoid infecting my ex-wife and my son. I did some prevention but, fortunately, I never felt sick or had any symptoms. I felt a little down, not depressed, but without energy,” Sagan said of his life under lockdown. AP

THE club’s mission is to connect and encourage cyclists of color and the wider community to take up cycling.

Rio restarts soccer league next to field hospital for Covid-19

R

IO DE JANEIRO—In a sign of the times, the first professional soccer match in South America in nearly three months was staged in a stadium only meters away from a field hospital for hundreds of patients of Covid-19.

Copa Libertadores champion Flamengo beat Bangu, 3-0, in a local league game that was witnessed by fewer than 200 people in Brazil’s historic 78,000-seat Maracanã Stadium on Thursday night.

More than 47,700 people have died because of the new coronavirus in Brazil, and nearly 1 million have been infected.

Rio de Janeiro state accounts for about

8,000 deaths, but authorities agreed to let soccer return this week after the number of available intensive-care unit beds showed slight improvement. Health experts predict Brazil’s Covid-19 crisis will peak in August.

Goals by Giorgian de Arrascaeta in the 18th minute, Bruno Henrique, in the 66th, and Pedro Rocha in the 88th were celebrated with fist bumps.

Near the Maracanã’s gate 2, a field hospital with 400 beds for coronavirus patients reminded the small group of people at the stadium why many health experts think it is too soon for soccer competition to resume.

A minute of silence was observed before kick

off in a sign of respect to victims of Covid-19.

Rio soccer authorities did not allow mixed zone interviews with players after the match, also following health recommendations. But Flamengo Coach Jorge Jesus spoke via video after the match.

“Our society will have to adapt until we have a vaccine. What is important is to know how to live, respect the virus, but have no fear of it,” the Flamengo coach said. “Soccer teams have the privilege of being constantly tested and working outdoors. Flamengo is working safely.”

Flamengo players arrived wearing masks, and appeared to be excited to be back. They have practiced for three weeks, some days against

recommendations. But some of their fans outside were protesting. Jumping and chanting with supporters of rival clubs, some fans also think it is too risky for soccer to return before Rio and Brazil have more control over the spread of the virus.

They also protested against President Jair Bolsonaro, who indicated he would attend the match but did not. Soccer’s early comeback in Brazil is a victory for the president, who sided with Flamengo in the lobby. Rodolfo Landim, the president of the club, was in the capital Brasilia on Wednesday with Bolsonaro when Rio’s soccer organizers announced the match schedule.

Brazil’s president is one of the few leaders in the world to downplay the risks of Covid-19. AP

making people smile. As I look at Gronk, I see a version of myself....I’m proud to say he’s a friend. I’m glad to say I probably couldn’t pull this off with anybody else besides Gronk.”

The three-time Super Bowl champ had been retired when traded by New England to Tampa Bay in April. He currently has his own Game On show on ABC and recently appeared on The Masked Singer. Gronkowski noted he

first competed against the Basketball Hall of Famer and four-time NBA champ in a dance battle.

“Ever since then, I’ve actually been waiting to challenge him again,” Gronkowski said.

They will compete in six different challenges including a lip sync battle, a game of HORSE, and jousting, with the winner of each earning a donation to his charity.

O’Neal is competing for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, while Gronkowski’s winnings go to the NAACP. DoorDash also will donate one meal for each viewer in the live-stream up to 1.25 million meals in conjunction with Feeding America.

The party, starting at 8 p.m. ET, will be live-streamed for free at www.ShaqVsGronk. com and also on TikTok with a simulcast on outlets including LiveXLive, Facebook, Twitch,

YouTube and Twitter. Fans will be able to live chat and even suggest shots for HORSE. Taylor Rooks and comedien JB Smoove are hosting the party, which also will feature performances and interviews with rapper Snoop Dogg; DaBaby who has the current hit “Rockstar;” DJ Steve Aoki; DJ and songwriter Diplo; and Carnage. O’Neal also will take his turn as DJ Diesel. AP