BusinessMirror March 17, 2019

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

2018 EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR

Money for nothing www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Sunday, March 17, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 158

A Department of Housing and Urban Development, then a Department of Disaster Resilience. And now, with the water crisis, a Department of Water?

The penchant for creating agencies and diverting to bureaucratic layers the scarce resources—instead of using funds to solve problems for people—is wreaking havoc on the way budgets are applied to national life, argue experts.

C

The friendly skies will soon be filled with hot air

By Adam Minter

W

REATING new agencies and failing to consolidate and coordinate functions of the government will not help make national budgets more efficient tools in the fight against poverty and high inequality, according to a local economist. nation problem,” Monsod said.

She also said that agencies such as the Department of Agrarian Reform and Department of Agriculture (DA) should be merged to have better coordination when it comes to the country’s land and natural resources.

Monsod said the management of the country’s land and natural resources needs to be reviewed.

She said that separating land and natural resources is not only inefficient for government but also budgets.

Meanwhile, agencies that have devolved services, such as DA, should not be given more funding. However, this continues to happen because loopholes in the Local Government Code of 1991 allow the practice to continue.

“If you look at the local government code, there’s a loophole in the law. It says that if you have money, you can do it even if it’s been devolved. I think the whole approach to support farmers, support for agriculture as a sector, has to be reviewed basically. I think you cannot separate land and natural resources and when you talk about land, then automatically you’re talking about how to use it in the best way,” Monsod said.

THE 132-foot Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey airship, September 10, 2010.

ANTHONY ANEESE TOTAH JR | DREAMSTIME.COM

MAMANULI | DREAMSTIME.COM

Cash-based

EXPERTS said cash-based budgeting, in order to work more efficiently, needs to be improved in light of the country’s age-old concerns about the “huge” carryover obligations that are not yet due and demandable.

Bloomberg Opinion

HEN a massive heliumfilled airship designed by Flying Whales, a French manufacturer, takes to the air for the first time in 2021, it won’t be against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. Instead, it’ll probably fly over Jingmen, a dusty farm and industrial town in central China where Flying Whales and state-owned China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co., Ltd. (Caiga) recently announced they’re planning to build an airship assembly line. Production should start in 2022 and could result in dozens of the giant ships— each twice as long as a Boeing Co. 747—floating around the world.

By Cai U. Ordinario

In a forum to launch the book titled Budget Reform in the Philippines: Making the Budget a Tool for National Transformation, University of the Philippines economist Toby Melissa Monsod said the budget can be a powerful tool in reducing poverty and inequality.

However, establishing new agencies and failing to address structural issues, such as the lack of coordination in government, can “fragment” the budget, leading to less funds for more important projects and programs.

“The point of the budget is not to provide for agencies. The point of the budget is to enable economic growth, enable equity, etc. And it’s not about giving each agency a budget. Unfortunately, that’s how people approach it,” Monsod told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the forum.

“People think that if you have an agency, you have more money.

The more you do that, the more you fragment the budget. And everyone knows, when you fragment funds you may not be able to do the things that count,” she added.

Monsod said new departments, such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD) and the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), will not solve the inefficiencies in housing and urban development as well as disaster response and rehabilitation.

She also laughed off the idea of creating a separate Department of Water to manage the country’s water resources. She reiterated that creating departments will not be good for the national budget.

“I think people are trying to solve a coordination problem and I think the solution of creating a department is one of the most inefficient ways of solving a coordi-

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

Eight decades after the Hindenburg disaster turned regulators, manufacturers and the public against lighter-than-air travel, the age of the airship (mind you, not blimps, which are non-rigid balloons that lose shape when they deflate) is back. These slowmoving giants won’t challenge modern aircraft for passengers.

But, thanks to advancements in technologies, including hybrid-

electric power, they’re poised to offer a cheap, potentially lowcarbon means of delivering cargo to and from regions of the world that lack basic infrastructure, including airstrips. China, with its ambitions to bring those areas into its economic orbit, will be a major customer for these new airships and a key player in shaping their future.

Continued on A2

Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.5910

n JAPAN 0.4708 n UK 69.6515 n HK 6.6997 n CHINA 7.8214 n SINGAPORE 38.7954 n AUSTRALIA 37.1503 n EU 59.4594 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.0239

Source: BSP (March 15, 2019 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, March 17, 2019

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The friendly skies will soon be filled with hot air Continued from A1

The collaboration with Flying Whales dates back to 2012 and a French forestry problem. The country has lots of trees to log, but many are inaccessible without building expensive new roads and airstrips to convey wood to sawmills. France’s National Forests Office, in search of alternatives, wondered: Could an airship that doesn’t need to land expand the country’s timber harvesting area? Flying Whales answered by designing the LCA60T, a rigidframe, helium-floated airship designed to carry 60 tons of cargo.

Though it has yet to build one, the company has secured close to $250 million in funding, including from Caiga, which owns nearly a quarter of the firm.

The Chinese government has made no secret of its desire to be an aerospace power and Caiga has been aggressive in purchasing or partnering on promising new ideas and technologies. And investing in airships isn’t just about acquiring advanced technology. In theory, at least, the craft will address several practical issues that China now faces.

First, the new generation of airships won’t be confined to conveying logs. In 2016, Lockheed Martin Corp. won a nearly $500-million order for as many as a dozen of its hybrid-electric LMH-1 airships (operational in 2020 or 2021) from a buyer who plans to lease their 20-tons of

freight capacity to Arctic oil and gas companies. Leasing an airship is cheaper than building new roads across permafrost melting due to climate change, and roughly seven times cheaper per ton than using heavy-lift helicopters. As China and the rest of the world extend their search for raw materials into ever-more remote regions, airships are likely to become crucial links in logistics chains.

Second, airships can provide China with a cheap and nimble means of extending economic assistance, as well as investment through its signature Belt and Road Initiative, to regions that lack infrastructure for planes or even trucks. In the developing regions of Africa and Asia that are China’s primary targets, less than half of the population has access to good roads (lack of transportation access correlates with poverty). Flying Whales claims that the LCA60T will carry parts and machinery, including—potentially—wind-turbine blades (heavylift airships will have immense cargo holds). Generators, batteries, solar panels and even prefab buildings (China is a global leader in the prefab industry) could also catch rides. The delivery of postdisaster humanitarian assistance to remote areas—an area in which China has become a major player—would also benefit from airship transport.

Finally, a commitment to airships could help China meet its

WITH its high carrying capacity and the ability to remain hovering and land without any infrastructure on the ground, large-capacity airships, like the one used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, become an essential link for the transport of food, rescue personnel and medicines in areas affected by natural disasters. FLYING-WHALES.COM/EN

HYBRID airships cut down on emissions. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As far back as 2010, the International Air Transportation Association called for the global air freight industry to shift from heavy freighters to lightweight airships to reach emission targets. According to the group, airships produce 80 percent to 90 percent fewer emissions and, because they fly at low altitudes, don’t produce heat trapping-contrails. China’s air freight market is one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing; even a small

shift toward airships would make difference in slowing the sector’s emissions growth.

Airships aren’t perfect, of course. They’re slower than airplanes and helicopters (though faster than cargo ships) and their immense size leaves them much more exposed to winds and adverse weather than traditional planes. Helium, the preferred gas for the new generation of airships, is much safer than the hydrogen that burned up the Hindenburg but also substantially more expensive. And, finally, there is the

problem of newness: The sorts of companies and organizations targeted to use airships have yet to sign up in large numbers. Until more become first-movers, the technology will remain niche.

The good news for airships is that China is fully invested, even as other potential customers wait for someone else to jump first. Though Chinese state-owned companies don’t like to lose money, they will if their overseers see a political or long-term case for doing so. Looking forward, that case is buoyant.

Money for nothing Continued from A1

Former Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said having huge carryover obligations that are not yet due and demandable “distorts” the budget process and “public funding priorities.”

In 2017 Abad said around P800 billion worth of obligations were carried over to 2018 and crowded out current spending. This highlights issues concerning past obligations, the preceding year’s obligations, and the current year’s obligations.

Abad said this can lead to confusion as to what is being spent by government. He said there must be

a distinction on what funds are being spent so as to be more accurate.

“Over the years, this accumulation of carryover obligations that have remained not due and demandable has grown to trillions of pesos. And so, what cash budgeting should do is limit not just the period of obligation but also the period of completion of projects,” Abad said.

“You cannot receive money that you cannot both obligate and implement and disburse during the year. But if you do that and you don’t have agencies who are capable of spending significant amounts of money, then you are forced to reduce your budget and this is what

happened to the 2019 budget,” he added.

For his part, Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza added that capacity building is also important to make cash-based budgeting work. This will prevent the government from committing mistakes that would lead to questionable results such as chopping up projects.

Monsod added that whenever policies such as those for budgets are crafted, it is important to look at the local context. She said policies that solve problems in other countries may not necessarily work in the Philippines.

The World BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Canadian mining losing ground to global competitors, group says

C

ANADA is in danger of losing its global dominance in mining, despite recent government initiatives to improve competitiveness, according to a report from an industry association.

The report by the Mining Association of Canada comes as debate about the hollowing out of the country’s mining sector grows. Mega-mergers by Canada’s two largest gold companies, Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc., stand to erode its global influence.

The Barrick tie-up, with Channel Islands-based Randgold Resources Ltd., has already resulted in job cuts and further decentralization away from Canada, a trend that will likely increase under Barrick ’s newly inked jointventure in Nevada with Newmont Mining Corp. Meanwhile, Newmont’s proposed takeover of Goldcorp will see the combined entity headquartered in Colorado, with only a regional office remaining in Vancouver.

“For decades, our industry has been a leader in the production of minerals and metals. A leader in mining services and supplies. A leader in mine finance. A leader in sustainability and safety, but that position is in jeopardy and will be lost without continued, decisive action at both the federal

and provincial levels,” Pierre Gratton, CEO of the association said in a news release.

Among the key findings in the report: Canada’s share of international exploration spending has fallen for six years in a row Over five years, the country has lost its “top 5” ranking as a producer in seven out of 16 commodities where it held that position Capital investment in the mining sector has fallen every year since 2012 Australia has extended its lead on Canada in terms of the number of companies supplying the sector and as a percentage of total foreign direct investment Despite this, the sector still represents 5 percent of total nominal GDP and 19 percent of the value of Canadian goods exports in 2017 The Toronto Stock Exchange and Venture Exchange raised nearly one-third of the world’s total equity capital in the sector in 2017, making them top mining and exploration listing exchanges.

Renewing the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for a five-year term, along with other government initiatives, could help reverse the trend but more policies are required, the report concludes.

Bloomberg News

May wins some time for a final push on her rejected Brexit deal

P

RIME Minister Theresa May kept her deal with the European Union on life support by winning the backing of British politicians to seek a delay to Brexit just 48 hours after her plan looked dead and buried.

In a rare good day for the UK leader, the House of Commons on Thursday voted 412 to 202 to endorse her motion, buying her time to try and persuade doubters in her own Conservative Party to back her proposal or risk a lengthy postponement to Brexit they’re increasingly desperate to avoid.

With Britain tied in political knots over how to leave the EU, May is entering the 11th hour of brinkmanship. The country is due to end 46 years of membership in the bloc on March 29, with the looming threat of economic chaos should no agreement be reached.

She’s now offering a simple choice for members of Parliament: back the deal they’ve already emphatically rejected twice and deliver Brexit delayed by up to three months, or risk being trapped in an extension that would last much longer with terms set by the bloc and still no end in sight to the domestic impasse. “ There are now two options left,” Health Secretar y Matt Hancock told the BBC. “One is to vote for the deal, get it through and leave in an orderly way and the second is a long delay. I think that would be a disaster and I’m emphatically against that because it wouldn’t solve anything.”

Cabinet rebellion

THURSDAY’S outcome was a welcome piece of good news for the British leader, after a bruising three days in which her political authority appeared to have drained away.

Even so, more than half of May’s own members of parliament voted against her motion, meaning she had to rely on opposition parties to get it through.

Seven of those were cabinet ministers, including Brexit S ecretar y Stephen Barclay, who had urged the entire House of Commons to back the motion just an hour earlier. Liam Fox, Andrea Leadsom, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Chris Grayling and Gavin Williamson, all voted against May’s main motion too.

Thursday’s vote also sets up May for a difficult meeting next week with the remaining 27 EU leaders who themselves are divided over the proposed extension to Brexit.

But before that, May hopes the

imminent threat of a lengthy extension will now soften some of the most avid Brexit campaigners whose support she needs. She plans to bring her deal back for another meaningful vote by March 20, before the EU Council meeting.

Her attorney-general, Geoffrey Cox, has already updated his legal advice on the contentious provision for the land border with Ireland with a reference to the Vienna Convention on international treaties, the Telegraph reported. It’s an effort to win over Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party and members of the Tory pro-Brexit European Research Group caucus.

Brexit-supporting Conservative MP Ben Bradley said on Thursday it was possible most ERG members could switch to supporting May’s deal next week.

Others, though, were hardening their position against it. “There are probably about 15ish who will not vote for it regardless,” he said.

In another tactical move, May also promised lawmakers that if her deal isn’t approved next week, she will give Parliament the chance to take over on March 25.

That helped her narrowly defeat a cross-par ty motion that would have seen May lose control of the voting process. The proposal, from Labour politician Hilar y Benn, was rejec ted by 314 votes to 312.

The March 25 vote will also pose another threat to the Brexit hard liners and might just work because MPs could use the opportunity to vote for a softer departure than May is proposing. That could potentially keep the UK in the EU’s single market or customs union, which many pro-leave campaigners would hate.

Parliament also over whelmingly voted down a motion seeking a second referendum, though Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his team were still working on plans for another public vote that could be supported across party lines.

The EU has suggested it’s open to putting back the UK’s departure until late May, although there’s no unified position among European leaders and officials say they will need Britain to give a clear reason for delaying.

EU President Donald Tusk said earlier he would appeal to the 27 member states “to be open to a long extension if the UK finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it.”

Bloomberg News

Sunday, March 17, 2019

A3

China, US to delay Trump-Xi meeting to April at the earliest

A

MEETING between President Donald J. Trump and President Xi Jinping to sign an agreement to end their trade war won’t occur this month and is more likely to happen in April at the earliest, three people familiar with the matter said.

Despite claims of progress in talks by both sides, a hoped-for summit at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort will now take place at the end of April, if it happens at all, according to one of the people. China is pressing for a formal state visit, which traditionally takes place in Washington, rather than a lowerkey appearance just to sign a trade deal, the person said.

Xi’s staff have scrapped planning for a potential flight to the US, following a trip to Europe later this month, a separate person said.

The people asked not to be named as the details are private.

Stocks edged lower and the dollar gained as investors weighed fresh developments in trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.

“We’ll have news on China— probably one way or the other we’re going to know over the next three to four weeks,” Trump said at the White House on Thursday.

“And then if one gets done, it will be something that people are going to be talking about for a long time because we have been really taken advantage of for a long time.

And now I think...China, frankly, they’ve been very responsible and very reasonable.”

China’s Vice Premier Liu He

talked to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin by phone on March 14, and they made “further material progress” over the wording of the agreement document, according to Xinhua News Agency, without giving more details.

Lighthizer this week pointed to “major issues” still unresolved in the talks, with few signs of a breakthrough on the most difficult subjects. Chinese officials have also bristled at the appearance of the deal being one-sided, and are wary of the risk of Trump walking away even if Xi were to travel to the US. The White House communications staff didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The State Council in Beijing also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

US President Donald J. Trump (right) speaks to China’s President Xi Jinping during a state dinner in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. Trump urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to work hard and act fast to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis during talks in Beijing on Thursday, warning that “time is quickly running out.” THOMAS PETER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Trump himself has dialed down the urgency of getting a deal signed as early as this month. He acknowledged concerns in Beijing about the possibility of him walking away from a trade deal, offering to push back a summit with Xi until a final agreement is reached.

“We could do it either way,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday at the White House. “We can have the deal completed and come and sign or we can get the deal almost completed and negotiate some of the final points. I would prefer that. But it doesn’t matter that much.”

Signing summit

THERE is currently no plan for the

We could do it either way. We can have the deal completed and come and sign or we can get the deal almost completed and negotiate some of the final points. I would prefer that. But it doesn’t matter that much.”—Trump

US to send another lower-level delegation to Beijing to iron out the details but it’s possible Lighthizer would have to make the trip again to finalize some of the outstanding points in person.

The negotiations have zeroed in on the phasing out of jointventure requirements, the deal’s enforcement mechanism and the lifting of tariffs the two sides have imposed on each other, the people familiar with the talks said. Those topics are negotiated at the ministerial level.

While gaps have narrowed on a number of issues, a lot of work remains. The countries exchanged drafts in English only and China now needs to translate the document and complete a so-called legal scrub, the people added.

Any deal will have a “very clear enforcement provision,” Mnuchin said in congressional testimony on Thursday, noting that he and Lighthizer spoke the night before with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. The agreement also “needs to be right—that’s more important than the exact timing,” Mnuchin said. Bloomberg News

British nightmare for utilities is going from bad to worse

W

ITH or without Brexit, Britain is surely the toughest market for European utilities to make money in right now. After years and years of surging bills, disgruntled homeowners are abandoning the nation’s biggest energy suppliers at an alarming rate. In strikingly somber tones, utilities from Innogy SE to Centrica Plc have dished out bearish outlooks detailing their woes in recent weeks. Some have lost hundreds of thousands of customers in the past year alone, while Innogy also booked huge impairment charges for its activities in the UK. The market has traditionally been dominated by six big utilities, but their share is shrinking with smaller and more nimble rivals undercutting prices. In a far cry from Margaret Thatcher’s liberalization drive decades ago, lawmakers from all parties have turned against the traditional suppliers, with Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May introducing a price cap to stop what she called “rip off” contracts.

And while the utilities say they are committed to the UK market even with the government setting a course set to exit the European Union, the wild swings in the pound since the referendum in 2016 are making it increasingly difficult for energy companies to forecast or rely on earnings from British units.

“Today, being a utility in Britain is a complete

nightmare,’’ said Elchin Mammadov, a utilities analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in London. “Almost all parts of the industry face increased regulatory scrutiny, intervention and intense competition, which is putting pressure on earnings. And that’s before any Brexit uncertainty.”

German utilities EON SE and RWE AG in the early 2000s flocked to the UK market where light-touch regulation and low business rates offered a profitable alternative to increasing competition and higher taxes in Germany.

But that calculation has been turned on its head by the government-imposed price controls and intensifying competition. Ironically, the companies that the government is trying to rein in are the same it needs to help rebuild what the International Energy Agency calls one of the oldest electricity systems in the world. The government has estimated it needs investments of £100 billion ($133 billion) to keep the lights on after 2020.

Innogy, which lost as many as 657,000 British customers last year, said on Wednesday that further customers losses will hold back the sums it’s willing to invest. The company, headquartered in Essen, Germany, wrote down the value of its UK retail business Npower by more than €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion), dragging overall profits lower.

“It’s not that we plan to lose customers,” Chief Financial Officer Bernhard Guenther said at a press conference on Wednesday. “It’s just that a very aggressive price strategy is being followed in the UK market, where power is even being sold to customers below wholesale price. We’re not following that strategy.”

He also told analysts that Innogy doesn’t exclude any options for Npower, including winding down the unit. That’s in line with December comments, when executives abandoned a plan to merge the company with SSE Plc’s retail arm, partly because of the poor outlook for the market.

But Npower’s fate could also become a question for EON’s Chief Executive Officer Johannes Teyssen. Last year, he struck Germany’s biggest ever utility deal with RWE CEO Rolf Schmitz, a move that includes EON taking over Npower. They aim to complete the deal late this year.

EON’s customer solutions unit will this year see profit “significantly below” 2018, mainly because of a negative triple digit million impact from the UK price cap, CFO Marc Spieker said on a call on Wednesday. The company’s British customer base shrank by 200,000 to 6.6 million last year.

Centrica, the nation’s biggest supplier to homes and a child of Thatcher’s privatization in the 1980s, plunged to a two-decade low in February after delivering

its second profit warning in three months, which it blamed mainly on the tariff cap.

Like its Big Six brethren, Centrica is losing domestic customers—742,000 in 2018 alone—to a wave of new players.

CEO Iain Conn said the cap will cut pretax profit by 300 million pounds, putting the utility’s cash-flow target “under some pressure.”

Regulator Ofgem has increased the cap by 10 percent to £1,254, a limit that will come into effect in April for customers on standard tariffs. While the hike may look like good news for the utilities, Morgan Stanley said last month that rising bills could in practice could prompt further customer defections.

And a squeeze on disposable incomes has given retail customers further incentive to shop around for a cheaper deal.

A record one in five households switched supplier last year, up 6 percent on 2017, according to Energy UK, the lobby group.

The public largely supports the price cap, according to Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics at the University of Kent. There are also signs UK voters are open to other state interventions in utilities, including nationalization, he said. That’s an idea already floated by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Grid companies are “notorious” for over-charging, he said last year.

“Britain is more open to economic interventionism than many people think,” he said.

Bloomberg News

A4

Sunday, March 17, 2019

The World BusinessMirror

Huawei pleads not guilty to bank fraud raps in NYC

H

UAWEI Technologies Co. pleaded not guilty on Thursday in New York City to federal charges that the company defrauded at least four banks by concealing business dealings in Iran in violation of US sanctions.

The plea by China’s largest smartphone maker and a US subsidiary, Huawei Device USA Inc., marks the formal start of the company’s defense in the US case.

Huawei attorney James Cole, part of a legal team that includes two former prosecutors, declined to comment further after the hearing in federal court in Brooklyn.

Meng Wa n z hou , Hu awei ’s chief financial officer, who is also charged in the case, wasn’t in court. She remains free on bail in Vancouver, while she fights extradition to the US, arguing the charges are politically motivated.

Meng, who is the daughter of the company’s billionaire founder, was arrested by Canadian authorities in December at the request of US prosecutors.

In a 13-count indictment unsealed on January 28, prosecutors allege Huawei employees, including Meng, lied since 2007 about the company’s relationship with Skycom Tech Co., which operated in Iran. Huawei and Meng falsely claimed Skycom wasn’t an affiliate, according to the government, which filed charges including conspiracy, wire fraud and bank fraud.

Huawei is accused of using Skycom to violate a decades-old ban on doing business with Iran,

including repeatedly lying to the US and even to Congress regarding whether its business in Iran violated any American sanctions.

Skycom is also a defendant in the case, but no arraignment date has been set. Prosecutor David Kessler said the government has tried to serve the company with a copy of the indictment, adding, “given the publicity of this case, they may already be aware. We’re working on it.”

US prosecutors allege Meng defrauded banks when she personally made a presentation in August 2013 to an executive of one of Huawei’s major banking partners in which she repeatedly lied about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom.

Earlier this month, Meng sued Canadian authorities alleging wrongful detention. At a bail hearing in Vancouver, one of her lawyers, David Martin, disputed the US interpretation of the 2013 meeting, noting that sanctions laws are complex and had changed over time. Evidence presented by Canadian lawyers on behalf of American prosecutors didn’t make a case that Meng broke US or Canadian law, Martin said.

Huawei’s next court date will be April 4.

AN illuminated logo hangs above the Huawei Technologies Co. pavilion on the opening day of the MWC Barcelona in Barcelona. STEFAN WERMUTH/BLOOMBERG

Prosecutors were alerted to the matter by HSBC Holdings Inc. when the bank flagged possible misrepresentations about Huawei’s business in Iran and ended its relationship with the company in 2017. More than $100 million was cleared through correspondent banks in New York City and in Europe, according to the US.

Obstruction charge

UPON becoming aware of the US investigation, Huawei and its American unit then tried to obstruct the investigation by tr ying to move witnesses who knew about its Iran-based business back to China, beyond the jurisdiction of the US, according to prosecutors.

The sanctions were imposed after the Iranian revolution that toppled the Shah in 1979 and led to the seizing of American hostages in the US embassy.

After news articles in 2013 alleged Huawei used Skycom to do business in Iran and had tried to import American-made computer equipment, the US says Meng lied to HSBC about the

true relationship between the company and Skycom. Speaking through an English interpreter, Meng presented Power poi nt slides in August of that year and falsely said Huawei operated in compliance with US sanctions and said she was no longer on Skycom’s board.

At the time, HSBC was under investigation for violating US sanctions involving Iran and later got a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

Huawei said it wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing by the CFO and that authorities in both countries will “ultimately reach a just conclusion.” Meng’s father, Ren Zhengfei, founded Huawei and is a confidante of President Xi Jinping.

The case is an unprecedented bid by American authorities to hold a senior Chinese executive accountable for sanctions violations, though it also threatens to undermine talks designed to end a trade war between the US and China. Meng could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted in the US. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

When paying $1 for coal power plant is still paying too much

O

NE dollar. That’s how much an aging New Mexico coal plant is worth. And by some estimates, even that may be too much.

Acme Equities LLC, a New Yorkbased holding company, is in talks to buy the 847-megawatt San Juan Generating Station for $1, after four of its five owners decided to shut it down. The fifth owner, the nearby city of Farmington, says it’s pursuing the bargain-basement deal with Acme to avoid losing about 1,600 direct and indirect jobs in the area.

Acme’s interest comes as others are looking to exit a coal industry that’s been plagued by costly antipollution regulations. Acme’s plan: Buy the plant “at a very low cost,” invest in carbon capture technology to lower its emissions, and then sell the captured CO2 to oil companies, said Larry Heller, a principal at the holding group.

By doing this, Acme “believes we can generate an acceptable rate of return,” Heller said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, San Juan’s majority owner, PNM Resources Inc., offers a distinctly different view. A 2022 shutdown will push ratepayers to other energy alternatives now being planned, saving them about $3 to $4 a month on average, PNM has said.

“We could not identify a solution that would make running San Juan Generating Station economical,” said Tom Fallgren, a PNM vice president, in an e-mail.

The potential sale comes just as a new clean-energy bill is landing on Gov. Lujan Grisham’s desk. That bill, which made it through legislature on Tuesday, would require the state to get half of its power from renewable sources by 2030, and 100 percent by 2045. At the same time, it imposes an emissions cap that’s 60 percent lower than San Juan’s current levels.

In response, Acme plans to spend $400 million to $800 million to retrofit the facility with carbon capture and sequestration technology that would collect car-

bon dioxide before it’s released into the atmosphere, Heller said.

That would cut emissions by as much as 90 percent, and the captured gas could be sold to oil companies, which uses it to enhance well recovery. The bottom line, according to Heller: “A winning financial formula.”

It’s a tricky formula at best.

Carbon-capture technology has been controversial, expensive to install and unproven at scale.

Additionally, to make it work at the San Juan plant, the company would need to figure out how to deliver the CO2 to customers since the nearest pipeline is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.

Reducing Costs

Acme is also evaluating ways to reduce costs at San Juan, Heller said, including negotiating a cheaper coal-supply contract and qualifying for subsidies.

The deal comes amid a steady decline in the use of coal. The Energy Information Administration expects its share of the US power mix to fall to 24.7 percent this year, the first time it’s dropped below a quarter in agency data going back to 1949.

Farmington’s stake in the plant is less than 10 percent. But under terms of the partnership, the city—population 45,000—can assume full control of San Juan should the other partners decide to pull out. That’s given Farmington the legal authority to pursue the plant’s sale to Acme.

“We respectfully disagree with the notion that the plant is not economical,” Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett said by e-mail. He said he’s in better position than the other owners to assess San Juan’s importance “because we sit at Ground Zero.”

The city’s economy would benefit from keeping open both the plant and a nearby coal mine that feeds it, according to Duckett, with operations that contribute about $170 million annually to the local area. Bloomberg News

A wealthier North Korea carries risk for Kim’s grip on power

P

RESIDENT Donald J. Trump has spent a lot of time trying to convince Kim Jong Un that great wealth awaits if he gives up his nuclear weapons and opens North Korea’s economy.

Yet that carries big risks for the young leader.

W hile K im’s calls for rela xing the sanctions cutting off North Korea from the global economy helped sink talks with Trump last month, it remains unclear whether he wants to follow other Asian tigers like Si ng apore a nd V iet n a m a nd welcome a rush of foreign inv e s t me nt . T h at ’s e s p e c i a l l y true if that means giving up his nuclear weapons—the regime’s so-called treasured sword.

“North Korea sees foreign businesses as the carrier of a highly contagious germ that could infect workers,” said Andrei Lankov, a director at the Korea Risk Group consulting firm who has studied in North Korea and written extensively about the country. Openness could bring in a flood of outside information that finally loosens Kim’s grip, Lankov added.

The failure of Trump’s second summit with Kim shows the limits of the US’s economic appeal in nuclear talks. Test-launching a rocket or missile—something satellite imagery suggests Kim may be planning—would only drive home the point that he still sees his nuclear deterrent as more valuable than the investment opportunities on offer.

his nuclear weapons program on at least six occasions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, telling Houston broadcaster KRIV in an interview on Tuesday the North Korean leader has repeatedly made the pledge directly to him. Pompeo added that “talk is cheap” and “what we’ll need to see is action, and that’s what we’re counting on.”

Enticing investors

KIM JONG UN, North Korea’s leader, attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday. POOL/BLOOMBERG

North Korea became one of the world ’s poorest countries after decades of economic mismanagement, an island of fut i l it y i n a reg ion compr ised of powerhouses China, Japan and South Korea. The countr y’s annual car production equals the amount that South Korea churns out in about 7.5 hours.

In Hanoi, Trump touted Vietnam as an economic example of what North Korea could become.

Both a communist nation and a former US adversary, Vietnam

now boasts one of Asia’s fastest growth rates. US National Security Adviser John Bolton said last week that North Korea had a choice between a “bright economic future” if it disarmed or tighter sanctions if it didn’t.

But K im wants to develop North Korea’s economy on his own terms, without giving up a nuclear deterrent that took generations to build or loosening his grip over one of the most repressive regimes on Earth.

Even foreign investment on a

level tolerated by North Korea’s socialist peers could prove too destabilizing for K im.

“It’s about control,” said Mike Green, a former Asia director at National Security Council under President George W. Bush who’s now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “There’s no evidence to support the assertion that Kim Jong Un wants to become the next Vietnam or China any more than his father or grandfather.”

Kim has promised to eliminate

NORTH Korea has long enticed investors with its cheap workforce, vast untapped mineral resources and a strategic location near rich neighbors. The challenge of rebuilding North Korea’s ageing infrastructure would be huge: Its rail lines are in disrepair, its highways are scant and it can’t produce enough electricity to light the country at night.

Still, North Korea’s business landscape is littered with foreign ventures gone bad. An Egyptian telecommunications giant doing business there can’t repatriate its profits. Even companies from the country’s economic patron, China, have been burned.

Whether US businesses could eventually profit, as Trump has speculated, is another matter.

More likely, firms from adjacent countries South Korea and China would be the first on the ground.

China was the only country South Korean President Moon Jae-in mentioned when cautioning about the need to get in fast if North Korean sanctions are re-

laxed. “It’s extremely important for South Korea to not miss its timing,” Moon told a news conference in January.

Moon had been hoping the Hanoi talks would achieve progress on two frozen inter-Korean projects: a mountain resort and a factory park in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong operated

by South Korean firms. The complex, which was supposed to be a model of economic cooperation for a unified Korea, was shut down due to political acrimony about three years ago. Kim wants it open again, providing his government with hard currency.

The sanctions imposed to punish Pyongyang for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles severely restrict commerce with North Korea, the import of technology and oil, as well as access to global capital.

O ne mode l t h at m ight be more attractive to K im is the Midd le Ea st, where fa m i l ies enrich themselves while still opening up to international investment, according to R ichard Fenning, chief executive officer of Control R isks Group.

“What the North Koreans understand above all else is that countries are at their most vulnerable when they start the process of reforming,” Fenning said.

“He knows that what he wants to achieve economically is a baby step compared with what President Trump is trying to demonstrate to him is on offer.” Bloomberg News

Journey

»life on the go

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Sunday, March 17, 2019

A5

VIVERE’S SOUTHERN COMFORT

B

By Bernard L. Supetran

EFORE you say “cheers!,” let me tell you at the outset that this feature isn’t advertising a wellloved American whiskey-flavored liquor. But just the same, you will surely offer a toast to this comforting southern getaway near the outskirts of the metropolis.

PRESIDENTIAL ocean-view suite of Azure DINING with a view at The Nest of Vivere Alabang BERNARD SUPETRAN

Standing proudly in Alabang is the 32-story Vivere Hotel, the first five-star accommodation in the fringes of Metro Manila, which catalyzed the development of the district into a plush hideaway within the megacity. A Latin word which means “to live, to inhabit, to be alive,” it takes pride with its merry mix of countryside and urban lifestyles, which is unmatched by the other luxe hotels in the concrete jungle.

Undeniably, it is their enviable location, which seems to transport Vivere to a suburban spot—a master-planned community with plenty of open spaces, tree-lined promenades and greeneries ideal for jogging or a relaxed walk.

Guests can marvel at the soothing panorama of the few remaining swathes of greeneries of the big city, the placid Laguna de Bay, the undulating Sierra Madre mountain ranges and the mystical Mount Makiling just a few heartbeats away. On a clear day, the picturesque windmills of Pililla, Rizal and the scenic Antipolo ridge can be seen in the horizon.

Add a dramatic effect to your gourmet meal as you catch the sunup or sundown at The Nest Dining in the Sky at the 31st floor, arguably the best rooftop restaurant in this side of the Metro. The best part of the day, though, is towards dusk where the roofdeck becomes a cozy twilight zone when the sun sets and emits a kaleidoscopic explosion of colors.

On top of the luxury amenities and features typical of a five-star fa-

VIVERE Hotel Alabang lobby

cility such as well-appointed rooms, spa, fitness center and swimming pool, the hotel prides itself by being a repository of the works of Filipino artisans. There are tasteful paintings by Pinoy artists that liven up various spaces, the local-made and upholstered furnishings, elegant lobby ornaments and exquisite tapestries, which adorn the suites.

Throughout its exteriors and interiors, it etched its own style with the merging of the traditional and innovative elements. In pursuit of this advocacy, Vivere has even dedicated a department to ensure the constant support to local crafts to showcase the enigma of the Filipino culture to foreign guests.

After a relaxing staycation within the city, the hotel can take you to an authentic out-of-town retreat further south in the rustic town of Mabini in Batangas, regarded as among the world’s best scuba diving havens. The area is more popularly known to divers and beach lovers as Anilao, the entry point to the dive sites in Balayan Bay, which extend to the island town of Tingloy.

Azure, Vivere’s sister resort, is an idyllic treat to the senses being surrounded by lush greenery and azure waters, where a teeming marine life abounds. Tucked on a rugged terrain, it is the proverbial “home away from home,” being an actual house before being transformed into a bespoke shorefront secluded paradise.

Its design draws inspiration from Asian tropical destinations, most notably Bali, with its quaint

VIVERE Azure Resort

and intimate 13 suites, each one of which exudes the comfort of a southern home. The suites, which are exotically named Azure, Elan, Anima, Zephyr, Ultima and Rejuve-

na, among others, evoke an uplifting ethos, which blends well with its natural and built environment.

Vivere Azure boasts of its casual-luxe interiors, with unmissable

SEA turtle at an Anilao dive site MARK BANDIOLA

details that reflect the owner’s penchant for the extraordinary.

Just like its city hotel, almost everything here is locally sourced and environment-friendly to comple-

ment the nature around it, not to obstruct or destroy.

While nearly all the properties in the area are dive resorts, it would like to distinguish itself as an exclusive getaway, which marries the comfort of a cliffside home and the opulence of a five-star service. Scuba diving activities, though, can be outsourced with partner resorts so guests can marvel at Balayan Bay’s enchanting underwater world—48 breath-taking dive sites to be exact, which boast of marine biodiversity like no other in the planet.

Acclaimed as the world’s second top destination for macro photography, Anilao has been declared by the Department of Tourism as the home of the annual Underwater Photo Competition Festival, which draws the world’s celebrated underwater photographers.

To keep you occupied on your stay, the resort can arrange islandhopping and beach-combing excursions, snorkeling, kayaking or wind-surfing lessons, and other recreation. Better yet, Azure can make you a part of its social responsibility activities aimed at preserving the ocean’s ecological balance.

For a more laid-back vacation, you can just sip a cold drink by the scenic infinity pool, feast on your favorite dish at the restaurant overlooking the bay, enjoy the greeneries, listen to the crashing waves or catch up on a best-selling book on the resort’s treehouse.

And if it is your lucky day, you may just spot dolphins leaping around the waters.

After experiencing the best of both worlds at Vivere in Alabang and Anilao, we can indeed say “cheers” to this southern comfort.

Journey

»life on the go

BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, March 17, 2019

Editor: Tet Andolong

El Nido Resorts’s five ‘must-try at least once in a lifetime’ activities

H

EALTHY coral reefs serve as home to a fascinating diversity of marine life.

Having been declared a protected area since the ‘80s, Northern Palawan’s Bacuit Bay and its reefs teeming with coral, other marine habitats and over 800 fish species in addition to sea turtles and dugong offer among the most absorbing water experiences.

females that will survive will reach sexual maturity in 15-20 years and will travel hundreds of kilometers to go back to the beach where they were hatched. This augurs well for the island-paradise destinations of El Nido Resorts, where there will always be room for them.

Bacuit Bay is also home to three of the four island-paradise destinations that carry the El Nido Resorts (ENR) brand and where snorkeling is a must-do, even for beginners.

These are Miniloc, Pangulasian and Lagen. The fourth island resort, Apulit, is in the neighboring municipality of Taytay where marine life also abounds.

Located short boat rides away from the Palawan mainland and the intense activity of its municipalities, the island resorts maintain for its guests house reefs that serve as serene windows to the underwater world. Fully aware that some of its guests may be new to snorkeling, the most convenient way to witness marine life, the resorts provide guests the required gear and highly supportive guides.

Here are five things El Nido Resorts’ guest are encouraged to try:

5. Try snorkeling, even if you don’t swim

1. Encounter Miniloc’s fish ‘university’

YOU’LL see not just a school of fish—but a “university” composed of hundreds to even thousands of bigeye scad. As marine expert Lee

Goldman writes: “The well-synchronized movement of schooling fish as they swim and react in near perfect unison is something to behold…there is no pre-swim game plan. Yet the fish rarely act confused.”

The fish have been genetically programmed to move in schools and mask their individuality to prevent predators from isolating individuals and attacking them. They also school to feed. By attacking in unison, they overwhelm other fish, protecting precious resources like algae patches. Not even the most heroic of fish, after all, will resist an attacking mob.

4. Get up close and personal with a shark

BLACK-TIP reef sharks and bluespotted ribbontail rays are among Pangulasian’s most important visitors. Because the premier island resort’s house reef is part of a channel leading to the open sea, these incredibly graceful creatures have become regular habitues, along with blackspotted pufferfish and angel fish.

CLOWNFISH (above), damselfish, butterflyfish and many more abound within a few feet from any of the El Nido Resorts in Bacuit Bay.

3. Witness a turtle release

2. Swimming with the jacks

GIANT trevally, a.k.a jacks or talakitok, that grow up to 1.5 meters feed on scad. Thus, these reef predators also regularly visit Miniloc to dine on its large scad population.

Miniloc’s jacks are mostly breeders, explains Mariglo Laririt, ENR environmental director. They have apparently recognized this island’s reef as a safe haven for them and their young.

INDUSTRIOUS snorkelers who venture out in the early morning may be rewarded by sightings of hawksbill sea turtles that usually shy away from places frequented by humans.

SEA turtle hatchings are celebrated in all El Nido Resorts. When ENR environmental officers and staff chance upon the golf ball-sized eggs of these sea creatures in Bacuit Bay’s many beaches, they carefully gather them and rebury them in a spot in any of the island resorts where they can be watched over and shielded from monitor lizards, birds and illegal poachers.

When the eggs begin to hatch, guests from the ENR Bacuit Bay island resorts are invited to witness the fragile hatchlings make their way from the beach to the sea, usually at dusk. Very few of the nest population (one out of every 100 eggs laid) survive into adulthood.

Thus, guests send them off with high hopes, cheers and prayers. The

WITH more than 800 fish species, Bacuit Bay is a highly prized snorkeling paradise. Unlike other destinations within the Coral Triangle, the region, including the Philippines with the highest levels of marine biodiversity, Bacuit offers a variety of fish habitats within a confined space. No need to travel for hours to go from one habitat to another.

Clownfish, damselfish, wrasses, butterflyfish and much, much more abound within a few feet from any of the El Nido Resorts. Better yet, the guides of Miniloc, Pangulasian, Lagen and Apulit are trained to teach even newbies how to don a scuba mask and to breathe in a relaxed manner with a snorkel. Nonswimmers are handed floaters that are steered through the waters by the guides themselves.

Moreover, the guides’ passion for the richness of their surroundings easily rubs off on their guests who go home convinced they have indeed been to a very special place.

AAP Travel sets 2019 caravans E

XPLORE the country’s exciting destinations from a motorist’s point of view as AAP Travel, the motor tourism arm of the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP), unveils the caravans and events it has organized for 2019.

A brainchild of former Department of Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, who also heads AAP Travel, the series of caravans is in line with the DOT’s drive tourism program to encourage land travel and spread the economic benefits in the countryside.

She said that AAP Travel takes pride in its organized itineraries which are coordinated with local authorities and stakeholders in the communities to ensure road safety, orderly traffic, secure parking, and quality board and lodging, especially for big and professional groups.

She noted that the caravans are often hosted by governors, mayors and DOT regional directors, and escorted by the police, to give them a taste of local hospitality and culture.

Road adventures unroll on May 25 and 26 with the Pampanga Caravan, which will go around the heritage sites, museums, farm-tourism resorts and other tourist spots. Participants will get to feast on mouthwatering, all-time favorite dishes in the country’s so-called “Culinary Capital,” such as sisig,palabok, halohalo and kamaru in notable restaurants.

Guests will get to drive their own vehicles in an organized convoy to enable them to admire the roadside sceneries at their own pace.

A fly-drive caravan heads south to Davao from August 23 to 26 for

GREEN Canyon Leisure Farms in Clark

MALAGOS Garden Chocolate Museum

AAP Travel’s first foray to Mindanao. Caravaners will fly via Philippine Airlines and will be driven around the city’s tropical attractions, highland resorts, farm-tourism sites, indigenous tribal domains, and indulge in fresh seafoods and exotic fruits such as durian, marang, mangosteen and pomelo.

The road trip levels up with the 16-day Marian Pilgrimage Tour of Europe, which will swing around key cities in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, which are noted for their religious devotion to the Virgin Mary. Set from October 12 to 27, joiners will fly to Lisbon in Portugal, motored to Fatima, Salamanca, Avila, Loyola, Lourdes, Cote D’Azur, Monaco, Lucca, Florence, Assisi and wind up in Rome, Italy, for the return flight to Manila. The year draws to a close with a Baguio-Benguet tour from December 6 to 8 where guests will drive their vehicles to enjoy the roadside sights at their own pace.

In recent years, AAP Travel has driven around touristic provinces such as Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Oriental Mindoro, Negros Occidental, Bulacan, Laguna, Quezon, Bohol, Batanes, Iloilo and Guimaras. Gabor noted that the caravans include popular farm resorts to highlight the emerging farm tourism sector, which is now a soughtafter trend by travelers.

Participants will receive a Petron Value Card with P1,000 worth of credits from official fuel partner, Petron, and get the chance to win surprise gifts during raffles.

Visit www.aaptravel.com.ph or email info@aaptravel.com.ph for details.

Tim Hortons Philippines brings goodness to students

T

IM Hortons Philippines kicked off their “Make Your Day Good” campaign by sharing their delicious and freshly baked donuts to a school run by an organization that works with disadvantaged children.

Tim Hortons Philippines recently paid a visit to the Food for Hungry Minds School Inc. in Pasay to provide filling and heartening snacks to 71 students from the school’s grade levels 4 to 6.

“Tim Hortons wants to bring goodness everyday to people anywhere.

Something as simple as a coffee or a donut can make someone’s day or make them smile,” said Stephanie Guerrero, marketing director of Tim Hortons Philippines.

“With Hungry Minds School, we are able to share the warmth and goodness with children in disadvantaged communities and help them in our own little way,” said Guerrero.

“It’s such a treat to have visitors come and spend time with the Hungry Minds kids. Everyone was grateful and

excited to have the goodies. Thank you so much, Tim Hortons! All the best to you!” said Candice Jungao, executive director and principal of Hungry Minds Pasay. One of the schoolkids, Grade 6 student Kirby Silvestre said, “When I went home, I shared the donuts with my parents and siblings. We were all happy! It was our first time to eat Tim Hortons donuts, they were yummy!”

Hungry Minds is an organization that helps create schools for children in the poorest places in the world with the aim of helping them succeed academically through the Philippine education system. Since 2004, Hungry Minds has provided high-quality education to 500 underprivileged kids in Manila and Bulacan.

Over 90 percent of their scholars completed high school and 81 percent of their graduates continue on to further education, with 58 percent completing their college education. www.foodforhungryminds.org

Journey

»life on the go

Editor: Tet Andolong

BusinessMirror

Sunday, March 17, 2019 A7

Dumaguete emerges as sports tourism hub

D

UMAGUETE is known as “The City of Gentle People” due to the extraordinary warm hospitality and kind nature of its people, not to mention the genteel way of life despite being the capital and urban center of Negros Oriental.

Last year, it was awarded by The Philippine Retirement Authority as the top in their Retirement Area Deemed as Retiree-Friendly (RADAR) index, which measures a place’s compliance with global lifestyle standards set by the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and International Living.

It was also named as the world’s fifth-best place to retire by the prestigious Forbes magazine.

But despite its laid-back aura, its “gentle people” is an active population engaged in a variety of sports from sunrise to sundown.

Locals from all social classes indulge their chosen physical activity—jogging or biking at the scenic Rizal Boulevard, zumba at the public plaza or a set or two at the badminton courts.

In the afternoon, the village of Daro becomes an attraction for the binaryo, a modified four-on-four street volleyball, which features tricycle drivers who spike hard in the game after a hard day’s work. Over

at the baywalk, the area is abuzz with volleybelles at the beach volleyball courts purposely built by the city government for tournaments.

The tranquil water of the bay bursts into action on weekends as dragon-boat paddlers furiously train for their next race.

According to Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, they have been positioning the city as a sports hub in the central Philippines by organizing and hosting national events.

In line with its 70th charter anniversary and fiesta last year, the city hosted the Dumaguete Triathlon, Children’s Games, the Dumaguete Dragon Boat Challenge and the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour.

Moreover, the Philippine University Games has made the city their default venue because of its strategic location, splendid facilities, reasonable costs, conducive environment and warm hometown crowd.

Earlier in 2017, Little League Philippines Series, National Frisbee

DUMAGUETE Dragon boat Challenge

DUMAGUETE Archery Center

Ultimate Championship, Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy, Philippine Super Liga Spike on Tour and 1st Southeast Asian Beach Handball have

BEACH Volleyball Republic On Tour

made the city their playground.

In mid-February this year, Dumaguete hosted the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Associa-

Ayala Land’s Lio Estate wins award

tion, the regional qualifying round of the Palarong Pambansa where the city’s sports excellence and trademark hospitality were once

again put to the fore.

These initiatives have translated into an exponential growth in tourism arrivals and earned the city the coveted Organizer of the Year (Government) in the Philippine Sports Tourism Award late last year, organized by Selrahco Management and Consultancy Services. Dumaguete is also a runner-up in the Sports Destination of the Year category, which was won by Subic Bay Freeport.

The awardees were selected by a panel of judges from various sectors, including the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

“This award will top off all the tourism awards we got. I always believe that sports is a great equalizer and unifier,” Remollo said in the PSTA ceremonies.

To build on the momentum of its being a sports tourism capital, he said the city will embark on the Dive Dumaguete program this April to encourage the residents to engage in scuba diving, which can be later used for water safety and protection of the marine ecosystem.

It is the gateway to some of the best dive sites in Central Visayas, among them Apo Island in Dauin town, Santander and Oslob in southern Cebu and various sites around Negros Oriental, Siquijor and Bohol.

The city itself has an emerging dive spots in the villages of Bantayan and Banilad, which boast of rich coral gardens and aquatic animals.

With these developments, it won’t come as a surprise if Dumaguete is renamed as “The City of Gentle...and Sporty People.”

The heat is on at the Coral Lounge

T

HE dynamic Northern Palawan Lio Tourism Estate was awarded a spot on March 6 in the prestigious “Sustainable Destinations Top 100” list at the world’s largest tourism trade fair, the ITB Berlin.

An international jury acknowledged the 325-hectare community being developed by Ayala Land Inc. subsidiary Ten Knots Development Corp. (TKDC) for its overall sustainability and its success in destination management. The unique award organized by nonprofit Green Destinations recognizes innovation and good practices in the development of global tourist sites. Green Destinations leads a global partnership of organizations, companies and academic institution focused on sustainable tourism.

In Lio’s success story cited in the sustainable100.org web site, the estate is referred to as “a top destination for the protection of nature, and landscape and scenery...the first master-planned ecologically sustainable tourism” spot in the Philippines. Still in the process of rolling out its master plan, Lio officials have been distinguished for persistently educating contractors and their workers on the need to follow strict environmental standards through education seminars.

TKDC group director of sales

WACKY KIRAY

A

PLANNERS designed Lio so that visitors would not be focused on its buildings but rather on its pristine stretch of beach, the clear waters that surround it and how it has remained a nature retreat.

and marketing Joey Bernardino, who received the award in Berlin, revealed: “By helping all our workers understand the principles of impact

TKDC ‘s Joey Bernardino (center) receives on behalf of Lio Tourism Estate an award for its inclusion in the prestigious Sustainable Destinations Top 100 list represented by the gentlemen to Bernardino’s left.

An international jury acknowledged the estate for its overall sustainability and success in destination management. Other recipients of the award shown in photo represented Asia-Pacific destinations in (from left) the Kingdom of Bhutan and Kazakhstan.

management and wildlife-friendly practices, we are creating more stewards of the environment.”

The sustainable100.org web site also cited TKDC’s intention to preserve existing waterways, mangrove stands and surrounding forests, as reflected in its master plan. The company’s commitment to use native vegetation rather than exotics that may not thrive in a harsh seaside environment was likewise seen as a sound preparation for a “community that will exist for a long time.”

Javier Hernandez, TKDC chief operating officer, has previously said: “When you arrive at Lio, we don’t want you to be focused on our buildings but rather on our great stretch of beach, the clear waters that surround us and how we have remained a nature retreat.”

Currently, Lio offers guests four hotels designed to blend in with the environment. The latest is the sprawling 153-room Seda Lio targeted towards global travelers with

no structure jutting above the coconut treeline. The designs of Casa Kalaw with 42 rooms, Balai Adlao and Covo—both with 20 rooms each—are likewise respectful of the surroundings. Lio’s retail area has also been established to allow local Palawan residents to participate in the area’s economic growth. Half of the retail strip’s merchants hail from the local community.

Stewardship of the environment and relations with the local community are, in fact, supervised by a director for sustainability supported by environmental officers who monitor and measure those efforts.

Sustainability director Mariglo Laririt stated: “Lio has been designed to celebrate its unique Palawan environment and to enhance the quality of life of neighboring communities by giving them opportunities for inclusive economic growth. Being part of the ‘Sustainable Destinations Top 100’ list is an affirmation that we are on the right track.”

S the weather turns warmer, Okada Manila—the grandest integrated resort and destination for world-class entertainment in the Metro—is gearing up for a season of dance, music, celebration and comedy at the Coral Lounge.

Located right at the heart of the gaming floor, the Coral Lounge makes for a stylish, cozy space for friends, families and colleagues to relax and unwind.

The lounge features live entertainment complemented by finely crafted cocktails and an opulent yet laid-back ambiance.

From March to May 2019, the Coral Lounge will be presenting events that go perfectly well with the heat and excitement of summer.

Dance the night away

GET ready to unleash your sizzling moves on the dance floor with the ¡Bailamos! Latin Dance Parties.

Perfect for those who want to let their hair down for some steamy ballroom dancing, these regular Latin nights start at 9 p.m.

Sultry music is provided by a live Latin band and instruction from dance instructors, and no entrance fees or coverage charges—so all you need to do is to put on your dancing shoes and

TONTON

head over to the Coral Lounge on March 15, April 12 and May 10.

For those looking for a sweet hit of ‘80s nostalgia, the Coral Lounge’s “‘80s Night” will bring back all the memories, kitsch and unabashed fun of the iconic decade. A live band will play the best hits of the ‘80s—best enjoyed on the dance floor or while sipping on specially crafted cocktails with clever names such as Electric Lemonade, Bagets and The Cure.

No entrance fees or cover charges for the ‘80s Nights on March 30, April 27 and May 25— so just get your leg warmers and acid-wash jeans ready for a retro party starting at 6 p.m.

Side-splitting comedy showcase

LAUGH all night long with two of the country’s best stand-up acts!

Wacky Kiray and TonTon will deliver all the jokes and punchlines for the Coral Lounge’s first-ever comedy showcase on April 24.

Wacky Kiray was declared as The Greatest Entertainer in the 2017 celebrity talent show I Can Do That, while TonTon regularly appears as the former’s sidekick in many live shows.

Cover charge is at P600+ per person, which comes with one standard drink. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Journey

»life on the go

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Sunday, March 17, 2019

A8

THE Orchard’s building in Lipa City

Camella Homes to boost local travel through COHO

P

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

ROPERTY giant Vista Land & Lifescapes (VLL) has launched an ambitious plan to build condominiums based on the successful template of Camella Homes.

Moreover, this development signifies that domestic and foreign travelers will have more lodging options.

In a recent press briefing, VLL Camella Condo Homes (COHO) Chairman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said the company expects the formula to catapult COHO into becoming a market leader in the affordablehousing segment. “We are now ready to compete with the big boys in the condominium sector.”

“We’ve been successful in perfecting the Camella brand. Unless you go outside Metro Manila, you can’t see the Camella condominium projects. Provincial areas are now ready for condominiums at this time,” Villar added.

Under its COHO brand, Camella is not pulling punches as it plans to put up 32 condominiums in 25 cities around the country. Villar also pointed out that this was just

MANNY VILLAR

the start of the grandiose plan of the company. “We feel that we are now ready to introduce COHO in a big way.” He said VLL would be launching COHO at the same time with its horizontal development projects. “We are going to apply the tried and tested Camella formula,” he pointed out.

Units in COHO come in 30-squaremeter one-bedroom unit and 40-sq-m two-bedroom unit with prices ranging from P2.4 million to P3.3 million.

COHO is perfect for young urban professionals and starting families who desire dynamic city living.

The 25 areas covered by COHO are Taguig, Las Piñas, Caloocan, Subic, Bataan, Pampanga, Baliuag, Antipolo, Bacoor, Imus, Tagaytay, Lipa, Palawan, Legazpi, Bacolod, Iloilo, Mactan, Cebu; Talisay, Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Davao City, Tagum, General Santos

COHO model unit living area

and Butuan.

Villar said VLL could raise the ante by building up to 150 buildings.

But he said the company is taking one step at a time.

The projects will be complemented by either a Vista Mall or commercial strip featuring brands from VLL affiliate All Value Holdings, such as Coffee Project, Bake My Day, All Day Supermarket, All Home and Vista Cinemas.

At present, there are already 14 existing developments under COHO’s portfolio in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

With a track record of more than 40 years in residential real-estate development, Villar said Camella has developed into a strong brand in the industry.

COHO model unit dining area

VLL defines COHO as the epitome of a vertical village. By living in COHO, Villar said an owner could experience tranquility and the relaxing vibe of a suburban community that is sprawling, surrounded by greenery. Moreover, COHO offers generous open space to provide the busy city-dweller with an environment that promotes wellbeing and is conducive for nurturing a family.

Unit owners get to enjoy the perks of having a complete range of central amenities: a clubhouse, swimming pool, function hall, landscaped gardens, jogging paths and a fitness gym with modern equipment.

Villar said COHO offers the same quality that has made Camella the

leading and preferred brand for horizontal developments—excellent location, safety and security, value for money, and a smart investment.

Meanwhile, COHO, according to Villar, offers the distinct and new-generation lifestyle and modern experience. This means living an owner is living close to a beautiful mall that offers global retail selections. Through Coffee Project, a resident has an exquisite coffee shop as an extension of one’s living and working space and breakfast table in a charming boulangerie. Villar said Coffee Project would give a customer his money’s worth because of its superb coffee and beverages; it also serves a wide variety of scrumptious food like pasta, rice meals, cake and sand-

wiches. Its exceptional interiors complemented by aesthetically arranged flowers and greens have earned for itself “the most Instagram-worthy” coffee shop tag.

Villar said COHO also takes pride in having a world-class cinema as an entertainment room. Vista Cinemas have the MX4D technology that enables a viewer to “feel” the movie’s motions, jolts, pokes, wind, water and even scents. Moreover, its VIP Theater is an intimate movie venue specializing in excellent personalized service.

“We want to bring the new lifestyle into the region not just for condominium dwellers but on a nationwide basis,” he said.

“We also want to raise the level of retail in the Philippines.”

Faith

Sunday

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

2ND SUNDAY IN LENT: ‘LUKE 9:28-36’

Spiritual ups and downs MSGR. JOSEFINO S. RAMIREZ SUNDAY GOSPEL IN OUR LIFE

W

E are now in the second week of Lent, and the Church continues to prepare us for the events of Holy Week.

Jesus Christ also prepared His followers for that event. One thing that He did is what we read about in today’s gospel.

Jesus brought the three most trusted apostles—Peter, James and John—to a mountain. Then suddenly, Jesus Christ appeared to them in all his areligious leaders of the Old Covenant, Moses and Elias.

In the midst of this display of power and glory, they were talking of what may have seemed a very strange subject—Jesus Christ’s impending passion and death.

The apostles were dazzled. They were very excited. All they could notice was the glory, and it seems they did not pay much attention to the subject of conversation— the apparent defeat on the cross.

Later on, when Jesus Christ would be hanging on the cross, they would not remember the glory of the Transfiguration. Now they were in a victorious mood—they were up. Later on they would be crushed by apparent defeat—they would be down.

God allows the life of every man to have its ups and downs.

It is a part of our fallen human nature that after a moment of elation, there may follow times of dejection.

This is allowed by God even in the spiritual life. There may be moments of sweetness and fervor. There may also be moments of dryness.

We should not let this hinder our path to get closer to God. If we were to allow ourselves to get carried away by our moods, there would be no consistency in our spiritual life.

Instead, we should try to base our spiritual life on virtue—constant good habits that can override our f leeting moods. This means that occasionally, we have to “go against the grain” just like Jesus Christ during His agony in the garden.

We need to be undaunted by external or internal tribulations, just as Saint Paul says: “We also exalt in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works out endurance, and endurance, tried virtue, and tried virtue, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

The virtue of fortitude, one of the four cardinal virtues, is very necessary for a genuine spiritual life. Without it, we would not have real goodness and piety. We would only be bondadoso (kind), which is a caricature of real goodness.

SAINT LOUISE DE MARILLAC, COFOUNDRESS OF DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY

By Corazon Damo-Santiago

‘Y

OUR convent will be the house of the sick; your cell, a hired room; your chapel, the parish church; your cloister, the streets of the city or the wards of the hospital; your enclosure, obedience; your grating, the fear of God; your veil, holy modesty.”

This is how Saint Vincent de Paul regarded the community of women who served the poor, uncloistered, but religious.

Letting go

THE would-be-saint was born on August 12, 1591, in Ferrieres-en-Brie near Le Meux France. Louise de Marillac never knew her, mother, but aristocrat Louis de Marillac, Lord of Ferrires, claimed her as daughter.

When Louis married Antoinette Le Camus, she refused to accept Louise as member of the household. Her father sent her to a Dominican convent, the Royal Monastery of Poissy, near Paris, where an aunt, a nun, lives. Her intellectual and introspective skills were developed, since she was an intelligent girl.

When her father died, with limited resources, she transferred to a boarding house where she learned organizational, domestic skills and herbal medicine.

At 22, she married Antoine to Le Gzas, secretary to the Queen Mother of France, which paved her opportunity to socialize with the aristocrats of France.

However, she also mingled with the poor and the sick with leadership functions in the Ladies of Charity in the church.

During a civil unrest, two uncles with high-ranking positions in the government died, one in prison and another by execution.

Her husband became sick and she cared for him for two years.

In 1625 he died, and Louise let go of her depression, became of good health in body and mind.

In 1655 Saint Vincent de Paul established the Congregation of the Mission to help in the apostolate care for the poor and the needy.

Louise became the prominent organizational mover of the Mission.

In prayer, Louise had a vision of herself serving poor people and living in evangelical counsels. A priest who was her confidant and collaborator was so distinct in the vision.

But she did not know him. She wrote of the “Pentecost Experience” in a parchment and carried it with her as a reminder that God was guiding her life and she would be a shepherd of one she has not yet met,” narrated the Franciscan Media.

SAINT Louise de Marillac WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

‘Honor Christ’

THE Vincentian Encyclopedia narrated how Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac merged their efforts to “honor Christ by being diligent in serving the poor.”

In 1629 de Paul invited Louise to assist the Charities group in France. Louise accepted the offer, aware that busyness for a spiritual cause is a therapeutic blessing. Her involvement in charity work skills she learned in Poissy, and management skills in the boarding house, were harnessed to the fullest.

She was able to assess how to respond to the different needs of the destitute.

Sensitive to the longings of the poor, she was determined to equal the challenges needed to alleviate the sufferings of abandoned children, prisoners, the sick and old people, in nursing homes and hospitals. De Paul and Louise were complimentary spiritualy.

De Paul told the sisters: “The poor are your masters and you are their servants.” Louise reminded them: “Be diligent in serving the poor.... Love the poor, honor them...as you would honor Christ Himself.”

On November 29, 1633, Louise made her home a training center to address the needs of the poor better by mentoring women in spiritual life, teaching them skills to be effective missionaries.

These young women became the nucleus of the Daughters of Charity Congregation.

Saint Louise de Marillac died on March 15, 1660. De Paul could not come because he, too, was old and sick. But he sent word that they will be reunited soon in heaven.

She was canonized on March 11, 1934, by Pope Pius XI. On February 10, 1960, she was declared Patroness of Christian Social Workers by the same pope.

Damo-Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

A9

Cotabato City, N. Mindanao bets win in Quran reading

C

Story & photo by Edd K. Usman

OTABATO City’s representative has made it as champion in two straight years in the National Quran Reading Competition (NQRC) 2019.

The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), which orga n i zes t he a nnu a l event, said Numan M. Pimbayabaya of Campo Muslim, Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, beat 17 other regional champions from across the country.

He won on March 11, the eve of his 37th birthday, successfully defending his 2018 crown.

Director Dimapuno Alonto Datu-Ramos Jr., MD, of NCMP’s Bureau of External Affairs, announced the winners on his Facebook page.

Rahima P. Amerol, who will be 38 years old on June 5 and who represented Cagayan de Oro City, emerged as the NQRC 2019 champion in the female category. She competed against 17 other readers. Amerol is a native of Bliss, Marawi City.

The commission, through its Bureau of Muslim Cultural Affairs (NCMF-BMCA), held the annual event at the Bahay ng Alumni (House of Alumni) of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in UP Diliman, Quezon City.

Datu-Ramos said the second and third placers in the male category are Kamarudin Zaidon of the now-abolished Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Saidi Saiduna of General Santos City, respectively.

Jamilah M. Saracan, 34, of Matampay, Baloi, Lanao del Norte, and Raihanah G. Ambangala, 24, defending champion, of Pikit, North Cotabato, emerged second and third prize winners, respectively, in the female category.

Datu-Ramos cited the importance of the NQRC in providing an avenue to sustain the Filipino Muslims’ “rich Islamic traditions we all share.”

This year’s NQRC theme was “Islam and the Sacredness of Life.”

A total of 36 Quran readers competed in the event, 18 in each category.

President Duterte, in his message to the Quran readers, lauded the NCMF for its key role in continuing the tradition of preserving and promoting the nation’s Islamic heritage through the NQRC. The event, he noted, “aims to strengthen our relations with the Muslim community across the world.”

“As you play an important role

in raising public awareness on how Islam values the sanctity of life, I ask you to spread Allah’s [God] message of peace as we forge a stronger nation that is no longer divided by ethnicity or religious affiliation, but strengthened by tolerance, inclusivity and mutual respect for one another,” the President said.

Mr. Duterte exhorted the participants to help in raising the awareness of their countrymen on how Islam values life.

At the same time, NCMF Secretary and CEO Saidamen B. Pangarungan reminded his fellow Muslims to perform their responsibilities as Filipinos.

The former governor of Lanao del Sur, a native of Marawi City, said the responsibilities of the Moros (Filipino Muslims) are to Allah (God), their communities and the nation.

In his message to NQRC participants and audience, Pangarungan said the kind of life Muslims ought to live is one that pursues peace, strives and fights for fairness and justice, and aspires for a great Filipino nation like the rest of their countrymen.

“May we also accept in our hearts the true teachings of Islam which is love, not hate. Love our country. Love our Muslim Filipino traditions. Love your fellow Muslim brethren. Do not be the voice of hate, but be the voice of unity and understanding,” the NCMF top official said.

Why a competition on reciting verses of the Quran

ACROSS the global Ummah (Muslim community), including in the Philippines, competitions are being held for the reading or recitation of the Quranic verses.

After all, the first ever word revealed to the prophet of Islam— Muhammad—was the Arabic word “iqra” which is “read” or “recite” in English.

The Surah (Chapter) Al-Alaq, 96:1-5 says: “Recite [read] in the name of your Lord, who created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous; Who taught by the pen; taught man that which he knew not.”

This was the first verse revealed to the prophet in the cave of Hira in Arabian desert in what is now Saudi Arabia. “ The Quran is intended to be read aloud in numerous occasions of daily life. There are numerous verses as well as sayings of the Prophet exhorting believers to be frequent in their recitation and ponder on the meanings of what they read,” Sohaib Saeed said in an article on www.Quranica.com.

He pointed out that the Islamic Scripture has many names mentioned in many of its chapters and verses, with two of them considered the most important, “Kitab” (book) and “Quran,” which means “recital.”

It indicates, he added, that the Quran has two forms, such as a written scripture and as a recited text.

“Muslim scholars and reciters alike emphasize that, while Quranic recitation is a profoundly moving vocal art, it is an art form in its own right and not a type of music,” he said.

American ethnomusicologist Dr. Kristina Nelson said in The Art of Reciting the Quran: “For the Muslim faithful, the familiar

sound of Quranic recitation is the predominant and most immediate means of contact with the Word of God. Heard day and night, on the street, in taxis, in shops, in mosques and in homes, the sound of the recitation is far more than the pervasive background music of daily life in the Arab world. It is the core of religious devotion, the sanctioning of spirit of much cultural and social life, and valued art form in its own right.”

Muslims said that reading or reciting the Quran is not music, but an art form.

The Arabic alphabet has 36 letters with very complicated pronunciations.

Reading or reciting in competitions is judged based on clarity of words, proper deliver y and the performance style, the NCMF said.

In reading or reciting the Quran there are two things to consider, tajweed and tarteel.

An Arabic word, tajweed literally means “to beautify or adorn something.” When applied to the recitation of the Quran, tajweed refers “to a set of rules governing the way in which the words of Quran should be pronounced during its recitation.”

On the other hand, tajweed is the science of the rules of recitation of the Quran,” said in quran2hadith.wordpress.com.

Besides receiving cash prizes for each of the three placers in both categories, with P20,000, P15,000 and P10,000 for first place, second place and third place, respectively, the winners will be sent to international competitions abroad.

Quran recitation competitions are traditiona l ly held in Ma laysia, Indonesia, Br unei, T hailand, Saudi A rabia, Iran, Pa k istan, Bangladesh, among other members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countr ies.

SECRETARY and CEO Saidamen B. Pangarungan (11th from left) of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and Saudi Ambassador Abdullah N.A. Al-Bussairy (10th from left) pose with female contestants at the 2019 National Quran Reading Competition held on March 12 in Quezon City.

POPE: GOD IS PURIFYING THE CHURCH WITH ‘UNBEARABLE’ PAIN OF ABUSE SCANDAL

R

OME—The clerical abuse scandal has caused everyone in the Catholic Church “pain and unbearable suffering,” Pope Francis said, but it also is a call to repentance and the renewal of the church.

“O ur humble repentance, which remains silent between our tears for the monstrosity of sin and the unfathomable greatness of God’s forgiveness, this, this humble repentance is the beginning of our holiness,” the pope told priests from the Diocese of Rome.

Pope Francis’s annual Lenten meeting with priests last week began with a penitential prayer service and individual confessions at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. In a long, impromptu talk on priesthood and forgiveness, the pope

acknowledged the clerical sexual abuse crisis and the par ticular way it had impacted priests.

“Sin disfigures us,” he said, and it is “humiliating” when “we or one of our brother priests or bishops falls into the bottomless abyss of vice, corruption or, worse still, of a crime that destroys the lives of others,” like the sexual abuse of minors does.

Pope Francis said he is convinced the abuse scandal is ultimately the work of the devil. “Still, do not be discouraged,” he told the priests. “The Lord is purifying his bride [the Church] and is converting us all to himself.

He is putting us to the test so that we would understand that, without him, we are dust.”

God is working “to restore the beauty of his bride, surprised in flagrant adultery,” the pope said.

Focusing much of his talk on the Exodus story of God forming his people, teaching them, castigating them and leading them to the promised land, Pope Francis insisted that God must teach His people humility so that they recognize He is God and they are totally dependent on Him. When the ancient Israelites made the golden calf, he said, “a patient process of reconciliation began, a wise pedagogy through which God threatens and consoles, makes them aware of the consequences of the evil done and decides to forget their sin, punishes the people and heals the wounds he inflicted.”

God threatens to abandon His people, and He lets them experience some of what it might mean to be without Him, the pope said. “We’ve experienced this, these awful

moments of spiritual desolation.”

But the Lord always returns, allowing people to learn to fear their own powerlessness, their slyness, the way they say one thing and do another, he said.

Confession, for priests like for any Catholic, is a moment of coming face to face with one’s own weakness, being honest and saying out loud how one has sinned, he said.

It’s like removing the mask or makeup people usually wear so no one sees their faults.

Pope Francis told the priests they should not expect to be always understood, accepted and appreciated, but “let us believe in the patient guidance of God, who does things in His time, opening our hearts and placing ourselves at the service of His word of reconciliation.”

CNS/Vatican Media/CBCPNews

Science

BusinessMirror

A10 Sunday, March 17, 2019

Sunday

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

TO ADDRESS MANY CONCERNS IN THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING CLIMATE CHANGE

EU offers Copernicus satellite data to PHL

T

Story & photo by Stephanie Tumampos

HE Philippines’s geographical location is a vulnerable, prone to many calamities and natural phenomena. As the country sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire, earthquakes can happen anytime. And as the country is located just above the equator, it is definitely exposed to stronger typhoons and global warming.

While the country’s Department of Science and Technology has already geared up its space program, the capacities of its satellites in space are still in their younger stages.

To properly monitor phenomena and other situations on any other country, one must need a system of satellites that have advanced technologies. They should be capable of bringing real-time specific data that could help the government in policy and decision-making processes.

This is where European Union’s (EU) Copernicus Satellite System comes in and offers its Earth data obtained from space for free to any country in the world.

(On a historical note, in the early 1500s, when virtually everyone believed Earth was the center of the universe, Polish mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that the planets instead revolved around the sun.)

‘Most comprehensive, most complete environmental observing system’

IN 2014, the EU launched its first satellite of the ambitious Copernicus System in space—the Sentinel 1A.

On board the satellite is a stateof-the-art synthetic-aperture radar imaging device that creates finer spatial resolution of two-dimensional images or produce threedimensional reconstructions of landscapes. Its target goals for data include all-weather observation and 24/7 day and night applications.

Fast-forward to 2019, a total of six satellites are already up in space with over 14 more to be launched and serviced until 2040.

“We have a family of six satellites and we’ll be launching about 20 satellites more,” said Stephen Coulson, head of Sustainable Initiatives Office of the European Space Agency’s [ESA], told the BusinessMirror during the National Conference on Copernicus Systems and Applications for the Philippines on March 12.

Coulson said the satellites are called Sentinel. Each Sentinel family has its own purpose for Earth observation. These are: allweather, day and night radar imagery for land and ocean services for Sentinel 1, land applications for Sentinel 2, ocean and global land monitoring for Sentinel 3, atmospheric composition monitoring and pollution for Sentinel

STEPHEN COULSON, head of Sustainable Initiatives Office of the European Space Agency, discusses the Copernicus Space Component and Data Access during the National Conference on Copernicus Systems and Applications for the Philippines on March 12. The EU is offering assistance to the Philippines in order to address many issues in the country, including climate change, through the Copernicus system, a family of satellites that provides free accessible data.

4, low-orbit atmospheric composition monitoring for Sentinel 5 and altimetry reference mission for Sentinel 6.

The Copernicus System, according to Coulson, has the primary objective to support European agencies and departments in dealing with European environmental legislation and policies.

However, “the system is obviously a global system, so we’re very interested working with people outside the European Union who can take advantage of this operational and environmental system.”

The €6.4-billion system is “simply the most comprehensive and most complete environmental observing system in the world today,” Coulson emphasized.

Applications suited for Philippines

COULSON said that with the env ironment a l problems t he Philippines is facing, such as extreme weather events, typhoons and hurricanes that frequently affect the area, Sentinel 1 data could greatly benefit the country.

“The Philippines is sitting on the [Pacific] Ring of Fire so it’s prone to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides. That’s the primary area Sentinel 1 is providing key information to understand those phenomena. Actually the coverage of the Philippines by Sentinel 1 is programmed specifically so we have good coverage for those types of problems,” Coulson told the BusinessMirror.

The Philippines is sitting on the [Pacific] Ring of Fire so it’s prone to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides. That’s the primary area Sentinel 1 is providing key information to understand those phenomena.”

—Coulson

Sentinel 1 is also used for maritime surveillance, which would be tracking illegal fishing.

“The floods and the drought phenomenon are also areas where the Philippines has issues on which the Sentinels can help,” Coulson added.

Alan Mills, British geographer and team leader of European consultancy group COWI Belgium, added that one of the applications the Philippines can rely on the Sentinel program is on disaster management. “[So it could] respond better to emergencies and make sure people have information as the relief efforts start to be able to target people suffering the most at that moment,” he said.

Looking forward to work with Philippines

THE EU boasts that it is the most comprehensive and complete Earth-observation system in the world today with its data being tremendously huge and significant for every country.

Indonesia and the EU are already having “quite advanced discussion” and have designed a data-exchange agreement with the government.

“Sort of formalizes the data which will be used by agencies and to what level of detail and so on,” Serritella added.

In BusinessMirror’s exclusive inter view, Coulson mentioned about the discussion they had with Indonesia.

“We are working closely with our partner, the Asian Development Bank here in Manila, to plan the reconstruction of the Sulawesi region, and we’re working with the Indonesian government to provide them with information for [the project].”

The reconstruction pertains to the damages and destruction caused by tsunami in Indonesia September of last year.

Mills said, “It’s going to be a meaningful dialogue over the next 12 months or so to identify where there is potential for being able to use it [in the Philippines].”

The conference was also referred by Mills as the launching pad where “we start the conversation formally,” he told reporters.

Mills explained that there are problems in the Philippines “that would deserve a continuous set of monitoring data.”

But in order to avoid spending lots of money, “We got a bunch of satellites that could do it for free and freely download [data].

It is up to somebody in the country to really take that [data] and analyse it in a certain way it can be used.”

The Copernicus data can provide the Philippines with enormous amounts of raw data and through these data, help the government in decision-making processes, especially with issues such as climate change.

For Enrico Strampelli, head of Development Cooperation of the Delegation of EU to the Philippines, the issue of plastics in the country can also be addressed by the Copernicus System.

“What we would like to happen now as European Union delegation in the Philippines is to continue a dialogue with the government to see where we can create a situation where the system can support the Philippines and the government, to make sure they can enjoy the benefits,” he said.

Facilitation is important for the EU delegation. They wish to have progressive talks with the Philippine government. As part of the international development vision, the EU delegation is also willing to help in building local capacity and get Filipinos on board the technical side, the user side and in the facilitation.

DepEd, MTG join hands to offer a toast to Filipino math, science whiz kids

FORMER Senator and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (right) gives medals to some schoolchildren who won in international mathematics and science competitions last year.

Assisting Cayetano are the BusinessMirror Editor in Chief Lourdes Fernandez (fourth from left) and Mathematics Trainers’ Guild’s Myrna Agtarap (left). NONIE REYES

T

HE government must continue supporting mathematics and science education because of the “21st-century skills” they engender, such as problem solving, critical thinking and creativity. And, beyond these vital skills, it’s crucial for young people to develop the “soft skills” of “diligence, commitment and grit” as they embark on the reputedly tough academic journeys that science and mathematics represent.

This was the key message conveyed by Dr. Jocelyn Andaya, Department of Education (DepEd) Director I V, at the first-ever Student Excellence Awards (SEA) given out to Filipino students who have brought the country honor in international competitions in mathematics and science in 2018.

The awards were jointly given

by the DepEd and the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura in Taguig City.

Andaya represented Education Secretary Leonor MagtolisBriones and Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instructions Dr. Lorna Dig-Dino.

In concluding her remarks, Andaya quoted Briones as exhorting the students to be “math champions and idols” so that other young people will banish their own anxieties about mathematics and appreciate how crucial it is to daily life.

In her remarks, Andaya recalled her own “math anxiety” as a student grappling with her math lessons, but realized later in life how indispensable the discipline is.

She told her audience—teachers, public- and private- school

CAYETANO shares a moment for a photo with some schoolchildren who won in international mathematics and science competitions in 2018. NONIE REYES

officials and the over 500 students who received the specially designed medallions of excellence —t h at “sor r y, we c a n’t eradicate mathematics from the curriculum.”

Dr. Isidro Aguilar, MTG Philippines president, gave an overview of the SEA. Officials at the awards rites also acknowledged the tirelessness and inspiration provided by MTG Founder and Former President Dr. Simon Chua.

Erica Locker, assistant mall manager at SM Aura, for her part, welcomed the students and

school officials, and said the SM community was happy to have been a part of the advocacy of promoting science and mathematics education in the Philippines.

SM’s senior vice president for marketing Millie Dizon has been an ardent champion of MTG Philippines projects, notably its annual Sudoku nationwide competitions.

Fund-raiser

THE event was graced by former Senator and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, the longtime honorary president of MTG.

Cayetano said that, once the dust of the political campaign has ended but before the new term of officials elected in the May 13 midterm elections begins, he will push his personal advocacy—to beef up the resources of the MTG Philippines so it can reach out to more students nationwide, especially the underprivileged but talented math and science students.

He recalled how, when he was attending an MTG event several years ago, he was struck by the fluency with which the young students were discussing with him

and other officials. He turned to Dr. Chua and asked aloud where they come from, and Dr. Chua told him they were students of a nearby public school.

Cayetano admitted he was pleasantly surprised, to which Chua lectured him, “maraming magaling na bata, kulang lang sa oportunidad [There are many talented children; it’s the opportunities that are lacking].”

Thus, Cayetano said, he will make it his personal commitment to organize a fund-raiser for MTG sometime in June, so the organization can benefit more students, given how much it has done with its modest resources.

Cayetano said he hoped the fund-raiser could raise a minimum of P1 million for MTG. In all, there were 538 SEA awardees, comprising a good mix of students from public and private schools, and from regions across the land.

There were students from exclusive, expensive private schools, but also from public schools that were lucky enough to be supported by their local governments.

There were dozens of awardees from specialized state institutions like the Philippine Science High School and Manila Science High School, and also from schools like the Philippine Cultural College.

Indeed, they represent the leaven among the young, knighted by the opportunity and sustained guidance and support provided by the MTG and similar groups as the Mathematics Teachers’ Association of the Philippines, which was also represented in the event. Lourdes M. Fernandez

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Sunday, March 17, 2019

A11

One night in Bangkok is just not enough

H

Story & photos by Charmaine Cunanan

AVING hectic streets, scorching weather all year round and terrible traffic in major roads, Bangkok is almost identical to Manila.

One would easily pass on visiting one of Asia’s tourist centrals and prefer the fancier and lowerthan-20-degree-temperature cities up north. But Bangkok offers more than tuktuks that will make you consider packing up your bags and head to the “Land of Smiles.”

RUINS of the ancient capital, Ayutthaya

ENTRANCE of Wat Arun, one of the biggest temples in Bangkok

BANG Pa-In Palace, the king’s summer residence

WAT Phra Si Sanphet, the holiest temple of the royal palace in Ayutthaya

Culture haven

ONCE you step foot in the city, you’ll immediately notice the full display of its rich culture from the building architecture, to religion, to the line of distinctly Thai street food everywhere. Thailand is the only city in Southeast Asia that was never colonized, thus making the people’s indigenous culture intact and uninfluenced. The people’s lifestyle fascinates tourists and has become an attraction to many.

Thai people are proud Buddhists, and it is evident with the array of temples they have in the country, more than 20,000 to be specific. One of the famous and considered as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand can be found in Bangkok. Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of Emerald Buddha, is located in the heart of The Grand Palace. The 26-inch-high Buddha was meticulously carved from a single block of jade. It is covered with a seasonal cloak changed three times a year to correspond the seasons: summer, winter and rainy.

Situated along Chao Phraya River, Wat Arun is another must-visit temple in the capital. It is decorated with spires and stands majestically over the water.

Just right across Wat Arun is Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It’s one of the largest temple complexes in the city and famed for its giant reclining Buddha covered with gold that measures 46 meters long.

The city tour wouldn’t be complete without visiting the famous landmark that portrays the nation’s history and government. Built in 1782,

STANDING Buddhas in Wat Pho

the Grand Palace served as the home of the king, the royal court and the administrative seat of government for 150 years. The buildings inside the complex have a beautiful mixture of European and intricate Thai architecture.

Floating markets offer fascinating cultural experiences as well as glimpses into the local way of life.

Damnoen Saduak, the biggest and most popular of all floating markets, caters mainly to foreign visitors and is still a must-see, while smaller markets, such as Tha Kha and Ampawa, offer more local flavors.

Bangkok also has many museums that exhibit some of the most magnificent collections of relics you can imagine. It provides an insight into Thailand’s colorful culture and unique heritage. The best place to start is the National Museum. Spanning all periods of Thai history, it offers an introduction to the country’s art and architecture. Other interesting museums for tourists are Kamthieng House, the Bangkok Folk Museum, Erawan Museum and Jim Thompson’s House.

For a trip down memory lane, take a tour to the ancient capital of Siam. The center of civilization for over 400 years, Ayutthaya is filled with the ruins of palaces, temples, and religious monuments of great historical and cultural significance.

Complete the day trip by visiting the king’s summer residence, The Bang Pa-InPalace, and cruise Chao Phraya River at sunset.

Street-food central

A TRIP to Bangkok wouldn’t be complete if you wouldn’t indulge yourself in food readily available on the streets. From fresh fruits to fried dishes, the whole city is basically a street-food sanctuary. If you are on a budget, you can survive the entire trip with just eating from hole-in-the wall stalls. It is cheaper and more rewarding.

Do not leave the city without eating their famous stir-fried noodle dish Pad Thai. The best ones are found on the streets, sold typically for 70 baht per serving. For 20 baht, you can already buy a bag of fresh fruits, a large cup of Thai tea or a serving of fried dishes. If you are a more adventurous one, you can try

the exotic fried cuisines that can be easily found on the sidewalks.

If you are done with street food and crave for something upscale for dinner, you can try the rooftop restaurants and bars where you can enjoy the night view of the city skyline.

Notable restaurants you can visit are Above Eleven in Sukhumvit and Scarlet Wine & Bar Restaurant in Silom. For a more exquisite experience, Bitter Deck Restaurant offers a view of Wat Arun while you dine.

find life-size Totoro plushies and Studio Ghibli items that you can take a selfie with.

Make your fantasies come true and experience being an under-thesea creature at Mermaid Castle Café, or eat unicorn food at Unicorn Café.

For animal lovers, play with the Huskies at True Love Café, or visit Little Zoo Café to see actual fennec foxes, meerkats, owls, racoons and skunks while you drink your afternoon tea.

Café hub

Shopping district

BANGKOK is also famous for their eccentric cafés. Each one owns a unique concept and caters to different interests. With their Instagramfriendly setting, cafés turn into an additional attraction to foreigners and locals alike.

Studio Ghibli fans will surely enjoy May Garden’s House. It is a Totoro-themed café where you can

THAILAND is home of numerous weekend night markets, and it would be a sin to miss a trip to one.

The Chatuchak Weekend Market is the largest market in Thailand and the biggest in the world. As of 2019, it has more than 15,000 stalls and 11,505 vendors. You can score various kinds of goods such as fashion items, antiques, fresh and dry food,

ceramics and home furniture for a good price, if you know the art of haggling.

Ratchada Rot Fai Train Market offers a different ambiance compared to the usual night market feel. It has a touch of vintage that appeals to those who seek photo-worthy sights while shopping. This weekend market sells affordable clothes and rare fashion collectibles sourced from all over the world. If you wish to go, make sure to get to the right place because you might be confused with the original one in Srinakarin.

Aside from cheap goods and wide array of street food, Patpong is popular for its line of nightclubs and entertainment bars. It’s smaller compared to other night markets, but tourists still flock to this small strip along Bangkok’s financial district, Silom.

It’s open every night and is easy to find, as it is just walking distance from BTS Sala Daeng station.

Hong Kong in March: A mecca for art and local culture enthusiasts

M

ARCH is a perfect time to explore Hong Kong’s cultural life, particularly the art scene. For the entire March, those visiting the city are more than welcome to participate in the plethora of arts and cultural events around town, including the internationally renowned Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central, which provide rare occasions for enjoying famous art pieces and rubbing shoulders with the glitterati at the same time. And with the latest cultural venues and street artworks that have emerged in recent months, art and culture enthusiasts will surely find Hong Kong the perfect subject matter to immerse in artsy ambience.

Muse about international art at Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central

BE prepared for a lavish visual feast at Art Basel Hong Kong (March 29-31) and Art Central ( March 27-31), the mainstay of Hong Kong Arts Month.

Now in its seventh year,Art Basel Hong Kong will return to the conveniently located Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with 242 galleries from 36 countries, 21 of which are new to the show.

Also boasting a strong lineup is Art Central, where over 100 galleries will showcase art from around the globe. The fifth edition will also feature carefully curated performances, large-scale installations, new media art and talks. Appreciating art aside, patrons will be served a riveting view of Victoria Harbour and the city’s signature skyline at the Central Harbourfront venue.

Check in at new cultural hot spots to capture a slice of history

VARIOUS important cultural venues have sprung

up in the city over the past 10 months. One of them is Xiqu Centre, which opened in January this year. Dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Cantoneseopera, the Xiqu Centre is noteworthy not simply for being the first venue in the much-anticipated West Kowloon Cultural District to open its doors, but also for its striking architectural design that juxtaposes traditional and modern elements. With a futuristic form and a steel structure, the eight-story edifice is in fact a reinterpretation of the traditional Chinese lantern, whereas its façade is shaped to resemble the parted curtains on a performing stage.While admiring the architecture, visitors are encouraged to enjoy an intimate Cantonese opera viewing experience over traditional tea and dim sum at the Tea House Theatre.

Another recent talk of the town is The Mills, an innovation and cultural hub transformed from a textile factory. Situated in Tsuen Wan, once an industrial area and now a major residential dis-

trict, The Mills celebrates the golden days of Hong Kong’s textile industry and carries on the legacy by nurturing the city’s creative talents.

Inside the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT), visitors can learn about the history of Hong Kong’s textile industry and the current local and global textile arts landscape. Visitors are warmly invited to experience the manual cotton-spinning process using traditional spinning instruments at CHAT’s Welcome to the Spinning Factory! exhibition. Starting from March 16, visitors can appreciate the array of contemporary textile arts displayed at the Unfolding: Fabric of Our Life exhibition.

Another key heritage site worth visiting is Tai Kwun, one of the city’s largest heritagerevitalization projects, which took a decade and HK$3.8 billion to complete. Three iconic declared monuments are now part of this cultural destination that houses a worldstandard contemporary art museum, some of the city’s chicest restaurants and boutiques.

Apart from snapping and admiring the beauty, architecture and design of the complex, visitors

coming during Hong Kong Arts Month can enjoy free site-specific performances, urban dance battles, community and contemporary dance, workshops and screenings in the HK Arts Festival@TaiKwun program over two weekends this March.

local artists under an initiative aptly called “HK Urban Canvas,” depicting the unique personalities and stories behind local shops; and keep an eye out for buzzing street scenes, intriguing contrasts and all the oddities that make Hong Kong an exciting place.

Snap away in characterful neighbourhoods for local street art

More than meets the eye (and the lens)

THE art experience in Hong Kong is not limited to standalone events and places. Out in the open, art has penetrated the corners of different neighborhoods, inviting the curious to explore these living “street-art museums.” Take a stroll at Central, Sheung Wan and the latest “ARTLANE” in the hipster Sai Ying Pun area, where murals by local and overseas artists can be found on walls of old buildings and staircases. You will be able to shoot in front of many Instagram-famous street art and make your followers jealous; hunt for shutter art around Hong Kong painted by young

THOSE who seek more sensory stimulation will find a plethora of performing-arts events, the most notable of which is the Hong Kong Arts Festival. With a history of over four decades, the annual bonanza featuring opera, theatre, music, dance and more has been an artery of the city’s cultural life. Visitors will have the opportunities to enjoy 166 performances and over 300 exciting array of outreach activitiesby over 1,700 artists from around the world during the 31-day-long program this year that started from February 21 up until March 23.

A12 Sunday, March 17, 2019

Sports BusinessMirror

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

RECOVERING FROM ILLNESS I PETER SAGAN: Nobody’s beaten on the start line

T was a baptism of fire for the three-time world champion Peter Sagan as he returned to action at Tirreno-Adriatico, his first outing since the Vuelta a San Juan.

Having spent much of last month training at altitude at Sierra Nevada before getting sick for a week—and losing 4 kilos, he told reporters the opening team time trial stage at Tirreno saw Sagan having to avoid an errant spectator on the course—who took down his Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Rafal Majka and Oscar Gatto.

“Today I survived—despite what happened during the race,” Sagan said. “I was pretty bad these last six days in Sierra Nevada. I had to stay in my room, sick, and couldn’t ride, and then yesterday [Tuesday] I did three hours, easy, and then the team time trial today. But we’ll see how it goes day-by-day here at Tirreno.

“I’ve lost a lot of form since Argentina without racing. I was training hard in Sierra Nevada, but, since getting sick, I’ve lost a little bit. But I’m recovering now, and hopefully I’ll get better. There’s still a long time to go until the Classics. I’m here for a week, and then from Milan-San Remo until ParisRoubaix it’s another three weeks, and then another two weeks after that until Liège-Bastogne-Liège, so there’s still time.”

While listing three of his main targets for this spring—San Remo, Roubaix and Liège—it’s clear that there’s no sign of panic from Sagan.

“I’m not worried about San Remo,” he admitted, “because even if you’re in the best shape, it’s not 100 percent certain that you’re going to be good.

“You hit the Poggio climb, and whoever’s still there is still there. There might be attacks, there might not be; it always depends on the wind. If there’s a headwind, then you can’t get away on the Poggio. You can’t gain time on the descent, even if you take a lot of risks, and then if a team’s got several guys, then they can chase you down if you try an attack. So many things can happen at Milan San Remo.

“You can only be your best at the race and accept what happens. You can’t be frustrated by losing a bike race, or else you’d go crazy. I’ll do my best at San Remo, and of course I’d like to win it, but out of 200 riders, only one can win. Let’s see. I’m just looking forward to seeing how I feel, and seeing how I match up against my rivals.”

What’s almost certain is that Sagan is going to come up against a very strong DeceuninckQuickStep squad in the coming races.

“Yes—they’re very strong,” he agreed.

“But what we’re seeing now is maybe going

to be different in two or three weeks time. I’m not worried about it, and, at the end of the day, the races are going to start and they’re going to finish.”

As for how he and his Bora teammates might go about trying to beat Patrick Lefevere’s team, Sagan refused to be drawn.

“I’ll think about it during the races—not before,” he said. “We’ve still got races like GentWevelgem to come yet, so we’ll see. And we also have a strong team, and every race can be different. We have to be ready, though.

“It doesn’t surprise me how well they’re going, though. They’re a Belgian team and the main goal for them is always the Classics. They’ve got a lot of good riders, and it’s a chance for them to take a lot of points at the start of the season, and so it’s no surprise. Some teams build themselves for the GC, some for the Classics— every team has different goals.”

At 29, Sagan is arguably enjoying—or possibly still approaching—the best years of his career, having turned pro with Liquigas in 2010.

Asked about what point he thinks his career’s reached—is he in the autumn years, or still in summer?—Sagan replied that he hoped he was only in about July.

“But perhaps I’m in September,” he laughed.

Fifa urged to ensure human-rights standards

F

IFA President Gianni Infantino has been asked to confirm that any country being considered as a cohost of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar complies with the governing body’s new human-rights standards.

Before Friday’s Fifa Council meeting in Miami, Amnesty International and a coalition of nongovernment organizations, trade unions and fans’ and players’ groups have told the official about his “corporate responsibility.”

Fifa must ensure any country wishing to hold a World Cup first provides credible guarantees to meet international human-rights law and labor standards, Infantino has been told.

The governing body will discuss a proposal to expand the World Cup finals in Qatar from 32 to 48 teams in Miami.

Infantino supports the plan with suggestions that additional games could be staged in other Gulf countries such as Kuwait and Oman.

Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International’s deputy director of global issues, said: “There are clear human-rights risks associated with adding new hosts for the 2022 World Cup, not least the potential widespread

exploitation of migrant workers providing construction and other services for the World Cup that could cast a major shadow over the world’s biggest sporting event.

“Gianni Infantino has said he wants to make the World Cup more inclusive.

“This means Fifa must assess potential cohosts in Gulf countries to ensure that the World Cup is not contributing or linked to human-rights violations which are rife in the region.”

In November Infantino told journalists that neighboring countries might be considered as hosts for an expanded competition.

In February, the chairman of the United Arab Emirates General Sports Authority said that the UAE, Kuwait and Oman would be willing to cohost the finals if the current

“I feel good, but every year’s more difficult. There are always more things to do: there are more races, people want more interviews.... Cycling’s beautiful when you start to win. It’s easy to reach a certain level, but it’s much more difficult to stay there. I didn’t realize that five or six years ago when I first started to win, but now I do.

“Now I understand it because I’ve got more responsibility. My body’s getting older, and each year it takes longer to recover. Cycling’s becoming more professional, so you have to do more. You have to look after yourself and work all the time: do stretching, recovery; you can’t stop from when you wake up to when you go to bed.”

Despite still being in his 20s—Sagan won’t hit 30 until January next year—the Slovakian, nevertheless, appears to have an old head, and reflected on the turnover of pros and the process of being replaced when he no longer has what it takes to win races.

“You can’t race all your life. That’s sport,” he said. “Each one of us goes as far as we can, and then we reach the end. Guys like André Greipel [Arkea-Samsic] are still racing on, but young guys are coming through all the time, as well.

That’s happening to him and it will happen to me—and it happens to everybody.”

Cyclingnews diplomatic crisis in the Gulf could be resolved.

On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain were among countries to sever relations with Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism.

Infantino is also being asked to offer assurances that any other country becoming involved with hosting will develop credible action plans to prevent potential abuses related to the tournament in respect of discrimination and restrictions of freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

Qatar has launched a feasibility study into its capacity to host an expanded tournament.

If an expansion is agreed in principle, new hosts would be decided by the Fifa Congress— the organization’s supreme decision-making body made up of all 211 associations—which next meets in Paris in June before the Women’s World Cup. Insidethegames

HOPE UP FOR COLOMBIAN WOMEN SOCCER PLAYERS

B

now willing to sponsor the women’s league, the second half on Wednesday to give South OGOTA, Colombia—Women’s soccer has which will start its third season in August.

Korean club Ulsan Horang-i a 1-0 victory over been handed a major boost in Colombia But the league will have to go through Chinese champion Shanghai SIPG in the Asian as officials reverted plans to cancel the major restructuring in order to become Champions League in Seoul on Wednesday. local professional league. financially viable. One proposal that has been Former Brazil forward Hulk came close to Colombia’s professional football presented to players is to cut the number of giving the Chinese team the lead but couldn’t association, Dimayor, voted on Tuesday teams to between eight and 12. convert. evening to maintain the professional status Colombia is just one of three countries Ulsan, which won the Asian title in 2012, for the national women’s league and created a in South America with professional women’s leads Group H with four points, one more than commission that will look into how to make it soccer, along with Venezuela and Brazil. The Shanghai. financially sustainable.

Colombian league was launched in 2017 and is In the other group match, Manabu Saito Last week, football officials in the South run by clubs that have managed male teams for scored a late goal to give Japanese team American country had announced that the several decades.

Kawasaki Frontale a 1-0 victory over Sydney FC. 23-team league would be downgraded to One Brazilian, meanwhile, missed his Saito scored from close range in the 83rd amateur status due to its poor economic best chance for a goal, and another Brazilian minute to give the Japanese champions their results. But players and the local media punished him for it. first win in nine games in the continental pressured officials to reconsider, saying that Junior Negrao scored the lone goal in competition. AP the cancellation of professional soccer would leave dozens of players without jobs and dash the hopes of thousands of girls playing in lower divisions.

Women’s soccer has had a turbulent month in Colombia, with sexual-harassment complaints against two coaches and accusations that players in the national team were not given the same benefits as their male counterparts.

But the conflicts also reignited interest in women’s soccer, which often goes uncovered by local media.

Dimayor President Jorge Enrique Velez said he has received calls from a handful of companies SARA PULECIO (center) warms up during a soccer clinic for professional female players in Bogota, Colombia. AP

FORKOSMOS | DREAMSTIME.COM

Pinoy Gen Z seeks companies with cutting-edge tech—study

By Oliver Samson Correspondent

P

INOY Gen Z job seekers prefer to join a company with cutting-edge technologies at workplace, a recent study

by Dell Technologies Inc. revealed.

“Advanced technology will entice Gen Z job candidates, and organizations are encouraged to take a technology-first approach—from [the] hiring process to onboarding—to the daily work experience,” the IT firm said.

The research revealed that 88 percent of respondents from the Philippines would choose to work in an environment furnished with state-of-the-art working devices.

“Ninety-seven percent of Filipinos will consider the type of technology provided as important when considering two similar jobs,” Dell Technologies said.

Titled “Gen Z: the future has arrived,” Dell Technologies said its study discovered that majority of Pinoy Gen Z recognizes and appreciates technologies capability to revolutionize a company and career opportunities.

“An overwhelming 99 percent [of the respondents] said they recognize the importance of tech-literacy,” Dell Technologies said.

Not less than 88 percent of Pinoy Gen Z respondents have placed their technical know-how and skills as “good or excellent,” the IT firm added.

“Sixty-eight percent of Filipinos are more confident that they have the technology skills [that] employers want.”

Pinoy Gen Z-ers, according to the study, have demonstrated confidence in their technology know-how and skills.

However, this does not necessarily mean preparedness at work.

“Organizations that develop up-skilling initiatives—including internships and rotation programs—for these digital natives, as well as creating cross-functional teams with complementary skill sets, will benefit from fresh approaches to problem-solving and strong knowl-

edge exchange opportunities,” Dell Technologies said.

The respondents have also showed interest in sharing know-how. Eightysix percent of the respondents said they are willing to share their technology literacy with colleagues at the workplace. Some 78 percent consider themselves as potential “digital ambassadors” for their company.

“To reduce an inevitable ‘digital divide’ among five generations at the workplace, business leaders should consider tech mentorship programs to address variances in IT competency and build a more well-integrated workforce,” Dell Technologies said.

The study has also found that 53 percent of Pinoy Gen Z-ers prefer to work for a company with corporate social and environmental responsibilities. Some 52 percent prefer a job that would not only get them paid but also provide them meaning other than money.

“Beyond income, Gen Z considers other thugs as important for their work,” Dell Technologies said. “Gen Z wants more than just money for their work.

Employers should encourage corporate social responsibility initiatives, as well as have a strong purpose beyond business.”

According to the study, “learning and development at the workplace will also serve as key levers to attract and retain Gen Z candidates.”

The research also found that 67 percent of Pinoy Gen Z-ers seek to learn new knowledge and earn new experiences.

The study has also revealed 53 percent of Pinoy Gen Z prefer in-person communication at work over text.

Seventy-seven percent are interested in learn more at the workplace through offline means. Some 91 percent recognize the company and workforce may gain from the social media.

Dell Technologies also disclosed that 60 percent of Filipinos choose to work at the workplace than at home. It also found 74 percent prefer teamwork over working alone.

“Gen Z is eager for more human interaction,” the IT firm said. “Organizations should build a flexible work environment that serves a diverse set of work styles with a strong blend of in-person and virtual collaborative workspaces, as well as immerse tools such as AR [augmented reality] and VR [virtual reality] to enable teams to deliver their best output.”

2 BusinessMirror

MARCH 17, 2019

BusinessMirror

MUSIC

PRINT

BRACE YOURSELVES AS ANTHEM FOR MARIA’S NEW ALBUM IS OUT

by Rick Olivares

P

OP-PUNK band Anthem for Maria is set to launch its second album “Brace Yourself” this coming April 13 at Tomato Kick in Timog, Quezon City.

Brace Yourself follows the 2017 debut “Sweet Tears on Reckless Years,” and features 10 songs of polished and catchy hooks. There, you will find traces of their influences such as Fall Out Boy, Pierce the Veil, All Time Low, Kamikazee and Chicosci.

But the Dasmariñas, Cavite-based band (composed of vocalist Charles

Vincent Vera, guitarists JV Lucero and Jake Palmaso, bassist Paul Michael Barcelona and drummer Mark Denzel Lucero) has put their own stamp on the genre with a mix of their love for all things pop.

According to Lucero, the band derived its name from two things: first and foremost, their being fans of Japanese actress Maria Ozawa; and second, their desire to write songs about women and the affairs of the heart.

Lucero clarified, “We are all for respect for women.”

In fact, the cover for Brace Yourself shows five dogs (that represent each member of the group) surrounding a curvaceous woman. It both means protection for their female idol, and the band’s affections for their respective crushes.

“Music is a way into one’s heart,” Lucero pointed out.

Their songs are aimed at the teen and young-adult set, with accompanying anime/manga style art.

We aren’t just referring to the album-cover art, because

this also translates to their merchandise, videos (see their latest for Lucia) and songs on

Spotify. Each and every track Continued on page 4

4

Sound BusinessMirror

MARCH 17, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

MUS

UNDERWATER WORLD SURFACES

IN ‘ANIMULAT: MALAYA’

by John Rhoderick Campo

D

EEP beneath the tides of a hidden lake lies the kingdom of Bantay Tubig, where creatures we thought to have been mythical live together—each creature wrestling with their own troubles.

In this underwater world, amid its rich history and vibrant seascape, the characters struggle against the pursuit of freedom: freedom from the past, freedom from discrimination, and even freedom from the restricting bounds of royalty. And in the thick

of it all looms a mysterious illness contaminating its waters.

Teatro Lasalyano, the premier senior high school-theater group of De La Salle University-Manila, yet again offers theater fans a wonderful fantasy play that would take you to another level and a whole new perspective.

On the second year of Animulat—an annual production staged by Grade 12 Teatro Lasalyano members—the organization has ought to sway the audience with the melody and beauty of Philippine music and culture.

This original musical entitled “Malaya” will be staged on March 16, Saturday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and March 18, Monday at 1 p. m. in the Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium at the 7th floor of the Yuchengco Hall in the said university.

Written by a talented team in the organization, the story revolves around a young syokoy named Dakila, who sets out to find a cure for his ailing mother and to fulfill her last wish. With the help of Diwa, a sirena princess, and Galang, a naga who has been tending to the sick, they venture into the human world despite its uncertain dangers, in hopes of regaining the freedom of Bantay Tubig creatures that they have fought for.

The story is not limited in appreciating our country’s rich folklore and literature; it

parallels our country’s struggle as it will tackle relevant themes such as political atrocities, feminism, social and personal responsibility, as well as environmental issues. Not only will audiences be informed about such social problems through art, but the organization also aims to spread light to the children-beneficiaries for this year’s production.

Escape your troubles for a few hours by watching these magical characters try to overcome and break free from theirs in a production that will set your soul ablaze and make your heart sing. Tickets are sold at P250 for Lasallians (bit.ly/ AnimulatMalayaLasallians) and P300 for guests (bit.ly/ AnimulatMalayaOutsiders).

Mabuhay ang Bantay Tubig!

PHOTO FROM ANTHEM FOR MARIA’S FACEBOOK PAGE

Anthem...

from page 3

comes with its corresponding artwork.

The band’s set of merchandise (from Carnivore Clothing) is just as fetching.

While the female of the species isn’t too far from their minds, the Anthem for Maria members are all self-professed geeks. Everyone is into anime, manga, American comics, music and video games.

“Through art, we [would like] to add something more to the song. We also want others who aren’t fans of our band, or even pop punk, to check us out because they might be fans of [the stuff we also enjoy],” added Lucero.

In their own words, the band just wants to make its music more enjoyable to the senses.

Catch them at Tomato Kick for their album launch.

d trip

soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com | MARCH 17, 2019

5

SIC ON PRINT

Davao Oriental to stage biggest music festival this April

DECEMBER AVENUE

I

N a bid to promote Davao Oriental as a progressive, travelerfriendly destination, the Davao Oriental provincial government and the City of Mati, along with Orca Promotions, is organizing the biggest concert in the province on April 6 to 7.

Dubbed as the Bonfire Music Festival, the twoday music event at the Provincial Sports Complex in Brgy. Dahican, Mati in Davao Oriental will promote different genres of music for an estimated 7,000 attendees. The concert will also be an opportunity to showcase the beauty of the province of Davao Oriental, its culture as well as tourist destinations to the participants.

Performers lined up on April 6 are December Avenue, Nairud, Harmoniax, Broken Chords of May, OrientRocks, Muzza Band and Mark & Sid. The April 7 line-up will feature top rave deejays Tom Taus, Stefan Lan, Ron Poe, Jet Boado, Cathy Frey, Cassie D and Jack Ripper.

A two-day pass grants access to all these performances, discounts in fun activities such as paintball challenge, freebies from sponsors, raffles and many more. For tickets and inquiries, call (087) 306-0573 or email gcarmelotes.orca@ gmail.com, or visit the Bonfire Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/bonfiremusicfest/.

CASSIE D

JACK RIPPER

TOM TAUS

6

MARCH 17, 2019 | soundstrip.businessmirror@gmail.com

Sound trip BusinessMirror

MUSIC ON PRINT

5th PHL Ukulele Festival happening this month R

ETURNING for its fifth year, The Philippine Ukulele Festival (PUF5) is promising two days of amazing music, workshops as well as arts and crafts, celebrating the little four-stringed wonder that has captured the hearts of many Filipinos.

Happening on March 30 and 31, PUF5 is boasting an estimate of about 70 acts, featuring around 300 individual performers to serenade festival goers at Eton Centris, Quezon City.

Taking the stage are worldclass Filipino ukulele fingerstyle players like Pao Gumba, Domands, Randy Gimenez, Leomar Requejo and Eduardo Enaje.

Also in the lineup are ukuleledriven bands like BennyBunnyBand, Navy Blve Pants, Alamat ni Ug, Esremborak and Talata ni Tala.

All for the community

ONE of the highlights of PUF5 are performances from a number of school and community-based ukulele groups such as the Young Rizalians Ukulele Ensemble of Jose Rizal University and the YouKaLeLe Kids of Liw-Liwa Zambales.

“For a big fan of ukulele communities, seeing large numbers of ukulele players performing as one is very fulfilling,” shared Laurence Dacanay of Happy Music/Ukulele

Philippines, the country›s first allukulele store and the organizer of the Philippine Ukulele Festival.

“Since 2012 and especially in 2013 when we had the first PUF, we saw that more and more Filipinos were discovering the ukulele. There was a very obvious need to make local ‘uke’ enthusiasts know that there were many of them, enough to develop a local ukulele scene,” Leon Lagrama, also of Happy Music, added.

Keeping true to its commitment of nurturing the local ukulele community, Happy Music will be offering free ukulele workshops to festival attendees who are interested to learn the ukulele. People could also discover and join active ukulele clubs at PUF5, perfect for players to get motivated and meet new friends at the same time.

Workshops, bazaars, friendships

ALREADY playing the ukulele for

some time? Happy Music shared that they are planning to have more advanced workshops to help more experienced players improve further.

PUF5 is also having a bazaar featuring handpicked artisans of cool items like statement shirts as well as arts and crafts, including other goodies. In addition, Happy Music has invited several musical instrument retailers to provide festival goers a selection of instruments to choose from.

Happy Music believes that where there is ukulele, there is a community. Organizers are encouraging the public to approach anyone with an ukulele, make new friends and play some music, as the PUF5 is just one, big ukulele jam.

For more information about the 5th Philippine Ukulele Festival, email info@happymusicph. com or laurencedacanay@ gmail.com.

PHL Philharmonic Orchestra belongs to the people: CCP head

B

ACOLOD CITY—The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) reaches out to the Filipino audience by bringing music across the country through the outreach concerts of the Philippine PhilHarmonic Orchestra (PPO).

“It’s a two-way zone. We bring people to the center and since we know not all of them can go to the center, we bring the center to the people. That’s why we’re here,” CCP President Arsenio “Nick”Lizaso said.

Lizaso introduced the country’s leading symphony orchestra, a resident company of the CCP, during their twonight concert in this city on the first evenings of February.

The PPO performed at the SMX Convention Center as the orchestra was featured during the opening night of the 2019 Bacolaodiat Festival at the Bacolod Government Center (BGC) grounds.

“The mandate of the CCP is to preserve and promote art in all regions of the country, and this is the reason we are here tonight. The

orchestra belongs to you. We are only the caretaker. We take care of them for you. This is why we bring the music of the PPO to you and to every city and region that we go to,” Lizaso said in his message before the crowd at the BGC. “This is our mandate: To bring our music to the people,” he added.

The PPO’s outreach program primarily aims to “promote music appreciation in underserved communities in the different regions in the country.”

The PPO, under the baton of conductors Yoshikazu Fukumura and Herminigildo Ranera, is celebrating its 45th anniversary, which coincides with the orchestra’s 36th concert season.

Lizaso said that during the PPO’s concert in Iloilo City last year, Mayor Evelio Leonardia approached him and asked if the CCP can also bring the orchestra to Bacolod.

“Swiftly, I said yes. From thereon, we had a series of meetings, and here we are in Bacolod,” he added.

Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA

Japanese banks will finally stop using a piece of 1800s technology

I

T has taken more than a century, but Japanese banks are finally parting ways with a piece of technology that hasn’t felt cutting edge since the shogun reigned.

Hanko, the personal stamps required for even simple transactions in Japan since the 1800s, are getting phased out at some of the country’s biggest financial institutions.

Lenders have begun allowing customers to transfer money or make payments with their smartphone or a tablet, instead of pressing wood to ink and paper like their ancestors. For millennials in Japan, one of the most tech-obsessed places on Earth, the change is long overdue.

“It’s too much work to bring hanko and do the paperwork just to withdraw money at branches,” said Tomoyuki Shiraishi, a 24-year-old construction worker in Kurashiki, western Japan.

A HANKO, a formal seal used to sign documents.

HIDEHIKO MOCHIKI carves a hanko.

KEITH BEDFORD/BLOOMBERG

riage and home ownership.

Parents often buy hand-crafted hanko for their children when they come of age, and tourists take them home as souvenirs, said Keiichi Fukushima, a licensed carver and fourth-generation owner of a shop that sells the stamps in Tokyo’s historic Ueno district. Hanko-making is a $1.5-billion-ayear industry, said Fukushima, who is vice chairman of the national trade group.

“There are still lots of occasions where we need to use hanko in our lives,” Fukushima said.

Minami Yoshida, a 26-year-old accounts clerk for an industrial-parts maker in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, wishes there weren’t so many. Before she can pay suppliers, Yoshida has to stamp cash transfer forms with her company’s hanko and take them to the bank for processing. “I just

KEITH BEDFORD/BLOOMBERG

After arriving late to the financial-technology (fintech) revolution, Japanese banks are racing to catch up as they try to slash paperwork, boost efficiency and appeal to younger generations.

Small businesses use them for many contracts, and they’re still required for things like marriage and home ownership.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG), the country’s biggest lender, is a case in point. The bank has started offering accounts that don’t require hanko or passbooks and is overhauling its branch network to replace rows of tellers with tablet computers and video booths.

The goal is to help customers adapt to digital platforms so they can eventually do more banking on their own devices. As many as 100 of MUFG’s 500-plus domestic outlets will convert to the new format

by 2024. The Tokyo-based lender plans to halve the number of branches with traditional counters over the same period.

MUFG isn’t alone. Resona Holdings Inc. last year started allowing customers to open accounts without hanko at about 600 branches. The shift to digital has support from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, which has drafted a bill to make more government services available online.

Winning over Japan’s bureaucracy hasn’t been easy. It took MUFG two years to convince 450 local governments to begin processing tax payments electronically, said Takayuki Ogura, a director at the group’s main banking unit.

In other areas of Japanese officialdom, hanko is firmly entrenched. Small businesses use them for many contracts, and they’re still required for things like mar-

7 BusinessMirror

HANKO at a store in Tokyo.

MARCH 17, 2019

KEITH BEDFORD/BLOOMBERG

feel it’s inefficient,” she said.

Hanko were introduced to Japan from China during the Kamakura period (11851333) for use by feudal lords and shogun.

Also known as inkan, they became widespread during the Edo period (1603-1868) and enshrined in law for use in official documents in 1873.

These days, people usually carry three types: a registered jitsuin for major contracts such as buying a home; a ginkoin for bank transactions; and a mitomein for common tasks like signing for deliveries. The cheapest are rubber and can even be bought at ¥100 shops.

Proper hanko are usually hand-carved from wood or cattle horns and can cost more than ¥20,000. (Sources: Japan Insho Industry Association, hankoya.com) Bloomberg News

China millennials click up a storm buying Asian property online

I

CE CHEN, a 36-yearold bank manager in Beijing, hasn’t been to Bangkok lately, but she just bought two apartments there.

The millennial is among younger Chinese flocking to specialist online platforms to buy international real estate.

The biggest of the sites, Uoolu.com, reported a 60 percent surge in transactions to 5 billion yuan ($740 million) in 2018 and predicts a doubling this year. Much of the money is flowing to destinations in Southeast Asia, where prices look cheap compared to Beijing or Shanghai.

“The demand is very strong among the middle class holding extra cash,” said Liu Yuan, the Shanghai-based head of research at property broker Centaline Group. “Purchases have become simpler with online platforms.”

Driving the boom are the younger, techsavvy generations, according to Uoolu, which was founded in 2015 and competes with the likes of Shiju, the overseas property unit of Shenzhen World Union Properties Consultancy Inc., and Seattle-based Beimeigoufang.com, whose name means “buying properties in North America.”

Convenience is the lure. Buyers can select a property within hours by making an initial payment of less than $1,500. As a one-stopshop, Uoolu is also a conduit for purchasers to get mortgages from overseas banks, find tenants and collect rent. Among buyers, about half purchase without visiting the property, while about 22 percent buy sight unseen and all online, without phone calls or a face-toface meeting with an agent.

Southeast Asian property may be popular because the low prices mean down payments are manageable for buyers navigating China’s currency controls, which in-

RESIDENTIAL buildings in Beijing, China

QILAI SHEN/BLOOMBERG

clude a $50,000 annual foreign-exchange quota. (There’s also an official ban—which it’s possible to skirt—on putting the money into overseas property.)

As well, countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines lack the barriers to foreign purchases erected in New Zealand, Canada, Singapore and Australia.

Thailand was the most popular destination last year for Chinese buyers searching through Juwai.com, a site for international properties. Buyers from mainland China and Hong Kong bought about 15,000 new Bangkok apartments, half of all purchases by foreigners, the research provider estimates.

The motivation for offshore investments isn’t hard to fathom. While China’s real es-

tate market is showing signs of faltering, many homes are pricey after the market’s lengthy bull run, and there’s a web of government controls that restrict purchases.

Throw in uncertain prospects for the yuan, and diversification looks appealing.

While online transactions are booming, more traditional agencies still dominate and many people would never think of buying a property—especially an expensive one—without visiting it. Overseas purchases through Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. continued to grow last year, while at Homelink Overseas Property, the international unit of one of China’s largest realtors, business more than doubled.

Many buyers need “a lot of hand-holding and guidance,” digging into issues such as

location, transportation and schooling, according to Joanna Burger, head of international residential for North China at JLL. For the likes of Chen, the bank manager, however, the click-to-buy approach has worked well enough for now. She’s happy with a 6 percent rental return on her Thai homes, which were purchased by selling a Beijing apartment that generated just a third of that.

In Bangkok, the “prices are much lower, the climate is good, it’s suitable for retirement life, and also easy to rent,” Chen said, browsing booths at a Beijing forum where developers from the US to Indonesia were advertising projects.

Now, she’s plotting her next purchase— maybe in Cambodia. Bloomberg News

Social Business Youth Summit 2019 to gather young movers, innovators

T

WO groups said they expect to gather students, scholars, activists, young entrepreneurs, working professionals, corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioners and nongovernment office (NGO) representatives from various communities for the Social Business Youth Summit (SBYS) 2019 on March 22 and 23.

The groups behind the SBYS 2019 are nonprofit organization Social Business Youth Alliance (SBYA), which aims to create social business leaders, and Grameen Australia Philippines (GAP), a partner of the world’s poorest to access capital. The SBYS 2019 will be held in partnership with De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).

According to SBYA, the forum aims to inspire and enable the youth to transform their environments through social business. The two-day forum annually gathers over 350 likeminded individuals to focus on creating sus-

tainable solutions to some of the most pressing current social issues.

Themed “Creating a World of Three Zeroes: Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, Zero Net Carbon Emissions,” this year’s summit will tackle issues on poverty, unemployment, net carbon emissions, disruptive technology, ecosystems for start-ups and youth development.

Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and a pioneer in microfinance and founder of Grameen Bank, will headline the SBYS at the College’s School of Design and Arts (SDA) Theater with his keynote speech on “Creating a World of Three Zeroes.”

Another highlight of the event will be the timely discussion on “Innovation in Education” to be presented by DLS-CSB President Dennis Magbanua, FSC. Both Yunus and Magbanua will also be part of the panel session on “Social Business at

8 BusinessMirror

Campuses: A Breeding Ground for Next Generation Entrepreneurs.”

The series of talks also include “Fundamentals of Entrepreneurial Success” by Grameen Australia Chairman Peter Hunt and “Mainstreaming Social Business in Regional Trade Cooperation” by David Landers, Board of Director and CEO mentor of Grameen Australia and former head of Global Markets, Australian Trade and Investment Commission.

In addition, some of the topics covered by the plenary lectures and panel sessions will broaden the knowledge of the participants on how they can explore the role of intergenerational partnership, combat social stigma and create an ecosystem that inspires innovation and social business.

In a two-part breakout session, which includes starting up a social business, learning the art of social networking and understanding

MARCH 17, 2019

advanced education in the developing world, DLS-CSB Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (HiFi) will enlighten the attendees with an introduction to human-centered design to be facilitated

by HiFi’s Innovation Development and Monitoring Coordinator Rex Lor and Impact Assessment to be expounded by HiFi Community Manager Mark Alvin Antiqueño.

The discussions also serve as the opportunity for selected participants to share how distinct ideas changed their lives. Among the presenters is artist Therese Paman from Kamulo, a team of four Industrial Design Program students from DLS-CSB SDA. Paman will tackle how their group’s aspiration to increase the quality of life through sustainable design, inclusive collaboration, and quality products led to the creation of “The.Nim1,” a stylistic wooden stool made of manually shredded denim threads and recycled wood.

SBYS 2019 is open to the public.