BusinessMirror September 28, 2019

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Saturday, September 28, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 353

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THE DEAD AND MISSING PERSONS PROTOCOL THE PHILIPPINES TAKES LESSONS FROM ONDOY AND YOLANDA ON DISASTER RESPONSE AND MANAGEMENT

THE devastation caused by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) is seen on November 10, 2013, in Tacloban City, Leyte. Yolanda, one of the most powerful storms on record, slammed into six central Philippine islands, leaving a wide swath of destruction and scores of people dead. AP/TOTI NAVALES

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By Jonathan L. Mayuga

DECADE ago on September 26, 2009, Tropical Storm Ondoy (international code name Ketsana), made history as one of the most devastating tropical cyclones ever to hit the Philippines. Although there were more destructive and devastating cyclones in the past, Ondoy is best remembered for exposing the vulnerabilities of Philippine communities to natural calamities.

Ondoy dumped a month’s worth of rain in the first six hours and submerged the National Capital Region (NCR) and many parts of Luzon.

In a few hours, Ondoy turned streets into raging rivers. The floods rose so fast that people in low-lying areas had no time to

evacuate and had to climb on rooftops to be rescued.

Ondoy affected close to 1 million families, or 5 million people.

The flash flood killed 464 people.

The incident became an eye-opener for all as it exposed the inadequate, if not lack of, preparation for disaster by local government units

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.1700

IN this November 19, 2013, file photo, Typhoon Haiyan survivors pass by hundreds of victims lying in body bags on the roadside until forensic experts can register and bury them in a mass grave outside of Tacloban. AP/DAVID GUTTENFELDER

(LGUs) and disaster-prone communities like Marikina City and Quezon City.

Ten years after Ondoy, and nearly six years after Yolanda (Inter-

national code name Haiyan) in November 2013, the Philippines may have gone a long way in enhancing the capacities of local governments and disaster-prone communities.

Have we learned our lessons well?

INTERIOR and Local Government Undersecretary for Public Affairs and Communication Jonathan Ma-

laya believes so, considering the many steps taken by the national government, including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), to enhance LGU capacities.

Underscoring the roles of every player, especially the media in times of disaster, Malaya said at a recent forum on LGU Protocols on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) that a system is now in place, including protocols for LGUs at the national and local levels, as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) plans and their smooth execution become indispensable amid the worst impacts of climate change.

“We know for a fact that the world is facing problems due to extreme changes in climate and the usual onslaught of natural disasters brought by it,” he said, explaining the DILG’s intensified information drive on LGU protocols in DRRM. Being at the frontlines, the role of the LGUs is crucial in saving lives. Yet there is more to just saving lives and providing relief during disaster operations—the management of the dead and missing persons.

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4839 n UK 64.2943 n HK 6.6561 n CHINA 7.3160 n SINGAPORE 37.7524 n AUSTRALIA 35.2043 n EU 56.9853 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9083

Source: BSP (September 27, 2019 )

A2 Saturday, September 28, 2019

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The dead and missing persons protocol Continued from a1

As the lead agency in the management of the dead and missing persons in disasters, the DILG thinks that, having learned well from its experience with killer Typhoon Yolanda, the Philippines is leading the way.

Management of the dead

“UNDER the National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP), the DILG is now in charge of the Management of the Dead and the Missing, or MDM,” Malaya said as he stressed the equally important role of the media in disseminating timely and accurate information as events unfold.

According to Edgar Allan Tabell, chief of the Central Office Disaster Information Coordinating Center of the DILG who also acts as national lead coordinator of the MDM Cluster of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the management of the dead and the missing was not as important in the past as search and rescue and providing relief to the survivors of natural calamities.

After Yolanda, which left over 6,300 people dead and over 1,000 missing, the NDRRMC issued Memorandum Circular No. 19 Series of 2016, putting in place the rules and the regulations governing the implementation of the Management of the Dead and Missing Persons.

MC No. 19 institutionalized the management of the dead and

missing—starting with retrieval to management of the bereaved families of disasters victims.

“In a major disaster like what we have experienced, the priority is search and rescue and then attend to their immediate needs, like emergency medical care and providing food, water to the survivors,” Tabell said.

“Before Yolanda, managing the dead was not a priority. The priority was search and rescue, which made a lot of sense [then]. But during Yolanda, after a week, it didn’t make sense anymore. Somebody has to take care of the dead and somebody has to take care of the missing persons,” he said.

Unfortunately, Tabell said, during Yolanda, no particular agency was assigned to do the job; hence, two weeks after the impact of Yolanda, there were still hundreds of dead bodies scattered all over Tacloban City, Southern Leyte and Eastern Samar.

Unified disaster response

“AFTER Yolanda, we [NDRRMC] started by reviewing our protocols and disaster response. And we found out there was no unified disaster response, hence, we came up with the National Disaster Response Plan [NDRP]—the strategic plan of the country for responding to disasters,” he said.

In coming up with the NDRP, the country’s disaster response clusters, patterned after the United Nations’ Humanitarian Response, were revamped—adding

the MDM to ensure that the dead and the missing persons are taken care of.

Three NDRP protocols serve as guide to the national government through the NDRRMC, which is composed of 42 different national agencies and various Disaster Risk Management Councils from the region down to the provincial, city, and municipality and even the barangay level.

There are now NDRPs for earthquakes and tsunamis, hydrometeorological hazards and terrorism-related incidents.

Also, NDRRMC MC No. 19 2016 has put in place a total of 11 Response Clusters, and one of them is focused on MDM. The MDM Cluster works side by side with the Search, Rescue and Retrieval (SRR) Cluster of the NDRRMC.

Dead body management

ACCORDING to Tabell, under NDRRMC Memorandum Circular No. 19 s. 2016, the dignified and proper management of the dead in disasters is fundamental to help families know the fate of their relatives and mourn their dead.

Painfully aware of the undignified situation of victims in Yolanda’s aftermath—dead bodies with no clothes on as they were torn apart by the storm surge—it is now part of the MDM Cluster’s responsibility to ensure that the bodies are retrieved and handled well for proper identification and disposition.

From then on, he said, dead

THIS November 23, 2013, file photo, shows a tent city for typhoon survivors in Tacloban City, central Philippines.

body management has become a key element of disaster response in the Philippines.

“Their proper management is a core component of disaster response, together with the rescue and care of survivors and the provision of essential services,” Tabell said, citing two salient features of NDRRMC Memorandum Circular No. 19.

• Dead persons have to be found, retrieved, identified and buried according to their religious and culturally acceptable norms.

• The inherent dignity of the dead shall be observed at all times.

Helping bereaved families

THERE’S need as well to provide for the physiological needs of the bereaved, including food, financial and livelihood assistance; clothing, shelter and management of orphans, said Tabell.

In some instances, he said, the DSWD, which is in charge of managing bereaved families through their local counterparts, can provide food or cash-for-work programs to families in mourning.

Meanwhile, the social needs of the bereaved may include family, or peer support system and assistance, through the Social Welfare Inquiry Desk/Information Center.

Other social needs may include educational assistance and legal support.

On the other hand, the psychological needs of the bereaved shall include psychological first aid and other special needs such as psychiatric or mental health services.

In support of the MDM, there are four groups, each tasked to perform specific functions.

These are the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) led by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP); Disposition of the Dead led by the DILG through the LGUs; Management of the Missing Persons led by the PNP; and Management of the Bereaved Families led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs).

Putting closure

ACCORDING to Tabell, the ultimate goal in MDM is to put closure to the suffering of victims’ families.

As such, beginning with proper identification, it is also crucial to ensure that the victims are buried according to their culture, practices or tradition, in burying the dead.

The same goes with finding those reported missing by their relatives or loved ones.

According to Tabell, all retrieved bodies and body parts shall be turned over to the NBI or the

PNP for identification and accounting, strictly observing the chain of custody.

The medico-legal officers of the NBI and/or PNP shall issue a certificate of identification for all examined/processed and identified bodies.

LGUs are also mandated to take charge of burying identified and identified processed bodies.

It is also responsible for the final disposition of dead bodies and body parts, and turning them over to rightful or legitimate claimants.

In some cases, the LGU shall also take charge of exhuming bodies, and acquire enough cadaver bags in case of major disasters.

According to Tabell, in case of disasters, a person may only be considered missing upon the report of the relatives or concerned persons to the local police station. This should also be verified by the DSWD.

No. 1 in Asia Pacific

THE Philippines is leading in the Asia-Pacific Region as far as MDM is concerned, Tabell said.

He found out, in two major conferences of MDM in the Asia Pacific, that among 30 countries in the region, the Philippines “has the most advanced system, methods and procedures in the management of the dead, including identifying dead victims of disasters, although we [still] need to improve on that.”

According to Tabell, none of the 30 countries has a system that starts with retrieval to the management of the bereaved.

“The Philippines learned in a very short period. We are the best,” he said.

Capacitating LGUs

ACCORDING to Tabell, the NDRRMC has so far capacitated all DILG satellite offices in the MDM at the regional level. “We are almost done. All 17 regions,” he said.

So far, at the provincial level, five provinces and two cities have been capacitated, or trained in MDM protocols.

According to Tabell, the DILG is stepping up its capacity-building activities for LGUs to further improve response to reduce the risk of disasters, including search, rescue and retrieval and MDM. In case of a major disaster in an area not equipped with the tools for MDM, a component team from the MDM Cluster will be deployed and mobilized.

“If a major disaster happens, we will deploy a component of our national team, then we will mobilize the local team that will work and put in place the system. After more than a week, we can make them [local team] work and do everything right,” he said, explaining

AP/BULLIT MARQUEZ

that rapidly, local manpower must be provided by LGUs. “I am confident to admit that we are No. 1 in the Asia Pacific.

And we are ready to deploy rapiddeployment teams to anywhere if needed,” he said.

Are we disaster-ready?

THE Philippines is prone to natural and man-made disasters.

Ideally, LGUs are at the forefront of disaster response. How are LGUs preparing for disasters? And how are they preparing to manage the dead?

Interviewed by the BusinessMirror, former journalist Ares Gutierrez, the Public Information Officer of Quezon City, said that to say we are 100 percent prepared for disasters will be a lie. But each year, the Philippines is improving.

“We can only claim to be preparing for disaster,” said Gutierrez, who is QC’s lead actor in disaster response, including the conduct of search, rescue and relief operations in times of natural calamities.

Gutierrez, who has joined QC’s disaster response team on some major operations outside their jurisdictions such as the Bohol earthquake and Yolanda, said first responders are supposed to be physically, emotionally, psychologically and mentally prepared at all times, because often, they will find themselves in a distressing situation.

His experience as former chief of staff of Herbert Bautista, who was then vice mayor of Quezon City when the Ozone Disco fire broke, exposed him to horrible scenes which a first responder must overcome.

“I was there when it happened. We were drinking nearby when we suddenly heard firefighter sirens so we rushed to the scene. First, we were told that there were dead people. All the while, I thought there were two or three dead people inside so I decided to go inside. Inside, I saw bodies… three layers of dead bodies. It’s horrifying. But I kept my composure,” Gutierrez said, speaking mostly in Filipino.

Over the years that Quezon City has experienced typhoons, each year, he said, is a learning process and an opportunity for local officials to enhance their capacity in disaster risk reduction and strengthening local resiliency. Talking to responders, in his case, the Quezon City team, he said, it pays to prepare them for the worst, whether it will be doing search and rescue, or doing retrieval operations.

“In preparing for disasters, it’s like going out on a sunny day with an umbrella because you don’t know when it’s going to rain,” he said.

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

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Saturday, September 28, 2019

PMA looks to Honor Code to stop cadet hazing

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By Rene Acosta

EWLY installed Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Noel Clement has given assurances that the death by hazing of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio may just be the last as Philippine Military Academy (PMA) officials, including alumnae holding key positions in the defensemilitary-police establishment, move for a complete overhaul of the academy’s systems and procedures.

The death of Dormitorio, who was forced to go in and out of hospital confinement before he completely succumbed to internal injuries, was described by some as “barbaric,” and by definition of international law, a torture, or to use the word in the Anti-Hazing law, a “maltreatment.” The incident has blotted anew the image of the PMA as the premier military school in Asia.

In assuring that there will be no repetition of the incident, Clement installed Brig. Gen. Romeo Brawner as the Commandant of Cadets and ordered the assumption next week of Vice Admiral Allan Cusi as superintendent of the PMA. They will replace Brig. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro and Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista, respectively, who resigned from their posts by virtue of command responsibility. “ The focus here is to make sure that we will be able to continue and make sure that whatever systems and policies that has to be revised will actually be reviewed,” said Clement.

“Along that line, I have directed the Inspector General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines [Lt. Gen. Antonio Ramon Lim] to proceed to the PMA in Baguio to undertake the inquiry, investigation of what

is happening so that the new superintendent actually will be able to address what happened, and to address what programs that have to in place so that this incident will not happen again in the future,” the chief of staff added.

Hazing not part of academy program

THE death of Dormitorio and the reported admission of officials that three other cadets were treated also for suspected hazingrelated injuries put into focus the practice at the academy—something that had prompted military officials to issue repetitive statements that hazing is taboo in the military school.

“Cadetship involves t he strengthening of body and mind.

The mission of PMA is to instruct, train and develop the cadets, and maltreatment is not included in the instruction. It is not also present in the training and even in the development of cadets,” said Maj. Reynan Afan Jr., the academy’s spokesman.

“Dest roy ing t he body a nd mind of the cadets is not part of their training,” he added, noting that even before Dormitorio’s case, the PMA was strictly observing and even enforcing laws,

regulations and policies against hazing or maltreatment.

“If a slight case of maltreatment is reported against a cadet what more with this case? You will be discharged,” Afan said.

A report to the PM A leadership means a violation of existing policies and regulations.

Evangelista, the resigned PMA head, said everything was done in order that maltreatment will not take place, or even be repeated in the academy, as borne by the fact that the last death of a cadet over hazing happened 18 years ago.

“We are doing practically everything here. Accidents happen not only in the PMA, among different organizations, and this is an isolated case.

The last time that there was a maltreatment case here that resulted in death was 18 years ago, so it was quite a long time, really,” he said.

“Accidents happen. Nobody wants this kind [of thing] to happen. I don’t think the PM A, as an institution, will condone t h i s k i nd of d a st a rd ly ac t ,” Evangelista added.

Hazing existed in olden times, but not through physical beating

AT least three officials who are graduates of the academy—Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, also a former chief of the PNP— have admitted undergoing hazing.

“I also went through that kind, but that did not happen to us. Our class did not go through [something] as brutal as that,” Lorenzana said.

The defense chief went to Baguio City together with Albayalde upon learning of Dormitorio’s death.

The defense secretary said they were hazed, but they were not beaten and kicked by their upperclassmen as in the case of Dormitorio.

He said hazing can be initiated through “push-ups, squat thrusts, running.”

“That is how to mold physically.

Not by electrocution or taking out [a plebe] at night so that [he] could not sleep. That’s hazing already,” Lorenzana said.

PHL’s digital competitiveness rating barely improved in ’19, survey shows

By Elijah Felice E. Rosales

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HE Philippines has barely improved its digital competitiveness after placing yet again in the lower quartile of a survey measuring the knowledge, technology and future readiness of 63 economies.

The country went up one notch to 55th in the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2019. In spite of the slight improvement, the Philippines was still in the lower portion of the survey, only ahead of Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Ukraine, Peru, Mongolia and Venezuela.

On the other hand, the leading five economies— the United States, Singapore, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland, in that particular order— maintained their positions in the uppermost quartile of the digital rankings.

Further, the Philippines placed fourth among the five Southeast Asian nations

included in the survey.

Singapore was still the most digital innovative country in the region, leading Malaysia at 26th, Thailand at 40th, the Philippines and Indonesia at 56th.

By indicators, the Philippines ranked 51st on knowledge, from 50th in the 2018 cycle; 55th on technology, from 58th; and 54th on future readiness, from 52nd.

On knowledge, Manila got its highest ratings in the number of female researchers at 7th; high-tech patent grants at 12th; and graduates for science degrees at 13th. However, the country obtained its worst score in total expenditure on research and design at 59th.

On technology, the Philippines topped all 63 economies in terms of hightech exports, and secured the 15th spot for investments in telecommunications.

However, its Internet speed, which is deemed one of the worst in Asia, took a toll in most of its ratings

in the technology indicator.

The Philippines ranked 62nd in communications technology and in Internet bandwidth speed.

On future readiness, Manila placed 55th for prevalence of software piracy here, 55th in the number of people owning a tablet, 58th in the head count of those with a smartphone and 59th in Internet retailing.

In an interview with reporters on Friday, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said he is expecting the country’s ratings in digital rankings to improve over time. He argued the government just started with its integration programs that will make it easier for the Philippines to transition to the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He cited as examples of these measures the passage into law of the Innovative Startup Act and the Philippine Innovation Act, both of which mandates the allocation of funding for innovationrelated business activities.

On t he ot her ha nd, whi le stressing he is not endorsing hazing and even called it illegal, Albayalde said that the practice had worked in his case as it molded him into a leader.

Albayalde said he was hazed by his former upperclassman, his squad leader, retired Police Maj. General Isagani Nerez, for whom, he said, he holds no ill feelings.

“I want to thank General Nerez for molding me into who I am now. I am not saying that we are tolerating hazing. No of course, even before, let me assure the public even during the time of Gen. [Renato] de Villa and others, hazing was never tolerated,” Albayalde said.

“Especially now, we have a hazing law, stiffer penalties of hazing law. But General Bato dela Rosa, he saw it also on his own advantage as I see it also in my own personal advantage,” he added.

The PNP chief sees hazing as a “matter of perception,” which he likened to “accusations.”

“These are all matters of personal perception on how you will accept [it] as a person and how you will accept it as a cadet—as a person who will be leading men in uniform who are much older than you,” he said.

“Remember when you graduate, your men will be like 45 [years of age], there are retireables and there are some who have horns,” he added.

Honor system against hazing

W I TH ever y t hing hav ing been done in order to ensu re t hat physica l beat ing w i l l not t a ke pl ace in t he PM A , a nd yet ha zing still persisting as proven by the case of Dormitorio, the last resor t t hat of f ic i a ls t hought to stop it a mong t he cadets is to invoke, or ma ke use of, t he “sacred ” Honor System.

Cadets are governed by an Honor Code, which mandates them not to lie, steal, cheat and even tolerate those among them who commit it.

But bonded together as a family and brothers, they also practice the unwritten code of silence, which may make it virtually impossible to pinpoint anybody involved in a hazing incident, but at least not in the case of Dormitorio.

This is the reason Lorenzana ordered the “stripping” of all the 4th Class cadets or subjecting them to a head-to-toe physical checkup in order to determine whether they also went through hazing.

The honor system is administered by challenging the cadets, or in the plain language of the academy, asking them whether they are “alright.” The word alright is an encompassing word for every cadet. It could mean upright and it embodies the message of the Honor Code.

“If you were asked whether you are alright, you can only respond

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in the affirmative or negative.

You cannot lie. The Honor System is seldom invoked, but when it is invoked, it would define your tota lit y, your character as a cadet, your uprightness,” said a junior officer who is a product of the academy.

“If it is found out that you lied, you only have two choices: leave the academy or stay behind but be ostracized, and you will forever be.”

Ostracized means one will be looked down on by colleagues as unfit, or a liar or possessing the character unworthy of being a cadet and an officer. “ The most drastic that we could possibly do as an intervention…has something to do with the Honor Code. Before, we could not use the Honor System to ferret out violations of regulations.

Now, we can use the Honor System, we can do direct questioning to ferret out violations of maltreatment because we [can no longer] consider maltreatment as a mere violation of regulation, but rather a violation of AntiHazing law,” Evangelista said. “ T hat supersedes ever yt h ing. We ca n now use d irect quest ioning a nd it has some t h ing to do w it h honor, a nd that’s never been done before. I t h in k t h is is t he on ly recou rse lef t. I t h i n k ever y t h i ng h a s been done,” he added.

A4 Saturday, September 28, 2019

Mindanao organic rice finds market in United States

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AVAO CITY—Organic rice produced in Mindanao now has access to the US following the signing of an agreement between farmers and an American marketing group here on Friday (September 20, 2019).

Dr. Adrian Tamayo, communications head of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa), said on Saturday the deal would allow American consumers access to organic rice and the heirloom Adlay variety produced in the Southern Philippines.

Tamayo said Andrew Bolougne, head of the US Marketing Firm, told the farmers to produce as much as they could and promised that they will market it.

Bolougne’s group committed a buying price which would give farmers double what they are earning by planting commercial rice, he added.

The signing of the marketing deal with unlimited volume of white, brown, red and black rice and the exotic Adlay grown by the tribes capped the Mindanao Rice Forum organized by MinDA. The Mindanao Rice Forum was attended

by Adlay and organic rice farmers associations and cooperatives.

Tamayo added that an initial shipment of 5,000 metric tons is expected by the end of the year.

During the forum, the participants, guided by the MinDA and the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Offices in Mindanao and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), organized themselves and formed the Mindanao Organic Rice Council. Chosen as interim chairman of Morco was the Don Bosco Multipurpose Cooperative with Agro Eco Philippines and SRII Technology Group as vice chairmen.

Represented in the council are organic rice farmers’ cooperatives and associations from all over Mindanao, organic fertilizer and soil ameliorants producers group, seed growers, and rice millers.

Tamayo said MinDA will be the lead government agency to support the group with the assistance of the DA and PhilRice.

MinDA will establish a database of all organic rice and Adlay farmers in Mindanao, including the geotagging of the production areas. Availability of seeds for the black organic rice, which is the most sought-after product, will also be determined, including the estimated production.

Bolougne said the demand for organic rice, especially the Black Rice which is reputed to have medicinal benefits, is huge and largely unfilled.

“You cannot imagine how huge is the market demand for organic food today and we will cash in on that,” he said.

Don Bosco Vice Chairman and Marketing Officer Maria Helenita Gamela said organic rice farmers are not affected by the Rice Tariffication law, and the unimpeded entry of imported rice that resulted in low farm-gate price for commercial rice.

“We have a niche market. The price is steady whole year round but we cannot produce the needed volume,” she said.

Currently, Don Bosco buys from its members organic paddy rice at P19 to P20 per kilo.

This could go even higher with the forging of the marketing agreement with the US group, Gamela said. PNA

ExportUnlimited BusinessMirror

DTI spearheads PHL participation in twin trade, investment events

By Sheida May M. Yu, TIDS

lines of the Caexpo on September 22, jointly organized by the DTI-Board of Investments and Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem).

“The Philippine economy is in a position of strength to weather difficult global environment, its current landscape provides plentiful opportunities for domestic and foreign investors alike and the Philippine government remains

committed to staying that course,” Macatoman said.

Through this international trade fair, China eyes to connect and boost its investments in Asean countries and provide infrastructure developments particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises to participate in the global value chain.

“PRRD [President Duterte] declared his personal guarantee to investors and call on businessmen to ride with [the Philippines’s] on its economic growth story to reach the ultimate goal of creating inclusive growth and shared prosperity to lead to a better quality of life for our countrymen,” Macatoman stressed.

“As we continue to further our efforts to improve trade relations with China, the Asean nations and the rest of the global market, the Philippine government shall, to the best of its abilities, commit to maintaining a conducive environment that allows businesses to thrive in moving toward a more streamlined global trade network,” said Macatoman.

The Philippines’s participation to Caexpo was led by DTI-Citem in partnership with the Local Government of General Santos City, Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, DTI-Export Marketing Bureau, DTI-Regional Offices, Foreign Trade Service Corps., BOI, the TPB and other IPAs.

become the third-largest consumer economy by 2025. Aside from being one of the most inhabited nations, India’s favorable demographics make it an ideal trading partner— an increasing young population, expanding middle-class and rising income levels.

The OBMM to Mumbai was participated

by Filipino companies from the areas of fastmoving consumer goods, such as packaged foods and snacks, beverages, personal-care products, and pharmaceuticals, all of which were identified to have great potential in the Indian market.

“We are intensifying our efforts to enhance the country’s bilateral trade with India by exporting quality Philippine products and services to this booming market through this mission,” DTI-Trade Promotions Group (TPG) Undersecretary Abdulgani M. Macatoman said.

The mission aimed to directly link Filipino exporters with potential business partners in the financial capital of India and pursue further opportunities particularly under the Asean-India Free Trade Agreement. This year’s initiative was a followthrough of the first business mission to New Delhi in 2017.

Philippine Ambassador to India, H.E. Ramon S. Bagatsing Jr. received the delegation led by DTI-EMB Assistant Director Agnes Perpetua R. Legaspi. He expressed his full support for programs that will advance Philippines’s trade interests and boost the country’s economic ties with India.

During the mission, the delegation

participated in business-to-business meetings with the members of various trade associations in India, including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, All India Association of Industries and World Trade Center Mumbai.

A “Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan” seminar was also organized which allowed the delegation to link with the Filipino community in Mumbai for potential collaboration and business expansion. Commercial Attaché Jeremiah C. Reyes endorsed the delegation as he urged Filipinos in Mumbai to look for business opportunities and adopt the entrepreneurial mindset.

The OBMM also coincided with the 14th edition of India’s biggest food and beverage exhibition, the Annapoorna ANUFOOD India. The delegation took the opportunity to observe, network with Indian companies and generate business leads during the event.

“This business mission to India is a testimony of DTI-EMB’s commitment to diversify our exports to nontraditional markets.

Barely two weeks after the mission, we already received reports from our participants on the developments in their negotiations with prospective buyers from India. We will continue to monitor the progress and be in full support of our exporters,” Legaspi said.

In 2018, India was the 15th trading partner of the Philippines, 17th export market, and 14th import supplier. The total bilateral trade was valued at $2.37 billion.

Office of the Undersecretary for Trade Promotions Group

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PEARHEADING promotion efforts to foster stronger economic relations with China, Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary for Trade and Promotion Abdulgani Macatoman led the Philippine delegation to the 16th China-Asean Expo (Caexpo) and 16th China-Asean Business and Investment Summit from September 21 to 24 at the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center in Guangxi province, China.

The 16th Caexpo is considered the secondbiggest trade event in China, with a total exhibition space of about 124,000 square meters with 4,600 exhibition booths and around 57,000 visitors.

The DTI team highlighted the Philippines’s trade potentials through an exhibit of products and commodities from various sectors, including home, fashion and wearables, gifts, handicrafts, personal care, food and services.

The Philippine participation spotlighted this year’s featured destination, the province of General Santos City, also dubbed as the “City of Charm,” led by Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera. The exhibit, likewise, highlighted Philippine tourism and business opportunities to the huge Chinese and Southeast Asian market.

Aside from promoting the trade, investment and tourism sectors of General Santos City, the DTI also promoted the country’s developing economic zones in coordination with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and Board of Investments (BOI), as well as relevant investment promotion agencies (IPAs).

Meanwhile, the Philippine Investment Promotion Conference was held at the side-

DTI-EMB expands exports to India

SOME of the members of the Philippine business delegation, led by DTI-EMB Assistant Director Agnes Perpetua R. Legaspi (fifth from left), with Philippine Ambassador to India, H.E. Ramon S. Bagatsing Jr. (sixth from left) and Retailers Association of India (RAI) Chief Executive Officer Mr. Kumar Rajagopalan (seventh from left), and Commercial Attaché Jeremiah C. Reyes (third from right) during the Annapoorna ANUFOOD India exhibition last August 29, 2019, held at Mumbai, India.

By Gold Tabid-Grospe

TIDS, Market Innovation Division

I

N a bid to further strengthen Philippine exports by tapping into nontraditional markets, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTIEMB), in collaboration with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) and

the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi, conducted an Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) to Mumbai, India, from August 28 to 31, 2019.

The DTI-EMB continues its active engagement with the Philippines’s South Asian neighbors, particularly in India. The said country is among the fastest-growing major economies in the world and is expected to

OurTime BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House bill seeking lower retirement age of govt workers awaits plenary approval

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By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

HE House Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization has endorsed for plenary approval a measure lowering the optional retirement age of government workers to 56 from 60.

The consolidated bill, which was approved on Wednesday, seeks to amend Section 13-A of Republic Act 8291 or the Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997.

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, one of the authors of the bill, urged fellow lawmakers to immediately pass the measure for its swift enactment into law.

“Since the 16th Congress, we have been pushing for a lower optional retirement age of publicschool teachers. In fact, during the 17th Congress, this bill had already

passed on third and final reading at the House of Representatives,” Castro said.

“Now, the government must heed the strong clamor of its employees, the civil servants, who dedicated their time and life to serve the nation, for the option to retire at an earlier age in order for them to enjoy their retirement benefits for as long as possible,” she added.

According to Castro, publicschool teachers have consistently raised their demand to be given the choice to retire earlier during

formal and informal consultations nationwide.

“It is imperative that Congress listen to these government workers who have devoted their lives to honing the minds and nurturing the hearts of our youth, in spite of receiving meager salaries, working in underfunded schools and doing additional, usually unpaid, miscellaneous tasks,” she said.

“While the 65 years old mandatory retirement age remains, government employees should be given the freedom to retire earlier, especially those who are suffering from ailments and are in need of intensive medical attention,” Castro added. “This measure will not be detrimental to the state work force as most government employees actually prefer to stay in service for a longer time even working up to 65 years old, the mandatory retirement age, in order to ensure maximum retirement benefits.”

Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., also an author of the bill, said the retirees can then enjoy a better quality of life through their

pension and retirement benefits at an earlier age.

“VAT exemptions, mandatory membership in the government’s health-care system, and discounts for medicine, basic necessities, and service will all come earlier, reducing the physical toil on our citizens to keep working just to reach the retirement age and avail themselves of the benefits of being a senior citizens,” he said.

Also, Garbin said the lower retirement age ultimately helps the bureaucracy, as it hastens the turnover of government positions to younger professionals, making way for infusion of fresh blood in public services.

“Countless cases involving public officers emphasize the need of a younger work force in the government to inject new perspectives and insight into the government’s ranks,” he said.

This bill, Garbin said, also creates more employment opportunities for those seeking employment in the government and a chance to serve the country.

Perks and privileges for Manila senior citizens

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URRENT holders of Manila senior citizen IDs take note: You will not automatically receive the monthly financial assistance and other benefits prescribed by law from the Manila City government, according to an officer of the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA).

Rachel Magora, OSCA representative, disclosed during the recent election of senior citizen officials of Barangay 406 in Sampaloc, Manila, that only senior citizens who are bona fide residents and registered voters of Manila will receive the P500 monthly financial assistance from the city government.

S he s a i d t h at O rd i n a nc e 8565, which was signed by Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on July 25, grants a P500 monetary allowance for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and solo parents who are residents of the city of Manila.

Earlier, Domagoso said this is part of his administration’s social amelioration package with a P1 billion budget.

(FROM left) Manila OSCA Rep. Rachel Magora, Barangay 406 Chairman Noel Domingo, and Zone 42 President Dr. Myrna Abana pose with the newly elected senior officials of Barangay 406 in Sampaloc, Manila. The officers are: Angel Calso, auditor; Josephine Tiongco, treasurer; Felipe Pascual; secretary; Manolita Rualo, vice president; and Elsie Mendoza, president.

“It was discovered that there are Manila senior citizen ID holders who are registered voters in other places. As they are not Manila voters, they will not receive the P500 monthly financial assistance,” she clarified. “Only senior citizens who are bona fide Manila residents and voters are entitled to the financial assistance and other benefits under Ordinance 8565.”

She said all Manila senior citi-

zens will be issued an all-in-one ID card, after the Manila City government signed a partnership with PayMaya to power the new senior citizen cum ATM-ID card.

Through the PayMaya-enabled IDs, disbursement of the monthly stipends will be more efficient for the city government and more convenient for the recipients, because they no longer have to go to the city hall or other offices to receive

their allowances. Indigent senior citizens will get additional cash benefits from the city government.

Magora said the mayor is currently working for other perks and privileges for Manila senior citizens. These include free cake on their birthday; free movies on designated dates; free dental and medical services; free massage; free vaccination and free parking in Manila City malls.

PCGM supports Angeles City in strengthening senior citizen flu vaccination drive

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OLSTERING the drive to uplift the lives of its senior citizens, the local government of Angeles City in Pampanga is supporting flu prevention through free vaccinations for the benefit of thousands of its elderly residents.

Held at the covered court of Epza Pulung Cacutud, Angeles City, the activity was part of the ongoing citywide program dubbed “Serbisyong Pangkalusugan Para Kay Lolo at Lola,” which provides education on health and wellness of our senior citizens. Included in this campaign was an awareness activity to increase the immunization uptake of influenza, commonly known as trangkaso.

The city is part of Region 3, which has the second-highest number of senior citizens according to a 2015 population census. This fact highlights the need for more intensified

health campaigns in cooperation with various sectors, according to Pampanga First District Rep. Carmelo “Jon” Lazatin II. “Improving the well-being of our elderly residents is one of the priority thrusts for us in Angeles City,” Lazatin said. “Free flu vaccination is one of our regular undertakings as we want to raise the awareness on the importance of preventing pneumonia and other complications caused by the influenza virus, especially among our valued Angeleño elderlies. We are proud to partner with different institutions to maintain the success of our health programs.”

Supporting the activities were officers and medical team from the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination and the Philippine College of Geriatric Medicine (PCGM).

The PCGM is a component So-

ciety of the Philippine College of Physicians and a subspecialty Society of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians based in Quezon City. Its mission is to champion excellent health and quality of life of older persons, with the vision of being a world class organization of geriatricians influencing policy and setting the standard in the education, training and practice of Geriatric Medicine.

PCGM President Dr. Edwin Fortuno said that the elderly are among the most susceptible to the influenza virus. “Seasonal flu related hospitalizations and deaths predominantly hit those who are 65 years and older,” he added. “Those who contract flu at that age will most likely experience complications that can lead to severe pneumonia, dehydration and exacerbation of chronic

conditions like heart disease and asthma that can possibly result in hospitalization and death.”

PCGM also cited the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation for the elderly to get their influenza vaccination annually.

The mass vaccination in Angeles City was also overseen by Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin together with the participation of members and officers from the Office for Senior Citizens Affair (OSCA).

PCGM urged more Filipinos nationwide to take flu virus seriously as it often leads to fatal complications not just in the elderly but also particularly among infants and young children, as well as adults with compromised immune systems brought about by chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, emphysema, and asthma, among others.

Saturday, September 28, 2019 A5

Not old, simply gold

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

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HY the white hair? Don’t you dye it? You look great except for the white hair.

That came from my balikbayan cousin from Canada as we were relishing the array of luscious food served during his despedida party just a few weeks ago. I tried to parry the blow with a lame joke: “My hair is really jet black but I tint it with whitening dye.”

One time, inside a train coach reserved for senior citizens, I saw that I was the only one with white hair.

The realization hit me: How come in our present society, we feel compelled to hide our age?

Tatang. Tanda. Thunder. Gurang.

Laos. Jurassic. Amoy lupa. Those are some of the mocking pejoratives reserved for someone who dares to sport white hair. Who wants to be mocked and laughed at? So everybody past middle age is compelled to dye his hair. The deniers, the proud and the vain can’t bear to look at me.

My white hair makes them embarrassed. They see me as a mirror of their real age.

Some old folks are so vain and proud that they refuse to use a cane to steady themselves even if they walk in a doddering way as a result of their arthritic knees.

Well, they can’t be entirely blamed. Let’s face it—our society is youth-oriented. While we pretend to be protective and respectful of our elderly, deep down we often patronize them. At the office, we reflexively dismiss the ideas and opinions of our gray-haired coworkers because they are considered as over-the-hill ancients who have diminishing usefulness in the organization.

As I pointed out in my previous article, while there are courtesy coaches in metro trains for the elderly, there is no “courtesy” space for them in most businesses. So they are nudged out of the way through early retirement carrot enticements.

Well, if you belong to the sixty-zen club like me, and you feel unwanted and marginalized because of your age, think of it from another perspective.

Frances Mcdormand, the much awarded actress of Fargo and Almost Famous and the recent Three Billboards…has been recorded to say: “Beneath this white hair is a catalog of valuable information.”

Indeed, white hair should be a badge of honor. Although I would say we‘re more than a catalog. Every senior citizen is a golden treasure trove of experiences, insights…and therefore hopefully wisdom.

Sure we get entitled to some privileges as a senior citizen carrying card, such as discounts on food in restaurants, free movie tickets in selected cities and on certain days. But senior citizenship should be more than just about rights, entitlements and privileges. It should be about experiences accumulated and insights gained, a triumphal mark of distinction. So wear that white hair proudly.

That’s why I admire one friend who finally decided to undyed his hair and has now happily discovered that he looks better with his white hair.

Do you know that men of age used to be looked up to? Being an elder means you are supposed to be a font of wisdom, a well of good teachings, a treasure chest of timeless stories.

Wear your white hair proudly

and show them. Participate in socalled youthful activities and see their eyes widen in wonder. Show them. In the United states, some universities and colleges are sponsoring retirement communities on their grounds, hoping that young and old can enrich each other’s lives.

They are bringing the old generation to campus to fill classes, eat in dining halls, attend student performances and become mentors.

Don’t feel ashamed or apologetic about how old you are. There are many pluses to being old. The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for. During a trip abroad, my wife and I were whisked through the airport on wheelchairs reserved for seniors and PWD, and as I saw the long line of tired passengers queuing and trudging through immigration and customs, I told my wife: “This is one time when it’s better to be old than being young.”

Think about it. You get to be first on line in the fast-food counter, or bank or payment window. In a hostage situation, you’re are likely to be released first.

And here’s great news. Oldies will soon rule the world! By 2020, for the first time in history there will be more people on the planet over 65 than under five.

One major reason is we’re living longer. In the 21st century, because of advances in modern medicine, average life expectancy will increase by 30 years, barring any major disease, of course. That’s a lot of years of being old.

That means someone who is 60 years old today can be considered as middle aged.

Or think of it another way: You’re only 30 years old with 30 years of experience.

All this time, we have been underestimating how long we’ll live— because we think our life spans will match our grandparents’ when, in fact, we’re most likely to live longer.

Flip your mind forward. Instead of thinking of all the years left behind you in melancholic regret, now you can look ahead to the extra years the 21st century has granted seniors like us.

Think of what you can do with that extra time. There’s much you can do to be productive and creative. No need to be a Picasso or Mozart. Just play a musical instrument, write, doodle, shoot the camera, sing or any activity that allows you to express yourself! Ruth Richards, who coined the term “everyday creativity” and a psychology professor at Saybrook University and Harvard Medical School says being creative has been shown to improve one’s immune system functioning, and older people who think more innovatively tend to cope better with aging and illness. Engaging in creative behaviors, Richards points out, makes you more dynamic, conscious, non-defensive, observant, collaborative and brave.

Yes it’s true, we don’t have control over our age, but we can take care of our health with good diet, exercise and a cheerful attitude and optimistic way of thinking.

Imagine that every day you are born again. Here’s a cheerful message I picked up somewhere: “Yesterday is a paid check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is ready cash; use it profitably.”

Finally, listen to an old-timer who quipped: “There are many theories of aging. My theory is I’m more awesome.”

A6

BusinessMi

Saturday, September 28, 2019 | Editor: Jun Lomibao

Owen overcomes injury to dominate women’s ITT

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HLOE DYGERT OWEN returned from a concussion suffered more than a year ago to dominate the elite women’s time trial at the 2019 International Cycling Union Road World Championships in Yorkshire on Tuesday.

The American was prepared for victory but surprised even herself when she learned that she had put more than a minute and a half into Dutch favorites Anna van der Breggen and Annemiek van Vleuten.

“It was definitely a surprising day out there...I had no idea what to expect because this is my first time racing against these girls in two years,” Dygert Owen said. “It was a really special moment. One of my biggest advantages today was not having my power meter. It was just full gas from the beginning. Maybe I went out a little bit too hot, but I was able to keep it going.”

Dygert Owen crashed heavily in the closing kilometer of Stage 1 at the Tour of California last May. It took her nearly a year to recover from the concussion that she suffered in that accident. In addition, she has ongoing hip and knee pain. She also suffers from a degenerative back injury that she said causes the vertebrae of her spine to feel like they are grinding.

“I’ve had a lot of injuries now, and that’s definitely something that I’m going to have to live with,” Dygert Owen said.

Some of Dygert Owen’s injuries have subsided, and she has been training and racing at almost full capacity since mid-summer. She had winning performances in the time trial and team pursuit at the Pan American Games, and went on to win all four stages and the overall title at the recent Colorado Classic. At the time, she told Cyclingnews that her performance at the Pan American Games was the best since crashing over a year ago.

“I had that injury last year and a concussion, and I sat out and wasn’t even able to go to the World Championships, missed the whole track season, so this was what I was training for this year,” Dygert Owen said. “I took the beginning half of the season really slow and built up for this race, specifically.”

She came into the race as a dark-horse favorite to contest for the rainbow jersey against the likes of two-time defending champion Van Vleuten and four-time silver medalist Van der

WORLD champion Chloe Dygert Owen (center) is flanked on the podium by Anna van der Breggen (left) and Annemiek van Vleuten

Breggen. Dygert Owen’s name is synonymous with track racing because she is a five-time world champion in the Individual Pursuit and the Team Pursuit. Although she won double world titles in the junior time trial and road race in Richmond in 2015, on the road scene, she is still somewhat more anonymous to her European rivals.

She had taken extended time off because of her injuries, and she doesn’t compete in European road racing. Nonetheless, she was on Van der Breggen’s radar heading into Yorkshire.

“Yes, she was [on our radar],”Van der Breggen said. “Annemiek did some track racing and we follow that discipline, too. I knew that Chloe was very good on the track and a good time trialist. So, yes, she was on my list of favorites.”

Dygert Owen said that the wet conditions and the delay of the start to the elite women’s time trial had no affect on her performance.

She said she often trains in the rain because she lives in Washington State and is used to delayed events, which is common in track racing.

The women’s 30-km time trial started in Ripon and finished in Harrogate. It was relatively flat for the first 14-km, and the climbing started just after the mid-race check point, followed by some technical sections on the run-in to the finish line.

“I rode it twice and I drove it a few times,”

Dygert Owen said. “I watch videos, too. I watched the boys [under-23 men] race this morning. I was very well prepared. When it went uphill...that was very hard.”

Dygert Owen started fast. She caught and passed seven riders that started as much as eight minutes ahead. By the time Van Vleuten passed the mid-race check point, Dygert Owen was more than a minute faster. In the end, she finished the race with an average speed of 43 kilometer per hour and was 1:32 ahead of silver medalist Van der Breggen and 1:52 ahead of bronze medalist Van Vleuten.

Dygert Owen has attributed much of her success to her Coach Kristin Armstrong, who is a two-time world champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist in the time trial. Asked if Armstrong gave her any words of wisdom before the time trial, Dygert Owen said that they had spoken over the phone on the eve of the race and she took heed of her coach’s advice.

“Last night we were talking on the phone and she said, ‘One thing that I think about when I’m racing is whether I’m hurting as bad as everyone else.’ That really stuck with me today.

Every time I went up a hill, I thought, ‘Let’s just back it up a bit,’ but then I knew that I wasn’t going hard enough. I need to go harder. That really stuck with me.” Cyclingnews

ALL-WEATHER SPORT T

HE Under-23 men’s time trial at the World Championships in Yorkshire was as much a battle against the conditions as it was a test of legs, with heavy rain leaving huge pools of water across numerous sections of the course.

There were some spectacular crashes, notably Hungary’s Attila Valter, who slid across the road for nearly 100 meters, and Denmark’s Johan Price-Pejtersen, who hit a pool so deep he went nowhere. Several more riders hit the deck, but no one was severely injured.

The scenes sparked debate over the safety of the event, and whether the race should have been halted or postponed.

Cyclingnews spoke to a number of riders as they came

through the media zone at the finish, and opinion was divided.

While some riders felt the conditions were within the limits of race-ability, others felt action should have been taken.

“All of a sudden I was in a big pool of water. I’ve never experienced that before,” said Price-Pejtersen, who felt he’d have been in contention for a medal had he not crashed. “It was very extreme. In my opinion, they should have canceled it until at least the pools were gone and the rain had stopped being so extreme.”

While the Dane was measured in his comments, the anger flowed from Switzerland’s Stefan Bissegger, who crashed just 5 kilometers into his effort.

“It was like riding into a lake. I lost control and just plunged

For now, Rohan Dennis was simply happy, after weeks of shutting himself off, to have come out and issued a statement, if only of intent.

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EFORE punching the air with such force he could easily have lost control of his bike, Rohan Dennis pointed to his head.

A “mental game” was how he described the World Championship time trial in Yorkshire, referring not just to the hour he spent in the saddle, but the two months that had gone before.

“I pulled out of the Tour de France,” Dennis said in the winner’s postrace press conference in Harrogate, squarely addressing the elephant in the room.

Even if we’re no closer to knowing what brought the Australian to suddenly climb off his bike on the edge of the Pyrenees, he opened up about the “negative thoughts” that swirled in the aftermath and the process that led him to deliver what he described as the biggest victory of his career.

“There was a lot of backlash from that. I took a lot of it on board and that wasn’t healthy for me,” he said of his exit from the Tour. “When I was riding and seeing things negatively, it was affecting my training. I was thinking I wasn’t good enough.”

With the help of a sports psychologist, David Spindler, Dennis decided he needed to block out the negativity and, to a degree, the outside world, deleting his Twitter account.

“There’s been a lot of work done off the bike, mentally, to get me prepared to just line up here, let alone win,” Dennis said.

“The celebration was a reminder that it wasn’t just my body. My body was always

into the water, like diving into a bathtub. You can’t do anything about it. I was OK, but still, it could have been very ugly for a lot of people,” he said.

“In my opinion it should have been canceled or something. You could already see even before the start... it was crazy. The roads are the problem and I don’t think they’ve really thought about them, In Switzerland there’s channeling and the water flows away, but not here. They should have thought about this in advance. When you’re putting on a World Championships you should be aware of the weather you often get.”

RESOUN VINDICA good. It was a bit of a thank you as well for what David Spindler has done for me. It’s too hard to explain, to be honest but, in very basic terms, it’s been a lot of support, getting me to believe in myself, be more confident, and not be so negative in my head, and to be more positive about the good things that are going on in my life.

“Physically, I’ve had it all year. It was about getting the mental side back into that flow of not caring too much about anything apart from what I’m doing. It was about removing that negativity and really thinking about the people who support me no matter what.”

Those people include his wife and his infant son, who were the first people he celebrated with in Harrogate. They were also the last people he saw before he left Australian team’s hotel for the start of the race in Northallerton. En route, he posted a photo of him and his son on Instagram, along with the caption “what really matters.”

“That put everything into perspective. When I saw that picture, I was like, ‘you know what, it’s just a bike race’,” Dennis said.

“Whatever happens, happens. My son isn’t going anywhere, and neither is my wife. No matter the result, they’re going to support me.

Obviously it’s nice to win but, when I’m 65, it’s not going to be in the top 10 things I’m proud of in my life. The thing that matters is my family.”

The visit from his family saw him click into the mindset that took him to the world title, but the belief that it was possible dates a little

AN OUTDOOR SPORT

THERE were, however, plenty of opinions on the opposite end of the spectrum. Norway’s Iver Johan Knotten, who suffered numerous mechanical problems and ended up finishing the race on a road bike that was too small for him, insisted adverse weather conditions are part and parcel of road cycling.

“It’s rain, but that’s how it is. It’s an outdoor sport. The course was not too dangerous,” he said.

“Of course, it was a little bit dangerous, but that’s sport.

You can’t do anything about the weather. If you can’t do the race because of some rain, you may as well do it inside, on a RIDERS are split over safety of waterlogged World Championships course.

further back.

“To be exact, it was the 15th of September,” Dennis revealed, referring to a training session that had gone particularly well. “We mimicked last year’s preparation session and we bettered it, comfortably. That’s when my confidence really came back. From then on, I had no doubt I’d be on the podium here, and saw no reason I couldn’t win.”

HERE TO STAY

ROHAN DENNIS had banished his demons by the time he stood, beaming, on the podium in Harrogate, but the fall out from his Tour de France exit does not stop here.

The strained nature of his relationship with his Bahrain-Merida team was, in fact, broadcast globally throughout his time trial, which he rode on a blacked-out BMC Timemachine rather than his trade-team-issued Merida Warp.

While BMC posted a photo of Dennis on the bike to their Instragram account, Bahrain-Merida, have made no public reference to the fact one of their riders has just won a world title. The silence, as they say, is deafening.

Asked about his equipment choices in the press conference, Dennis was guarded. “I think we covered this the other day,” he said, referring to a small prerace media gathering on Monday.

“The bike was supplied by Cycling Australia and they deemed it to be the quickest bike for me and my body shape. I can’t speak for BahrainMerida and how they’re feeling—only for my result, and I’m happy.”

velodrome or something. It’s an outdoor sport.”

Plenty of others struck a similar note. The USA’s Ian Garrison, who claimed the silver medal, said: “The conditions made the TT more dangerous, but aside from a few downhills...it’s hard to say... it’s as dangerous as you want to make it.

“My philosophy is that you can’t change anything, you just have to go as fast as you can with what you’re given.”

Great Britain’s Charles Quarterman argued: “It’s good to test the riding skills of the riders. I think it was fine, there was nothing out there that was really too tough and the roads are grippy enough so it was alright.”

Expanding on the nature of the challenge, the future TrekSegafredo rider added: “I knew enough about what was coming up and kept a close eye out, but you don’t know where all the big patches are coming, so there’s only so much you can do. It meant you had to push that bit more every pedal stroke and, with all the lactic, you have to have a clear head to avoid all these massive puddles. It was pretty much as hard as it comes with conditions.”

As for the new world champion, the rain had eased by the time Mikkel Bjerg was out on the course as the last rider, even if the pools of water had far from disappeared.

“We were only informed right at start that there’d be puddles of water. I’m not sure if it was bad communication from guys who’d been on the course and didn’t tell the riders,” he said.

“I was told to just hold the handlebars really tight and go full gas through the big puddles of water. I didn’t have any problems. There were some parts with really bad tarmac so I just focused on keeping pedaling so I didn’t drop the chain.”

Meeting somewhere in the middle of the poles of opinion was Marc Hirschi, who won the U23 road race world title last year and is already a WorldTour pro with Team Sunweb.

“When there’s rain like today, with really wet parts, it’s pretty dangerous,” said the Swiss rider. “I’d say for sure it was on the limit today, but what can you do? You have to go on. I think if they stopped it, it would even be a bigger mess.” Cyclingnews

Bjerg pushes Hour Record attempt back to ‘three years’

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FTER clinching his third consecutive U23 time trial world title, Mikkel Bjerg confirmed that his plans for an attempt on the UCI Hour Record have been postponed, and he is now aiming to take on Victor Campenaerts’s benchmark “within three years.”

The Dane, who stormed to an unprecedented triple amid torrential rain and pools of surface water in Yorkshire on Tuesday, had originally planned to take on the record at some point after the World Championships.

However, his plans have been revised since the summer, and he will instead try for a Danish record on October 6 before working toward the official UCIsanctioned record with the help of UAE Team Emirates, with whom he’ll turn pro next year.

“I want to see what I can do with my top shape. I’m the best I’ve ever been, so I want to see how close I am to Victor’s record,” Bjerg said in his Worldswinning press conference in Harrogate on Tuesday.

The Danish Hour Record, once held by Bjerg, now stands at 53.975 kilometers, set by Martin Toft Madsen earlier this year.

“We have this little game where he beats the Danish Record, then I take it back, and back and forth,” Bjerg joked.

As for Campenaerts’s official UCI world record, taken from Bradley Wiggins in April with a distance of 55.089 kms, Bjerg simply wants to get a measure of his potential, even if it wouldn’t count were he end up going further than the Belgian.

“I’m probably not going to beat it. If I do really well, I’ll probably get just above 54 km, but at sea level, if I beat Victor’s record that would be crazy,” he said. Cyclingnews

WORLD champion Mikkel Bjerg has revised his plans.

irror CYCLING

NDING WIN ATES DENNIS Asked if he was riding with a point to prove, he said: “Not to anybody but myself.” Revenge?

“No. This is for me—nobody else. Just me and the small team backing me into these Worlds. There’s no revenge. This is all in a happy way. There’s no ill will with me winning this time trial. It’s all happiness for my family and the group behind me.”

Dennis will line up in Australia colors again on Sunday for the elite men’s road race, where he’ll be supporting Michael Matthews, but is not set to race again for Bahrain-Merida in 2019.

“I guess you’d have to ask everyone else that one. At the moment the only race I’ve got left is Sunday. At that point I’ll be hanging up my bike for the off-season and resetting for 2020, and working toward that goal of the Olympics in Tokyo,” Dennis said.

Whether we’ll see him in a Bahrain jersey in 2020, which is the second and final year of his contract, he simply said: “At the moment, I cannot confirm anything.”

For now, Dennis was simply happy, after weeks of shutting himself off, to have come out and issued a statement, if only of intent.

“I’m confident that, well, basically, I’m here to stay,” said the 29-year-old. “I’m here to continue to win, to push to be the best in the world—not just for the next 12 months but for the future, as well.

“I know I will be here for a lot longer. I’m not going anywhere.” Cyclingnews

ROHAN DENNIS kisses his World Championships gold medal after winning the men’s individual time trial—in the process passing Primoz Roglic, who won the Vuelta a España only 10 days ago.

Rohan rides BMC Timemachine TT

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OHAN DENNIS chose to ride a BMC Timemachine TT as he rode to victory to defend his individual time trial title, opting not to use his Bahrain-Merida team-issued Merida Time Warp TT. The decision to use non-team-issued equipment doesn’t constitute a breach of any rules.

When it comes to representing national

federations at the International Cycling Union (UCI) Road World Championships, riders are free to choose their equipment, though the pressure from trade teams and sponsors is ever-present, as Linda Villumsen learned when she rode a blacked-out, non-team-issued bike to the world time trial title in 2015, and was nearly sacked on the spot by UnitedHealthcare bosses.

The underlying battle over equipment came

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | Saturday, September 28, 2019

A7

ROGLIC: FOREVER ETCHED IN WINNER’S PHOTO

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ROGLIC

LOVENIA’S Primoz Roglic will forever be etched into the winner’s photo of the men’s elite time trial at the 2019 International Cycling Union (UCI) Road World Championships, but only because he was able to hang onto the coattails of Rohan Dennis after the Australian caught him for three minutes.

Dennis resoundingly retained his title, but as he crossed the line and celebrated emphatically, Roglic cast a disconsolate figure under the Australian’s shadow. This was simply a race too far for the Vuelta a España winner, who only seemed to find his rhythm and verve after Dennis had caught him in the second half of the race.

In the end, the Slovenian finished 12th over the 54-kilometer course, exactly three minutes down on the Australian.

“The result was not good, but looking at my power I did what I was planning to do. It just wasn’t enough,” Roglic told Cyclingnews at the finish as he stretched his weary legs.

“It’s a time trial and not a short one. This was a special discipline, and it takes special preparation for something like this. I didn’t really plan for this effort so for me it was just about coming here and then trying to do my best.”

Roglic’s best was a far cry from the level he has maintained for most of the season. The 29-year-old started his campaign back in February and held top form—or very close to it—until taking a break in June.

He returned to competition in August at the Vuelta and was the undisputed winner, but in the intervening weeks, his form and concentration have understandably slipped since taking a maiden Grand Tour victory.

to the fore following Dennis’s sudden withdrawal from the Tour de France on Stage 12—one day before the individual time trial that the Australian was the hot favorite to win.

Dennis’s aversion to Merida’s time trial bike— the Time Warp TT—was one of the many reasons cited, and the 29-year-old hadn’t raced since.

In a bold move, it looks as though Dennis used the same BMC bike he rode to victory in Innsbruck in 2018, albeit with the BMC logos removed. The bike also features CeramicSpeed oversized pulley wheels and the €3,000

custom molded Speedbar TT aerobars— purported to be another source of tension in the Bahrain-Merida camp.

“The national team deemed it was the best equipment for me and my body position, and the best equipment for me to get the result I need to get here. I’ve literally just done testing leading into this,” Dennis said when asked of his choice of equipment. “It’s all been a mash-up over... probably since I’ve been in the national team, which I’ve been in every year since I was a junior in 2007. Since then we’ve started finding out

“I didn’t do much,” he said. “You don’t win the Vuelta every day so I tried to enjoy that moment. I still tried to enjoy things here.”

Roglic started the time trial off the pace and was 22nd and then 16th at the first two time checks. When Dennis steamed by, the Slovenian quickly reacted and used the Australian’s pace-setting to measure his efforts in the closing stages.

“For me, when he passed me it was really bad for my morale but I tried to do my best. I still pushed all the way to the finish. But I don’t really train for the time trial, but as a GC guy, I can still do a good time trial. The result for sure is a disappointment, but all other things weren’t. I couldn’t expect to produce any more power. I just tried to do my best today, and actually, I’m not that disappointed.

“I’d be disappointed if I’d planned all year to win here, but for me, I achieved other things. I’m a GC guy, and normally from the guys I’m competing with, not many were in front of me today. Still, I want to be as complete a rider as possible. It’s a new challenge to do time trials like this, but for sure I’ll learn something.”

Roglic still has one more race on his program at the World championships with a place in the men’s road race awaiting him. It’s hard to imagine the Slovenian finding a second wind after his time trial woes, but he goes into the event with no pressure.

“We’ll see. I still have quite a lot of pain here from the Vuelta,” he said. “I have to see how it goes. I’m not famous for being the best in road races, and it’s just my second road worlds so I have a lot to learn.”

Still, at least, Roglic has those winner’s photos to enjoy. Cyclinenews information about what’s best for me.”

Asked if he’d encountered any such difficulties with Bahrain-Merida, Dennis went on to say: “Not at all” before insisting: “National team trumps trade team.” As for Bahrain-Merida’s opinion on the saga: “That’s a question you’d have to ask them.”

While the move will have undoubtedly agitated his Bahrain-Merida team bosses, the move clearly paid off as Dennis stormed to victory, beating Remco Evenepoel into second place by well over a minute. Cyclingnews

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

BusinessMirror

Saturday, September 28, 2019 A9

The power of LTE, then and now platforms to support their businesses, or stream videos for entertainment, even as they travel around the country,” said Tamayo.

“As we fire up more LTE sites across the region, we are connecting our customers across the Masbate and Catanduanes islands, as well as the rest of Southern Luzon, with the best mobile data experience, and transforming these areas into Smart LTE provinces,” said John Palanca, Smart vice president and regional head, Consumer Business-Customer Development.

To fully enjoy the improved LTE network, customers are encouraged to upgrade to an LTEcapable smartphone and an LTE SIM. All Smart, TNT and Sun subscribers can check if their SIMs are LTE-ready by texting SIMCHECK to 5832 for free.

They can also check if their location is LTE-ready by accessing www.smart.com.ph/LTE. ■

PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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OME years ago, I was one of those who first tested Smart LTE in the country. The speeds were crazy. You could download a movie in a minute and an entire season of a TV show in five minutes.

Long Term Evolution, or LTE, which can deliver download speeds that are several times faster than the 3G standard, is also known as the fastest fourth generation (4G) wireless technology in existence.

Smart was the first telco to bring LTE in the Philippines. In 2009, its network played host to the first-ever network trial in the country using LTE technology. Smart first introduced LTE in April 2011 at the resort island of Boracay. This was the first public LTE demonstration.

From November 2011 to March 2012, Smart conducted extensive LTE beta test which involved more than 100 participants from different sectors of society. In August 2012, Smart officially launched the country’s first commercial LTE service, named Smart LTE. This was what convinced me to get a Smart Postpaid LTE, which was just P999 in those days with unlimited Internet access. I have this plan to this day. It technically no longer exists but I have not technically renewed my plan so I’m good. It’s no longer P999 but P1,500 but I still have unlimited Internet access minus streaming.

LTE has since been made more available to more people in more areas. Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has fired up more LTE sites across Southern Luzon, particularly in the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, as part of its continuous network expansion program.

Catanduanes State University student Myko Arcilla uses the Internet for school work. With improved connectivity on their campus in San

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MAVENIR executives (from left) Paul Jesseman, regional CTO, Apac; John Baker, SVP, business development; Maryvonne Tubb, VP, marketing; and Sam Saba, head of Apac region.

Andres, Catanduanes, Arcilla and his classmates can now go online and do their research faster.

Sharon Andaya and Evaniel Salabad of Dimasalang National High School in Dimasalang, Masbate, are also using the LTE connection in their town for school.

“LTE helps us with our assignments. We are also able to go on Facebook and Instagram, as well as watch videos on YouTube,” said Andaya.

Meanwhile, Catanduanes entrepreneur Jony Ayoro, who sells gadgets and smartphones, is also among those who have reaped the benefits of stronger data connectivity in their area.

Catanduanes LTE subscribers use their handsets to engage in online shopping, access information on the Internet for research, stream videos on YouTube, play online games like Mobile Legends, post photos on Facebook or Instagram, or access other online services like mobile banking.

In addition to these towns, Smart has also

activated LTE sites in the Masbate towns of Cataingan, Mobo and Palanas, to name a few.

“It’s so much easier to sell smartphones these days because the connection is much faster,” said Roldan Mahinay, who works in a gadget shop in Cataingan.

Aside from these areas, Smart has also recently fired up additional LTE sites in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Romblon, Mindoro Occidental and Camarines Norte.

“These expansion efforts are part of our commitment to improve customer experience and provide world-class connectivity to more areas in the country, including remote islands like Masbate and Catanduanes,” said Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT-Smart senior vice president for Network Planning and Engineering.

“With the LTE network that we have put in place, our customers can keep in touch with their loved ones, access important online services, use social-media

NEW FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE LAUNCHED

CTC Consolidated Services Inc. (www.ctccons.com) has recently been appointed by Amaze One as the authorize reseller and distributor of digiFMS. Amaze One is a software company and the developer of facility management software called digiFMS. The digital platform is a cloud-based solution that allows property managers to efficiently manage their facilities and services like repair and maintenance requests, rent payments, payment of dues, visitor requests, parking management, concierge services, inventory, assets, vendor management, transportation requests, reports and important building announcements.

Photo shows (from left) Roopa Kumar, chairman of Amaze One; Kumar Anand, president and CEO of Amaze One; Charlie Casas, president and CEO of CTC Consolidated Services Inc.; and Jerkins Canoy, information-technology head of CTC Consolidated Services Inc., during the contract signing.

Mavenir makes case for transforming mobile network economics

BY JT NISAY SINGAPORE—Mobile network operators (MNO) need to act quick and adapt new technologies to address growing demand for more and faster data, as well as flat-to-decreasing per subscriber revenue, to survive and compete in the 5G era, an industry expert said.

5G Americas board member John Baker cited The Zetabye Era report by Cisco in 2017, which showed in a five-year span the inverse proportion between increasing global connections and decreasing MNO revenue. The report projected that by 2020, there will be 23 billion device connections, while MNO revenue will drop from $807 billion in 2016 to $657 billion.

“If operators don’t start picking up on new technologies, they’re going to lose out long term,” said Baker, who’s also the SVP, Business Development, of American software-based telecommunications networking provider Mavenir.

Together with Mobile World Live, Mavenir published a white paper that detailed its mission to transform mobile network economics to reduce cost for MNOs, while generating and protecting revenue.

The company presented that the need for economic transformation is rooted on growing pressure to meet ever-increasing capacity demands, especially at the dawn of the 5G era, wherein billions of people and trillions of things are to be connected.

“The decisions operators make today for upgrading 4G networks to cope with current demand will ultimately affect their ability to compete, and even survive, in the 5G era,” the white paper stated.

Wireless operators are well aware of this. Global capital expenditures for the mobile industry between 2018 and 2020—widely considered as crucial years for 5G expansion—are estimated at $479 billion.

The current capex levels, however, constrain wireless operator profitability and keep them from participating in new service revenues.

China Mobile has reported that it spent 22.3 percent of its revenue from telecoms services, or $11.4 billion, on capex in the first half of 2018. Meanwhile, AT&T has declared capex of $5.9 billion in the third

quarter of the same year, while Deutsche Telekom has reported $3.4 billion in the same period.

Despite the investments, demand is seen to continue to grow at unprecedented levels. According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index, mobile data traffic will increase sevenfold between 2017 and 2022 with a 46-percent annual growth rate. Gartner also forecasts that the number of Internet of Things connected devices will surge from 8.7 billion in 2017 to 20.4 billion in 2020.

Aside from pressure to meet capacity demand while containing costs, mobile operators also have to compete with Web-scale companies like Facebook and Google that offer the market with “similar or even more innovative services at a lower cost base.”

Operator revenue from SMS text messaging, for example, has diminished with the advent of free messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, FaceTime or Facebook messenger.

As current infrastructure architectures cannot cost-effectively scale to meet demand, nor provide

the flexibility to allow rapid introduction of revenuegenerating services, Mavenir proposes that the key to prosper in the 5G era is for wireless operators to build cost-efficient, flexible and agile networks to deliver innovative services, and grow the top and bottom lines. “The technology shift marks a distinct departure from a traditional telco mindset to Webscale deployments and speeds, including fundamental changes in how operators engage with suppliers as they adopt new and innovative software licensing models,” the white paper stated.

In an interview with Telecom Review, Mavenir Head of Region in Dubai Mark Charman said the main technology enabling the change is known as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), where the cloud data center can deploy software nodes on top.

“The cost per gigabit is decreased significantly, offering operators the necessary cost savings for the move to 5G,” he said.

The vision for NFV is a radical transformation in the way that networks are built and services are

delivered to achieve cost savings in capex and opex, as well as accelerate service deployment and time to market.

Virtualization, as the white paper stated, enables mobile operators to deploy software-based network functions on general purpose hardware, rather than install proprietary appliances every time they need a new network function, service or application.

Basically, the benefits of NFV are cost savings, deployment flexibility and service agility.

Mavenir is touted as the “industry’s only endto-end, cloud-native network software provider,” with more than 250 operator customers in 140 countries. The company is focused on accelerating software network transformation and redefining network economics for communications service providers by offering a comprehensive end-to-end product portfolio across every layer of the network infrastructure stack.

“In Mavenir, we could change the current economics by virtualization, automation and innovation,” said Sam Saba, Mavenir head of Apac Region. “In essence, we see ourselves as the disruptor to the traditional.”

Virtualization fosters new architectures in Radio Access Network (RAN) that enable mobile operators to dramatically improve performance and reduce costs.

Of the three distinct types of RAN architecture, which includes the common Distributed RAN (DRAN) and the Centralized RAN (C-RAN), the Virtualized RAN overcomes traditional RAN limitations by leveraging virtualization. vRAN significantly reduces total cost of ownership, or TCO, compared to traditional DRAN, and brings flexibility, scalability and cost savings to network virtualization to the mobile network edge.

Data from Mavenir showed that the vRAN model yielded 37 percent capex and opex blended cost savings compared to DRAN, 23 percent compared to C-RAN, and 48 percent cost savings of small cells compared to macro cells over a five-year period.

“The RAN industry is about to see significant transformation,” Baker said.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, September 28, 2019

LASCUÑA JUMPS TO SHARE OF LEAD

TONY LASCUÑA finds himself sharing the driver’s seat with one round to go.

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ONY LASCUÑA shrugged off a bogey start with a run of birdies that continued to drop like rain here yesterday, coming through with a courserecord tying eight-under 64 to force a three-way tie for the lead with Liu Yu Jui and Lee Cho-Chuan of Taiwan halfway through the $100,000 Nan Pao Professional Golfers Association of Taiwan (TPGA) Open at the Nan Pao Golf Club in Tainan, Taiwan, on Friday.

Lascuña spiked his scorching game with a five-birdie binge from No. 9 and highlighted it with a couple of putts from 25 feet out to complete a sterling 33-31 round he actually launched with a missed green bogey on the opening hole.

But that mishap, off a wrong shot selection from 110 yards that

bounced and went past the elevated green, only fired up the amiable Davaoeño shotmaker, who birdied the next two holes, added another on No. 5 before racking up five straight from No. 9. He missed his first crack at matching Taiwanese Tsai Chongyu’s 64 in 2017 with a flubbed putt from

16 feet on the 15th but holed out with his ninth birdie on the 18th, a curling, uphill putt to cap his stirring performance.

“I still can do it,” said the 48-year-old Lascuña in jest. “But I really knew I can score here.”

With his opening 69, Lascuña pooled an 11-under 133 total, catching the two local aces at the helm after Lee eagled his closing hole on No. 9 for a 67 and Li missed grabbing the solo lead with a double-bogey on No. 17 for a 66.

Erstwhile leader TaiwaneseAmerican Lein Benjamin dropped to fourth at 134 with a 69, while Thai Sattaya Supupramai and Taiwanese Wang Jen Li assembled identical 135s after a pair of 68s to guarantee a shootout in the last 36 holes of the fifth leg of the third season of Phiilppine Golf Tour Asia and sixth stop of TPGA. “It’s still a long way to go but I feel good about my chances. For as long my putting clicks, I’ll be in the hunt,” said Lascuña, who had posted three runner-up finishes in the last few tournaments on the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) and PGT Asia, including a playoff setback to Reymon Jaraula at Pueblo de Oro three weeks ago.

Earlier, Jay Bayron failed to

sizzle in calm condition off an early start and needed to come up with a strong frontside finish to save a 71 and safely make the cut at 139 for joint 17th with four others.

Bayron brimmed with confidence as he headed to No. 10 after an impressive 68 Thursday that put him in the mix after 18 holes of the second PGTA event here. But after a birdie on No. 12, he struggled on Nan Pao’s tough surface that likewise slowed the charge of many other bidders and missed par-saving putts inside 6 feet on the last two holes.

But he found his range and recovered his touch at the front, birdying Nos. 4 and 6 and rebounding from a missed green mishap on the water-laced par-three No. 8 with a 5-foot downhill birdie putt on the ninth to salvage a 3437 card and stood six shots off the joint leaders heading to the last 36 holes of the fifth leg of PGTA and sixth stop of TPGA co-organized

by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. “Just didn’t get the breaks early on but worked my way out to come up with a big finish,” said Bayron, the lone Filipino entry in the first PGTA event in the Daan TPGA Open where he placed joint 27th in Taichung last May.

PSC OKs RELEASE OF SEAG FUNDS

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HILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez said on Wednesday that funds for the purchase of equipment and other pertinent materials for the hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games are ready for release to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

The funds total P5 billion.

Ramirez said he approved of the release after majority of the funding requests from the 56 national sports associations involved in the Games have been reviewed and scrutinized.

The PSC, POC and the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) formed themselves into a tripartite body to

Track enters new territory sans Usain

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THE US’s Justin Gatlin works out at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha. AP

OHA, Qatar—A new era of track and field begins Friday at the world championships.

For the first time since 2003, the sport’s biggest event outside the Olympics will take place without Usain Bolt.

The effervescent Jamaican, who made the sprints can’t-miss entertainment any time he was on the track, has left a void since his retirement after worlds in 2017.

But also created some new opportunities .

“It’s weird, because usually when he’s around, there’s a different energy. It’s almost like pandemonium in

hasten the purchase of equipment for the November 30 to December 11 multisport competitions.

Government auditing rules on procurements have been replaced by an extraordinary procedure to be supervised by the Department of Budget and Management to avoid legal impediments.

Ramirez, in approving the release

of the funds, however, stressed the obligation of the POC, Phisgoc and NSAs to guarantee a successful hosting and performance in terms of winning gold medals.

“The real victory we gain are the values that we are going to develop among our athletes and country men, through our participation in this Games,” shared Ramirez.

a way,” said Justin Gatlin , who got the win in 2017, while Bolt finished a surprising third in his farewell 100-meter race.

“Now, you feel like everyone is an opponent. Everyone has their opportunity of being really good and stepping up to the plate to be able to place.”

Also missing from these championships is South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, who is barred from defending her latest 800-meter world title in Doha because she has refused to follow new International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules requiring her to medically reduce her natural testosterone level to be allowed to compete in certain races.

The IAAF will award her a gold medal from the 2011 worlds at a ceremony because a Russian who finished in front of her was disqualified. But Semenya is not expected to attend the ceremony.

Over 10 high-heat and high-intensity days, athletes will offer a glimpse of what things might look like next year at the Tokyo Games. Bolt won’t be running there, either.

Gatlin vs Coleman vs de Grasse

JUSTIN GATLIN will have his work cut out for him in defending his 100-meter title. First, he’s 37 and going up against the next generation. Second, he felt something grab in his hamstring during a meet in Croatia in early September (he said he’s healthy). American teammate Christian Coleman, who has the world’s leading time in the 100 this year at 9.81 seconds, will be a formidable foe as he chases after a Bolt-like 100-200 double.

It’s been a rocky summer for Coleman, who is eligible for worlds after the US Anti-Doping Agency dropped his case for missed tests because of a technicality. Coleman’s top rival in the 200 is Noah Lyles, a 22-year-old who celebrates like Bolt—and runs like him, too.

Don’t discount Canada’s Andre de Grasse, who captured silver (200) and bronze (100, 4x100) at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

On the women’s side, American

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

Almazan sparkles in Meralco jersey F INALLY settled with Meralco, Raymond Almazan exac tly showed what he could do for the Bolts.

Almazan helped the Bolts rally back from a 16-point deficit by hitting the go-ahead three-pointer in a 98-92 win over defending Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors Cup champion Magnolia Hotshots.

The 6-foot-8 Almazan finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back from the last Fiba World Cup in China.

T he la te game heroic by t he 30-year-old center, acquired in a trade with Rain or Shine in the last Commissioner’s Cup, earned for him the first Cignal-PBA Press Corps (PBAPC) Player of the Week award for the seasonending meet.

Almazan edged sizzling rookie CJ Perez of Columbian Dyip in a tight voting for the weekly honor.

Perez, coming off a sensational Fiba World Cup stint with Gilas Pilipinas, put up scintillating numbers of 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds as the Dyip split their first two games of the conference.

Five other players were also in the running for the weekly citation, but only Almazan and Perez received votes from members of the media group regularly covering the PBA beat.

Also nominated for the honor were NorthPort rookie Robert Bolick, comebacking NLEX guard Kiefer Ravena, Barangay Ginebra big man Greg Slaughter, Rain or Shine guard Rey Nambatac, and Almazan’s Meralco teammate Chris Newsome.

F2 Logistics vs Petron

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2 Logistics and Petron renew their storied rivalry when the Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference goes full blast on Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Game time is at 4 p.m. with the Cargo Movers hoping to come up with another dominant performance after ruling the All-Filipino Conference.

A simple opening ceremony will kick off the new conference at 12 noon before Sta. Lucia shoots for its second win against PLDT in the 2 p.m. first game.

Also gunning for its second win is Cignal which faces Foton in the nightcap at 6 p.m.

With Filipino -Americ an spiker

K alei M au on b oard, t he C argo Movers evolved from good to bes t.

Mau, the former Arizona Wildcat, proved to be the missing piece in the championship puzzle when she carried the Cargo Movers to the title of the AllFilipino Conference last month.

Her solid hits, strong defense and overall leadership perfectly compliment the prowess of Aby Maraño, Dawn Macandili, Kim Fajardo, Ara Galang, Kianna Dy and Majoy Baron, who is marching with high morale after being named Best Middle Blocker in the first leg of the prestigious Asean Grand Prix in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, last week.

Motolite takes on Perlas gals in PVL Open Conference duel

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OTOLITE and BanKo-Perlas brace for another tight, fierce duel as they try to fuel their respective semifinal drive in the Premier Volleyball League Season 3 Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan on Saturday.

Motolite bucked the absence of injured top hitter Myla Pablo and regrouped in the decider to pull off a tough 25-16, 25-21, 19-25, 29-31, 19-17 decision in their first round eliminations clash with BanKo-Perlas last September 11. Motolite would win two of its next three games without the former National University star to firm up its semis bid with a 7-3 won-lost card for third.

In contrast, the Perlas Spikers stumbled and suffered back-to-back shutout losses to the surging Air Force Jet Spikers and the streaking PetroGazz Angels and tumbled out of the top 4.

Although they remain in the thick of the race with a 6-5 card for fifth, the Perlas Spikers need to check their skid with the Jet Spikers (5-5) and the Choco Mucho Flying Titans (4-6) also very

much in the hunt for at least a playoff for the last Final Four berth in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

Game time is at 2 p.m. with Pablo, whose lower back injury hampered the team’s campaign in the recent Reinforced Conference, hoping to suit up again in anticipation of another power clash with the likes of Nicole Tiamzon, Kathy Bersola, Dzi Gervacio and Sue Roces, who are also going all-out for a big rebound.

BaliPure and Chef’s Classics, meanwhile, face off at 2 p.m. in a duel of ousted teams with the Water Defenders, out of the semifinals race with a 2-10 mark, seeking to duplicate their first round four-set romp over the league’s newcomers, who remain winless in 12 games.

Creamline, on the other hand, hopes to put up a strong showing coming off a long rest as it tangles with a resurgent Air Force at 4 p.m. in Sunday’s explosive play date that also pits the third-running PacificTown Army (6-4) against Choco Mucho clash at 2 p.m. also in San Juan.

sprinter Tori Bowie (100) and Dafne Schippers (200) of the Netherlands are out to defend their titles. Jamaicans Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are favored in the 100. Dina Asher-Smith of Britain is the one to beat in the 200.

Felix’s form

Wide open 800

THE IAAF’s stance on Caster Semenya and other female athletes affected by its new testosterone regulations was revealed in a decision published by the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport. The medical process has been criticized as unethical by experts and Semenya has refused to take medication to alter what she calls her genetic gifts.

At least two other runners, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Margaret Wambui of Kenya—both Olympic medalists—say they also are affected by the rules.

With none of those women in the lineup, Americans Ajee Wilson and Raevyn Rogers, along with Lynsey Sharp of Britain, are among the favorites.

DECORATED sprinter Allyson Felix didn’t make the US squad in an individual event as she works her way back from giving birth. But she was named to the 4x400 relay pool as the team tries to defend its title. She’s an 11-time world champion.

Felix hasn’t competed that much since giving birth to her daughter, Camryn, in late November during an emergency Csection. The 33-year-old Felix is looking toward Tokyo in hoping to make her fifth Olympic team.

Hurdles falling?

IN the men’s 400-meter hurdles, Karsten Warholm of Norway, Abderrahman Samba of Qatar and Rai Benjamin of the US are all making a run at Kevin Young’s top mark of 46.78 seconds that was set in 1992. All three have run under the 47-second threshold over the last year or so.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Benjamin said. AP

A10 Saturday, September 28, 2019

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

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PHIL SCHILLER, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing for Apple, talks about the new iPhone 11 Pro and Max, during the launch of new products in Cupertino, California.

AP

DARLOW PARAZO, DBA president and CEO

How to navigate new privacy features in Apple iPhone update

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BY ANICK JESDANUN The Associated Press

EW YORK—Apple’s iOS 13 software update comes with plenty of privacy enhancements—but in some cases, only if you take the time to understand how they work.

Among the changes: You’ll be able to sign in to third-party services with your Apple ID account rather than Facebook’s or Google’s. You’ll also get more notices and warnings about apps tapping location data. The free update is available for existing iPhones on Thursday and will come with new iPhone 11 models out Friday.

Here’s how to navigate the new privacy features and make the most of them.

APPLE SIGN-IN

GOOGLE and Facebook have long made it easy to sign into third-party services without having to create new accounts— and new passwords to remember.

Trouble is, by leaning on those companies, you’re also opening the door for them to collect more data about you. You may find that disheartening given numerous privacy lapses, especially involving Facebook.

Apple is offering an alternative. The company doesn’t have the same need to collect data, as it doesn’t count on profits from data-driven targeted ads the way Google and Facebook do. Apple promises it won’t track you when you use “Sign in with Apple.”

One attractive feature is the ability to mask your real e-mail address. Apple can give you a new, unique e-mail for every service you use, and will automatically forward messages to your own e-mail account. You can reduce junk mail by disabling forwarding from specific companies, while still using that Apple e-mail to sign in. Apple says it won’t snoop on messages.

Apps that offer an outside sign-in system, such as Facebook’s, must also include Apple’s to be on iPhones. But

Apple’s system is limited to sharing your name and e-mail address. If the app needs more information, you’ll have to provide that on your own—or fall back on Facebook or Google anyway.

But don’t stray from Apple’s garden. You’ll need to sign in through a Web browser if you use the service on Android, Windows or other non-Apple devices. That eliminates much of the convenience.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

MAPS, ride-hailing and many other apps need your location data to work. But does your drug store or coffee shop really need to know where you are and where you’ve been?

Previously, Apple gave you just a few choices on the matter.

You could share your location continuously with an app, provide it only when you were using the app, or deny the app access to any location information. (The last choice breaks many apps, and it can be a challenge to turn location back on if you change your mind.)

Now Apple will let you grant location permission temporarily. If you close the app or restart the phone, you’ll have to grant permission again. You can keep doing that until you’re more comfortable with the app and its use of location, at which time you can make permission permanent.

But permanent doesn’t mean sharing while the app is in the background. After you’ve used an app for a while, the phone will prompt you with details on where and how many times it has tapped your location. Only then can you grant “always allow” access. You can also take it back if you’ve given it before. The idea is to arm you with more information before deciding.

Unfortunately, there’s no “reject once” option to see how well an app works without location. Once you reject it, you’ll have to go into settings to turn location back on.

LOCATION, THE SNEAKY WAY

EVEN if you’ve denied location access, apps might be able to infer it through Bluetooth connections. A retail store, for

instance, might have Bluetooth beacon trackers to detect people who have its app installed. Now, apps must specially ask for that permission. (There are exceptions when a music app, for instance, wants to stream to headphones you’ve already paired with the phone.) Apps that have been updated for iOS 13 must tell you specifically why they need Bluetooth.

Citi’s app, for instance, says it’s to enable after-hours entry to ATM lobbies without pulling out your card. You’re left guessing with older apps. If you’re not sure, just say “no.”

Apple is also clamping down on apps’ ability to infer your location by identifying nearby Wi-Fi networks, which can be matched to location databases. Apps that want that information must already have location permission from you or meet Apple’s criteria for needing that information. This won’t affect your ability to use apps over Wi-Fi, as that’s set up through your phone, not the app.

PHOTOS

WHEN sharing photos through the Photos app, you can now remove embedded location information by tapping on the small “Options” link at the top of the screen. Location is shared by default, and you need to turn it off each time.

You can disable the camera’s ability to embed location information to begin with. To do that, go to “Privacy” in the phone’s settings, then “Location Services,” “Camera” and finally the “Never” option. This feature exists in earlier versions of iOS, as well.

REDUCING ROBOCALLS

A NEW setting lets you silence unknown callers. You’ll still hear from numbers you’ve recently called or ones stored in your contacts, as well as from numbers the digital assistant Siri finds in other apps, such as within your e-mails. But the iPhone will assume everything else is spam and send it straight to voice mail.

This option is off by default; you need to turn it on under “Phone” in the settings. Apple will also suggest the option when you look through your recent and missed calls. ■

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51TALK Founder and CEO Jack Huang (eighth from left), Country Head Jennifer Que (seventh from left) and Cofounder and COO Liming Zhang (ninth from left) with key partners from DICT, local government units, PLDT-Gabay Guro, Huawei and other advocates during the event.

51Talk holds Partners Appreciation and Thanksgiving Day 51TALK (www.51Talk.ph), a leading English Online Education platform, hosted a Partners Appreciation and Thanksgiving Day soiree, held recently at the SMX Aura Convention Center in Taguig City. This was in recognition of their partners’ support and contribution in empowering more Filipino English teachers to have a sustainable online, home-based livelihood.

Among their partner is the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Both parties committed to promoting community development with 51Talk offering to jump-start their online teaching career with the use of DICT’s facilities and centers. They have also been working closely with PLDT-Smart Foundation’s Gabay Guro to offer digital livelihood training and opportunities. And, just recently,

global tech giant Huawei and 51Talk signed a memorandum of understanding to initiate steps in promoting information and communications technology so that more teachers will join the platform.

Jack Huang, 51Talk founder and chief executive officer, led the event and personally thanked and acknowledged them as being key drivers in the company’s success, emphasizing their role in creating more opportunities for online teachers across the Philippines.

“It is also very timely that we solidify and reaffirm our partnerships during the celebration of National Teachers Month. When I started 51Talk, I searched for the best English teachers, and this is where I found them. That’s

the main reason why I chose the Philippines because I believe in the world-class talent of Filipino teachers, and I want to bring that to the world stage with the use of our platform,” shared Huang. 51Talk Country Head Jennifer Que said that their long- term goal “is for the Philippine home-based, online English education sector be recognized as a significant contributor to the economy and nation-building with its thousands of teachers, and the socioeconomic impact this makes especially in the country side.”

She added, “Studies tell us that the demand for online English teachers will continue to increase. This is the very opportune time for us in 51Talk and our partners to gear up and prepare as there is so much work to be done.”

AUSTRALIAN KPO FIRM LOCATES IN THE PHILIPPINES

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES SYDNEY, Australia-based knowledge-process outsourcing (KPO) firm DBA Advisor will locate its operations in the Philippines to ensure better delivery of services to their diverse client base.

DBA Global Shared Services Inc. (DBA), the local outsourcing arm of DBA Advisory, is focused on providing innovative professional outsourcing solutions to Australia’s financial services sector.

Darlow Parazo, DBA president and CEO, said the company decided to establish an office in the Philippines because of its skilled manpower.

“The country has, perhaps, the best pool of highly skilled personnel in the field of accounting, law and IT that you can find anywhere in the world. The Filipino work force is so committed and culturally always eager to help,” Parazo said in a press statement.

Parazo said the entry of DBA in the country would provide job opportunities to skilled Filipino workers outside of Metro Manila, adding this was a top consideration for DBA so that professionals won’t have to move to the urban areas for job opportunities.

Established in the Philippines in 2013, DBA provides high-end quality outsourced services and solutions, combining large-scale utilization of available technological resources and the excellent skills of their people.

DBA started as a seven-man team in a small office in Subic Bay Freeport Zone that quickly grew to 35 employees in its first year. After six years in the industry, DBA now employs 250 professionals with offices in Clark, Bataan and Tarlac.

By providing jobs to local talents, Parazo said DBA was able to access multidisciplinary and multiindustry professionals and expand their services.

Their Self-Managed Super Fund Division has audited 3,500 SMSFs the past year.

The SMSF is the retirement savings structure for Australians, similar to the pension fund provided by the Social Security System in the Philippines.

DBA’s Financial Planning Division can produce more than 1,500 Records of Advice, Statements of Advice and review documents a year, while their Business Services Division serves over 100 services firms across the globe. Their creative team has already designed various web sites and provided branding services to a number of clients.

As a technology driven company backed by expert IT professionals and with the help of partner software companies, Parazo said DBA offers cloud computing solutions and robotic process automation.

Through this disruptive outsourcing solution, DBA is empowering their clients to work smarter, scale faster and gain competitive advantage.

In their bid to empower municipal authorities, emergency services, and law enforcement, DBA is looking into offering Safe City Services. Through Safe City, municipal authorities, first responders, and the police will be able to monitor public areas better and relay information faster to increase personal safety and public security.

It also plans to offer Healthcare Technology Services, a solution that can help health-care professionals provide a higher level of patient care. Through HTS, health-care providers and professionals will have real-time access to patient data and health-care locating systems, which will allow them to treat patients faster, and ensure optimal patient care and safety.

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Tech-based solutions pushed to financial institutions amid growing challenges

THE Samsung Galaxy Note 10 (left) and the Galaxy Note 10 Plus on display during a launch event in New York.

If you’re among the “early adopters” who need to be first on the block for every technological advancement, you’ll need a 5G phone with Android. AP

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor WHILE banking and financial institutions are adopting big data analytics to gain a competitive edge and better serve their customers, some are facing various problems given the growing requirements of the saving and investing public, a study revealed.

Big data is the extensive collection of large volumes of raw information that can be processed and analyzed at optimal speed, and mined for informative and analytical purposes. It has been widely used in various industries, driving innovation and transformation.

Banks and financial institutions, for instance, are embracing big data analytics to augment and improve their complex operations that result from the rapid proliferation of information.

Per the research of TransUnion and Versta Research, however, the majority of participating finance companies said data and analytics evolve more quickly than their own internal capabilities.

Alongside the ever-increasing consumer expectations, their advancement poses a difficulty for businesses to evaluate information in the speed the market demands.

To meet the challenge, insights from the survey show that business leaders use analytics tools as a competitive advantage to yield more room for growth.

“Information is a very powerful thing. Information drives business, opens doors, and empowers and enriches the lives of consumers,” TransUnion Philippines President and CEO Pia Arellano said during their recent Big Data Summit.

“Change and transformation, however, can come with many implications, and the path to innovation and new technological solutions is not necessarily always an easy one. It involves courage, a willingness to learn and evolve, and a consumer-first mindset,” she added.

Like in any industries, banks and other financial institutions have everything to gain in harnessing disruptive technologies like big data analytics in their operations.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recognizes that these tools, which lead to a digital shift of the financial services sector is the new frontier.

According to a BSP-published research paper, big data for the finance and banking industry is all about making better sense of customer behavior to achieve more accurate assessments of customers’ creditworthiness, risk appetites and qualifications.

In the same manner, it enables financial institutions to offer improved products and services to their clientele, the study added.

Moreover, it serves as a channel for consumers to be able to convey what they need and expect from their product and service providers, and, in turn, be heard.

Arellano said the big amount of information generated by businesses daily, coupled with constant technological advancements, is becoming the catalyst for the acceleration of the global economy.

“The big data chain ultimately leads to knowledge and solutions, which present new opportunities that will enable a new range of products and services for both the business end and the customer,” she said.

“On a larger scale, big data affects the global economy more significantly than we realize, and it will continue to do so as technological advances further progress,” she added.

TransUnion Philippines is an international risk information provider and credit bureau dedicated to finding innovative ways information can be used to make better and smarter decisions.

It provides analytics, integrated solutions, insights, and other invaluable information that facilitate objective, fast and reliable credit decisioning for lenders.

The company has began to harness the power of trended and alternative data to more accurately predict credit risk. Its members can now leverage this power to cross-sell the right products to the right customers.

Why you don’t need a 5G phone just yet

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BY ANICK JESDANUN The Associated Press

EW YORK—No 5G iPhone? No problem.

You probably don’t want one anyway.

For most people, it’s smart to stick with a smartphone that isn’t compatible with speedier 5G wireless networks, which are just starting to roll out. That’s the case even if you think you’ll be hanging on to your next phone for a few years.

Not only are the first-generation 5G phones expensive, their antennas and modems typically work only with particular 5G networks owned by specific mobile carriers. That could limit your options if you’re trying to get the faster speeds while roaming overseas or on a rival company’s network—or if you decide to switch providers later.

Experts say second-generation phones in the coming year will address those and other shortcomings. The research firm IDC, calling 2019 “an introductory year at best,” expects 5G phones to make up 9 percent of worldwide shipments next year and 28 percent in 2023.

THE TARGET MARKET SAMSUNG, Motorola, LG and OnePlus already make 5G phones that use Google’s Android system. Huawei announced one recently, though it’s missing popular Google apps because of a US ban on tech exports to the Chinese company.

Although 5G phones are a niche product, IHS Markit said phone makers haven’t been able to keep up with surprisingly strong demand, especially in South Korea.

Samsung said it has sold 2 million 5G phones worldwide since April and expects to double that

by the end of the year. Motorola said it has seen “tremendous engagement and excitement” from customers. But Motorola said such first-generation products primarily suit early adopters who need to be first on the block.

The new iPhones don’t support 5G. Apple typically waits for technology to mature before adopting it.

THE speedy wireless technology can add a few hundred dollars to phone price tags. For instance, Samsung’s standard Galaxy S10 phone costs $900; the 5G model costs $1,300, though Samsung said it also showcases the company’s best features, including a larger screen and a better camera. For Motorola, 5G comes as a $350 option for the existing Moto Z series phones. “This territory is reserved for the leadingedge type of consumer, those willing to sacrifice a bit more money up front to be first,” said Wayne Lam, an analyst at IHS Markit. “Longer term is where the smart money is.”

The price gap is expected to narrow and eventually disappear as 5G becomes a standard feature, Geoff Blaber of CCS Insight said.

each one is selling 5G phones designed specifically for its network. Wireless networks have a history of Balkanization, although it tends to sort itself out. Verizon and Sprint have been using a wireless technology called CDMA, while AT&T and T-Mobile use an incompatible version called GSM. Early on, phone makers produced separate CDMA and GSM models. But as technology advanced, they were able to pack all the necessary antennas and components into universal phones.

Similar all-in-one 5G phones should be fairly common by next year, experts say. In fact, T-Mobile CEO John Legere suggested the company is holding back on 5G network expansions until compatible phones come out later this year.

T-Mobile’s current 5G phones only work with parts of its planned 5G network. Sprint, which T-Mobile is in the process of acquiring, said first-generation phones are intended to show off 5G benefits to those who live or spend a lot of time in the company’s nine 5G markets.

Verizon didn’t return messages. AT&T isn’t offering 5G to consumers yet, although it has rebranded some existing 4G service as “5G E.”

NETWORK LIMITATIONS

TO WAIT OR NOT TO WAIT

EVEN as phone companies make big claims about revolutionary new applications, 5G coverage is limited to certain neighborhoods in a handful of cities. While 5G phones can still connect over existing 4G LTE networks, “are you willing to spend extra for something you might not see consistently until 2021?”

IHS Markit analyst Josh Builta asks.

5G is actually a set of wireless technologies using different parts of the airwaves. Each wireless carrier emphasizes a different flavor of 5G, and

IF you can squeeze another year, or two, out of your current phone, there will be plenty of 5G phones to choose from—including iPhones—by the time you’re ready to upgrade. But it’s OK to buy a new, pre-5G phone now if you can’t wait. You can always trade that in for a 5G model later. Even if you stick with 4G, experts say you’ll still see speed bump there as phone companies install new equipment.

And IDC is expecting deals on 4G phones to clear shelves for upcoming 5G models. ■

THE PRICE OF 5G

Globe offers most affordable prepaid Wi-Fi devices TRUE to its mission of providing Internet access to more Filipino families, Globe At Home Prepaid (www.facebook.com/GlobeAtHome) has made it even easier to get online connection with exciting new deals and bundles.

In partnership with Home Credit, Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi is now made even more affordable and easier to get for everyone in the family with financing for data and device bundle offerings.

For as low as P500/month for nine months, Home Credit customers can get one unit of Streamwatch Xtreme Prepaid or Home Prepaid WiFi that

comes with free 10GB of data upon account activation via the Globe At Home app. Users can also get 65GB or P999 worth of data which are pushed monthly via the Globe at Home app for up to four months.

Moreover, Home Credit customers who are planning to get a new home appliance can also bundle it with a Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi and pay monthly via installment.

Globe at Home Prepaid WiFi is 2x faster with 2x stronger signal and 2x wider coverage than your usual pocket Wi-Fi for the whole family to enjoy watching and streaming their favorite videos, movies and TV shows.

Meanwhile, Globe Streamwatch Xtreme Prepaid is the world’s first allin-one entertainment device with fast home Internet, free local TV channels, and Internet TV with 1 million videos, shows and movies. With these devices, you won’t have to miss out on your favorite entertainment content on YouTube, real-time updates from friends on social media, or the latest news and information from anywhere in the world.

Topping up additional data is also made easier with the Globe At Home app. Customers can easily register to data promos, such as HomeSURF15 that offers 1GB of data for as low as

P15, valid for three days.

Simply download the app for free via App Store and Google Play Store to get started.

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

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SOME of the photos we snapped using the Huawei Nova 5T, which packs as many as five AIpowered cameras.

One month a�ter: A star reborn TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

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OVA: noun (astronomy)—In cosmological terms, a Nova is a new star, a bright, young celestial object bursting with energy and lighting up the vast space around it. It can also refer to a star that shows a sudden considerable increase in brightness and then slowly returning to its original state over a few months.

In the tech world, “Nova” has become synonymous with Huawei’s midrange series aimed at younger users, and just like a “Nova star,” it has become one of the most anticipated smartphones, setting a new and different record each year.

When the first Nova smartphone, the Nova 2i, launched in the Philippines in 2017, it sold 1,000 units in just one hour.

Last year the Nova 3i set another record, selling a total of 20,000 units or around P320 million on its first day. The latest #Novastar, the Nova 5T, however, set a new record as it sold out all preorder stocks even before launch day.

It has also been getting rave reviews, dubbed as a flagship killer and praised for its insanely good value. But after a month of using it and with newer phones coming out with the same P18,990 price tag, does the Nova 5T continue to shine bright among its midrange brethren, or has its appeal fizzled out and fallen victim to too much hype?

This is one month after, our Real-World Use review of the Nova 5T. DEVOUR: ■ Flagship Kirin 980 processor ■ Great cameras ■ Premium design and color options ■ Big bright screen ■ Great for gaming even at high settings ■ Side fingerprint sensor is fast and intuitive ■ Supports super charge DISLIKE: ■ No headphone jack ■ No expandable storage ■ Macro camera is unnecessary

MADE FOR GEN Z

DIGITAL natives, a.k.a. kids who grew up connected to Wi-Fi, are pretty much the epitome of tech-savvy. Generation Z may

not know what a card catalogue is but they can easily make their way around Snapchat and Instagram, and brute force their way into learning new things. As such, it goes without saying that a smartphone is a Gen Z-er best friend and they know exactly what they want in a phone.

The Nova 5T presents itself as the flagship device for the younger generation through the use of stylish color finish, premium materials, such as glass and metal, and ergonomic construction. An enhanced reflective design endows each phone with a holographic look. The three color options suit different personalities: Black for those who love a classic with its subdued elegance; Crush Blue for those who want something that stands out; and Midsummer Purple for those who find satisfaction in the details with its holographic Nova logo imprint.

Now, if you feel a sense of déjà vu upon seeing the Nova 5T, its because you’ve probably seen it before, just under a different name: the Honor 20. It would be an oversight not to mention this detail, but, yes, the Nova 5T is the Honor 20 in other countries but with a few external and internal differences. However, I don’t think the Honor 20 will be officially launched here in the country.

Exploring the phone, on the front is a 6.26-inch screen with thin bezels that slightly curves on the edges. There is no notch, and in its place is a (hideable) hole punch that houses the 32MP selfie camera. Placed above is the earpiece and a slightly hidden notification light. On the left side is the tray for dual nano-sized SIM cards while on the right, you can find the volume rocker, and the power/lock button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

At first, I thought the side-mounted fingerprint was a bit odd, having grown used to rear-mounted or in-display ones, but I realized this side placement actually makes more sense since your fingers naturally rest on the location of the power button when you hold your phone—your index finger if you’re left-handed, or your thumb for those who are right-handed.

At the bottom is the main microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille. Sorry, guys, but the Nova 5T has ditched the 3.5mm audio port. Does it mean that more young people are using wireless earphones/headphones? Don’t worry, as they still included an adaptor in the box.

Last, turn the phone over and you’ll find the protruding camera module that houses three cameras and an LED flash and a fourth camera just beside the third bottom lens.

Overall build quality is great, weighing in at 174 grams and just 7.87-mm thick. It feels good in the hand and easier to grip thanks to the rounded sides and corners. Our unit did not come with a protective case, but if the retail package does include one, make sure to use it to further protect your phone from bumps, scratches and those annoying fingerprints.

HOLE PUNCH, FULL VIEW

WHILE other brands went for the pop-up camera route to get rid of the notch (and grab some attention), the Nova 5T uses a hole-punch display to give users a 6.26-inch full view display.

The IPS panel supports Full HD resolution of 2340x1080, and the big, bright display is fully capable of showing off every speck of color in any content displayed on the screen.

That said, it’s hard to complain about the display of the Nova 5T and whether you are watching movies, playing games or just browsing your social-media feeds, the phone will make it an enjoyable experience. I think I’m actually one of the few people who have no issues about the notch, but the hole punch, I admit, it is kind of cool and looks more premium compared to the dew drop or other notch implementation— oh, and way better than the “cyclops” placement in the Samsung Note 10. You can still hide it via the settings but the effect is that you’ll have an even thicker bezel on top. I just wish there were a lot more wallpapers you could use to cleverly hide it instead.

Hiding beneath that hole is a 32MP front camera that is great for taking selfies. Huawei phones have become increasingly acclaimed as mobile photography powerhouses, and the Nova series has more than pulled its own weight, especially in the area of selfie cameras. The 32MP ultra-clarity camera captures precise detail right down to the hair strands.

It’s not perfect but it has improved a lot.

I admit I keep beautification turned on (level 5 max) when taking selfies just to get rid of some blemishes, but the last thing I want is to look like some escapee from Madam Tussauds. To avoid fake, one-size-fits-all beautification effects, the Nova 5T utilizes AI to “study” beauty and analyze excellent portrait shots from a database, and has acquired professional-level aesthetic “taste”. In conjunction with the Kirin 980 chipset’s dual NPUs, the AI system is able to tailor beautification according to individual facial features, bringing out the best visual features for every person. AI-supported contouring avoids the infamous caked-on look that simply glosses over natural skin texture, ensuring that you retain your individuality or, more important, your humanity. Oh and please, Huawei, you might want to change those 3D Qmojis avatars already.

The built-in speaker is loud enough but again it’s better to use earphones because of Huawei’s Histen 6.0 3D audio technology. It supports 9.1 channels, delivering a 3D audio experience unlike any other. Sparkling sound quality brings music, movies and gaming to a whole new level.

THE MORE (CAMERAS) THE MERRIER?

WE’VE already talked about the front camera, so how are those four cameras at the back? The Nova 5T has a main 48-megapixel high-resolution sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, a wide-angle 16-megapixel sensor with a f/2.2 aperture lens, plus a 2-megapixel depth sensor and a 2-megapixel macro shooter.

Why a macro lens? Yes, that was exactly the same question running through my mind. Do young people love taking super closeup shots of small things?

Anyway, those three cameras already make the Nova 5T a very versatile shooter and there are times, in the right

condition, that the resulting photos are on a par with those taken by the P30 Pro. If you love taking group photos or landscape shots, you’ll love the wide angle, and it also does a great job for portrait photography. The question I often get is when to use AI and when to disable it. Now, I usually have it turned on as I prefer really vibrant shots, except when taking photos of people. When AI is turned on it often switches to portrait instantly blurring the background, which is something you don’t want especially when you want to show off the scenery behind you.

The Nova 5T also takes great photos in low light, but if you want even better quality, its best to use night mode as its AI Image Stabilization is very capable of handling shakes to minimize blur. There is no 48MP mode, so you have to go settings and select either 48MP or 48MP AI Ultra Clarity. The difference between the two is that the latter has a timer, just like night mode, so you have to hold still for a few seconds and let the AI work its magic. Keep in mind that a 48MP photo is 6000x8000 and around 6 to 10mb in size, while Ultra Clarity pics go up as high as 20MB+ per photo.

For video recording, the Nova 5T can shoot up to 4K resolution at 30fps. Videos are clear and its nice that you can actually shift from normal, ultrawide and zoom in one shot— although switching to the ultrawide tends to change the clarity of the video. Stability is also good and as long as you don’t move too much, it’s like recording with the help of a gimbal.

PERFORMANCE AND GAMING

WHAT makes the Nova 5T a true flagship killer is its processor. It has Huawei’s flagship Kirin 980 chipset, the same one used by the Mate 20 and P30 series making it instantly one of the top-performing phones. The lightning-fast chip is the world’s first commercial 7nm SoC chip, and the first SoC to embed Cortex-A76 based cores.

What this means is that you’ll have no problem switching from one app to another, doing multiple tasks, or, most important, playing those graphically demanding games. I’ve been playing the latest NBA 2K20 at the highest settings on the Nova 5T and it runs just as smoothly as it does in the Note 10. It runs the Android 9 Pie-based EMUI 9.1, which is also found in most of Huawei’s recent devices and hopefully upgradeable to EMUI 10. One thing I noticed is that it doesn’t have a lot of preinstalled applications aside from the Google Apps and services. Unfortunately, even Huawei’s App gallery was gone, so I had to sideload some of the apps when I was in China. The Nova 5T comes with 128GB non-expandable storage, but there’s 110GB which you can use to store all sorts of files.

The Nova 5T is equipped with a 3,750mAh battery— decent, yes, but it would’ve be nicer if it had 4,000mAh instead like most of its competitors. It will last you a day of normal usage, and keep you going in no time since it supports Huawei’s 22.5W SuperCharge.

The Huawei Nova 5T is not just a flagship killer, it’s a flagship device without the flagship price...period. ■

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In the ad material of Notice of filing of Application for Alien Employment Permits published on July 27, 2019, the company name and address of Mr. Liu, Xiaobao should have been read as NEW ORIENTAL CLUB88 CORPORATION located at 10th Floor, Sky Garage Tower, 1 Aseana Avenue, Entertainment City, Parañaque City, Metro Manila and not as published. While in the ad material published on August 28, 2019, the company name and address of Mr. Lee, Hyeonwoo should have been read as SMARC GROUP ASIA INC. located at 11F Tower 2, DD Plaza, Edsa Ext. Cor. Macapagal Ave., Brgy. 076, Pasay City , Metro Manila and not as published.

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

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR

A22 Saturday, September 28, 2019

PAMPI: Processed meat products are free from ASF

NHMFC, PayMaya strengthen partnership for a more convenient housing finance system

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N support to the government’s mandate to make public service more convenient and accessible to Filipinos, the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHFMC) expanded its partnership with PayMaya to allow its borrowers to conveniently pay their housing loans anytime, anywhere.

With the renewed partnership, NHMFC borrowers can soon pay for their housing loans at the NHMFC website using any Visa, Mastercard, or JCB credit, debit, and prepaid card as well as via their mobile numbers linked to their PayMaya account.

“Through the new online payment facility on the NHMFC site, our borrowers no longer have to leave the convenience of their homes to travel and pay for their monthly amortization.

They can pay their housing loans even on weekends and holidays, wherever they are by just going to our website.

Moreover, it will enhance its payment collection and will allow both NHMFC and the borrower to have the payment posted almost real-time," said NHMFC President Felixberto U. Bustos, Jr. Moreover, for the secondary mortgage institution, Bustos said “it will enhance its payment collection and will allow both NHMFC and the borrower to have the payment posted almost real-time.”

For his part, PayMaya Enterprise Head Mar Lazaro said: “This renewed collaboration allows NHMFC to bring a more efficient and convenient public service to their borrowers. Making public service accessible to all Filipinos is in line with our thrust at PayMaya to push for financial inclusion through our digital financial services.”

PayMaya has been ramping up its collaboration with various government agencies to enable them inclusive and integrated digital payments solutions, aligned with the goal of making public service more convenient, accessible, and fast for the people.

As of 2012, the Housing Industry Roadmap of the Philippines: 2012-2030 report of the Subdivision & Housing Developers Association, Inc. showed 3.9 million in housing backlogs or 832,000

families who cannot afford to purchase a house. To address this, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and other shelter agencies have been working together to implement a comprehensive housing roadmap.

PayMaya is the only digital financial services company with an integrated suite of solutions for consumers and merchants complemented by the widest remittance partner agent network. It is the financial technology arm of Voyager Innovations, the leading technology company in the country backed by PLDT, KKR, Tencent, World Bank’s IFC, and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund. Its "one payment platform" enables the country's top eCommerce sites, major retail and quick-service restaurants, government institutions, as well as MSMEs, allowing them to accept multiple kinds of cashless payments.

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HE Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) has assured the Filipino consumers that processed meats and meat products are free from the African swine fever (ASF).

"We assure and guarantee our consumers that we do not import pork materials from countries that have been infected by the ASF virus," said PAMPI president Felix O. Tiukinhoy Jr. "For local supply, we purchase only pork cuts that have been certified by the National Meat Inspection Service to be free from any disease.

We strictly adhere to internationally accepted and recognized standards of food safety and manufacturing practices," the group of leading manufacturers of processed meats and meat products said in a statement.

"All our cooked and/or smoked processed meat products are subjected to temperatures ranging from 70 to 116 degrees Celsius for 40 to 60 minutes. At these high temperatures, harmful bacteria and viruses, including ASF virus if any, are killed and destroyed," PAMPI said.

"Hence, our processed meat products cannot be carriers of the ASF virus," it said.

ASF is a virus that is contagious to pigs but is not communicable to humans.

At the same time, PAMPI expressed its full and unequivocal support to joint efforts of

PANA Brand Master Sessions 2019 kicks off with Asian branding guru Martin Roll

PMPC scholarship: Serving the nation, developing new breed of leaders

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ODAY, students who have difficulty receiving higher education particularly for economic reasons, but are highlymotivated to finish their studies and thereby contribute to the country’s progress and development, have no reason to back out on their dreams.

Panasonic Scholarship Asia Program (PSA) has been granting scholarships to deserving university and vocational students since 2014.

According to Panasonic Corporation Groupwide Brand Communications Division leader for CSR & Citizenship Department Haruhisa Okuda, the scholarship is part the company's objective to be a corporation devoted to the progress and development of society and the well-being of people in countries they work with in pursuit of “A Better Life, A Better World,” The 2019 scholarship awarding ceremony

was held recently at Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation (PMPC) offices headquartered in Taytay, Rizal.

Okuda is joined by PMPC President Masatoshi Sasaki and school officials who joined their students in receiving their scholarship certificates.

The 20 new Panasonic scholars are (Undergraduate Category): Kevin A. Balatico (Pamantasan ng Cabuyao (PnC) - Marketing Management); Jazzrine A. Tagle (University of the Philippines-Diliman - Electronics and Communications Engineering); Ian Jester B. Jose (University of Rizal System (URS) Morong - Mechanical Engineering); Agustin P. Lacre Jr. (URS Morong - Mechanical Engineering); Heidilyn B. Sampaga (URS Morong – Electronics Engineering); Ma. Elena I. Guanlao ( Bulacan State University (BSU) - Accounting Technology); Ronaldo M. Velilla Jr. (BSU - Accounting Technology); and

Gian Bianca F. Vergara (BSU - Accounting Technology).

For Vocational Category: Ronald O. Atienza (DualTeach Training Center (DTC) - Electro-Mechanical Technology); John Mark G. Cabilan (DTC - ElectroMechanical Technology); Zandro A. Fernandez (DTC - Electro-Mechanical Technology); Roy B. Manangkil (DTC Electro-Mechanical Technology); Reymon Tigbabao (DTC - Electro-Mechanical Technology); Mr. Rommel S. Abris (Don Bosco College (DBC) Canlubang – Machining); Mark Jerald Calisura (DBC Canlubang - Shielded Metal Arc Welding); Jhon Moises M. Penasbo (DBC Canlubang – Shielded Metal Arc Welding); Lance Kobe A. Apilado (Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) – Mandaluyong - General Electrician); Milestone B. Bautista (DBTC Mandaluyong - Technical Industrial Electronics ); Robert John S. Boñon (DBTC Mandaluyong - General Electrician; and Ryan C. Tubalinal (Don Bosco Technical institute (DBTI) Makati Electro-Mechanical Technology).

The new scholars were chosen after passing a series of interviews, and assessment of their overall performance as students. The scholarship was given to promising state university students (graduating in 2 years’ time) in a bachelor’s degree program, and to newly-enrolled students in a vocational course program for the school year 2019-2020.

Langnese lets you find your honey, elevate your dishes

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ANGNESE Honey, a leading honey brand in Germany, recently gathered friends and members of the media to a degustation experience entitled “Find Your Honey” to relaunch its delectable #LangneseHoney variants.

The sweet treat held on September 17 at The Wholesome Table showcased the restaurant’s organic and signature offerings –from salads and glazed fish, beef and pork dishes, desserts to the famous Filipino drink, sago’t gulaman – all mixed with mouthwatering Langnese Honey variants.

“Fly Ace Corporation is committed to bringing the best of the world’s food and beverages to every Filipino home.We are bringing five variants for now which compliment the Filipino palate. We are excited to introduce a wide variety of flavors here in the Philippines in the days to come,” shared Ramon Daez, General Manager of Fly Ace Corporation.

“Langnese Honey enhances one’s mood when one knows the right variant that perfectly complements the food. It is known for its purity and versatility, which makes it a kitchen staple that can warm

the national government and private sector to contain and eradicate ASF in the country.

"Unfortunately, during the past two weeks, the movement, distribution and sale of processed meat products were banned by some local government units (LGUs) on the mistaken belief and unfounded fear that they will cause harm to their hog raisers. However, such move has absolutely no basis in fact and science," Tiukinhoy said.

PAMPI asked the LGUs to take a second look and consider lifting the ban immediately. It made the appeal after several LGUs insisted on imposing an unnecessary and unwarranted ban on the movement, distribution and sale of processed meats/ pork-based products in their respective jurisdictions amid the threat of ASF. "We also appeal to the national government to promptly issue unified and coordinated guidelines for adoption by all LGUs on the movement, distribution and sale of pork products, both raw and processed, to avoid disruption of trade and damage to the economy," it said.

"Finally, we extend our appreciation and thanks to President Duterte and members of his Cabinet for recognizing the P300-billion meat processing industry as partner and driver of economic growth during his term," the group said.

the hearts of Filipino consumers,” said Emie San Beda, Senior Product Manager of Fly Ace Corporation.

With the tagline, “The brand that stands for nature,” he favorite German honey brand is all-natural and unfiltered, so it retains the natural goodness of honey without compromising its taste and nutritious benefits. It comes in five decadent flavors – namely, Golden Clear, Wild Flower, Acacia, Black Forest, and Wild Lavender.

Aside from discovering the uses of honey in cooking, guests also learned about the

positive moods/feelings that each of the variant evokes: Feel light (Wild Lavender), Feel strong (Black Forest), Feel optimistic (Acacia), Feel delighted (Wild Flower), and Feel relaxed (Golden Clear).

Sweet and savory, these flavors make sure to suit the lifestyle needs of Filipino foodies and satisfy the varying tastes and preferences of honey lovers.

Langnese Honey is exclusively distributed

by Fly Ace Corporation and is available in supermarkets nationwide.

Learn more at www.flyacecorp.com.

(L-R) Fly Ace Corporation President Mr Jun Cochanco, Langnese Head of Sales and Marketing for Southeast Asia Mark Baumgartner, Mr. Ramon Daez, Fly Ace General Manager, and Fly Ace Marketing Head Ms Abbie Ng Reyes.

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N October 2, the Philippine Association of National Advertiser (PANA) Brand Masters Sessions 2019 kicks off with Asian branding guru, Martin Roll. This is an exceptional treat for C-level, middle, and senior marketing professionals in the country as the learning conference’s focus this year is on Asian Brand Strategy –a topic Roll, as one of the foremost experts in the field, has 20 years of experience in. He has been the esteemed advisor of Fortune 100 companies, successful CEOs, and large family businesses in Asia.

Roll have lived for two decades on the largest continent on Earth, and he sees potential and opportunity in Asia -- still the biggest manufacturer and provider of commodities in the world. Elevating branding as the key priority of these manufacturers will help us find our footing internationally. “It is not enough for Asian countries to be driven by manufacturing, volume, and high quality brands”, Roll stressed.

“There has to be a bold decision made to compete globally.”

Will local brands be able to break into the global market currently dominated by

Westerners? The author of Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Iconic Brands, said that it’s all a matter of timing, resources, and most importantly, mindset. It has been done

by Singapore Airlines, Toyota, and Samsung – Asian brands that have embraced marketing, putting it on the center stage and using it as a strategic business driver. The Philippines is not that far behind. “The challenge is to get the entire organization involved in marketing”, declared Roll. “From the owners to the C-suite level, everyone should live the brand day by day.

Marketing should not just sit in the marketing department. It should sit in the boardroom.

Each department should be communicating and doing marketing confidently”. He added, “Filipinos are more communicative as a culture.

That makes you more conducive to building brands.”

He pinpointed brand categories we can excel in on a world-wide scale. “You have a lot of companies and you’ve worked with brands for 25 years. You have shown competence in fashion, financial brands, retail, technology, oil refinery products, and your airlines. That can benefit not just the tourism sector but your country’s own branding.”

ASIAN BRAND STRATEGY: A NEW PARADIGM. This module offers frameworks for understanding successful Asian branding strategies. “So look into your myth, your culture. People love to hear those stories. It’s more intriguing.”

TRANSFORMING FAMILY BUSINESSES. “Family businesses can go global, too. You all speak English. That’s the first step to globalization. Have a mindset that you’re serving diverse cultures.” When you broaden your goal, it stimulates the family organization.

In this module, marketers can learn how to lead homegrown businesses to sustained growth across multiple generations.

On October 4, Martin Roll is also expected to hold a talk with some of the country’s advertising and marketing communications students. Visit and register via www.panabrandmasters.com.

Hybrid rice firm lists Php 2-B commercial papers

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L Agritech Corp. the country’s top hybrid rice producer, yesterday listed Php 2 billion worth of commercial papers (CPs) in the Philippine Dealing Exchange Corp. (PDEx) to fund its precedent setting rice self-sufficiency program.

SL Agritech Chairman and CEO Dr. Henry Lim Bon-Liong made the ceremonial ringing of the bell together with PDS Group President Ms. Ma. Theresa Ravalo to signify the start of trading for the company’s debt notes which were four times oversubscribed.

Part of the proceeds of the commercial paper float would be used to purchase palay from farmers above par and the production of hybrid seeds to be advanced to farmers that would then be offset against their palay harvest.

SL Agritech considers itself a social enterprise that aims to alleviate the lives of farmers with its operational activities. Hybrid rice raises the palay harvest of farmers to eight to 12 tons per hectare compared to conventional rice of from three to four tons a hectare.

Lim said that the way forward for the farmers affected by the Rice Tariffication Law is to “adapt the hybrid rice technology” even

as he pointed out that the company’s “Doña Maria” rice brand is not affected by the law and continuous to be “top of mind” of rice buyers.

He said that with the increase in demand for the company’s seeds and rice, most of the proceeds of these CPs will be used to help farmers grossly affected by the recent development, to shift to hybrid rice seed technology.

SL Agritech earlier launched its Masaganang Ani 300 program where farmers who use the hybrid rice seeds vie for the Top Ten producers of at least 300 cavans of palay per hectare. The Top Ten farmers are to be feted in ceremonies set in Malacañang Palace with President Duterte honoring the winning farmers.

Lim said that the company is expanding its international operations and it has already established subsidiaries in Myanmar, Indonesia and India which continue to show great potential growth.

“I expect India to surpass Philippine performance due to its high population and large arable land area. Early this month, we also just signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Bangladesh government for the supply of our top-performing hybrid seeds,” he said.