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BSP trims 28-day term deposit offer volume on weak demand

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter

THE CENTRAL BANK has trimmed the weekly term deposit auction volume for September after demand for month-long tenor consistently remained below offer for the past months, as banks opted to channel their excess funds to loans and investments.

Banks can only bid for as much as P110 billion worth of 28-day term deposits by Sept. 6 after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reduced the offering amid tepid demand for the longer tenor. On the other hand, the volume of seven-day instruments will remain at P40 billion, with the weekly total at P150 billion.

This breaks nine straight months of the BSP’s P180-billion offering which was first set in December.

Wednesday’s auction saw both the week-long and month-long tenors go undersubscribed as total tenders scraped P142.29 billion, dropping from the previous week’s P158.171 billion and again settling below the total offering.

The seven-day tenor saw pale demand as bids totalled P32.435 billion, down from the previous week’s P40.836 billion and failing to fill the P40 billion which the BSP wanted to sell. The average yield moved sideways to 3.3162%, a tad higher than the 3.3124% seen a week ago.

Tenders for the 28-day instruments also fell to P109.855 billion coming from P117.335 billion previously, logging below the P140-billion offer since April.

Despite this, rates sought by the banks steadied at 3.4961% yesterday, compared to 3.4958% fetched during the Aug. 23 exercise.

Players sought for returns ranging from 3.45-3.5%, hovering near the ceiling rate set by the BSP.

The term deposit facility (TDF) is the central bank’s main tool to capture excess money supply in the financial system, where banks can park idle funds for a small return.

The reduced volume also comes two months after trust entities stopped bidding for term deposits following central bank rules, which effectively reduced the amount of deployable funds for the TDF.

BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. described the move as an “operational refinement” in order to reflect the continued undersubscription observed for the month-long tenor.

Pressed further, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said the trend in the turnout of the weekly TDF auctions pointed to the need to recalibrate the volume offerings in order to better reflect the amounts which banks can place under the facility.

“The decision to reduce the volume offering for the 28-day TDF is based on the recognition that the sustained economic expansion has also given rise to higher demand for credit. Banks are now lending more to their clients instead of placing their excess funds with the BSP,” Mr. Guinigundo said in a text message to reporters, adding that the lenders also used the extra cash to buy dollars for their import requirements and prepay foreign debts.

He noted, however, that domestic liquidity remains ample.

“Thus, it is the excess liquidity of the banks that has declined recently and not the domestic liquidity per se,” Mr. Guinigundo added.

“BSP therefore does not have to do as much mopping up as before because funds are being used for productive uses instead of just being parked with the BSP.”

Domestic liquidity grew by 13.2% in June alongside a 19% surge in bank lending, according to latest central bank data.

What should we tax next?

One newspaper report noted that the Finance department was looking into the proposal of an airline company for the government to remove the travel tax, particularly for departures from small airports. No further details were given, but somehow, I doubt if the proposal will actually fly. Finance, after all, seems bent on having new taxes to fund public projects.

While the government has convinced the House to lower income taxes, it wants new or additional taxes on oil and fuel, motor vehicles, and sweetened beverages, among others. And, it says, these revenues will help fund the government’s infrastructure program. To date, the Senate doesn’t appear to be as convinced as the House on the need for all these new taxes.

The logic is somewhat bent, in my opinion, if Finance opts to scrap travel taxes, for instance, when it fact part of that is already allocated or earmarked for tourism infrastructure. Aren’t we trying to raise more funds for public works, in the first place? And why raise fuel and car taxes so high that this may dampen demand. Tax collection can actually go down, rather than up.

In the same vein, why target food and drinks as a source of new taxes, which can raise food and beverage prices? Food and drinks should remain accessible, particularly for the poor. Perhaps more taxes can be collected from improving collection of existing taxes, or by adjusting rates of taxes on tobacco and liquor products, on common carriers, and on coal, among others.

I believe the Senate should seriously consider higher excise taxes on tobacco products and cigarettes, including e-cigarettes, and beer and liquor and other alcoholic products. These are precisely the kinds of consumer goods that should be made less accessible to the public, as they are known to have harmful health consequences and little to no health benefits.

On the other hand, beverages like fruit juices and 3-in-1 coffee mixes still have nutritional value, as long as consumed in moderation. So, why tax these rather than cigarettes? Moreover, these beverages invariably form part of the basic diet of most poor Filipinos nowadays, primarily because they are cheap and readily available, much like instant noodles.

Even farmers are now worried by the proposed sweet drinks tax, given its potential negative impact on agriculture in general, and not just on sugar farming. The Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Inc., in a news report, noted that the proposed sweet beverage tax would affect agricultural and rural enterprise productivity.

A call for higher taxes on cigarettes will resonate with health advocates like Sin Tax Coalition, which is proposing a 60% increase in excise taxes on tobacco products by 2018, and an annual hike of nine percent for the succeeding years. The coalition brings together about 100 health care professionals’ associations and civil-society entities supportive of higher taxes on sin products like cigarettes.

The coalition, in a news report, warned that there would be an additional one million smokers in the country by the end of President Duterte’s term in 2022 unless cigarette taxes are raised. It added that raising tobacco taxes anew would help limit additional cases of illnesses related to smoking such as lung cancer, chronic lung diseases, and stroke.

As for liquor, when a standard bottle of one’s favorite “brandy” can be still be had for less than P100, then I guess we are not taxing the item as much as we should. In terms of hierarchy, I regard liquor as a lesser evil than cigarettes, but I still think there is plenty of room for the government to hike taxes on alcoholic beverages and imported liquor.

The common carriers tax (CCT) is another major source of tax leakage. Congress should take a long and hard look at present laws and regulations and practices, and determine how best to revise the CCT system. The present 3% tax on gross receipts can still be raised to at least 5%, and then collected more efficiently under a system that relies on technology.

The CCT has significant tax collection potential. And I suspect many land transportation services like buses, jeepneys, and taxi operators, and perhaps even Grab and Uber car owners, do not correctly pay the 3% CCT, nor the equivalent 3% percentage tax on their gross receipts. Many of them may not be registered with the BIR.

If there are 200,000 jeepneys in nationwide, with their operators collecting a “boundary” of at maybe P500 per unit daily, then the 3% tax on the daily total take is P3 million. Multiply this by 300 days a year, and the government can get P900 million annually from jeepneys alone. Add to this CCT from buses, taxis, and Uber and Grab cars, shipping companies, airline companies, and trucking companies and the state can expect a hefty sum.

There is plenty of potential since under the law, gross receipts of public utility operators are not limited to what they earn in terms of “boundary.” For purposes of tax, gross receipts subject to CCT actually cover “boundary,” the earnings or “commission” of the driver, expenses for gasoline, and other expenses taken from the earnings derived in the operation of the common carriers. In short, the CCT should be collected on total gross receipts.

But nobody in Congress seems to be interested in looking into this. Not even Finance is remotely interested in improving its collection of CCT, when in fact the operations of most public transportation have a very significant negative externality that affects us all: air, water, and noise pollution. The potential collection runs up to tens of billions of pesos, I reckon.

Speaking of pollution as a negative externality to be addressed by tax, perhaps Congress should also heed the call of former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito for a higher tax on coal, noting that “taxes on fossil fuels serve as a ‘pollution tax’ that accounts for the external cost to society of increased carbon emissions into the atmosphere — the established key cause of climate change — resulting from use of such fuels.”

Habito noted that while Finance officials and lawmakers were raising excise taxes on fossil fuels like diesel, gasoline, and liquefied petroleum gas, it is leaving out coal, where the tax “has stayed the same for decades, at only P10 per ton,” and this is “because coal has always been classified as a mineral rather than a fuel, [and] is treated separately from petroleum fuels.”

Habito wrote, “Clearly, there’s a strong case for a big hike in the long-outdated excise tax on coal. With an annual domestic consumption of 15-17 million tons, the P10-per-ton coal excise tax yields less than P200 million, when it could be yielding billions if we only taxed it at even just half the rates Japan and Korea do. With an estimated 2,700 kWh generated for every ton of coal, a P10-increase in tax would raise power cost by less than half a centavo. We are missing out on a large additional revenue source here.”

Habito noted that major coal importers Japan and Korea charged a carbon tax on coal ranging from P600 to P900 per ton, while our government collected a measly P10 per ton. This small tax, Habito said, is equivalent to an effective tax rate of only about “0.2% (based on a coal price of $86 per metric ton), compared to around 10% [tax] for gasoline,” and an estimated 43% tax on natural gas from Malampaya, as a result of the 60% royalty charged on sales.

He added, “Coal, the dirtiest among [fuels], gets taxed very lightly, while the cleanest, natural gas, is effectively taxed the heaviest — a case of perverse taxation, if you ask me. How can we expect to have a cleaner environment when we penalize the cleanest fossil fuel the most, but give the dirtiest a virtual free ride?”

I fully agree with Habito on this. A higher tax on coal hits everybody, but at a rate that is manageable for all. And a higher tax allows the government to collect billions of pesos in revenues while addressing a significant negative externality, pollution. Moreover, “lifeline” rates or subsidized electricity prices minimize a coal tax’s impact on poor power consumers.

But, just like CCT, it seems that Congress and the Senate would rather skip coal and target instead diesel fuel, cars, and drinks with sugar in them.

Marvin A. Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.

matort@yahoo.com

July online hiring posts first 2017 decline

ONLINE HIRING activity fell in July, the first decline posted during the year, according to an index of Internet job postings.

The Monster Employment Index (MEI) fell 2% year on year in July, Monster.com said in a statement.

Online hiring by the retail industry rose 8% year on year in July, while activity in the advertising, market research, public relations, media and entertainment sector fell 17%, after having fallen 1% in June.

Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries posted increases at 4% each. Education, engineering, construction and real estate posted declines at 11% and 10%, respectively.

By occupational group, customer service specialists remained the most sought-after occupations with a 5% rise in online hiring.

On the other hand, human resources and administration continued to show the sharpest decline across all occupational groups at 16%.  

Finance and accounts and software, hardware and telecom followed customer service in the top occupational groups, despite posting declines at 3% and 4%, respectively.

Purchase/logistics/supply chain (12%) and marketing and communications (8%) occupations recorded the highest declines after human resources and administration.

“With growing competition from China’s presence in the global outsourcing sector, outsourcing activities within Philippines have eased, shaking the nation’s economy and contributing in part to the overall decline in hiring activity — where our MEI reported the country’s first dip this year. Additionally, weak remittances and trade deficits have weakened the peso, seeing the currency plunge to an 11-year low and further affecting hiring confidence,” Sanjay Modi, managing director of Monster.com for Asia Pacific and the Middle East said.

Mr. Modi added that economists maintain a positive outlook about the Philippines’ growth and that the retail sector will continue to perform well: “Despite being faced with multiple immediate uncertainties, economists remain hopeful about the Philippines’ growth ahead, and this suggests opportunities for foreign firms from the region, such as Singapore, to come in and tap on the nation’s solid resources and infrastructure for commercial activities. The Philippines’ retail sector in particular is doing considerably well, and this trend will likely stick through for the months ahead.” — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

Google, Apple face off over augmented reality technology

SAN FRANCISCO — Alphabet, Inc.’s Google on Wednesday unveiled tools to make augmented reality apps for mobile devices using the Android operating system, setting up its latest showdown with Apple, Inc.’s iPhone over next-generation smartphone features.

Phone-based augmented reality (AR), in which digital objects are superimposed onto the real world on screen, got a huge boost from the popularity of the Pokémon GO game. The game, launched in the United States in July last year, sent players into city streets, offices, parks and restaurants to search for colorful animated characters.

Analysts expected the game to make $3 billion for Apple over two years as gamers buy “PokéCoins” from its app store.

Google’s take on the technology will first be available on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Google’s own Pixel phone. The company said in a blog post that it hoped to make the system, called ARCore, available to at least 100 million users, but did not set a date for a broad release.

Apple in June announced a similar system called ARKit that it plans to release this fall on “hundreds of millions” of devices.

Google and Apple will jockey for the attention of customers and software developers who will build the games, walking guides and other applications that would make AR a compelling feature.

Many tech industry leaders envision a future in which eyeglasses, car windshields and other surfaces can overlay digital information on the real world. Google and Microsoft Corp. have already experimented with AR glasses.

Apple and Google have had to make compromises to bring the technology to market.

In Apple’s case, the Cupertino, California-based company decided to make its AR system work with devices capable of running iOS 11, its next-generation operating system due out this fall.

This means it will work on phones going back to the iPhone 6s, which have a single camera at the back and standard motion sensors, rather than a dual camera system found on newer models such as the iPhone 7 Plus or special depth-sensing chips in competing phones. That limits the range of images that can be displayed.

Google initially aimed to solve this problem with an AR system called Tango that uses a special depth-sensor, but only two phone makers so far support it. With ARCore, Google changed course to work on phones without depth sensors.

Michael Valdsgaard, a developer with the furniture chain IKEA, called the AR system “rock solid,” noting that it could estimate the size of virtual furniture placed in a room with 98% accuracy, despite lacking special sensors.

“This is a classic example of where Apple’s ownership of the whole widget including both hardware and software is a huge advantage over device vendors dependent on Android and the broader value chain of component vendors,” said Jan Dawson, founder and chief analyst of Jackdaw Research. — Reuters

Law of averages caught up on us, says Hotshot coach Victolero

HEAD COACH Chito Victolero doesn’t expect his team, the Star Hotshots, to have a perfect record in the ongoing PBA Governors’ Cup.

Victolero
Computer screenshot of PBA’s Facebook Live coverage of Star Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero’s post-game press conference on Aug. 23, 2017. — Facebook/@pbaofficial

They’ve been playing exceptional basketball, winning their first four games until the law of averages hit the Hotshots over the weekend when they lost to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

“Probably the law of averages caught up on us,” Mr. Victolero said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. But the effort is there.”

The Hotshots shot only 37% from the field with veteran gunner PJ Simon and spitfire guard Mark Barroca hardly making a contribution.

Aside from struggling offensively last time out, the Hotshots are also adjusting on the inclusion of comebacking veteran Marc Pingris, who has played more minutes since being idle for five months because of a hip injury.

“That’s another thing we’ve been working on. We’ve been trying to integrate him more because he has not played for the past five months,” added Mr. Victolero.

But Mr. Victolero remains positive on their chances of reaching the top four. He has to prepare his team more on their next big game against Barangay Ginebra, a team which denied the Hotshots of an outright finals entry.

“We’re very positive of our top four aspirations. It’s just one game and even though we lost against Rain or Shine, we were able to fight back from a 20-point lead, but just ran out of time,” he added. — Rey Joble

In The Market (08/31/17)

Skinny cookies

MONDELEZ Philippines, Inc. focuses on a new young adult target audience with Oreo Thins, a grown-up, more sophisticated version of the sandwich cookie, made of delicate, thinner cookies with a layer of signature Oreo crème. Weighing only 5.9 grams and measuring only 7.2 mm, they are available in Vanilla Delight and Tiramisu flavors for P41.50 per box.

Fancy olive oil

OLIVIERS&CO. introduces its 2017 Grand Crus collection of limited edition bottles which showcase some of the finest olive oils from Italy, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, and France. The Gold Harvest Collection are all from exceptional groves located exclusively in Tuscany. The French oils from Provence and Corsica, are rare and make up less than 1% of world production. The other Grand Crus include the floral Frantoio Galantino from Italy; Lakudia from Greece; and A Capela Dos Olivias from Portugal. O&Co. boutiques are located in Central Square, Bonifacio High Street, and Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center Makati City.

Egg scare costs Dutch poultry farmers €33M

A man holding an egg in Lille, northern France. The tainted-eggs scandal that swept Europe this month saw millions of eggs destroyed and caused tens of millions of euros in damage. — AFP

EUROPE’S contaminated egg scare has cost Dutch poultry farmers at least €33 million ($39 million), according to a preliminary estimate by the government.

The scare, triggered by the presence of the insecticide fipronil in eggs, has spread to 18 European countries and even reached as far away as Hong Kong.

“Direct costs to the (Dutch) poultry sector where fipronil was used are estimated at €33 million,” Health Minister Edith Schippers and deputy economy minister Martijn van Dam said in a letter to parliament.

“Of this, €16 million is as a result of the subsequent ban while €17 million derives from measures to rid farms of fipronil contamination,” the ministers said.

Poultry farms on average suffered initial damages of between €120,000 to €200,000, the ministers said.

Their findings are based on an investigation by Wageningen University’s Economic Research Unit.

The estimate does not include nonfarmers in the poultry sector, nor does it take into account further losses in production by farms.

Wednesday’s letter also said investigators from the Dutch Food and Goods watchdog found that Chickfriend, the company that allegedly cleaned chicken pens with fipronil, used a second toxic substance called amitraz.

The insecticide, a mildly toxic chemical used to kill flies, was found to have been used on a single cattle farm that also held chickens, but was not found in the farm’s poultry section, the letter stressed.

“The slaughter of calves at the farm has been suspended until the outcome of the amitraz investigation,” it added

Two owners of Chickfriend briefly appeared in court in connection with the case last week and remain in custody.

Lawmakers are due to debate the fall-out from the crisis on Thursday.

Earlier this month, a Dutch farming federation estimated total damages to be at least €150 million.

The Dutch Farmers and Gardener’s Federation on Wednesday wrote a letter to Van Dam, saying farmers urgently needed assistance as they were facing financial ruin.

“The consequences for the affected businesses are huge,” said Federation Chairman Eric Hubers in a letter which was sent to AFP.

The businesses “are being hit by high costs and face bankruptcy if they get no financial support,” said Hubers, whose federation represents some 50,000 farmers across all sectors.

Millions of eggs have been pulled from supermarket shelves and destroyed across Europe and dozens of poultry farms closed since the fipronil contamination was made public at the start of the month.

Commonly used to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks from animals, fipronil is banned by the European Union from use in the food industry.

The issue has sparked a row between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, the three countries at the centre of the crisis, about how long officials knew about the problem.

Belgium has accused the Netherlands of having detected contaminated eggs as far back as November but keeping it quiet. The Netherlands has said it was tipped off about the use of fipronil in pens but did not know it was in eggs.

Belgium meanwhile has admitted it knew about fipronil in eggs in early June but kept it secret because of a fraud investigation.

Belgium became the first country to officially notify the EU’s food safety alert system on July 20, followed by the Netherlands and Germany, but the news did not go public until Aug. 1. — AFP

Golden Haven names new president

GOLDEN HAVEN Memorial Park, Inc. named Maribeth C. Tolentino as its new president, after Jerry M. Navarette stepped down from the post.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, the Villar-led listed company said Mr. Navarette resigned as president and director “to focus on another endeavor.” Prior to her appointment, Ms. Tolentino was the company’s chief operating officer.

Mr. Navarette is also the president and chief executive officer of another Villar-owned company Starmalls, Inc.

Camille A. Villar, daughter of Golden Haven founder and chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr., was also elected as director, filling the seat vacated by Mr. Navarette.

Golden Haven, which is involved in memorial park development and death care services, saw its net income grow 24% in the first half of 2017. Revenues jumped 13% to P473 million, driven by higher memorial lot and columbarium sales.

The company completed the construction of the Golden Haven Memorial Chapel and Crematorium in the San Ezekiel complex in the first half of the year.

To date, Golden Haven has launched eight memorial park developments, with a total area of over 66 hectares, throughout the country.

Ahead of time

No longer is traffic useful as an excuse for being late. It’s too trite. On the other hand, can fear of traffic and making too ample an allowance for its dilatory effect cause one to arrive too early for an appointment?

Given our penchant for “Filipino time,” is tardiness more forgivable than being too punctual or worse being ahead of time?

Showing up on the dot at the time indicated on the invitation is likely to land one in the company of caterers fixing tablecloths or a surprised host coming out of the bedroom in their boxer shorts. (Is the dinner for tonight?)

The early bird invites the same disconcerted stare accorded to a burglar that has managed to elude the guards.

Those who take time seriously clash with the majority who carelessly take invitations that specify time as a form of an inside joke. Stated start times are like the appliance store’s recommended sticker prices which are there only to be routinely slashed for a 30% discount.

The early bird is punished. His compulsive punctuality is a social blight that requires him to affect an appearance of looking only mildly bored rather than stressed. While waiting for a late lunch companion, Mr. Punctuality is repeatedly approached by a waiter for his order, if only to justify depriving hovering guests outside (please wait to be seated) of a table occupied by someone staring at the entrance with the concentration of a retarded dog, willing the absent master to come and rescue him from humiliation. (Sir, here’s a basket of complimentary bread to occupy you.)

Looking at the watch and loudly clicking the tongue are uncontrollable tics. Such body language communicates to the curious table nearby that Mr. P actually has a purpose-driven life. He sends texts to the absent companion — I’m in the last chapter of Brothers Karamazov. Ordering soup, while waiting for the late mate, is a bad move. It concedes defeat and surrenders to the premise that Mr. P is really eating by himself as if waiting for an imaginary friend. Why else did he bring a thick book?

When finally the late mate shows up, she is not at all stressed. She may go through the motions of an apology — I had to finish watching the director’s cut of Lord of the Rings. If I leave it, I lose track of the characters’ names. This flimsy expected is expected to be accepted without a fuss, accompanied by an accusation — you’re always too early.

The early bird has to be rid of his socially unaccepted behavior. If everybody agrees to be late, why not simply join them, adopt the practice, and move the posted time by an hour, or if this seems to radical, maybe, 45 minutes. The solution is simplicity itself.

But… what if posted time is in fact the expected hour? What if there is already a budding social movement to extend the courtesy of punctuality in all appointments both business and social? Should the early bird not show solidarity with them?

Mr. Punctuality is incorrigible. He sets the alarm and wakes up ahead of the ring. He is restless when he has an appointment and knows he needs to work backwards and determine when he should get ready and figure out travel time to make it to a meeting on time, allowing for a an upended 10-wheeler truck blocking the traffic and dealing with a motorcycle dinging his side mirror.

Still, socially acceptable local laggards here manage to be punctual when traveling to other cultures, managing to get to their train schedules and showing up for the lobby pickup by the local tour guide.

Certain business appointments also require timeliness. The conference call that engages twenty people from all around the world to discuss financial results require synchronized punctuality.

One is occasionally rewarded by like-minded friends who show up at the agreed time. Sometimes, there are even more punctual freaks that arrive at the meeting place 15 minutes ahead of time. They can show some slack — you’re not late, my friend. I’m just a little early. Of course, next time, the merely punctual one will be ahead of time too.

As part of the list of characteristics for a utopian world, it will be latecomers who will be given the bewildered stare — do you have another meeting here?

A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Mayor Moreno slapped with more graft charges as dismissal order under appeal

FORMER MISAMIS Oriental governor Oscar S. Moreno, now the mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, will be facing more graft charges in connection with the lease of heavy equipment from 2007 to 2012, which the Commission on Audit (CoA) has disallowed. In 16 separate resolutions, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered the filing before the Sandiganbayan of 18 counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) against Mr. Moreno. In related administrative cases, the Ombudsman has already held Mr. Moreno guilty of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and falsification of public documents, among other charges. He was ordered dismissed from service in early June and meted the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification from holding public office, forfeiture of retirement benefits, cancellation of eligibility, and bar from taking civil service examination. The dismissal order is under a pending reconsideration case before the Court of Appeals. Included as Mr. Moreno’s co-accused are several former provincial officials, namely: Divina Bade, Cancio Guibone, Elmer Wabe, Patrick Gabutina, Rolando Pacuribot, Danilo Maputol, Elsie Lopoy, and Administrative Aide Leemar Tinagan. The COA Special Audit Report on equipment rental of the provincial government of Misamis Oriental for 2007 to 2012 “revealed that the road maintenance program of the province received the biggest share of the non-office projects and that the expenses for rental equipment is the third-biggest expenditure under maintenance and other operating expenses. The CoA also stated that the disbursements for equipment rental were irregular, with transactions amounting to P20,500,000.00 considered as fictitious as suppliers denied participation in the bidding process.” Mr. Moreno and his co-accused provincial officials also allegedly did not conduct any public bidding for the multi-million peso lease deals.

Scientists unveil virtual reality game to detect Alzheimer’s

LONDON — Sea Quest Hero is more than just the usual computer game in which players find their way through mazes, shoot and chase creatures — it also doubles as scientists’ latest tool for studying Alzheimer’s disease.

Sea Hero Quest
Computer screenshot of Sea Hero Quest

The game — downloadable from Aug. 30 in its virtual reality version — seeks to stimulate players’ brains through a series of tasks based on memory and orientation skills, while gathering data to research dementia.

One of the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s is loss of navigational skills. But data comparing cognitive response across a broad spectrum of ages is rare, and this is what the game seeks to provide.

The game — billed as the “largest dementia study in history” — has been developed by Deutsche Telekom, Alzheimer’s Research UK and scientists from University College London and the University of East Anglia.

The mobile version, which came out in 2016, has already been downloaded three million times in 193 countries.

Playing the game for just two minutes, the website said, generates the same amount of data scientists would take five hours to collect in similar lab-based research.

With the equivalent of 63 years already played, scientists now have some 9,500 years worth of dementia research to go through.

“That gave us an enormous amount of information and it really allowed us to understand how men and women of different ages navigate in the game,” David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, told AFP.

Resolving the tasks requires the use of “different parts of your brain and different parts of your brain are used in different ways by different types of dementia — so it allows us to link what someone can do to what is going on in their brain,” Reynolds added.

50 MILLION SUFFERERS
The addition of virtual reality will provide yet another layer of data.

“The headset technology is helping to track where the person is looking at all times as well as where they’re going,” Lauren Presser, one of the game’s producers, told AFP.

Nearly 50 million people around the world suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s according to the latest estimates. This figure could balloon to 132 million by 2050.

Game’s creators hope it could eventually enable diagnosis and treatments of patients far earlier than is currently possible.

“We know keeping your brain fit and active, like keeping your body fit and active, is good and is helping to reduce your risk of dementia or slowing its progression down if you have it,” he said. — AFP

REVIEW: Fitbit Flex 2

When Fitbit introduced the Flex 2 in late 2016, Fitbit fans rejoiced because the pioneering maker of wearable fitness trackers has finally introduced a swim-proof fitness device. Not only that, Fitbit wanted to step up its game (pun intended) and make the Flex 2 a fashionable wearable by coming up with accessory options, which included colored bands, metallic bangles and necklaces. Did Fitbit succeed in rolling out the ultimate wear-it-anywhere fitness accessory? Read on.

DESIGN
Compared to Fitbit Flex, which was launched in 2013, the Flex 2 comes with a slimmer band that has textured surface and rounded edges. The thinness of the band and its edges don’t trap sweat as much as a flat band would, which helps minimize that vinegar-like (sweaty) smell that rubber strap leaves behind every time you take it off your wrist – something Fitbit users often complain about. (I reviewed the Fitbit Charge 2 before and I had the ‘smelly wrist’ problem, especially after working out, which was why I found it necessary to wash the band frequently before putting it on again on my way to work.)

The Flex 2 is easy to put on (it’s a struggle to take off, however), and it’s light as a feather. I’d often forget that I have it on unless it vibrates to remind me to get up and move. Now, the notification can be tricky, and since the Flex 2 doesn’t have a screen, it took me a while to become familiar with its five colored lights indicator. More on this later.

Included in the box is the Fitbit mini tracker, a short charging cable, and two Classic Fitbit wristbands (large and small). Aside from black, three other colored bands (navy, gray and yellow) can be purchased as a set for P1,490 via Lazada.com.ph. For those who want turn the Flex 2 into a piece of jewelry, Fitbit’s online store sells Flex 2 metallic bangles and necklace with a pendant. With prices ranging from $80 to $100, these accessories come in stainless steel, 22-karat gold plated, and 22-karat rose gold plated variants.

PERFORMANCE
Setting up the Flex 2 requires you to install the free Fitbit mobile app first, where the device will have to be synced regularly to monitor your progress. Here, Fitbit will require you to create an account and answer some questions. The app will use your answers for various calculations, such as stride lengths to estimate distance and basal metabolic rate to estimate calorie burn. Once you’ve set your fitness goals and the app has analyzed your personal data, the app will create scheduled notifications on the fitness tracker to give you gentle reminders and keep you moving towards your goal.

Flex 2’s core features can be seen on the app’s dashboard. It will show you how the device records your daily physical activities: how many steps you’ve made during the day, how much calories you’ve burned, how much sleep you’ve had, as well as your exercise history. For the latter, Fitbit automatically recognizes a range of exercises, which includes Pilates and swimming. Alas, the Flex 2 doesn’t come with a heart rate monitor like Fitbit’s premium models do.

Since a screen is absent, the Flex 2’s alert system takes A LOT of getting used to. When I say a lot, we’re talking about agonizing first few weeks of trying to memorize the light patterns to understand what the Flex 2 wants to tell you every time it calls your attention. Don’t believe me? Here’s one of the many Flex 2’s light indicators from Fitbit’s website:

“Tap your Flex 2 to see your progress towards your daily activity goal. Each solid white light represents 25% of your goal, so for example, if your goal is 10,000 steps and you see four white lights, you’ve gone at least 7500 steps. When you reach your goal Flex 2 vibrates and the lights flash in celebration. If you check your progress after you’ve surpassed your goal you’ll see a flashing green light and four white lights.”

And that’s just for your progress. If you want call alerts on the device, Fitbit says the Flex 2 will vibrate twice and you’ll see a pattern of one blue light and four white lights repeated four times, or until you answer the call or double tap Flex 2 to dismiss the notification. Still not confused? Don’t get me started on the indicator for charging the device.

At times, I had to give up on the notifications and just open the app to see what the tracker recorded for the day. It felt like checking your answering machine and listening to voice messages.

The confusing notifications aside, the Flex 2 has some nifty features. Unlike the Fitbit Charge 2, this wearable tracker is so light that I could wear it all day; I could even sleep with it. Its battery also lasts 4-5 days before recharging, which is long enough for me.

I also find the sleep tracking feature very useful since I have an irregular sleeping habit, which I only realized upon reading the app’s weekly report of my sleeping hours.

The automatic tracking of different activities is also useful although at times it mistakenly identifies certain activities as exercises. The Flex 2, for one, thought I did “outdoor biking” for a few minutes when, in fact, I only drove my way to work. I didn’t mind since Fitbit rewarded me with a Sneakers badge because of it.

What the Flex 2 does well, however, is its ability to track swimming. The device can record a swimmer’s pace and the distance covered. The Flex 2 worked okay even for a novice swimmer like me, although Fitbit says there might be inconsistencies in one’s swim data log if the swimmer takes a break often if one changes the swimming style. On its website, Fitbit recommends continuous swimming and freestyle swimming for the Flex 2 to produce consistent data.

The Fitbit app uses a gaming reward system that sends badges every time you hit a milestone or crush a goal. It also suggests other Fitbit apps that work well with the device such as the Fitstar Personal Trainer, which helps if someone doesn’t have time to go the gym.

VERDICT
The Flex 2 works great as an everyday wearable because it’s discreet enough for the wearer to forget it’s there. It’s a basic fitness tracker that delivers on its promises despite the complicated notification system and the lack of a heart rate monitor, which most fitness trackers have. If you’re looking for a full-fledged fitness tracking device, you’ll have to turn to the Flex 2’s bigger and more expensive siblings, but if you’re a swimmer and you need your tracker to report just the basic stats, this is it.

Fitbit Flex 2 retails for P5,490. What’s included: tracker, charging cable, two wristbands (large and small)