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Johnson extends lead midway through third round in Atlanta

DUSTIN Johnson had three front nine birdies to move to 15-under par, four shots clear of Justin Thomas midway through his third round of the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday.

The hard-hitting American, who started the day with a one stroke lead, hit a 155-yard approach shot on the par-four third that landed five feet from the hole and was able to convert the putt for his first birdie.

He followed that with birdies on the par-four seventh and par-three ninth while avoiding any bogeys on the front nine.

He is being chased by former FedExCup champion Thomas, who mixed an eagle, two birdies and two bogeys in his first nine holes to sit at 12-under par at the turn.

The winner from this week’s elite 30-player field will be crowned FedExCup champion and take home $15 million. — Reuters

Here’s how airlines can attract passengers again

By Joe Nocera

A REFRAIN I’ve heard a lot these past six months is how great it’s been not to have to travel. People who were frequent fliers before the pandemic usually add that they now realize that, thanks to Zoom and its rivals, a lot of travel isn’t truly necessary anymore. Maybe some of it never was.

Yes, lawyers need to conduct trials in person — but it’s a waste of time and money to fly across the country for, say, a one-hour scheduling conference. Sales representatives might need to fly to a client’s location to close a deal, but simply checking in on existing ones can be done remotely. A company off-site meeting? Sure, gather the troops in one place. But a staff meeting? It is easier — and often more productive — to hold a video conference. Most consequences of the pandemic have been awful, but the drastic reduction in business travel especially has been a revelation.

Which is why I had to laugh when I read that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. was eliminating the much-hated “change fee” — the $200 it charges customers who book flights and then need to change them. A number of other airlines, including Delta Air Lines, Inc. and American Airlines Group, Inc. quickly followed suit. United vowed that it would not reinstate the fee once the virus has been conquered. Delta’s Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said in a statement, “We want our customers to book and travel with peace of mind, knowing that we’ll continue evaluating our policies to maintain the high standard of flexibility they expect.”

And to think, it only took a 70% drop in business for the airline industry to get rid of a fee that customers absolutely loathed. The domestic industry generated $2.8 billion in fee revenue last year, according to Bloomberg News, a big chunk of which were change fees. That sounds like a lot until you realize that it amounts to 1.5% of the industry’s $190 billion in annual revenue.

In truth, change fees aren’t going to make much difference to the business traveler, nor is their elimination going to make air travel less painful for the rest of us. So let me suggest a few other customer-friendly moves airlines might make to revive the business:

More legroom. You want to know what really infuriates passengers? Spending an entire flight with one’s knees pushed up against the seat in front of them. The distance between seats is called “pitch,” and it has been shrinking since the early 1980s. The standard pitch was once a luxurious 36 inches; now on most of the legacy carriers it is 29 or 30 inches unless you pay extra for more comfortable seats. Creating more legroom (which also means passengers can lean back without breaking someone’s knees) would make customers quite happy, even if it did mean fewer seats on each plane.

More comfortable seats. You’ve no doubt noticed how thin the padding is on your seat — and how uncomfortable. That’s another one of those things airlines have gradually done to maximize profits at the expense of their customers — they have installed seats that are both narrower and thinner than they used to be. Your elbow is always bumping into the person next to you, and if you’re in a middle seat, the flight is a minor form of torture.

Enough with the cheese platters. Can we please have real food again?

Bigger bathrooms. When you get to the point that you can’t turn around in an aircraft bathroom without touching the walls, things have gone too far. Aircraft bathrooms aren’t the biggest of deals, but when you need to use one, they are just another small reminder that the airline industry simply hasn’t cared about customer comfort in a very long time.

No more 50-pound weight limit. I mean, c’mon. You’re at the gate, you put your suitcase on the scale, and it weighs 56 pounds. To avoid having to pay an additional $100, you put your suitcase on the floor and start pulling out items so that your luggage will be under the weight limit. Of course, those items will still be on the plane, but they will be carried on instead of checked. It’s nuts. (While I’m on the subject, how about making checked luggage free, and charging for carry-on? Among other things, that would make boarding an airplane much faster and easier.)

Everything I’ve just suggested would deprive the airlines of some recurring revenue. It would probably cause their stock prices to sink (or, rather, sink further). But so what? The airline industry has been consolidating for decades to the point where only four major US carriers are left. As they have made flying an increasingly miserable experience, and as they’ve nickel-and-dimed customers every step of the way, they’ve done so in concert. They’ve focused far more on profits than on passengers. Now that has to change.

I seriously doubt the business traveler will ever come back in the numbers that flew before the pandemic. Why would they, now that they’ve seen the light? And the industry is not likely to make the kind of money it has made the past half-dozen years.

The rest of us will start flying again eventually. But it’s not going to happen until the airlines prove they truly care about their customers. Eliminating change fees is just the start.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

A whole new world: Reigniting the stalled global economy

 

“Once upon a time, there was a world where resources abound, where there were spaces to explore and enable innovations and creativity, where there were ‘rulers’ who governed with responsibility and accountability, where greed was just the villain in bedtime stories, and where the people were guided by their values in going after their dreams, all living in comfort and harmony. Then a plague cast a cloud in that world and left destruction and deaths in its wake. And things were never the same again.”

The coronavirus will probably be the first to cry “fake news.” Clearly, that was not the world it descended to and now occupies. Rather, the world is a place where the wealth is in the hands of not even 2% of the population, while the rest languish in poverty and inequality. It is a world bearing the brunt of climate change that causes worsening weather patterns — and all because in the search for progress and prosperity, resources were used without regard for the ecosystem; where carbon footprints are off the chart and where the environment and nature are the sacrificial lambs. It is a world where dissension and conflict, discrimination and distrust, discontent, and disenchantment have become societal norms rather than exceptions.

And then, with just one cough, the virus took over and stopped the world from turning.

No one will dispute that months into the COVID-19 war, that little invisible viral speck is still winning. The numbers are still going up, even as we wait, almost hourly, for a stronger indicator that we are starting to turn the bend. In an uncertain future, the only certainty is that the collateral damage will be huge.

The health crisis has metastasized into the economy and effective management means adopting a treatment plan in stages:

• Palliative (pain relievers or quick fixes). Just like the flu, coughs and colds, fevers, etc., COVID-19 will run its course; the first line of defense is easing the symptoms. The interventions, such as the health measures and restrictions being imposed, financial and social assistance being adopted, are all implemented to control the spread. These palliative measures caused and continue to send shock waves in the economy as it effectively stopped activities that rippled throughout the ecosystem it supports.

• Curative (antibiotics). We have yet to see an easing of the number of cases but obviously, there is an imperative to reopen and resume economic activities soonest to stem the bleeding. A regimen of “medication” is being prescribed not only to treat the symptoms but also to manage the causes. The stimulus plan of the government, the business continuity measures, the safety and hygiene protocols, etc. — these are all parts of recovery and restoration measures being undertaken to “transfuse blood” and get the economy out of the ICU.

• Preventive (maintenance). Steps must be taken to inoculate/vaccinate from future occurrences/recurrences. The pandemic revealed the weaknesses in the structure and therefore, strategies and implementing actions must be planned to ensure that when crisis or disasters will happen again (and they will), these repercussions can be contained. At the very least, we will only be mildly hurt.

For now, we all brace ourselves for what is yet to come. It will be an economic fall-out that experts and opinion makers are already saying will be equal to, if not topping the depression experienced in the 1930s. Judging by the revised forecasts and data coming out, the outlook indeed looks bleak and very uncertain.

The “casualties of war” will tell a grim story of lives disrupted, job losses, business closures, and loved ones forever lost without a chance for their families to say goodbye. The pandemic flipside will also be a narrative of how the health frontliners risk their lives to attend to the sick, of the support army of housekeepers, store staff, delivery force, garbage collectors and many more, who rose to the call for service just when the world needed them most. It will also show how resilient people can become, able to find ways and means to survive and overcome the challenges. In the end, it will be all about who got hit the hardest and who will bear the brunt in the long run.

The fairytale is a world we wish we are inhabiting; that we are imagining. If that world was just in one’s imagination before the pandemic, what will then be the context of the re-imagination? It cannot be going back to where we started. We must reflect on the lessons that we hopefully learned from our months of enforced hibernation: there is no going back to what was, but there is also a huge opportunity to change what will be.

This period in our history highlights the best and the worst in individuals, in leaders and in societies. There are those who helped the disadvantaged — and those who took advantage (in spades); those who put the welfare of others at the core of decisions and actions, and those who are willing to put the health and well-being of people on the line for personal gain; those who got richer riding on the wave of others’ miseries, unabashedly strutting the personal wealth even a small fraction of which could have been a poor country’s entire GDP.

For the business community, the imperative of the dawning of a new age is expanding the meaning of Capitalism. It is time to ensure that CAPITAL will be guided by the ISM — Inclusiveness, Sustainability and Moral Compass. Dov Seidman’s words captured it well: “The business of business can no longer just be business. Everything is now personal; the business of business is therefore society. Mission and margin, profit and principle, success and significance are now inextricably linked. In the fused world, how we behave, how we operate, how we govern, and how we relate to people and communities, matter more than ever. Going forward, businesses are going to compete on trust, on responsibility, and on creating and maintaining deep relationships with their stakeholders rooted in shared truths and values.”

The world is now cautiously reopening its doors — and soon, we will have clear indicators of the extent of damage the pandemic will be leaving (hopefully) in its wake. We are dealing not only with a health pandemic; we are also witnessing the tensions and political posturing that will only exacerbate the problems at a time when we all need to focus on reigniting the stalled global economy.

The question is where to begin. Hopefully, those decisions, solutions, and actions we take today will not become the burden of future generations. And maybe, if we get it right this time, we may have our happily ever after. too.

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) International CEO Web Conference, co-presented with San Miguel Corp., hopes to offer some insights and ignite a spark in these discussions. Thought leaders were invited to provide inputs that can help us traverse the slow road to recovery. No one will have all the answers, but ideas can surely help. Those joining us on Sept. 15 (8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.) are: Dr. Thierry Apoteker, Chairman and Chief Economist of TAC Economics who will discuss “Geo-economic Shifts: Ripples and Waves Across the Globe”; Amal Alamuddin Clooney, barrister, special envoy, Global Media Freedom, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who will discuss “Media Freedom in Global Crisis: News Interpreters or Opinion Framers”; Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General, Association of Southeast

Asian Nations (ASEAN) who will discuss “ASEAN in Times of Crisis: Greater Integration, Unity and Solidarity in Adversity”; Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, Sustainable Development Solutions Network who will talk about the “ASEAN’s Challenges in a New Geopolitical Era”; and, Blair H. Sheppard, Global Leader, Strategy and Leadership, PwC UK, who will discuss “Business in the New Economic Universe: Rebuilding Amidst Changed Global Dynamics.”

No need to register. You may watch the conference for free via Facebook Live (facebook.com/map.org.ph) or YouTube (youtube.com/TheMAPph). For inquiries, please contact the MAP Secretariat via map@map.org.ph or mapceoconference@map.org.ph.

 

Alma Rita R. Jimenez is Chair of the MAP CEO Conference Committee, former Undersecretary of the Department of Tourism, and the President of the ASEAN Society Philippines.

map@map.org.ph

alma.almadrj@gmail.com

http://map.org.ph

Why is distraction an effective way to demobilize movements?

 

For decades, scholars in social movements have been struggling to know why and how movements mobilize. Their earlier works have been useful in informing us about the importance of social problems and how and what type of “collective behavior” and calculated “collective action” would emerge to address them. Subsequent scholars have also looked at the relevance of “resources,” “opportunities” to intervene, and the existing “political processes” for the emergence, changes, and decline of movements. Later on, a new breed of theorists offered claims and theories that focus on the role of “identities,” schema of ideas or “framings” and their alignments, “emotions,” among other things, in understanding contemporary social movements.

In terms of demobilizing movements, many social scientists have already informed us of how “state repression,” patronage politics, and “resource curse,” to name a few, tend to counter the growth and expansion of movements through sheer physical violence, unequal political access, control of resources, etc. These works were valuable in telling us of how contemporary movements struggle to survive or remain relevant especially in facing a powerful government, counter movements, and other stakeholders in the society.

From this discussion, I am here to talk about a point that would be helpful for contemporary movements especially with their mobilization efforts vis-à-vis populist leaders and forces — “movement distraction.” I define “movement distraction” as a specific demobilizing tactic used by governments or counter-movements that forces a movement to respond to a predetermined issue which is known to be contentious to that targeted movement. The demobilizing effect comes from the predicted issue framing, usage of repertories, perception of “opportunities” and “threats,” among other things, that are inherently conditioned by the ideological orientation, political cause, alignments, and dispositions of the social movement involved.

Movement distraction is oriented toward redirecting the mobilization of political movements to an issue that is innocuous to the government or a counter-movement through the exercise of agenda-setting power or the limitation of the scope of the engagement of opposing actors within a particular political issue that is favorable to the one exercising this tactic. This digression therefore implies the existence of an objective condition or an issue that the government or counter-movement does not want the opposing groups to know of or to mobilize on. This important issue is assumed to be harmful or destructive on the part of the government or counter-movement — thus must always remain hidden within the purview of social movements.

This point of “movement distraction,” I believe, is what explains why distraction is an effective way to demobilize movements. Social movements — groups that are supposed to push for a change in the existing policies, advocate for the radicalization of problems, engage the government on contentious issues, among others, are constantly demobilized by governments due to the following. First, random appearance of a new issue that is closely identified to a major social movement. What is interesting about this is that this issue activation usually happens after or even before the initial exposure of a political issue that has the potential of creating a crisis to the government. So, upon closer look, this appearance of a new issue is not really random. It is actually a calculated one. Its purpose is to redirect the attention of social movements on a more critical issue.

Second, to further this effort, governments and counter movements will gather all their attention and focus on this new issue to force social movements to shift their resources too. In this stage, governments usually employ raw power and speed to force social movements to mount a quick yet unplanned response. With this ploy, social movements are forced to pull out some of their resources from an existing mobilization (old issue) — depleting the overall logistics, manpower, etc. of their organization. Worst of all, because of this sudden mobilization, social movements are forced to use their old tactics, strategies, framings, etc. — making them so predictable in the eyes of the government and counter-movements.

Lastly, while these social movements are engaging the government on their issue, what happens next is that they tend to lose sight or lose interest to other issues, especially that political issue that has the potential of creating a crisis. This strategy is effective because the government uses issue activation and their own resource mobilization just to prevent social movements from mobilizing on the more objective political crisis that they are trying to control or handle. The assumption here is that the more the government pulls in resources, the more social movement mobilization will be.

This rough sketch of the situation involving the government, movements and the kind of issues that they are contesting on, I hope, gives a sense of how this “movement distraction” has become an effective counter-movement strategy that involves not just the control of the spaces of interaction but also the shrewd way of managing political resources of an actor. What social movements should realize from this lesson is that governments today are capable of using both physical violence and agenda-setting power.

 

Arjan P. Aguirre is an Instructor at the Department of Political Science, School of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University. He handles courses on Politics and Governance, History of Political Theory, Contemporary Political Theories, Electoral Reform, and Social Movements. He is currently based in London to finish his second masters degree, MSc in Comparative Politics, at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) under the Chevening Scholarships, the UK government’s global scholarship.

aaguirre@ateneo.edu

Australia warns of more economic pain

AUSTRALIA’S GOVERNMENT warned of mounting hardship as Victoria state announced only a gradual easing of one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns, with key sectors of the economy under controls until at least the end of October.

Retail, hospitality, tourism and entertainment will be restricted state-wide and the 5 million residents of Melbourne will face stay-at-home orders until Oct. 26, or until there are fewer than 5 new COVID-19 cases a day. Office staff will be told to work from home until at least Nov. 23, under the roadmap announced by state Premier Daniel Andrews.

“If we open up too fast then we have a very high likelihood that we’re not really opening up at all, we’re just beginning a third wave,” Mr. Andrews told reporters Sunday. “We have to take steady and safe steps out of lockdown.”

Victoria is at the epicenter of a renewed outbreak in Australia that’s hurting Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s attempts to drag the economy out of its first recession in almost 30 years. While Germany and France are staunchly opposed to fresh lockdowns even as cases surge, Victoria has opted for even tighter controls second-time around, imposing a night-time curfew on the state capital.

While the measures are working, cutting the daily tally of new cases from a peak of 687 in early August to just 41 reported Monday, they are taking a heavy economic toll. The second-most populous state contributes about one-quarter of Australia’s gross domestic product, but is isolated from the rest of the country after other states closed their borders against a spike in community transmission.

Mr. Morrison, who is pushing for states to lift border restrictions to help kick-start an economic revival, said the move to extend lockdown measures was “hard and crushing news,” for the people of Victoria that would have a further economic cost.

He stressed the need for strong contact tracing, noting that Victoria lagged the capabilities of neighboring New South Wales, which was managing to control clusters and keep its economy largely open.

The Business Council of Australia called on Mr. Andrews to move quicker to re-open businesses and get the state economy moving again. The Australian Industry Group called the roadmap “a document of despair for industry and their employees.”

“There will be catastrophic economic, health and social damage caused by the continued lockdown and prospect of more months of sharply diminished activity,” Chief Executive Officer Innes Willox said.

Across the state, people have been ordered to stay at home except for essential work, medical care, provisions, or exercise since early August. Melbourne has been under even tighter restrictions, with a nighttime curfew and large parts of its retail and manufacturing sectors shuttered.

The first changes, which take effect from Sept. 14, include a lengthening of permitted outdoor exercise time to two hours, and an allowance for two people or a household to meet outside.

A further easing of restrictions, including a phased re-opening of schools and childcare centers, is planned for Sept. 28. Opening up beyond that will depend on the state meeting targets for reducing the rate of new infections.  

The Melbourne curfew and stay-at-home orders will be fully lifted on Oct. 26, as long as the daily average is lower than five new cases and fewer than five infections have been reported from unknown sources in the previous 14 days.

Australia’s first lockdown, which lasted roughly from March to May, was one of the most successful in the world, bringing down the number of cases to just a handful a day nationwide. But security failures at quarantine hotels for returning travelers and poor communication of critical information to migrant communities allowed the virus to roar back in Victoria. — Bloomberg

Death knell sounds for Japan’s oldest department stores

TOKYO — After more than three centuries in business, the Onuma department store in the northern Japanese city of Yamagata began bankruptcy proceedings this year — one of many distinguished department stores across the country in dire straits.

Known for fancy food halls, luxury items, impeccable service and, in their heyday, rooftop attractions to entertain families, Japan’s department stores have been in a long slow decline as shopping habits change.

Now the coronavirus pandemic, just as it has forced US retailers such as Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus into bankruptcy, is hammering nails into coffins for some — particularly those in regional areas.

Last month, 146-year-old Nakago closed the doors of its last remaining store in Fukushima city, also in the north, while Izutsuya Co. Ltd., a chain in the southern city of Kitakyushu, shuttered one of its two main stores.

“Everyone agrees it’s very disappointing, but the truth is that people haven’t been shopping at these stores lately,” said Shuhei Yamashita, a retail consultant who hopes to buy the Onuma department store from creditors and turn it around.

This year, with consumers wary of shopping and tourism decimated amid the pandemic, sales have plunged. Industry sales dropped by a fifth in July from a year earlier and policymakers fear more store closures and bankruptcies are inevitable.

Even before this year’s woes, Japanese department stores have struggled to stay relevant, selling items such as $10,000 kimonos and posh tableware to maintain their cachet even as consumer tastes have turned towards more informal items. At the same time, consumers have taken much of their shopping online.

Both industry-wide sales and store numbers have tumbled 30% since 1999. Some of the country’s 203 department stores have also drastically shrunk floor space by bringing in other tenants.

Big national chains and stores in major cities haven’t been immune. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., for example, has closed several stores over the past decade and said in March it would close a Mitsukoshi store in downtown Tokyo next year.

However, it is the prospects for regional stores and the implications for their local economies — already wracked by decades of deflation, anaemic growth and an exodus of young people searching for better jobs — which are causing the most concern.

Policymakers fret store failures may sow seeds of crisis, exacerbating pain felt throughout a local economy to the point that beleaguered regional lenders will not be able to cope with increases in non-performing loans.

“Closures will weigh on property prices, jobs and many other aspects of an already weakening regional economy,” said a government official with expertise in regional finance, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the frontrunner to become the country’s new prime minister this month, has made revitalizing regional economies a key policy priority.

But whether any of the government’s pledge of $2.2 trillion in stimulus for pandemic-hit companies finds its way to department stores remains an open question with some government officials and politicians privately saying that the money needs to be funnelled towards more viable industries.

EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED
In Yamagata, the future of the Onuma department store remains unclear. Although Mr. Yamashita’s company is keen to keep the store going, creditors could opt to sell to a higher-paying bidder.

Some locals seem resigned to Onuma’s failure, saying it had failed to keep up with changing lifestyles including the rise of online retailers and faster transport links to bigger cities.

“Infrastructure, transportation, lifestyles, information, culture, values — everything has changed,” Takashi Inoue, president of a metal processing company in Yamagata, wrote in a blog as he lamented Onuma’s bankruptcy.

For now, Mr. Yamashita’s company is helping to keep the store open through the end of September, although the food hall is closed and shoppers are limited to browsing for deals among household items and clothes he has gathered from various warehouses.

Still, Mr. Yamashita isn’t giving up hope that creditors will be convinced by his plans to revamp the store.

“It’s a place people once loved,” he said. “It will be a shame if it becomes just another high-rise development.” — Reuters

India overtakes Brazil as country second-worst hit by COVID-19

BENGALURU — India’s coronavirus infections surged past 4.2 million on Monday as it overtook Brazil to become the country with the second-highest number of cases.

With 4,204,613 infections, India is nearly 70,000 cases ahead of Brazil, which will post its most recent numbers later on Monday.

India, with a daily record 90,802 cases on Monday, also has the fastest-growing case load. The United States, with more than 6 million cases, remains the worst-affected country.

Deaths in India have been relatively low so far, but it has posted more than 1,000 deaths for each of the last five days.

On Monday, India’s health ministry said 1,016 people died of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), taking total mortalities to 71,642. — Reuters

Philippines widens search for COVID vaccine with Australia talks

Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

The Philippines will meet with Australian manufacturers for a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Queensland as the Southeast Asian nation expands its search for supplies to combat the region’s biggest outbreak.

The nation did not reach a commitment with Pfizer Inc. during a meeting last Friday as a law restricts “pre-ordering without the products yet,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual briefing. The Philippines also won’t be able to join Pfizer’s clinical trials, which are expected to finish by end-October.

Philippine infections rose 2,839 to 237,365 cases while COVID deaths increased 85 to 3,875, according to data released on Sunday by Department of Health.

Opportunities for growth in the Southeast Asian comics market

By Patricia B. Mirasol

“We position comics as affordable art,” said Paolo Herras, co-founder of comics and art market Komiket and festival director of the 1st Philippine International Comics Online Festival . “That’s why comics are still doing okay as opposed to glossies that are struggling.” A recent talk on the state of comics in Southeast Asia showed that there are opportunities for growth in this space.

FINDING FAVOR ONLINE
Budjette Tan, co-creator of the horror/crime comic series Trese, said that the surge in online demand for comic books is fueled by fans who are discovering how to find their favorite titles on the Internet. Publishers, he added, were “happy” with book orders derived from Aklatan, on online book event that took place in August. “As far as the Philippines people are on a learning curve. They are slowly learning how to get their comics. Bookstores themselves are finding ways to get comics to readers.”

The panelists agreed that non-traditional comic platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok are being used as hacks by some in the industry, although it’s still too early to tell if this will translate to success. Julian “Lefty” Kam, creator of the Major Zombie franchise and co-founder of independent comics outfit Gilamon Studio, noted that social media may get your work noticed but that only a very small percentage can monetize such efforts. 

“Monetizing your content is a lot harder than getting people to discover your work,” said Ariel Ries, a webcomic artist based in Melbourne. “There might be people in Southeast Asia who are making comics and are able to survive via Patreon, but for me it would be hard to live just on that. Still, it’s a great way for larger publishers to realize there’s a huge market for comics. It tells people with money that there’s interest in comics.”

OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
Transmedia and transnational opportunities continue to abound for comics creators. Take ZsaZsa Zaturnnah, a graphic novel by Carlo Vergara that was turned into a musical in 2006 and then streamed online by the Cultural Center of the Philippines this May. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Tan pitched Trese to different studios for 10 years before it was picked up by Netflix, which is adapting the supernatural comic based on Filipino myths and folklore into a TV series. “The right ingredients were not in the right places,” he said. 

The right moment came when Netflix decided it wanted to produce more anime from countries other than Japan. “The more localized we made it, the more it appealed to the international market we were catering to,” said Mr. Tan.

Many American comics are written in ways that are well-suited to be translated to a series or a movie, Mr. Kam said. The DC and Marvel Universes, which have spawned blockbuster after blockbuster, provide ample proof.

“For the longest time, we kept saying, ‘I’m just a comic book artist.’ I tell the new generation to position themselves as IP (intellectual property) creators. … It’s about words and pictures and telling your story. That’s the core. From there you can evolve to other things,” said Mr. Kam.  

Another trend that has emerged from the rubble of COVID-19 is the use of comics to highlight the issues surrounding the pandemic. Singapore’s Weiman Kow uses Comics for Good to inform, educate, and empathize with humanity’s latest pressing plight. “Educational comics aren’t just limited to kids… People are starting to understand the power of comics,” she said.

If you look beyond the COVID-19 sea, said CT Lim, Singapore country editor of the International Journal of Comic Art, you will realize that people are still creating. “People are still finding ways to tell stories.” 

The 1st Philippine International Comics Online Festival (PICOF) runs until September 20 The next set of online webinars and workshops are on content creation and adaptation. PICOF is a project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, British Council Philippines, Alliance française de Manille, SIKAP – Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines, Inc., adobo magazine, and Thames International.

Singlife and GCash launch mobile-first insurance product

Singapore Life Philippines (Singlife), a mobile-first life insurance company, and GCash, a mobile wallet firm, have launched Cash for Dengue Costs, their first insurance product.

Cash for Dengue Costs offers three plans that will cover medical costs due to mild to severe cases of dengue. Monthly premiums are P30, P55, and P70. As an introductory offer, a free COVID-19 rider will be added to help protect customers from the ongoing pandemic. 

Customers can pay, view, manage, and file claims on their Singlife policies within the GCash application. This includes options to automatically debit payments and extend the coverage to family. The application will also be sending reminders for nearing payment dates.

The Department of Health (DoH) recently reported that dengue cases fell by 76% in mid-August compared to 2019, when the agency declared a national dengue epidemic in the wake of the 146,062 cases recorded recorded from January to July 20, 2019. While numbers are low, the ongoing rainy season could increase the likelihood of cases. 

To apply, one must first fully verify their GCash account. The process should take less than five minutes; the Cash for Dengue Costs policy will be issued to them as soon as the application is completed.

“This partnership comes at a crucial time when health and financial security are a priority. Leveraging Singlife’s technology and offerings, we have an opportunity to provide more Filipinos with meaningful life insurance products that can effectively protect them and secure their financial well-being,” said Martha Sazon, president and chief executive officer of GCash, in a written press statement. 

According to the Insurance Commission, the Philippine insurance industry has been experiencing growth for the past few years.

However, price remains a barrier to many Filipinos. Singlife says that some customers are intimidated by high premiums that need five to twenty years’ worth of payments to be fully optimized. Some policies also do not survive until the end of the payment period. Such stories are then shared among friends and family, negatively affecting the decisions of potential customers.

“Our vision for this partnership is to make insurance accessible for as many Filipino as possible. We believe that we can achieve this by continuously offering products that are easy to buy, easy to manage, easy to adjust, and most especially, easy to claim,” said Kame Amado Gomez, head of digital networks at Singlife, during a virtual press launch on September 4.

Cash for Dengue Costs will first be made available to a limited group of GCash users this September. “We’re going to… test the experience, gather feedback from customers, and adjust as necessary before we actually open it up to the full GCash user base later this year to the [GCash] Insurance Marketplace,” said Ms. Gomez.

The GCash Insurance Marketplace, an online marketplace for life insurance products, was announced in July. Singlife is working on its next line of products focused on health and income protection, to be launched later this year. — Mariel Alison L. Aguinaldo

Mid-Autumn Festival Confections

Celebrate this year’s mid-autumn festival with an array of traditional mooncakes, specialty cakes and decadent pralines.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is not far ahead and Grand Hyatt Manila has prepared new confections to add to your celebrations. In addition to traditional mooncakes, our talented team of pastry chefs crafted decadent cakes inspired by the festivities. 

Timeless flavors such as lotus paste and taro are available as traditional mooncakes to attract prosperity and good luck. While specialty cakes inspired by the season, bring a delightful twist to your celebration featuring flavors such as matcha with white chocolate and red bean, and traditional fruit and nut. Exclusive Mid-Autumn chocolate pralines from Florentine are also available.

All mooncakes are packed in a gift box unique to Grand Hyatt Manila. Its elegant packaging makes for a wonderful treat to share with your family, friends and business associates. If you’re seeking to elevate the occasion, pair your box of mooncakes with a bottle of wine. For PHP 2,988, a bottle of Trapiche Cabarnet Sauvignon, Argentina, is packed with your choice of four traditional mooncakes or one 6-inch specialty cake. Save 10% when you orderbefore September 15, 2020. 

Order online at  bit.ly/DineAtHomeGHM. Browse the available takeaway options from No.8 China House and add authentic Chinese cuisine to your Mid-Autumn Festival feasts. The famous Peking Duck is also available for pre-order. Call +63 8838 1234 or email manila.grand@hyatt.com for further inquiries.

In response to COVID-19, our teams are implementing enhanced measures for food preparation, set-up and service, so that you and your loved ones can dine with confidence and peace of mind. These are in addition to the ISO 22000:2018 certified standards of kitchen hygiene and food safety we already maintain.

[B-SIDE Podcast] The government has failed us — students

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The Duterte administration deserves a failing grade for its preparations for the upcoming academic year, says student leader Raoul Manuel. In this episode, Mr. Manuel, president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), lists the union’s primary demands for the safe reopening of classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Naging insensitive at para bang nagde-daydream ang ating gobyerno — pinagpipilitan niya through its press conferences at iba-ibang mga briefings na siya ay handa. Hindi niya nire-represent ang hinaing at pangamba ng mga guro at mga estudyante at kanilang mga magulang sa pagsisimula ng school year,” Mr. Manuel tells BusinessWorld reporter Adam J. Ang. (“Our insensitive government has been daydreaming — it insists through its press conferences and briefings that it’s ready for the start of the school year. It doesn’t represent the fears and anxieties of the teachers, students, and parents.”)

TAKEAWAYS

Resources and settling school fees are the top concerns of students as the Philippine education system heads towards the new normal in the upcoming academic year

Energy and Internet fees should be deducted from tuition, said Mr. Manuel, who said that these charges become unnecessary if distance learning is instituted. 

Government, he added, should provide—or at least subsidize—devices such as laptops or tablets, and routers.

Maintaining a numeric grading scheme ‘isn’t realistic’

Given the pandemic and the distance learning scheme, Mr. Manuel believes that schools should shift to a pass-or-fail grading system, which, he says, is more compassionate. 

The Department of Education has already rejected this suggestion, despite the urging of students and teachers.

Still, Mr. Manuel believes that maintaining a numeric grading system and the usual attendance policies “isn’t realistic.”

The Duterte administration deserves a failing grade for its preparations for the upcoming academic year

The pandemic has exposed the long-standing ills of the country’s educational system, according to Mr. Manuel.

Resuming in-person classes will be difficult given that a classroom can hold as many as 60 students at a single time. “Matagal na nating pinapanawagan na dagdagan ang mga classrooms,” Mr. Manuel said. (“We have long been asking for more classrooms.”)

He added that the government should improve its capacity to provide free and accessible education.

Recorded remotely on August 15. Produced by Nina M. Diaz, Paolo L. Lopez, and Sam L. Marcelo.

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