Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Monday, December 19, 2016

Ph to Take Global Center Stage on Miss Universe Coronation Night

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The Miss Universe Organization (MUO)’s lead partner in the Philippines, LCS Group Chairman Luis “Chavit” Singson, said that Filipinos should all be proud that the country will be in the global spotlight come January 30, 2017, as more than half-a-billion Miss Universe fans and supporters worldwide watch the live telecast of the 65th Miss Universe Competition’s Coronation Night.

“ Let us give ourselves a salute and a big round of applause that we have come this far – only a few weeks before the Coronation Night. Soon the country will take the global center stage, as more than half-a-billion Miss Universe fans and supporters watch the live shows in over 190 countries and territories in the entire world,” said Singson during the pageant’s official kickoff party held at the S Maison of Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.

Addressing the audience at the kickoff, LCS Group’s vice-chair and Miss Universe Host Committee chairperson Richelle Louise Singson-Michael gave her assurance that LCS and the other private sector partners, together with the Department of Tourism and the Miss Universe Organization, are doing their best to ensure the success of the 65th Miss Universe Competition.

“It only gets better from here. In behalf of my fellow Miss Universe Host Committee members, thank you for joining us in this amazing journey. I always tell the Miss Universe Organization that there is no better place to hold this pageant than here in the Philippines because we have got to be the biggest fans of Miss Universe,” she said.

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Globe Telecom bagged the Platinum Award for Excellence in Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility and Investor Relations Benchmarking from The Asset, an integrated multi-media company serving the elite community of leading corporate and financial decision makers in Asia.

According to The Asset, the criteria used to assess the companies include a range of metrics of financial performance, which are also a proxy for gauging management acumen. But since the purpose of the awards is to recognize the importance of sustainable growth, companies are also evaluated according to the quality of their corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental responsibility and investor relations.

“The recognition inspires us to pursue our strategy of upholding high standards for corporate governance and to continue with our advocacy for fairness, accountability, transparency, integrity and excellence in order to strengthen our structures and processes. We are deeply honored to be recognized for our efforts in relation to governance, corporate social responsibility and investor relations,” said Marisalve Ciocson-Co, Globe Head for Legal Services and Compliance Officer.

Globe Telecom delivered a record performance in 2015, surpassing the company’s previous year’s record performance, as it posted new highs in service revenues, EBITDA, and earnings even in the face of intense industry competition. Registering broad-based data-driven growth across its key services, Globe solidified its leadership in the digital space by focusing on improving customer experience and by riding with the shift toward greater data consumption across all segments.

Globe also sustained its top line growth momentum for the first nine months of the year with consolidated service revenues of P89.1 billion, up 7% from the P83.4 billion recorded in the same period of 2015. The company’s effective efforts in providing market-relevant data offers, the best of breed solutions to cater to the evolving needs of its customers, backed by the significant improvements in its wireless and wired data networks, have paved the way for its continued success.

Scientific Fact: Women are More Attracted to Men with Facial Hair

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Science says it. Men with facial hair are more attractive. A study in the 70s and two more recent ones conducted by Neave and Shields in 2008 and Dixson and Brooks in 2013 all came up with the same conclusion:

Most women find men with a stubble or a five-o’clock shadow very, very attractive. Although the women’s perception of male attractiveness changed according to the amount and length of men’s facial hair, most women in the study found men with a moderate amount of facial hair to be the most attractive. Some women did prefer men with no facial hair, but to the majority, men with no facial hair were not very attractive and seemed the least likely romantic partners. Women perceived full bearded men to be aggressive, more mature and a bit too much to handle.

The study showed that, bottom line, facial hair matters. 8,250 women in the study who rated the physical attractiveness of men based on the amount or absence of hair on their faces can’t be wrong.

What do the study findings imply? Guys who want to get noticed and be more sexually appealing can surely benefit from some masculine stubble on their cheeks. Just by changing or adding facial hair, a guy could well attract the type of relationship partner he seeks.

For many men, however, the problem is more complicated than that. The reality is the amount of available facial hair varies from guy to guy. Some men have facial hair that grows in patches, some men have hair growth where they do not want them, and some men are so baby-faced, they hardly have any facial hair at all. The truth is facial hair growth pattern is largely controlled by one’s genes. Either you have virile hair growing on your face; have bald, patchy spots on your face; or have no facial hair at all.

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The LTFRB will commend taxi operators who are supportive of Oplan Isnabero

LTFRB enforcers will list down the taxi trade name, plate number, and name of mall that picks up passengers in the designated taxi bay areas. The Top 10 highest ranking taxis will be formally commended by the Board in January 2017

Oplan Isnabero was re-launched on December 14 in partnership with shopping malls in Metro Manila

Annual operation to protect passengers from taxi drivers who:

(1) Refuse to convey passengers
(2) Do not use taxi meters
(3) Do not give correct change
(4) Do not reach out to PWDs, senior citizens & pregnant women
(5) Do not wear ID
(6) Do not observe traffic rules

Penalties:

o 1st offense – P5,000
o 2nd offense – P10,000 + 30-day impoundment
o 3rd offense – cancellation of franchise

31 LTFRB enforcers + 80-90 employees to be posted near taxi bays of SM, Robinson's, Ayala, Landmark, Araneta, and Starmall

LTFRB Central issued memo to other regions to implement same ops if applicable in their region

Hotline of Oplan Isnabero: 1342

ATTACHMENT: Reminders from LTFRB on Oplan Isnabero

Body Shots 2016 Candidates in Swimwear at the Grand Finals Night

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Here are the female candidates of Body Shots 2016 during the Grand Finals night held on November 30, 2016 at the Expo Hall of Fisher Mall in Quezon City.

Congratulations to the new crop of models who made it to the ranks of the ultimate model at BodyShots 2016.

Bodyshots 2016 is an event of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP) and produced by Creative Saints in Manila, Philippines.

Partner Photographer: Collin Sarthou Yap

Miss Puerto Rico, Stephanie Del Valle, is Crowned Miss World 2016

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The Philippines is home to the most beautiful women in the world, not only in looks, but also charisma, caring nature and positive attitude! It is not surprising that many of our beauty pageant candidates are always getting either a finalist or the top position.

Among the many top beauty pageants is the Miss World which is also a highly anticipated event worldwide. We have regular candidates participating at this pageant yearly, and for this year we have Catriona Elisa Gray who finished in the Top 5, while Miss Puerto Rico, Stephanie Del Valle, is crowned Miss World 2016.

I was already happy with the Philippines reaching up to the top 5 finalists, but was surely hoping to have her getting the Miss World 2016 crown, especially with that fabulous answer to the question given to her by Miss World 2015, Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna.

Miss World 2013 Megan Young hosts the pageant night with Jason Cook. Megan's contract with the Miss World organization apparently expired but they still get Megan Young's services for pageant activities.

Filipinos all over the world are still jubilating! Miss Philippines Catriona Elisa Gray was assured a top spot at the Miss World 2016 quarterfinals for her Multimedia challenge win. Mongolia bagged the Talent award while Philippines is the Multimedia winner! The Beauty with a Purpose Top 5 finalists are India, Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, and Kenya!

Miss Philippines is really a talented woman. Did you know that she wrote the script for her own contestant introduction video to Miss World 2016?

Driver’s License Cards Out in Metro Manila on Monday, December 19

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Plastic license cards will be available beginning December 19, Monday, the Land Transportation Office announced Saturday.

LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante said those who have pending applications from Jan. 1 to Oct. 16 may claim their cards at 36 licensing offices in Metro Manila on Dec. 19.

Galvante said applicants only need to present the Official Receipt issued to them when they applied for their license card. He also warned the public not to deal with fixers who may deceive them and ask for fees to claim their cards.

“I would like to caution all the claimants that they need not pay a single centavo to claim their driver’s licenses since they have already paid for it,” he said.

The Metro Manila release of the cards will erase 700,000 of the 3-million backlog in 3-years valid driver’s license cards. Rollout in other regions will follow, and is expected to be completed by February 2017.

LTO’s last supplier of cards was Allcard Philippines Inc. But its contract had expired last May.

The shortage of license cards started in 2013 when the Commission on Audit disallowed payments to former supplier, Amalgamated Motor Philippines Inc., for lack of a proper contract.

PAL Launches Clark-Caticlan Flights at Clark International Airport

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This new milestone is part of a Memorandum of Agreement signed between Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) and PAL on 15 December 2016, wherein the flag carrier committed to mount domestic and international flights in Clark beginning December 2016 to first quarter of 2017.

The maiden flight with route Clark-Caticlan was welcomed with a water salute at Clark International Airport today, December 18, 2016.

PAL President James Bautista said the agreement further solidifies the airline’s commitment to help the government develop secondary hubs in order to ease congestion at the Manila terminals.

There will be one Clark-Caticlan flight a day, or seven flights in a week. Starting January 2017, PAL will be adding more flights in Clark for its Cebu, Davao, Busuanga and Cagayan de Oro routes. PAL will also launch daily international flights to Incheon, South Korea from Clark Airport by January 2017. It is expected to have 21 flights per week at Clark airport.

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ALERON, one of the country’s top all-male choir launched recently their debut Christmas album “Dakilang Hiwaga,” which includes a wide variety of songs. Also included in the album are some songs from their European Concert and Competition tour repertoire.

The group aims to further cement the Filipino’s reputation of having some of the world’s most formidable musicians through this trip. The group is set to compete in the most prestigious choral singing festivals and competitions from May to July of 2017.

The most important leg of their tour is the 11th World Symposium for Choral Music which will be held in Barcelona, Spain. The event is hosted by the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) and will feature the world’s finest choirs and choral leaders. ALERON is one of IFCM’s ambassadors for 2017, and they are the only Filipino performer to have been invited to the event.

ALERON, translated from Latin as "the winged one," is geared towards exploring the male choral soundscape. Through innovative programming and the performance of repertoires across musical styles and genres, the group aims to deliver to its audiences a diverse and unique choral experience.

ALERON first came into existence in 2006 as the alumni ensemble of the Ateneo de Manila High School Glee Club under the musical direction of Christopher Ong Arceo. Today, the group is composed of male choristers from different backgrounds: most of which are from the Ateneo de Manila University and University of the Philippines musical networks.

ALERON envisions to broaden the all-male choral genre by continuously commissioning and premiering new works throughout its concert seasons. To date, the group has performed original works by several established and up-and-coming Filipino composers such as Josefino Chino Toledo, Robin Estrada and Mary Katherine Trangco.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

After years of untrammeled destruction of our communities and environment, we finally have the courageous leadership needed to halt the pernicious and irresponsible actions of the global extractive mining industry.

We, members of civil society organizations, non-government organizations, and people’s organizations, have come together to manifest our full support for Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez’s campaign to hold irresponsible global mining interests accountable and to halt operations found to be running afoul of environmental standards.

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act, large-scale foreign owned mining has destroyed our natural resources and displaced countless communities, especially in the rural areas. Government has already given mining concessions covering more than 600,000 hectares of land. Despite the hype, these were not able to provide additional revenues for the government, nor uplift the lives of the affected communities. Instead, hectares upon hectares of forest lands have been denuded, rivers and lakes have been contaminated, and agricultural lands have become unproductive. These destructive economic activities must stop.

We believe that Secretary Lopez is a crusader who has the sincere desire to preserve the environment, alleviate poverty, and address social and environmental injustices that have hobbled the poor.

We welcome her campaign against illegal logging, illegal mining, and other destructive practices that aggravate the devastation of our natural resources. Towards the success of this campaign, we recommend that DENR review all permits granted to mining, logging and other environmentally sensitive activities to ensure compliance with government standards. If warranted, they should amend, suspend or revoke these permits.

We are encouraged by recent developments made possible by the mining audit that Secretary Lopez initiated. Some 20 out of 30 mining contracts have already been recommended for suspension. With the suspensions, the mining companies concerned should rehabilitate the natural resources they ravaged. At the same time, government should provide alternative jobs and sources of livelihood to workers in the mining industry affected by the suspensions.

More importantly, we support the Secretary’s campaign against corruption within the DENR and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. Many mining permits and Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs) have been issued to mining companies in the past, even if some of these companies failed to comply with certain environmental standards and communities were not consulted in the process of such approvals. Corruption in the mining industry and in the agency supposed to regulate it, if left unaddressed, will bleed our natural resources dry, imperil our environment, and beleaguer the future of generations to come.

Lastly, we urge Secretary Lopez to act swiftly against China’s virtual occupation of the Philippine mining industry. The Chinese stranglehold over mining interests in the Philippines began during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, when Chinese corporations registered in the Philippines to mine for gold, iron ore, nickel, copper, manganese, lead, zinc, chromite and cobalt.

These Chinese mining corporations have since operated in 16 provinces in the country including: Cagayan, Benguet, Zambales, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Palawan, Leyte, Eastern Samar, Bohol, Cebu, Misamis Oriental, Davao Oriental, Surigao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga del Sur.

We have long awaited the type of bold leadership currently being displayed by Secretary Lopez in the DENR. The interests of impoverished communities and environmental sustainability have, for far too long, lost out to powerful global mining players. We hope that she will continue to provide the leadership needed to fulfill DENR’s mandate to current and future generations of Filipinos. In every step of the way, in every danger she may face in her crusade, so long as it is for the preservation of our environment and for the welfare of our communities, we will be there to stand by and support our DENR Secretary: Secretary Gina Lopez.

Thank you.

Signed,

KA TRINING DOMINGO (KABAPA) • KA JIMMY TADEO (PARAGOS Pilipinas) • KA ED MORA (PKMP) • KA MANING ROSARIO (PKSK) • KA ELVIE BALADAD (Samahang 53 Ektarya ng Macabud) • AMPARO MICIANO (PKKK) • MA. DIVINA “KA IZA” MUNOZ (IRDF) • DANNY CARRANZA (KATARUNGAN) • RIC REYES (Rights Network) • MEANNE MANAHAN (Focus on the Global South) • ROMEO “OMI” C. ROYANDOYAN (Centro Saka Inc.) • DINNA UMENGAN (Tambuyog Development Center) •ALVARO “AL” O. SENTURIAS, JR. (Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement) • FROILYN TENORIO (Teduray Lambangian Women’s Organization) • MOHAMMAD ABAS (TASBIKKA) • JOSE “JUN” ADORABLE, JR. (Alyansa Maglulubi Mindanaw) • EUGENE QUIRANTE (Negros Farmers Council) • ARZE GLIPO (IRDF) • JHUN PASCUA (PKMM) • KA ELOY MAMPLATA (Laguna Lake Cons. Council) • KA JAIME EVANGELISTA (MAPAGPALA) • KA MELCHOR MAGANO (MAPAGPALA) • MINERVA GONZALES (CERD) • ZENY MANSILIOHAN (KALALAGAN CARAGA) • DAVID SANTOS (Ka Tribu ug and Lasang Foundation) • PATRICIA FE GONZALES • MARILOU C. TAPIA (BRETHREN Inc.) • PABLO ROSALES (PANGISDA-Pilipinas) • ERNESTO LACTAO (Isabela SE-LED Network) • PRINCESS NEMENZO (WomanHealth Philippines/ Campaign for a Life of Dignity) • MARIVIC RAQUIZA •ISAGANI R. SERRANO (PRRM) • MARGARITA C. ROYANDOYAN (Women’s Initiative for Social Development) • AUREA MICLAT-TEVES (National Food Coalition/FIAN Philippines/Peoples Development Institute) • MARITA RODRIGUEZ (Aksyon Klima Pilipinas)