Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Philippine Cohort of Victoria University MBA Program March in Hong Kong

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The largest Victoria University (VU) Switzerland Master of Business Administration contingent yet from the Philippines trekked to Hong Kong recently to receive their hard-earned MBA degree scrolls at the Asia World Expo beside the Hong Kong International Airport in Lantau.

Enrolled under the blended learning program of Victoria University run by Gates Professional Schools in the Philippines, 15 Filipino graduates completed their MBA education mostly under the fast track schedule of only 10 months.

This year's graduates from the Philippines were led by Chancellor's Awardees for Academic Excellence Rosemarie Ribo Esguerra and Rommel Rañola Trinidad. Esguerra also delivered the valedictory address on behalf of the students together with VU Doctor of Business Administration graduate Lok Peng Tong from China. Other graduates from the Philippines who made the trip to Hong Kong were Maria Elenor Ayento, Armin Butalid, Sarah Deloraya, Simeona Ibañez, Mariam Macud, Analiza Remedios, Erilene Tumali and Mae Vicente.

They joined over 700 other graduates from 12 different countries who completed the VU BBA, MBA, DBA or Executive programs.

The VU MBA program run by Gates Professional Schools is a high-standard fast-track program that is relevant and responsive to emerging business trends. Taught exclusively by the best professors and industry practitioners, the program is designed for managers and business leaders looking to take their career to the next level. The program will expose the participant to a solid foundation course that includes business fundamentals, tools, and models useful for making decisions. While most students complete the program through the blending learning mode, Gates also offers the program on a purely online basis.

For more information, please send an email to info@gates.edu.ph or check www.gates.edu.ph.

Nickelodeon's Underwater Theme Park in Coron, Palawan: The Bikini Bottom Scare is False

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Even though many of our government agencies are saying that there has not been any application for such, environmentalists are trying to scuttle Nickelodeon's plan to build an underwater theme park in the Philippines. They are asking people to sign the petition against the @NickelodeonTV 400-hectare underwater theme park in Coron!

Nickelodeon was said to have announced that it will build an underwater resort and theme park in Palawan, and thus alarming environmentalists like the Save Philippine Seas. The park on Palawan island was said to be a part of a 400-hectare (1,000-acre) undersea development.

People are saying Coron is more enchanting than Bikini Bottom. Coron doesn't need Nickelodeon to prove its beauty. They want to keep Spongebob and Patrick on TV, not in Palawan!

Bikini Bottom is the fictional place underwater where popular cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants live. It's one of the many cartoon characters of Nickelodeon.

However, Nickelodeon has clarified the issue saying "Nickelodeon is about staying true to kids. Togetehr with Coral World Park (CWP), we are committed to making a positive impact with our fans, kids and families, to help educate on ocean conservation while they enjoy a Nickelodeon entertainment experience in the new Nickelodeon attraction that CWP is developing.

To clarify the inaccurate reporting, CWP is not building a theme park in Palawan, but a Nickelodeon attraction and resort which comes with the larger CWP undersea-themed masterplanned development. Design details for the Nickelodeon attraction has not been finalized yet, but it will be an undersea-themed attraction with an ocean conservation focus. It is not developed undersea.

It is important to us that we are helping to play a part in ocean conservation, while friends enjoy a Nickelodeon entertainment experience in the new Nickelodeon attraction and resort that CWP is developing. When completed, CWP will be the largest coral reef conservation program in Asia, with Asia's largest marine sanctuary for five key species - dolphins, sea cows, sea horses, turtles and whale sharks."

However, we have seen in the news that the Department of Environment and Natural Resorces (DENR) already gave the Nickelodeon theme park project in Palawan the thumbs down. Environment Secretary Gina Lopez also said she will not allow the planned construction of an underwater resort and theme park in Palawan.

But now that Nickelodeon has clarified that their development is not an underwater theme park (thus not harming any underwater resources like the coral reef), I believe some groups now need to apologize for spreading the wrong information without consulting Nickelodeon first........or is this just Nickelodeon backing out from its original plan?

Maxine Medina and Her English: Is Beauty Not Enough for the Miss Universe Crown?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"I've been modeling to him."

"I look like fat."

"I told tito Rhett Eala, please made me a gown that would look like Maxine Medina"

"Ahmm, I'm want to.. My advocacy is about the youth who has HIV. Uhm.. specifically the youth, cause nowadays, uhm.. I would like to give them the help, the hope to give the, you know, give them access to education, give them the life they should, you know. Uhm.. there's this something in me that I really wanted to do also is to.. I'm sure that.. there.. there's out.. there are.. there are.. there are little chill--child--a girl, who is just like me, a simple girl who don't know that she can be, she can be a dream big (????). And that is one of my advocacy is that I know that I can empower people, especially the women."

Maxine Medina will do for Janina San Miguel what Pia Wurtzbach did for Margie Moran.

Nanaginip ako kagabi tas kasama ko si Maxine Medina, we talked and I said " Te, gusto mo i-train kita sa Q and A, dali gusto kita manalo e."

Mukhang hindi pa kasi hinog si Maxine Medina para sa Miss Universe. Many are asking "Bakit ganon magsalita si Maxine Medina? Parang basic English lang mga pinagsasagot nya. May time pa para mag practice."

She said she is confident the President will witness a @MissUniverse back-to-back win. "I'm not nervous that the President will be watching the pageant, especially since he will witness a back to back." says Maxine. But with the recent interviews we have witnessed, that may be wishful thinking.

Sobra ung mean comments about Maxine Medina, but somehow they have a point din eh. They only want the best for her. Speak in tagalog na lang. She should answer in tagalog. It's time not only to love our country but to love our language as well. Ang kailangan rin niya ay encouragement. Miss Universe sasalihan nya, hindi public speaking lang. But... she really should just speak using the vernacular. Tagalog na lang please!

I don't see anything wrong if you answer in Filipino. Get an interpreter during the Q&A. Unless the judges discriminate your answer based on your spoken language. But likewise, she should pick a good interpreter.

Maxine Medina, don't pressure yourself for a back to back win! Just enjoy the moment! Chill, Relax and Enjoy!

Boy Abunda: Should a woman pay on the first date?

Maxine Medina: Of course no!

GIRL UWI NA TALO NA AGAD SA MISS UNIVERSE

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

OFW & SME Business Christmas Expo Held as Part of Ex-Link's 15th Year

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Before the holiday season has struck, Ex-Link Events celebrated its 15th year in the events industry through the OFW & SME Business Christmas Expo held at the Megatrade Hall 2 of SM Megamall last December 21 to 23, 2016.

Among the activities held at the hall for three straight days are the musical performances by the Center for Pop Music, the Psalm of David Harmonic Orchestra, Children's Joy Foundation, His Statements and the Kawayan7 Modern Bamboo Band; the Business Plan Competition Finals and the Student Entrepreneur Exhibit of Junior Achievement of the Philippines, and the inspiring talks done by successful OFWs-turned-Entrepreneurs during the "OFW Ako: Paano maging Happy and Rich for Good?" session.

Guest speakers Mr. Roderick "Spud" Eduarte of BRIDZ of Genius Brain Integration Singapore, Mr. Von Ryan Reyes of King's Care Laundry and Ms. Grace "Gracia Amor" Hizon of Diary ni Gracia share their heartfelt talks on business and success for OFWs, and were appreciated by the attendees.

Alongside the activities, various brands showcased their products and services throughout the Expo.

Ex-Link Events gives its thanks to its supporters Department of Trade and Industry (especially to Assistant Secretary for Regional Operation Ms. Ameenah Fajardo for gracing the event's opening), the Junior Achievement of the Philippines, the Center for Pop Music Philippines, the Rotary Community Corps, the Congressional Spouses Foundation, the Rotary Club of Mutya ng Pasig and the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration.

Special thanks as well to our media partners Sun.Star Cebu, Malaya Business Insight, BusinessMirror, The Manila Times, Star Music, What's Happening, Diary ni Gracia, PSST.ph, Wazzup Pilipinas, YuneOh.com, Pisig Ad Network, and InfoTxt.

Happy to Converge: A Way of Giving Back

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Over a hundred leaders and personnel from across different sectors attended the year-end appreciation night of Converge ICT, a provider of world-class ICT products and services in the country, held recently at Cai Events Place, Pasig City.

According to Jesus Romero, chief operating officer (COO) of Converge ICT, the said event is a way of giving back to their loyal customers and partners who have helped the company to achieve its goals, especially in extending better connectivity in the country.

Romero also said that the company has been upgrading its network and improving its operations as part of its commitment to provide a better experience for its customers. Some developments mentioned by Romero are efforts done to strengthen its international peering capacity and improvements on its content delivery network.

SAP Delivers Manufacturing Solution in the Cloud

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SAP SE announced the availability of the SAP Manufacturing Execution application deployed in SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, a fully scalable and secure private cloud service.

The new option helps manufacturers embrace Industry 4.0 automation and process high volumes of data from sensors and devices from the Internet of Things (IoT) in a real-time cloud delivery environment that can simplify implementation and improve time to value at lower cost.

SAP Manufacturing Execution in the cloud helps manufacturers connect, monitor and tightly control operations. It facilitates Industry 4.0 strategies by integrating with business and manufacturing processes to enable efficient, high-quality production on the shop floor. Customers seeking a managed service environment for the solution can take advantage of the cloud IT infrastructure of SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud to minimize complexity in system installation and maintenance and to accelerate deployment through immediate access to the application. With SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, customers also can harness the combined analytical and transactional processing power of SAP HANA to connect manufacturing processes with IoT data for better visibility into shop floor operations and optimized asset utilization and productivity.

“Companies of all sizes need to be more responsive to the variability in market demand and customer-specific product requirements,” said Hans Thalbauer, senior vice president of Extended Supply Chain and IoT, SAP. “The solution delivered through SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud gives manufacturing companies the speed in production to meet these dynamic needs in a cost-effective manner.”

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Indonesian standout Sunoto might have a scheduled bout on 14 January in his hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia, but he has an opponent in mind for his next fight.

The 31-year-old Indonesian fighter has set his sights on a rematch with Filipino fighter Edward Kelly inside the ONE Championship cage later this year.

Both men crossed paths last December on the undercard of ONE: AGE OF DOMINATION, where Kelly overcame a spirited performance from Sunoto to nab the victory in round three by referee stoppage.

Sunoto believes that he has a score to settle with Kelly, who is currently riding high on a three-match winning streak in ONE Championship.

“I want a rematch with Edward Kelly. My fight against him is my only loss in 2016. I would like to redeem myself by facing him again,” he stated.

Before Kelly mounted a much-need rally in the third frame, Sunoto was in control of the featherweight contest as he battered and maneuvered his Filipino foe effortlessly on the ground.

Tides changed in the last round when Kelly had a stand-up exchange and landed a thunderous body kick that sent Sunoto crumbling to the mat, giving him an opening to secure a full mount and finish it with ground-and-pound.

“I was close to finishing Edward Kelly. I believe that I was winning on the judges’ scorecards as well. It was an unfortunate ending for me,” Sunoto said about the fight against Kelly.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

ONE Middleweight World Champion Vitaly Bigdash has a 100 percent finishing rate in his eight-fight professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career, owning four knockout victories and four submission wins.

In his most recent trip to the ONE Championship cage, Bigdash captured the intricately-crafted ONE Middleweight World Championship belt with a scintillating second-round knockout conquest of Igor Svirid.

The 32-year-old Russian combatant looks to accomplish another emphatic triumph as he defends his gold-plated strap for the first time against Burmese MMA superstar Aung La N Sang in the main event of ONE: QUEST FOR POWER, which takes place at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.

“I don’t want to leave any doubt every time that I step inside the cage. The judges are not always on your side. The outcome of the fight should be decided by the fighter. That’s why I always go for the finish,” he said.

“I won all of my fights by either knockout or submission. I would like to continue my way of winning fights in my first title defense,” Bigdash added.

However, it appears that fishing for the stoppage will be a tough task for Bigdash as Aung La has 95 percent success rate of thwarting his opponents.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Undefeated Turkish lightweight contender Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev is rapidly making a name for himself as an unstoppable force inside the ONE Championship cage.

The 22-year-old Dagestan, Russia-bred fighter has just four victories so far in his young mixed martial arts (MMA) career, but he attained three of the fastest finishes in ONE Championship.

Having an average cage time of just under a minute, Arslanaliev’s three wins have come by technical knockout and one by submission.

No opponent has even come close to surviving just one round with him. In his most recent bout, Arslanaliev forced China’s Haolan Jietebusibai to wave the white flag with a standing guillotine choke at the center of the cage.

After acing his three tests in ONE Championship with flying colors last year, Arslanaliev cemented his position as one of the bright MMA prospects in Asia.

Despite the recognition from many cageside pundits, Arslanaliev has set his sights on a heftier prize in 2017 as he looks to insert his name in the world title picture.

If it only took him one year to elevate himself as one of the must-watch young fighters in the region, Arslanaliev believes that he can work his way up the ladder in 2017 to secure a date with ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang.

“If you train right and stay focused, anything is possible. Of course, if ONE Championship thinks that I deserve a shot at the title, I will get it right away. I won’t think twice,” he said.

Arslanaliev stressed that he always gets a championship fight-type of preparation every time he is booked for a bout.

“I can tell you that I will be more than ready to take the responsibility if ONE Championship chooses to give me a chance,” he stated.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Neymar Jr’s Five is the Brazilian forward’s signature football tournament – and a truly global phenomenon. Across six continents and more than 50 countries, five-a-side teams battle it out in 10-minute matches with a twist. Every time one team scores, the opposition loses a player, which makes it fast, technical, tactical – and unique in the world of football. More than 65,000 players from 47 countries signed up to play in the first year of Neymar Jr's Five and 2017 promises to be even bigger.

This year’s tournament is open to teams of five to seven players aged 16 to 25, and for the first time two over-aged players are allowed in the squad. Competing teams will need to have their Philippine passports on stand-by when registering. The teams will set out with the hope of making it to the World Final in 2017, at the Instituto Projeto NeymarJr in Praia Grande, Brazil.

Qualifying rounds will happen on two back-to-back Saturdays; February 18th and 25th, with the finals taking place on the 4th of March – all to be held at SPARTA Philippines in Mandaluyong.

Sign your team up now – and who knows, you could soon be playing on Neymar Jr’s home turf. Dare to dream, and outplay them all!

FB Event Page: win.gs/neymarjrsfiveph
Registration: www.neymarjrsfive.com

New Solutions from Accenture and SAP to Help Oil and Gas Companies Achieve Benefits Across the Hydrocarbon Value Chain

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Accenture and SAP SE are expanding their collaboration in the oil and gas industry to develop two innovative digital solutions with cloud capabilities.

Both will be designed to improve bottom-line benefits including increased downstream operating margins with reduced risk and increased upstream production with lower costs.

The Connected Hydrocarbons Logistics solution (CHL) will provide real-time total inventory of oil and gas companies’ hydrocarbon supply chain. Cloud networking will connect companies with suppliers and partners, optimizing hydrocarbon supply chain movements, visibility into secondary costs, and reducing working capital. Using the latest SAP technologies such as SAP S/4HANA software and SAP HANA Cloud Platform, along with the role-based SAP Fiori user experience, CHL will complement and enhance the capabilities of SAP for Oil and Gas industry solutions and other SAP solutions with end-to-end visibility with real-time analytics and improved supply and demand planning.

Accenture and SAP will also expand their Upstream Production Operations collaboration which provides solutions and services supporting the upstream operations value chain including Upstream Operations Management, SAP UOM, and Accenture’s rapid deployment upstream SAP S/4HANA template, Accenture Upstream Direct. The SAP Predictive Maintenance and Service solution is also being extended to provide early identification of potential asset performance issues. This will enable upstream operators to enhance production volumes while reducing maintenance costs and planning.

“The hydrocarbon value chain is at the heart of the downstream business, and today’s fragmented and often outdated IT landscape prevents oil and gas companies from unlocking all of the available value,” said Andrew Smart, managing director who leads Accenture’s energy practice. “We look forward to working with SAP and our clients to use Connected Hydrocarbons Logistics to unlock this value by better managing changes in supply, demand and commodity prices. Similarly, the new predictive maintenance tool from SAP can help operators further enhance upstream operations, in an environment of sustained oil price volatility.”

“This expanded innovation program will deliver two key digital capabilities our customers are demanding; a real-time view of all their product inventories, and the ability to predict asset failures and prescribe their best sequence of repair,” said Ken Evans, Global Vice President, Oil and Gas Industry, at SAP. “Our digital readiness survey confirms that while over 80 percent of the industry sees these capabilities as important, less than five percent have either of them today. Our collaboration with Accenture expands the portfolio of solutions delivering such digital transformations to the oil and gas industry.”

The new solutions built for SAP S/4HANA will be co-developed by Accenture and SAP under their SAP S/4HANA collaboration with the participation of clients from both companies to ensure that specific industry needs are met. In October, Accenture and SAP announced their collaboration to develop the next generation of predictive analytics solutions for asset management in the utilities industry to enable condition-based maintenance.

For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

Hontiveros Pushes for a National Multi-Sectoral Strategy vs. HIV

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Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday pushed for the implementation of a national multi-sectoral strategy to address the rising incidence of HIV and AIDS in the country amidst reports that there will be 133,000 people living with HIV in the Philippines by 2022.

In a press conference in Quezon City attended by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups and organized by the DANGAL National Network, Hontiveros said that from 6,015 total cases in 2010, HIV/AIDS incidence in the country rose to a total of 33,419 during just the first quarter of 2016.

"The situation we face is dire," the senator said.

"The rapid increase in the last six years reflects an alarming landscape: the HIV is expanding in urban centers of the country, affecting disproportionately populations and communities that are marginalized and vulnerable: young Filipinos, gay and bisexual men, transgender people, and people who use drugs," Hontiveros added.

As a response, Hontiveros, who is also the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, filed Senate Bill No. 376 or the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Bill to introduce an evidence-based, human rights-informed, and gender-transformative HIV prevention and treatment plan.

Hontiveros said her bill will formulate a six-year National Multi-Sectoral HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan, which will incorporate a prevention program that will have a strong focus on education and accessibility of reproductive health services.

“80% of new infections come from men having sex with men. The median age of those diagnosed with HIV is below 35 years old” Hontiveros lamented. “At a time when stigma overrules government policies on this important health issue, we need to underscore that the foundation of curbing HIV must be based on the protection of human rights” she said.

The Senator maintained that new developments in prevention and treatment are available and must be maximized by the government. “Early diagnosis leads to early treatment and saves lives. Prevention, early detection and treatment must be made available by the government”, Hontiveros explained.

Hontiveros’ bill also seeks a comprehensive, inclusive and localized response towards HIV-AIDS. If passed, it will repeal Republic Act 8504 or the Philippine HIV AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998.

Care Divas Take the Stage to Raise Funds for HIV Advocacy

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LoveYourself, Inc. in partnership with the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) invites everyone to the 3:00 p.m. show of Care Divas on 5 February 2017 at the PETA Theater Centre in New Manila, Quezon City.

“This partnership with PETA is also a great way of tapping the arts as a means to educate the public not just with the plight of OFWs but with the struggles of the LGBT community including the stigma on HIV and social limitations,” LoveYourself Executive Director Ronivinn G. Pagtakhan said.

Care Divas will be re-staged as PETA’s flagship production for its 50th anniversary. It is a musical drama that tells the story of five transgender Overseas Filipino Workers in Israel who work as care givers and take the stage as drag queen performers at night. The production focuses on the struggle of these transgender women as they seek acceptance in a foreign land while making ends meet not just for themselves but for their families in the Philippines.

While the hit-musical will run from 3 February to 19 March, only the 3:00 p.m. show on 5 February is dedicated to LoveYourself.

Pagtakhan relayed that “All proceeds of the show will support the organization’s clinic operations and activities as it pushes for HIV awareness and caters to the needs of people living with HIV.” He also noted how the tie-up may shed light to the pressing issue of HIV involving OFWs.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Blue Palawan International Kiteboard Open recently held it press conference or media launch to formally invite interested participants and spectators to come join them for 10 days of fun under the sun to compete, spectate, relax and join in on the good times on and off the waters of Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

The media launch was held at Handle Bar in Makati on January 10, 2017 and was led by the main organizer and professional kiteboarder Paula Rosales representing the Philippines. She was also with professional kiteboarders Eric Rienstra from the USA, James Boulding of the UK and Manuela Jungo of Switzerland.

Paula Rosales, one of the top female freestyle kite boarders in Asia, spoke on behalf of Blue Palawan and the local riders from Boracay, and their recent partnership with the Department of Tourism.

The four announced their inaugural event of the season: the 2017 Blue Palawan International Kiteboard Open. The highly anticipated and successful kiteboarding event initiated last year is back for its second run as the first event of the world renowned Kite Park League Tour. Kicking things off with a qualifying event held at Blue Palawan in beautiful Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island, Philippines on February 6th & 7th.

The qualifier is open to anyone and is your chance to compete alongside the world’s best kite boarding park riding talent at the world's most tropical kite park. The top two men and two women from the qualifier will join the invited 24 riders on Tuesday February 7th for opening celebrations and will collectively compete for their chance at the title during the main event to immediately follow the open qualifier from February 8th to 16th.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Multi-talented actor and recording artist Jamie Foxx is an undercover cop with strong links to the drug trade in his latest action-packed flick Sleepless. Foxx, who plays Vincent Downs, connives with his partner (played by rapper T.I.) to steal a cache of drugs from a powerful criminal mastermind, who orders his son kidnapped. The distraught dad is spurred to action, in a bid to rescue his son from the drug lord’s henchmen as he blasts his way through the Vegas nightlife.

The movie is a remake of the 2011 French film Sleepless Night, full of nonstop gun-wielding action and punchy lines, guaranteed to keep you breathless as you go along on Vincent’s mission to bring his son safely home. Breath-taking car chases, explosions, and thrilling fight scenes mark the movie as a must-watch for any action enthusiast.

Michelle Monaghan, who came off from the first season of True Detective, with a Golden Globe nomination and was recently seen in the Pixels movie is also in the cast, along with rapper Young Jeezy, Drew Sidora, Dermot Mulroney, and Gabrielle Union.

The film is directed by Baran Bo Odar, whose German series Dark shows on Netflix next year. Andrea Berloff penned the razor-sharp script. The movie shows in Philippine theaters on January 13, 2017, exclusively distributed by Octoarts Films International.