Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Monday, May 15, 2017

Senate Passes "Better and Stronger" Anti-Hospital Deposit Law

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The Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading a law that strengthened the rights of emergency-case patients who are in life and death situations by preventing hospitals from asking for any form of advance payment as a prerequisite for admission or medical treatment.

Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, sponsor and principal author of Senate Bill No. 1353, said the measure seeks to amend and strengthen Republic Act. No. 8344 otherwise known as the Anti-hospital Desposit Law by imposing stricter penalties such as 4 to 6 years of imprisonment to erring hospitals who demand any deposit or other form of advance payment, as a prerequisite for admission or medical treatment of an emergency patient.

Hontiveros’s bill also increases the fines for hospitals which refuse to administer basic emergency care from P100,000 to P1,000,000. It also gives authority to the Department of Health (DoH) to revoke the license of a health facility after three repeated violations committed pursuant to an established policy of the hospital or clinic or upon the instruction of its management.

“Sumbungan Board”

To investigate patient complaints and facilitate the filing of cases in court, the bill also proposes to establish a “Sumbungan Board” or a Health Facilities Oversight Board, which will be under the Department of Health (DOH).

In a short manifestation, Hontiveros expressed her gratitude to her colleagues in the Senate for helping her pass the bill. She particularly thanked Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senator Richard Gordon, co-authors of the said measure.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Ransomware has become the fastest growing malware threat, targeting everyone from home users to healthcare systems to corporate networks. Tracking analysis shows that there has been an average of more than 4,000 ransomware attacks every day since January 1, 2016.

On May 12, FortiGuard Labs began tracking a new ransomware variant that spread rapidly throughout the day. It is a highly virulent strain of a self-replicating ransomware that has impacted such far-flung organizations as the Russian Interior Ministry, Chinese universities, Hungarian and Spanish telcos, and hospitals and clinics run by the British National Health Services. It is especially notable for its multi-language ransom demands that support more than two-dozen languages.

This ransomware is being referred to by a number of names, including WCry, WannaCry, WanaCrypt0r, WannaCrypt, or Wana Decrypt0r. It is spread through an alleged NSA exploit called ETERNALBLUE that was leaked online last month by the hacker group known as The Shadow Brokers. ETERNALBLUE exploits a vulnerability in the Microsoft Server Message Block 1.0 (SMBv1) protocol.

Affected Microsoft products include:

· Windows Vista

· Windows Server 2008

· Windows 7

· Windows Server 2008 R2

· Windows 8.1

· Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2

· Windows RT 8.1

· Windows 10

· Windows Server 2016

· Windows Server Core installation option

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Sisiman Bay, located in Mariveles, Bataan, offers a closer view of the San Miguel Peak and the famous Sisiman Light house.

But aside from those captivating tourist eye-candies, you will also notice the many colorful boats floating on the waters itself. You'll be amazed of these creations that creates a picturesque post-card image for us to admire. Wait until sunset, and the diminishing light from the skies will further display wonderful hues of different colors. Nothing beats the sight of nature and man-made masterpieces harmoniously blending together in perfect unison.

Mariveles is about 165 kilometers from Manila (roughly 4 hours of travel time) and is located in a cove at the southern most tip of the Bataan peninsula, and obviously composed of fisher folks as seen from the many boats. These boats are mostly hand-made tediously by carpenters who could also be the fishermen themselves. At this particular part of the country, it is best that one is a a jack-of-all trades and knows how to multi-task using their multiple skills.

These boat makers are impressive since they spend several days building boats that would lasts years enough for the fishermen to get back the money they used to buy materials for the boats. I can imagine all that hard work and lengthy times toiled under the sun as they build boats that can handle the waters of Sisiman Bay - through rough or calm waters, and durable enough to carry a heavy load of men and catch for the day.

More photos of boats as they are built can be found below:

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Filipino martial artist Geje Eustaquio has no plans to leave the outcome of his upcoming bout in the hands of the three judges at cageside as he is set to share the ONE Championship cage with fierce Thai rival Anatpong Bunrad.

Both men are scheduled to square off against each other on the undercard of ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES, which takes place at the 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on 26 May.

Eustaquio and Bunrad first crossed paths in April 2015 at ONE: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS, where the latter took a split decision victory.

“The last time we fought, it was a razor-thin decision,” Eustaquio said, looking back on his close decision setback to Bunrad two years ago.

The 28-year-old Baguio City native Eustaquio feels that a consistent work rate in the rematch will be vital in his search for redemption against his Thai counterpart.

“Maybe I lacked the quantity in striking. There were also cases when his leg kicks, though those were weak ones, did connect. It didn’t hurt as much, but in the eyes of the judges, it had a big impact. So maybe this time, I’ll avoid those leg kicks,” Eustaquio said.

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Bagnet, sinanglao, tinubong, okoy, ... are just some of the delicacies that can be found in Ilocos Sur. But I believe the real iconic food treat that is most famous aside from their longganisa is their empanada, one of the most favorite street food.

There may be many kinds of empanada, but the crescent moon-shaped empanada is made up of grated green or unripe papaya, mung bean sprouts, mung beans and shredded carrots. It also shows the Vigan people’s love for vegetables in their cuisine. Its meat filing consist of whole egg and skinless Vigan longganisa which for me makes the empanada a winner.

There are actually two kinds of empanada from Ilocos. There is the light colored and crispier one from Ilocos Sur (Vigan); and also one from Ilocos Norte (Laoag) with the thicker crust and darker complexion due to the achuete added during preparation.
A walk along Calle Crisologo while eating some Vigan empanada (for either snacks, lunch, or dinner) completes an epic experience of Vigan. Well, maybe you could ride a calesa, but be careful that the horse might grab a bite of the empanada while you do your selfie or groupfie shoots.

The empanada was also among the dishes served to us when we got invited by former Governor Chavit Singson at his Baluarte property famous for its zoo where some animals could even roam around free. Nit to also forget his pet tigers where he personally has some at his home.

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The Philippines is a sailing nation – a country of 7641 islands connected for thousands of years by waterways via various watercraft.

To celebrate the Month of the Oceans, Island Buzz Philippines, a water sports company dedicated to make Cebu the ‘Paddling Capital of the Philippines’, paid tribute to traditional Visayan sailing and paddling culture by organizing a Bigiw regatta. Held on 13 May in Moalboal, the second annual ‘Bigiw Bugsay’ event gathered both traditional sailors and modern stand-up paddle-boarders in the biggest flotilla yet seen in Southern Cebu.

The Bigiw is a traditional dugout outrigger sailing canoe which for generations has been used by fishers in the Tañon Strait, a 161-kilometer strip which connects the Visayan and Bohol Seas. Lying between the islands of Cebu and Negros, the Strait is incredibly rich in biodiversity – hosting 62% of the country’s coral species, plus 14 species of whales and dolphins.

Oceana Philippines, Earth’s largest nonprofit dedicated solely to marine conservation, is working with government agencies and other stakeholders to ensure the protection and conservation of this important protected area and fishing ground.

“The Strait provides food and livelihood for 42 towns and municipalities, making it among our top fishing areas,” says Oceana Philippines Vice President Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos. “However, it is threatened by commercial fishers who illegally fish inside the Strait – despite a ban on commercial fishing in both municipal waters and protected areas. By empowering local fishers and sailors to protect their home waters, we’ll ensure a steady supply of fish for everyone – especially artisanal fishers who fish near the coast.”

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The next PFL match of DAFC will be against Kaya FC on may 21, 2017 to be held at University of Makati Stadium

Davao Aguilas Football Club (DAFC) attracted a crowd of 4,384 in its first home game at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex, which was the largest crowd drawn for any match in the newly started Philippines Football League (PFL).

DAFC went up against JPV Marikina FC, in an exciting match that led to a result of 3-2, in favor of the Marikina-based club.

Fil-Belgian midfielder Dylan de Bruycker, scored 2 goals for Davao Aguilas despite the tough weather that the team encountered on the pitch.

Next match will be against Kaya FC Makati on May 21, 2017 at 4 p.m., to be held at the University of Makati Football Stadium.

Tickets are available at the stadium.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Where else can you find opportunities to get some of your money back on top of discounts or special deals when you purchase online?

"ShopBack has been returning up to 30 per cent of what consumers pay for a specific item or service. This is on top of any discount the online store is already offering."

“When you shop on Lazada or ZALORA, GoodsPH via ShopBack, we give you a portion of your purchase back within 48 hours in your ShopBack account even if your mode of payment is cash on delivery to the store. This means extra, unlimited savings whenever you shop online,” says Kristina Ay-ay, country head of ShopBack

That's like getting double savings out of your purchase!

Sounds really enticing? Well, Shopback got my attention when I heard that statement. Though I've been offered to try this new concept, I was unable to perhaps because I was still a little bit hesitant it might all be a gimmick just so they could persuade me to buy through their system.

But after the media event held at The Curator in Makati on May 9, 2017, shopping through Shopback may now become a regular habit from now on whenever I want to buy online. They got me at "on top of any discount" and all the rest of what they said was just bonuses.

The event was hosted by Nigel Maranan, who is also the head of Communications of Shopback. Congratulations to the 4-man-only team, though few in manpower, has reported an impressively huge positive growth and promised more partnerships with new brands soon.

I got the entire team, all 4 of them, to get infront of my camera and personally invite our readers and viewers to try out Shopback. The videos were already uploaded on all our social media networks so you are bund to see them when you search for more information within the Wazzup Pilipinas network.

“It Doesn’t Stop with Just One HIV Test”- Mr. Gay World 2017

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Staunch advocate of LGBTQI rights, John F. Raspado just brought pride not only to the community but to the entire country for bagging the title Mr. Gay World 2017 on 10 May in Madrid, Spain– the first Southeast Asian to win the pageant.

Armed with passion to modernize the perspective of the society on the LGBTQI community, Raspado is one of the ambassadors of LoveYourself, Inc., the leading advocacy group on HIV Testing and Treatment in the country that focuses on raising one’s self-worth to protect themselves.

In a previous interview, Raspado said “I would like to use my voice and be a role model for the members of the LGBT community who are still in the process of acceptance.”

After winning the local pageant in October 2016, Raspado supported LoveYourself as its newest Self-Worth Ambassador during the annual HIV mass screening last November in Manila, where he guided interested individuals on their testing experience.

During that event, Raspado reminded everyone that “It doesn’t stop with just one HIV test. You would always have to be careful and be safe.”

Thus, LoveYourself will again hold its biggest HIV testing day on 28 May 2017 (10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.) at Victoria Court, Malate which is called Let's TestMNL, named after the organization's #TestMNL campaign, with Raspado as one of its ambassadors. Kindly register at this link: go.loveyourself.ph/testmnl to avail of the free, fast and anonymous HIV test.

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Slimmers World International just crowned its newest Miss Bikini Philippines title-holder for 2017 at the Grand Coronation Night held on May 12, 2017, Friday at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila in Pasay city.

Natalie Abellana Lane was chosen as the grand winner. Lane beat 24 other hopefuls for the chance to represent the country in the next edition of Top Model of the World.

Wazzup Pilipinas is a loud and proud media partner of the event just like the previous years, and we are very much honored in promoting this spectacular event where ladies of fitness and health takes beauty to the higher level.

We all know that Slimmers World International encourages people to become physically appealing by working out and maintaining their looks through healthy diets and exercise. But unlike other beauty pageants, the candidates all come from their client base, meaning these ladies are actually representing the different branches of Slimmers World International all over the country.

With the creative posing segment, you'll know that these ladies are truly amazing in both curves and moves. It was the favorite part of the grand coronation of Sam YG, one of the hosts for the night together with Issa Litton. Sam provided the wacky antics, while Issa tries to calm him down from the excitement of seeing beautiful ladies wearing only swimsuits on stage while doing their creative posing.

Providing entertainment for the night during a break were the Singing Sensations of Resorts World Manila, while Slimmeristars gave an opening number.