Davao Aguilas FC Hosted Kaya FC Makati

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Davao Aguilas Football Club (DAFC), sponsored by San Miguel Corporation, went up against Kaya FC Makati on Sunday, July 9, 4 p.m., at Davao del Norte Sports Complex.

It was the second time that these two teams went against each other for the Philippines Football League (PFL), with the first match taking place at University of Makati (UMak).

Davao Aguilas FC has earned a reputation for setting the trend in Philippines Football League (PFL) for hosting the biggest crowds. Its past 4 matches in its home stadium have gathered at least 16,000 people.

The club has also been getting involved in grassroots programs in Davao. It recently organized a football clinic for 200 kids, held at Tionko Football Field in Davao City. There are also other football clinics lined up for Davao and the Mindanao region.

Coach Gary Phillips in an interview, stressed the importance of setting-up a training camp in Davao; to help further develop football interest and be able to tap more local football talents as well. The club currently has players from Davao and other parts of Mindanao.

In the meantime, five members of Davao Aguilas FC (DAFC) have been called up for the Philippines Under-22 squad list for the Japan training camp, which was arranged by the Philippine Football Federation, along with Japan Football Association. The camp is a preparation for the AFC Under-23 Championship Qualifiers and the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. These players are Junnell Mark Bautista, Jaime Vicenzo Cheng, Rey Franco Miguel De La Torre, Van Rey Diaz and Richard Talaroc, Jr. 

Justice Delayed is Never Justice Denied in the Legal Drama “Conviction” to Premiere this July on Sony Channel

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This July, the fight for justice begins for those who have been wrongly convicted as they have one last hope for an acquittal in the legal procedural series Conviction on Sony Channel.

Highly skilled defense attorney Hayes Morrison (Hayley Atwell), who is also the daughter of a former U.S. president, is blackmailed into heading the newly created Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), a department under the New York County District Attorney’s Office tasked to investigate cases where there is credible suspicion of wrongful conviction.

To avoid imprisonment and further embarrassment, Hayes reluctantly accepts her new job but realizes that this might be the opportunity for her to rebuild her integrity and gain the respect she deserves.

Every week, Hayes and her team of lawyers, investigators, and forensic experts work together to identify and examine cases that made the headlines. With only five days on each case, they have to determine if any evidence was tampered, a confession was invalid, or a witness has been compromised that might overturn the conviction.

To come to a conclusion, Hayes and her elite group will question if the system failed, if jobs were carried out, if there was a cover-up and - the most important of all – if justice was served. 

Conviction premieres on July 20 and airs Thursday at 8:50pm, first and exclusive on Sony Channel.


Sony Channel is available on SKYCable Channel 35, Destiny Cable Channel 62, Cignal Channel 120, G Sat Channel 48, and Cablelink Channel 39.

Which Is Better: Rent-To-Own or In-House Financing?

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Top property marketplace Lamudi Philippines compares common housing payment schemes to let buyers choose which one suits them best

In a bid to provide end-to-end service to all home-hunters, Lamudi continues to share assistance through valuable information that will arm investors in their real estate transactions. Before you head on to the Lamudi Affordable Housing Fair and browse properties you can soon own, know first which the best option is: rent to own or in-house financing?



Rent-to-Own

Rent-to-own or lease-to-buy is an agreement that guarantees a renter the option of buying a leased property within a pre-arranged duration. Basically, it is being able to rent a home that you can buy at some stage in the rental period. A well-drafted contract is key in rent-to-own terms. Both parties must consent to the specifics, including rental rates plus rent-to-own premium, purchase date, duration of lease term, actual sale price, and all other essential clauses that must be finalized.

A rent-to-own scheme is appropriate for buyers who cannot afford to pay for a huge down-payment in one go as the duration of the lease—which normally lasts for two or more years—allows them to save enough cash and build their creditworthiness. For some people, owning a home is much for feasible this way.

One advantage of a rent-to-own transaction is that the buyer can lock the property’s present price even though the actual purchase may happen after the end of the lease term. In addition, in the event that you find the property or the neighborhood unsuitable, you can also decide to leave the property at the end of the lease term and look elsewhere. However, there are a number of caveats that must be considered before jumping into the rent-to-own bandwagon.

It is normally stipulated in the rent-to-own contract that the lessor/buyer will pay a rent-to-own premium on top of the monthly rent. For example, if the monthly rent of a certain condo in Makati is Php25,000, the rent-to-own contract may stipulate that the lessor/buyer will pay an additional Php8,000 per month as rent-to-own premium. This premium will make up part of the eventual down-payment at the time the lessor is to buy the property per the contract. If the lessor has paid 24 months of rent-to-own premium, they have accumulated a total of Php192,000.

Furthermore, as the intention to buy the property is already stipulated in the contract, the lessor agrees that they will eventually make the purchase upon the expiration of the lease term. If they don’t, then the contract may also stipulate that all rent-to-own premium paid will be forfeited.



In-house Financing

For buyers who want to pay for their properties in a series of installments without availing the offerings of third-party institutions, such as banks and other lenders, real estate developers also offer in-house financing.

Technically in-house financing is not considered a loan but an extended way of payment. Application is easy as developers are generally less stringent than commercial banks; with just valid identifications and enough proof of income you can already purchase a property. This usually applies to pre-selling projects of various developers for faster take-up. Likewise, many developers do not offer financing for move-in-ready units.

The setback is steeper interest rates and shorter payment terms. The high and fixed interest fees offered by real estate developers are way above the normal range accessible in banks. Payment duration offered is also shorter than the usual 10 to 15 years in banks or the up to 30 years offering of Pag-IBIG Fund.

Before finally deciding to enter a big financial commitment like real estate mortgages, it is very important to evaluate your current financial standing to be able to decide which term best fits your needs. If fast, worry-free, and easily approved scheme is your best bet, then in-house financing will work for you. Alternatively, if you prefer to move-in right away and rent a home that you can eventually buy, then gear up and find the best rent-to-own properties up for grabs at the Lamudi Affordable Housing Fair.



Lamudi Affordable Housing Fair

Slated to happen on July 15 and 16 at the Glorietta 3 Activity Center in Makati City, the Lamudi Affordable Housing Fair will display a wide-range of value-for-money properties with the easiest payment terms. The event is also packed with exclusive discounts and exciting freebies and promos can also be yours at the two-day housing fair.

Foreclosed property auctions, virtual reality in real estate, home-buying seminars, and forums facilitated by experts will simultaneously happen at the event.

The first Lamudi Housing Fair was successfully held November of last year and was attended by more than 5,000 visitors. The upcoming housing edition focusing on reasonably priced properties is expecting more attendees.


To know more about the Lamudi Affordable Housing Fair, visit http://www.lamudi.com.ph/events

Batibot Now on App Store

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Educational app develops essential thinking skills among children

Parents using iOS-powered smartphones and tablets can now download for free the Batibot mobile application, an interactive version of the beloved TV show that helps enhance learning among children.

Earlier launched on the Android platform, the app features fun games that teach kids basic learning concepts like matching, sorting, and grouping. The app also lets children practice tracing letters with the proper strokes, and helps them identify shapes, colors, numbers, and letter sounds.

The app’s “Awiting Batibot” feature enables kids to sing along to Batibot songs, while “Kuwentong Batibot” contains local stories that promote good values.

What makes the Batibot app stand out from other educational apps is that it is the only app in the Filipino language that is aligned with the kindergarten curriculum of the Department of Education.

The Batibot app is the product of a collaboration among Smart Communications, Community of Learners Foundation, and developer startup OrangeFix. The app jumpstarted Smart’s efforts to work with various communities and organizations to create literacy apps in local languages.

One Year On: Filipino Social Enterprises Better Equipped to Improve Quality of Education Following Completion of SAP Social Sabbatical Program

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Following the completion of SAP Social Sabbatical Program in the Philippines last year, two participating social enterprises, Teach for the Philippines and Silid Aralan (SAI), reported that their organizations are better able to fulfill their respective missions to improve the quality of education for underprivileged Filipinos.

The program, which ran in the Philippines last year with the aim to help local social enterprises overcome pressing organizations challenges and barriers to growth, has helped SAI and Teach for the Philippines to develop a sustainable business model, allowing these two organizations to maintain more efficient business processes both internally and externally, thereby giving the management more time to focus their efforts on driving outcomes based on their respective mandates.

According to Arcie Mallari, founder and executive director of SAI, the organization previously faced issues in recruiting volunteers. Prior to the SAP Social Sabbatical program, its staffs were also not equipped with the knowledge or skillsets to efficiently manage its resources.

By participating in the SAP Social Sabbatical program as an organization beneficiary, SAI was able to better gain insights on how their resources were being deployed and identify operational areas which were not getting the right amount of support, which then helped the management to acknowledge the need to employ more talents and gain more resources at the right time.

With the support of SAP employee volunteers through the SAP Social Sabbatical initiative, SAI was able to better develop a sustainable operating framework that brings a higher level of organization and sustainability for the organization. The social enterprise can now also function better in fulfilling its mission of boosting the academic performance of low performing and underprivileged students through a more effective and systematized set-up for its tutorial programs.

“SAI has plans to expand our organization and business. We aspire to develop learning hubs across the country by the year 2020. This year, we are putting up learning hubs in seven regions from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This endeavor was made possible partly because SAP Social Sabbatical team helped us improve our business model. Through the program, the SAP employee volunteers helped us develop a ‘Franchise Kit’ that we present to potential partners. They had also linked us to possible sponsors. Now, SAI is also more financially stable,” added Mallari.

Meanwhile, SAP also conducted a brand audit focused on further enriching the branding and marketing aspects of Teach for the Philippines. According to Clarissa Isabelle Delgado, co-founder and CEO of Teach Philippines, the brand review allowed them to learn new ideas that have aided them on how they can evolve the organization.

Since Teach for the Philippines enlists young professionals to mentor students in public schools, especially in remote areas in the country, the Social Sabbatical program improved their knowledge on how and what needs to be done to further promote its advocacy. This new-found understanding of the organization’s branding and marketing systems enabled them to create conversations about the social enterprise and its objectives and, in turn, encouraged more volunteers to join their ranks.

“It was helpful to have a third-party review our processes. The full brand review allowed us to have a new baseline to jumpstart conversations among our team on how we want Teach for the Philippines to evolve and improve in our communications – internally and externally,” added Delgado.

SAI and Teach for the Philippines are two social enterprises that aim to address prevailing issues that impede in the education of Filipinos despite the country’s high literacy rate.

While the country’s literacy rate is at 98.1 percent, according to the latest available data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as of 2013, there has been an increase in the issues that limit the learning capacity of students.

In 2015, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that 1 in every 10 Filipinos, aged 6 to 24, was out-of-school or 24 million Filipinos are experiencing hindrances to education due to various reasons. Among the top barriers to education are insufficient family income, the high cost of education and, a lack of interest in schooling.

For its part, SAP Social Sabbatical aspires to reach out to more social enterprises in the country to help them with their advocacies. The SAP Social Sabbatical is a unique program for SAP employees to contribute their time and expertise to assist in empowering organizations in the education or entrepreneurship sector in emerging markets, including assistance in strengthening their leadership competencies, cross industry sector know-how and intercultural sensitivity. Following the successful completion of the program in 2015, SAP is looking at continuing the efforts of supporting local organizations in the Philippines in 2018.

“SAP has long been dedicated to creating ways to help relevant social organizations, in any way that it can. SAP Social Sabbatical is our way of contributing a lasting impact to the society. This is also a big help to our country, especially in further improving education,” said Ryan Poggi, Managing Director, SAP Philippines.

Get Down and Move It

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Legit Status – a name whose got quite a reputation in the Philippine Hip-Hop Dance Community. They were one of the first representatives of the Philippines in the World Hip-Hop Dance Championships (HHI) back in 2009, as well as being a consistent finalist in international competitions. Last 2015, they won a Silver Medal for the Varsity Division. Now in 2017, after a one-year hiatus, they are back and stronger than ever. They currently have 48 members; 40 of which are competing in the Megacrew division and 8 competing in the Varsity Division. They are definitely well positioned to bring home the Gold for the Philippines as they wholeheartedly train and battle to represent the country.

After placing 2nd in this year’s National Championships, they are more motivated to bag 1st place in this year’s HHI, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona. Never fazed by the past, they always look to conquer their future. Legit Status has never been afraid of stepping up to the plate, as they believe that the challenges they face are what make the team grow stronger.

The road to the World Championships is not an easy task, aside from the late night trainings, in addition to balancing work or school; fundraising is one of the challenges that every team faces. One of Legit Status’ main fundraising events is their concert entitled “Represent!”. This is a 2-day concert on July 15 and 16, 2017 at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila University. For only P300, the audience will witness an undoubtedly entertaining show that captivates the essence of love and unity for the Philippine Hip-Hop Dance Community. Featuring several renowned teams in the Hip-Hop Dance Community, Represent! will surely be something you won’t want to miss. Come and support Legit Status as they strive to compete and make the Philippines proud. See you at Represent!

For more information regarding Legit Status and their different fundraising activities, visit their Facebook account on facebook.com/LegitStatusPH, Instagram: @LegitStatusPH, and Twitter: @LegitStatusPH.

NEC Introduces Smart Communications System SL2100 to Asian Market

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NEC Asia Pacific today announced the launch of the Smart Communications System SL2100for small- and mid-sized businesses in the Asian market.

With wide-ranging, enterprise-grade voice over IP (VoIP), mobility and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) features, the SL2100 also offers industry specific features for retail, healthcare, food service and entertainment, as well as hospitality features for small hotels and motels.

“The way the business world communicates is rapidly changing, especially in consumer-facing industries, where excellent customer experience is a must,” said Shigeru Matsuura, General Manager, Global Platform Division, NEC Corporation. “NEC’s SL2100 offers a new design for Hardware and Endpoints. Combined with the value-added features, such as Smartphone Integration and web-based Video Conferencing & Collaboration, the SL2100 is an ideal fit for service oriented small- and mid-sized businesses.”


SL2100’s key features include:

Built-in VoIP technologies (Standard 8ch. Expandable to 128 ch)
Web-based UC Client
Web-based Video Conferencing & Collaboration
Voice Response System/Voicemail
Outbound & Inbound audio conference
Geographical Multi-site operation over IP Network
ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) for small Contact Center
Hotel Features with PMS API


The SL2100 also offers an array of add-on Smart Mobility options, such as Remote/Home Office Support, Smartphone SIP App and Mobile Extension.

The SL2100 will be released to Asian countries sequentially starting from July 2017.

DOTr Lauds LTO’s Campaign Against “Fake Plates”

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Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade lauded today the ongoing campaign of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) against the manufacture, distribution and selling of counterfeit license plates.

“We are not tolerating these acts. Whoever they are, they should be held criminally liable. Pag gumawa kayo ng kalokohang labag sa batas, batas din ang uusig sa inyo,” Secretary Tugade said.

On Wednesday, a joint operation was conducted by the Quezon City Police District—District Special Operations Unit (QCPD-DSOU), the Philippine National Police Anti-Carnapping Unit (PNP-ANCAR), and the LTO-National Capital Region (LTO-NCR) in the residence of couple Jahaziel Alcantara (32 years old) and Kristine Nemenzo (22 years old) in Sitio Veterans, Brgy. Bagong Silangan in Quezon City.

Prior to the operation, authorities conducted a test buy operation on 22 June 2017 after receiving earlier reports of the couple’s alleged illegal activities. A search warrant was secured on 03 July 2017 from QC RTC Branch 78.

Recovered and seized from the site were twenty-six (26) Motor Vehicle Number Plates, three (3) Motorcycle Plates, twenty-five (25) Metal Sheets, cold laminated board, a laptop, a pressing manual machine, a logbook and receipts of transactions.

The couple will face charges for violations of Presidential Decree 1730 (Syndicated printing, manufacture, distribution or use of fake LTO documents and plates) and Article 2, Section 31 of Republic Act 4136 or the “Land Transportation and Traffic Code”

“While we are trying to address the current backlog in the production and distribution of license plates, we are also serious in apprehending elements who illegally produce, distribute and use fake plates,” LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante stressed.

The LTO stressed its commitment to normalize the process in the production and distribution of license plates. The current backlog has been identified to be at least a million vehicle plates. Plates with additional security features were bid out and are targeted for issuance by September this year.

Also, the LTO is currently embarking on its proposal to locally produce plates in order to expedite production time and avoid shortages in the future.

Ricoh Eco Action Reveals Beauty and Biodiversity of Masungi Georeserve

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Revealing some of the beauty and biodiversity of Philippine flora and fauna was recently conducted by global imaging and electronics leader Ricoh during its environmental initiative in Masungi Georeserve at Baras, Rizal.

Through the “RICOH Global Eco Action 2017”, RICOH Philippines showcased the importance of nature in a different perspective and promoted the need to take care of Mother Earth among local customers and some members of its staff in a tour of the discovery trail.

“Eco-Action is an annual global initiative where we hold corporate social responsibility programs with particular focus on the environment,” said Aida Ortega, Performance Excellence and Sustainability Officer at RICOH Philippines.

“Sustainability is at the heart of the way we work. We want to give back to nature because the resources that we used for our machines come from nature,” Ortega emphasized.

Preserved and managed by Masungi Georeserve Foundation, the conservation park and rustic rock garden reminiscent of the formations in Palawan serves as a sanctuary rich in heritage and biodiversity that is just a few hours from Metro Manila.

Masungi takes three to four hours to explore and is perfect for nature lovers, adventure seekers, beginner, and regular hikers with its rope courses, hanging bridges, and scenic destinations. 

Great Women Kicks off ASEAN Collaboration Events

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The Great Women Showroom & Café kicks off ASEAN themed activities in pop-ups of both fashion collections and cuisine starting this July and August, as part of the 50th Year ASEAN hosting of the country. Located at the ground floor of the Tesoro’s building in Makati City, the showroom is presently showing a unique fusion collection of Barong Batik made of local jusi textiles but using motifs and the traditional Indonesia batik style. Ladies tops, men’s barongs and textiles are available. Complementing this is a pop-up Tasting Circle event running for two weekends July 13-15, and 20-22 where traditional Indonesian beef rendang and chicken sate will be offered by the Dewi Sri kitchen.

Myanmar becomes the next focus on July 27 onwards as an exclusive and limited edition collection of Great Women kaftans specially designed by Burmese designer Wynn Wynn Ong will be available in the showroom for a limited time. Complementing this collection, the designer plays cook with a Tasting Circle of traditional Burmese noodle dishes such as the Mohinga Fish and Ono Kauk Swe plus Gula Melaka dessert. The Tasting Circle events sit only 14 people per sitting, with a number of sittings scheduled per day.

At the Great Women showroom, the inclusive business model of helping women microentrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs are seen through products created in collaboration with product developers, designers and manufacturers each working with a livelihood community group, cultural indigenous groups or small micro-enterprises run by women. The showroom is their first market access to a niche market focused on the region of ASEAN. Similarly, other ASEAN entrepreneurs working with the same inclusive business model are welcome to collaborate.

The Great Women Showroom & Café is located on the ground floor of the Tesoro’s Building, 1606 A Arnaiz Street, Makati City, open Mondays–Saturdays from 10 am to 8 pm. Please call 772-2433 for reservations to the Tasting Circles. Follow us on social media at greatwomenASEAN.