ASEAN Grid Milestone

Representatives from Lao, Thailand and Malaysia signed today the Energy Purchase And Wheeling Agreement (EWPA) which is the first multilateral electricity transaction in ASEAN that aims to advance multilateral electricity trade.

In photo from left are: Electricite Du Laos Managing Director Bounoum Syvanpheng, Vice Minister of Energy and Mines of LAO PDR Thongphat Inthavon, Electricite Du Laos Deputy Managing Director Bounma Manivong,  Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand Governor Kornrasit Pakchotanon, Minister of Energy Thailand General Anantaporn Kanjanarat, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand Assistant Governor Abdul Pitakchartiwongse, Tenaga Nasional Berhad of Malaysia CEO-President Datuk Seri Ir. Azman Mohd, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water of Malaysia Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili and Tenaga Nasional Berhad of Malaysia Company Secretary Ms. Nozarni Mohd Isa.

The Philippines highlights its role this week as host to the historic signing of an agreement integrating the power grids of Laos, Malaysia and Thailand.

The deal dubbed Energy Purchase Wheeling Agreement (EWPA) will be signed by the heads of the electric utilities of the three ASEAN member states during the 35th ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting (AMEM35) on September 27 at the Conrad Hotel Manila.

They are Bounoum Syvanpheng of Electricite du Laos from Lao People's Democratic Republic, Kornsrasit Pakchotanon of Electricity Generating Authority Thailand and Datuk Seri Ir. Azman Mohd of Tenaga National Berhad from Malaysia. ASEAN energy ministers will witness the EPWA signing.

In welcoming this development, Philippine Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi emphasized that the ASEAN is indeed the place for the investors to invest. This agreement is among the endeavors of ASEAN Member States in continuously looking into policies and areas of cooperation that are open and transparent.

The EWPA is the first multilateral electricity transaction in ASEAN that aims to advance electricity trade in the ASEAN Power Grid (APG). It implements Phase 1 of the Lao-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project that involves the purchase by Malaysia of up to 100 megawatts from Laos via Thailand’s transmission grid.

The APG is one of the key initiatives under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) ‎‎2016-2025, which serves as a blueprint for better cooperation towards enhancing energy security, accessibility, affordability and sustainability under the framework of the ASEAN Economic Community. 

As one of the physical energy infrastructure projects in the Master Plan of the ASEAN Connectivity, APG is expected to boost electricity trade across borders to meet the increasing electricity demand and improve access to energy services in the region. It is also envisioned to improve economic generation and transmission of electricity, enhance reliability and security of electricity supply and provide a platform for future energy trade. 

APG is also expected to provide opportunities to collectively utilize the energy resources within ASEAN to reduce the need and dependence on imported fuels from other regions.

The EPWA signing is part of the week-long AMEM35, where energy meetings and exhibits make the country as the destination of energy cooperation in the ASEAN.

Fortinet Warns That BlueBorne May Affect Billions of Devices

Fortinet, the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions, urges caution regarding a new Bluetooth exploit, known as BlueBorne, that has been discovered to exploit a number of Bluetooth vulnerabilities, making billions of devices potentially vulnerable to attack. While there is no evidence that such attack vectors currently exist in the wild, it is possible that proof-of-concept exploits exist in labs, or could easily be developed and released in the wild.

BlueBorne is a hybrid Trojan-Worm malware that spreads via Bluetooth. Because it includes worm-like properties, any infected system is also a potential carrier, and will actively search for vulnerable hosts. Unfortunately, vulnerable hosts can include any Bluetooth-enabled device, including Android, iOS, Mac OSX, and Windows systems.

The implications of this threat vector are far-reaching because Bluetooth is one of the most widely deployed and used connectivity protocols in the world. Everything from electronic appliances to smartphones uses it, as do a growing number of IoT devices, including smart TVs, smart car gadgets and even home security systems.

“Tackling the BlueBorne exploit is challenging because Bluetooth is not a communications protocol that is monitored and inspected by most network security tools. Therefore, traditional security devices such as intrusion detection systems will most likely not be able to detect BlueBorne attacks,” said David Maciejak, Director of Security Research, Fortinet. “Since this technology has not really been a focus for security researchers, it is highly likely that we will see an increase in attackers looking to exploit Bluetooth implementations in the future.”

 

To protect yourself and your Bluetooth-enabled devices, you need to immediately do three things:

·         Disable Bluetooth on your devices unless it is absolutely needed. If you turn it on, then turn it off as soon as you are done using it.

·         Identify the devices you own or that are attached to your network. Closely monitor those manufacturers for Bluetooth updates.

·         Patch systems as soon as updates become available. Apple iOS was patched in 2016 with an iOS 10 release. Microsoft issued a patch for Windows this July. And Google is reportedly now working on distributing a patch.

The BlueBorne malware works by scanning for Bluetooth-enabled devices and then probing them to see if they have relevant vulnerabilities.

“Once a target is identified, the hack takes less than 10 seconds, and targeted devices don't even need to accept an incoming connection in order to be compromised,” warned Maciejak. “Once a device has been compromised, attackers are able to run arbitrary commands on the device and even access and potentially steal data. The attack also immediately begins to seek out and spread to other vulnerable Bluetooth-enabled targets.” 

Yamaha Opens Sanayang Teknikal ng Kabataan at West Bajac Bajac

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Aruba Modernizes Network Security to Help Businesses Reduce Risk in the Era of Mobile, Cloud and IoT

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company announced the Aruba 360 Secure Fabric, a security framework that provides 360 degrees of analytics-driven attack detection and response to help organizations reduce risk in today’s changing threat landscape. Aruba is also innovating in User and Entity Behavioral Analytics (UEBA) by expanding the Aruba IntroSpect product family, enabling businesses to easily and rapidly scale machine-learned behavior detection from small projects to full enterprise deployments.

Gartner’s research into insider threats indicates that organizations are not adequately considering the risk from their trusted users even though there are myriad examples where organizations have been impacted. On a positive note, Gartner fielded almost a 100% increase from clients looking to address the insider threat issue, of which UEBA is one of the primary technologies.[1]

To help organizations address new and unknown threats, the Aruba 360 Secure Fabric offers security and IT teams an integrated way to quickly detect and respond to advanced cyberattacks from pre-authorization to post-authorization across multi-vendor infrastructures, supporting enterprises of all sizes.

Components of the Aruba 360 Secure Fabric include the following:

·         Aruba IntroSpect UEBA solution: A new network-agnostic family of continuous monitoring and advanced attack detection software. Includes a new entry-level edition and uses machine learning to detect changes in user and device behavior that can indicate attacks that have evaded traditional security defenses. Machine-learning algorithms generate a Risk Score based on the severity of an attack to speed up incident investigations for security teams.

·         Aruba ClearPass: A proven network access control (NAC) and policy management security solution which can profile BYOD and IoT users and devices, enabling automated attack response, is now integrated with Aruba IntroSpect. ClearPass can also be deployed on any vendor’s network.

·         Aruba Secure Core: Essential security capabilities embedded in the foundation across all of Aruba’s Wi-Fi access points, wireless controllers and switches, including the recently introduced Aruba 8400 campus core and aggregation switch.

New Edition for Aruba IntroSpect UEBA Family

Aruba IntroSpect Standard joins the IntroSpect UEBA family, along with new features added to the company’s flagship offering, Aruba IntroSpect Advanced. The expansion of the IntroSpect UEBA family offers security teams more choice and a quick way to implement UEBA.

Aruba IntroSpect Standard is an easy way for organizations to start employing UEBA machine learning security with as few as three data sources, accelerating an organization’s time-to-protect corporate and customer data. It is designed for basic monitoring and detection of anomalous and often, subtle, behaviors on the network and across mobile, cloud, and IoT devices and applications, to identify early signs of attack expansion and beaconing, as well as data exfiltration.

It ingests common data sources including Microsoft Active Directory or other LDAP authentication records and identity information, and firewall logs from sources such as Checkpoint, Palo Alto Networks or Aruba monitoring (AMON) logs from Aruba infrastructure. Action can be taken quickly using ClearPass to quarantine, restrict, or remove identified threats.

Security teams deploying IntroSpect Standard can easily upgrade to IntroSpect Advanced as their requirements expand.

Raising the Bar on Early Detection with Aruba IntroSpect Advanced Edition

Aruba IntroSpect Advanced delivers a wider set of security capabilities than IntroSpect Standard to provide attack detection by correlating across a broader array of data sources, aiding in faster incident investigation and improved threat-hunting, search, and deep forensics. Included are more than 100 supervised and unsupervised machine learning models that provide unmatched analytics and forensics from data such as packets, flows, logs, alerts, endpoints, and including mobile, cloud, and IoT traffic, increasing an organization’s effectiveness at identify risk.

New features for Aruba IntroSpect Advanced include:

·         Smarter Security with Dynamic Machine Learning, which allows security teams to easily customize IntroSpect’s analytical models based on the current threat environment and protection priorities. Included is “chaining,” in which the 100+ out-of-the box machine learning models can be linked together to construct new detection scenarios and associated risk scores.

·         Classifying Mobile, Cloud, and IoT with Device Peer Grouping, which utilizes the ClearPass profiling functionality to group like devices even when known only by their IP address. For example, ClearPass will classify a surveillance camera or a factory sensor, and IntroSpect will benchmark its behavior amongst its peer group.  Introspect will flag unusual device behavior based on peer group comparisons, which is important in extending UEBA functionality to the growing classes of IoT devices.

·         Faster Remediation with Integrated Attack Response, enabling security analysts to respond to an attack by triggering an action for ClearPass directly from the IntroSpect console. 

Trusted and Secure Network Foundation with Aruba Secure Core

Embedded into Aruba’s networking infrastructure is the Aruba Secure Core which provides the necessary protection required for any network including secure boot, embedded firewalls, centralized encryption, deep packet inspection and intrusion prevention. Aruba’s unique infrastructure design helps eliminate the danger of physical tampering while securing and monitoring network traffic.

Integrating Aruba IntroSpect UEBA and Aruba ClearPass into the Aruba Secure Core provides a seamless path of protection from device discovery and access to attack detection and response. This gives Aruba customers the unique ability to detect an attack and then take automated or analyst-initiated action to protect organizations’ valuable assets, ranging from network reauthentication to quarantining to blacklisting users and devices.

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[1] Gartner, “Market Guide for User and Entity Behavior Analytics,” Toby Bussa, Avivah Litan, Trisha Philips, Dec. 8, 2016, Pg. 9

E-Commerce Sector at Risk of ‘Lethal’ DDoS Attacks This 2017

A tough road is expected for businesses that rely on digital technology this year as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks continue to evolve, according to a report cited by IPC, a local cloud pioneer and the only DDoS mitigation service provider in the country with a local attack scrubbing facility.

The worldwide study conducted by IPC’s DDoS Mitigation partner Nexusguard revealed a 380% increase in frequency of attacks in the first quarter of 2017. “More than 16,600 attacks were recorded during the first quarter, with notable ones being an enormous 275Gbps attack that took place during Valentine’s Day and a lengthy attack spanning 4,060 minutes which occurred during the Chinese New Year,” said Juniman Kasman, Chief Technology Officer of Nexusguard.

Additionally, the study shows that the percentage of days with large attacks also grew substantially. “The percentage of days with sizeable attacks (larger than 10Gbps) grew considerably between January (48.39%) and March (64.29%),” added Kasman.

For Dave De Leon, IPC’s Chief Operating Officer, the rising complexity of DDoS attacks can adversely affect companies who utilize digital means for business. “Online businesses have much to lose from going offline due to DDoS attacks. The ecommerce industry is a very vulnerable sector because operations rely heavily on the Internet. One successful attack can lead to huge financial losses. If you factor in the risk of losing customers, then we might be talking about millions.”

Online transactions paralyzed

During a DDoS attack, cybercriminals flood a website with traffic coming from numerous requests in order to overwhelm its server. Due to the staggering amount of incoming traffic, the server is unable to support it and eventually crashes. Its main objective is to prevent users — both customers and the staff of the company — from accessing the site. To put it plainly, DDoS attacks knock perfectly healthy websites offline by overwhelming them.

The threat of evolving DDoS attacks is at a pivotal moment where the practice of online shopping is growing at an exponential rate, as revealed in an eMarketer study that forecasts a global e-commerce market amounting to $2.290 trillion this year. IPC believes that this growth will further attract criminals to launch more attacks.

“An inaccessible website is possibly the worst scenario any e-commerce company could experience. Aside from not being able to conduct business, their reputation is also at stake since an ongoing attack can disrupt the shopping experience of customers. If not remedied, irate customers will eventually choose other sites.” said De Leon. “As a solution, we urge online sellers to find a DDoS mitigation provider that can fend off large-scale attacks and assure them of a stable connection amidst these online disasters.”

Together with partner Nexusguard, IPC’s Premium DDoS Mitigation solution ensures business continuity in light of DDoS attacks. The company’s DDoS Mitigation experts employ GRE (Generic Route Encapsulation) Tunnel solutions that easily and constantly avert any incoming malicious traffic that can take down a website. Round-the-clock monitoring of the network is also part of the service, as a way to quickly implement security measures in the event of an attack.

“DDoS Mitigation should be an essential part of an e-commerce company’s cybersecurity strategy. DDoS attacks are specialized threats designed to bring down a company’s website. It all boils down to how much an hour or a day of downtime will cost you. If you can’t even begin to imagine the losses, then it’s time to talk to a DDoS Mitigation expert,” said De Leon.

For more information on how to protect your online business from DDoS attacks, visit http://ipc.ph/en/ddos/.

Power Mac Center ‘Cinemansanas’ Awards Outstanding Films Shot on iPhone

Local film fans have new names to watch out for as premier Apple partner Power Mac Center awarded the bold, brave, and brilliant filmmakers who showcased their digital storytelling prowess at the recently concluded Pixelworx: Cinemansanas campaign.

The Cinemansanas main challenge was to create short films using an iPhone. This year’s competition has two categories: (1) “Do you have a minute?”, open to everyone who can create a 60-second film; and (2) Masterclass with Brillante Mendoza, exclusive to attendees of international award-winning director Brillante Mendoza’s training sessions.

“Cinemansanas is Power Mac Center’s way of showcasing the brilliance of Filipino filmmakers. We want to show that through technology, they can create a new way of presenting ideas and making their voices heard. We hope it will open doors for them to pursue their passion and push the industry further,” said Power Mac Center Marketing Director Joey Alvarez.

Twelve films made it to the finals of the “Do you have a minute?” competition, and all 21 finalists of the Masterclass with Brillante Mendoza category were screened during the Movie Premiere held at the SM Mall of Asia Cinema.

Entries were judged based on creativity of presentation and technical quality. Along with Mendoza, veteran director Yam Laranas, multi-awarded author and scriptwriter Ricky Lee, and Rebelde Film Camp founder J.E. Tiglao helped determine which films deserve the Cinemansanas Gold, Platinum, and Diamond awards.

Brillante Mendoza Citation Award winner Khalil Joseph Bañares - “Rito (The Rites)” with the Cinemansanas 2017 panel of judges: multi-awarded author and scriptwriter Ricky Lee, Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza, veteran director Yam Laranas, and Rebelde Film Camp founder J.E. Tiglao, with Power Mac Center Marketing Director Joey Alvarez (rightmost)

Power Mac Center brand ambassador Director Brillante Mendoza talks about his Cinemansanas Masterclass mentoring experience and congratulates all finalists of this year’s short film competition during the special movie premiere at the SM Mall of Asia Cinema.

Power Mac Center Marketing Director Joey Alvarez (rightmost) and Marketing Manager AG Constantino (leftmost) flock Cinemansanas Do you have a minute? category winners Don Diaz (Diamond Award for “Balat Sibuyas”), Winston Salvejos (Platinum Award for “Mayo Uno”), and Krista Ortega (Gold Award for “An Artist’s Ode”).

Following is the full list of winners for Cinemansanas 2017:

“Do you have a minute?”

·         Gold Award

“An Artist’s Ode” by Krista Ortega

Prize: Php 10,000 worth of Power Mac Center gift cards + THE COOP IDEA 9000mAh Power Bank and Nifteen backpack

·         Platinum Award

“Mayo Uno” by Winston Salvejos

Prize: Php 20,000 worth of Power Mac Center gift cards + THE COOP IDEA 9000mAh Power Bank and Nifteen backpack

·         Diamond Award

“Balat Sibuyas” by Don Diaz

Prize: iPad Pro 12.9” + THE COOP IDEA 9000mAh Power Bank and Nifteen backpack

Masterclass with Brillante Mendoza

·         Brillante Mendoza Citation Award

“Rito (The Rites)” by Khalil Joseph Bañares

·         Power Mac Center Citation Award

“981 Million Thousand Dangkal” by Lino Balmes

·         Gold Award

“Rito (The Rites)” by Khalil Joseph Bañares

Prize: Php 30,000 worth of Power Mac Center gift cards + Wacom Intuos Draw Medium

·         Platinum Award

“Live Cam” by Arjanmar Rebeta

Prize: Php 40,000 worth of Power Mac Center gift cards + BOSE Soundlink Color II

·         Diamond Award

“Kuya” by Carlo Fajarda

Prize: MacBook Pro 13” Retina + 4TB SEAGATE Back Up Plus

Apart from the awarding ceremony, the Cinemansanas Movie Premiere also screened the winning film of Rebelde Film Camp Year 4, “Paparating Na Ang Bagyo” by Ephraim Kawit. Part of Kawit’s prizes is a scholarship to Mendoza’s Masterclass.

Completing the event was the much-awaited premiere of the Power Mac Center short film directed by Brillante Mendoza titled “Bitbit,” in celebration of the premier Apple reseller’s 23 glorious years in business.

Cinemansanas is part of the Pixelworx campaign, Power Mac Center’s advocacy of recognizing artists who break the standards of the art scene. It is celebrated with a series of workshops by industry experts, trainings on creative apps, and an ultimate art challenge.

Cinemansanas 2017 was co-presented by Lacie, The Coop Idea, Philips, Bose, Panzer Glass, Zerotech, and Wacom. To view all the films, visit Power Mac Center on Facebook and Youtube.

Myths Of Love Dance-Theater

“Myths of Love” is a dance-theater event that tackles our notion of romance. Based on the book, “Seven Myths About Love…Actually” by British author Mike George, it talks about why it seems to challenging to get a hold of genuine love. For so long, we equated love as approval and assumed that love and happiness were found in relationships, acquisitions and even places. However, the satisfaction was fleeting and the disillusionment was bound to happen. We recognize they are blind alleys. George says you don’t have to seek love anywhere as it is already found in our own heart.

Myths Of Love

Oct 5, Thursday, 7:30 Pm

Powermac Center Spotlight, Circuit Makati

Directed By Melvin Lee

Choreographed By Jed Amihan

Performers: Marge Enriquez, Rose Camacho, Katherine Trofeo, Jed Amihan

Photography By Denise Weldon

Art Direction By Mark Constantine Inducil



For Details, Contact 0917-9803541

Ballet Philippines’ Internationally Acclaimed Classics Are Back In “The Exemplars: Amada And Other Dances” Taking The Stage On October 20 – 22

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The country’s preeminent ballet and contemporary dance company, Ballet Philippines, reintroduces internationally acclaimed classics of the company’s vast repertoire to a newer audience.

This production provides a rare opportunity to shed light on the long-unseen works that established the company’s signature style and identity as an internationally and locally renowned dance company, paving the way to 48 years of artistic excellence and cultural contribution. This was made possible by patrons of the arts San Miguel Corporation, Phoenix Petroleum and Sanicare.

"The Exemplars" will showcase the company’s classic works such as Alice Reyes’ “Amada.” As one of the first pieces ever performed by the company, Amada is based on “Summer Solstice” by National Artist for Literature, Nick Joaquin. Set in Catholic, Hispanic, 19th century Manila, traditional male-dominance is shaken by the Tadtarin, a native festival in which women suddenly reign supreme shattering the established Hispanic molds and patterns. Amada premiered in Manila in 1970, with National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes herself in the titular role, and music composed by National Artist for Music Lucrecia Kasilag. It has since won critical acclaim in the Philippines and abroad, and represents the company’s work in Philippine material at its best.

Another featured work is “Valse Fantasy.” A male dancer and three ballerinas dance in a ballet dotted with leaps, turns, beats, entrances and exits. Set to Glinka’s music, Valse Fantasy is pure dancing tailored by the music’s breezy patterns and delightful rhythms. A neo-classical piece inspired by George Balanchine, it was especially staged for Ballet Philippines by Muñeca Aponte in 1974. This year, premier danseur Nonoy Froilan is restaging the ballet, as he himself danced the male role in the 1970's.

Gener Caringal’s “Ang Sultan” is a heart-breaking story about star-crossed lovers, separated by the eternal clash between classes. Set in the pre-colonial Filipino caste system, it tells the story of the consequences when a man from a lower caste falls in love with a princess—where revolt and an uprising ensue due to inequity and social injustice. Using Maguindanao/Muslim instrumentation, the music was composed by Lucrecia Kasilag. Since it’s premiere in 1973, it has become one of the most performed pieces in the company’s repertoire.

Norman Walker’s “Songs of a Wayfarer” is the story of unrequited love. We follow our hero, who is in deep sadness as his love is being wed to another, and trying to escape with everything reminding him of his love. This is a story of ultimately finding one’s self in the loneliness of life, even though surrounded by friends, there is a feeling of trying to find a purpose that fulfills the empty void. Critical and popular acclaim has made this work a piece de resistance in the company’s repertoire.

Pauline Koner’s “Concertino” is considered a major landmark in modern dance. This classic tells the story about a lady of the court and her attendants who conduct themselves in various manners from the proper to the frolicsome. In the rigidity of the high life she feels caged and seeks liberation from the tedious life. This piece was choreographed in the earlier style of American Modern Dance that has become a challenge to all who attempt this stylistically difficult piece.

Catch us! Ballet Philippines' "The Exemplars: Amada and Other Dances" will be performed in on October 20-22, 2017 at the CCP Main Theater, and October 25, 2017 at the Globe Auditorium, Maybank Theater, BGC Arts Center.

For tickets, call Ballet Philippines at (+632) 551-1003, the CCP Box Office at (+632) 832-3704, or Ticketworld at (+632) 891-9999 or Ticketworld.com.ph.

Connect to Ballet Philippines online through the following social media networks:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/balletphilippines

Instagram: @balletphilippines

YouTube: balletph

DOTr Chief Supports Chavez's Legal Tussle Versus Buri

Wazzup Pilipinas!


Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade today said he supports the withholding of payment to MRT3 maintenance provider, Korean firm Busan Universal Rails Inc. (BURI).

Asked for his response to graft charges filed by BURI against Undersecretary Cesar Chavez for the withholding of payment, Secretary Tugade said he trusts how Chavez handles the rail sector of the department, and that all decisions of the latter were properly consulted with him.

“The decision to withhold payment to BURI is not a decision of Undersecretary Chavez alone. It is the decision of the Department as a whole. I support the actions of Undersecretary Chavez in handling the issues confronting the rail sector of DOTr. His actions were in accordance with my instructions," Tugade said.

Tugade likewise mentioned that if he had it his way, he should be included in the case since the decision to withhold BURI's payment was made with his approval and consent.

"Undersecretary Chavez always consults his plans and actions with me. His decisions were made with my consent, approval and confirmation. So, I should also be included in the graft case filed against him,” Tugade said. "Besides, all his actions are in accordance with the contract, equity, decency and law. All these are aboveboard and have gone through rigorous review and due process,” he added. 

The transportation chief noted that the withholding of payment to BURI is only taking into account “the good of the country and the welfare of the riding public.” 

BURI officials recently filed a graft case against Chavez before the Ombudsman after the DOTr undersecretary withheld the payment for the Logical Vehicle Unit (LVU) for the MRT Line 3 worth PHP4 million. 

The LVU is part of the automatic train protection or the onboard signaling system.

Chavez said he decided to temporarily hold payment of the LVU as he waits for BURI to furnish him with the Certificate of Origin and Factory Inspection Report attached to the LVU billing. 

BURI has acquired the LVU from Diamond Pearl, owned by the family of Marlo dela Cruz, while the manufacturer of MRT3’s original signaling system came from Bombadier, Chavez added.   

He said this is a requirement of Commission of Audit (COA) to make sure that the spare parts for the coaches are not taken from other train coaches.

“Pag kumpleto ang mga dokumento na requirement ng COA, binabayaran natin. Pag hindi, hindi rin natin binabayaran. Bakit kailangang masinop sa pagsusuri ng billing? Para matiyak na original ang spare parts at hindi rin galing sa “cannibalized” o kinuha lang na piesa sa ibang bagon. Ito ay para sa kaligtasan ng mga mananakay,” Chavez said. 

Regarding his actions to withhold the payment to BURI, Chavez maintained he is merely ensuring that government funds are spent judiciously on projects and acquisitions. 

“My decision to withhold payment is precisely to protect public funds. How can I be charged with graft when I am only protecting public funds and the people's welfare?,” he said.