FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open Starts May 3

Wazzup Pilipinas!

74 teams compete at The Sands SM By the Bay

A SLEW of talented international players vying for tournament points are arriving today as they brace for the main draw of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open set to open later this week at the Sands SM By The Bay. 

Paraguay's Michelle Amarilla, who with Gabriela Filippo battled with the legendary United States pair of April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings in the first knock-out round of the 2015 Beach Volleyball World Championships, will banner the 16-pair women's cast. 

The highest rated team in the field, Amarilla will have Erika Bobadilla as her partner in the competition which the Philippines is making its hosting debut. The Paraguayans hope to bounce back in Manila after the duo failed to make it to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Malaysia Open semifinals in Langkawi last Sunday.

Ayumi Kusano, who played for Japan that won the Spike for Peace beach volleyball crown in 2015 at the Philsports Arena with Akiko Hasegawa, will return for another run at glory, this time with her partner Takemi Nishibori.

The young Netherlands pair of Katja Stam and Julia Wouters, who lost to Russia’s Ksenia Dabizha and Daria Mastikova in the women’s gold medal match of the Malaysia Open last Sunday, will also be worth-watching in the $10,000, one-star tournament organized by the Beach Volleyball Republic

Another player to watch out in the Manila Open is Lindsey Fuller, the 2014 US NVL Most Improved Player who will be paired with Kaley Melville for United States.

In the men's division, Austria’s Simon Fruhbauer and Jorg Wutzl, who earned their first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour gold medal at the Malaysia Open last Sunday at the expense Russia’s Petr Bakhnar and Taras Myskiv, will be the tandem to watch out.

The Austrian pair has been playing together since 2016.

Silver medalists Bakhnar and Myskiv will also be here in Manila along with Germany's Paul Becker and Eric Stadie, who lost to Thailand's I. Nuttanon and P. Sedtawat in the bronze medal match in Langkawi Open last weekend.

The highest-rated team in the men's division is Sweden's Martin Apprelgen and Simon Boman, who placed ninth in Langkawi. 

Among those early arrivals is Israel, which split its four tune-up sets with Filipinos James Pecaña and KR Guzman, and Ranran Abdilla and Edwin Tolentino Monday night.  Israel is among the 16 teams vying for four men's slots in the main draw.

The Philippines has entered four women's pairs in the main draw, with high-flying University of Santo Tomas standout Sisi Rondina and Dzi Gervacio leading the charge.

Rondina, a three-time UAAP beach volleyball champion, is no stranger to international tournaments, having represented the Philippines in last year's 29th Southeast Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in Singapore with Bernadeth Pons.

Other Filipinas competing are sand court veterans Charo Soriano and Bea Tan, two-time BVR national champions Karen Quilario and Lot Catubag, and wildcard entries DM Demontaño and Jackie Estoquia.

     

BVR national champions Jade Becaldo and Calvin Sarte and Kevin Juban and Raphy Abanto complete the men's cast.

     

The competition will commence with the men's division qualifiers on Thursday and before moving into the main draw for women and men on Friday.

       

The round of 12 and the quarterfinals are scheduled on Saturday with the semifinals and finals on Sunday. 

The event is promoted by E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd and organized by Beach Volleyball Republic Inc.

Damas Latinas Manila to Hold Tropicana Latin Charity Ball and Silent Auction on May 19

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Vamos a bailar!

The Latin American Women’s Club (Damas Latinas Manila) will be holding its Annual Charity Ball on the 19th of May, 2018 at the Fairmont Hotel Makati. This year’s theme is Tropicana, and it will be one of the club’s most colorful and vibrant events to date.

Excellent food and service can be expected from the chef and servers of the Fairmont hotel. Drinks will be sponsored by Coca Cola FEMSA, Bacardi, and Heineken. Other major sponsors include Santa Fe Relocation Services, Volenday, Turkish Airlines and Santos Knight Frank.

This year, the club has an exciting addition to the ball, it's host, Nico Bolzico. One of the most successful influencers from social media today. His enthusiasm will definitely add more fun and flavor to the events of the night.

The annual charity ball has become the main fundraising event of the year for the club, the proceeds from this event will go to the two causes the club has been passionately supporting for the last 20 years - The Holy Family Home Foundation and the Eugenia Ravasco Daycare Center. The Latin Ball has gained popularity and is recognized as one of the Top 20 Events of the Year in the Philippines by the Philippine Tatler. Attendance consists of some of the most exceptional members of Philippine society and the diplomatic community, along with numerous multinational executives and business owners. The presence of these people alone guarantees extensive media coverage for the club and their sponsors, which is always good leverage for them to meet their objectives and is without a doubt, a great opportunity to further strengthen the bonds of friendship and brotherhood between nations.

In addition to the ball, the annual silent auction will also be one of the activities of the night. The auction will include items such as overnight stays at The Farm at San Benito, high-end fashion jewelry pieces, different baskets featuring local items from the club’s members specific nations, and many more. The club will also raffle off 2 business class tickets to Europe care of Turkish Airlines.

Entertainment will be provided by Sabor Latino, a Latin band that will make you dance the entire night and there will also be a dance group that will perform Latin dances and not to be forgotten is the “hora loca”, the culmination of the event wherein everyone finally can let loose, take of their shoes, and dance the night away.

The club is confident that the persistent generosity of all the guests will help them continue raising funds to help and support the beneficiaries’foundations.

Please note that anyone is welcome to donate to the auction and that there are still sponsorship packages available for those interested. You can contact Roxana Muñoz at ‭+63 917 5908876 or Vanesa Villavicencio at +639178401616‬, or send an email to tickets@damaslatinasmanila.org  for more details about this.

You can also get updates through the Damas Latinas Manila website  www.damaslatinasmanila.org and FB page www.facebook.com/DamasLatinasManila‬‬


The Latin American Women’s Club (Damas Latins Manila) is a duly registered non-stock, non-profit organization founded in 1966 by a group of Latin American women seeking to establish an organization with two main purposes:

To offer a source of information, friendship, and support to Spanish speaking families who have come to live in the Philippines.

To gather forces to provide assistance to local people in need, especially children who do not have access to education, health services or a safe environment.

Our beneficiaries’ institutions are:
The Holy Family Home Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization managed by the Congregation of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family. Holy Family Home provides long-term residential care, protection, and rehabilitation of over 25 abandoned, neglected, orphaned, and physically abused girls. The foundation aims to mold the girls residing in the home into socially functioning individuals.

The Eugenia Ravasco Daycare Center in Parañaque is run by The Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary Congregation. Their mission is to provide basic health care, education and a clean safe environment for children from 3 to 4 years old, so that their parents can go to work and earn a living.

The Club is looking forward to having you in the Latin Charity Ball to help, show support to the organizations and to share the Latin culture.

Avengers Infinity War: No Spoilers Here, Just Plenty of Bathos

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We are a culture adrift in bathos. The kneecapping of drama - making it dramatically nonsensical. The emotion is cheapened by the comedy. The quips from superhero movies were fun at first when no other superhero movie was doing them, but now they're all quipping.

And I'm not arguing if they are funny or not....

I really wish they pulled back on the comedy and allowed the "hero" moments to shine through. Not everything has to have a joke attached to it. Do they make jokes to undercut the drama, or accentuate it? I was very disappointed with how so many potentially earnest and emotional moments were weakened by quips, jokes, and poking fun at the situation.

Best example is the Avengers Infinity War movie. The writers keep ruining the serious heroic moments just to add humor to the scenes. How many chuckles did Marvel Studios tried to cram in that film to alleviate its dark somber tone? Did the flippant attitudes and comic timing in the movie served to reinforce the emotional weight of the narrative, and not harm it? The 'bathos' is becoming too prevalent and severely undercutting emotional impact.

I don't think Marvel Studios does what they do because they're afraid of being cheesy, I think they do it because they're afraid of being cliche.

"The superhero movie has matured to a state where the classic narrative elements, told with sincerity, are considered old hat. It's hard to innovate thematically and stylistically so filmmakers turn to irony, self-consciousness and self-referentiality in their films in order to try to freshen things up. The use of bathos feeds into this chronic knowing winking that is going on between the film and the audience, this sense of 'we all know what the tropes are, let's undermine them.' The important question that arises is: how long can this go on for? Ironic subversion is itself a form of innovation, but it can only go on for so long before it collapses in on itself without new tropes or trends to feed off. It's a dead end without other forms of arguably more substantial innovation."

So aside from Thanos, there's plenty of Bathos at this Avengers movie that the superheroes should be fighting against a character called Bathos instead. I know it's not at all realistic but at when you're at the verge of serious moments not too many could really afford to crack a joke.

The superheroes do not need to be funny for us to appreciate them more. Their heroism is no laughing matter.

AkyatCon 3.0: Transformative Learning Beyond Mountaineering

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The University of the Philippines Mountaineers (UPM) is organizing again AkyatCon.

AkyatCon 3.0, the ONLY national conference that will gather mountaineering advocates,
adventure-travel outfitters, leisure hikers, officials from national agencies and local government units, sporting events, gear and equipment retailers and local communities for a series of plenary talks, presentations and other exciting activities with the theme: Transformative Learning Beyond Mountaineering.

This two-day event will be held on May 18-19, 2018 at the University of the Philippines,Diliman Campus, Quezon City.

https://web.facebook.com/upmountaineers/posts/10156338856802640

#WazzupPilipinas #PambansangBlogger #AkyatCon

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1622179894564207&id=273998629382347

Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Visits Coastguard and PNR HQ

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Keichi Ishii, received warm welcome from Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade during his visit at the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Headquarters, Sunday afternoon.

With Minister Ishii was Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, and some 20 men delegation.

PCG Commandant Rear Admiral Elson Hermogino briefed the minister on their recent maritime accomplishments using the Multi Role Response Vessel (MRRV) acquired through the generosity of the Japanese government.

From responding to sea mishaps, extending relief efforts to calamity stricken areas and providing maritime patrol and security in Philippine waters, MRRV's play a huge role in ensuring that the PCG is able to carry out its mandate.

Minister Ishii was very pleased with the recent accomplishments of the PCG using the MRRV's.

"It is with great pleasure to see that Japan's ships provided a number of accomplishments. Japan is promoting peace in the pacific. To promote free pacific, we must strengthen maritime capablities,” said Ishii.

The PCG is expecting the delivery of two (2) 94 meter vessels in 2021. The arrival of these vessels will greatly improve the capacity and performance of the agency.

"We expect that with the coming of the 94 meter vessels from Japan, it will greatly enhance our performance. This will also ensure that all Japanese vessels passing Philippine waters will be guarded and protected", said Rear Admiral Hermogino.

For his part, Sec. Tugade assured the Japanese government that all vessels are in good hands.

"I'm sure that if we will take care of these ships, Japanese government will be inspired to give us more,” Tugade said.

After exchanging pleasantries on board BRP Capones, Tugade handed over a PCG Command Plaque to Minister Ishii.

Tugade also accompanied Minister Ishii and Ambassador Haneda in their visit at the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Tutuban Station.

Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan, PNR Chairman Roberto Lastimoso, and PNR General Manager Junn Magno gave the Japanese dignitaries a tour in one of the trains donated by the Japanese government sometime 2011.

At the end of the tour, Minister Ishii and Ambassador Haneda were presented with a Comrade Award from the officials of the PNR in appreciation of Japan's unwavering support to the country's railway system.

Minister Ishii will again join Secretary Tugade in a meeting today, 30 April 2018 at the DOTr Office in Clark, Pampanga, and is expected to do a site visit at the NSCR Malolos station before he flies back to Tokyo on Tuesday, 1 May 2018.

Cine Lokal Goes Global with International Collab Film ‘Train Station’

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Film Development Council of the Philippines is proud to announce the Philippine Premiere of the international drama film ‘Train Station’ in Cine Lokal. The film produced by McGoollagan Films in Association with US based filmmakers CollabFeature. This unique collaborative film features 40 directors in 25 countries with 43 actors taking on the the lead actor role of ‘The Person in Brown’ and has been described as a new genre in filmmaking, uniting cultures and breaking language barriers.

Train Station is about a mysterious train accident that forces a man to change his plans, he is confronted with a series of choices. Each decision he makes leads to different scenarios - filmed by a different director with a different cast. Almost transcendent in its treatment, the film has won more than 15 international awards and has multiple entries in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records including Most Directors of a Feature Film, Most Female Directors of a Feature Film, Most Languages Spoken in a Feature Film, Most Country Locations of a Feature Film, and Most Number of Actors in the Lead Role.”

You are in for a whole new experience of a global film which you can catch in 8 SM Cinemas starting May 4th

SM Mall of Asia

SM Megamall

SM North Edsa

SM Fairview

SM Southmall

SM Bacoor

SM Sta. Mesa

SM Manila

Human Error: Leading Cause of Cybersecurity Breaches — Study

Wazzup Pilipinas!

A new worldwide study cited by leading DDoS Mitigation service provider IPC reveal that a lack of skills among employees is a critical barrier holding enterprises back from implementing threat management more effectively.

Conducted by the CyberEdge Group and IPC’s cybersecurity services partner Imperva Incapsula, the 2018 Cyberthreat Defense Report's 1,200 respondents showed that lack of skilled personnel and low security awareness among workers are the top two barriers that inhibit companies from adequately defending themselves from cyber-attacks.

The study was conducted in organizations with more than 500 employees in countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Some key findings in the APAC region include organizations in China and Japan leading all respondents in believing that they will be compromised by a successful cyber-attack this year, Chinese companies being the world’s leading victim of ransomware, and the position of IT security architect/engineer being the hardest to fill in Japan, China, and Singapore.

“Threats are constantly evolving and the chances of being attacked are increasing significantly as enterprises everywhere integrate new web-facing technology into their day-to-day systems. New types of attack methods are always emerging, and a single employee oversight can make or break a company. This study reveals how it is imperative to keep pace with the threat landscape as it evolves and continue educating ourselves on the latest attack methods,” said Niño Valmonte, IPC’s Director for Marketing & Digital Innovation.

Human error, negligence as top risk

The revelation that the lack of employee skills is a main inhibitor to effective cybersecurity is in line with the study’s other findings. When asked on what type of attack companies are most concerned with, the respondents’ answers revealed that the top three are Malware, Ransomware, and Phishing — threats that commonly enter a computer through the negligent actions of the user.

These three attacks are often spread through spam emails that contain malicious attachments. Opening the email will end up installing the threat into a computer. What’s more devastating about this is that once installed, most of them are programmed to automatically send themselves to the mailing list of an infected computer, thereby spreading itself further. Other common sources of the top three cyber threats are malicious files hidden inside downloaded files and software, and through a method called drive-by downloading, which occurs when malicious programs are automatically downloaded by visiting an infected website.

“Cybercriminals often use trickery to get people to unknowingly download malicious files. This can be an email with a file attached that tells you it is a receipt for a delivery, a new tool for a web browser, or even a bogus antivirus program that has malware hidden inside. These are just a few examples of how attackers can infiltrate a network that every company and its employees must know about,” said Valmonte.

Making cybersecurity education a priority

In order to avoid these threats, IPC recommends that businesses conduct constant training in order to instill the right skills, awareness, and the “cybersecurity culture” required in workers to fight against new and evolving threats.

“Cybersecurity education needs to be an integral part of the workplace culture, it doesn’t mean hosting a one-time course or seminar, it means making security a collaborative, continuous cultural initiative that will take up a lot of time but is a good investment in the long run with the fate of a company at stake.”, Valmonte adds.

According to IPC, organizations must first ensure that Cyber Security Education awareness and organizational security procedures are well established not only through periodic vulnerability assessment of their network and critical systems, but also in the mind-shaping of employees’ right from the induction and training process. In line with this, Valmonte recommends executives and middle managers to foster a culture of workplace security by talking to their respective teams about the following as a start:

●     Practices in keeping a computer clean, including sensibly limiting the programs, apps, and data that can be downloaded and installed, and speaking up whenever a computer exhibits strange behavior;

●     Using long, strong passwords that has the combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, symbols, numbers, and changing them routinely;

●     Recognizing and deleting email messages with suspicious subject lines and links;

●     Constant and consistent backup of files and/or applications;

“By starting with these steps, a company can already drastically reduce the installation of malicious programs within their network,” said Valmonte.

AGS Hailed SAP Best Geo Expansion Partner

Wazzup Pilipinas!

AGS SAP Business One Sales Manager Anna Galope and AGS Chief Operating Officer Dave De Leon smile to the camera as they receive this year’s SAP Best in Geo Expansion award. 

In recognition of their major contribution to SAP’s dominance across the South East Asian region, leading business management solutions and ePLDT subsidiary ABM Global Solutions (AGS) bagged the SAP Business One Best in Geo Expansion Award in the recently concluded 2018 SMB Innovation Summit held at the Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers in Vietnam.

Anna Galope, AGS SAP Business One Sales Manager, shared “This latest award solidifies our position as the number one SAP Business One partner in the Philippines. This also serves as a testament that we are the leading and most trusted partner of SAP in the Philippines and one of the main drivers of SAP’s growth across the South East Asian region.”

Meanwhile, AGS Chief Operating Officer Dave De Leon expressed his delight upon receiving the award. “This recognition is the latest among the several awards we have gotten, all indicating the progress and success we have had solving mission-critical business problems with SAP's ERP solution for the mid-market. This attests our commitment to excellence and proves how serious we are in valuing the partnership we create with our customers,” De Leon said.

The 2018 SMB Innovation Summit aims to supercharge the SAP Partner Ecosystem to execute small to midsize business growth and success. The event was joined in by other SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign Partners and industry experts, as well as successful leaders all gathered to attend content sessions that unlocked their organization’s ability to achieve new heights in 2018 and beyond.

Dismissal Case Against LTFRB Regional Director Based on Verified Reports

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) stands firm in its decision to terminate Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Regional Director Jun Abrazaldo due to his alleged involvement in corrupt practices.

Transportation Chief Arthur Tugade maintains a “One Strike Policy” against corrupt officials to make sure that rotten tomatoes do not mix with employees who uphold honest and transparent governance.

“Patunay lang ito na wala kaming pinalalampas sa Departamento. Mapa-opisyal o ordinaryong empleyado, basta’t hindi tama ang ginagawa, hindi ako magdadalawang isip na sibakin kayo. Utos iyan mismo ni Pangulong Duterte”, said Tugade.

Factual basis

According to LTFRB Chairman Atty. Martin Delgra III, Abrazaldo’s case was never based on unadulterated imagination as it is rooted from three (3) reports presented by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) that were received by the LTFRB on August and December 2017 and February 2018.

Apart from the intel reports, other complaints were also lodged to the LTFRB main office concerning Abrazaldo.

One complaint stated that sometime in 2017, a vehicular incident involving two trucks took place in Atimonan, Quezon Province. The first truck is owned by a trucking company with principal office in Quezon City while the second truck has a principal office in Naga City.

When both parties did not reach a compromised agreement, the owner of the second truck filed a case before the office of Abrazaldo. The Regional Director then threatened the owner of the first truck with suspension of franchise if the latter will not agree to pay PhP3 Million pesos as demanded by the owner of the second truck. He further threatened the owner with confiscation of 11 more trucks under the franchise of the first truck owner. This, despite not having the legal authority to hear the case as the incident took place in Region 4A.

In a separate incident, Mr. Rogelio Erni, owner and operator of Ultrabus Transportation Inc. (UTI) sought an audience with the LTFRB chairman to lodge a complaint against Abrazaldo for alleged illegal apprehension and impounding of their bus unit.

Having considered all the merits of the allegations and under the guidance of no less than President Duterte, Chairman Delgra has no reason but to recommend his termination from service.

Since Abrazaldo is a presidential appointee, his removal from office is not solely on Delgra’s hand— but upon the orders of President Duterte himself.

Delgra said, “Walang personalan, trabaho lang. Naghuhumiyaw na ang mga reklamo hindi pa ba natin aaksyunan? Kawawa naman ang taumbayan.”

Ready to face Abrazaldo head on

Chairman Delgra believes that his iron fist would irk Abrazaldo and all other officials who are involved in corruption. But, he is ready to face them and all possible made up stories aimed at pressuring the agency from doing what is right.

“We will not give in. Kahit ano pang ibato niya sa atin, hindi ako natatakot dahil ang sandigan natin ay iyong totoo lang. Nagtatrabaho tayo ng tama. Ang sabi ng Pangulong Duterte at ang mahigpit na bilin ni Secretary Tugade, wakasan ang korapsyon. Iyan po ang ginagawa natin”, said Delgra.

Transparent and open

Likewise, the Transportation Department welcomes Abrazaldo’s statements and challenges him to bring his allegations to court.

Secretary Tugade for his part, reminds everyone in government to be faithful to their oath of office. The Transportation Chief further said no amount of pressure or “padrino” will work during his time.

“Maraming ulo na ang gumugulong. Kung kurakot kayo o nagbabalak mangurakot, ‘wag niyo na ituloy dahil mahuhuli at mahuhuli ko kayo,” said Tugade.


#DOTrPH #AksyonAgad #WalangKorapsyon

Should You Buy or Lease Your Office Space? Here's A Visual Guide!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

For many companies, location is essential. You wouldn’t want to set up your office in a place where you know the business won’t thrive. In addition, the area should be able to cater to your employees’ needs and still be accessible to your current and potential partners.

Once a decision has been made as to where the office will be, the next question is whether you’d want to buy or rent an office space—and this question is often not easy to answer, even if your business is already an established one in the industry.

There are both pros and cons to buying and renting, and the answer to which one to choose really depends on multiple factors. Some of these factors include the nature of your business, the industry you’re working on, your current financial capabilities, your property preference and its cost, the number of employees, and the business strategy your choosing to implement, to name a few.

Whether you’re setting up your first office or relocating to a new one, your option should be beneficial for your business. In this infographic, you can read up on the boons and banes of buying and renting office space to help you in weighing your options, as well as the considerations you need to put forth before coming to a decision.