It’s All About the Game—and the Gamers—in Conquerors Manila 2019

Wazzup Pilipinas!

All is set for the biggest League of Legends (LoL) fan event in Southeast Asia to celebrate one of the most played games in the world and its ever-expanding community in the Philippines!

Globe and Garena promise to make Conquerors Manila 2019, which is set to unfold on October 25-27 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, more engaging not only to League gamers but also to the entire esports community as they watch, cheer and participate in several events designed to make their experience unique and unforgettable.

Select celebrities, bloggers and influencers will also take to the limelight as they battle in a friendly competition-for-a-cause in the highly-anticipated “Celebrity Showmatch.”

Fans, on the other hand, are welcome to join the cosplay competition and visit the gaming merch store and various exhibits. As early as now, fans can purchase tickets to Conquerors Manila 2019 at all SM Ticket outlets with a 20% discount given if fans buy tickets for a two day pass, instead of one day, to watch the competitions. The discount will be given until September 22 or until supplies last.

“Esports is one platform Globe is truly excited about. Its huge—and still growing—the global fan base of this enormous entertainment platform can’t be ignored. It is due to this why one of our major thrusts is to develop strategic partnerships with the best game developers and publishers in the world like Garena and Riot to make the game more accessible to everyone in the Philippines. And with faster connectivity provided by Globe, gaming will be more exciting and competitions will be more challenging,” explains Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.

“Fan acceptance last year was truly overwhelming so we decided to change the format to celebrate LoL fans themselves and their huge contributions to the growth of the game in the country in particular and the acceptance of esports in general,” Nikko Acosta, Globe SVP for Content Business Group and Product Management, says.

Jamie Lewin, Head of Strategic Partnerships for SEA – Riot Games, reveals how the Philippines has been one of the most high-performing markets in the region for Riot Games.

“Our focus in terms of gaming market development is really the Philippines, and we’re looking at how Filipinos will look at esports, especially now that it is included in the SEA Games Calendar this year. We’re truly excited about our prospects,” he adds.

Aside from the PHP 3.5 million+ in prizes up from grab across competitions and activities during the two-day event, Conquerors Manila 2019 is also aiming to break last year’s attendance records where more than 16,000 fans trooped to watch the competitions live.

“We are honoured to have Globe as our partner in growing the esports audience in the Philippines. The Philippines remains one of the strongest and most competitive countries in the global esports arena. Our partnership with Globe is fully in line with our mission of building stronger gaming communities, and ensures that we continue to discover and develop more esports talents who can compete at the highest level” says Jason Ng, Garena’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships.

Globe’s commitment to esports began through its groundbreaking LTE network that raised mobile and broadband gaming to the next level. This was followed by the company’s strategic partnerships with Riot, developer of League of Legends; Garena, Philippine publisher of League of Legends; and market leader Mineski, which led to the formation of Team Liyab, the company’s official esports team as well as a multi-platform gaming league called the Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL) .

For additional details, please visit www.conquerorsmanila2019.com.

For more about Globe Telecom, visit https://www.globe.com.ph.

45% of Filipinos Choose Online Financing Tools Due to Higher Speed

Wazzup Pilipinas!

According to a customer survey conducted by Robocash Group in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, speed of service is the key advantage of online financing tools stated by 50.4% of users. The difference between the four countries is relatively small. In particular, the share of Filipinos who appreciated this feature is lower the average by five points (45%) only. Still, speed has the highest preference among local customers.

Other advantages of fintech financing were related to its accessibility. The company statistics show that a lot of customers of relevant services are residents of rural areas. In many cases, they are self-employed or employed informally, and few of them have some credit history. In this respect, the possibility to get formal financial assistance looks positive by itself. For instance, a reduced list of supporting documents is the main advantage provided by online financing tools for 22.8% of respondents in the Philippines. Third place belongs to a higher probability to obtain financing with 9.6% of voices. On the total scale of the four countries, this feature was appreciated by 12.5% of all respondents who took part in the survey.



One more group of advantages relates to the convenience of fintech services at use. The round-the-clock operation, together with a variety of ways to obtain cash, complements significantly to the speed factor.

Commenting on the findings, the analysts of the Robocash Group added: "The findings have confirmed that quick elimination of gaps in a family or personal budget is the most common purpose of short-term online advances. That is why top priority is the speed of service. It also correlates with the main reason to apply for financing. For most customers, daily needs and regular monthly payments make the largest and most important part of family expenses. In particular, one-third of respondents (30.6%) spend most of their budget on food, fare payment etc. Then, monthly bills for housing and utility service, mobile phones, TV etc. make the largest spending for almost every fourth customer (24.5%). These are very cases requiring instant payment in the first turn."

Record High Turnout Posted for PNR Clark Phase 2 Bidding

Wazzup Pilipinas!


With the construction of PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos leg) already in full swing, the opening of bids for three contract packages under PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark) commenced with a record high turnout at the headquarters of the Department of Budget and Management – Procurement Service (DBM-PS) in Manila yesterday, 27 August 2019.

Package 1 covers civil works for 17 kilometers of PNR Clark Phase 2 including Calumpit and Apalit Stations; Package 2 for 16 kilometers including San Fernando Station; and Package 3 for 12 kilometers encompassing Angeles and Clark Stations.

Already the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) largest and fastest-moving project, the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project – which includes PNR Clark Phase 2 – continues to set records with its high turnout from nine (9) international and two (2) local companies, bidding as seven (7) different joint ventures and sole bidders.

Participating companies include Acciona (Spain), Daelim (Korea), Dong Ah Construction (Korea), EEI (Philippines), Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Korea), Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited (Thailand), Megawide Construction Corporation (Philippines), PT Pembangunan Perumahan [PP] (Indonesia), PT Waskita Karya Tbk (Indonesia), PT Wijaya Karya Tbk [Wika] (Indonesia), and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Corporation (Japan).

According to Philippine National Railways (PNR) General Manager Junn Magno, the record turnout of bidders demonstrates the international infrastructure industry's support to the Build, Build, Build Program of the Duterte administration, as well as their trust in the transparent, fair, and corruption-free bidding process jointly implemented by the Department of Transportation, PNR, and DBM-PS.

“We are very happy with the turnout of bidders for PNR Clark Phase 2. This vibrant participation from international and local companies is proof that they trust this government and the processes we institute. This is indeed a vote of confidence that we are doing things the right way, and soon, our countrymen will reap the benefits through improved mobility and connectivity,” GM Magno expressed.

PNR Clark Phase 2, which forms part of the NSCR, is a 53-kilometer rail line from Malolos, Bulacan to Clark, Pampanga. This will feature the country’s first airport express railway service. Once completed, it will allow commuters to reach the Clark International Airport from Buendia in Makati in just 55 minutes, compared to two hours by private vehicle via expressway. PNR Clark Phase 2 is also seen to accommodate 340,000 passengers in its opening year in 2022.

More contract packages are scheduled for bid submission and publication in the next months for the massive NSCR, which spans 147 kilometers and 37 stations. The PhP777.55-billion rail network project is co-financed by the ADB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Bid submissions for Package 4 (8 kilometers with Clark International Airport Station) and Package 5 (Clark Depot) are slated on October 14. Start of bidding for 304 Commuter Train Cars, 56 Airport Express Train Cars, and Electromechanical Systems is scheduled in September through the fourth quarter of 2019. Meanwhile, bid submission for PNR Calamba Package 1 (1 kilometer with Blumentritt Station) is on November 5.