Globe Disconnects From Service Close To 30,000 Numbers Identified As Source Of Spam/Scam Messages

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Globe Telecom has disconnected from service close to 30,000 prepaid numbers found to be consistent source of spam and scam text messages as the leading mobile operator continues to intensify efforts to eliminate such unsolicited and annoying messages.

The numbers blocked from the Globe network were subject of complaints reported through the http://www.globe.com.ph/stopspam where customers are simply required to provide all the details of spam and scam messages they received on their mobile devices. Numbers that are reported to be a constant source of spam messages are then disconnected from service.

The numbers were also identified via an automated filtering system implemented by Globe to keep its customers from receiving scam and spam messages. The telecommunications provider recently expanded the coverage of this functionality and the system now covers majority of the company’s 2.3 million postpaid customers.

A total of 29,347 numbers were blocked from the service since July last year, Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio said. Of the number, a total of 24,787 numbers were disconnected for sending scam messages while 4,560 numbers were barred from using the Globe network for sending spam messages.

Sabrina To Represent The Philippines In 2015 Asia Song Festival

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Asia’s Acoustic Sweetheart Sabrina is going places! She will be representing the Philippines in the upcoming Asia Song Festival to be held on October 11 at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in Busan, South Korea. Sabrina will be performing alongside Asia’s top music acts like KPop artists EXO, GOT7, Red Velvet and B.T.S, NGT48 from Japan and William Chan from China. She is also scheduled to collaborate on stage with KPop group B1A4 for their song “Lonely” where Sabrina will sing in Korean. Asia Song Festival is held every year since 2004 in Korea gathering the best singers in Asia and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Previous Philippine representatives include R&B singer Kyla and MYMP.

Sabrina recently conquered Malaysia when she performed at the Kuala Lumpur Lake Garden Festival last August 23 at Padang Merbok in the capital city. She was the only Filipino to sing at the festival alongside other Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean and other acts from Southeast Asia. She also did photoshoots, radio guestings, retail and TV appearances during her tour in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in time for her latest album “I Love Acoustic 8”. To date, she has also traveled to Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore where she had successful concerts and promo tours

She just released her latest album “I Love Acoustic 8” which debuted at #1 on iTunes Philippines and Indonesia and also on Top 10 of iTunes Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. The album is also released in CDs all over Asia making Sabrina one of the only few Filipinos to release a CD in the region and cementing her status as Asia’s Acoustic Sweetheart. In the Philippines, “I Love Acoustic” is now on the Top 10 of the country’s largest CD retailer Astroplus. The Malaysia version of the album includes her duet with Malaysian singer Natasha Sass with the Malay version of Freddie Aguilar’s iconic song “Anak” which is entitled “Terima Kasih”. Indonesia’s version had Sabrina record a duet with one of their top singers Chilla Kiana for the songs “Thinking Out Loud” and “Love Me Harder”.

PH Leads the East Asia and the Pacific Towards a New Era of Tourism Development

Wazzup Pilipinas!

At the 21st United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in Medellín, Colombia on 12-18 September 2015, the six Regional Commissions elected new chairs and vice-chairs for the period 2015-2017.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is pleased to announce that the Philippines was unanimously elected as Chairperson of the Regional Commission for East Asia and the Pacific (CAP) with Cambodia and Japan as vice chairpersons. The Philippines will also sit as member of the Committee on Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) owing to its efforts of institutionalizing the implementation of the TSA in the Philippines, the first in the ASEAN region which is in consonance with the UN system of satellite accounting.

Mr. Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General lauded the Philippines for taking the Chairmanship that will greatly contribute to the global travel and tourism agenda of increasing competitiveness and promoting sustainable development in the region. Asia and the Pacific region is now the fastest global tourism destination with 263 million international arrivals in 2014 with a growth rate of 5.3%.

The five other commissions and their respective chairs (C) and vice-chairs (VCs) are: Africa – Zimbabwe (C) and Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire (VCs); the Americas - Haiti (C) and Paraguay and Chile (VCs); Europe - Switzerland (C) and Montenegro and Lithuania; South Asia - India (C) and Bangladesh and Afghanistan (VCs); and the Middle East - Lebanon (C) and Egypt and Jemen (VCs).