Alpha Strength: Sports-Facility Sparta's Third Gym

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sports and Recreational Training Arena or SPARTA, the only 10,000 square meter sports-facility in the country located in Mandaluyong City, has just opened its third gym in the complex.

SPARTA now has 3 gyms that fitness enthusiasts can choose from or alternately go to - 360 Pro, Sparta Calisthenics Academy (SCA) and now, Alpha Strength.

Alpha Strength owner Aaron dela Cruz, also known as Coach A, is a US Certified Level 1 Weightlifting Coach and also a certified Life Coach. He was also a Gold Medalist in 2013 and 2011, for the Philippine National Raw Powerlifting Competition.

According to Coach A, "We're all about making people stronger, because if you're stronger, everything becomes easier."

Alpha Strength offers Power Lifting, Olympic Weight Lifting and Fitness Classes.

“At Alpha Strength, you are not just forced to do reps, you are made to do things at your own pace. The number of work and the number of sets is up to you, it would depend on what you can handle. Compared to other gyms, we are really strength-based”, Coach A says.

Coach A, who described himself as a scrawny little kid while growing up, turned to powerlifting to compensate for his lack of height. He felt that he can instead make himself stronger.

He says, “As a small kid and I just felt I needed to be stronger. That's how I started getting into power lifting. That's how I built my character as I got stronger.”

As to what makes Alpha Strength stand out from other gyms, Coach A says, “First, we help people get stronger. We help them reach fitness goals. We offer different methods to attain one’s goals. We are also about changing people's lives, we help people reach goals thru strength.”

SPARTA is located along Pioneer Street in Mandaluyong City. For more information, please call 6553799 or 0977-7634402.

Globe, PLDT Sign Agreement on IP Peering to Improve Internet Experience of Customers

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The photo above shows Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu, Globe Chief Technology & Information Officer Gil Genio, Sen. Bam Aquino, PLDT Director Atty. Ray Espinosa and PLDT EVP and Head of EICB Eric Alberto, all now hoping to make a great change on the way we experience surfing the Internet.

Philippine telecommunications operators Globe Telecom and PLDT made another positive step at improving internet services for its millions of customers through a bilateral IP peering arrangement that will make downloading/uploading of web content faster and more efficient.

Globe and PLDT signed a memorandum of agreement today, which will serve as a preamble to a formal peering agreement between the two parties. The agreement provides for the two companies to implement a bilateral domestic peering within 30 days. A formal peering agreement is set to be signed by both companies within 90 days. Senator Bam Aquino witnessed the MOA signing.

“After six years of actively advocating for an IP peering, Globe welcomes PLDT’s decision to have a meaningful and applicable IP peering arrangement with us. We are happy with this landmark development considering the benefits to our customers in terms of internet experience,” said Gil Genio, Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer. “With an effective domestic internet peering in place, Globe customers will gain direct access to content and applications hosted by PLDT data centers and vice-versa. We are confident that this agreement will redound to a better experience on internet services benefitting customers of both parties and the country as a whole,” he added.

Dutertismo Should Address—Not Contribute to— the Climate of Impunity

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In an effort to prevent rhetoric from becoming reality in respecting rights, here is a Statement of Concern from the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA):

  

Though it is still two weeks before President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is formally proclaimed as the country’s next Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief, his electoral victory has been apparent early on, just a few days after the close of the May 9^th polls.

His victory is unprecedented in many ways, and there will be another time to assess his landslide victory for its substance as well as its symbolic value. But for now, it may be time to investigate his recent rhetoric and how it relates to how this hints of an emergent reality where human rights may be under threat.

It could be argued that any words and actions emanating from Mr. Duterte as presumptive President are not yet technically “official” statements. However given the nature of his eventual office, and the gravity of the themes being addressed, his words even now are—and should be—received as signals of what is to become. Using an IT-based metaphor, his past statements hint at a sort of “source code” for the “operating system” of his incoming Administration. Supporters of the President-elect assume just as much: “This is who Duterte is, and what you see is what you get”.

Many citizens of goodwill do assume that an initial public familiarization period with any new leader—especially one as unorthodox as him—deserves some time. Surely, some leeway for a “honeymoon period” is expected between the President-elect and the nation, even for skeptics or non-supporters who have always been uncomfortable with his alleged link to local death squads and summary executions in Davao.