Alodia Gosiengfiao To Launch Mobile Game App "Zombies vs Humans" this Christmas

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Been keeping this a secret for so long but finally, I can announce it! Our game “Zombies VS Humans” is almost done! It is a mobile game and it will be out this Christmas! 

We’ve been working on this for over a year! And this team of talented artists and programmers has done an amazing job creating this game from scratch! I am so honored to be actually part of this amazing game development company - Club Six Studios! We’re an all Filipino team (some based in the US) and hope you guys would support this as we release it in the next few weeks! 

Right now, we are finalizing little details in the game play, UI and stability! Please check back for more updates!" - Alodia Gosiengfiao

If you're going to ask if the geeks with her are working on the mobile game for free, then that could be a possibility in exchange of the popularity it will give the game development studio since Alodia is undoubtedly a celebrity icon in the cosplay and gaming industry. I also know quite a few geeks who would work for free just to be close to her...hehehe

The Tower Defense mobile game app will be available in the IOS App Store soon! Android to follow. We have no idea yet if it will be available for free but Alodia promises to give updates soon since they plan to put this out on Christmas day.

"A growing number of Hollywood celebrities pursue tech-related businesses. Vin Diesel runs a game development studio. Ashton Kutcher invests in Silicon Valley startups.
Most Filipino celebrities just open restaurants. This girl bucks the trend. Alodia Gosiengfiao, the world's most popular cosplayer, announces her development studio's upcoming game. 

Interestingly enough, Jessica Nigri, America's most popular cosplayer, has stated in interviews that she wants to put up a game development studio someday. 

This could become a trend among top cosplayers. Considering the connections they make over the course of their careers, it makes perfect sense. The video game industry is the number one employer of cosplayers as promotional models." - Mike Abundo

*Photo credits from Alodi's FB page

App Challenge Cebu 2016 Awards Winners

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Globe Telecom, in partnership with Molave Development Foundation, awarded Team Magtutudlog Bisaya, comprised of Jonie Aranzado-Jumamil, Genesis Lagacan, and Vahn Marty Cagalawan, as the Grand Prize winner of App Challenge Cebu 2016 held last December 13, 2016 at the Cebu City Public Library. The competition was designed to encourage local developers to create educational Android apps that will teach K-3 pupils about reading and writing in Cebuano. The team bested other teams in a live pitch and prototype demonstration to a panel of esteemed judges: Ms. Michelle Tapia, Ms. Bea Lacson, and Ms. Mara Garcia from Globe Telecom; Ms. Irma Saligumba from Molave Development Foundation; Ms. Irene Pilapil from the Department of Education, and Ms. Tina Amper of TechTalks.ph.

“Amazing, we can’t believe it,” Jonie exclaimed when he and his team won PhP 100,000 in the App Challenge. Aside from the cash prize, the team is supported with supervisory guidance and continued mentorship from Globe Telecom, Molave Development Foundation, and IREX through their Beyond Access program as they continue to build their learning app.

While the team, along with their university MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, celebrates their win, they are also looking forward to developing their learning app further in the next few months to come. The app, which will feature familiar games to Cebuano kids, will be an essential digital tool in teaching kids how to read and write in Cebuano. Education stakeholders present at the Pitch & Awarding, including officials from the University of Cebu, the Mayor’s Office, Department of Education, and the Cebu City Library, have commented on how the app will be a welcome addition to the literacy content for the Cebuano community.

At present, a lot of students have minimal-to-no usable material for in-classroom learning or for self-study especially for fundamental skills like mother tongue literacy in K-3, thus, while they are able to speak and to understand their main language or dialect, their reading and writing abilities are limited.

On the other hand, many teachers all over the country are saddled with additional work on content development to compensate for the lack of available good-quality materials instead of being able to focus on improving student outcomes.

Cebuano is among the pre-identified major Mother Tongues for instruction, according to the Department of Education. The language is the second most widely used language, after Tagalog, and is spoken by 21 million Filipinos.

The app is expected to help address the problem by teaching the half-a-million Cebuano children their native alphabet and helping them build their vocabulary, among other things, through various activities. Learning concepts will focus on colors, numbers, shapes, family members, and/or body parts.

Team MAJA, comprised of Aldrin Navarro, Jay Arnel Bilocura, and Jae Marie Magdadaro, came in as the first runner-up in the App Challenge. Their learning app, when developed, has great potential to be added to the ever-growing body of content for the Cebuano language.

Globe Telecom, along with Manila-based Molave Development Foundation and Washington D.C.-based IREX, are closely invested in enriching education through tools, content and technology that advance basic education in the Philippines. The local developer community is very much alive and thriving, and as highlighted through the promising work of budding developers, has great potential to help shape and transform Philippine education for the better.

PPA Ready for the Holidays all the Way to the Chinese New Year

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With only five days to go before the Philippines celebrates Christmas and 12 days away from the New year, Philippine ports remain efficient and productive despite the influx of Christmas cargoes.

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago, however, continues to urge the cargo owners not to relax in the cargo withdrawals and continue to take advantage of the Truck Appointment and Booking System in order to have a very smooth turnaround time for the country’s foreign cargoes.

“Philippine ports, particularly our international gateways, will be in full commercial operations except for a couple of hours on Christmas and New Year’s Day because ships continue to come and go even during holidays,” Santiago explained.

“I am urging all cargo owners and other stakeholders to maintain their current operations in order to have a swift turnaround time for their cargoes and if possible send their exports bound for Chinese ports early to prevent any hold-up when celebrations for the Chinese New year kicks in,” Santiago said.

“The domestic ports are also replicating the procedures of the international ports in order to secure safe travel of passengers relative to Oplan Ligtas Biyahe: Christmas 2016 and at the same time guarantee just in time delivery of domestic goods,” Santiago added.

As of the moment, cargo utilization at the two main gateways of the Philippines—the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and the Manila South Harbor (MSH)—remain very healthy at 60% or approximately 49,000 twenty-foot equivalent units inside the terminal ready to be withdrawn or exported. Yard productivity at the two ports also remains high with an average of 20-25 moves an hour.

Both terminals attribute the healthy yard utilization and productivity to the Truck Appointment and Booking System as well as the high storage penalty imposed by the Authority.

Cargo volume, on the other hand, is in the uptrend since the start of the 3rd quarter due to the run-up to Christmas by about 10% a month.

PPA has likewise maintained the tight security in the domestic ports since the All Saints Day celebration to ensure safety, security and comfort of passengers while inside the terminals.

“I reiterated to our port personnel to take all the necessary measures to reduce any inconvenience and to make sure that our ports are safe at all times,” Santiago said.

PPA has likewise assured importers, exporters and cargo owners that ports have enough capacity with the coming Chinese New Year wherein Chinese-owned firms shut down operations for a couple of days for the festivities.