Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Miss Universe 2016 Candidates and Pia Wurtzbach at Mini Panagbenga of Baguio City

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach and 28 Miss Universe candidates went to Baguio City as part of their tour of the country. In their honor, and for the residents' appreciation, a mini Baguio Flower Festival parade, or what we all popularly know as Panagbenga, was done part of their visit in the Summer Capital. Panagbenga is usually celebrated annually in the city every February but this is an opportunity for the Baguio officials to let the candidates experience even a little what it feels like to be part of their grandest parade.

Wurtzbach and candidates were welcomed by Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan, and Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) president and Baguio Country Club (BCC) general manager Anthony de Leon in a simple rite followed by a silent drill exhibition by the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Baguio City is one of the few places in the country that will be visited by selected contestants of the Miss Universe Pageant. Thus, City Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan even issued an administrative order (AO) suspending classes in all levels on January 18, 2017 to pave way for the conduct of the street dancing and mini float parade for the visiting beauty contestants of the Miss Universe.

Roads in the city were closed early morning to prepare for the mini version of the flower festival with four floats and eight street dancing contingents ready for the exhibition performance for the international visitors. A contingent of 5,000 composed of schools, groups and officials paraded with the candidates along the stretch of Upper Session road until the Baguio Country Club to the delight of the waiting crowd.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

There is more to the Philippines than the typically well-known Metro Manila cities, and in 2017, it will be more evident in the continued development of these cities to watch, compiled by Lamudi Philippines

With sustained progress in the real estate industry backed by an overall economy that various financial institutions predict to grow between 6 to almost 7 percent in 2017, many places in the Philippines are becoming increasingly ideal to live and/or invest in.

Whichever reason to move: a fresh start, exploring new career and business opportunities, or a growing a family, ten of these places in the country, compiled by global real estate website Lamudi Philippines, stand out, and are worth your consideration for this year, and even beyond.

Wazzup PIlipinas!

In compliance with a government mandate, Globe Telecom said it is ready to provide Credit Information Corp. (CIC), a state-run agency, with credit information of its customers starting February this year.

“As mandated by law, Globe is ready to comply with the directive to provide basic credit data. We are confident that establishment of a credit information system in the country will further enhance development of the local financial sector that, in turn, will further boost economic growth,” Globe General Counsel Froilan Castelo said.

Republic Act 9510, also known as Credit Information System Act, which was enacted into law in 2008, provides for the creation of the CIC. CIC is tasked primarily to collect and disseminate relevant credit information that will directly address the need for reliable credit information concerning the credit standing and track record of borrowers, thus potentially improving chances of loan approvals and enabling lenders to make appropriate decisions regarding loan applications.

The law requires banks, quasi-banks, their subsidiaries and affiliates, life insurance companies, credit card companies and other entities that provide credit facilities to submit basic credit data and updates on a regular basis to the CIC, which is mandated to update the basic credit data of a borrower on a monthly basis. Basic credit data includes any negative and positive credit information that tends to update the credit status of borrowers.

The establishment of a comprehensive credit information database is expected to enhance financial inclusion in the country. For instance, Globe customers with no credit record from a bank or financial institution, but with a Globe account, can now have credit information, which could be one of the possible bases for loan approval.

Recently, the scope of CIC’s coverage was expanded to include telecommunication companies as provided for under CIC Circular 2016-01. “The CIC has determined that telecommunications companies are within the purview of the law whose data is relevant for determination of creditworthiness and in making credit decisions,” the circular stated.

With the establishment of a comprehensive credit information database, financing companies may use the basic credit data from the pool of credit information gathered and collected by CIC from the submitting entities to establish creditworthiness of an individual or an organization.