Japanese Engineers Kick Off System Audit on MRT-3

Wazzup Pilipinas!

More than 50 railway engineers and experts from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will kick-off today the due diligence and system audit of the MRT-3.

 

The system audit is a necessary step to determine all the rehabilitation and restoration works needed on the MRT-3 system, which will be done by a JICA-nominated rehabilitation and maintenance provider that will be mobilized in May.

 

A Japanese company designed and built the MRT-3 system from 1998 to 2000, and maintained it from 2000 to 2012.

 

“We obviously need all the help we can get and we are very grateful that the Japanese Government answered our call for assistance to rehabilitate and restore the MRT-3 system.,” said OIC Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan.

 

The system audit that will commence today by JICA is separate from the ongoing Independent Audit and Assessment (IAA) by TUV Rheinland, an ISO 17020 and ISO 17065 certified and IFIA member certifier (International Federation of Inspection Agencies) for the entire MRT-3 system, including the 48 train cars from CRRC Dalian. The TUV Rheinland IAA commenced last Jan. 3 and has a 3 months duration.

Batan added that additional trains on the MRT-3 may be expected within February since the first batch of spare parts that were ordered last December are scheduled to be delivered and installed this month. The spare parts that were already ordered have a delivery lead time of 30 days to 6 months.

 

“We created a Special Bids and Awards Committee for MRT-3 to address the urgent need to restore its service, which require the expedited procurement of spare parts, among others,” added Batan.

 

The DOTr is currently implementing a four-point strategy to rehabilitate and restore the MRT-3 system. This involves (1) promoting accountability (termination of BURI); (2) ensuring continued service delivery (establishment of the Maintenance Transition Team); (3) contracting a qualified maintenance and rehabilitation service provider (together with the Japanese government); and (4) putting in place a long-term, single-point-of-responsibility, operator and maintenance provider for MRT-3 (O&M Unsolicited Proposal).

Baguio City: Still Among the Preferred Weekend Getaway Choice of Tourists Part 1

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Baguio city never fails to attract a crowd especially during the holiday season. It's probably the closes we could get to a winter wonderland Christmas minus the snow but more of the cold weather to keep us feeling appropriate to wear our fancy jackets and sweaters.

My family and I decided to spend Christmas at the city of Pines to make our holiday season celebration different from previous years. We went up by early morning of December 23 and stayed for three days and two nights.

The only hassle during peak seasons is that traffic congestions should be expected, both from traveling from Manila andcpassibg to SLEX, SCTEX, and TPLEX. Most of thectraffic jams are caused by accidents involving three to four vehicles. We've see around four accidents on our way to and from Baguio which makes us wonder why they seems to be in a hurry.

The weather is fine for frolicking around the many parks which offers bicycle or boat ride like Burnham Park, or horseback riding or just photo ops at Wright Park, or maybe sip some chocolate drink at Choco-Late de Batirol inside Camp John Hay, or just wander around strolling amidst the pine trees at many other green areas like the Teachers Camp or Baguio Botanical Garden, or you could be amazed with the view at Mines View Park.

It also has several museums for the artistically inclined and heritage areas for the culturally-curious. The BenCab Museum, the Lil Likha Art Community (with its Food Community), the Tam-Awan Village, and other places that would be heavenly for those who appreciate art of all forms and sizes.

Just a few kilometers outside Baguio is the Strawberry Farms at La Trinidad, Benguet where you could pick the fruits yourself for an additional amount. There's also plenty of vendors selling strawberry ice cream and "taho" which is not something you see everyday in Manila.

Several restaurants have also been made popular due to plenty of visitors from Manila who want to experience dining at places that could only be found in Baguio like the Volante restaurant known for their yummy pizza. It's located at Session Road so you'll find it always difficult to get there by vehicle.

Baguio would forever be a preferred choice of tourists to frolick around because of its cool weather and pine tree sceneries, among other things, that cannot be found in Metro Manila. We would never get tired of visiting this place even outside the Panagbenga or holiday season.

This is only Part 1 of our Baguio adventure. Please stay tuned for more on Part 2! Soon here at WazzupPilipinas.com

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Super Blue Blood Moon Delighted Stargazers

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Now that's a bloody moon! Last night we witnessed a rare lunar trilogy: super moon + blue moon + lunar eclipse = #SuperBlueBloodMoon

Why is it called a #SuperBlueBloodMoon?

 

Supermoon – When the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth 

Blue Moon – The second full moon in a month 

Blood Moon – The red tint Earth’s shadow casts on the Moon during a lunar eclipse

The Earth positioned directly between the Sun and Moon, making the lunar surface appear red. 

We were able to watch views of the #SuperBlueBloodMoon from multiple telescopes live online! 

An example was (link: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1LyGBRXzenkGN) pscp.tv/w/1LyGBRXzenkGN

Moon energies are also said to have a magnetic pull on our bodies~they basically shake us into our inner-reality of what we normally hide- our true selves, so consider full moon energies as helping us see our Authentic Self. Use these awarenesses to help self, self-tune.

 

However, there is also a belief that corresponds to why there's a word "loony" or "lunatic" in reference to the "lunar" effect that could somehow make us crazy.

What I love most about last night's #SuperBlueBloodMoon is the thought of all people around the globe gathering under the same moon to watch nature at it's finest.

Photo by Collin Yap