Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

LPG Philippines Forum 2015: Unlocking LPG Demand in the Philippines

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Indoor and outdoor pollution caused by the burning of traditional fuels and diesel are causing the premature deaths of over 10 million people in Asia every year. LPG, as a modern, clean burning fuel, is a cost effective solution to pollution, energy poverty and distributed energy for the Philippines and the industry should be further developed to reach its full potential.

In line with this, there will be an upcoming LPG Philippines Forum 2015 on August 24 and 25, 2015 at SMX Aura, Manila, Philippines with delegations of over 200 of the top energy and environmental leaders in the country participating at the LPG Philippines Forum 2015.

The Asian LP Gas Summit has been successfully conducted in Manila, Philippines in 2011, and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam in 2013. There was a hiatus in 2012 as the World LP Gas Forum was conducted in Bali, Indonesia. Another one was held last March 10-12, 2014 at the Manila Hotel.

The LPGas Summit was established in 2011 to organize the Asian LP Gas Summit. The event seeks to encourage the growth of the LPG industry and to promote discussion and industry networking for the sustainable growth of the LPG industry with a focus on technology adoption, safety and consumer education.

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Starting strong in 2015 with 37.9% growth in total production for all lines and channels on the first quarter of the year compared to the same period of 2014, MAPFRE Insular is optimistic on projection of growth of its business for the year.

The company’s growth in Q1 is attributed in the Fire Insurance line which alone doubled versus its performance in 2014 delivering over 299 million in premiums for the Company. Following Fire Insurance, Casualty and Marine Cargo insurance are the second and third respectively in terms of growth.

2015 is a year of consumer-centric innovation for MAPFRE Insular. Along with continuous brand building and awareness efforts, the Company is focused on becoming the trusted insurance company of choice for the Filipinos by delivering superior and efficient insurance solutions for their different needs.

“We at MAPFRE Insular are continuously strengthening our geographical presence to make our services easily available and affordable to more Filipinos nationwide through our various distribution networks,” says, Tirso Abad, President and CEO of MAPFRE Insular. “Our multi-channel offices and sales offices have grown in total production by 37.6% and 146.9% respectively in the first quarter. These channels have been driving growth in the Accident, Fire and Motor business through an active agents’ network focused on selling retail products,” Abad adds.

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Epson recently announced that its Replaceable Ink Pack System (RIPS) technology had been recognized by Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI), a leading provider of independent information to the imaging industry, with the Outstanding Achievement in Innovation Award for the summer 2015 test season. The awards are made to companies that provide something new to the market and set new standards and goals to which others can aspire.

Used with Epson’s acclaimed series of WorkForce Pro Replaceable Ink Pack Printers, RIPS technology solves many of the issues associated with office printing by using super-high-yield ink supply units for printing up to 75,000* pages between ink changes. The result of this is less wasted time and resources, and predictable print costs.

In its citation, BLI noted that printers using the technology achieved:
Phenomenally high tested yields for all colors.

Ultra-long-life consumables, which help maintain office productivity and reduce pain points for IT administration.

User-friendly replacement and maintenance procedures.
Compact and low waste packaging advantage, which will suit space-constrained office environments.

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With the crucial Azkals game against a strong Uzbekistan squad less than a month away, one Azkals player who is feeling the pressure is Filipino-Iranian midfielder Misagh Bahadoran.

Although nobody is putting the pressure on him, Bahadoran feels he has to bring his game one notch higher than his outstanding performances in the last two Azkals games where he nailed the team’s first goal against Bahrain and five days later against Yemen in the ongoing 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

The two wins gave the Philippines six points, second after North Korea in Group H. North Korea is leading the group having scored one more goal (5-4) than the Philippines in two matches.

“The expectation (on me) is high. The pressure is there. It’s harder being in that position now,” Bahadoran said in an interview after a morning training session at the Emperador Stadium in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. His goal against previous Azkals tormentor Bahrain last June 11 was doubly significant for him as it was his first international goal in football.

But being no stranger to pressure in the past, Bahadoran appears ready for the demands building up around him presently. He acknowledges that the ongoing games are tougher being part of the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world.

“I have to be prepared, physically and mentally. I have to be disciplined,” he stressed.

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We are proud to announce that we are an official media partner of the biggest festival of 10-minute plays in the Philippines - Short+Sweet Theater Manila 2015!

Last time we attended their press briefing held at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura, and we were so excited about the many possibilities for coverage that we expressed our support to be one of their media partners to help out in the information dissemination, as well as to proudly boats of the talents that will be competing in the event.

What make Short+Sweet Theater Manila 2015 more interesting is that they are offering Master classes facilitated by local and international experts are also available. For only P 500, you'll get to listen to knowledgeable professionals that can help you become the next popular film maker. Now that would surely be a blast. To learn from experts in the film industry will definitely boost the morale of newbies and aspiring movie-makers, and lead them to a brighter future in the movie-making industry.

It is undoubtedly quite more challenging to create a 10 minute performance since you only have very little time to impress your audience with content that should be able to catch their attention but at the same time provide them with valuable entertainment.

September is just a few days away so we all encourage you to get tickets as soon as possible.

Tickets are available at all SM Tickets 60+ locations nationwide: SM Cinema outlets, SM Tickets Online, and SM Business Centers. They are also available at Lucky Chinatown Concierge and Eastwood Mall Concierge.
Tickets are priced as below:

VIP: PHP 1060
PATRON: PHP 795
PREMIUM: PHP 530
WILDCARDS: PHP 530

Don't you dare miss this.

Below is their official press release and the Master Classes Schedule and other details.

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Do not let other people decide on your stance on controversial issues. You have a mind of your own and deserve more self-respect. Following blindly your leaders or the majority is a definite suicide of your integrity.

There are several times when it takes only one passionate and determined individual to break standards and protocols, disrupt the complacent and threaten the established, initiate world-changing ideas or take part in abrupt movements. We all want to make a huge difference in this world where most people have been brainwashed into obedience and succumbed into acceptance of a lowly existence. Never realizing there are better options out there that many have made every effort to become unreachable.

The so called resiliency was never a compliment that we can be proud of. It only means we are too weak to stand up, voice out our concerns, and demand for what we rightfully deserve. Making sacrifices was never necessary if only everyone was fair and just.

Everyone has their own agenda, may it be hidden or out in the open, that's biased, one-sided and self-serving. Who doesn't think of himself? Who wouldn't want to flourish and live comfortably? Who doesn't want to earn more profits? Who doesn't want to pack his bags and leave the country for greener pastures? Who doesn't want to get involved when they see an investment or business opportunity? No matter how you look at it, everyone uses each other to gain and give out something.

Here Comes Sembreak with the G-Force Dance Company!

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The students' much-awaited season all school year has finally arrived

Put on your dancing shoes and welcome this year's school break with G-Force Project Sembreak!

Now on its fourth year, Sembreak is one of the baby projects of G-Force Dance Company's artistic director Georcelle Dapat-Sy, more popularly known as Teacher Georcelle. Sembreak is an offshoot of the annual G-Force Project Summer Dance Workshop that began in 2008.

"We call on all dance enthusiasts, students and professionals alike, to be part of G-Force Project Sembreak. We guarantee, not only will you get to learn how to move and groove like G-force, you will definitely have fun and enjoy spending your break with us," says Teacher Georcelle.

G-Force managing director Angel Sy couldn't agree more. "We pride ourselves with G-Force Project Sembreak now more than ever. We now have a different venue for our recital and that should give off a different feel and a different experience to our students."

Divided into two batches, Sembreak Batch 1 is happening all Saturdays of September and October (September 5, 12, 19, 26 & October 3, 10, 17, 24); Batch 2 is set all Fridays and Saturdays of October (October 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24). And just like G-Force Summer Dance Workshop that culminates into a showcase of talents, Sembreak will also have its own recital to be held at Trinoma Activity Center on October 30.

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The iconic Lotus Cars has finally reached the local shores and made a successful arrival in Manila just recently. The launch event, which happened at the newly opened Lotus showroom located in Greenhills, San Juan City last August 6, 2015, became a significant meeting of car aficionados who have all anticipated for the coming of this prestigious automobile brand. It was a whole night of partying that eventually kicked off the grandest sports car event of the year.

The Lotus showroom was transformed into a mini club highlighting the hottest sports cars in town. Mr. Willy Tee Ten President of the Autohub Group welcomed the guests with a short speech on their recent milestones and some forthcoming plans.

“We’re pleased to announce this newest and another milestone for Autohub Group, and it is with great pleasure that we’re given the chance to be part of this revolution to keep pace with the increasing customer demand and deliver the unique Lotus Pure Driving Experience here in the Philippines. So expect more bigger things to happen in the near future,” Mr. Tee Ten shares.

The unveiling of four of the Lotus cars, Elise S Club Racer, Elise 220 Cup, Exige S Roadster, and Evora S Sport Racer, was the main highlight of the night. Sen. JV Ejercito, San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, Mr. Willy Tee Ten, Autohub Group Chairwoman Benita Tee Ten, Lotus Cars Manila Board of Directors Mr. Jessie Tan and Mr. Eric Yap, and Lotus Cars Manila General Manager Mr. Miguelito Jose have graced this momentous event.

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It looks like somebody, or a very popular Internet corporation everyone knows, is about to take over all the letters of the Alphabet. Well, they are starting with the letter G, and who knows if it's the first one, but surely there are more to come.

The company that was founded in 1998 but went public in 2004 now has a new operating structure. The company that used to be called Google is going to become a new holding company called Alphabet.

"Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main Internet products contained in Alphabet instead."

"Alphabet will operate as the parent company for a number of smaller companies, including Google, which will continue to focus on Internet products. Android, YouTube, search and ads will remain part of Google Inc."

The corporate restructuring announcement came just this Monday where they announced the formation of an umbrella company called Alphabet and naming a new CEO to the core business of Google. Sundar Pichai, who has been with Google since 2004, is taking over as CEO of Google while Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will run Alphabet - Page as CEO and Brin as President.

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“See you in Boracay!” were the words of Silicon Valley startup guru Dave McClure who will speak during the Geeks on a Beach (GOAB) international tech confab. GOAB will be making its third comeback on August 20-21, this time in world-famous Boracay Island where it all began 3 years ago.

McClure alsograced last year’s GOAB held at the Moevenpick Beach Resort Hotel in Cebu. He is prominent in the tech world as the founder of the 500 Startups, a global accelerator and seed fund investing firm that has set its eyes on Asia as one of the fastest growing tech communities in the world.

Before founding 500 Startups in 2010, McClure was already an angel investor frequently investing and advising in startups. He was also a consultant of several high-tech companies like Microsoft and Intel and worked for companies such as PayPal and Facebook.

“The Philippines is a country full of smart and creative people — it’s a perfect place for entrepreneurship to flourish and grow,” said McClure. He added that 500 Startups is interested in a number of startups in the country, though nothing has been finalized yet.

500 Startups has invested in over 500 startups or innovation-driven enterprises related to web search, social media, and mobile app platforms. It now has local partners in Malaysia (500 Durians fund), South Korea (500 Kimchi), and Thailand (500 Tuktuks). It is gearing for even stronger penetration in the Southeast Asian region.

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Thanks to Vigattin Radio of Radyo Inquirer, we are no longer just getting invites as a blog site or online media but as an accredited media practitioner too.

Vigattin is short for Victory in Governance and Technology Information Network which primarily guests technopreneurs and startups who would like some exposure. It also highlights both government and private initiatives and projects dwelling in science and technology. We would also sometimes have guests from other industries that we welcome with open arms.

We were at a press conference a few days ago and we noticed that there were no bloggers invited for that particular media briefing of what I believe is a very important news scoop that needs to be shared to as many as possible. There were several people from print, TV and radio but no bloggers. Then we realized that we've been to their other media briefings and no bloggers were there too.

You know what we did? After we asked our question during the Q&A, we also suggested that the organizers consider inviting bloggers to help them disseminate the information to a wider audience. There was also this media practitioner who raised a question on why it was very rare to hear news about one of the agencies and it was probably only because their activities and projects are not getting enough media exposure.

We know that may be the only reason because one of our relatives works for a government agency, and they have so many activities that are not known to the public. They do not practice the habit of distributing press releases or photo ops at every activity that they do, unlike politicians who would always share even their littlest feeding programs or charity donating activities.

We recommended to the organizers that they include bloggers in their event invites so we can help them in social media presence.

But why were bloggers not invited to the said press conference in the first place?

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Ushering in a new generation of empowered youth, YouthHack is an organization that educates students on the world of startup, technology, and entrepreneurship through holding various events that allow participants to pitch their own ideas, and have a go at creating their own business.

Started only one year ago by incoming University of Pennsylvania Sophomore and Xavier School graduate David Ongchoco, YouthHack has already generated much clout and is on its way to disrupt how the youth think of entrepreneurship and technology. What started out as a two-day event in Manila back in July 2014 has now become a global community with events and programs held in the US, Singapore and later this month, Hong Kong.

For this year’s YouthHack Manila Startup Challenge 2015, Kalibrr CEO Paul Rivera, ABS-CBN Chief Digital Officer Donald Lim, Katasyt.ph CEO Pinky Natividad and Chikka Founder Dennis Mendiola all came in as keynote speakers to share their story and gives pieces of advice. YouthHack also brought in workshop speakers from fast-growing startups and incubators like Kalibrr, Uber, Shopinas.com and IdeaSpace to talk about topics like ideation, marketing, product development, growth hacking and more.

Here are a few lessons we took away straight from the event held last July 25-26, where over 200 student participants came together in Xavier School.

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Last July 25-26, 2015 at Xavier School Greenhills, aspiring technopreneurs from both high school and university were faced up to this question. The YouthHack Manila Startup Challenge offered two days worth of activities to help these students think, create and innovate as they learn to assemble their very own startups. Through keynote speeches, workshops, a startup fair, and a startup competition for the participants, eyes and minds were opened and participants slowly began to find their answers to the proposed question.

To kick off the first day, YouthHack Founder David Ongchoco delivered his welcome address by sharing his origin story. “It felt surreal for the 18-year-old who just graduated high school,” he says. YouthHack sprouted from David’s realization that the youth of today can play a vital role in revolutionizing “technopreneurship”—the blend of technology and entrepreneurship—in the startup world. The organization is living proof of this belief, as aside from the Manila Startup Challenge (considered “the biggest and baddest YouthHack event” to date), YouthHack is currently growing and making its away outside our nation’s borders to places such as Philadephia and Singapore.

In the first keynote speech, we learn some of the startup industry’s secrets from Kalibrr CEO Paul Rivera. When it comes to the core of your startup, he advises them to be inspired by something more than profit. Though sometimes this would mean pursuing a riskier path, Paul persuades the participants that “[t]his is the time to be experimenting. This is not the time to play it safe.” Failure is inevitable in the startup world, and Paul reassures everyone that this is part of the process and something entrepreneurs learn to move on from. “Entrepreneurs take calculated risks and tolerate uncertainty,” he says.

“Your network becomes your net worth.” He stresses the importance of finding the right people who will help you take your startup to greatness, teaching the crowd that “[l]ife networks matter” and they must “[p]lug into the right ones.”

Boracay Beach Resort Deal Secures Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts a Piece of Philippines Paradise

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Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has secured its own piece of paradise in one of Asia’s most exclusive holiday destinations, having signed a deal to manage the Sol Marina Resort, which will soon be renamed Mövenpick Resort Boracay, in the Philippines.

Located in the north west of the island on idyllic Punta Bunga Beach, famed for its white powdery sand and aquamarine waters and considered one of Asia’s luxury resort hotspots, the upscale 333-key property will start welcoming guests in December 2015.

The property will not only shore up Mövenpick’s presence in the Philippines, where it already manages Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu, but also bolster the hospitality firm’s portfolio of resort properties in top Asian locations. In Thailand the company operates two resorts in Phuket and one on Koh Samui, while construction is underway on properties in leisure destinations such as Pattaya, Thailand, Quy Nhon, Vietnam and Bali, Indonesia.

“Signing a property in Boracay is a significant development for Mövenpick, as it cements our presence in one of Asia’s most established resort destinations,” explains Andreas Mattmüller, Chief Operating Officer, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Middle East and Asia.

“Punta Bunga Beach, with its crystal-clear waters and soft white sand, is unspoiled and truly idyllic, attracting discerning travellers from all over the world from both the upscale leisure and corporate meetings segments.”

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We were recently invited last August 9, 2015 to attend a media briefing announcing the 20th anniversary of the Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI). The gathering was held at the Gloria Maris Banquet Hall located at the 4th level of Gateway Mall Araneta Center Cubao Quezon City.

The organizers were having a two-day activity-filled celebration which includes open forums on many topics ranging from the challenges to development of debt, tax and fiscal issues, good governance as electoral agenda for poverty reduction or for enabling environment, climate change effects and disaster preparation, enabling cooperatives, and empowering the rural poor through Social Entrepreneurship.

There was also a Social Entrepreneurship product and photo exhibit happening simultaneously at the ground level of the same mall while the talks were being held at the Gloria Maris Banquet Hall.

At the press conference, Mr. Jay Lacsamana, Executive Director of FSSI, showed the impact of FSSI's 20 years of work in helping poor communities get out of poverty through social enterprises.

Mr. Laurence Padilla, Executive Director, of the Palawan Center for Appropriate Rural Technology (PCARRT) and Mr. Ernesto Lactao, General Manager of Malaya Development Cooperative, were also there to give testimonials of how FSSI has helped them.

Also present were Mr. Joel Saracho of PETA, Ms. Aurora Luz Villaviray, Ex Officio Member of Board of FSSI, Ms. June Rodriguez, Corporate Secretary of the FSSI Board, Mr. Jerome Ignacio, Assistant Director of FSSI, and Ms. Kathleen Lungub, Advocacy and Communications Officer of FSSI.