Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Top 10 Philippine Real Estate News for 2015

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The year 2015 was an eventful one for Philippine real estate. It was a roller-coaster ride that coursed through both news of optimistic growth, and the not-so-positive issues that affected everyone involved in the real estate business. Either way, these happenings helped shape the local real estate scene to what it is now, and could give us an indication of what’s in store for 2016. To refresh your memory, MyProperty.ph offers a look back at 10 of the biggest real estate-related news of the year.

A way to monitor real estate prices. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is preparing to launch a residential real estate price index (RRPI) that aims to track property prices in Metro Manila, as well as nearby provinces. According to the BSP, the RRPI, which will include information on costs of construction materials and types of houses being built, will help determine the formation of a housing bubble so that preventive actions can be taken.

Rise of the townships. The year 2015 saw the rise of townships all over the country by different property giants. Megaworld Corp. alone launched five townships this year: Sta. Barbara Heights (Sta. Barbara, Iloilo), The Upper East and Northill Gateway (both in Bacolod, Negros Occidental), Westside City (Bay City, Parañaque), and a still-unnamed township in San Fernando, Pampanga. Ayala Land added two townships to their growing portfolio: Cloverleaf in Balintawak, Quezon City; and Capitol Central in Bacolod. Meanwhile, Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. is ramping up the development of Vista City, a 1,500-hectare “communicity” located at the boundaries of Cavite, Laguna, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa; and SM Prime is continuing to expand the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay.

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No less than Jose Javier Reyes or Direk Joey, the director of My Bebe Love (#KiligPaMore) has total admiration for the phenomenal "accidental love team"of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, known more as Yaya Dub, as mentioned on one of his posts in his blog titled "Choking on my Adobo."

On one blog entry, he states that Alden is "not just a pretty face. He sells" and enumerates that the kid has the looks, knows his camera, well-mannered and has the talent. He further questions why it took an "accident" to reveal those qualities to the world.

Similarly to Alden, the Massacre Movie Queen dub-smashing yaya also rise to fame because of the same accident. This situation would make you think that it's probably the new yet uncanny match, coupled with the crazy existence of the familiar Dabarkads, that has made the couple a real stand-out to an otherwise somewhat traditional noontime entertainment.

"Her rise to fame is accidental and she seems to be having fun. Her addition toEat Bulaga's roster of Kabarkads is a case of absolutely perfect timing. When she assumed the character of Yaya Dub, much harassed caregiver to Wally Bayola's hilarious Lola Nidora, that whole gang with Jose Manalo and master chameleon Paolo Ballesteros raiding the baranggays of Manila exploded with a new adrenaline overload.

Duterte for President: Are We Ready for Digong the Punisher?

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He has been called the mayor with an iron fist, a bloody one that is, since he is rumored to be killing offenders minus the benefit of a trial. They say if you cross him, you'll end up dead on the streets with a label that says "Kriminal! Huwag Tularan!" Very outspoken, he could very well be openly claiming all killings of alleged criminals who operated in Davao.

"Duterte is noted for transforming the city from the murder capital of the nation to what tourism organizations there now call "the most peaceful city in Southeast Asia." He's been suspected of being involved with the vigilante outfit Davao Death Squad and has been criticized by human rights groups for tolerating extrajudicial killings of alleged criminals."

Is majority of Davao living in fear that is why they are afraid to irk the Mayor? or are they really in favor of his ways since Davao is also known as one of the safest cities in the Philippines? Safe because no one dares to commit any crime if they want to remain among the living.

But the recent news shows even some more of the worst sides of the Mayor Rodrigo Duterte showing him as a womanizer and disrespectful to the highest Catholic leader, the Pope. However, many still find him the better option compared to the rest of the presidentiables.

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In celebration of its 86th anniversary, the Adventist Medical Center Manila (AMCM) conducted anew a medical mission in collaboration this time with the US-based Florida Hospital. The program was conducted at the AMCM premises on November 11-17 this year, providing consultation services for 132 internal medicine patients, 49 pediatric patients, and 129 optometric patients. A total of 352 dental treatments were also given for tooth extraction and restoration, and even oral prophylaxis. As for the surgical services offered, 125 minor cases, 93 major cases, 13 obstetrics-gynecology cases, and 8 ophthalmology cases were assisted.

While this had been one of AMCM’s many medical missions for years, this was the first joint mission with Florida Hospital. This was Florida Hospital’s maiden project under its Global Mission Initiatives in Asia. The foreign team brought with them modern medical equipment and a great amount of medicines to the benefit of the patients. At the end of the one-week mission, the US medical professionals were treated to a grand Filipino fiesta-style program showcasing Pinoy folkdances, traditional songs and native Filipino foods. Delighted by the success of the mission, Florida Hospital team promised to return with an even larger contingent and supplies next year.

From its humble beginning as a small clinic in Malate, Manila in 1929, AMCM currently stands proud in the heart of Pasay City as a non-stock and non-profit tertiary hospital equipped with highly-trained, professional medical team and fortified with efficient technology. AMCM carries out its regular medical missions in furtherance of its quest of ‘Sharing Jesus Christ’s Healing Ministry’ for the less and the needy regardless of their religious creed or political beliefs. “By far, this was the biggest among the medical missions organized by the hospital”, said Abdul Rajagukguk, anniversary celebration chairman.

Globe Sustains Growth of Prepaid Business with Co-Branding Partnership, Better Offers

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Globe Telecom is looking to sustain growth momentum of its prepaid business after several quarters of strong performance with a co-branding partnership with leading mobile phone manufacturer Cherry Mobile.

Consolidated Globe prepaid customer base reached 47.8 million as of end-September 2015, up 17% from previous year’s 40.7 million. Globe Prepaid customer base posted growth of 14% year-on-year, while the TM base grew by 20% on the back of offers that recognize the youth and mass market’s shift to the digital lifestyle.

Globe Prepaid has made strides in positioning itself as the digital brand for the youth with offers which are bundled with free access to top social networking and messaging apps such as Facebook and Viber, premium apps and content such Spotify, as well as top mobile games such as Clash of Clans. Globe Prepaid also enhanced its revolutionary GoSAKTO, which now allows customers to create more than 200 million call, text, and app combos that fit their needs, budget, and lifestyle.

On the other hand, its TM brand, specifically targeting the value prepaid market, has been strong with innovative value for money offerings with the most affordable call, text and surfing promos, including TM Extend which allows customers to extend the validity of TM call and text promos for as low as P5 for 1 day. Over the years, TM has achieved steady growth trajectory, making it the fastest-growing mobile brand in the value prepaid category.

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Contestants from different parts of the country, some even came all the way from Baguio and Mindoro, gathered last Sunday to compete in the first ever SPARTA Battle of the Bars Calisthenics Competition held at SPARTA in Mandaluyong City.

The SPARTA Battle of the Bars was said to have been the biggest Calisthenics event ever organized in the country. At least 300 practitioners gathered at SPARTA, as they witnessed different contestants slug it out in the various rounds of the competition with bodyweight exercises.

SPARTA is at the forefront of bringing Calisthenics from underground to mainstream. It opened the Sparta Calisthenics Academy earlier this month, with the goal of encouraging more Filipinos to try it out.

According to Sparta Calisthenics Academy’s consultant and designer Ton Vergel de Dios, “Calisthenics as opposed to working out in a traditional gym is better because it is very honest. You can’t cheat a pull-up or a single legged squat. It is how athletes and warriors have trained for centuries. Calisthenics, uses body weight movements and has benefits which include increasing strength, balance, power, endurance, and of course, aesthetics.”

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AirAsia would like to encourage all guests travelling during the holiday period to conduct self-check-in and arrive at the airport earlier to clear all travelling formalities and avoid the expected congestion due to the surge of passenger numbers throughout this period.

Guests are recommended to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours for AirAsia flights prior to the scheduled time of departure of their respective flights and to perform Self-Check-In via Web, Mobile app or Kiosk services for their travel convenience.

Self Check-In via Web, Mobile or Kiosk services are available from 14 days and up to 1 hour prior to departure for all AirAsia flights. It is also highly recommended for guests to print out their boarding passes before arriving at the airport to ease their travel process.

For guests with baggage to check-in, Baggage Drop counters close 60 minutes before flight departure. As congestion is expected at the baggage drop counters, immigration checkpoints, security scanning, and baggage clearance during this holiday season, it is advisable to complete the baggage drop process and proceed to the boarding gate as early as possible.

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Congratulations to the emerging winners of the Slimmers World Great Bodies 2015 physique competition where 32 hopefuls competed for the title of Mr. and Ms. Great Bodies 2015.

The grand event was held on November 21, 2015 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater located within Resorts World Manila in Pasay city.

The grand winners are Jan Dominic Hung & Althea Vega, while 1st Runner-up are Manuel Nuezca & Maria Ten Franco. Coming in as 2nd Runner-up are Cedric Roxas & Shara Clemente.

Female grand winner Althea Vega posted on Facebook the following message "To my co candidates whom I consider my Brothers and Sisters, thank you for the great moments with you all. I'll keep these memories forever in my heart.☺ A million thanks to all our coaches and Slimmersworld Staff who allowed us to be more creative and utilize the skills we had. Much love and sending you good vibrations from me to all of you."

3 Start-ups Win P200,000 Impact Hub Fellowship on Innovation in Mobility with LBC Cohort Phase

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LBC Express and Impact Hub Manila has finally chosen the three teams to enter into the next phase of the Impact Hub Fellowship on Innovation in Mobility with LBC.

Congratulations to SkyEye, Wave and Food Planners for earning this chance to turn their inspiring business ideas into reality. The organizers are excited for this opportunity to empower these budding entrepreneurs.

For the next three months, the organizers will be providing SkyEye, Wave and Food Planners with living stipends, training and mentoring, skills development, a productive work space, access to a local community of entrepreneurs and innovators as well as to a network of 73 Impact Hubs worldwide, with over 12,000 members. Each package is worth 200,000PHP.

By March 2016, out of these three Cohorts, the winning Fellow will be selected. The Fellow will receive 250,000PHP seed funding and an additional 9 months of start-up support amounting to 500,000PHP. All these without the participants giving away shares or equity.

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A game app developer has taken advantage of the popularity of recent political issue and personalities starting off with the "Tanim Bala" game app released a few weeks ago, and now the "Go Duterte" game app, both of which can be downloaded from Google Play.

I still remember when I got so curious of Kulit Games' "Tanim Bala" game app which pokes fun of the bullet planting at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) issue. I tried the game and though it was hilarious to create something like it, the game was so simple and immediately becomes so boring after a few minutes of play. I downloaded but got rid of it immediately after trying.

There were also similarly-themed game apps like "Laglag Bala" from UltimaA Studios and "Laglag Tanim Bala NAIA" and "Laglag Tanim Bala Catch Throw" from Joey Bambico which also gives the players a few minutes of laughter.

Similarly, there is also another game app poking fun of the Duterte campaign called "Duterte for President Campaign."

Since the news about Rodrigo Duterte running for President is a much-talked-about news in the Philippines like the "laglag bala" issue, it was not at all surprising that folks will do more than just post on social media networks and create memes out of the hype. I am not surprised why I haven't seen any Grace Poe, Jejomar Binay, Miriam Defensor Santiago or Mar Roxas game apps.