Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Asia Pacific College Establish IT Leadership with Microsoft Programs and Solutions

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Over the past three years, Asia Pacific College (APC) has been a trailblazer among other schools specializing in information technology (IT) as it initiated some of the top academic programs of Microsoft Philippines.

Formed by SM Foundation and IBM Philippines in 1991, APC first partnered with Microsoft in 2013 to make their systems more innovative and efficient. By pioneering Microsoft’s latest academic solutions for both faculty and students, the school was able to upgrade their quality of education and offer new ways of learning IT.

Jojo Castillo, Director of APC’s IT Resources Office, enumerated the many ways their school benefitted from partnering with the technology giant. In response to the new K-12 curriculum being adopted by educational institutions in the Philippines, Microsoft launched in August 2015 a groundbreaking collaboration for the enhancement of APC’s Senior High School curriculum.

“Through this collaboration, Microsoft applications and learning resources will be integrated in our Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) strands,” Castillo explained.

Filipina Beauties Fly High In Miss Aviation Philippines 2016

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The most captivating women in the Philippine aviation industry will take center aisle in the most-awaited Miss Aviation Philippines 2016! Bringing together the most beautiful and charming Filipinas from different sectors in the aviation-tourism industry, this prestigious pageant aims to inspire the youth to pursue a career in aviation, empower the women in the industry, and support the country’s tourism initiatives.

“We are very excited to present another batch of beautiful and smart women in Philippine aviation and tourism sectors this year. Aside from encouraging young people to pursue careers in aviation and tourism, this competition is also a great way to recognize the women’s immense role in the industry. Women in aviation are not merely defined by good looks, they also have the brain and heart to succeed and shape the future of aviation and aeronautics,” says pageant director Morena Carla Cabrera Quimpo.

This year, 14 lovely candidates will vie for the Miss Aviation Philippines 2016 crown. The ladies come from diverse aviation careers, including flight attendants, student pilots, air frame and avionics technicians, and students taking up degrees in aviation, tourism and related fields.

The finalists include Maria Gianne Beatrice Itaralde, Catherine Cubinar, Katrine Gabriola, Cherry Rose Fernandez, Zandra Magsino, Katelene Joy Basco, Maricris Aldanese, Carina Aguinaldo, Airish Mae Apostol, Justine Anne Embate, Casey Ann Austria, Kristine Malicsi, Trizia Abaya, and Reichelieu Emory Santos.

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Your Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas got to meet Justin Pinon, The Mental Assassin, for the third time, and still very much impressed of his mind-boggling performance done exclusively for our bloggers group.

I first saw the guy in action during an event at a venue in Century City Mall, then for the second time at The Revel at The Palace Pool Club for another event. I was invited at both events as a media practitioner, and he was there to entertain the crowd.

However, we were not only entertained but thoroughly amazed of what he can do. It's a lot better than magic since it surely does not trick our eyes or our senses, but rather the other way around. What makes Justin Pinon different from magicians is that he studies how a person moves, acts and reacts, taking into account all eye movements and body gestures.

From his Facebook page "He is not Psychic and has no supernatural abilities but he can figure out what you are thinking. As a Mentalist, he can seem to read your mind and manipulate your behavior and your decisions. He does not claim that he possesses neither supernatural powers nor psychic abilities. However, he can figure out what you are thinking through the use of Psychology, his expertise at body language reading, hypnosis, suggestion and showmanship."

Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino: My Special Sinulog Weekend Home in Cebu

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Sinulog is a very much anticipated event in Cebu every January. It seems like an extension of the holiday season for many since the preparations involved in the almost two-week-long festivities are done nearly simultaneously with the Christmas and New Year celebrations. In fact, the celebration of Sinulog festivities may even be equal, if not more grandeur, compared to the holiday activities.

As reported by the local government of Cebu, the number of tourists, both local and foreign, have been constantly increasing that it has become an amazing tourism attraction for the province. The fully booked Cebu hotels and airline flights shows very well that many people find Sinulog a very worthy event to witness.

I joined the thousands of people from all over the country, and the world, to spend the last Sinulog weekend in Cebu. This is the time when the celebrations are more phenomenal. This is the time when Cebu goes full blast with all their glorious activities especially on the last Sunday where they hold the grand parade.

Thus, you should not miss this weekend when everything becomes more joyously colorful and vibrantly explosive, not only from the parade or fireworks, but from the people themselves when they finally let out everything and shout their loudest "Viva Pit Senyor!"

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Globe Telecom information and communication technology (ICT) arm Globe Business, through its IT Enabled Services Group, continues to be the leading ICT enabler of enterprises in the country with its new partnership with globally-renowned pizza restaurant chain Shakey’s. Globe Business is boosting Shakey’s operations with its cloud-based solution offering Microsoft Office 365.

Microsoft Office 365 provides enterprise-grade tools that bring together the new Office 2016 desktop applications which offer real-time communication and collaboration capabilities. With Office 365 provided by Globe Business, Shakey’s employees can easily access, store, transmit, and manipulate information and applications, and collaborate on files anytime, anywhere on any computer or device with an Internet connection.

Shakey’s signed up for over 800 Microsoft Office 365 licenses and will use the cloud-based solution as their collaboration platform within the company, going beyond just email and Microsoft Office. With the Office 365 licenses, Shakey’s employees gain access to collaboration and productivity apps such as OneDrive, SharePoint, Yammer, and Skype for Business, as well as strengthened privacy and security through Information Rights Management (IRM).

OneDrive and SharePoint enable convenient and secure file sharing, and save backup copies of company files by automatically synchronizing documents, pictures, and videos to the Microsoft cloud. Equally important is IRM or Information Rights Management which protects sensitive company information from unauthorized access (inside or outside organization premises). Where quick and easy collaboration and communication is key in delivering results, Yammer brings together people, conversations, content, and business data in an enterprise social private network across departments, locations, and business apps.

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In the context of the international partnership between Ford and Michelin, for FORD Performance vehicles, the new Ford Focus RS will be exclusively equipped with Michelin tyres. The MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport, in the dimension 235/35/19, will be fitted on the Focus RS as standard and the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 (in the same dimension) will be available as an option for improved performance on tracks.

The new Ford Focus RS is a particularly demanding and sporty vehicle, representing a precise in-depth challenge for Michelin engineers, to specifically develop these two tyres in order to propose tyres able to meet safety standards and the expectations of Ford teams. This advanced development process was carried out over almost 2 years, during which the car hit the tarmac of several tracks.

MICHELIN Ford co-development, an adventure shared between engineering and drivers

“The MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre offers a surprising level of grip thus reducing lap times on the track, while bringing a highly appreciable level of precision to road handling for this FORD Focus RS, and maintaining its playful, dynamic character", highlighted David Put, development engineer and driver for Ford, "all thanks to the joint work carried out by the Michelin and Ford Performance teams, with a level of mutual understanding, which enabled us to deliver a car which will delight the driving enthusiast".

The specific development process managed by Michelin to satisfy Ford contributes to driving precision, vehicle stability, sporty handling and grip while maintaining tread resistance performance, for the MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport: C on the European label, with an A for breaking on wet tarmac.

"Ford's ambitions led us to develop very high technology tyres which were fully compatible with the very special configuration of the Ford Focus RS. With this configuration, the mass distribution is centred at the front of the vehicle, and various adjustment options significantly affect the distribution of the four-wheel-drive system between the front and rear axles. Furthermore, with the clear aim of maintaining the dynamic temperament of this car, we were able to expand the grip envelope, particularly on bends in extreme circumstances", finished Pierre Chaput, Developer for MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport and MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres for the Ford Focus RS.

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The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4As) calls on the marketing communications industry to come out boldly and play where no man has played before, as it unveils the latest batch of speakers for Ad Summit Pilipinas 2016,to be held from March 9 to 12 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.

With its theme, “Come out and Play,” the biggest advertising and marketing convention in the country aims to inspire practitioners to progress fearlessly,as its invited industry icons prepare to participate as the Summit’s speakers.

“We have an amazing lineup awaiting Summit participants. Expect the unexpected,” said Ad Summit 2016 Chair Alex Syfu. “With our theme, we hope that the Summit allows all to view possibilities where there were none before. No obligations, just opportunities. Ad Summit Pilipinas 2016 will encourage this type of unbridled creativity to flourish,” he added.

Speakers participating in the event include business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan; award-winning director Jose Javier Reyes; AQKA Shanghai’s Eric Cruz; Vikas Gulati from Opera Mediaworks; and leadership expert Tom Oliver.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, also known as MVP, is one of the most accomplished men in the country. Chairman of such industry behemoths as PLDT, TV5, Philex Mining, and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Pangilinan is a veteran of adapting to the ever-changing business climate of the Philippines.

Putting Environment-Friendly Modes Of Transportation On The Pedestal

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Transportation is one of the most remarkable inventions that offer unparalleled convenience to every individual, yet this also poses a great threat not only to our health but more importantly to the environment. In fact, a study published in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology revealed that cars—our most used mode of transportation—emits more global warming pollution than a plane that flies with the same speed.

With this, private and public organizations in the Philippines are already backing the longstanding efforts to environmental conservation, putting forward different advocacies to bring forth change in the community.

One example is the scheme of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) which allotted a special bike line along EDSA where about one million vehicles ply every day. For the local authorities, this step ahead will aim to improve air quality in the metro.

But bringing forward these environment-friendly causes is not limited to Metro Manila alone. In fact, Primer Group of Companies—the company known for the retail and distribution of premium consumer brands in outdoor, urban lifestyle and travel—has embarked on various life-changing journeys to bring sustainable means of living on the pedestal todeliver healthcare and support outdoor athletesacross the country.

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Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella announced a new three-part initiative to ensure that Microsoft’s cloud computing resources serve the public good. As part of this initiative the recently formed Microsoft Philanthropies will donate $1 billion of Microsoft Cloud Services, measured at fair market value, to serve nonprofits and university researchers over the next three years.

Microsoft’s three-part commitment focuses on ensuring the cloud can serve the public good in the broadest sense by providing additional cloud resources to nonprofits, increasing access for university researchers and helping solve last-mile Internet access challenges.

“Microsoft is empowering mission-driven organizations around the planet with a donation of cloud computing services — the most transformative technologies of our generation,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Now more than 70,000 organizations will have access to technology that will help them solve our greatest societal challenges and ultimately improve the human condition and drive new growth equally.”

In September 2015, 193 heads of state and other world leaders unanimously adopted 17 sustainable development goals to achieve by 2030. This ambitious agenda — which includes ending poverty, ending hunger, and ensuring affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all — will only be achievable with the benefit of significant inventions and technology innovations. The scale and computational power enabled by cloud computing will be essential to unlocking solutions to this list of some of the world’s seemingly unsolvable problems.

“We’re committed to helping nonprofit groups and universities use cloud computing to address fundamental human challenges,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith. “One of our ambitions for Microsoft Philanthropies is to partner with these groups and ensure that cloud computing reaches more people and serves the broadest array of societal needs.”

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Like most Filipino mixed martial artists, Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon (13-4-0) of Baguio City, Philippines is working hard towards realizing his dreams, when his efforts materialize into a world title shot. More importantly, each one of his victories has presented the opportunity to live a better life.

This Saturday, January 23, at the Helong Stadium in Changsha, China, Belingon will receive the opportunity of a lifetime when he challenges Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes (18-3-0) in a five-round battle for the ONE Bantamweight World Championship.

Since joining ONE Championship and debuting for the promotion four years ago, Belingon has had his fair share of highs and lows. He’s had spectacular wins as well as heartbreaking setbacks, but what’s consistent with the 28-year old’s performances is his desire for all-out action from start to finish.

And he knows exactly how he’ll approach Fernandes once they are both staring each other down from across the ONE Cage.

“I know where I can catch Fernandes and that's in the striking department,” said Belingon.

“[Fernandes] has a great ground game, but I'm working on my takedown defense and I'll look to hit him with something he won't see coming."

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The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) of the House of Representatives may include in its priority list in the next Congress the proposed Open Access Law of Globe Telecom for the telecommunications industry.

In a letter to Globe, CPBRD requested for additional details on the telecommunication company’s proposal of an Open Access Law as a way to mitigate bureaucratic red tape and other political hurdles that stand in the way in the deployment of telecommunications and broadband infra such as cell sites.

Globe General Counsel Atty. Froilan Castelo emphasized that an Open Access legislation for the telecom industry would help minimize bureaucratic red tape and expedite the issuance of all relevant permits for all telecommunication facilities at the local government level. “Legislation of an Open Access law is extremely important if we are to support growth and development of the next generation. The interest that the CPBRD has shown for our proposal further motivates us to remain aggressive in developing a robust telecom infrastructure that we hope will support business capabilities of local industries,” Castelo said.

According to Castelo, the quality of existing telecommunication infrastructure in a given locality is oftentimes a direct result of the LGU permitting environment. He pointed out that securing different permits at LGU level could become very challenging, from the sheer number of permits to the different political personalities that mobile operators have to deal with.

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Most Filipinos can tell the difference between the skylines of Makati and other cities around the globe - and now it seems the rest of the world can, too. The Philippine’s skyline is the most recognizable of any in the emerging markets, according to a new survey from global property portal Lamudi.

The multiple choice survey asked participants in the developed world - as well as countries in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa - to identify emerging market cities by their skylines. The survey presented respondents with skyline images of Medellín, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Karachi, Pakistan; Colombo, Sri Lanka and Makati, the Philippines.

The survey found that approximately 58 percent of Westerners were able to identify the Makati skyline, making the Metro Manila city the most recognizable. The skyline of Colombo was the least recognizable, with 52 percent.

According to survey results, Westerners were able to identify these five cities with surprising ease. Each city was identified correctly by more than 50 percent of respondents, regardless of their regional origin. These results point to a growing consciousness of emerging markets in the West.

DOTC Awards More MRT-3 Improvement Projects

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The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has awarded more Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) improvement projects that aim to provide passengers a better commuting experience and enhanced system reliability.

Innovalite Electrical Enterprise bagged the P2.10-million contract to supply new industrial fans for greater air flow and ventilation at station areas, such as the platforms and concourses. The fans will be installed within 90 calendar days from issuance of the Notice to Proceed (NTP).

The contract for new traction motors that will replace depleted rotational spares was awarded to Ad Lib-YongJi Joint Venture for P79.86 million. These motors should have the same performance specifications as the current ones and should be delivered within 300 calendar days from issuance of NTP.

The MRT-3 will also acquire a new multi-purpose road-rail vehicle that will be used for the maintenance of the overhead catenary system. The Joint Venture of Kempal Construction and Supply Corporation and Maquinaria del Eo, the winning bidder for the P46.39-million contract, will deliver the maintenance equipment within 330 calendar days from issuance of NTP.

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Aquabest has renewed its partnership with BPI Family Savings Bank as an accredited franchisor for its BPI Family Ka-Negosyo Franchising Loan.

The company was among the pioneer batch of accredited franchisors and has been recognized as a Best Listbrand by the bank. The company's prospective franchisees can enjoy favorable and flexible financing terms from BPI Family Savings Bank.

"Our renewed partnership with BPI Family Ka-Negosyo is a testament to our company's hard work to building a strong brand and business that has helped our franchisees succeed as entrepreneurs. At the same time, it continues to make it easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to set up their dream business" says Carson Tan, Aquabest's President and CEO.

For a franchise to be included in the Best List means it is an established, profitable and franchisee-friendly brand. Most of the companies in the list are profitable, having a return on investment (ROI) of less than three years. Aspiring entrepreneurs taking out a BPI Family Ka- Negosyo Franchising Loan on Aquabest can enjoy incentives such as no collateral loan, shorter processing time and no processing fee.

Bonheur Leverages ‘SAP Business One’ for Improved Business Efficiency

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SAP AG announced that Bonheur Marketing Corporation, one of the front-runners in the Philippines that provides distribution capabilities to its partners in the fast-moving-consumer-products industry, integrated the SAP Business One software to address their data management and finance processes needs.

SAP Business One is a business management software designed to meet the needs of dynamically growing companies as well as subsidiaries of large enterprises. The solution is available both on premise and in the cloud, providing clients with unparalleled SAP functionality. The implementation was spearheaded by SAP channel partner, DataFront Solutions, Inc. (DFSI), which leverages IT and business consulting to provide advanced solutions to clients across industries.

According to Marty Alvarado, Executive Vice President for Bonheur, disparities in report generation as well as inventory costing inaccuracies required them to tap SAP Business One software to gain clarity across their business, and restore confidence in their day-to-day operations.

“There were delayed submissions of financial and government mandatory reports prior to the installation of the SAP Business One solution,” Mr. Alvarado said. “Our in-house system failed to consolidate our data and our reports were prone to human errors, hindering accurate business visibility. We were looking for a solution to consolidate our warehouse data and gain better insight into our delivery process. Now, we are able to realize more accurate, up-to-date data across all our sales, finance and administration reports, which helps us much better in developing and managing the business for future growth.”