Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Go Go Cafe of Cebu: A Truly Inspiring Story for Everyone

Wazzup Pilipinas!

An added destination to my trip in Cebu was at the Go Go Cafe owned by Go Morita, a Japanese who now lives in Cebu and is also popularly called the Tonkatsu man. He has recently partnered just about three months ago with a Filipino to setup his own restaurant in the province of Cebu.

It was so inspiring to learn that just after a few months of peddling his own creations infront of IT Park of Cebu, the construction of his restaurant was already in the works.

I went to Cebu mainly for the Sinulog 2016 festivities, but he caught my attention when he was featured at a popular local TV network.

The timing was perfect because I was on my way to Cebu for that weekend and finding out a story like his brought me to courageously look for his restaurant somewhere at P. Remedios street in Banilad.

The restaurant was simple in design yet attractive already. The big signage of Go Go Cafe was very evident and catchy. His logo represents a running man in the middle of which Go Morita explained was running towards the cafe. This was because his food was so hard to resist that people may want to rush ahead just to catch his food still available at the cafe.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I don't really get it why someone will make a fuzz out of something so obviously insignificant. When you're really a great brand, people will find you no matter how many other brands try to imitate you. When there's an almost identical branding, people might make a mistake at first, but eventually they'll recognize their mistake and bounce back towards their preferred brands.

When we don't really have an exclusive ownership of a brand name, we can never restrict anybody else to use it (regardless of how closely similar it is). Just as how so many brands have used "Green" as part of their names, they will only stand out differently or above the rest if they are the "Green" people really want or need.

Branding is the tricky part when almost all forms of promotions have been used. Most people are wise enough against gimmicks and other marketing tactics but there are still the masses who are often brainwashed subconsciously when they are offered something they can easily relate to.

Tapping into the inner most desires of the people is everyone's intention to make a name for themselves. It takes the better brand to come up with a product that would really instigate an improved society and eventually change the world.

With regards to the blogger who is complaining about why there's another domain name similar to his blog, well I could ask him to reminisce to the good old days when he was a member of the Wazzup Pilipinas Facebook group where he also attends events we organize.

When I created my blog, I was unaware of his blog's existence.

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The Department of Energy (DOE), once again, appeals for the public's cooperation and cooperation for the Mindanao Grid.

In view of another incident affecting transmission facilities, "We are calling everyone's cooperation to immediately resolve the on-going issues in Mindanao, affecting not only NGCP, but the families, individuals and business entities who are experiencing interrupted power supply," said Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada.

In the meantime, the DOE urges the public to be vigilant and report suspicious activities in critical areas through the NGCP’s hotline number: 0917-8791-077.

Farther, Greater 91st Foundation Week: Mapúa's Annual Foundation Week Celebration

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For 91 years, the Mapúa Institute of Technology has been striving willfully to go higher, farther, and greater distances, disregarding any limit as much as possible. Walking down the road to become one of the best schools on the globe, the institute has been evolving technologically to improve its quality of education, and furthermore, to become a good place for students to learn, test themselves, and develop bonds with others. In celebration of this continual goal, the Mapúa Institute of Technology celebrates its 91st founding anniversary this 2016, from January 25 to January 30, with the theme: Farther Greater.

2016's foundation week will employ activities and events that aim to grant enjoyment to the institute's students, and celebrate Mapúa's 91-year-old journey in evolving and moving forward to achieve consistent improvement in education quality.

This year, the School of Multimedia and Visual Arts (SMVA) is in charge of hosting the celebration. Furthermore, in charge of organizing the event are the three primary student governing bodies of the institute: Central Student Council (CSC), Council of Organizations (COO), and Council of Presidents (COP).

For the first day of the celebration, the annual Math Wizard competition will be held at the MIT Gymnasium from 12:00 noon onwards. In addition, an ASEAN seminar regarding engineering and technical professions will be held at the Seminar Room from 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm.

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The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), brought the packed crowd at the Changsha Stadium to the edge of their seats with spectacular world-class mixed martial arts action at ONE WUJIE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (CHANGSHA). Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes showcased why he is ONE Championship’s most dominant champion to date with a beautiful submission victory by Kimura over top Filipino bantamweight Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon in the night’s main event.

Visit the official ONE WUJIE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (CHANGSHA) photo gallery by clicking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivh34n9pza3q94o/AADwuMwRg-gnDecd5AIBoQyTa?dl=0

In the main event of the evening, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes retained his title with a first round submission win over Team Lakay’s Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon. Fernandes nullified Belingon’s supposed striking advantage by going straight for the takedown. After passing Belingon’s guard and moving into side control, Fernandes worked an armbar attempt into a Kimura, forcing the tap.

In the Changsha Bantamweight Tournament Final bout, Ma Hao Bin quickly locked in a Guillotine choke from against the cage to put opponent Bu Huo You Ga to sleep in just a little over a minute into the first round. Ma wasted no time in looking for the submission which he used to win in the semi-final bout, squeezing tightly until Bu Huo was out. With the victory, Ma Hao Bin was crowned Changsha Bantamweight Tournament champion.

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Your friendly neighborhood Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas was invited to an afternoon of learning a different way to teach Math.

The event was held on January 23 at the Xanland building in Katipunan, Quezon City by YuXin Singapore Math Center where a few hours of teaching Math using the Singapore method was demonstrated to a group of attendees comprising mostly of teachers all eager to try the so called better technique to teach Math to children, and even adults who are still open to alternative ways or learning.

Unlike other similar centers, YuXin also conducts other learning methods like Mind Mapping, Speed Reading, Reading Comprehension and others, that were all designed to make the most of our skills. Their Academic Tutorials, Advancement & Enrichment Programs are available to support K-12 students.
I had a short interview with the owner herself where she discussed how their center is offering free demonstrations to interested students who wish to excel in their studies. They started out with the Singare Math and will also soon provide demo lessons on Mind Mapping and other techniques at their Katipunan branch.

YuXin was derived from two words where "Yu" means Excellence and "Xin" means heart or mind. Thus they have the slogan of "A Heart for Excellence."

Asian Air Safari Holds Special Preview of Season 10 Episodes

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We recently got invited to the the special premier of two new episodes for Season 10 of the Asian Air Safari travel show featured regularly on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). The event was held at Cinema 3 of EDSA Shangri-La Mall in Mandaluyong on January 19, 2016.

Capt. Joy Roa, along with most of his staff, was personally there to facilitate the event. There was good food, wine, and some raffle prizes courtesy of some sponsors.

The special premiere featured some episodes at random order namely the Part 1 of their Turkey episode, and the Part 2 of their Rwanda episode.

Turkey Part 1: Discovering the Turkish Riviera is Episode 8, while Rwanda Part 2: Gorillas in our Midst is Episode 11. The two episodes shown in the screening are both halves of two-part adventures.

Both are exciting adventures. The first one was through the Turkish Mediterranean coast, and the second one with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, which are both worth seeing on the big screen.

The above photo shows Capt. Joy being friendly with the mountain gorillas who allowed him to get near to them thanks to his guide.

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UP Variates, Inc., together with Unilab, Nutroplex, Swish, John Robert Powers, and PSRTI

proudly presents an inter-secondary quiz show on statistics,

Statistical Challenge XVIII: Embracing Convergence Amidst Diversity in Statistics

06 February 2016 | National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, UP Diliman

In cooperation with Cocolife, Glutaphos, Oracare, and Beta House

Also Brought to you by
Philippine Statistics Authority, Lakwatsero, and Hawk Bag

Special Thanks to:

Sunkist and The Heat

Our media sponsors:
Magic 89.9, WhenInManila.com, WazzupPilipinas.com, and ClickTheCity.com

Our printing sponsor:
Orange Segment and Blessings

Deadline of Registration on January 30, 2016

Contact Lezzeth: 09177488374

Verdict 8: Oasis is the Biggest Med-Law Party in the Metro

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Last year, you raised the stakes and went all in with Verdict 7: WILD CARD at the URBN Bar and Kitchen, Taguig. This year, lose yourself in the OASIS as the biggest and only Med-Law party in the Metro gets even bigger!

The Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity of the UP College of Medicine and the Regina Iustitiae Sorority of the Ateneo School of Law

with
Mont Albo Massage Hut
Onesimus
Swish
Uber
Vista Residences
Zalora Philippines

proudly present,

VERDICT 8: OASIS

Plunge into the Oasis this January 30, 2016, 8PM, at the Palace Pool Club, Taguig! Tickets are priced at P450. For inquiries, you may contact Edmond Bries at 09267089824, or Ina Guingona at 09177203043.

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In a world where everything is connected, we no longer operate in silos. Fujitsu delves into the Human Centric Innovation to realize business, social value.

By 2020, it is presumed that the number of things connected to the Internet will reach more than 60 billion. In fact, more than 90 million wearable devices were already shipped globally in 2014, up from 54 million the previous year.

These wearable technologies include smartwatches that monitor anything from a person’s heartbeat to his or her lifestyle. With this leap, innovations were found to deliver new insights which improve our health, communication, business and work progress.

“This is the next generation of the Internet—the Internet of Things (IOT),” said Raul “Cricket” Santiago III, president of Fujitsu Philippines, Inc. “The world is becoming more linked, forming unparalleled connections between people, businesses, information and processes regardless of where we stand.”

With this multi-layering of connectivity, Santiago said that innovation in a ‘hyperconnected’ world means converging multiple streams of data that range from human to human, human to machine, and machine to machine to create new value.

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Singtel Innov8 has announced a new program which opens doors for startups to collaborate with Singtel to create innovative solutions for business challenges faced by the Singtel Group.

Through Singtel Innov8 Connect which was launched on January 12, selected startups will receive up to S$75,000 to test and validate their solutions with Singtel. Successful solutions may lead to commercialization with the Singtel Group, providing startups access to the Group’s customer base which includes both enterprises and consumers and over 575 million mobile customers across Asia, Australia, and Africa. They will also have the opportunity to seek funding from Singtel Innov8 and tap on its network of co-investors and partners across the globe.

The move is a step forward from the existing initiatives across the Singtel Group, where affiliates run programs that actively support startups and entrepreneurship programs. Globe Telecom in the Philippines, for example, has Kickstart Ventures, a corporate venture capital firm that makes investments in digital startups ranging from seed to Series “C” stage. Other startup-oriented initiatives are run in affiliate operators, namely AIS in Thailand, Telkomsel in Indonesia, and Optus in Australia.

Kickstart in particular runs two funds: Fund 1 is the original US$5Million seed-to-early-stage investment fund focused on startups that originate in the Philippines with an ambition to expand at least regionally; and Fund 2, announced in March 2015, is its US$50Million growth stage fund focused on strategically-aligned startups anywhere in the world. Demonstrating collaboration across the Singtel group, Kickstart and Singtel Innov8 invested last year in Teridion, an Israel-based startup focused on network optimization and content acceleration.

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Royal FrieslandCampina (FrieslandCampina) – one of the world’s largest dairy companies, providing millions of children and families with valuable nutrition every day –announced today a multi-year extension of their marketing partnership.

As the Official Milk Partner of the NBA in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, FrieslandCampina will continue to engage the NBA’s fanbase in Asia through its Drink.Move.BeStrong campaign, which aims to cultivate an active and healthy lifestyle among children through play, sports and proper nutrition. Through this partnership, FrieslandCampina will amplify the importance of exercise and good nutrition through events, television and digital activities, and localizedmarketing content, while also providing fanswith the opportunity to receive NBA-branded products, in-store promotions and unique NBA experiences.

FrieslandCampina willalso continue to serve as the Presenting Partner of the Jr. NBA in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam through its Frisian Flag, Dutch Lady, Alaska and Foremost brands.The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball participation program for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents. During the 2015-16 season, the Jr. NBA will reach more than 6.5 million youth in 32 countries. The program, first introduced to Southeast Asia in the Philippines in 2007, has reached more than 1.4 million children, parents and coaches across Southeast Asia.

“We are delighted to extend our successful partnership with the NBA,” said FrieslandCampina Asia Chief Operating Officer Piet Hilarides. “Our collaboration has yielded tremendous results and we look forward to continuing our efforts to bolster the health and well-being of the region’s future generation. Milk is recognised as a source of good nutrition by leading authorities and, as one of the world’s leading dairy companies, FrieslandCampina is committed to advocating better nutrition for children across Southeast Asia and beyond. We are also focused on continuing our efforts to engage strategic stakeholders and partners including the NBA to put the brakes on the rise of non-communicable diseases in the region.”

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It's just a few days to go before the Weekend of Everything that Flies start making Pampanga one of the most sought after and busiest destination in the country. People from all walks of life will surely flock towards the province to witness the highly anticipated annual event that is now on its 20th year.

It's best to be there for the entire four days of celebration so I'm sure hotels and other accommodations will be fully booked once again. Likewise, the restaurants and tourist spots around the area will also benefit from the huge crowd who will all be visiting the event and eventually take side trips and tours around Pampanga.

True enough, the weekend from February 11 to 14 will be another talked about event in history.

My team is also ready to be there as early as February 10 so we could witness the inflation of the hot air balloons in the early hours of February 11.

Below are the official Schedule of Activities for the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

Please bear in mind that the schedule may change without prior notice, especially with the flying activities because they are highly dependent on wind conditions.

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With only weeks before Chinese New Year, households are once again on the lookout for home design tips to increase their financial luck, improve their work lives, keep themselves protected, and enhance their personal relationships. Not to worry: MyProperty.ph spoke with Philippine feng shui expert Hanz Cua, who shared his thoughts on making sure that luck is on your side during the Year of the Fire Monkey.

Apart from cleaning your home from top to bottom, cleansing it with incense, and displaying the mandatory 12 round fruits to represent 12 lucky months of the year, Cua makes a few suggestions that will bring luck to your home this year.

Blue is this year’s lucky color in feng shui, and it’s the color for increasing one’s luck in the wealth department. Because 2016 is the Year of the Fire Monkey, the water element won’t be present. This means you need to incorporate the color blue, which represents water, into your home in any way you can, such as painting your walls blue, hanging blue curtains, or using blue pillows. Another way to keep the balance is to set up actual water features in the home, such as an aquarium or a water fountain.

Cua says depending on your Chinese zodiac, you’ll have to put a different charm in a specific area of the home to enhance your fortune. Rats and Boars need a red object or lava lamp in the south. Oxen, Sheep, and Dogs should put a water element like a fountain or aquarium in the north. Tigers should display a stone like a tiger eye in the southwest. For Rabbits, an amethyst in the northeast will improve their luck. Dragons should put a water fountain or aquarium in the north. Snakes and Horses need a metal element like a wind chime in the west. Monkeys and Roosters need to accessorize the east with a fortune plant.

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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.