Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Friday, January 29, 2016

Nine Track Mind: Most Anticipated Debut Album from Charlie Puth is Here!

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Charlie Puth is Spotify’s #SpotifySpotlight2016 featured artist for Asia. Stream It: http://spoti.fi/1OS25ai. He has performed in the Philippines last October 2015. Check out the event highlights here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCbzUZmyppg

Charlie has also performed during the Ms. Universe 2015 pageant where our very own, Philippines representative, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was crowned Ms. Universe 2015. You can watch Charlie’s performance here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMW5x9ScaLA

Enjoy the album on Topsify Philippines’s New Music Fridays

https://open.spotify.com/user/playlistmeph/playlist/4tBo1KXRg8Ee9U6EYKcVqP

As Charlie Puth gears up to release his debut album Nine Track Mind, it’s worth looking back at the extraordinary ride this multi-talented vocalist, musician, producer, and versatile songwriter has been on ever since he arrived in Los Angeles as an aspiring artist in July 2014. In short order, Puth signed with Atlantic Records and co-wrote, co-produced, and featured on Wiz Khalifa’s Furious 7 ballad “See You Again” — a 4x-platinum smash that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 12 weeks, tying the record for the longest run at No. 1 for a rap song, and became No. 1 in over 100 countries, while its video racked up more than a billion YouTube views.

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The Philippines posted a 5.8% growth in the year 2015 according to the Philippine government. This growth is one of the fastest among neighboring countries.

These growth mean more opportunities are available for entrepreneurs and local businesses for 2016 and beyond.

In addition, The Pulse Asia survey results released on January 11, 2016 revealed that 34% of the Filipinos are concerned in Job Creation.

The Rotary Mega Job and Business Fair, February 5-6, 2016 at Glorietta Activity Center aims to be one of the platforms for companies looking for talents to add in their organizations. By doing this, it will be able to address the job creation need of the Filipinos.

At the same time, the event is also a business fair where entrepreneurs can further promote their products and services, and generate new business partners.

The Rotary Mega Job and Business Fair will add to the growth and needs of the local entrepreneurs and businesses in the areas of finding talents, new business partners and marketing promotion of local products and services.

Glorietta Activity Center is located in the country’s business hub and registers a huge number of foot traffic daily comprising of the professionals and businessmen.

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Singapore Airlines (SIA) is kicking off a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary in the Philippines with a series of exciting announcements for 2016.

Among the highlights that they announced during the media launch at Long Bar of Raffles Hotel in Makati on January 28, 2016 was the new flight services to Canberra, Wellington and Dusseldorf, the expanded connectivity to Europe and Southwest Pacific through joint ventures, the new A350 aircraft fitted with the newest generation of cabin products, the new Premium Economy Class product launched on more routes, and the largest travel sale with great all-in fares, exclusive perks and the first ever Premium Economy Class product showcase in the Philippines on February 28.

“Turning 50 in the Philippines is a huge milestone for us at Singapore Airlines, and what better way to kick-off the festivities than with new products and services as well as the largest travel sale for our Filipino customers,” said Carol Ong, General Manager, Singapore Airlines.

“Over the years, we continuously innovate our products and services, and also seek strategic tie-ups to deliver the best premium air travel experience to our passengers. This year, we want to say a big thank you to all our customers with great deals, even better products and a much expanded network,” Ong added.

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Globe Telecom posted one of the highest capex-to-revenue ratio in the last two years showing how aggressive the telecommunications provider has been in upgrading and enhancing its network infrastructure.

Globe has a capex-to-revenue ratio of 28% in 2015 and 27% in 2014 while the local telecommunications industry averaged 23% in both 2015 and 2014. By comparison, only China’s capex-to-revenue ratio of 36% in 2015 and 33% in 2014 exceeded those of Globe Telecom based on the published financial statements online of publicly-listed telcos in the region which were compiled and computed per country.

Other Asian economies registered lower ratios in 2015 and 2014 with Singapore at 26% and 22%, respectively; Indonesia with 24% and 26%, respectively; Thailand with 23% and 21%, respectively; India with 17% and 16%, respectively; Taiwan with 14% and 16%, respectively; Hong Kong with 13% and 14%, respectively and Malaysia with 13% and 12% respectively.

“Over the past several years, we have invested in our network to enable our customers to enjoy their digital lifestyle and empower businesses with digital capabilities, enhance their productivity and make globally competitive,” Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu said. “We are moving to enhance the internet experience of the Filipino people and position ICT as a major development contributor in the Philippines,” Cu added.

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This May 20, 2016, Slimmers World International will again be holding the biggest bikini pageant in the country, Miss Bikini Philippines 2016, at Resorts World Manila. Wazzup Pilipinas, the most awarded blog in the Philippines, is proud to be one of their media partners.

Your Pambansang Blog ng Pilipinas will again be getting a VIP media access to everything about the Miss Bikini Philippines 2016 beauty pageant. We are excited to also guests the candidates and organizers at our radio show at Radyo Inquirer DZIQ 990 AM just as how we guested the candidates of the Great Bodies 2015 pageant from last year where we were also invited as media partner.

We enjoyed our partnership with the Slimmers World International Great Bodies 2015 last year so much that we are doubly excited to partner again for another pageant organized by Slimmers World, the leader in Slimming, Health, Fitness and Beauty is now on its 39th year of promoting GREAT bodies and GREAT skin. With over thirty (30) centers strategically located all over Asia and the Pacific, Slimmers World International continuously finds better, innovative way s to answer its clients’ needs for greater health and fitness.

Last year's winners of the Miss Bikini Philippines 2015 were the following:

Miss Bikini Philippines 2015: #7 - Fatima Alsowyed
First Runner Up 2015: #22 - Angelou Mae Gonzales
Second Runner Up 2015: #11 - Nicole Shaye Dichoso

The reigning Miss Bikini Philippines 2014, Hazel Ortiz, transferred her crown to Fatima Alsowyed of Cebu on May 21, 2015 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila.

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Guilty pleasure smash hit The Millionaire Matchmaker is on its 8th season. The show follows Patty Stanger, the owner of “Millionaire’s Club,’ an upscale dating service that operates out of Beverly Hills.

This is a no-holds barred, intriguing glimpse at how the rich and (or) famous find love with the help of experts. It seems that even if one is too busy to find love, you can at least pay someone to do it for you.

Patti counts in her circle of clients and experts celebrities like Rozonda “Chili” Thomas (of the 90’s smash girl R&B group TLC) and designer Kristin Cavallari. She gets some new blood in Candace Smith, a new member of her team who serves as Director of Recruiting and an old friend reappears in David Cruz, who returns as Director of Matchmaking.

Produced by Intuitive Entertainment and Bayonne Entertainment, Inc. and executive produced by Mechelle Collins, Kevin Dill, Robert Lee, Patti Stanger, Spike Van Briesen and Robin Samuels, “The Millionaire Matchmaker” season 8 even hints at an on-screen proposal – which Patti and her love squad hopes leads to happily ever after.

Make it an almost-daily habit, catch it on Sony Channel every weeknight at 7:55pm starting February 1.

Sony Channel is seen on SKYCable Channel 35, Cignal Digital TV Channel 60, Destiny Cable Channel 62, Cable Link Channel 39.

Netizens React When American Poll Speaker Compares Duterte to Trump

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"The drive of the media should be to tell the story, not to shape the story. One of the problems when covering polls excessively is that you’re declaring winners and losers well before the voters have had the chance to chime in."

Professor Alan Schroeder of the School of Journalism at the Northeastern University in Boston has noted similarities between the Philippines and the United States polls in terms of candidates and coverage for the May 9 elections. He compares Rodrigo Duterte to Donald Trump, and Grace Poe to Ted Cruz.

I could see why: they're two popular, influential political figures backed up by a big horde of [insert adjective]. Trump is much like Duterte in campaign style and ability to dish out provocative one liners.

Schroeder is in the country to talk about covering the elections and its role in educating the public for a more informed vote. But as Qui-Gonn Jinn of Star Wars has said, "the ability to speak, does not make you intelligent."

What an idiotic thing to say and compare! Shame on him to compare Duterte to trump, Trump is nothing but an egotistical self centered son of a beach! All he cares about is money! They're both very vocal but you cant compare them at all. Duterte has a good track record as a government official but Trump has no record at all. Duterte apparently has no money and loves his country so much so that he is willing to die for it because the Philippines is still worth dying for! Unlike Trump, Duterte isn't a homophobic and Islamophobic. Clearly, this "journalist" doesn't understand what he is saying.

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Every year, photography brands conduct their first major sale in the Philippine photography industry at Photoworld Asia, the biggest gathering of photography brands and accessories for both professionals and newbies. It runs from January 28 until February 2 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati, but be sure too drop by soon if you don't want to miss the great discounts and offers, plenty of talks from photography experts, and interesting seminars too at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).

I was at the opening ceremonies on the very first day of Photoworld Asia 2016 and witnessed the major brands boast of their prime products that will surely entice everyone to purchase their first or new camera the moment they lay their eyes on one that will soon become their favorite.

Come and visit Sony Philippines and get the chance to touch and try their Sony Alpha Camera display and discover new frontiers in photography. Try out various lenses and practice shooting at the Canon booth and attend the various free photography workshops of well renowned Canon Crusaders of Light . Free Camera cleaning from Jan 29 to 31 from 10am to 7pm. Get the best deals on cameras, lenses and even printers.

Get to see and experience Tamron's new prime lenses, the 35mm and 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD first hand. Enjoy discounts and freebies when you purchase one. Get a free Benro monopod with every purchase of a Tamron lens during Photoworld Asia 2016. This promo only applies to all Tamron lenses except the Tamron A17 (70-300mm Di) and the B018(18-200mm VC). Come and have your Tamron lenses cleaned externally.

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Starbucks is launching cans of coffee spiked with protein. They are also testing a drink called the Dark Barrel Latte that taste like Guinness minus the alcohol. But what is this I've heard of a frappucino that comes with a free baby rat?

Due diligence requires now that you need to inspect before you sip your coffee because of a recent news that flooded social media due to the exclusive report of a popular television network.

Many people said it was so "kadiri" or yucky to find a rat in a starbucks frappuccino coffee. If it was true, I would be doing a hell of a lot of crazy vomiting right now. Just the thought of it would make me want to puke all day indeed.

But how come many netizens seem to be bashing this girl who claims to have found the mini Mickey Mouse in her Starbucks drink? Was it the fact that she already went out of the cafe so it gave her every opportunity to put a dead vermin inside the drink?

Does it really count if the discovery happened outside the cafe?

Netflix: Not All Regions Are Created Equal

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On January 6, 2016, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced that Netflix was going live globally. That is great news, but did you know the new netflix regions have a maximum number of 600 TV and movie titles available compared to 14,156 TV and movie titles available right now across 24 Netflix regions.

The service became available in 130 new countries. See the full list of countries Netflix supports on their website: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/14164

You can also see the full list of titles available on the new Netflix regions at https://www.filmefy.com/stats by selecting the Netflix region you want to see.

The expansion is a great initiative to improve access to content in countries where Netflix wasn’t available, but not all Netflix regions are created equally. For example, Netflix South Africa has 678 TV and movie titles available. Netflix India has 739 titles available. Compare that with the 5,659 titles available on Netflix United States.

You might be interested to know about how you can get more from your Netflix account.

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We at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) always strive to promote the ideals of good governance with our policy of open and transparent bidding. We have nothing to fear because we maintain that the procurement process of the three-year Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) maintenance service provider was completely aboveboard.

According to news reports, the complaint was filed by Vito Gaspar Silo, the Secretary General of the Alliance for Consumerism and Transparency or ACTION.

We will review the complaint once we receive an official copy, but rest assured that we will fully cooperate with the investigation, just as we always have with institutions established to fight corruption in the government. We have faith that the impartiality and courage of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales will lead to fair proceedings that will shed light on this matter.

Due to the urgency of the system’s need for a maintenance provider and in order to restore vital public services, as many passengers rely on the service every day, the DOTC resorted to an alternative mode of procurement under the Government Procurement Reform Act, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) opined to be justified and was unanimously approved by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB).

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Indigo was once widely favored by the local weaving industry as a traditional way of adding color to fabrics due to its excellent resistance from fading or running. Yet, over the years, this natural dye was pushed to the sidelines by the emergence of cheaper and easier to obtain synthetic dyes which were quick to be embraced by textile manufacturers.

But not all is lost. A collaborative network of non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations in South and Southeast Asia called Non-Timber Forest Products – Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) has started working on The Indigo Project which reaches out to indigenous populations in upland and rural communities in the Philippines and Indonesia. These artisans include members of Mangyan Alangan, Mangyan Hanunoo and Mangyan Iraya of the island of Mindoro; Higaonon of Bukidnon, Palaw'anon and Tagbanua of Palawan, T'boli of South Cotabato, Maguindanao weavers and those of Negros.

The Indigo Project promotes the development and implementation of environmental and social standards in hand-woven textiles production. It supports production and sourcing of environmentally friendly natural dyes and fibers, establishes eco-friendly product standards, and scales production of eco-textiles.

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Ekotek is bringing the classics back with the Rock of Sages promo! The Ekophone Sages take center stage and for the warmup: their whopping discount for the Ekophone Sage 2:

Get a 64 bit quad core LTE phone for just 3499!

The Ekophone Sage 2 LTE is on a massive discount (from 6099, that's almost 50% off!) and you wouldn't want to miss it. Grab one now while the promo lasts!

And the hits just keep on coming, because they have another track to their playlist:

Their Rock of Sages continue with the sleek Ekophone Sage Lite! Have a blast with your favorite tunes as the Sage Lite comes with FREE headphones. Not only that, but for and additional 100 pesos you can have opt in for a duet with:

THE DOUBLE BUNDLE: Get a phone for just 100 pesos! The Ekophone Atlas is a feature phone that packs a lot of punch!

THE POWER BUNDLE: Power up with an Ekopack 3000 mAh for just 100 pesos! The perfect companion for your new Sage Lite.

Grab them while they're on tour!

*Online prices are subject to change
**Available in SM Megamall, SM North EDSA, SM Sangandaan, SM Muntinlupa, SM Las Piñas, SM Southmall, SM City Pampanga, SM City Clark, SM San Fernando Downtown, SM San Mateo, SM Valenzuela, SM Manila, and Victory Mall Pasay

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Every family staycation deserves a grand meal for all the members of the family. My wife and three kids all deserve nothing but the best meals and where else can they conveniently get it but from only a few floors below from our 20th floor hotel room.

I know one of the giant malls in the metro is just nearby with so many restaurants to choose from within its floors. But why go far when there is already a restaurant that can already provide quality meals.

Aside from the 9th floor where the indoor pool and gym are located, the other most important floor at The Linden Suites is the 2nd floor where the Mesclun Restaurant and Cafe is located and ready to serve you for breakfast from 6 am to 10 am during weekdays and until 11 am during weekends.

The M in their logo is of course means Mesclun which is actually a salad mix of assorted small, young salad green leaves, that originated in Provence, France. It's what they named the restaurant at The Linden Suites which became our family weekend dining destination for our dinner and breakfast meals during our stay at the hotel.

Normally, some hotels will provide complimentary breakfast only. But this time, we were treated with a very sumptuous order-all-you-want dinner at the said restaurant.

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"Dado Banatao is using his intellect, influence, and resources to break the cycle of poverty through technology. He understands poverty very well as he himself came from a very humble background. Hope more and more Filipinos that have 'made it' emulate his example."

Did you know that the 16-bit microchip (the first single-chip graphical user interface accelerator that made computers work a lot faster) was invented by a Filipino?

Diosdao "Dado" Banatao's love for mathematics has taken him from the Cagayan mountains to the heights of Silicon Valley. This guy shows leadership by example. He leads by goodwill and not by authority. That is a breath of fresh air.

His father's job is a rice farmer while his mother is a housekeeper. "He maybe came from a poor family but it doesn't make him less." Rising from poverty to become a successful computer engineer and venture capitalist at Silicon Valley, he is considered the Philippines' version of Bill Gates.

Banatao was born the son of a farmer in the rural Philippines. He grew up in poverty, without shoes or access to electricity. He used to walk barefoot along the dirt roads of his hometown in Cagayan Valley. He pursued his secondary education at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Tuguegarao.