Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Telcos View: San Miguel’s Control of 700 MHz Spectrum Seen as ‘Anti-competitive’

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Local telecommunications companies have described as ‘anti-competition’ San Miguel Corporation’s hold over the entire 700 MHz band, reiterating calls for the frequency to be equitably distributed in a transparent manner among existing operators and new entrants.

Both PLDT and Globe Telecom have, since 2008 and 2005 respectively, repeatedly requested for an allocation of the 700 MHz frequency from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which to date has not acted on these applications. The two companies stressed the need to distribute the unused frequency to help bridge the gap in Internet speeds between the Philippines and other countries in the region.

“What is anti-competitive is the present situation where San Miguel controls the entire 700 MHz band, as well as substantial unutilized chunks of radio spectrum in other frequency bands through various corporations,” said PLDT and Smart Communications Head of Public Affairs Ramon Isberto in a letter to the Manila Times.

“Our position on this matter has been consistent. Since 2008, we have asked that the 700-MHz radio frequency band be reassigned from broadcast TV to mobile telephony and the said frequency be equitably distributed in a transparent manner among existing operators and new entrants,” reiterates Isberto in the said letter published last week.

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Craving for a posh yet value for money smartphone that perfectly fits in your hand? Look no further because Flash—one of Asia’s up and coming lifestyle and smart device developer makes the Mica White version of the bestselling Flash 2 available in select stores in nationwide.

The Flash 2 smartphone, which was launched Q4 of 2015, is one of the hottest t-selling product in Southeast Asia because of its powerful camera features and superior performance. In fact, the first batch of the Flash 2 was sold out in just ten minutes after its launch.

The Flash 2 smartphone is ergonomically designed to give you access to all useful applications using just one hand. It’s curved back and contoured sides give balance to the phone, preventing unwanted slips when in use.

Furthermore, the Flash 2 is equipped with an LED flash autofocus front camera that makes it your professional selfie tool when going outdoors or when staying at home. With its 25 percent larger sensor size and 27 percent bigger pixel size, the phone is ready for all kinds of lighting conditions—all set for your selfie-worthy moments.

Aside from its enhanced selfie-taking features, the new Flash 2 has an even powerful main back camera that gives you the advantage of capturing your own view of the world. Capture the images just the way you see and experience them, or tweak them according to your own demands by using its enhanced photography creative tools. You can test your mobigraphy skills in manual settings, shoot time lapse videos and capture panoramic scenes using the front camera.

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As part of its commitment to help build a digital nation, Globe Telecom is expanding the reach of its nationwide digital solutions caravan for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through its SME arm Globe myBusiness as it holds the 3rd Globe myBusiness Day in Batangas City.

Globe myBusiness has been working relentlessly with local government units (LGUs) nationwide to bring one of the country’s much-awaited ground fairs for existing and aspiring SMEs to help them learn the ropes of entrepreneurship in the digital age.

Now on its 3rd installment in Batangas with previous roll-outs in Cauayan, Isabela and Davao City, the Globe myBusiness Day caravan is a one-stop exhibit for entrepreneurs, allowing SMEs to explore new business opportunities, find new ways to increase their revenues, discover new solutions to stay competitive in the digital age, meet and be inspired by successful entrepreneurs and get great deals from suppliers to save on costs through showcase of the latest digital solutions, insightful speaker discussions, and interactive display of booths from participating SMEs.

Aside from showcasing its portfolio of offerings, Globe myBusiness is also bringing RJ Ledesma, co-founder of Mercato Centrale Food Market and Anthony Pangilinan, Chairman of Chief Disturber of Businessworks, Inc. to share tips and tricks to help make businesses better.

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"You know why Manny Pacquiao's statement is so offensive? Because it hit the nail on the head. It is just so on point that it is so hard to prove wrong.

He was like asking:

How did animals (who have no reasoning) came up to have better understanding than people when it comes to this matter?

Yes we have to respect each others' opinions; opinions do not usually have right or wrong answers.

The answers to "Which is better, hot or cold coffee?" "a condo or a house and lot?" "sports car or SUV" are opinions that we should respect.

Now, if someone disapproves Manny's statement, you have to give us more than just "I am offended!"

PROVE HIM WRONG USING PROPER REASONING

Explain why same-sex marriage is essential. What can it contribute to make this world a better place to live in? Why homosexuality is not immoral? That's how we fight for our rights.

We still have much love for LGBTs despite this being outrageous.

I'm not for Manny nor for LGBTs... I'm for the truth." - Josh Martinez

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10 brands. 10 artists. One show. Immerse yourself in the Manila X Experience!

Manila X Festival is coming this June 2016 merging fashion and music into the grandest festival yet.

Highlighting today's youth, they are focusing on three millennial cultures namely fashion, music and shopping, and celebrating each one with this one of a kind event.

The Manila X Experience or #ManilaXperience was born from this generation's young, innovative and versatile idea of fun. The festival will capture diversity, accessibility, and creativity.

Jacob Benedicto hosted the Manila X Festival preview event held at the Palace Pool Club at Bonifacio Global City on February 16, 2016. He introduced John Lozano, the visionary behind the festival, who gave a few words that night, then Kiana Valenciano performed a song number followed by several models showing off their stuff on stage. All the while, DJ Marc Marasigan pumping his mighty music setting the mood for the night.

The vision of Manila X is to be an avenue for exposure and opportunities for the top brands and talents of the country.Making music, fashion and shopping open to all, they are expecting at least 10,000 attendees from all over the region. It will be a celebration of each and everyone's individuality and the place of newfound ties.

Be part of the revolutionary experience on June 3 and 4 at Globe Circuit Event Grounds!

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"Imma let you finish but..." History almost repeated itself when Taylor Swift triumphed over Kendrick Lamar for The Grammys' Album of the Year!

Taylor Swift's “1989” wins album of the year, and also took home the best pop vocal album and best music video awards.

Meghan Trainor wins best new artist, while Ed Sheeran won his first two Grammys for song of the year for "Thinking Out Loud." and best pop solo performance!

However, Kendrick Lamar, with 11 nominations in 9 categories, took home 5 prizes over all. Kendrick Lamar wins for "To Pimp a Butterfly." Does that make him the overall grand winner of the Grammys?

Taylor Swift win is a victory that probably has hip-hop fans howling. Some were disappointed that Taylor Swift won for best album over Kendrick Lamar, Alabama Shakes or The Weeknd. I don't think many agreed with the Grammys choice for album of the year, and rarely for best new artist. Some say it seems to be always some bland album/artist.

For all of you into rap and hip/hop, I feel your pain. Real Rock and Roll has rarely won, punk never won, it's usually some corporate album, nothing innovative or controversial.

Taylor Swift became the first woman to ever win The Grammys album of the year twice, and wasted little time before firing back at Kanye West by saying "There will be people along the way who will try to undercut your success, or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you’ll know that it was you and the people who love you that put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world."

With her acceptance speech, it felt like the first time we’ve truly seen the real Taylor Swift, at least at an award show. She ended it with the perfect mic drop — "Thank you for this moment."

Deadpool: Movie Review with Lots of Spoilers! (Sorry! I'm Bad!)

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"Things to love about Deadpool: The wit, the BLADES, the scriptwriting, the atomic wedgies, the things that go boom. This movie is a keeper." - Alma Anonas-Carpio

Deadpool, how do we love thee, lets us count the ways. Here are what people say about the Deadpool in his debut movie! 1. We love you peeing by the pole. 2. We love your Deadpool poster. 3. We love you playing pool. 4. We love you playing a fighting game 5. We love you passed out. 6. We love you bar dancing. 7. We love you tending bar. 8. We love you sitting at the bar. 9. We love you losing at solitaire. 10. We don't love that there is no Deadpool on the ceiling.

The movie was beyond awesome! Undoubtedly the best Marvel movie so far. My stomach hurts from laughing. These guys killed it. Tim Miller's Deadpool is a bit different from the comics but in a good way. Now other superhero movies need to step up their game. They have to meet this level of awesomeness or just become meh superhero movies! Pass the Chimichangas and make way, a new King has arrived!

Ryan Reynolds did an awesome job on this movie. I loved it and how he picked fun at the X-Men movies. There were so many quips, puns, future hashtags and past movie references I could not stop laughing. Bueller gives two thumbs way up! "It's a big house, it's funny that I only ever see you two around, it's like.... the studio can't afford another X-man" Lol! Definitely lives up to the hype. Love it so much!

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LoveYourself, Inc., an HIV and AIDS awareness advocacy group, has started the operations of its new HIV testing clinic and community center today (February 17) which is located along Taft-Buendia in Pasay City dubbed as LoveYourself Uni.

The new clinic reinforces the group's effort in providing free and confidential HIV testing and counseling, and promoting safer sex practices to curb the exploding HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSMs) with 6.1 or 61 per 1000 person-years based on its old Malate clinic data from 2012-2015.

On a per age group data, clients ages 15-22 reached an 8.5 incidences, 23-28 have 5.6 incidences, and 29 years old and above have 4.8 incidences.

LoveYourself Executive Director Vinn Pagtakhan emphasized that "new intervention is needed" to augment the previous initiatives from all wellness and sexual health defenders.

This is why the clinic has a youthful vibe, wherein there are five counseling rooms, one function room and a larger reception area with larger holding capacity for clients who wish to avail of the free services LoveYourself is offering.

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"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I've hurt. I still stand on my belief that I'm against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I'm not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I'm praying for you." - Manny Pacquiao

Why say sorry if that's what you believe in. Don't say it's a wrong choice of words. You can't argue on that premise since you said it in the vernacular. I would have believed you if you said it in English.

But due to the scrutiny of the people, especially the netizens who are always online, you retract on your words and try to calm everyone down by saying sorry and going against your true personality.

"He is saying what he believes in. The problem is, our society has really been open to gay and lesbian marriage. He will judged upon his beliefs alone. I do believe that if a person is in the public eye. They should keep strong beliefs like that to themselves. This way it wouldn't have uprooted all this craziness. I'm following Mayweather on Facebook too. There is a definite difference of character, morals, and values between Manny and him. If you want to judge chcek Mayweather's page. He will show you all the money he makes and rub it in your face. Manny is a God fearing man and loves his family. Please forgive his thoughts. There is far worst in the world." - Denee Ezerins-Santibanez

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The Philippines has been ranked third in Southeast Asia and 16th worldwide for having the most number of internet users, making Filipino owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) more aggressive in competing in the e-commerce industry. But can these booming enterprises be up to par with more established ones?

With the country’s high penetration rate and rising social media usage, there is no doubt that these up-and-coming businesses will be able to boom in the industries they choose to penetrate, according to Quito San Agustin, country manager, Zyllem Philippines.

He added, “But while these enterprises can take full advantage of the power of the internet, they—like all other startup companies—need to have more partners on their team to deliver what their customers demand and grow exponentially along the way.”

San Agustin explains that having a good delivery service provider as a partner is crucial to the success of these SMEs, especially those who run online stores.

“The truth is, the possibilities are endless when you have a reliable partner that does the job for you. For one, they can help you beat the deadlines of your own customers and deliver their orders when and where they want it. Second, your shipping partner is not just delivering these orders; they are also giving you more time to talk to your customers without worrying whether the previous document has been delivered or not,” San Agustin emphasized. “The good news is, there is a reliable delivery service provider that will help you ship your customer’s documents or parcels within the day at very low costs.”

Globe Unit Innove Signs Deal with Govt to Provide Budget and Treasury Management System

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Globe unit Innove Communications recently signed a partnership agreement with the government to provide a Budget and Treasury Management System. Photo above shows Innove President & CEO Gil Genio (extreme right, seated) signing the deal, along with (seated from left) DBM Executive Director for Procurement Service Jose Tomas Syquia, DBM Secretary Florencio Abad; and FreeBalance President & CEO Manuel Schiappa Pietra. They are joined as witnesses by (from left, standing) Commission on Audit Director Luzvi Pangan-Chatto; Deputy Treasurer Sharon Almanza, Globe Head of eGov Anthony Lau; Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu; FreeBalance Vice President for Marketing Matthew Olivier; Free Balance Resident Project Director for BTMS Pradeep Aggarwal; Australian Department of Foreign Affairs Counsellor & Team Leader of Philippine-Australia Public Financial Management Program (PFMP) Daniel Featherson; and DBM Undersecretary and Overall Project Manager of BTMS Richard Moya.

Innove Communications, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, recently entered into a partnership agreement with the government to provide a Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS) to effectively execute and monitor annual budgets in a manner that is more transparent to the public.

The project, worth P495 million, involves the implementation and operation of a fiscal management solution which will be used by the Department of Budget and Management, as well as Bureau of Treasury and Commission on Audit. This system will eventually be rolled out to the rest of the government agencies and operating units. The new system will improve the timely execution of budgets to the agencies and provide timely information on the actual utilization of funds.

23rd PTAA Travel Tour Expo: A Record-Breaking Success As Always

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The Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) recently held the 23rd Travel Tour Expo on February 5 to 7, 2016 at the SMX Convention Center of the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay city. Leading the opening ceremony were PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista, PTAA president Michelle Victoria, Sen. Sonny Angara, DOT Tourism Promotions Board COO Ramon Enerio, and TTE 2016 Co-Chair Nitz Ragaza.

The Travel Tour Expo is an annual event organized by the PTAA and has always been a record-breaking success as every year it grows bigger and better. There are always a lot of discounted fares and other clever promos available only during the expo dates.

This year, the PTAA also mounted the International Travel Trade Expo (ITTE) which is a business-to-business (B2B) travel trade expo aimed at linking the growing Philippine market to overseas travel. The B2B hub is more cost-efficient for the players in the travel industry and aims to foster stronger ties among travel operators and industry suppliers to create more competitive products and services.

"Collaboration among stakeholders, even with indirect competitors, is expected t reshape travel in the next decade and beyond" say Michelle Victoria, President of PTAA. "We aim not only to strengthen business but also significantly improve travel experience."

"While we welcome more opportunities with the growing tourism sector in the country, we also need to brace ourselves with tougher competition ahead. We hope to regain the trust of our valued clients through innovation and we could only achieve this through collaboration." she adds.

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“Places to go, things to see, welcome to my home, my country. Beautiful sights, I want you to see. It’s more fun in the Philippines. It makes you feel like you’re in a dream.” - Apl de Ap

The above are just a few of the words included in the lyrics of the new Department of Tourism jingle sang by Allan Pineda Lindo, better known as Apl.de.Ap, a Filipino-American rapper, record producer, break dancer, philanthropist and judge at the Voice of the Philippines talent search. Popularly known as one of the members of the Black Eyed Peas, he is often invited to perform and grace special events and occasions.

Apl de Ap was asked by the Philippine government, specifically the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the Department of Tourism (DOT), to promote tourism for our motherland. The Philippines is such a beautiful place that everyone needs to explore and experience its sandy beaches, green forests and wildlife, delicious cuisine, and hospitable people.

He was also awarded the Presidential Award for Filipino Individual because he has not shied away from acknowledging his Filipino roots and continues to embrace his heritage, even in his work. From his humble beginnings to his extreme fame he still retains the Filipino hospitality and "bayanihan" spirit.

This is why Apl de Ap is very much appropriate to become an Ambassador for the Philippines.

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Get ready for a rip-roaring laughter from the Comedy Cartel as they return to Big D's Smokehouse at
Eastwood City's , City Walk 2 (above Starbucks & beside 711) this Friday February 19, @ 9:30pm.

Bring your whole family and friends and hear rib-tickling comedy performances along side the best melt in your mouth smoked ribs and other house specialties! Tickets at P200.00 only! For seat & show reservations, call or text 0917-8860706.

See you there!

121 Bar & Grill and Comedy Cartel Presents Thursday Comedy Test Mic!

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Test mic, 121 too! Try out your comedy skills and deliver your jokes at the Comedy Cartel's Thursday Comedy Test Mic show!

Come on over at 121 Bar & Grill on Feb. 18, Thursday, 9:30pm at the 3rd floor of the BGC Stop Over bldg at 31st street (beside the Jollibee and Chowking stores that are across St. Luke's Hospital at the Fort.).

This is open to performers of all comedy formats and genres (stand-up, sketch, improv, ventriloquism, gags, music w/ comedy, props comedy etc.).

The stage is yours to perform at!

Bring your punchlines and your friends to this free show and check "doing comedy" off your bucket list!

See you there! ‪#‎comedycartelPH‬