Power Supply to Normalize by End of April

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As part of the Power Task Force Election 2016, the Department of Energy (DOE) remains keen on ensuring that power supply in the country will be adequate, reliable and stable for the entire summer period, especially during the national and local elections.

“Our team is currently assessing the power supply situation by closely coordinating with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and the power plant owners/operators in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to make sure that the generating facilities which are currently on maintenance shutdown will be back online ahead of the election period,” Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada said. She emphasized that these planned outages are more on the integrity assessment of the plants to ensure that these are sound and running during the elections period.

Sec. Monsada added that the yellow alert only means that we have a limited or thin reserve power; and based on the outlook for Luzon, yellow alert status will only register in the afternoon of today as reserve power will normalize in the evening.

Moreover, it has been reported to the DOE that the National Grid Corporation of Philippines, as the system operator, has already alerted the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., the operator of the 600 MW Malaya Plant to run this generating facility in an effort to augment the power supply. The DOE has also coordinated with the Interruptible Load Program participants for provisional power supply of about 826 MW to supplement the available capacities.

Luzon power generating plants undergoing maintenance shutdown are targeted to be back online before April ends. Expected to be back on stream tonight are the 300 MW Calaca Unit 2 which suffers from turbine problem, and TMO Units 5 and 6 totaling to 119 MW which extended its maintenance works. Other plants with scheduled maintenance are the 382 MW Pagbilao Unit 1, 190 MW Magat Hydropower plant, and 145 MW San Roque Unit 3.

Comedy Curiosity: Comedy Cartel Live at Le Cafe Curieux

Wazzup Pilipinas!
Catch the Philippines Premier Stand-Up Comedian Mike Unson and the Comedy Cartel as they satisfy your comedy curiosity with their funny punchlines and antics at their show at Le Café Curieux on April 22, Friday,9:30 pm! A production of eCircle Entertainment & Management Corp. andSanctum 2.0! Bring everyone you know and let's all laugh 'til we can't take it anymore! See you guys next week!

Scarlet Nights: Live Comedy Series with Mike Unson

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Watch as the Comedy Cartel's live comedy series is back at the Scarlet Wine Lounge
entitled "Scarlet Nights" at the Fort Strip BGC on April 30, Saturday, 8pm! 

The event is hosted by one of the rising comic of Comedy Cartel "The Future" himself Joseph Montecillo., 

Featuring Chris Bacula & the Philippines Premier Stand-Up Comedian Mike Unson 

Laugh 'til your face turns red w/ laughter and get your much needed comic relief! 

Reserve your tickets now! Call or text 09178860706 for reservations!

Participation Deadline for AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2016 in the Philippines Extended to 23 April 2016

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The AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search (AARRDS) 2016 will see participants from Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand battle it out to be AirAsia’s Most Promising Designer of 2016.

This regional designer search is part of AirAsia’s continuous effort in developing talents and empowering youth across the region and will be a platform for young aspiring designers to catapult their careers in the fashion industry.

The participation deadline for the Philippines has been extended to 23 April 2016 to accommodate the requests for walk-in participants, and to enable more participants to submit their entries. Interested designers can walk-in on audition day on Saturday, 23 April 2016 to register at 9.00AM (GMT+7) at the Aqua Room, level 5 of Best Western Antel Plus Hotel located in Makati Avenue, Makati City.

Applicants must bring to the audition venue the following judging materials: 

a) registration form available at klfashionweek.com 

b) one (1) artboard depicting three (3) ready-to-wear womenswear sketches with a theme inspired by any Asean cities

c) one (1) artboard with fabrications, 

and d) one (1) artboard with a written description of the design inspiration in English or a mood board.

Strategic Measures in Place to Ensure Power During Elections

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Power Task Force Election (PTFE) 2016, led by the Department of Energy (DOE), lays down measures to ensure that power supply is sufficient, stable, and reliable before, during, and after the conduct of national and local elections on 09 May.

"Actually, we have two task forces that are looking into the integrity of the power supply chain to secure supply of electricity particularly during the period one week before and one week after the election day, especially within and near the voting precincts," said Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada.

Sec. Monsada further averred that since December last year, the PTFE has started ground works, including coordination meetings with energy stakeholders, and identification of tasks and responsibilities of member agencies in employing strategic and preparatory measures to ensure availability and stability of power supply not only for the elections period, but for the entire summer months.

The PTFE's latest and ongoing initiatives to ensure that all systems nationwide are ready and in place prior to the elections include conduct of tabletop drills and information, education and communication campaigns among stakeholders (i.e., Distribution Utilities, Generation Companies, Transmission Companies, and various government energy agencies) to equip them with best practices during crisis management; directive to DUs to ensure power supply by contracting needed capacities ahead, and making sure that backup power is available should power failure occur; prioritization scheme for the provision of electricity service to voting centers; and advisory to gencos to undertake maintenance either ahead or after the critical period to enable all available plants to run on full capacity during these times.

Artistang Artlets Proudly Presents Pendulum by Rani Mae Aberin

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What will you do if someone else is controlling your life for you?

Lurking at dimensions we thought did not exist, the god of time Kronus and his apprentice Hana are tasked to manage the time and destiny of the people in this human world.

Are you willing to be bounded by the laws of time and space? Or will you find a way to keep the past and the precious memories?

Artistang Artlets, the Official Theater Guild of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas, on its 35th Season, proudly presents: “Pendulum” by Rani Mae Aberin, a story about time and destiny– and how these two are important in life, love, and relationships.

Pendulum will be directed by Janus Matthew Martinez and produced by Christine Ann Camille Baria. This will be staged from April 26, 27 & 28, 2016, with the time slots 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 7pm at the Education Auditorium, Albertus Magnus Building, University of Santo Tomas.

For inquiries please contact Kristianne Coleen Cañamo (09153967730), or visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ArtistangArtletsUST. Twitter: @artstngartlts

IPC to Banks: Your Cybersecurity Measures are Not Enough

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Local cloud services pioneer and IT security specialist IPC strongly urges financial institutions to safeguard their systems by deploying up-to-date security measures to ensure data and network protection. IPC called on banks to check on their current data security setup, stating that even the most secure institutions are not exempt from the alarming increase in crimes perpetrated online.

“This is a reality that has caused the loss of significant revenue for many businesses. The global recorded cost of cyber attacks is at $400-500 billion dollars per year― roughly fifty percent of which is from DDoS attacks,” said IPC President Rene Huergas, citing data from DDoS Mitigation partner Nexusguard. Unless executives take stock of this as a serious issue at hand, companies are most likely to lose more.

IPC acknowledges that some institutions may have inadequate system and network security layers to protect them from cyber attacks. “This poses an even greater danger to both the customer as well as the institution. As data and network security is a commodity in this day and age, now is the best time to recognize that the threats are real and can make businesses vulnerable and susceptible to attacks; banks and financial institutions being the most inclined to this kind of attack,” added Huergas.

Just recently, several Iranian hackers have been indicted following a well-orchestrated cyber attack on US banks. The criminals hit the banks with DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on an almost weekly basis, flooding their servers with illegitimate traffic that slowed websites down and caused millions in lost business.

Nursery of Curiosities: A Solo Exhibit by Nasser Lubay All Set to Open on May 15 at Arte Pintura

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The Artist Playground, Arte Pintura and Talent Factory Incorporated proudly present NURSERY OF CURIOSITIES -- A SOLO EXHIBIT BY NASSER LUBAY.

Arte Pintura Gallery is located at the G/F The Address at Wack Wack, Wack Wack Road, Mandaluyong City, and is al set to open on May 15, 2016.

An interesting highlight of the exhibit is the world premiere of “Nursery of Curiosities – The Theme,” an original music written by award-winning composer Jesse Lucas.

A specially-printed catalogue of "Nursery of Curiosities" will also be launched to accompany the exhibit.

Curated by Philip Almazan Paraan, “Nursery of Curiosities” will run until May 31.

NYSE Listed Harte Hanks Cites Filipino Workers on Eve of BPO-Call Center Opening

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Harte Hanks lauded the Philippines as one of BPO-call center destinations in the world with a good labor market and described the Filipino workforce as “eager, with a strong work ethic and imbibed with a culture of customer service.”

The American firm issued the statement ahead of the opening on Thursday (April 21) of its BPO-call center at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex, in Pasay City, a move that would integrate the company’s existing primary and two secondary locations in the country.

A local outfit, Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services, had said the Philippines remains the top destination for IT-BPO firms given the educated talent pool, excellent infrastructure, cost competitiveness, and adequate government support for the industry.

In a published report, they projected the BPO sector may soon overtake dollar remittances from overseas Filipinos in terms of revenues given the continued strong demand for office space.

Harte Hanks’ Philippine subsidiary employs over 2,000 BPO-call center agents, majority of whom, are assigned at Harte Hanks’ main office, in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The company had announced that it would be hiring hundreds of Filipino IT-marketing specialists for its MOA facility.

2Go Travel Makes Travel Easier With Expanded Payment Options

Wazzup Pilipinas!

2Go Travel, one of the most renowned sea and land transportation companies in the Philippines, was born out of the integration of the 2 major shipping companies in the Philippines in December 2010 when Negros Navigation Inc. bought out the Aboitiz Transport Systems (ATS) group which operated the "SuperFerry" passenger brand. The rebranding of both companies used the ubiquitous "2GO" brand in 2011 across all business units, finally naming the passenger brand "2GO Travel."

2GO Travel is the first shipping-passenger brand in the Philippines that completely changed the sea travel experience. With excellent customer service, upscale hotel passenger suites, comfortable accommodation, entertainment and cruise-like amenities, 2GO Travel provided the traveling public a unique and very affordable way to travel around the Philippines.

2GO Travel also expanded the travel routes not only by sea but also by land as well connected major cities around the Philippines via bus connection, making the travel experience more hassle-free. Moreover, the brand also pioneered the first prepaid travel card that can be purchased as the perfect travel gift to popular tourist destinations around the Philippines. With its commitment to take land and sea travel to the next level , 2Go Travel has clearly helped boost domestic tourism by making travel comfortable and fun and providing cruise packages for families, friends or corporate groups, complete with an all-in cruise, hotel and tour itineraries in one affordable package.

In order to further its growth with more payment options available to its customers, 2Go Travel partnered with Globe Business, the enterprise ICT arm of Globe Telecom, to acquire Globe Charge, an innovative solution that transforms mobile phones into point-of-sale (POS) card terminals that accept debit and credit card payments. Globe Charge harnesses the integration of a smartphone and an innovative mobile card reader into a mobile point-of-sale (POS) unit, empowering enterprise and SME customers with a convenient payment device and eliminating the need for traditional and more expensive card terminals.

With Globe Charge, 2Go Travel can now accept credit card payments from its customers, further growing its customer base, increasing its revenues, and sustaining its position in the market as an innovative company which constantly seeks to provide efficient and hassle-free service.

“Globe Business really is a great partner for us,” Stephen Tagud, Senior Vice President for 2Go Travel said. “We want to make traveling as smooth as possible for our customers and with Globe Charge, this makes payments options much easier and more accessible for a lot of them.”

Mike Frausing, Globe Business’ Senior Advisor for Enterprise and IT Enabled Services Group shared, “We are thankful to 2Go Travel for the trust and confidence they have given us in enabling their sustained growth as they expand their payment capabilities through Globe Charge. As the leading ICT enabler in the Philippines, Globe Business provides customers with the right technology, infrastructure, and know-how to help them focus on their business.”

For more information about Globe Business, get in touch with a Globe Business Account Manager or call the Globe Business Premium Support Center at +63 2.730.1288 toll-free using a Globe mobile and landline. You can also visit www.globe.com.ph/business for more information.