Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

UST Thomasian Pride Career Fair: The Millennial Springboard

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The University of Santo Tomas (UST), in partnership with Unilever Philippines, hosted the Thomasian Pride Career Fair 2016, a one-of-a-kind career fair zeroing in on job opportunities for the modern workforce. With over a hundred companies across 24 industries as exhibitors, Thomasian applicants were made privy to interesting posts and openings made with the millennial hyphenate in mind.

Held at the Plaza Mayor of the UST Campus in Manila, esteemed companies across different sectors were on a mission to attract Thomasian graduates, offering summer internships, mentorship programs, and actual job posts.

It was a rich selection of choices for the Thomasian grads and undergrads. Power players in the following industries were all present, each offering an attractive spread of career opportunities: advertising, lifestyle and creations, entertainment, BPO, placement, insurance, healthcare, consulting, surveying, education, financial, construction, real estate, automobile and transportation, manufacturing, distribution and marketing, publishing, food, chemical and pharmaceutical, technology, telecommunications, as well as power and energy.

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Western Digital Corporation , a world leader in storage solutions, today announced the expansion of its award-winning color portfolio with a new line; WD Gold datacenter hard drives. WD Gold datacenter hard drives are designed for a broad range of applications – including small- to medium-scale enterprise servers and storage, and rack-mount datacenter servers and storage enclosures.

With purpose-driven designs for the datacenter, WD Gold datacenter hard drives are launching with a new, high-capacity configuration of up to 8TB that offers HelioSeal helium-technology for performance, ideal capacity per square foot, power efficiency and low power consumption for datacenter environments. WD Gold datacenter hard drives feature an optimized design with an 8TB option that helps reduce the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of servers and storage systems, benefiting IT administrators challenged with growing storage capacity needs on limited budgets. WD Gold hard drives will also include a premium dedicated support line for customers worldwide.

“Western Digital has a proven history of providing award-winning purpose-driven products for unique requirements of each application environment, like WD Red, WD Purple and WD Blue drives,” said Brendan Collins vice president of product marketing, Western Digital Corporation. “WD Gold is a pinnacle part of the color portfolio strategy and another step in creating optimized drives for the markets we serve. Our continued goal is to deliver the most competitive and reliable solutions on the market.”

WD Gold datacenter hard drives include:

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REGISTRATION IS NOW OFFICIALLY OPEN

Registration Fee: p150/Person, regardless of how many dogs you'll be bringing.
Pay at the day of event itself upon entry.
► Click here to register so you do not have to encode your details anymore during the event:
http://doggiefunfair.com/register/
*Walk-ins or registration on the day itself will also be available.
► RSVP - Get notified by Facebook when the event is near,
Click Join: https://www.facebook.com/events/179138899134758

YOU ASKED FOR IT, WE HEARD YA! DOGGIE FUN FAIR IS BACK FOR YEAR 3!
Everyone is Invited! Join the BIGGEST SUMMER PAWrty in the Metro!

WHAT DOGGIE FUN FAIR: MANILA'S BIGGEST DOG FESTIVAL YEAR 3
WHEN MAY 15, 2016, Sunday
TIME 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
WHERE Greenfield Central Park, Mandaluyong
BENEFICIARY CARA Welfare Philippines

EVENT ADVOCACIES:
1. Responsible Pet Ownership
2. To Raise Awareness Against Animal Abuse & Neglect
3. To Give Recognition for the Working Dogs of the Philippines

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Globe Telecom is currently expanding its network coverage and capacity in Cebu province across all technologies, including 3G & LTE, as part of its commitment to continue building on its network infrastructure for a wider reach and faster internet experience of Filipinos nationwide.

The company’s capacity enhancement initiative involves deployment of the dual-beam antenna solutions, ideal in densely populated areas such as Cebu, to deliver enhanced capacity and coverage, significantly improving user experience. The solution, which will increase existing capacity by as much as 70%, will be deployed in a significant number of sites within the province, said Manny Estrada, Globe Senior Vice President for Network Technologies Strategy.

According to Estrada, Globe plans to enhance customer experience in the province by expanding its 3G and LTE coverage and capacity. In addition to these upgrades, Globe also intends to build new sites within the province as part of its continuing coverage and capacity expansion.

However, the realization of the company’s plan to build more cell sites depends heavily on the permitting environment in each local government unit concerned, he emphasized. He noted that similar to other areas in the country, the permitting environment is the biggest detriment preventing telecommunication operators like Globe in improving cell site density, a necessary prerequisite in improving data connectivity of its customers in terms of speed and access.

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Kamuning Bakery, owned by PhilStar columnist Wilson Lee Flores, is up again with their clever antics as they release a Presidential Pandesal Survey. Call it a mock voting for our presidential candidates as they present different pandesal sandwiches cleverly concocted with different fillings to represent the five personalities running for the highest position in the land.

How does the Presidential Pandesal Survey work? Well, customers can order for the pandesal they like based on their preference on who to actually vote on May 9 Election time. Every order is tabulated to correspond to the number of votes each candidate will get.

As of the photo ops on April 5, the one leading the survey was Rodrigo Duterte but I'm not sure who is ahead as of today. But I am making a big guess that it ma still be the Mayor from Davao as he remains very popular even in social media and other surveys as well. Even with the fact about that crude jod regarding a rape victim, Duterte remains a formidable opponent to beat.

How are the pandesal sandwiches created? They have Pan de Duterte with a burger beef patty filling, Pan de Poe has a corned beef filling, Pan de Miriam has a tuna filling, Pan De Binay has a longanisa filling, Pan de Roxas with a chicken fillet filling, and for those who wish to abstain or not vote for any of the 5 presidential candidates, they also have a Pan de Nada with a ham and egg filling.

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After the highly celebrated win of Pia Wurtzbach (@missuniverse) at the last Miss Universe pageant, all eyes are on the Filipina candidates of #BbPilipinas2016 who are vying to follow the footsteps of the reigning Miss Universe. Filipinos were so excited about the event, which saw 25-year-old Maria Mika Maxine Medina as the new Binibining Pilipinas Universe, that they sent more than 340,000 Tweets about the #BbPilipinas2016 pageant. The Twitter conversation peaked at 2,500 Tweets per min at1:26am, April 18th to celebrate her win.

The event also marked Pia Wurtzbach’s final walk on the stage as the crown holder of Binibining Pilipinas. Her emotional farewell speech likewise generated much interest and conversations on the social media platform. Even celebrity doctor Mikhail “Doctor Mike” Vashavski (@RealDoctorMike), whom Pia is dating, posted a sweet message for the incumbent Miss Universe which was the most shared Tweet of the night with over 9,000 ReTweets.

But more than anything, it was the night of Maria Mika Maxine Medina who was ultimately crowned as this year’s Binibining Pilipinas Universe. Unlike her predecessor, it was her first time to join the pageant, but she is about to face the challenge of the big shoes (or stilettos!) that Pia has set for her.

Aside from Medina, other crowned beauties include Kylie Verzosa (Binibining Pilipinas International 2016), Jennifer Hammond (Miss Intercontinental 2016), Joanna Deapera (Binibining Pilipinas Supranational 2016), Nicole Cordoves (Binibining Pilipinas Grand International 2016), and Nichole Marie Manalo (Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2016). Meanwhile, Angelica Alita and Jehza Huelar bagged the first runner up and second runner up awards, respectively.

DOTC, ULC Break Ground for MRT-7, Bulacan-QC Railway to be Operational by April 2020

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Residents from Quezon City, Caloocan City, Bulacan, and neighboring areas in the north can look forward to a faster and more convenient commute to the center of the metropolis, as the construction of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) will be kicked off with a groundbreaking ceremony today, April 20, 2016, at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

“The long-awaited MRT-7 will serve commuters who ply the heavily congested Commonwealth Avenue area for work and school on a daily basis. The new railway system will not only significantly lessen travel time along this corridor, but also help decongest traffic in Caloocan and NLEX,” said DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya.

The P69.30-billion project includes the development of a 23-km railway system with 14 stations from North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Once completed and operational by April 2020, the MRT-7 is expected to initially accommodate 350,000 daily passengers and shorten travel time from the current 3.5 hours on the road to one (1) hour. Once further upgrades are made, ultimately 800,000 passengers per day will benefit from the project.

His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III will attend the groundbreaking ceremony, together with DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya and Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the parent company of contractor Universal LRT Corporation (ULC).

The project covers the development of an integrated transportation system, which includes the said railway system, a 22-km highway from the NLEX Bocaue interchange, and an intermodal transport terminal (ITT) adjacent to the San Jose del Monte Station. Commuters can take public utility vehicles (PUVs) or private cars and use the new highway from NLEX, alight at the ITT, and board the MRT-7 going to North Avenue, Quezon City.

Photo credits to Bayang Matuwid

Lubao International Balloon Festival 2016: Interview with Mayor Mylyn Pineda Cayabyab

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We had a short interview with Lubao, Pampanga Mayor Mylyn Pineda Cayabyab during the first day of the Lubao International Balloon Festival. We intentionally made it short as we can see how the mayor was extremely busy personally seeing to it that everything goes well for the 3rd run of the hot air balloon festival.

We even mistook her as one of the security heads as she was wearing a blue outfit while giving instructions to people. Unlike the others wearing a brown version of the outfit, she was more hands-on and totally immersed on the responsibilities. We don't usually see that kind of commitment with other government officials of her same level of office.

Maybe because the event is practically theirs to begin with as the venue itself is owned by their family. Pradera Verde, where the wakepark, villas and a golf course, plus an upcoming waterpark, is owned by their family.

However, we have to commend the Pineda clan for putting Lubao, Pampanga in the map for holding one of the much awaited event every April. There may be another hot air balloon event being held at Clark but they boast of being the biggest hot air balloon festival in Southeast Asia.

Pradera Verde located at Prado Siongco here in Lubao Pampanga is a 350 hectare property and currently only 34 hectares are in use. This means more developments are possible with the property. This makes me wonder what other attractions will soon rise from the place. Could this area be the next Disneyland of the Philippines? Why not?

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The hot air balloon night glow is a traditional activity done at every end of the day during the hot air balloon events showing how beautiful the hot air balloons are even during night time.It is often held as a climax to a hot air balloon festival. Usually it is done before the night concert but for this year at the 2016 Lubao International Balloon Festival, the organizers decided to have the night glow after the concert.

Actually, there would have never been a night glow due to the fact that the wind was blowing at dangerous levels - dangerous for the balloons to be side by side to each other as they would result to disaster - so they opted to have just one hot air balloon lit just to please the crowd that night.

The night glow activity thus presented just one hot air balloon, the SM from both Philippines and Belgium by Jonas Van Doorsselaere. However, there were other balloonists who just lit their "flames" to come out with a very interesting routine. I don't really know how to explain it, but you can see from the video below what I mean.

The wacky thing is that even before the concert was even finish, the hot air balloon was already being playful as if trying to be in sync with the music of True Faith, the local band performing that night. The band was even telling the crowd that the hot air balloon night glow would not start unless they give out a loud cheer.

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Hot air balloons from all over the world gathered together again for the third time at the Pradera Verde property located at Barangay Prado Siongco of Lubao, Pampanga to participate in the Lubao International Balloon Festival.

We ad the opportunity to interview a few hot air balloon pilots or ballonists before and after the actual balloon flights during the first day of the event on April 14, 2016. The #LubaoIBF2016 is a four day event happening from April 14 until April 17, 2016.

As expected, thousands of people from all over the country, and even from some parts of the world, could be seen admiring the colorful view of 40 hot air balloons all seen together as they are inflated and one by one flew up into the Pampanga sky.

I am one of the fortunate ones to get a chance to fly high up into the clouds aboard a hot air balloon thanks to the Ultra Magic hot air balloon from Spain flown by Jordi Diaz. It was my first time to ride a hot air balloon so that's another item checked off my bucket list. But I would tell the story of my hot air balloon ride on a separate article soon.

For now, I would want to share the different interviews we made during the first day of the event. We flew on a hot air balloon on the second day and spent the first day ogling on the various hot air balloons and messing around with the pilots while they take their breaks at the VIP area. Lol!

Below are a few of the interviews we made so enjoy: