Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Liza Soberano Renews Contract as Celebrity Endorser for Mega Tuna

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Liza Soberano renews contract as celebrity endorser. Mega Global Corporation, a leading distributor of canned goods and ready-to-eat viand, recently renewed its partnership with teen superstar Liza Soberano as Mega Tuna’s celebrity endorser. The contract signing was held during the company’s sales conference at the Prime Hotel in Quezon City.

"She embodies what our brand is all about. With her natural beauty, she is always dedicated to giving her best in everything she does, may it be her career, her advocacies, or her family," said Marvin Tiu Lim, vice president for sales and marketing of Mega Global.

"The public can expect more surprises from us this year as we bring new and exciting products for the benefit of the public. We are looking forward to a productive partnership with Ms. Soberano."

Photo caption (L-R) Ogie Diaz, Talent Manager, Liza Soberano, Michelle Tiu-Lim Chan, VP for Finance of Mega Global Corp. and Marvin Tui Lim, VP for Sales and Marketing, Mega Global Corp.

DOE Urges Government Agencies' Energy Efficiency and Conservation Initiatives

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Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi today said government is taking the lead and serving as a role model to private companies in achieving energy security.

“Under our Government Energy Management Program (GEMP), the Department of Energy has required 140 government entities to submit their electricity consumption from 2015 to 2016 to assess usage,” Cusi said.

“We are closely monitoring their energy consumption so that we can provide strategies to help them become more energy- efficient in their daily operations,” he pointed out.

As part of GEMP, the DOE has enlisted government agencies with available power generating units that can be enrolled for the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to augment power supply capacity in times of Red Alert Status or when power supply reserves are thin.

"The ILP seeks to convince big load customers of Distribution Utilities and Electric Cooperatives to register so they can run their stand-by generation sets in times of energy supply deficiency to prevent power outages," Cusi explained.

“Based on our GEMP survey, about 100 government buildings have operational gensets and these total to 85 megawatts of power supply capacity,” Cusi said.

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Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros today called for better infant care during the first 1,000 days of life.

Speaking before a forum at the Senate organized by the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), Hontiveros said that stronger legislation is needed to help address the country’s challenges in malnutrition and child hunger.

“This is the real and silent war that the government must embark on – the war against malnutrition. This is the real war that must be won,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros, who is the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, said that under-nutrition remains the underlying killer of children as it makes them vulnerable to bout of infections, low birth weights and wasting.

The senator also said that malnutrition undermines economic development. Citing a 2013 report from the Save the Children International, she said that the country’s economy lost at least P328 billion or the equal of 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to the impact of childhood stunting on workforce productivity and education.

As a response, Hontiveros penned Senate Bill No. 1145, also known as “The Healthy Bulilit Law.” She said that her bill mandates the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to increase nutrition support for all children in the first 1,000 days.

“We are fortunate that we don’t struggle with an inverted population pyramid. But malnutrition and child hunger remain significant challenges. Government must do its part and redouble its efforts to secure a bright future for our nation’s children,” the Senator said.

Aguirre Says Korean Slay Is Indirect Attempt to Destroy Duterte

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"Yeah, like a bunch of cops were sitting around thinking "We've got to find a way to stopDuterte," and one said "I know! Let's kidnap and kill a Korean businessman. That oughtta do him in!" - Tony Ahn

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II says the killing is “only an isolated incident” that was being used to tarnish the reputation of the country and in turn undermine public support for President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Mayroong nagsasabi na ostensibly ang binibira rito ay ating Chief PNP ngunit ang latay nito ay sa ating Pangulong Duterte. Hindi magawang siraan ang pangulo dahil napakalaki ng suporta niya, kaya ang ginagawa ay sirain ang PNP," Aguirre said.

To conclude on something that has not been fully investigated yet is a dangerous behavior for a Justice Secretary.

Aguirre gained wide public attention in 2012 during the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona when he was cited for contempt after he was caught covering his ears while being lectured by the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. Now he is allegedly involved in the Chinese gambling tycoon Jack Lam's P50-million bribery scandal involving two Bureau of Immigration (BI) commissioners, namely Al Argosino and Michael Robles. There is also the mention of the names of Charles Calima and Jaime Morente, plus also a retired police general Wally Sombero. Lam is involved in operating illegal online gaming operations without any franchise and permit from PAGCOR.

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For 24 years, the UPLB Chemical Kinetics Society (CHEMOKINESIS), a duly recognized academic organization in the University of the Philippines Los Baños, has been promoting academic excellence and unparalleled service through its various activities.

This February 4, 2017, in cooperation with the Kapisanang Kimika ng Pilipinas-Southern Tagalog Chapter (KKP-ST) and the UPLB Institute of Chemistry, the organization will hold its 16th Regional Chemistry Olympiad (RCO). It is comprised of the following events: Philippine National Chemistry Olympiad (PNCO) Regional Eliminations; Regional Feature Writing Contest, and; Regional CHEM-in-hue.

With the theme “Aquatic Chemistry: Bathing knowledge and drenching strategies to safer and smarter water usage”, the PNCO Regional Eliminations will serve as a venue in selecting the top three (3) high school chemistry wizards who will represent Region IV in the Philippine National Chemistry Olympiad. This event has a quiz proper and laboratory component.

Concurrently, the organization will also be holding its 7th Regional Feature-Writing Contest and 14th Regional Chem-in-Hue, a poster-making contest. Both competitions aim to showcase the skill and artistry of students in presenting Chemistry through literary writing and arts. All activities will be held at Physical Sciences Building, UPLB, College, Laguna.

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Everyone had their say about Maxine Medina's performance on Miss Universe.Some even had the audacity to laugh on her answer.

The question for Maxine was "What is the most significant change you've seen in the world in the last 10 years?" of which "change" was roughly translated in Tagalog as "pangyayari" by her interpreter.
Maxine's answer: The last 10 years of being here in the world is that I saw all the people bringing (being) in one event like this in Miss Universe, and it's something big to us that we are one, as one nation, we are all together.

"Ano ang pinakamakabuluhang naganap na PANGYAYARI (event?) ang nakita mo sa mundo sa loob ng sampung taon?" and so she answered it on the point... What can you say about it? Was it perhaps the interpreter's mistake?

"She did her best yes. But its already given that winners are not taken from a home or host country. Usually host countries are given the consolation for being part of the top 10 only. That's according to Ms. Gloria Diaz on Ms. U's rules." - Luz Prado-Morales

"With or without an interpreter, she would probably have the same answer. Let's not blame the interpreter. Maxine knows how to speak in English. She clearly knows what "change" means." - Abbie Broqueza

"Lesson here is to speak or express yourself in a language you are comfortable in, particularly when the pressure is high. It's perfectly okay to accept the fact that your English is not so good rather than to force it and mess up." - Bern Wong

"The reality for some is that, "the most significant change I've seen in the world in the last 10 years is when the Filipinos were degrading their country's candidate instead of supporting her." - Aira Mika Jubilea

Some are saying that "people are getting worst by judging and bashing people without knowing what it feels like being under pressure. Instead of supporting their own, they're bashing as if they are perfect. That's all I can say. And goodluck to all the smart people bashing our miss Universe Philippines Maxine Medina. I'm looking forward for the next miss Universe and hope I'll see all your faces on the pageant next year. To all those people bashing her, try to put your feet in her shoes." - Mitchelle Cernio

Many netizens also shared their own answers to the controversial #MissUniverse question to Maxine Medina thinking they could offer better options.

Below are a few more of their answers taken from social media network Facebook:

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"I admire Maxine Medina for acknowledging her weakness. Asking for an interpreter is a bold move. Brave one!"

Everyone is talking about the "Interpreter" that allegedly made a crucial mistake in the "interpretation" or "translation" of the question from English to Tagalog. Many are saying Miss Philippines Maxine Medina was not able to give a substantial answer because of the mistake in translating "significant change" to "makabuluhang pangyayari" since it should have been "makabuluhang pagbabago." Netizens have mentioned that Maxine could have mentioned the developments in technology, the Internet or social media, or maybe like climate change or just about everything else that is more significant other than the "pangyayari" or "event" like the majestic gathering of Filipinos in watching the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

One of the trending topics in social media is now all about this guy who could have costed Maxine her chance to win the Miss Universe title. But we are forgetting that even with the mistake, Maxine did hear the original question asked in English. She does understand the language. Her only problem is how to correctly say it in English, mainly because she was under a lot of pressure.

But who knows? She could have really answered based from the Tagalog translation of which she did base it on the "pangyayari" word. When you're up there on stage knowing your every word is being observed by millions of people, you would also feel nervous, and make errors in judgement. It may not be a very well-thought out answer, but she did tried her best to come out with an answer from the heart. Though she could have fully utilized the interpreter to rephrase her thoughts better, we would still never know that since the interpreter could have made it worst for her. Remember that the interpreter did make a mistake with a particular word, he could have made further mistakes if he did "interpret" her answer. Also, Filipinos would know if he did fuck up because we would understand Maxine's Tagalog answer too. That could have been another interesting alternate story.

On the positive side, the Heussaff siblings (Solenn and Erwan) both tweeted that even France's interpreter also made a mistake in his interpretation but according to them Miss France's answer was even better when translated correctly.

At least many acknowledged the "interpreter" and not the "entrepreneur" - a joke that you would only understand if you look at the very bottom of this blog post.

Because of this situation, many netizens couldn't help but make fun of the #interpreter by tweeting their own humorous statements focused on the interpreter. Below are just some of the quite funny tweets from social media:

Monday, January 30, 2017

Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales Grace Opening of Yamaha Grand Prix 8

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Two international racers recently joined Yamaha Motor Philippines' first big event for the year 2017 - the Yamaha Grand Prix 8.

Yamaha MotoGP rider, Valentino "The Doctor" Rossi, together with the newest rider, Maverick Viñales, graced the opening of the 8th Yamaha Grand Prix held on January 28, 2017 at the parking grounds turned motorcycle racetrack of Robinson's Novaliches.

But before they went to the racetrack to officially open the event, a press conference was first held in their honor at the Robinson's Novaliches Trade Hall where members of the media were already anticipating their arrival. However, some of the members of the media already went to the airport earlier to witness the two racers' arrival in Manila, and for some photo and video opportunities. At the press conference, the questions submitted in advance to Yamaha Motor Philippines were then personally asked by media outfits to Rossi and Vinales, as they were called one at a time by host Rico Robles.

This is the second time Valentino Rossi has visited the Philippines, and sadly his second visit to our country will be short since they have to leave immediately for another engagement in another country the following day. Meanwhile, it's Vinales' first time in the country. Too bad they do not have the luxury of time to at least explore some areas of the Philippines, especially our numerous beautiful beaches all over the country.

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Gamers have special requirements when it comes to their choice of computers or PCs, may it be desktops or laptops, thus they seek the best hardware specifications having the most reasonable prices to build their ultimate gaming gear.

For those in the search for their dream PCs, Lenovo recently held a two-day gaming event on January 28 and 29, 2017 at the Cyberzone area of SM City North EDSA Annex where attendees had the opportunity to try out the all-new line up of PCs that Lenovo calls collectively as "Legion."

Laptops such as the Lenovo Legion Y520, the Ideapad Y910, and desktops like the IdeaCentre Y710 Cube were available for anyone who wanted to experience the Legion by Lenovo gaming experience.

Appropriate enough, they chose the highly popular and challenging League of Legends online game which is a favorite in the gaming community. You'll see many gamers, especially the hard-core ones, flocking Internet Cafes or Gaming Shops that aer still proliferating the metro even though there are already many powerful laptops and Internet connections that are available at home.

For gamers, the fun is actually more on personally bonding with friends while they battle it out for supremacy among themselves. Since League of Legends is a team effort game, you can see how groups of five support each other to make up for their weaknesses and take advantage of their strengths.

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“The cybersecurity challenges facing our enterprise customers today are getting increasingly complex with a threat landscape that is rapidly evolving. With Phil’s extensive background working at the National Security Agency and with the Defense Department he brings incredible insight on the technologies, threat landscape and partnerships needed to deliver the most effective approaches to data security. He is a strong addition to our executive leadership team and will be focused on safeguarding Fortinet’s information technology and assets, expanding our strategic national programs, as well as serving as a trusted advisor to our C-Level enterprise customers.” - Ken Xie, founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer at Fortinet

Fortinet, the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions, today announced the appointment of Phil Quade as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Quade will take responsibility for Fortinet’s information security and ensure compliance with the latest global regulations and standards across all systems. He will lead the strategy and expansion of Fortinet’s Federal and Critical Infrastructure business. Additionally, Quade will serve as a strategic consultant to Fortinet’s C-Level enterprise customers to help inform product development and innovation based on evolving cybersecurity requirements. He will report to founder, chairman and CEO, Ken Xie.

Quade brings more than three decades of cybersecurity and networking experience working across foreign, government, critical infrastructure and commercial industry sectors at the National Security Agency (NSA) at the highest levels of the White House and Congress. Prior to Fortinet, Quade was the NSA Director’s Special Assistant for Cyber and Chief of the NSA Cyber Task Force with responsibility for the White House relationship in Cyber. Previously, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Information Assurance Directorate at the NSA, managing day-to-day operations, strategy, planning, integration, and relationships in cybersecurity. Prior, Quade served as the head of the Information Operations Technology Center’s Advanced Technology Group, as a professional staffer to the U.S. Senate, and at the Office of the Director for National Intelligence. Additional assignments that Quade held at the NSA include computer and network security evaluator, cryptanalyst and policy management.

In his new role as Fortinet’s CISO, Quade will leverage his considerable experience in managing diverse and complex cyber strategies solutions with global intelligence and partnerships to ensure that both Fortinet and its global customers have the most effective, broad security postures.

“Bringing together the right mix of technology, threat intelligence risk management and partnerships to protect global information and assets is my passion. Fortinet’s Security Fabric vision aligns perfectly to what it takes to deliver an end-to-end, intelligent, scalable, and integrated security architecture for today’s digital economy,” said Mr. Quade. “I am thrilled to join Fortinet’s leadership team and contribute to its vision, both in leading our internal information security efforts as well as providing strategic guidance and programs to help safeguard our global customers.”