Batibot Now on App Store

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Educational app develops essential thinking skills among children

Parents using iOS-powered smartphones and tablets can now download for free the Batibot mobile application, an interactive version of the beloved TV show that helps enhance learning among children.

Earlier launched on the Android platform, the app features fun games that teach kids basic learning concepts like matching, sorting, and grouping. The app also lets children practice tracing letters with the proper strokes, and helps them identify shapes, colors, numbers, and letter sounds.

The app’s “Awiting Batibot” feature enables kids to sing along to Batibot songs, while “Kuwentong Batibot” contains local stories that promote good values.

What makes the Batibot app stand out from other educational apps is that it is the only app in the Filipino language that is aligned with the kindergarten curriculum of the Department of Education.

The Batibot app is the product of a collaboration among Smart Communications, Community of Learners Foundation, and developer startup OrangeFix. The app jumpstarted Smart’s efforts to work with various communities and organizations to create literacy apps in local languages.

One Year On: Filipino Social Enterprises Better Equipped to Improve Quality of Education Following Completion of SAP Social Sabbatical Program

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Following the completion of SAP Social Sabbatical Program in the Philippines last year, two participating social enterprises, Teach for the Philippines and Silid Aralan (SAI), reported that their organizations are better able to fulfill their respective missions to improve the quality of education for underprivileged Filipinos.

The program, which ran in the Philippines last year with the aim to help local social enterprises overcome pressing organizations challenges and barriers to growth, has helped SAI and Teach for the Philippines to develop a sustainable business model, allowing these two organizations to maintain more efficient business processes both internally and externally, thereby giving the management more time to focus their efforts on driving outcomes based on their respective mandates.

According to Arcie Mallari, founder and executive director of SAI, the organization previously faced issues in recruiting volunteers. Prior to the SAP Social Sabbatical program, its staffs were also not equipped with the knowledge or skillsets to efficiently manage its resources.

By participating in the SAP Social Sabbatical program as an organization beneficiary, SAI was able to better gain insights on how their resources were being deployed and identify operational areas which were not getting the right amount of support, which then helped the management to acknowledge the need to employ more talents and gain more resources at the right time.

With the support of SAP employee volunteers through the SAP Social Sabbatical initiative, SAI was able to better develop a sustainable operating framework that brings a higher level of organization and sustainability for the organization. The social enterprise can now also function better in fulfilling its mission of boosting the academic performance of low performing and underprivileged students through a more effective and systematized set-up for its tutorial programs.

“SAI has plans to expand our organization and business. We aspire to develop learning hubs across the country by the year 2020. This year, we are putting up learning hubs in seven regions from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. This endeavor was made possible partly because SAP Social Sabbatical team helped us improve our business model. Through the program, the SAP employee volunteers helped us develop a ‘Franchise Kit’ that we present to potential partners. They had also linked us to possible sponsors. Now, SAI is also more financially stable,” added Mallari.

Meanwhile, SAP also conducted a brand audit focused on further enriching the branding and marketing aspects of Teach for the Philippines. According to Clarissa Isabelle Delgado, co-founder and CEO of Teach Philippines, the brand review allowed them to learn new ideas that have aided them on how they can evolve the organization.

Since Teach for the Philippines enlists young professionals to mentor students in public schools, especially in remote areas in the country, the Social Sabbatical program improved their knowledge on how and what needs to be done to further promote its advocacy. This new-found understanding of the organization’s branding and marketing systems enabled them to create conversations about the social enterprise and its objectives and, in turn, encouraged more volunteers to join their ranks.

“It was helpful to have a third-party review our processes. The full brand review allowed us to have a new baseline to jumpstart conversations among our team on how we want Teach for the Philippines to evolve and improve in our communications – internally and externally,” added Delgado.

SAI and Teach for the Philippines are two social enterprises that aim to address prevailing issues that impede in the education of Filipinos despite the country’s high literacy rate.

While the country’s literacy rate is at 98.1 percent, according to the latest available data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as of 2013, there has been an increase in the issues that limit the learning capacity of students.

In 2015, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that 1 in every 10 Filipinos, aged 6 to 24, was out-of-school or 24 million Filipinos are experiencing hindrances to education due to various reasons. Among the top barriers to education are insufficient family income, the high cost of education and, a lack of interest in schooling.

For its part, SAP Social Sabbatical aspires to reach out to more social enterprises in the country to help them with their advocacies. The SAP Social Sabbatical is a unique program for SAP employees to contribute their time and expertise to assist in empowering organizations in the education or entrepreneurship sector in emerging markets, including assistance in strengthening their leadership competencies, cross industry sector know-how and intercultural sensitivity. Following the successful completion of the program in 2015, SAP is looking at continuing the efforts of supporting local organizations in the Philippines in 2018.

“SAP has long been dedicated to creating ways to help relevant social organizations, in any way that it can. SAP Social Sabbatical is our way of contributing a lasting impact to the society. This is also a big help to our country, especially in further improving education,” said Ryan Poggi, Managing Director, SAP Philippines.

Get Down and Move It

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Legit Status – a name whose got quite a reputation in the Philippine Hip-Hop Dance Community. They were one of the first representatives of the Philippines in the World Hip-Hop Dance Championships (HHI) back in 2009, as well as being a consistent finalist in international competitions. Last 2015, they won a Silver Medal for the Varsity Division. Now in 2017, after a one-year hiatus, they are back and stronger than ever. They currently have 48 members; 40 of which are competing in the Megacrew division and 8 competing in the Varsity Division. They are definitely well positioned to bring home the Gold for the Philippines as they wholeheartedly train and battle to represent the country.

After placing 2nd in this year’s National Championships, they are more motivated to bag 1st place in this year’s HHI, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona. Never fazed by the past, they always look to conquer their future. Legit Status has never been afraid of stepping up to the plate, as they believe that the challenges they face are what make the team grow stronger.

The road to the World Championships is not an easy task, aside from the late night trainings, in addition to balancing work or school; fundraising is one of the challenges that every team faces. One of Legit Status’ main fundraising events is their concert entitled “Represent!”. This is a 2-day concert on July 15 and 16, 2017 at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila University. For only P300, the audience will witness an undoubtedly entertaining show that captivates the essence of love and unity for the Philippine Hip-Hop Dance Community. Featuring several renowned teams in the Hip-Hop Dance Community, Represent! will surely be something you won’t want to miss. Come and support Legit Status as they strive to compete and make the Philippines proud. See you at Represent!

For more information regarding Legit Status and their different fundraising activities, visit their Facebook account on facebook.com/LegitStatusPH, Instagram: @LegitStatusPH, and Twitter: @LegitStatusPH.

NEC Introduces Smart Communications System SL2100 to Asian Market

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NEC Asia Pacific today announced the launch of the Smart Communications System SL2100for small- and mid-sized businesses in the Asian market.

With wide-ranging, enterprise-grade voice over IP (VoIP), mobility and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) features, the SL2100 also offers industry specific features for retail, healthcare, food service and entertainment, as well as hospitality features for small hotels and motels.

“The way the business world communicates is rapidly changing, especially in consumer-facing industries, where excellent customer experience is a must,” said Shigeru Matsuura, General Manager, Global Platform Division, NEC Corporation. “NEC’s SL2100 offers a new design for Hardware and Endpoints. Combined with the value-added features, such as Smartphone Integration and web-based Video Conferencing & Collaboration, the SL2100 is an ideal fit for service oriented small- and mid-sized businesses.”


SL2100’s key features include:

Built-in VoIP technologies (Standard 8ch. Expandable to 128 ch)
Web-based UC Client
Web-based Video Conferencing & Collaboration
Voice Response System/Voicemail
Outbound & Inbound audio conference
Geographical Multi-site operation over IP Network
ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) for small Contact Center
Hotel Features with PMS API


The SL2100 also offers an array of add-on Smart Mobility options, such as Remote/Home Office Support, Smartphone SIP App and Mobile Extension.

The SL2100 will be released to Asian countries sequentially starting from July 2017.

DOTr Lauds LTO’s Campaign Against “Fake Plates”

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Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade lauded today the ongoing campaign of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) against the manufacture, distribution and selling of counterfeit license plates.

“We are not tolerating these acts. Whoever they are, they should be held criminally liable. Pag gumawa kayo ng kalokohang labag sa batas, batas din ang uusig sa inyo,” Secretary Tugade said.

On Wednesday, a joint operation was conducted by the Quezon City Police District—District Special Operations Unit (QCPD-DSOU), the Philippine National Police Anti-Carnapping Unit (PNP-ANCAR), and the LTO-National Capital Region (LTO-NCR) in the residence of couple Jahaziel Alcantara (32 years old) and Kristine Nemenzo (22 years old) in Sitio Veterans, Brgy. Bagong Silangan in Quezon City.

Prior to the operation, authorities conducted a test buy operation on 22 June 2017 after receiving earlier reports of the couple’s alleged illegal activities. A search warrant was secured on 03 July 2017 from QC RTC Branch 78.

Recovered and seized from the site were twenty-six (26) Motor Vehicle Number Plates, three (3) Motorcycle Plates, twenty-five (25) Metal Sheets, cold laminated board, a laptop, a pressing manual machine, a logbook and receipts of transactions.

The couple will face charges for violations of Presidential Decree 1730 (Syndicated printing, manufacture, distribution or use of fake LTO documents and plates) and Article 2, Section 31 of Republic Act 4136 or the “Land Transportation and Traffic Code”

“While we are trying to address the current backlog in the production and distribution of license plates, we are also serious in apprehending elements who illegally produce, distribute and use fake plates,” LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante stressed.

The LTO stressed its commitment to normalize the process in the production and distribution of license plates. The current backlog has been identified to be at least a million vehicle plates. Plates with additional security features were bid out and are targeted for issuance by September this year.

Also, the LTO is currently embarking on its proposal to locally produce plates in order to expedite production time and avoid shortages in the future.

Ricoh Eco Action Reveals Beauty and Biodiversity of Masungi Georeserve

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Revealing some of the beauty and biodiversity of Philippine flora and fauna was recently conducted by global imaging and electronics leader Ricoh during its environmental initiative in Masungi Georeserve at Baras, Rizal.

Through the “RICOH Global Eco Action 2017”, RICOH Philippines showcased the importance of nature in a different perspective and promoted the need to take care of Mother Earth among local customers and some members of its staff in a tour of the discovery trail.

“Eco-Action is an annual global initiative where we hold corporate social responsibility programs with particular focus on the environment,” said Aida Ortega, Performance Excellence and Sustainability Officer at RICOH Philippines.

“Sustainability is at the heart of the way we work. We want to give back to nature because the resources that we used for our machines come from nature,” Ortega emphasized.

Preserved and managed by Masungi Georeserve Foundation, the conservation park and rustic rock garden reminiscent of the formations in Palawan serves as a sanctuary rich in heritage and biodiversity that is just a few hours from Metro Manila.

Masungi takes three to four hours to explore and is perfect for nature lovers, adventure seekers, beginner, and regular hikers with its rope courses, hanging bridges, and scenic destinations. 

Great Women Kicks off ASEAN Collaboration Events

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The Great Women Showroom & Café kicks off ASEAN themed activities in pop-ups of both fashion collections and cuisine starting this July and August, as part of the 50th Year ASEAN hosting of the country. Located at the ground floor of the Tesoro’s building in Makati City, the showroom is presently showing a unique fusion collection of Barong Batik made of local jusi textiles but using motifs and the traditional Indonesia batik style. Ladies tops, men’s barongs and textiles are available. Complementing this is a pop-up Tasting Circle event running for two weekends July 13-15, and 20-22 where traditional Indonesian beef rendang and chicken sate will be offered by the Dewi Sri kitchen.

Myanmar becomes the next focus on July 27 onwards as an exclusive and limited edition collection of Great Women kaftans specially designed by Burmese designer Wynn Wynn Ong will be available in the showroom for a limited time. Complementing this collection, the designer plays cook with a Tasting Circle of traditional Burmese noodle dishes such as the Mohinga Fish and Ono Kauk Swe plus Gula Melaka dessert. The Tasting Circle events sit only 14 people per sitting, with a number of sittings scheduled per day.

At the Great Women showroom, the inclusive business model of helping women microentrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs are seen through products created in collaboration with product developers, designers and manufacturers each working with a livelihood community group, cultural indigenous groups or small micro-enterprises run by women. The showroom is their first market access to a niche market focused on the region of ASEAN. Similarly, other ASEAN entrepreneurs working with the same inclusive business model are welcome to collaborate.

The Great Women Showroom & Café is located on the ground floor of the Tesoro’s Building, 1606 A Arnaiz Street, Makati City, open Mondays–Saturdays from 10 am to 8 pm. Please call 772-2433 for reservations to the Tasting Circles. Follow us on social media at greatwomenASEAN.

Small Businesses at Risk of Failing Due to Cyber Attacks -- ePLDT

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​Small and medium-sized companies are at the forefront of the country’s economic development, bringing in fresh and disruptive solutions to consumers and their enterprise counterparts. But while these emerging companies see a promising future in the Philippine market, the proliferation of cyber threats impedes their sustainable growth.

Latest available data shows that 98 percent of businesses in the country are working their way up to compete with more established companies. However, security breaches have become their barriers for growth, with
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74 percent of small organizations reported to have been breached in 2015 alone, according to the UK Government Security Breach Survey.

“SMEs have become the prime target of cyber criminals because compared with larger companies, these emerging businesses have little to no cyber security strategy in place—making them easier to penetrate,” said Angel Redoble, ePLDT Group Chief Information Security Officer. “What’s even more alarming is that, hackers may use these growing businesses as their gateway to attack bigger companies—a scenario that is not entirely new in the digital era.”

“Small businesses may not feel the pressing need to adopt cyber security architecture now,” Redoble continued, “but working with a professional who can identify and mitigate cyber risks will go a long way in ensuring that the company is positioned for steady growth.”

“Budget constraints may limit leaders of these small businesses in deploying cyber security infrastructure, but they need to at least work with professionals who have the right skills in combating cyber threats,” Redoble said. “For SMEs to soar forward, they need to think big. They have to realize the crucial roles played by cyber security experts who can take the lead in ensuring their business resilience, especially now that cyber criminals are getting smarter.”

With that in mind, ePLDT—the industry-leading enabler of digital business solutions in the Philippines—works with small and medium businesses to strengthen their cyber security posture with the right infrastructure, expertise and strategies.

ePLDT, through its Cyber Security portfolio, offers security risk assessment, digital forensics, ransomware investigation and malware analysis, and incident response. These services are complemented with Managed Security services that cover the management, maintenance, policy configuration and reporting of on-premise or hosted dedicated security hardware. It also includes the installation of cyber security infrastructure, configuration and policy management, service level agreements on response time and phone and e-mail support.

“These services, paired with our certified managed security expertise, can help strengthen the cyber defenses of companies that want to drive growth in today’s fast-paced business environment,” said Nerisse Ramos, ePLDT Group Chief Operating Officer. “Riding the digital wave is no longer just about who innovates first but also who endures over time due to the trust of their customers. This is our role as a trusted partner: we can help organizations make the right decisions in realigning their risk management that’s up to par with today’s demands, and enable business resilience.”

ePLDT is home to Cyber Security experts who have a proven track record in managing and mitigating cyber threats, as well as implementing security programs at a fraction of the cost. In fact, Check Point Software Technologies—the largest network cyber security vendor globally—recognizes ePLDT as the first Managed Security Service Provider in Southeast Asia that offers flexibility in offering managed security services to customers based on their OPEX. This is a business model which most vendors cannot offer.

To be awarded with the Managed Security Service Provider status, Check Point requires that the provider should have its own 24/7 support operation center, at least three Check Point Certified Security Experts (CCSEs), the ability to support customer cases and solve support tickets, and can deliver management services using Multi-Domain Management (MDM), a software that provides tighter security control by segmenting security management into multiple virtual domains.

Apart from CCSE certifications, ePLDT is also home to certified Check Point Certified Security Administrators (CCSAs) who help manage the complexities that come with ensuring a holistic cyber security.

ePLDT is working in coordination with PLDT Enterprise to reach companies that need a systematic approach to combating cyberattacks.

“As technology and the world become more advanced and connected, one cannot underscore the need for security." said Jovy Hernandez, Senior Vice President and Head of PLDT Enterprise. “Cyber threats are a clear and present danger to anyone who has a digital footprint. PLDT Enterprise and ePLDT work tirelessly to enable resiliency and security solutions to businesses of all sizes, allowing them to focus on their growth knowing their future is secure.”

Learn more about ePLDT, Inc. by visiting the website at www.epldt.com.

Ballet Philippines Collaborates with Independent Artist Eisa Jocson in “Your Highness”

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Eisa Jocson’s newest creation, “Your Highness” will have its world premiere on July 27 (8pm) and 28 (3pm, 8pm) at the CCP Little Theater, and will be performed at several major European performing arts festivals from August to September 2017. The work is a production by Ballet Philippines and Künstlerhaus Mousonturm Frankfurt am Main (Germany), in co-production with Internationales Sommerfestival Kampnagel (Germany), Zürcher Theater Spektakel (Switzerland), La Bâtie – Festival de Genève (Switzerland).

Eisa Jocson is an internationally renowned artist creating and touring works in Asia, Europe, America and Australia. Educated as a visual artist and trained as a ballet dancer, she won her first pole-dancing competition in Manila in 2010 and began her international dance career with public interventions like “pole-tagging” here and abroad. Her 3 solos, “Death of the Pole Dancer” (2011), “Macho Dancer” (2013) and “Host” (2015) toured extensively in major festivals abroad. Under the HAPPYLAND (2017) series, her new creations, “Princess” a duet with Filipino performance artist Russ Ligtas and “Your Highness” are a continuation of her investigation into Filipino labour, performance of happiness and production of fantasy within the happiness empire. “Your Highness” is her first ensemble creation, and is the first of all her works to be premiered and produced in the Philippines.

In “Your Highness”, the classically trained dancers masterfully alternate between stylized Disney gestures and standards of ballet classics like Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake – and explore the fine line between portrayals of happiness through ballet history and princess archetypes in a globalized entertainment industry.

The massive employment of Filipino performers by Hong Kong Disneyland has led to a dire brain drain, with its impact strongly felt in Ballet Philippines, which has lost half of its top dancers within the last decade. Against this backdrop, choreographer Eisa Jocson has now created a dance piece with five young dancers of the Ballet Philippines.

“As an independent Filipina choreographer it is a unique and inspiring adventure to collaborate with Ballet Philippines in creating this new ensemble work,” shares Jocson. “It is exciting to see the dancers push their capacities into unknown terrain with incredible virtuosity. And I am looking forward to share this performance born out of an intense and meticulous process of exploring the dancer's and ballet's manifold bodies and voices.”

“Your Highness” international artistic team is led by Eisa Jocson (choreographer), Gia Gequinto, Stephanie Cabral, Maila Habagat, Alexis Piel, and Carlo Padoga (Ballet Philippines dancers), Arco Renz & Anna Wagner (dramaturgs), Teresa Barrozo (music & sound design), Florian Bach (lighting design), and Dennis Maristany (costume design).

Connect to Ballet Philippines online through the following social media networks:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/balletphilippines
Twitter: @balletph
Instagram: @balletphilippines
YouTube: balletph


For tickets, call Ballet Philippines at (+632) 551-1003, the CCP Box Office at (+632) 832-3704, or Ticketworld at (+632) 891-9999.

DOE To Restore Energy Services After Visayas Earthquake

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At around 4:00 p.m. on 6 July 2017, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in Jaro, Leyte causing power interruptions in Leyte, Samar, and Bohol Islands. Panay, Negros, Cebu and the other areas in the Visayas.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been closely coordinating with the members of the energy family to assess the extent of the damage.

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi advised industry players to ensure the safe delivery of energy services to consumers in the earthquake-affected areas.

The DOE initially monitored the following pieces of information that happened on Thursday (06 July 2017):

1. The Bohol Grid experienced total power failure at 4:04 p.m. because it was affected by the tripping of Ormoc-Maasin Feeder load involving 64.2 megawatts (MW).

2. Market Intervention was declared by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) as system operator starting at interval 17 (or 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) due to the isolation of the Leyte and Samar Areas and tripping of the Leyte-A power plant.

3. After the earthquake, power interruptions occurred in the Panay and Negros areas due to the Under Frequency Relay (UFR) caused by the outage of Leyte-A power plant.

4. Initial report from the power generator, GreenCore, stated that all the geothermal power plants in Leyte tripped at 4:04 p.m. after the magnitude 6.5 quake with the epicenter near the geothermal complex.

Damage to Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant switch yard was reported.

Power generators, Green Core and Energy Development Corporation (EDC), are assessing the total damage.

5. The epicenter of the 6.5 intensity earthquake is near the Municipality of Kananga, Leyte where the geothermal plants are located.

Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros and Panay were affected by the earthquake but only Leyte and Bohol experienced total power failure.

Due to the earthquake's impact on the power situation for these provinces, which may still change because of the volatility of the demand by the hour and the loss of the generating capacity of affected geothermal plants, the DOE is advising the public to practice demand-side management by curbing their use of electricity as a community effort to keep the power situation stable.

6. Earthquake Advisory as of 6:00 p.m. from the NGCP relayed that:

At 4:03 p.m., a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in Jaro, Leyte causing blackout in Leyte, Samar, and Bohol Islands. Panay, Negros and Cebu Islands experienced power interruptions but are now fully restored.

NGCP is still assessing the extent of the damage to its transmission facilities in the Visayas region. Aerial and foot patrol will commence once it is safe.

Updates will be issued as soon as available.

7. Additional information from the NGCP stated that the System Operator-initiated Market Intervention is still in effect. All Trading Participants are required to comply with the dispatch instruction of the System Operator.

8. In the power generation sector, Vice President Lito Santos of the EDC reported to Energy Secretary Cusi that all employees were accounted for, with some of the personnel suffering from minor injuries. EDC owns and operates the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plants (ULGPP). Santos further submitted that all of ULGPP's units which generate over 500 MW tripped. Santos assures the energy Secretary that the assessments are still ongoing and will prioritize the Tongonan Unit. The EDC observed that the 138kV tie-line is intact. Hence, it can concentrate on restoring the operations of its generators to deliver the generated electricity into the grid which may take one to two weeks. This timeline may change after a thorough assessment is conducted.

9. Another power generator, Green Core Geothermal Inc. reported that in Palinpinon geothermal power plant unit 1 which generates around 37 MW tripped. It was offline at around 4:00 p.m. due to the activation of the Cebu-Negros System Integrity Protection Scheme.

However, the plant was immediately back online and delivering its generated electricity at 5:00 p.m. of the same day.

10. The NGCP, reported as of 6:00 p.m. that services by the transmission facilities have been fully restored. Nevertheless, the NGCP seeks to re-assess the extent of the damage to its Tongonan-Kananga 158 KV tie-line as well as the other transmission facilities in the entire Visayas region.

NGCP assured the DOE and the public that the necessary aerial and foot patrols will immediately commence once the conditions to conduct the same are safe.

11. At 9:00 p.m., the NGCP updated its report stating that the areas without power are Samar, Bohol, Southern Leyte and some parts of Northern Leyte.

The DOE enjoins all the managers of the energy facilities, including the power distribution utilities, to submit regular updates to the DOE for proper coordination and quick restoration.