Yamaha Grand Prix Returns to Davao

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Yamaha Motor Philippines Inc. returned to Davao City to hold its Yamaha Grand Prix competition. After being away for 2 years, the brand was ecstatic to be back in the region and so were their supporters. Everyone was eager to witness racing action that has been away for some time. It’s been a while since the roar of a Yamaha engine was heard and a display of talent by their local heroes was theirs to indulge in.

It was a hot day on the track but the competition was sizzling from the start. Preparations began at dawn as every rider geared for the long day ahead going up against the best that Mindanao has to offer. The competition had plenty of action with plenty of challenges for the riders. The track tested the capabilities of the participants with some having tough breaks and costly errors that led to a loss. This gave unprecedented opportunities as well for those who overcame a major setback to recover and regain their bearings. The race also came with emotional triumphs and come from behind victories. After all, this is what the Yamaha Grand Prix is all about, opportunities in every corner.

The winners of this Mindanao Leg are now qualified for the Grand Finals which will be held at the Quirino Grand Stand on September 10 where the members of Yamaha Team Pilipinas will be brought together after spectacle of a race.


THE WINNERS:

150 OPEN F.i.

CHAMPION – EPHRAIM ONAHON
1st Place – JAY-R DAGUID
2nd Place – CHRIS SAMOGA



130 OPEN UB

CHAMPION – DAN CARLOS
1st Place – VINGIE COLOMA
2nd Place – CHRIS SAMOGA



115 VEGA FORCE

CHAMPION – JOEL BUGUIS
1st Place – JAY-E LAMPANO
2nd Place – ARTHEL DINGDING



SNIPER 150

CHAMPION – DAN CARLOS
1st Place – JAY OBEDENCIO
2nd Place – JAY-R DAGUIO



160 AT OPEN

CHAMPION – VINGIE COLOMA
1st Place – EPHRAIM ONAHON
2nd Place – JOB GONZALEZ



UB F.i.

CHAMPION –GILMARK COLOMA
1st Place – MARSAN RESADA
2nd Place – JEFFREY GALLEROS



AT F.i.

CHAMPION – KENNETH CORONEL
1st Place – CHESTER LAMPANO
2nd Place – REN ALFARERO

World-Class Filipino Talent Takes the Spotlight at Ballet Philippines’ “A Gala Celebration” on August 18-20

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Catch the country’s preeminent ballet and contemporary dance company this August in “A Gala Celebration”. Ballet Philippines revives choreographic gems in a gala featuring Filipino stars from various international dance companies. Among the guest artists are Candice Adea (formerly of BalletMet and Hong Kong Ballet), Marcelino Libao (Hamburg Ballet), Kris-Belle Paclibar (formerly of Cirque du Soleil), Ronelson Yadao (formerly of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre), Paul Ocampo & Chien-Ying Wang (OcampoWang Dance), and Jean Marc Cordero & Rita Angela Winder (Ballett Kiel).

This production marks the return of Alice Reyes, National Artist for Dance, as the company’s Artistic Director. Handpicked to showcase the excellence at the company’s core, the featured works include Agnes Locsin’s “Salome”, Bam Damian’s “Minamahal, Sinasamba”, Edna Vida’s “Vision of Fire”, Norman Walker’s “Summer’s End”, and an excerpt from the classical ballet “Raymonda”.

“This is quite an exciting time for all of us at Ballet Philippines, especially as we move towards our 50th anniversary in two years,” remarks Reyes. “The energy in our studios is electric! It is wonderful to see all of these artists coming together to perform these signature works from the company’s repertoire. Truly a cause for celebration!”

“A Gala Celebration” runs at the CCP Main Theater from August 18 to 20. This is the first production of the 48th Season, entitled “Quintessence”. The season’s lineup also includes “The Exemplars: The Best of Ballet Philippines (1970-1980) on October 20-22, Edna Vida’s “The Nutcracker” on December 1-10, and “Don Quixote” on February 9-18, 2018. Catch us!


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.

One Championship Holds One: Kings & Conquerors Kick-Off Press Conference at the Venetian Macao

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), recently held a blockbuster kick-off press conference for ONE: KINGS & CONQUERORS at the Sicily Room at The Venetian Macao in Macao, China. In attendance was Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong as well as reigning and defending ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil, and his opponent, world title challenger Andrew Leone of the United States.

In addition, co-main event combatants Kairat Akhmetov and Adriano Moraes also graced the podium, as well as women’s atomweight prospects Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige and Jomary Torres.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “It is my honor and my pleasure to see some of the greatest martial artists on the planet compete in ONE Championship. The thing that makes ONE Championship different from any other organization in the world, is that we want to build and unleash martial arts superheroes to ignite the world with inspiration, hope, dreams, strength and courage. Our heroes are role models not only in the cage, but also outside of the cage.”

ONE Championship is set to electrify the Cotai Arena at The Venetian Macao on Saturday, 5 August, with another blockbuster evening of authentic martial arts action. In the main event of ONE: KINGS & CONQUERORS, the longest-reigning champion in ONE Championship history, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes will take on top contender Andrew Leone. In addition, the co-main event will crown the undisputed king of the division when ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat Akhmetov takes on ONE Interim Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes.

Bibiano Fernandes, ONE Bantamweight World Champion, stated: “I’m excited for the fight. I’m going to bring my best to this fight. I’m going to bring my best jiu-jitsu. I’m a disciplined fighter, I work hard and I do my best in training. My opponent says he can defeat me, well let’s see.”

Andrew Leone, ONE world title challenger, stated: “I just want to thank ONE Championship. It’s amazing what the organization is doing in Asia. They’re really building heroes. Bibiano [Fernandes] has been a champion for a long time. I respect him. It’s going to be a tough night but I’m looking forward to it. I’m going out on Saturday to try to win a world championship.”

Kairat Akhmetov, ONE Flyweight World Champion, stated: “I want to thank everyone who helped me prepare for this fight -- all my teammates, my gym. I’ve been away for a long time. Now that I’m back, I have become a better fighter. I’m ready to showcase my new skills. I believe it’s going to be a good and exciting fight with Adriano [Moraes].”

Adriano Moraes, ONE Interim Flyweight World Champion, stated: “I’m so glad to be here. This is my second time to be in Macao. The last time I was here in Macao, it was a wonderful night for me when I brought this belt back to Brazil. I don’t know if you have seen my last fight with [Kairat] Akhmetov, but I think I won that fight. This time I will show the world that I am the true champion. ”

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

Click here for official photos from the ONE: KINGS & CONQUERORS Kick-Off Press Conference: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4m286zFiLoUV0ltWlJ4eEFQZXc?usp=sharing

Cinderella: A Children’s Musical Theater

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The 15th Musical Theatre Season offering of Kids Acts Philippines is the well-known and favorite children’s story of all time CINDERELLA. This adaptation is collaborated by the two award winning writer and musical director, LUIGI NACARO and EUGENE BELBIS, respectively.

Kids Acts Philippines’ take on this famous fairytale is excitingly different from the versions that kids are used to read. The story is based on the original manuscript of Charles Perrault highlighting the magical scenes that children love to watch like how the yellow pumpkin transformed into a real carriage gilded all over with gold travelling around the stage. And more so, witnessing live onstage, how the Fairy Godmother magically turned Cinderella into a Princess with enchanting Glass Shoes, the most beautiful and lovely a lady that the Prince had ever seen in his whole life. 

The play encourages all diehard fairytale fans to preserve their childhood belief that there is once upon a time in every happily ever after and there is a happily ever after, after once upon a time. This time, be ready to wear your imaginary Princess Tiara or Prince Crown to the theater while watching Cinderella, The Musical created originally by all Filipino artists from lyrics to music, from stage crew to the designers and from actors to the directors. Cinderella is a story of love, determination and dreams that everyone loves to read, watch and most of all to perform.

Come and Experience the Magic! Witness How Fairy Godmother turned Cinderella into a Princess with Glass Shoes. Watch Live Onstage How the Yellow Pumpkin transformed into a Real Carriage gilded all over with Gold. Preserve the belief of children and all children at heart that dreams do come true. Instill Cinderella’s moral of humility, determination, perseverance, love and forgiveness. 

Phil and James Younghusband Joins Davao Aguilas Football Club

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Mindanao-based Davao Aguilas Football Club (DAFC), has just signed 2 more prominent Azkals stalwarts, namely Phil and James Younghusband.

The contract signing ceremony was held at Makati Shangri-la Hotel last night, which was witnessed by Davao Aguilas club executives, headed by its Chairman, Jefferson Cheng.

Davao Aguilas Football Club Chairman Jefferson Cheng says, “We are happy to welcome Phil and James into our club. Both are quality players and fine gentlemen that will blend well into our club and represent Davao Aguilas with utmost professionalism. Our fans and supporters are equally excited about our new signings. I am sure they will contribute not only to Davao Aguilas, but also help us succeed in our vision to promote and advance Philippine football.”

Apart from the Younghusband siblings, recent signings include Simone Rota, Jason de Jong, Matthew Hartmann and Nick O’ Donnell.

The Younghusbands are set to see action as Aguilas when they go against Global Cebu FC on September 9, in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

For more information about Davao Aguilas FC, please visit www.facebook.com/DAFCofficial.

PSC-PSI and USANA Join Forces to Help Raise Over-All Health Program

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Elite Filipino Athletes to Benefit from USANA Nutritionals 

USANA Health Sciences, a global nutritional company, announced today that its Philippines subsidiary UHS Essential Health Phils. Inc. (locally known as USANA) has entered a partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission-Philippine Sports Institute (PSC-PSI) for the health improvement of 300 elite national athletes.

PSC Chairman William Ramirez says the partnership is in line with the commission’s vision to promote sports and athletics among our youth as well as improve the national athletics program.

“The timing of this partnership with USANA could not have been more perfect. We are in full swing with our preparations for the upcoming international competition and adding USANA’s high-quality nutritional supplements to our athletes’ health program will help in their training while reaching optimal health as well,” says Chairman Ramirez.

“It is a privilege to work with the PSC-PSI in their goal to get our athletes ready to represent our country in the international sports arena. We are proud that we are able to provide Filipino athletes the same pharmacy-grade, safe, NSF-certified and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-approved nutritional products being enjoyed by world-class athletes,” says Aurora Gaston, USANA Vice-President for Philippines and Indonesia. “This partnership is our commitment to the Philippine market who has helped our company become the leader in nutrition here and abroad.

USANA will provide their three top products namely Essentials™ Pack, CoQuinone®30, and Procosa® to the identified beneficiaries for two years.



The USANA Advantage

USANA Essentials™ work from the most basic building blocks — at the cellular level — with the right amount of nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants every day to improve your health from the cell up.

CoQuinone®30 is all about energy, on the cellular level. USANA combined alpha-lipoic acid with coenzyme Q10 to create CoQuinone 30, a fantastic supplement of these energy-supporting nutrients. The benefits associated with these nutrients include sound muscle function, healthy nerve function, and good cardiovascular health.

Lastly, Procosa® supports optimal joint health and activates the cell's natural ability to protect and renew itself. The combination of glucosamine and Meriva in the InCelligence Joint-Support Complex helps to influence the signaling pathways that proactively promote an optimal immune and inflammatory response to restore normal function after exercise.

“These 3 products have proven their effectivity by athletes around the world, and we are happy that our fellow countrymen will have them during their training,” added Gaston.

To foster transparency on the implementation of the partnership, the products will be distributed directly to the 300 national athletes throughout the two-year partnership.

This is not the first-time that the nutritional company has given its support to the Filipino athlete. Through its Team USANA Pilipinas campaign, over 30 national athletes in the past and until now have received sponsorship from USANA, namely Rio Olympics weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, SEA Games Gold Medalist Nikko Huelgas, Philippine Azkals top footballer Misagh Bahadoran, Star Hotshots player Peter June Simon, Ginebra San Miguel Beer's LA Tenorio and former world pool champion Rubilen Amit, to name a few.

This sponsorship is an additional initiative to USANA’s on-going advocacy in helping some 3,000++ elite athletes in 20 other countries.

USANA first started working with athletes in 1999 when USANA partnered with U.S. Speedskating and Speed Skating Canada. Since then, USANA has provided thousands of elite and professional athletes around the world with high-quality nutritional supplements to help them perform at their best. These groups include: the Women’s Tennis Association, the US Ski and Snowboard Association, members of the Korean Speedskating Team and National Judo Team, and more. Visit Team USANA for more information.

*The mentioned athletes are either distributors or dedicated users who have received compensation for their partnership and/or complimentary USANA products.

SAP Appoints Claus Andresen as President and Managing Director of Southeast Asia

Wazzup Pilipinas!

SAP announced the appointment of Claus Andresen as President and Managing Director of SAP Southeast Asia, promoted from Chief Operating Officer of SAP Indian Subcontinent. Andresen will report directly to Scott Russell, President of SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ). Building on the 28-year establishment and growth of SAP in the region, Andresen will be responsible for driving SAP Southeast Asia’s sustainable growth strategy and operations. Based in Singapore, he will oversee SAP’s business across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Indochina and other emerging markets in Southeast Asia.

“Connectivity in Southeast Asia is growing at an impressive rate and we foresee a lot more customers accelerating their digital transformation and journey to the cloud in the next few years. While the level of digital maturity in Southeast Asia varies across the region, SAP has the extensive capability to help our customers scale and succeed in this new digital economy,” said Scott Russell, President, SAP Asia Pacific Japan. “Claus brings with him the experience and vision to help our customers translate their strategy into action. I am confident that SAP Southeast Asia will continue to shine under his leadership.”

Andresen was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of SAP Indian Subcontinent, where he provided leadership to the market unit’s multi-functional sales and operations organizations, and was instrumental in making India amongst one of the fastest growing market units in SAP. Prior to that, he was responsible for Business Operations across SAP APJ, where he led a high-performing team to improve Sales and Operational Excellence. Andresen has over a decade of experience in various global and regional senior leadership roles in the Global Services & Support organization (now Digital Business Services), all with focus on helping customers run better leveraging technology.

“Southeast Asia plays an important role for SAP’s business. There are plenty of opportunities for us in this part of the world as more organisations understand the value that digital innovations can deliver to their business and how they operate. Across the region, we are seeing the trajectory and we are committed to helping our customers and partners build a solid foundation for their digital future,” said Claus Andresen, President, SAP Southeast Asia.

He continued, “SAP has more than 45 years of industry and enterprise business software experience and an unmatched global ecosystem that empowers customers to scale and thrive in this time of constant change. I am honored to lead the Southeast Asia’s business and bring innovations to our customers that unlock their potential. I look forward to working with my Southeast Asia team to take SAP to the next level in this growth region, as we help the region’s governments and businesses achieve their vision of a digitally-enabled ASEAN.”

Petya, Wanna Cry, and Mirai—Is This the New Normal?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

This past year, cybercriminals have upped the stakes once again with the high profile, global attacks of Mirai, Wannacry, and Petya, launched one after the other.

Of course, large-scale attacks aren’t new. Attacks like the ILOVEYOU worm and Code Red and Nimda were massive attacks, some of which affected exponentially more devices and organizations that this latest round of attacks. The spread of WannaCry − which reportedly hit a couple of dozen companies in the Philippines − and Petya were quickly curbed unlike these worms of the past. But this isn’t just about scale.

Unlike in years past, the new digital economy means organizations rely on data as both a critical resource and an essential source of revenue. And these new attacks are more sophisticated than ever.

Attacks like Mirai managed to hijack tens of thousands of IoT devices, such as DVRs and digital CCTV cameras using known device passwords installed by their manufacturers. These devices were then aggregated and used as a weapon to take out a massive chunk of the Internet. More recently, Mirai’s lesser known malware cousin, known as Hajime, upped the ante by adding cross-platform functionality (it currently supports five different platforms), a toolkit with automated tasks, updatable password lists, and the use of thresholds to mimic human behavior in order to stay under the radar.

Wannacry pioneered a new sort of ransomware/worm hybrid, something Fortinet calls a ransomworm, in order to use a Microsoft exploit created by the NSA and publicly released by a hacker group known as the Shadow Brokers. Rather than the usual ransomware method of selecting a specific target, Wannacry’s worm functionality allowed it to spread rapidly across the globe, attacking thousands of devices and organization. While the potential was there, the damage was quickly curbed due to an embedded kill switch.

And just this past month we saw the emergence of a new ransomworm called Petya. This new malware uses the same worm-based approach of Wannacry, even targeting the exact same vulnerability, but this time with a much more potent payload that can wipe data off a system and even modify a device’s Master Boot Record, rendering the device unusable. Since very little money was made during this attack, we can say that this attack was certainly more focused on taking machines offline than monetization through ransom. Machine availability ransom like Petya may become a much larger problem in the future when spreading through a rapid Ransomworm.

I believe that the Wannacry and Petya attacks were simply shots across the bow. They are part of an insidious new opportunistic strategy of targeting newly discovered vulnerabilities with massive, global attacks and increasingly malicious payloads. This is just being the tip of the iceberg and potentially the start of a new wave of attacks we are in for in the future in the form of Ransomworms.

GEM Dazzles This August with Exciting Shows from Japan!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Catch the most entertaining dramas and variety programs from Japan this August on GEM. 

Overprotected Kahoko

A naïve university student, Kahoko (Takahata Mitsuki), is about to start her first job. The world is a scary place as she has been sheltered by her parents all her life. Their close-knit family begins to fall apart as they cope with this inevitable change in the only child’s life. Will Kahoko finally muster enough strength to emerge from her cocoon?

Overprotected Kahoko premieres 28 August, every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm, first and exclusively on GEM.



49

Dan (Sato Shori) is an average student who is not good at sports or his studies. Tragically, his father dies in an accident and his spirit possesses Dan. As his father excelled at everything he did, Dan begins to exhibit the same behavior. He starts to play basketball well and even gains popularity amongst his classmates. Will his classmates discover the reason behind his sudden change?

49 premieres 17 August, every Wednesday and Thursday at 9pm, first and exclusively on GEM.

BOMB BEE MEN

Kazumi (Oguri Shun) is a poor university student who has some unique priorities in life. He desires to make everyone happy and never rejects people when they seek his help. As he secures his first real job, he finds out that his debt could cost his job offer! A host club owner and money-lender, OmuOmu, and his cronies had conned a huge amount of money from him. Desperate to get his money back, Kazumi decides to play OmuOmu’s money game. Will Kazumi’s endless optimism help him overcome the odds?

BOMB BEE MEN premieres 13 August, every Sunday at 10.30pm.



GOCHI: Dinner is on YOU Tonight Season 2 Special

In this two-episode special, our celebrity guests get to indulge in a wide array of delicious treats prepared specially by world-renowned chefs. While the guests can order as many courses as they want, they must ensure that the total price of their dishes should not exceed their given budget. The guest who has the biggest price difference will be the one to pay for everyone’s meal! Who would be the ‘lucky’ one?

GOCHI: Dinner is on YOU Tonight Season 2 Special premieres 12 August and 19 August, Saturday at 7pm, first and exclusively on GEM.

TOKUSON: Life Hacks!

Follow the hosts as they show us simple tricks using everyday items to help save time and make life more interesting. Be amazed by the things you can do to spruce up your mundane daily routine. From cooking, cleaning, and organizing, to everything else in between, TOKUSON: Life Hacks! has all the answers! Life will never be the same again!

TOKUSON: Life Hacks! premieres 30 August, every Wednesday at 10:10pm, first and exclusively on GEM.



GEM is available on SKYCable Channel 116 in Metro Manila and on Channel 222 in Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Baguio.

NPC: TELCOs and ISPs DPA Compliance Crucial to Data Protection and Privacy

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP) are critical industry segments that need to comply with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (DPA). This was revealed during the first general assembly of Data Protection Officers (DPO) in the telecommunications and value added service (VAS) provider industry sector. The event entitled DPO3 is the third of a series of industry sector targeted DPO general assemblies. The first two were for government, and the banking and financial services sector.

Privacy Commissioner Raymund Enriquez Liboro mentioned that majority of data that traverse telco and internet providers’ networks is personal data; data that has to be protected under the DPA by entities in the business of transporting that data, like telcos and ISPs.

“Personal data is not limited to email and voice communications, most users are not aware that before a conversation can happen over telecommunications networks, they have to provide their personal data; starting with their phone numbers, then the IMSI number of their SIM cards, the IMEI number and the MAC address of their device; networks also geo-tag users’ location based on the which cell site or street cabinet they used. That is just a voice conversation, subscriber activity within telco and ISP networks generate volumes of personal data as well.” commissioner Liboro said.

DPO3 was organized by the NPC in cooperation with the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators (PCTO). According to Atty. Roy Ibay, Vice President of PCTO; “After government, telcos are the largest processors of personal data, and as such; we need to be the vanguards of data protection and privacy, it should not be treated as a burdensome compliance task, but instead, should be inherent in our operations and adds value to our organizations, ensuring competitiveness in a dynamic industry.”