16 School Teams Train, Pitch S&T Projects for Innovation Contest imake.wemake

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Filipino communities may soon find answers to pressing issues in education, traffic, waste management, disaster preparedness and others as 16 senior high school teams made it to the second round of the 2nd imake.wemake, an S&T innovation competition organized by the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute’s (DOST-SEI) in partnership with Acer Philippines.

“It will be a battle among school teams but the real winners here are Filipinos who will benefit from their inventions,” DOST-SEI Director Josette Biyo said.

Biyo and Acer Philippines General Manager Manuel Wong graced the project pitching and closing ceremony of the five-day event held on September 3-7, 2018 at the Microtel UP Technohub in Quezon City which featured promising student inventions like low-cost GPS tracking for wildlife conservation, online waste management integration, and anti-overloading device among others.

“Our young inventors proved that they understand the needs of the people and know how they can address such. We’re more than happy to provide them venue for their technical skills and creativity in imake.wemake,” Biyo added.

The panel of judges, composed of UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute professors Dr. Nestor Tiglao and Engr. Percival Magpantay, Ateneo de Manila University professor Engr. Carlos Matti Oppus, and Acer Philippines Business Development Manager Alexis de Guzman, selected the finalists from 65 proposals submitted. The judges based their decisions on project viability and potential to address important societal and community issues.

The 16 competing school teams are Centro Escolar University-Manila, College of St. John – Roxas, De La Salle University Integrated School – Laguna, Dr. Yanga’s Colleges, Grace Christian College, Masbate National Comprehensive High School, New Era University, Philippine Science High School – Cagayan Valley Campus, Philippine Science High School – CAR Campus, Philippine Science High School – Central Luzon Campus, Philippine Science High School – Central Visayas Campus, Philippine Science High School-Eastern Visayas Campus, Rizal National Science High School, Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School, Taguig Science High School, and Technological University of the Philippines Cubao Campus.

A total of 48 students and 16 teachers attended the free training organized by the DOST-SEI and facilitated by experts from ThinkLab Philippines and Acer Taiwan’s Kevin Chuang. Participants experienced hands-on training on Arduino digital and analog system and Acer Cloudprofessor, the innovative platform that will power all imake.wemake projects. Each team also received free Acer Cloudprofessor kit, sensor expansion pack, and toolbox.

The teams are given three months to build and test their projects. They will convene again in December for the Final Presentation and Awarding Ceremony where top three teams will win P50,000 cash prize and the Youth Innovation Prize each.

Power Restored in 7 Provinces

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Latest reports from the Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER) led by the Department of Energy indicated that power has been restored in seven provinces hit by Typhoon Ompong. These are Pangasinan, Batanes, Batangas, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Quirino, and Zambales.

After visiting Cagayan on Sunday (16 September), DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi directed Undersecretaries Felix William B. Fuentebella, Alexander S. Lopez and National Electrification Administration(NEA) Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong to attend the Cabinet Briefing for President Rodrigo R. Duterte in Benguet and conduct ground operations and inspections. They were tasked to fully mobilize and monitor the required personnel for the energy family’s response and restoration activities.

Based on the 9:00AM report of the Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER):

For the power generation sector, the National Power Corporation (NPC) – Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) reported normal operations as of 4:00AM today in the diesel power plant (DPP) areas of Batanes, (Basco, Itbayat, Sabtang) Isabela and Aurora (Maconacon, Casuguran). Meanwhile, DPPs in Calayan, Minabel & Balatubat, Kabugao, and Palanan are still being assessed.

NPC’s dam status report indicates that water-spilling operations were still on-going at the San Roque Dam, with the end of spilling operations forecasted to take place by Wednesday (19 September) evening.

On the other hand, NPC’s Ambuklao-Binga Flood Forecasting and Warning Service (FFWS) Dam Office has turned over the responsibility of its Spillway Gate Operations to SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet (SNAPB) since Ompong already left the Philippine Area of Responsibility; the accumulated 24-hour rainfall measured is less than 50millimeters; and the inflow at the Ambuklao Reservoir is less than 500 centimeters.

For the transmission sector, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) reported that as of 6:00AM, there is a total of 14 de-energized transmission lines in regions I, II, III, IV-A, VII, and CAR

NGCP also reported that transmission lines in Cagayan and Benguet are partially restored. There are currently on-going restoration activities in Apayao, while transmission facilities in other affected provinces have been normalized.

NGCP is continuing its aerial and ground patrols to inspect and assess the full impact of Ompong on its operations and facilities.

For the distribution sector, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) initially estimates the cost of damage on electric cooperatives (ECs) alone to be at Ph111, 085,986.00.

Eight ECs covering seven provinces have been fully restored, while 14 ECs remain up for restoration.

The regions being served by the following electric cooperatives are affected:

1.             ECs with ongoing restoration:

•     Region I (3 ECs) – INEC (Ilocos Norte), ISECO (Ilocos Sur), LUELCO (La Union with 4.2% restored)

•     Region II (5 ECs) – CAGELCO I and II (Cagayan), ISELCO I (parts of Isabela with 33.3% restored),
ISELCO II (parts of Isabela), NUVELCO (Nueva Viscaya with 14.3% restored)

•     CAR (5 ECs) – BENECO (Benguet), MOPRECO (Mountain Province), ABRECO (Abra), KAELCO
(Kalinga-Apayao), IFELCO (Ifugao)

•     Region III (1 EC) – AURELCO (Aurora with 88.9% restored)

2.             ECs fully restored:

•    Region I (1 EC) – PANELCO I and III (Pangasinan)

•     Region II (2 ECs) – BATANELCO (Batanes), QUIRELCO (Quirino)

•     Region III (2 ECs) – NEECO II-AREA I (Nueva Ecija), ZAMECO I (Zambales)

•     Region IV-A (2 ECs) – FLECO (Laguna), BATELEC II (Batangas)

In the areas served by the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), all circuit outages are completely restored.

MERALCO reported that there are still 15,000 to 20,000 customers or 0.23% to 0.30% of its total customers undergoing for restoration which are mostly on service drop or household levels within the franchise area.
 

In the oil industry, monitoring activities of oil companies indicate that as of 12:00PM yesterday (16 September), there is sufficient supply of petroleum products, with stocks ranging from 2 to 15 days, depending on the area.

The DOE reiterates the implementation of a price freeze in Cagayan, Abra, Benguet, Isabela and Mayoyao, Ifugao after said provinces have been put under a State of Calamity. The price freeze covers household LPG and kerosene products, which will be enforced for 15 days upon said announcement.

The DOE continues to assure the public that it remains committed in the monitoring and immediate restoration of power and energy facilities in areas hit by Typhoon Ompong.

A Response to Grab's Statement That the Government is to Blame for the TNVS Supply Crisis

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It has come to the attention of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) that GRAB has been sending its members/drivers an e-mail essentially blaming the government for what they call a “supply crisis.”

GRAB claims that the crisis stemmed from the “masterlist” of vehicles allowed to service passengers and the “supply cap” of 65,000. According to GRAB, out of this number, only 35,000 are on the road on a daily basis due to coding, part-time drivers, and other reasons. Further, GRAB is telling its members that the LTFRB has not acted on its proposal to increase the supply cap.

DOTr-LTFRB takes this opportunity to respond to the following issues raised in the email so that all stakeholders may be enlightened and be guided accordingly:

1. The so-called “Masterlist” was determined in consultation with the accredited TNCs at the time namely Grab, Uber and U-Hop, to which Grab conceded. The Masterlist  included Transportation Network Company (TNC) accredited TNVS that have been operating without valid franchises or Provisional Authority (PA), otherwise described are COLORUM vehicles. 

In order not to disrupt service, COLORUM TNVs were allowed to continue to get bookings in the meantime and accept passengers through the Grab system, their inclusion in the Masterlist gives them ‘temporary legitimacy,’ while they are given time to apply for a franchise. With the current number of TNCs servicing the TNVS already operating, among them Hype, Owto, GoLag and Epickmeup, service will not be adversely affected. More, two new TNCs – Hirna and Micab - are servicing the taxi service while several other TNCs whose applications are pending consideration.

2. The number coding scheme, which reduced the number of available cars on the roads of Metro Manila, did not come from LTFRB. In fact, it is the position of the agency that all public transport be exempt from the number coding scheme in order to be able to offer the riding public more public transport options and thus discourage the use of private vehicles.

3. Grab seems to confuse drivers with TNVS in determining supply. LTFRB issues franchises or Provisional Authority (PA) to TNVS for them to legally get bookings and accept passengers. Hence, if a TNVS with a PA or franchise cannot run because it does not have driver, it can find a replacement driver. 

4. Currently, LTFRB is accepting applications for TNVS franchises, even outside the Masterlist, contrary to the statement of Grab that TNVS allowed to apply for a franchise are limited to the Masterlist. In fact, LTFRB has just completed the online registration of 10,000 new cars in addition to the Masterlist, with plans to open registration for TNVS applicants for those slots in the masterlist which have become inactive.

We note Grab sharing its position on these issues in public notwithstanding the frequent, open and cordial dialogue with TNCs, including Grab. It makes us wonder however why Grab puts LTFRB on the spot, so to speak and in an uncomfortable position. As DOTr and LTFRB seek ways to expedite to complete the target of 65,000 TNVS with the required franchises, it is to Grab’s best interest to engage its own constituency and help clarify the issues.