Cusi Reminds Government Institutions to Settle Electricity Payables

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi calls on other government agencies to ensure the settlement of their outstanding obligations with electric cooperatives as part of the energy family’s continuing initiatives to provide efficient electricity services for all.

“Being part of the government, we need to be earnest in pursuing energy-resiliency and efficiency. In order to attain our energy goals, it is important that we are all able to uphold our commitment to our stakeholders and service providers,” Sec. Cusi said.

He emphasized, “As we’ve been pushing for massive electrification, energy efficiency and security of the country, I am pleading on behalf of the distribution utilities (DUs), including the electric cooperatives (ECs), for the concerned government institutions to settle their outstanding accounts. DUs and ECs collect revenue to generate cash flow that would enable them to provide efficient and sustainable services to the areas they serve.”

The DOE, through a memorandum signed by Undersecretary Alexander S. Lopez, coordinated with the respective heads of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Bureau of Investigation on the settlement of delinquent accounts payable to distribution utilities and electric cooperatives, with a total amount of PhP 17 million.

The unsettled payment is one of the challenges that may lead to weak and unstable operational performance. This implies incurring issues that involve DUs' and institutions’ negligence in their collection mechanisms.

Data from the National Electrification Administration indicate that outstanding accounts need to be settled with 23 ECs. These cooperatives are located in Regions I (1 EC), IV (5 ECs), V (2 ECs), VI (1 EC), VIII (3 ECs), IX (2 ECs), XI (1 EC), XII (5 ECs), and CARAGA (3 ECs) respectively.

The entire energy family continues to assure the public that it will closely monitor the accountability of the DUs and government institutions in fulfilling their respective obligations.

Lenovo Opens Concept Store in Tacloban

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LENOVO FIRST OPENS CONCEPT STORE IN TACLOBAN. Leading PC and smart devices developer Lenovo recently opened its first concept store in Leyte as part of efforts to bring its services closer to customers in the region. Located in the second level of Robinsons Place Tacloban, the store features Lenovo’s ever-growing product portfolio of notebooks, laptops, and desktops, which can be designed and customized to cater to the different lifestyles and tech needs. This process is part of the company’s overall thrust to focus more on customers in its overall strategy to achieve growth by delivering excellent service solutions. In photo from left to right: Eddie Uy, Managing Director of Electrocomputer Data Systems, Katherine Uy, CFO of Electrocomputer Data Systems, and Michael Ngan, Lenovo Philippines Country General Manager.

Technology leader, Lenovo, has recently opened its newest concept store in Tacloban City, Leyte, as part of efforts to bolster presence in the Philippines. This is the company’s first concept store in the Eastern Visayas region.

Located in Robinsons Place Tacloban, the store features Lenovo’s ever-growing product portfolio of notebooks, laptops, and desktops, designed and customized to cater to the different lifestyles and tech needs of various market segments.

“Lenovo position as a global leader is not just because of our innovative products, but because of our efforts in making them more visible and accessible to the public, especially in key cities with a bustling local economy such as Tacloban. Through our concept stores, which we plan to expand all over the country, customers can have a unique first-hand experience of our products and at the same time discover what suits their lifestyle and needs through the advice of our professional staff,” said Lenovo Philippines Country General Manager Michael Ngan.

With the unique, face-to-face experience that customers can get from visiting the concept store, Lenovo gains crucial insight about its customers, which enables it to develop the best customized solutions to meet market requirements. This process is part of the company’s thrust to focus more on customers in its overall strategy on achieving growth by delivering excellent service solutions.

This strategy has helped position Lenovo as a worldwide leader in terms of PC and smart devices sales. Between the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2017-2018 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2018-2019, the company experienced double-digit growth and improved profitability as its revenue reached $11.91 billion, a 19-percent year-on-year growth. These figures earned Lenovo the number one spot in PC shipments by Gartner.

Further growth is expected with Lenovo’s new and upcoming offerings. Customers in Tacloban can expect some of the recent additions like the IdeaPad 330, 330S, and 530S, the three powerful yet budget-friendly PC devices that run on Windows 10. Avid gamers can also expect to get their hands on the new Legion Y530.

”We’ll continue to develop more innovative products in the years to come. Hopefully with the help of our concept stores, we can introduce them to our customers in a simple, flexible approach. We know that in the Philippines, actual hands-on experience with devices is an important part of the buying decision. Through our concept stores, customers are given a unique and personalized experience that puts their needs first,” Ngan said.

There are currently 19 Lenovo Concept Stores serving clients in key cities across the nation. Lenovo Concept Store Tacloban is located at the second level of Robinsons Place Tacloban. It is open daily during mall hours from 10:00AM to 9:00PM.

UST Holds Sampung Sulyap Film Workshop

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The University of Santo Tomas recently conducted a film workshop for the participating production teams of Sampung Sulyap 2019 and other aspiring filmmakers from the Thomasian community at the UST Tan Yan Kee Student Center.

Becarios de Santo Tomas, an organization of UST scholars, co-organized the workshop with the Thomasian Film Society, the university’s premiere film organization. The scholars’ group also hosts the annual Sampung Sulyap short film festival featuring ten inspiring Thomasian stories.

Award-winning filmmaker Mikhail Red shared his experiences in directing. He helmed the full-length films Birdshot, Best Film in the Asian Future section in Tokyo and official Philippine entry to the 90th Academy Awards; Rekorder, Best Director winner in Vancouver; and the critically-acclaimed Neomanila for last year’s QCinema International Film Festival, He recently wrapped up production for Eerie and is now working on Block Z, both for Star Cinema. 

Advocacy filmmaker and film educator Seymour Sanchez discussed scriptwriting and other aspects of pre-production. Sanchez, a product of the 14th Ricky Lee scriptwriting workshop, won the grand prize in the screenplay category of the 59th Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature and second prize for Caretaker in the sixth CAM International Festival for Short Films in Egypt.

Johmar Damiles, director of photography and co-writer of the award-winning short film Heist School, talked about cinematography. A video producer at Pixelens Creative Solutions, he previously served as videographer of TomasinoWeb and Vice President for Productions of TFS.

Sampung Sulyap aims to highlight the creativity of Thomasians in filmmaking and production as well as to motivate people from all walks of life with films focused on the theme Sampung Tomasino, Sampung Natatanging Kwento ng Prinsipyo.

The short films will be produced by local and university-wide student organizations and will be featured in a week-long event at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex auditorium next year. An awards night will also be held to recognize the exemplary talents showcased in the films.