QC Government Approves New Design for MRT-7 QMC Station; Lifts Cease and Desist Order

Wazzup Pilipinas!


The Quezon City government has lifted the cease and desist order it had earlier issued on the construction of the Metro Rail Transit 7 (MRT-7) Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) station today, 28 February 2020.

This comes after the QC government, and its stakeholders - - environmentalists, representatives from the National Housing Unit (NHA), engineers, residents, and others, have approved the new design of the said station which was presented by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and EEI Corporation.

“Ni-lift na po ng city government ang cease and desist order ngayon dahil natuwa naman po kami na binigyang-halaga ang aming concerns," QC Mayor Joy Belmonte expressed.

"Today, we are very happy that we have succeeded not only in preserving our park, but at the same time, we have succeeded in ensuring that our people will have adequate mass transportation," she added.

For Secretary Tugade, this endeavor testifies that when the national government, local government, and private sector collaborate, things will be solved and improved swiftly.

"What this exercise shows is that when the national government, local government, and the private sector work together and cooperate, all with the same obsession— all for transparency and development— things will be solved and improved swiftly."

Meanwhile, DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan expressed his utmost appreciation to the swift settlement of the issue.

"One week later, na-resolve na, at ‘yan ay dahil sa magandang pakikipagtulungan ng national, lokal, at pribadong sektor na siya namang palaging sinasabi ni Secretary Arthur Tugade. Kapit-bisig tayo dito sa “Build, Build, Build,” gaya nitong MRT-7," Usec. Batan said.

From the initial design of 11,000 square meters above ground, it has been agreed that the latest and final design will just be a 426-square meter (sqm) above ground structure, with a height of only 6-7 meters.

For her part, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) MRT-7 Project Director Carmela Bergado has assured the local government, and the stakeholders that they "will follow the redesigned and final plan."

Usec. Batan likewise assured that the construction works for the MRT-7 project is on track, with partial operability to commence by 2021, and full revenue service by 2022.

"Currently, almost 55% complete na tayo. Lahat ng mga tren, lahat ng mga bagon, tapos na. Na-test at ready na i-ship from [South] Korea. Makikita natin na yung mga viaducts ay halos patapos na rin at ang stations ay tinatapos na. ‘Yung depot natin na tinatawag ay nasolusyunan na rin, kung kaya’t on track tayo dun sa commitment ng DOTr, ni Secretary [Arthur] Tugade, galing sa ating concessionaire na maging partially operable by 2021," Usec. Batan assured.

Once completed by 2022, the MRT-7 will cut travel time from Manila to Bulacan from 2 hours to just 34 minutes.

Michelin, Youth Bat for Road Safety

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Michelin Philippines reiterated its commitment to road safety alongside its counterparts in Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam at the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Stockholm from February 19-20.

The conference was organized by Youths For Road Safety (YOURS) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Young delegates shared their successes and lessons learned from actions undertaken in the framework of the 2011-2020 Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. It was an opportunity to link safe mobility with other sustainably-related challenges.

In Stockholm, Michelin invited three young employees from India, Thailand and Brazil to attend the Second World Youth Assembly as representatives of the private sector and participate in road safety-related decision-making. Their role was to share their experiences and raise awareness among Michelin teams in their respective regions about the best safer mobility solutions.

Findings showed that the 15-29 age group is the demographic most impacted by road accidents. Thus in 2010, Michelin collaborated with WHO to create YOURS, an NGO focusing on young people that encourages them to address road safety issues in both developed and developing countries. YOURS has set an ambitious road safety target to halve road deaths and injuries globally in five years, with young people leading the charge and providing energy to the revolution. As Founding Member of YOURS, Michelin and YOURS have a long-term partnership and are working together to improve road safety for young people worldwide.

Florent Menegaux, Michelin CEO, said safety is at the heart of everything we do. It is a top priority every day across all our sites. For our customers, Michelin is synonymous with safety, reliability, performance and durability. And for 130 years, we have worked tirelessly to uphold this reputation. We believe it is our responsibility to make mobility safer across the world.

In the Philippines, Michelin does its part for road safety by raising awareness on the importance of correct tire pressure, proper maintenance and fuel efficiency through its Michelin Safe On The Road (MSOR) campaign. Michelin Philippines has partnered with S&R membership shopping club to render service to motorists by giving them free tire check-ups and information on how to maximize tire usage. The importance of awareness in reducing the risk of road accidents to ensure a safer and more liveable community for all is emphasized to motorists in MSOR.

Fear, Resistance, and Readiness Potential: Bungee Jumping Opens New Horizons of Examining Human Brain

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Bungee jumping is a life-altering experience, anticipated or feared. It’s also a vivid illustration of readiness potential, observed right before one jumps. We’ve learned more thanks to two guys who leaped with an electrode cap.

Have you already made up your goal list for 2020? If the highest bungee jump is on it, you probably seek new emotions and a way to release them. Another reason to think of it is visiting the most spectacular locations and feeling yourself on top of the world. Make a no deposit contribution to your emotions box that will charge you new sensations for the whole year. Anyway, every person interested either in extreme sports or neuroscience should know that this activity reveals new opportunities for our brain.


What is Bungee Jumping in the Present?

Before, bungee jumping was a way to assess a person’s bravery. It originated in the South-Pacific land called The Republic of Vanuatu today. This ritualistic jump tested other contestants. Nowadays, it’s a self-made decision most people take to prove something to themselves or get a good dose of adrenaline. If you’re searching for a definition, bungee jumping is an extreme sport common all around the world. It presupposes jumping from high-rise structures, like bridges, with an elastic cord attached to a jumper’s legs or body. Among the main technical characteristics of a flexible cord used in bungee jumping, we can name weight measurements, safety, and tensile strength. When everything is counted correctly, any danger to a jumper gets minimized.


Evaluate Your Attitude to Bungee and Other Extreme Sports

The theory is informative enough, but it’s important to answer one more question. What is bungee jumping for you? For many enthusiasts, bungee jumping is a cool way to spend time. They do it regularly and keep telling exciting stories of what it’s like.

Others get more skeptical. Such activity is associated with a feeling of fear for them. It, in turn, is followed by resistance. They keep asking why people would risk their life like this because it doesn’t make any sense.



What Emotions Lie Behind the Resistance to Start Bungee Jumping

When skeptics are told that simple dancing is proved to be a more dangerous activity, they still hesitate. Subconsciously, they understand it’s true. It reminds taking a flight. The fear of the unknown, if one had never been on a plane, or the sense that there is no way out can be a massive demotivating factor. The same thing is with bungee jumping. When you fall down from a bridge, you can neither forecast the consequences nor change the current situation. So what should one do with this fear? What if you will stand with a bungee rope around your waist and will not jump?

Can You Become Fobic in Different Areas because You Presumably Fear to Jump?

Today, it has stopped you from boarding a plane or taking a bungee jump. Can it stop you from going outside one day? When you stand in front of your door, all ready to go and get this instant peak of fear, can you reconsider? These worries make us evaluate our ‘readiness potential’ first described back in the mid 20th century by Luder Deecke and Hans-Helmut Kornhuber. Luckily, all this is not as bad as it sounds. Our fear doesn’t stop us at the brain level, and it has been proved scientifically.

The essence of the experiment proving it is as follows. Two young male subjects go bungee jumping for 30 times from Europa Bridge (Innsbruck, Austria). On their heads, each subject has an electrode cap recording electroencephalography signals during the whole jump. The bridge is 630-foot-high, which makes this experience seemingly more life-threatening than cliff jumping these men are professional in. The record scientists obtained is that the subject had experienced certain fear and resistance before jumping, but it had nothing to do with their readiness potential. Except for encouraging our belief in ourselves, this study will allow us to advance brain-computer interfaces that use brain electrical signals to command various devices. This will improve the lives of multiple patients whose well-being relies on such technologies.

A highland fling bungee is a dream of the adventurous. It also subjects our body and brain to extreme stress, but it doesn’t prevent us from taking this inspiring step. Today, we have evidence that our fear and stress don’t make us stop. It’s literally inside our heads, and it’s called readiness potential, which is huge and independent.

Contributor:

Thomas Glare
Thomas has a PhD. in neuroscience but doesn’t want to sit in a laboratory. He studies and writes about a variety of human activities and their connection to brain science. He compares uncomparable and combines uncombinable, proving that everything we do can be explained by the power of our brain.