20,000 Seedlings Ready for Planting in Ipo Watershed

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, together with GCash, stand poised to plant some 20,000 seedlings across Ipo Watershed.

The activities are part of WWF-Philippines’ Forests for Water project, which seeks to rehabilitate Ipo Watershed. The watershed, located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, supplies 96% of the water for Metro Manila. Threats such as erosion and illegal and destructive practices still threaten parts of the watershed, however.

WWF-Philippines partner and fintech powerhouse GCash has supported the Forests for Water project since June, 2019. Through their program, GCash Forest, they hope to plant 365,000 seedlings across the country, with 120,000 committed to the slopes of Ipo Watershed.

Despite the pandemic, WWF-Philippines is committed to planting all 20,000 seedlings within the year. Restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult to continue with tree planting activities. The conservation organization is currently exploring ways to proceed without endangering their staff.

Both GCash and WWF-Philippines have also prioritized the safety well-being of the communities of Ipo Watershed. There have been no cases in Ipo Watershed so far. Both organizations are currently working on protocols that will allow forest rehabilitation work to continue without endangering local communities.

“Now more than ever, we can see that protecting Ipo Watershed is vital not just because it ensures that there is a reliable water supply for Metro Manila, but because it keeps foreign diseases at bay. By protecting these forests, we reduce the chances of another pandemic,” says WWF-Philippines Forests for Water Project Manager Paolo Pagaduan. WWF-Philippines, together with its partners, has worked toward the protection and rehabilitation of Ipo Watershed since 2017.

“More than ever, we need to ensure the health of this natural buffer, as well as the health and welfare of those who protect the forests for us,” continued Pagaduan.

“In this time of crisis, we are more relevant than ever, as more people are shifting to online and trying out digital platforms for their safety. “

“GCash complements the “Stay at Home” Lifestyle. In line with our vision of finance for all, we will continue to provide accessible, convenient, and a safe way to conduct your financial transactions,” said GCash CEO Martha Sazon. Since the start of the Philippine lockdown, GCash has seen increased user adoption and a 700% growth in transactions. The fintech company has used its platform to raise awareness for the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how their application makes online transactions easier.

“GCash Forest, together with WWF-Philippines, hopes to empower all Filipinos to plant, grow, and nurture trees. We recognized the pressing problem on the water supply in Metro Manila. Since most of the users are from the Metro, the team decided to work with WWF-Philipines based on their expertise on nature and biodiversity conservation,” added Sazon.

Activities are on hold in Ipo Watershed, but both WWF-Philippines and GCash stand ready to continue their efforts to protect this vital source of water. Support WWF-Philippines and the GCash Forest project, and help #ChangeTheEnding as they pursue a sustainable future for all.

Dungon trees are now available for claiming through the GCash app.

6 Trends that Will Affect Philippine Jobs in the 2020s

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Finding a job today typically presents challenges that we could not have imagined just 20 years ago. Of course, some long-running trends jobs also clearly show the direction the Philippines jobs market is heading. Here are some of the things we can reasonably expect to affect local job-hunters in the coming decade:

1.) Automation
Since the emergence of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, we have become less and less reliant on human labor. The process of removing human labor from the production process is still ongoing, often in areas we don’t expect. When we think of jobs being lost to automation, we often think of factory jobs. However, the emergence of advanced AI has also threatened the stability of a wide range of customer service jobs in the Philippines.

As BPOs with customer service openings are a valuable source of entry-level jobs for Filipinos, AI has the potential to seriously upend the job market. Jobs involving analysis, QA, forecasting, and even content creation are now also in the process of being highly automated very soon, drastically reducing the number of available openings in these fields. Even blue-collar construction jobs may soon be more automated as well.

2.) More work from home arrangements
Allowing workers to do their jobs from their homes has long been tied to better productivity and happiness. For the past generation, a small but growing number of workplaces found “work from home” arrangements beneficial due to the cost savings and heightened productivity.

This ongoing shift towards a workplace that was no longer bound by geography has long been inevitable, receiving an unfortunate boost during the 2020 Pandemic. This trend towards a more mobile or at least, homebound workforce is only going to continue into the rest of the decade as more and more Filipino businesses start to realize the advantages.

3.) More freelance setups
Another long-time trend from the past decades that will only continue is the reduction in the number of non-contractual jobs. Without more legislation from the Philippine government, it’s likely the contractualization trend will only intensify given the cost-savings to employers.

While contractual workers have long been heavily used for filling entry-level positions, this is not where these arrangements will end. Consultants working on a per-project or limited-time basis will become more commonplace, even at the management level. If you have the right skills and experience, this may indeed be even more lucrative than working in a conventional setup.

4.) Better pay transparency
One welcome trend for job hunters will be increased transparency on salaries and other compensation. This area has been opaque, given tradition and the idea that it’s somehow “rude” to inquire about salaries. Employers have thus, also used this as a way of paying some employees less than others for the same job.

However, job rating sites now commonly include salary ranges for different positions. As a result, the asking rates of most applicants have risen to more closely match these posted salaries. There is also a growing idea that it should be acceptable for coworkers to be more frank about salaries and other compensation as well. While old views on salary discussions will die hard, you can definitely expect it to be easier to find out the average compensation for different positions in your industry and geographical location in the coming decade.

5.) A stronger emphasis on “soft skills”
It’s becoming clear that technical skills are not a be-all, end-all predictor of professional success. This is especially true in the context of the first point regarding automation. Hiring managers today are far more likely to look past deficiencies in technical aptitude if candidates seem capable of excelling at all the other aspects of the job.

Technical aptitude is certainly still going to be incredibly important, and it will determine whether or not you’re able to get into certain jobs. However, soft-skills such as leadership, creativity, dependability, clarity of communication, and conflict resolution will do more to determine staying power in any field than raw technical aptitude.

6.) Less tolerance for workplace bullying and harassment
Speaking of soft skills, negative old school workplace attitudes are likely to be less-tolerated, particularly in less traditional businesses. As more Gen-Z people enter the workforce, they will exert more and more influence, making it impossible to ignore values their generational cohorts share.

Because of a more holistic view that Gen-Z tends to take when it comes to professional life, hiring decisions may eventually be more strongly based on personal opinions and the behavior applicants have displayed in their previous jobs, as well as online.

While change doesn’t always come quickly in the Philippines, it is nevertheless inevitable, and often predictable. What do you think will happen in the Philippine job market in the 2020s? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Drop us a line or leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Tatlong Karagdagang Median Bus Stops ng EDSA Buseay, Bubuksan Na Sa Sabado

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Bubuksan na ng Department of Transportation (DOTr) at Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) ang median bus stops ng EDSA Busway sa North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, at Nepa Q-Mart simula bukas, ika-5 ng Setyembre.

Dahil dito, madaragdagan na ang mga lugar kung saan papayagang sumakay at bumaba ang mga pasahero ng bus na bumabaybay sa EDSA Busway.

Matatandaan na noon ay mayroon lamang apat (4) na median bus stops (Guadalupe, Ortigas, Santolan, Main Ave.) kung saan pinapayagang tumigil panandalian ang mga bus upang makapagsakay at makapagbaba ng pasahero.

“Sa pagbubukas ng tatlong (3) median bus stop, magiging mas madali, maayos at ligtas ang pagbaba at pagsakay sa mga bus para sa mga pasahero sa mga nasabing lugar,” wika ni DOTr Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark Steven Pastor.

Sa kabuuan, magkakaroon ng 29 na bus stops sa EDSA Busway, 15 dito ay kumpleto na. Ang mga nalalabi ay unti-unting bubuksan matapos kumpletuhin ang mga kinakailangang imprastraktura at kagamitan upang masiguro na ito ay magiging ligtas sa mga pasahero.

Ang EDSA Busway ay isang dedicated lane sa gitnang bahagi ng EDSA. Sapagkat tanging mga bus lamang ang maaaring gumamit nito, mas mabilis, iwas-trapik, maaasahan at predictable ang oras ng dating at alis ng mga bus. Mula sa dating dalawa o tatlong oras na biyahe galing Monumento papuntang PITX, ngayon, 45 minuto hanggang isang oras na lamang ito.

Higit pa, ang inisyatibo ay isa sa mga paraan ng pagpigil ng pagkalat ng COVID-19. Dahil mas mabilis na ang paglalakbay, binabawasan nito ang risk  ng pagkahawa dulot ng matagal na exposure  ng mga pasahero sa virus ng COVID-19.

Matatandaan na nag-umpisa na ring mag-deploy ang DOTr ng mga bus na may passenger door sa kaliwang bahagi nito o left-door buses, para sa EDSA Busway. Apat na buses na ang kasalukuyang bumabaybay sa EDSA at madadagdagan pa ang mga ito sa mga susunod na araw.

Pinapaalalahanan din ng DOTr ang mga motorista na tanging mga bus at emergency vehicles lamang ang maaaring dumaan sa EDSA Busway. Ipinagbabawal din dito ang reckless o kaskaserong mga bus drivers.

#DOTrPH🇵🇭
#RoadSectorWorks