Progress of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project under the Build, Build, Build Infrastructure Program.

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

As construction works for the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 2 Project begin, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative Eigo Azukizawa and Asian Development Bank Country Director Kelly Bird lauded Transportation Secretary Art Tugade for the visible and rapid progress of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project under the Build, Build, Build Infrastructure Program. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, transportation projects improving the lives of Filipinos are being launched with Secretary Tugade leading the way, Ambassador Kazuhiko said.

“Despite the challenging pandemic situation, important milestones in our transport project have been launched one after another. This is due in large part of the strong leadership of Secretary Tugade—for which we are truly grateful,” the Japanese Ambassador explained during the site inspection of the PNR Clark Phase 2 Project at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.

Kazuhiko said the PNR Clark Phase 2 Project is a “symbol of the Japanese and Filipino collaboration.”

With the NSCR Project in full swing, Ambassador Kazuhiko said the Japanese government will continue to promote transfer of technology, maintenance knowledge, and promotion Filipino human capital for the railway operations of the NSCR.

“Time and again, we commit our continuous support to President Duterte’s Build, Build, Build Program. Japan will further commit cooperation such as the procurement of rolling stocks and development of railroad system through JICA-ODA support,” he said.

ADB Country Director Bird likewise expressed his gratitude to Secretary Tugade for bringing the NSCR Project into fruition while committing the financial institution’s continued support for other government big-ticket projects.

“I would like to thank Secretary Tugade for his amazing leadership in bringing this project to where it is today. I would also like to reiterate that the Asian Development Bank will always remain committed to the Philippines as our host country and we will continue to support the Philippines not only to overcome the current challenges with COVID-19 but also on its journey to becoming an upper-middle income country very soon,” Bird said.

“And here today, we are seeing for ourselves the commencement of civil works [for PNR Clark Phase 2]. It’s been a fantastic journey for ADB, with the Department of Transportation and the government of Japan in bringing this amazing project to commencement,” he added.

JICA Chief Representative Azukizawa echoed the Ambassador’s sentiments, explaining that the NSCR’s progress is “impressive” even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is indeed an impressive achievement for the Department of Transportation and Philippine National Railways. This is the product of our concerted efforts, strong collaboration and leadership under Secretary Tugade, which we remarkably achieved amidst the raging spread of COVID-19,” the JICA official said.

“We are amazed by the fast and continued progress of the project amid the pandemic,” Azukizawa added.

The second leg of the NSCR Project, the 53-kilometer PNR Clark Phase 2, will connect cities and municipalities in Central Luzon with Metro Manila, and will link the railway system with the country’s first ever Airport Express Service to the Clark International Airport.

Once operational, the PNR Clark Phase 2 will reduce travel time between Makati City and Clark International Airport in less than two hours through the Airport Express Service.

The NSCR Project is the single largest financing project of the ADB not only in the Philippines, but also across its member states, and at the same time the longest greenfield commuter railway project of JICA.

PLDT, Meralco hypercollaborate to power up Hyperscaler initiative of the country

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The PLDT and Meralco Group are strengthening its collaboration to further uplift the country’s digital and power infrastructure, as the Philippines gets into the radar of global hyperscalers as the next prospective destination in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region.

Jovy I. Hernandez, ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise and International Business Groups, said that hyper-collaboration among industry enablers such as PLDT and Meralco is vital, to ensure that the elevated standards sought by these hyperscalers are met and complied with, and this has been evident between the PLDT and Meralco Group in the past years.

“PLDT continues to work with Meralco for the power grid design and renewable energy requirements of our data centers. These enhancements allow us to anticipate the specifications fit for hyperscaler, such as multiple grid terminations for redundancy and sustainable design,” Hernandez said.

Taking into consideration the hypergrowth that comes with the influx of these global cloud and content players, ePLDT has set out a clear roadmap for its VITRO data centers that includes fortifying its data center design and facilities, diversifying its network infrastructure, and bringing sustainability at the core of its operations.

Likewise, the company is currently teaming up with the energy sector to help drive the renewable energy thrust of hyperscalers.

"We continue to incorporate green innovations and practices into our ways of doing and partner with relevant organizations to harness renewable energy that will soon power our data center facilities and ultimately, the hyperscaler market," Hernandez added.

As a technology enabler, the group also recognizes its obligation to ensure the Philippines’ competitiveness to help attract the right investments to the country, said the PLDT executive.

“As the country’s only fully integrated telco, the PLDT group is making an unbreakable commitment to continue investing in the most advanced technologies to enhance our digital infrastructure and comply with the evolving demands of the market,” Hernandez highlighted.

Meanwhile, Meralco Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Executive Officer of eSakay Raymond B. Ravelo said Meralco recognizes its role to spur and support the growth of hyperscalers by delivering not only reliable and high-quality energy but also “earth-friendly” power.

“We in Meralco are committed to working shoulder-to-shoulder with our government, our colleagues in the MVP group of companies, and fellow stakeholders in the Philippine energy sector and business community, as we all do our part in transforming our country into a regional hyperscaler powerhouse,” Ravelo said.

He also outlined Meralco’s comprehensive sustainability agenda supporting the government’s thrust for economic growth and sustainable prosperity. This encompasses the company’s four sustainability pillars ̶ Planet, People, Power, and Prosperity.

“As we embark on a just, orderly, and affordable transition to clean energy, we aim to secure 1,500MW of our power requirements in the next five years from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, through Meralco PowerGen Corporation, and its renewable energy arm, MGreen, we will build up to 1,500MW of clean energy capacity through 2027,” the Meralco executive said.

The PLDT and Meralco Group recently joined the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of Investments (BOI) for the government’s push to invite leading technology service providers to expand their operations in the Philippines.

The hyper collaboration between key private and public entities is seen to bolster further and drive the country’s digital agenda. In particular, PLDT and Meralco’s partnership is aimed towards achieving a common goal which is delivering world-class and sustainable data center services to global hyperscalers through the use of renewable energy.

For more information, visit pldtenterprise.com and hyperscalers.ph. 

Juan Ponce Enrile says Toni Gonzaga is a victim of prejudiced minds

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Former senator Juan Ponce Enrile, now 97, commiserated with Gonzaga as she bravely fought off critics who berated her featuring on her vlog an interview with former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

He may look older than the galapagos tortoise but there are wiser people out there. 

Wow. The former Defense Minister during Martial Law coming to Toni Gonzaga's defense.

If Fabian Ver was still alive, No doubt he'd defend Toni G also... and maybe, the rest of ROLEX 12.

Dont worry Toni G...you've got great company.

If Toni Gonzaga's defenders include Enrile, she should know there's something wrong on her side.

The fact that Toni is being defended by no less than the martial law administrator, Enrile, says it all.

Toni is maybe ignorantly being used to whitewash the evils of martial law.

Hindi nakikita ng loyals and fanatics yan, all they want to hear is good things about their idols, lalo na pag nanggaling sa bibig mismo ng nang-uuto sa kanila.. may kasama pang kilig yun.

Last time I checked one of the reasons why people came at EDSA and why Cardinal Sin called for unity is to protect you, Fidel Ramos and the others. You still have a political career and you're still alive because the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986..

The EDSA Revolution protected Enrile and Ramos from the wrath of Marcos. The late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was right, he is a f*cking LIAR, BALIMBING and has no HONOR. This old plunderer does not deserve any clout.

If it were not for the "people power" and the request of the late Cardinal Sin to support Enrile and Ramos who were then in Camp Aguinaldo upon their withdrawal of support to the dictator, they would have been dead.

Enrile tends to forget that. Enrile and Ramos are still alive and yet they don't get blamed for the Martial Law that they themselves imposed on people.

Enrile is being misleading here about EDSA 1986. He did help lead the revolt but he only did so when Marcos discovered Enrile’s planned coup d’etat which he hoped would eventually put him in power. Enrile has always acted only out of pure self-interest.

He is in a bubble of their own. 

Enrile probably thought that he is already in hell upon hearing about BongBong Marcos and Gonzaga and still wants to remain relevant among his kind.

Poor Enrile, he only has a few years to live and still he can’t decide whether to side with the Light or the Darkness, the Good or the Evil one. He spent the past years power-grabbing.

Ask yourselves; Can you trust liars? Enrile confessed about faking his ambush during the Marcos years to justify the Martial Law declaration & to perpetuate Marcos’ desire to stay in power. Why are we allowing this pathological liar to open his mouth? 

As a journalist, will I interview Bongbong Marcos?

YES!

And not only Bongbong—Imelda and the Marcos daughters, Enrile, Fidel Ramos, and every other martial law general who still survives to this day.

We don't limit it to the Martial Law Victims! That's a very biased sense of history. They're not the entire Philippines. It must be Fidel Ramos and JPEnrile be interviewed because they were the proponents of martial law. 

But I wouldn’t ask about mundane stuff, like the color of his house’s floor.

Just follow the money trail and you'll figure out who was telling the truth. Our nation was left in the dust during the Marcos time. Social Media might change Marcos' image but HISTORY will forever be witness during the darkest time in our nation. There are books and court judgments. You know, same way how you learn about history.

Ang pinagyayabang ng mga BBM fandom, maraming nagawa daw si Marcos. If you were 20 years in power, kahit sino ay makakagawa ng gusto niya. Imagine 20 years forcibly ruling the Philippines as a dictator! From the rugular mandate of 6 years, nilimas nila ang pera ng bayan, at umutang ng mahigit 3 trilyon sa kapritso nila!

Pinasasa ni BBM ang sarili niya sa kapritso habang nasa posisyon sila! Nag astang prinsipe. Asan ang moral ascendancy?

Sa mga panahon ng tila mga royal family sila at the expense of amassing public funds - ang mga taong pinapahirapan sa Martial Law ay kalunos lunos! Yung isa pinainom ng muriatic acid at inuwing bangkay sa Sorsogon. Anong rason? Nagsulat sa school paper ng kababuyan ni Marcos!

Sarap ng buhay no BBM habang bagsak ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas noong 1970s.

Yung mga Loyalista Kay BBM hanggang ad hominem lang, akala nila porke naupo ang mga Dilawan magic aayos na ang Pilipinas, e sa bilyones na nanakaw ng mga Marcos at crony mula 1965-1986, simot ang kaban ng Pilipinas. Kahit si David Copperfield hindi kayang i-magic ang ekonomiya natin!

Going back to Enrile, it seems he is blessed with a long life. He might have a mission to help our nation to know the real truth about People Power. I myself believe before as it may seem, but now I think there is a different deep story behind it.

This generation is seeking for the real history. Maybe he can finally share it to us. Some are telling us that the Marcos regime is the best period in Philippine history, but in the books, in media and in the newapapers its the opposite. Some learn about the Marcos regime from the barber or beauty shops and instantly they know better than people who were born during the period.

Juan Ponce Enrile: 

1. In-ambush daw siya sa Wack-Wack subdivision on Sept 22, 1972 ng NPA, as a pretext to the declaration of Martial Law;

2. Pero nung sumali na sa EDSA revolution noong February 22, 1986, sinabi ni Enrile fake daw yung ambush;

3. Only after 26 years na nag-claim si Enrile sa kanyang book na  Juan Ponce Enrile: A Memoir, nag-retract siya ng claim, and he claimed again that he was ambushed.

4. Tapos sa isang interview sa GMA nung Oct 2012, Enrile said: "I said the ambush was staged, but I did not say who staged it. I did not say that I staged my own ambush."

5. A certain Oscar Lopez attested to the fake ambush of Enrile. 

"That night, I was with my children in the family hall of our house. Then all of a sudden, we could hear a lot of shooting outside. 

After the shooting died down, I went out. I took a peek at what was happening outside my fence and I saw this car riddled with bullets. Nobody was hurt; there was no blood. The car was empty," recounted Lopez in the book, Phoenix: The Saga of the Lopez Family.

It's quite ironic of Enrile to defend Marcos when he flipped sides as he sensed his old boss's impending downfall. And before that, he was the dead dictator's berdugo.

He is like, you know, the Lucius Malfoy of Philippine politics. Got no spine.

Enrile should not let the devil give him more chances to spread misinformation and stupidity. It's about time to repent and tell the truth, or does he want to die keeping the truth in his grave?

Ang tagal ng tahimik niya ah. Di ba dapat nakakulong siya dahil sa kurapsyon? Kaya lang for humanity reason hindi ikinulong dahil matanda na daw. Same with Imelda Marcos. Tapos mga political prisoners na tumanda na sa jail, hindi man lang mabigyan ng parole.

Silang milyon milyon ang ninakaw sa kaban ng bayan at dahilan ng pagbagsak ng Pilipinas ay hindi man lang ikulong kahit guilty naman ang hatol. Napaka unfair ng batas ngayon. Pabor na pabor sa kasamaan.

Kaya dapat ang mga botante maging matalino na talaga at huwag ng magpa scam. Kaawa-awa ang Pilipinas. Nakakaawa ang susunod na henerasyon.