DOTr Lauds LTO’s Campaign Against “Fake Plates”

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade lauded today the ongoing campaign of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) against the manufacture, distribution and selling of counterfeit license plates.

“We are not tolerating these acts. Whoever they are, they should be held criminally liable. Pag gumawa kayo ng kalokohang labag sa batas, batas din ang uusig sa inyo,” Secretary Tugade said.

On Wednesday, a joint operation was conducted by the Quezon City Police District—District Special Operations Unit (QCPD-DSOU), the Philippine National Police Anti-Carnapping Unit (PNP-ANCAR), and the LTO-National Capital Region (LTO-NCR) in the residence of couple Jahaziel Alcantara (32 years old) and Kristine Nemenzo (22 years old) in Sitio Veterans, Brgy. Bagong Silangan in Quezon City.

Prior to the operation, authorities conducted a test buy operation on 22 June 2017 after receiving earlier reports of the couple’s alleged illegal activities. A search warrant was secured on 03 July 2017 from QC RTC Branch 78.

Recovered and seized from the site were twenty-six (26) Motor Vehicle Number Plates, three (3) Motorcycle Plates, twenty-five (25) Metal Sheets, cold laminated board, a laptop, a pressing manual machine, a logbook and receipts of transactions.

The couple will face charges for violations of Presidential Decree 1730 (Syndicated printing, manufacture, distribution or use of fake LTO documents and plates) and Article 2, Section 31 of Republic Act 4136 or the “Land Transportation and Traffic Code”

“While we are trying to address the current backlog in the production and distribution of license plates, we are also serious in apprehending elements who illegally produce, distribute and use fake plates,” LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante stressed.

The LTO stressed its commitment to normalize the process in the production and distribution of license plates. The current backlog has been identified to be at least a million vehicle plates. Plates with additional security features were bid out and are targeted for issuance by September this year.

Also, the LTO is currently embarking on its proposal to locally produce plates in order to expedite production time and avoid shortages in the future.

Ricoh Eco Action Reveals Beauty and Biodiversity of Masungi Georeserve

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Revealing some of the beauty and biodiversity of Philippine flora and fauna was recently conducted by global imaging and electronics leader Ricoh during its environmental initiative in Masungi Georeserve at Baras, Rizal.

Through the “RICOH Global Eco Action 2017”, RICOH Philippines showcased the importance of nature in a different perspective and promoted the need to take care of Mother Earth among local customers and some members of its staff in a tour of the discovery trail.

“Eco-Action is an annual global initiative where we hold corporate social responsibility programs with particular focus on the environment,” said Aida Ortega, Performance Excellence and Sustainability Officer at RICOH Philippines.

“Sustainability is at the heart of the way we work. We want to give back to nature because the resources that we used for our machines come from nature,” Ortega emphasized.

Preserved and managed by Masungi Georeserve Foundation, the conservation park and rustic rock garden reminiscent of the formations in Palawan serves as a sanctuary rich in heritage and biodiversity that is just a few hours from Metro Manila.

Masungi takes three to four hours to explore and is perfect for nature lovers, adventure seekers, beginner, and regular hikers with its rope courses, hanging bridges, and scenic destinations. 

Great Women Kicks off ASEAN Collaboration Events

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Great Women Showroom & Café kicks off ASEAN themed activities in pop-ups of both fashion collections and cuisine starting this July and August, as part of the 50th Year ASEAN hosting of the country. Located at the ground floor of the Tesoro’s building in Makati City, the showroom is presently showing a unique fusion collection of Barong Batik made of local jusi textiles but using motifs and the traditional Indonesia batik style. Ladies tops, men’s barongs and textiles are available. Complementing this is a pop-up Tasting Circle event running for two weekends July 13-15, and 20-22 where traditional Indonesian beef rendang and chicken sate will be offered by the Dewi Sri kitchen.

Myanmar becomes the next focus on July 27 onwards as an exclusive and limited edition collection of Great Women kaftans specially designed by Burmese designer Wynn Wynn Ong will be available in the showroom for a limited time. Complementing this collection, the designer plays cook with a Tasting Circle of traditional Burmese noodle dishes such as the Mohinga Fish and Ono Kauk Swe plus Gula Melaka dessert. The Tasting Circle events sit only 14 people per sitting, with a number of sittings scheduled per day.

At the Great Women showroom, the inclusive business model of helping women microentrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs are seen through products created in collaboration with product developers, designers and manufacturers each working with a livelihood community group, cultural indigenous groups or small micro-enterprises run by women. The showroom is their first market access to a niche market focused on the region of ASEAN. Similarly, other ASEAN entrepreneurs working with the same inclusive business model are welcome to collaborate.

The Great Women Showroom & Café is located on the ground floor of the Tesoro’s Building, 1606 A Arnaiz Street, Makati City, open Mondays–Saturdays from 10 am to 8 pm. Please call 772-2433 for reservations to the Tasting Circles. Follow us on social media at greatwomenASEAN.

Small Businesses at Risk of Failing Due to Cyber Attacks -- ePLDT

Wazzup Pilipinas!

​Small and medium-sized companies are at the forefront of the country’s economic development, bringing in fresh and disruptive solutions to consumers and their enterprise counterparts. But while these emerging companies see a promising future in the Philippine market, the proliferation of cyber threats impedes their sustainable growth.

Latest available data shows that 98 percent of businesses in the country are working their way up to compete with more established companies. However, security breaches have become their barriers for growth, with
​​
74 percent of small organizations reported to have been breached in 2015 alone, according to the UK Government Security Breach Survey.

“SMEs have become the prime target of cyber criminals because compared with larger companies, these emerging businesses have little to no cyber security strategy in place—making them easier to penetrate,” said Angel Redoble, ePLDT Group Chief Information Security Officer. “What’s even more alarming is that, hackers may use these growing businesses as their gateway to attack bigger companies—a scenario that is not entirely new in the digital era.”

“Small businesses may not feel the pressing need to adopt cyber security architecture now,” Redoble continued, “but working with a professional who can identify and mitigate cyber risks will go a long way in ensuring that the company is positioned for steady growth.”

“Budget constraints may limit leaders of these small businesses in deploying cyber security infrastructure, but they need to at least work with professionals who have the right skills in combating cyber threats,” Redoble said. “For SMEs to soar forward, they need to think big. They have to realize the crucial roles played by cyber security experts who can take the lead in ensuring their business resilience, especially now that cyber criminals are getting smarter.”

With that in mind, ePLDT—the industry-leading enabler of digital business solutions in the Philippines—works with small and medium businesses to strengthen their cyber security posture with the right infrastructure, expertise and strategies.

ePLDT, through its Cyber Security portfolio, offers security risk assessment, digital forensics, ransomware investigation and malware analysis, and incident response. These services are complemented with Managed Security services that cover the management, maintenance, policy configuration and reporting of on-premise or hosted dedicated security hardware. It also includes the installation of cyber security infrastructure, configuration and policy management, service level agreements on response time and phone and e-mail support.

“These services, paired with our certified managed security expertise, can help strengthen the cyber defenses of companies that want to drive growth in today’s fast-paced business environment,” said Nerisse Ramos, ePLDT Group Chief Operating Officer. “Riding the digital wave is no longer just about who innovates first but also who endures over time due to the trust of their customers. This is our role as a trusted partner: we can help organizations make the right decisions in realigning their risk management that’s up to par with today’s demands, and enable business resilience.”

ePLDT is home to Cyber Security experts who have a proven track record in managing and mitigating cyber threats, as well as implementing security programs at a fraction of the cost. In fact, Check Point Software Technologies—the largest network cyber security vendor globally—recognizes ePLDT as the first Managed Security Service Provider in Southeast Asia that offers flexibility in offering managed security services to customers based on their OPEX. This is a business model which most vendors cannot offer.

To be awarded with the Managed Security Service Provider status, Check Point requires that the provider should have its own 24/7 support operation center, at least three Check Point Certified Security Experts (CCSEs), the ability to support customer cases and solve support tickets, and can deliver management services using Multi-Domain Management (MDM), a software that provides tighter security control by segmenting security management into multiple virtual domains.

Apart from CCSE certifications, ePLDT is also home to certified Check Point Certified Security Administrators (CCSAs) who help manage the complexities that come with ensuring a holistic cyber security.

ePLDT is working in coordination with PLDT Enterprise to reach companies that need a systematic approach to combating cyberattacks.

“As technology and the world become more advanced and connected, one cannot underscore the need for security." said Jovy Hernandez, Senior Vice President and Head of PLDT Enterprise. “Cyber threats are a clear and present danger to anyone who has a digital footprint. PLDT Enterprise and ePLDT work tirelessly to enable resiliency and security solutions to businesses of all sizes, allowing them to focus on their growth knowing their future is secure.”

Learn more about ePLDT, Inc. by visiting the website at www.epldt.com.

Ballet Philippines Collaborates with Independent Artist Eisa Jocson in “Your Highness”

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Eisa Jocson’s newest creation, “Your Highness” will have its world premiere on July 27 (8pm) and 28 (3pm, 8pm) at the CCP Little Theater, and will be performed at several major European performing arts festivals from August to September 2017. The work is a production by Ballet Philippines and Künstlerhaus Mousonturm Frankfurt am Main (Germany), in co-production with Internationales Sommerfestival Kampnagel (Germany), Zürcher Theater Spektakel (Switzerland), La Bâtie – Festival de Genève (Switzerland).

Eisa Jocson is an internationally renowned artist creating and touring works in Asia, Europe, America and Australia. Educated as a visual artist and trained as a ballet dancer, she won her first pole-dancing competition in Manila in 2010 and began her international dance career with public interventions like “pole-tagging” here and abroad. Her 3 solos, “Death of the Pole Dancer” (2011), “Macho Dancer” (2013) and “Host” (2015) toured extensively in major festivals abroad. Under the HAPPYLAND (2017) series, her new creations, “Princess” a duet with Filipino performance artist Russ Ligtas and “Your Highness” are a continuation of her investigation into Filipino labour, performance of happiness and production of fantasy within the happiness empire. “Your Highness” is her first ensemble creation, and is the first of all her works to be premiered and produced in the Philippines.

In “Your Highness”, the classically trained dancers masterfully alternate between stylized Disney gestures and standards of ballet classics like Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake – and explore the fine line between portrayals of happiness through ballet history and princess archetypes in a globalized entertainment industry.

The massive employment of Filipino performers by Hong Kong Disneyland has led to a dire brain drain, with its impact strongly felt in Ballet Philippines, which has lost half of its top dancers within the last decade. Against this backdrop, choreographer Eisa Jocson has now created a dance piece with five young dancers of the Ballet Philippines.

“As an independent Filipina choreographer it is a unique and inspiring adventure to collaborate with Ballet Philippines in creating this new ensemble work,” shares Jocson. “It is exciting to see the dancers push their capacities into unknown terrain with incredible virtuosity. And I am looking forward to share this performance born out of an intense and meticulous process of exploring the dancer's and ballet's manifold bodies and voices.”

“Your Highness” international artistic team is led by Eisa Jocson (choreographer), Gia Gequinto, Stephanie Cabral, Maila Habagat, Alexis Piel, and Carlo Padoga (Ballet Philippines dancers), Arco Renz & Anna Wagner (dramaturgs), Teresa Barrozo (music & sound design), Florian Bach (lighting design), and Dennis Maristany (costume design).

Connect to Ballet Philippines online through the following social media networks:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/balletphilippines
Twitter: @balletph
Instagram: @balletphilippines
YouTube: balletph


For tickets, call Ballet Philippines at (+632) 551-1003, the CCP Box Office at (+632) 832-3704, or Ticketworld at (+632) 891-9999.

DOE To Restore Energy Services After Visayas Earthquake

Wazzup Pilipinas!

At around 4:00 p.m. on 6 July 2017, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in Jaro, Leyte causing power interruptions in Leyte, Samar, and Bohol Islands. Panay, Negros, Cebu and the other areas in the Visayas.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been closely coordinating with the members of the energy family to assess the extent of the damage.

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi advised industry players to ensure the safe delivery of energy services to consumers in the earthquake-affected areas.

The DOE initially monitored the following pieces of information that happened on Thursday (06 July 2017):

1. The Bohol Grid experienced total power failure at 4:04 p.m. because it was affected by the tripping of Ormoc-Maasin Feeder load involving 64.2 megawatts (MW).

2. Market Intervention was declared by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) as system operator starting at interval 17 (or 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) due to the isolation of the Leyte and Samar Areas and tripping of the Leyte-A power plant.

3. After the earthquake, power interruptions occurred in the Panay and Negros areas due to the Under Frequency Relay (UFR) caused by the outage of Leyte-A power plant.

4. Initial report from the power generator, GreenCore, stated that all the geothermal power plants in Leyte tripped at 4:04 p.m. after the magnitude 6.5 quake with the epicenter near the geothermal complex.

Damage to Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant switch yard was reported.

Power generators, Green Core and Energy Development Corporation (EDC), are assessing the total damage.

5. The epicenter of the 6.5 intensity earthquake is near the Municipality of Kananga, Leyte where the geothermal plants are located.

Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros and Panay were affected by the earthquake but only Leyte and Bohol experienced total power failure.

Due to the earthquake's impact on the power situation for these provinces, which may still change because of the volatility of the demand by the hour and the loss of the generating capacity of affected geothermal plants, the DOE is advising the public to practice demand-side management by curbing their use of electricity as a community effort to keep the power situation stable.

6. Earthquake Advisory as of 6:00 p.m. from the NGCP relayed that:

At 4:03 p.m., a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in Jaro, Leyte causing blackout in Leyte, Samar, and Bohol Islands. Panay, Negros and Cebu Islands experienced power interruptions but are now fully restored.

NGCP is still assessing the extent of the damage to its transmission facilities in the Visayas region. Aerial and foot patrol will commence once it is safe.

Updates will be issued as soon as available.

7. Additional information from the NGCP stated that the System Operator-initiated Market Intervention is still in effect. All Trading Participants are required to comply with the dispatch instruction of the System Operator.

8. In the power generation sector, Vice President Lito Santos of the EDC reported to Energy Secretary Cusi that all employees were accounted for, with some of the personnel suffering from minor injuries. EDC owns and operates the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plants (ULGPP). Santos further submitted that all of ULGPP's units which generate over 500 MW tripped. Santos assures the energy Secretary that the assessments are still ongoing and will prioritize the Tongonan Unit. The EDC observed that the 138kV tie-line is intact. Hence, it can concentrate on restoring the operations of its generators to deliver the generated electricity into the grid which may take one to two weeks. This timeline may change after a thorough assessment is conducted.

9. Another power generator, Green Core Geothermal Inc. reported that in Palinpinon geothermal power plant unit 1 which generates around 37 MW tripped. It was offline at around 4:00 p.m. due to the activation of the Cebu-Negros System Integrity Protection Scheme.

However, the plant was immediately back online and delivering its generated electricity at 5:00 p.m. of the same day.

10. The NGCP, reported as of 6:00 p.m. that services by the transmission facilities have been fully restored. Nevertheless, the NGCP seeks to re-assess the extent of the damage to its Tongonan-Kananga 158 KV tie-line as well as the other transmission facilities in the entire Visayas region.

NGCP assured the DOE and the public that the necessary aerial and foot patrols will immediately commence once the conditions to conduct the same are safe.

11. At 9:00 p.m., the NGCP updated its report stating that the areas without power are Samar, Bohol, Southern Leyte and some parts of Northern Leyte.

The DOE enjoins all the managers of the energy facilities, including the power distribution utilities, to submit regular updates to the DOE for proper coordination and quick restoration.

One Championship Posts Impressive Social Media Growth Following Myanmar Event

Wazzup Pilipinas!
The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), hosted a blockbuster event in front of a packed Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar last Friday, 30 June, posting record-high social media growth statistics. ONE: LIGHT OF A NATION saw Myanmar crown its first ever world champion in any sport, electrifying a raucous crowd cheering on its new champion in front of a global audience.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship stated: “The atmosphere in Yangon was absolutely incredible. It was an emotional moment for our new world champion, and an amazing achievement for the nation of Myanmar. Broadcast to millions of people all around the world, ONE: LIGHT OF A NATION was a magical evening of authentic martial arts action, true warrior spirit, and unbridled bravery.”

For the night of 30 June, ONE Championship posted record-breaking social media numbers, enjoying another sharp acceleration of its audience reach, scale, and engagement numbers. The organization gained more than 80,000 new fans on the evening -- a four hour affair that featured nine spectacular martial arts bouts including the blockbuster main event. The overall social media statistics registered 5.4 million video views on the day, including over 3.2 million video views with 80 thousand shares for the main event recap.

In data sourced directly from Nielsen, Facebook and Repucom earlier this year, ONE Championship continues to experience exponential growth for 2017.

Everything's A-OK with Wazzup Pilipinas

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Try singing the song below with the Sesame Street soundtrack as music:

Another Blogging Day 

Attending lots of events today 

On my way to where the food is free 

Can you tell me how to get, 

How to get lots of Tokens and Freebies 

Come and play 

Everything's A-OK 

Friendly bloggers there 

That's where we meet 

Can you tell me how to get 

How to get lots of Tokens and Freebies... 

How to get lots of Tokens and Freebies...

How to get lots of Tokens and Freebies...

The way to deal with haters and detractors, aside from being better, is to make fun of their ridiculous accusations. Maybe they'll realize that they're like the Pacquiao-Horn boxing match judges ...Horn may have won based on the technicalities, but the people have chosen their real winner.

Some of us are just too obsessed in being on top, that we forget the real meaning of blogging.

Why so serious?

Fighting crimes won't effectively work if we're like the dark and deadly Batman of the graphic novels. We should be more like your friendly neighborhood Spider-man who pokes fun of even himself to creatively come up with seemingly crazy but sincerely unique ways to confuse and distract the enemy.

Nowadays, we should make an effort to help everyone to be on their best form. We don't ridicule or bash the ones we feel inferior based on our standards. We should instead guide them towards the right way, by being friendly and helpful enough to encourage and inform them that there's a much better way.

I believe everyone just gets misguided along their way to setting and getting their goals in life, that they get blindsided at some times when crossing the roads leading to their destinations. We all need to get some sort of Waze app to map out the best way for us.

Just remember that it's not only reaching the destination that makes the road trip fun, but on how we spent our hours, days, weeks, months, or years, during the lengthy journey we could easily relate to as life.

And thus I am re-introducing our Wazzup Pilipinas jingle below:

Ano man ang iyong hilig... 

Ano man ang iyong ibig 

Kahit saan ka mang panig 

(Wazzup Pilipinas) 

Pagkain man o pag yaman 

Biyahe man kung saan saan 

Kahit na sino pa ang iyong angkan 

(Wazzup Pilipinas) 

Wazzup Pilipinas, 

halina at libutin ang ating mundo 

Wazzup Pilipinas, 

aming ibibigay ang inyong gusto 

Wazzup Pilipinas, 

ang show na ito'y para lang sa inyo 

Wazzup Pilipinas, 

tutok na... 

sa Wazzup Pilpinas 

(Wazzup Pilipinas, 

Wazzup Pilipinas, 

tutok na sa Wazzup Pilpinas, 

Masaya sa Wazzup Pilipinas!) 

Libutin ang mundo, 

kainin ang gusto 

Alamin ang tamang daan kung pano ang umasenso 

Kasama ang buong tropa ng Wazzup Pilipinas 

Aming ibibigay sa madla at ipapadanas 

Ang saya ng Wazzup Pilipinas 

Tutok na sa Wazzup Pilipinas 

Ang saya dito sa Pilipinas 

Ihahatid sa inyo ng Wazzup Pilipinas

The song has more than just lyrics. We have a full working soundtrack professionally done and composed by experts. You could search for it online at our YouTube channels. There's even one without vocals so you could sing with your own cover.

Some are saying that music could even sooth the savage beasts, and it may also work on those misfits of the blogging community. 

Those who think blogging should be strictly following or conforming to a particular ethical standard should think more than twice since they're trespassing on private property.

Blogging is meant to be personal - full of sincerity, passion, and aspirations. When you try to control or influence us to think like the majority, just because you believe your self-righteous groups are doing the most acceptable, you destroy the real essence of blogging.

Wazzup Pilipinas will forever be truthful to the origins of blogging, yet still open to the developments that would further make it a great outlet for our longings, creativity and generosity in sharing our stories so that other may learn from our experiences.

Filipino Stalwart Rocky Batolbatol Hungry to Get First Win in ONE Championship

Wazzup Pilipinas!

When Rocky Batolbatol directed his career path to ONE Championship nearly three years ago, he was once touted as a promising Filipino talent from the beautiful city of Bacolod in the Philippine province of Negros Occidental.

However, the luster of his billing as a top-notch prospect slowly faded when a string of setbacks came his way.

The 31-year-old Bacolod City native suffered a second-round submission loss at the hands of Aussie standout Martin Nguyen in his November 2014 promotional debut.

Batolbatol encountered the same fate in his second ONE Championship outing as he tasted a first-round submission defeat to Dutch-Indonesian journeyman Anthony “Archangel” Engelen in February 2016.

A victory under the ONE Championship umbrella remained elusive for Batolbatol as he yielded to up-and-coming Singaporean martial arts superstar Christian Lee via first-round technical knockout in May 2016.

Determined to break his three-match losing skid in Asia's largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, Batolbatol makes his return to action by squaring off with Indonesian combatant “The Terminator” Sunoto on ONE Championship’s inaugural card in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Gem TV Asia Soars High This July with Top-Notch Entertainment

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sony Pictures Television invited us to celebrate the best of Asian entertainment on Gem Night, held on July 5 Wednesday at 7pm at Dohtonbori, Cullinan Prime Building, 8 Missouri St, Greenhills, San Juan City.

GEM, the gem of Asian entertainment, marks a milestone in cable television programming as it celebrates its first year anniversary in the Philippines!

It will showcase the quirky world of Japanese variety shows, unique games, and more!

Dohtonbori serves the Okonomiyaki Experience where a server gets to cook our food infront of us. We may have smell like the dishes served, but the experience seeing our food up close and quickly getting edible is truly something rare.

To match with the theme of the show, the people behind the local Gem TV Asia held the Gem Night event at Dohtonbori which was attended by several members of the media, including bloggers.

Attendees were also asked to create our own paper-folding creations we all know as Origami. They were later used as our raffle entry to win some Gem TV Asia merchandise. However, I am not really that lucky with raffle draws so my work never got picked.

But since I was the early bird, I got to persuade the organizers to give me something as a reward for being so punctual..Lol!