Full Disclosure by Abaya, DOTC Officals of House Probe on MRT-3 Extortion Case

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Officials of the Department and Transportation and Communications (DOTC), led by Secretary Jun Abaya, made full disclosures at the Congress investigation on the alleged Metro Rail Transit III (MRT-3) extortion attempt this morning, as promised by Abaya last week.

"We promised that we would be transparent, so we made full disclosure to Congress. We at the DOTC have nothing to hide, and are as interested as anyone else in uncovering irregularities, if indeed there were any," said Abaya.

It was revealed during the hearing of the House of Representatives (HOR) Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability that the MRT-3 maintenance contract which was awarded to CB&T was made to ensure the safety of its passengers.

"Safety is always our priority. That is our commitment to the public. We resorted to the simplied emergency bidding procedure so as not to compromise passenger safety," Abaya remarked.

This situation arose due to the refusal of the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) - the private company which owns the facilities of the MRT-3 - to renew its maintenance contract with Sumitomo of Japan in 2012. The Emergency Procurement mode is provided for under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Procurement Law.

Make Your Own Havaianas 2014: The Biggest Flip-Flops Customization Event in the Country

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Hashtag #MYOH2014 is an exclusive Make Your Own Havaianas 2014 event for the loyal Havaianaticos! Calling all footie fans! Havaianas has been touring around the Philippines to proudly bring you closer to Havaianas - the best rubber flip-flops in the world from Brazil!

Right in the middle of the summer season comes the colorful event that was open to the anticipating public from May 8 to 11, 2014 at Glorietta Activity Center. But a media launch was held last May 6 at the same venue where we spotted celebrities like Elmo and Arkin Magalona (along with their mom), Kathryn Bernardo, Azkal brothers Phil and James Younghusband, Lauren Young, the family of Maricel Laxa and Anthony Pangilinan, Janeena Chan, were celebrating with the crowd in true Brazilian style along with some Samba beats at the background, the cultural dance numbers and beautiful Portuguese speaking models that made a glorious noise inside the Glorietta Activity Center.

At the public launch, we caught a glimpse of popular faces like Sam Pinto, Vanessa Matsunaga, the Ateneo Lady Eagles, Daphne Oseña-Paez, Denise Laurel, couples Billy Crawford and Coleen Garcia, and a lot more, during the biggest four days of Brazilian flip-flops customization. Guess who else were also head over heels mixing and matching soles, straps, and pins of their Havaianas flip-flops?! There's too many of them to list down in just one blog post!

Swensen's Philippines Opens New Branch at The Block of SM North EDSA

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Our family has always been a fan of ice cream. Then again, who isn’t right? Living in a tropical country, it is almost a given that people here enjoy a bite of ice cream every now and then. However, there are only a few places here that sells quality ice cream. Thankfully, Swensen's came over and our problem of finding great ice cream has been solved.

My family and I enjoy going to Swensen's after dinner. It’s a great thing that they now have 3 branches. One is in Mall of Asia, the other is in Eastwood, and the newest one is located in SM North The Block which just opened recently and was formally launched last May 14, 2014. They have everything covered from the South to the North.

My son’s personal favorite is the Strawberry Sundae Parfait. He love the glass that they use. You see he’s very particular about presentation and the glass used for parfait. He feel that if its the wrong one, the experience is diminished if not broken. He also loves that they ensure that the banana is always fresh. It matters. No one wants a soggy banana on their sundae.