Sta. Rosa City Named RP’s National Earth Hour Capital

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Half of all people live in cities, which generate 70% of global CO2 emissions. As more Pinoys troop to these increasingly-crowded hubs to find jobs – heavy traffic, polluted air, clogged waterways and rising living costs have become a daily urban reality for millions. Three cities, all finalists for WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge, are showing the country what can be done to make our cities a little greener.

Proclaimed as the Philippine Earth Hour National Capital, Santa Rosa City in Laguna has initiatives ranging from the erection of solar street lights to the construction of a composting facility designed to minimize landfill waste. Santa Rosa City will now be recognized along with 2016 Global Earth Hour Capital Paris this coming October in Quito, Ecuador. Santa Rosa City additionally placed 5th in WWF’s We Love Cities Campaign, a related social media contest which was won by Bogor, a green city in Indonesia.

Placing 4th in the We Love Cities Campaign is San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, which has positioned itself as the emerging Renewable Energy (RE) hub of Asia, hosting two solar parks, a bioethanol, plus a biomass power plant. WWF believes that a swift but careful transition to RE is critical to curb climate change.

Not to be outdone, Makati City in the National Capital Region is developing a center to provide barangay officials with the basic knowledge and design skills to be able to promote urban design projects designed not just to be eco-friendly, but to promote the respective cultural identity of each barangay. Makati placed 19th in the We Love Cites Campaign. 

Filipino Owner of Las Vegas Based WSOF Global Aims to Change Lives of Filipino MMA Fighters

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Las Vegas-based MMA organization, World Series of Fighting Global, popularly known as WSOF Global, has big plans for the Philippines. Interestingly so, its owner, Dunesa Hesser is a Filipino, born in Negros Occidental.

“I am proud to be Filipino, I was born in Escalante City, Negros Occidental to an ordinary family. We weren't privileged at all. I also lost my parents at a very young age. With 8 other siblings, I felt the pressure to rise above our situation. But this only gave me the determination and the drive to succeed and overcome life’s trials. It hasn’t been easy, my life is a telenovela, but I was lucky enough to have had the chance to move to the United States at 16 years old, so it was from there that my luck changed. But I still kept on working hard, working almost non-stop, because I was the breadwinner of the family.”, Hesser says.

Hesser prides herself of being a Filipino. In fact she still speaks her native tongue, and says that she has taught the local language and the Filipino culture as well, to her kids in the United States.

Dunesa says, “You know it is because of where I came from that I understand the difficulty of some of these fighters. Yun pag nagsisimula ka pa lang at kailangan tiisin mo lahat ng pagod, gutom at puyat. Then you are hit with the decision, should I go on or should I quit? Should I accept my fate or fight it? I know that feeling, I’ve been a fighter my whole life. But I had a twist of fate, also a bit of luck that came my way, after all the years of perseverance. Yan and gusto ko ibahagi man lang thru World Series of Fighting Global. That as a fighter, you can change your life, you can change your fate and your destiny.”

Dunesa strives to inspire Filipino fighters and give them an opportunity to fight inside the WSOF Global MMA decagon. “You know, the Philippines is known very well for combat sports. Despite that, very few Philippine MMA fighters have gained global recognition. We hope to change that by promoting them not only on events in the Philippines, but international events as well”, she says.

Five Filipino fighters will be showcasing their wares on at the WSOF GC 3: Philippines vs. the World, which will be held on July 30 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The fighters include Jenelyn Olsim, Jessdan Dela Pena, Neil Larano, Jujeath Nagaowa and Mario Sismundo.

During the Fight Night itself on July 30, a lucky member of the audience will win P1,000,000. The winning ticket will be announced during the event itself at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I would like to change not only the fighters’ lives that night, but also change the life of someone from the audience. Someone will win P1,000,000 that night. I think we are the first MMA promoter in the country who will give away P1,000,000 to a lucky MMA fan. So to my kababayans, we hope you can watch and support us on July 30”, says Dunesa.

Indeed, Dunesa seems to be in step in fulfilling her goal of changing the lives of MMA fighters and fans alike.

Tickets start at PHP300 with ringside seats available for PHP4000. Tickets are now on sale athttp://www.etix.com/ticket/p/2988982/wsof-global-championship-3philippines-quezon-city-smart-araneta-coliseum. Smart Araneta Coliseum has been host to many great events over the years, but is most notably known for Ali vs Frazier III “The Thrilla in Manila”.

Sophos Named a Visionary in Gartner Magic Quadrant Report

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sophos, a global leader in network and endpoint security, today announced that Gartner, Inc. has named Sophos a Visionary in the Magic Quadrant Report for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Suites[1] for the third year in row. With its Sophos Mobile Control product, Sophos is the only endpoint and network security-focused vendor placed in this year’s EMM Magic Quadrant.

As a comprehensive enterprise mobility management solution, Sophos Mobile Control is easy for IT administrators to set up, configure and manage. The product features secure and encrypted containers that separate business and personal data, protecting company information and personal privacy, which is important for both corporate and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scenarios. Sophos Mobile Control includes Sophos Mobile Security to protect against online threats and malware on Android devices. The latest release, Sophos Mobile Control 6.1, extends platform management to include Windows 10 tablets, notebooks and desktops alongside mobile devices in the same management console, enabling a consistent security policy and secure access to company resources like email and intranets.

“Mobile devices continue to challenge businesses as IT leaders need to assess the security of everything that connects to their network in order to prevent costly breaches and satisfy data protection and privacy legislation. Smart devices that are used to access corporate data via email or share files on cloud-based collaboration tools represent another attack surface for hackers and another way to leak data,” said Dan Schiappa, senior vice president and general manager, Enduser Security Group, Sophos. “Sophos Mobile Control has been developed to provide the most comprehensive protection and to deliver all the productivity benefits of BYOD by keeping business data secure and personal information separated and private.”

[1] Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management, Rob Smith, John Girard, Terrence Cosgrove, Bryan Taylor, Chris Silva, Manjunath Bhat, June 8, 2016.