Flores is Speaker at Int’l Peace Day, Road & Belt Int’l Conference

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Writer, college teacher and realty entrepreneur Wilson Lee Flores is invited guest speaker at the September 21 “International Peace Day” rites on September 21 (Wednesday) afternoon by International Peace Diplomacy Corps at Makati Diamond Residences in Makati City; and the September 26 International Conference on the Belt and Road Economic Initiative in Xian City, Shaanxi province.

The Xian Conference focuses on the $4 trillion Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, known as “The Belt and Road Initiative” is a development strategy linking 60 countries of Asia, China, Africa and Europe via land and sea infrastructures and trade. The regions linked by the Belt and Road Initiative covers about 40 per cent of the world’s economy and more than half of the world population

A writer on business, economics, geopolitics, culture and other topics, Wilson Lee Flores is a college teacher, winner of three Palanca literary awards and a record 13 Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) including two CMMA Hall of Fame Awards such as “Best Business Column”. He is author of 5 books on Philippine business published by De La Salle University Press. Flores also bought and revived the 77-year-old, pugon-style Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City. .

Wilson Lee Flores was also guest speaker at the September 9 Dedication Day of Grace Christian College in Quezon City and at the September 13 iCon Information Conference of the UST Journalism Society at the TARC Auditorium, University of Santo Tomas.

Globe Seeks to Step Up DPWH Collaboration to Minimize Fiber Cut Incidents

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Globe Telecom is seeking to further strengthen its collaboration with the Department of Public Works and Highways in a bid to minimize, if not totally avoid, fiber cut incidents that often lead to disruption of telecommunication services.

Earlier this year, the DPWH issued a memorandum directing its field personnel and contractors “to observe extreme caution in the execution of their construction works” to help ensure uninterrupted services of utility companies including those of telecommunication providers. The department specifically directed its field personnel and contractors to provide maps highlighting ongoing projects within a given locality and provide the data to utility companies “to avoid accidental cutting and damaging of their lines and facilities that may cause power and communication breakdown.”

In addition to this, however, Globe is asking DPWH, through separate letters to DPWH regional contractors, to make erring contractors accountable and penalized for cable cut incidents. To discuss its proposal, Globe is seeing to have an audience with regional directors concerned “in the hope of forging lasting partnership with the DPWH,” said Globe Operations Admin Support Director Raul Taroy.

“The growing incidence of fiber cuts is getting to be a major concern for us and we would like to appeal to DPWH and their contractors to take caution in undertaking road construction activities in order to avoid unnecessary cable cuts. We also believe that penalizing DPWH contractors for such incidents would compel these contractors to be extra cautious in the execution of their projects and thus avoid recurrence of accidental cuts and damage to our cable facilities,” Globe General Counsel Atty. Froilan Castelo said.

According to Castelo, network disruptions caused by fiber cut incidents adversely impact not only the company’s operations but could also potentially affect delivery of government services including emergency response, pointing out that Globe provides access to both 911 and 8888, the government’s emergency and complaint hotline, respectively, as well as inbound and outbound SMS accessibility for 2286 (Bato), a text hotline for the public to directly report incidents to the Philippine National Police.

Castelo revealed that since the start of the year alone, the telecommunications provider already experienced a total of 117 cable cuts attributed to road-construction related activities undertaken by DPWH contractors. According to him, some of these cable incidents have led to major network disruption that affected call, text and internet services of Globe. Even barring major network disruptions, cable cut incidents cause at the very least poor quality of service delivery to consumers, not to mention, additional repair costs to the company, he said.

The company’s bid for a closer coordination with DPWH is also in line with efforts to strengthen its business continuity program. “By working closely with the DPWH, we hope to address a major concern in ensuring delivery of our major services at all times,” he added. Globe Telecom is the first telecommunications provider in the Philippines to secure an enterprise-wide business continuity ISO certification. The certification attests to the company's readiness in ensuring delivery of critical telecommunications services to its customers even during disasters.

Cebuanos Find Around the Clock Hangout in Tom N Toms Coffee

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Viewed from outer space, Metro Cebu is one of the few places in the Philippines outside Metro Manila that shines bright at night amidst a sea of darkness.

With the recently opened Tom N Toms Coffee, the first in Cebu and the second in the country, Cebuanos have found a round the clock hangout fulfilling the demand of a cosmopolitan haven that has grown to ignore sleep.

“With Cebu’s dizzying growth, more and more are staying up until the odd hours. Tom N Toms Coffee is open 24 hours to serve a growing number of Cebuanos who are taking part in the Metro’s prosperity,” said Tom N Toms Cebu General Manager Jose Mari Alba.

The world-famous Korean coffee chain, the top brand in South Korea based on the number of stores, opened just last September 8 at The Greenery on Pope John Paul II Avenue, Kasambagan, Mabolo.

“Coffee lovers who need a cozy place to stay beyond midnight will find Tom N Toms to be an ideal place,” said Alba. The Cebu location follows the opening of Tom N Toms first branch last year in Bacolod.

Alba anticipates the coffee shop to be popular with millennials hanging out with friends all night, professionals, BPO workers, and others who work night shifts, adding Tom N Toms boosts the visible rise of a number of coffee shops with its 24-hour service.

Tom N Toms offers the usual variety of coffee drinks, espressos, frappes, smoothies, pretzels and snacks. But the shop also offers other amenities such as strong wifi, cozy seats, free charging, and a wide assortment of food from baked goods to healthy picks and heavy meals.

“Given any coffee shops’ need for a high customer volume to be sustainable, the availability of other food items and special drinks on top of the usual coffee fare around the clock is an advantage for Tom N Toms,” said Alba.

The Tom N Toms Cebu General Manager said the friendly staff of the new coffee chain are looking forward to serving Cebuanos during the busy nights of a progressively sophisticated city that has begun to escape the need for sleep.