Christmas is Almost Here and so are Special Deals

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We all love to get the best out of our hard-earned money. This is why many of us go after the sales, promos, deals, and everything else that offer lowered or discounted prices. We usually find these special offers at bazaars or "tiangges" especially when there are upcoming occasions like Christmas. Malls would often have sales done during payday weekends when many will be willing to splurge to reward themselves from all that hard work at the office. Most millennials now also embrace online shopping portals as part of their routine because we simply couldn't resist items that are sold at nearly half the price from the normal.

One form of getting discounts are with the use of online voucher codes that you could easily redeem at sites offering irresistible exclusive online deals that you won't find anywhere else. It feels so good when we could easily just search for a voucher, webshop or product, then just click on a button to receive the code which we use on the checkout process, and finally order the item that we want. Imagine how life would be more splendid if everything can be regularly purchased at special deals.

Aside from the great deals, purchasing online takes us away from the hassles and stress of having to endure the long queues at the shopping malls, and many times withdrawals at ATMs or banks becomes harder due to system downtime, or the worsening traffic congestion especially in the roads of Metro Manila.

Almost everyone we know do not have the patience to fall in line at the sales counters and ATMs so they end up not buying at all. This means loss of sales for the store, and likewise a negative experience for us since we get disappointed from not being able to purchase or desired products.

If ever we do have the patience to endure the long queues, we cannot deny that our next dilemma would be getting out of the mall and reaching our homes with less frustration.

In the Philippines, what used to be just 15 minutes of travel time from the nearest mall, would become an hour of painstaking driving experience on the road. It's a lot worst if you are just commuting on public transportation riding jeepneys, buses or the MRT/LRT trains. This is why road rage incidents have been happening every now and then. Many are just becoming so irritated in being stuck in traffic, or crowded and overloaded vehicles, for so many hours.

Life is made less complicated when our desired products can be conveniently chosen online containing all the product description details, prices, and other options for add-ons, and eventually delivered direct to our homes quickly. It becomes even nicer when we get to avail discounts and special deals - a big bonus for our online transactions.

Philippines: Lost in the Lion City, Eric Roars in Frustration!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It’s time to visit the Lion City! Leg seven starts with the teams leaving Vigan City and heading to Singapore. At Changi Airport, the teams must travel immediately to Resorts World Sentosa and find the Sea Aquarium.

At the Sea Aquarium, teams receive their Roadblock task – ‘Who’s ready for an underwater show?’ – One team member must dive into the open ocean habitat, pick a card from the chest showing the name of an exotic marine creature. Their partner from the other side of the glass must match the name with the correct photo of the marine creature. Teams are only allowed three tries or risk getting back to the line.

Eric, Maggie, Yvonne, Mike and Louisa will be diving into this challenge.

Yvonne picks Unicofish and Chloe is able to identify it easily, making them the first team to finish this task. Treasuri guesses Harlequin Filefish, Black Blotched Fantail Ray and Yellowfin Tuna wrongly and they head back to line. Parul and JK identify their marine creature correctly. It’s down to just Eric & Rona and Treasuri & Louisa. Eric experiences some difficulties getting his diving gear to stay.

Once they complete their Roadblock challenge, they must head to Gardens by the Bay East and find the marked lookout station along the Skyline Promenade. At Gardens by the Bay East, teams realize that there are only two pairs of binoculars. Once the team finds the marked lookout, they must head to that building immediately for their next clue. Since JK & Mike and Yvonne & Chloe are there first, they strike up a temporary alliance to search for the marked lookout together.

Teamwork proves to come in handy as both teams quickly find the marked lookout at OUE building. Parul & Maggie and Treasuri & Louisa manage to find the marked lookout without much difficulty, leaving Eric & Rona struggling at this task. Rona thinks she saw a flag at Standard Chartered building and they immediately make a rush there.

Globe, PLDT Sign Agreement to Cut Interconnection Rate for Voice Calls

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Globe Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding with PLDT to reduce the interconnection rate for voice calls between the two operators. This means the price of domestic mobile and fixed line calls between Globe and PLDT-Smart will be reduced, effectively benefitting consumers. The reduction of interconnection rates will not affect Globe to Globe (intra) calls as these are not subject to interconnect charges and are already offered to consumers in an unlimited basis. International calls will likewise not be covered.

Under the agreement, the two telcos committed to take steps to lower retail rates for voice, taking into consideration the reduction in interconnection rates. Both parties also committed to maintain GOS (grade of service) in interconnection. This means both operators will ensure that sufficient telecommunications circuits or routes are available for efficient transmission of calls.

The agreement is related to the issuance by the National Telecommunications Commission of a memorandum circular providing for a reduction in the interconnection rate between the two networks. Under the circular, interconnection charge for voice calls shall not be more than P2.50 per minute from P4.00/minute previously, representing a 38% reduction. The reduction shall take effect not later than January 1, 2017.

“For many years now, Globe has been strongly advocating the rationalization of interconnect access charge between the two telcos. We are confident that a reduction in the cost of interconnection for voice calls will eventually redound to a more robust economy, providing our customers with an affordable and easily accessible way of communication,” Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil Genio said.