Five MMA Athletes to Watch on the Undercard of One: Throne of Tigers

Wazzup Pilipinas!

ONE Championship, which is widely considered as the frontrunner of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the Asian region, is set to electrify the 12,000-seater Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia once again by holding ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS on Friday, 10 February.

Looking to keep that big ball of momentum going generated by the recent card in Jakarta, Indonesia, the blockbuster live event will feature the absolute best in local and international MMA talent, accentuating a tremendous main event bout between hometown hero Ev “E.T.” Ting and lightweight veteran Kamal Shalorus.

With a potential title shot awaiting the winner of the three-round lightweight encounter between Ting and Shalorus, the spotlight is on the headlining bout of ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS.

However, Ting and Shalorus are not taking the whole attention away from the event as ONE Championship has prepared a top-notch undercard, which is sure to draw plenty of chatter around the MMA world when the cage door closes in Kuala Lumpur on 10 February,

Here is a closer look at the world-class MMA athletes to watch out for on the undercard of ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS.

Hontiveros Hears Bill Calling for Better Bed Occupancy Rates in DOH Hospitals

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Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros today chaired the Senate Committee on Heath and Demography that deliberated a bill that seeks to improve the bed capacity of Department of Health (DOH) hospitals, and processes related to bed capacity.

Senate Bill Number No. 1143 otherwise known as the DOH Hospital Bed Capacity Rationalization Act, authored by Hontiveros, aims to give the DOH the ability to set and approve the bed occupancy rates of its retained hospitals.

Hontiveros said that there is a need to improve bed occupancy in public hospitals. The current bed occupancy standard set by the World Health Organization is at 80-85%. However, the senator said that with the devolution of health services, there are now only 70 DOH-retained public hospitals nationwide, of which 51 are considered general hospitals while 19 are specialty hospitals. The said DOH hospitals complement the devolved district and provincial hospitals, as well as private hospitals, in providing health care services to millions of Filipinos.

“Often serving patients beyond their allowed bed capacity, these hospitals are constrained by lack of adequate manpower and resources to fully provide the quality of health care their patients deserve. As a result of the mismatch between their authorized bed capacity and hospital bed occupancy rate, which according to one study averages at 121%, it is not surprising to hear stories of patients spilling over in public hospital hallways or of 2 patients sharing one bed,” Hontiveros added.

Under current regulations, a DOH hospital can only increase its bed capacity via legislation. Hontiveros said that adjusting the bed capacity of a public hospital to be able to serve patients better has to compete with thousands of proposed bills in Congress and more often than not, these do not get approved or once approved, the need has already changed.

Hontiveros’ bill gives back the DOH the mandate to address the problem of bed occupancy.

“The DOH is the best equipped agency to do this job given that it has both the technical expertise and the internal mechanisms to anticipate the public hospitals’ future needs. By allowing the DOH to administratively set and approve the authorized bed capacity of its hospitals, we remove one barrier that impedes the efficient delivery of health service.

Bed occupancy refers to the utilization rate of the total number of beds in a hospital over a given period of time. Bed occupancy is critical to hospital resource planning and ensuring optimal care for patients. High bed occupancy rates normally means fewer days for in-patient care for those people who need hospitalization.

Globe Ends 2016 with Record Core Net Profit at P16 B; up 6% YOY

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Globe Telecom closed the year with all time high consolidated service revenues of close to P120.0 billion, outpacing the previous record level of P113.7 billion in 2015 by 6%, pushing core net profit to reach record high of P16 billion, up 6% on year from P15.1 billion.

The sustained revenue momentum, despite the competitive intensity in the market during the second half of 2016, was driven by the solid growth in data-related products across all segments, and robust subscriber growth for both mobile and broadband. This was likewise supported by the sustained execution excellence for the various product launches during the year, backed by its improved network performance, as Globe moves forward with its capacity and coverage enhancement initiatives intended to elevate the state of internet in the country.

“Notwithstanding the heightened market competition in 2016, we ended the year on a high note, marked by all-time high quarterly and full year revenues, and record-level EBITDA. Our sustained growth momentum is evidence of the underlying strengths of our superior products and services and our conscious effort to create wonderful experiences for our customers,” Globe President & CEO Ernest L. Cu, said. “As we move forward in 2017, we are optimistic that we will maintain our growth trajectory as we continue to strengthen our leadership in the digital space, through the use of innovation and partnerships with global content providers. Our aggressive investments in our network are designed to meet the country’s future digital demands,” Cu added.

Mobile revenues slightly grew year-on-year, at P91.9 billion in 2016 from the P91.2 billion reported a year ago, driven by the continued shift from core voice and SMS in favor of data as more Globe customers adopt the digital lifestyle. TM, the company’s mass-market brand, registered 3% revenue growth from last year, while Globe Postpaid revenues posted a slight 1% improvement from 2015, partly offset by Globe Prepaid revenues, which posted a year-on-year decline of 1%. At the end of December 2016, Globe Telecom’s mobile subscriber base reached 62.8 million, up a robust 12% from the 56.2 million subscribers reported in 2015, driven by the record-level prepaid gross acquisitions during the year despite the increased blended churn rates.

On a product perspective, mobile data is now the biggest contributor to total mobile revenues (38%), outpacing voice (37%), despite the industry war in data pricing in the second half of the year. Mobile data service revenues reached P34.6 billion in 2016, 25% higher than the P27.7 billion reported a year ago. Mobile data traffic grew 44% from 252 petabytes (PB) to 361 PB in the year just ended, as smartphone penetration now reached 61%, given the market’s positive response to Globe Telecom’s expanded data-driven product portfolio. Consistent with global trends, voice and SMS revenues remain challenged with the continuous migration to internet-based applications.

The Globe home broadband business likewise sustained its growth momentum at P14.5 billion in 2016, increasing revenues by 28% year-on-year, with total subscriber base now reaching 1.13 million. The impressive growth in revenues was driven by the continued subscriber expansion in fixed wireless (+23%) solutions, given the favorable customer response to Globe home broadband’s latest plans, which not only incorporate fully-upgraded speeds and data allocation, but also comes bundled with their choice of premium content, and the most cutting-edge devices for a full on-demand entertainment experience.

Globe Telecom’s corporate data business likewise improved year-on-year at P9.9 billion as of end 2016 or 28% higher from the P7.7 billion posted in 2015, as demand for data connectivity continues to surge, impacting customer expansion, circuit count increase and higher usage. The strong demand for internet and domestic leased lines, as well as cloud computing solutions, contributed to the revenue growth in the corporate data business. The growth was likewise aided by the revenue contribution from Bayan’s corporate data revenues. Traditional fixed line voice revenues, also posted an 11% increase year-on-year at P3.8 billion as of end 2016 due to the continued popularity of the new home broadband bundled plans.

Globe posted another record-level consolidated EBITDA, ending the year with close to P50 billion, up a robust 9% from a year ago. Total operating expenses and subsidy grew in step with revenues, or higher by 3% year-on-year to P70.0 billion from P67.7 billion last year, as Globe continued to re-invest gains to support the growing subscriber base and the aggressive expansion of its data network. EBITDA margin was at 42%, higher than the previous year’s margin of 40%. Increase in non-operating expenses included the P1.1 billion of costs related to the acquisition of Vega Telecom, Inc. (“VTI”), as well as the company’s share in net losses of joint venture, spectrum amortization and interest expenses related to the additional debt incurred from the VTI transaction.

Globe spent around P36.7 billion ($772 million) in capital expenditures as of end-December of 2016 to support the growing subscriber base and its demand for data. Of the total capital expenditures spent this year, about 65% was for the data service needs of its customers.