Updates on CHED K+12 Faculty Scholarship Allowances

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Patricia B. Licuanan explained that only 4,096 faculty scholars under its local scholarships are experiencing delays in the release of living allowances, clarifying earlier reports that 9,500 scholars have been affected.

As of today, the Commission has fully released allowances for 2,051 scholars who have submitted complete documentary requirements, an ongoing effort since November 2017 following the resumption of the processing of allowances after the COA Notices of Suspension were issued.

Understanding the delays the Program has encountered, the Commission has also approved the partial release of living allowances for 1,011 scholars with valid contracts and enrolment forms, despite pending requirements. The balance will be released to these scholars upon submission of remaining documents to the CHED Regional Offices. Meanwhile, 933 scholars will receive no allowances due to non-submission of enrollment forms.

“We request our scholars with pending documentary submissions to please submit the remaining requirements to the CHED Regional Offices at the soonest possible time so that we can facilitate the release of allowances to our remaining grantees,” said the CHED Chairperson.

“We in CHED deeply regret the impact the delays has caused our scholars,” said Licuanan. “But it is important to understand the factors that contributed to these delays: among them, discrepancies and deficiencies in documents, the volume of documentation that required thorough vetting following initial audit, and the need to abide with government accounting and auditing rules, which we, as an agency, also had to comply with,” she continued.

“The Commission has not stopped in its review and improvement of current systems since the program began in 2016. In fact, refinements have been integrated into the system regularly following each semester, to reduce potential errors and causes of delays,” said Licuanan.

The K to 12 Transition Program began in 2016 to prevent the massive displacement of higher education faculty and staff, as a result of lesser workloads in colleges and universities due to the implementation of Senior High School (SHS), while upgrading the quality of higher education.

“Yes, there have been challenges, but we hope the public also sees what the Program has achieved as a whole: apart from the scholarships, CHED is also supporting 307 faculty members undergoing industry immersion, trained 3,792 college faculty for the new and enhanced curriculum, trained 6,494 teachers for Senior High School, developed 17 cutting-edge graduate programs with the top universities in the United Kingdom, awarded 201 institutional grants for colleges and universities, and 163 grants for research and extension, among others.”

Licuanan also denounced malicious allegations of corruption and mismanagement of funds allotted for the living allowances and other grants under the program. According to the Chairperson, “It has been my personal commitment to stamp out corruption in CHED since day one, despite the odds. We have implemented the Program with the highest level of ethical stewardship. Every peso is accounted for.”

Rise in Fraud Transactions at Banco de Oro (BDO) Alarming

Wazzup Pilipinas!

There has been a rise in fraud transactions involving Banco De Oro (BDO) depositors, specifically on ATM withdrawals and online transactions.

Depositors are bewildered upon discovering the loss of their money even to a point of almost zero balance.

“I do hope BDO will FIND WAYS to fix this... These banks who handle our hard-earned money should FIND WAYS and see to it that our money is secured.”

They finally admitted that there was a problem. I hope their handling of customers complaints improve. I experienced disconcern from branch personnel, and even told that it (unauthorized transaction) was partly my fault. They also denied any system glitches.

I cannot help thinking that in this time and in this world, no one is safe, and no place is safe. I save money so that during emergencies, I would have something to use. But it is frustrating and depressing that it would get loss even if you keep it in a trusted bank.

BDO will probably not make any commitment to return all the missing deposits because they know it would be a big loss for their bank once they started to pay off the aggrieved parties. ny single amount spent would affect their bottom line figure (net income)? That is how serious BDO is in terms of income loss due to fraudulent means?

Below is BDO's official statement as posted on their Facebook page:

To our valued clients,

In the recent months, there has been an increased number of clients that have experienced suspicious bank account transactions involving withdrawals and purchases done without their knowledge.

In the 4th quarter of 2017, we have seen an extraordinary rise in fraud attacks towards the entire industry with an increase in the number of claims for unauthorized transactions taking place in other countries.

We are currently running a thorough investigation process that involves tracing individual transactions, checking any irregularities and identifying signals of fraud from millions of valid transactions everyday. This challenging task is done to ensure that all cases are addressed accordingly, and that a resolution is served for all valid cases.

We also wish to remind you to keep your account information private, as well as to be mindful of people requesting for your personal account details through phone, SMS, email, or websites. Unscrupulous individuals and groups are constantly preying on unsuspecting clients to collect their bank information through skimming, phishing, social engineering, and other devious ways.

To help our affected clients, we encourage you to formally file a report via email (callcenter@bdo.com.ph), its international toll free number (IAC +800-8-631-8000), or its domestic hotline (631-8000).

Your account’s safety and security are our top priority.

The Lenovo Mirage Camera with Daydream - Allows Everyone to Share Their Own Virtual Reality

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Lenovo announced, in partnership with Google, the Lenovo Mirage Camera with Daydream, a powerful new tool that lets you capture and relive memories like you’re really in the moment. The Lenovo Mirage Camera is a VR camera that simplifies creating virtual reality content with easy video or image capture and wireless upload to your personal Google Photos and YouTube account. VR180 eliminates the need for specialized virtual reality videography skills and professional camera gear to shoot immersive 3D VR videos and photos. Everyday users and digital storytellers can now create, produce and share immersive content without expending extra effort or equipment—just point, shoot, relive and share.

Launching the Lenovo Mirage Solo and Lenovo Mirage Camera with Daydream together reaffirms our commitment to designing products that are different for the sake of being better. Together, the Lenovo Mirage Camera and Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream complement each other for users interested in immersive VR but who want affordable prices, high-quality content and simple set-up. A compact point-and-shoot camera, the Lenovo Mirage Camera, slips right into your pocket and supports YouTube’s new VR180 video format. Its dual 13MP fisheye cameras achieve depth in image and video by capturing the same images at slightly different angles to form a 3D effect, in which near objects look near, while far objects appear far. The two lenses also offer a 180 x 180-degree field of view to let you see more.

Finally, we built the Lenovo Mirage Camera at a price for mainstream consumers; democratizing VR by proving you don’t need expensive equipment or computers to make VR. Experience Once-in-a-Lifetime—on Demand“You had to be there.”

Until now, reliving experiences through 2D videos and photos just isn’t the same as the real thing. But what if you could perfectly capture the feeling of “being there”? The Lenovo Mirage Camera lets you share your once-in-a-lifetime moments with friends, so they can see what you saw in exactly the same lifelike clarity and feel what you experienced first-hand.


Relive those precious moments with family as if you were there again, replaying your daughter’s game-winning goal or recapturing that feeling when your dad unwrapped the perfect birthday gift. The excitement of a live concert or game, the majesty of the Rocky Mountains or the razzle-dazzle of a street performance—all can be captured, relived and shared. 

Just Point and Shoot

Just point and shoot. We designed the Lenovo Mirage Camera for simplicity with just three buttons—power, shutter and function. Toggle between three modes: photo, video and live broadcasting.

You can even pair with your smartphone via Wi-Fi Direct. Download the VR180 app by Google to make your phone’s screen act as a viewfinder, letting you preview all your photos and videos. About the size of a smartphone and weighing just 139 grams, the Lenovo Mirage Camera fits into small pockets so it travels where you do.VR180 Made SimpleVR180 videos act exactly like standard 2D videos in YouTube, Google Photos and companion apps—meaning you can watch the same ultra-high-resolution 4K video on your phone, tablet or PC—all without needing a headset. But owning a VR headset such as a Google Cardboard or the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream adds the immersion element to your viewing experience and encourages you to watch again and again.

And like 2D videos, VR180 videos can also be edited with familiar and popular video editing software. You can work with Adobe Premiere Pro to edit VR180 videos in post-production without having to learn and adopt different formats or using specialized hardware to stitch footage.

Instantaneous SharingYou can share instantly. We integrated the Lenovo Mirage Camera tightly with Google Photos and YouTube. While you can store your content on the camera’s 16GB1 on-board eMMC (or use an optional microSD card for up to 128GB of additional storage), all content can also be uploaded to Google Photos. You can also upload live broadcasts and videos to your YouTube VR account, thanks to the camera’s Wi-Fi - no smartphone required.

The device houses the Qualcomm Connected Camera Platform with a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 SoC which features integrated high-quality dual cameras and powerful processing with built-in Wi-Fi and even an integrated X9 LTE cellular modem in the LTE version, 2GB of RAM, USB Type-C charging and a slot for a removable battery. The camera offers up to two hours of continuous usage for high-resolution video recording.2

And in addition to the Lenovo Mirage Camera, we’re also launching two more devices today in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm to bring immersive, life-like experiences to our customers:

Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream is the world’s first standalone Daydream VR headset, matching simplicity with immersion to bring you the next generation of virtual reality; Lenovo Smart Display features the Google Assistant built into a vibrant full HD touchscreen display.3

The Mirage Camera (Wi-Fi version) starts at $299.99 and is expected to be available beginning in the second quarter this year.4

All products are available on www.lenovo.com.4

Discover more at www.lenovo.com/lenovolaunch and www.lenovo.com/ces.

Actual available capacity of user storage is less because the operating system, and other software which utilize part of this capacity. 

Actual results will vary, and depend on numerous factors including product configuration and usage, operating conditions, wireless functionality and other factors. The maximum capacity of the battery will naturally decrease with time and usage.

3 FHD touchscreen display is available on the Lenovo Smart Display 10-inch model.

4 Lenovo Mirage Camera LTE version is available in select markets. Prices do not include tax, shipping or options and are subject to change without notice; additional terms and conditions apply. Reseller prices may vary. On-shelf dates may vary by geography and products may only be available in selected markets. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings, features and specifications at any time without notice.

LENOVO and LENOVO MIRAGE are trademarks of Lenovo. CES is a trademark of the Consumer Technology Association. Qualcomm and Snapdragon are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Qualcomm Snapdragon and Qualcomm Connected Camera Platform are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or is subsidiaries. GOOGLE, DAYDREAM, GOOGLE CARDBOARD, GOOGLE ASSISTANT, GOOGLE PHOTOS and YOUTUBE are trademarks of Google, Inc. ADOBE and ADOBE PREMIERE are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2018, Lenovo Group Limited.