Faster Mobile Data Speeds Boost VisMin Load Sales

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Tacloban retailer Josephine Derwin says drivers in the Tacloban New Transport Terminal load up at her store so they can keep in touch with their families while on the road.

For long-haul drivers constantly away from home, a mobile phone is the only way to stay connected with family while on the road. 

This means steady business for sari-sari store owner Josephine Derwin, who sells e-load at the Tacloban New Transport Terminal. Most of her customers are drivers, who are quick to avail of promos, such as UTP, GigaSurf 50 and AllOutSurf50.

Sales have further spiked, she said, following Smart network upgrades in the Visayas and Mindanao. The same was observed by Abby Pedrero, whose store customers are mostly gamers and avid social media users on the lookout for promos for online apps and mobile games.

Similarly Cyril Puzon Mejos reported quadruple income from “strong load sales” at her store in the popular resort island of Panglao in Bohol.

In Davao, load seller May Anne Veneroso noted that the network upgrade is what draws repeat customers. “Of course, they would buy from the fastest network,” she said.

Best technologies

Smart ramped up the roll-out of Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced across the country, including key areas like Leyte and Bohol. LTE and LTE-A are the best technologies to bring fast, affordable and reliable mobile internet services to customers.

The Tacloban New Transport Terminal, Panglao island and Davao City are just a few of the areas in the Visayas and Mindanao enjoying the benefits of the recent network upgrades.

Internal tests around Tacloban and Ormoc have shown speeds ranging from 19 Mbps to 67 Mbps on LTE and LTE-A-capable devices, specifically in areas around RTR Plaza in Tacloban, Ormoc City Public Market, and Sabin Hotel in Ormoc. Speeds ranging from 20 Mbps to almost 100 Mbps were achieved in areas like Tagbilaran, Dauis and Baclayon in Bohol.

Clodualda Bibi of Ormoc, who has been able to provide for the family by selling load, is confident that with better signal in the area, business will further improve.  

Fastest networks

PLDT is investing heavily in transforming its fixed and mobile networks to bring world-class connectivity nationwide. As a result, PLDT and Smart were recently cited for being the country’s fastest networks for Q1-Q2 2018, respectively, by Ookla^®, the global leader in internet testing and analysis.

Ookla said Smart achieved a Speed Score^TM of 14.98, with average download speeds of 17.25 Mbps and average upload speeds of 7.65 Mbps, based on 2,118,464 user-initiated tests taken with Speedtest^® on LTE-capable devices in the Philippines for Q1-Q2.  

PLDT achieved a Speed Score^TM of 17.31, with average download speeds of 22.84 Mbps and average upload speeds of 23.45 Mbps. The fixed network award is based on 29,076,090 user-initiated Speedtest nationwide for the same period.

PLDT has committed around US$ 5 billion for network upgrades from 2016 to 2020, with capital expenditures expected to reach P58 billion this year. 

Underpinning this level of service is PLDT’s most extensive fiber network, which also supports Smart’s mobile network by providing high-capacity links for cellular base stations.

Level up to LTE in VisMin

Recently, Smart also fired up LTE in the Philippines’ northernmost province of Batanes, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, and Sarangani.

Amid this ramped-up roll out, Smart is on track to meet its commitment to the National Telecommunications Commission to achieve 90% municipality coverage for 3G and 4G mobile broadband by this year.

To fully enjoy the improved Smart LTE network, customers are encouraged to upgrade to an LTE-capable smartphone and an LTE SIM.

Smart Prepaid and Smart Postpaid customers can check if their SIMs are LTE-ready by texting SIMCHECK to 5832 for free.

Smart, TNT and Sun customers can also easily upgrade to an LTE SIM without changing their existing number by going to a nearby Smart Store or through an LTE-Ready Self-Service Upgrade SIM, which is available for P10 at Smart loading partners nationwide, with free 1GB data valid for three days upon upgrading. 

Ginugunita Kita Performance Art All Set on September 26

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In line with its 18th year anniversary celebration, The Maningning Miclat Art Foundation Inc. in cooperation with District Gallery - Artist Playground, and the Far Eastern University President’s Committee on Culture presents “GINUGUNITA KITA,” a performance art featuring Maningning Miclat’s poems and an all original music composed by Jesse Lucas.

“GINUGUNITA KITA” will be held on September 26 – Wednesday 6 p.m. at the historic, newly-opened FEU Auditorium located at Nicanor Reyes St., Sampaloc, Manila.

Maningning Miclat was a poet, fictionist and essayist in English, Filipino and Chinese as well as a painter in Western and Chinese genre. A Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate in UP Diliman, she was a fellow of the U.P. National Writer's Workshop,  Silliman Writer's Workshop and Rio Alma Poetry Clinic. Her Chinese poems made her one of the top-rated women poets in Chinese in the world.

With Ryan Cayabyab and Chino Toledo as mentors, Jesse Lucas won awards from FAMAS which catapulted him to the Hall of Fame, and from the Gawad Urian, Young Critics Circle, Gawad Tanglaw and Aliw. In 2005, he won an award from the Screamfest International Film Festival in Los Angeles, USA. CCP’s Tanghalang Pilipino, Dulaang UP, Dramatis Personae, Gantimpala Theater Foundation, Ballet Philippines and the Philippine Ballet Theater have adapted his music.

The eleven poems by Maningning Miclat are in her trilingual book of poetry, “Voice from the Underworld” (Anvil Publishing - 2000). The book was a National Book Award finalist for poetry in 2001. 

The title of the poems are: Ginugunita Kita, Tawag, Anino, Panibugho, DUET (nina Rizal at Bracken), Kulay sa Bagyo, Ang Naliligaw, Shi Bu Shi, A Stare, Verse # 2, and To Catch a Second and Turn it to Forever. 

According to the composer, Jesse Lucas, inspiration came easily to him after reading “Voice from the Underworld.” He wrote: "The poems of Maningning Miclat are almost melodious that I can hear the music through the poetic images. It spoke and at the same time sang to me poignant thoughts about life, pain and love…. the experience in writing the music was really meditative and cathartic at the same time. It feels like I have discovered a new language, a language that speaks directly to the soul. These are the foundation of  Ginugunita Kita’s music.”

Directed by film and theater actor Roeder Camaňag, the performance will feature soloist Banaue Miclat-Janssen and master cellist Renato Lucas, together with singer Al Gatmaitan and Angela Castro of the FEU Dance Company, with live interactive visual art of Nasser Lubay. 

Banaue Miclat-Janssen sings the opera, acts and dances on stage and hones young artists as professor of theatre arts at UP Diliman’s Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts. She obtained her Master of Fine Arts from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and her Bachelor of Arts from UP Diliman. In New York, she attended voice lessons from Evelyn Mandac, Robert Carpenter, and CUNY's Judylee Vivier. She had a stint at the Metropolitan Opera in such productions as Salome, Faust, La Boheme, Don Carlo, I Puritani and La Traviata, among others. She has performed at the CCP, UP Abelardo Hall, UP Theater and Ateneo de Manila University. At present, she is the Artistic Director of Dulaang UP and the Executive Director of the Maningning Miclat Art Foundation.

Renato Lucas is one of the finest cellists in the country. His schools included UP Diliman College of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music (USA), Royal Northern College of Music (England), Hochschule fur Musik Detmold (Germany), and Universitaet der Kunst Berlin (Germany). He has been the principal soloist of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra for three decades. He has performed as soloist with the Manila Symphony Orchestra, Manila Chamber Orchestra, and UST Symphony Orchestra, as well as the CCP's Filipino Artist Series, Pundaquit Arts Festival, Las Piňas Bamboo Organ Festival, and the Maningning Poetry Awards.

Al Gatmaitan is an opera singer, theater actor, and three-time Aliw Awardee for Best Performer of the Year. He can also be seen on film, television, and online advertisements.

Angela Castro is one of the principal dancers of the FEU Dance Company headed by Edward Malagkit. Her performance has brought her to various competitions that the FEU has joined in and outside the country.

“GINUGUNITA KITA,” the performance art, says the director, Roeder Camaňag, “is all about poetry and the creation of emotive response. From the poetry of the life of a poet to the poetry of interpreting the poems of someone you love and the poetry of putting the right music to amplify the auditory experience of powerful images embedded in a poem.” 

‘Ginugunita Kita’ had its gala world premiere at the Aldaba Hall, University Theater, U.P. Diliman QC in May 2015.

Then, it was also performed at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio V. Tolentino in September 2015 to coincide with the 2015 (7th) Poetry Awards of the Maningning Miclat Art Foundations.

Ginugunita Kita garnered the 2015 Aliw Awards for Best Performance in a New Concept Production for Banaue Miclat-Janssen. It was nominated in the same category - Best Director for Roeder Camañag. 

Ginugunita Kita is presented in cooperation with Frontrow Entertainment, and Ruben & Elizabeth Vedar.

For ticket inquiries, please refer to Maningning Miclat Art Foundation c/o Carmela (09998050681). Or call Ticketworld (891-9999).

ONE Championship Announce Complete Card for ONE: Beyond the Horizon on September 8

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced the complete card for ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON, set for Saturday, 8 September at the Baoshan Arena in Shanghai, China. Once again, the absolute best in local and international martial arts talent will take to the ONE ring to showcase their amazing skills. In the main event, reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan of China will defend her title against Samara “Marituba” Santos of Brazil.

Ticket information for ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON is available at www.onefc.com.

“The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan of China is the reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion. With a professional record of 15-1, Xiong began her career competing in professional boxing and was inspired by her father, who imparted in her values of courage and integrity. Featuring a wide array of skills, “The Panda” bagged a gold medal at the prestigious China Open Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in 2017. In her last bout, she defeated Laura Balin to successfully retain her ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship for the first time. Up next, the 30-year-old defends her title against Samara Santos.

Samara “Marituba” Santos of Brazil is a 25-year-old female mixed martial artist who is set to make her promotional debut at ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON. A former Salcaterra Marajo Fight Strawweight Champion, Santos has gained solid experience competing largely in her home country of Brazil for the majority of her career. She has amassed a 12-5-1 record over the past three years as a professional, including six wins by submission. In her first appearance in ONE, Santos will take on defending ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan.

Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario is originally from a small farming town in the mountainous Benguet region of the Philippines. Banario earned a wushu scholarship to attend the Cordillera Career Development College in Baguio, and won several national tournaments. Although he spent most of his time competing against Team Lakay, he was intrigued by an invitation to train with them, and decided to take it up. Under the guidance of head coach Mark Sangiao, he developed into one of the team’s top talents. In recent years, “The Rock” has proven to be one of the most dangerous competitors atop ONE’s lightweight division. He takes on Amir Khan next.

Former Singaporean Muay Thai champion Amir Khan moved to the United States to attend high school in Louisiana, where he began cross-training in wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu under BJJ black belt Relson Gracie. Upon returning to Singapore in 2014, Khan joined Evolve MMA and became a part of its famed competition team. He then joined ONE that same year, and has since accumulated several highlight-reel finishes, highlighting his immense talent and growing skills. In his most recent bout, Khan stopped South Korean Sung Jong Lee with punches in the second round. Up next, Khan takes on veteran Honorio Banario.

Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly trains at the famed Team Lakay alongside the likes of former ONE World Champions Eduard Folayang and Honorio Banario. With several impressive finishes against the world's best on his record, Kelly has emerged as a contender in his own right. He even owns the second-fastest knockout in ONE featherweight history, a blistering 21-second finish of Meas Meul. The 34-year-old is a complete martial artist who looks to showcase Team Lakay’s world-renowned wushu every time he competes. Kelly has won four of his last six bouts, all by spectacular finish. He will now take on former ONE World Title challenger Christian Lee.

Christian “The Warrior” Lee, younger brother of reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee, began his professional career on an absolute tear, railing off five straight victories by thrilling finish. The 20-year-old has impressed fans with his ability to seek out stoppage wins over top-caliber opponents in an exciting, fan-friendly style. A former Pankration World Champion, Lee has won four of his last five bouts, showcasing his impressive skills inside the ONE cage. In his most recent outing, Lee challenged two-division ONE World Champion Martin Nguyen for the ONE Featherweight World Championship. Now, he is ready to return to action against Edward Kelly.

Ognjen Topic is one of the United States’ top-ranked kickboxers. He is a three-time Muay Thai World Champion, and two-time national champion. Training out of his home base of North Jersey Muay Thai, Topic makes frequent trips to Thailand to sharpen his skills at Eminent Air Gym in Bangkok. He began training in taekwondo, and earned his black belt before transitioning to Muay Thai at the age of 18 after falling in love with the art. Since then, he has stepped into the ring over 50 times against Muay Thai legends such as Saenchai, Coke Chunhawat, and Paowarit Sasiprapa. Along the way, he won WBC and WKA USA national championships, as well as World Titles in the Muay Thai Grand Prix, IKF, and Lion Fight. Known for his highly technical style, Topic will now face Tukkatatong Petpayathai in a ONE Super Series kickboxing contest.

Two-time Muay Thai World Champion Tukkatatong Petpayathai came from humble beginnings in a small countryside village in the Buriram region of Thailand. He was introduced to the world of Muay Thai by watching bouts on television with his father, and by the age of 10, he was already competing in his first bouts. Driven to further his success, he moved to Bangkok to train at the famed Kiatpetch gym when he was 14 years old. Tukkatatong has competed at the most famous stadiums in Thailand, including Lumpinee and Rajadamnern, facing the biggest names in the sport. He has amassed more than 270 professional bouts over the course of his illustrious 20-year career, capturing two World Titles at the famed Channel 7 Stadium along the way. Tukkatatong now makes his second appearance in ONE to take on Ognjen Topic in a ONE Super Series kickboxing bout.

Former Trench Warz Featherweight Champion Roman “Boom” Alvarez was born and raised in Guam, and he currently still lives in his childhood home. Alvarez has put together an excellent 8-2 record, competing in Guam, Saipan, and the Philippines, and has won titles in both the cage and the grappling arena. He currently trains at Spike 22 under celebrated veteran coach Melchor Manibusan, and sharpens his skills every day alongside some of the top mixed martial artists in North America. Now that he has a chance to make his mark on the world in ONE, he will do whatever it takes to realize his dreams of international glory. Alvarez faces the dangerous Daichi Takenaka next.

Former Shooto Pacific Rim Featherweight Champion Daichi Takenaka of Osaka, Japan was always athletic as a child. He played soccer and ran track in his youth, and began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu after discovering it by playing video games. He is a grappling specialist who excels in executing the rear-naked choke, a move he has used to dispatch four of his opponents in his career. He joined ONE in February 2018, making his debut against the highly-regarded Dae Hwan Kim. Rocking an unblemished 11-0-1 professional record, Takenaka is considered one of the hottest tickets at bantamweight. He now puts his undefeated record on the line against Roman Alvarez.

Top King Muay Thai World Champion Han Zi Hao of China is a Muay Thai practitioner who is based out of Bangkok, Thailand. The 22-year-old already owns an impressive professional Muay Thai record of 57-15 early in his career. A representative of Mad Muay Thai Gym, Han now finds himself looking to showcase his incredible striking skills on the biggest global stage of martial arts competition, joining elite athletes in the world of striking martial arts as part of ONE Super Series. Han’s first appearance for the promotion was a difficult one, however, as the Chinese stalwart took on the tough Panicos Yusuf. He now returns to action to face Stergos Mikkios in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.

Proudly representing Sityodtong Global is Stergos “Greek Dynamite” Mikkios, who has won numerous Muay Thai titles in the United States including Triumph Kombat, AKBF, and Friday Night Fights championships. Although he only started training in Muay Thai six years ago, it soon became his passion and purpose in life. He even quit his job, sold most of his possessions, and moved to Thailand to train and compete full-time. With a Muay Thai record of 19-9-2, Mikkios now showcases his talents on the global stage in ONE. In his most recent contest, Mikkios figured in one of the most entertaining Muay Thai bouts yet against Ognjen Topic. Now Mikkios comes back to the ONE ring looking for redemption against Han Zi Hao in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bout.

Shanghai Open BJJ Champion Chen Lei is from Changde, in China’s Hunan province. He first started his martial arts journey by training in boxing and Muay Thai, and then later switched his focus to the cage over the past few years. He even won a regional BJJ championship in Shanghai after developing his ground game. Training out of Equilibrium Beijing, Chen has since amassed a perfect 8-0 record in professional competition, showing his outstanding potential. This includes an impressive promotional run of three stoppage wins in 2017, when he defeated Malaysian Muay Thai star Saiful Merican and Indonesian grappling champion Jeremy Meciaz in stunning fashion. Next up, Chen takes on Muhammad Aiman.

Although former MIMMA Featherweight Champion Muhammad Aiman is from Negeri Sembilan, he grew up in cities all around Malaysia due to his parents’ careers. At the age of 16, he picked up boxing, which proved to be the beginning of a fruitful martial arts journey that continues to this day. Having conquered the Malaysian amateur scene, Aiman then set his sights on international glory as a professional with ONE, and made a successful debut in September 2016. He has since registered wins over several tough opponents, including BJJ champion Eduardo Novaes, and has made a name for himself as a thrilling young talent to watch. Aiman looks to continue his quest for greatness against China’s Chen Lei.

Former eight-time Kickboxing World Champion and professional boxer Daniel “The Rock” Dawson is an Australian martial artist who competes out of Perth, Western Australia. With a kickboxing record of 53-13, and a boxing record of 40-5-1 with 26 knockouts, Dawson is one of Australia’s most respected combat sports athletes. He has had a very successful career competing in events across Australia, China, Japan, Thailand, New Zealand and the United States. “The Rock” has now decided to take his talents to the prestigious ONE Super Series, where he joins a long list of striking legends. In his promotional debut, Dawson faces Mustapha Haida in a ONE Super Series kickboxing match.

Mustapha “The Flying Dragon” Haida is a former ISKA Kickboxing World Champion. The 29-year-old from Florence, Italy owns a professional kickboxing record of 38-7-3, training out of Fight Club Firenze at home in Florence. With experience competing under Glory, Super Kombat, Kunlun Fight and Bellator Kickboxing, Haida owns notable victories over opponents such as Andy Souwer, Enriko Kehl, Dzianis Zuev and Abdallah Mabel. He is ranked among the Top 10 welterweights in the world. Looking to prove his skills on the biggest global stage of martial arts competition, Haida now takes his talents to ONE Championship, where he faces Daniel Dawson in a ONE Super Series kickboxing bout in his debut.

Former two-time Muay Thai World Champion Hakim Hamech is a Muay Thai specialist and kickboxer from Lyon, France. Representing Team-NAS-R.K., Hamech has amassed a professional Muay Thai record of 42-8, and has impressed with his speed and power. After building a stellar professional career, Hamech now joins ONE Super Series to showcase his skills under the bright lights of the ONE ring, alongside the biggest tickets in striking martial arts. In his promotional debut, Hamech will search for his first victory in the promotion when he faces Japan’s Yukinori Ogasawara in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.

Former WBC Japan Super Bantamweight Muay Thai Champion Yukinori Ogasawara was born and raised in Tokyo. After a regular childhood hanging around his father’s convenience stores, he finally found his calling when he was 15 years old. On a whim, he had signed up to take up kickboxing at Crosspoint Kichijoji near his house, and it would become a turning point in his life. Ogasawara then spent three years studying abroad in Vancouver, Canada, but never stopped training, even competing in an amateur kickboxing match there. He soon made his professional kickboxing debut, and has since amassed an excellent 15-4-4 record, winning a national title along the way. He faces Hakim Hamech up next in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.

Former three-time National Kun Khmer Champion Phat Soda grew up as an orphan, and got into a lot of confrontations because of bullying. However, martial arts allowed him to turn his life around when he started training in Kun Khmer in 2012, and he has since accumulated over 100 bouts, winning national titles three years in a row. Driven by a desire to make a name for his country on the global stage, Soda joined ONE, and will attempt to show the effectiveness of Kun Khmer to the world. In his return to action, Soda takes on the tough Elipitua Siregar.

Former Indonesian National Wrestling Champion Elipitua Siregar came from humble beginnings, having been born to a family struggling to make ends meet in Indonesia’s North Sumatra region. His family sent him to live with his uncle in Jakarta in order to learn discipline. That would come in the form of enforced wrestling training, which would not just reform the young Siregar, but change his life forever. The young Indonesian competed in wrestling throughout his academic career, and racked up numerous medals at the national level. After such a long run of domestic success, he turned his attention to international glory in the cage, and joined ONE. Determined to become one of Indonesia’s most elite martial artists, Siregar will now face Phat Soda.

ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON

Saturday, 8 September

Baoshan Arena, Shanghai, China

Main Event

ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship

Xiong Jing Nan vs Samara Santos

Mixed Martial Arts: 56.7kg (Women’s Strawweight)

Honorio Banario vs Amir Khan

Mixed Martial Arts: 77.1kg (Lightweight)

Edward Kelly vs Christian Lee

Mixed Martial Arts: 70.3kg (Featherweight)

Ognjen Topic vs Tukkatatong Petpayathai

ONE Super Series Kickboxing: 65.8kg (Bantamweight)

Roman Alvarez vs Daichi Takenaka

Mixed Martial Arts: 65.8kg (Bantamweight)

Han Zi Hao vs Stergos Mikkios

ONE Super Series Muay Thai: 65.8kg (Bantamweight)

Chen Lei vs Muhammad Aiman

Mixed Martial Arts: 65.8kg (Bantamweight)

Daniel Dawson vs Mustapha Haida

ONE Super Series Kickboxing: 72.5kg (Catch Weight)

Hakim Hamech vs Yukinori Ogasawara

ONE Super Series Muay Thai: 61.2kg (Flyweight)

Phat Soda vs Elipitua Siregar

Mixed Martial Arts: 56.7kg (Strawweight)

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.