DOTr unveils Cutter Head of the first Tunnel Boring Machine for Metro Manila Subway Project

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The underground works for the ‘Project of the Century’ – the Metro Manila Subway – will finally commence soon as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) unveils the gigantic Cutter Head of the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to be used in the line's construction.

The unveiled Cutter Head will be attached to "Kaunlaran," the first of six TBMs intended for use in the partial operability section of the subway. The unveiling was held during the Arrival Ceremony at the Manila North Centre Port Terminal today, 05 February 2021.

The Cutter Head is the largest and heaviest part of the TBM, weighing 74 tons. Its main purpose is to break, cut, and grind rocks and soil by rotating its 36-piece disc cutter, composed of 15 pieces of single and 21 pieces of twin Roller Cutter (RC).

“This Tunnel Boring Machine symbolizes its name, ‘Kaunlaran’. Today, we ask you as we applaud the coming of ‘Kaunlaran’ – I ask you in joining us in riding the Philippines’ first metro subway dahil ito ‘ho ay paglakbay papunta sa kaunlaran,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said in his message.

The arrival of the first TBM Cutter Head signals the continuous arrival of the other TBM equipment and materials. On the following days of February 2021, the remaining parts of the machine will arrive and will be transported at the site for assembly. This will be followed by the conduct of a mandatory operational test prior to the lowering and main drive underground that is expected to be done in the third quarter of this year.

A total of 25 TBMs will be utilized for the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP). Each TBM has an outer diameter of 6.99 meters, 95 meters in total length, with approximately 700 tons in total weight. These enormous TBMs play an integral part in building the subway as they will be used to dig underground and lay out the tunnels. The TBMs can excavate through a variety of ground conditions, from hard rock to sand.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Chief also stressed that he will continue to challenge the railway sector and its private partners for the partial operability section of the project to be completed before 2021 ends.

“I know that I have pressured you, and I have pressured you so hard in order to have this project. But as I thank you, I assure you: I will pressure and push you harder so that we will achieve the partial operability [of the MMSP] at least in my target, December of this year; at worst, in the target of the contractors, February of next year,” Secretary Tugade said.

Guests present in the ceremony who included delegates from the Japanese government, Cabinet secretaries, government officials, and private partnershave have expressed their support for the realization of the much-awaited subway project, which is one of the flagship projects of the Duterte Administration's “BUILD, BUILD, BUILD” program.

“We will continue to support the Philippine government by utilizing our state-of-the-art technologies, and ensuring a fast and sure approach,” Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa expressed.

“I congratulate the DOTr, the JICA [Japan International Cooperation Agency], and the Japanese government for this historic and momentous event. Sa wakas po, magkakaroon na tayo ng subway. We were the first to have the LRT in the whole of Asia and although we were a bit delayed in having our subway, now we can say we have truly modernized our transportation in this country. The arrival of this equipment is significant because it contributes further to what I have described as the ‘Renaissance of Philippine Infrastructure,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque noted.

To note, the proposal to build the first subway line in Metro Manila was conceived way back in September 1973 in a study conducted by JICA's predecessor, the Japan Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency.

“On our part in this endeavor, we assure you that JICA will do everything it can to support the Philippine government and the DOTr, not only for this project, but for all the other partnerships under the BUILD, BUILD, BUILD program amidst the difficult condition we are experiencing due to COVID-19,” JICA Chief Representative Eigo Azukizawa said.

The MMSP is the first underground railway system in the country that will provide the most modern mass transportation in the National Capital Region (NCR), from Valenzuela City to Bicutan, Parañaque, and NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay, and will further stretch across North and South zones of the Greater Capital Region.

FDCP’s CreatePHFilms Grants P12.1M to Support Funding for 22 Filipino Projects

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In its bid to continue supporting the Filipino film industry especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) announced the awardees of its CreatePHFilms Philippine Cinema funding program that provides selective funds for development, production, post-production, and distribution. 

Cycle 1 of CreatePHFilms ended in November and after thorough deliberations in December, the Selection Committee chose 22 grantees: eight for scriptwriting, four for script development, three for small budget production, two for large budget production, and five for post-production. The funding allocated for the CreatePHFilms Cycle 1 awardees amounts to PHP 12.1 million.

The esteemed Selection Committee members for Cycle 1 are Pangasinan 4th District Rep. Christopher de Venecia, FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño, director and writer Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr., director and Directors' Guild of the Philippines, Inc. representative Raymond Red, Cinema Evaluation Board Chairman Christine Dayrit, Solar Pictures, Inc. General Manager Butch Ibañez, and cinematographer and Lupon ng Pilipinong Sinematograpo President Mackie Galvez.

“The industry has been clamoring for public funding to support the development of films since 2016. We believe in the importance of public funding, as countries with thriving film industries such as France and South Korea benefit from various government programs and funding. At long last, the Philippines has public funding for film development through CreatePHFilms and now, we have our first batch of grantees,” said Diño.

“We are proud of the resiliency of our filmmakers and their perseverance to continue the production of their projects in these challenging times. We hope for the government’s continued support to the industry through funding programs,” she added.

Through the CreatePHFilms Funds for Development for Scriptwriting and Project Development, the FDCP wants to support Filipino scriptwriters by helping them develop innovative stories based on Filipino culture and heritage.

The CreatePHFilms Fund for Scriptwriting is a selective, nonrefundable fund of up to PHP 100,000. Awardees will also have at least two FDCP-led sessions of script consultations with international mentors on concept, creative issues, and developing the screenplay. The eight grantees for scriptwriting that will receive PHP 100,000 each are:

“Ang Alamat ng Gumamelang Bukid” by Richard Soriano Legaspi

“Dead Boy” by Jules Dan Katanyag

“Magiliw (Gentle: A Carnage by the Land of the Rising Sun)” by Bor Ocampo

“Mother Maybe” by Sonny Calvento

“Oyayi” by Mitzi Delima

“Silk Ties” by Wilfredo Manalang

“Strange Natives” by Paolo Herras

“The Fighting Filipinos” by Honee Alipio

The CreatePHFilms Fund for Project Development is a selective and nonrefundable fund of up to PHP 200,000 for production companies. These are the four selected projects that will be given PHP 200,000 each:

“In My Mother's Skin” by Kenneth Lim Dagatan

“Ninja From Manila” by Miko Livelo

“Outerspace Filipino Workers” by Keith Sicat

“The Tootle & Tina Show” by Danzen Santos Katanyag

The FDCP wants to encourage Filipino film producers to create high-quality films for domestic and international audiences through the CreatePHFilms Funds for Production: Small Budget and Large Budget. The CreatePHFilms Fund for Small Budget Production is a selective refundable fund up to PHP 1 million for production companies. The three films selected as small budget production fund recipients of PHP 1 million each are:

“12 Weeks” by Anna Isabelle Matutina

“Blue Room” by Ma. Anna L. Asuncion-Dagnalan

“Faramanis” by Gutierrez Mangansakan II

Meanwhile, the CreatePHFilms Fund for Large Budget Production is a selective equity investment fund worth P3 million to P5 million for production companies. The two chosen projects that will each receive the large budget production fund worth PHP 3 million are:

“Bansa” by Brillante Mendoza

“Kidplay” by Khavn

The CreatePHFilms Fund for Post-Production seeks to enhance post-production services so that they meet international standards. This selective fund of up to PHP 300,000 will be applied for by a production company and granted to its engaged post-production company. The five recipients of the PHP 300,000 post-production support are:

“Ang Pagbabalik ng Kwago” by Martika Ramirez Escobar

“Gensan Punch” by Brillante Mendoza

“Kargo” by TM Malones

“Mirador” by Loy Arcenas

“The Brokers” by Daniel R. Palacio

There is also the CreatePHFilms Fund for Distribution, a selective fund of up to P300,000, for the local and overseas distribution of Filipino titles. Producers can apply for this as well as for the CreatePHFilms Funds for Development, Production, and Post-Production this year.

Eligible applicants must be Filipino filmmakers and companies accredited by the FDCP’s National Registry, while eligible projects must have a Filipino director. In addition, 100 percent of the funds must be spent in the Philippines for qualified expenses.

CreatePHFilms was launched in September in time for the commemoration of the closing of the Philippine Cinema Centennial celebration. “This domestic funding program also shows the government’s support for the vulnerable sectors of the film industry by increasing economic opportunities for local services and workers,” added Diño.

For more information, e-mail createphfilms@fdcp.ph or visit www.fdcp.ph/CreatePHFilms.

ePLDT bags Chromebook Top Growth Award from ASUS Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!


ePLDT, the ICT arm of PLDT Enterprise, was recently given the Chromebook Top Growth 2020 by ASUS Philippines during its virtual ASUS for Business Share 2020: Dealer Gathering Awards ceremony.

The award is in recognition of almost 400% growth of ePLDT in 2020, compared to its performance in the previous year, attributed mostly to fulfilled projects for the BPO and Academe industry clients. This is the biggest growth of ASUS Chromebooks amongst its partnerships in the Philippines. Today, the strategic partnership between PLDT Enterprise and ASUS is continuously strengthened to meet the demands of the Enterprise market.

“We at ePLDT are grateful to receive this honor from ASUS Philippines, which reinforces our continued commitment and support to our customers. This inspires us to strive even harder this year and reach more businesses in different industries with our digital solutions,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.

Aside from creating bundled solutions and launching industry campaigns, PLDT Enterprise has recently partnered with Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) to support its member schools’ transition to e-Learning. With this collaboration, PLDT Enterprise will be providing PACU’s member schools with curated ICT services for e-Learning and ASUS Chromebook to be distributed in 196 member learning institution.

This partnership supports transition to e-Learning and to keep pace with schools’ evolving needs, especially at the onset of the pandemic, where there was the immediate need to strengthen digital learning.

“We would like to congratulate ePLDT for their outstanding contribution for the business growth of ASUS Philippines, and we are looking forward to further collaborating with ePLDT and PLDT Enterprise to deliver more solutions that will help various enterprises especially in this new normal,” said George Su, Country Head of ASUS Philippines.

For more information visit epldt.com.