On the SWS survey showing that 9/10 Filipinos want priority for public and active transport on roads

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) recognizes the results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed Filipinos want priority be given to public and active transport on roads. We see this as proof that the face of transportation in the country is indeed changing, especially in this period that the country is grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We acknowledge this demand by the public, and it is in fulfilling this desire that the DOTr has been implementing projects geared towards providing commuters with access to faster, reliable, safe and efficient means of mass transportation; and to open infrastructure for active transportation such as walking and cycling.

In the works are several key mass transport systems and high-capacity public transport vehicles, to move more people while using less vehicles and occupying less road space.

In the railways sector, the DOTr and its attached agencies continue to pursue the construction, rehabilitation or expansion of several railway projects. These include the country’s first ever subway system. In fact, tomorrow, we are going to unveil to the public the 74-ton cutterhead of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) “Kaunlaran”, that recently arrived in the country.

We are also completing projects such as the extension of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Extension from Metro Manila to Cavite— stalled for almost two (2) decades, but is now targetted for partial operations by the 4th quarter of 2021; the LRT-2 East Extension from Santolan to Masinag, which will be completed in April; the PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban to Malolos), that is targeted for partial operations by 4th quarter of 2021; the Common Station, which is expected to be completed by the 4th quarter of 2021; the MRT-7 from North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, shall be ready for partial operations by 4th quarter of this year and for full completion by 2022; and the MRT-3 rehabilitation, which is slated for completion in July 2021.

We have also pushed for the acquisition of new train sets for the MRT-3, LRT-1, and Philippine National Railways (PNR) lines to increase their respective capacities, among others. In fact, we now have four (4) 4th Generation LRVs out of 120 for LRT-1 and its Cavite Extension; three (3) new Diesel Hydraulic Locomotives (DHL) and fifteen (15) passenger coaches are now being used, and that which completes the PNR re-fleeting strategy in 2018 [37 cars/passenger coaches and 3 locomotives]. Further, the contract for the rolling stock of the Metro Manila Subway Project has been signed last December 2020.

Through these, the DOTr is putting in place mass public transportation as the principal means for mobility to reduce dependence on private vehicles, with the objective of reducing exhaust emissions, given that 70% of air pollution is from vehicle emissions.

Meanwhile, in the road transport sector, the shift to clean energy of public buses and other public utility vehicles has become more relevant and timely with the pandemic.

Thus, through the LTFRB, we are rationalizing routes and undertaking the Public Utility Modernization Program (PUVMP) to ensure order, efficiency, safety and protection of the environment through clean fuel use in public land transport.

We are gearing towards a public transport that has clean energy-powered public buses, particularly high-capacity electric-powered vehicles, to move people while using less vehicles.

We are also currently conducting the Service Contracting program to, not only help PUV drivers to make up for loss income during the restrictions, but also to upgrade the quality of public transport service they provide.

We are fully developing the EDSA busway in accordance with global standards to optimize its potential for moving commuters and for this purpose, work for the allocation of the required road space.

With a majority of Filipinos saying that active transport is possible in their localities, we, at the DOTr, are supporting and facilitating the use of other forms of mobility such as bicycling and walking.

For this purpose, we support the recovery of lost sidewalk space due to past car-oriented road space use policy, where roads were widened by encroaching on sidewalks and cutting down trees.

To take a notch higher, we are determined in our push for more infrastructure to serve the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.

At present, the DOTr is expanding bicycle lanes in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao under the Bayanihan 2 Bike Lane Networks project. Around 29 kilometers of bike lanes were already established to date. Before the year ends, we intend to add 140 kilometers of bike lanes to the country’s expanding bike lane network.

We are also actively pursuing the Bike Sharing Program with a total of 31 bike sharing stations already operational across Metro Manila as of February 2021.

The concept of a “walkable community” is also on top of our active transport list, with the EDSA Greenways Project Phase 1. The project aims to establish “greenways” or walkable nodes at different railway stations. It aims to serve 1.1 million pedestrians daily in 2023 and 1.2 million/day in 2051. Target partial operations of the project is by December 2021, and full operations by February 2023.

We are also pushing forward with the EDSA Busway Bridge with Concourse Project which will assist pedestrians in safely crossing EDSA as they alight from the designated bus stops along the thoroughfare.

Outside Metro Manila, we are promoting public and active transport on roads through the establishment of bus systems.

In Cebu, the DOTr is pushing for the partial operability of one of the crucial segments (Package 1) of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (Cebu BRT) within 2021. DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade ordered a 24/7 construction work schedule for the project. The Cebu BRT’s Package 1, which covers the 2.6-kilometer busway, with four (4) stations, urban realm enhancement, and vital intersection improvements, is already at the procurement stage.

In Davao, a modern high priority bus system shall provide an efficient, world-class, and affordable mode of transportation through the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project (DPTMP). We are likewise targeting its partial operations this year as the parcellary works are currently ongoing following the awarding of its contract.

These projects prove that the DOTr is indeed looking forward to serve more commuters with better mass transport option, and is in full support of the government’s thrust to enhance mobility and connectivity through the provision of mass transport infrastructure across all transport sectors in the country.

Instituto Cervantes pays Online Tribute to Spanish actress Angela Molina

Wazzup Pilipinas!


This February, Instituto Cervantes de Manila will treat Filipino film buffs to the film series “Ángela Molina”, an online tribute to one of the main contemporary Spanish actresses. This film cycle will be shown through the Instituto Cervantes channel on the Vimeo platform (vimeo.com/institutocervantes) and freely accessible for 48 hours from their start date and time.

Ángela Molina is one of the most outstanding actresses in Spanish cinematography. She started her career in the middle of Spain’s transition to Democracy and has kept working until today. Her career has been marked by her participation in numerous international films, of which her collaboration with Buñuel was arguably the peak. On the occasion of such a brilliant career, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will award her the Goya Award of honor at the 2021 edition of these Awards.

The film series, composed of three films that marked Angela Molina’s career, will kick off on 13 February, Saturday, with the screening of La sabina (available for 48 hours until Monday, February 15 at 3 AM). The movie, a Spanish co-production with Sweden, was directed by José Luis Borau in1979. It is about an English writer who moves to a Spanish town with the aim of changing his life. There he decides to investigate the life of a wandering man who lived in the 19th century, since it is said that he was killed by a dragon woman, known as "La Sabina".

The film series will continue on 20 February, with the drama La mitad del cielo (1986), directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón --a fundamental director in Ángela Molina's career, who will star in several of the films he made during the Transition years, such as "Camada negra" (1977), "El corazón del bosque" (1979) and "Demonios en el jardín" (1982). La mitad del cielo is about Rosa, a woman who travels to Madrid after the Civil War to open a restaurant that transforms to a political and intellectual center of the capital. The movie bagged the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Film Festival and Ángela Molina received the Silver Shell award for best actress.

Finally, the musical Las cosas del querer (Jaime Chávarri, 1989) will conclude the film cycle on February 27, which will be available for 48 hours until Monday, February 29 at 3 AM. When the Spanish civil war ends, Mario, a homosexual singer, a pianist and his girlfriend Pepita come together to form a group, which will become famous throughout the entire Spain. The trio’s brilliant career will take them back to Madrid, where their worst moments will come; the aristocracy of the capital, bored and in search of strong emotions, does not forgive and throws itself against Mario for his homosexual condition, while Pepita's mother conspires to separate her from her pianist boyfriend... Aside from letting us listen to Spanish folk music from the 1930s and 1940s, the film depicts the historical setting and makes a poignant criticism to the moral and sexual subversion of this post-Civil War period.

The films, presented by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, will be in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free. For further information and updates on this film series, please check out Instituto Cervantes’ Facebook site (www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila) or the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/161791552193592



For further information about the cultural program of Instituto Cervantes please log on to Instituto Cervantes’ website (http://manila.cervantes.es), or Instituto Cervantes Facebook page www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Microsoft Unveils New Employee Experience Platform — Microsoft Viva — to Help People Thrive at Work

Wazzup Pilipinas!


Company reimagines fragmented $300 billion market to bring tools for employee communications, wellbeing, learning and knowledge discovery into the flow of work

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday announced Microsoft Viva, the first employee experience platform to bring tools for employee engagement, learning, wellbeing and knowledge discovery, directly into the flow of people’s work. Viva is designed to help employees learn, grow and thrive, with new experiences that integrate with the productivity and collaboration capabilities in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams.

“We have participated in the largest at-scale remote work experiment the world has seen, and it has had a dramatic impact on the employee experience,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Every organization will require a unified employee experience from onboarding and collaboration to continuous learning and growth. Viva brings together everything an employee needs to be successful, from day one, in a single, integrated experience directly in Teams.” 

The announcement comes as economic and social trends are driving durable changes in workforce engagement. Amid the shift to an increasingly distributed and digital work environment, demand has grown for solutions that support corporate culture, knowledge discovery, on-the-job learning and employee wellbeing. Analysts size the nascent Employee Experience Platforms (EXP) category at $300 billion in annual spend. It spans what is today a fragmented market of services, infrastructure and hundreds of tools, many that go undiscovered and underutilized by employees at the companies that have invested in them.

“As the world of work changes, the next horizon of innovation will come from a focus on creativity, engagement and wellbeing so organizations can build cultures of resilience and ingenuity,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president, Microsoft 365. “Our vision is to deliver a platform for the employee experience that helps organizations create a thriving culture with engaged employees and inspiring leaders.”

Microsoft Viva builds on the power of Teams and Microsoft 365 to unify the employee experience across four key areas — Engagement, Wellbeing, Learning and Knowledge — in an integrated experience that empowers people to be their best. Today, Microsoft is announcing an initial set of modules in Viva that will provide built-in capabilities, integrations from a strong and growing ecosystem of Viva partners, and platform extensibility that will enable customers to integrate their existing employee experience systems and tools with Viva to make them more accessible and discoverable to employees:

• Viva Connections provides a personalized gateway to your digital workplace where employees can access internal communications and company resources like policies and benefits and participate in communities like employee resource groups, all from a single customizable app in Microsoft Teams. The Connections app for Teams will be available on desktop in public preview the first half of 2021 with a mobile app coming later this year.

• Viva Insights gives individuals, managers and leaders personalized and actionable insights that help everyone in an organization thrive. Personal experiences and insights, visible only to the employee, help individuals protect time for regular breaks, focused work and learning, as well as strengthen relationships with their colleagues. Managers and leaders can see trends at team and organization level, as well as recommendations to better balance productivity and wellbeing. The insights are aggregated and deidentified by default to maintain personal privacy. In addition, a new dashboard allows organizations to combine employee feedback from LinkedIn’s Glint with collaboration data from Viva Insights, enabling leaders to more accurately identify where teams may be struggling, proactively adjust work norms, and then quantify the impact of those changes over time. In addition to using data and signals from Microsoft apps, customers will also be able to incorporate data from third-party services like Zoom, Slack, Workday and SAP SuccessFactors. The Viva Insights app in Teams and the new Glint and Viva Insights dashboard are now available in public preview.

• Viva Learning makes training and professional development opportunities more discoverable and accessible in the flow of work. It aggregates all the learning resources available to an organization in one place, including content from LinkedIn Learning; Microsoft Learn; third-party providers including Skillsoft, Coursera, Pluralsight and edX; as well as an organization’s own content library. From traditional learning courses to microlearning content, users can discover, share, assign and track a wide variety of learning as a natural part of the workday. The Viva Learning app is now available in private preview, and starting later this year Viva Learning will offer integrations with leading learning management systems, including Cornerstone OnDemand, Saba and SAP SuccessFactors.

• Viva Topics delivers a knowledge discovery experience that helps people connect to information and experts across the company. Using AI to reason over a customer’s Microsoft 365 data, and with the ability to integrate knowledge from a variety of third-party services such as ServiceNow and Salesforce, Viva Topics automatically surfaces topic cards within conversations and documents across Microsoft 365 and Teams. Clicking on a card opens a topic page with related documents, conversations, videos and people. Viva Topics is now generally available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 commercial plans.

“Microsoft Viva is a groundbreaking Employee Experience Platform, ushering in a new enterprise software category that focuses entirely on the daily needs of employees at work,” said Josh Bersin, research analyst and noted expert on employee experience technology. “Viva will enable companies to integrate their fragmented workplace tools and provide them in the flow of work.”

A global network of services partners, including Accenture, Avanade, PwC and EY will provide consulting and advisory services to help customers optimize their existing employee experience investments by bringing them together with Microsoft Viva.

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.