Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day in Guiuan, Eastern Samar to mark the 500th anniversary

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The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) will conduct a special program in line with the annual Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day on March 18 in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

This is to mark the 500th anniversary of the Philippine-Spanish Contact which happened in the said town exactly 500 years ago on the said date. This was made possible through the recorded compassion and generosity of our ancestors exhibited to the starving, undernourished, and scurvy-stricken Magellan-Elcano expedition, the first to circumnavigate the world. It also happened to be the documented contact of our ancestors and the Spaniards.

According to NHCP Chairperson and concurrent National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) Executive Director Rene Escalante, “Unfortunately, a lot of Filipinos, as well as foreign nationals, do not know this episode in the history of the first circumnavigation of the world.”

To commemorate the cordial contact, the NQC adopted Humanity as part of the theme of the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (2021 QCP), the branding of the thirty-four major quincentennial milestones in Philippine history which include the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan and the 500th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in the Philippines. The committee, created through the Executive Order No. 55 in 2018 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, collaborated with the NHCP in installing historical markers in 34 sites in the Visayas, Palawan, and Mindanao that were part of the route of the first circumnavigation of the world in 1519-1522.

“We are glad that today, we are marking that episode through this historical marker we are about to unveil,” Escalante noted. “This marker shall be a perpetual reminder to those who will visit this place of our heritage of compassion which we are known at.”

The Municipality of Guiuan and NQC will also host a solidarity night commemorating the contact on March 18 in front of the historic Guiuan Church.

The Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day is an annual observance every June 30 by virtue of Republic Act No. 9187. It commemorates the compassion extended by the young Philippine Republic under President Emilio Aguinaldo to the last Spanish soldiers who were left out inside the Baler Church from June 1898 to June 1899. The NQC notes that the Philippines and Spain forged friendship 500 years ago in Guiuan and both parted ways in Baler bannering the same. These two events are hoped to serve as inspiration and motivation for both countries to continue friendship.

Supreme Court of the Philippines Institutionalizes Videoconferencing Hearings to Ensure Continuation of Justice Throughout COVID-19 and Beyond

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170,000 virtual hearings enabled nationwide and digital proceedings resulted in successfully processing 81,000 persons through Microsoft technology



The Philippines’ justice system has taken a significant digital leap forward as the Supreme Court of the Philippines formally institutionalized videoconference proceedings for all its courts nationwide.

Utilizing Microsoft 365—a unified communication and collaboration platform with innovative Office web applications, intelligent cloud services, and world-class security—transparent proceedings and fair justice is becoming more available for more Filipinos at all levels of the justice system, even amid the ongoing community quarantine throughout the nation.

The Supreme Court recently approved the Guidelines on the Conduct of Videoconferencing, allowing remote appearances in court proceedings from individuals across and even outside the Philippines.

"On January 16, 2021, videoconferencing was formally institutionalized, and the guidelines and the conduct of video conferencing became effective. For the first time in its 119-year history, the Philippine judiciary has blazed a new trail by allowing remote testimony from parties situated in even in different parts of nation and the globe," said Honorable Jose Midas P. Marquez, Court Administrator of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

The Supreme Court chose Microsoft to be one of its key partners in their digital transformation journey and invested in Microsoft 365 because the solution is cost-efficient and ensures security and compliance. Moreover, it is interoperable with the judiciary's other projects, and Microsoft supported the necessary skilling for their IT team throughout the pandemic.

"We are privileged to work alongside the Supreme Court of the Philippines in this historic achievement where remote appearances from parties across and beyond the country are now part of court proceedings. The leaders of the national judiciary aspire to provide Filipinos with innovative and accessible citizen services, and we’re fully committed to empowering them with the right technology solutions to do so—today and in the future,” said Microsoft Philippines Public Sector Director Joanna Rodriguez.

During Microsoft’s recent "Asenso Pilipinas: Building Digital Resilience" Summit, Marquez shared how the Supreme Court of the Philippines embraced innovation to spark digital transformation throughout the 27,000 courts across the country under its jurisdiction.

"At present, all courts are authorized to conduct videoconferencing hearings bringing the total to 2,715 courts. I am pleased to note that from May 4, 2020, to January 8, 2021, while parts of the country are still on varying forms of a lockdown and with hardly any mentoring, almost 170,000 video conferencing hearings in both civil and criminal cases have already been conducted by our judges with a success rate of 80%."

According to Marquez, the imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) at the onset of the pandemic brought challenges across all judicial levels.

In the early months of the pandemic, Community Quarantine and reported infections of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) with COVID-19 in different detention facilities restrained the movement and travel of PDLs, judges, and court personnel. At that time, Marquez said, the judiciary worked with a skeletal workforce and was mandated only to act and resolve matters filed before the courts electronically.

“This was as much as we could do as we did not have any official regulating platform to mount video conferencing hearings which was badly needed at that time”, Marquez Said.

The Supreme Court evaluated various tools in the market that will enable them to launch virtual court hearings immediately. After assessing the full spectrum and balance of Microsoft 365 with their security, privacy, and compliance requirements through collaborative workshops, the Supreme Court decided to avail the solution for a trial.

With the substantial capability to launch virtual hearings, the Honorable Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta issued Administrative Circular 37-2020 for the pilot testing of hearings of criminal cases through videoconferencing in select courts in cities nationwide on April 27, 2020.

In just over a week of the pilot testing, 4,683 PDLs were released, and after two months, 21,375 videoconferencing hearings were conducted by judges. As of October 2020, more than 81,000 PDLs and children in conflict with the law were released through virtual court hearings.

Moving forward, the judiciary is aware that there are still improvements to be made, and enabling more technology will allow the courts all over the country to be more efficient, effective, and responsive. “This should reduce, if not totally eliminate, the biases that could stall exponential technological developments to enhance and expedite the administration and dispensing of justice,” according to Marquez.

He added that with more people gaining access to the internet and accustomed to technology, virtual access to justice could be a reality in the country sooner than later.

New ‘The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition’ Director’s Cut Trailer Released Ahead of Asia Premiere

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“The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” will very soon make its highly-anticipated debut on our television screens. Filming for the show was completed in late 2020, and post-production is all but complete with the show ready for distribution.

The latest iteration of the iconic reality television series is set to air across Asia on Thursday, March 18, on AXN, the show’s official Asian broadcast partner, and on TV5 in the Philippines, followed by a global launch in June across broadcast and streaming platforms.

ONE Championship released a new “Director’s Cut” trailer over the weekend ahead of the series’ Asia premiere, where fans are treated to an exciting sneak peek into what is being called the “toughest” version of “The Apprentice” in history.

Lasting just under two minutes, the new trailer highlights bits and pieces of all the intense action and drama that transpired on the show’s inaugural season.

https://youtu.be/kbM8x_DvXoA

Not Your Grandfather’s Apprentice

“This is a competition where only the strong survive. This is not your grandfather’s Apprentice,” ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, the series’ showrunner, bares in the last few seconds of the trailer.

“The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” invites 16 candidates hand-picked from around the world to participate in a series of business and physical challenges, as they compete for a US $250,000 job offer to work directly for Sityodtong as his protege in Singapore.

Because of the aforementioned physical challenges, which is a first on any Apprentice version, ONE believes they have the winning formula for the most exciting and dramatic reality show competition. From the looks of the trailer, the physical challenges were indeed very tough for the show’s competitors, in addition to the cutthroat boardroom sequences.

Of course, an Apprentice show would not be complete without its guest stars. Making an appearance on the trailer are ONE Championship athletes Brandon “The Truth” Vera and “Super” Sage Northcutt, who join other martial arts legends on the show. Also featured as guest stars are CEOs of some of the largest companies in the world, including Grab CEO Anthony Tan, Catcha Group CEO Patrick Grove, Zilingo CEO Ankiti Bose, Philippine cross border digital and e-commerce payment firm QuadX CEO Dino Araneta, and more.

Filmed entirely in Singapore, during the COVID-19 pandemic no less, “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” is a production marvel. The first season consists of 13 episodes and fans are definitely excited to finally see what it’s all about.