Medical.Associations warn of the dangers of E-Cig and Vapes

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Medical associations on Monday decried as ‘fake news’ claims that e-cigarettes and vapes are a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes.


“E-cigarettes and vapes should not immediately be viewed as healthier alternatives to cigarettes,” said Dr. Michael Caampued of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians or PSPHS. “At present, It is dangerous to brand these novel products as helpful to those who want to stop cigarette smoking while there are still no high-quality evidence to back the claim,” Dr. Caampued added.

“We are now seeing a rise in cases of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), in other countries. In fact, the Philippines already recorded its first case in 2019,” said Dr. Corry Avanceña of the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS). “These novel products emit aerosols containing chemicals that harm the lungs of the users and even the lungs of those around them,” Dr. Avanceña, a pediatric pulmonologist, explained.

“The best way to quit smoking is through a mix of safe and doctor-recommended methods: nicotine replacement therapy, counseling, and family support, among others,” advised Dr. Avanceña. “You shouldn’t replace an addiction with another addiction,” she said.


Vape and E-Cig Bill Endanger Public Health

The medical associations also expressed their concern against bills in Congress that seemingly seek to regulate the sale, promotion and distribution of vapes and e-cigarettes. “In reality, the proposed measure in Congress on vapes and e-cigarettes weakens our policy milestone in tobacco control set by RA 11467,” said Dr. Caampued. Republic Act. No. 11467 is more informally known as the Sin Tax Law.

House Bill No. 9007 or the Non-Combustible Nicotine Delivery Systems Act was recently approved on third and final reading in the House of Representatives last week. A similar measure will be deliberated in the Senate.

“If we are to regulate a product that is this dynamic, we should not weaken regulation, rather encourage continuous review of evidence and afford the FDA stronger regulatory roles,” he urged.

“We should not introduce policies that will weaken existing regulations on the sale, promotion, distribution, and use of vapes and e-cigarettes,” he also said.

“The bill is dangerous to public health and young Filipinos’ health as it will roll back the age restriction set by the FDA for the sale of these novel products from 21 years old to 18 years old and embolden vape and e-cigarette makers to market their products to non-smokers as ‘healthier products’,” added Dr. Avanceña. “We have to remember that the brain continues to mature until our early 20s and that early exposure to nicotine could impair the brain’s development.”

Vapes and E-Cig-Makers Target Youth

Meanwhile, law group ImagineLaw also exposed the practice of vapes and e-cigarette makers to target young people as new consumers.

“Tapping youthful influencers, launching gimmicks and promos, and maximizing online platforms are just some of the tactics that vape and e-cigarette makers engage in in order to target young people as new consumers,” said ImagineLaw Policy Associate Atty. Anna Bueno.

“E-cigarette and vape industries, some of them with ties to tobacco companies, are looking for new products to lure new consumers to nicotine addiction,” she added. “Once the Vape Bill is passed into law, young Filipinos’ health will be compromised in the name of profit,” Bueno concluded. 

PLDT Primes PH as Newest Data Center Hub in Asia

Wazzup Pilipinas!?


Emerging data center market poses potential to be next big economic driver


The global pandemic has been a catalyst for digital transformation as there was a steep rise in the usage of consumer applications from social media to video streaming, gaming, e-commerce, online learning, and telehealth, among others. The pandemic has also pushed the enterprise and public sector over the technology tipping point by accelerating their cloud adoption by increasingly migrating workloads to the cloud and massively using collaboration platforms supporting work from home arrangements.



Speaking earlier this year at Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) 2021, Jeff Mendoza, Asia Pacific Regional Head of PLDT Enterprise said, “The digital transformation dictated by the pandemic among the enterprise and consumer sectors have pushed the hyperscalers in the cloud and content provider space to step on the gas with their data center deployment plans across relevant countries. The goal is to optimize subscriber experience through data server localization while enhancing network resilience in growth markets, including the Philippines.”



Digital Philippines at a Glance



The digital profile of the Philippines has motivated these hyperscalers to build their digital infrastructure within the archipelago. As these big techs strive to reign in the intensified battle of eyeballs or subscribers, the population and the digital economy of a country are critical considerations in crafting their data center expansion road map.



According to We Are Social’s Digital 2020, the Philippines is home to the second-largest eyeballs within the Southeast Asia with a population of 109M. It has one of the youngest median age of 25.8 years old versus the average age within the region of 31.8, pointing to a sizable tech-savvy population which has stronger digital appetite and adoption to technology.



The nation also takes pride in having one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the region at 138%. The Philippines has 74M internet users with netizens spending 10.5 hours online which is the longest across the globe.



The Philippines has been dubbed as the social media capital of the world when it comes to hours spent in social media while it ranks as 6th in the list of countries with the most Facebook users. E-commerce sales grew by USD3.6B in 2020 at a phenomenal growth rate of 43%, with projections spiraling to USD12B in 2025.



From a Cloud Service Revenue perspective, Global Data has reported that the Philippines is anticipating a steep rise in cloud service revenues up to USD2.4B by 2024. This is due to the increase in cloud spending in the Enterprise segment and the government’s Cloud First Policy which encourages and pushes the agencies to hasten their cloud adoption strategies.



The 5G Curve Fueling Data Center Demand



The country has also been cited by the GSMA, a global mobile industry organization for mobile network operators worldwide, as an early adopter of 5G, alongside China, Singapore, and Hongkong.



Smart, the wireless subsidiary of PLDT, has launched its 5G services in key locations in the Philippines. 5G brings about denser and faster streams of data as it is driving the need to bring more efficient compute and storage power closer to the point of connectivity and the end-user. Hence, fueling a stronger demand for edge data centers.



The Philippines as an Emerging Data Center Market



The challenges confronted by major data center hubs serving Southeast Asia, like Singapore and Hong Kong, come at a time when the demand for such facilities in the region is growing. In Hong Kong, geopolitical risks out of the imposition of China’s National Security Law has caused hyperscalers in the West to rethink their strategy of building or expanding their server farms in the country. In Singapore, the government has issued a moratorium to freeze data center construction amid high demand in response to sustainability concerns. Landmass shortage was also cited as another point of consideration.



“Hyperscalers are in need of options to serve the fast growing demand within region. This is the time when the emerging data center markets such as the Philippines, is anticipated to take advantage of this window of opportunity,” Mendoza added.



According to Structure Research, a research firm niched in the data center internet and cloud space, the Philippines is one of the emerging DC markets, having a high growth rate alongside Malaysia and Thailand.



Cushman & Wakefield, a reputed global commercial real estate services firm whose technology advisory group is also deeply connected into the data center ecosystem, has cited the Philippines’ DC Market CAGR of 14.2 % versus the Southeast Asia’s growth average of 12.9% until 2024. It has been noted that SEA is the fastest growing region for co-location data centres in a span of 5 years, underpinned by the rapid pace of digitalization and surge in demand for cloud based services.



UBS sees the Philippines as an underserved market with tremendous opportunity, with strong demand from domestic and international operators. This is attributed to data localization and the demand for lower latency by the consumer and enterprise sectors.



Robust Submarine Cable Infrastructure



At present, there are nine (9) existing submarine cables landing in the Philippines, with seven (7) more international cable systems upcoming. These resilient subsea cables are complemented by six (6) diverse Cable Landing Stations strategically located within the archipelago while more stations are already anticipated to be built in the next three years.



Moreover, the Philippines has over 600,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables spread across the islands to date with PLDT owning 478,000 kilometers of the said fiber network. PLDT also has the lion's share of submarine cable capacities terminating in the Philippines.



Hyperscalers are building new subsea cable systems landing in the Philippines, which highlights the importance of the country in the digital infrastructure roadmap of these tech giants.



Greening the Power Grid



Touted as one of the early renewables leaders in the region, with a sustainable energy mix of 24%, the Philippines strives to push for more green sources of power thru the Department of Energy’s Renewable Power Standards circular.



The government’s sustainability campaign anticipates renewable power to generate 35% of the country’s electricity by 2030. This national program is aligned with the sustainability initiatives of the hyperscalers via their respective commitments to renewable energy utilization across their operations.



PLDT has been implementing sustainability initiatives for its data center facilities that will make the most efficient approach to energy usage. For instance, its data center in Clark, Pampanga built its own solar energy source with an EIFS or Exterior Insulation Finishing System which reduces heat penetration into the building.



New Destination for Hyperscalers



Possessing a burgeoning digital economy, robust domestic and international infrastructure in place, a progressive renewable power mix, and data centers at par with the technologically developed countries, the Philippines is an ideal destination to support the hyperscale data center requirements of the cloud and content providers.



“The Philippines is indeed a strong player in the emerging market space for globally certified data centers while it thrives on value creation within the digital economy. We expect in-country DC rollouts of global technology players to accelerate,” Mendoza concluded.



The country’s major data centers are primarily operated by PLDT through its ICT arm ePLDT Inc. The group currently owns a network of 10 globally certified VITRO data center facilities strategically located across the country, with a total capacity of 72MW and over 9,000 racks, designed to support the transformation and fortify the resiliency of enterprises. Since network is as essential as data center reliability, all VITRO data center facilities are designed to be carrier-neutral, allowing other telcos both foreign and local to provide network connections based on customer preference.



VITRO data center also hosts two of the country’s major internet exchanges and serves as the global gateway of the enterprise across different sectors that require colocation, cloud hosting, disaster recovery, managed servers, security and network services—making it the preferred colocation site for hyperscalers.



For more information on PLDT Enterprise and its services, visit www.pldtenterprise.com.





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Bringing opportunities to indigenous communities

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The municipality of Impasugong is a first-class municipality in Bukidnon. Known as the province, tribal capital, the town is home to different indigenous groups, primarily Higaonons, and other tribes like Talaandig and Umayamnon.

While indigenous culture flourish in the town, poverty persists. With farming as their main source of livelihood, most IPs lack access to post-harvest equipment and alternative markets for their produce.

To improve their socio-economic conditions, the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) entered a partnership with local social enterprise, Kauyagan Savers Multipurpose Cooperative, (KSMPC) in 2019 which will increase the income of 250 smallholder farmers in three upland barangays in the municipality.

Impasugong Crops Development Project


The Impasugong Crops Development project involves providing capital and transfer of technology to Kauyagan and the IP farmers for production and consolidation of coffee, corn, and abaca fibers. It also aims to equip the farmers with knowledge on production and farm management, marketing skills, post-harvest handling and financial literacy.

“We partnered with Kauyagan and connected them to PhilFIDA and other line agencies for technology transfer and other support that they may be able to provide,” PEF Senior Area Officer Nikki Along said.

The collaboration has since paid off: the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also donated three (3) units of stripping machines, one (1) decorticating machine, improved hand-stripping devices, and a livelihood center/ buying station for the Abaca. PhilFIDA meanwhile trained and accredited Kauyagan as Abaca consolidators.




Impact to social enterprise and households

In the first year of its implementation, the income sharing scheme enabled farmers to receive at least Php .20 to Php .50 per kilo of corn and Php 2 to Php 3 per kilo of abaca fiber they harvest, depending on the quality.

According to Imelda Esteban, manager of Kauyagan, the project provided a big leap in the development of the lives of the farmers.

“Noon ang mga farmers, magbebenta sa mga big traders. Sa partnership namin with PEF, nabigyan ng pagkakataon ang mga farmers na maibenta ang kanilang mga tanim sa aming cooperative and we are providing them with more competitive prices,” she said.

Imelda said that farmers were also able to enjoy access to facilities from the government and other organizations for them to enhance their productivity.

The crops development project is now in its second year, with more capacity development and increase in premiums for IP farmers underway for them.

The Peace and Equity Foundation aspires to drive positive change in poor Filipino household communities by investing in social enterprises that will provide them with viable livelihood and better access to basic services. We work with partners who share this vision by developing models and best practices that will steer social enterprises to scale up. Founded in October 2001, our Foundation is the steward of an endowment fund and registered as a non-stock, non-profit organization based in Quezon City, Philippines.