LRT-2 East Extension project Inauguration

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LRT-2 commuters going to Pasig, Marikina, and Antipolo can now enjoy a more comfortable, convenient, and faster travel as President Rodrigo Duterte, together with Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade, inaugurated the LRT-2 East Extension project on 01 July 2021.Also opened were two additional LRT-2 stations – the Marikina-Pasig and Antipolo stations – which will enable the rail line to accommodate an additional 80,000 passengers. Daily ridership was increased to 320,000 passengers from the previous 240,000 passengers. The rail extension line also cuts the usual three-hour road travel time from Recto, Manila to Masinag, Antipolo to just 30-40 minutes.

President Duterte commended the efforts of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), under the leadership of Secretary Tugade, and its key private sector partners for the completion of the project despite difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Your efforts and determination show that the government stops at nothing to carry on its mandate, to serve the people’s interest no matter the circumstances,” he said.

“I’ve been saying this over again, I have been redundant about it. This guy [Sec. Tugade] is our valedictorian in law school. Alam ko talaga this guy is marunong, kaya ito ang unang pinakiusapan ko sa journey ko as President. Sila ni Secretary [Mark] Villar ‘yung nag-perform exceedingly well and I thank them. I am really grateful for their services, these are my idol sa gobyerno,” the President shared.

During the ceremony, the President asked Secretary Tugade to give commuters free rides for the first two weeks of the extended line's operations.

On Monday, 05 July 2021, when the extended line opens, passengers from Santolan to Antipolo and vice versa, will ride for free.

Secretary Tugade said the project’s completion has impact on the lives of daily commuters, especially students going to Manila's university belt.

"Ito 'ho 'yung isang alignment ng tren na kung saan ang malaking makikinabang ay ang mga mag-aaral. Kasi po, Mr. President, ito 'hong LRT-2 extension ay babaybay at dadaan sa sa tinatawag natin na University District sa Claro M. Recto. Bago nag-pandemya ang mga estudyante na sumasakay dito sa LRT-2 ay 40% ng total ridership, mga 80,000,” Secretary Tugade said.

“Malaking bagay 'ho ito, sasabihin ko lang kung mararapatin. 'Pag nagbiyahe ka sa C.M. Recto papuntang Antipolo, by land – between 3 to 4 hours. With the LRT Extension, magiging 30 minutes na lang po 'yan. Ang ibig sabihin, maraming oras na mabibigay sa pamilya, pag-aaral at oras sa ating pagnenegosyo,” Tugade added.

Meanwhile, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Administrator Gen. Reynaldo Berroya, for his part, said the project fulfills the government's promise to provide commuters with a safe, reliable and efficient mode of transportation.

He added that the LRT-2 East Extension project also took more than two decades before it was realized.

“The need to extend the LRT-2 existing system to Antipolo was seen two decades ago through a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The nod was given in 2012 by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) leading to a groundbreaking ceremony held in June 2015 followed by groundbreaking ceremonies in June 2017, and April 2019 for its Packages 2 and 3,” Gen. Berroya pointed out.

On Monday, 05 July, commuters will board a shuttle train that will take them from the line's Antipolo Station to the Santolan Station, and vice versa.

During the line's shuttle operations for the next two weeks, passengers will board at the Antipolo Station or at the Marikina-Pasig Station and alight at the Santolan Station.

From the Santolan Station, passengers will transfer to another train that will take them to the Recto Station (and vice versa).

PLDT Enterprise urges companies to adopt 'zero trust' security against increasing cyber threats

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PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of the largest integrated telecommunications company in the Philippines PLDT, promotes the advantages of implementing a zero trust architecture in strengthening businesses' cybersecurity measures amid the increasing demand for cloud and IoT-based (Internet of Things) systems in industries such as healthcare and gaming.

Zero trust security upholds principles of ‘never trust, always verify,’ assumption of breach, and explicit verification as it focuses on the premise that trust is never granted implicitly.

Jojo Gendrano, FVP and Head of PLDT Enterprise Core Business Solutions, said that “despite the innovations brought by cloud technology, security risks are present which could compromise data and potentially cause revenue losses for businesses.”

“Adapting a zero-trust cloud security platform could help institutions strengthen its network security wherein users and devices are always treated untrusted and continual authentication is applied,” Gendrano added.

According to cybersecurity firm Check Point Software, ransomware attacks on organizations worldwide increased 57 percent since January this year and had cost over $20 billion. The report cited the healthcare industry as the sector with the greatest number of attacks globally, with an average of 109 ransomware attack attempts per organization every week.

The gaming industry, meanwhile, has also been exposed to threats including distributed denial of service (DDoS), malware, and credential stuffing among others.

Last year, PLDT Enterprise partnered with NetFoundry for its PLDT Zero Trust Acceleration Platform (PLDT ZAP) which enables businesses to securely connect to business applications and cloud environments over an Internet connection.

Through PLDT ZAP, information from various devices is transmitted as encrypted packets, optimizing user experience while ensuring that data is secure. As the service integrates NetFoundry’s cloud-native zero trust platform, ZAP customers are able to deploy new private network in minutes thereby providing their companies with a competitive advantage in the markets they serve.

“Aside from that, PLDT ZAP is agile, performant, and flexible as it can easily address various solutions such as cloud migration and IoT integration,” Gendrano said.

Gendrano noted that cloud and IoT helped redefine industries such as healthcare by allowing medical institutions to efficiently gather and transmit information for more effective delivery of services.

Likewise, it was also the technology behind cloud gaming and streaming where players can access games through remote servers without the need for specific devices.

For more information on PLDT ZAP, visit https://www.pldtenterprise.com/solutions/internet/zero-trust-acceleration-platform

Fears for children as thousands evacuate Taal Volcano zone amid COVID-19 chaos

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Concern is mounting for the safety of children and families in Batangas as the Taal Volcano was raised to Alert Level 3 following a phreatomagmatic eruption yesterday which experts warned could be followed by further, more dangerous eruptions.

Some barangays in Agoncillo and Laurel –towns which are considered as high-risk areas- have undergone forced evacuation already. More than 7,000 residents in Laurel and nearly 14,500 people from Agoncillo are now affected.

In addition, communities around the Taal Lake are advised to evacuate, take precautionary measures, and remain vigilant for possible hazards and volcanic tsunami according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

Authorities are evacuating hundreds of families from their homes to safer areas. But as the country continues to grapple with a second wave of COVID-19, Save the Children warned that another eruption will also increase the risk of the virus spreading.

Jerome Balinton, Humanitarian Manager at Save the Children in the Philippines, said:

“If the volcano erupts again, it could be deadly. Thousands of families and children have been forced to evacuate their homes and are temporarily sheltered at evacuation centers. We are also concerned that, amidst the chaos of the evacuations, families will be unable to follow social distancing guidelines and are at risk of being infected with the virus. There are 16 active cases of COVID-19 reported in Agoncillo and Laurel. If the evacuation of families becomes overwhelming, it may contribute to the spread of the virus.

With the country still reeling from the fallout of COVID-19, a life-threatening volcanic eruption is the last thing these areas need. Many families have already lost their homes and their livelihoods because of the pandemic. Disasters like this exacerbate their present condition and coping with life struggles.”

Atty. Albert Muyot, Chief Executive Officer at Save the Children in the Philippines, said:

“We are appealing to the local government units to ensure the safety and protection of children and their families during this crisis, as well as to develop their Comprehensive Emergency Program for Children (CEPC) to address the safety, protection, participation, and development of all children when emergencies or disasters strike.

Children’s rights to protection from all forms of harm, to be with their families at all times, to remain healthy, and to continue learning amidst the pandemic and emergencies such as the latest Taal Volcano eruption, should always be realized.”

Save the Children’s humanitarian teams are on stand by and ready to respond, and provide displaced families with temporary shelters and other essentials, as needed.