PLDT, Smart aid Cavite towards becoming the first province-wide ‘Smart City’

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The largest fully integrated telecommunications company in the Philippines PLDT, through its business arm PLDT Enterprise and wireless unit Smart, partnered with the Cavite local government for the rollout of a massive fiber network for the province’s digital roadmap towards becoming a ‘Smart City.’

An initiative led by Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, PLDT Enterprise, Smart, and ePLDT will activate the Cavite Managed Broadband Network Service (MBNS), an end-to-end solution that will enable world-class internet to the province’s 23 cities and municipalities.

“The PLDT Group is extending its support in laying the groundwork for Cavite’s vision of becoming a Smart City. We are delighted to commence this advancement which is a massive move for the development of Cavite,” said PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

The project will connect over 2,504 locations and 4,894 installed access points, through the PLDT’s fiber network supported by ePLDT's VITRO Data Center which are strategically provisioned all over Cavite using the Smart WiFi platform.

“We recognize the role of digital innovation in furthering progress thus a connected Cavite has always been my vision for our constituents. I’m grateful to PLDT Enterprise and Smart for this partnership and I’m confident that their assistance can make our vision of becoming a Smart City possible,” said Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla.

The fiberization project includes the provisioning of a fully underground fiber optic cable backbone that will provide free internet access to over 23 cities and municipalities, 129 public elementary and secondary schools, and 42 public places around the city and municipal halls.

“We feel honored to be in this partnership and are happy to assist the Province of Cavite as they implement effective programs for the overall improvement of their public services. PLDT and Smart fully commit to the materialization of this project and envision amazing progress for Cavite through this innovation,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications President and CEO.

“We thank the local government of Cavite for their trust and confidence in our capability to deliver top-notch technologies. We are excited to be a part of this project and in assisting you towards the goal of becoming a Smart City,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.

For more information on PLDT Enterprise, visit to pldtenterprise.com.



COVER PHOTO: (L-R) ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups Jovy Hernandez; PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications President and CEO Al Panlilio; Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla; PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan; Cavite Vice Mayor Jolo Revilla; PLDT FVP & Enterprise Revenue Group Head Vic Tria; PLDT Enterprise Corporate Relationship Management AVP & Head Dennis Magbatoc

Two Philippine teams are finalists in global space data competition for COVID-19

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Two teams from the Philippines, GiveSight and World MAQI, are selected by the United States space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as global finalists for the all-virtual, Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon held last June 23-29. With 4,300+ participants from 132 countries and territories, the week-long event featured 233 projects to solve challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the Earth Observing (EO) Dashboard, an interactive data resource giving policymakers and the public a unique tool to probe the impacts of pandemic-related restrictions implemented around the world through the lens of Earth observation satellites.


GiveSight


The Geo-Intelligent Visualization of Earth Systems in Graphical and Historical Timelines (GiveSIGHT) seeks to improve the current EO dashboard by highlighting significant changes of the COVID-19 pandemic through visualizations and guided insight for prospect users. The proposed dashboard is intended to visualize economic proxies through night lights, economic activities, and lock-down timeline in the Philippines.

The team is led by Gabriel Kristopher "Cricket" Soong, an electrical engineer and emerging technologies consultant, and members include software engineer Mark Barretto and Adamson University computer engineering students Angelica Mhay Salazar, Karl Adrian de Guzman, and Joshua Bungcaras.



Mobility over Air Quality Index

The Mobility over Air Quality Index (MAQI) is derived from the fusion of mobility statistics provided by Google with air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from Earth observations. While the COVID-19 pandemic initially led to decreased mobility and improved air quality, countries around the world have begun to lift their quarantine restrictions, triggering air pollution once again. Through MAQI, areas and communities with improved mobility and air quality may be identified and recognized.

The team is composed of space data researchers and hackathon veterans. Data analyst Dominic Vincent "Doc" Ligot and data engineer Mark Neil Pascual led the conceptualization and prototype development, while Michael Lance M. Domagas, a computer science Master’s student, reunited with his undergraduate thesis adviser, Arturo "Art" Caronongan III, an assistant professorial lecturer from De La Salle University, to do research and concept validation for MAQI.


Pinoy pride and ingenuity

In 2020, Art Caronongan’s team placed as global finalist in the NASA Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge for Snail Space, an app giving a "safe space" by providing mental care and comfort during times of social isolation brought by COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, Doc’s team developed Advanced Early Dengue Prediction and Exploration Service (Project AEDES) which used Earth observations for data-driven dengue detection and nowcasting, bagging the global award for the best use of data in the prestigious NASA International Space Apps Challenge. Since then, the initiative has garnered more accolades: recognized in 2020 by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) for applying Earth observations towards the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and more recently last May 2021, vetted and approved by the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as a Digital Public Good (DPG), putting the Philippines on the map as a DPG pathfinding pilot country.

A team from CirroLytix Research Services, a Philippine-based startup leading the charge in using big data for social impact founded by Doc, developed Global Impact Detection from Emitted Light, Onset of COVID-19, and Nitrogen Dioxide (GIDEON), a data portal that used satellite data and news feeds to measure economic and social impacts of lockdowns and pandemic interventions. In 2020, GIDEON also won the best use of data global award in the NASA Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge.

Cricket Soong and Mark Pascual are also from CirroLytix, and in late 2020 were Space Apps global nominees for Global Hazard Exposure and Resiliency Trends by Earth observation and Analysis Tools (Global HEARTBEAT), an interactive tool providing geo-located information on natural and human hazards surrounding communities within the Philippines and Canada.

Winners of both space hackathons are invited to visit NASA and partner agencies’ facilities but are responsible for covering their own costs. Although travel has been on hold since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, invitations shall resume once travel is deemed safe.

Michael Lance, a lead local organizer of Space Apps, appeals for support in recognizing these global winners and finalists, "Having both led and participated in these hackathons, I can attest to the world-class quality of our local innovators but sadly support for these innovators has been minimal. In the same way we Filipinos love to cheer our athletes and beauty queens who represent our country, I hope we can find value in supporting our Philippine technologists, who also bring our country pride through their innovation.”

EO dashboard hackathon winners shall be announced in early August 2021.

Lawyers To The Rescue When Dealing With Youth Crime

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It is not uncommon for police stations to have to deal with youth criminals. Every month there are several youth crimes reported and these need to be dealt with by the authorities. The law is different for the youth and they tend to get off easy. There are several laws in place protecting young children, one such law being that children under the age of 10 cannot be held criminally responsible for a legal offence. The law is also lenient for those under the age of 14. In fact, it is not uncommon for those between the age of 10-14 to have to undergo a mental evaluation of their ability to commit the crime. This article goes on to explain how the law deals with youth criminals and the benefits of contacting the best criminal lawyers in Sydney.



How does the Law treat the Youth?

The law pertaining to child crime is quite clear in Australia. It goes like this, those below the age of 10 cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions. However, those between the age of 10 to 14 can be dealt with by the Children's Court of Australia. It is possible to convict a child between the age of 10 to 14 of a crime they commit. However, to do so one would need to have a strong case and prove beyond doubt that the child was fully aware of their actions and knew it was wrong. This is likely to involve a mental assessment as well.

At the same time, the children are given all the protection they can get in a children's court in terms of privacy and legal protection. Those below the age of 18 are usually considered minors in Australia. Thus, they receive special treatment and are only taken into custody if it is absolutely necessary. They will usually never be handcuffed with the exception of them having committed a violent crime. The added benefit being is that they cannot be questioned or drilled for information by the police in the absence of a support person or guardian.



Important Statistics and Facts

● Children between the age of 10 and 17 account for 8% of all the criminal offences in South Australia in 2019-2020. This amounted to 2782 offenders.

● 21% of all youth offenders were guilty of intending to cause injury in Tasmania (2019-2020).

● The number of offenders in 2018-19 in the Northern Territory between the ages of 10-17 was 693.

● In the ACT, 46949 youths between the age of 10 to 17 committed crimes in the year 2019-20.

● There were 17, 7170 youth offenders between 2019-2020 that amounted to 15% of the total offences in New South Wales. The most common offence was fare evasion and assault.



Benefits of contacting a criminal lawyer in Parramatta

It is necessary for the authorities to take appropriate action in the case where a crime has been committed. However, a good defence lawyer can come to your rescue and ensure the child has appropriate legal representation. At times like this, it might not be sufficient to just have the child’s guardians by their side. The smart criminal lawyers in Sydney have the expertise to get your child out of a sticky situation and avoid paying a hefty fine or being charged with a crime. Contact one of the best criminal law firms in Sydney to benefit from their extensive legal knowledge and effective legal help.

More information about legal procedures you can find at dubai.lawyer, a reliable online resource.