Pharmally's Krizle Grace Mago resurfaces at the House of Representatives

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

After days of being out of reach since her bombshell admission that Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation allegedly swindled the government with expired face shields, Krizle Grace Mago resurfaced at the House of Representatives (HOR). 

Mago enters protective custody of Congress after she stopped attending and responding to the Senate following her revelations. 

During the Sept. 24 Senate hearing, Mago admitted to ordering Pharmally personnel to tamper with the expiration dates of face shields ordered by the government from their company.

Mago named Mohit Dargani, the company's corporate secretary and treasurer, as the one who ordered to change the certification stickers of face shields for frontliners.

Dargani denies giving the instructions.

Mago: I always follow instructions po but allow me to check our conversations. But generally, as an employee, I always follow instructions.

In a letter to Sen. Richard Gordon, House Committee on Good Govt Chairperson Mike Aglipay informs Senate Blue Ribbon Commitee (BRC) that Mago has been placed under the custody of the House.

Mago’s letter to House Speaker Lord Allan Jay Velasco requesting for protective custody. She expressed fears that her life and liberty are ‘in grave danger.’

Let's wait for the House's script to absolve Pharmally and Duterte.

For sure, they will influence Mago para bumaligtad and i-retract ang mga naunang salaysay.

Remember, nauna ng gusto palabasin ni Atty. Ferdinand Topacio na bayaran lang ang witness ni Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

Hontiveros on the House taking custody of Mago: I trust it will be a comfortable stay for her—but hopefully not too comfortable. Inter-parliamentary courtesy requires that I say nothing more. 

Mahirap na nilang mabura sa isip ng mga tao yan lalo ngayon na Election season, maglalabasan talaga ng baho yan, whether they like it or not 9 months na lang sila sa pwesto. Masyado ng halatang guilty Ang Pharmally at PS-DBM. And we all know that Congress is controlled by Duterte, just as how they ganged up.on ABS-CBN.

This is getting exciting. I wonder if Mago's going to totally change her testimony and now going to drop names of Senators who she will now accuse of coercing and forcing resource persons to lie and implicate Duterte and the DBM officials to corruption?

The house investigation is on the side of the administration as seen from how they seem to even help the former PS-DBM Undersecretary Christopher Lao to get away from accountability.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mago will recant her previous statements to the senate.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said the essence of whistleblowing can’t be “overstated” because it was the “single most important way that could bring wrongdoing to light.”

Mago is now under custody of Congress. She can be cited for contempt by the Senate BRC? The HOR cant stop her arrest, and if ever she contradicts her word in BRC, she can be charged for perjury! Please do it, senators! 

Sen. Francis Pangilinan: I understand the House of Representatives will make arrangements to make her (Mago) available should the Senate BRC requests for her presence so if true, then I do not see this as a problem.

Senate President Tito Sotto on Mago now under House protective custody

"Very good. As long as she is safe. Her testimony given in the Senate is more than enough. The people have heard her already. We were concerned for her safety."

One can surmise that Mago went to the House instead of the Senate because the House Leadership is still strongly connected to the President.

I think she will speak up she will reverse everything. The Duterte faction at the HOR is known for these strategy.

Parehong tuta ni Duterte ang minority at majority sa congress. Nabalita yan dati nag aaway away sila kasi wala ng check and balance, at si Boy Tattoo pa nga sana gagawin nila na speaker, kaya alam na magiging takbo niyan.

Tiba tiba mga tongressman, Sulit talaga investment ni Michael Yang. The plot thickens.

WWF celebrates a decade of sustainable fisheries work in the PH with book launch

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Bangkulis: Tuna Tales from Hook to Cook follows handline tuna fishers from the Lagonoy Gulf and Mindoro Strait on a decade-long journey toward environmental sustainability. 

A decade of sustainable fisheries work brings hope to the future of our seas.

The World Wide Fund for Nature launched Bangkulis: Tuna Tales from Hook to Cook, a coffee table book commemorating a decade of sustainable fisheries work in the Philippines in a virtual event held on October 1, 2021. 

Set in the yellowfin tuna fisheries of the Lagonoy Gulf and Mindoro Strait, the book details the fisherfolk’s 10-year journey to environmental sustainability. The book follows small-scale fishers and how they have organized themselves toward protecting and uplifting their livelihoods.

In 2011, WWF began working with handline yellowfin tuna fishers in Lagonoy Gulf and Mindoro Strait. A Fisheries Improvement Project was launched - a multi-stakeholder program that aims for the environmental sustainability of fisheries.

A little over a decade of work has brought many wins for these fisheries, both in terms of the management of yellowfin tuna stocks and the empowerment of the handline fishers themselves. 

Bangkulis: Tuna Tales from Hook to Cook presents these wins, and the effort that went into achieving them.

“Our partner fishers are at the center of this story. They are the local leaders trying to safeguard the seas they rely on, and we have had the pleasure of watching them come together, empowered, constantly learning, so that they may better take care of their fisheries,” shared WWF-Philippines Project Manager Joann Binondo.

Binondo also reminds that these yellowfin tuna fisheries have a long way to go before they can claim to be environmentally sustainable. Despite this, the fishers remain committed to improving upon their practices and exploring better ways to safeguard their seas.

“A decade of hard work has gone into improving our fisheries. It has been difficult, but we have seen what this can mean for us - a sense of stability, for those of us whose lives depend on fishing,” shared Atenogenes Reaso, a fisher and chairman of the Gulf of Lagonoy Tuna Fishers Federation, Inc. 

 

Bangkulis: Tuna Tales from Hook to Cook will be available soon on WWF-Philippines website.

MVP Beyond the Suit: Advocacy for Tourism

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

A pause to recharge or reimagining a future that empowers Filipinos to co-build a more robust tourism industry in Batangas, Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) is not your conventional business leader as he strikes a balance of both endeavors.

As Chairman of the infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and other numerous companies that provide essential services, MVP stays on top of the company’s COVID-19 response in support of the government efforts. At the same time, he jumpstarts the preparedness of the Philippine economy to bounce back from the global health crisis with his vision for tourism in Batangas.

MVP leads his team to have courage in facing the future with bright prospects through the uncertainties. He does all these while he visits the pristine beauty of the Landco’s latest Leisure Tourism Estates (LTE) – the 15-hectare Calatagan South Beach, better known as CaSoBē.

“Through Landco Pacific Corp.’s latest beachside projects: CaSoBē and Club Laiya, I take pride in promoting Batangas as one of the country’s top tourist destinations. These properties are responsibly developed to preserve the cultural and natural features of the place; provide employment for locals; and give Filipinos an opportunity to recover from these unprecedented times by not just building their dream beach homes but opting to create Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that cater to the tourism market,” MVP stated.

These master planned estates are the newest projects of upscale real estate developer Landco, a subsidiary of MPIC. These developments under Landco BeachTowns are close to MVP’s heart as he foresees these lively leisure and tourism destinations in Batangas as the next big thing. The country’s answer to some of the world’s most vibrant beach side destinations: Ibiza, Spain; Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Capri, Italy.

For more than three decades, Landco made its mark in developing exclusive and luxurious properties around the country. One of its leading projects is Peninsula de Punta Fuego, a premiere luxury seaside residential community situated on the 88-hectare of pristine coastline in Nasugbu, Batangas.

Leveraging on tourism as one of the key drivers for the country’s growth when it emerges from these challenging times, Landco with the leadership of MVP, envisions a revolutionary and innovative new concept.

Landco CEO Erickson Y. Manzano supports MVP’s vision to position the LTE as thriving and inclusive seaside communities in the travel and leisure destination of Batangas, inspiring entrepreneurship and work-life harmony.

“It’s a gamechanger approach. Instead of making it exclusive, it’s open to the tourism market but remains aspirational and premium,” said Manzano. “It presents an opportunity for budding Filipino entrepreneurs or those who would like to work closer with nature. Eventually, the place will not just be a hotspot for local tourists but for in-bound travelers from abroad,” he added.

CaSoBē offers a mix of seaside residential homes, and beachside retail and commercial establishments. There’s a Retail Row, a Harbour Walk, and an Activity Block – with lot sizes ranging from 356 square meters to 890 square meters. All these lots are near the beach and paved with pedestrian streets. There’s a common area estate WIFI, 24/7 security with CCTV, a beach promenade and a hotel-inspired property management service.

It's is a haven for those who prefer more privacy and a laidback and intimate lifestyle. It is near Cape Santiago lighthouse, a golf course, Little Boracay sandbar, Star fish island and the underwater pyramid.

Located on the other side of the Batangas coastline, the 24-hectare Club Laiya features a combination of residential and commercial-ready lots in the tourist spot of San-Juan Laiya Road. It’s a choice destination for the stylish and chic leisure seekers who love to work on their tan, get into water sports and hangout in the hottest party scenes. A row of diverse resorts, restaurants and bars already dots its shores.

 
Two to three hours away from Metro Manila, CaSoBē and Club Laiya are both LEED-registered with Landco’s commitment for long-term environmental sustainability.

MVP attests to CaSoBē’s significance as a tourist destination and an ideal work from the beach venue in the new normal. His business calendar was filled with Zoom meetings and online conferences with a seaside view and assistance by the warm and friendly local staff.

Helmed by Landco’s Senior Consultant for Hospitality Patrick C. Gregorio, the Edge-registered Millennial Resorts Corporation (MRC) is the hospitality service provider within the LTE. MRC owns and operates unconventional accommodations: Cocoons and Crusoe Cabins, select leisure facilities: Laiya Beach Club at Club Laiya and Aquaria, a waterpark with a three-story giant slide at CaSoBē These are the tourism attractions for which the properties are known for.

Landco projects are in line with MPIC’s commitment to help achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; and strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

For MVP, coming home to a tropical paradise in these LTE is a breeze. It’s going to be the newest trend in the travel industry.

For more information about Landco and its Millennial Resorts and Leisure Tourism Estates Club Laiya and CaSoBē, visit https://www.landco.ph/ or FB page: https://www.facebook.com/LandcoPacificCorporation.