Construction of North Avenue Common Station structure slated to be completed by end of March

Wazzup Pilipinas!?



After more than 15 years since its approval by the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee in December 2006, construction of the North Avenue Common Station structure in Quezon City is slated to be completed by end of March this year, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade stated.Tugade made the statement during his site inspection of the Common Station on Thursday, 03 March 2022. The transportation chief was accompanied by Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa, JICA Chief Representative Eigo Azukizawa, BF Corporation CEO Marides Fernando, other transport officials, and private sector partners, to check on the progress of the project.

The inspection consisted of a walkthrough of the Common Station, which saw significant and fast-paced improvements since Secretary Tugade’s last inspection in December 2021. To date, the Station Building of Area A is now connected to Area B or the Atrium, which is now 100% complete.

The 13,700 square meter concourse area will interconnect four major railway lines: LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and soon, the Metro Manila Subway Project.

"Notwithstanding the fact that I did not close EDSA to traffic, notwithstanding the fact that I did not suspend or realign the operations of the MRT-3, the construction of the Common Station’s building structure will be completed by end of March," Secretary Tugade said.

Targeted to start operations by July 2022, Secretary Tugade ordered commencement of operations at an earlier date, “without sacrificing quality of work and reasonability of cost”.

"I will henceforth, until my term ends, inspect and make sure that the electromechanical system will also be in place so that this Common Station – a long-time dream of the Filipino people – will come into reality. I hope it can be done during the term of President Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Secretary Tugade said.

Meanwhile, the project’s contractor, BF Construction, assured to meet the timeline set by Secretary Tugade with non-stop construction works to complete the project. At present, BF Construction CEO Marides Fernando said the concreting of the platform level, where the MRT-3 and LRT-1 lines are set to merge, is now ongoing.

"Today, we are very pleased to welcome Secretary Tugade. You can see that the status of the [station] building is well on its way and we are rushing; 24/7 work is going on here at the station to complete it as per the Secretary's schedule," said Fernando.

For his part, Ambassador Kazuhiko, who earlier rode the MRT-3 from the Ayala Station going to the inspection site at North Avenue, lauded the relentless efforts of the DOTr to improve mobility and connectivity in the country.

“So, in the near future, I can change from the MRT-3 to the LRT-1 and MRT-7 or Metro Manila Subway via this Common Station. And I can go anywhere in a short time period. Needless to say that railway connectivity is indispensable for efficient transport. That’s why the opening of this Common Station will offer a significant level of comfort to use these railways,” Ambassador Kazuhiko said.

Once operational, the Common Station can accommodate almost 500,000 passengers daily.

SSS branches at 100% capacity to address influx of members, claimants

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The Social Security System (SSS) said all its 281 branches nationwide under Alert Level 1 will be in 100% operations to address the expected influx of transacting members, particularly in certain SSS branches in the National Capital Region (NCR).

SS said all transacting members were accommodated by the branches, particularly those some 100 members who were reported to have camped outside the SSS Diliman Branch along East Avenue in Quezon City.   SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora Ignacio said the state fund agency will continue to monitor the number of members personally transacting in SSS branches. “We will evaluate the situation to determine if there is a need to further extend service hours and hold special operations on Saturdays,” she added.   “With the reduction in Covid-19 alert levels, we are now in 100% operational capacity since all our employees are tasked to their offices,” Ignacio explained.   As this developed, SSS emphasizes its call for members, claimants, and the transacting public to use the agency’s online facilities such as My.SSS and SSS Mobile App for their various transactions with the state pension fund.   “We continue to recognize the health, safety and security concerns of our members even if the Covid-19 alert levels have been reduced. We urge them to make full use of the agency’s online facilities, especially the My.SSS portal. There are more than 30 member services available on My.SSS. They can even access some of these services on the SSS Mobile App,” Ignacio said. The SSS president explained that there is priority given to online branch appointment holders. Members may use the appointment system in My.SSS to indicate the preferred date and time that they want to be accommodated in their chosen SSS branch.The branches have been tasked to set up special lanes for those holding online appointments.   SSS has been accepting online submissions for several transactions through My.SSS since 2011. My.SSS is the pension fund’s online service portal which can be found on the SSS website (www.sss.gov.ph).   The “File Anywhere” policy of the state pension fund remains in effect. This allows SSS members to transact at the nearest branch of their choice. Currently, there are 58 branches in NCR, about 135 branches in Luzon, 44 branches in Visayas, and 44 branches in Mindanao.   SSS also explained that the agency has digitalized all processing of claim and loan applications in all its 281 branches nationwide, not just in the SSS Diliman branch.   Ignacio, however, pointed out that processing of SSS transactions is based on the documents submitted by transacting members.   “I urge the members to make sure to present all required documents to speed up the processing time. The full list of requirements for SSS transactions may be found in www.sss.gov.ph, https://www.facebook.com/SSSPh.   “We want to assure our members that we are continuously finding ways to improve our processes to better serve our members,” Ignacio concluded.

PLDT Enterprise honored with Geographical Region Award as Managed Services Partner of the Year at Cisco Partner Summit 2021

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PLDT Enterprise today announced that it is the recipient of a Cisco Partner Summit Geographical Region award for Managed Services Partner of the Year. Cisco announced the winners during its annual partner conference held digitally. 

Awarded to partners who rise to business challenges, the Cisco Partner Summit Global awards are designed to recognize superior business practices and reward best-in-class methodologies. Areas of consideration include innovative processes, architecture-led successes, strategic business outcome-focused programs, seizing new opportunities, and sales approaches.

“Cisco is proud to work together with leading partners to drive the digital transformation, creating powerful solutions and fresh approaches to meet the needs of our customers,” said Vicki Batka, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Japan and China, Partner Organization at Cisco. “It’s a privilege to recognize PLDT Enterprise with a Cisco Partner Summit Geo-Region award as the Managed Services Partner of the Year winner, further underscoring its outstanding accomplishments in the Asia Pacific, Japan and China region.”

Virtually present in the Cisco APJC award celebration were Jojo Gendrano, FVP & Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise and Fay Ocampo, AVP and Head of Enterprise Strategic Partnerships and Alliances to represent the group and receive the award.

"It is our aspiration at PLDT Enterprise to become a trusted technology partner who can deliver real business valueand make a positive impact on our customers. Our strategic partnership with Cisco has enabled a multitude of enterprise customers in the country to transform digitally in the light of global pandemic. We are proud and glad of this award which is a strong testament of that aspiration," said Jojo Gendrano, FVP & Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise.

Cisco Partner Summit Geographical Regional awards reflect the top-performing partners within specific technology markets across the geographical region. All award recipients are selected by a group of Cisco Global Partner Organization and regional executives.

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in technology that powers the Internet. Cisco inspires new possibilities by reimagining your applications, securing your enterprise, transforming your infrastructure, and empowering your teams for a global and inclusive future. 

For more information, visit pldtenterprise.com.