Cebu’s Triple Treat: Food, Cars, and Construction All Set for September

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

This September, three prime events in Cebu City—also known as the Queen City of the South—will bring innovation, recreation, and business together in a unique way. The Philippine Building and Construction Expo (PHILBEX Cebu), the Cebu Foods and Beverages Exposition (CEFBEX),), and the Cebu Auto Show (CAS) are set to provide an unmatched exhibition of culinary artistry, automotive innovations, and architectural brilliance. Cebu's rich culinary legacy will be celebrated at CEFBEX. This event will include home cooks competing in the Culinary Cup, patissiers displaying their skills in a cake decorating competition, a market basket featuring a range of regional and international food products, and vegetable and fruit carving exhibitions that highlight artistic talent. The CEFBEX Scoop will also provide attendees with the latest trends and highlights from the expo.

The Cebu Auto Show (CAS) promises to pique interest with an extensive display of the newest automotive trends and innovations. Highlights at CAS will include Die-cast Models, which include finely detailed miniature automobiles, and a collection of Classic and Customs, which emphasize the craftsmanship of both old and specially manufactured cars.

Building on the success of WSI’s flagship event, WORLDBEX, PHILBEX Cebu 2024 will focus on the future of design, construction, and real estate. The City of Tomorrow, which will showcase cutting-edge ideas for urban planning, The World of Interior Design, which will provide an overview of contemporary interior design trends, and The World of Architecture, which will interact with avant-garde architectural projects, are some of the main attractions. In addition, Projeto will present the newest innovations in construction technology, PHILBEX Lab will offer interactive workshops, and Green Unleashed will emphasize green technologies and sustainable building methods.

All three events will take place from September 12 to 15, 2024, at the IEC Convention Center Cebu (IC3). This exceptional convergence is expected to boost the local economy and enhance Cebu’s reputation as a hub for industry advancement and collaboration.

To participate, register for free at (https://register.worldbexevents.com/).

This event is organized by Worldbex Services International. For more details kindly visit their website at www.worldbexevents.com.

For updates and more information, follow us on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/worldbex/

https://www.facebook.com/CebuAutoShow/

https://www.facebook.com/CebuFoodsandBeveragesExpo/

Consumers slam Meralco pass on charges, launch campaign against costly electricity

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Amid consecutive rate hikes, the Power for People Coalition (P4P) on Thursday slammed the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) for continuing to choose to pass on higher costs of electricity to consumers - including, recently, the landed cost of gas-powered plants operated by FirstGen right after the end of passed-on spot market costs collection this month.

Landed cost refers to the expenses in the storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) – which is the state in which gas is transported from sources overseas. Meralco has also been collecting additional pass-on charges from its consumers since June, ending in September, from the cost of procuring electricity from the spot market in the summer, when the grid suffered numerous yellow and red alerts.

“Meralco has stumbled upon a new way to collect even more money from consumers – it will make consumers pay for the consequences of its bad decisions on using fossil fuels on top of the pass-on charges it already collects on the market cost of these said energy sources. The consumer is hit with a trifecta – they pay for the cost to generate and deliver electricity, they pay for the cost of the fuel to produce the electricity, and then they pay yet again for the failure of power plants to deliver the expensive electricity because DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla and the big energy players continue to promote coal and gas. In allowing landed costs to be included in the recovery, Meralco is paving the path for everyone in the power industry to make money at the expense of ordinary consumers,” said Gerry Arances, P4P Convenor.

Arances added that P4P is launching a campaign – Nagmamahal, Meralco – to mobilize consumers to fight the excessive charges that the distribution utility passes on to them.

“We are relaunching a campaign called Nagmamahal, Meralco, to unite all consumers of Meralco to show their displeasure and put pressure on the company to stop its remorseless milking," said Arances.

Aaron Pedrosa, Secretary-General of Sanlakas, stressed that the decision stretches the limit of what is allowed by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, or EPIRA, which governs the energy sector.

“The law only allows ‘prudent’ and ‘reasonable’ economic costs to be recovered by these power companies. The ERC decision approving the staggered collection of LNG landing costs has given them a free hand to remove all skin from the game yet retain all profits. This decision, alongside the previous one on spot market costs, means 16 months of extraordinary pass-on charges collected from consumers on top of the other unjustified costs, such as fuel costs,” he said.

“Electric consumers are slapped with expensive power rates at a time when unemployment and the cost of basic commodities are rising. Instead of providing much-needed relief to power consumers, Meralco is taking advantage of its position as both a power generator and distributor to get away with amassing superprofits at the expense of the people,” added Pedrosa.

Ka Leody de Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa slammed Meralco for the increased suffering it will bring to ordinary workers.

“Ber months na, naunahan na ng Meralco mga inaanak ng manggagawa sa pamamasko. Ang kaibahan, hindi malugod na mag-aabot ng pera ang mga manggagawa – magbabawas sila ng kakainin at iba pang gastusin para lamang mapunan ang walang katapusang gutom ng mga kumpanya ng kuryente para sa pera ng taumbayan,” he said.

“Hindi pinili ng ordinaryong mamamayan na gumamit ng coal na laging nasisira ang mga planta, pero sila ang magbabayad para dito. Hindi ginusto ng mamamayan na gumamit ng gas, pero sila na ang magbabayad sa pag-angkat nito, pati pag-imbak nito ay iaatang din sa kanila. Ano na ang susunod, pass-on charges para sa mga bonus ng mga executive ng Meralco? Dapat nang matigil ang kalakarang ito,” he added.

References: Gerry Arances (P4P), Ka Leody de Guzman (PLM), Atty. Aaron Pedrosa (Sanlakas)

NAST PHL releases advisory towards reducing the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) published its Science Advisory No. 2024-01 titled “Towards Reducing the Prevalence of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease: Predictors of Hypertension among Filipinos from the Lifecare Philippine Cohort”. Acd. Rody Sy, a renowned cardiologist and member of the NAST PHL Health Science Division, authored this advisory.

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines while hypertension is the command cardiovascular risk factor, Dr. Sy said.

Knowing the predictors for the development of hypertension will be crucial in reducing its prevalence and preventing the complications that come with it, he added.

According to this country’s first study that provided an incidence of hypertension based on a longitudinal cohort population, increasing age, male sex, family history of hypertension, abdominal obesity, low HDL-C, and high normal blood pressure were significantly associated with the development of hypertension among Filipinos in a span of 4 years.

The renowned cardiologist said that as the study was done in only a few provinces in Luzon, the results may not be generalizable to the whole country. Selection bias of recruited participants, lack of follow-up of some participants in the second visit, and Blood Pressure determinations made in a single visit were limiting factors to be considered.

“Nevertheless, the results provided us with an overview of the problem of hypertension in our country”, he added.

Dr. Rody Sy, through the NAST PHL science advisory, recommends a healthy lifestyle to prevent or delay the development of hypertension. He also recommends providing communities with open space and facilities for people to exercise, using activetransportation, and securing financial support for further study.

The science advisory may be accessed through https://bit.ly/NASTHypertension.

(AANavarro/NAST PHL)

The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) is an attached agency to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) mandated by law to recognize outstanding achievements in scientific research and development and to serve as an adviser to the President of the Republic of the Philippines and the cabinet on policies concerning science and technology in the country. For more updates, follow NAST Philippines’ (@nastphl) social media accounts.