The GNP Team

QC bans firecrackers, praised by NGOs for health, environmental and safety measures

 News
Nov 212017
 

Quezon City has enacted an ordinance imposing a total ban on the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices during festivity and other occasions in all public places of the city. The move was hailed by various non-government organizations in Quezon City as an essential health, environmental and safety measure worth replicating by other local government units (LGUs). QC Ordinance No. 2618 Series of 2017 states the ban is being placed in time for the upcoming Christmas holiday season when firecracker explosions are known to cause respiratory ailments, injuries, deaths, and damages to properties. The Quezon City barangay league is in charge of implementing the ban with the assistance of the Department of Public Order and Safety and the Quezon City Police District. “We laud our local officials for enacting this ordinance that promises health and environmental benefits beyond measure for the people of Quezon City… Metro Manila and the whole nation will be watching as Quezon City enforces its ban on firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices for the common good,” said Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner for EcoWaste Coalition in a statement. “Children are at high risk for firecracker-related injuries that can seriously maim or kill… Quezon City’s ban on firecrackers, which all parents should support, will put an end to these gory stories,” said Ines Fernandez, founder of Arugaan, a breastfeeding advocacy group promoting child and maternal health. Clean air advocate Tessa Oliva, Executive Director of Green Convergence, said: “Quezon City’s ban on firecrackers is good news for our Read More …

PHI wins 6 golds, 2nd overall in Muay Thai tourney in Korea

 News
Nov 162017
 

The Philippine team of Muay Thai fighters finished second place overall after winning 6 golds, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the 1st World Youth Martial Arts Masterships (WYMA Masterships) in Jincheon, South Korea. The medal haul placed the country as leader among South East Asian nations at the WYMA tournament, ahead of Thailand which placed 6th overall (3-1-2), Malaysia at 8th place (2-3-0), Vietnam in 9th place (2-2-3) and Singapore (0-1-1). Host country South Korea topped the medal tally with 58 gold, 45 silver, and 39 bronze medals. The Pinoy Muay Thai medal finishers competed among 600 athletes from 30 countries in 4 days of competitions early November. The Philippine Muay Thai medalists at the WYMA Masterships: Gold – Ghen-Yhan Berdon (Muay | Boys – 48kg) Gold – Bryan Siglos (Muay | Boys – 63.5kg) Gold – Mariah Co (Muay | Girls – 48kg) Gold – Islay Erika Bomogao (Muay | Girls – 45kg) Gold – Rudzma Abubakar (Muay | Girls – 45kg) Gold – Liane Benito (Muay | Girls – 48kg) Silver – Kristian Narca (Muay | Boys – -48kgs) Bronze – Rosemarie Recto (Muay | Girls-51kgs) Bronze – Felex Dave Cantores (Muay | Boys – 60kgs) The post PHI wins 6 golds, 2nd overall in Muay Thai tourney in Korea appeared first on Good News Pilipinas.

Philippine economy sizzles in Q3 growing 6.9%, one of Asia’s best

 News
Nov 162017
 
Philippine economy sizzles in Q3 growing 6.9%, one of Asia’s best

The Philippine economy grew by 6.9% from July to September 2017, beating analysts expectations and overtaking China in growth again. The country’s Q3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) surpassed the midyear growth rate of 6.5 percent, and the Nomura Securities projection for a 6.7% growth rate. The national statistics agency credited manufacturing, trade, and real estate, renting and business activities as the main drivers of growth for the quarter. Among the major economic sectors, Industry recorded the fastest growth of 7.5 percent followed by Services with 7.1 percent growth. Meanwhile, Agriculture slowed down by 2.5 percent from 3.0 percent growth in the previous year, the report stated. Net Primary Income from the Rest of the World (NPI) grew by 5.7 percent compared with the 4.1 percent growth recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. As a result, Gross National Income (GNI) posted a growth of 6.7 percent. With the country’s projected population reaching 104.9 million in the third quarter of 2017, per capita GDP grew by 5.4 percent. Meanwhile per capita GNI and per capita Household Final Consumption Expenditure grew by 5.2 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively, reported the office of Undersecretary Dr. Lisa Grace S. Bersales. In a briefing, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the government is optimistic it will meet its economic growth target of 6.5-7.5 percent for this year. “We are likely to rank second in Asia, next only to Vietnam at 7.5 percent, and ahead of China’s 6.8 percent and Indonesia’s 5.1 percent,” Pernia Read More …

PH wireless internet speed & access improves according to global report

 News
Nov 152017
 

Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless internet speeds and 4G availability in the country has improved, according to a global research by OpenSignal. Download speeds in the Philippines increased to 8.23 mbps as of October 2017, up from 7.27 mbps in 2016. LTE coverage also went up to 58.83 %, up from 44.80 % in the same period, according to the State of LTE Report 2017 by the global internet mapping company. The Philippine internet improvements were mapped by OpenSignal, although it also ranked the country as still lagging far behind its South East Asian neighbors in terms of overall internet speed and access. In general, speeds in the Philippines remain slow, well below both the global 4G average of 16.2 Mbps and the global 3G average of 4.4 Mbps, as measured in the OpenSignal State of LTE report. Singapore led the global survey for download speeds at 46.64 mbps, followed by South Korea at 45.85 mbps. South Korea also ranked 1st for LTE availability with 96.69 % of the country covered, followed by Japan at 94.11 %. In an earlier Mobile Networks Update about the Philippines released in September 2017, OpenSignal tracked the changes seen in 3G and 4G measurements for Smart and Globe over the last six months. Globe led in 4G availability. OpenSignal users were able to latch onto Globe’s LTE signals more than 62.6% of the time. Both operators, however, saw sizable improvements in their availability scores since the spring. Smart’s availability jumped 12 percentage points in Read More …

Krizziah Tabora is Bowling World Cup Champ, ending PHL’s 14 year title drought

 News
Nov 142017
 

The Philippines’ has a new Bowling World Cup champion! Krizziah Lyn Tabora beat Malaysia’s Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, 232-196, in the stepladder finals as she was crowned the 53rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup (BWC) Champion in the women’s division in Hermosillo, Mexico. Tabora’s ends a 14 year title drought for the country in this prestigious bowling extravaganza. She is the 5th Filipino to win a BWC title after Christian Suarez in 2003 and the 3rd Filipina after Lita dela Rosa in 1978 and Olivia “Bong Coo” Garcia in 1979. Philippine legend Paeng Nepomuceno still holds the record of a Filipino with the most titles in the BWC, as he won in 1976, 1980, 1992 and 1996. Tabora, ranked 28th in Asia (2016), bested the Malaysian to clinch her first international singles championship. She entered the qualification round ranked 8th, but rose to 3rd place to advance to the semi-final round with a total of 6,897 pinfalls after 40 games. Tabora defeated Colombia’s Rocio Restrepo, 249-222, while Siti pulled off an upset win over the BWC’s defending champion Jenny Wegner of Sweden, 227-197. This set up the finals between the 3rd and 4th seed of the competition. The post Krizziah Tabora is Bowling World Cup Champ, ending PHL’s 14 year title drought appeared first on Good News Pilipinas.

Fil-Am Gini Santos is lead animator for Disney Pixar movie Coco

 News
Nov 102017
 
Fil-Am Gini Santos is lead animator for Disney Pixar movie Coco

The first female supervising animator at Pixar Animation Studios is a Filipino-American. Gini Santos, the studio’s lead animator for the upcoming Disney Pixar movie Coco, is responsible for earning rave reviews about the animation and graphics work shown in the movie’s trailers. The 31-year-old Pixnoy (Pinoys working at Pixar) has been with the studio since 1996 when she began working as a character animator for Toy Story 2. Her film animation credits also include Finding Nemo, Monster’s Inc., The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, Ratatouille, Up, Lifted and Brave. She was nominated in 2004 for an Annie award for her detailed lifelike animation on Finding Nemo, and was nominated by the Visual Effects Society for an award for this project as well. In a media briefing in the Philippines, Santos talked about how Coco reminded her of Filipino culture. “I was able to relate because I felt that the dynamic of the family was the same that we had here. And you know, the example of like in the States or in the Western world, your personal space is really big. Whereas here in the Philippines, your personal spaces are really tiny. Like, people stand really close to each other on the streets. And even for family members, that’s also the case,” Santos said in a Rappler report. The University of Santo Tomas Fine Arts graduate also revealed how she is faring as a female leader in the male-dominated animation industry. “I think my struggle was just trying to get my Read More …

Sun Life CEO Riza Mantaring wins ‘Asia Talent Management Award’ in Shanghai

 News
Nov 092017
 
Sun Life CEO Riza Mantaring wins ‘Asia Talent Management Award’ in Shanghai

SUN Life Financial Philippines CEO and country head Riza Mantaring was among the top executives in Asia who were honored in the Asia Business Leader Awards (ABLA) organized by global business news network CNBC. The lone winner from the Philippines and the first Filipina to win in the Asia Business Leader Awards, Mantaring was bestowed the “Asia Talent Management Award” in the ceremony held recently in Shanghai, China. She was honored for being a leader who recognizes the importance of talent in both word and deed, and is committed to supporting, developing, and retaining talent, as well as nurturing the next generation of leaders in Asia. It was under Mantaring’s leadership that Sun Life became the No. 1 life insurance company in the Philippines. Sun Life Asia President Claude Accum lauded Mantaring for the achievement. “Riza is truly deserving of the honor. Her accomplishments in leading Sun Life in the Philippines has been such an inspiration for the rest of our Asia offices, and I know that we will continue to see her shine bright in the future,” he said. For her part, Mantaring dedicated the honor to the Sun Life Financial Philippines team, emphasizing that the success of an organization relies heavily upon the work of the collective. “For a company like ours that offers products that are not tangible, it’s really the employees and the advisors who enable Sun Life to connect with clients and demonstrate what we stand for,” she said. “They are the ones who set Read More …

Pinoy wakeboarders win titles at world championships

 News
Nov 082017
 

Filipino wakeboarders proved to be world-class riders at the 2017 WWA Wake Park World Championships held at the Camsur Watersports Complex. The World Wake Association announced the list of winners in a news release which included: Stephen Vano, Champion in the Amateur Men Category JP Canuto, first place in the Amateur Wakeskate Category Marvin Tucio bagged third place in the Master’s Men Category. Vano and Canuto have earned the honor of being called World Wake Park Champions. The world-class riders from the Philippines competed among 200 wakeboarders from over 20 countries in 4 days of competitions held in what is touted as the country’s best cableski andwake park facility located in Pili, Camarines Sur. The post Pinoy wakeboarders win titles at world championships appeared first on Good News Pilipinas.

PHL hosts 1st Asian Obstacle Course Race Championships in January

 News
Nov 072017
 

The first Asian Obstacle Course Race Championships will be hosted by the Philippines in 2018. The racing championships will be held on January 27, 2018 at the Aseana City, along J.W. Diokno Blvd. between Aseana and Bradco Avenues, Paranaque City. Pilipinas Obstacle Sports Federation (POSF), organizers of the regional meet, announced there will be two categories for Obstacle Course Racers (OCRacers), the Elite/ Pro and Age-Groups/ Open with a total of $4,500 in prizes at stake. POSF revealed in the event launch that the footrace will involve climbing ropes and over walls, carrying heavy objects, traversing bodies of water, crawling under barbed wire and jumping through fire, among others. The organizers caution would be participants that obstacle racing require physically and mentally tough individuals who want to exceed their limits. POSF President Alberto C. Agra called on OCRacers to prepare well for the championships. “Training is very important. We want racers to be fully prepared because the obstacle courses are really difficult. The satisfaction and fulfillment of finishing the race bring pride to the athlete. It’s very sentimental,” Agra said in a Philippine Star report. Invitations have been sent to more than 1,500 racing enthusiasts from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines. The country’s hosting duties led by POSF has been sanctioned by the International Obstacle Sports Federation (OSF) and Obstacle Sports Federation Asia (OSF Asia). To participate, get the full details here. The post PHL hosts 1st Asian Obstacle Read More …

Philippines wins 2 Global Beauty Crowns in less than 24 hours

 News
Nov 052017
 

Filipina beauties scored major victories in two separate international competition’s less than 24 hours apart and recorded strong finishes in other global pageants. Karen Ibasco was crowned 2017 Miss Earth crown, the fourth Filipina winner in ceremonies at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Saturday night. Halfway around the world in Bolivia, Teresita Ssen Winwyn Marquez was proclaimed Reina Hispanoamericana on Saturday (Sunday in Manila). Before their victories, two other Filipinas posted runner-up finishes in other overseas competitions. In Albania, Binibining Pilipinas Nelda Ibe finished second to Vietnam’s Do Tran Khanh in the 2017 Miss Globe pageant on Friday (Saturday in Manila). In Malaysia on Saturday night, Sammie Anne Legaspi also placed second to Siberia’s Diana Krasnova for the 2017 Miss Lumiere International World crown. And last week, Binibining Pilipinas Elizabeth Clenci finished third in the 2017 Miss Grand International pageant in Vietnam. The coming weeks will also be busy for the international pageant community. The Miss International pageant will culminate on Nov. 14 in Japan, while the Miss World contest will take place in China on Nov. 18. The Miss Universe pageant will be held in Las Vegas on Nov. 26 (Nov. 27 in Manila). The Miss Asia Pacific International tilt will cap the month with its finals in Manila on Nov. 29. December will have three more global tilts-the Miss Supranational pageant in Poland on Dec. 1 (Dec. 2 in Manila), Miss Tourism International contest in Malaysia on Dec. 16 and Miss Intercontinental competition in Read More …

 Older Entries  Newer Entries