WE LIVE in a world powered, if not driven, by fossil fuels. Until more strides in green energy and technology can be made, fossil fuels will continue to impact every sector of society. Given the importance of oil and gas to our national development, however, care should be taken that they are used and accounted for correctly, to promote transparency, financial accuracy and sustained investor confidence.
MANILA, Philippines – Hosted by Jinno Rufino and Cesca Litton (photo), Solar Sports Desk provides sports fans in the Philippines with the best information about their favorite sporting events every night on Solar Sports. From fresh news up to updated scores, Solar Sports Desk reports on every type of sporting event in the world and in the Philippines such as the NBA, PBA, UAAP, NCAA, PGA and many others. The show also has numerous specials, such as Post Game, where expert analysis is provided by Mico Halili, who breaks down the action in some of the most popular international happenings in the world of sports. Solar Sports Desk also invites personalities from the local sports scene, such as coaches, team managers and players of the PBA, UAAP, Gilas-Pilipinas, The Philippine Azkals, The Philippine Volcanoes and many more. Get to know the latest and breaking sporting news in the country and around the world by watching Solar Sports Desk that airs weeknights at 10 on Solar News Channel. * * * Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 From morning to evening, Solar News Channel offers a steady dose of newscasts, including a two-minute newsbreak every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It also produces a variety of current affairs programs: LegalHD with lawyers Karen Jimeno and Rod Nepomuceno; Medtalk with Angel Jacob; News.ph with Pia Hontiveros; News Café with Jing Magsaysay; and Opposing Views also with Nepomuceno. The channel also airs locally co-produced lifestyle programs like Read More …
Kirsten Solloway, left, and Ryleigh Justice, sixth-graders at Elkridge Landing Middle School, pose with money they raised to help typhoon and tornado victims. [via Elkridge Landing Middle School] When Kirsten Solloway learned how Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines in November, she knew she had to do something. After all, her stepfather is Filipino, and with members of his family living in the Philippines, she felt a personal connection to the tragedy. Kirsten, 12, started discussing ideas to help with her friend and sixth grade classmate at Elkridge Landing Middle School, Ryleigh Justice, 11. At the same time, she learned about tornadoes wreaking havoc in Illinois in November, and she said the two of them felt compelled to help victims of both weather events. “We decided we didn’t want to help just one group when the damage was going on in both places,” Ryleigh said. Their idea was a change-collection drive they held from Dec. 3 to 20. They decorated 30 Ball Mason jars, one for the front office and the others for each classroom and asked classmates and teachers to donate their spare change. The amount raised – $1,017 – surprised even the girls. They donated the money to the American Red Cross. “We didn’t think we were going to raise that much. We thought, $600 at the most. We never thought we’d hit a thousand,” Ryleigh said. “It was crazy,” Kirsten said. And, it got crazier. Classrooms started competing against each other, although it wasn’t part of the girls’ Read More …
I am not a fan of the American dream, but I’ve always been a dreamer. The thin line between optimism and wishful thinking becomes narrower when dreams fade into the background of reality. I left the Philippines in 2007 in search of greener pastures in the US. READ FULL STORY
Two bettors will share a P27.893 million prize after winning the jackpot of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Lotto 6/42 draw Saturday night. In a post on its website, the PCSO said the winners got the correct combination of 11-21-12-04-20-08 to win the night’s jackpot. The winners were not identified. Just a day earlier, Friday, a bettor won P78,792,744 in the PCSO’s Megalotto 6/45 draw after getting the combination of 38-16-32-07-19-14. Last Jan. 20, a single lotto bettor got the combination of 02-38-32-19-08-03 to win the Grand Lotto jackpot worth P155,401,636. On Jan. 12, a lone bettor won the jackpot in the PCSO’s Superlotto 6/49 draw by getting the combination of 09-21-14-27-06-19 to win P24,816,752. Last Jan. 9, a bettor got the combination of 21-13-19-27-20-23 to win P22,425,340 in the PCSO’s Lotto 6/42 draw. The biggest lotto prize ever won was the November 2010 Grand Lotto jackpot worth P741.176 million, won with the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37. — DVM, GMA News
MANILA, Philippines – Rivals Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecom Inc. launched new plans for subscribers as the battle in the postpaid segment of the telecommunication market continues to heat up. Charles Lim, executive vice president and head of wireless consumer business of Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (Sun Cellular), said the PLDT Group has launched the Unli Tri-Net Call & Text Plan 899 allowing postpaid customers unlimited voice and SMS connections to all mobile users subscribed to Smart, Sun Cellular and Talk ‘N Text. Lim said the “ultimate” postpaid plan is designed to make unlimited calls and texts to over 72 million mobile users of the PLDT Group. “No other unlimited postpaid plan has been designed to give three times more power connecting you to more than 70 percent of mobile phone users in the country. With the combined power of Smart and Sun Cellular’s mobile network, our subscribers are also assured of the most extensive and reliable coverage available under one postpaid plan,” he stressed. Subscribers of the Unli Tri-Net Call & Text Plan 899 would also get to choose the smartphone of their choice from the lined-up handset offers of Smart and Sun Cellular. “We have been offering a wide range of smartphones – from the high-end to entry-level models – bundled with our equally wide array of postpaid plans that suit our consumers’ budget and lifestyle,” Lim added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Unli Tri-Net Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Emerging Power Inc. (EPI), a Mindoro-based power company, will launch its 40-megawatt geothermal power plant, a move seen to help bring down power rates in the province by about 40 percent to P6.58 per kilowatt-hour from the current P11 per kwh. This will mean a savings of at least P2.1 billion in four years, according to estimates made by EPI. The geothermal facility will be located in the barangays of Montelago, Montemayor and Melgar-B in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro and will supply 20 MW to Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Ormeco). EPI spokesperson Gani Capaning said the facility would help address the problem of power outages and high electricity costs in the province. “If we keep investing in coal and oil, consumers will be paying P40 per kilowatt-hour by year 2030 if we are to use the estimates of institutions like the International Energy Agency (IEA) and The Economist. In contrast, the Montelago geothermal power plant will stabilize the price over the next 20 years and consumers will only pay a maximum of P7.50 per kwh by 2030,” Capaning said. Ormeco president Audel Arago, for his part, said the facility would help augment power supply in the province. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “As we anticipate the Montelago geothermal power plant’s commissioning and operation in (2016), we look forward to the positive economic and environmental impact it will bring, when our consumers shall have been accorded more affordable electricity drawn from renewable energy,” Arago said. Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has once again been recognized as Finance Minister of the Year for Asia-Pacific. In recognition of his role in improving fiscal efficiency, instituting reforms against corruption, and elevating the Philippines in the eyes of international investors, the award from The Banker marks Purisima’s fourth straight year in receiving Finance Minister of the Year honors from different award giving bodies, a first in the history of the finance department and in the Philippines. Purisima emphasized his fourth award naming him Finance Minister of the Year is a testament to President Aquino’s guiding principle that good governance is good economics. Purisima thanked the President for his leadership and commitment to accountability and transparency, as well as his colleagues in the cabinet and fellow members of the cabinet’s Economic Development Cluster. Working together, they have achieved the economic gains for which Purisima is being honored. The country’s economy recently posted a 7.2 percent growth in 2013. Since the start of the Aquino administration, the Philippines has maintained an average of 6.3 percent growth and remains to be one of the fastest-growing countries in Asia. While the Philippines continues to improve its economic outlook with record-high GDP growth rates, investment grade ratings from major credit rating agencies, and strong macroeconomic fundamentals, Purisima stressed the current administration’s term is only half-done. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Our goals for 2014 include improving the revenue to GDP through the ongoing reforms in the Bureau Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – IP Converge Data Services Inc. (IPC), a unit of e-PLDT of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), has tapped Hong Kong-based Nexusguard to provide Internet security for its enterprise customers. Nexusguard vice president for sales and marketing Bill Barry said the partnership would help further strengthen IPC’s product offerings and protect Philippine businesses from what experts consider to be the most costly cybercrime particularly the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. “IPC is a respected technology provider in the Philippines, and it is an honor to partner with such an established organization. This partnership is not only important for our regional efforts, but will serve as a template of success for Nexusguard’s global initiatives,” Barry said. He said the partnership would enable enterprises in the country to avail of world-class and industry-leading anti-DDoS services with truly localized support with Nexusguard’s technologies and IPC’s market leadership in cloud and data center services. “It will also set a standard for ISPs in providing future integrated, holistic solutions for DDoS protection,” he added. Escalating in size and complexity in recent years, he warned that DDoS attacks attempt to prevent a machine or network resource to be accessed by its intended users. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It is generally comprised of strategies to interrupt services of a host connected to the Internet. DDoS attacks are able to bring down networks and websites for days at a time. Hackers have launched DDoS attacks for various Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino government has put in place a budget priorities framework for the remaining three years of its term aimed at accelerating and sustaining economic growth, eliminating poverty and enhancing transparency and accountability. The national development plan for 2014 to 2016 is designed to address economic constraints and the need for greater state efficiency while building a foundation for faster and inclusive long-term growth. The budget priorities framework prioritizes measures to build a capable, effective state that delivers quality services while reigniting business investment and growth. “How we manage our national budget has a precise and definitive impact on the success of our priority programs and projects. If we ensure enough budgetary support to government initiatives that will bring more Filipinos out of poverty—and if we likewise direct more funds to programs that help drive the economy—we can lay down the foundations for and ultimately catalyze inclusive development in the country,” Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said in a statement. Abad said the plan will guide departments and agencies over the next three years so that the country’s goal of facilitating quick, sustainable development can be fully realized. “The framework is essentially a blueprint of the administration’s broader strategy to eradicate poverty and further stimulate the economy, all while establishing lasting peace, sound climate change programs and policies, and governance reforms that will firmly stay in place even beyond this administration,” he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The framework is also Read More …