Maniolas

RIVALS ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network Inc. both claimed to be ahead in television ratings last January, as each asserted their dominance in the coverage of important events like the visit of Pope Francis. The TV networks use different companies to track their performance. ABS-CBN, which uses Kantar Media, said it was still the “most watched” TV network with an average national audience share of 42 percent, against GMA’s 36 percent. Citing data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, GMA claimed it cornered 34.9 percent of the so-called national urban television audience measurement, which was higher than ABS-CBN’s 32.8 percent. Ranked third was TV5, with 11.2 percent, GMA said. According to ABS-CBN, it continues its lead in key territories such as Balance Luzon (all areas in Luzon outside Mega Manila) where it got an average total day audience share of 45 percent. In the Visayas, it received 56 percent, while in Mindanao, it got 48 percent. ABS-CBN’s Kantar data showed that GMA cornered 36 percent, 26 percent, and 31 percent, in the respective areas. ABS-CBN said it continued to hold sway in the primetime (6 p.m. to midnight) block, with an average audience share of 47 percent—higher than GMA’s 33 percent. The primetime block is the most important part of a broadcaster’s day when most Filipinos watch TV and advertisers put a larger chunk of their investment in to reach more consumers effectively. GMA said it led in the morning block, where it scored 34.2 percent, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 29.9 percent. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Maynilad Water Services Inc. said yesterday it has maintained 100-percent satisfactory compliance with the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW) of the Department of Health (DOH) for the entire 2014. Since 2010, Maynilad has received a 100-percent satisfactory compliance rating for water quality in its concession area. Every month, water samples are taken from 965 different sampling points across Maynilad’s West Zone concession area — 26 more than what is required by the PNSDW. Samples are then taken to undergo strict bacteriological, physical and chemical examination to ensure that the water is safe for consumption. “It is our mission and responsibility to ensure that the water we deliver to our customer — from our source in Bulacan all the way to Cavite — complies with government safety standards. The more than eight million people in the West Zone can rest assured that the water we provide is safe to drink,” said Maynilad president and CEO Ricky P. Vargas. Maynilad is the first water company in the Philippines to produce a Water Safety Plan (WSP) that covers all phases of its operations — from water collection, treatment, up to the end of the pipeline. Maynilad is the contractor of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain areas), Quezon City (certain areas), Makati (certain areas), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon — all in Metro Manila; Read More …

THE inflation rate in Davao Region is seen to go down to three percent this year brought about by the continuing reduction in the prices of gasoline, an official from National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)-Davao said Tuesday. In a press briefing at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-Davao office, Neda-Davao Director Maria Lourdes Lim said the oil price adjustments in the world market, which triggered local gas prices to go down, will favor mostly the importers who will pay less for the transport cost of goods. Last year, Davao Region noted 3.7 percent inflation rate, higher by .5 percentage point as compared to 3.2 percent registered in 2013. The region’s inflation rate has remained lower than 4.2 percent in 2014 recorded on a national level. “There are sectors that are favored, such as importers who will pay less, and (consumers who) can utilize more of (products and services) because of lower prices,” she said. Also, Lim sees the players engaged in the logistics to benefit from the reducing oil prices as well as the transport sector. In her presentation, the official reported that the region posted a total of US$1.768 billion worth of exports as of third quarter in 2014, as compared to US$1.535 billion in 2013. Exports, meanwhile, took a leap from US$767 million in 2013 to a whopping $US1.168 billion. On the region’s top export crops, all but two recorded an increase in the production volume last year. Among these crops, corn reported the highest production increase at Read More …

According to National Sleep Foundation, sleep needs vary across ages and are especially impacted by lifestyle and health. File photo MANILA, Philippines – Ever wonder how many hours does each person need per day? We spend a third of our lives sleeping. But the question that remains unanswered is, how much sleep is enough to keep our body at its optimum state? For their 25th anniversary, National Sleep Foundation,  a nonprofit aimed at promoting healthy sleep and safety, released the results of a  study about how much sleep a person really needs at each age. For more than two years,  leading scientists and researchers reviewed over 300 studies on how much sleep is ideal.  According to the study, sleep needs vary across ages and are especially impacted by lifestyle and health. Here’s how much sleep your body needs each day to perform well: • Newborns (0-3 months ):  14-17 hours• Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours • Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours • Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours • School age children (6-13): 9-11 hours • Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours • Younger adults (18-25):  7-9 hours • Adults (26-64):  7-9 hours• Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours  Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: Although there is an ideal number, the researchers said that there is no magic number since sleep recommendation is still affected by several factors such as if your basal sleep need or the amount of sleep your body needs on a regular basis for optimal performance is affected by your sleep debt or the Read More …