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‘Ormoc LGU owns San Pablo property’
Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez has denied claims that the city government does not own a parcel of land in Barangay San Pablo, where the Ormoc City College will be constructed......»»
Alfred na-shock sa biglang pagkamatay ni Jaclyn: Tumindig ang balahibo ko!
NA-SHOCK din ang actor-public servant na si Alfred Vargas nang mabalitaang pumanaw na ang premyadong aktres na si Jaclyn Jose. Hindi niya akalain na ang shooting nila para sa pelikula nilang “Pieta” kasama ang Superstar na si Nora Aunor at ang actress-director na si Gina Alajar, ang huling pagkakataon na makakasama at makikita niya ang.....»»
RPOC-EV holds third quarter meeting at Batasang Pambansa
The meeting was attended by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, RPOC-EV Chairperson, and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez, including Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo, Commander of the 8th Infantry Division (8ID), Philippine Army......»»
Alfred sa bunsong anak na si Baby Aurora Sofia: Nakaka-in love ka, sobra!
PINUSUAN at umani ng mga inspiring message ang makabagbag-damdaming mensahe ni Alfred Vargas para sa bunsong anak na si Baby Aurora Sofia. Mahigit isang buwan na ngayon ang ikaapat na anak ni Alfred at ng misis niyang si Yasmine Espiritu na isinilang noong December 26, 2023. Sa kanyang Instagram account, nagbahagi ng video ang actor-public.....»»
Alfred Vargas may pa-face reveal ng 4th baby: ‘Our little bundle of joy!’
FOR the first time, nagkaroon ng pa-face reveal ang fourth baby ng actor-politician na si Alfred Vargas at misis niyang si Yasmine Espiritu. Sa Instagram, ibinandera ng mag-asawa ang cute na cute na portrait photo ng kanilang anak habang nakabalot sa isang tela at may suot na flower crown. Ang ibinigay na pangalan sa sanggol.....»»
Cebu City hotels fully booked as Sinulog season kicks in
Photo shows the skyline of uptown Cebu City where several business hotels are located. | CDN FILE PHOTO CEBU CITY, Philippines — As the Sinulog season kicks in, hotels in Cebu City are almost fully booked, reaching 90 to 100 percent occupancy. Hotel, Resort, and Restaurant Association of Cebu Inc. (HRRACI) president Alfred Reyes confirmed this.....»»
Wife ni Alfred buwis-buhay ang pagbubuntis, pero kineri ang normal delivery
SA kabila ng pinagdaanang hirap ng asawa ni Alfred Vargas na si Yasmine Espiritu ay maayos pa rin nitong naisilang ang kanilang 4th baby. Matinding challenge ang hinarap nina Konsehal Alfred at Yasmine habang ipinagbubuntis ang ikaapat nilang anak na si Aurora Sofia nitong nagdaang December 26. Ayon sa aktor at public servant, nakauwi na.....»»
Alfred Vargas, wife Yasmine Espiritu celebrate arrival of 4th baby
Actor-politician Alfred Vargas and his wife Yasmine Espiritu have welcomed the birth of their fourth child, a healthy baby girl......»»
Yasmine Espiritu isinilang na ang ika-4 na anak nila ni Alfred Vargas
ISINILANG na ng wifey ni Konsehal Alfred Vargas na si Yasmine Espritu ang kanilang ikaapat na anak. Nanganak si Yasmine nitong nagdaang December 26, isang araw pagkatapos ng Pasko. Pinangalanan nila ni Alfred ang kanilang 4th baby na Aurora Sofia. Sa kanilang Instagram account, ibinandera ng mag-asawa ang pagsilang ni Baby Aurora. Makikita sa photo.....»»
Nora ipinagdarasal ni Gina: Pinu-push niyang ‘wag magpatalo sa kahinaan
PALAGING laman ng dasal ni Gina Alajar ang nag-iisang Superstar at National Artist na si Nora Aunor. Magkasama ang dalawa sa pelikulang “Pieta” na idinirek ni Adolf Alix, Jr. na nakatakdang ipalabas sa 2024. Bida rin dito si Alfred Vargas with Jaclyn Jose and Bembol Roco. Ayon kay Gina, sanay na sanay na sila ni.....»»
Nora muling napakanta sa ‘Pieta’; ‘mata-mata’ acting ni Alfred winner
SIGURADONG ikatutuwa ng mga Noranians ang good news na hatid ng pelikulang “Pieta” na pinagbibidahan nina Nora Aunor at Alfred Vargas. Nabigyan kami ng pagkakataon na mapanood ang naturang pelikula sa naganap na special screening nito kamakailan sa Sine Pop sa Cubao, Quezon City. Ito’y mula sa direksyon ni Adolf Alix, Jr.. Present dito ang.....»»
A series of thanksgiving
The past week has been a series of celebrations with television giant GMA 7 president and CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon, Alliance Global CEO Kevin Tan, Toyota Motor Philippines chairman Alfred Ty and JG Summit president and CEO Lance Gokongwei......»»
No hotel bookings yet for January 2024, says HRRACI president
CEBU CITY, Philippines — It is too early for now to identify the percentage of bookings in hotels in the city for the Sinulog in January 2024. That is according to the president of the Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu, Inc. (HRRACI). Alfred Reyes, HRRACI president, said in a phone interview on Tuesday,.....»»
DQ case filed vs Lin
A disqualification complaint was filed against Jeanly Lin, a candidate running for Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson in Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The complaint, which was lodged with the local Commission on Elections office in Quezon City by Andrea Lazaro, alleged that Lin, also known as “JLin,” is not a Filipino citizen but a Chinese national. In the 11-page complaint, Lazaro claimed that Lin’s proficiency in Tagalog is limited, and that she allegedly relied on interpreters, while keeping a group of bodyguards during her campaign in their village. However, Lin’s Certificate of Candidacy indicated that she is a Filipino citizen. Jeanly is the daughter of Rose Lin, a Pharmally Pharmaceutical executive tagged in the allegedly questionable government supply contract worth billions of pesos during the pandemic. Rose Lin ran as a representative in Quezon City’s 5th District but lost to the brother of outgoing Congressman Alfred Vargas. The post DQ case filed vs Lin appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘We love singing’: Filipinos find joy in karaoke
At a busy tricycle terminal in Manila, driver Edgar Soriano slips a coin into a karaoke machine and belts out his favorite song while waiting for passengers. Karaoke is wildly popular in the archipelago nation where it's never too early -- or too late -- to grab a microphone and sing a tune. Machines can be found everywhere from cheap bars in far-flung villages to modern KTV joints in the cities, and many families have their own or rent one for parties. For as little as five pesos (nine US cents) a song, many in the poverty-afflicted country can experience a few minutes of joy in the day. Soriano, 53, smiles as he stands in a tiny eatery on a hot weekday afternoon singing the lyrics of British musician Albert Hammond's "When I'm Gone", which he seems to know by heart. The karaoke machine is one of six at the terminal, but drivers and passengers waiting for a ride appear unbothered by the competing songs reverberating through speakers. "I always sing that song, it's my favorite," said Soriano, wearing a long-sleeved Jordan top and tracksuit pants. After consulting a well-thumbed plastic folder of songs, street sweeper Bernardo Aguire, 67, settles on Frank Sinatra's "My Way", and pops a coin into the slot. It is a bold choice in a country where the song has reportedly gotten people killed -- allegedly because they sang it poorly. Aguire, unfazed by the stories that have become an urban legend, finishes his rendition unscathed. Felomina Hernane, 52, owns the eatery where the karaoke machine cranks up at 8:00 a.m. and doesn't stop until 10:00 p.m. or later, seven days a week. She bought the machine to attract customers and it's been a boon to earnings, bringing in as much as 18,000 pesos a month. "It's a huge help for my business," Hernane told AFP. Hernane said singing makes the drivers happy. "It entertains them," she said. "It's a way to relax after driving." 'It takes away my stress' In a crowded neighborhood in Manila, tricycles deliver karaoke machine casings to stores where they are fitted with speakers, amplifiers, and televisions. Their prices depend on the quality of the electronics inside them, with a basic machine starting at around 19,000 pesos and a premium version topping 46,000 pesos. Alfred Condez works at a store overflowing with machines in various stages of assembly. It takes several hours for employees to finish wiring one, and customers are often happy to wait. "We love singing," said Condez, 40. As if to prove his point, he picks up a microphone and stands on the footpath to test an assembled machine's sound quality, his deep voice echoing into the noisy street. The busiest period for the karaoke assembly business is November and December when Filipinos hold Christmas and New Year parties, said Condez. His shop sells as many as 10 machines a day in those months. Karaoke took off in the Philippines in the 1980s, said Krina Cayabyab, a vocal instructor and associate professor in the University of the Philippines' music department. But she said the country's love of singing was deeply rooted in its colonial past, starting with the Spanish and then the Americans, whose music was absorbed by Filipinos. "It's really tied into that reproducing and borrowing of stuff that Filipinos would hear," Cayabyab said. Singing is one of the few affordable entertainment options for many Filipinos. In a hardscrabble district of Manila, children and young adults gather outside a small store where the karaoke machine is in high demand. "My friends and I are just hanging out because it's boring at home," said Honey Servito, 24. "I'm not really a singer, it's just that when we have nothing better to do at home, my friends and I go here and sing," she said. "It takes away my stress and boredom." The post ‘We love singing’: Filipinos find joy in karaoke appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trio wins physics Nobel for illuminating electrons
France's Pierre Agostini, Hungarian-Austrian Ferenc Krausz, and Franco-Swede Anne L'Huillier won the Nobel prize in physics on Tuesday for research using ultra-quick light flashes that enable the study of electrons inside atoms and molecules. Their technique employs pulses measured in attoseconds, a unit so short that there are as many in one second as there have been seconds since the universe's birth over 13 billion years ago, the jury said. The laureates' research has made it possible to examine moves or changes so rapidly that they were previously impossible to follow, with potential applications in both electronics and medical diagnostics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences likened the process to how the flapping wings of a hummingbird turn into a blur for the human eye but can be slowed and examined using high-speed photography. "We can now open the door to the world of electrons. Attosecond physics gives us the opportunity to understand mechanisms that are governed by electrons," Eva Olsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a statement. 'Not so many women' In 1987, L'Huillier "discovered that many different overtones of light arose when she transmitted infrared laser light through a noble gas," the Nobel Committee noted, adding that her exploration of the phenomenon laid "the ground for subsequent breakthroughs". In the early 2000s, Agostini and Krausz worked on how to isolate light pulses that lasted only a few hundred attoseconds. Agostini is a professor at Ohio State University in the United States, while Krausz is a director at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. "It was just atomic physics interacting with lasers," Agostini said of his early work, in an interview released by his university. "We were not really aware it would go that far, but a lot of people were interested both in the method and the result." L'Huillier, only the fifth woman to be awarded the Physics Prize since 1901, is a professor at Lund University in Sweden. She told reporters she was in the middle of teaching a class when she received the call from the Academy, making it "difficult" to finish the class, to whom she did not reveal the news. "I am very touched ... There are not so many women that get this prize so it's very, very special," she said. Before L'Huillier, Marie Curie (1903), Maria Goeppert Mayer (1963), Donna Strickland (2018), and Andrea Ghez (2020) were the only women to have won the award. Speaking later at a press conference, she encouraged young women interested in science to "go for it" and said it was possible to combine a research career with an "ordinary life, with a family and children." French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated the trio. "What a source of pride for our nation!" Macron said in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter. L'Huillier and Krausz had been seen as contenders for the honor, having been awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize last year together with Canadian physicist Paul Corkum. Fellow Hungarian However, Krausz said he had not been expecting a call. "I was not sure whether I was dreaming or whether it was reality," he told the Nobel Foundation in an interview. The physics award is the second Nobel of the season after the Medicine Prize on Monday, awarded to messenger RNA researchers Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for their groundbreaking technology that paved the way for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Krausz said he had actually been listening to an interview with Kariko when he received the call, adding he was especially impressed with her determination as she toiled away at her research despite struggling to achieve recognition and secure funding for it. "That's what I would like to convey to future generations," Krausz said. The Physics Prize will be followed by the Chemistry Prize on Wednesday, with the highly watched Literature and Peace Prizes to be announced on Thursday and Friday. The Economics Prize -- created in 1968 and the only Nobel not included in the 1895 will of Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel, which founded the awards -- closes out the 2023 Nobel season on Monday. The post Trio wins physics Nobel for illuminating electrons appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trio wins physics Nobel for illuminating electrons
France's Pierre Agostini, Hungarian-Austrian Ferenc Krausz and Franco-Swede Anne L'Huillier won the Nobel prize in physics on Tuesday for research using ultra quick light flashes that enable the study of electrons inside atoms and molecules. Their technique employs pulses measured in attoseconds, a unit so short that there are as many in one second as there have been seconds since the universe's birth over 13 billion years ago, the jury said. The laureates' research has made it possible to examine moves or changes so rapid that they were previously impossible to follow, with potential applications in both electronics and medical diagnostics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences likened the process to how the flapping wings of a humming bird turn into a blur for the human eye, but can be slowed and examined using high-speed photography. "We can now open the door to the world of electrons. Attosecond physics gives us the opportunity to understand mechanisms that are governed by electrons," Eva Olsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a statement. 'Not so many women' In 1987, L'Huillier "discovered that many different overtones of light arose when she transmitted infrared laser light through a noble gas," the Nobel Committee noted, adding that she has continued to explore this phenomenon, "laying the ground for subsequent breakthroughs". In the early 2000s, Agostini and Krausz worked on experiments that made it possible to isolate light pulses that lasted only a few hundred attoseconds. Agostini is a professor at Ohio State University in the United States, while Krausz is a director at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. L'Huillier, only the fifth woman to be awarded the Physics Prize since 1901, is a professor at Lund University in Sweden. L'Huillier told reporters she was in the middle of teaching a class when she received the call from the Academy, making it "difficult" to finish the class, to whom she told nothing. "I am very touched ... There are not so many women that get this prize so it's very, very special," she said. Before L'Huillier, Marie Curie (1903), Maria Goeppert Mayer (1963), Donna Strickland (2018) and Andrea Ghez (2020) are the only women to have won the award. Speaking later at a press conference, she encouraged young women interested in a career in science to "go for it". The laureate, who is married and has two sons, stressed it was possible to combine a research career with an "ordinary life, with a family and children." French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated the trio, noting that "two of our brilliant French researchers" had been honoured. "What a source of pride for our nation!" Macron said in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter. L'Huillier and Krausz had been seen as contenders for the honour, having been awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize last year together with Canadian physicist Paul Corkum. Fellow Hungarian However, Krausz said he had not been expecting a call. "I was not sure whether I was dreaming or whether it was reality," he told the Nobel Foundation in an interview. Speaking at a press conference a few hours later, he said: "There are signs that it could be reality". The physics award is the second Nobel of the season after the Medicine Prize on Monday, awarded to messenger RNA researchers Katalin Kariko, a Hungarian like Krausz, and Drew Weissman for their groundbreaking technology that paved the way for mRNA Covid-19 vaccines. Krausz said he had actually been listening to an interview with his compatriot when he received the call, adding he was especially impressed with Kariko's determination as she toiled away at her research despite struggling to achieve recognition and even secure funding for it. "That's the most important lesson for me, that's what I would like to convey to future generations, that if you believe in something and are convinced it's the right thing to do ... the important thing is to keep believing in it," Krausz said. The Physics Prize will be followed by the Chemistry Prize on Wednesday, with the highly watched Literature and Peace Prizes to be announced on Thursday and Friday. The Economics Prize -- created in 1968 and the only Nobel not included in the 1895 will of Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel, which founded the awards -- closes out the 2023 Nobel season on Monday. The post Trio wins physics Nobel for illuminating electrons appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Narcolepsy, cancer tipped as Medicine Prize opens Nobel week
Narcolepsy, cancer, or mRNA vaccine research could win the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday when a week of announcements kicks off, but experts see no clear frontrunner for the Peace Prize. The awards, first handed out in 1901, were created by Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel in his 1895 will to celebrate those who have "conferred the greatest benefit on mankind." The Medicine Prize is first out and will be announced in Stockholm on Monday around 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT), followed by the awards for physics on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday, and literature on Thursday. The Peace Prize, the most highly-anticipated Nobel and the only one announced in Oslo, will follow on Friday, before the Economics Prize rounds things off on October 9. The Medicine Prize has over the years crowned groundbreaking discoveries like the X-ray, penicillin, insulin, and DNA -- as well as now-disgraced awards for lobotomy and the insecticide DDT. Several Nobel watchers have suggested this year's prize could go to research into narcolepsy and the discovery of orexin, a neuropeptide that helps regulate sleep. It could also go to Hungarian-born Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman of the United States for research that led directly to the first mRNA vaccines to fight COVID-19, made by Pfizer and Moderna. Their discovery has already won a slew of major medicine prizes, but the Nobel committee nowadays often waits decades to bestow its laurels to ensure the research stands the test of time. "Maybe the Academy thinks it needs to look into it more, but someday they should win," predicted Annika Ostman, science reporter at Swedish public radio SR. Gene engineering and IceCube telescope But Ostman said her guess for this year was on Kevan Shokat, an American biologist who figured out how to block the KRAS cancer gene behind a third of cancers, including challenging-to-treat lung, colon, and pancreatic tumors. T-cell therapy for cancer treatment and work on the human microbiome could also be contenders, said David Pendlebury, head of the Clarivate Analytics group which identifies Nobel-worthy research. "There are more people deserving of a Nobel Prize than there are Nobels to go around," he told AFP. Lars Brostrom, Ostman's colleague at SR, singled out two American biologists, Stanislas Leibler, and Michael Elowitz, for their work on synthetic gene circuits which established the field of synthetic biology. It enables scientists to redesign organisms by engineering them to have new abilities. But Brostrom noted the field could be seen as controversial, raising "ethical questions about where to draw the line in creating life". For the Physics Prize, twisted graphene or the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica were seen as possible winners, as well as the development of high-density data storage in the field of spintronics. Peace Prize to Iranian women? For Wednesday's Chemistry Prize, Pendlebury suggested next-generation DNA sequencing could get the nod, or research into how to target and deliver drugs to genes. Brostrom said he would love to see it go to US-based chemist Omar Yaghi for his work into porous materials known as MOFs, which can absorb poisonous gases or harvest water from desert air, and is an "important field for the future" with enormous potential for the environment. Criticism over a lack of gender and geographical diversity has plagued the Nobels over the years. US-based men have dominated the science fields, while women account for just six percent of overall laureates -- something the various award committees insist they are addressing. Among the names making the rounds for Thursday's Literature Prize are Russian author and outspoken Putin critic Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Chinese avant-garde writer Can Xue, British author Salman Rushdie, Caribbean-American writer Jamaica Kincaid and Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse. But for the Peace Prize, experts have been scratching their heads over possible winners, as conflicts rage around the globe. Some have pointed to the Iranian women protesting since the death in custody a year ago of Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating Iran's strict dress code imposed on women. Others suggest organizations documenting war crimes in Ukraine, or the International Criminal Court, which could one day be called upon to judge them. "I think that climate change is a really good focus for the Peace Prize this year," Dan Smith, the head of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told AFP after a year of extreme weather around the world. For the Economics Prize, research on income and wealth inequality could be honored. Recent winners of the Nobel Medicine Prize Here is a list of the winners of the Nobel Medicine Prize in the past 10 years: 2022: Swedish paleogeneticist Svante Paabo for his discoveries on the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution. 2021: US duo David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for discoveries on human receptors responsible for our ability to sense temperature and touch. 2020: Americans Harvey Alter and Charles Rice, together with Briton Michael Houghton, for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus, leading to the development of sensitive blood tests and antiviral drugs. 2019: William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza of the US and Britain's Peter Ratcliffe for establishing the basis of our understanding of how cells react and adapt to different oxygen levels. 2018: Immunologists James Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, for figuring out how to release the immune system's brakes to allow it to attack cancer cells more efficiently. 2017: US geneticists Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael Young for their discoveries on the internal biological clock that governs the wake-sleep cycles of most living things. 2016: Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan for his work on autophagy -- a process whereby cells "eat themselves" -- which when disrupted can cause Parkinson's and diabetes. 2015: William Campbell, an Irish-US citizen, Satoshi Omura of Japan, and Tu Youyou of China for unlocking treatments for malaria and roundworm. 2014: American-born Briton John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser, and Edvard I. Moser of Norway for discovering how the brain navigates with an "inner GPS". 2013: Thomas C. Sudhof, a US citizen born in Germany, and James E. Rothman and Randy W. Schekman of the US for work on how the cell organizes its transport system. The post Narcolepsy, cancer tipped as Medicine Prize opens Nobel week appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
A night for ‘Men Who Matter’
The Bellevue Manila witnessed another iconic night with this year’s celebration of the “Men Who Matter” honorees. PeopleAsia welcomes another roster of extraordinary gentlemen from various fields from entertainment, law, politics, religion, art, business and more. Of course, my thanks to my Daily Tribune bosses who gave me the go-signal to attend this momentous event. After all, they said that we are in the same publishing industry and we should be supporting one another. The inclement weather couldn’t stop us — the rain never bothered us anyway! All guests arrived looking chic in sneaks. The dress code called for cocktail attire paired with their comfy yet stylish sneakers — a first in the history of this event. PeopleAsia sure loves keeping us on our toes with something fresh every year. Of course, I happily take on any dress code! [caption id="attachment_189995" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Photographs by Agile Zamora for the Daily TribuneFrom left: Quezon City Councilor Alfred Vargas, NexGenAsia CEO Fred Hui, Grab Philippines director of deliveries Greg Camacho, MMDA Chairman Romando Artes, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr., actor-director Coco Martin, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. director of government and public relations Atty. Michael Toledo, artist Leeroy New, Volvo Philippines executive marketing director Chris Yu and Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel chaplain Fr. Dave Concepcion, with PeopleAsia editor-in-chief Joanne Rae Ramirez (center).[/caption] One very memorable outfit belonged to PeopleAsia’s editor-in-chief Joanne Rae Ramirez who welcomed us with a speech, who happily wore sneakers — dress code or not — with her fab fuchsia Noel Crisostomo suit dress. [caption id="attachment_190006" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Jose Paolo dela Cruz, Mayenne Carmona and Janette Velasco of People Asia.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_190002" align="aligncenter" width="1199"] Joy and Joel Rustia.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_190004" align="aligncenter" width="1199"] Norwegian Consul Frank Johansen and his wife Julie.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_189998" align="aligncenter" width="1199"] Best Dressed lady of the night Amelia Ablaza and Dulce Sy.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_189997" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Tina Cuevas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_190003" align="aligncenter" width="1199"] Linda Ley, Nympha Javier, Ann and Rene Puno.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_189996" align="aligncenter" width="828"] Suzette Ayson[/caption] [caption id="attachment_190005" align="aligncenter" width="1199"] People Asia's Alex Vergara and BumTenorio[/caption] [caption id="attachment_189999" align="aligncenter" width="1199"] Gerry Sy and Jinky Antonio.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_190000" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Grace Glory Go and General Consul of Monaco Fortune Ledesma.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_190001" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Showing our sneakers: the author, Jun Jun Ablaza and Czarina Ablaza Syquia in trendy sneakers.[/caption] Of course, the ‘Men Who Matter’ followed suit… in suits and sneakers. These impressive gentlemen are really shaping society through their work in their respective fields. I’ve had the wonderful chance to get a photo op with a few, including the dashing “King of Primetime TV,” Coco Martin! But I have to say that all the honorees were all handsome inside and out, with good looks and their great accomplishments. They really deserve to be in the spotlight. The night wouldn’t be complete without our sumptuous feast, live performances and memories captured. Another PeopleAsia event for the books! Kudos to the team for this unforgettable night. I look forward to your future events… always! Cheers! The post A night for ‘Men Who Matter’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
BSP urges free service fee for small fund transfers
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas plans to issue a payments framework aimed at removing transaction fees for small fund transfers. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. on Thursday said central bank officials have also been talking with e-wallet firms and other digital financial services providers to create the framework which will require financial firms to offer free fund transfers for small amounts. He said only three major banks are offering such service so far amid the lack of formal guidelines and directive from the BSP. Shame major banks “We’re trying to shame other major banks into following the same service. We’re formalizing it through a payments framework, and we’re in touch with GCash, Maya and other digital financial services providers,” Remolona said Thursday during the Global Policy Forum on Financial Inclusion organized by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. With zero fees for small fund transfers, Remolona said more Filipinos would be encouraged to avail of banking services like deposit accounts, build wealth, and promote equitable financial service. “In general, we want to make sure the poor do not subsidize the rich. If you have a credit card and a big spender, you can get rewards. Guess who pays for the rewards? It’s the poor guys who only use small amounts in their transactions and get charged,” the BSP governor said. As more Filipinos own deposit accounts even with small funds, Remolona added banks and other lenders can strengthen their capital capacities. “We’ve found that when deposits are small, they become sticky and depositors don’t run away at the first sign of trouble. If you can lend to the poor, you have a more diversified portfolio and so it’s safer for banks,” the BSP governor said. Manila Manifesto During the Global Policy Forum on Financial Inclusion attended by over 700 foreign bankers and other stakeholders, Remolona announced the Manila Manifesto. This is a commitment by the Philippines to collaborate with other state-members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion or AFI on developing global standards for making financial products and services safe, accessible and affordable for all. AFI reported 1.4 billion people worldwide still cannot access financial services due to a range of factors, such as financial illiteracy and lack of Internet connection and digital banking platforms. “In the 15 years since AFI was created, with substantive support from the BSP, our members have brought over 840 million people into the financial system via enlightened national policies and strategies on financial inclusion,” Dr. Alfred Hannig, AFI executive director, said. The post BSP urges free service fee for small fund transfers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»