Paul Soriano's Siargao, official entry to the MMFF 2017, with Jericho Rosales, Erich Gonzales and Jasmine Curtis-Smith

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3 broken hearts, 1 island brings them together

Shot in scenic Siargao, this film tells of a love story about three people who find themselves in this beautiful island, looking for love, happiness, and belongingness.

Siargao starring Jericho Rosales, Erich Gonzales and Jasmine Curtis-Smith. Written by Anj Pessumal and  directed by Paul Soriano under his production company, Ten17 Productions.

Jericho Rosales, Erich Gonzales, Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Director Paul Soriano at the celebrity red carpet premiere of SIARGAO on December 20, held at TriNoma, Quezon City.

Siargao is a  Philippine romance film to be showing on December 25, 2017 as part of the 43rd Metro Manila Film Festival.

The film was set and filmed in Siargao island. Soriano described the premise of his film as a story of "finding and losing yourself, and falling in and out of love."

Fresh from a breakup caused by her fear of settling down, video blogger LAURA (Erich Gonzales) embarks on a solo trip to Siargao hoping to move on and find a new adventure. Here she meets rock singer DIEGO (Jericho Rosales) who is caught between uncertainties of the future and baggages of the past. This fateful encounter stirs up what local entrepreneur ABI (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) thought were long lost feelings for a long lost love, i.e. Diego. 

In this unlikely triangle, is there room for second chances? Or should they move on to something(one) new?

Two of the country's top surfers, Luke Landrigan and Wilmar Melindo appear in Siargao. 

Also in the film are Enchong Dee (with special participation),  YouTube personality Wil Dasovich, Mica Javier, Roxanne Barcelo, Will Devaughn, Suzette Ranillo, and Leon Miguel.

Don't miss to watch Siargao in cinemas nationwide starting this Christmas, December 25, 2017 as part of the 43rd Metro Manila Film Festival.

View full trailer YouTube: http://bit.ly/SiargaoOfficialTrailer

Visit Official Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/siargaothemovie/

http://bit.ly/TakeMeToSiargao

Website    :  http://www.ten17p.com/

Twitter      :  https://twitter.com/siargaothemovie

Instagram  :  https://www.instagram.com/siargaothemovie/

Siargao is a tear-drop shaped island in the Philippine Sea situated 800 kilometers southeast of Manila in the province of Surigao del Norte. Siargao Island is greatly influenced by the winds and currents coming uninterrupted from the Pacific Ocean, intensified by the Mindanao current running westward through the Siargao Strait.One of the well-known surfing waves on Siargao and the Philippines, with a reputation for thick, hollow tubes is "Cloud 9". 

#SiargaoMMFF #TakeMeToSiargao #SiargaoMovie #MMFF2017

More Filipinos now streaming HD videos

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By now, everyone is aware that internet speeds vary per country for various reasons. Arguably, netizens in the Philippines have a love-hate relationship with their ISPs. While this may be so, one thing is true across nations around the world: people love to be entertained. 

With the Philippines tracking a regular speed of 5.5 Mbps on wired and 12.33 Mbps on mobile, Globe Telecom’s data traffic from major video streaming services including YouTube and Netflix accounted for 27% of total data traffic in mobile and broadband LTE at the end of September this year. 

The significant contribution of video-streaming services in mobile and broadband LTE traffic reflects the company’s aggressive deployment of infrastructure and technologies to increase network capacities and address customers’ growing bandwidth requirement amid increasing popularity of on-demand video content. 

Joel Agustin, Globe Senior Vice President for Program Governance, Network Technical Group, emphasized that Globe is able to sufficiently provide a good quality of video experience for its customers despite current challenges in establishing telecommunication infrastructure that include cell sites. “The continuing deployment of LTE sites and fiber-optic cables for wider coverage and enhanced capacities is in anticipation that customer demand for bandwidth-intensive video materials such as those provided by Netflix and other video-streaming services will steadily increase moving forward,” Agustin said.

A YouTube video with a resolution of 1080 pixels could be streamed with an internet speed ranging between 3 Mbps and 6 Mbps (https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2853702?hl=en-GB). Also, Standard Definition (SD) video content requires less bandwidth especially in small screen devices like mobile phones.

Agustin emphasized, however, that increasing customer requirement for on-demand multi-media content necessitates a continuing build of the company’s network infrastructure such as cell sites and deployment of fiber-optic cables. For many years now, Globe has had to deal with permitting difficulties in establishing right-of-way and cell sites in many villages and subdivisions as many homeowners associations are too slow in addressing the company’s right-of-way applications, effectively tying the telecommunication provider’s hand in addressing customer demand for high-speed internet service. 

To date, Globe has so far deployed more than 5,000 LTE sites nationwide, using the spectrum assets it acquired last year including frequencies on 700 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz for wider coverage and increased capacities. Majority of the company’s LTE sites were deployed in Metro Manila and other high-density areas, where many of the country’s smartphone users are located. Mobile data traffic in January to September this year surged 73% to 430 petabytes from 249 PB a year earlier as smartphone penetration increased to 70% at the end of third quarter.

Iñigo Pascual is World Vision’s newest ambassador for children

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“It is an honor to be an ambassador for World Vision and its spiritual nurture programs for children. I want to make the most of this opportunity by raising awareness so that more people will join and support the cause.” --- Iñigo Pascual

2017 is singer-actor Iñigo Pascual’s breakout year, releasing his chart-topping single Dahil Sa ‘Yo, singing the official Filipino rendition of Remember Me, the lead song from Disney-Pixar’s newest animated film “Coco,” and having a successful first solo concert under his belt. To cap off the year with another milestone, the recording artist joined international child-focused organization World Vision as its newest ambassador for children.

As a World Vision advocate, Iñigo aims to use his voice to help children know their basic rights and to promote good values among the youth. 

“Every child has the potential to make his or her dreams a reality, but this potential can only be tapped if they are given the right opportunities,” said Iñigo.

World Vision Resource Development Director Jun Godornes expressed his excitement in welcoming Iñigo to the World Vision family. 

World Vision Resource Development Director Jun Godornes welcomes Iñigo Pascual, the World Vision’s newest ambassador for children

“Iñigo is proof that the youth can do amazing things with their talents, skills, and creativity. As a young artist himself, he can inspire Filipino children to not only reach for their dreams but also to be upstanding citizens who value their families and communities,” shared Godornes.

Now on its 60th year in the Philippines, World Vision continues its mission to provide children with better access to their most basic needs. The organization currently aims to give Noche Buena packages to 34,000 children across the country, a Christmas tradition that they have been doing since 2005. 

To give a Noche Buena gift, please visit www.worldvision.org.ph, follow www.facebook.com/wvphilippines, or call the World Vision hotline number at 372-77-77.

Epson Strengthens partnership with DepEd on Gift of Brightness project

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GoB to select less –privileged public schools that demonstrated excellence and innovation in different fields

Epson Philippines formalized the company’s commitment to equip less-privileged, deserving public schools with Epson technologies under the Gift of Brightness project. In the photo are DepEd Secretary Honorable Leonor Briones, Undersecretary Tonisito Umali, Director IV for External Partnership Services Margarita Ballesteros. Signing for Epson Philippines is Marketing Communications and PR Head Donna V. Ferro, assisted by Epson Philippines PR Specialist Mica Bayot. 

The partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and Epson Philippines on the digital imaging company’s Gift of Brightness program for youth and education was formalized during the Memorandum of Agreement ceremonial signing for DepEd partners held recently at the L.B. Soriano Hall, SEAMEO Innotech in Quezon City.

As a company, Epson has always supported the youth and education through various projects and advocacies, one of which is the Gift of Brightness program, started in 2013.

The Gift of Brightness program aims to equip deserving, less privileged schools in the country with Epson technologies to help the students in their studies and school projects through the donation of complete technology packages for each recipient that consist of Epson printers, projectors, scanners, label printers, document cameras and a year’s supply of inks and cartridges.

“Since we started the program, there have been 45 beneficiary-schools, 27 of which were coursed through the Department of Education for the selection process under our partnership for the past two years. We believe that by offering detailed innovation, which is at the heart of all Epson products, we can contribute to uplifting the learning experience for the students. We hope that through the Epson Gift of Brightness, we can help bring brightness and inspiration,” explains Donna V. Ferro, Head of Marketing Communications and PR, Epson Philippines. 

Secretary Briones compared the partners efforts to the help extended by the stakeholders and concluded her speech by urging private companies “to find the true meaning of Christmas among the children whom you are serving.”

GCash dominates Philippine retail e-payment landscape with over 4,000 QRs deployed nationwide

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GCash dominated the Philippine retail e-payment landscape in 2017 with over 4,000 QRs deployed nationwide, a testament to the growing number of merchants who believe in the capability of GCash to usher in cashless payments in the country.

A mobile wallet service offered by Mynt, a financial technology company owned by Globe Telecom, Ant Financial and Ayala Corp, GCash has been relentless in helping Filipinos get used to a cashless lifestyle and has been bullish in its vision to create an inclusive cashless environment in the Philippines. E-payments provide safety and convenience when shopping for goods and services as people need not carry around loads of cash anymore.

In August this year, GCash introduced the scan to pay feature in the GCash App that allowed customers to pay by simply scanning QR (quick response) codes of merchants. 

“With the GCash scan to pay feature, we bring in technology that lowers the cost of transactions. By enabling merchants to accept payments at virtually no cost, we are actually creating convenience for the merchants and translating that benefit back to the customers and that's how it becomes more accessible for everyone” said Anthony Thomas, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mynt.

“Before, you need a POS or a reader for the cards acceptance. But today, we eliminate all that. With GCash, you can pay without cash. That’s the convenience that we bring to our customers,” he added.

To date, QR payments across different merchants all over the country have been deployed successfully, transforming the local retail scene into a cashless landscape.

More than 4,000 GCash QRs are now being accepted in various merchants nationwide, including the biggest players in the retail industry such as Ayala Malls, Robinsons Department Store, SM Malls, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Cinema, Puregold, Ministop, and NCCC Malls.

Other merchants where customers can pay using the GCash QRs are:

*SSI Group, which carries an extensive portfolio of established international brands such as Banana Republic, Beauty Bar, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Gap, Bally, Calvin Klein, Clinique;

*Max’s Group, the largest casual dining restaurant company in the country. It includes Max’s Restaurant, Krispy Kreme, Kabisera, Pancake House, Yellow Cab, Teriyaki Boy, Jamba Juice, Dencio’s, Sizzling Steak; and,

*Bench Group, which includes Bench, Human, Kashieca, Aldo, Charles & Keith, Cotton On, American Eagle.

Smaller sellers located at celebrity bazaar destination Noel Bazaar and food haven Mercato Centrale have also adopted the cashless payment option.

Over the next few months, GCash will continue to lead the way in promoting a cashless ecosystem in the country by aggressively rolling out the use of the scan to pay feature in other locations nationwide. This is aimed at encouraging more people to use it in day-to-day shopping, dining, entertainment, and other activities.

To start enjoying the benefits of the GCash scan to pay feature, customers must download the app for free from the App Store or Google Playstore and register an account. Once installed, customers can cash-in or reload at any GCash kiosk and digital payment booth in Globe Stores, and in over 12,000 GCash Partner Outlets such as Robinson’s Business Centers, SM Business Centers, Puregold branches, 7-Eleven Cliqq kiosks, and TouchPay kiosks, among others.

Through the QR-based mobile payment system, customers can shop by just scanning the QR codes displayed by partner merchants and establishments. With the new smartphone application, there will be no need for customers to carry around wads of cash. It makes purchasing the latest fashion items or paying services more convenient and secure while eliminating the chance of having misunderstandings over payments and getting the wrong change. With GCash, shoppers can skip long lines, keep track of their expenses and minimize the risk of theft, all through the use of their smartphones.