In keeping up with a time-honored tradition, participants of the BOSS Ironman Motorcycle Challenge XIII will take off from Clark, Pampanga on Jan. 13, 2018 and complete the 1,200kms of the Northern Luzon Loop.

The event is expected to draw some 500-700 riders and car drivers not only in pursuit of fun and adventure, but to promote local tourism and road safety as well.

Lito Flores, chairman of the BOSS Ironman Challenge organizing committee, said they have adopted significant changes on the format to ensure that the riders and drivers comply with road safety measures by strictly observing traffic rules, particularly on speed limit.

With road safety as primordial concern, the Department of Tourism (DoT), the Philippine National Police (PNP), have thrown their support to the BOSS Ironman, one of the grandest and longest riding and driving endurance event in the country. BOSS stands for BMW Owners Society of Saferiders, Inc.

This event is also backed up by local government officials from 10 provinces which are part of the route. These include Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Ecija.

Topping the list of format revisions is for each of the participants or teams to strictly observe the speed limit in all areas. They are required to engage in fun activities like taking ‘groufies’ in designated checkpoints.

These fun photos will be posted on BOSS Ironman Facebook page in real time and the wackiest shots will win special prizes.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Continue Reading

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma has challenged outstanding workers here to lead the Subic workforce in caring for the Freeport with “malasakit” and passion.

During the recent awarding ceremony for the Ten Outstanding Freeport Workers at Cinema 4 of Harbor Point Ayala Mall here, Eisma encouraged the winners to cultivate and practice a sense of community, as they are considered model employees.

“You are the Ten Outstanding Freeport Workers. I salute you,” Eisma said. “But, I challenge all of you to be the leaders to lead your people, to lead your company and co-workers to care for this place, to make us even better.”

The SBMA official told the awardees and the audience that what motivated the pioneer employees in Subic 25 years ago should still apply today, pointing out that she was among those who came forward and volunteered their services to give the community a better future.

“And here we are now. Can you imagine? Before the Americans left, they created 35,000 jobs. But now, we have more than 120,000 workers employed by more than 2,000 investor- companies. And you have to keep this going,” she said.

Eisma added she felt sorry that some Freeport stakeholders had lost the value of malasakit or passion for the common good, given the way people are taking care of each other and the community they are living in.

“This is our home and it is not my sole responsibility to fix this. It’s also yours. So, I challenge all of you to take care of one another, to take care of the Subic Bay Freeport,” she also said.

As an example, Eisma pointed out that instead of simply noticing the trash in some areas in Subic and posting them on social media, stakeholders should take the initiative to pick them up, or report the same to her office.

“I’m not saying we should cover up problems like this, but the business of SBMA is tourism, and the business of the Freeport is investments. If we keep on washing our dirty linen in public, it will only shoo away the tourists and the investors. So, please reach out to me,” she said.

Eisma added that stakeholders can even punch 8888, a Malacañang hotline dealing with complaints against government officials. “I really want to keep this place clean. You know why? Because this is my home, and even after my term as chairman and administrator, you would still see me here,” she added.

Today’s crop of top workers included a former dish washer, a welder, and a warehouseman who were honored for excellent performance and remarkable dedication and commitment to their respective jobs.

Eisma also encouraged the winners to give their all their best, reminding them that “Here in Subic, it doesn’t matter what kind of job you keep; what really matters is how you do it well.”

A total of 11 workers won the recognition this year, according to the Subic Bay Workforce Development Foundation, Inc. (SBWDFI, which gives out the awards, because two finalists had tied up in one place.

The 2017 outstanding workers in Subic are: Philip Villa, chef at Segara Villas and Hotel; Vergel Osorio, warehouseman at CRESC Inc.; Nilo Del Rosario, welder/pipefitter at Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corp.; Engr. Marnue Veneracion of the General Facilities and Design Engineering Section of Nicera (Phils.); Engr. Alexander Poblete, Product Engineer II at Nicera (Phils.); May Ordaz, planning and purchasing supervisor at Koushin Mechatronics; John Louis Ducus, Meter and Revenue Protection Engineer at Subic Enerzone Corp.; Joseph Paje, Logistics Specialist at SubicWater; Joseph Malana, inventory controller at PTT Philippines Corp.; Jaylyn Zapata, external relations assistant at PTT Philippines; and Engr. Reynante Reyes, maintenance engineer at Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corp

Source and photo: Headline Zambales Online

Continue Reading

The Geminids are considered one of the best meteor showers every year because the individual meteors are bright, and the peak can see meteors stream across the sky at rates as high as 120 meteors an hour. Under light-polluted skies, fewer meteors will be visible.

The annual Geminids meteor shower will be active from December 4-17. The observation of its peak activity is on the night of December 14 until the early morning hours of December 15 on the eastern horizon, meteors or “falling stars” can be seen at an average rate of forty (40) meteors per hour under a dark and cloudless sky condition. The shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Gemini, the Twin. Gemini is easy to spot through its two bright stars Castor and Pollux, which are just to the left of constellations Orion and Auriga.

There is a big difference between the Geminids and other meteor showers. The Geminids meteors do not originate from a comet, they come from an asteroid (3200 Phaethon). Meteors from this shower are very rocky and gritty and slightly easier to see compared to the other showers.

Source: pagasa.dost.gov.ph
Photo Courtesy: Kenneth Brandon

Continue Reading

By: BusinessMirror

THE entire province of Zambales will be the country’s major tourist and economic hub in the next 20 years.

This was the picture envisioned by Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso, who is optimistic the province will not only dominate the entire region but also sees it to be a global stage for tourism, trade and commerce.

Deloso believes the province is poised to be the highlight of the Philippines’s future, with billions of pesos in investments and construction projects set to be implemented by both local and foreign investors for the next 10 years.

Kicking off with this 10-year economic plan in the province is the construction of the Zambales Convention Center and the provincial capitol as early as January next year. The governor wants to ensure the people of Zambales will benefit from this development.

Deloso said Zambeleños continue to spend extra money and travel time from their place to neighboring places like Clark, Baguio and Bulacan just to conduct conferences. With these plans in place, locals  don’t have to spend to fly to Baguio, Manila or Makati just to have access to a decent venue for their meetings, seminars, symposia or any corporate and official gathering.

“The construction of this convention center will answer the needs of all sectors here for seminars and conventions of big groups,” Deloso explained.

For the last three decades, Zambales has been relegated to a mere rustic and laid-back summer alternative in the country. Despite having the best beaches in the country, the province is seen as merely a traditional place for fiestas and age-old cultural traditions.

With the vision of local officials and the support of its people, Zambales is finally emerging into a modern province, befitting its stature as a premier tourist destination in the country and in all of Asia.

“We are strategically situated. We are only four hours away from Hong Kong and other Asian countries through navigation. The world is getting congested but, here in our province, there is a vast resource for land, seas and mountains, and it’s about time we turn things around.”

Infrastructure projects will kick off starting next year.

The province has been considering partnerships with foreign and local investors that will see the rise of five-star hotels, a world-class airport and business establishment that will boost industries and trade and commerce in the region.

Asked how he plans to sustain all these development projects of the province, Deloso said Zambales is rich in natural resources and human capital to make these plans a reality.

“Zambales is a very rich province, it has 27 minerals. It might interest you to know that the biggest gold deposits in Asia are in Zambales, and the biggest deposit of chromite in the whole world is in Zambales. Now, chromite mining in Zambales has been going on for 90 years. For 90 years, mining companies have exploited that aside from the gold in San Marcelino.”

Source: businessmirror.com.ph
image source: dot.spindev.ph

Continue Reading

Engr. Manzano passed the November 2017 civil engineering licensure exam on her first take.

Photo Source: gineersnow.com

Rarely do indigenous people get the chance to have formal college education. Opportunities for them to attend school are rare, and to be able to graduate is already the entire tribe’s pride.

What more if one, a woman at that, is able to pass an engineering board exam? And on her first take?

That’s what Ezel Joy Pablo Manzano had accomplished for her Aeta community. She was the reason of the recent celebration of the Amianan tribe, which was moved to the Iram settlement area near Olongapo City in the Philippines after the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption.

In an interview with GMA News, she proudly introduced herself as a passer of the November 2017 civil engineering board exam. She is one of the 6,075 who made it out of the 12,447 takers.

Engr. Manzano, who finished civil engineering in Ramon Magsaysay Technology University in Iba, Zambales, revealed that at one point during her review, she burst into tears because she could no longer understand what she was studying.

She was asked about tips for future board exam takers. Ezel Joy said that they should give it their all because the chance to take board exam only comes rarely.

Her journey to being a registered civil engineer was tough. She recalled that she had to quit school for one semester due to financial reasons.

This became her motivation to pass her board exam. And she also persevered to achieve the dream of her deceased father for her.

She said, “Pangarap ‘yun ng tatay ko, kaya ‘yun po talaga ang nagpu-push sa akin na i-pursue ‘yun. [It was my father’s dream for me, so I pushed myself to pursue this field.]”

Estrelita Manzano, Ezel Joy’s mother, witnessed her daughter’s struggles. She shared that even without the presence of her father, Ezel Joy still did what she could do best in terms of her academics.

Now that she is an engineer, Ezel Joy doesn’t forget those who have helped her along the way. She plans to pursue a career that will help her tribe in any way possible.

Source: gineersnow.com

Continue Reading