Tag Archives: Philippines

Government, Technology

YAWNS AND GIGGLES AS GOVERNMENT ROLLS OUT FREE WI-FI ACCESS IN THE PHILIPPINES

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wifi-philippines_1The Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is planning to roll out its free public Wi-Fi internet access project across the country beginning July of this year.

The One Billion-peso “Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places” project aims to provide free Wi-Fi Internet access in select public spaces in the country including parks and plazas, airports and seaports, public schools and hospitals, train stations and government offices.

Once fully deployed, the Project will serve 105,000 concurrent users with an average speed of 256 kbps (kilobytes) each. (Remember, the Philippines has a population of 100 Million.)

The DOST announcement was met with yawns and giggles by the Internet-savvy Filipinos, and here’s why:

256 kbps is equivalent to 2.048 Mbps (Megabits)

To put it in perspective, let’s take a look at the wi-fi speed in South Korea:

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That’s 47.73 Mbps download and 48.99 Mbps upload speed in South Korea vs. 2.048 Mbps in the Philippines! And it is estimated that almost half of South Korea’s 50 Million population have access to high-speed Internet.

Any questions? Log on to the website of the DOST. That is, if you are able to get a connection, or have time for a little nap while waiting for your connection.

Perhaps, instead of building more high-rise condos and shopping malls, the Philippines should build a better Internet infrastructure. After all, isn’t the Philippines supposed to be the “New Asian Tiger?”

Or is it still the “Sick Man of Asia”  when it comes to Technology?

Fashion, Film and TV

MISS PHILIPPINES PAGEANT HOST TONI GONZAGA: ‘I WAS DUPED!’

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Pageant co-host Toni Gonzaga, right, and her enormous evening gown. (Photo credit: Rob Titular for ABQ)
Pageant co-host Toni Gonzaga, right, and her enormous evening gown. (Photo credit: Ron B. Titular for ABQ)

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Forget all the controversy surrounding Sunday’s Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines) pageant contestants and judges. There’s a bigger controversy brewing involving pageant host, singer-actress Toni Gonzaga.

Gonzaga co-hosted the televised pageant finals at the Araneta Coliseum with the very good-looking Xiam Lim.

The female host got mixed reviews about her hosting duties on Sunday.  Some described her emceeing style as a “breath of fresh air,” while many were critical of her off-the-cuff, often sarcastic remarks which made the beauty contestants (and the judges) more nervous and uneasy than they already were.

But that’s the least of Gonzaga’s concerns.

Today, she lambasted the Binibining Pilipinas Charities (BPC), organizer of the annual pageant, for tricking her to believe that she would be included in the evening gown competition.

“I had to scour the innermost stalls in Divisoria to look for the best evening gown I could find, hoping that I can be at par with the contestants’ designer gowns,” she said.

Gonzaga was visibly very upset when the name of the best in evening gown was announced. It wasn’t her.

After the show, Gonzaga confronted BPC chairwoman Stella Marquez Araneta who explained to her that she may have misunderstood the agreement as co-host. “What I said was that I hope you can wear an evening gown that would stand out amid all the designer dresses that the contestants will be wearing on pageant finals,” Araneta told her.  “I never said that you will be part of the evening gown competition.”

As a compromise, Mrs. Araneta promised to reimburse Gonzaga the full amount that she paid for her blue, flowing, extravagant gown which took quite a lot of space on stage.

The amount wasn’t much, really, since Gonzaga purchased it from Divisoria. And we’re not being sarcastic.

 

Law Enforcement, Politics

PHILIPPINES SENATOR NANCY BINAY PROPOSES NEW FORM OF INCARCERATION: OFFICE ARREST

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Junjun Binay, left, and Nancy Binay (Photo credit: Inquirer.net)
Junjun Binay, left, and Nancy Binay (Photo credit: Inquirer.net)

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – It’s a clear case of big sister trying to protect little brother.

We’ve all heard about house arrest and hospital arrest. Both are forms of incaceration in lieu of jail, mostly accorded to political prisoners.  Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo comes to mind. She continues to be under hospital arrest for corruption charges.

Now, Senator Nancy Binay has proposed legislation that would institute office arrest for politicians like her brother, Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay.

The younger Binay has camped out (or in) for the third  straight day since the Office of the Ombudsman issued a suspension order against him. The order was issued over alleged overpricing in the controversial Makati City Hall Building II.

The mayor is questioning the six-month suspension order and has been holing up at city hall since Wednesday. He has said the order from the Office of the Ombudsman — a Constitutional body independent of Malacañang — is motivated by politics. He could face contempt charges if he continues to defy the orde of the Ombudsman.

Binay’s supporters have been staying outside the city hall since the suspension order was issued and have been given free take-out dinners.

In proposing the new legislation, Nancy Binay admitted it was in anticipation of her brother’s eventual arrest.

“My brother has been put into office by the people of Makati, so he has the obligation to continue to perform his duties as mayor, regardless of what the Ombudsman says,” the junior senator told reporters. “Office arrest is the most appropriate form of incarceration for Junjun,” she added.

Informed sources told The Adobo Chronicles that the Binays’ father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, has offered to pay for the construction of an annex to the Makati City Mayor’s office that would include a bedroom, kitchen and a jacuzzi in order to make his son’s offfice arrest more comfortable.