Thursday, May 31, 2018

More Celeb-Owned Items Released In “Signed Sold Delivered” Online Charity Sale


Get your hands on the most stylish pieces from your favorite celebrity’s closet as Metro.Style restocks with more items in online charity sale “Signed Sold Delivered” starting May 30 at 6pm.

The new collection features more precious pieces from stars such as Maja Salvador, Boy Abunda, Jodi Sta. Maria, Sam Milby, Liza Soberano, Inigo Pascual, Piolo Pascual, Enchong Dee, and Matteo Guidicelli.

Options of colorful dresses, intricate gowns, cool jackets, trendy accessories, and sleek shoes from these A-list celebs are up for grabs at Metro.Style’s online charity sale, continuing to raise P1 million fund for ABS-CBN’s Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. (ALFKI).

Other elite personalities donating their memorabilia starting June 6 (Wednesday) are lifestyle personality Tootsy Angara, model mentor and “Women of Style” host Joey Mead King, internationally recognized fashion blogger Ingrid Chua-Go, and interior ace Steph Kienle Gonzalez.

Take a look on the new collection in www.signedsolddelivered.com. To purchase an item, click on the photo and complete the details for your transaction on CheckMeOut. Once order is confirmed, wait for your item to be delivered to your doorstep.

The month-long charity sale began last May 15 featuring coveted items from Angel Locsin, Maggie Wilson, Tim Yap, Ces Drilon, Korina Sanchez, Charo Santos, and more.

Metro.Style’s first-ever online celebrity charity sale is held in cooperation with digital logistics company QuadX and ALKFI. Visit www.signedsolddelivered.com for the full mechanics of #SignedSoldDelivered.

Supported by Backroom, Inc., KP&PR&EMS, Star Magic, Sun Life Financial, Timex, Yamaha, Century Tuna Superbods, Bench, Folded & Hung, Penshoppe, arena, speedo, Nike, DC Shoes, Titan 22

Philippine Congress ratifies national ID law

Philippine lawmakers on Wednesday (May 30) ratified a proposed law creating a "national identification system", amid criticism it will set up a mechanism prone to data breach and abuse.

The Bill, approved by Congress, creates a single proof of identity Filipinos can use for all transactions, similar to Singapore's National Registry Identity Card. It harmonises at least 33 government-issued IDs.

President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to sign the Bill into law and the system could be rolled out as early as June. It would take five years to complete, and will cost at least 30 billion pesos (S$760 million).


The Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) will include 13 sets of information, including a person's biometrics, taxpayer's number, passport number, health insurance number, driver's licence number, as well as personal details such as address, blood type and marital status.

The PhilSys card will be required for all government transactions. It will also be the main "proof of identity" for transactions with banks, job applications and verification for criminal records.

Representative Sol Aragones, who co-authored the Bill, said she expects a million cards to be issued this year, mostly to those who still lack "proof of identity", those with disabilities and the elderly.


"Each of us now has to carry a thick wad of IDs when transacting with the government and private companies. This reduces everything into a single card," said Ms Aragones.

But critics warned that the system could be used for state surveillance and is also vulnerable to third-party data leaks.

"A national ID system gives the government unprecedented access to a huge cache of its citizens' personal data," said Mr Jamael Jacob, director of the University Data Protection Office at the Ateneo de Manila University.

"Any government with the ability to keep tabs on its population via an ID system also has the ability to resort to oppressive activities."

Representative Carlos Zarate, of the Bayan Muna (Nation First) sectoral party, said information keyed into the PhilSys card would be part of a centralised database that law enforcement agencies could tap into to harass government critics.

"Especially during these troubling times, we, as a people, must always be mindful of any effort that gives more power to an administration that is not shy when testing the limits of its authority," said Mr Jacob.

Mr Zarate said the national ID database would also present a target for hackers, as there has been no guarantee of a "100 per cent safeguard" to the integrity of the information to be harvested.

He cited an incident in 2016 where hackers managed to steal from the election commission's website data on some 55 million voters.

But Senator Panfilo Lacson, principal author of the Bill, said concerns over privacy and data leaks were overblown.

"I don't understand the criticism and opposition (to the national ID). Don't they have driver's licences? Don't they have passports? Don't they have voter's IDs? The information needed for the national ID is the same, so why should they complain when they have already gone through the same process before?" he said.

House ratifies bicam report on nat’l ID system

The House of Representatives on Wednesday night ratified the bicameral conference committee report on a bill seeking to create a national identification (ID) system.

The move came a day after the Senate ratified its own version. The bill will be transmitted to the Palace for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature.

The proposed bill seeks to integrate and interconnect some 30 redundant government IDs by coming out with one national ID system, or PhilSys.

The PhilSys will have three key components: the PhilSys Number or PSN, the PhilID and PhilSys Registry.

The PhilID will be a non-transferable card containing on its face the PSN, full name, facial image, date of birth, address and fingerprints of the individual.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is mandated to act as the PhilSys Registry, a repository and custodian of all data including the PSN, registered records, and information of all persons registered in the PhilSys.

Nat’l ID, rice tariffs to complement TRAIN mitigation measures

The government is accelerating the rollout of social mitigation measures such as unconditional transfers (UCTs) and fuel vouchers, which need to be complemented by the enactment into laws of a national ID system and the lifting of restrictions on rice imports, to further ease the impact of inflation on the country’s vulnerable sectors, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

In a news release issued Wednesday, Finance Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Habitan said changing the way rice is imported – by shifting from setting import quotas to just imposing tariffs on cheaper imports of the grain – would help stabilize the supply of rice and lower its prices in the retail market, which will help the poor the most as rice accounts for 20 percent of their consumption.

A national ID system, meanwhile, will minimize leakages in implementing the UCT program and other social welfare programs; and will help ensure that the cash aid reaches the legitimate beneficiaries, Habitan said.

These twin measures, she said, will help cancel out the minimal impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law on inflation and speed up the rollout of the social mitigation measures provided under this law.

Based on estimates by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), rice tariffication alone will immediately lower the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage points, “which already offsets TRAIN’s impact on prices,” Habitan said.

Up to 30 percent of the incremental revenues collected under TRAIN, which is the first package of the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), has been earmarked for social protection programs to help vulnerable sectors cope with the minimal inflationary impact of this tax reform law.

“The impending passage of the national ID system law will complement these programs given the ambitious target of delivering social welfare benefits to 10 million poorest family beneficiaries,” Habitan said ahead of the resumption of the House of Representatives’ ways and means committee hearing on the second tax reform package of the CTRP, which covers corporate taxation and the modernization of investment incentives.
Habitan and Director Juvy Danofrata represented the DOF at the hearing.

According to Habitan, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has so far released some PHP4.3 billion to the Land Bank of the Philippines for some 1.8 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries with existing LandBank cash cards. Another 2.6 million household beneficiaries are in the process of getting their cash subsidies in May and June. For 2018, some PHP24 billion will be released to cover the poorest 10 million households.

Moreover, the Department of Energy (DOE) and major petroleum companies, such as Pilipinas Shell, Phoenix Petroleum and Petron agreed last March to provide fuel discounts for public utility vehicles (PUV) drivers, while the Department of Transportation (DOTR) is preparing the fuel vouchers for duly-franchised PUVs, Habitan said.

On the part of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), it has put in place the e-Presyo, an Online Price Monitoring System, where people can check the prevailing prices of basic necessities and prime commodities that are being monitored by the department. “It serves as a price guide for consumers in doing their grocery shopping, which in turn ensures ‘value for money’,” Habitan said.

She reiterated that TRAIN had a minimal upward effect on April’s 4.5 percent inflation rate, which rose mainly due to rising crude oil prices in the world market and adjustments in the peso-dollar exchange rate. TRAIN’s contribution to the April inflation rate was confirmed by the BSP, DTI and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to be only 0.4 percentage points, Habitan said.

She said that 3 percent of April’s inflation rate can easily be attributed to higher economic growth and stronger domestic demand, given that people now have more money to spend as a result of the reduced personal income tax rates under TRAIN.

Of the balance of 1.5 percent, Habitan said 0.2 percentage points was the result of the increase in the excise tax collections on cigarettes.

Multiply Comeback

Multiply, which the site closure and cessation of business operations for May 6 and May 31, 2013 due to long-term closure until June 30, 2021 after it announcing to shut down its social networking services on August 9, 2012.

Closing the blog service and sharing files are protesting from Multiply users. Users feel betrayed, especially since the previous Multiply management ensures that the service will not be eliminated even with the changing focus to e-commerce.


In March 2013, the Multiply International site has been completely closed and inaccessible, after previously Multiply only blocked access to Multiply.com from the IP address of Indonesia. The promise of Multiply to make a repayment of Premium account holders was never kept.


Launched in March 2004 in Boca Raton, Florida, Multiply had around 11 million registered users. It transferred to Jakarta, Indonesia in 2012 when it switched from a social networking site into an e-commerce site.


On April 26, 2013, Multiply announced it will close Multiply Indonesia and Multiply International website as of May 6, 2013. All business activities of Multiply will be terminated on May 31, 2013.


The cause of the closing of the Multiply site is because Multiply is expected to fail to reach the leading position in the e-commerce industry with a sustainable business model. Multiply CEO Stefan Magdalinski acknowledged that the total change of the Multiply business model from social networking to e-commerce sites was unsuccessful.


The full closure of the website, for 102 months effective March 16, 2013 to rehabilitate and resolve the issues surrounding Multiply, including hosted blogs, videos, photos and messaging.


On November 30, 2014— less than a year and six months after the closure of the site and their operations—Multiply announced it was permanently halting operations and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. 


This time, however, it will no longer be a social networking service but an internet-based media platform.


If the website is making a comeback, first if signing of an agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia was supposed to take, securing the SEC Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and Treasurer's Affidavit, and having a legislative franchise .


1. Approval of company registration with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).


2. Drafting of the Franchise Bill. Company may seek assistance from the Committee on Legislative Franchises (House of Representatives) in drafting aFranchise Bill or secure a copy of sample bills.


3. It is preferred that the company securing a franchise shall select the sponsor of the bill who has jurisdiction of the district where the proposed public utility operation shall be located.


4. Filing of the bill at the Bills and Index Division (House of Representatives).


5. Franchise Bills originate at the House of Representatives and shall undergo the process on how a bill becomes a law.


Currently owned by Naspers, Multiply, which had operated in Indonesia before it closed shop.


The firm plans to recover deleted or lost photos, images and pictures from the old Multiply from 2005 to 2012.


Anticipating the liberalization of the social networking service in the Philippines, led by former Multiply CEO Stefan Magdalinski to reopen Multiply.com on July 1, 2021.


The company obtained its congressional franchise and was granted a provisional authority to operate social networking services.


The signing of an agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia was supposed to take place before the end of 2017.


The New Year holidays got in the way, considering that government offices in Indonesia closed on Dec. 29, 2017 and resumed normal operation on Jan. 4, 2018.


Plus, the brand style guide is a document that codifies how an organization presents itself to the world






Calls for its return


Many of former users who called for the website to return.

In January 2018, MediaQuest Holdings President and CEO Atty. Ray C. Espinosa stated in an interview that he would be willing to buy the old Multiply from Naspers and turned to became a independent, separate entity.


"Hi! Everyone we will announce soon the launching of the new Multiply! 😊😊😊" it said earlier, that the Multiply website will revert to it's original form as a social networking service and start to recover all hosted blogs, videos, photos and messaging.

"Sana nga maibalik sa orihinal na estado ang Multiply. Marami kaming naghihintay na bumalik ulit ang dating ganda ng Multiply."

Kapuso stars honored at 49th Box-Office Awards

Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera
Several GMA personalities and programs reaped recognitions at the 49th Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation (GMMSF) Box-Office Entertainment Awards held at Resorts World Manila recently.

Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera were two of the night’s biggest winners. He brought home the coveted Film Actor of the Year award while she received the Female TV Host of the Year award.

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid bagged the Female Concert Performer of the Year award while Alden Richards went home with the Male Recording Artist of the Year award.

Seasoned actor Gabby Concepcion won the TV Actor of the Year award for his performance on the hit Afternoon Prime drama series “Ika-6 Na Utos.”

“Eat Bulaga!” host Vic Sotto took home the Comedy Actor of the Year award while child star Baste Granfon received the Most Popular Male Child Performer award.

Ruru Madrid brought home the Most Promising Actor of the Year Award.

In the News & Public Affairs category, GMA Network’s Sunday program “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” received the Most Popular TV Program award.

In addition, receiving special awards were Janno Gibbs (Bert Marcelo Lifetime Achievement award); drama anthology “Maynila” (Longest Running Daytime Drama/Drama Anthology & Highest Rating Morning Primetime Drama of All Time); and Maynila’s host Cong. Lito Atienza (Outstanding Public Service award).

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TFC shows nominated at annual NorCal Emmys

ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel (TFC) received four nominations in both program and individual categories in the 47th Annual Northern California Emmy Awards set on June 2 at the San Francisco Jazz Center.

ABS-CBN TFC’s daily news show “BA,” the magazine talk show “Adobo Nation,” ABS-CBN North & Latin America News Desk Editor Henni Espinosa and Director of Photography Jeremiah Ysip were all recognized by the 2018 NorCal Emmys.

The EMMY award is presented for outstanding achievement in television by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). San Francisco/Northern California.

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, May 31, go to William Martinez, Alex Ricketts, Benhur Villanueva, Adel Almontero, Perlita Magno, Ruby Velasco Rennie, Jojo Gaela, Desiree Silan,  and Wheyee LozadaJune 1: Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Alicia Alonzo, Eva Abesamis, Max Ricketts, Froilan Antonio, Angela Andal, Ma. Clarissa Estefa, Nita Magat, Janelle Amanda Avanzado, Josie Tan, Gina Pajo, and Rhea Santos… Happy wedding anniversary to Eric Cruz and Shirley Halili-Cruz