by admin | Jul 20, 2017 | Tech Talk
Tech startups from around the world are invited to join the 3rd Geeks on a Beach (GOAB) international pitchfest and submit their online applications on or before the contest deadline on July 31, 2017.
The startup competition focused on innovative tech ideas, which has become an annual fixture at the GOAB confab, will be giving out US$1,000 micro fund and a GOAB designer trophy to the winner.
The GOAB 2017 international pitchfest will be held on August 25, 2017 as part of this year’s GOAB international tech and startup conference that will be held for the first time in Palawan, Philippines.
“The GOAB pitchfest is open to all early stage tech startups with revenue and traction. Submit your applications and get the chance to pitch your product to potential investors on the GOAB stage,” said Tina Amper, TechTalks founder and GOAB lead organizer.
The pitchfest is open to all startups less than 3 years old and at the early stage with revenue for at least 6 months. However, only startups with a functional prototype or production-level products for demonstration are eligible to participate.
The announcement of the top 5 startups, which will be invited to pitch in person during the GOAB confab, will be on August 4. The winning teams must be able to attend in person in order to pitch at GOAB.
“While it’s true that pitching does not guarantee that your startup will get funded. The act of pitching in a public venue is a step forward in getting you publicity, support, and feedback from the community,” said Amper.
She said GOAB pitchfest is the best venue to build a relationship with the right mentor or investor who understands a startup’s niche or boost its chances to make it big by ensuring that their product meets rigorous public expectations.
GOAB conference ticket discounts will also apply to the first 20 teams who will apply for the pitchfest. They will receive the promo code when they complete your application. However, all startups are responsible for their own airfare and accommodation.
PLDT, Smart, Voyager, PayMaya, ePLDT, Smart DevNet, PLDT Enterprise, and PLDT Innolab are supporting GOAB as co-presenters while ASPACE Philippines is co-producer. GOAB is held in partnership with the City Government of Puerto Princesa and Palaweño ICT Association. The official airline partner is Philippines Airasia and the official ticketing partner is Ticketbase. The silver sponsors include Payoneer, Zalora, PouchNATION, Istorya.net, Synergy 88 Digital, Uniform Solutions, and AtoX Solutions. The bronze sponsors are NXTLVL Academy, LabPH, Spring Valley Corporation, NorthRidge Partners, and Amazon Web Services.
The media partners are e27, Tech in Asia, Bohol News Daily by Auza.net, Innopub Media, Geeks in Cambodia, Asian Journal Publications, Balikbayan Magazine, Mobile Ecosystem Forum, ConnectedWomen.co and QueenCityCebu.com, The organizational partners are the Philippine Software Industry Association, the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, UP CeBuinIT, Digital Commerce Association of the Philippines, Developers Connect, Science and Technology Advisory Council – Silicon Valley, Mynimo, Teradoor, Israel Chamber of Commerce Philippines, and the Cloud Security Alliance Philippines. GOAB is supported by Orange Hub and iSkwelahan.com.
GOAB is organized by TechTalks.ph, powered by Sym.ph, branding by Happy Garaje, and pr by PRWorks. For registration or partnernship information or further details, visit www.GeeksOnABeach.com, follow on Twitter/Facebook Geeks On A Beach, or contact hello@GeeksOnABeach.com.
by admin | Jul 16, 2017 | Local News / Bohol Balita
By JUNE S. BLANCO
POOLED outputs of small power plants in Bohol can add up to more locally generated electricity.
Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) said the province’s size and sources of energy that can be developed into power plants limit production to only around 10 megawatts each – just little more than the production of existing mini hydroelectric plants in Ewon in Sevilla, Hanopol in Balilihan and Tontonan, Loboc.
But he still welcomes developers planning to invest in power plants in Bohol using renewable sources as these do not adversely affect the prime economic drivers of the province – agriculture and tourism.
Aumentado if Bohol’s leaders can convince and bring in interested parties to establish power plants here, be they another hydroelectric, biomass, waste-to-power, solar or nuclear, adding all their outputs can up the locally generated power to boost the power reserve.
“Only in power production is redundancy allowed – even required,” the solon stressed.
To allay people’s fears of a repeat of the Chernobyl, Russia and Fukushima, Japan nuclear plant accidents and disasters, however, Aumentado, together with Zamboanga del Norte 1st District Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos, filed House Bill 3651 seeking to create a nuclear energy regulatory body.
The solon is currently in Vienna, Austria, on a scientific visit to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Vienna International Center. The attendees will attend briefings and participate in discussions on key aspects of comprehensive nuclear laws.
These include the establishment of an independent regulatory body, nuclear safety and security requirements, safety of nuclear installations, radioactive waste and spent fuel management, safe guard and civil liability for nuclear damage, as well as the related international legal instruments, particularly in the context of developing an adequate legal framework to support a nuclear power program in the Philippines.
He said this will prepare the Philippines should investors opt to develop nuclear energy.
He has also talked with an investor keen on producing energy from waste – including plastics – as well as biomass, to meet the power demands of Bohol’s 2nd District.
He said the former will cut government spending for the establishment of sanitary landfills. Funds saved from this, he said, can then go to infrastructure and even social projects instead.
The solon expressed confidence that the mix of sources now and soon to be available will ultimately meet the growing power demands of the entire district – and even the province – without depending too much on the geothermal power plant in Tongonan, Leyte.
An added advantage of biomass, he explained, is the residuals in the conversion of biomass into power can be utilized as fertilizer – organic at that.
The move, Aumentado said, will put his district one step closer to his aspiration of making it Bohol’s first “green”, that is, environmentally sound, district.
The waste and the biomass will separately undergo both aerobic and anaerobic procedures, he said.
The investor, he said, will visit Bohol anytime soon to determine the volume of waste and biomass that the district can produce to feed the waste conversion and the biomass power plants to produce from one to two megawatts of energy. He echoed the investor as saying that “the more waste, the more there will be energy”.
He also said for more biomass, the investor is likewise keen on tapping his constituents to plant feed stocks on public lands.
The leaves will be for food for ruminant animals while the waste – parts of the plant that the animals find “not tasty” and will not eat will be fed to the biomass power plant.
by admin | Jun 4, 2017 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
By JUNE S. BLANCO
REP. Erico Aristotle Aumentado of Bohol’s 2nd District is looking at more sources of energy to meet the increasing demand of industries, and the population.
On top of fossil fuel, geothermal, hydro (water), solar and wind that are currently in use, top on the chair of the House committee on science and technology’s sights are nuclear, waste and biomass power.
To allay people’s fears of a repeat of the Chernobyl, Russia and Fukushima, Japan nuclear plant accidents, however, Aumentado, together with Zamboanga del Norte 1st District Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos, filed House Bill 3651 seeking to create a nuclear energy regulatory body.
Meanwhile, Aumentado the other day talked with an investor keen on producing energy from waste – including plastics – as well as biomass, to meet the power demands of Bohol’s 2nd District.
He said the former will cut government spending for the establishment of sanitary landfills. Funds saved from this, he said, can then go to infrastructure and even social projects instead.
The solon expressed confidence that the mix of sources now and soon to be available will ultimately meet the growing power demands of the entire district – and even the province – without depending too much on the geothermal power plant in Tongonan, Leyte.
An added advantage of biomass power, he explained, is the residuals in the conversion of biomass into power can be utilized as fertilizer – organic at that.
The move, Aumentado said, will put his district one step closer to his aspiration of making it Bohol’s first “green”, that is environmentally sound, district.
The waste and the biomass will separately undergo both aerobic and anaerobic procedures, he said.
The investor, he hinted, will visit Bohol anytime soon to determine the volume of waste and biomass that the district can produce to feed the waste conversion and the biomass power plants to produce from one to two megawatts of energy. He echoed the former as saying that the more waste, the more there will be energy.
He also said for more biomass, the investor is likewise keen on tapping his constituents to plant feed stocks on public lands – to feed the biomass power plant.
by admin | Apr 29, 2017 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
TAGBILARAN CITY, April 27, (PIA)–A fishery resource management program implemented among the municipalities sharing the Danajon Double Barrier Reef (DBR) in Bohol closes its project but not after making milestones in community empowerment for fisheries management towards poverty alleviation.
Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries (EcoFISH), with Department of Agriculture Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) and the representatives of the United States Agency for international Development (USAID) received statement of commitments from people’s organizations in their assisted sites.
The statements of commitment from eight people’s organizations of fishermen declare that a sustainable protection and conservation of their marine resources is important in maintaining the well being of their communities.
Mocaboc Island Fishers Association, Entrepreneurs Association for Sustainable Economic Development (EASED) of Alumar Island in Getafe (seaweeds production and marketing enterprise), EASED in Asinan, Buenavista (seaweeds pickle production and marketing enterprise), EASED in Jandayan Getafe (seaweeds nursery, production and marketing enterprise), Bansan Islands Seaweed Farmers and Fisherman’s Association, Bagacay Seaweeds Farmers Association of Sag, Talibon, Bagacay Seaweeds Farmers Association of Bagacay Talibon, Bilang-bilangan Daku Women’s Association (BIDAWA) of Bilangbilangan island, Bien Unido, Union Farmers and Fisherfolks Organization all said they would implement the EcoFISH concept of ecosystems approaches to fisheries management (EAFM).
Fully understanding the need to decrease the tension in fisheries to allow the degraded resource to recover, the groups said any income derived from their economic enterprises, they would not use to buy more fishing gear that would contribute to the overfishing issue in their area.
EcoFISH is a government project implemented by the DA-BFAR with assistance from the USAid addressed the complex problem of fast dying marine ecosystems, diminishing fish catch and the pervading poverty that may have caused this vicious cycle of problems.
Implemented in the coastal towns sharing the Danajon DBR from Tubigon to Carlos P. Garcia in Bohol, project implementers have completed the zonification of the area to avoid more inter-local government unit conflicts in resource utilization, did multiple research activities on economic profiles, fisheries profiles which form the base of the enhanced ecosystems approaches to fisheries management (EAFM) as well as innovations in law enforcement, said Anecita Gulayan, project executive officer.
At the beginning of the project, EcoFISH intended to attain a 10% increase in fisheries biomass in the Danajon, an increase in employment caused by sustainable management of its fisheries, establish at least 8 public-private partnerships supportive of EcoFISH objectives and a large portion of Danajon marine environment placed under improved management.
We may have not done as much as those people want to see, after all, the earthquake that hit Bohol in 2013 also affected so much of Bohol’s underwater ecosystems, but, Gulayan reported a slight increase in fisheries biomass.
Danajon, is among the very few double barrier reefs in the world, and is stretching as a natural protection barrier for coastal towns of Tubigon, Clarin, Inabanga, Buenavista, Getafe, Talibon, Trinidad, Bien Unido, Ubay and Carlos P. Garcia.
Covering over 271 square kilometers, the Danajon, according to experts can have a yield of between $30K to $110 per square kilometer if properly managed.
This could already feed as well as adequately supply for the protein needs of the community as well as make sustainable fisheries a viable option for fishermen in the region, BFAR 7 Regional Director Dr. Allan Poquita said.
Considered a very valuable marine resource and the source of food of communities in 17 municipalities and cities in four provinces, experts including Danajon scientist Dr. Allan White have said that an effective collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders is needed to properly rehabilitate and manage the Danajon bank.
We may have not done as much as those people want to see, but after five years, we have significantly reduced boundary conflicts in the coastal towns sharing Danajon, Gulayan added.
The project has also set up a marine protected area network that collaborates with government that are supporting EAFM, Gulayan who has been a sector regular worker said.
Even without livelihood component, much of the work that EcoFISH leaves behind is one quantifiable only by the way of life coastal communities along Danajon are having and having a future to look forward to. This would be worth much more than the five years of empowering communities gives to people who now see their resource as finite and must be taken cared of. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
by admin | Apr 21, 2017 | ASEAN agenda, DTI Updates, Features, Headlines, Malakanyang Updates
TAGBILARAN CITY, April 19 (PIA)–To ring the message across that he abhors criminalities, President Rodrigo Duterte issues the order to just anyone: get them, dead or alive.
And by everyone, his order did not just mean for the government operatives, he also addressed to civilians willing to finally end the terror and hunt down the remnants of the group of armed Abu Sayyaf bandits contained in the fields of Inabanga.
Coming to Bohol not on his official, but on his personal schedule, President Duterte who just came in from a state visit in the middle east immediately flew to Bohol to be briefed on the Inabanga incident that left 3 military, one police and 4 deaths from the notorious kidnap for ransom group.
Two of those who died were a couple identified as relatives of the local guide of the bandits are still under investigation, explained Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of Staff, General Eduardo Año.
Government troops sweeping the war zone also recovered bomb making tools and electronic parts that can be used to manufacture bombs.
The Abus Sayyaf incursion to Bohol, over 600 kilometers from their strongholds in Basilan, happened in time for the international gathering of leaders of the countries in southeast Asia in Panglao.
“I am here just to warn everybody, my order is to demolish them,” Duterte spoke to Bohol and national media after an hour and 45 minutes of briefings of the Inabanga incident and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Trade meetings set from April 18-21, at the Hennan Resort in Panglao.
“To civilians interested to fight and kill, my order [to them] is dead or alive,” the President was again fearless of the repercussions of his hard and unwavering stance against criminality.
He also announced he is raising the one million pesos bounty for every member of the Abu Sayyaf stragglers hiding in the vicinities of Napo, in Inabanga, Bohol.
Earlier, the provincial government posted a P100,000 bounty per head for anyone who could share information leading to the capture any one of the 7 bandits.
Now led by a local recruit Joselito Melloria, the bandits could not go far as three of them were wounded, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines Intelligence officer Lt. Col Adolfo Espuelas Jr,.
Espuelas, who head the Intelligence Service of the AFP said Melloria nurses a wound in the left back shoulder and left foot, another young fighter with a wound in the right leg and yet another fighter with wound in the right butt.
The strugglers have only 3 M16 rifles, one fitted with an M203 grenade launcher, one M14, a depleted ammunition supply, an analog cell phone with spare batteries, no food, no local support, have been sleepless and are on the run without any more capacity to fight, Espuelas added.
In rounding up the citizens as well as the government troops to account for the fleeing bandits, the apparently tired president who earlier came to the security briefing on the Inabanga incident and the Bohol said, he wants them dead, not alive to skip from the trouble of feeding criminals.
The President also clarified that the order also applies to drug personalities and terrorists. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
Get the bandits, dead or alive, commands President Rodrigo Duterte, when he came to Tagbilaran Bohol to get briefed about the clash that happened between government troops and the Abus Sayyaf group. Duterte’s coming in, off his official schedule has boosted the resolve of government to hit on the remaining bandits. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
