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| (Image Source: Facebook/Angkas) |
Premiere motorcycle taxi operator Angkas recently granted a temporary
restraining order from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court which temporarily
suspends the limit cap placed by the Department of Transportation and
Communication (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Regulatory and Franchising
Board (LTFRB) regarding motorcycle taxis, and it is obvious that these two agencies
are not sitting well with it though the TRO only lasts for a few days and it happened
while the pilot test run is still ongoing. In case you missed what is going on
with Angkas lately, this might reconsider your thoughts about #SaveAngkas.
The impending entry of two new motorcycle taxi operators has pushed
both DOTC and LTFRB to place a limited cap of 10,000 motorcycle taxis for the
ongoing test run for the regulation of motorcycle taxis in the Philippines which
did not favor Angkas with fears of losing thousands of those onboard in the
process though new competition is on the verge of reaching the said cap prior
to the TRO. On the other hand, Angkas is facing its own troubles that may
surely put itself on the blacklist and these happen to be several violations
made during the pilot test run which is slated to end on March 23, 2020 as well
as its ownership.
The DOTC is not happy at Angkas' unbeknownst actions during the said
run including its operations outside the pilot areas Metro Manila and Cebu, but
Angkas' George Royeca admitted to these violations and publicly apologize for
them to my surprise. In the case of ownership issues, Royeca stated that it is
as stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that foreign ownership of any
business in the country should be limited to up to 40 percent of the shares.
The statements made by Royeca about Angkas and its recent dilemmas seem to make
sense since it is striving its own efforts to work with the national government
on the possible regulation of motorcycle taxis in the country. In any case, only
time will tell if Angkas is off the hook or not.
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ONE Championship, the largest mixed martial arts organization in the
world today and the most valuable global sports media property in Asian history,
visited the Smokey Mountain community in Tondo, Manila before Christmas as part
of its commitment of giving back in the recently concluded holiday season. Once
a large landfill before giving way to public housing in the 90s, the Smokey
Mountain area now serves as home for impoverished families.
In partnership with Global Citizen, ONE Championship has been
spearheading various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities across Asia
since 2018. Built on the foundation of the true values of martial arts -
integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, compassion - ONE is
striving to leave a lasting impact to the world through various initiatives.
For its visit to Manila, ONE handed out new brand clothing and apparel to Young
Focus, a non-government organization based in Manila that has been diligently providing
health and educational services for underprivileged children within the Smokey
Mountain community through the years.
This isn't the first time ONE Championship has worked with Young Focus.
Aside from working with Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, Young Focus regularly
frequents the communities in Manila in outreach programs featuring several ONE
Championship athletes such as former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard
Folayang, ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee, and ONE Heavyweight
World Champion Brandon Vera among others.
Erstwhile in Singapore, ONE Championship gave out donations and gifts
to migrant workers living and working in the country. In partnership with
'ItsRainingRaincoats', ONE was able to help 650 beneficiaries. ONE championship
will continue to work with Global Citizen, whose aim is to ultimately end
worldwide poverty by the year 2030, in more activities across the region in the
foreseeable future.
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Gravity Games officially launched Ragnarok Tactics SEA, a 3D mobile
game based on the hit MMORPG Ragnarok Online. Ragnarok Tactics SEA is an idle tactical
strategy role-playing game featuring over 60 summonable monsters from the Ragnarok
series as well as an idle leveling system without the need to log in, a treasure-hunting
mechanic, an essential system that increases the potential of the players'
monsters and a summoner duel system where players can battle each other in real
time.
Ragnarok Tactics SEA is currently available for Android smartphones via
Google Play Store and is yet to be released on iOS. However, developers recommend
iOS device users to download and play the game on Android emulators available for
their PCs such as NOX and Bluestacks. For more in-game updates and
announcements, follow Ragnarok Tactics SEA on its social media channels.
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HBO is all set to launch its new original limited series The Plot
Against America based on the acclaimed Philip Roth novel of the same name.
Slated to have six episodes, the series imagines an alternate American history
told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey witnessing
the political rise of aviator-hero and xenophobic populist Charles Lindbergh
who becomes President and turns the nation toward fascism.
Created by David Simon and Ed Burns, The Plot Against America will be
headlined by a stellar cast including Wynona Rider ("Show Me A Hero"),
Zoe Kazan ("The Deuce"), Morgan Spector ("Boardwalk
Empire"), Anthony Boyle, Azhy Robertson, Caleb Malis and John Turturro
("The Night Of"). The series will premiere at the same time as the US
on March 17, 2020 (Tuesday), 9 am, on both HBO and HBO GO with a same-day encore
primetime telecast on HBO at 10 pm.
