GMA has to act now

It’s about time that no less than President Arroyo herself take up this fight against illegal liquefied petroleum (LPG) refillers.

At least three departments: the Department of Justice together with the National Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Local Governments have already done their part in waging government’s war against dilapidated, rusty and underfilled LPG cylinders produced and sold by unauthorized establishments and which have already caused at least 500 fire incidents in the country. Senators Loren Legarda and Tessie Oreta have also joined the fight.

There are two things that the President can do to bolster this campaign: one, visit an establishment recently raided by the NBI so she can send a strong signal that she means business; two, she can endorse as an urgent legislative measure for an LPG Industry Code that will impose harsher penalties for illegal refilling and set higher standards of safety and cylinder quality.

After all, the President has vowed to take good care of the "Pamilyang Pinoy." And what better way to take care of them than to ensure their safety.

Tourism gets boost

MapCentral and CyberSoft Geoinformatics Inc. (CIGI) have come up with the WOW Philippines Finder, a service using text messaging that provides accurate and complete information on tourism facilities, services and attractions in the country. The product has already received the endorsement of the Department of Tourism.

According to MIC Holdings president and CEO Philip E. Juico, the product is designed to empower tourists and can boost local tourism. MIC Holdings has controlling interest in MapCentral and CIGI.

The process is simple: mobile phone users who want to avail of the service just need to type "WOW <space><type of attraction or facility><space> in <space><location>" and send to 288 for Smart and Talk N Text users or 2958 for Globe users. For example, users can send "wow birdwatching in Batanes" and receive information on where birdwatching can best be conducted in Batanes and what other tourist activity can be done there.

The product was developed in cooperation with web-based applications expert Knowledge System Developers Inc. (KSDI) and Asian Navigation and Tracking Systems, Inc. (ANTS), the same company behind the Smart Zed Finder tracking service.

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