Dismissed baggage handlers at NAIA appeal for their side to be heard

Waiting and hoping that your baggage is intact.NAIA baggage  carousel.

Waiting and hoping that your baggage is intact.NAIA baggage carousel.

A few weeks ago, six baggage handlers in NAIA1 were apprehended by airport intelligence agents after valuables suspected to have been stolen from passengers’ baggage were found in their lockers.

Reports said items found in the baggage handlers’ lockers included a gold ring and earring, a G-Shock wristwatch, a Seiko wristwatch, and three branded men’s sunglasses and padlocks.

Officials of the Manila International Airport Authority, the office that oversees international airports in the country, said they have outsourced baggage handling at the airports so the handlers were employees of one of the accredited companies.

MIAA General manager Angel Honrado said the six were suspended. At the same time, he advised passengers not to put valuables especially cash and jewelry in their checked-in baggage.

I got a few letters from OFWs sharing their experience pilfered baggage. I had my own experience of damaged baggage but nothing was stolen.

I also got a letter from Bryann Abengona who presented the side of the baggage handlers. He said the news reports accusing the baggage handlers of theft were unfair.

“Masakit po sa akin na matanggalang ng passes ang mga anim na napabalitang di umano ay nagnakaw sa mga bag ng pasahero sa kadahilanang — wala ni isa man sa mga ibinabato nila ang may katotohanan,” he said.

In the spirit of fairness, here are excerpts from his rather long letter:

“Una ang buong pangyayari ay nagsimula sa isang simpleng text lamang na may nagbebenta ng (police) na shades o sunglass. Tanong, sapat ba na masabing ang sunglass na ibinebenta ay galing sa nakaw kung hindi mo naman na naaktuhan at nasaksihan ng sarili mong mga mata na galing nga ang sunglass sa nakaw?

“Pangalawa, dahil sa naiwan ng pobreng ginoo ang kanyang cellphone sa locker room ng kanilang baraks, pinuntahan nya ito — kasama ang ilang elemento ng IID MIAA o simpleng mga airport police operatives.

“At nuong nanduon na sila sa baraks — nagsagawa ng spot inspection sa mga laman ng lockers na kung saan madami ang mga nakita sa loob. Pero tanong ulit — sapat ba na pag-isipan mo na ‘galing di umano ang lahat ng mga bagay na kaduda duda (kuno ) sa pagnanakaw kung hinde mo nga ito nasaksihan ng sarili mong mga mata’”?

“Sa airport po may natatawag na FOD o foreign object debris — ano man ang mga ito basta nakakalat sa airport ramp kung saan saan na pwedeng makasira sa eroplano.

“Ang mga FOD na ito ay pinagpupulot at kung minsan kung napapakinabangan pa ay pwedeng ibenta sa scrap. Gaya ng mga susi o padlock na nade-detach sa mga bags.

“Tanong — bakit?

“Alam po ba ninyo na bulok na ang mga conveyor belts sa ilalim ng Terminal 1 na kung saan ipinapadaan ang mga bag paakyat patungo sa mga may-ari?

“Ang katotohan po ay naiipit ang karamihan sa mga padlock na ito sa mga gilid- gilid ng conveyor belts na nagreresulta sa pagkasira nang mga padlock at tuluyang humiwalay sa mga bags.

“Pangatlo, hindi po sa Terminal 3 nangyari ang di umanong ‘operation ng mga airport police’ kung hindi sa Terminal 1.

“Pang-apat — ang ilan sa anim na mga Station Loaders ay tumagal sa kanilang mga kumpanya ng taon ang binilang. ibig sabihin — napatunayan ang kanilang katapatan sa kumpanya at kredibilidad sa trabaho.”

Abengona said the six baggage handlers, whose names and reputation have been besmirched and are deprived of their livelihood, are appealing for their side to be heard.

He said the loaders are victims in this incident: “They were never given the chance to defend themselves. Much worse, they had been deprived of their rights — not to avail of airport passes – and the right to be heard and defend themselves in court.”

Xiaomi Mi Note Pro launches in China, gets price cut

Xiaomi launches its Mi Note Pro in China today, with an extra surprise for its consumers and cutting its price off. It was announced back in January, but is now on its way to being available for orders.

mi-note-pro

The CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, is reported to be apologetic for keeping its customers waiting for a long time although he is confident that what they have is worth the wait. With that in mind, that thought the company is positioning the Mi Note Pro at CNY 2,999 (approx. Php21.5K) which is CNY 300 less than its original price when it was announced.

To get people more excited, the device has a slogan of, “Mi Note Pro, the Best Android Smartphone Ever”. This confidence is not hard to believe since its list of specs can back it up.

Xiaomi Mi Note Pro specs:
5.7-inch 2K display (Sharp/JDI) @ 2560 x 1440 resolution, 515ppi
Gorilla Glass 3 + Dual-glass with 2.5D front and 3D rear glass
64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor (2.0GHz Cortex-A57 quad-core/1.5GHz Cortex-A53 quad-core)
Adreno 430 GPU
4GB LPDDR4 RAM
64GB eMMC 5.0 Flash
13MP rear camera with Sony IMX214 sensor, OIS, and dual-tone flash
4MP front camera with 1/3-inch sensor
ESS ES9018K2M mobile Hi-Fi Edition sound processor
LTE Cat9 with up to 450Mbps download speeds
Android 5.0 Lollipop with MIUI
3000mAh battery
6.95mm thick
161 grams

The first flagship of the year from Xiaomi will be available starting May 12 over at mi.com. For more details on the device, follow the source link below.

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Sony launches new Xperia C4 and C4 Dual

Sony today lunches its new selfie-centered smartphone Xperia C4 and C4 Dual. Both have a spacious 5.5-inch display, 13MP rear camera, and a 5MP front shooter with built-in LED flash to effectively illuminate the image when taking selfies under low-light conditions.

sony-xperia-c4

Sony Xperia C4 specs:
5.5-inch Full HD display @ 1920 x 1080 resolution
Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
64-bit 1.7GHz MediaTek MTK6752 processor
ARM Mali760 MP2 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
expandable up to 128GB via microSD
13MP rear camera with LED flash
5MP front camera with EXMOR R sensor and LED flash
Sony 3D Surround Sound technology
Bluetooth 4.1
Wi-Fi/ Wi-Fi hotspot
NFC
Miracast
LTE
Android Lollipop
150.3 x 77.4 x 7.9mm
2600mAh battery

Obviously the Dual variant of the C4 is dual-SIM, while handsets with LTE capabilities arriving only in select countries. Both will be available in white, black, and green starting June this year.

{Source}

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Megaworld to open two new hotels this year

Megaworld, the country’s leader and pioneer in developing integrated urban townships, is opening two new hotels this year in its two townships in Metro Manila and Iloilo.

Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, which will occupy eight levels of the 12-storey Richmonde Tower in the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, is set to open in June this year. The business hotel will be the first Richmonde Hotel outside of Metro Manila and will have 151 guest rooms.

It will house a restaurant and deli, function rooms, business center, fitness gym as well as a lap pool with its own pool bar.

Megaworld has commissioned world-renowned architectural firm Gettys to design the hotel’s façade, grand lobby, restaurant and guest rooms. Gettys took inspiration from the city’s rich agricultural roots for the hotel’s design concept.

The same firm has designed some of the world’s prestigious hotels such as The Peninsula Hong Kong; Hyatt Regency in Cancun, Mexico; Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai; The Ritz-Carlton in Miami, Florida; Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago; Westin Golf & Spa Resort in Abu Dhabi; Shangri-La Hotel in Beihai, China; and Hard Rock Hotel in Macau, among others.

By second half of the year, another hotel will open in the 25-hectare Newport City, the country’s first 24/7 integrated leisure and entertainment township that is home to the famous Resorts World Manila.

The Belmont Luxury Hotel Newport, just right in front of the new Marriott Grand Ballroom and a walking distance from Resorts World Manila, will stand 10-storeys high with 480 well-designed suites.

The hotel boasts of first class amenities that include pocket gardens and landscaped atrium, 24-hour fitness center and workout area, lap pool with in-water pool lounge, paved sunbathing lounge, massage deck and seating area, pool spa, steam and sauna as well as its own medical clinic.

The hotel will also have its own coffee shop and bar and some retail shops at the ground level.

Last year, Megaworld chairman Dr. Andrew L. Tan announced that the real estate giant along with its sister company Travellers International Hotel Group will be building hotels around the country with a total of 12,000 rooms.

In the next five years, both companies will be expanding to an additional 10,000 new hotel rooms, all of which will be in Megaworld’s township developments.

At present, both Megaworld and Travellers International have already built 1,900 rooms in its existing hotels: Richmonde Hotel Ortigas; Eastwood Richmonde Hotel; Marriott Hotel Manila, Maxims Hotel and Remington Hotel in Newport City; and Fairways and Bluewater in Boracay Newcoast.

Megaworld to open two new hotels this year

Megaworld, the country’s leader and pioneer in developing integrated urban townships, is opening two new hotels this year in its two townships in Metro Manila and Iloilo.

Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, which will occupy eight levels of the 12-storey Richmonde Tower in the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, is set to open in June this year. The business hotel will be the first Richmonde Hotel outside of Metro Manila and will have 151 guest rooms.

It will house a restaurant and deli, function rooms, business center, fitness gym as well as a lap pool with its own pool bar.

Megaworld has commissioned world-renowned architectural firm Gettys to design the hotel’s façade, grand lobby, restaurant and guest rooms. Gettys took inspiration from the city’s rich agricultural roots for the hotel’s design concept.

The same firm has designed some of the world’s prestigious hotels such as The Peninsula Hong Kong; Hyatt Regency in Cancun, Mexico; Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai; The Ritz-Carlton in Miami, Florida; Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago; Westin Golf & Spa Resort in Abu Dhabi; Shangri-La Hotel in Beihai, China; and Hard Rock Hotel in Macau, among others.

By second half of the year, another hotel will open in the 25-hectare Newport City, the country’s first 24/7 integrated leisure and entertainment township that is home to the famous Resorts World Manila.

The Belmont Luxury Hotel Newport, just right in front of the new Marriott Grand Ballroom and a walking distance from Resorts World Manila, will stand 10-storeys high with 480 well-designed suites.

The hotel boasts of first class amenities that include pocket gardens and landscaped atrium, 24-hour fitness center and workout area, lap pool with in-water pool lounge, paved sunbathing lounge, massage deck and seating area, pool spa, steam and sauna as well as its own medical clinic.

The hotel will also have its own coffee shop and bar and some retail shops at the ground level.

Last year, Megaworld chairman Dr. Andrew L. Tan announced that the real estate giant along with its sister company Travellers International Hotel Group will be building hotels around the country with a total of 12,000 rooms.

In the next five years, both companies will be expanding to an additional 10,000 new hotel rooms, all of which will be in Megaworld’s township developments.

At present, both Megaworld and Travellers International have already built 1,900 rooms in its existing hotels: Richmonde Hotel Ortigas; Eastwood Richmonde Hotel; Marriott Hotel Manila, Maxims Hotel and Remington Hotel in Newport City; and Fairways and Bluewater in Boracay Newcoast.