NEWS
Norway ends PH campaign in Women’s World Cup with 6-0 rout
July 30, 2023 5 p.m.
AUCKLAND – Fighting for its survival, Norway vented its wrath against the Philippines Sunday night with a clinical 6-0 win that ended the Filipinas campaign in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on a downbeat note at the close of Group A action at Eden Park here.
Finally living up to their lofty pedigree, the Grasshoppers were dominant from start to finish, with striker Sophie Roman Haug doing most the damage with a hat trick in the sixth, 17th and 95th minutes as they fashioned the much-needed lopsided win.
Celebrated striker Caroline Graham Hansen had a blistering goal for the other marker in the 31st minute while Guro Reiten converted a penalty kick in the 53rd minute that boosted the former World Cup champions to second place on super goal difference and into the next round.
On a miserable night for the plucky charges of coach Alen Stajcic, defender Alicia Barker came off the bench and scored an own goal in the 48th minute during a goalmouth while substitute Sofia Harrison was flashed a red card 11th minutes later that left them with only 10 players on the pitch.
Also seeing their bid of advancing to the next round cut short were the hometown Ferns, who were held to a frustrating scoreless draw by Switzerland at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
Thanks to largely to their 1-0 win over the Philippines in the same venue last week, the Swiss sealed top spot in the group with five points while the Norwegians took second with four points on superior goal difference as they both made it to the knockout round.
New Zealand, which finished third, and the Philippines were left out in the cold.
At the post-match press conference, Stajcic conceded that they played to a much superior team.
“As we said, they are a very classy team. They were favorites to win this group and they showed some of their class today,” he noted. “They really picked us apart in some of the battles in the box early and this allowed them to be more creative as the game went on. “
But he praised his squad for fighting till the end despite being outclassed and outmanned, especially in the second half.
“We tried to fight to the end with 10 players and we kept them out from 25 to 30 minutes. I am so proud with the heart and spirit of the team. They fought till the end, to the death, and from that perspective it has been an amazing World Cup,” the coach stressed.
Haug, who plays for AS Roma in the Italian Serie A, Haug, opened the floodgates in scoring two consecutive goals in the first 17 minutes, booting the icebreaker with a left-footed flick inside the box in the sixth minute then did it again 11 minute later with a glancing header almost from the same spot.
A star at Barcelona, Hansen blasted a sizzling roller from the right side of the fringe of the penalty area in the 31st that gave Norway an imposing 3-0 lead.
The Norwegians padded that lead to 4-0 when Barker couldn’t clear the ball in the face of intense pressure that she accidentally drove the ball into the Philippine goal three minutes into the second half, after which Reiten added the fifth with a penalty kick off Anicka Castaneda’s tackle inside the box.
Fittingly, it was Haug who scored the last goal with a stunning strike five minutes into injury time.
Among the changes that the Stajcic made was giving youthful striker Isabella her first start after coming off the bench in the game against New Zealand, giving the squad another option on offense, but apparently went for naught.
The Filipinas seemed energized from the huge crowd of Filipinos, numbering in the thousands, who came out to watch them play and hopefully prayed that they would pull another milestone.
Just like in Wellington, they paraded around the arena early in the afternoon, wearing the red-and-white and blue national colors and brandishing flags and flaglets, some of them wearing the traditional “salakots” to identify themselves as coming from the Philippines.
And they just kept on cheering them on even when the outcome was beyond doubt,
Among those in the huge “hometown” gallery were Sen. PIa Cayetano, the head of the PH contingent, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann, who arrived from Manila last Saturday night, and UAAP executive director Rebo Saguisag.
NEWS
DITO delivers superior network performance, turning digital aspirations into possibilities
8:11 p.m. August 28, 2025
DITO Telecommunity showcased how superior connectivity transforms Filipino digital aspirations into achievable realities during the successful media launch of the telco’s latest campaign, Kaya DITO, held at Manila House, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Built on True 5G standalone technology and as validated by a global leader in mobile analytics and insights, Opensignal, as the Philippines’ Fastest Mobile Network, DITO’s ecosystem proves that the Filipino telecommunity’s demand for seamless network connectivity, value-driven services and unified digital experience aren’t distant possibilities, but today’s basic expectations—this challenges what the telco industry has long normalized.
“For too long, outages, dropped calls, and overpriced data have been treated as normal. Let us say it bluntly: It is not normal. Every Filipino has limitless potential when equipped with the right tools, and the game is now changing since DITO has joined the fray and taken up the cause to disrupt the status quo—to deliver inclusive, next-gen technology to the Filipino people. “Kaya DITO!” is our battle cry to symbolically break that cycle, because we truly believe that Filipinos deserve better,” shared by DITO Telecommunity President Eric Alberto in the event.
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The DITO App represents one of the industry’s most comprehensive digital platforms, built from the ground up to handle the entire customer journey. From SIM and load purchase to account management and a wide range of OTT apps, users enjoy complete digital control with custom special offers, DITO Rewards points, and 24/7 customer support—managing everything while earning exclusive benefits.
NEWS
Pay with GCash and turn daily payments into big wins
11:39 a.m. August 27, 2025
GCash, the country’s leading finance super app, is making everyday payments more rewarding with “Pay It, Win It”, where every ₱50 spent on GCash builds your chances to win over ₱20 million worth of exciting rewards.
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GCash takes it further by listening to what its users truly value and showing up where they are. Whether it’s in the daily grind, their fandoms, or their passions, rewards don’t just excite, but they resonate in everyday life.
Upgrade Your Everyday
Every peso spent gives users a chance to win must-have prizes that can upgrade their everyday lives– from driving home a brand-new BYD Seal 5 DM-i Dynamic or zipping through the city on a Yamaha NMAX, to bringing homea Samsung Smart TV.
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Pay any way you like, whether it’s scanning or generating a QR code, paying with your GCash Card, paying online, buying load or paying bills inside the GCash app, paying with GCash Tap to Pay, or generating a QR with your Huawei Watch. No extra forms, no fuss, just keep using GCash everyday.
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With “Pay It, Win It,” GCash proves that every payment isn’t just a flow of funds from users’ wallets; it’s a step toward progress, a connection to your passion, and a chance to unlock rewards that truly matter. For more information about GCash, visit www.new.gcash.com.
NEWS
‘Gender dimension’ will make urban spaces more inclusive, useful — expert
11:12 a.m. August 26, 2025
Urban planners must consider the “gender dimension” to make public spaces more inclusive and allow better use of infrastructures designed to make users move comfortably, according to a US-based expert supporting movements for greater public mobility.
Benjie de la Peña, CEO of the Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC) and chair of the Global Network for Popular Transportation, said buildings, walkways or sidewalks, and transport terminals should not be mere infrastructures as they must be public spaces where people should be able to move comfortably.
Engineers tend to think of efficiency and movement alone and they don’t think about the waiting part, right? … It’s always about the moving and not about the waiting. But in a good system, you think about how it is to wait and dwell,” De la Peña told participants of the Philippine Mobility Series 2025’s “Mobility Chat” recently.
For instance, De la Peña said, women and caregivers have different trip patterns from men and regular office workers, hence, the significance to create mobility hubs for women, as well as caregivers.
In their analysis, De la Peña noted that in most cities, available public transport services go to the employment areas and serves particular times, but that’s not how women and caregivers move.
“They sometimes have to stop over at school to drop off the kids, or on the way home, stop over and pick up a grocery, or if they’re caring for someone older, they have to take them to the doctor or to the pharmacy. And so, none of the public transportation systems are particularly friendly to that,” said the Filipino urban transport expert.
“This is precisely why Grab in the Philippines is supporting the Philippine Mobility Series 2025. We need to hear more civilian voices. We need a platform to allow exchanges of ideas to flow in order to improve mobility in the country,” according to Booey Bonifacio of Grab.
After interviewing 100 women aged 11 to 95 on their transportation needs and challenges, De la Peña noted how the framework they designed had radically changed when gender dimension was added.
If we design for the people with the most challenges, it works better for everyone else,” De la Peña told the “Mobility Chat” organized by AltMobility PH and co-presented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and in partnership with Grab and the Move As One Coalition.
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DITO delivers superior network performance, turning digital aspirations into possibilities
Pay with GCash and turn daily payments into big wins
