December 2003 - About Us

PRC Launches ID Card Project with Mega
ega Data Corporation won
another ID card project for
the Professional
Regulations Commission!
M
This is Mega’s fourth ID contract
with PRC showing the satisfaction
that PRC has with the ID cards
produced by Mega Data for PRClicensed professionals. Using the
DATACARD Imagecard IV
printer, PRC ID cards are
guaranteed to be secure and
reliable.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
And
A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This system which will be
available in malls all over the
Philippines allows the public to
renew their NBI Clearances in just
five minutes through the use of a
high-tech ID card, incorporating
the most advanced facial and
fingerprint
biometrics
for
identification.
Continued on 3
NEWSFLASH!!!
Continued on p.3
MDC wins PHIC Contract
Mega Data Corporation (MDC)
won the data conversion project
for Philippine Health Insurance
Company (PHIC). MDC clearly
showed that it is the leader in
delivering excellence in data
conversion services, winning over
other bidders for the project.
Having been given the notice of
award, formal contract signing and
awarding ceremony will soon
follow. Congratulations to MDC!
Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live
Christmas everyday! Let the light that brings
joy to the season touch everyone of you!
The Anvil Award for
NBI-MEGA
(L-R) Dr. Ronaldo Asuncion, Agatep Associates
Inc. President Charlie Agape, NBI Dir. Reynaldo
Wycoco, Mega Group President/CEO Rafael M.
Garcia III and Mega Group VP Jose Avedillo.
HOME is where the SUN is!
Home Data Corporation, our
domestic data entry firm, recently
signed on to work with Sun
Microsystems. Tapping into our
staff’s knowledge base, Home
Data Encoders have been deployed
to Sun’s locations.
Bringing its services closer to the
public, the NBI introduced the
NBI GMA-3 (Gawin Mo Agad-3),
a system developed by Mega Data
Corporation.
October 2003: LTO Chief Ms Anneli Lontoc
inaugurates the fastest driver license renewal
system in the world with Mega Data CEO
Rafael Garcia III at Farmer’s Plaza.
NBI Unveils the NBI
Clearance Card
Mega Group President and CEO
Rafael M. Garcia III and National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
director Reynaldo Wycoco were
recognized for their joint work in
public service.
Continued on p.3
A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT & CEO MR. GARCIA
2003 has indeed been a great year for us. It’s been a
year of challenge and frustration. At the same time,
it has been a year of service and achievement.
Indeed, I am truly proud of all of you and the way
you have stepped up to the various challenges that
we have had this year.
It was truly frustrating not to be able to implement
the Botong Pinoy system after even the Comelec en
banc had admitted that it was the best system they
had seen. However, we were stymied by the
restrictions of RA 8436 which specifically required
the Optimal Mark Sense Reader Technology. It is
unbelievable that a law would practically be the
requirements specifications of a particular machine
short of specifying the brand name!
But we have had real successes at the NBI and the
LTO where we have improved the services
dramatically. At the LTO, our Farmers Plaza outlet
still holds the record of being the fastest driver’s
license renewal center in the world - renewing
licenses in two minutes or less. We’ve also
implemented the same day issuance of new driver
license applications in six LTO agencies in MetroManila. And with the roll-out of systems required by
LTO Chief Mr. Annalie Lontoc, we will have 190
computerized LTO agencies by April 2004.
Our Data Conversion Group had several major
successes in 2003 but its biggest was bagging the
Philhealth data-conversion project. Again, our superb
references and proven capabilities spelled the difference
as we bested many known and equally capable
organizations. I tip my hat to all our dedicated data
conversion specialists. Magaling kayo talaga!
Datacard has also continued to be a major revenue
contributor. The sales of DC9000 large scale systems
have slowed down due to the economy but desktop
systems have taken over. And maintenance services
have also continued to be a reliable and dedicated group
of truly capable engineers. My congratulations!
Finally, I would like to thank all our clients and partners
without whom we would not have been able to achieve
anything last year! Salamat ng marami! Mabuhay
kayong lahat.
Merry Christmas and may you have a Happy New Year
with your loved ones!
At the NBI, we are implementing the NBI Clearance
Renewal Card project and the GMA-3 Self-Service
Renewal Kiosk project in 30 malls nationwide. In
2004, all NB offices nationwide will also be fully
computerized.
The Professional Regulation Commission has also
been another success story. We have shown that
quality, security and timeliness are appreciated
especially by harassed government officials trying
their best to do their jobs well without having to put
up with the inefficiency of suppliers. We expect to
continue to provide the same service to the PRC in
2004.
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Welcome to the Second Edition of
Megavox!
In this special Christmas edition, we would like to
greet each and everyone in the Mega Group a
blessed Christmas and a prosperous and bright New
Year for 2004.
Year 2003 will end. But memories of people, places
and events gone by will remain with us for always.
Year 2003 has indeed been a wonderful year for all of
us. There may have been moments of ‘rough sailing’,
but, certainly, there have also been moments of
victory and triumph.
We have worked hard together. Our unity has
sustained our momentum and made Mega Group a
strong agent of the nation’s change and progress.
ANVIL (Cont’d from p. 1)
Mr. Garcia and Dir. Wycoco received the Anvil Award
for Improved Quality and Productivity in Public
Service.
Mega Data and the NBI are responsible for the
development of clearance renewal centers in shopping
malls around Metro Manila, allowing many Filipinos to
secure NBI clearance in just five minutes. Mega Data
Corporation, the systems integration company of the
Mega Group of Computer Companies, has been the
technical systems provider of the NBI since 1977.
NBI CLEARANCE CARD (Cont’d from p. 1)
Mega Group will continue to contribute to nationbuilding by providing meaningful products and
services. And Megavox will be herald to all these.
Megavox, CEO Rafael M. Garcia III’s pet project, will
stay as Mega Group’s official newsletter. Megavox’s
trumpet has echoed once more through this special
Christmas edition and it will resound in the next
months to come.
Cheers to Megavox!
And thanks to all those who, in one way or another,
have kept their nose to the grindstone with us to make
this issue possible.
BEST WISHES FOR 2004!
Megavox Staff
PRC ID CARD PROJECT (Cont’d from p.1)
Each ID is equipped with barcode and magnetic
strip that store all the information of each PRC
cardholder, preventing anyone from tampering
professional records.
Projects like this are shining proof of Mega Data’s
strong partnership with the government in the
provision of effective services to the people.
MDC officials led by Rafael M. Garcia III and NBI officials (led by NBI Director R.
Wycoco) recently hold a press conference in NBI main office to initiate the NBI
card system for clearance renewals.
In 2004, 30 malls nationwide will be equipped with the
latest GMA-3 NBI Clearance Renewal Kiosk, bringing
to the people in the provinces the same convenience
enjoyed by the people in Manila. The GMA-3 will be a
self-service kiosk that will operate like a vending
machine, directly accepting money paid by applicants,
eliminating the need for an NBI cashier, a problem that
has limited the widespread distribution of the GMA-1,
which is a manned kiosk.
In order to use the GMA-3, an applicant must have an
NBI Clearance Renewal Card, a high tech card that has
stored in it the facial and fingerprint biometrics of the
NBI Clearance applicant. Initially, this will only be in
Metro-Manila, but by January 2004, it will be available
all over the country. Those who already have an NBI
Clearance can still secure an NBI Renewal Card by
submitting their latest NBI Clearance. The system is
being installed by Mega Data Corporation at no cost to
the NBI nor to the government.
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NBI Director Reynaldo G. Wycoco said: “This
latest innovation implemented by the NBI and Mega
Data Corporation will make it more convenient for
the public all over the Philippines to renew their
NBI Clearances, and will help decongest all NBI
offices nationwide, while improving the efficiency
of NBI Clearance processing.”
The GMA-3 is the development of Mega Data
Corporation, the computer systems provider of the
NBI since 1974. Mega Data Corporation provided
the key systems now used by the NBI to improve its
capabilities, including the GMA-1 installed in the
Metro-Manila malls.
GMA-2 is Mega Data’s LTO Fast Lane operating at
the Farmer’s Plaza where a driver’s license can be
renewed in TWO MINUTES or less. Drivers using
this service have marveled that it takes longer to
look for parking at Farmers Plaza than to renew a
driver’s license. Drug testing and medical clinics are
also conveniently located at Farmers Plaza.
The GMA series of kiosks is being developed by
Mega Data Corporation in line with its program to
improve the efficiency of government offices in
dealing with the public. GMA stands for Gawin Mo
Agad to emphasize speed and efficiency of service
as its principal objective. A GMA-4 kiosk is now
under development for use by the Armed Forces of
the Philippines for its benefits program under a
scheme which will make use of the new AFP ID
Card being provided by Mega Data to the AFP.
Mega Data is developing the AFP’s Personnel
Information System for free as part of its program to
support the Armed Forces in its fight to protect our
democracy.
Botong Pinoy for a
Better Pinoy
Just like Christmas, the
Philippine Presidential Elections
are also creating great clamor.
Mega Group’s has always tried its best to give back
to our country, wishing for “clean, honest and fair
elections,” for next year.
This wish could have come true if Botong Pinoy
was adopted for the country’s elections.
Imagine a system providing a highly revolutionized
finger and facial scan registration, state-of-the-art
touch-screen voting, high-speed counting system.
Unrealistic? Think again! Botong Pinoy, another
pioneering idea from Mega Data CEO Rafael M.
Garcia, makes this innovation a reality for our people.
For now, however, another system has been adopted by
the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the 2004
polls. This is the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) system
which uses counting machines to count election ballots.
Mega’s
fraud-proof
system is more modern
than what RA 8436
otherwise known as the
Election Modernization
Law, allows.
Mega
Data’s marketing chief
Jose Avedillo explains,
“The law is very specific
and does not allow other technologies.”
In the meantime, Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. has
already filed Senate Bill 2478 aimed at amending the
R.A. 8436. The amendment will pave the way for the
use of more “appropriate technology” in nationwide
voting systems instead of relying only on OMR
counting machines, which may perhaps give Botong
Pinoy a chance to prove its worth.
Let us look at the bigger picture. If we want to truly
modernize our elections system and do away with
election fraud, we must also take into consideration our
present registration system.
Former Commissioner Alfredo L. Benipayo was very
clear about it at a speech in one U.P. forum:
“automation program is entirely different from the
modernization program. Automation – referring to the
automation of the vote counting and canvassing of
results phase of the electoral cycle – is merely a subset
of the broad-spectrum concept that is modernization.”
If the country wants to modernize the country’s election
system it must consider all other important registrationrelated activities like consolidating, by linking up in one
single database system all precincts in the country so
that the COMELEC can constantly update and cleanse
nation’s entire list of voters.
An admirable computerized programming system from
Mega Data Corporation, it can revolutionize the
country’s election process altogether, from registration,
to voting and to counting – in all these, Botong Pinoy
relies on available technologies that are at the same time
cost-effective.
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Botong Pinoy received strong support from various
sectors, especially the Non-Government
Organizations (NGO’s). Last January, after its
presentation in Ateneo de Naga to a group of
clergies, faculties and students, including
government officials and members of various nongovernment organizations (NGO’s), Botong Pinoy
was strongly lobbied as a faster, highly efficient,
and more accurate solution to the complicated
national election process.
“TED system is truly an
innovative way of the
playing bingo and it has
made bingo a rewarding
business for hall operators.
If the trend continues, we will expect higher client base
for next year, both in Metro Manila and provincial key
cities,” Mr. Michael de Castro, Sales Manager for Mega
Gaming Systems, was quoted as saying as he expressed
optimism for Mega Gaming Systems, Inc.
Although respecting COMELEC’s decision, we will
continue to make our contribution to our country
through our work with government agencies such as
the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the
Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
TED Bingo system is available at Millennium Bingo in
Fairview Center Mall; the Bingo Kingdom in Gen.Trias,
Cavite; the Galleria Bingo at Robinson’s Galleria; the
Go-Go Bingo centers at the Ever-Gotesco Malls in
Commonwealth, Cainta and Pasig and Grand Central in
Monumento; and the Onorama’s MegaCenter and
SuperCenter in Cagayan de Oro.
However, we are sure that Botong Pinoy will
continue to drum up support from those who believe
in clean, honest and fair elections.
TED: SPICING UP BINGO MALL
PLAYERS
Check out Mega
Gaming Systems’
electronic bingo as
you go out to spend
the holiday season.
The Electronic
Dubber System
(TED) continues to
be the most exciting
way of playing
bingo in big malls today. It has been the most
convenient mode of playing the number one past
time for most Filipinos too.
Using the TED system, patrons can enjoy playing as
much as one hundred cards each game, thus
increasing the chance of winning. Everything is
electronically processed, reports, patterns etc., thus,
aiding not only players but also mall operators.
The TED system is exclusively distributed by the
Mega Gaming Systems Inc. in the Philippines, a
subsidiary of Mega Group of Companies.
Mega Gaming Systems Inc. has been in the
electronic bingo operation since June of 2002.
Since then, it has captured the hearts not only of
bingo players but also of hall operators.
The next time you visit one of these malls this holiday
season, why not try dropping by one of Mega Systems’
electronic bingo centers - playing electronic bingo will
surely add fun and excitement to your shopping this
Christmas season.
Mega Group of Computer Companies
Rafael M. Garcia III
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Susanna G. Guzman
Chief Operating Officer
Minda A. Garcia
Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chairperson
Joel R. Ong
Chief Technical Officer
Jose O. Avedillo
Chief Marketing Officer
Restituto Lacsina
Chief Accountant
Dante O. Cacho
Corporate Secretary
MEGAVOX DECEMBER 2003 EDITION
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Reproduction of any of the materials published in this newsletter without prior
written permission from Megavox is prohibited. For comments and suggestions,
please write or call:
Jesucito M. Garcia
Senior Writer & OIC, MEGAVOX
Mega Group of Computer Companies
MEGA-RMG3 BUILDING
667 Sgt. Bumatay St.
Mandaluyong City, Philippines
Tel. No. (632) 532 3061-69
Fax No. (632) 532 3070
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2003 Mega Data Sportsfest:
Resounding Success
A
Mega Group’s 2003 Sportsfest proved to be a fun
filled success for all its organizers and participants.
The opening ceremony was held at the Valle Verde
Covered Court in Pasig city on July 19. Four teams
participated in the event: the White (Offshore/Mega
Encoding/Home), the Blue (Admin/Personnel/
Ramega/ITO), the Red (OCC/lBS/Executive Office/
Select Manpower) and the Yellow team (R&D/NBI/
Mega Gaming).
Sparkling Miss Me-Gay candidates displaying their dance talents.
The Sportsfest was the Group’s way of giving its
officials and employees leisurely break. Overall, it
also served as a fitting venue to reinvigorate important
values of friendship, team spirit and hardwork.
Winning teams and individuals of this year’s
Sportsfest in their respective divisions were:
1. Yellow team: Basketball & Volleyball
2. Red team: Billiard & Bowling
3. Mr. Henry Diaz: Billiard
4. Mr. Joy Dasal: Table Tennis
5. Mr. Jojo Ocariz: Darts
Mega Group CEO and President Rafael M. Garcia III congratulates Miss Me-Gay
pageant winner Martin Gurapo.
PEOPLE, PLACES & EVENTS!
MDC officials and employees taking an “out-there-in-the-wild” break in Mt.
Banahaw conducted by Frank Regis
Players get all worked up as they prepare for a basketball game in Don BoscoMakati Gym.
The closing and awarding ceremonies capped the
month -long festivity at the Don Bosco-Makati Gym
highlighted by the Miss Me-Gay pageant, won by
Martin Gurapo of the encoding department.
NBI clients queuing up in an NBI kiosk in SM Megamall to renew their
clearances in five minutes or less.
Gracing the event were Mr. Raffy Garcia III and his
family, joined by special guests, veteran actress and
former beauty queen Ms. Chat Silayan, and
actor/singer Mr. Codie Moreno, who were among the
panel of judges together with Mr. Ramy Garcia.
We salute the organizers and participants of this
year’s Sportsfest and look forward to next years!
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