What is W.I.P.D.?

We see them all  the time in newspaper and television headlines.

News leads such as "Robber shoots lady who refused to give up laptop", "Women seriously hurt in holdup try in Manila,  or "29-year old woman falls prey to taxi robbery gang" have become staples in our media. At times, the public feels numb, accepting this as part of our day-to-day lives.

TaskForce W.I.P.D refuses to go numb. We want something done. Our goal is to make sure Filipino women are informed, protected and defended.

Our creative problem is: IN WHAT WAYS MIGHT I HELP WOMEN IN QUEZON CITY BE SECURE WHEN TRAVELING LATE?

We decided to focus on Quezon City as we cannot cover all of Manila. Specifically, W.I.P.D. picked Eastwood City as our area of focus. Eastwood City is a place teeming with people, especially professionals working in BPOs who travel late because of grave yard shift and students and yuppies who troop to Eastwood to have  a good time. 

W.I.P.D. aims to fulfill a two-fold plan: to create a campaign to inform women on how they can better protect themselves and to create a service to lessen crimes committed against women. 

Read on to find out the interesting facts and tidbits W.I.P.D. has investigated and gathered. 

Get It Straight: Who are the Eastwood Crowd?

On Clothes: Most of the people who go to the establishments of Eastwood City, dress up. Most are in business attire, or in fancy clothes. The girls wear mostly shorts, short skirts and dresses (if they’re not in business attire). I think there are “dressier people” in the mall as compared to the other part of Eastwood City (City Walk - where cinemas 1-4 are). The people who don’t dress up are the people who aren’t inside the establishments themselves. For example: there are a lot of people hanging out outside the Eastwood Mall (either with pets or without pets). Most of the people hanging out outside by the fountain are not that dressed up – they’re the ones sitting on the ledges.

On Age: High school! (well at least they look like they’re in high school) At night there are a lot of “kids” who DRESS UP. This “phenomenon” is seen mostly on the weekends. I think they see Eastwood as “THE place to be” – something like the greenbelt of QC. When I visited Eastwood Thursday night, there weren’t a lot of high school kids – when I did see some kids though, they were still dressed up, but not as fancy as the kids I see on weekends when I go to Eastwood. --- There are also a lot of yuppies, and not that much senior citizens. On the Thursday that I went, the majority was definitely the yuppie crowd.

On Jobs: it’s very apparent that there are a lot of call centers in Eastwood– even on weekends I see call center agents smoking outside the buildings... “they usually travel in packs.” Late on weekends though, McDonalds in the place to be. Almost everyone there are call center agents, taking their break from work. On the Thursday that I went though, there weren’t a lot of call center agents hanging around.

- Observations of Kylee Lagman, August 19, 2010/Thursday

Get Facts: How to go There

click on this link to view routes

http://www.ph-commute.com/2008/02/how-to-commute-to-eastwood-quezon-city.html

Get Up Close and Personal: Interviews with Women Who Travel Late

Get Sneaky: Random Interviews with Security Personnel, Candy Vendor and Store Manager

Short Interview with Security Guard 1 (wearing brown uniform), Eastwood City Mall, by his post on the grounds (near fountain)

-      He said it’s safe in Eastwood

-      In terms of system, they have a command system and a communication tower where   all security reports

-      He also revealed that they also have undercover guards who appear to be shoppers and passersby to further ensure security in the area

-      When pressed with crimes that happened at Eastwood, he refused to say more (it’s confidential)

Short Interview with Jude, supervisor of MegaForce Security (wearing a dirty white barong)

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        He revealed the usual problems encountered at Eastwood are women who get drunk

-      This happens usually Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 3am to 5am.

-      Security would usually watch out for these drunk women accompanied by a man/ men. They ask these women if they really know the guy with them.

-      When the girl is too drunk to answer, security people would usualy let the girl sober up first before confirming and letting them go.

-      Once confirmed, they follow the guy and the girl to get a taxi or to the car just to keep an eye on the girl

-      Regarding transportation, before a taxi enters the vicinity of Eastwood, a personnel takes note of the plate numbers. Taxis are not allowed to go back for another turn to get a passenger.

-      Should interview the Security Head, Rogelio Singko, but he was too busy.

Interview with Manong Candy Vendor (located outside Eastwood, near Mini-Stop beside Citi Bank; near the jeepney barkers) Note that this is already a dark place compared to Eastwood, a probable place of danger.

-     Manong said a lot of snatching happens usually 3 to 4 times a week but not on a regular basis since thieves avoid  making patterns.

-     Most victims are commuters, usually girls walking out of Eastwood to catch a jeep. The technique is that a motorcycle speeds by and snatches the girl’s bag.

-     It happens any time between 5pm to 6am.

-     Manong also narrated an incident that happened the night before. A guy did not use the overpass, instead, jaywalked going to Citibank. He got hit by a car, killing him on the spot.

Interview with Sbarro Eastwood Asst. Manager Jeff

-     Last September 2009, there was an event at Eastwood that he would never forget. Eastwood City held an event featuring hard rock bans like ChicoSci, Kamikazee, Sandwich, etc. It was an open-air event for free. Naturally, the black-clad, jologs crowd (those who gate crash at the UP Fair) trooped to Eastwood.

-     The A-B class crowd of Eastwood naturally panicked.

-     The gate-crashers started stealing from people and harassing women.

-     The Police and the Eastwood Securty then arrested these gatecrashers and sent them home.

-     This caused a riot. The jologs retaliated by hitting the Eastwood TV Screen (the one at the entrance) with large stones.

-     The whole overpass was teeming with this group of black-clad men and half-naked guys who wanted to watch the concert, but couldn’t.

-     This was the worst thing that happened at Eastwood. The management never invited these bands, again thus resorting to letting Sitti, MYMP and others perform. According to the Manager, the incident concerning the black-clad men was the worst thing that happened in Eastwood so far.

Get Familiar: All About Eastwood

HISTORY

Libis means “liblib”, which roughly means “on the edge of town”. Back in the 1980’s, Libis was notorious for crimes that the tall talahib grass hidden from public view. But Andrew Tan of Megaworld Corp. had an idea --  “I am going to fill this place with streets and fill the streets with people.” His vision was to build a dream community where one could live, work and play had a reputation that was as bad as his was good. It was an unusual choice for the beginnings of a posh address that would be a flagship community.

Source: AsianJournal (July 16- 22, 2010), website: www.asianjournalusa.com

CITY HIGHLIGHTS (today)

Eastwood City features world-class city experience with its eclectic mix of restaurants, shops, services and entertainment. It offers al fresco dining with a grand selection of international cuisines, shopping until midnight, state-of-the-art cinemas and high quality live entertainment.

DETAILS:

Eastwood City is the state-of-the-art residential, business, retail and entertainment center in the metropolis. Located at the heart of Manila, the capita city of the Philippines, Eastwood City is designed to be a metropolis of its own. Designed and built by MegaWorld Properties, Inc. Eastwood City is seen as the community of the future.

Eastwood City in 6 Categories:

Live

- Young professionals can enjoy the amenities of a compact service apartment unit at Eastwood, Lafayette.

- Working couples can raise their children in the pleasingly secure domain of Olympic Heights.

Properties:

- There's a choice of 12 condominium towers within Eastwood City.

Work:

- Eastwood City CyberPark is the country's first information technology ecozone.

- Eastwood City CyberPark connects your  business to vital destinations in the Ortigas and Makati central business districts and to the country's premier universities including two international schools.

- Residential enclaves are wired to the corporate block so that the home can become an extension of the office.

- Plus, at the core of the CyberPark is a commercial center that will cater to the dining and entertainment needs of IT professionals round-the-clock

Study:

- Megaworld and the University of Asia and the Pacific have collaborated to establish this world-class graduate school for IT professionals in Eastwood City.

-Informatics already has a campus in Eastwood City as well.

- Reedley International School and BriteSparks International schools are close by.

Fun and Events:

- With the launch of the Eastwood Mall, there are now many events held in that area such as free movie screenings in the open park on their large outdoors LED screen. However, most events in Eastwood City, such as live music, are still held in the central Plaza area.

- Most events are sponsored by large companies or subsidized by Eastwood City (to draw in visitors). This means that you can attend most events without any charge. However, there are some occasions when paid events are held such as the Wolfgang live concert.

Safety:

- Eastwood City is a safe place to live, work and study. With security posts at both the entrance and exit of the city, check points throughout the city itself and regular patrols by Megaforce security, Anti Crime Force, Q.C. Police and K-9 dog units.

Get Statistics: Women Victims in the Philippines