Pinoy Town Hall

07/10/2025

Economists have urged the Philippine government to build local industries to make the country less vulnerable to policy shifts.

Read: https://tinyurl.com/47xsxzxf

07/06/2025

At just 15 years old, Angelo Casimiro stunned the tech world by inventing energy-harvesting shoes that convert footsteps into usable electricity. The concept uses piezoelectric crystals embedded in the soles to generate power with every movement, enough to charge small devices like a smartphone during a long walk.

His original prototype could power a phone after roughly 8 hours of walking, making it ideal for disaster zones or remote areas with limited access to electricity. The innovation not only went viral but also sparked renewed global interest in wearable green tech led by youth innovation.

07/03/2025

The Philippines recorded a GNI per capita of $4,470 in 2024 according to the latest data released by the World Bank— just $26 short of the $4,496 to be considered as an upper-middle income country.

07/03/2025

Lea Salonga is set to make "herstory" as the first Filipino to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! ⭐🤩

Click our article link in the comments to read the whole story.

06/28/2025

06/28/2025

06/23/2025

Indonesia Tops the List of World's Laziest Countries for Walking, Study Finds

If walking were an Olympic sport, some countries might not even qualify for the warm-up. A study from Stanford University reveals the world’s “laziest” countries based on average steps per day—and topping the chart is none other than Indonesia, with just 3,531 steps/day.

Trailing behind Indonesia is Saudi Arabia (3,807 steps), followed by Malaysia (3,963), and the Philippines (4,008). These numbers reflect an increasingly sedentary lifestyle in urban populations, where reliance on vehicles, lack of walkable infrastructure, and screen-heavy routines are becoming the norm.

Other countries rounding out the top ten include South Africa, Qatar, Brazil, India, Egypt, and Greece—all averaging fewer than 4,350 steps a day, far below the commonly recommended 10,000 steps/day for good health.

Experts warn this trend is no small step—literally. Low daily physical activity levels are strongly linked to increased risks of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even depression.

While the data may earn a few chuckles and memes, it should also serve as a wake-up call. Time to put those sneakers to good use—maybe even start with a walk around the block.

Source: Stanford University via Seasia Stats

06/23/2025

𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗭𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦🇵🇭

Though we may appear tiny on the world map, the Philippines is far from being a small country. To put things in perspective, here’s a simplified visualization showing how our 300,000+ km² archipelago compares to some well-known countries based on their true sizes.

Many of the maps we often encounter, in textbooks, websites, and classrooms, use the Mercator projection, a popular but highly distorted type of map.

The Mercator projection preserves shape and direction, which is useful for navigation, while dramatically enlarging landmasses near the poles, making those near the equator relatively small. As a result, countries like the Philippines can appear deceptively small, while regions such as Greenland seem far larger than they actually are.

The Philippines has a total land area of over 300,000 square kilometers, making it larger than the United Kingdom (around 243,000 km²) and many other European countries. Meanwhile, Greenland, which often appears to rival the size of Africa on a Mercator map, is around 2.1 million km², only about seven times bigger than the Philippines, not dozens of times as it may look.

Though maps give us a glimpse of reality, they can also distort our understanding of the world. That’s why it’s important to always consider the context, such as the type of map projection used, to better interpret the information we see and gain a more accurate view.

06/18/2025

Are Filipinos really that emotional?

06/17/2025

A star singing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Tony Award winner and Broadway star Lea Salonga performed the US national anthem at a New York Yankees baseball game.

Link to full story in the comments section.

06/13/2025

The global shipbuilding industry remains one of the most strategic sectors in international trade, defense, and infrastructure. According to the latest data from UNCTAD, a handful of countries are responsible for the vast majority of the world’s shipbuilding output — and Asia continues to rule the waves.

China is by far the world’s shipbuilding superpower, producing an astonishing 32.86 million gross tonnes of ships in 2023 — nearly double that of second-ranked South Korea, which built 18.32 million tonnes. Japan holds third place with nearly 10 million tonnes, continuing its long-standing role in global shipbuilding.

Here’s the full top 15 list of shipbuilding nations:

🇨🇳 China – 32,859,862 GT
🇰🇷 South Korea – 18,317,886 GT
🇯🇵 Japan – 9,965,182 GT
🇵🇭 Philippines – 805,938 GT
🇮🇹 Italy – 402,164 GT
🇫🇷 France – 326,680 GT
🇩🇪 Germany – 289,666 GT
🇫🇮 Finland – 261,654 GT
🇹🇼 Taiwan – 187,558 GT
🇷🇺 Russia – 177,571 GT
🇳🇱 Netherlands – 90,596 GT
🇹🇷 Turkey – 79,032 GT
🇮🇩 Indonesia – 75,979 GT
🇺🇸 United States – 64,809 GT
🇮🇷 Iran – 64,760 GT

The dominance of China, South Korea, and Japan is no surprise — together, they account for the lion’s share of global shipbuilding, supplying everything from giant container vessels to tankers and cruise ships.

Among the notable players, the Philippines holds a strong fourth-place position, demonstrating the strength of its shipbuilding industry, which has benefited from foreign investment and growing global demand.

European countries such as Italy, France, and Germany also maintain competitive positions, particularly in building luxury cruise liners and specialized vessels.

Overall, the data highlights how the shipbuilding industry remains a highly concentrated, strategic sector — with Asia continuing to drive much of the global output.

Source: UNCTAD