As a technology blogger (I run www.TechPinas.com), I believe that many - if not all - of my fellow Filipino gadget enthusiasts will be more than happy to see "Manila" in the Time Zone settings of their smartphones and other mobile devices. Currently, handset makers only include Bangkok, Jakarta, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Irkutsk in the GMT+08:00 time zone settings options. The Philippines is one of the fastest growing markets for mobile devices in the whole of Asia Pacific region and I believe that Manila definitely deserves to be included in that list as much as the above-mentioned territories.

My inspiration for this petition: In 1948, when the UN official seal that depicts the world was being selected, then-UN-Assembly-President Carlos P. Romulo looked at the design and asked, “Where is the Philippines?” "It’s too small to include," explained US Senator Warren Austin, who headed the 'UN seal committee'. "If we put in the Philippines it would be no more than a dot." "I want that dot!" Mr. Romulo insisted. In the same way, I want to see Manila in that list.