As dull as pop music might be in 2016 because of the many artists on hiatus, the concert and festival scene in the Philippines is as vibrant as the flower crowns people wear to these events.

Fans of EXO (January 23 and 24), The Vamps (January 28), Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour (February 24 and 25), 5 Seconds of Summer (March 12), Of Monsters and Men (May 12), Little Mix (May 20) should ration their moolah for 2016 if they want to see their idols in the flesh.

Music lovers will also have to prepare their concert outfits for 2016’s upcoming music festivals. GoodVybes Music Festival (February 20) will be treating fans into a music frenzy with their lineup of Passion Pit (welcome back, Michael!), Chvrches (welcome back to the Philippines!), Oh Wonder, Tenderfist, among others. The Malasimbo Music & Arts Festival 2016 (March 4-6) will also be supporting local acts like Manila Symphony Orchestra (with Tom Thum), Brigada, Red Brothers, CRWN, Lustbass, among others, will light up the 3-day festival. Wanderland Music Festival 2016 won’t be losing to the other festivals with its lineup made up of Death Cab For Cutie, Bon Iver, The Naked and Famous, San Cisco, and a whole lot of local and international artists.

For the first time ever, the Philippines will be shooting a microsatellite into space that will hopefully aid the government’s disaster risk management program. The Development of the Philippines’ Earth Observation Microsatellite, nicknamed DIWATA, is the first of the two microsatellites under the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Micro-Satellite (PHL-Microsat) Program. The space venture is implemented by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research which is under the Department of Science and Technology, led by Joel Marciano.

DIWATA will be used to gather real-time status reports and imageries of weather forecasts, agricultural growth patterns, and the country’s territorial borders. The country won’t have to rely on foreign sources for data anymore once DIWATA is launched into space.

DIWATA will be created by students from the University of the Philippines in partnership with the Tohoku University and Hokkaido University of Japan. The students will be sent to the two schools for a masteral program, the DIWATA being their thesis project.

The second microsatellite called the Philippine Earth Data Resources and Observation Center or PEDRO is aimed to “securely receive, process, and exploit and distribute space-borne imagery and derive information from the supported remote sensing satellites.”

Launch dates to be announced.

The El Niño phenomenon from 2015 will be burning through 2016 as well, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 2015 and 2016 are reported to be the hottest years ever recorded and the Philippines, being near the equator, will be one of the most affected countries by the drought. The drought has already affected farmers in provinces who have a tough time harvesting their crops like rice, corn, and other food staples because of the lack of rain, and it looks like it will continue until 2016.

But a sliver of hope exists as 200 countries signed a historic agreement in Paris to address the climate issues and greenhouse gas emissions that have plagued the entire world.

It’s been six years since the last elections and the next one on May 2016 will finally put an end to all the campaign drama and craziness. Voters will finally be able to fulfill their most basic right as citizens, and new leaders will (and should) be able to meet the expectations of the people who voted for them. So to the voters and future leaders, please do this country a favor and act as wisely as we all need to.

What are you looking forward to in 2016? Sound off in the comments below!

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