In the News: Proudly Pinoy [Archive] - Page 16

Fraulein

September 3rd, 2010, 02:11 PM

Father-son tandem wins '24-Hour Restaurant Battle'
By Don Tagala, ABS CBN North America News Bureau
Posted at 09/01/2010 12:32 PM | Updated as of 09/01/2010 5:35 PM

A Filipino-American father and son team recently won the $10,000 prize for putting up the restaurant of their dreams in only 24 hours.

The popular episode of Food Network’s “24-Hour Restaurant Battle” aired on August 18.

Chef Andrew Dizon had only one teammate in mind when he decided to join the reality TV show on the Food Network. He teamed up with his father, Ladd Dizon.

The challenge was to come up with a fully functional restaurant within 24 hours, from the restaurant design to a winning menu that would attract customers.

“It was extremely challenging. Opening a restaurant in 24 hours is impossible. Losing a restaurant in 24 hours is easy,” said Chef Andrew.

His father is no stranger to home cooking. But cooking for at least 75 strangers on national television is something he was not trained for.

But Chef Andrew was determined to get the word out on national TV on what Filipino food is all about.

His menu consisted of oxtail “Kare-Kare,” beef tongue “Lengua”, bittermelon or ampalaya stuffed with shrimp, spring rolls for appetizers and banana turon ice cream for dessert.

“I love those. I mean those are my favorite dishes. I didn’t want a beefsteak and do something mainstream, and not have tasted it. These dishes, we’ve made numerous times and I was comfortable making them, and I knew it tasted good,” Chef Andrew said.

Judges felt that the Dizons’ menu was too ethnic and had no room for non-Filipinos to be brave enough to try the foreign sounding menu.

Chef Andrew’s aunt who saw the episode said, “They took the risk of making something different, especially for people who are not familiar with ox-tail and beef tongue.”

Ladd added, “I can’t believe na I cooked so much tongue in my life, and so many ox tails in my life. Thank you, Lord, parang it’s a miracle.”

The judges’ feedback was right. Most of the customers shied away from their menu and jumped to the competitors’ restaurant. But Chef Andrew had an idea. He offered a lumpia sampler to get customers in. His tactic worked and customers decided to give the restaurant a try.

But come judging time, Andrew learned a valuable lesson about himself and his relationship with his dad.

Chef Andrew’s brother Keith said, “The way my brother and my dad work are actually how they are in real life. My brother has that ego where he wants to be the center of attention of things, and my dad really is a humble person.”

Chef Andrew added, “You start to realize they have a point. I sounded horrible, I sounded greedy, selfish. You start to rethink how you are as a person.”

In the end, the Dizons said they were more than just $10,000 richer. As a result of the competition, the family became closer than ever before.

The Dizons said they are still chasing their dream of putting up their own restaurant soon. Most likely, they said it would be named ‘NOY’ after the name of the fictional restaurant they used in the show. It’s short for “Pinoy.” Balitang America

swatch69sg

September 3rd, 2010, 10:41 PM

Ady001

September 4th, 2010, 02:36 AM

^^ I hope they can make a chain of restos and spread quality pinoy cooking. Baka pa tayo maunahan ng ibang lahi sa pagpapalawig sa sarili nating pagkain...

Inspiring and touching at the same time. But with the rather weird name, they might get the support of the local government.

Fraulein

September 4th, 2010, 08:36 AM

Sunshine Corazon (played by Charice) will be seeing on next Glee season!! Watch the sneak preview of her with Rachel Berry doing the Telephone cover (Lady Gaga and Beyonce). :)

74Yjp4MLJcw

Ady001

September 5th, 2010, 03:40 AM

At again, sa larangan ng pagkanta...

Pinay wins HK songfest
By Bum Tenorio Jr. (The Philippine Star) Updated September 05, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Here’s a piece of good news from Hong Kong: a 16-year-old Filipina bested over 2,400 singing contestants to win the grand prize in this year’s “Star Factor,” the Hong Kong equivalent of “American Idol.”

Margaret Marie Necio Ortega, in an elimination that ran from May to July, won first place for the English section in the age category 15 to 21 in Star Factor.

Singing “Terrified” by Kara DioGuardi (an American Idol judge), Margaret bested the remaining 23 finalists as she played her acoustic guitar and “sang from the heart.”

“I was terrified, literally, but I thought about the music and how beautiful the lyrics meant to me and everything just flowed from there,” Ortega told The STAR.

In the light of the recent tragic hostage-taking incident, Ortega said she hopes to be a voice to aid in healing the wounds between the Philippines and Hong Kong as she is set to perform for Hong Kong-based charity events for the Chinese and Filipino audiences as part of her commitment for winning the “Star Factor” title.

“With my singing at the charity events, it is my fervent wish that I could somehow help in mending the wounds between Hong Kong and the Philippines as a result of the hostage-taking incident,” said the eloquent Ortega, a Year 13 student at the South Island School, part of the English School Foundation in Hong Kong. She wants to take up Law in college.

“The hostage-taking incident in Manila last Aug. 23 was a sad day for mankind. This should not happen to any race, creed, color, religion or to anyone in particular. It is not about being Filipino or about being Chinese. This incident was against mankind. I want to take part in healing the wounds,” added Ortega who is also fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

Ortega said the Star Factor finals saw two age groups -- 8-14 years and the 15-21 years. The contestants were of various nationalities -- French, Indian, Chinese, American, British, Irish, Sri Lankan, Portuguese, Taiwanese, mainland Chinese and Filipino.

Songs were as varied and performances ranged from solo to duets, trios, quartets and full bands.

To get to the finals, the contestants had to pass the following guidelines: preparation and the execution of a performance level presentation, enthusiasm, singing ability, age, discipline, confidence and entertainment level to captivate the audience.

The final set of criteria included: technical ability, stage presence, audience rapport and overall presentation.

Ortega won HKD 3,000 cash, a recording session at Mad Max and a trophy.

The “Star Factor” is hosted by Face Productions, a division of the KG (Kid’s Gallery) Group founded by Chinese philanthropist and leading businesswoman Joanna Hotung in 1996. The KG Group is leading children’s arts and English language organization specializing in developing creativity and youth. Its programs provide visual, performing and language arts courses to children aged from 14 months to 16 years.

Ortega is the only child of Josemari and Therese Ortega. Josemari is the regional director of business solutions of DKSH, a Swiss company in Hong Kong and Therese is the manager for communications of The Peninsula Hotels worldwide. Therese, a survivor of the 1990 earthquake in Baguio, is also a professional crisis communications management services expert.

Ortega, who had been exposed by her parents to doing charity works in Hong Kong at the age of five, single-handedly raised P1 million pesos both in cash and kind for the victims of “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” last year by asking help from her friends on Facebook.

In Hong Kong, she has been actively participating in charity works for Mother’s Choice, The Little Sisters of the Poor (Home for the Aged), Pachamama Alliance. She intends to involve herself in charitable works in the Philippines.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=609232&publicationSubCategoryId=68

Fraulein

September 7th, 2010, 12:02 PM

I really like the Orente Elimination background music when calling the top 5 finalists. It brings nervous and at the same time exciting to watch!! :)

_zh2bizhpHw

At the same, so proud and happy that Philippines was called to be as one in the Top 5 finalists. :cheers:

RonnieR

September 8th, 2010, 09:02 AM

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NBA ref eager to work in PBA
By Joaquin Henson (The Philippine Star) Updated September 08, 2010 12:00 AM
Left photo shows Riel Banaria, the first Filipino-American referee in the NBA and, above, working an official game during the 2009 season.

MANILA, Philippines - Riel Banaria’s claim to fame as a referee is having worked exhibition games involving stars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash but now that he’s relocated from Las Vegas to Manila, he no longer dreams of a career in the NBA. Instead, he’s hoping to be able to contribute to the improvement of officiating in the PBA.

Banaria, 39, was born in Manila and moved to Las Vegas when he was three with his father Francisco and mother Luzviminda Cabagan. The oldest of three children, he got his first officiating assignment in intramural basketball at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1996.

“I tried out for the UNLV team but didn’t make it,” said Banaria who traces his roots to Isabela and the Bicol region. “I’ve always enjoyed being around athletes and when I didn’t make it to the varsity team, I thought of doing work as a referee. Before long, I was invited to do junior college games. I enjoyed it and I was encouraged by league officials to pursue officiating as a career. After I got my recreation degree at UNLV in 1998, I worked for a car tinting shop and started to do games in bigger leagues.”

In 2001, Banaria got his big NCAA Division I break officiating in the Pacific-10 and Mountain West conferences. That led to stints in four NBA summer leagues, the USA 2008 Olympic team exhibitions and the NBA preseason last October.

“I don’t think any other Filipino has ever worked an NBA game,” said Banaria. “I got my chance before this past season started because the regular referees were negotiating a new contract. I did five games, including Golden State versus the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix versus Philadelphia and Utah versus Sacramento. It was an incredible experience and I tried not to be awed by the stars. Up close, I realized how fundamentally sound they all are – Kobe, Nash, Deron Williams. Take Nash, for example. I was just so amazed at how he’s always squared up for his shot, at whatever angle. On defense and offense, they’re unbelievable players. They’re actually fun to watch.”

Banaria recalled a slight run-in with Bryant.

“ Kobe shot a layup and I missed calling a goal-tending,” he recounted. “He yelled at me. I couldn’t really hear what he said. I was focused on the game. Later, during a dead-ball, I walked up to him, admitted my mistake and told him it’s not going to happen again. We’re not perfect, we make mistakes like players miss jumpshots. I don’t claim to be the best referee out there but I’m doing what I can to get better. When I make a mistake, I admit it. I think referees in the NBA or PBA should own up to their mistakes. Sometimes, referees are too quick in calling technicals when they can talk things over with players especially when they make a wrong call or miss a call. Referees shouldn’t be afraid to discuss things with players or coaches. It’s not arguing, it’s talking to them. Of course, there’s a time to bite your tongue and clam up, too.”

Banaria resettled here early this year with wife Bernadette and their children Kirsten, 3, and Kristopher, 1. Oldest child Kelsey, 12, is finishing up studies in Las Vegas before relocating. Banaria bought a home in Pasig and is in the country permanently. He works for a company that distributes Korean goods, including colored muscle or therapeutic tape, Tsokolate children’s clothes and products for commercial and residential flooring and wall cladding.

Banaria said he’d like to get involved in the PBA.

“I submitted my resume to the PBA,” he said. “I was told to enroll in a referees academy but later, I was informed it was canceled. When I watch PBA games, I sit with Mr. (Romy) Guevara and we talk about officiating. We’re in the same train of thought. I think if we improve officiating, more people will watch the PBA. The game would be more exciting if players are able to get up and down the court without too many stoppages. Fans like to see multiple shots at the basket. You notice how they roar when there is a series of offensive rebounds. When there are interruptions, it’s difficult for fans to get into the game. I just think we should minimize stoppages and let the players play.”

Banaria said if commissioner Chito Salud is agreeable, he could serve as a consultant initially in the next conference then run the floor in the succeeding conference. “If commissioner Salud permits it, I would be happy to come aboard,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of being a teacher or an educator. Whatever I’ve learned as a referee in the NCAA Division I, the Korean league (where he worked in 2007-08) and the NBA, I hope to share with our PBA referees.”

At the moment, Banaria is occupied with marketing the Korean muscle tape which is now officially endorsed by the Ateneo sports program, the Philippine women’s basketball team, Jaymie (The Bull Runner) Pizarro and soon, the PBA.

“Our muscle tape is therapeutic and enhances performance, brings more oxygen to the muscles, relieves tired and sore muscles, increases rehabilitation and prevents injuries,” he said. “The tape comes in different colors and the adhesive doesn’t irritate the skin. Anyone can use it from the pro to the weekend warrior and in any sport or activity, from basketball to soccer to badminton to squash to dancing to swimming to aerobics to running.”

Banaria said he’s in town to stay.

“My family is here for good as we enjoy meeting new people and seeing new things, we consider this an adventure,” he said. “Maybe, one day, I’ll get a chance to referee again. Officiating, after all, was the reason why I got the opportunity to be here.”

For inquiries about muscle tape or officiating, Banaria may be contacted at 0918-8831213.

Kintoy

September 8th, 2010, 03:11 PM

so basically he's here to sell something?

Perseus II

September 10th, 2010, 07:47 AM

Sunshine Corazon (played by Charice) will be seeing on next Glee season!! Watch the sneak preview of her with Rachel Berry doing the Telephone cover (Lady Gaga and Beyonce). :)

74Yjp4MLJcw

ang galing ni Charice! :)

Perseus II

September 10th, 2010, 08:00 AM

Only in Hollywood
‘Glee’ premiere and after-party: We were there

By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:29:00 09/09/2010

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20100909-291415/Glee-premiere-and-after-party-We-were-there

LOS ANGELES—“Charice will get applause,” Ryan Murphy told us as he took his seat in the Paramount Theatre before Tuesday evening’s premiere screening of “Glee” Season 2 at the Paramount Studios lot.

Ryan, the show’s creator, recently won the Emmy Best Director for Comedy Series.

Sitting on the other end of the row was Charice, cute in a short black dress and high heels. “Kinakabahan po ako,” she said, demonstrating with her hands how her heart was pounding. It would be her first time to watch the season opener, too. Seated beside her was her brother Carl. The diminutive girl wonder from the Philippines told us that she was especially nervous about how her duet with the show’s star, Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), would turn out.

Charice’s Sunshine

Holding a “Glee” bag of popcorn, Charice revealed that she had been filming the series for two months, with a few more weeks to go. She described her character, Sunshine Corazon, a Filipino exchange student: “She’s very neat, calm, nerdy and shy. She’s going to be frenemies with Rachel Berry.”

Asked who Sunshine’s friends will be, Charice answered: “Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), I think. Tina becomes a close friend, and in a weird way, Rachel, but not like you’d think.”

The rest of the cast started filing in. “Hi, Ryan Murphy!” Jane Lynch teasingly greeted the director. When Ryan asked how her red carpet walk went, Jane quipped: “I dropped bon mots and moved on. It went fast.”

Brad Falchuk, who directed the season opener that was about to screen, gave a quick talk, thanking his “talented and amazing cast.”

Then the theater went dark and the audience cheered in eager anticipation. Spoiler alert: Stop reading now if you don’t want to learn specific details about the season opener. We got our first glimpse of Charice as the New Directions sings Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” on campus to attract new members (The national finals will be held in New York, hence the song). Lea smiles and glances at Charice, who is watching the choir.

There’s a funny bit by Lea as she presumes that Charice’s Sunshine does not understand English well (it’s humorously done, not offensive at all). She tries to entice Charice to audition for the New Directions.

Competition alert

But then she hears Charice sing in the bathroom and her competition alert instincts take over. She couldn’t help but join Charice in singing Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s “Telephone.”

The audience applauded the scene, and Charice must have heaved a big sigh of relief in her seat.

Of course, Jane’s Sue Sylvester gets the laugh as she enters the bathroom and yells at the two singing divas: “Shut up!”

Charice gets her spotlight when she auditions and sings Beyonce’s “Listen.” Three Filipino fans of hers in the audience, Monika Corpus, Mika Viado and my niece Elgeen Nepales, later told us they cried and had goose bumps. So proud they were of Charice getting this break on US mainstream TV.

The audience applauded again — Ryan was right.

Charice is not the only new kid on the block who will steal viewers’ hearts. Chord Overstreet (playing Sam Evans), with his Mick Jagger lips, croons Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars’ “Billionaire.” He sure had the girls in the audience swooning.

Another newcomer, Dot Jones, puts the fear in Sue’s heart as the new football coach. Combining toughness and emotional vulnerability, Dot provides fans with one more reason to watch “Glee.”

Fraulein

September 11th, 2010, 05:29 AM

^^After Venus Raj, Charice is next... :)

Ady001

September 11th, 2010, 02:14 PM

^^ I hope Bruno Mars follows next :D

Juan Pilgrim

September 12th, 2010, 04:57 AM

^^After Venus Raj, Charice is next... :)

^^ I hope Bruno Mars follows next :D

next what?

:horse:

kiretoce

September 12th, 2010, 06:08 AM

^^ The next "major major" whatever. :lol:

RonnieR

September 15th, 2010, 06:43 AM

Philippine-made hi-tech parking

By Aida Sevilla-Mendoza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:41:00 09/14/2010
http://images.inquirer.net/media/business/money/features/images/pic-09141043100590.jpg
INVENTOR Mario Montejo, a.k.a. the DOST Secretary

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http://images.inquirer.net/media/business/money/features/images/pic-09141042200709.jpg
WITH THE car population rapidly increasing in urban centers like Metro Manila, the demand for parking space is booming. Shopping mall and office tower developers provide basement parking, car park buildings and/or open parking lots but these eat up plenty of precious land, are almost always full and are costly to maintain and operate. Metro Manila is fast running out of parking space.

Enter the Robotic Car Park, an invention of Filipino engineers that not only occupies minimal land area but can also be transferred from place to place. The Robotic Car Park came to my attention when Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Mario G. Montejo mentioned it in passing during a talk at a weekly media forum. It turned out that the Robotic Car Park is not a DOST project, but a product of Northwest Steel Technologies, a manufacturing company in Bulacan that Montejo used to head and divested from when he was appointed to the DOST.

The first Robotic Car Park is located at the corner of Frontera Vera and Julia Vargas Avenue in the Tiendesitas-SM area of Pasig City. A three-storey steel building with no walls, it was built in 2009 and occupies a corner of the 350 square meter open parking lot operated by Ortigas & Co. It can hardly be noticed from Frontera Vera Street. When I went to see it last Thursday afternoon, not one car was parked in any of the 72 parking slots. The customers, perhaps wary of new-fangled, high-tech things, parked their vehicles in the open on the ground. But the staff operating the car park told me that when the lot gets full, customers use the Robotic Car Park. The cost of parking there or in the open is the same: P25 flat rate.

How it operates. Described in layman’s terms, this is how the Robotic Car Park (RCP) operates. (The robot here does not look like a mechanical human being, but instead is a flat, moving pallet.) After a car is driven up the right ramp (there are two ramps, left and right) into the RCP and left there, a flat, robotic pallet with blue lights on its side borders slides under the platform on which the car is parked. The robot moves the platform and the car sideways leftwards into a large, open elevator at the center which then moves forward farther into the RCP. When there is an empty slot—in this case, all the slots were empty, so the elevator stopped at the farthest corner on the left side of the RCP—the robot under the platform raises the platform and moves the platform and the car on it into the empty slot. Then the robot and the elevator return to the center of the RCP.

When the driver of the car is ready to leave, the elevator retrieves the platform and the car on it and moves back to the front section of the RCP with the robot underneath. Then the platform (and the car on it) is moved sideways rightward to the original position. The platform rotates counterclockwise to bring the car facing forward so that the car can be driven forward down the ramp and out of the RCP.

Montejo disclosed that the idea for a RCP struck him when he viewed future trends on a Discovery Channel television program that showed the Volkswagen car park. He said that his RCP uses many different, unique components, all manufactured by Northwest Steel, that make his invention patentable. In fact, the RCP is undergoing the patenting process now.

Approached. He has been approached by multinationals who want to buy his invention. They were surprised that his team could develop it in only one and a half years. While the concept was Montejo’s, two other engineers—one in charge of computer controls and a structural engineer— helped him to complete it. Northwest Steel plans to dismantle the RCP next month, upgrade it to operate faster with bigger slots to accommodate large vehicles like minivans and full-size SUVs, then re-install it in Greenhills, San Juan, in January.

The first RCP cost P20 million to build at P300,000 per car slot, a total of 72 slots. The operating cost of electricity is P5 per slot. A newer RCP is in the works that will park 80 cars under a roof on less than 100 square meters of land. “Open parking is the most expensive because of the cost of the land,” Montejo says, “What’s more, the cars are exposed to the elements because there is no roof.” He points out that when you factor in the cost of commercial land—say, P50,000 or P100,000 per square meter—the RCP clearly enjoys a business advantage. And to top it all, the RCP is transferable.

Before he entered government service, Montejo was a self-described “technopreneur” manufacturing innovative engineering products at Northwest Steel for 22 years. He was selected as one of the 100 Outstanding Alumni of the University of the Philippines College of Engineering and in 1959 received the Filipino Inventors Society’s Gold Medal Award for Creative Research. Aside from the RCP, he produced the first Philippine-made Waterfall Screens, gabions used by the National Irrigation Administration, the country’s first motorized zipline and the ship-to-shore cranes used at the Oroport in Cagayan de Oro City. When the newly elected President Benigno C. Aquino III appointed Montejo to head the DOST, he cited Montejo and his team for designing and building the featured slides and waves at the Water Fun Amusement Park using Filipino technology.
http://business.inquirer.net/money/features/view/20100914-292247/Philippine-made-hi-tech-parking

mwg12a

September 15th, 2010, 08:15 AM

^^ Yep, mapapakinabangan ang technology na ito.

davaoeagle

September 15th, 2010, 05:56 PM

Home » Sun.Star Davao » Sports
Davao karatekas shine in Singapore
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

THE Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) Davao-bannered Team Philippines copped a total of three gold medals, five silvers and three bronzes in the 30th Gojukai Asia Pacific Karatedo Open Championships held in Bishan Community, Singapore recently.

Assumption College of Davao (ACD) mainstay Jhon Albert Albarico lived up to expectations by pocketing the boys 11-13 years old kumite gold, while Stella Maris Academy of Davao's Carmela Marie Estarija took the gold in the girls side.

Unheralded Claudia Rose Villaluna of the University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC) brought home the girls cadets kata gold.

Estarija and Villaluna also salvaged kata and kumite bronzes, respectively, in their respective categories.

Holy Cross of Davao College (HCDC) bet Arthur Lao III, meanwhile, clinched the boys cadets kata silver and kumite bronze even as Davao Christian High School's Kassandra Danielle Barnes swept the girls 11-13 kata and kumite silvers.

Jose Sebastian Regis of Brainworks clinched the girls 9-10 kumite silver while Michelle Castillo snatched the girls cadets kata silver.

The team was coached by AAK Davao chief Rommel Tan and Richard Anthony Lim with assistant Jeofrey Albarico.

Tan said nine countries competed in the tournament with three host teams, two teams from India and one team each from Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Chinese Taipei.

He also said the team's next stop is the Asian Koi Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 9-11.

AAK Davao's Singapore stint was backed up by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chair Ricardo Garcia and chief-of-staff lawyer Guillermo Iroy, TKS Petron's Mike and Esther Te, Kenneth Sai of Vantage Sports Promotions, Mr. and Mrs. Dexter So, Ricks Carwash, Penong's, Beefit Gym's Jimmy Javier, AAK Honbo Dojo's Ricky Lim, Shihan Manuel Pocholo Veguillas, UIC, DCHS, Smad, HCDC and AAK Davao parents. (MLSA)

davaoeagle

September 15th, 2010, 05:58 PM

Home » Sun.Star Davao » Sports
Corteza is king of pool anew
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

By Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan

LEE Vann "The Slayer" Corteza came from behind to beat Rodney "The Rocket" Morris of the USA, 8-5, to capture the Predator World 10-Ball Tour Sweet 16 crown at The Block, SM City North Edsa, Quezon City on Tuesday night.

Morris hacked out four straight racks to grab an early lead at 4-0 but the vicious Davao City-born Corteza put to good use his opportunity at the table by sweeping eight consecutive racks highlighted by eight jump shots that elicited wild cheers from pool fans who filled the venue.

The 31-year-old Davao cue artist, indeed, showed excellent pocketing skills, superb position plays and amazing cueball control to nail The Rocket to his seat. He never looked back to pocket the 10,000 Euros top purse.

"Hindi ako nawalan ng pag-asa (I didn't lose hope). I continued to stay on track and focused on my game. I'm happy to have won this event because I have made my fellow Filipinos proud again," the 2009 World 10-Ball runner-up said in text messages to Sun.Star Wednesday.

Corteza earlier demolished David Alcaide in the semifinals, 8-4, to arrange a titular showdown with Morris, who disposed of reigning World 8-ball runner-up Neils Feijen of The Netherlands.

The win boosted his morale in the 10th Annual Predator International Championship that also opened yesterday at the SM City North Edsa.

"I am more confident now and I am more inspired to play today because of my victory yesterday," Corteza said.

He was set to play against a still undetermined opponent as of Wednesday.

The Sweet 16 event is the culmination of the tour that began in Spain with 88 players who earned slots through qualifying tournaments held around the world. It was earlier set in Lloret de Mar, Spain but was re-scheduled due to severe weather conditions.

According to Predator10Ball.com, Predator Group president and CEO Karim Belhaj was quoted: "We want to give players the chance to finish what they started. They worked hard to get to the top and it's our honor to help them complete this journey."

The rest of the Sweet 16 players were USA's Corey Deuel, Tony Crosby, Steve Moore, Charlie Williams and Johnny Archer, Sweden's Marcus Chamat, Germany's Thorsten Hohmann and Oliver Ortmann, Portugal's Henrique Carreia, Afghanistan's Aziz Hamrah, Mexico's Ernesto Dominguez and Netherlands' Huidji See.

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on September 16, 2010.

the glimpser

September 16th, 2010, 03:01 PM

Miss Philippines bags Miss Asia USA 2010

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 07:44:00 09/16/2010

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CALIFORNIA, United States—Miss Philippines, Ariana Manibog Varela, 19, from Los Angeles, California won the coveted title of Miss Asia USA 2010.

Varela also won best in cultural costume and best in swimsuit.

The other winners were: 1st runner up, Jenny Cho, Miss Korea; 2nd runner up, Sarah Makandura, Miss Sri Lanka; 3rd runner up, Natalie Dinatale, Miss Lebanon; 4th runner up, Jennifer Gonzalez, Miss Taiwan.

Varela is the daughter of Lana Manibog Varela and Dr. Gilbert Varela. She is also the granddaughter of former Mayor Monty Manibog and Jean Manibog of Monterey Park

This is Varela's very first pageant. With absolutely no prior experience in pageants, she swept the title over the other Asian country representatives from across the US.

Ariana was born into generations of Manibog beauties. Her mother, Lana Manibog, was former Southern California title holder and placed top finalist in Miss California USA. Her aunt, Francel Manibog Caracol, was finalist and won Queen of Oceania in Miss World 1988. And her main coach and mentor and auntie was former Binibining Pilipinas USA and winner of Binibining Pilipinas International 1982, Lisa Manibog.

Varela's lavender floral gown and cultural costume (terno) with head dress were personally designed by Filipino-American haute couture designer Joey Galon of Joey Galon Atelier in Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles, California.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100916-292554/Miss-Philippines-bags-Miss-Asia-USA-2010

Fraulein

September 17th, 2010, 03:43 AM

Miss Philippines bags Miss Asia USA 2010

CALIFORNIA, United States—Miss Philippines, Ariana Manibog Varela, 19, from Los Angeles, California won the coveted title of Miss Asia USA 2010.

Varela also won best in cultural costume and best in swimsuit.

The other winners were: 1st runner up, Jenny Cho, Miss Korea; 2nd runner up, Sarah Makandura, Miss Sri Lanka; 3rd runner up, Natalie Dinatale, Miss Lebanon; 4th runner up, Jennifer Gonzalez, Miss Taiwan.

Parang Filipina rin yung sa Lebanon at Taiwan...:)

Linguine

September 17th, 2010, 04:53 AM

Claparols makes a bid for a wider market

By Cheche V. Moral
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DateFirst Posted 22:05:00 09/17/2010

The edgy-sporty designer launches a holiday line for a popular brand
SURVIVAL of the fittest. Matira ang matibay.

That’s how Louis Claparols describes the state of the local fashion industry, where there has been a significant surge of budding and wannabe designers, and competition to stay in business is stiffer than ever.

But that doesn’t seem to be a dilemma for Claparols, one of the most visible designers around. Today, he launches his first collaboration with the Ensembles clothing brand.

As member and outgoing president of Young Designers Guild of the Philippines—he’s “graduating” from the group; membership is for designers under-35—he has been active in group shows all over town, expanding his network for made-to-order business. He also designs a higher-end, more experimental line for the boutique Myth.

Retail background

The Ilonggo designer sounds pleased with the work coming his way. He recalls that three years ago, when he had his boutique called Marni’s Room where he sold his designs and those of his friends, people “bought what they wanted. Now they’re quite concerned with prices.”

Marni’s Room became a casualty of the rocky economy and the glut of brands. But Claparols, who has a considerable background in retail—he worked for Paul Smith, Emporio Armani, DKNY, Hugo Boss, Manolo Blahnik—is already brewing a few things in his entrepreneurial pot.

But for now, he is thrilled to unveil his Ensembles collection for the holidays, only the third designer to be handpicked by owner Sheree Gotuaco to work with the brand.

Claparols is a self-taught designer. He studied the design and make of clothes in the designer stores he managed. Then he studied patternmaking under Jojie Lloren. But it is his friend, Ivarluski Aseron, whom Claparols considers his mentor.

Says Gotuaco: “I saw Louis’ boleros in magazines a few years ago and I took notice.” Having worked with James Reyes and Debbie Co for Ensembles, she saw how Claparols could appeal to a wider market.

Accessible

“I keep my eye on who’s out there. I go for those whose looks can be flattering to a regular person,” Gotuaco notes. Ensembles is a moderately priced brand that caters to working women.

“Others are very directional. What I want is someone who’s more accessible, someone who’s creative in treatment but not in silhouette.” In short, viable.

Back in the Marni’s Room days, Claparols, an unabashed fan of one of the most polarizing figures of Philippine society, Imelda Marcos, raised not a few brows when he sold beaded T-shirts silk-screened with the image of his heroine.

This time around, he stuck to the game plan; Ensembles is no Marni’s Room. Gotuaco is pleased with the outcome.

Disposed to creating feminine, but more edgy-sporty than pretty-pretty designs, Claparols’ limited Holiday 2010 collection for Ensembles consists of separates with classic silhouettes that incorporate Art Deco details, notably the bold geometric patterns on skirts and dresses that are becoming his signature. He also added some “girly” details, swirly patterns of lace on tops, skirts, shifts and tunics.

Like others in his generation, there’s still room for refinement. He feels he has yet to create a definitive look, a style that’s distinctly Louis Claparols.

This admission is not an inadequacy on Claparols’ part. Rather it’s this self-awareness and humility, this drive to improve and adjust to the demands of the times that could just be what he needs to wrestle his way to the head of the pack.

oreotm

September 17th, 2010, 02:06 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzn7ClkLz08
this just proves kaya ng pinoy pasukin ang ano mang genre ng music! bastat gugustuhin! :p

shyaman

September 17th, 2010, 04:40 PM

Nice... but let me help you with embedding the youtube video :)

Tzn7ClkLz08

this just proves kaya ng pinoy pasukin ang ano mang genre ng music! bastat gugustuhin! :p

mwg12a

September 17th, 2010, 05:13 PM

Very nice I like it too!!

OtAkAw

September 17th, 2010, 06:50 PM

^^That's greaaaaatttt! :D

kiretoce

September 18th, 2010, 12:03 AM

Who would've thunk it. :doh:

UhxFFjvj5Kk

:lol:

Linguine

September 18th, 2010, 05:34 AM

Weaving rags, empowering people, protecting the planet
By The Go Negosyo Team (The Philippine Star) Updated September 18, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (4) View comments

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/6708/gen6ca.jpg
Therese Clarence “Reese” Fernandez's story is one woven of success and inspiration: a young woman empowering others, proving once again the Filipino’s characteristic ingenuity, dedication and excellence.

MANILA, Philippines - While most Filipinos her age who just finished school go on to become career employees and spend their time partying around, this young woman co-founded a social enterprise that is moving mountains, even smoky mountains.

Therese Clarence “Reese” Fernandez was raised by a single mother who does missionary work. With her mom’s advocacy, she lived in three churches around Quiapo – eating in feeding programs, using public restrooms, and playing with street children who were earning a living for their families or were part of syndicates that used them. These and more are her sources of inspiration as she took social entrepreneurship to heart.

“Whenever I look back at my childhood, I could not help but feel a strong responsibility towards making the world a better place,” said Reese, president and founding partner of Rags2Riches (RIIR), Inc., a social enterprise that creates high-end designer fashion masterpieces and home accessories that are ethical and eco-friendly.

Mere mention of the names Reese and RIIR paints a picture of Payatas dumpsite mothers who earn a living by recycling scrap to make rugs. In November 2007, Reese, an Ateneo honors management graduate, co-founded RIIR, a viable and sustainable enterprise that would inspire and influence other businesses to do well by doing good. It also promotes creative recycling and fair trade.

True enough, the group was able to uplift the lives of the Payatas women by giving them earning potentials five times what they used to earn from making rugs and rags, by defying unfair trade.

Originally, they would sell their products to middlemen but with the entry of RIIR, they were able to sell their products direct to retailers for a higher price.

RIIR, recognizing the need for collaboration, sought advice from top caliber designers Rajo Laurel and Amina Aranaz-Alunan, who taught them to innovate the rags. They transformed rags into fashion masterpieces such as ladies bags and eyeglass cases, and home accessories such as wine bottle holders. Their products are available in high-end shops in Serendra, Greenbelt, and Powerplant Mall.

Not surprisingly, Reese and Rags2Riches have been receiving recognition here and abroad. Most recently, Reese was named one of the five Rolex Young Laureates, selected out of an elite pool of 200 entrepreneurs all over the world. Aside from the Rolex citation, she was also chosen as one of 20 Young Social Entrepreneurs of the World, YouthActionNet Global Fellow awarded in Washington in November 2008.

Meanwhile, Rags2Riches also bagged numerous awards for itself and the country, including the top prize in Business in Development (BID) Global Challenge (Amsterdam, Netherlands, January 2009), besting 8,000 entries all over the world.

A focused and dedicated woman, Reese admits she is hungry for revolutionary ideas that would bring the world to the next level and eventually help the world become more sustainable and ethical.

While she candidly admits she may be the oldest 25-year-old you could ever meet, Reese is still young. She enjoys traveling and experiencing different cultures, she blogs, she maintains a FaceBook account, and she tweets too.

On Sept. 27, Go Negosyo will be recognizing Reese as one of the Go Negosyo Inspiring Young Filipino Entrepreneurs in the 2010 Youth Entrepreneurship Summit at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. The award will be presented by Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion along with the Go Negosyo trustees. This will be the second major event of Go Negosyo for this year, following the success of the Women Entrepreneurship Summit last March where 20,000 Filipinos flooded the World Trade Center.

The theme is centered on reinforcing the entrepreneurial spirit of the Filipino youth by enjoining them to develop a positive change in their mindset and empowering them with relevant entrepreneurship tools and concepts. Forums and programs will be held, with topics ranging from negosyo basics to tips and advice on youth concerns and interests. There will be booths and exhibitors showcasing different products and services that also present business model ideas and opportunities to attendees.

Go Negosyo encourages the Filipino youth to take advantage of the one-day summit, which is open to the public for free. Mentors and other successful young entrepreneurs will be there to share their words of wisdom to those who would like to follow their footsteps.

The Go Negosyo Youth Entrepreneurship Summit is presented by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship-Go Negosyo and the Department of Trade and Industry, in partnership with PLDT SME Nation, Smart, RFM, BPI Kanegosyo, Mang Inasal, Nokia, Citi, Alo Youth, Vitwater, Rexona, Creamsilk, Belo, ATR Kim Eng, R.A. Gapuz Review Center, National Livelihood Development Corporation, Landbank, Presidential Social Fund, Condura, The Philippine STAR, Folded & Hung, Ever Bilena, BDO and Splash.

Linguine

September 18th, 2010, 06:44 AM

Pinay student wins intl photo ‘democracy challenge’
GMANews.TV

A young boy, carrying a parol, walks to school along a dirt road pockmarked with puddles.

What’s wrong — or rather, what’s right — with this picture? Everything, if we go by the US Department of State’s choice of winning photo.

Filipina student Mikas Matsuzawa was chosen as one of 12 winners of an international photography competition, with a photograph depicting democracy based on what she describes as the “dismal state" of education in the Philippines today. The Democracy Photo Challenge 2010, organized by the State Department, asked contestants to “Take a photo that completes the phrase ‘Democracy is…’ and share it with the world." Matsuzawa, who is taking up journalism at the University of the Philippines Diliman, submitted a photograph of a young boy in school uniform, carrying a Christmas lantern, walking to school along a narrow dirt road lined with dense foliage and riddled with puddles. (See photo here.) The photo’s caption reads, “"Democracy is... accessible and quality education for all. It is education as a right." Matsuzawa said she took the photo during an immersion program with the Dumagat tribe in the mountains of Eastern Rizal. “The children there had to walk for about two hours, some of them barefooted, just to get to the nearest school," said Matsuzawa.

“This young boy captured my attention because despite the muddy road and wearing only slippers, he still takes care to protect his parol (Christmas lantern) project to school," she added. “For me, accessible and quality education is a right of every person, of every child, who societies proclaim to be the hope of the generation, the young movers and shakers of the world. And for me, in a genuine democracy education should be treated as a right," she said. Matsuzawa cited her own school, UP, as an example of how democracy in the Philippines, based on the state of the education sector, seemed to be "merely illusory." The budget for UP, the country’s premier state institution for tertiary education, has been slashed by P1.39 billion for 2011, with the current allocation of P6.9 billion further reduced by the government to P5.25 billion for next year. UP had requested P18.2 billion and P18.5 billion for its operations for 2010 and 2011, respectively. “I think that the accessibility is an important element of education but with continuous budget cuts, many cannot access this basic right," Matsuzawa said. Matsuzawa’s photograph won over 3,000 other entries from 131 countries. The winners were chosen based on online public voting by over 500,000 people, after a jury narrowed the field of submissions to 36 finalists, representing each region of the world. The other winners are Mustafa Kia, Afghanistan; Mohamed Kaouche, Algeria; Venkatesh Hamyanaik, Australia; Mehman Huseynov, Azerbaijan; Mike Mitchell, Benin; Dino Perić, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Wladia Drummond, Brazil; Kaveh Baghdadchi, Iran; Jun Krishna Joshi, Nepal; Kaylene George, South Africa; and Ian M. Cunningham, United States. The photos taken by Matsuzawa and the other 11 finalists will be exhibited at the United Nations and at galleries in New York and Los Angeles. Other winning photographs include images depicting democracy as linked to press freedom, elections, protest actions, and other such themes. The Democracy Photo Challenge aims to use “social networks and creative challenges to allow global publics to share, consider, debate, and learn from diverse perspectives on democracy," said the US Department of State in a press release.—JV, GMANews.TV

Linguine

September 19th, 2010, 04:32 AM

A home-grown scientist shares his genius with Apayao farmers

Written by Marilou Guieb / Correspondent
Thursday, 16 September 2010 13:38

BAGUIO CITY—Apayao is a far-off town in the hinterlands of the Cordillera region. It is reached after more than 10 hours’ travel by bus on rough and bumpy roads. The view from one’s window unfolds sceneries of forests and mountains and pristine waterfalls cascading from mountain slopes.

The trip ends in a sleepy town, like a settlement cleared in the mid of a forest and where a mighty river snakes through its villages, many of which are reached only by foot on beaten paths.

Conner, known as the “fruit baset” of Apayao province, is the setting of the story of a man who brought ideas that rejuvenated farmers who lived life pretty much the way their ancestors did. Hunting when the season dictated, and tending their farms from where they got their daily subsistence.

But in the past decades, the touch of lowland richness slowly added a vibrancy to agricultural life here when a man with a vision came as a dejected fresh high school graduate in 1956.

Ireneo Ortega dreamt of a college degree. But his father fell ill and he was forced to fend for his family. An uncle called him to Apayao where he first worked as a caminero (road worker) and never left, establishing a life of achievement in this town that not only adopted him as their son, but also gave him the Dayaw ti Apayao (Honor of Apayao) Award for outstanding achievement in the field of agriculture and sustainable development in 2007. That award chronicles his hardworking service to the community from the time he came and the years after.

Ortega was a thinker out of the box. Apayao had a natural richness that most far-flung villages offered. There was land just waiting to be tilled. His uncle gave him a one-hectare lot to entice the young man to stay.  He planted what the folks planted—vegetables, citrus and coffee. But he also tried out Batangas lanzones, starting with five seedlings. Eventually, he acquired the adjoining five-hectare lot where he planted bananas, rice and cacao.

His encouragingly gave plenty of sweet fruits and he brought in more plants, making his lanzones trees number to 20. Together with the yield of his coffee  and banana trees, his lanzones gave him quite a good income in addition to his salary as a timber bridge laborer.

A curious mind always in search of something new to learn, Ortega joined a Farmer Technology Program visit to Davao and shifted into slope farming technology.

His mixed farming soon helped him buy another eight-hectare land where he planted more lanzones, cacao, and this time added Davao pomelos, Perante oranges, guapple and grafted mangoes. His simple and hardworking lifestyle eventually earned him another 10-hectare farm where this time he planted citrus, rambutan, more cacao, banana, lychees, durian, rice and mahogany. On another four hectares, he planted even more cacao with other crops.

His farm lands became a showcase orchard of the entire archipelago, featuring fruits indigenous to Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Ortega developed his own technologies which he shared with the other farmers here. Like his “Magic Box,” a cloning box where cuttings rooted faster and earlier transferrred to pots. And his “propagation tunnel,” a holding area where as many as 400 freshly grafted seedlings could be kept for 21-30 days instead of covering each seedling with plastic, saving time and money.

With an income of P300,000 yearly, a hefty amount for provincial life, Ortega sent his eight children to school.

The growing promise was also showing in his cacao trees. His wife, Victoria, started making cacao tablets (tablea), and Ortega started to toy with he idea that this could provide livelihood for the community as tablets involved  pod harvesting, breaking, fermenting, roasting, grinding, forming them into tablets and packaging. Today, cacao has become a popular product here after Ortega promoted is propagation among farmers here.

With assistance from the Highland Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (Harrdec) of the Department of Science and Technology, Ortega is a Magsasakang Siyentista (MS or farmer scientist) with a project on Technology Promotion Commercial Production of Cacao Seeds as Tablets in Conner.

Cacao is harvested when the fruits turn to yellow from their reddish colored pod and ridges are formed starting in August, peaking on September all the way to January,

Harrdec assisted Ortega with a pod slicer to replace his old way of splitting the cacao pods with a bolo. Fermentation is done to remove the mucilaginous pulp that covers the nib of the kernel. In his old practice. Ortega used five boxes, transferring the beans from one box to the other every day.

His science-and-technology based farming involves only two boxes, fermenting the beans in the first box for two days and then transferring them to the next box for three days. The beans are then dried in a drying shed provided by Harrdec to prevent the formation of molds. Before, the seeds were dried under the sun along road pavements.

The pods are roasted for 20-25 minutes to loosen the shells over a blue flame y then over a slow flame until the beans are crispy. After grinding the roasted beans to a fine texture, these are mixed with white sugar on a one-to-one ratio, then laid flat on a tray, and into disk-shaped tablets. At a one-man day, three gantas of ground beans can be molded into 150 cacao tablets. Each roll of packaged tablets contains eight pieces and sold at P50.

Ortega’s sincere efforts of helping improve the lot of other farmers have earned him several awards like the Regional Likas Yaman Award from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 1997. The Harrdec also declared him an MS in Agroforestry in Apayao in 1998, and in 2002, he received an international recognition as an Outstanding Conservation Farmer from the Farming Conservation Movement Inc. and the World Agroforestry Center. In 2004, he was the Department of Agriculture’s Regional Gawad Saka Awardee as outstanding farmer.

In the recent Farmers Forum of Harrdec held on Aug. 13, Ortega was placed in the Hall of Fame of MS awardees for his cacao-tablets venture providing livelihood for Apayao farmers. He aims to achieve world-class chocolate tablets, a goal not out of reach for a dreamer like him.

After all, 47 years after he dropped out of school, he received his Bachelor of Science degree, major in Biology, in 2003, from the St. Mary’s University in Bayombong, Nueva.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/component/content/article/53-agri-commodities/1364-a-home-grown-scientist-shares-his-genius-with-apayao-farmers

diz

September 19th, 2010, 04:34 AM

Who would've thunk it. :doh:

:lol:

:rofl: nice parody. gotta love Pinoy commercials.

-HePTmrV-og

---

I saw the cut right before they announced #15 Miss Philippines, where they still looked manly. :lol: I was so shocked to the reaction.

Linguine

September 19th, 2010, 04:35 AM

From farm to fork: Le Bistro Vert makes a pitch for healthy and sustainable eating in a very tasty and creative way

Written by Vladimir Bunoan
Saturday, 18 September 2010 09:52

You can almost hear actor Mark Dacascos announcing that this week’s secret ingredient was eggplant.

From out of the kitchen came three dishes that featured eggplant for Chef Sau del Rosario and entrepreneur Pacita “Chit” Juan to taste and assess if they should be included on the menu. One particularly interesting appetizer attempted to transform thin slices of eggplant into chips, which was served with several dipping sauces, including an aioli, which I said worked rather well. Del Rosario felt the eggplant strips could be made shorter and crispier, and instructed the kitchen to try it again.

Another dish, made by del Rosario himself, was a pasta with eggplant slices, spiced with anchovies—a classic native combination, upgraded to bistro quality.

“It’s really like Iron Chef,” says del Rosario of the setup at Le Bistro Vert. “We highlight ingredients that are available.”

That afternoon, Juan had just surveyed the farms that supply fresh ingredients to the restaurant and found out that there’s an ample harvest of eggplants, which explains the rush to create new dishes that highlighted the vegetable.

For Juan, helping find new markets for small producers isn’t new. It’s the same advocacy behind ECHOstore, which she conceived with partners Jeannie Javelosa and Reena Francisco. Now with five branches, ECHOstore sells natural, community fair-trade products from around the country. Le Bistro Vert, which translates to “the green bistro,” is just another platform to showcase—and market—these local artisanal foods and produce.

But for the first three to four months, Juan admits that the restaurant was “just a café,” although the intention has always been there. But when del Rosario came into the picture, the three women found the right chef-partner to bring their concept of having a restaurant that serves sustainable food to the next level.

Del Rosario is not new to the local dining scene—I first tried his food at Le Taxi of the Pan Pacific Hotel in the mid-1990s. But the chef left the country for the next nine years, where he worked at the Equinox in Singapore, among other eateries, then returned with a bang with M Café and then Chelsea.

It was Javelosa who asked the chef to be a partner at Le Bistro Vert.

“We share the same advocacy,” del Rosario says, adding that he was already using organic vegetables at Le Taxi.

The idea behind Le Bistro Vert is to offer “a special sustainable food menu which ensures that food products support earth-friendly initiatives and help sustain local farmers.”

Juan clarifies that Le Bistro Vert isn’t a vegan or a nonmeat restaurant—although there are numerous items on the menu that only use vegetables.

“But we go the extra mile,” she says. “For instance, the chicken we use is organic. And we use brown rice.”

The restaurant is now even talking to suppliers for organic wine.

“In a way, we want to educate the people that they can also do this at home,” she stresses.

Within the restaurant is a deli, which features not just bread items from del Rosario’s own Food Garage but food items sourced from around the country—from cheeses to coffee.

It even has its own little herb garden outside the kitchen “also to suggest to people that they can have a backyard garden,” Juan says.

Go local

For a French-trained chef like del Rosario, Le Bistro Vert poses a definite challenge.

Juan explains: “The challenge for him is to use local produce, maybe not 100 percent, but 90 percent of the time. It’s really up to his skill to use local ingredients.”

For instance, Juan says they don’t use imported fish like salmon and seabass—which are staples in fine-dining restaurants—but local ones like dapa (sole) and apahap.

Del Rosario chuckles when asked about this, saying that having worked in cosmopolitan cities like Paris and Shanghai, he is so used to working with “highfalutin ingredients.”

“I find it very challenging,” he says, “but also fulfilling.”

This is the reason he chose to return to the Philippines. “I came back because I really love this place, and I feel that I have a mission to do,” he explains. “It’s all meant to be.”

“I think it comes with age, too,” he says with a laugh. “If you serve me foie gras, I wouldn’t even touch it.”

Del Rosario was already experimenting with modernized Filipino cuisine at M Café, but more within a pan-Asian context. “This time we’re using local ingredients, so it’s more authentic,” he says. “And we use local ingredients for any other cuisine, not just Filipino food.”

For instance, he cites the tamarind. While this is commonly used as a souring agent for the traditional sinigang, he utilizes tamarind as a dip and as a substitute for lemon—in many ways like they do in Iron Chef.

Perhaps the only imported ingredients he commonly uses at Le Bistro Vert are olive oil and capers.

One recommendable dish, in fact, is the smoked fish and caper spaghettini (P250)—a Mediterranean-inspired dish that’s simple but flavorful, with its coriander and basil herbs and garlic confit.

Smoked fish, or tinapa, is also used for the Le Bistro Vert Caesar salad (P210), which also features salted egg bits and shavings of queso de bola. A bit drier than what you’d expect, but the flavor profiles are definitely there such that you don’t really miss the real thing.

Del Rosario admits that meat poses a challenge since local beef tends to be tough. But his beef mignon “bistek-style” (P375) proved to be quite tender. This was also upgraded in terms of presentation as it is served with garlic confit, onion tempura and fried basil.

The chef, who hails from Pampanga, also adds some native touches, such as using the buro mustasa to flavor an apahap filet, and transforming the bringhe into some sort of curry rice.

“I never had the chance to immerse myself in the Philippines until now,” he says. “I have finally found my calling.”

The showy, playful style of del Rosario is still definitely on display on the menu but at Le Bistro Vert, one also gets a sense of comfort and familiarity—the food has soul.

And that’s exactly the message Juan wants to convey.

“We have to go back to healthy living,” she says.

And help the local farmers in the process.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/life/1426-from-farm-to-fork-le-bistro-vert-makes-a-pitch-for-healthy-and-sustainable-eating-in-a-very-tasty-and-creative-way

Fraulein

September 19th, 2010, 05:00 AM

:rofl: nice parody. gotta love Pinoy commercials.

-HePTmrV-og

---

I saw the cut right before they announced #15 Miss Philippines, where they still looked manly. :lol: I was so shocked to the reaction.

From pageant watchers to household names to international stardom(hehehe) and to commercial model....:lol:

Linguine

September 19th, 2010, 05:32 AM

2 Pinoys join Obama’s Cabinet

by Joe Arpon Guaniezo
Saturday, 18 September 2010 20:28

U.S. President Barack Obama has appointed two Filipino-Americans to be his advisers on Asian-American issues.

The two proudly Pinoy members of Obama’s Cabinet are Rozita Villanueva Lee, known for championing the cause of Pinoy World War II veterans; and Hector Vargas Jr., a popular gay rights activist.

Lee and Vargas were appointed as members of the White House Advisory Commisson on Asian- Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Rozita Lee is currently the national vice chair of the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations. From 1991 to 2010, she was the owner of RVL, Inc., a Polynesian/Hawaiian Entertainment company. Previously, she served as vice-president of the Nevada Economic Development Company, as special assistant to former Nevada Governor Bob Miller, and as an administrator of the Diversity Training Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

From 1981 to 1983, she produced and hosted a television program called SPECTRUM for PBS Television Channel 10 KLVX TV featuring various ethnic groups in Las Vegas. She was the founding chairwoman of the Board for the Asian Chamber of Commerce and president of the Las Vegas Chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.

Vargas Jr. is executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), a non-profit association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) healthcare professionals working for equality in healthcare for LGBT people and healthcare providers. From 2001 until earlier this year, Mr. Vargas worked at Lambda Legal, first as southern regional director and later as deputy director of the Education and Public Affairs Department, where he played key leadership roles in the organization’s education and communication strategies.

Prior to joining Lambda Legal, he also worked at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the American Bar Association’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Ethics Division and Equal Justice Works (formerly the National Association for Public Interest Law).

He holds a J.D. and B.A. from the University of Georgia.

“Our nation will be well-served by the skill and dedication these men and women bring to their new roles. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead,” said of the new appointments which included other individuals to key administration posts.

http://thepinoy.net/?page_id=13

Linguine

September 19th, 2010, 05:59 AM

Filipina wins in Harvard school elections

INQUIRER.net First Posted 11:27:00 09/19/2010 Filed Under: Americas - Canada, Education, Awards and Prizes

http://images.inquirer.net/media/globalnation/articles/images/pic-09191150300836.jpg
Liza Makinano in Harvard.

MANILA, Philippines—A Filipina has won in the Harvard University’s Kennedy School student government elections, it was learned recently.

Merliza Makinano, formerly of the Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment, was elected as one of the five class representatives for the mid-careers, a class consisting of ministers, diplomats, and chief executive officers in the private sector and non-government organizations.

The only Southeast Asian in the group, Makinano said she feels “truly humbled” by her election.

Makinano is in Harvard for a year to take up her mid-career Master in Public Administration under the Edward S. Mason program. She is also a recipient of the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program.

Before this victory in school politics, she has been a member of Institute for Multi-Track Democracy (Washington, DC since 2003), a fellow of the Armed Forces and Society (Chicago, USA since 2008), and a member of the International Visitors Program (IVP) - Alumni Foundation Inc. (Philippines, since 2003).

She was also an awardee of the Ayala Scholarship and the Minnie Osmena Fellowship.

Information on the program can be found at www.hks.harvard.edu/degress/masters/mc-mpa/mason.

Linguine

September 19th, 2010, 06:04 AM

Mock business as rehearsal for the future

By Elizabeth Lolarga
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:55:00 09/18/2010

Filed Under: Awards and Prizes, Youth, business, Education

http://images.inquirer.net/media/business/money/topstories/images/pic-09190406170509.jpg
GERMAINE Erika Kaw and Sharmaine Yap of St. Jude Catholic School in Manila with their product.

HERE’S where playing pretend comes closest to the real thing. Three teams of high school students who represented the country at the recent FedEx Express/Junior Achievement 2010 International Trade Challenge in Singapore got a chance to reinforce their self-confidence and ability to do teamwork as they worked on their unique business ideas.

One all-girl team came home with the third-prize trophy in the regional finals.

Germaine Erika Kaw and Sharmaine Yap of St. Jude Catholic School in Manila placed third in a field of 21 other teams from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand because of Musa, their brand of gluten-free banana flour that targets the American and European markets.

They believe that there is great potential for Musa because according to their research, many Americans and Europeans are sensitive to gluten, which is found in flour.

She and Yap decided to use banana as their main ingredient because it is abundant in the Philippines.

“There’s so much of it here. We overproduce it to the extent that it is used already as animal feed. So why not do another thing with it for humans?” Kaw says.

They steamed bananas, peeled them, soaked them in water and salt to keep them from turning brown, sliced them into chip sizes, sun-dried the chips, then ground them into a fine beige powder. Yap’s mother tested it by baking cupcakes, cookies and butter cake.

Meanwhile, Ryann Lim and his Xavier School partner Martin Yu came up with Sweet Ice, inspired by the halo-halo.

They plan to target Singapore “because you can’t find the taste of halo-halo there. When people buy Sweet Ice, they get to reminisce about the country. It’s the taste of homesickness,” Lim says, adding that their tagline is “Sarap na babalik-balikan.”

Bianca Lansang and Jamille Ong of OB Montessori in Greenhills, also in San Juan City, likewise found the food market large enough to accommodate a new product – organic beverage that tastes like coffee with none of caffeine’s side effects.

Apple Coffee’s target market is Hong Kong where apples are bountiful and people are generally “health-conscious.”

shyaman

September 19th, 2010, 11:02 AM

Charice at Dr Phil show

5MtUfXLHMkU

bitoy

September 19th, 2010, 11:21 AM

^^ Will reveal another secret next sabi ni Dr. Phil ... :D

Another great performance was Efren "Bata" Reyes proving that hindi pa laos ang mga lolo for winning the TOPS PREDATOR 10-BALL TOUR (http://www.billiardphilippines.com/billiards/reyes-beats-gomez-tops-predator-10-ball-tour-pockets-10000.html)

http://www.billiardphilippines.com/billiards/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/292777782_0dc128985f-300x225.jpg

Linguine

September 20th, 2010, 04:49 PM

Newsweek on Charice: Asia's rising pop star
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 09/20/2010 6:56 PM | Updated as of 09/20/2010 7:08 PM

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sites/default/files/a_images/topics/others/091010_CharicePempenco.jpg

MANILA, Philippines – Asia’s rising pop star.

This was how prestigious weekly news magazine Newsweek described international singing sensation Charice, 18, in its article posted on September 16.

The article has been posted days before the premiere of the second season of “Glee.” The “Pyramid” singer is the newest addition to the cast of the hit American television series.

She will play a Filipino exchange student named Sunshine Corazon, who will become lead character Rachel Berry’s biggest rival.

“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy gave this glowing remark about Charice: "When that girl opens her mouth, angels fly out."

The article also traced Charice’s life from a struggling singer to a rising star in the international music scene.

It also briefly touched the controversial cosmetic procedures done on the singer that saw her being heavily criticized.

Despite the controversy, “it looks like this Cinderella could continue her happy fairy tale” as David Foster and Oprah Winfrey, 2 influential personalities in the US, continue to back her international career. -Report from Ginger Conejero, ABS-CBN News

kiretoce

September 21st, 2010, 02:10 AM

Newsweek on Charice: Asia's rising pop star

MANILA, Philippines[/B] – Asia’s rising pop star.

This was how prestigious weekly news magazine Newsweek described international singing sensation Charice, 18, in its article posted on September 16.

The article has been posted days before the premiere of the second season of “Glee.” The “Pyramid” singer is the newest addition to the cast of the hit American television series.

She will play a Filipino exchange student named Sunshine Corazon, who will become lead character Rachel Berry’s biggest rival.

“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy gave this glowing remark about Charice: "When that girl opens her mouth, angels fly out."

The article also traced Charice’s life from a struggling singer to a rising star in the international music scene.

It also briefly touched the controversial cosmetic procedures done on the singer that saw her being heavily criticized.

Despite the controversy, “it looks like this Cinderella could continue her happy fairy tale” as David Foster and Oprah Winfrey, 2 influential personalities in the US, continue to back her international career. -Report from Ginger Conejero, ABS-CBN News

That comment conjures up a very disturbing visual for some reason. :lol:

Ady001

September 21st, 2010, 02:13 AM

^^ You have a very wild imagination kimber. :lol:

kiretoce

September 21st, 2010, 02:55 AM

^^ :lol: I have my messed up, deranged mind to thank for that. ;)

Fraulein

September 21st, 2010, 08:02 AM

Malapit na ang Glee!!!! Go Charice!!!:cheers::cheers::cheers:

crappypants

September 21st, 2010, 08:54 AM

I wonder why with all the prize money Efrem makes he still doesn't buy dentures or dental implants.

bitoy

September 21st, 2010, 09:01 AM

^^ Mas bagay daw sa kanya dahil mas mukhang "bata" siya... :lol: Parang sangol na wala pang ipen... :D

Linguine

September 22nd, 2010, 01:01 AM

Wealth in and of water

Gabino M. Abejo, Jr.
Abejo Builders Corp.

http://www.bworldonline.com/webpics/articles/image/201009211ffca.jpg
Gabino M. Abejo, Jr.

Cebu City is the hub of trade, industry, tourism and education in the Visayas. Steeped in history and rich in local traditions, it has been consistently rated among the top island destinations in Asia. However, it is also a known fact that Metro Cebu has had a water supply problem for some time now because of deforestation and seawater seeping into its underground water supply. That water is a basic human necessity cannot be ignored in this populous area and 27-year-old Gabino M. Abejo, Jr. has risen to this challenge. He has channeled his drive, energy and boundless enthusiasm into projects to provide clean, safe water to barangays in Talisay and Consolacion, Cebu.

Leveraging on the resources and experience of Abejo Builders Corp., Mr. Abejo guided his family’s business into diversifying from construction into bulk water production. The company was created in 1999 as a family-owned construction business based in Mandaue City. At that time, Mr. Abejo’s brother Gerry headed the company that was involved in small piping projects with the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD). Seeing an opportunity to supply potable water by engineering their own water delivery system, the Abejo family began shifting their focus to water production. The company partnered with a Manila-based water distribution consultant to learn more about the industry.

A big break occurred in 2003 when the company won a bid to supply a minimum of 4,000 cubic meters (cu. m.) of potable water to the MCWD for distribution in Talisay City. As this was the company’s first venture into the business, it took 12 months to build the system. In 2005, Gerry stepped down, and his younger brother, Gabino, took over as vice-president of the business.

Mr. Abejo has had some experience in the water industry. After graduating from Northwood University in Florida in 2004, he came home and set up a water refilling station in Mactan, where water is mostly brackish. The success of his business led to two more branches within the next nine months.

As head of the company, Mr. Abejo saw the huge potential of expanding into the bulk water system. He decided to restructure the company with water supply as its primary service and construction as a secondary service. Under his leadership, the company made significant investments in their water system model to ensure cost efficiency. This allowed the company to offer reasonable and competitive prices to both customers and water districts.

From an initial supply of 4,000 cu. m. daily, the Talisay bulk water system increased production to an average of 5,600 cu. m. daily by 2007. A year later, the company won another MWCD contract to supply a minimum of 7,000 cu. m. daily of potable water to the town of Consolacion. Despite being a fledgling in the water business, they were able to supply the MCWD with up to 15,000 cu. m. a day.

Moreover, lessons from their previous project enabled Abejo Builders to complete the new system in just six months or half the time it took to complete their first water system. The six-month turnaround is now a standard guarantee in their contracts.

With an eye for opportunity, Mr. Abejo also envisioned a way to help the communities where their bulk water supply system was located. Noting that not all houses in the barangays had ready access to the water supplied by the MCWD, Abejo Builders provided communal faucets in as many as 12 to 15 areas in the barangay. Water is available 24 hours a day and is free of charge. This was the start of his "Barangayan Water Project."

However, the water needs of the community proved to be too great, prompting Mr. Abejo to expand the project into a level three water supply system. This meant installing water meters in all houses and providing water directly to the barangay residents, at no cost to the local government.

Mr. Abejo also pegged the price per cubic meter at P1 lower than the MCWD’s to further subsidize the expenses in the community. The connection fee of P4,000 is also charged over a 12-month installment plan.

Mr. Abejo sees this as building a sense of social responsibility in his company. He hopes to replicate this system in other barangays wherever the company’s bulk water supply system is located.

Inspired by his company’s rapid growth and success, Mr. Abejo aggressively pushes on, aiming to further increase the volume he supplies to the MCWD by an additional 25,000 cu. m.

This year, he has already won five new supply contracts, two systems of which they have started to build. Apart from servicing the MCWD, Mr. Abejo is also in talks with two private companies to supply them with 4,000 cu. m. a day using surface water technology and brackish water desalination technology.

To undertake new and bigger projects, Mr. Abejo relies on his employees to deliver. To him, they are the company’s strongest assets, and he makes it a point to meet with his management and staff regularly to discuss problems and opportunities.

Every six months the company also organizes team building activities for the staff. He believes that employees continually become more efficient and innovative due to their culture of mutual trust, respect and teaming. He considers this to be the key to Abejo Builders’ growing competitiveness.

Confident of his team and optimistic about the opportunities in the water sector, Mr. Abejo is keen about the company’s expansion. There are plans to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange, acquire other bulk water supplier companies with existing contracts, and to bid on projects for other water districts outside Cebu, such as in Southern Luzon and other parts in the Visayas and Mindanao.

With youthful exuberance, Mr. Abejo is charting a course that he hopes will help improve the lives of his fellow Cebuanos and other Filipinos.

"It truly motivates me when I see poor people in the barangays living better and healthier lives because of the 24-hour potable water our company supplies directly to their houses. The never-ending show of gratitude whenever I visit these barangays inspires me to work harder and to duplicate this project in areas not served by the local water district," he says.

http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=18171

Askal82

September 22nd, 2010, 01:04 AM

Linguine

September 22nd, 2010, 03:35 AM

The brand with a heart

By The GO NEGOSYO team (The Philippine Star) Updated September 22, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

MANILA, Philippines – Love for country runs in the blood.

And what better way to prove it than to tell (or re-tell) the story of Camille Meloto and Anna Meloto-Wilk who started a social enterprise that creates sustainable livelihood opportunity for Filipino farmers.

Together with Dylan Wilk, Anna’s husband who left his flashy cars and a comfortable English life for the worthy causes of social movement Gawad Kalinga (GK), the sisters started Gandang Kalikasan, the company that produces the Human Nature (HN) range of natural beauty products.

“Our biggest selling point when we were brainstorming about the brand is that we wanted it to be pro-Philippines,” Anna said. Currently, products of Gandang Kalikasan are 100 percent manufactured in the country. As much as possible they do not source raw materials abroad and aim to grow locally unavailable raw materials. It has also carried its pro-poor campaign as part of its operation philosophy. In fact, the company was set up from the very onset with the goal of helping people in GK communities by providing livelihood. “Our dream is to set up GK communities as globally certified organic farms which can produce world-class raw materials for Human Nature products.”

That dream began to be fulfilled with the setting up of the Human Nature Organic Farm in Bulacan, partnered with NGOs that specialize in organic farming and processing.

Meanwhile, the couple, who started to be more conscious about adopting a really eco-friendly lifestyle in 2005 with their first baby not using disposable diapers which take about 500 years to biodegrade, took on their roles as stewards of the planet to a higher level with Human Nature.

“Here at Human Nature, we take our responsibility of being nature’s stewards very seriously. We deliberate on the impact of all our business decisions on the environment. For example, all our raw materials are thoroughly researched to ensure that they are naturally derived, are not processed using environmentally toxic processes and do not become toxic when released into the environment after you have finished with the product.” In addition, HN uses recyclable bottles and prints its catalog and gift tags on recycled paper.

Indeed, the daughters of Tony and Lyn Meloto, the prime movers of Gawad Kalinga, together with Dylan Wilk, have made Gandang Kalikasan a social enterprise as proof that nobody’s too young to start a brand with a heart.

On Sept. 27, Go Negosyo will recognize Anna, Camille and Dylan as Go Negosyo Inspiring Young Filipino Entrepreneurs in the 2010 Youth Entrepreneurship Summit at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. The award will be presented by Go Negosyo Founder Joey Concepcion along with the Go Negosyo Trustees.

kiretoce

September 22nd, 2010, 03:38 AM

I don't like the wording either as if she's scaring off the angels with her voice. Creepy. :lol:

:lol: Glad to know I'm not the only one that thought that. :okay:

Just got done watching GLEE's second season premiere, it was good (but could've been better, my opinion). Charice's storyline needs more elaboration, but I'm sure that's not the last we've seen of her on the show.

RonnieR

September 22nd, 2010, 11:20 AM

I wonder why with all the prize money Efrem makes he still doesn't buy dentures or dental implants.

+1. He was once asked on this, I forgot the TV station: he replied, that's part of being himself while he played - he felt daw na komportable siya sa paglaro pag walang denture.

However, he had his LASIK eye surgery.....

RonnieR

September 22nd, 2010, 12:15 PM

:lol: Glad to know I'm not the only one that thought that. :okay:

Just got done watching GLEE's second season premiere, it was good (but could've been better, my opinion). Charice's storyline needs more elaboration, but I'm sure that's not the last we've seen of her on the show.

:) Will watch it later at ETC ....I'm not a GLEE fan but because of Charice, I will now watch GLEE.

Narnian_King

September 22nd, 2010, 12:55 PM

CHARICE, You make us all proud!

shyaman

September 22nd, 2010, 01:26 PM

ruwqIEyv0Dk

Kintoy

September 22nd, 2010, 01:26 PM

Ronskie

September 22nd, 2010, 01:29 PM

gcWhiu3D5Mw

:cheers::cheers:

b_two

September 22nd, 2010, 01:32 PM

+1. He was once asked on this, I forgot the TV station: he replied, that's part of being himself while he played - he felt daw na komportable siya sa paglaro pag walang denture.

However, he had his LASIK eye surgery.....

ayon din sa interview nya dati (pero di ko na rin matandaan kung kailan at kung saang network) nawawala daw ang concentration nya sa laro kasi di sya sanay pag may dentures sya e kumakapak ang baba nya at lumilikha ito ng tunog.

Fraulein

September 22nd, 2010, 01:56 PM

Charice is now making waves in the U.S.:)

watcher09

September 22nd, 2010, 02:06 PM

Charice is now making waves in the U.S.:)

Hope she would make waves in HK also...so much so that, HK people would be pacified....

Charice - the best!

Perseus II

September 23rd, 2010, 02:23 AM

Charice is now making waves in the U.S.:)

ang galing ni Charice as in :cheers: Her rendition of Listen is WOW! :banana:

Charice draws raves, awe, pride in ‘Glee’

By Cora Lucas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:39:00 09/23/2010

Filed Under: Entertainment (general), Music, Celebrities

CHARICE Pempengco’s performance in the second season opener of the musical comedy-drama TV series “Glee” yesterday was a bright spot in a whole week of infuriating news, and not just in Philippine entertainment.

Online raves, variations of two very strong sentiments—pride and awe—immediately clogged Twitter and Facebook sites: “Brilliant!” “We love you; you make us Filipinos proud.”

The single episode, of course, could well open Hollywood’s doors wider for the young Filipina that Oprah Winfrey tagged “the most talented girl in the world.”

more... http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100923-293818/Charice-draws-raves-awe-pride-in-Glee

xxxriainxxx

September 23rd, 2010, 04:08 AM

Truth to tell, I wasn't a big fan of Charice. I think that she did pretty well on Glee. And the fact that she actually represented a Filipino from the Philippines, that made a lot of difference. Si Harry Shum kasi, maski part Filipino sya (as some websites claim), hindi yun namention.

RonnieR

September 23rd, 2010, 04:28 AM

Charice did pretty good.

filcan

September 23rd, 2010, 05:52 AM

Narnian_King

September 23rd, 2010, 06:04 AM

^^Harry Shum is part Filipino?

ang alam ko, Yung girlfriend niya ay Filipina at Mahal niya ang Pilipinas.

filcan

September 23rd, 2010, 06:36 AM

^^So that makes him part Filipino? nice... :nuts:

xxxriainxxx

September 23rd, 2010, 06:45 AM

ang alam ko, Yung girlfriend niya ay Filipina at Mahal niya ang Pilipinas.

^^So that makes him part Filipino? nice... :nuts:

I dunno about his gf, but Ive read in some sites that he is Pinoy, but apparently he is from Costa Rica with parents from GZ, China accdg to his twitter account.

diz

September 23rd, 2010, 09:05 AM

Charice on Glee Ep. 1 [mirrored vids] enjoy while you can.

ST3UP4g_lY4

OgunOQ3t94o

Fraulein

September 23rd, 2010, 04:19 PM

^^So that makes him part Filipino? nice... :nuts:

The answer is NO. He is Costa Rican with part Chinese...:)

METROPOLITAN_ILOILO

September 24th, 2010, 03:40 AM

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/8108/50019121under21617409.jpg (http://img31.imageshack.us/i/50019121under21617409.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Billboard's list of 21 under 21: Music's Hottest Minors: CLICK HERE (http://www.billboard.com/features/21-under-21-1004116452.story?tag=hpflash1#/features/21-under-21-charice-1004116399.story)

No. 4: Charice

Birthdate: May 10, 1992 (age 18)

Why She's Hot: Oprah and "Glee": they're two of TV's most powerful zeitgeist-definers, and both have fallen head over heels for Charice Pempengco. Credit the Queen of All Media for plucking the Filipina sensation from obscurity two years ago and introducing her to Celine Dion. The hype finally paid off this spring, when Charice debuted in the Billboard 200 top 10 with her first U.S. album. But its Fox's high school musical hit, on which she now plays a foreign exchange student with killer pipes to match Rachel Berry's, where Charice will show millions of Gleeks that she can out-sing the best of them.

...and she's only behind 1.Taylor Swift, 2. Justin Bieber and 3. Selena Gomez. WOW!!!http://www.laymark.com/i/o/11.gif (http://www.laymark.com)

Fraulein

September 24th, 2010, 04:10 AM

Some comments regarding Charice's appearance in Glee

CHARICE is set to appear in 10 episodes this 2nd season of Glee including the "Audition" episode. So expect that we can see more of Charice.

CHARICE will be a member of Vocal Adrenaline the rival of Glee Club. So expect that there will be another vocal showdown between Charice and Lea in future episodes.

This season her role as Sunshine Corazon is only a recurring role, so you won't be able to see Charice in every episode.

oh well according to my friend who is uber certified GLEEK, she will be seen in SOME episodes for season 2 but a regular for season 3 kasi di pa daw sure si Ryan Murphy kung paaabutin niya sa nationals ang New Directions ngayong Season 2 o talo na naman..so lets all hope for the best for charice in this show..I really do hope we get to see her more often sa GLEE!!!

Linguine

September 24th, 2010, 05:22 AM

Madz wins new honors in Italy

SOUNDS FAMILIAR By Baby A. Gil (The Philippine Star) Updated September 24, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (1) View comments

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6894/ent3y.jpg

The Philippine Madrigal Singers won the Guidoneum Award 2010 by the Fondazione Guido d’ Arezzo last Sunday, Sept. 19

The Philippine Madrigal Singers was conferred the Guidoneum Award 2010 by the Fondazione Guido d’ Arezzo last Sept. 19. The awarding was held after the gala concert of the Madz at the closing of the 58th International Choral Competition held in Arezzo, Italy. The country’s premier singing group was honored for “the artistic and choral promotion activity that they carried out after they won the European Grand Prix in Choral Singing in 2007.”

The Madz’s choir director Mark Anthony Carpio received the award from Francesco Lusi, the president of the Fondazione Guido d’Arezzo. He said: “The Foundation has followed attentively and with great pleasure the fruitful activities of the Philippine Madrigal Singers and is grateful for all that they have done for the choral world.” The Madz was the only choir in the whole world to have won the Grand Prix during two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007 in one of the top choral competitions in the whole world. I guess being that good, sort of keeps them from competing again but they can always show why they won the contests in concerts and as in this case, receive other honors.

The Philippine Madrigal Singers was formed at the University of the Philippines nearly 50 years ago by National Artist Andrea O. Veneracion. The concept then was for the mixed group to specialize in the madrigal, a music form that originated in Italy during the Renaissance. The madrigal remains the Madz’ strong point but they are now also adept with church music, show tunes, Filipino songs and pop. In fact, the Madz latest CD release, Madz In Love is a collection of love songs in various pop forms.

Arezzo was the first leg of the Madz’s 2010 European tour. They will also do concerts in other cities in Europe like Rome, Milan, Vienna, Prague, Berlin and others. They also did two songs, I Will Sing Forever and I Can Tell The World during an audience with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.

Fraulein

September 24th, 2010, 06:08 AM

RonnieR

September 24th, 2010, 06:44 AM

RonnieR

September 24th, 2010, 12:19 PM

3 Filipinos bag Chevening scholarships
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 09/24/2010 3:52 PM | Updated as of 09/24/2010 3:53 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Three Filipinos will be pursuing further education in Britain after being awarded with UK’s prestigious Chevening scholarships.

“We are delighted that Filipinos are among the recipients of this year’s Chevening scholarships. These scholarships are highly sought-after, with thousands of applicants from all over the world. The Chevening program is a wonderful link between the UK and the Philippines and underpins our growing education links,” said British Ambassador Stephen Lillie.

This year’s recipients are Ian Norman Dato, Edzyl Josef Magante and Dave Jesus Devilles.

Dato, formerly an undersecretary at the Department of Justice is pursuing a Master of Laws Degree in Public International Law at the University College London.

Magante, court attorney VI in the legal staff of Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, is taking up a Master of Laws in International Business Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Devilles, public relations specialist at Energy Development Corporation, is pursuing further studies in Corporate Communications and Reputation Management at the University of Manchester.

“UK education is among the world’s best. Its tradition of excellence combined with modern innovation and flexibility makes UK education recognized and respected all over the world,” Lillie said.

Magante said, “I have observed that we can only be one of three types of people: the first type are those who are part of the system and often make it worse; the second type are those who are indifferent about what is happening in our country; and the third type are those who want, and are willing to work for, positive change. I consider myself as belonging to the third type, and find that the Chevening Program is the most prestigious and generous scholarship scheme that can help me acquire advanced knowledge of law and policy from western countries and, in turn, use such knowledge to become an instrument of positive change.”

For Dato, the Chevening program is an “opportunity given me by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK government and the British Embassy in Manila as a way not only to further my legal qualifications but also to experience the British culture, values, and way of life.

“It is a challenge that is both exciting and a little daunting at the same time. The Chevening Program empowers qualified individuals to be more engaged in and useful to society. That is what attracted me most to the Program. I saw how empowered its alumni had become and they, in turn, were able to contribute more to Philippine society.”

Devilles, meanwhile, said, “It is one of the world’s most prestigious scholarship programs. Knowledge, honor and goodwill – all these are benefits that await a Chevening scholar”.

The scholarship has produced graduates who have made exemplary achievements in their careers.

Recently, Chevening alumna Flora May Cerna was bestowed the 2010 Aquino Fellowship for Public Service for encouraging several government organizations to create more transparent and accountable processes as head of the Department of Research and Project Development at the Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN).

Chevening Scholarships are granted by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to young individuals in the early stage of their careers who have the potential to become leaders, decision makers and opinion formers in their chosen field. The scholarships were named after Chevening House in Kent, the UK Foreign Secretary's official country residence.

icarusrising

September 24th, 2010, 12:30 PM

Pinoy athletes bring home medals from 1st ASEAN Tribal Olympics (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=613406&publicationSubCategoryId=200)

By Ding Cervantes (philstar.com) Updated September 19, 2010 04:45 PM

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga - Aeta,Mangyan and Dumagat athletes dominated the first Southeast Asian Tribal Olympics in Malaysia last Thursday with three golds, a silver, and four bronzes.

Wearing blue and white jackets marked Philippines at the back, the tribal folk, accompanied by tourism officers based in Pampanga, Mindoro and Quezon held up their medals as they alighted from an Air Asia aircraftat about 4 p.m. last Friday.

They were the country’s representatives to the first ASEAN Tribal Olympics held from Sept. 14 to 16 in the mountains of Nanuk Ragang in Ranao, Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. They sported their traditional G-strings and brought with them their own bows and arrows, as well as spears and blow pipes for the games.

“It was smooth sailing for us. We could have readily beat them in all the games if we really wanted to,” Aeta Jun Ablong, who won two golds from tree top archery and blow pipe competitions and a silver in archery assault, said in Kapampangan upon arrival at the airport.

Guy Hilbero, founder of the Mabalacat Aeta Tribal Association (MATA) who attended the games, said apart from Ablong, whose two other brothers competed, the other gold medalist was Naval Dumlao who, he noted, impressed tribal folk from other countries in the field of archery assault.

kiretoce

September 25th, 2010, 02:30 AM

^^ Good for them! :okay:

Linguine

September 27th, 2010, 11:13 AM

Taking on LA and the world

by Ed Biado

Charice, being a singing sensation and having a prominent role in the season two opener of Glee, is not the only Filipino putting the Philippines on the map.

Fashion designer Oliver Tolentino is living the dream as well. In October last year, four months after opening his Melrose Avenue boutique, he was invited to show at Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week. One of his dresses was featured as the finale at the fashion show of the United Nations Eco-Chic Geneva event, a show that included pieces by Diane von Furstenberg, Thakoon and John Rocha. He was one of nine selected to compete in the 2010 Oscars Designers Challenge. His creations have been worn by Hollywood celebrities such as Macy Gray, Niecy Nash, Patti Austin, Vivica Fox and Kimora Lee Simmons.

Oliver is currently in town for the opening of his Manila boutique, which will have a grand launch on Saturday, October 2. Inside the shop, we see a testament of his hard work and dedication. I sat down with him amidst the sea of delectable dresses and we talked about his experiences and what it takes to make it.

“I'm true to myself. I make clothes that make people happy—those that don't overpower them. I create them with love and passion,” Oliver replied when asked why the American market has been so kind to him. Fashion, as we know, is very fickle and harsh on new designers. It is interesting that since his arrival in LA, he’s been buzzing. Part of it could be attributed to sheer luck and being at the right place at the right time, but one cannot get by with luck alone. A great amount of talent has to be involved.

“I've been designing for 18 years. When I was still undiscovered, I spent all that time studying fashion and honing my craft. Even now, when I’m not doing anything, I’m in the back room, studying new patterns,” he recounted, describing his process that's all about learning. In creating a new collection, Oliver makes sure he’s inspired. He travels and picks up new ideas everywhere and smartly incorporates elements into his designs.

But he said the most important thing when coming up with a new collection is coherence—and this is probably something one acquires through years of trial-and-error and maturity.

“You have to have a fashion board [and your collection must tell a story]. You have to limit yourself to a concept. If you look at collections by Lanvin or Marc Jacobs, it seems like they have a lot of ideas to work with, but there’s always one concept that holds the collection together,” Oliver stated, as if giving me an impromptu lesson on fashion design. He emphasized on restraint and how important it is because “one wrong accessory will make the papers [bash your collection] the next day.”

“I lean more towards clothes that will last, those that you can keep for a long time and wear to a special event,” the enthusiastic designer said, adding that trends per se are not for him. His designs are classic but there’s always a new element to every piece—may it be a tiny detail or in the form of an unexpected material.

Oliver is now in the process of making his clothes eco-friendly. One of the things he’s in the Philippines for is to go to Aklan to research on the process on how native fibers are derived. In November, he will take part in the Islands of the World Fashion Week in the Bahamas, the only Filipino designer to do so and one of two international designers to be invited; the other one being Jay McCaroll of Project Runway fame.

“It will be east meets west. There will be lots of colors, embellishments and details. I'll be using capiz, but not big ones, and coconut in the pieces,” Oliver described his 30-piece collection for the show. According to the official press release from the organizer, pineapple fabric, what we know as piña, will be used as well.

It’s been a whirlwind year for Oliver and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He’s really the one to watch out for. Could he be the next Monique Lhuillier, who’s one of Hollywood's hottest designers right now, as some people are predicting? Only time will tell. But in the mean time, he’s got this to say about his ambitions: “I want to be known for couture gowns and introduce local fabrics to the world. When I make it, I want to bring the Philippines with me.”

And his advice to those who are waiting for their time to shine?

“Be true to yourself. The more you see other designs, the more you get confused. Just be yourself... Be inspired by other designers. Don’t copy them.”

Oliver Tolentino’s Manila boutique is located at the ground floor of Colonnade Residences, Legaspi corner Palanca in Makati City. To know more about the designer, visit www.olivertolentino.com.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideLifestyle.htm?f=/2010/september/27/lifestyle1.isx&d=2010/september/27

thescene

September 27th, 2010, 02:53 PM

Pyramid debuted at #17 on the official BBC SIngles chart this week.

Here's a mixed review from the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chartblog/2010/09/charice_ft_iyaz_-_pyramid.shtml

Charice ft. Iyaz - 'Pyramid'
Fraser McAlpine | 12:40 UK time, Thursday, 23 September 2010
Charice

Ladies and gentlemen, people who have not been paying attention, sceptics and believers alike, I give you, the female Justin Bieber!

OK, the hair is different, and the voices don't quite match up - he's more Mickey Mouse with a sore throat, and she's more junior Beyonce - but what they do share, apart from extreme youth, is the strange experience of being massively popular on YouTube, and managing to turn this into success in the wider world of entertainment.

Here's how it worked. Five years ago Charice appeared on a TV talent show in the Phillipines. She did OK, reaching the final, and then the Top 3. Clips of her performances were put on YouTube, then lots and lots of people watched them.

A couple of years later, she appeared on another TV show, this time in South Korea. And then the performances from that were put on YouTube and lots and lots of people watched them too.

After this, it all gets a bit showbiz. American TV chat shows started to get her on, then UK TV shows like Paul O'Grady, and all the while the video clip pile is growing and more and more people are watching her do her thing. Until eventually there's a flurry of ridiculous celebrity names and international acclaim: Oprah, Celine, Bocelli, Alvin and the Chipmunks...and now she's even managed to nab a role in the next series of Glee.

Katie, Cheryl, Robbie, you are going to have to UP your GAME if you wanna compete with that little lot.

(Here's the video. It's Gleeful.)

It's fascinating to come at this relatively fresh and try and see what all the fuss has been about. On the face of it, she's a small girl with a big voice, establishing a global pop presence using the tried-and-tested method of taking a beefed-up slow jam, about faith or hope or turmoil, putting a guest rapper in the middle of it, and attempting to sing his face off.

She damn near manages it too. Poor Iyaz, attempting to join in now and again by nodding "like a pyramid, like a pyramid" around her hurricane howl, sounds a smidge lost. No, wait, not lost, as such. He sounds like someone who is doing none of the work, but attempting to take some of the credit. He's a skiver on a building site, yelling at passing girls and waving his big hammer around.

And no, I'm not just saying this because - as is so often the way of things at the moment - the very first word out of his mouth is the s-word. You know the one. Sean Kingston knows it too.

Anyway, yes. Stirring stuff, sung to within an inch of its life by a girl who belongs in the showboating vocal fireworks display of Glee like custard belongs in a trifle.

Well done, the internet

Fraulein

September 27th, 2010, 05:15 PM

^^:cheers::cheers::cheers:

kiretoce

September 28th, 2010, 03:26 AM

Ladies and gentlemen, people who have not been paying attention, sceptics and believers alike, I give you, the female Justin Bieber!

:lol: Being branded the female Justin Bieber just opens up the floodgates to potential ridicule. And I can think of already some pot-shots to hurl. :shifty:

RonnieR

September 28th, 2010, 04:49 AM

:lol: Being branded the female Justin Bieber just opens up the floodgates to potential ridicule. And I can think of already some pot-shots to hurl. :shifty:

I'm not updated about this Justin Bieber....he's a kid singing sensation, right? I heard few songs lang..:)

kiretoce

September 28th, 2010, 05:05 AM

^^ For your perusal. :colgate:

kffacxfA7G4

RonnieR

September 28th, 2010, 05:08 AM

^^ cool.... Charice is better. :)

Linguine

September 28th, 2010, 05:26 AM

Jeepney booters snatch 'Homeless' Host Cup

(The Philippine Star) Updated September 28, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (18) View comments

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/5908/spo7can.jpg

A member of Team Jeepney waves the Philippine flag after the Filipino booters nipped the Norwegians.

MANILA, Philippines - Team Jeepney Philippines bucked the loss to injury of its top player and went on to nip Norway, 4-3, and capture the Host Cup trophy in the Homeless World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil recently.

Jun Jun Aragon took over from Hammid Pasion, who sustained an ankle injury in the early going of the contest, with the Bacolod native combining with Abdula Pasion and Tonie Mark Arinal in the first half before taking charge in the second half.

He sealed the win with a brilliant move and strike in the left corner of the net.

The RP booters thus closed out their campaign with a 9-3 (win-loss) slate, finishing 25th overall and copping the Host Cup trophy, one of the six trophies up for grabs in the tournament, which drew 64 nations and held to generate awareness and opportunity to marginalized people from all over the world.

The event also served as a venue to promote public awareness on the plight of the homeless and poor and to generate change in the lives of those trapped in extreme circumstances.

It has become a premier sporting event and a social voice around the world.

The other members of Team Jeepney Philippines were brothers Mark and Lexter Maravilla, Michael Quinlat and Revect Lagardo.

Team RP lost its first two games to Brazil, 2-9, and Chile, 0-9, but edged Croatia, 4-3. It dropped a 2-4 setback to Italy in its fourth game but swept its next eight games, including an 8-2 rout of Sweden and a 14-4 romp over South Korea.

The Filipinos also pulled off squeakers over Argentina, 5-4, Norway, 3-2, and Germany, 8-6, before thumping Finland, 6-2.

Team RP finished 37th in a field of 48 in the event’s inaugural staging in 2008 in Australia then wound up 29th in last year’s staging in Italy.

RonnieR

September 28th, 2010, 05:28 AM

^^ Wow, congratulations!

wynngd

September 28th, 2010, 08:17 AM

^^Sana dumami na ang mahilig sa football dito sa atin... para makapagpatayo na tayo ng malaking sports stadium!

Linguine

September 28th, 2010, 08:37 AM

^^Sana dumami na ang mahilig sa football dito sa atin... para makapagpatayo na tayo ng malaking sports stadium!

That's been my wish for so long too...:okay:

Narnian_King

September 28th, 2010, 11:12 AM

its always sunny in the Philippines...except for the monsoons lmao :lol::lol:

Linguine

September 28th, 2010, 02:01 PM

Conquering the local market

by Bettina Bernabe

Oprah has her own green-colored, four-piece chair set displayed at her California tea house. Celine Dion has the famous Malabar chair in her living room. Ralph Lauren boasts of owning an exclusively-designed Palembang urn (a huge egg-shaped metal frame with wicker weave) and trays with leather tags.

In its own quiet way, Pampanga-based furniture manufacturer Calfurn has been creating waves in the global arena, cementing the Philippines’ reputation as a source of world-class furniture.

For more than three decades, Calfurn has been creating furniture featured in foreign department stores like Bloomingdales, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Harrods. Now Calfurn is all set to take the local market by storm.

“It’s time to show our fellow Filipinos what Calfurn has to offer,” says Eredito ‘Erdy’ Feliciano, chairman of the board of Calfurn Manufacturing Philippines, Inc.

The roots

It took all of P30,500 for Erdy Feliciano and his business partner Angelo Baltazar, to get the fledging company off the ground in 1976.

‘‘At the time, we had a lot of competitors,’’ Feliciano recalls. “We managed to outlast them all.’’

Feliciano attributes the company’s success to “a lot of good luck and good timing.’’ Of course, it also helped that the company’s leaders stayed focused and on target, determined to succeed at all cost. It was determination born out of true grit.

As a man who worked to pay his way through college, Feliciano is not a stranger to hard work. Orphaned by his father at an early age, Feliciano took up the burden of breadwinner to his mother and eight siblings, working several jobs (including that of jeepney driver) to put food on the table. At the same time he studied hard to earn his accountancy degree and eventually became a certified public accountant. Keenly aware of whence he came, he instills the philosophy of Calfurn in his employees, treating them as his partners instead of workers.

On the other hand, it is up to Baltazar, the company’s president, to keep creativity flowing in the company. A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Commerce-Major in Accounting at the Holy Angel College in Angeles City, takes care of research and development. With such an innate inventive streak, Baltazar is the man behind the imaginative and inventive designs that can be seen in the products that Calfurn is able to produce.

The rollercoaster ride to success

The beginning of their success in exporting started with colored woven baskets back in 1983. At that time, there were only a few color choices being offered. But Calfurn opted to experiment and offer something new to the market—colored baskets. “We played with different colors that were eventually accepted by the market. Tinanggap talaga yun during those times,” Erdy shares.

Then in 1986, they got their big break with the creation of their Abacca Blue Rose furniture collection. With this, they were able to offer something entirely new to furniture, ranging from end tables, coffee chairs and rockers. This collection was first bought by Bloomingdales and Macy’s then eventually, all else followed.

The company, however, suffered a setback in 1991, when the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo damaged their factory. “Marami ang nawala sa amin noon, but it only took us around a month to do all the necessary repairs. In about three month’s time, we were back in business.”

More recently, another dilemma hit the company due to the economic recession. From having almost 8,000 workers at its peak, “we had to break it down and lay off more than half of the original number of workers we had,” says Feliciano.

Feliciano believes that Filipinos have always had the potential to go global. “Magaling ang mga Pinoy. Our strength is in weaving. When it comes to craftsmanship—what Italy is to Europe, while Philippines is to Asia,” he stresses. He says that with every Calfurn product, the customer is certain to get nothing less than world-class quality and style that’s definitely worth its tag price.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideLifestyle.htm?f=/2010/september/28/lifestyle1.isx&d=2010/september/28

Fraulein

September 30th, 2010, 03:50 PM

Please support Czarina Gatbonton, Binibining Pilipinas - World 2010 for she will be in China for Miss World 2010

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs655.snc4/61517_444083177519_587557519_5157074_1304010_n.jpg

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bledzoe

September 30th, 2010, 03:58 PM

another truly Pinay beauty!

icarusrising

September 30th, 2010, 04:36 PM

The judges seem to favor the kayumanggi beauty lately. :cheers:

NTprime

October 2nd, 2010, 12:26 PM

Yes, she truly is a Filipina beauty.:)

I hope she won't stumble in any major, major incident while going for the crown.

pulsephaze22

October 2nd, 2010, 12:43 PM

icarusrising

October 2nd, 2010, 02:13 PM

We can't please everyone but I think the Pinay FAs in this viral video are scorching hot!

Lqh8e2KYIrU&feature=aso

Ady001

October 2nd, 2010, 02:21 PM

^^ It's a mixed bag but the girl is so hot... :drool:

I admit...

spearhead

October 2nd, 2010, 02:41 PM

pulsephaze22

October 2nd, 2010, 04:21 PM

We can't please everyone but I think the Pinay FAs in this viral video are scorching hot!

Lqh8e2KYIrU&feature=aso

I already bought a ticket,. :lol:

NTprime

October 2nd, 2010, 05:34 PM

We can't please everyone but I think the Pinay FAs in this viral video are scorching hot!

Lqh8e2KYIrU&feature=aso

Wow, when I posted this 36 hours ago in the Airlines, Airplanes and Airports thread there were less than 10,000 views on YouTube. Now it's over 1.8 million views!

The pretty FA has become an instant celebrity! I'm sure there will be hundreds, even thousands of applicants to fill in those 300 posts for FAs by Cebu Pacific in the coming months :banana:

METROPOLITAN_ILOILO

October 2nd, 2010, 05:56 PM

“Charice” Album is Certified Gold in Japan

MANILA, Philippines – The album of international singing sensation Charice in Japan is now certified gold.

Charice, who has joined the cast the hit TV show “Glee”, thanked all her fans and supporters in Japan for supporting and buying her record.

“Chyeaa! My Album “Charice” is now certified GOLD in Japan! Thank you so much for the support!!! Japan, thank you so much :) ,” Charice said on her Twitter page.

Charice’s album includes the single “Crescent Moon,” an English rendition of the hit Japanese song “Mikazuki” by popular Japanese pop singer Ayaka.

In previous interview, Charice said that she was a fan of J-Pop or Japanese pop songs.

Last May, Charice went to Japan to record the album and pose for pictorials for the cover of her CD. Her Japanese album was released last July.

Source: ABS-CBN

10-9 Issue BILLBOARD US Billboard hot 100

Charice's Telephone #23 - Listen #38 [link] (http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100?tag=chscr1#/charts/hot-100?order=gainer)
US Billboard Digital Songs Chart: Telephone #11 - Listen #19

Canadian Billboard Hot100: Telephone #17 (Charice is 1st Asian solo artist to have 4 singles on the Billboard Hot100 - Note to God, Pyramid, Telephone, Listen )

10-1 #41 Worldwide for a whole week Charice's YT channel is #41 most viewed this week "Musicians Global" [link] (http://www.youtube.com/user/charice)

icarusrising

October 2nd, 2010, 06:42 PM

Wow, when I posted this 36 hours ago in the Airlines, Airplanes and Airports thread there were less than 10,000 views on YouTube. Now it's over 1.8 million views!

The pretty FA has become an instant celebrity! I'm sure there will be hundreds, even thousands of applicants to fill in those 300 posts for FAs by Cebu Pacific in the coming months :banana:

I'm sure the video's been planted. But what the heck, based on the comments in Youtube it's free media mileage not only for Cebu Pacific but for Philippine tourism as well. That's Filipina warmth, grace, and beauty shining through. Well, there were a lot of pervy comments (and I can't entirely blame them) so hopefully they don't come here for the sex. But yeah, am crossing my fingers it would translate to increased local and international travels to the Philippines.

bledzoe

October 2nd, 2010, 07:04 PM

Cebu Pacific had me there. certainly ride one of these days and hopefully catch the pretty FA. :nuts:

Linguine

October 3rd, 2010, 04:29 AM

Why Fil-Am tycoon flew 12 hours to RP, left same day

By Lito Gutierrez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:02:00 10/03/2010

Filed Under: Economy and Business and Finance, Politics, Government, People, Technology (general)

PALO ALTO, California – President Benigno Aquino III had barely warmed his seat in Malacañang in May when he was visited by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Diosdado Banatao.

Banatao, who flew to Manila largely as chair of what was then known as Ayala Foundation USA (since renamed Philippine Development Foundation), freshened up from his 12-hour trans-Pacific flight and motored to the Palace. He flew back to San Francisco that same evening.

He was accompanied in the trip and subsequent audience with the new President by Ayala Corp. president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Vicky P. Garchitorena, foundation vice chair and president, respectively.

Much has been written about Banatao, a farm boy from Iguig, Cagayan, who made the chips that are at the heart of every computer today. In the process he amassed a fortune that includes two executive jets, a multimillion-dollar house in leafy Atherton (which is also home to such high-tech icons as Steve Jobs), and an estate in the wine country in Sonoma.

He is known for his generous philanthropy, which he pursues with his wife Maria Cariaga Banatao. (Apart from running their own family foundations, Maria has a seat at the University of California at Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees, Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital Foundation Board and the then Ayala Foundation USA.)

Top 8 engineering schools

In an interview on September 21 in his office at Tallwood Venture Capital here, Banatao said he had merely asked the President to please keep supporting the science and technology projects he had initiated with the previous President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the Department of Science and Technology.

“I just told him there are ongoing programs right now that cannot be interrupted,” Banatao said, referring to Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT), which at its inception in 2007 was given a three-year P3.5-billion budget that runs out this year.

ERDT is a consortium of the Philippines’ eight top engineering schools – University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, UP Los Baños, Central Luzon State University, San Carlos University and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.

Banatao said Mr. Aquino made no promises but somehow got his message.

“I think he understands that the growth of the [Philippine] economy would depend on how we take advantage of the global demand,” Banatao said, adding that the demand could be met only if the Philippines produced high-value-added, high-technology products, which in turn could only be conceived with properly educated and trained scientists and engineers.

Fervent passion

What is largely unknown about Banatao is the fervent passion with which he pursues his ideas, whether it be looking for the next-generation semiconductors or challenging a community civic fund. (Some years back he told the San Francisco-based Manila Heritage Foundation that he would contribute a large amount of money, but only if members of the community would match it. “They did,” he said. “But it took them a while.”)

On the day of our interview, this ardor was as radiant as the early morning sun that bathed Banatao’s airy, glass-enclosed offices at the second floor of the Wells Fargo Bank building, a gentrified enclave that is the birthplace of much of the high technology out there today.

Tallwood, of which Banatao is managing partner, is in the middle of it all, with $500 million to invest on “disruptive” ideas, products and technologies with market potential.

Its portfolio includes startups with esoteric-sounding promises, such as “enabling the photonic future” or providing “low-powered integrated circuits for the next-generation mobile-media devices.”

Full throttle

At 64, Banatao is still at full throttle. He optimized the time of the interview by having breakfast – two cans of an “energy” drink.

He is lean and sprightly, which his executive assistant, Stacey Holmes, attributed to “a vigorous workout regimen, including running.”

And he “almost always has meetings through lunch,” which is “usually salmon, salad and soup,” she added.

That Banatao would travel from the United States for an hour’s chat with President Aquino was an indication of his doggedness and commitment. He could have flown in on his Bombardier, a long-range executive jet he uses to shuttle among the global financial and high-tech capitals, but there was no available hangar at the Manila airport. (He has two full-time pilots for the Bombardier. His other jet is a Cessna, which he uses to tool around California skies.)

“Sometimes you have to do these things,” he said of the quick visit to Malacañang. For to him, ERDT, with its objective to produce at least 500 scientists and engineers with master’s and doctorate degrees, would provide the brains that would propel the Philippine economy by producing high-value products and services that could compete in the global market.

On a visit to UP in 2007, Banatao was told that its budget was being held. He recalled his frustration when the news hit him.

So he urged the engineering faculty to come up with ideas on the best science and engineering programs, which they later brought to then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. To convince her of his commitment, he said he was putting up $500,000 to fund a “high-impact” research institute at the UP College of Engineering.

Arroyo bought the idea, for which Banatao is thankful.

“President Arroyo was the first-ever president I worked with who really did something about science and engineering education,” he said. “I told her we [were] going to provide the guidance, the ideas, but that government had to contribute to this cause because philanthropy can only go so far. She said, ‘Okay, let’s spend some money on this.’”

Talent, skills bank

ERDT’s goal is to create a bank of talent and skills that will raise the quality of teaching science and engineering in the Philippines, according to Banatao.

It will create a number of institutes, such as the Institute of High-Impact Engineering Research at UP. From this effort, he said, a new generation of innovators would hopefully come up with ideas for high-tech, high-value-added products for the Philippines to sell in the international market.

At present, most Philippine industries are producing “very low” value-added products and services, such as call centers, Banatao observed.

It’s the same with the academe, said Banatao, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mapua and a master’s degree in the same course from Stanford University.

“We are woefully behind in the quality of teaching,” he lamented. “There is just not enough quality to get [the teaching] of science and engineering to a level that can self-propagate. So we are just producing mediocrity everywhere.”

But he scaled back on his tone, as if he had realized that he was sounding offensive: “As much as I know that it’s hard to listen to these things, it’s harder for me to say these because of how much I care about our country.”

Working with the best

Banatao got his degree from Mapua at the time when it was the country’s premier engineering school.

He said that was why he went there, and not to UP. He recalled that his batch (1966) seized the top 20 slots of the board exams except for the 11th, which was taken by a UP graduate.

But UP has since caught on and Banatao has no doubt it is molding the best engineering minds in the Philippines today.

He said he wanted to work only with the best, and that he would continue to put money where his mouth was.

Today six UP engineering professors are Banatao fellows at UC Berkeley, where the man chairs the College of Engineering Advisory Board and is a member of the Chancellor’s Executive Advisory Council.

“They are doing pure research and are working with the best engineering minds from all over the world,” he said.

In fact, Banatao’s philanthropy is not limited to the Filipino community. At Berkeley he funded the Center of Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (Citris), to look at “big-scale (global) social issues” such as energy and health care.

And within Citris, there is the Dado and Maria Banatao Center for Global Learning and Outreach from Berkeley Engineering (or Globe), which “reaches out to and collaborates with engineering colleges and universities all over the world.”

Venture capitalist

For all the money that he has invested in civic works, Banatao is not a social entrepreneur.

“My gift-giving is all about education, not entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship funds small efforts that benefit the individual immediately, such as microfinancing. The recipients are required to repay their loans. I don’t do that,” he said, adding:

“I am a venture capitalist ... That is the business from which hopefully I can make money to fund my philanthropy.”

Banatao said he required no commitment of any sort from the recipients of his scholarships and fellowships.

He said he just hoped that his Berkeley fellows would return home and “apply the knowledge they received.” But putting “handcuffs” on them, such as “requiring of them service to repay the cost of the fellowship, is totally out of the question.”

“There is no required commitment for them to stay in the Philippines,” he added. “You can’t force people to stay. All you can do is provide the environment for them to stay.”

And that is what ERDT is all about.

What if, for some reason, President Aquino fails to provide the funding it needs?

“We’re not about to stop helping now,” Banatao said. “When my wife and I decided to start our foundations, we were determined that nobody was going to get in the way of these good things.”

Sleepwalker

October 3rd, 2010, 04:34 AM

Repost lang. Am so proud about this news...Truly, a Pinoy spirit!

Balangay now in Malaysia; crew hopes to meet Aquino in Vietnam
(http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20101002-295597/Balangay-now-in-Malaysia-crew-hopes-to-meet-Aquino-in-Vietnam)By Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 17:52:00 10/02/2010

http://images.inquirer.net/media/networkindex/images/pic-10030105560954.jpg

Filed Under: Waterway & Maritime Transport, transportation, history
MANILA, Philippines—A replica of a pre-colonial “balangay” with its Filipino crew is halfway through its journey around Southeast Asia and is poised to undertake its most dangerous leg, crossing the stormy South China Sea, crew leader Art Valdez told the Inquirer Saturday.

Valdez, a former undersecretary at the Department of Transportation and Communication and former leader of the Philippine Mt. Everest team, said in a telephone interview they hoped to make it to Hanoi, Vietnam by the end of this month in time for Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit there.

Valdez said the crew hopes to meet President Benigno Aquino in Hanoi.

“We hope to meet him in Vietnam and invite him to see us at the port,” Valdez said in a telephone interview from Pahang, Malaysia, where the balangay is now docked after calling at Singapore September 25-28.

“We would tell him that Filipinos should reconnect and revive our maritime consciousness," Valdez said. "The sea has always been part of our environment and our culture. But we lost it because of colonialism.”

On Saturday, Valdez said he and his crew were in Terengganu in Pahang, the center of traditional shipbuilding in Malaysia.

“We are halfway through our journey,” he said, adding they would sail next into the Gulf of Thailand and into Bangkok next week. From Thailand, they plan to sail to Cambodia and Vietnam.

The “balangay” sailed into Singapore last September 25 where Valdez said the crew was welcomed warmly by crews of vessels from around the world.

“When we sailed into Singapore, the port announced our arrival and asked the other international vessels, including supertankers, to give way for us since we had no engine. We could see the warm welcome extended to us by Filipino crews on the vessels as we passed by. This is proof that the Filipino is one of the best seafarers in the world,” Valdez said.

From Hanoi, Valdez said they would sail to Danang, Vietnam, where they are set to cross the South China Sea to Palawan some time in November. He said this would be the longest leg of their journey and the longest time they would spend out in the open sea.

“We will be out in open sea for a week. It will also be the most dangerous since there might still be storms in the South China Sea in November,” Valdez said.

From Palawan, the crew will sail to the Tubbataha Reef, a favorite of divers from across the globe. From there, they plan to sail to Panay Island and enter Luzon through the famed Hundred Islands in Pangasinan.

Despite the dangers they faced, Valdez said the morale of the crew was high. “The reception in every port we have been to was very warm. No one has been sick. Most of the time, we have been feasting on fish.”

The core members of the crew include Valdez, Janet Belarmino-Sardena, Carina Dayondon, Leo Oracion, Erwin Emata, Noelle Wenceslao, Dr. Ted Esguerra, Fred Jamili and Dr. Voltaire Velasco.

Sarnea, Dayondon, Oracion, Emata, Wenceslao, Esguerra and Jamili were with Valdez’s successful Mt. Everest teams that planted the Philippine flag on the world’s highest mountain.

In 2006, Oracion and Emata were the first and second Filipinos to conquer Everest, respectively.

A year later, Dayondon, Wenceslao and Sardena became the first Southeast Asian women to scale Everest in dramatic fashion, starting their ascent from the North Side and going down the South Side for a historic traverse of the mountain.

“This voyage is a once-in-a lifetime event, just like our journey to Everest. The voyage of the balangay is symbolic of regional unity. It also has historical value because at one time in our history, we were all connected by marine highways,” said Valdez.

He also said their balangay journey was more enjoyable than their trips to the fearsome Mt. Everest, which is known to claim lives every climbing season.

“The sea is our natural environment. We are at home in the sea, not like the high altitude of Everest,” he said.

Valdez added: “But this journey is also tough. We have bad weather. Sometimes when we have to land on small islands, the residents there mistake us for pirates. But we explain to their local police the purpose of our trip.”

The journey of the Philippine balangay started in Manila Bay on Sept. 1. They made around 80 stopovers while sailing south.

After touching Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and the Turtle Islands, Valdez said they entered the waters of Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu and Sarawak in Malaysia. They doubled back to Brunei before sailing to the Batang Region of Indonesia. From there, they sailed on to Singapore.

xxxriainxxx

October 3rd, 2010, 11:21 AM

We can't please everyone but I think the Pinay FAs in this viral video are scorching hot!

Lqh8e2KYIrU&feature=aso

This would have been cool if Cebu Pacific is not one big rip off. 2 years na ang inaantay ko na refund. Wala na. Babay Cebu Pacific.

icarusrising

October 3rd, 2010, 12:18 PM

I believe Cebu Pacific's still doing better than PAL with the recent rows with its pilots and now FAs. CP claims it has actually overtaken PAL as the country's largest carrier. And this is believable as Lucio Tan seems not to be keen on expanding his investments in PAL preferring to put his money in Phil Express which he owns 99% of.

NTprime

October 3rd, 2010, 06:04 PM

Rajah_Soliman

October 3rd, 2010, 09:35 PM

RP Out of Tax Havens’ List
Delisting to boost investments
By GENALYN KABILING, JUN RAMIREZ and CHINO LEYCO
September 29, 2010, 5:51pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has been removed from the world list of havens for tax evasion and money laundering by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The country’s removal from the “grey list” of tax havens is expected to boost investments from OECD member countries. The OECD is composed mostly of rich countries in Europe and other members of the Group 20 like the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.

Malacañang was elated by the delisting of the country from the world's list of tax havens and expects this to strengthen the government's campaign against tax evasion and money laundering.

more: http://www.mb.com.ph/node/279718/rp-out-tax-haven

Fraulein

October 4th, 2010, 02:00 AM

xxxriainxxx

October 4th, 2010, 07:04 AM

Cebu Pacific is fine if all goes well on your flight. But once you cancel your flight (or they cancel or delay it for some reason), there goes the definition of customer service. You can't expect service fit for a king if your fare is worth only peanuts:nuts:

I was in the Cebu Pacific operations center a couple of years ago and I saw a foreigner arguing without success regarding his refund. He threatened them and all but the lady didn't budge. Sufficient to say that it's not worth your money trying to get it back, especially for smaller amounts. They won't give in in most cases...a good parallelism is try to get refunds or credits for your Sun Cellular plan:bash:

It may be loose change but prinsipyo naman ang pinag uusapan. They promised refund and they can't honor their promise. And I respectfully disagree, no matter gaano kaliit or kamura ng isang service or bagay, the customer deserves a good service. Hindi naman libre yan eh.

RonnieR

October 4th, 2010, 07:42 AM

This would have been cool if Cebu Pacific is not one big rip off. 2 years na ang inaantay ko na refund. Wala na. Babay Cebu Pacific.

Cebu Pacific is fine if all goes well on your flight. But once you cancel your flight (or they cancel or delay it for some reason), there goes the definition of customer service. You can't expect service fit for a king if your fare is worth only peanuts:nuts:

I was in the Cebu Pacific operations center a couple of years ago and I saw a foreigner arguing without success regarding his refund. He threatened them and all but the lady didn't budge. Sufficient to say that it's not worth your money trying to get it back, especially for smaller amounts. They won't give in in most cases...a good parallelism is try to get refunds or credits for your Sun Cellular plan:bash:

I had two refunds with Cebu Pacific. One took 4 months and other one took 3 months.

They key is: don't rely on phone calls. You have to send them a letter with the attached Charge Slip and/or Booking details.

Anyway...Filipinos still on top in Asia in Debate. Last year, Philippine team also won. :cheers:

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/9276/ystar10can.jpg
This week's Young Stars: Three Ateneans clinch the Asian Debating crown
By Basilio E. Claudio The Philippine Star Updated October 01, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Masters Vincent Raphael G. Soriano, Javier Ma. B. Pablo, and Jose Antonio T. Sison were named the grand champions of the 2nd Asian Schools Debate Championships (ASDC) held in De La Salle University last Sept. 5 to 9. The three Ateneans bested over 200 debaters during the tournament, which was attended by the best high school delegates and adjudicators from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, China, Singapore and India.

The tournament is held in the Asian Parliamentary Format, wherein one affirmative team and one negative team debate against each other on a given topic or motion. The topics were diverse, ranging from feminism to international relations. In the grand finals, Soriano, Pablo and Sison went up against the flagship team of South Korea’s Daewon Foreign Languages School, which included Master Jeewon Yoo, recognized as the best speaker in Asia.

Achieve-Mentality

The Ateneans debated on the affirmative side of the motion, “This house believes that governments should not own any media companies.” After an extremely close debate, the Ateneo High School Debaters were named the best team in Asia by a panel comprised of 11 adjudicators, who awarded the win to Ateneo after a 6-5 split decision.

In the finals, Sison’s speech focused heavily on the public’s right to information, and how governments can control the media to hide certain realities. Pablo extended the argumentation by discussing the creation of discourse and plurality of opinion among people, and the benefits of making the media into a lucrative market. Soriano summarized the debate for the affirmative side by discussing the issue of the accuracy of the free press, and the second issue of creating incentives for the free press. Sison was also named the best speaker of the finals.

Vincent says, “Compared to last year, we felt more confident. We knew we could do well. Even the finals seemed like a regular round to us, but we knew it’s what we worked for, and we knew that we could pull off the win.” Javier recalls that when he was in the finals, it felt surreal; he didn’t even know why he was in the finals. “I felt like I really had to do my best, representing Ateneo, and moreover, the Philippines. When I was on the stage myself, I could feel the pressure of living up to the expectations.”
http://www.philstar.com/youngstar/ysarticle.aspx?articleId=616823&publicationSubCategoryId=84

amigo32

October 4th, 2010, 07:44 AM

Kaya nga kahit mura ang Cebu pacific, inuuna ko pa rin ang PAL pagkuha ng ticket. Meron din silang cancelled flight from Mactan to Manila, nagtaka ako, bakit walang katao-tao sa oras ng flight yun pala cancelled, na refund namn, ang kinainis ko, hindi nila ako kinontak kahit email man lang o text.

xxxriainxxx

October 4th, 2010, 08:56 AM

NTprime

October 5th, 2010, 01:55 AM

It may be loose change but prinsipyo naman ang pinag uusapan. They promised refund and they can't honor their promise. And I respectfully disagree, no matter gaano kaliit or kamura ng isang service or bagay, the customer deserves a good service. Hindi naman libre yan eh.

I had two refunds with Cebu Pacific. One took 4 months and other one took 3 months.

They key is: don't rely on phone calls. You have to send them a letter with the attached Charge Slip and/or Booking details.

I know it's "prinsipiyo" but not everyone has the time and is willing to waste money to contest a refund especially if it was originally purchased as a fare sale (in many cases, tickets like those are non-refundable). Any time a ticket is changed, there is bound to be a fare difference plus applicable charges. Now, if the refund has to do with the travel taxes (which doesn't apply online since when you purchase Cebu Pacific tickets from their website, you don't pay the travel taxes to them but instead pay at the airport counter specifically for the travel taxes), then either have it refunded (that's P1620) or applied to the rebooked portion of the itinerary. Now if your ticket has restrictions regarding rebooking, or the passenger did a "no-show", they will still be charged a non-user's fee (NUF) which is practically similar to the total cost of the taxes and fuel/security surcharges (not including the travel tax). Hence you might as well throw away the ticket.

Note that this example generally happens in low cost carriers, and one of the reasons it was meant that way is when the airline factors the cost of selling a ticket, a significant chunk comes from the travel distribution costs (GDS fees, cost of printing tickets/boarding passes, commissions, if any, etc. etc.) which is one of the costs that can be minimized (the other major costs are labor and fuel, something the airline has little control over).

@Ronnie - was your refund for Cebu Pacific international or domestic sectors? What kind of scenario (based on the examples I gave above) did you have? You're lucky it took you 4 months or less. When I used to manage a travel agency we had to set our clients' expectations that refunds would take anywhere from 6 months to a year, especially if there was interlining. In xxxriainxxx's case, he's been waiting for 2 years to no avail...maybe you should write Candice Iyog directly...

Ady001

October 5th, 2010, 02:25 AM

^^ Libre date na din xxxriainxxx

xxxriainxxx

October 5th, 2010, 09:08 AM

I know it's "prinsipiyo" but not everyone has the time and is willing to waste money to contest a refund especially if it was originally purchased as a fare sale (in many cases, tickets like those are non-refundable). Any time a ticket is changed, there is bound to be a fare difference plus applicable charges. Now, if the refund has to do with the travel taxes (which doesn't apply online since when you purchase Cebu Pacific tickets from their website, you don't pay the travel taxes to them but instead pay at the airport counter specifically for the travel taxes), then either have it refunded (that's P1620) or applied to the rebooked portion of the itinerary. Now if your ticket has restrictions regarding rebooking, or the passenger did a "no-show", they will still be charged a non-user's fee (NUF) which is practically similar to the total cost of the taxes and fuel/security surcharges (not including the travel tax). Hence you might as well throw away the ticket.

Note that this example generally happens in low cost carriers, and one of the reasons it was meant that way is when the airline factors the cost of selling a ticket, a significant chunk comes from the travel distribution costs (GDS fees, cost of printing tickets/boarding passes, commissions, if any, etc. etc.) which is one of the costs that can be minimized (the other major costs are labor and fuel, something the airline has little control over).

@Ronnie - was your refund for Cebu Pacific international or domestic sectors? What kind of scenario (based on the examples I gave above) did you have? You're lucky it took you 4 months or less. When I used to manage a travel agency we had to set our clients' expectations that refunds would take anywhere from 6 months to a year, especially if there was interlining. In xxxriainxxx's case, he's been waiting for 2 years to no avail...maybe you should write Candice Iyog directly...

Hayy, okay lang sana kung may no refund clause yun pagbili ko, wala eh... hay...International sector pala yung sa akin.

xxxriainxxx

October 5th, 2010, 09:21 AM

^^ Libre date na din xxxriainxxx

Hehehe. wish ko lang. :):lol::lol:

Narnian_King

October 5th, 2010, 10:03 AM

Mas maganda talaga ang PAL kaysa sa CEBU PALPAKCIFIC.

RonnieR

October 5th, 2010, 11:15 AM

@Ronnie - was your refund for Cebu Pacific international or domestic sectors? What kind of scenario (based on the examples I gave above) did you have? You're lucky it took you 4 months or less. When I used to manage a travel agency we had to set our clients' expectations that refunds would take anywhere from 6 months to a year, especially if there was interlining. In xxxriainxxx's case, he's been waiting for 2 years to no avail...maybe you should write Candice Iyog directly...

I had two refunds in 2008 for domestic tickets. I also e-mailed their Accounting. It's good it's in my Sent Folder. Here is the e-mail address:

cebrefacctg@cebupacificair.com

I am not sure though if the address is still valid today.

Parchie

October 5th, 2010, 03:48 PM

I had two refunds in 2008 for domestic tickets. I also e-mailed their Accounting. It's good it's in my Sent Folder. Here is the e-mail address:

cebrefacctg@cebupacificair.com

I am not sure though if the address is still valid today.

Yeah. I got ripped twice by CebuPac. But I also got bumped-off once by PAL. It's going to be repeated until CAB says it's unlawfull to sell more than the seats available for a certain flight/plane. Bad Filipino culture at work; if they can get away with it, they will do it again.

NTprime

October 6th, 2010, 08:38 AM

Yeah. I got ripped twice by CebuPac. But I also got bumped-off once by PAL. It's going to be repeated until CAB says it's unlawfull to sell more than the seats available for a certain flight/plane. Bad Filipino culture at work; if they can get away with it, they will do it again.

Airlines will always overbook their flights because historically, they have an idea how many passengers are "No Show". In the past when PAL was the only domestic carrier I remember how many people would "Go Show" (aka chance passengers) especially during the start and end of vacation season. The flights were full, load factors were high, and people even looked forward to getting free tickets if they were willing to give up their confirmed seats for somebody else who had a more pressing need to travel on a specific flight or right away. It's a way of maximizing their yield, prioritize high paying/high revenue passengers over the ones who barely contribute to your bottomline.

Nowadays, there are more flights to choose from, so more passengers end up as "no show". And traffic has become worse, with others simply underestimating the time to get to the airport from their origin within the city. And flights have become too cheap that it doesn't hurt to bypass the opportunity to close an out-of-town or even out of country deal. Even if the ticket was rebooked, the $50-100 NUF didn't make so much of a dent for those who could afford it. So the airline has to mitigate the effects of passengers like these, hence all the fees and penalties.

Now here you have people who pay less than $20 for airfare and they expect to be treated like royalty, even when it comes to refunds and the like. Plus they come out with whatever creative excuse to try to pull a fast on off. Parchie is right, this is Bad Filipino culture at work; if they can get away with it, they will do it again.

xxxriainxxx

October 6th, 2010, 08:48 AM

Parchie is right, this is Bad Filipino culture at work; if they can get away with it, they will do it again.

Yeah. I got ripped twice by CebuPac. But I also got bumped-off once by PAL. It's going to be repeated until CAB says it's unlawfull to sell more than the seats available for a certain flight/plane. Bad Filipino culture at work; if they can get away with it, they will do it again.

I don't think this is connected with the Filipino culture. If you think you have it bad there, then you've got no idea how bad customer service is in Vietnam which I pretty much think is nonexistent overall. Everyday I have to deal with this incompetence and laziness here.

Guys, be fair.

NTprime

October 6th, 2010, 09:24 AM

I don't think this is connected with the Filipino culture. If you think you have it bad there, then you've got no idea how bad customer service is in Vietnam which I pretty much think is nonexistent overall. Everyday I have to deal with this incompetence and laziness here.

Guys, be fair.

The topic is the Philippines. I know how inefficient Vietnam is as well. Maybe you'd like to compare the progress that Đổi mới has brought to Vietnam since 1986 and how we've fared in the same time frame.

For a region devasted during the Vietnam War, they've managed to bring in more FDI in the past few years than what the Philippines has had in a decade. Sure, they don't speak English as well as us, and their paradigms are very socialist, even communist. We never had that baggage to begin with, and yet, we've reached only a certain point.

BTT, not all Filipinos are like that...but the cultural phenomenon that Parchie talked about, "palusot" is something I see a lot nowadays in this country. Maybe we should counter it with the more solid values of honesty, humility and integrity.

xxxriainxxx

October 6th, 2010, 09:34 AM

The topic is the Philippines. I know how inefficient Vietnam is as well. Maybe you'd like to compare the progress that Đổi mới has brought to Vietnam since 1986 and how we've fared in the same time frame.

For a region devasted during the Vietnam War, they've managed to bring in more FDI in the past few years than what the Philippines has had in a decade. Sure, they don't speak English as well as us, and their paradigms are very socialist, even communist. We never had that baggage to begin with, and yet, we've reached only a certain point.

BTT, not all Filipinos are like that...but the cultural phenomenon that Parchie talked about, "palusot" is something I see a lot nowadays in this country. Maybe we should counter it with the more solid values of honesty, humility and integrity.

I think what Vietnam offers is a stable government, dyan tayo tagilid. Obvious na obvious naman. As for infrastructure, talagang malayo pa sila. Doi Moi or renovation was started in 1986, the same year we freed ourselves from the last dictator which virtually shut us from the rest of the world as well.

NTprime

October 6th, 2010, 09:40 AM

I think what Vietnam offers is a stable government, dyan tayo tagilid. Obvious na obvious naman. As for infrastructure, talagang malayo pa sila. Doi Moi or renovation was started in 1986, the same year we freed ourselves from the last dictator which virtually shut us from the rest of the world as well.

Yes, the government is very stable. Which allows them to push through with economic reforms, Beijing style.

Of course many people in their government are also corrupt, no disputing that. But they do have political will, and that's what's working for them these past few years.

If the Philippines only had political will from the bottom all the way up to the top, we will be able to grow double digits year-on-year like China, and the illegal settlers wouldn't be there to block progress...they would be beneficiaries of progress themselves.

bledzoe

October 7th, 2010, 02:11 PM

^^ agree...

bledzoe

October 7th, 2010, 02:21 PM

Furne One stages gala
(http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/fashionandbeauty/fashionandbeauty/view/20101001-295298/Furne-One-stages-gala)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GFcJ7fmfv34/SdEkC74IK1I/AAAAAAAAA78/HpPm3_eEQas/s400/2637_60891982828_608037828_1456744_7168879_n.jpg

http://www.ahlanlive.com/images/tmp/full/furneoneamatos1_full.jpg

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:1UqVnMjBwnhLbM:http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7303/allure5.jpg&t=1

Furne One

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTnXMGL0rMA-OJGPES3TK040_bfuZPf3_l7Iw5DDl4cdvcyprg&t=1&usg=__6Jxgebc-a8VLWzKSvSunjOYXwcM=

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRvhjGO5i0cb9kVm4h_4YnijKO6Y732z8oGUaRsAo03LjEFwy8&t=1&usg=__XpyC1BE6CUxzqVqeTMHUB8zcAhY=

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGYCyU_XH858SSIySM9xHJT5R7kCLycsLoghCdPZI5rfp5HjY&t=1&usg=__mAanSEtzMEVxrfV8JHp13QCUSMk=

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGHonSMOERubwk26EWvJAFwxT8QPzj7r1aD4Eza7uXj73S34E&t=1&usg=__bwh5J7FJzvKEz58Zcrupsc0wkcE=

http://www.femalenetwork.com/images//gallery/photos/fashion-beauty/20100707-edgy-exotic-underfashions-at-the-bench-uncut-runway-show_gallery/bench-uncut25-christian-bautista-wears-far-east-by-furne-one.jpg

Some of his works

vHTc_IWBmS8

ySdJVneuky4

INTERNATIONAL FILIPINO fashion designer Furne One stages his first Manila gala, “First of One-A Fashion Collection by Furne One” Oct. 9, 7 p.m., at Makati Shangri-La.

Presented by Inquirer Lifestyle columnist Tessa Prieto-Valdes and philanthropist Kaye Tinga, the show is for the benefit of Philippine National Red Cross-Rizal Chapter and the Assumption High School Batch 1981 Foundation.

The show is One’s debut in Manila after relocating in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, more than 10 years ago.

He will also hold a mini fashion show Oct. 10, also at Makati Shangri-La, for fashion and design students.

The shows feature One’s latest collection, “War and Roses,” inspired by the Elizabethan Age.

The designs are richly decorated and armor-like in luxe fabrics such as French lace, silk and taffeta incorporated with lavish beadwork and embroidery. Light earth tones are complemented by gold and silver, with subtle hues of nude, beige, cream and eggshell white. His darker shades are olivine and sepia.

“With this collection, I hope to be a part of Philippine fashion’s evolution,” One said. “Filipino women have long been influenced by American minimalist or casual fashion, and have always preferred safer style choices. So I hope to open their eyes to other, more exciting possibilities. After all, fashion is all about excess, indulgence and fun.”

One (pronounced oh-nay) has been reaping raves in Dubai for over 10 years. Before relocating, he won the Mega Young Designer of the Philippines Award in 1994, paving the way for apprenticeship at the House of Christian Lacroix in Paris and at Josie Natori’s boutique in New York.

After his stint abroad, One joined prestigious competitions—Japan’s Women’s Wear Award, Asian Fashion Grand Prix Contest and Manila’s Fashion Designer Awards.

In 2006, One got the chance to design for Swarovski, bridal gowns for its prestigious collector’s book “Unbridaled.” He also got to work with supermodel Heidi Klum when he designed the finalists’ dresses for the season finale of “Germany’s Next Top Model.”

Then, he was chosen by famous German actress Mariella Graefin von Faber-Castell to dress her for her critically acclaimed play, “Jedermann.” This was followed by invitations to fashion shows all over the globe, such as Miami Fashion Week, where he bagged the Designer’s Choice Award; LA Fashion Week, and Berlin Fashion Week.

Most recently, One became the first Filipino to be invited to present in London Fashion Week.

“First of One-A Fashion Collection by Furne One” is sponsored by Etihad Airways and Mega Magazine, with HSBC, Smart Infinity, SM, Megaworld and Makati Shangri-La. Call Maggie Gineta at 0917-8325570.

Linguine

October 8th, 2010, 10:55 AM

Filipino Pride in new Magazine for expats in Singapore

Posted on October 7th, 2010 under Art & Living Achievements

A new Filipino magazine in Singapore “The F Magazine (Finely Filipino)” hopes to restore pride in being Filipino by featuring outstanding Filipino professionals and highlighting the richness of their values, culture and heritage in every issue

The F Magazine was conceptualized to fill the need of the growing number of Filipino professionals in Singapore to be informed of their new community, a platform to share their unique experiences in adapting to their new home, and an opportunity to project Filipinos as successful and productive members of the Singapore society.

Often perceived as valuable household helps, the Filipinos are a talented lot who excels just as well in a variety of industries: banking, manufacturing, medical, IT, human resource, training, culinary, culture and the arts. Estimates reveal that there are 160,000 Filipinos in Singapore; 55% of which are professionals. This estimate offers a preview that the Filipino professionals’ contribution to the Singapore economy is really hard to ignore.

The need for a magazine that reflects this segment of Filipinos in Singapore couldn’t be timelier. As the Philippines gears towards renewed hope with the leadership of President Noynoy Aquino, it is a time for Filipinos everywhere to be reminded of their rich heritage, an opportunity for them to come together and inspire one another. Hopefully, this will translate to a country moved to progress by well meaning citizens who will spare nothing than to see their country rise up from its crippling woes in the past.

“You can classify the magazine as lifestyle where you can read about health, beauty, finance, food, etc, while reminding readers of admirable Filipino values that are noticeably slipping away due to globalization. These values are just as impressive 50 years ago as they are now and we really should try to restore them and teach them to the next generation. We’ve put in a lot of effort in the design and layout of the magazine because we’d love to see our fellow Pinoys carry this magazine around with pride and really use it as a platform to communicate to the Filipino community here,” says Sandra L Hernandez, The F Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief.

The F Magazine is a monthly magazine (except for special issues that combine two months into one issue). For its maiden issue, Antonio (Tony) V del Rosario – Coca-Cola’s GM for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, will be on the cover. “Tony is a perfect role model to our young corporate professionals because he doesn’t just excel in his work and personal life, he also shares his blessings to our countrymen in tremendous ways,” reveals Sandra.

The magazine is available for subscription and is also available at 7107 Flavours, Headstart Consultancy and selected newsstands in Lucky Plaza, all in Singapore.

http://goodnewspilipinas.com/?p=13022

icarusrising

October 8th, 2010, 03:41 PM

Don't know where to place this but I guess we should be proud of her...

In 'last lecture,' Winnie Monsod tells students to stay in RP (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/202984/in-last-lecture-winnie-monsod-tells-students-to-stay-in-rp)

By CARMELA LAPEÑA, GMANews.TV
10/08/2010 | 08:21 PM

She delivers her rousing “last lecture" nearly every year, but the echo rarely reached beyond the hallways of the University of the Philippines.

This year, cyberspace became the classroom for UP economics professor Solita “Winnie" Monsod after her annual patriotic pep talk to her students was uploaded on YouTube three days ago and has gone viral with over 25,000 views.

So now even her former students who live and work overseas can hear her say that they made the wrong decision.

"You're going to be as good and as honorable as you should be. You are going to stay in the Philippines. And if you leave the Philippines, you are at least going to try to pay back. And if you don't do any of the above, this is my last threat to you. Mrs. Monsod is going to haunt you! From the grave! I intend to go up there and from up there I'm going to look down on you and I am going to confront you at the worst possible moments in your life," the 70-year-old economist recently told 350 students on the last day of their Economics 100.1 class at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Monsod delivered the ten-minute lecture sitting down, but she did it with such gravitas and bravura, just as her former student Alwynn Javier remembers from his class in 1994.

“Finally on youtube, the lecture that defined my life," Javier writes on his Facebook wall above the posted video of Monsod.

sF3yPcqO6gE&feature=player_embedded

Javier saw the video after UP economics student Jedo Enriquez posted it on YouTube.

Enriquez would often record Professor Monsod's lectures on video, because he realized it was hard to take notes.

"It never really occurred to me to upload any of her lectures for the public. It was only after hearing her last one that I decided that the lecture should be heard by many," said Enriquez.

It's not the first time that YouTube has become a virtual classroom for a so-called “last lecture." In 2007, a video of the late Professor Randy Pausch's upbeat lecture entitled "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon University drew 12,226,154 views.

He was included in TIME Magazine's 2008 list of the world's 100 most influential people. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006, and had been told a month before the speech that he had three to six months to live. He died in July 2008.

Despite being a smoker, Monsod is in good health, but referred several times in her lecture to her mortality.

"So now we have established that you are leaders," Professor Monsod told her class. “We have established that you have excellence, and that you are by God going to help the people, you are going to have honor. So what is the next step? The next step is, of course, seeing to it that what you can do, you are going to do."

Her student Enriquez, who is an Oblation Scholarship awardee (given to the top 50 UPCAT passers), wasted no time in doing something he could do, and posted the video on the same day the lecture was delivered.

Enriquez told GMANews.TV that he knew people would watch it, but he didn't expect that many hits.

YouTube user edgarpugal wrote that this last lecture at Econ 100.1 changed him for good. "Lots of realizations came to me, a thousandfold eurekas strewn into one. What a privilege to be taught by one of the country's best!" he wrote.

The hundreds of comments were not all positive, with some saying it is not the kind of lecture that would really inspire them to help the country. YouTube user redporquia for one pointed out that it’s not only UP that can solve the country's problems.

In her lecture, Professor Monsod urged her students to place honor before excellence. "Do you know what the University motto is? Honor and excellence. Honor first before excellence. It's not excellence and honor, it's honor and excellence. And what is the fruit of honor and excellence? Is it not competence and integrity? In other words, if you have lived up to your promise and your potential as a university student, you are in a position to be part of the solution to this country's problems, not part of the problem," she said.

Saying that the majority of the country's top officials came from UP, she asked her students to assure her that they would act with honor and integrity.

"You do not have to cheat. And cheating in the small things is going to lead to cheating in the large things... Eh saan tayo ngayon? If they were so good, why are we where we are now? And so you have to ask yourselves that. And part of the reason is because we have always looked at excellence, and not looked at honor and integrity.

She also advised her students to disabuse themselves of notions of going abroad.

"If you are going to help this country, you've got to be in the country. If any of you have little ambitions of going abroad so that you can earn more, please disabuse yourself, because by doing that you are essentially betraying the people in the Philippines who trusted you and who invested their money in you," she said.

YouTube user 13upscale disagrees, saying the judgment is unfair. "Overseas Filipinos are just as well as the professionals working here in contributing to the economic development of the country. They spend their money here, invest here, and give cash donations," read the comment.

Some said they felt like they were in the UP classroom. "Ms. Monsod, though I never had the privilege of actually having you as a teacher in UP, on this day I just became your student," YouTube user riodejanero2007. “With deepest respects and Godspeed!" – HS, GMANews.TV

Linguine

October 9th, 2010, 02:58 AM

Pinay Bond girl gives back to Human Nature

By Maridol Rañoa-Bismark (The Philippine Star) Updated October 09, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

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Rachel Grant knows that in buying Filipino produce like Human Nature products, she is helping thousands of farmers in poor communities earn a living and help themselves. VER PAULINO

MANILA, Philippines - Pierce Brosnan, a.k.a. James Bond in Die Another Day, took one look at her on the set and asked, “Where did you get your exotic looks?”

Before Rachel Grant could answer, he said, “Oh, I know. You’re from the Philippines!”

Brosnan did not say how he was able to hit the nail right on the head. But we all know one thing: He is a connoisseur of beauty. And his half-Filipina, half-English co-star’s looks impressed him so much he just had to stop dead in his tracks and pop the question.

Turns out Grant is not just another piece of eye candy. Her character is as fetching as her looks. The 5’8” morena flew all the way from her native London to Manila to help push Filipino beauty products and thereby help local farmers as endorser of Human Nature. The social enterprise founded by Anna Meloto-Wilks and sister Camille Meloto, daughters of Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto, produces natural and organic personal care products that are 100 percent made in the Philippines and free form harmful chemicals.

“I discovered Human Nature when I came here a few years ago and checked out an organic farm,” she recalls. “I bought so many products the lady who was selling it had to go back to her house to get more stocks.”

Rachel swears her hair has never looked healthier, despite all the curling, ironing and other forms of punishment it gets from too much perming and styling.

“My hair used to be dry,” she reveals. “I never had hair this good. Everything happened quickly.”

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Rachel Grant, who appeared with Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day, is in town as the first global ambassador of Human Nature, which produces natural and organic personal care products in the Philippines. Above, from left, Human Nature executives Joanna Gilladogan, Anna Meloto-Wilks, Camille Meloto and Dylan Wilks. — Photos by VER PAULINO

Rachel applied another product on her legs and next thing she thing she knew, a dog happily licked the product as she stepped out from an elevator in New York.

“It’s even good enough to it!” she exclaims.

Rachel was so happy she wrote a testimonial on-line and got a flood of inquiries in return.

“I recently came back form the Philippines where I purchased many Human Nature products,” she writes. “I am completely addicted to them. My skin is the best it has been in ages! I have completely taken myself off all other chemical products. I would love to help out. Let me know if I can help in any way! It’s for a great cause!”

When she learned Human Nature was looking for a model to help pitch its products, saying yes was a no brainer. She just as gladly accepted Meloto’s invitation to come to Manila and visit GK sites.

Rachel had several reasons to feel excited all over again.

For one, she’ll be visiting relatives in Parañaque (where she and her mom, Isabel Padua stay here when they’re in the Philippines). Then, Rachel will be able to do what she always loved to do: Help the needy.

“I always had it in me to give back,” she grants. “I want to help Pinoy kids. I had a good education in England, and seeing poverty in the Philippines breaks my heart.”

So she volunteered to support Gawad Kalinga as early as 2007. A few days back, she visited a community in Citi Village, Parañaque.

Rachel has royal blood. Her father, Baron De Longueuil, is a descendant of Lady Ernestine Maud Bowes-Lyon, first cousin of England’s Queen Mother. But Rachel didn’t mind mingling with humble folk in Gawad Kalinga.

Nor did she mind staying in economy class on the plane that took her from London to Manila.

That, and giving her services pro bono, are her way of saying yes, she will help the Philippines.

“I plan to come here more often; around once a year,” she reveals. In fact, she hopes to stay longer in the country, if only her schedule permits.

Rachel will soon play the title role in the Hollywood film Red Princess Blues. She is also looking forward to doing a documentary film on the history of Filipino produce.

Human Nature uses purely Filipino ingredients. Its products, like the mineral makeup foundation, are tailor-made for morena Filipinas.

“We are honoring the beauty of the Pinay,” says Wilks, a morena herself whose British husband Dylan admits her morena skin attracted him to her.

He hopes more Filipinos will follow suit.

(For more of Human Nature, you may visit the First Human Nature Summit at Henry Lee Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila, Quezon City today).

Linguine

October 10th, 2010, 03:55 AM

Pinoy Make-Up Artist Lives the American Dream
(First of two parts)
By JOJO P. PANALIGAN
October 9, 2010, 9:03pm

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Santos with actress Catherine Zeta Jones.

RODEO DRIVE, Beverly Hills, CA – The waitress at the McCormick & Schmick’s resto-grill here didn’t stand a chance in making Edgar Santos order compulsively rather than decidedly.

“I’ll have one New York steak and eggs, a mushroom omelet, and a smoked salmon Benedict,” Edgar told her, hardly glancing at the menu.

Although his tone was kind, it was clear that he has been here many times over and he knows exactly what he wants.

“How would you like your steak?” the waitress asked.

“Medium rare,” he replied, matching the staccato in her accent.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Oh, and throw in two Mimosa, sweetie.”

As soon as the waitress collected the menu from the table, Edgar surveyed his opulent surrounding. Then rather dispiritedly, he said, “Well, welcome to Beverly Hills. My home.”

This isn’t quite an accurate claim. Although the Hollywood make-up artist has had a house in the affluent Sherman Oaks area in San Fernando Valley for years now, he has also lived in Paris, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and London at some point. He still stays in these places – and others more – for several weeks in a year at intervals whenever work beckons.

He, in fact, had just returned from touring London, Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Turkey (Istanbul and Antalya), Dubai, Canada (Vancouver and Toronto) and Belgium (Brussels) when he granted Manila Bulletin this exclusive interview. By the time this article is published, Edgar will have started touring Europe yet again.

Edgar is a jetsetter, a true blue global citizen.

But above all, and as he proudly declares, he is Pinoy.

“I’m still Filipino, it’s just that I have the opportunity to see the world for free. Just got lucky.”

A look at Edgar Santos’ portfolio indicates it’s not just the gods smiling down on him. Among his celebrity clients are A-listers Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alyssa Milano, Amanda Bynes, Tia Carrere, Heather Locklear, Kate Jackson, Sela Ward… and the list goes on.

He has also done make-up for the Emmys, the Golden Globe, the Oscars, the Grammys, the American Music Awards… ad infinitum. He has worked on the shows “The Bachelorette,” “The Wayne Brady Show,” “Good Day Los Angeles” on Fox11, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills;" Bravo, NBC/Universal and other shows on E! Style, VHA… name it, he’s done it.

This guy is talented, in-demand.

“It’s okay… just work,” he remarked sans arrogance.

Edgar’s success didn’t happen overnight, though. After finishing a degree in Journalism in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), he went corporate; a personnel in the human resources department of some government-run multinational company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a few years. During this period, he immersed himself in the creative arts community, which influenced him to move to Europe to pursue his career as a make-up artist.

Still, the above-average salary, the yearly vacations to different countries, and the enviable OFW-status (at least from the other side of the fence) did not give Edgar happiness.

“I remember telling myself, ‘This is not me. I want more – I could be more,’” he recalled.

Edgar eventually quit his work and returned to Manila. Though temporarily swelling the ranks of the unemployed, his heart was throbbing to the beat of a long-sidestepped dream: To become a full-time make-up artist and hair stylist.

“Not just any make-up artist and hair stylist but to be the best at both,” he said. "Even while I was in high school and college I knew that’s what I want to do because as friends and family pointed out, I was good at it.

“I only took up Journalism to please my parents and because I needed a pass. Education is very important and I knew it would play a big role in my success.”

Edgar put up a salon in Malabon. Applying all the skills he learned from friends who taught him the tricks of the trade years ago, the Edgar Santos salon took off beautifully and was poised to soar higher if he hadn't gone to the US for a vacation.

“I had no plans of working here. I mean, I went here just to visit and test the waters! This was the last place on earth I had wanted to stay. My heart, in the beginning and even at that point, belonged to Paris,” said the French-tutored artist.

But one thing led to another and before long, Edgar was a senior stylist at Hair Design International, a salon in heart of Los Angeles. He was able to buy a sports car within months of his employment but even so, his stint then was merely a hint of what was yet to come.

One day, Edgar met someone who works for Christian Dior. Encouraged by this client, the Filipino make-up artist gunned for the gold.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/281372/pinoy-makeup-artist-lives-american-dream

Linguine

October 10th, 2010, 04:24 AM

RP’s richest man returns to his roots

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:02:00 10/09/2010

Filed Under: Economy and Business and Finance, Tourism & Leisure, Investments, Construction & Property, Marketing, Real Estate, Retail, Venture capital

JINJIANG—It’s hard to imagine that this quaint city in the southeastern Fujian, the province in mainland China where most Chinoys descended from, was once mired in scathing poverty that drove many of its people overseas.

Like many parts of the booming mainland, the city has turned into an industrial hub these days, surrounded by factories and residential buildings that are tiled in the auspicious hues of red or old rose.

But while Jinjiang may not be a household name in the Philippines, or maybe at least not outside of Binondo, its bleak past has changed the course of Philippine history and culture over the last 150 years. Not only was it the homeland of the ancestors of national hero Jose Rizal; it was from its little village of Hong Xi in Long Hu Town that the Philippines’ wealthiest man came from.

Tycoon Henry Sy Sr. left his hometown when he was barely a teenager to live in the Philippines with his father, Xiu Shi Sy, who was operating a small-time grocery business. Much has been written about his early struggles especially during World War II when his family lost everything which prompted his father to go back to China. Sy decided to stay in the country, initially getting into merchandise trading and eventually striking a gold mine in retailing and shopping mall development.

Since then, he has become a legend at spotting opportunities, drawing consumers in wherever he puts up a new mall which now number 38 in the Philippines (and still counting). But even as his business grew bigger and bigger, he never forgot about Jinjiang. He opened the city’s very first shopping mall in 2005 which to date remains the only shopping mall in the city.

Although this wasn’t Sy’s first mall in China, SM City Jinjiang is the only shopping mall in the world with a basketball stadium, also convertible into badminton courts, in support of the sport where China excels in globally. For now, these courts are offered for public use for free.

Apart from sentimental reasons, Sy pioneered shopping mall development in Jinjiang, which has a population of about two million, to harness the growing purchasing power of the Chinese consumer.

Although the Jinjiang shopping mall is not as crowded as its sister SM mall in the nearby and more prosperous city of Xiamen, retail sales in Jinjiang do top those in Xiamen on national holidays, like the seven-day holiday held to commemorate China’s October 1 foundation day.

The SM Group also holds in Jinjiang the Chinese version of its kiddie talent search SM Little Stars whereby the winners are brought to the Philippines as part of its cultural exchange program.

China’s shoe capital

Not coincidentally, the home city of the founder of SM or Shoemart group has become China’s “Shoe Capital” due to a yearly international shoe expo that has successfully attracted a lot of international attention. These days, Jinjiang supplies 40 percent of China’s sports and leisure footwear needs and 20 percent of the global demand.

Sy, who himself started out selling shoes in the Philippines, has been an avid supporter of Jinjiang’s transformation into a shoe manufacturing hub. From 1999 to 2004, the tycoon hosted for free the government-organized shoe exhibitions inside the SM Jinjiang shopping mall which was not yet operational then. When the mall opened to the public in 2005, the shoe expo was transferred to SM Exhibition Center which was built by the tycoon upon the request of the city government. This exhibition center is now being leased to the city government for a minimal fee.

Looking after Hong Xi

Sy’s home village is more than a kilometer away from the main city road which must have made it very difficult for villagers to transport merchandise goods during the old times, especially during inclement weather. It’s now easier to reach the village as Sy, using his own money, built a road to connect Hong Xi to the main road. The road cuts through a slightly rugged terrain, passing by a quarrying site which produces granite blocks for export. Down the road lies a memorial built by the tycoon for his father, which contains some sort of a pledge that even though his father is no longer around, this devoted son would continue to show his love by caring for the village.

Aside from building a road to the building, even the lamp posts that light up the village at dusk have been put up by Sy, according to the town mayor Wei Tan Sy.

The tycoon’s ancestral house was built by Sy in 1952 for his parents who had gone back to China. The house was built before the first Shoemart mall opened in downtown Manila in 1958. The ancestral house is now empty but well preserved.

Built in traditional Chinese architecture, the two-story abode is neither too lavish nor too humble. An inner courtyard is at the midst of the rectangular structure. The rooms are very modest in size, not the ones that scream a-billionaire-owns-this. The dirty kitchen is molded in terra cotta clay. Water is sourced from a deep well outside via a steel pipeline.

A walking distance from the ancestral Sy residence is an elementary school with a student population of 600—the highest rated among the 20 schools within the area. The school, which boasts of its own soccer and track-and-field stadium, was built using contribution from overseas Chinese. Not surprisingly, Sy shelled out bulk of the expenses, the town mayor said. The school, for its part, has shown its gratitude to the tycoon by etching out his name and those of his children in one of the buildings. A boardroom at the school has also been converted into a mini-photo gallery of the tycoon. At another hall at the ground floor, portraits of the tycoon and another of his wife Felicidad Tan Sy proudly hung. Furthermore, the school also pays tribute to the tycoon’s parents—Xiu Shi Sy and Wu She Wang—by displaying their portraits at the school auditorium.

Making inroads in China

Sy, who will turn 86 on October 15, has grown his empire to be the largest player not just in Philippine retailing and shopping mall development but also in banking.

The SM group is also widely expected to soon become the largest player even in residential property business despite being a relative newcomer in this field. As a fifth business segment, the group has also raised its stake in Philippine tourism with the opening of the 400-room Radisson Blu Hotel, the first upscale hotel to open in Cebu in years.

The SM group now controls over P800 billion worth of wealth listed on the local stock market, representing the combined market capitalization of five publicly listed operating units—SM Investments Corp., SM Prime Holdings Inc., Banco de Oro Unibank, China Banking Corp. and SM Development Corp.

Like many other conglomerate that has achieved dominance in its core businesses in its home market, the next obvious step is to go global or at least regional. The dirt-poor boy who left China many years ago is now looking back at China both as a philanthropist and as an investor. His is a well-calculated strategy that seeks to replicate his success as a trailblazer in the Philippines, one Chinese city at a time, beginning with his home province of Fujian.

He opened his first shopping mall in the mainland in Xiamen in 2001.

Nowadays, this 126,000-square meter (sqm) mall is just as crowded as the mature SM malls in the Philippines like SM North Edsa and Megamall especially on weekends. The 170,000-sqm mall complex in Jinjiang, which opened in 2005, was the group’s second mall. The third one opened in 2006 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province with a gross floor area of 176,000 sqms. And only last year, the SM group expanded its presence in Xiamen with the opening of the upscale 110,000-square-meter SM Lifestyle Center across the street from the old Xiamen mall.

The target is to open one brand-new mall in China each year. Soon to open are new malls in Suzhou in the province of Jiangsu (December 2010), national city of Chongquing in southwestern mainland (2011), Tianjin in northeastern mainland at the border of Beijing (2013) and Zibo in the province of Shandong (2013).

The group is investing 3.58 billion renminbi (RMB) in these four upcoming malls, equivalent to about P21.5 billion. In general, it’s more expensive to build a shopping mall in China as provisions must be made for the winter season, which the Philippines does not have. Among the upcoming malls, SM Tianjin will be the largest in size with 530,000 square meters and will be more than twice as large as the SM Mall of Asia. This alone will require an investment of around 2 billion RMB or about P12 billion.

SM Prime’s three malls in China contributed P600 million or 5 percent of total consolidated revenues in the first semester of this year. In terms of net income, these overseas malls contributed P100 million or 3 percent of total consolidated net income. Rental revenue of the three overseas malls continued to grow at a hefty pace of 26 percent during the first semester over a year ago on the back of improvements in the average occupancy rate, lease renewals and the opening of the SM Xiamen Lifestyle Center, which added 110,000 sqms to the Xiamen mall. The malls in China have an average occupancy rate of about 87 percent.

Except for the upscale SM Lifestyle Center, most SM malls look pretty much like their counterparts in the Philippines, except that US retailing giant Walmart operates the grocery stores not SM itself. Having the consumer-driven Wal-mart as partner is in fact one reason cited for the group’s success in making inroads in China, says SM Shopping Centers Management Corp. president Annie Garcia. “Wal-mart wants to partner with us everywhere we go (in China).”

The SM group is aware of the risks and rewards of investing in what could soon be the world’s largest economy.

“We are focused in bringing Filipino mall concept to China and maybe our Filipino condominium concept in the near future,” says Teresita Sy-Coson, the tycoon’s eldest daughter who sits as SM Investments vice chair.

Outside of its publicly listed units, the SM group has likewise pilot-tested the retailing business in its malls in China through a privately held company incorporated in Taiwan that now operates SM Laiya Department Stores, another anchor tenant in its overseas malls.

“SM group will follow a prudent and sustainable business development in China,” says SM Investments chief finance officer Jose Sio. “SM will continue to watch the opportunities in commercial center and property development in China and at the same time mindful of any risks that might be involved,” Sio adds.

Linguine

October 10th, 2010, 07:29 AM

Singapore Sun Festival features Charice
(The Philippine Star) Updated October 10, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

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Singapore Airlines flies you to the Singapore Sun Festival on Oct. 29-Nov. 7. Artists performing include David Foster, Jose Carreras, Natalie Cole, Peter Cetera and Charice. Photographs courtesy of IMG Artists

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino singing sensation Charice joins Peter Cetera, Ruben Studdard, The Canadian Tenors, Natalie Cole, tenor Jose Carreras, the Young Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra, and George Benson in “Singapore Sun Festival,” the country’s biggest annual multi-arts event, slated from Oct. 29 to Nov. 7.

Be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event and take advantage of Singapore Airlines’ Singapore Sun Festival Package. It includes a roundtrip economy class fare, three days/two nights accommodations based on twin sharing at the Marriot Hotel or Mandarin Orchard Singapore (from US$676), the Pan Pacific Orchard or Pan Pacific Singapore (from US$650), or the Marina Bay Sands (from US$776); inclusive of daily breakfast, airport-hotel transfers on seat-in-coach basis; and government taxes and fuel surcharge. Extra nights may be arranged for, and lower hotel categories are available upon request.

Highlights of this year’s Sun Festival include performances by 15-time Grammy Award winner David Foster, who kicks off the festival with a gala performance featuring Natalie Cole, Charice, Peter Cetera, Ruben Studdard, and The Canadian Tenors on Oct. 29 and 30. Ticket prices start from US$71.

Other performers are Natalie Cole, Oct. 31; internationally acclaimed tenor Jose Carreras with the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra, Nov. 1; and George Benson, one of jazz history’s greatest artists, on Nov. 4.

For inquiries, call Singapore Airlines Tours Desk at 753-5151 to 52 or 756-8899 local 7001 or 7002 or e-mail tours_mnl@singaporeair.com.sg.

SleMarKen

October 10th, 2010, 08:38 AM

The topic is the Philippines. I know how inefficient Vietnam is as well. Maybe you'd like to compare the progress that Đổi mới has brought to Vietnam since 1986 and how we've fared in the same time frame.

For a region devasted during the Vietnam War, they've managed to bring in more FDI in the past few years than what the Philippines has had in a decade. Sure, they don't speak English as well as us, and their paradigms are very socialist, even communist. We never had that baggage to begin with, and yet, we've reached only a certain point.

BTT, not all Filipinos are like that...but the cultural phenomenon that Parchie talked about, "palusot" is something I see a lot nowadays in this country. Maybe we should counter it with the more solid values of honesty, humility and integrity.

You're right. It's a fact na marami tayong pagkakamali. I really admire Vietnam no about how fast their economy is rising. And about the services, cleanliness I know mas marumi at grabi sa Vietnam pero we can't deny na marami din tayong pangit na services at mga maruruming lugar. Mas open minded tayo kesa sa kanila so dapat mas alam natin ang mali at tama pero hanggang ngayon ganun pa din.

Naaawa din ako sa mga bansang ito pag idinidiin ng masyado. Let's just be fair, as if perfect na perfect na ang Pilipinas kung makapag salita about the negatives ng Vietnam :ohno:

xxxriainxxx

October 10th, 2010, 08:55 AM

You're right. It's a fact na marami tayong pagkakamali. I really admire Vietnam no about how fast their economy is rising. And about the services, cleanliness I know mas marumi at grabi sa Vietnam pero we can't deny na marami din tayong pangit na services at mga maruruming lugar. Mas open minded tayo kesa sa kanila so dapat mas alam natin ang mali at tama pero hanggang ngayon ganun pa din.

Naaawa din ako sa mga bansang ito pag idinidiin ng masyado. Let's just be fair, as if perfect na perfect na ang Pilipinas kung makapag salita about the negatives ng Vietnam :ohno:

Without batting an eyelash, yep.

The problem IS masyado tayo mismo dinidiin natin ang bansa natin. I mean, kaya tayo pinagtatawanan sa ibang bansa, kasi puro negatives ang nilalabas ng bunganga natin. What am I trying to point out was to let us have massive doses of perspective.

Macroeconomic numbers wise, maganda tignan ang ekonomiya ng bansang ito sa papel, but lubog na lubog sila sa utang. The economy seems to run on credit. Kausap ko lang kagabi ang isang EU diplomat na kakatransfer dito. Yung problema lang sa atin sabi nya, walang continuity ng public and financial policies. Mas kurakot dito at sa China, pero at least isang bigayan lang. Hindi kagaya dyan sa atin, kung sino naupo bagong hingi na naman.

Isa lang din ang masasabi ko, wag magpapaniwala sa nababasa sa balita. Kontrolado ang mga balitang lumalabas dito.

Ady001

October 10th, 2010, 09:38 AM

^^ Ibaligtad mo kaya yung font mo boss... (may mga online translators... :D)

Anyhow, trabaho lang tayo ng trabaho. And be very vigilant.

Fraulein

October 10th, 2010, 09:49 AM

SleMarKen

October 10th, 2010, 12:31 PM

Without batting an eyelash, yep.

The problem IS masyado tayo mismo dinidiin natin ang bansa natin. I mean, kaya tayo pinagtatawanan sa ibang bansa, kasi puro negatives ang nilalabas ng bunganga natin. What am I trying to point out was to let us have massive doses of perspective.

Macroeconomic numbers wise, maganda tignan ang ekonomiya ng bansang ito sa papel, but lubog na lubog sila sa utang. The economy seems to run on credit. Kausap ko lang kagabi ang isang EU diplomat na kakatransfer dito. Yung problema lang sa atin sabi nya, walang continuity ng public and financial policies. Mas kurakot dito at sa China, pero at least isang bigayan lang. Hindi kagaya dyan sa atin, kung sino naupo bagong hingi na naman.

Isa lang din ang masasabi ko, wag magpapaniwala sa nababasa sa balita. Kontrolado ang mga balitang lumalabas dito.

Sinong nagsasabing may sinasabi kaming masama sa bansa natin. Tahimik lang kami about sa masasamang image ng bansa natin, magaganda ang sinasabi namin. Pero hindi din kami nag sasabi ng masamang bagay sa ibang bansa coz we know marami din tayong flaws. We only open this flaws of ours sa kapwa nating Pilipino para kahit papano mahanapan ng solusyon.

tamo? Sus Dios ko po! Ipagkalat ba dito kung gano kasama ang bansang yan. Leave them alone, focus on our country first! :ohno:

about sa Balita, pere pareho lang na di credible ang mga Balita sa alin mang bansa. Alam na namin yan...

SleMarKen

October 10th, 2010, 12:40 PM

NTprime

October 10th, 2010, 04:28 PM

Without batting an eyelash, yep.

The problem IS masyado tayo mismo dinidiin natin ang bansa natin. I mean, kaya tayo pinagtatawanan sa ibang bansa, kasi puro negatives ang nilalabas ng bunganga natin. What am I trying to point out was to let us have massive doses of perspective.

Macroeconomic numbers wise, maganda tignan ang ekonomiya ng bansang ito sa papel, but lubog na lubog sila sa utang. The economy seems to run on credit. Kausap ko lang kagabi ang isang EU diplomat na kakatransfer dito. Yung problema lang sa atin sabi nya, walang continuity ng public and financial policies. Mas kurakot dito at sa China, pero at least isang bigayan lang. Hindi kagaya dyan sa atin, kung sino naupo bagong hingi na naman.

Isa lang din ang masasabi ko, wag magpapaniwala sa nababasa sa balita. Kontrolado ang mga balitang lumalabas dito.

If you steal even a million dollars in China, and you're a government official, and you get charged, go to trial, get convicted, for sure you'll end up executed within a year or so or have a long, long prison term.

If you do the same in the Philippines, you'll get charged, still manage to stay away on bail (sometimes no bail needed), claim executive or parliamentary immunity, and if you do get convicted, you'll get the perks of having your own quarters in jail (or even have only house arrest at your resort), and then get pardoned by the last president even before you really get to serve your jail term (because luckily, there is no more death penalty for plunder). Welcome to the Philippines.

The difference between the China and the Philippines is in one country, the crooks will be dead, but in the other, they'd be continuing with their lavish lifestyle, continuing to corrupt the system and inspiring many more corrupt people.

Not sure if Vietnam is more like the China or the Philippines.:nuts:

xxxriainxxx

October 10th, 2010, 04:49 PM

O sha sha... Basta di ko kayang mag salita against my neigboring countries, na cocosensya ako. nasa sa tao lang yan. Baka magkakagulo nanaman tayo. Basta for me, I admire Vietnam, as well as Malaysia and Thailand pero walang tatalo sa Pilipinas...:okay:

Yay! :D

Para balansyado naman ako... hehehe...

These are what I think are the most positive points of our kapitbahays:

Singapore- stable economy, stable govt
Thailand- Philippine tourism officials need to go to school and need to learn a thing or two from this country. Kahit ganong pilit itumba, antatag talaga.
Vietnam - stable govt
Malaysia - stable govt
Brunei - stable govt
Indonesia - I am really beginning to become a big fan of this country. Economy is doing great under a democratic system. Tons of beautiful sceneries and diverse culture
Myanmar - beautiful cultural sites
Laos - beautiful cultural sites
Cambodia - beautiful cultural sites

Tayo, kulang na lang sa atin, stable govt/economy. hehehe. :)

amigo32

October 11th, 2010, 01:36 AM

hindi ba bola mga yan?:D

icarusrising

October 11th, 2010, 04:33 AM

VHe4u9O7tf4&feature=related

xxxriainxxx

October 11th, 2010, 05:53 AM

hindi ba bola mga yan?:D

Hindi naman.. hehe. totoo naman yan diba. :)

Marunong din naman akong pumuri pag may kapuri puri. hehe

Oooohh. Dr. Biyo... I met her during a video shoot for Superferry Corporate Report.. May sulat pa sya sa akin nun... hindi ko na matandaan kung san ko nilagay.. haha. I am a big fan. :)

icarusrising

October 11th, 2010, 01:30 PM

Peñalosa stops Thai foe, leaves boxing on a high note (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/203152/pentildealosa-stops-thai-foe-leaves-boxing-on-a-high-note)
10/11/2010 | 05:23 PM

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two-time world boxing champion Gerry Peñalosa ended his career in a blaze of glory by stopping his Thai counterpart Yodsaengkeng Kiatmungmee at the 1:49 mark of the fourth round to the delight of some 7,000 fans that packed the Vitaliano Agan Stadium here.

Using his superb skills in outfighting his Thai rival, the former World Boxing Council superflyweight and World Boxing Organization bantamweight title holder displayed his best in his farewell bout.

The 38-year-old fighter confirmed his retirement from the sport after a glorious 21-year career.

Gerry was the second world champion among the Peñalosa siblings, after older brother Dodie Boy.

But the younger Peñalosa fought for a span of two decades, compiling a record of 55-8-2 with 37 KOs, and is considered as one of the greatest Filipino fighters ever.

“It’s about time for me to leave boxing," said Peñalosa. “I think this is the best time for me to spend more time with my family."

Peñalosa thanked the people who became a big part of his career -- Tony Aldeguer, Wakee Salud, Rudy Salud, Billy Keane, Freddie Roach, Manmy Pacquiao and San Miguel Corporation bossman Danding Cojuangco.

Up against a younger Thai counterpart, Peñalosa was able to move around the ring and maintain his distance against the 22-year-old Yodsaengkeng, who tried to put the pressure in the early rounds against his more experienced foe.

In the fourth round, the Filipino fighter unloaded a barrage of punches, including a stinging uppercut to the side of the body of Yodsaengkeng, who was sent to the canvass, prompting referee Rey Galarpe to stop the bout.

The Thai even vomited on his corner as a result of the solid uppercut thrown by Peñalosa.

“I studied his style. I knew he cannot take my punches because he always walked away every time I landed a punch, particularly in his body," said Peñalosa.

In the undercard, lightweight Jimrex (The Executioner) Jaca of the ALA stable stopped Hao Han of China at 1:50 of the sixth round while Michael Farenas knocked out Thailand’s Sangpetch Patanakan at 1:31 of the first round.

Jaca pounded Han right from the opening bell but couldn’t put down the durable Chinese. But the Chinese fighter suffered a broken nose caused by Jaca’s solid blows, forcing the referee to stop the fight in the sixth. - KY, Rey Joble, GMANews.TV

icarusrising

October 11th, 2010, 02:01 PM

Pinoys set world record for Pasig run (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/11/10/pinoys-set-world-record-pasig-run)
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/11/2010 3:08 PM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has broken a world record for most number of participants in a foot race after over 116,000 Filipinos participated in a historic race to save the Pasig River.

Gina Lopez, ABS-CBN Foundation director, said a total of 160,000 runners signed up for the historic “10.10.10 A Run for the Pasig River” on Sunday but only 116,086 runners finished the race.

"We have 160,000 names and gave out 160,000 bids but the count at the finish line is 116,086 so I think we have broken the world record," she said, quoting official figures by auditing firm Sycip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV).

“10.10.10 A Run for the Pasig River” breaks the existing Guinness World Record for the most participants in a footrace set by San Francisco’s “Bay to Breakers” race in 1988. It also breaks the official Philippine record of most number of runners in a foot race at 30,000.

Lopez said the foundation will forward all videos and documentation to Guinness World Records as part of the requirements in setting a new world record. She said she expects the official announcement on the new world record to be released in 2 weeks.

The ABS-CBN Foundation director said SGV used a total of 127 counters to get the complete number of participants who finished the race.

Contingents from schools, religious groups, government agencies, the police and military, non-government organizations, business sector, and private institutions made up the enormous crowd that gathered at the run’s three starting points: near the SM Mall of Asia (MOA), the CCP Complex, and Ayala Avenue in Makati.

Among the participants and supporters were former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos, Vice-President Jejomar Binay, Mayors Alfredo Lim of Manila and Antonino Calixto of Pasay, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, boxing superstar and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde, and President Aquino's sister, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz.

Richard Sulaño and Keizel Pedriña ruled the male and female categories in the 3k race while Mervin Guarte and Mhe Ann Barcena took home the biggest prizes in the 5k race. Alquin Bolivar and Dalin Karmil dominated the 10k category.

Lopez said she was very happy with the results of the race, which sought to create awareness and raise funds for the massive Pasig River clean-up campaign.

"It was peaceful, happy. Anything could have happened. Also, last year there was so much litter after the race but this time, wala. Walang masyadong kalat at nagtutulakan," she said.

She added: "Today we showed what the Filipinos could do together. We showed that we could do things peacefully. We could do this every year until the river is clean. We are going to keep running until the Pasig is clean."

icarusrising

October 11th, 2010, 02:37 PM

Pinoy wins California chess title (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/11/10/pinoy-wins-california-chess-title)
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 10/11/2010 2:43 PM | Updated as of 10/11/2010 2:43 PM

MANILA, Philippiens – Former Asian junior champion International Master (IM) Ricardo “Ricky” de Guzman ruled the 2010 Dolan Memorial International Chess Tournament in San Francisco, California.

The Cainta, Rizal native de Guzman prevailed at the Mechanics Institute Chess Club last October 9.

He beat Jeffrey Xiaoyang Zhang, Daniel Liu, compatriots Arjoe Loanzon and Romulo Fuentes and Paul Gallegos to win the championship trophy.

The 5-round United States Chess Federation (USCF)-sanctioned tournament attracted 41 chess players.

De Guzman, 49, also topped the 2010 Pafnutieff Open Chess Championships last August 7 at the same venue.

The California-based chess player is best remembered for winning the 1981 Asian Junior Chess Championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh where he was awarded an outright IM title.

His other chess titles in the United States include the Bagby 2010 last July 17, Sacramento Chess Championships last July 3 to 5, 2010 Bekeley Open last June 26 to 27, and Addison 2010 Chess Championships last June 12. – by Marlon Bernardino

Fraulein

October 11th, 2010, 05:07 PM

RonnieR

October 13th, 2010, 11:47 AM

Kintoy

October 13th, 2010, 02:14 PM

Top 10 countries for women: Global Gender Gap Index 2010

9. The Philippines

The Philippines, which has closed 77 percent of its gender gap, is the highest-ranking country in Asia and the highest-ranking in the world in the categories of education and health – although several countries in the top 10 share the No. 1 spot for educational equity. It has done well in past years, too – No. 9 in 2009 and No. 6 in 2006. It is the only country in Asia to fully close the gender gap in education and health and one of only eight countries in the world to do so. It is No. 13 in the world for economic opportunity and No. 17 for political empowerment.

In Asia and the Pacific, only New Zealand (#5) did better than the Philippines. The other countries in the region were ranked as follows: Sri Lanka (16th), Australia (23rd), Mongolia (27th), Singapore (56th), Thailand (57th), China (61st), Vietnam (72nd), Brunei Darussalam (77th), Bangladesh (82nd), Indonesia (87th), Japan (94th), Cambodia (97th), Malaysia (98th), Maldives (99th), South Korea (104th), Fiji (108th), India (112th), Nepal (115th), Iran (123rd) and Pakistan (132nd).

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/1012/Top-10-countries-for-women-Global-Gender-Gap-Index-2010/The-Philippines

Fraulein

October 13th, 2010, 03:20 PM

filcan

October 13th, 2010, 04:02 PM

Bruno Mars, Far East Movement lead Asian-American pop music wave taking over the Billboard charts

By David Yi
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Originally Published:Tuesday, October 12th 2010, 4:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, October 12th 2010, 5:13 PM

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/10/12/alg_charice.jpg

Charice is one of the latest Asian pop music stars to take the Billboard charts by storm, but she still thinks it's hard for Asian-American artists to be successful.

In 2002, Jin Au-Yeung had the world in his hands.

The Queens-bred hip-hop artist, then 20, shot to fame after back-to-back wins on "Freestyle Friday" on BET's "106 & Park." A coveted record deal with Ruff Ryders came next.

At the time, it seemed as if the Chinese-American performer, endorsed by Wyclef Jean himself, would become the first big Asian-American musical star. With lots of promise and hype, he was poised to shatter stereotypes.

That never happened.

"It wasn't more difficult to market me, but definitely more of a challenge," he says of his debut album. "It may have taken a bit more effort because no one's tried to market an Asian or a high-profile Asian before."

Six years later, Jin relocated to Hong Kong, where he's made it as a popular Cantonese-spitting rapper. Christianity has become a new focal point in his music.

Though Jin felt the sting six years ago, today there's a new world for Asian-American musical acts.

The No.1 and 2 songs of the top 10 singles on the Billboard charts are by Asian-American artists: Bruno Mars (“Just the Way You Are”) and Far East Movement (“Like a G6”). Last week, “Like a G6” was also the most downloaded single.

It’s a historic moment for Far East Movement. The band, born and bred in L.A.’s Koreatown, consists of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino members. The party-music quartet -- whose debut album from Interscope hits stores today -- is the first Asian-American group to break into the mainstream.

"It's been a long time coming," says Kev Nish (aka Kevin Nishimura). Currently touring the country with Mike Posner, they'll perform Tuesday night at Irving Plaza. "It's hard for us to believe. When we go to different cities and hear it on radio stations, it really, really trips us out."

The band -- Nishimura, James (Prohgress) Roh, Jae (J-Splif) Choung and Virman (DJ Virman) Coquia -- have been marketing themselves online for the past few years, chatting with fans into the night after their shows.

That connection to social media has been instrumental in their success.

"Far East Movement and Bruno Mars didn't come just out of nowhere," says Oliver Wang, an assistant professor of sociology at California State University-Long Beach. "There's been a slow push to make it happen through social media. It's finally hit that tipping point."

Still, without a historical precedent, music insiders are hesitant to declare Asian-American mainstream music an actual trend.

"American pop music has for decades been white and black pop stars," says Michael Endelman, senior editor at Rolling Stone. "Generally, Asian-Americans haven't been in the music industry in a significant way. You go back to the great pop and rock in the first wave of the great labels of the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s -- there's just no history to it."

Source: NY Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/10/12/2010-10-12_charice_far_east_movemenet_lead_asianamerican_pop_music_wave_leading_billboard_c.html)

^^Charice, DJ Virman and Bruno Mars all have Filipino blood :cheers:

amigo32

October 13th, 2010, 05:26 PM

Wow! Totoo yan talaga...

so true yan:D biro mo naka tatlo na tayong babaeng presidente!:D

sandwindstars

October 13th, 2010, 07:16 PM

Agree ako dito. Ang Pilipinas kasi, mayaman yan...nagkukunwaring mahirap nga lang... In English, The Philippines is a rich country pretending to be poor... :lol:

:lol: heard that as well. it's true. or The Philippines is a rich country wanting to be poor.

sandwindstars

October 13th, 2010, 07:17 PM

kiretoce

October 14th, 2010, 03:39 AM

so true yan:D biro mo naka tatlo na tayong babaeng presidente!:D

:doh: Doh! I just got that! :rofl:

xxxriainxxx

October 14th, 2010, 04:28 AM

so true yan:D biro mo naka tatlo na tayong babaeng presidente!:D

tawa ko dito. bastus. :lol::lol::lol:

Sleepwalker

October 14th, 2010, 05:53 AM

We maybe an impoverished country, but at least, we also have something of our own that we can share to the world.

:cheers:

Foreign central bank execs study Smart Money system (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=620428&publicationSubCategoryId=108)
By Ehda M. Dagooc (The Freeman) Updated October 13, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0)

CEBU, Philippines - Central Bank officials of Ecuador and Guatemala were in the Philippines recently to discover the world’s first cash payment card linked to a mobile phone system, a unique product offered by Smart Communications, Inc.

Through the learning exchange grant program from the Alliance For Financial Inclusion (AFI), the two countries Central Bank system will learn from the Philippines’ strategy on the cash payment on mobile phone, widely known here as “Smart Money”.

The officials are also exploring opportunities to work with Smart in other mobile commerce initiatives using the award-winning Smart Money platform.

“We welcome this opportunity to showcase how our pioneering Smart Money platform is being used by Filipinos in various parts of the Philippines,” said Jerwin Santos of Smart Hub, Inc., a subsidiary of Smart which is tasked with providing consulting services to emerging markets around the world.

“We are optimistic that this exposure to the Smart Money ecosystem will pave the way for future opportunities for collaboration with Ecuador and Guatemala,” Santos added.

According to Santiago Vasquez, project manager for mobile payment system, Central Bank of Ecuador, the Philippine emersion trip has confirmed the country’s boasts of a sophisticated mobile commerce ecosystem.

“Having personally experienced the many benefits of Smart Money, we are looking forward to replicate this solution in our respective countries which mirror the economic activities and population profile of the Philippines. We are excited for our people to enjoy the same fast, secure and robust mobile money experience we gained from Smart Money,” Vasquez added.

Smart, which has been actively promoting mobile commerce in the Philippines since 2000, accompanied the central bank officials on an exposure tour of Tribolium Enterprises, the first Smart Money Center in Cabanatuan City and branches of the First Consolidated Cooperative along Tañon Seaboards (FCCT) in various remote areas of Cebu. FCCT is Smart's microfinance institution (MFI) partner and beneficiary of its Island Activations Program—a GSMA Foundation-backed initiative designed in partnership with Seed Finance, to identify and deliver mobile money solutions to remote, underserved islands or municipalities where large concentrations of the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) members are found, and where access to formal financial institutions are limited.

To date, Smart has enabled close to 50 remote communities to perform mobile financial services using Smart Money.

SMART Money is a reloadable payment card that may either be accessed through a Smart mobile phone or a MasterCard powered card, similar to a debit/cash card.

It also enables Smart subscribers to manage their money from their mobile phones wherever they are, whenever they want.

crossboneka

October 14th, 2010, 09:40 AM

crossboneka

October 14th, 2010, 10:01 AM

Top Ten Greatest Asian American Rappers of All Time
By: davidbfung
Apr 21, 2010
http://www.soompi.com/news/top_ten_greatest_asian_american_rappers_of_all_time/page/8

http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/49ccab45416292a28d0eecc79028d09d_large.jpg

Ten years ago, a list of the ten Greatest Asian American MCs of All Time wouldn’t have been possible. Back then, there simply wasn’t enough rappers to fill a list. A lot has changed in ten years. Hip-hop as a genre blew up and took center stage in the music industry and the number of Asian American MCs exploded along with it. With the advent of the internet age, rappers were able to effectively self-promote, which was crucial for Asian artists who were generally overlooked by record labels. This had led to the creation of huge online communities dedicated to Asian American hip-hop and what could loosely be referred to as the “Asian rap scene”. In this short history of Asian American MCs, a few stand out from the rest, whether it was due to their lyrical ability, persona, deep meaning, impact, commercial success, or combination of traits. I took all those factors into consideration when compiling and ranking this list, trying to be objective as possible in my rankings. But what even constitutes an Asian American MC? My definition is that being Asian had to play a part in their career. In the Asian connection portion I included a short paragraph explaining the ethnicity and some background on how being Asian plays into their identity.

10. Dumbfoundead
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/3003a6b232c82c16a37013a0a9351135_large.jpg

Asian connection: Dumbfoundead is Korean and was raised in L.A.’s Koreatown. Initially Dumb was coming from the, “I don’t want to be a dope Asian rapper, just a dope rapper” angle but he said after maturing and changing his perspective he now embraces the image and participates in the Asian hip-hop events and also tours in Korea.

Dumbfoundead, at 23, is the youngest emcee on the list. Due to his appealing style and the ubiquity of the internet has plenty of opportunity to move up if he keeps working and improving. He first blew up on YouTube through his Grindtime freestyle battles, especially one against another Asian emcee called Tantrum in which, naturally, some of the most in-depth Asian punchlines rap has ever seen were lobbied back and forth with Dumb having a couple of the most memorable (i.e. “…this pan-handling, Mandarin Asian, you used to manhandle pandas in cages for gambling wages”…”he ain’t just an Uncle Tom, he’s an Uncle Wong…”).

Final word: Dumbfoundead’s written material has a very underground sound but it’s easy to listen to, and with universal themes, it appeals to everyone. With a huge YouTube following, only time will tell where this talented emcee ends up.

Check out: Dumbfoundead vs. Tantrum Freestyle Battle

9. Southstar (formerly of Smilez and Southstar)
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/43390e5ca9b7d831b6af7e5078b6f729_large.jpg

Asian connection: Southstar, who was born in Hawaii, is Chinese and Filipino. He didn’t talk about being Asian initially, but did later on mixtape tracks where he collaborated with Jin and Far East Movement.

A lot of people are going to be mad about this one. Why? Southstar, to put it in a nutshell, isn’t very good at rapping. However, in 2002 his group Smilez and Southstar did have a certified Top 40 single “Tell Me”, which is an incredible accomplishment. Plus, if you were around middle school age at that time and listened to rap, you probably still like the song. The video was in regular rotation on MTV and BET, technically making Southstar not only the first full-Asian rapper to blow up on the mainstream but also the most-played. To no surprise, this creatively named duo ended up being one-hit wonders but the legacy remains. In fact, he might be even higher on this list if it weren’t for the fact that nobody knew he was Asian during the height of his popularity.

Final word: Strictly speaking, Southstar could be considered the most commercially successful full Asian American rapper ever.

Check out: Smilez and Southstar – Tell Me

8. Bambu (formerly of Native Guns)
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/15722d8240e0eb129ceb8402419962e3_large.jpg

Asian connection: Bambu is a Filipino who was raised in Watts, L.A. In both his solo career and group career with Native Guns he speaks on Filipino issues affecting Filipino-Americans as well as the people in the Phillipines.

I heard of Native Guns a few years back but never heard any of their material. Then a few weeks ago I came across this song from Bambu featuring Geologic called, “Slow Down” where he absolutely killed his verses. It’s one of the best singles I’ve ever heard from an Asian American rapper. Based off that, I did some research into what turned out to be a wealth of past material and concluded that Bambu is deserving of a spot on this list. Bambu is also a reformed former gang member and criminal for those who take street credibility into consideration (if you’re going to be rapping about the block, street cred helps).

Final word: Having a militant edge, Bambu reminds me of Immortal Technique. If his new music is any indication of more to come, Bambu definitely has the opportunity to grow his fanbase.

Check out: Bambu feat. Geo – Slow Down

7. Roscoe Umali
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/fb261cb4a8f3801ba835e2c696566178_large.jpg

Asian connection: Roscoe is a Filipino L.A. Koreatown native who graduated from UCLA. Being Filipino is a big part of his identity and he’s worked extensively in Korea with the group Drunken Tiger.

Roscoe has the most commercial style of all the rappers on this list, with the L.A. gangsta-bounce influence being apparent in both his lyrics and production. Umali has an imposing voice and his overall blend of lyrics, production, and vibes is solid. Roscoe has been out for quite some time now and from what I understand, has his industry networking game down pat, having done tracks with some big names like E-40, Talib Kweli and Bobby Valentino as well as having worked with some of the top producers in the game – all while being independent on his own label (he even has his own sneaker). This is significant because it shows that Asian rappers can make some headway in the mainstream industry by getting their business right.

Final word: Roscoe Umali’s lyrics and production come together for a slick all-around package. All said, Roscoe does a good job embodying the “boss” persona.

Check out: Roscoe Umali feat. E-40 and Bobby Valentino – Live It Up

6. Geologic aka Prometheus Brown (of Blue Scholars)
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/d53cc5c9d08fdfe0e6480cf3a807d8a3_large.jpg

Asian connection: Geo, who is Filipino has made various tracks about Filipino issues. The 2007 release from his group Blue Scholars was called “Bayani” which is Tagalog for “heroes of the people”. He is a graduate from The University of Washington.

Geo is the most famous rapper out of Seattle since Sir-Mix-A-Lot and the leader of an underground rap movement that can be described as, “intellectual conscious rap” – aka Seattle/Northwest boom bap. Geo has been featured on MTV, shared the stage with Mos Def and a Tribe Called Quest, done tracks with KRS-One, Talib Kweli and toured all over the country. He has a distinct voice and flow and an interesting thing to note is that a majority of Blue Scholar fans are non-Asian. What makes him so great? Blue Scholars are the leaders of their growing genre and have a diverse fan base across ethnic and cultural lines.

Final word: The style of underground hip-hop Geologic produces might not be your favorite, but bottom line: he’s nice on the mic and proud of his heritage. Plus Geo is a perfect example that Asians can stay true to their roots and carve their own lane in the rap game.

Check out: Blue Scholars – Joe Metro

5. apl.de.ap (of The Black Eyed Peas)
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/74b90a2e78bf2c1021ff7fc852b83e33_large.jpg

Asian connection: Apl is half-Filipino/half-black and was born in the Phillipines before moving to the U.S. at age 14. He has done two songs with BEP featuring Tagalog, “The Apl Song” and “Bebot.”

At first glance Apl doesn’t look very Asian and he isn’t first person you think of when the topic of Asian American rappers comes up. However, making immensely popular songs in Tagalog and being a part of one of the biggest hip-hop acts in history counts for something. There could be some debate on whether he’s actually a “rapper” or rather a “hip-hop musician” but at the end of the day – he’s helped create a ton of incredible tracks. His strengths are his eclectic musical background and knack for catchy hooks that have lent themselves to BEP’s unique charm and appeal.

Final word: Apl has definitely brought a consistent Asian presence to radio and multi-platinum hits – whether audiences knew it or not.

Check out: Black Eyed Peas – Bebot

4. Far East Movement (Group)
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/c847a328891ac3ae0fe23b27ec8252d0_large.jpg

Asian connection: Of the L.A. Koreatown-based group: Prohgress and J-Splif are Korean, Kev Nish is Japanese/Chinese and DJ Virman is Filipino. Prohgress went to Loyola law school.

Far East Movement are like the new age Beastie Boys for the internet generation. They’re the biggest Asian American rap group in history and have yet to reach their peak. Musically they are the perfect example of the new growing “hiptronica” or “techno-rap” category and have a big hit with, “Girls On the Dance Floor”. Successfully crossing over from the underground, FM just got signed to major label Interscope. I’ve been a fan for a while and even though I would describe my musical taste as strongly inclined towards classic hip-hop, I enjoy the type of dance-focused music FM produces. Another benefit of creating your own genre, like Geologic did, is that there are no preconceived notions of how you should look/sound and you are able to appeal to different folks from all walks of life and not just Asians.

Final word: By creating music for everyone to dance and party to, Far East Movement has furthered the cause for all Asian American rappers by showing records labels, (who claim it’s too hard to market Asian artists) that talent and music can transcend all racial boundaries.

Check out: Far East Movement – Girls On The Dance Floor

3. Chan aka Snacky Chan
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/4082fbfa7e2c2f5c215704c1022dc2b7_large.jpg

Asian connection: Chan is Korean and based out of Boston. Throughout his career he’s talked about the struggles of being Asian and trying to make it in the rap industry facing ignorance and disrespect. He is now a part of the Korean group Uptown.

I first got put onto Chan in high school when a friend of mine gave me a copy of “A Part of A Nation”. I was thoroughly impressed with the whole record, having passed my “would I still listen to this if they weren’t Asian?” test with flying colors. What made Chan stand out was his firm dedication to “real hip-hop” and his street but smooth East-Coast sound. Chan is also co-signed by well-knowns in the industry like Saigon, GZA, and Immortal Technique. Having worked with a lot of non-Asian artists, Chan has stressed that good music comes before everything else. Despite his talent, Chan was never able to get really popular in America. As a result, he recently moved to Korea and joined an mainstream/commercial rap group called Uptown, both surprising and disappointing his US fans.

Final word: Chan is an example of a talented Asian American rapper who tried to go the traditional route in the rap industry but ended up pursuing greener pastures overseas.

Check out: Snacky Chan – Lonely Road

2. Mountain Brothers
http://soompi_images.s3.amazonaws.com/0229f756900ab165289dc0a24ae81d21_large.jpg

Asian connection: These three Chinese MC’s consisted of Chops, Peril-L, and Styles Infinite. They met at Penn State University and were based out of Philly. Their name is derived from a Chinese book called, “Water Margins” which is about the legend of bandits on a mountain. There wasn’t anything explicitly Asian about the way their music sounded however, being a person of color was a big part of their identity.

Most people haven’t heard of the Mountain Brothers, but they were the first Asian American rap act to gain any sort of traction in the industry. They were the first to deal with a lot of the problems Asian American MCs face. This lyrical underground trio did a few radio and TV spots for companies like Sprite and Nike (who initially didn’t even know they were Asian). They actually got signed to a major label Ruffhouse (who had The Fugees), but they split ties before they ever dropped an album. Mountain Brothers were proud of being Asian but didn’t want to focus on their race so they had two different sets of marketing material: one for the Asian market and one for the mainstream. They also have the distinction of having produced all their own beats (Chops made them and also happened to be the best rapper in the group). Eventually the group disbanded and only Chops is still in the industry, producing beats for an impressive list of artists that include Lil’ Wayne, Kanye, and Young Jeezy.

Final word: Way ahead of their time, the Mountain Brothers were pioneers: a dope Asian American rap group before anyone even had the concept of an Asian rapper. From being the first to sign (and experience problems with) with a major label, to grappling with how Asian they wanted to present themselves to the public, their story would foretell common situations encountered by many Asian American MCs after them.

Check out: Mountain Brothers – Galaxies

1. Jin
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Asian connection: Jin is Chinese, born in Miami and based out of New York. Of all the MC’s on this list, Jin’s Asian connection is the strongest. He’s made numerous tracks that are Asian and Chinese-related as well as recorded several albums in Cantonese. He is currently based out of Hong Kong.

Jin is the single most well-known, written-about, revered, disrespected, loved and hated Asian American rapper ever. It’s hard to believe he’s been out in the scene since 2001 – it only seems like yesterday I was rushing home from school on Fridays to catch the next Freestyle Friday Battle. Before Jin, most people had never seen an Asian rap before (myself included). Sure, we had the AZN PRYDE songs from Napster, but Jin was real – he was on BET! It was also the first time mainstream rap had seen an Asian MC. That’s quite a few milestones. And because of all that, perhaps it only is fitting that Jin should receive the majority of titles – both good and bad, in the Asian American hip-hop world. Musically, Jin is incredible off-the-top freestyle talent and an excellent battler. His written material ranges anywhere from mediocre to pretty good, but I would say it’s generally better than most people give it credit for. The love for Jin comes from the good memories: Freestyle Friday, the first Asian to get “put on”, being the true underdog who won a few big fights. The hate from the missed opportunities, that Jin didn’t represent Asians right, that he was a overrated gimmick, etc. Love him or hate him, you have an opinion about him.

Final word: Jin changed the game as the first and only Asian American rapper to break into the mainstream. For better or worse, he’s still the only Asian the average rap fan can name. I think it’s for the better.

bakasaurus

October 14th, 2010, 10:32 AM

amigo32

October 14th, 2010, 11:05 AM

It is true though. That the women's balls are getting bigger while those of the Pinoy men are shrinking. I am talking about being responsible fathers. The Filipino father's image is waning, and waning. The strong positive force in the family is more and more the role taken by the mothers. There are so many irresponsible fathers these days. I don't know if there are social science studies about this in the local scene but that's what I have observed.

In any case, we had a higher ranking in the previous years, along the league of Scandinavian countries probably boosted by our then woman president.

Sa ngayon kasi mas maraming mapasukang trabaho ang mga babae. sa electronics sector na lang 90% babae ang empleyado. samantalang walang trabaho ang mister, kaya sya naiiwan sa bahay taga laba, taga luto, taga alaga ng mga anak. at dahil si babae ang may pera sya na ang masusunod sa mga desisyon sa bahay. yun isa kung nakikitang dahilan.

kiretoce

October 14th, 2010, 11:29 AM