Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Monday, January 25, 2016

Going Crazy Over Madonna in Manila?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Here’s your last chance to see the Queen of Pop in MNL for free when you subscribe to GoSURF, Tattoo Home Broadband Plan or Madonna ringback tones with the Globe RebelHeart Tour Raffle Promo

Less than a month from now, Madonna’s RebelHeart Tour in Manila will take the Philippine music scene by storm as the SM Mall of Asia Arena is expected to house a 2-day concert experience that will go down in music history.

Madonna fans all over the country are beyond excited and feeling ecstatic as the Queen of Pop is expected to bring her mighty all in terms of singing prowess and overall stage performance. Got your tickets to the show already? Don’t fret if you are still on the lookout for those precious tickets. Globe Telecom, the exclusive presenter of the tour’s Manila leg, is bringing back the second installment of its RebelHeart Tour Raffle Promo which will give you the chance to win free passes to the concert.

After the success of the first RebelHeart Tour Raffle Promo, which brought 2 lucky Globe customers to Los Angeles, California for an all-expense paid trip to catch Madonna on stage, Globe recently announced the second round of the raffle which gives any Globe Prepaid, TM, Postpaid, Platinum, and Tattoo customers a chance to win tickets to Madonna’s concert in Manila.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Most teenagers suffer from the most common skin disease called Acne. Filipinos are more familiar with the problem as pimples. Nearly everyone experiences acne at some point in life especially during the teen years when everyone is at its peak. The skin problem may last for a few months or a few years.

My daughter has been complaining about her pimples as a huge distraction and causes low personal esteem and confidence. It is not a pleasant sight to mingle with people when your face is filled with the irritating pimples.

I've been telling my daughter that she is just a late bloomer. She will soon radiate with beauty like an ugly duckling who turns into a beautiful swan afterwards. Just as beautiful as Alex Gonzaga and the many other celebrities out there. Even men are following skin care procedures to keep their skin glowing, nourished and with less imperfections.

Why wouldn't my daughter turn out fine? After all, her mother is quite a stunner herself. Of course, our offspring will be equally, if not more beautiful than their parents. Her father is good looking as well, True enough, beauty runs in the family.

How to Prevent Acne? It would be great to know as much information on how to deal with the dreaded acne. We are sharing some tips below for your convenience. Be sure to follow them to get a better chance of preventing acne.

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Cebu's Room For Dessert by Casa Verde is the newest restaurant offspring of the Casa Verde group of restaurants. It was one of the many restaurants I visited during my Sinulog weekend adventure. A weekend of resto hopping, church visits, fireworks display watching and public commuting.

I've explored Cebu going from one destination to another and figuring out how to do it via their public transportation of multi-cabs, "habal-habals," buses, and taxis.

It was truly very busy days of January 15 to 17 for me in Cebu. Those three days were apparently not enough to accommodate everything I wanted to do. You'll need several more days to fully appreciate the beauty of Cebu.

I was grateful that Casa Verde management let me experienced a dining adventure at two of their restaurants. It would have been more, but the days were simply not enough to visit every restaurant they have in Cebu.

The Sinulog festivities sort of also made some roads closed temporary so they could make way for the grand parade happening on Sunday the 17th. Thus, I could only work my way in and out of Cebu during the 15th and 16th.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great things that shall be told among men hereafter" - Homer, The Iliad

SAF members were ambush by armed men of almost a thousand in numbers. They didn't panic they crouched, made a defensive position and fought back. They stood their ground and fought till their last breath and bullet.

If you are interested to see these soldiers' faces, and a really great tribute to them, you may want to check out the artwork at the PNPA Academics building at Camp Castaneda of Silang, Cavite.

There was a project immortalizing our SAF 44 heroes through a canvass painting by one of our national artists from University of the Philippines (UP) Erehwon Arts under the supervision of Mr. Villavicencio and Mr. Raffy Benitez in cooperation with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the PROTECT/COPS under the leadership of PSSUPT Gilbert DC Cruz.

The project was unveiled on March 14, 2015 during the 35th PNPA Alumni Homecoming @ PNPA Academics Building, Camp Castaneda, Silang Cavite.

This is a most fitting way to pay tribute to the gallantry of the "SAF 44". Let us all join hands in support of those who are seeking and fighting for "Truth & Justice" re: The Mamasapano Massacre.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Welcome home Miss Universe! You brought such glory to our beautiful country, the Philippines! We're so proud of you! Mabuhay tayong lahat! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Viva Las Filipinas!
Pasensiya na at medyo busy ako kaya hindi kita nasalubong sa airport. Your Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas is such a workaholic that I find very little time to rest. It seems every second for me is highly important. I could not sleep sound at night when I have not fully accomplished something significant enough to matter.

But I'm sure I will soon get the chance to drop by at any of your scheduled destinations. After all, you're now one of the most significant individuals that has further put the Philippines in the global map.

I was surprised when they initially announced Miss Colombia as the new Miss Universe. It felt so wrong since you were the top favorite in all aspects, both online and offline, So when the moment came when Steve finally admitted his mistake and announce the real winner, we were all jumping up and down with delight.

Just as how we praised Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao in his several homecomings after a grand win, or loss, all of us, "Pianatics" or not, will equally cherish your presence back at our country.

We will be among those wishing you the best of luck and thanking you for the recognition.

Though I am worried with the would-be effects of your grand parade on traffic and the likes, I take that the little sacrifices are justified because you would serve as a reminder for us that we should not lose hope when we really want to achieve something. Losing so many times before winning in the Miss Philippines shows how determined you are and that you never let failures keep you down. Giving up is not an answer. Fight!

Now that you have won as Miss Universe, you made all Filipinos very proud of you.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

When Almost Similar Brand Names Collide For Reasons Beyond Ownership

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"With social media leading the way, there is a strong pressure among millennials like myself to have a highly curated personal brand or online persona. It’s a reflection of who someone is, or who they want to be."

Inaangkin ng isang blogger ang Wazzup na branding? Di ko raw pwede gamitin ang domain na closely similar to his. Another blogger said I was mimicking daw the blog eh magkaiba naman ang content? If we purchase or ask all our friends to buy domains nearly similar to Wazzup, then paano na ngayon yun? So here goes a lengthy rant because I just need to put this all out of my system. Please bear with me.

This blogger gave up Wazzup Philippines before, but only when Wazzup Pilipinas was under a bad light. He wanted to avoid being associated with us. However, he was continuously using it for a long time when WazzupPilipinas was working well with very little issues. When the wheel turned, he then decided to re-brand into a name that is also closely similar. Lol!

For everyone's enlightenment, that's the real reason why he changed his Wazzup Philippines domain to Wazzup.ph. Until now he still owns the old domain even though he knows it somehow affects our own domain too. Now he talks like he did me a favor, when he was the one who changed his WazUp Philippines into a WazzUp Philippines even before he made it into a WazzUp.PH.

Unless one can have full claim on the word Wazzup, then by all means, I will drop it. But until then, I have my reasons why there is a Wazzup.com.ph out there.

If it helps, I can always change the title of the blog to Wazzup.com.ph to satisfy their reasoning. Kaya nga hindi ginamit yun ay dahil to avoid further confusion with the existing brands. If only one of the bashers exerted the effort to ask what's the reason behind this issue, then tapos na sana.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Sinulog festival is celebrated every 3rd weekend of January. The city of Cebu becomes host to colorful parades, captivating music, and impressive street parties of which the grandest celebration via a parade is held at the very last Sinulog Sunday!

Vice President Jejomar Binay was booed when he spoke on stage during the Sinulog Grand Parade last January 17 But he claimed it was the handiwork of his political opponents. Never campaign in the Sinulog festivities.

Cebuanos are very particular of the cultural practice. Binay was the only candidate who dared along side other recognizable individuals like Gringo Honasan who was also running for Senator. Binay got the price he deserved for not respecting the said religious feast in honor of the Patron Saint Snr. Sto. Nino.

But who cares about these political exploits of government officials who are obviously only after the authority, power and financial gains. No one would even dare running for an office if the true sense of public servant will be implemented religiously.

Yet how would you expect that from politicians who couldn't even respect religious rites.

For more positive news, below are the winners of the Sinulog competitions.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I visited Cebu during the last weekend of the Sinulog Festivities from January 15 to 17. But before that highly anticipated day came, I was already planning where to stay and of course where to dine.

I already was scheduled to stay at the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino with a special breakfast and lunch for a day packaged with my stay. However, I would be staying in Cebu for three days. Normally, the hotel will only provide a complimentary breakfast, so lunch and dinner requirements will be my task for the three days I will be staying in Cebu.

What was my strategy for Sinulog weekend? I inquired from Cebu-based restaurants if they will be interested in sponsoring a meal at their restaurant in exchange for a feature article in my blog. I told them it would be great if I can visit their restaurant while I'm there so I can share the dining experience.

I don't think a lot of bloggers would want to go all the way to another province just for a special treat in a restaurant. But my adventure was far more than ordinary. I wanted to make my Cebu trip a very memorable one.

Thanks to the very friendly Alyzza, and Australian Chef Steve Shrimski and his Filipina wife Eya, of Canvas Bistro Bar Gallery, I had the great opportunity to taste some of their culinary specialties.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Working in a startup is not for the faint of heart. It is only for the ambitious and bold. The pressure is high, the expectations are immensely great, deadlines are short and drastic changes come more often than bathroom breaks. Despite this, most millennials would prefer a role in a cool tech startup rather than becoming another employee number in a stodgy corporate company. Why is that so? Startups provide exciting work environments - a fridge full of beer, a fancy espresso machine, fast computers with large monitors, free lunch, movie nights out and more. Salarium, one of the Philippines’ up and coming SaaS & Fintech Startups, takes the perks game to the next level by sending employees on an adventure to see the world.

When Salarium employees celebrate their anniversary, and every year thereafter, they are given a 5-day mandatory vacation to any place in Southeast Asia that they wish to visit. The company pays for everything hotel, flight, including the employee’s plus one. Few companies offer such a reward to staff but Salarium did not hesitate to give this amazing perk to their employees.

“We thought very hard about an incentive that would be impactful to employees. We wanted to provide something that employees would look forward to while leaving a positive impact in their lives. Also, we wanted to give an experience as an incentive so it cannot be simply given to someone else. There is a tendency in Filipino culture to share what you have with the family so a cash incentive would simply be split up amongst family members instead of being fully enjoyed by the person who earned it,” says Judah Hirsch, CEO & Founder of Salarium.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

An added destination to my trip in Cebu was at the Go Go Cafe owned by Go Morita, a Japanese who now lives in Cebu and is also popularly called the Tonkatsu man. He has recently partnered just about three months ago with a Filipino to setup his own restaurant in the province of Cebu.

It was so inspiring to learn that just after a few months of peddling his own creations infront of IT Park of Cebu, the construction of his restaurant was already in the works.

I went to Cebu mainly for the Sinulog 2016 festivities, but he caught my attention when he was featured at a popular local TV network.

The timing was perfect because I was on my way to Cebu for that weekend and finding out a story like his brought me to courageously look for his restaurant somewhere at P. Remedios street in Banilad.

The restaurant was simple in design yet attractive already. The big signage of Go Go Cafe was very evident and catchy. His logo represents a running man in the middle of which Go Morita explained was running towards the cafe. This was because his food was so hard to resist that people may want to rush ahead just to catch his food still available at the cafe.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I don't really get it why someone will make a fuzz out of something so obviously insignificant. When you're really a great brand, people will find you no matter how many other brands try to imitate you. When there's an almost identical branding, people might make a mistake at first, but eventually they'll recognize their mistake and bounce back towards their preferred brands.

When we don't really have an exclusive ownership of a brand name, we can never restrict anybody else to use it (regardless of how closely similar it is). Just as how so many brands have used "Green" as part of their names, they will only stand out differently or above the rest if they are the "Green" people really want or need.

Branding is the tricky part when almost all forms of promotions have been used. Most people are wise enough against gimmicks and other marketing tactics but there are still the masses who are often brainwashed subconsciously when they are offered something they can easily relate to.

Tapping into the inner most desires of the people is everyone's intention to make a name for themselves. It takes the better brand to come up with a product that would really instigate an improved society and eventually change the world.

With regards to the blogger who is complaining about why there's another domain name similar to his blog, well I could ask him to reminisce to the good old days when he was a member of the Wazzup Pilipinas Facebook group where he also attends events we organize.

When I created my blog, I was unaware of his blog's existence.

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The Department of Energy (DOE), once again, appeals for the public's cooperation and cooperation for the Mindanao Grid.

In view of another incident affecting transmission facilities, "We are calling everyone's cooperation to immediately resolve the on-going issues in Mindanao, affecting not only NGCP, but the families, individuals and business entities who are experiencing interrupted power supply," said Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada.

In the meantime, the DOE urges the public to be vigilant and report suspicious activities in critical areas through the NGCP’s hotline number: 0917-8791-077.

Farther, Greater 91st Foundation Week: Mapúa's Annual Foundation Week Celebration

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For 91 years, the Mapúa Institute of Technology has been striving willfully to go higher, farther, and greater distances, disregarding any limit as much as possible. Walking down the road to become one of the best schools on the globe, the institute has been evolving technologically to improve its quality of education, and furthermore, to become a good place for students to learn, test themselves, and develop bonds with others. In celebration of this continual goal, the Mapúa Institute of Technology celebrates its 91st founding anniversary this 2016, from January 25 to January 30, with the theme: Farther Greater.

2016's foundation week will employ activities and events that aim to grant enjoyment to the institute's students, and celebrate Mapúa's 91-year-old journey in evolving and moving forward to achieve consistent improvement in education quality.

This year, the School of Multimedia and Visual Arts (SMVA) is in charge of hosting the celebration. Furthermore, in charge of organizing the event are the three primary student governing bodies of the institute: Central Student Council (CSC), Council of Organizations (COO), and Council of Presidents (COP).

For the first day of the celebration, the annual Math Wizard competition will be held at the MIT Gymnasium from 12:00 noon onwards. In addition, an ASEAN seminar regarding engineering and technical professions will be held at the Seminar Room from 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), brought the packed crowd at the Changsha Stadium to the edge of their seats with spectacular world-class mixed martial arts action at ONE WUJIE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (CHANGSHA). Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes showcased why he is ONE Championship’s most dominant champion to date with a beautiful submission victory by Kimura over top Filipino bantamweight Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon in the night’s main event.

Visit the official ONE WUJIE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (CHANGSHA) photo gallery by clicking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivh34n9pza3q94o/AADwuMwRg-gnDecd5AIBoQyTa?dl=0

In the main event of the evening, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes retained his title with a first round submission win over Team Lakay’s Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon. Fernandes nullified Belingon’s supposed striking advantage by going straight for the takedown. After passing Belingon’s guard and moving into side control, Fernandes worked an armbar attempt into a Kimura, forcing the tap.

In the Changsha Bantamweight Tournament Final bout, Ma Hao Bin quickly locked in a Guillotine choke from against the cage to put opponent Bu Huo You Ga to sleep in just a little over a minute into the first round. Ma wasted no time in looking for the submission which he used to win in the semi-final bout, squeezing tightly until Bu Huo was out. With the victory, Ma Hao Bin was crowned Changsha Bantamweight Tournament champion.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Your friendly neighborhood Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas was invited to an afternoon of learning a different way to teach Math.

The event was held on January 23 at the Xanland building in Katipunan, Quezon City by YuXin Singapore Math Center where a few hours of teaching Math using the Singapore method was demonstrated to a group of attendees comprising mostly of teachers all eager to try the so called better technique to teach Math to children, and even adults who are still open to alternative ways or learning.

Unlike other similar centers, YuXin also conducts other learning methods like Mind Mapping, Speed Reading, Reading Comprehension and others, that were all designed to make the most of our skills. Their Academic Tutorials, Advancement & Enrichment Programs are available to support K-12 students.
I had a short interview with the owner herself where she discussed how their center is offering free demonstrations to interested students who wish to excel in their studies. They started out with the Singare Math and will also soon provide demo lessons on Mind Mapping and other techniques at their Katipunan branch.

YuXin was derived from two words where "Yu" means Excellence and "Xin" means heart or mind. Thus they have the slogan of "A Heart for Excellence."