Hiraya Artisan Chocolates: Filipino Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Company

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Who doesn't love chocolates? I've never met anyone who refuses to take a bite of these yummy sweet treats that are loved by both young and old alike.

There are quite so many brands available especially with the imported or foreign brands, but did you know that there are also a few Filipino brands out there?

Hiraya Chocolates takes its name from HIRAYA which is an ancient Filipino word which means “the fruit of one’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations.” Quite appropriately, the fruits, or "cacao beans" in this case, are harvested and sourced directly from local farmers. The company is a Filipino bean-to-bar chocolate company who follow sustainable, socially-conscious practices, and fair trade principles, making them an ideal company to patronize.

Their mission is to improve the lives of our cacao farmer communities through direct and fair trade. Their vision is to produce a strong brand of fine quality chocolate and chocolate products. To date, they have one (1) community composed of 58 farmers in Brgy. Malabog, Davao City.



The company may be profit-oriented just like any other business, but at its core they also tackle and help provide solutions for social issues. Their efforts have since provided +200% in income for their
community of farmers in Davao.










Their products are as follows:

* 72% Dark Chocolate Single-Origin Davao (85g)
* Flavor Profile: fruity with just a slight hint of bitterness
* 100% locally sourced ingredients, all-natural, hand harvested cacao
* No preservatives, no additives, no artificial flavors, suitable for vegans
* SRP: PHP180.00

* Hiraya x Kalsada Chocolate Bar with Coffee Nibs (70g)
* Flavor Profile: strong and robust coffee notes
* Featuring premium coffee beans sourced from the highlands of Sitio Belis, Benguet Province
* Collaboration with Kalsada Coffee—a social enterprise
based in Manila and Seattle that promotes specialty coffee from the Philippines
* SRP: PHP200.00

Get to know more about them online at http://www.hirayachocolates.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HirayaChocolates

Ayala Museum Screens 4 award-winning Spanish Short Films for Free on Dec. 21

Wazzup Pilipinas!

On December 21, the winter solstice and shortest day of the year, Instituto Cervantes de Manila, the cultural center of the Embassy of Spain, and Ayala Museum will offer a free screening of four multi-awarded Spanish short films namely Elena Asins-Génesis, Pulse, Luchadoras and Consulta 16 -- as part of El Día Más Corto/The Shortest Day, a short film festival celebrated simultaneously in more than 300 places worldwide.



The Shortest Day is an idea that was set in motion by the French Short Film Agency in 2011, in which more than two million people from all over the world participated. In 2012 the initiative was emulated by other countries and in 2013 it grew into a truly international event, with the affiliation of a total of 12 European countries, as well as Canada.



El Día Más Corto took place in Spain for the first time in 2013. It was organized by the Spanish Association for short films, coordinadoradelcorto.org, with 100 selected short films distributed in 20 recommended programs.

The main idea was that everyone can organize a film festival for friends and neighbors in order to celebrate short films everywhere: schools, hospitals, streets, bars every place is welcome to screen.



Several television channels (TVE and Canal+) aired special short film programs, and Instituto Cervantes created a playlist of short films for its centers worldwide. The National Film Board and all regional film boards and cinematheques also joined the event.

Instituto Cervantes joined this Festival in 2015, with the aim of showcasing the creativity of Spanish and Filipino short film productions. As an indicator of the vitality of the medium in Spain, the short film Timecode, directed by Juanjo Giménez Peña, was chosen Best European Short Film at the European Film Awards 2017, celebrated last December 8 at Dublin. It previously bagged the Palme d'Or in the short film category of the Cannes Film Festival.



By joining the worldwide screenings, Instituto Cervantes and Ayala Museum will help put the Philippines in the map of the said film festival. In 2017, the Philippines will be one of almost 50 countries worldwide that will celebrate together the love for short films.

El Día Más Corto is brought to you by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain, Ayala Museum and the Film Development Council of the Philippines. All films will be shown in their original version with English subtitles.



The screenings will take place at Ayala Museum starting at 5 p.m. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. For those who register at http://bit.ly/AMlectureRegistration, there will be free popcorn courtesy of Instituto Cervantes.

For more information please check out their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila) or the El Día Más Corto website (http://eldiamascorto.com/internacional).

Cusi Sees More Energy Options for Consumers with Lower Tariff

Wazzup Pilipinas!

COMPETITIVE ENERGY INVESTMENTS: Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi on Thursday emphasized that the government is pursuing an innovative, competitive and sustainable energy environment by facilitating investments. Cusi announced this during his Keynote Address at the 29th Energy Investment Forum held on December 7, 2017 at the Makati Shangri-La. The investment forum is among the major programs in celebration of National Energy Consciousness Month (NECM).


Imagine more renewable energy (RE) players investing in the Philippines due to tariff as low as P3 per kilowatt hour compared to the feed-in tariff (FIT) rate of P9.680/kw first offered in 2012 to solar installation investors.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said today that Filipinos can stop imagining or dreaming about more affordable electricity costs as the Duterte administration opens up an era of competitive investments for energy.

In his keynote speech during the 29th Energy Investment Forum held at the Makati Shangri-La, Cusi said that the government is pursuing an innovative, competitive and sustainable energy environment in facilitating investments via lower tariffs.

“The P3/kw tariff is more than three times lower than the feed-in tariff rate that was considered under the past administrations. This development results to lower tariffs on energy that should translate to lower power rates for consumers,” said Cusi.

“Hence, the FIT era is over. It is now a question of how we can foster a RE industry that is competitive and affordable, as an alternative to conventional energy,” said Cusi.

The DOE chief highlighted environmental sustainability, energy security and energy equity as among the areas which regulators and investors alike should aim for in terms of energy development.

“The technology is available and the markets are awash with ‘green’ financing. Renewable energy needs to be a commercially viable option that is able to stand on its two feet without the crutches of subsidies as well as being an affordable solution for consumers. To continue the growth of the renewable energy sector, the DOE is laying down sound policies, including the implementation of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and the Green Energy Option Program,” said Cusi.

RPS mandates energy distribution utilities to source a minimum portion of their energy from eligible renewable sources, while the green energy option provides the power of choosing its energy supplier from renewable energy sources.

In achieving energy security, the DOE leads the implementation of Executive Order No. 30 which creates an Energy Investment Coordinating Council to speed up the processing and to de-stress regulations concerning energy projects of national significance.

“No longer will it take up to 3 years for bureaucrats to respond to a proposal for a project. Instead, these agencies must act on a proposal within 30 days, failure of which, the proposal is deemed approved,” said Cusi.

Cusi stressed that entire power system, including the transmission and distribution sectors, will play a critical role. Hence the DOE developed a Smart Grid Roadmap and Vision for 2040.

“The DOE established a clear policy direction to increase reliability reserves to 25%, for us to provide reliable, secure, sustainable and affordable energy to our people,” Cusi relayed.

He also cited the move to transform the country as the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trading and trans-shipment hub in the Asia-Pacific region following the DOE’s issuance of the Philippine Natural Gas Regulation. This policy would govern the entry and development of LNG terminals and related facilities in the country.

On energy equity, the DOE mandated the national energy policy to be technology-neutral, banking on all technologies available to deliver secure and affordable power, while also meeting emission and environmental standards.

“We want energy projects to be completed at the soonest possible time to improve access and the power systems. As the President has promised, we want to achieve total electrification by the end of his term,” Cusi concluded.