Sheraton Manila Bay Celebrates 10 Years of Negroni Week

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Sheraton Manila Bay’s Unspoken Bar celebrates a decade of Negroni Week with a signature Negroni Cocktail, combo specials, taste teasers and more.

Negroni Week started in 2013 as a celebration of one of the world’s great cocktails and an effort to raise money for charitable causes around the world. Since then, Negroni Week has grown from about 120 participating venues to thousands of venues around the world. To date, the initiative has raised over $3 million for charitable organizations.

This year, Unspoken Bar joins bars and restaurants worldwide in celebrating 10 years of Negroni Week. For Drink of the Month, resident mixologist and bartender Aliuss Abrazado concocts Latte Negroni, a Sheraton Manila Bay signature cocktail that fuse together classic Negroni with hints of coffee available for only Php 390++ per order.

Moreover, our bespoke Negroni cocktails Paper Cut, inspired by Paper Plane with hints of Fernet and Strawberry and Sbagliata, an elevated version of Sbagliato with floral essence will be available for complimentary samplers and mixes on Taste Teasers every Wednesdays of September.

All specialty Negroni mixes will also be part of our Happy Hour selection until September 17. For only Php 550++ per order, Happy Hour special includes of any two (2) cocktails from our Happy Hour selection, complimentary pica pica, and live acoustic performances every Friday and Saturday.

For reservation please call +632 5318 0788 or email reservations.manilabay@sheraton.com. Like us on Facebook and Instagram @sheratonmanilabay and Twitter at @sheratonmnlbay.

MINDA taps UN-awarded scientist for Climate Smart Mindanao 2050

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The Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA), headed by Sec. Maria Belen Acosta, has just tapped internationally-acclaimed Filipino climate expert and science diplomat Glenn Banaguas to spearhead climate change and disaster mitigation efforts across the region under the aegis of Climate Smart Mindanao 2050. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to enable the region to reduce its carbon footprint and empower its people to proactively assess and manage its climate risks.

“Climate change response is a fundamental pillar of MINDA's long-range plans for Mindanao,” Acosta said at the Memorandum of Collaboration signing in Makati City on September 14, which was graced by a full complement of Mindanao’s decisionmakers and stakeholders. “The region's socioeconomic growth hinges on our capacity to confront, mitigate, and hopefully even avoid the looming dangers of global warming.”

“It is an absolute honor to work with MINDA on the furtherance of Mindanao’s climate action goals. In terms of biodiversity and natural reserves alone, the region is one of the most resource-rich places in the world. Mindanao deserves nothing less than our undivided support and protection, as it is a source of economic, cultural, historical, and national pride,” Banaguas said.

Climate Smart Mindanao 2050 is an enhanced version of the original Climate Smart Mindanao program, which was supported and implemented by the late MINDA Sec. Datu Abul Khayr Alonto, Usec. Janet Lopoz, and Asec. Romeo Montenegro for the welfare of Mindanawons.

“Through Climate Smart Mindanao, Secretary Abul Khayr Alonto led the way for sustainable climate action in the region. There is no higher tribute to his memory than to further his work,” Banaguas added.

The new and enhanced Climate Smart Mindanao 2050 actively strives to:Deliver and deploy region-wide climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions;
Develop the region’s capability to address climate issues by way of broader discourses and cooperation on interrelated food, water, and energy issues;
Provide training, capacity building, and consultation workshops on climate and sustainability financing; and
Work towards net zero emissions (NZE) through greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting under the Mindanao Decarbonization Roadmap

“Aside from addressing climate change and disaster risks, it is also the goal of Climate Smart Mindanao 2050 to continue promoting peace and de-escalate tensions by bringing parties in conflict together to address environmental and social issues,” Banaguas explained.

Sc. Dpl. Banaguas is the president and founder of the Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute (ECCRI). In 2010, he also spearheaded the institute's flagship program, Climate Smart Philippines, of which Climate Smart Mindanao 2050 is a constituent program. The initiative brings scientific experts and stakeholders together to address disasters and prevent losses from climate change and other hazards. For his pioneering work, Banaguas received the prestigious UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2022, besting over 200 nominations from around the world to become the first individual Filipino recipient in the award’s 35-year history. ###

Further inquiries may be sent to csdra-secretariat@csdrasean.com





PHOTO CAPTION: MINDA Sec. Maria Belen Acosta and Sci. Dpl. Glenn Banaguas (middle) are flanked by Asec. Romeo Montenegro (leftmost) and RS Victor Angelo Fuentebella as they hold up the signed Memorandum of Collaboration for Climate Smart Mindanao 2050.

ImagineLaw urges passage of Trans Fat Free Philippines Law to protect heart health

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“Time’s up for trans fat.”


This was the statement of public interest law group ImagineLaw on Wednesday as it welcomed bills filed by several members of Congress seeking to ban industrially-produced trans fatty acids (iTFAs) in the country’s food supply.

The law group said that the passage of a Trans Fat Free Philippines Law will improve Filipinos’ heart health since high intake of trans fats contributes to cardiovascular diseases, citing data from the Department of Health (DOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Trans fatty acids (TFAs) or trans fats are a toxic substance usually used by food manufacturers to prolong food products’ shelf life. TFAs are commonly-found in margarine, instant coffee, donuts, and many others.

Senators Nancy Binay, Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla, Jr., and Joel Villanueva filed Senate Bills No. 116 (co-authored with Sen. Risa Hontiveros), 1207, and 1286, respectively. The bills mandate food manufacturers to reformulate and eventually eliminate trans fatty acids or TFAs in their products.

Counterpart measures were also recently filed in the House of Representatives by Laguna First District Rep. Ann Matibag (House Bill No. 1485), Quezon Rep. Mike Tan (House Bill No. 2548), and Ang Probinsyano Partylist Rep. Alfred delos Santos (House Bill No. 4379). If passed into law, resources will also be allocated to strengthen the institutional capacity of regulatory agencies and ensure that all food sources of iTFA are removed.

“We welcome this multi-partisan effort for a national legislation in the 19th Congress that will improve Filipinos’ cardiovascular health,” said Atty. Sophia San Luis, ImagineLaw’s executive director. “These measures will institutionalize existing policies that seek to remove trans fat from our diet,” she added.

In 2021, the DOH released Administrative Order No. 2021-0039 that sets the plan to eliminate iTFA in the country’s food supply. In the same year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also released Circular No. 2021-028, a set of guidelines for food manufacturers to remove iTFAs in their products by June 2023.

“Heart disease is the number one killer for Filipinos,” said San Luis. “The Trans Fat Free Philippines Law will help protect our families and loved ones from cardiovascular diseases,” she also said.