Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy Soles for Happy Souls

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With its iconic cheerful colors and fun prints, every pair of Havaianas flip-flop is sure to transport a person into a happy state.

So when Tropical Retail Company, Inc.- All Flip-Flops, retailer of the well-loved quality footwear, Havaianas, in the Philippine donated 5,000 flip-flops to Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines, Inc. for the victims of super typhoon Yolanda, everybody was naturally ecstatic.

The Havaianas flip-flops, ranging from baby to adult sizes, was delivered by Chinnie Alpay, Executive Assistant and Administrative Coordinator and Candice See, Recruitment officer, at the Operation Blessing headquarters in Pasig City. The donation was received by Peter Kairuz, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBN Asia and Operation Blessing and Dr. Kim Pascual, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Operation Blessing.

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Globe Telecom employee volunteers have trooped to typhoon-devastated areas in the Visayas region to provide relief packages to almost 5,000 families and hot meals to 3,000 individuals.

Globe Bangon Pinoy relief operations were held in Panay, Bogo, Bantayan, San Remigio, and Malapascua in Cebu; Ormoc and Tacloban, Leyte; Poblacion, Iloilo; Roxas City, Capiz; Barbaza, Antique, Manapla, Negros Occidental, and Kalibo, Aklan.

Hot meals, on the other hand, were distributed via Red Cross Mobile Kitchen in San Dionisio and Concepcion, Iloilo and Roxas, Capiz. while 50 sacks of rice were turned over to the Iloilo provincial office.

The relief packs are composed of basic necessities such as food and bottled water even as the company is set to send donations of usable clothes and footwear, sanitation kits, and blankets.

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Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Super Typhoon Yolanda, left the Philippines in a national state of calamity with at least 2 million families in 44 provinces gravely affected, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The world has united to help victims of the disaster wrought by one of the strongest storms ever recorded. Various relief efforts are helping to alleviate the dire situation. But long-term strategies involving strategic mapping of urban and rural developments are needed more than ever. Learning where and how to adapt to future storms, including surges, in order to minimize the impact of such weather disturbances is key to rebuilding lives, property and infrastructure in the damaged areas.

The numbers reported from the ground up are staggering. Resources depicting the aftermath of the storm surge abound in social media, taken and uploaded by witnesses and survivors in the provinces of Cebu Island, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Western Samar, Southern Leyte, Leyte, and Biliran, among others.

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In lieu of the ongoing efforts for the relief of the victims of Typhoon Yolanda which devastated thousands of people in the Visayas, MCA Music has decided to postpone Sitti’s “Bossa Love” Concert and Album Launch on November 28 at Music Museum to January 18 (Saturday), 2014, same venue.

Those who already purchased their tickets via SM Tickets, Ticketworld and Music Museum may get their refund at the mentioned ticketing outlets. But tickets for bought for the November 28 show will still be honored during the January 18 show.

For those who bought Orchestra tickets and wish to not have it refunded, they can claim their Sitti “Bossa Love” CD at MCA Music Inc. office, 34F Raffles Corporate Center, F. Ortigas Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Just bring your ticket purchased.

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Bohol was a disaster site after the deadly magnitude 7.2 earthquake of October 15. Engulfed in darkness because of landslides and the destruction of electrical power connections, life and survival became a challenge.

Four days after the earthquake, Gold Sun Comservices Inc. donated 8 units of solar streetlights and t-shirts for hospitals and staff nurses, and evacuation centers.

Three units of streetlights were installed at the Natalia Castillo Sr. Memorial Hospital and one hand-carried lamp helped two pregnant women to deliver their babies during the long brownout.

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Good news, job seekers! Unlad International just signed a memorandum of agreement with jobsDB Philippines for the Unland Kabuhayan Job Fair on January 24-26 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia. It is expected to attract 80,000 participants looking at the 200 exhibitors there from various sectors.

It is a great partnership to say the least as jobsDB Philippines has established itself as the leading online recruitment company with over 14.6 million members and Unland International is an NGO aiming to fight poverty with several projects like the Ultimate Kitchen Challenge 2013 and Tatak Unland Fashionista.

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On November 30, 2013, Crizal Transitions, the leading Photochromic lens in the world, wants us to “see life in a brighter light.” As such, they have organized the first-ever open-air music and movie festival, Cinemajam!

Live music from GraceNote, Moonstar 88, Itchyworms, Callalily, and a special performance by Bamboo will be filling the air and setting the mood for the day-to-night affair. On the other hand, movies Love, Actually and Limitless, the mystery thriller featuring Bradley Cooper ensures different angles on life and love.

To add to the festivities, major event sponsor, Air Asia, will be giving away round trip tickets for 3 people to either Seoul, Korea or Miri, Malaysia! Joining this contest is easy! First, “LIKE” the official Facebook page of Essilor Philippines. Second, upload a photo that answers the question: “What Lights Up Your Life?” Lastly, include a caption and be sure to tag Essilor Philippines.

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Christmas is one of the most anticipated and joyful times of the year. It’s also one of the busiest—our schedules can get easily packed, from Christmas parties to last minute shopping sprees. But Christmas doesn’t have to be stressful—plan your Christmas list ahead so you can sit back and relax as you enjoy this year’s Yuletide season.

Philips is helping you have a fuss-free Christmas with this gift guide from its line of consumer products. Whether it’s for family or friends, Philips makes sure you can give them the gift of looking and feeling good for the holidays and beyond.

Check out the Philips Portable Bluetooth Speakers SBT30 as seen from the above photo. I hope Philips sends me a demo unit so we could test the real thing at my workplace.

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Let the whole world witness the beauty of the Philippines as Miss Earth 2013 takes the lead in promoting eco-tourism worldwide.

Miss Earth 2013 the 13th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, will be held on December 7, 2013 at the Versailles Palace in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines. Miss Earth 2012 Tereza Fajksová from Czech Republic will crown her successor at the end of the event. This year's edition is aligned with "The International Year of Water Cooperation" .

During a reception for a meet and greet of some of the Miss Earth 2013 lovely candidates held during lunch at Chef Jessie 100 Revolving Restaurant, Media people and photographers had a chance to interview them and talked about their advocacies back home and for the environment. The Pageant is very timely in the event of Typhoon Yolanda that hit our country, these gorgeous women will share their advocacy for the environment in their home countries. It's about time we take environment protection seriously and these ladies will use their beauty and influence to relay the message of hope, charity and environmental awareness across the globe.

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A fabulous place with a celebrated chef and lunch with gorgeous Miss Earth 2013 candidates. It was a serendipitous moment, I am in a right time and a right place. Chef Jessie Sincioco is one of our famous chefs, who takes pride in our Filipino dishes, with her magic touch, our Pinoy dishes could be popular if not famous globally, it will be a hit just like the Japanese and Chinese dishes. Chef Jessie can customized dishes according to your needs, preference and budget and the menu will still turn out perfect, she is one working chef!

Chef Jessie 100 Revolving Restaurant is owned by the Que Family of MDC (Mercury Drug Corporation) located at the 33rd floor of the company owned (MDC 100) building, the first high-rise venture of MDC.

Ms. Tess Laurente, the PR Manager and Chef Jessie herself when we had a chance to interview them talked about the story behind the name of MDC 100. The 100 is a very special number for the Que Family, they started a business with 100 pesos, so it symbolizes the humble beginning of the company, very inspiring!

Seiko Epson Corporation global President Minoru Usui hands over Epson’s additional aid to PBSP Executive Director Rafael Cojuangco Lopa for the benefit of Typhoon Haiyan survivors.

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Epson announced recently that it is increasing its aid for the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) to PhP6.372 million pesos. The additional support was presented by Seiko Epson's global president Minoru Usui to the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), a foundation that is providing relief and recovery assistance to devastated areas.

The combined donation of Epson employees – from employee cash donations and employee initiatives (budget from Christmas party and Family day) amounted to PhP2.372 million. An additional PhP2 million was made by the company from its initial donation of PhP2 million last November 12.

Relief and rehabilitation operations are currently ongoing in the Visayas region, which was severely affected by Typhoon Haiyan -- considered as one of the worst typhoons to hit the Philippines in recorded history. Epson stands with the families affected by the calamity and hopes for the swift rehabilitation of the areas damaged by the disaster.

Hunger Games Catching Fire : Movie Night with Friends

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"Katniss Everdeen's world is a world of hunger and competition. In order to win the game, the fighters must focus on outdoing one another, enduring adversities, faking emotions and pleasing the crowd. It's a world where there is no place for authenticity and making friends within the battle arena is like sleeping beside an ax. There can only be one victor. While most fighters connived with the strong, the Girl on Fire chose befriended the weaklings. She always thought differently.

Thank you, Lions Gate, for burning money to bring to the world Catching Fire. Such a great reminder for us to know who the real enemy is when we get to the battle arena. Panem, after all, is not so different with the place we call Earth."- Mark Delgado

Hunger Games Catching Fire was shown in a special blocked screening last November 22, 2013 at Shang CinePlex Shangri-La Plaza, Ortigas Pasig City.

Wazzup Pilipinas, as an online media partner was given five (5) tickets. I invited four of my fellow educators to join me in the event so we had to leave early from work.

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I may soon become a metrosexual!

Well, I don't usually like to be feeling sozy by pampering myself with a whole body massage, a colorfully designed manicure/pedicure, a strenuous body stretch with a yoga exercise, and concocting a blend of my own fruit and veggie juices.

But I was amazed of the possibilities that one can spend his or her afternoon. It was truly relaxing to sweat out, take a warm shower afterwards, drink up a purely organic juice, and then relax while they work on your nails.

Damn! I envy the women who can stretch into unimaginable limits, drink up a sour and sweet combination of drink, and choose a variety of nail art to "bongaciously" make their nails an art canvass.

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How do you Win in Manila?

With a hashtag of #WinInManila, we engage with our readers the most creative and controversial way possible. Though its a lifestyle blog, we incorporate editorial opinions, re-post issues that have gone viral, mess around with sensitive thoughts that are quite provoking, act as if we are very well informed, and a lot of almost enigmatic articles that are way beyond the real scope of a lifestyle blog - Nah! we do that but only when we feel like it. Unlike some who do that for a living, we do it for fun!

Now, we have a responsibility to share the information, and of course the attitude, to the people -of whom majority are the youth - the next generation of social media influencers - bloggers and/or social network addicts, and likewise to those that read the stuff we post online.

Many of them, unconsciously, absorb what we share - and it reflects in the way they act, talk and deal with people. Unaware, they may be expressing and replicating what we feel, what we rant and rave about, and how we say it online. Admit it or not, we greatly influence them, and they unknowingly do the same thing with their own readers or followers.

Q2 2014 Targeted For P 65B LRT-1 Cavite Extension PPP Bid

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After obtaining the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board’s approval to sweeten the terms of the country’s biggest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is now targeting to schedule its bid submission deadline within the second quarter of 2014.

In order to foster more competitive bids for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension PPP Project (LRT-1 Cavex), the DOTC aims to give roughly four (4) to six (6) months’ time from the start of the bidding process to allow new players to come into the picture. The bidding process begins upon the publication of an invitation to bid, which the transport agency will do within December 2013.

“This timeline is meant to foster competitive bids. We believe that the improved terms will attract more players, who will need a reasonable period to study the project and prepare their proposals,” said DOTC spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal.