Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Friday, April 18, 2014

Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday: San Agustin Parish

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It's time again for another Visita Iglesia adventure on a Good Friday. While some spend their long weekend at the beach, devotees seek serenity by doing the Visita Iglesia to contemplate on the Passion of Christ. It is the time of the year when the churches comes alive as Catholics from all over the country flock to their choice of churches.

Visita Iglesia is also known as the visitation of seven churches, but some would go beyond that number if time, and budget, permits. Also a weak knee, a sore feet and a hungry or thirsty stomach, could add to the factors necessary to decide whether to move on, rest for a while, or go back home and sleep.

We would normally start early morning, but a few days before we've already planned where to go and which church to go first. We'll have a list of churches on our schedule and sometimes a map if we are not familiar with the places we have selected for this year's Visita Iglesia.

For some, accomplishing the task of finishing all seven church visitations will reward the doer with a wish granted. Maybe the higher power above will hear our prayers for all the effort. But in my case, as a traveler, it is a pleasure to see the sights especially if we will be there for the very first time. Many of our churches are built with superb architecture worth capturing to share with readers of my blog. Plus, the thought that I was able to accomplish the strenuous task of going from one church to the next in just a day is highly rewarding enough for me.

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Visita Iglesia is an annual tradition that many Filipino Catholics observe come Holy Week. Usually we will read about many travel bloggers who would go on some "church hopping" at different places in the country. Admirable, yet so old ages. Been there, done that, what's new?

We suddenly decided one day that we won't be going back to those far off but popular churches in the Philippines. They are all too over-rated already. Almost everyone has been there and seen it for so many times already.

So since we were actually a tad busy too, we decided to do our Visita Iglesia within our neighborhood only. Yes! We will be visiting just the churches of our beloved city of Pasig.

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The third church on our Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday was the San Antonio Abad Parish church located at Stella Maris Avenue in barangay Maybunga of Pasig city. It is very near the barangay hall of barangay Maybunga, and not really that big so you might miss it if you are driving too fast.

From what I have researched on, a certain Fr. Alonzo de Alvarado led the Augustinians in sailing down the Pasig River with the encomendero Juan de la Isla in January 1572. They reached Maybunga on January 17, the feast of San Antonio Abad, placing him as its titular. Maybunga was then an independent community with its own group of lakans and maginoos.

It is likely that this community was the settlement established by Dayang Kalangitan and Gat Lontok, centuries before the Spanish arrived. – Three days later, the Spaniards moved on from Maybunga to the center of ancient Pasig at Pinagbuhatan.

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The fourth church on our Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday was the "Parokya ng Sto. Rosario" or the Sto. Rosario De Pasig Parish.

Would you believe that we walked from the San Antonio Abad Parish at Stella Maris Avenue just to get here? We were misinformed that the church was very near so it took us a while to realize we've been punk'd! Bah! I guess the people we asked were also unaware of the distance.

But it was a worthwhile exercise amidst the heat of the sun.

Looking back, I think there is truth in the saying that everything is all in the mind. If you believe that your destination is just around the corner, you'll get there with less effort.

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Doing Visita Iglesia is fun!

The churches are not crowded, you get to pray in silence, and it seems people are more sincere during the Holy Week. I think its those days that the people you'll meet in churches are those that truly live a life of greatness.

But I saw some teens who were also doing it for the Instagram! Yeah! its also fun posting the pictures online for all your friends to see, but are we being serious with the Visita Iglesia that way?

100 million monthly users love Instagram! It's a free, fun, and simple way to make and share gorgeous photos on your mobile phone.

From their website "It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family.

Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it's as easy as pie. It's photo sharing, reinvented.

Oh yeah, did we mention it’s free?"

To Go on Visita Iglesia or Hit the Beach?: That Is the Big Question!

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What are your plans for the long vacation days this Holy Week?

Holy Week or “Semana Santa” is one of the most important religious festivities of the year. They say the Lenten season starts on Ash Wednesday, when people get ash in the form a cross on their foreheads. During my younger years, I would usually get annoyed seeing those and sometimes tempted to get their attention but had to stop when I realized it was Ash Wednesday. Holy Week culminates on Good Friday commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, and ends on Easter Sunday to celebrate his rise to heaven.

If you're like me whose plagued with a constant case of wanderlust, I am always itching to go somewhere when time and budget permits. I am raring to go on an adventure, and hop on board a plane, cruise ship or bus to anywhere I can afford. The free days off work, with no immediate responsibilities and very minimal obligations, during Holy Week is very tempting to push me somewhere off to where I will enjoy the most - to those places that I've never been to and worth exploring.

But I guess I have to make use of the week doing something else instead of further turning black because of too much exposure under the sun. While some of you head off to lounge on the beach, I will going around visiting churches. Anyway, luckily there's an alternate invitation that I accepted to quench my thirst for adventure. This week I am off to a Visita Iglesia, but next week I will set foot on one of the most beautiful and developed beach in the Philippines.

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Are you searching for an eat-all-you-can shabu-shabu restaurant?

Cooked right before your eyes, it's a feast worth taking your family, friends, or colleagues for a night of tasteful and mouth-watering experience. There's something fun seeing how your food is prepared. It's actually enjoyable to watch the restaurant staff mix ingredients and stir them in the cooking pot. Thinly sliced meat and vegetables and served which you can dip in several kinds of dipping sauces.

You can go visit the Typhoon Restaurant and Bar located at the 2nd level of the A. Venue Mall in Makati Avenu.They will give you one of the best shabu-shabu experience, plus they are not called the King of Soup for nothing because they have 27 kinds of soups that can melt your soul.

They are cooking up a storm signal so intense it will most probably uproot you from where you're sitting right now and immediately take you infront of the restaurant doors.

You wont regret it! Promise!

Zipping Through Zamboanga Hermosa in a Day

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We had very little time to explore the many tourist spots that can be found in Zamboanga because we had to attend to the many celebrations and activities lined up at the town plaza. I guess a few days will not be enough to go around and explore the many interesting sites in and out of the city, especially the destinations that will take more than an hour's drive to reach. We were there for four days, but it seemed to pass by so quick that we were surprised it was already time to go back home to Manila.

But we've visited quite a lot already that's more than enough to give us great reasons to consider the adventure a very memorable one. In fact, I've already posted a lot of articles about Zamboanga, from the hotels, to the restaurants and the many celebrations and activities we've done and cherished.

Asia's Latin City was truly a remarkable place that you'll have many reasons to go back and relive the adventure. Join me as I share with you just some of the many places in Zamboanga that I've been to.

The Department of Tourism has selected Zamboanga City as a flagship tourism destination in Zamboanga Peninsula probably because it contains several sites that have valuable heritage backgrounds, and other establishments that pay tribute or homage to their former leaders, and as service to the people of Zamboanga.

Wazzup Pilipinas!It may be old news but it's still cool to have one of those and be able to officially use them as valid for your mail and/or packages is totally uber mega cool to the highest level!

I'm talking about the unique attraction being offered by the Philippines through its postal service, the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) in coordination with the Department of Tourism (DOT), that you won't see anywhere else.

Travel to the island of Boracay, or any one of the other 11 recommended tourism destinations in the Philippines, and have your own picture featured on a stamp. Personalized stamps? Now that really sounds like a fair deal! What's the catch? The "selfie" stamps cost Php 250. That much huh!

PhilPost postmaster general Josefina de la Cruz said by the time the summer season starts, their personalized stamp issuing photo booths would have rolled out in some of the country’s international airports and tourist destinations. Have you seen one already? It is said that they will make these photo booths available in cities like Baguio, Boracay, Bohol and Palawan. Let us know if there are PhilPost photo booths already setup at the said areas.

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Zomato Philippines invited us over at Ristorante Bigoli in Eastwood a few days ago to try out a couple of new pizza flavors of the restaurant... plus a surprise activity that won me some Gift certificates that I still am waiting to be delivered at home.

They have introduced the new pizza flavors almost a month already but this will be the first time they will present it to bloggers.

Zomato has been partnering with great restaurants of the metro (and continuously growing everyday) to add more publicity to promote the mouth-watering delicacies offered at the partner food establishments.

Zomato is an international brand that provides an online portal for foodies to check out restaurant reviews and directory guides. Its one of the most convenient way to be informed of food options in the Metro

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In the Philippines, we celebrate March as Women’s Role in History Month in accordance to Proclamation No. 227, signed in 1988. In this month, we recognize the contributions and achievements of the female genderwhich includes the most important women in our lives—our mothers.

Women have contributed much to the development of our nation. There are many we now consider heroes. In the past, their accomplishments have been neglected or relegated as something of lesser importance. But now with keen awareness, we are reassessing their roles and appreciating their participation. In this day and age women especially mothers are able to multitask and perform the multifaceted role of a mom. There are home makers who are also in the corporate world. Some are entrepreneurs who are also experts in raising children.

“Knowing that the task of motherhood is delicate and requiring dedication, Philips Avent has been coming up with innovative products that will help mothers everywhere. This year, it is celebrating 30 years of passionate pursuit of creating products with mothers in mind,” says Me-Ann Achacoso, Philips Consumer Lifestyle Business Development Manager for Health and Wellness.

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The world - in the midst of economic development and unprecedented advances in technology – faces an uncertain future as far as conservation and preservation of the environment is concerned. Rapid industrialization, massive deforestation, and other unscrupulous and indiscriminate ways of man have led to the deterioration of the environment and climate change whose ugly manifestations – landslide, flooding, and the unusual weather – have cost lives and properties.

The scale and magnitude of this environmental catastrophe gave rise to such international organizations as the World Wide Fund for Nature established in 1986 (its predecessor was the World Wide Fund conceived in 1961 and initially covered the protection of endangered animals). It mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is available, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

One aspect of the environment which is adversely affected by man’s wicked activities is the freshwater biodiversity which is among the most threatened in the world. Human activities such as overfishing, pollution, and economic development have pushed a number of species to the brink of extinction. Estimates show that 7.5 million people depend on freshwater fish for food and income. It was reported by British scientists that freshwater fish are the most endangered group of animals on the planet with more than a third threatened with extinction.

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One Fighting Championship (ONE FC), Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization with a 90% market share, has finalized the lineup for the blockbuster ONE FC: RISE OF HEROES event with the addition of a bout between boxing world champion Ana Julaton and Egyptian kickboxing champion Aya Saeid Saber.

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Fighting Championship stated, “ONE FC is returning to the Philippines with a night of exciting mixed martial arts action! Filipino fight fans have been clamoring to see Ana Julaton in action for years and their wait is finally over as Julaton will make her mixed martial arts debut opposite kickboxing champion Aya Saeid Saber. This explosive bout completes the lineup for ONE FC: RISE OF HEROES. Fans all over the world can look forward to a night of world class mixed martial arts action as ONE FC: RISE OF HEROES comes to you live from the Philippines!”

Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton is the first Filipina boxer to win the women’s WBO Super Bantamweight and IBA Super Bantamweight World Championships while Aya Saeid Saber is an Egyptian kickboxing champion who has conquered the kickboxing scene in the Middle East.

Solenn Heussaff and Nico Bolzico Covers Hola Philippines April 2014 Issue

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"Hot and power couple Solenn Heussaff and Nico Bolzico turn up the heat in Aman Resorts' latest Vietnamese paradise on Hola Philippines magazine's April 2014 issue.
They will also be the first faces to grace their special cover edition in digital version on Zinio! Subscribe and grab a copy now! Get a copy here: http://bit.ly/solennnico

Read about how the couple allowed their love to bloom in the peace and beauty of Amano'i.

Get inspired to transform the beach strip to a summer catwalk under the heat of the sun with the laidback and comfy resort outfits of the couple.

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Our beloved cosplay idol Alodia Gosiengfiao was recently seen as a part of a Japanese TV commercial intended to promote a popular hand-held game. Alodia is seen here playing a Sony Playstation Vita and dancing along with a bunch of other Hatsune Miku fans performing a lively dance while playing the game. Behind them is a large screen display of the game. It mainly features the Tokyo Otaku Mode Special Creator.

To commemorate the release of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd, a rhythm-action game that features Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, a new TV commercial was recently created and is now already creating a huge stir and now eventually online since it has been recently uploaded on YouTube.

In order to further deepen enjoyment of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd, which was released in Japan only last March 27, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia (SCEJA) had previously announced “Dance with PS Vita” - a play style in which “players use their full bodies and dance to control the PS Vita version of the game.”