Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Monday, June 23, 2014

Take Your Step To Success at the Entrepreneur and Franchise Expo and the Entrepreneur Success Summit this June 27-29

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The ENTREPRENEUR AND FRANCHISE EXPO 2014 with the tagline, “Your Step to Success!”, is set to be held on June 27-29, 2014 at the MegatradeHall, 5TH Floor, Mega B Building, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. Empowering over 100 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from various business sectors, the 3-day event features innovative and fast growing businesses, from food, education, retailing, real estate, travel, automobiles, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, technology and financing that visitors can explore from. The expo will also provide seminars on how to build a successful business, from funding, hiring, to finding the perfect business for you, making it the perfect market place for aspiring entrepreneurs and future franchises.

“Over 99% percent of registered businesses in the Philippines are MSMEs according to the DTI, but they combined only contribute to 30% of the National GDP. With the ASEAN integration happening in 2015 with new competition coming in, our vision as the expo organizer is to strengthen local businesses and provide a platform for them to showcase their innovative products and services. We also provide assistance for business owners and executives to network amongst other professionals and stakeholders in order to open opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own business and for local businesses to grow regional” says MEDIACOM SOLUTIONS INC. President and Entrepreneur and Franchise Expo Founder and Managing Director, David Abrenilla.

The Entrepreneur and Franchise Expo 2014 is supported by the Young Entrepreneurs Society Philippines and the Filipino International Franchise Association (FIFA), lead by multi-awarded franchise developer Mr. Rudolf Kotik, who will share his insights on how to build and grow a successful franchise business on Sunday, June 29 from 3pm-5pm.

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Ballet Philippines, the country’s classical and contemporary company in cooperation with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines proudly announces the return of Agnes Locsin’s La Revolucion Filipina to kick off the company’s 45th Anniversary – The Sapphire Season.

The sublime paralytic Apolinario Mabini and the story of his role in the Philippine Revolution are brought into the limelight once again, just in time for the hero’s sesquicentennial birth anniversary.

Named Outstanding Dance Production and winner of Outstanding Choreography for Agnes Locsin at the 2008 Gawad Buhay! Awards, La Revolucion Filipina features original music by Ryan Cayabyab and libretto by Dennis Marasigan.

Choreographer Agnes Locsin was a former artistic director and resident choreographer of Ballet Philippines. She was the Gawad CCP awardee for Dance in 2012.

This fourth restaging of the modern dance masterpiece is led by three members of La Revolucion Filipina’s original cast, Annette Cruz-Mariano, Judell de Guzman-Sicam, and Alden Lugnasin.

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Fresh from its success last year, the DLSU Student Media Office will once again host the Student Media Congress 2014 with the theme "Empowering Media Catalysts" on July 25-26, 2014 at De La Salle University-Manila. It is a two-day event that includes workshops and talks from influential and credible speakers in the field of media. Expected number of participants is around 1,100 coming from different universities and colleges around the Philippines.

Student Media Congress believes that media is one of the largest industries of today--with different fields that could and should be dealt with. So this year's Student Media Congress is offering a variety of competing and non competing workshops that tackles with different practices of media, hosted by it's prime practitioners.

Now's the chance to learn and hone your skills from top media personalities! Catch Howie Severino, Rico Hizon, Mick Atienza, Carlos Mori Rodriguez, Santiago Elizalde and many more at this year's Student Media Congress from July 25 to 26 at De La Salle University-Manila.

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In the span of a year, Red Turnip Theater has made its mark in the Philippine theater scene. The band of five actors that make up Red Turnip (Ana Abad Santos, Topper Fabregas, Jenny Jamora, Cris Villonco and Rem Zamora) wanted to come up with a maiden season that would re-introduce Philippine audiences to the straight play while putting their own stamp on the theatrical experience. Their first production, “Closer”, was a bruising and honest take on modern day relationships and their follow-up, “Cock”, was a biting comedy about sexual identity. Both productions went on to acclaim with critics and audiences alike.

The five are back with their second season and are excited to kickstart it with the 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner, “Rabbit Hole”. Written by David Lindsay-Abaire, “Rabbit Hole” was a Broadway hit that garnered several Tony nominations and a win for its lead actress, Cynthia Nixon. It was then adapted into a critically-acclaimed film with Nicole Kidman in 2010 and earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

The story revolves around Becca and Howie, a couple who lose their four year old son to a car accident, and the grief that slowly threatens to tear them apart. Shifting between humour and heartbreak, “Rabbit Hole” explores the way people deal with loss and how this affects those closest to them; their families. Variety calls it “an intensely emotional examination of grief, laced with wit, insightfulness, compassion, and searing honesty”.

Proofs of Concept Presented for P 3.4 B LTO Bid

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Proofs of concept for the P 3.4-Billion Road Transportation Information Technology Infrastructure (LTO Component) Project of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) – otherwise known as the LTO IT Project – were presented by three (3) remaining bidders last week, giving a peek into much-improved services at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) beginning in the third quarter of 2015.

“This project aims to make dealing with the LTO more convenient and efficient for the public. Unnecessary steps will be cut out, online transactions will be enabled, and human intervention will be minimized in order to curb corrupt practices,” said DOTC Secretary Joseph Abaya.

Say Yes to San Jose: Let NSJBI Build Your Dreams For You

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Dreaming of having your own home, then you should wake up now and head on over to any of the properties developed by New San Jose Builders, Inc. (NSJBI)!

The renowned Filipino property developer headed by its chairman, Mr. Jose Acuzar recently launched a heightened campaign to reach more Filipinos and provide them with quality yet affordable homes.

Honestly, its my first time to hear about this developer but I've heard the name of Mr. Acuzar already. It seems reputation precedes him as the man behind the properties is more famous than his creations.

New San Jose Builders, Inc from its humble beginning back in 1986 as a contractor of government projects, it has already diversified to include residential and condominium properties that are communities with a higher standard of living. It begins with a strong foundation brought about by the patron saint from which the company was named after - Saint Joseph, the carpenter.

Philips LED: A Glimpse of the Future in Lighting Innovation

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They are saying that Philips is set to revolutionize the landscape of lighting with innovation concepts that are a glimpse of the future. And so we were given a brief experience of the possibilities of what the future of lighting holds through Philips remarkable presentation during their LED product launch held at the Blue Leaf Events Place located in McKinley Bonifacio Global City.

The event initiated in total darkness. Well..not really total darkness...but I thought so until I remeber that I forgot to take off my shades. I came in late so when I was led to a room, I saw mostly darkness but I can see that there were people all around watching a video presentation. They are only seen because of the light coming from the video screen.

Then I heard a familiar voice. The voice of Gabe Mercado, one of my favorite comedians and now a member of SPIT - a group that does improv - but that's another story. He was discussing everything that we needed to know in a subtly humorous way. It was all about the latest innovations from Philips - who I believe now leads in the lighting industry through amazing innovations that goes beyond merely lighting dark rooms or streets.

Now lighting becomes more than just to illuminate with Philips. It is now a way of life, a lifestyle, an experience that sets the mood, a collaboration with other materials and technology that goes beyond the boundaries of what is normal. It elevates the thinking of men into becoming more creative and experimental.

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Canada is a hot bed of pop music activity. Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morrisette are just some of the big names to have come from the big country up north and this proves that Canadians can pump out great sounding world pop. That's why it's with great anticipation that we're holding our breath for one Elise Estrada.

Dubbed as the “Canadian Pop Princess,” Elise is a singer-songwriter-performer with a string of number one hits to her name. Her music videos are bombastic audio-visual experiences and best of all, Elise has got Pinoy blood pumping in her veins. This foxy Filipina-Canadian had an amazing debut back in 2008 when her album and its title-track “Insatiable” hit number one at the Canadian Billboard pop charts. Her streak continued with another top ten hit in “These Three Words,” before hitting the top again with the R&B tinged pop track “Unlove You.”

Elise has since been nominated for the Juno (Canadian Grammy) Award for “Best R&B Soul Album,” and has aced prestigious nods like the “Emerging Artist Award,” “Best New Artist,” and has over 40,000 airplay spins on FM radio for “Insatiable” alone. Over the course of two R&B inflected dance albums, Elise has produced a total of ten Top Ten hits. She has also shared the stage with Lady Gaga, Rihanna, 50 Cent, Sean Kingston, Nelly and The Backstreet Boys, making good on the monicker given her as the “Rihanna Of Canada.”

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Acoustic guitar-flavored pop music acts are a dime-a-dozen. But every now and then, somebody new comes along who just coaxes you with the easiest melodies and the catchiest of original songs.

Say hello then to Kito Romualdez.

This singer-songwriter is originally a native of San Juan, Manila. But he's lived most of his young life in Canada. Now that he's back in the land of his birth, all he wants to do is sing you his songs. His musical influences are John Mayer, Jason Mraz, John Legend, Alicia Keys and a few more choice singers. The common denominator here is that he's into artists who write their own songs.

Maybe that's why Kito is into creating his own material. In fact, the first track off his self-titled debut is a self-penned tune. And incidentally, it's also one of the best tracks in his album.

An imaginitive piece of pop writing, “Ready Ka Na Ba?” is a call to action as Kito asks, are you ready to be in a relationship? It's plain as day as Kito sings “ready ka na ba lumipad, sumayaw at umikot-ikot sa mundong kong ito? ready ka na ba magsaya, kumanta sa mundong nakakahilo?” It's obvious what Kito's asking---are you ready for the rollercoaster ride of love?---It's exciting and nerve-wracking for sure. But you're assured here as Kito ends that little verse with “kapit lang, andito ako.” Coupled with a head-bobbing melody that you can't escape, “Ready Ka Na Ba?” is an excellent way to start an album.

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Two companies combined their resources into a single event to promote health and wellness that will rejuvenate our bodies both inside and out. I was actually surprised that a bottled water and a skin care company were organizing an event together. But it does make sense when they finally explained why.

Well, frankly it was sort of a bit difficult to understand but maybe because I'm not just thinking too deep. Most of us are probably like that. We often neglect some things because of so many other things we do. We are too busy or somehow only focused to a few like a saddled horse with restricted sight that we could not multi-task effectively.

We learned from the event that not all bottled water are the same. Some do really stand out among the rest if you do proper testing to reveal which one is really beneficial to your health. Aquabest introduced the alkaline water produced by their new technology.

Meanwhile, Evee launched the Lumina white line - a comprehensive facial care line developed to achieve the Asian ideal for skin which considers very fair, bright, and blemish free.

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During the interview at the press launch, I asked Topper Fabregas if he is now aiming for a Gawad Buhay awards this time as he directs Red Turnip Theater's David Lindsay-Abaire's 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning play entitled Rabbit Hole as its initial offering for the second season, and he laugh out loud for he knew it was meant as a joke and followed it with "After that speech, I don't think I will nominated ever." Lol!

Topper was one of the presentors during the Gawad Buhay Awards night held a few days ago at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and sort of took the moment to express his bitterness towards the panel of judges who chose the nominated actors and actresses because of the fact that he was not nominated for an award. Of course we knew he was joking so we had a huge laugh during that night.

Now, during our "speed dating" interview after the cast made an initial introduction to themselves and the season opener, they alternately transferred from one table to the next so members of the media would have a chance to do more intimate interviews on a two artists per table procedure.

The second season presscon was held last June 16, 2014 at the 2nds restaurant located at Bonifacio Global City, and was partially sponsored by Fila Philippines.

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Led by enforcers from the Land Transportation Office (LTO), ten (10) colorum buses have been caught in different areas of the country since yesterday, 19 June 2014, marking the implementation of Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2014-01 of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and the LTO.

DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya advised the LTO to “Carry on with the good job so far of enforcing safety measures which will protect motorists and commuters alike. Let’s continue creating a culture of road discipline for the public good.”

According to LTO Assistant Secretary Alfonso Tan, Jr., the 10 operators which were caught by traffic enforcers are the following:

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Reacting to the transport caravan organized by several transport groups today, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is making its message clear: If you are not violating traffic rules and regulations, you have nothing to fear.

“We issued the revised fines and penalties to better ensure road discipline and safety for the public. If these groups are not violating traffic rules and safety measures, then what are they protesting about? It is time for them to follow rules like everyone else, and to practice discipline and orderliness on the road,” said DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya.

“Commuters put their safety in the hands of transport operators everyday. It is government’s obligation to make sure that public utility vehicle operators are responsible in delivering their services. That is why we issued the Joint Administrative Order,” Abaya added.

Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2014-01 of the DOTC, the Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board (LTFRB) sets higher fines and penalties for various violations of land transportation rules and regulations, including a P 1 Million fine for colorum buses. It took effect today, threatening the operation of illegal or unauthorized PUVs.

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Facebook remains the preferred target for cybercriminals who specialize in stealing social network accounts.

According to Kaspersky Lab’s statistics in Q1 2014, fake sites imitating Facebook accounted for 10.85% of all instances when the heuristic Anti-phishing component was triggered.

Only fake Yahoo pages sparked more phishing alerts, leaving Facebook the prime target among social networking sites.

Today’s Facebook fakery is a global business, with cyber criminals attacking the site in a variety of languages like English, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, Arabic and others.

Unauthorized access to accounts in Facebook or any other social network can be used to spread phishing links or malware.

Cybercriminals also use stolen accounts to send spam to the victims’ contact lists and publish spam on their friends’ walls where it can be seen by other users, or to spread messages asking their friends to send urgent financial assistance.

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There's this contemporary Spanish restaurant and cocktail bar at Bonifacio Global City that has leveled up the dining experience by offering a more sumptuous menu version number 2. I can fully support that statement with proof by showing you a photo of what's left in our table after a great lunch treat. Left-overs will also soon be out of your vocabulary if you will frequent the place.

It is very rare that we end up eating everything up in just a couple of hours. We would normally have a dish or two that we won't like and leave it barely untouched. But there was a huge difference at Las Flores (The Flowers). I would know because it's my second time there. I was also there last year when we tried out their dishes and just like now, we left nothing for the doggie bag.

Las Flores offers modern Spanish dishes that were creatively fashioned to entice all senses. Even their cocktails and other liquor mixes are works of art that are totally satisfying that you wouldn't want to waste a drop. They have lots of dishes to serve you until you're all bloated and feeling good about your decision that you chose to dine in this heavenly place.