Cebu City Is Most Searched Location Outside Metro Manila for Real Estate

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Helped by a significant number of searches for houses and lots for sale, Cebu City is ostensibly the most in-demand among online property-seekers looking to buy or rent properties outside of Metro Manila.

Gathering onsite search data from the first to third quarters of 2016, Lamudi Philippines, the leading real estate marketplace in the country, determined that the Visayas’ center for business and commerce is the most searched area outside Metro Manila among Lamudi users. Expectedly, the country’s third most important city (and largest in terms of land area), Davao City, comes in third as well.

The most recent data also indicated that traditional house and lots remain the most popular property type searched for among those looking outside Metro Manila, despite the rise of new apartment complexes and condominium developments in some of these areas. The latter two property types, however, were the following two most searched property types.

In Cebu City, for instance, 55% of property-hunters who visited the Lamudi website from January to September 2016 were looking for houses, followed by apartments and condos. In the cities, the proportion of those looking for houses is even much higher: almost 87% in Antipolo, 84% in Bacoor, 85% in Santa Rosa, and 78% in Imus. It is interesting to note that these cities are dubbed as “bedroom communities”—places that are home to a large number of people who commute to and work in Metro Manila.

Percentage of search volume by property type in the top 10 most searched cities outside Metro Manila

CITY	Houses	Apartments	Condominium	Land	Other property types
Cebu	55.48	20.34	14.56	7.39	2.23
Davao	73.94	7.83	4.39	13.19	0.65
Tagaytay	78.06	0.00	4.62	14.80	2.51
Antipolo	86.94	0.35	0.00	12.33	0.37
Bacoor	84.61	10.19	0.00	4.45	0.74
Baguio	72.23	5.25	4.19	17.12	1.21
Imus	78.50	18.37	0.00	2.18	0.94
Santa Rosa	85.27	1.90	2.43	8.13	2.27
Lapu-Lapu	80.70	11.77	4.33	2.35	0.84
Mandaue	24.58	57.04	9.90	5.97	2.50

Other areas that were tops among most searched areas outside Metro Manila were Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue City, two places included in Metro Cebu. Baguio City, the long-time Summer Capital in the Philippines, was the area sixth most searched, where its real estate landscape resulting in houses and lots being the most looked for in the city.

While the data gathered was centered on placed outside Metro Manila most searched for property for sale or rent online, it must be noted that four of the top 10 areas are relatively a short distance away from the Philippine capital, and are places considered part of the Greater Manila area. They are Antipolo, Bacoor, Imus, and Santa Rosa. On the other hand, Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue, which are both parts of Metro Cebu, generated a huge amount of search as well. In addition, traditional touristy places Baguio and Tagaytay generated plenty of online searches, most likely from people looking for vacation homes.

Designer Kaye Morales is Out to Change PH Fashion

Wazzup Pilipinas!

During Philippine Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer 2016 run, designer Kaye Morales made waves not only for her rainbow-splashed collection, Rebel, but also for her revelation. As her models strutted down the runway for their final walk, Morales’s words lit up the screen overhead: “I am coming out of the prison of judgment. And these are the things that make me who I am. This is my revolution of self. I am out and proud.”

Drawing inspiration from her own struggles as a woman, the designer, make-up artist and occasional painter shared, “I’m a lesbian and I want to (be) open (about) myself while making the fashion industry a welcoming place for all types of people. I want (others) to understand the different types of sexuality, especially mine, as I come out in this industry.”

Morales’s latest collection serves as a throwback of sorts to her humble beginnings as a student at the School of Fashion & the Arts (SoFA), during which she made her first serious foray into the industry with Schizo, a ready-to-wear line for the young fashionable set inclined to making punk style statements.

Closing in on her first decade in the fashion industry, Morales showed early promise when she won Best Collection for Octopodes at the SoFA’s graduation show in 2010. She had previously attended De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde where she took up production design and interior design. With a slew of short courses, she rounded out her fashion education at Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts London.

Aside from Octopodes and Rebel, the designer has come out with four other collections: Melancholia; Debauchery included in Vancouver Fashion Week’s 2013 line-up; Centipede presented at LA Style Fashion Week 2014; Katana seen at Philippine Fashion Week’s Fall/Winter 2015 cycle. Her latest, pegged as “tailored streetwear,” is to be shared with the who’s who of local fashion at Philippine Fashion Week’s Fall/Winter 2016 show.

On the side, Morales has tried her hand in bridal wear with Enchanté, which features dreamy wedding dresses at competitive price points. Being an avid fan of water sports and a certified diver, the multi-hyphenate also came out with a bag line to complement her Spring/Summer 2016 collection. Seen on the runway were backpacks and shoulder bags made from vinyl and cassette tapes; and neon-tinted transparent backpacks for beach use.

Tagged by Buzzfeed as one of “17 Incredible Lesbian Pinays You Need to Know,” Morales will have critics and fans alike wondering what she’ll have up her sleeve for this year’s fall/winter cycle. And judging by seasons past, it will be nothing short of exciting.

Follow the ‘Kaye Morales’ page on Facebook; @mzkayemorales for personal updates and @kayemoralesintl for designs and collection updates on Instagram. For the designer’s portfolio, visit kayemorales.com.

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant: Should We Revive This 30-Year Old Mothballed Project or Not?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"In line with the President's vision, an essential component of the country's energy plan involves a long-term initiative of developing a sustainable, diversified and balanced energy mix that is responsive and supportive of the country’s growing economy. Ultimately, the collateral goals include not only reducing our emissions, but also paving the way for the possible entry of other emerging technologies. Nuclear power is an emerging--or more accurately, "re-emerging"--alternative, as far as the country is concerned." - Sec. Alfredo Cusi, DOE

Experts are saying all our fears about nuclear power plants are false. The disinformation is staggering and has made Filipinos hesitant of ever allowing such power plants to exist in our country.

But the real question is, will this 30-year old unused Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) still work even after a USD 1 Billion rehabilitation? 

The BNPP project was mothballed in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. But then, clamor for the reopening of the Bataan Nuclear power plant was revived during the power crisis in the 90s and the skyrocketing of oil prices in 2007.

But then the Fukushima nuclear plant incident happened in 2011, creating global panic and concerns about the safety and integrity of nuclear plants. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the incident virtually led to an undeclared moratorium on all plans to go nuclear for power generation. 

 

If these weren't enough, adding to these various setbacks, the emergence of natural gas, wind and solar energy pushed nuclear power deeper into dormancy.