BELLE MARIANO EYES ‘BIDA-KONTRABIDA’ ROLE

 By Panay News

BELLE MARIANO

AS SHE nears her 10th anniversary in showbiz, actress Belle Mariano sat down on Tuesday for the “Tatak Star Magic: Celebrity Conversations” to talk about her journey and plans with ABS-CBN.

Mariano kicked off the interview series of Star Magic where she recalled how she began her career as a child star up to her goals and dreams she is still eyeing to achieve.

Talking with Star Magic head Laurenti Dyogi, the actress, half of the phenomenal love team DonBelle, revealed she wants to play a “bida-kontrabida” role in the future.

“Bida-kontrabida. Gusto ko ma-try kasi paano kaya ‘yun. Try natin, direk,” she told Dyogi, who jokingly doubted if she could be “maldita” given her angelic face.

But it would also be a big step for Mariano, who did not hesitate to admit her goal is to secure an acting award.

Her path to stardom did not go smoothly, as Mariano had to attend over a hundred commercial auditions at a young age just to fulfill her dream of becoming a celebrity.

Fortunately, she got one after being tapped by a local milk brand in the country to be their endorser at the age of nine. That paved the way for Mariano to get into the entertainment scene – most notably on “Goin’ Bulilit.”

But after spending years in the now-defunct children gag show, the actress found it difficult to get her break in a loaded roster of celebrities of ABS-CBN.

And just like what she kept on saying since she starred in the hit series “He’s Into Her” with Donny Pangilinan, her patience paid off eventually.

“Honestly, sa 10 years po na nandito po ako, ang dami rin pong maliliit na natututunan. But all-in-all patience po talaga. You have your own time to bloom. Just trust God, trust the management. Just really have your own time,” she explained.

And now that she is one of the top celebrities of Star Magic, Mariano said that she is enjoying her ride with the talent agency – a family she built for years. (ABS-CBN News)

Life in the Mountains of the Philippines (The Cordilleras)

322,559 views Mar 14, 2023

If there’s anything that we loved about our visit to the province of Ifugao, it’s the people who continue to preserve their traditions and protect their heritage. Our guide, Irene Binalet, was our beacon throughout these moments where we connected with the locals and the community of artisans. We will always be grateful for this opportunity to share these stories and these are just snippets from our memories that we will forever hold close to our hearts. Watch our full documentary on making the Filipino rice wine or Tapuey here:    • Filipino Wild Ric...   The team would like to thank the following for making this documentary possible: Meryenda Team: https://www.instagram.com/readmeryenda/ Jessica Hernandez https://www.instagram.com/hernandezjess/ Cassandra Balbas https://instagram.com/cassandrabalbas... Ifugao Team: Irene Binalet For tour bookings, kindly visit her Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/10006415230536... Inyoppeh Bumanghat Umanggan Bumanghat

Love consummated and made perpetual

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

THAT, I believe, is the main message of the gospel we have on Holy Thursday. (cfr. Jn 13,1-15) It’s about what happened during the Last Supper where aside from instituting the two sacraments of Holy Orders and the Holy Eucharist, Christ showed his apostles how love that is consummated by him in his total self-giving to us can be made perpetual.

The gospel started by stating that Christ, upon knowing that his hour of supreme sacrifice was coming, continued to love his people and “loved them to the end.” That’s when he instituted the two sacraments and showed his apostles how this consummate love of his can be made perpetual.

That’s when he proceeded to wash their feet that shocked them. Even Peter at first refused to be given such treatment. But Christ insisted, telling them, “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (Jn 13,14-15)

There’s no other way to imitate that consummate love of Christ for us and to cooperate perpetually in Christ's continuing work of redemption, his supreme manifestation of his love for us. As Christ told his apostles, we too have to learn how to lower ourselves to be able to serve everyone, which is what loving in its true essence is all about.

We have to be wary of our tendency to get self-absorbed, the very opposite of what we are supposed to be—to always think of others and to serve them unstintingly. This tendency is actually the stupidest thing we can get enmeshed in. But it’s kind of automatic for us to get self-absorbed. We have to be more aware of this disturbing reality and do something about it non-stop.

We have to do everything to acquire, develop and enrich this attitude of always wanting to serve and not to be served in ourselves and among ourselves, inspiring and inculcating it in others as much as we can, for it is what is truly proper of us all.

With God’s grace, we have to exert effort to overcome the understandable awkwardness and tension involved in blending the natural and the supernatural aspects of this affair, as well as the expected resistance we can give, due to the effects of our sins.

We can make use of our daily events to cultivate this attitude. For example, as soon as we wake up from sleep in the morning, perhaps the first thing we have to do is address ourselves to God and say “Serviam” (I will serve). It’s the most logical thing to do, given who God is and who we are in relation to him.

And “Serviam” is a beautiful aspiration that can immediately put us in the proper frame of mind for the day. It nullifies Satan’s “Non serviam” and our tendency to do our own will instead of God’s, which is what sin, in essence, is all about.

And as we go through our day, let’s see to it that everything we do is done as a service to God and to others. Let’s not do them merely out of self-interest or self-satisfaction. That kind of attitude is highly poisonous to us, ruinous to our duty to love. Sooner or later, we will find ourselves completely engulfed by self-centeredness.

This is how the consummate love of Christ for us is made perpetual.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

New LPA may enter PH Sunday – Pagasa

By Arlie O. Calalo, Manila Times

THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Thursday that a new low pressure area (LPA) will likely enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Sunday.

However, this weather disturbance still has a slim chance to directly affect the country, according to weather forecaster Patrick del Mundo.

He told The Manila Times that the ridge or extension of the high pressure area (HPA) is affecting Northern Luzon over the next 24 hours.

An opposite of LPA, HPA indicates an area where the atmospheric pressure is higher than its surroundings and formation of clouds is usually suppressed, thus, less chance of rains, Pagasa said.

Most likely, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have overcast skies and isolated rain showers as well as thunderstorms due to the easterlies and localized thunderstorms, the state-run weather agency said.

"We can experience a hot and humid Holy Week except for some isolated rain showers and thunderstorms that may occur during late afternoon or at night," he said.

Easterlies are winds coming from the east, passing through the Pacific Ocean and bringing warm and humid weather to the country, the state weather bureau said.