These Filipino designers are set to present bridal looks perfect for weddings in paradise

 

These Filipino designers are set to present bridal looks perfect for weddings in paradise

As destination weddings continue to dominate the scene, these style visionaries aim to combine style, elegance, and practicality for couples.

By John Legaspi

If there is an ongoing trend in the wedding scene, it would be destination weddings. Couples these days are taking the beginning of their married life to scenic spots, both local and international, adding culture, heritage, and natural beauty into the mix of their dream nuptial.

Of course, part of the ordeal is dressing up for the occasion. Destination weddings present many elements to consider, whether in terms of style or practicality, for couples deciding on their look. Lucky for them, Filipino designers are stepping up to the plate to present garments that are elegant and suited for any location. Among them are Filipino designers Jaki Peñalosa, Axel Que, Chynna Mamawal, and the brand Spotlight Couronne Internationale (SCI) PH. They are set to present wedding collections at “The Brides at Triton Wedding Expo” at Jpark Island Resort and Waterpark, running from March 21 to 22, 2026.

For its fifth edition, the wedding expo teams up with the International Fashion and Arts Weekend (IFAW) and embraces the theme “Promise in Paradise.”

“For me, ‘Promise in Paradise’ means a shared commitment. For the past 10 years, the runway has been my way of showing my love for fashion. This journey has brought me to places like Canada, New York, Paris, and Manila—and now to Cebu, and soon, to Milan,” revealed international fashion-show director Limuel Hayag Vilela of Spotlight Couronne Internationale (SCI). “After the success of the first IFAW in Manila in 2025, I felt inspired to continue and grow it.”

“The Brides at Triton” is gearing up to be a must-see event for fashion communities and soon-to-wed couples in Cebu, thanks to the designers’ creations. For the event, SCI PH, led by Limuel and his creative partner Alvin Masangkay Francia, will present a collection built on simplicity, elegance, and inclusivity.

“For its debut bridal presentation, SCI PH is unveiling a collection that stays true to the heart of the brand. The pieces reflect what SCI stands for: simple, classy, and intimate,” Alvin said. “Our collection is designed for the modern bride. We believe luxury does not always have to come with a high price tag. That is why SCI PH Weddings is built on the concept of being an inclusive and affordable luxury brand.”

Jaki Peñalosa, the grand dame of Iloilo fashion, is set to spotlight many of the Philippines’ handwoven fabrics. “My collection pays tribute to our Filipino heritage by using indigenous handwoven fabrics like abaca, cocoon, and piña,” she explained. “It is part of my advocacy to always promote these Filipino fabrics that blend with time.”

Cebu City’s emerging talent, Axel Que, will mount a collection that merges art with fashion. “Staying true to my design identity, the pieces are avant-garde in nature,” said the young designer. “The inspiration behind this collection comes from my personal vision of the ‘paradise of heaven.’”

Manila’s seasoned fashion designer, Chynna Mamawal, will explore the idea of “Romantic Resilience” for her bridal line. “The rosette itself is a symbol of something blooming and beautiful, but it’s also intricate and structured,” she mused. “In this collection, I wanted to explore ultra-femininity through soft textures, sculptural floral elements, and fluid silhouettes that celebrate the grace of a woman.”

Apart from the bridal showcase, the wedding expo will also gather many creatives and wedding suppliers, offering more than just style inspiration but practical ideas, meaningful connections, and fresh perspectives for soon-to-be-weds. IFAW and “Brides at Triton” aim to bridge the gap between fashion and real-life weddings. They empower couples with choices and creativity, proving that a dream wedding can be classy, intimate, and truly personal.

“The Brides at Triton Wedding Expo” is set to take place at the Triton Grand Ballroom of Jpark Island Resort and Waterpark. For more information, visit http://www.scimodels.ca/ and www.jparkislandresort.com.

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Love, broadly given: Strengthening the social fabric that binds generations

By Manila Bulletin

Published Feb 14, 2026 12:05 am | Updated Feb 13, 2026 05:52 pm

For many, Valentine’s Day arrives wrapped in predictable gestures — roses, ribbons and restaurant reservations. It is a welcome ritual to celebrate romance and devotion. Yet for a nation navigating anxious times, perhaps the truest observance of the day calls us to something broader and more enduring than candlelight and confections.

Love, at its best, is not confined to romance. It is a virtue — steady, generous and quietly transformative. It is found in the daily decision to place another’s well-being alongside our own. Today, Valentine’s Day, we might consider reclaiming the holiday not by diminishing its traditions, but by enlarging them.

For 126 years, Manila Bulletin has chronicled the story of our people and one truth appears again and again in our archives: Filipinos endure not by sentiment alone, but by sacrifice, solidarity and service.

Love, in our tradition, has never been confined to courtship.

It is found in the quiet heroism of mothers and fathers who leave for overseas work so their children may have opportunities they themselves did not.

It is seen in neighbors who arrive unasked when a typhoon floods a barangay, bringing food, blankets and steady hands.

It is present in parish volunteers who organize relief drives, in jeepney drivers who extend kindness to a struggling passenger, and in teachers who dig into their own modest resources so their pupils can learn with dignity.

The need for such quiet acts has not diminished. If anything, it has grown. We live in an age of speed and distraction, when disagreement too often drowns out decency. Public discourse can feel sharp-edged. Loneliness, though seldom visible, is widespread. Under such conditions, a single act of kindness can carry significant weight.

What might it look like to honor Valentine’s Day in this spirit?

It may be as simple as writing a note of gratitude to a teacher who shaped a life long ago, or to a colleague whose diligence often goes unremarked. It may mean checking in on an elderly neighbor, or extending patience in a long queue when tempers run thin. It may be choosing civility in conversation where disagreement would be easier.

For congregations and civic groups, Valentine’s Day offers an occasion to reaffirm bonds of fellowship. A community meal, a blood drive, a coordinated effort to assist a struggling household — these are expressions of love that ripple outward. They strengthen the social fabric that binds town to town and generation to generation.

Even within marriage and romance, the most meaningful tokens are rarely the most extravagant. A faithful presence through hardship, a willingness to forgive, a shared commitment to weather life’s uncertainties — these are the foundations upon which lasting affection rests.

To broaden our understanding of Valentine’s Day is not to scorn its sentiment, but to deepen it. Romance remains a worthy and beautiful expression of love. Yet if the holiday begins and ends at the dinner table, we have missed an opportunity.

In a world inclined toward self-interest, choosing kindness is a quiet act of courage. It affirms that we belong to one another. It declares that courtesy and compassion are not antiquated virtues but living necessities.

Today, let us celebrate love in all its forms: in romance, certainly, but also in responsibility; in affection, but also in action. Let us give generously of our time, our patience and our goodwill.

Love, broadly given, remains the surest foundation of a strong and decent society.

BLACKPINK's 'Kill This Love' reaches 1 billion streams on Spotify

 

Spotify announced the 36 new members of its Billions Club for January, or songs have reached one billion streams on the music platform.  

By Jonathan Hicap

Published Feb 13, 2026 02:34 pm

These include “Kill This Love,” “Try” by Pink, “Pump It” by Black Eyed Peas, “Born to Die” by Lana Del Ray, “Shower” by Becky G, “From The Start” by Laufey, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, “I Like You (A Happier Song)” by Post Malone and Doja Cat, “Moral of the Story” by Ashe, “Feel This Moment” by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera, “Ribs” by Lorde, “Confident” by Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper, and “Hate Me” by Ellie Goulding and Juice Wrld.  

When we ask for a sign from heaven

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THERE are two ways of asking for a sign from heaven—the good one and the bad one. The former is when we do it to see if what we intend to do is really what God wants us to do. This happens when we are not sure whether the initiative we are making is really coming from God. The bad one is when we are doubting the divinity of Christ, just like what some Pharisees did in the gospel of St. Mark (8,11-13). They did it to tempt Christ.

We need to see to it that our faith in Christ, in God, is beyond question. Only then can we start to perceive the loving guidance Christ is giving us at every moment of our life. We should not question the divinity of Christ. We need to understand that it is Christ who guides us and cares for us, directing us toward our ultimate perfection.

But for that to happen, we should truly be humble to capture this reality. It is humility that is the gateway for God’s grace and Christ himself to enter into our lives, empowering us to do what God himself, who is all love, does. Humility involves a certain giving up, a certain dying that actually gives rise to a better life, just like a seed has to die before it bears fruits. 

Remember what Christ said about this point. “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (Jn 12,24) And he continued: “Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life…” (12,24)

How important it really is to learn how to be humble, unafraid of the many inconveniences it would surely involve! To humble oneself is actually never an act of cowardice nor the misfortune of a defeat. On the contrary, it requires a lot of courage to leave behind the nest of our comfort in order to fly to far distances, pursuing nothing less than heaven. And success and victory are assured, since Christ himself promised it. We should just have faith in Christ.

Humility is emptying ourselves that would strengthen our faith, since we would fill ourselves with nothing less than God himself, of whom we are supposed to be his image and likeness. Humility enables us to receive grace, and with grace we are enabled, in spite of our weaknesses and differences and conflicts among ourselves, to do what is impossible for us to do. It would be Christ doing it for us and through us.

We need to be humble to attract and receive God’s grace that would enable us to do what we cannot do on our own—to be able to love everyone, including our enemies. Christ has told us, nay, commanded us to love our enemies, and that is just impossible for us to do unless we have God’s grace.

But the grace of God, which is always made available, cannot enter into our heart and would have no effect in us unless we humble ourselves, denying ourselves of our own likes and preferences and willing to carry the cross of Christ, which is the cross that signifies everything that we do not want and also all the sins of man.

 

PSEi falls after foreign investment pledges plunged 50%

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell on continued profit-taking on Friday, Feb. 13, after the government reported a steep fall in foreign investment pledges. The main index dropped 86.67 points, or 1.34 percent, to close at 6,384.58. Miners led the retreat across the board. Read more

Breaking up with the dating app

 

Now that all my dating apps are uninstalled, I don’t have it in me to be ashamed of admitting I’ve had my fair (borderline desperate) share of window shopping for potential significant others. After all, my job doesn’t really give me space to meet a lot of people, so I’ve had many accounts set up on different apps.

There have been a few “matches” that led to so many boring conversations that I’m still not sure whether they actually found me interesting or if one of us accidentally swiped right. Needless to say, none of those “matches” equaled actual compatibility, nor have any meaningful relationships sprouted out of them. Zero actual matches with people, and instead, matches between characters and curated personas.

The only other period when I didn’t have a dating app was in mid-2024, when I thought I didn’t need one anymore because I’d met someone to fill that void in real life. But once that ended, I found myself dealing with a severe case of withdrawal from romantic affection. Suddenly, the dating apps were back. But something was different this time. It was no longer exciting. It wasn’t fun. And then I realized that the whole time I had invited the apps into my life, it had not been fun at all. Then I came to an even greater realization: dating apps will never work for me because my self-worth demands fairness to myself and my conscience demands fairness for others.

Bumble, my most frequently-used one, has a feature called “best photo,” which can determine which of the first three Bumble profile photos gets the most attention and then place it on top. The temptation would be to gather all the pictures with your best angles. Then, from that selection, weed out any pictures that don’t contribute to the persona you’re trying to present. Come up with a witty bio, one that aligns with your persona. This is not a one-time process. It’s an ongoing process of updating every time something impressive (and hence, attractive) happens to you. By the end of it, you’re your own brand manager.

This constant curation has worn me out over the years. At first, I thought I was being pretentious while everyone else was being real, but from the conversations I’ve had with people there, it became clear to me that everyone there was presenting a persona that was far different from their actual selves.

I had an entanglement with a person who had fallen in love with an idea of me that he had created for himself, and got very disappointed when I felt safe enough to reveal my humanity. After that, my growing self-worth gnawed at me to be immediately authentic, as well as unapologetically potentially unlikable. The act of depending on the algorithm and on strangers on the internet for acknowledgment that you look good in the pictures wasn’t sustainable. It was also happening during a critical period of my life when I was being misunderstood by many around me, and I needed to be sure of myself, no matter what. It wasn’t fair to myself anymore that I wasn’t applying the lessons I had been learning in my platonic and professional life to my romantic life.

It also wasn’t fair for everyone else that I wasn’t giving them my real self. The heartbreak had forced me to reflect that we really could fall in love with the idea we have of others instead of who they actually are. If someone could fall in love with a persona I didn’t create, who can say that can’t happen for a persona in a dating app that I did actively create?

If you want something sustainable, you would have to eventually break down that mask. They would have to re-learn you all over again, and that isn’t necessarily what most sign up for. How could I possibly demand that of someone and expect them to be fine with me going, “Actually, I lied on that profile. I’m not as interesting or likable as I seem to be. Here are facts about me I intentionally left out”?

I don’t think love works that way: “Love me first and then I’ll tell you the unlovable things later.” I think we are supposed to know people with the good and the bad, and then see if there is anyone you’re willing to love despite the less-than-desirable qualities. My life had already re-routed itself to be open to being unlikeable. I could easily just be honest and put the most authentic version of myself on the app, but that would mean getting back into the cycle of curation, only this time subscribing to a different set of criteria.

Of course, some people do end up together after meeting on dating apps—all the best for them, absolutely. I can never make assumptions, and I don’t have any ideas about the conditions that led them to that happy ending, but what I do know for myself is this: I’m not sticking around to find out.