Han Lamarroza is PH bet for Mrs. Asia Pacific 2025 pageant

 

By Robert Requintina

Published Dec 4, 2025 09:07 am

Mrs. Asia Pacific Global Philippines 2025 Han Lamarroza has left for Singapore to compete in the Mrs. Asia Pacific 2025 beauty pageant.

Mrs. Asia Pacific Global Philippines 2025 Han Lamarroza (Images courtesy of Facebook)

Before she left for the competition, Han met several members of the pageant press during a media conference where she enthusiastically answered questions on topics ranging from pageantry to current issues.

Media: If you could delete one thing from our world to make it a better place, what would it be?

Han: If I could delete one thing from our world, it would be indifference. When people start caring, injustice grows, inequality deepens, and compassion disappears, but when we choose to care, whether for our community, our environment, or for one another. We create a world where no one is left behind. And even small acts of care can spark extraordinary change.

Media: In your opinion, what makes a person beautiful?

Han: A person becomes wonderful when their character shines brighter than their appearance. Beauty is found in kindness, resilience, and the courage to rise after failure. It is the ability to inspire others through authenticity and compassion. For me, beauty is not just seen...it is felt through the goodness a person shares with the world.

Media: If you were the president of the Philippines, what would you do to corrupt officials?

Han: To those involved in corruption, I would ensure that justice is served, no extensions, no exceptions; every case must be investigated, and every guilty individual must be held accountable because true leadership means protecting the people, not the corrupt.

Media: If you were given the chance to teach children about something, what would it be and why?

Han: I would teach them resilience, because a child who believes in themselves can change their future and even the world.

Media: What qualities do you possess as the next Mrs. Asia Pacific title holder?

Han: I carry the qualities of resilience, purpose, and heart. I’m resilient because life tested me, yet I rise stronger each time. I have a purpose not just to represent beauty, but to inspire courage and hope. And I lead with heart, knowing that true leadership begins with compassion.

Mrs. Asia Pacific Global Philippines 2025 Han Lamarroza and family in Singapore.

Media: Why do you consider yourself an empowered woman?

Han: I consider myself empowered because I choose growth over fear and purpose over perfection. As a mother, professional, and advocate. I use my voice to uplift others, and when a woman empowers others, she becomes unstoppable.

Media: How do you balance humility with the confidence required to compete in a pageant?

Han: I balance confidence and humility by knowing who I am and why I am here. Confidence comes from preparation, and humility from gratitude. And together they let me honor my purpose while carrying the hopes of those who believe in me.

Media: If you could introduce one new category in pageantry, what would it be?

Han: I would introduce a 'community impact challenge' to show how candidates create real change. Pageantry should reflect action, compassion, and leadership because a crown shines brightest when it lights someone else's life.

‘Kuripot’ economics

BY MAHAR MANGAHAS

DECEMBER 6, 2025

Read Next

The power of ‘place’ in the Filipino story

The recent claim by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque that a family of four can prepare a noche buena meal for only P500 was immediately attacked as detached from reality, unrealistic, and insensitive. “What planet is she on?” asked several party-list representatives. Not enough for even a simple spaghetti and cheese, said economic watchdog Ibon Foundation. Insulting to Filipino workers, said labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno.

Roque fought back, saying, based on a DTI price guide released in November, a total budget of P374.50 would buy the following: Christmas ham, P170 for 500g; spaghetti sauce, P48.50; spaghetti noodles, P30 for 250g; fruit cocktail, P61.75 for 432g; all-purpose cream, P36.50 for 110ml; and pandesal, P27.75 for 10 pieces, leaving P125.50 of the P500 DTI budget for other items (“DTI stands pat on ‘insulting’ P500 noche buena budget,” News, 11/29/25).

The P500 would provide 10 sandwiches with 50g (half a “guhit”) of ham per pandesal bun. The spaghetti and fruit cocktail are half-size, just enough for one meal for a small family. There is no queso de bola, which costs from P210 to P470, according to DTI, and would already break its budget.

PSYCHOLOGY FACTS

 

Human Mind (Psychology)

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Posted by 

Hoorab Jahangeer

 

1y

PSYCHOLOGY FACTS

1. If someone walks fast, they tend to have a strong sense of purpose.

2. Someone who hums or sings often might be feeling nervous or anxious.

3. If someone fakes a smile a lot, they could be battling inner struggles.

4. People who apologize often may value peace over pride.

5. If someone spends a lot of time alone, they either enjoy solitude or feel misunderstood.

6. Someone who finds it hard to say "no" likely craves acceptance.

Thank you for reading 🙂

Pantone announces its 2026 Color of the Year: Cloud Dancer

 

By John Legaspi

Published Dec 4, 2025 10:28 pm

Every December, the Pantone Color Institute leads the way in predicting the trending hue for the coming year. For 2026, it veers away from deep and vibrant tones as it announces Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer as its top pick.

A lofty white described as “a symbol of calming influence in a society,” Cloud Dancer promotes deep calm and concentration, giving the mind space to drift and creativity to flourish, opening the door to new ideas.

“At this time of transformation, when we are reimagining our future and our place in the world, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer is a discrete white hue offering a promise of clarity,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of Pantone Color Institute. “The cacophony that surrounds us has become overwhelming, making it harder to hear the voices of our inner selves. A conscious statement of simplification, Cloud Dancer enhances our focus, providing release from the distraction of external influences."

According to the Color Institute, Cloud Dancer “invites a space where function and feeling intertwine to build atmospheres of serenity and spaciousness, providing a refuge of visual cleanliness that inspires well-being and lightness.”

In selecting the Color of the Year, Pantone’s global team of experts studies color influences from various fields such as the film and fashion industries, travel destinations, design trends, and socio-economic conditions. More recently, they have also considered new technologies, materials, textures, and social media, among other factors, to determine the perfect hue for each year.

Yearender: YouTube reveals top 10 music videos in PH for 2025

By Jonathan Hicap

Published Dec 4, 2025 09:27 am

YouTube revealed the top 10 music videos in the Philippines in 2025, showcasing diverse songs that captured the country’s attention throughout the year. 

Filipino rapper Skusta Clee earned the No. 1 spot with his viral song “Kalimutan Ka,” which was uploaded on YouTube on Feb. 14 this year. The music video has garnered 126.99 million views on YouTube as of this writing.

Other OPM songs also made it to the top 10.  Earl Agustin’s “Tibok” ranked No. 4; Nateman’s “IMMA FLIRT” ft. Lucky at No. 5; Ryouji’s “b4 i let u go” ft. CK YG at No. 6; Guddhist Gunatita’s “Sulitin” at No. 9; and Supafly’s “Puff Me Up” at No. 10.   

"KPop Demon Hunters" (Netflix)

YouTube released its Global Culture & Trends Report for 2025 (YouTube blog)

Skusta Clee (Screenshot from YouTube)

The unique trend this year is the massive success of Sony Pictures Animation's “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Four videos from the film ranked in the top 10 in the Philippines, indicating a rising interest in music connected to animated narratives and the global appeal of K-pop-inspired sounds.

“Golden” (826.18 million views on YouTube to date) garnered second place while “Soda Pop” is at No. 3; “How It's Done” at No. 7; and “Your Idol” at No. 8.

The ranking is “based on in-country views of official music videos that debuted in 2025. Excluding live performance videos and art track videos,” according to the YouTube Global Culture & Trends Report 2025.   

The Top 10 Music Videos on YouTube in the Philippines in 2025: 

1. Kalimutan Ka - Skusta Clee

2. Golden (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation          

3. Soda Pop (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation

4. Tibok - Earl Agustin

5. IMMA FLIRT - Nateman ft. Lucky

6. b4 i let u go - Ryouji ft. CK YG

7. How It's Done (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation          

8. Your Idol (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation          

9. SULITIN - Guddhist Gunatita          

10. PUFF ME UP - SUPAFLY ft. Gat Putch, Gaspari, OG Cry, Ghoti scale, Sica

Philippines uses mangrove buffer zones to protect its coastlines

 

A couple plants a mangrove tree in San Jose town, Palawan province, western Philippines, February 14, 2010. (Reuters/Romeo Ranoco)

By

 Mariejo Ramos via Reuters

 -

 June 4, 2025 - 5:08 PM 

MANILA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Often battered by typhoons and floods, protecting the coastline is a priority for the sugar-producing Philippines province of Negros Occidental.

But instead of man-made defenses, local leaders have turned to reviving natural barriers with 100-metre-wide strips of vegetation, including coastal mangroves and beach forest species to counter erosion and protect from storms.

Negros Occidental began setting up its “coastal greenbelt” network in 2022, the first of its kind in the Philippines. 

It led to the establishment and protection of more than 1,000 hectares of mangroves, beach forests and wetlands across Negros Occidental, which now serve as living buffers against typhoons, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion, directly contributing to the province’s disaster risk reduction strategy.

The Negros Occidental coastal greenbelt could become a model for the country’s thousands of miles of coastline, which are threatened by climate change, urban expansion and deforestation. 

“Local government units are already aware of the benefits of coastal greenbelts in terms of saving lives and properties from destruction,” Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of ocean conservation group Oceana Philippines.

More than 90 local government units have since passed their own policies or ordinances designating parts of their areas as greenbelt zones, according to her organisation.

Negros Occidental is also home to the 89,000-hectare Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area, which hosts several endangered species, such as turtles and dolphins, and was declared as wetland of international importance in 2016.

A 100-metre strip of mangrove can reduce the energy of waves, by up to 66%, a 2012 study by British scientists said.

With 60% of Filipinos living in coastal areas and vulnerable to climate disasters, wetland experts are now pushing for a similar measure nationwide and lawmakers have introduced legislation to establish national coastal greenbelt zones.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed a coastal management bill in 2023 that would require coastal towns and municipalities across the country to create 100-m greenbelt zones similar to Negros Occidental.

But the bill is still waiting approval by the Senate as it has not been considered a priority for debate.

Threats to coastal ecosystems 

Millions of Filipinos benefit from coastal ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses, mud flats and corals in both rural and urban communities, according to Wetlands International Philippines.

But these coastal protections have suffered for decades.

By the 1990s, Philippines had already lost nearly half of its 450,000 hectares of mangroves. Kisha Muana, policy and advocacy offer of Wetlands International Philippines, said mangroves had been cut down due to “destructive projects along the coasts like reclamation”.

Muana said the bill would help the government monitor where the current greenbelts are and identify areas it could restore.

“There are areas in the Philippines where the stretch of mangroves from the coast to open waters do not reach the 100-metre requirement to block wave energy, so the law can compel territories to supplement them with beach forests,” she said.

Julie Ann Bedrio, the provincial environmental officer of Negros Occidental, said proposed developments in coastal areas such as land reclamation and wind power projects had a bigger impact than individuals cutting back vegetation.

“Cutting mangroves wasn’t really our biggest concern, but the conversion of mangrove areas to fishponds and infrastructure that are being proposed in the mangrove areas without proper planning,” Bedrio told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Aside from development projects, Bedrio said coastlines had also suffered from weak enforcement of coastal laws and pollution from marine litter, including plastics that wrap around mangrove stems and trunks.

Bedrio said establishing a network of greenbelt zones in Negros Occidental also helped encourage dialogue among local leaders, NGOs and environmental experts to monitor, and block if needed, projects that could harm the coastal environment.

First line of defense

As early as 2007, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a conservation group, recognised the importance of greenbelts as a natural solution for some coastal problems, including sea and wind erosion.

In disaster-prone Philippines, the proposed national policy would mandate the designation of coastal greenbelts based on vulnerability to storm surges, tsunamis and other threats, as well as creating a plan to protect coastal biodiversity.

As the Senate sessions resume in June, Oceana’s Ramos said she was confident the bill would be passed soon, with Oceana invited to the technical working group that would look at the current version of the bill.

With local governments using their own limited funding to implement coastal greenbelt policies, Bedrio said it would help them sustain the initiative if the national government supported them with funding or technical assistance.

Still haunted by the thousands killed by the 2013 super typhoon Yolanda, or Haiyan, the environmental officer hopes coastal greenbelts will become a priority for legislators.

“We don’t want another Yolanda to happen again and waste lives of Filipinos living in coastal communities because we failed to protect them by putting up greenbelt zones,” said Bedrio.

I Love you !

Mindanao Daily Mirror

I LOVE YOU!

This week, it's time again for Valentine's Day. Expensive flowers, sweets, lunches, hotel overnight stays ... .

Do you know something about the legend of St. Valentine? The history of Valentine's Day – and the story of its patron saint – is indeed shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.

From February 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. ... Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

Being married since almost 35 years now, Valentine's Day lets me always recall lovely moments from the past.

In a very old issue of PHILADELPHIA NEWS, which is still on my desk, columnist Larry Fields confessed: "I lead a life of wine, women and song (by the way, a wonderful waltz by the Austrian king of waltz Johann Strauss!) - it's cheaper than petrol, food and rent!"

Well, some marriages are mad in heaven. You know some? I do. The best of the rest are down-to-earth. Maybe also yours? I am blessed and happy celebrating my  wedding anniversary next month.

Maybe you remember this: "Then the prince swept the lovely young maiden into his arms and carried her home to his castle. And they live happily ever after!" Indeed, they did.

What I would like to see is an autonomous in home affairs study of all these title of nobility bearers seven years after their happily-ever-after marriages. or even earlier, because the so-called darned and tricky seventh marriage year could be even the first one already.

The truth is that life isn't made up of the continual highs found in the initial stages of courtship. Of course, flirting is fun and a wide groove existing. But after a while our system needs a rest. Unanimously we're in the second stage sooner or later and our marriage life needs badly a new outside coating.

All of a sudden, the partner prefers day and night watching all the sports channels, falls asleep while you're revealing your innermost secrets and even forgets the anniversary for the first or even second time . Just bear in mind: You've won each other's acceptance  and sometimes even feelings terrible gloomy. This acceptance shouldn't be undervalued.

Even we see a house that has to be cleaned, many other things have to be organized, and the partner, who looks as fatigued and bored as you feel. Logical question: "That's it? That WAS it?"

And suddenly, we experienced the third stage and learned, why it's worth the ups and downs. Maybe we men don't mention any more, how incredible she looks, but we enjoy bleating and grousing at her spending innumerable hours putting her together. But then, suddenly, we men are to unload the garbage without being asked for.

Although no marriage is continually blissful - it can be pretty good most of the time. When we lasted through arguments, money worries, and kid's problems or slowly but surely coming up mid-life crises, we should face reality that our relationship is not always a big day celebration.

It's because the fundamental  reason for a marriage has outlasted the craziness of day-to-day living: we love each other. That's MY idea of "Happily ever after, indeed!"

And one thing more: in my opinion, Valentine's Day shouldn't be only on February 14. It doesn't matter, if one is married or not.

+++

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me in Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .

Übersetzerdienste - Translation Services

 

 Übersetzerdienste - Translation Services

Even after retiring as German Consul, I am still accredited as a German translator and interpreter for the German, Swiss and Austrian Embassy as well as for Regional Trial Court Davao City and all courts nationwide. Please pm for via doringklaus@gmail.com further information. I'll be answering your messages as soon as possible. Please be patient. Auch nach meiner Pensionierung als deutscher Konsul bin ich weiterhin als deutscher Übersetzer und Dolmetscher für die deutsche, schweizerische und österreichische Botschaft sowie für das Regional Trial Court Davao City landesweit akkreditiert. Für weitere Informationen senden Sie bitte eine PN an doringklaus@gmail.com. Ich werde Ihre Nachrichten so schnell wie möglich beantworten.

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