Sustainability book launching
Jun 1, 2023 10:50 AM
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Friday, June 2, 2023
Rain showers to continue in most parts of PH due to southwest monsoon
Jun 2, 2023 07:42 AM
The southwest monsoon, locally known as “habagat,” will continue to bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers in most parts of the country within the next 24-hour period, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
(Unsplash)
In a public weather forecast on Friday, June 2, PAGASA Weather Specialist Patrick Del Mundo said the southwest monsoon is affecting the entire archipelago.
“Sa ngayon ay umiiral ang southwest monsoon o hanging habagat dito sa ating bansa. Ine-enhance pa rin [ito] ng Bagyong Mawar (Right now, the southwest monsoon is affecting our country. It is still being enhanced by cyclone Mawar),” said Del Mundo.
Residents of Occidental Mindoro, Antique, and northern Palawan including Cuyo, Calamian, and Kalayaan Islands were specifically advised to remain alert against monsoon rains which may trigger flash floods or landslides during moderate to at times heavy downpour.
Cloudy skies with scattered rains will also prevail in Metro Manila, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, CALABARZON, Bicol Region, the rest of MIMAROPA, and western Visayas due to habagat.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country may expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains due to the southwest monsoon.
No weather disturbance is expected to develop or enter the Philippine boundary within the forecast period.
June Agricultural Festivals
We’ve finally arrived in the middle of 2023! June celebrates many things, such as the country’s independence and Pride for out LGBTQ+ fellowmen.
Of course, we can’t forget the festivals! Here are the best agri-related festivals to be.
Pinyasan Festival | Daet, Camarines Norte
After days of festivities, the Pinyasan Festival invites celebrities to join the fun and provide entertainment to both locals and tourists. (Daet Municipal Tourism Office / Facebook)
Taste the sweetest pineapples at this Daet festival! The Pinyasan Festival highlights its primary agri-product, the Queen Formosa pineapple, and celebrates the farmers and producers of this crop. The pineapples of Daet have a unique sweetness and do not cause itchiness as easily as other varieties.
It was first held in 1993, and now celebrates its 30th year this 2023. The ten-day festival is filled with activities such as a street dancing competition, a float parade with pineapples as the main design, pineapple foodfests, and a beauty pageant. The festival has also evolved to include activities such as a battle of the bands and concerts.
Lechonan sa Baroy | Baroy, Lanao del Norte
Lechon is a way to celebrate the town’s harvest and each one is decorated creatively by the barangays of Baroy. (Discover Lanao del Norte PH / Facebook)
This festival is a celebration for a bountiful harvest, and it’s celebrated with a big, fat lechon! Unknown to many, Baroy is the home of great lechoneros in Lanao del Norte.
Each of the 23 barangays of Baroy prepare one lechon and decorate it to be festive, creative, and colorful. The lechon are then paraded and brought to the town plaza for everyone to appreciate—and eat!
The festival also includes fairground rides, and various entertainment shows for the locals and tourists.
Pinangat Festival | Camalig, Albay
One of the annual activities of the Pinangat Festival is the crowning of the Mutya ng Camalig. (Sangguniang Bayan ng Camalig / Facebook)
The Pinangat Festival is one of the major festivals of Albay, but was unfortunately halted by the Covid-19 virus. But, the good news is, after a three-year break, the festival is back!
First established in 2000, this festival not only celebrates its local delicacy, pinangat, but it also coincides with the Camalig Town Fiesta held in the honor of St. John the Baptist, the town’s patron saint.
This annual celebration gives tribute to its people, celebrates life and unifies the best elements of Camalig’s pride, giving the entire fiesta a unique municipal flavor through holding of special events, activities and nightly entertainment programs for participation and enjoyment of the public.
Festivities include events such as Pinangat-Making Race, Longest Line of Pinangat Eating, Mutya ng Camalig, “Camalig Kulinarya”, trade fairs, battle of the bands, enduro cross competition, fun bike and MTB race, and parades and processions
Pili Festival | Sorsogon City, Sorsogon
The fruit festival is joyously welcomed with a parade of street dancers and locals representing different communities of the town. (Public Information Office- Sorsogon City / Facebook)
Sorsogon celebrates the bountiful harvest of one of its star agri-products through the Pili Festival. The Pili Festival is both an agricultural and religious festival held in the honor of the town’s patron saints, St. Peter and St. Paul.
The festival is welcomed through prayers that begin on June 20 and the last novena prayers are heard on June 28. A pontifical, concelebrated mass is held the next day. All the religious events take place at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The more boisterous events of the festival are sports competitions, cultural shows, outreach programs, street dancing, parades, trade fair, talent competitions, cook fest, music events, and beauty pageants
One of their activities is “Pagtilad,” which is the act of cracking open the pili nut. The fruit is placed on a wooden board and it is opened with a strike of a bolo on its shell with such precision to preserve the kernel within. Another is “Tiliradan sa Dalan” which is a community event joined by everyone. In 2004, it recorded the longest line of people cracking pili nuts with 10,000 people joining the activity.
Parada ng Lechon | Balayan, Batangas
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A family is happily equipped with water guns for the festival’s ‘basaan’ while having a lechon right behind them. (Municipality of Balayan / Official Gov Website)
Another town celebrating lechon is Balayan, and it’s even considered the king of festivals in Batangas!
Parada ng Lechon is a cultural, food, and religious festival held during the feast of St. John the Baptist. Locals believe that the parade is an age-old ritual of thanksgiving by their ancestral families who were blessed enough to make the dish. For the residents, lechon is not just a delicious meal but is also an expression of thanks and a way to pay homage to their patron saint.
The parade of lechon occurs in the morning of the feast day. Lechon that are part of the parade are assembled before the church where they are given a blessing by the priest. Once blessed, the parade starts, and the lechon are either carried on floats or by the people themselves.
At this festival no one can escape “basaan” or the act of water being thrown by anyone at anyone. People on the streets are equipped with buckets of water, some even have water guns, to playfully spray and throw water at others.
Other activities of the festival are competitions in sports, singing, dancing, and other talents. There are also concerts featuring live bands and musical acts, a fireworks display; variety and cultural shows; street dancing; and beauty pageant.
Despite some festivals celebrating similar products, it’s guaranteed that each festival offers a unique experience. So don’t hesitate to travel and indulge in the festivities that each town has to offer, and see for yourself why these agricultural products are the pride of the province.
Ballet Philippines' 54th Season: Explore the power of dance through new stories and underlying themes
Ballet Philippines endeavors to take our experience of ballet a notch higher
This season, Ballet Philippines (BP) explores the power of dance and the countless ways this art form can move and transform us.
Ballet Philippines’ President, Kathleen Liechtenstein shares, “Dance is a powerful human expression and is fundamentally the anchor for BP's program to entertain, educate, and inspire. This year’s theme was the fitting call as we transitioned into in-person performances and hybrid programming.”
After last season’s much-awaited return to the grand stage, Ballet Philippines endeavors to take their audiences’ experience of ballet a notch higher.
Kathleen elaborated further, “You can expect stronger dancing, technically improved choreography. Our aim is to highlight dancers’ skills and talents. You can also expect exciting partnerships with Solaire as well as other creative communities. Through the power of dance, we hope to inspire, uplift, awaken and energize a new chapter in Philippine performance arts."
Power To Inspire
The season opens with the enchanting ballet, "Coppelia," in August. Based on stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann, this 1870 comic ballet tells the tale of a mad scientist enamored by his "daughter." Love conquers all in this enduring narrative that reminds us to look beyond surface beauty and embrace our perfect imperfections. Through the mesmerizing power of dance, Ballet Philippines invites audiences on a joyous journey of self-discovery and love, inspiring introspection while delivering a lighthearted and magical performance.
Power to Energize and Uplift
Across the diverse cultures and faiths, Christmas is a time for celebration, gratitude, and reconnecting with loved ones. Ballet Philippines' "A Christmas Fairytale" will become a cherished tradition, bringing families, friends, patrons, dance enthusiasts, and art lovers together during this festive season. By opening a portal to a world where tales, myths, and lore intertwine, this ballet creates a magical realm where dance serves as both language and currency. At the core of this delightful dance piece is a message that reminds us of how holidays with family are better than any fairytale.
Power to Empower and Enlighten
"Limang Daan," an original Filipiniana piece by Ballet Philippines, first debuted online during the pandemic. To close its 54th season, the country’s flag bearer dance company will mount a full length theater performance of this historical dance piece. Through dance, audiences will be transported through time–as far back as 500 years ago.
"Limang Daan" tracks a journey to past cross-cultural encounters, most of which will explain the strong Spanish influence still dominant in our way of life. But more than another saga into our past, this piece celebrates the formidable women in our country, both from literature and real life.
These include Doña Victorina, Maria Clara, Sisa, Grabriela Silang and Josephine Bracken. A fitting show for Women’s Month in March, "Liman Daan" is a revelation on the cultural heritage of women in Philippine society, told through dance. It is a show that will remind us of who we are, what we’ve been through, and the lessons from the past that will guide us through the next 500 years.
All shows shall be performed at BP’s new home, The Theatre at Solaire.
Pauline Amelinckx thought she would be Miss Charm, not Miss Supranational
Jun 2, 2023 08:00 AM
AT A GLANCE
"People will always have their own opinions about you which they are entitled to. At the end of the day when it comes to overcoming body shaming, it's not about changing other people's opinions about you. It's about changing the voice inside your head and making it the kindest voice you'll hear, to have your positive opinion about yourself be the loudest and most unwavering one that you will hear," she stressed.
Miss Supranational Philippines 2023 Pauline Amelinckx
Boholana-Belgian beauty queen Pauline Amelinckx revealed that she did not expect to be named the new Miss Supranational Philippines 2023 in a special ceremony last May 13 right after the Miss Universe Philippines coronation night. She added, however, that she's happy to take the title while rallying her fans to help her "pray and manifest for the second Miss Supranational crown for the Philippines" which was last won by Mutya Datul in 2013.
"I was actually surprised that they assigned Miss Supranational to me because based on the popular opinion of other pageant fans, I actually thought that it would be Miss Charm that would be assigned to me. But it's still a very happy experience and it's something that I looked forward to for the past three years when I proudly represented Bohol. Now I can finally say 'Philippines!' attached to my name abroad," Pauline said in an interview right after the B.R.A.V.E. Beauty body positivity event organized by Junior Chamber International (JCI) Makati Princess Urduja headed by Michiko Unso.
Pauline, who is president of JCI Chocolate Hills, looked back on her performance in the recent Miss Universe PH pageant which has been the subject of controversy. Michelle Dee of Makati City won the tightly-contested beauty tilt while Krishnah Gravidez of Baguio City was hailed the new Miss Charm Philippines.
"I was a little bit disappointed with myself. To be perfectly honest, there were some areas, after self-reflection, where I thought to myself I could have done better and perhaps it would have changed some of the results," Pauline remarked.
"But at the end of the day, it's still a 'what if ' and I don't wanna ponder too much about the past because we can't change that anymore. Michelle (Dee) is very deserving and I'm sure she will make our country proud," she added.
Michiko Unso, president of JCI Makati Princess Urduja (right) with daughter Alek Unso, chairperson of the B.R.A.V.E. beauty fashion show
Pauline bared that she is now completing the paper requirements needed for her to compete in Miss Supranational 2023 in Poland and she will start her pageant training again in June.
The 27-year-old beauty queen, who competed in MUPh three times, noted that she will work on maintaining her composure onstage.
Pauline recalled her recent experience during the MUPh finals where jitters got the best of her.
"Going into the coronation night, I really felt calm and collected but when Bohol was called into the Top 5, I felt my heart racing because I realized this was the third time I was able to get Bohol into the Top 5. So my heart was racing and my emotions took the best of me. I wasn't able to get a clear mind in that moment. So I have to work on keeping my emotions in check especially when it matters the most on stage," she recounted.
Pauline said she was heartened to receive congratulatory messages from fellow beauty queens, including actress and Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 Teresita Ssen "Winwyn" Marquez who also belongs to Aces and Queens.
Miss Supranational Philippines 2023 Pauline Amelinckx with Ashley Subijano, the Philippines' candidate to Miss Eco International 2023
"Hopefully, there's a lot of lessons that I can take from all the different beauty queens, especially those who have competed in (Miss Supranational) Po; and who already know where I should excel or where I can progress a little bit more so I can represent the best of the Philippines," she pointed out.
The newly-crowned Miss Supranational Philippines 2023 has become a strong advocate of body positivity after her own experience of body shaming online during the three times she competed in the MUPh pageant.
This is the reason why she was presented as the main celebrity model during the B.R.A.V.E. (Bolder Reactions Against Violence to Empower) fashion show and fund-raiser held in Draper Start-up House in Makati City. Pauline wore a flowing white gown designed by her "momager" Mikee Andrei.
"People will always have their own opinions about you which they are entitled to. At the end of the day when it comes to overcoming body shaming, it's not about changing other people's opinions about you. It's about changing the voice inside your head and making it the kindest voice you'll hear, to have your positive opinion about yourself be the loudest and most unwavering one that you will hear," she stressed.
"The thoughts that I personally like to keep paramount are: that my body doesn't have to be sexy but strong, although it can also be both. As long as my body is healthy and my spirit is happy.... kebs! di ba?," Pauline stated.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
PTV Network invites Tito, Vic, and Joey
Jun 1, 2023 02:49 PM
AT A GLANCE
"Tito, Vic, and Joey, welcome na welcome po ang 'Eat Bulaga' rito sa PTV4. Kayo po ay isa sa mga institusyon na nagsusulong ng kulturang Pilipino, nagsusulong ng edukasyon para sa mga Pilipino, at nagtataas ng mga value ng mga Pilipino. Kaya welcome na welcome kayo rito," said PTV General Manager Dr. Julio O. Castillo Jr., in an exclusive interview at the television network in Quezon City on June 1.
Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Marquez Dee and PTV Network General Manager Julio O. Castillo Jr. (Facebook)
The People's Television (PTV) Network invited celebrity hosts Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey De Leon and the whole cast of "Eat Bulaga" to consider the government television network as their new home after the longest-running noontime program ended its partnership with the show's producer Television and Production Exponents, Inc. (TAPE Inc.) on May 31.
"Tito, Vic, and Joey, welcome na welcome po ang 'Eat Bulaga' rito sa PTV4. Kayo po ay isa sa mga institusyon na nagsusulong ng kulturang Pilipino, nagsusulong ng edukasyon para sa mga Pilipino, at nagtataas ng mga value ng mga Pilipino. Kaya welcome na welcome kayo rito," said PTV General Manager Dr. Julio O. Castillo Jr., in an exclusive interview at the television network in Quezon City on June 1.
(Tito, Vic, and Joey, 'Eat Bulaga' is welcome here on PTV4. You are one of the institutions that promote Filipino culture, promote education for Filipinos, and raise the values of Filipinos. So you are very welcome here.)
Castillo added: "You are welcome here. So if there's a possibility for you to meet and talk with us, if there's a possibility of partnership, please, punta po kayo rito."
After the partnership between the hosts of "Eat Bulaga" and TAPE Inc. ended, the noontime program also ceased to air fresh episodes.
"Pumasok kaming lahat ngayong araw na ito para makapagtrabaho pero hindi kami pinayagan umere ng live," said Tito during a Facebook live stream on May 31.
The trio of Tito, Vic, and Joey went live on Facebook to bid goodbye to their followers.
PTV General Manager Dr. Julio O. Castillo Jr.
Castillo, an advocate for the environment, said that he lauded the recycling campaign of "Eat Bulaga."
The television executive led other network officials and employees during the launch of “PTV Goes Green”, aimed at environmental protection and preservation.
Launched simultaneously across all PTV locations in Quezon City, Visayas, Mindanao, and the Cordillera, the “go green” project encourages PTV employees to plant and grow various plants and vegetables in the network’s vicinity.
Castillo also said that PTV has a strong frequency that can reach Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. "Yung frequency namin sa Tawi-Tawi malapit ng ma-up."
He added that PTV can also air international events like beauty pageants and other entertainment-related programs. "Hindi lang kasi talaga kami pinapansin."
Asked about the rate of broadcast rights, Castillo said: "Pinakamura kami sa lahat ng network sa Pilipinas. We are the cheapest in terms of broadcast rights. Mura ang rates namin."
Fans believe that the whole dabarkads of "Eat Bulaga" will transfer to another network soon.
In an Instagram post, De Leon assured their legions of followers: "We’re not signing off … we are just taking a day off!"
QUESTIONABLE TIMES
If you say that something is questionable, you mean that it is not completely honest, reasonable, or acceptable. This has been a challenging time for us all. Compare.thought-provoking... .
No, I am not talking about political matters. Most of my fellow columnists are doing it already. More than enough. I'm talking about times of darkness. Times, where the whole world seems to be against you and me. No, I am not talking about corruption. That's already too much. That's what many people, who believe and trust in a new beginning, are talking about.
Allow me to become very personal. I remember difficult, problematic and questionable times in my life and surroundings, where I almost lost all my strength to get down to work on those problems. Life's path became narrow. Fears grow: it's enough, it's enough! I am talking about personal matters. But, I also observe my people around me. We are all, yes, please count me in, we are all starting to become awkward and jerky. I am reluctant against the good ideas othes. I felt driven into a corner. Everything seems to have become a problem. Our voices bellow and our groans are becoming louder and louder.
Creating the life you want and dealing with uncertainty is not an overnight event. It’s in the little things. It’s having a vision. It’s making it compelling. It’s seeing it and feeling it with absolute emotion. It’s caring about other people. It’s calling to say “I love you” for no reason. It’s about taking every opportunity to connect. To be playful. To honor and cherish your loved ones.
In my personal case, I suddenly experienced how God put me into life's "reconversion plant" and freshened me up: little but meaningful AND important cares suddenly happened. After a hot day and a refreshing thunderstorm we might be able to enjoy the following day and night. The person, who insulted us, apologized suddenly; the illness wiped out.
"You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me!" (Psalm 23:5). I am glad. I really don't know about more and new spitefulness through my next "enemy on duty" in the near future. I don't even want to know it. I learned that negativism blocks life and its plans.
Sad to say, but many people are not in the mood to follow Christ's advice...!
The route to writing is solitary
Or why writers tend to lend themselves to melancholy
AT A GLANCE
Happiness leaves such slender records; it is the dark days that are so voluminously documented. —Truman Capote
In his acceptance speech at the Nobel Prize banquet in 1954, which the American ambassador to Sweden at the time read in his behalf, Ernest Hemingway wrote, “Writing at best is a lonely life.”
It’s ironic that in order to connect with the world, a writer has to be alone through torturous hours, the more removed from the world, the better his chances to write something true and beautiful.
Vladimir Nabokov said, “Loneliness as a situation can be corrected, but as a state of mind, it is an incurable disease.” Even of happiness, he could not speak, unless in the context of its opposite. Thus he said, “The centuries will roll by, and schoolboys will yawn over the history of our upheavals; everything will pass, but my happiness, dear, my happiness will remain, in the moist reflection of a street lamp, in the cautious bend of stone steps that descend into the canal’s black waters, in the smiles of a dancing couple, in everything with which God so generously surrounds human loneliness.”
Solitude, more than a tool, is a writer’s workshop. The blank page is his weapon but he must draw from silence and stillness, often from sorrow and sadness, to fire it up. “Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind,” said Marcel Proust.
“But that was the impetus to understand the world, get closer to the world by writing about it, writing about the world that I was in,” said Bret Easton Ellis. “I was never lonely, but I was a solitary figure, and I have pretty much always been that way since I was a teenager.”
I thought that maybe Truman Capote was happy when he was best friends with Babe Paley, hanging around the New York swans, but all that ended and he was never happy again. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, before he was shunned by New York society after the publication of “La Cote Basque,” he might have been prophetic when he wrote, “A disquieting loneliness came into my life, but it induced no hunger for friends of longer acquaintance: they seemed now like a salt-free, sugarless diet.”
Maria Popova wrote that for John Keats, the sacred road to love and beauty passed through the gates of solitude. And true enough, in Bright Star, he wrote:
“Closer of lovely eyes
to lovely dreams,
Lover of loneliness, and wandering,
Of upcast eye, and tender pondering!
Thee must I praise above
all other glories
That smile us on to tell
delightful stories.”
Ah solitude, are you a muse, who vanishes when I am surrounded by people or when I am filled with joy? Solitude, such jealous creature, who possesses me in those lonely hours of writing, must I embrace you so you will let me write, let me write, let me write something terribly true?
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