Anything Pinoy

President Benigno S. Aquino III is scheduled to meet with the Philippine Dragon Boat team following their highly-successful victory in an international competition in the United States last week.

During the regular press briefing at Malacanang on Wednesday, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that the Dragon Boat team will pay a courtesy call on the President on Friday (August 12) at 1 p.m. in Malacanang.

“We were able to schedule a courtesy call on Friday at 1 p.m., my understanding is that they will be arriving on Friday at 6 a.m., so since the President has an event in the morning, we were able to find a schedule in the afternoon,” Lacierda said. “We will be more than glad to see them here in the Palace,” he added.

Lacierda also lauded the team for bringing honor for the country saying that the team serves as an inspiration for the Filipino people. Read the rest of this entry »

City Mayor Delfin Ting has declared August 16 as a non-working holiday in the city as the villagers celebrate their 287th patronal fiesta dubbed as Pav-vurulun Festival to honor its patron saint, St. Hyacinth of Poland.

The declaration came as Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. signed the Proclamation No. 214 declaring Tuguegarao City’s non-working holiday on August 16.

“Dayawat-tam y Tuguegarao” has been this year’s theme which means giving tribute and glory to Tuguegarao City – the regional center of Cagayan Valley region, according to city and tourism officials here. Read the rest of this entry »

A global industry leader in manufacturing apparels is soon to set business at the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) here that is seen to create more than 6,000 jobs.

Luen Thai, a publicly-listed company in Hong Kong, signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB).

Representative Albert Garcia of Bataan’s second district said Luen Thai is considered as one of the largest garment exporters in the Philippines for over 20 years.

It will pour a significant investment for the creation of a fabric mill and garment-related factories, Garcia said. Read the rest of this entry »

On April 3, 1939, Catalino Ortiz Brocka, better known as Lino Brocka, one of the greatest film directors of the Philippines and National Artist for Films (1997), was born in Pilar, Sorsogon.

Brocka directed over 40 films and episodes on television, the most notable of which include: Macho Dancer (1988), Orapronobis (1989), and Gumapang Ka sa Lusak (1990).

Many of Brocka’s films were also screened to international acclaim, including Insiang (Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes, 1977); Jaguar (Main Competition, Cannes, 1980); Bona (Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes, 1981); Cain At Abel (Main Competition, San Sebastian, 1982); Angela Markado (Grand Prix, Festival of Three Continents, Nantes, 1983); Bayan Ko: Kapit Sa Patalim (Main Competition, Cannes, 1984, Best Picture of the Year, British Film Institute, 1984; Official Philippine Entry, Academy Awards, USA, 1985); Orapronobis (Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes, 1989).

A Ramon Magsaysay awardee in 1985, Brocka was against censorship and repression in all its forms.

He was honored for Journalism, Literature and the Creative Communication Arts, an award given annually to Asian individuals and organizations for achieving excellence in their respective fields.

Brocka was also very active in the Free the Artist Movement which evolved into the Concerned Artists of the Philippines. His stand was that artists were first and foremost citizens and, as such, must address the issues confronting the country.

He spearheaded the founding of the Director’s Guild of the Philippines.

He died on May 21, 1991 at the age of 52 in a car accident in Quezon City.

Dynia Mariano, a senior in the baccalaureate program in hospitality management at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), has been named the College’s first B.J. Denihan Memorial Scholar. The award, which includes a full-tuition scholarship for one year, was presented to Mariano today by City Tech alumna Glenda Maldonado, general manager of the Affinia Gardens Hotel in Manhattan, who represented the Denihan family and Denihan Hospitality Group.

“Dynia is being recognized for exemplary scholarship and a demonstrated commitment to the hospitality profession,” says Jean Claude, one of her professors. “She has excelled at giving back to City Tech and the larger community by working on several community service projects, including fundraising for the earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile. She is a true leader and one of the most enthusiastic and creative students I’ve had the pleasure of teaching.”

Student Dynia Mariano (second from left), the 2011 B.J. Denihan Memorial Scholar, receives her award from City Tech alumna Glenda Maldonado, general manager of the Affinia Gardens Hotel, who represented the Denihan family and Denihan Hospitality Group. Also shown are City Tech Hospitality Management Professors Lynda Dias (far left) and Patrick Halloran (far right). Photo credit: Teddy Adolphe.

Mariano, who plans to go on to earn a master’s degree in hospitality management and eventually teach at the college level after working as a food and beverage manager, was president of Cooks in the Market, a City Tech club that put on cooking demos at the Court Street Farmer’s Market and cooked for a soup kitchen during the holiday season. She also volunteers for other City Tech clubs, including the Anna Nurse Workshop and Food and Wine Club, and for outside organizations like Spoons Across America and the Société Culinaire Philanthropique. Every year, she participates in a career day at Intermediate School 10 to promote the hospitality industry and City Tech. Read the rest of this entry »

The Philippine Bar Examination 2010 results are now available. The Philippine Bar exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee. Here are the Philippine Law schools with the highest bar passing rates from 1996 to 2005 include:

Ateneo de Manila Law School – 89.19%
San Beda College of Law – 85.27%
University of the Philippines College of Law – 85.19%
University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law – 56.70%
Far Eastern University Institute of Law – 26.25%

THE 2010 BOARD EXAM TOPNOTCHERS

1. SINGZON, Jr. Cesareo Antonio S., Ateneo de Manila University 89.00%
2. JAVIER, Filemon Ray L., Ateneo de Manila University 86.95%
3. TOLENTINO, Paolo Carlo C., Arellano University 86.80%
4. ANCOG, Janette R., Ateneo de Davao University 85.90%
5. SUNGA, Johana T., Ateneo de Manila University 85.85%
6. POBLACION, Krizelle Marie F., University of the Philippines 85.65%
7. ORTUA, Maria Christina C., University of the Philippines 85.05%
7. UY, Krystal Lyn T., University of the Philippines 85.05%
8. CAPONES, Joanna Eileen M., University of the Philippines 84.80%
9. GAN, William Benson S., Ateneo de Manila University 84.75%
10. CARAMPATANA, Glenn C., University of San Carlos 84.55%
10. SALIPSIP, Darren L., Arellano University 84.55%

SEPTEMBER 2010 BAR EXAM RESULTS released on March 17, 2011 Read the rest of this entry »

The first and second wave of tsunami from the Japan earthquake hit Philippine shores on Friday night, disaster authorities said.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos said the waves measuring .6 meters have hit the coastal areas of Aparri, Cagayan and Basco, Batanes.

“It won’t cause any damage to property. Not even a duck will float on it,” quipped Ramos when asked by reporters at the NDRRMC main office in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Ramos said it’s like a high tide and it won’t affect anything but Tsunami alert level 2 is still raised in the 19 provinces fronting the Pacific Ocean.

On March 11, 1947, the Filipino voters ratified in a nationwide plebiscite the “parity rights amendment” to the 1935 Constitution.

This amendment granted United States citizens equal rights with the Filipinos in the utilization and exploitation of natural resources in the United States and the Philippines.

Also approved in that plebiscite were the Bell Trade Act and the Military Bases Agreement.

On this same day in 1966, the old Mountain Province was divided into four separate provinces: Mountain Province, with Bontoc as the capital; Benguet, with La Trinidad as the capital; Kalinga-Apayao with Tabuk as the capital; and Ifugao, with Lagawe as the capital. Read the rest of this entry »

On March 6, 1951, Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila was declared a National Shrine to perpetuate the memories of national heroes and martyrs who had been imprisoned and died there.

During the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, Fort Santiago was used as prison for many Filipinos suspected of involvement in rebellion, including Dr. Jose Rizal before his execution in December 1896. It was also once the site of the palace and kingdom of Rajah Suliman, chieftain of the pre-Spanish era Manila.

It was destroyed by the conquistadores upon arriving in 1570, encountering several bloody battles with the Muslims and native Tagalogs. The Spaniards destroyed the native settlements and erected Fuerza de Santiago in 1571. Read the rest of this entry »

From Los Angeles, California to Angeles, Pampanga — with love.

The world-renowned Filipino member of the Grammy Award-winning band Black Eyed Peas based in the United States West Coast officially begins his work Wednesday as the special ambassador to education of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) Edsa People Power Movement, with two-pronged projects in his original hometown of Sapang Bato village in Angeles City, Pampanga province.

Apl.de.Ap (whose acronym stands for his real name Allan Pineda-Lindo jr. of Angeles, Pampanga) will launch a library, a computer room, and a music room at his former alma mater Sapang Bato National High School, as well as his own music library and studio at the Holy Angel University in Angeles. Read the rest of this entry »