Sun Broadband Quest Declares IKTUS as the Grand Price Winner

 

IKTUS, was favored grand winner based on their good performance and perfect matching song by  the Sun Broadband Quest last night, July 12, 2013 held at the Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan. Though, almost all the bands are good and for my own perception Five (5) bands plays like a professional one and should be considered by most of the music outfits such as MCA Music Corporation.

Iktus was originally "Icthus" which was the Greek word for "fish" mainly because the fish ius a symbol of Christianity. The band believed that the name is catchy and truly tunog-Pinoy. Iktus is composed of Carissa Panaligan (lead vocalist) and Andrei Panaligan (bass), Andrew Panaligan (drums) (hhhmmm brothers and sisters) and Augusto Mendoza (guitar)- all hailing from the Christian International School. It was formed last 2005 and has won already several awards in the many band competitions they have joined throughout the years.

The band finds inspiration in both local and foreign bands like Rivermaya, Silent Sanctuary, Sugarfree, Itchyworms, Urbandub, Flyleaf, Paramore, Switchfoot and Run Kid Run and   was awarded a check for Php 150,000 plus Php 20,000 worth of gift certificate redeemable at all JB Music stores. They will also get to have an album produced and released by MCA Universal plus priileged gig bookings

An All-female group named Bad Hair Days, won  the 1st place award recognition. Bad Haior Day is composed of students from Far Eastern University - Avie Maria (vocals), Jeysa Trasportes (guitar), Van Bulan (guitar), Nicole Saludar (bass) and Xiao Disi (drums).

and Finally All-male group from Davao, Baby Boomers, took home the 2nd place award. The band is composed of Jake Nuere (vocals), Carlo Cabase (drums), Mark Abella(lead guitar), and Carlo Dureza (bass). They all came from different schools namely Philippine Women's College of Davao, Brokenshire College, Holy Cross College, and Ateneo De Manila University.

A Special Price was won by the Most Liked Band in the House and It was “Jack en Poy” who did make the night more alive and  interesting.

Judges of the Sun Broadband Quest  are , from left Francis Guevarra, Sammy Samaniego, Francis Reyes and Neph Denosta. Guest performers of the night were Chiscosci, Sabrina, The Oktaves and Tanya Markova.

For more pictures in the event pls click the following link , https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467711489991877.1073741937.348405828589111&type=3

NUMB8ERS STATION “An Effective Single Location Thriller”

 

Danish director Kasper Barfoed has only two other movies to his name and this is his first English speaking one. It's also by far the largest (production wise) he's worked on with John Cusack and Malin Akerman in the leading roles

. Apparently Ethan Hawke was replaced by Mr Cusack at the last minute which made a lot of sense to me because this is precisely the type of role Ethan Hawke thrives on and is definitely not John Cusack's usual choice. Malin Akerman might not be classed as one of the greats but she is a hard working actor who can put out some great performances when required. In this movie her acting skills don't get a chance to be put to full use but she's still more than just a pretty face in this Brit financed Indie.

Of the two main actors John Cusack is the more bankable but Ms Akerman is far more pleasing to the eyes (certainly my eyes anyway) and together there is an on screen chemistry that works well and helps sell the situation we find the duo getting themselves in. John plays Emerson, a hit-man who had a shaky last assignment so has been shipped to England to the slow paced task of keeping Katherine (Akerman) safe and well so she can do her job. Her job is to send out coded instructions to hit-person which activates a hit (wetwork) on some unlucky person. The base is compromised so Emerson and Katherine must try to stay alive and reverse whatever the invaders have done.

This isn't the fastest paced thriller I've seen but it's nice and steady with little down time so keeps you keenly waiting for the next bit of excitement. An effective single location Thriller

PH Tourism Bullish to Achieve Higher Volumes as EU lifts ban

 

It is good to hear that Tourism here in the Philippines is one of the major contributor for its economic growth , because obviously we have multiple of natural resources that are  capable of achieving worlds standard and should be taken consideration by our government to sustained and help it maintain its beauty and its function the environment as well.

Philippine tourism keeps exceeding expectations as international visitors reached 2.011 million from January to May this year, reflecting a 10.54 percent growth over 1.819 million of the same period last year. The figure represents a historic first in breaching the two-million mark in the first five months of a year.

 

All key tourism markets are bullish, led by Korea and the United States with a compounded stake of 39.55% in the total inbound traffic. Korea continues to secure the top rank, rallying 489,389 tourist arrivals to the country. While the U.S. economy has yet to recover from recession, the number of American tourists leapt by 2.58 percent, with 306,056 arrivals compared with the same period last year. Visitors from Japan accounted for 179,984 or 8.95 percent of the overall visitor volume. The Chinese market, on the other hand, saw an uptick at 18.35 percent, rising to 163,879 from 138,466 arrivals. Australia has kept the fifth spot with 88,190 visitors keeping Taiwan at bay for two straight months now. Nevertheless, Taiwan generated 79,297 arrivals, possibly foreign independent travelers (FITs) who have more flexibility to pursue their travel itineraries.

Rounding up the top producers in terms of volume and percentage growth are: Singapore with 70,470 (3.50%); Canada with 61,086 (3.04%); Hongkong with 55,811 (2.77%); United Kingdom with 52,379 (2.60%); Malaysia with 45,447 (2.26%); and Germany with 33,205 (1.65%).

With the European Union (EU) lifting its aviation safety ban on the Philippines, source markets from this region are expected to yield higher volumes as flag carrier Philippine Airlines readies to resume its flights by September or October with Paris, London, Rome and Amsterdam among its maiden destinations.

“This augurs well for the industry and in meeting our year-end goal of 5.5 million arrivals and our 2016 objective of 10 million. Hopefully, PAL services resume as planned and with the Civil Aeronautics Board’s move to start negotiations for new air service agreements with other European countries, we can expect greater movements from the region. Meanwhile, DOT and PAL can mount more aggressive promotions in that sphere to boost not only arrivals, but also investments,” Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr. remarked.

In 2012, the Philippines welcomed 442,686 European visitors. For this year, the DOT is targetting 574,565 European tourists. For the following years, the DOT projections for European travellers to the Philippines are 699,326 in 2014, 851,176 in 2015, and 1,036,000 in 2016. The DOT forecast for Europe has already taken into consideration optimal conditions like the lifting of the EU ban, which will help the DOT in the achievement of its goals.

“We are also counting on the resolve of other Philippine carriers to improve their aviation security issues as we need to significantly increase access and capacities to penetrate new markets, as well as to grow existing ones,” the tourism chief added.

Wu Festival , An Exclusive Kind of Magazine Launch in the Metro

 

 
I was one of the Bloggers of Wazzup Pilipinas group who somehow experience the festival from lunch until sun set.

Here you will see type A to C people and foreigners  that do come and enjoy the festival from the games they have, listening to bands played and simply roaming around and eat some of the most exclusive restaurants in the Metro. and participates on plays that they give from time to time.

This  latest online media partnership of which was at the WU Fest 2013 event held last July 6, 2013 at the A. Venue in Makati Avenue, Makati City. It was a great honor to be among the many popular brands supporting WU Fest 2013

WU Fest 2013 is an all ages outdoor festival that featured many of the favorite activities you would enjoy at a Fair. This is the first annual event brought to us by What's Up Manila magazine showcasing over 50 booths providing food, drinks, a wide variety of entertainment and activities. There was a VIP section located upstairs in Hooters and an After Party event hosted at Live Vibe starting at 10pm.

Wazzup Pilipinas members definitely need to wear shades!.... and what better eye wear to sport is no other than the cool shades from Sprinto World. It has a perfect design match for everyday wear during daytime and even on ngiht activities.

Sprinto was among the many exhibitors and sponsors of the WU Fest 2013 and had several cool shades on display at the event. Rain or shine, wearing shades still makes you look and feel good all the time, whenever and wherever.

Their Facebook page reveals that Sprinto started as a watch brand in Hong Kong and has since then been established as an expert in creating extraordinary watches. Sprinto now also prides itself with creating top of the line quality eye wears since launching their collection in Manila, in 2002.
Sprinto offers not only top of the line quality, but beauty and practical functionality as well. Sprinto believes in bringing utmost comfort and safety to all its customers, sparing nothing less than the best colors, design and quality, while still making it unbelievably affordable.

Also present at the event was Bistecca who generously provided the lunch for the bloggers. Bistecca prides itself for having the finest steaks in the Metro, specifically at the Joya Lofts and Tower in Rockwell city.
Inspired by the traditional Italian way of eating steaks, as well as their own family's favorite way to eat them, they aim to offer you what they feel is the best way to have a steak – shared among friends or family, accompanied by great sides, and a few bottles of wine.
It was not our first time to taste the excellent steaks of Bistecca as they also previous sponsored a bloggers event at their restaurant. Chef Migs was also happy to see us once again and even shared us great news about his additional new business venture.

The makers of Bayani Brew was also there and provided drinks to the bloggers. Direct from the Gawad Kalinga farm at Angat, Bulacan, Bayani Brew is the social enterprise that produces all-Filipino, all-delicious, all-nutritious iced tea!
Bayani Brew traces its origins from the native brews introduced by the nanays (mothers) of the Gawad Kalinga community in the GK Enchanted Farm. It advocates the use of indigenous ingredients such as lemongrass, pandan, and sweet potato tops which are the main ingredients of "Bayani Brew Classic" and “Bayani Brew Purple Leaf.”

Bayani Brew was inspired by the nation-building movement that is Gawad Kalinga (GK), which set up the GK Enchanted Farm (GK-EF) pilot site in Bulacan as a village university, social tourism destination, and incubator of social enterprises. GK-EF is mostly home to relocated settlers and hopes to entice reverse migration by providing sustainable livelihood opportunities outside the metropolis. It promotes countryside development -- transforming a once-abandoned, barren wasteland into fields of abundance.
Bayani Brew wants to be remembered not only for its refreshing beverages, but also as part of a movement brewing a new breed of Filipinos crazy in love with our country.

Another stall that caught our attention was the Eat My GF (Garlic Fries) that served burgers and potato chips. Eat My GF is quite a naughty but catchy restaurant name that offers not only a lasting taste, but a lasting experience. Maybe we will soon know what it means when we visit their two restaurants located in Alabang Town Center, and another one in Little Baguio in San Juan.

There was also free beer fro every blogger from Bear Beer Philippines coming directly from Denmark, one of the best selling beers in Germany. It is the most affordable imported beer in the Philippine market! But don't just take my word for it, come on and try  their different variants of beers!
A lot of people of all nationalities enjoyed the free booze at the WU Fest 2013 event. Drink it best when cold especially in a hot day at the WU Fest 2013.

The distributors of OK Quench also provided free samples to everyone at the event. OK Quench is a sparkling juice drink made with Natural Fruit Juice Concentrate! Great tasting drink to quench our thirst and soothe our throats.
There was no limit on how many cups you want especially for the bloggers. But we were just to shy to keep falling in line to grab another cup of their thirst-quenching drink.

We also enjoyed playing table soccer sponsored by Table Soccer PH where the winner gets to bring home a bottle of wine plus a small trophy. The rules of the game was simple. First to reach 5 points wins a game and is promoted to the next round until everyone is knocked out except for the last remaining player (or team) who becomes the hour's champion and gets the attractive prize.
I tried playing competitively and luckily I won. One more wine to add to my collection.

The Hooters booth who will give P 10,000.00 for a 100.00 purchase for their products which has been one of the most exciting thing every person who ever seen and encounter their promo.

Lovely ladies from Red Bull were also there giving away free energy drinks to everyone who wants them.

And  there's actually a lot more going on at the event!

Picture ops with the girls from Hooters, Mojo & Harley-Davidsons, over 20 Artists Painting Live near the stage, a stilt walker was walking around all over the place, Henna Tattoos available, a Golf putting challenge from Golf.PH, plus a lot of prizes during the raffle and contests.

Check out more of the pictures from the WU FEST 2013 event in the Wazzup Pilipinas Facebook page: and Mac Movers pics at , https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.463657877063905.1073741930.348405828589111&type=3

NBA LEGEND SAM PERKINS TO VISIT MANILA TO PROMOTE NBA GLOBAL GAMES PHILIPPINES 2013

  NBA Legend Sam Perkins and former member of the Indiana Pacers will be in Manila from July 1 – July 4 to promote the upcoming NBA Global Games Philippines 2013. The game, which will be played at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday, October 10, is part of the NBA’s comprehensive Global Games schedule and will be the league’s first preseason game in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia.  Perkins will headline the ‘100 Day Countdown’ event, conduct mall visits and participate in special programs conducted by the NBA and SM Group.  The NBA Global Games will see eight NBA teams play in eight cities in six countries this October. The schedule—which will also feature the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards—will also include the first-ever NBA preseason game in Brazil, and in the cities of Bilbao, Spain, and Manchester, England. It will also include games in Beijing, Istanbul, Shanghai, and Taipei.  To date, the NBA has staged 138 preseason and regular-season games in 19 countries and regions across Europe, the Americas and Asia since 1978.  More information can be found at NBA.com, www.mallofasia-arena.com, and via social media on Facebook.com/philsnba and on Twitter @NBA_Philippines. Enquiries can also be directed to the SM Customer Care Hotline at +63 2 470-2222.


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http://www.wazzuppilipinas.com

THE PHILIPPINE TRANSIT APP CHALLENGE through DOTC “Seeking ways to serve you better”

  I.T. COMPETITION FOR INTELLIGENT TRIP-PLANNING BY THE DOTC Tomorrow,

The Dept. of Transportation and Communication  DOTC will sponsored an event that will cater for the need of our system on transport and services , through the guidance of the President,  Benigno C. Aquino III for the agency to be more effective in doing its task  for the betterment of our society.

Manila, Philippines – The launch of the first national transport application (app) development competition led by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will be held tomorrow, 2 July 2013, in partnership with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Cebu City Government.

In a move to maximize the conveniences made possible by modern technology in delivering its services to the people, the transport agency is opening its database on bus, train, and jeepney routes in Metro Manila, called the Philippine Transit Information Service (PTIS), to the public, via the Philippine Transit App Challenge.

The competition will be a three (3)-month long hack-at-home event – a new trend in the IT community which allows software developers to create apps at their own pace and on their own time, using the same datasets provided to them. 

Based on the international experience, hack-at-home events lead to the development of a broad spectrum of apps, many of which were not previously conceived and which give end-users a wide range of products to utilize and enjoy. “We are very excited about the Challenge and we expect it to bring out a lot of innovation from software developers.  The goal is to create all sorts of apps which will make commuting in Metro Manila much more convenient,” said DOTC spokesperson Migs Sagcal.


The PTIS database contains previously-unavailable data gathered from participating agencies such as the MMDA, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3), the Philippine National Railways (PNR), the Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM).

It will contain two (2) kinds of datasets: regularly-updated geographic location and service information on bus, train, and jeepney routes in Metro Manila, as well as live traffic incident data streams in both Metro Manila and Cebu City. This means that the commuters will now be able to easily check the various routes available to take from one point to another, including how many transfers each route will require, how much fare will be needed, and how much travel time will be involved. 

This will allow the public to make better-informed decisions when they plan their trips, resulting in more convenience and efficiency, and a better passenger experience overall. “The point is to empower the public with better decision-making abilities using our data.  This project stems from government’s effort to look at public service delivery from the viewpoint of the end-user, and to make commuting better for everyone,” Sagcal remarked.

The Philippine Transit App Challenge, which will be open to all interested app developers, will be launched at the Toyota Auditorium of the University of the Philippines’ Asia Learning Center in Diliman, Quezon City, on 2 July 2013 at 9:30am.

More details about the event are available on the competition’s official website, http://philippine-transit.hackathome.com/.

Proud member of Wazzup Pilipinas. 

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Yahoo! OMG! Awards Breaches 4 Million Fan Votes and still Counting…..

 

OMG! Awards 2013 elicits more excitement and support from dedicated fans

Manila, [June 28, 2013] – The third edition of Yahoo! OMG! Awards has been living up to its theme, Stars Rock, Fans Rule, as it received over four million votes from fans in just three weeks.  Filipinos have been actively voting for their favorite stars on the Yahoo! OMG! Philippines’ popular entertainment news site since nominees were announced last June 4.

The launch was held at URBN Bar & Kitchen and was attended by celebrities and nominees such as Jasmine Curtis Smith, Eula Caballero, Tim Yap, Karylle, Jane Oineza, the Sassy Girls, Arci Munoz, Eleven O One, Philia and Abra.  One of the highlights of the evening was the announcement of the first OMG! Media Magnet who went to international singing sensation Charice Pempengco. 

Kate Delos Reyes, Yahoo! Philippines’ Country Manager and Country Editor said, “We are very pleased for the rapturous response of the fans based on the number of votes the OMG! Awards has received, so far.  This is proof that Filipinos are passionate in keeping abreast with entertainment news and they go to Yahoo! to have that daily connection with the content they want.”

Mike Constantino, Yahoo! Philippines’ Deputy Country Sales Director added, “In recognition of the contribution and influence the fans hold, Yahoo! Philippines is bestowing them the power to support their favorite celebrities voting through the OMG! Awards via online, mobile and SMS.”

The Yahoo! OMG! Awards 2013 honors the Philippines’ most promising celebrities and breakthrough artists who have been the most searched on Yahoo! Philippines’ and who have captured the audience’s attention over the past year.

One hundred six nominees are vying in 22 categories this year.  Some celebrities have already shown a strong standing in the polls in their respective categories.  

Fans are encouraged to continue voting and spread the word. Voting for nominees is open online and via text messaging OMG HELP to 2910 to all networks until July 12, 2013.

Users can follow the Awards on Twitter at @yahooph #omgawardsph and “Like” its Facebook page on http://www.facebook.com/yahoophilippines; regular updates will be featured on Yahoo! OMG! site at http://ph.omg.yahoo.com.

The winners will be revealed on awards night, July 19 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

 

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! is focused on making the world's daily habits more inspiring and entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).