philippines is now the only country without divorce

after malta passed its law allowing divorce, the philippines is now the only country that does not allow divorce in its jurisdiction. here is an article from gmanews.tv :

PHL now only nation in the world without divorce; Malta gives in

VALLETTA – Staunchly Catholic Malta approved the introduction of divorce, backing the move by a small majority in a referendum.

“The referendum outcome is not the one I wished for, but the will of the majority will be respected and parliament will enact legislation for the introduction of divorce," Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in a video statement on Sunday.

The vote was seen as a test of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in a country where 72 percent of people say they go to Mass on Sundays and nearly all marriages are held at the altar.

The Mediterranean island of 400,000 people was one of only two countries not to allow divorce – the other being the Philippines. The last country to legalise divorce was Chile way back in 2004.

Early results from Saturday's referendum showed a majority backing divorce of between 52 percent and 54 percent.

The Divorce Movement declared victory and the anti-divorce movement conceded.

Opposition leader Joseph Muscat had said changing the law was a vote for modernity and a chance for those with broken marriages to start afresh.

Gonzi had said divorce offered “no solutions" and called for better preparation before weddings so that the “value of an indissoluble marriage is bequeathed to the young."

Divorce legislation was proposed in July last year by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, a member of Gonzi’s own parliamentary group.

It provides for people to become eligible for divorce after four years of separation.— Reuters/MRT, GMA News

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/222013/world/phl-now-only-nation-in-the-world-without-divorce-malta-gives-in

biggest loser: pinoy edition premiers tonight

the newest localized reality show, the biggest loser: pinoy edition will premier tonight, 30-may-2011. the show will be hosted by no less than the megastar, ms. sharon cuneta. derek ramsey will serve as the show's game master.

12 filipino hopefuls will match up and gun for the prizes and the title of the first pinoy biggest loser. they will be grouped into 2 groups (red team and blue team) and will be trained by popular sports personality chinggay andrada and fitness coach jim saret.

don't miss the pilot telecast at abs cbn at the primetime bida.

nestle launches kasambuhay habambuhay: a short film anthology

in celebration of the company's 100 years existence in the philippines, nestle philippines lauched a film project, kasambuhay habambuhay: a short film anthology. this includes 10 short films from a pool of the country's top young directors whom nestle already had a chance working with. each film is 10 minutes long and features nestle products in the story.

directors in the project includes jeorge agcaoili, a/f benaza, carlo directo, henry frejas, raul jarolan, sid maderazo, chris martinez, stephen ngo and jun reyes. actors included in the project are kaye abad, marvin agustin, isay alvarez-sena, ramon bautista, noni buencamino, shamaine buncamino, kiray celis, neil coleta, john lloyd cruz, dominic roco, eugene domingo, eddie garcia, solenn heussaff, eda nolan, dennis padilla, philippine all stars, gloria romero, robert sena and jillian ward.

the films were initially screened in mall of asia for the company's employees last may 27, 2011 and in resorts world for the company's suppliers and partners last may 29, 2011.

free screening will be held in several sm cinemas on june 11 and 12, 2011.

here is an article on the event:

Nestlé's centennial in shortfilm anthology

(The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - Nestlé celebrates 100 years in the Philippines with many exciting offerings. The first is the centennial tv ad Kasambuhay, Habambuhay or Companion in Life, For Life. According to Nestlé chairman and CEO John Miller, “The centennial TV commercial is inspired by love for the family, a cultural trait which unites Filipinos. We are grateful because through the years, Nestlé products have become very much a part of the Filipino families’ way of life, from generation to generation, in various stages of their lives. This is what led us to our centennial theme, Kasambuhay, Habambuhay.”

The centennial tv ad is just one of the many stories of how Nestlé has been a kasambuhay of the Filipino family. Through the years, television has been the medium for such stories, limited to 30, 60 or sometimes 90 seconds. So much stories to be told but so little time? Not at all because part of the celebration is a 100-minute anthology of 10 short, entertaining and creative films directed by a select roster of commercial directors who have helmed Nestlé TV commercials.

The directors pitched stories of various genres for brands Bear Brand Powdered Milk Drink, Nescafé, Milo, Nestea, Mido, Coffee-Mate, Maggi, Bear Brand Sterilized, Nestlé Ice Cream, Koko Krunch, Nestlé Fruit Selection Yogurt and Nestlé Fitnesse. The exercise yielded a spectrum of stories — but there could only be one story per brand. After a difficult process of selection, 10 stories were selected which vary from drama, romantic comedy, musical, fantasy, satire, family comedy, suspense, adventure, mock-umentary and a Shakespearean parody.

“We envisage the films as an opportunity to look to the future and our mission to continue providing Filipinos with tasty and high-quality products that promote nutrition, health and wellness,” Miller said. “Creativity plays a central role in this mission and these excellent films display the very best of Filipino creative talent in the realm of filmmaking.”

Nestlé Philippines Creative Services head Leslie Go-Alcantara added, “We are excited about the films which we are working on with the Publicis team headed by Matec Villanueva and Jayel Ladioray. We hope the films will be a meaningful way to engage consumers, because the centennial celebration is really all about them.”

“Through this film series, we would like to thank and honor the generations of Filipino consumers and families who have put their trust in Nestlé and its brands, and have made them a part of their everyday lives,” Nestlé Communications director Sandra Puno said.

The films will be premiered on June 10 at SM Megamall. June 11 and 12 will be the Free Movie Weekend, so viewers get to watch the movie for free at selected SM cinemas nationwide (Megamall Cinema 3, Southmall Cinema 6, Rosales Cinema 1, Davao Cinema 1 and Cebu Cinema 7). Screening starts at 11 a.m. Five lucky viewers (one per cinema) will get a chance to win P10,000 per area just by voting for their favorite short film or story at the end of the film showing.

being a nestle employee, i had the chance to watch the movies last friday. each story was unique in its own. but each movie was able to capture the happiness and miracles of life and love even with the numerous product intrusions in the movies. my personal favorites (since i cannot single out just one) were the (h)owl and the (f)ussy(ket) which featured bear brand instant; tingala sa baba which featured koko krunch and drumstick and the last one which featured nestle fruit selection yogurt and nestle fitnesse.

the films also has something for each and everyone. there is a family oriented movie, and adventure film, drama, musical, comedy, and even romance. so bring the whole family and bond over popcorns and nestea and watch these movies for free.

source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=690306&publicationSubCategoryId=70

smoking ban in metro manila starts may 30

a smoking ban on all major and secondary roads will be imposed in metro manila starting monday, may 30, 2011. apprehended violators will be slapped with a php500 and 8 hours community service.

here is an article in the philippine star on the topic:

Metro Manila smoking ban starts Monday

By Dennis Carcamo

MANILA, Philippines - The 17 local government units in Metro Manila will be apprehending people smoking cigarettes in major and secondary roads starting Monday, May 30, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today said.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said a team, composed of agency personnel and local health officers and policemen, will be strictly implementing the provisions of the Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, and anti-smoking prohibitions of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and all local ordinances.

Tolentino said violators will be slapped with a P500 fine or render an eight-hour community service.

The stringent enforcement of a no-smoking policy within Metro Manila coincides with the observance of the 100 percent smoke-free environment campaign on Monday and the World No Tobacco Day celebration on June 1, 2011.

In mid-June last year, the MMDA intensified its no-smoking campaign within its premises as required by a Civil Service Commission (CSC) directive ordering a total smoking ban in all government offices.

“We must be very strict in implementing our anti-smoking regulation. We want the MMDA to become a model government agency in terms of compliance with the CSC policy,” Tolentino said.

The New York-based Bloomberg Philantrophies has approved a P9.5 million grant to the MMDA to finance the anti-tobacco use program.

this is a very good move by the mmda. this has already been imposed in my hometown, los banos a few years back and police there are really apprehending violators. let's see how mmda will implement this and how strict they will be in their implementation.

image is from: http://www.yalibnan.com/tag/smoking/

pilipinas got talent: djp trio and buildex advance to the finals

the djp trio from negros occidental and buildex pagales from digos city became the 9th and 10th grand finalist of the 2nd season of pilipinas got talent.

the dgp trio, composed of three 10-year old kids, got the highest number of votes after the voting was stopped this evening with 47.36% of the votes. they automaticaly advances to the grand finals. the 2nd and 3rd placers in the votes performed again to get the judges' votes. they are buildex pagales of digos city (26.99%) and kenny padalla of baguio city (10.33%). the judges were split in this one; with aiai voting for kenny and kris and fmg going for buildex.

other semi-finalist who performed this week with the votes they garnered were karinyoso boys from dumaguete city (6.75%), pole dancer ariana of the bourbon duo (whose partner was unable to perform due to an injury) from makati city (4.91%) and singer jacqueline schubert of cebu city (3.66%).

the two groups joins earlier qualifiers freestylers, madrigal siblings, b4, angel calalas, happy feet, jem cubil, john michael narag and filogram in the grand finals.

only 2 spots are up for grabs. these spots will be fought over by the performers in group 6, which includes singing trio joy's diva; ballroom dancing pair leoneil & elizabeth; last year's grand finalist kapidamu band; acrobatics group larvae; singers suwahib samplidan and singer marcelito pomoy; who got the best exposure in the auditions round from the media and the internet.

nestle 100 years tv commercial: "pag-ibig"

in celebration of nestle's 100 years this year, the company released its centennial tv commercial entitled "pag-ibig". the commercial was very heartfelt and very touching. the song that was used is also titled "pag-ibig" and is composed by the apo hiking society member, mr danny javier.

here is the tv commercial from nestle philippines' official youtube channel:

source: http://www.youtube.com/user/NestlePH#p/f/13/ffQf0ztguzs

scotty mccreery is the new american idol

scotty mccreery, the 17 year old country singer from garner, north carolina, was declared the 10th winner of the popular reality show, american idol. here is the highlights of the season finale and the announcement of the winner (from the associated press youtube channel):

scotty beat 16 year old lauren alaina in the finale.

source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eps9Zh-eNBE

man cured from aids?

a man from san francisco is said to be cured of aids after undergoing bone marrow transplant. this is a great breakthrough since hiv + cases has been increasing these past years. here is the article:

San Francisco man becomes first in history to be ‘cured’ of AIDS

Posted on 05.17.11

Timothy Ray Brown, a 45-year-old San Francisco man previously known to the medical community as “the Berlin patient,” has become the first person to ever be cured of AIDS.

After a stem cell bone marrow transplant, doctors say his HIV, the infection which causes AIDS, was eradicated.

His bone marrow donor was one of a very small percentage of people who are immune to HIV. He received a second bone marrow transplant after a resurgence of Leukemia, which he’s also since been cured of.

Doctors still aren’t exactly sure what part of his treatment allowed his body to purge the virus, but clinical trials are scheduled to begin in 2012.

San Francisco man becomes first in history to be ‘cured’ of AIDS | Raw Replay

source: http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/san-francisco-man-becomes-first-in-history-to-be-cured-of-aids/

filipino student wins intel research tilt

pisay graduate miguel arnold reyes won 2nd place in the materials and bioengineering category of the intel international engineering and science fair. his prize include having an asteroid named after him.

here is an article from yahoo about it:

Filipino student wins in Intel tilt, gets an asteroid as bonus

By Alexander Villafania

PASIG CITY, METRO MANILA –Miguel Arnold Reyes will not be reaching for the stars for a while. He actually gets to have his name virtually carved on an asteroid, courtesy of a special award given by the prestigious Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Reyes participated in the Materials and Bioengineering Category of the recently concluded Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and bagged second place Grand Award and winning for himself U$1,500 (approximately P65,000).

His project, “Synthesis and Characterization of Composite Plastics from Thermoplastic Starch and Nano-sized Calcium Phosphate for Film Packaging,” is targeted at creating a new type of environmentally safe and biodegradable plastic for packaging.

His win at ISEF also bags him an asteroid identified by the Lincoln Laboratory in its Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research Program (LINEAR).

Intel has a partnership with the Lincoln Laboratory, through the latter's Ceres Connection, where asteroids from LINEAR are named after deserving students in the fields of science and engineering. The Ceres Connection was started in 2003 and has since named several hundred asteroids to students.

First and second place winners in ISEF, as well as from other programs that are partnered with Ceres Connection, will be “assigned” an asteroid after winning their respective events.

With this award, the 16-year old Reyes, who is a graduate of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), will become one of the youngest Filipinos – not just one of the few – to have a celestial body named after him.

Other Filipinos who have been given the distinction of having a celestial body named after them are former Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Chief Dr. Roman L. Kintanar, Edwin Aguirre, Imelda Joson, PSHS Western Visayas Campus Director Josette Biyo, Allan Noriel Estrella, Jeric Valles Macalintal, Prem Vilas Fortran Rara, and Father Victor Badillo.

During a recent press conference, Reyes remained modest regarding his win in both the ISEF as well as getting a heavenly body named after him.

The soft-spoken Reyes said he hopes that other students would also pursue degrees in science as a means to become contributors to the improvement of society.

Apart from Reyes, Angeli Joyce Dy of Capiz National High School also won fourth place Grand Award for her project “Milkfish (Chanos chanos Forsskal) Serum as an Alternative Media Supplement for Culture of A549 (Human Lung) and HCT 116 (Colon) Carcinomas,” which sought to find a cheap but effective alternative for a serum used in cancer treatment.

source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/filipino-student-wins-intel-tilt-gets-asteroid-bonus-074406972.html

axn joins the philippines in celebrating its 113th independence day

axn, one of the most popular cable channels in the philippines, joins the philippines in celebrating its 113th independence day by encouraging its viewers to send it their messages, greetings and thoughts on what this special day means to them.

here is an article from the channel's website ( http://www.axn-asia.com/news/axn-celebrates-philippines-independence-day )

AXN Celebrates Philippines Independence Day

The Philippines celebrates her 113th Independence Day on 12 June this year. In commemoration of this special day, AXN would like to invite its viewers from the Philippines to send in their well wishes, greetings and their thoughts on what this special day means to them.

Entries should be less than 50 words each and may be in Tagalog, English or Taglish. Send them in by 12 noon (PH) on 31 May to our Facebook fanpage (click here for direct link) or email contests@axn-asia.com with the subject title ‘AXN Celebrates Philippines Independence Day’. Shortlisted entries will be broadcasted on AXN on 12 and 13 June.

For the sole purposes of broadcast, AXN reserves the right to edit, adapt or abridge the comments, especially those of a religious, sexual or racial nature. Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan!

so if you have something to share for independence day, send it now to axn.

nestle philippines gets new guinness record

nestle philippines gets a new guiness record by conducting the biggest carpentry lessons, having 525 strong members of the nestle sales force participating. here is the article:

Nestlé Philippines Sales Sets New Guinness World Record

The sales force of Nestlé Philippines, Inc. set a new Guinness World Record by conducting the largest carpentry lesson, and in the process building 100 tables and 200 benches within 100 minutes for the benefit of Gawad Kalinga (GK) families. Guinness World Records Ltd. made it official by sending Nestlé Philippines the new world record certificate.

Composed of approximately 525, the Nestlé sales force was mobilized into teams of four to five, with each tasked to build a table and two benches, breaking the current Guinness World Record of 250 people in the world’s largest carpentry lesson category. The exercise was monitored by independent observers and safety personnel. The 100th table was completed with 18 minutes to spare.

The carpentry lesson and the building of tables and chairs officially kicked off the Company’s celebration of its 100th year in the country and were part of the team building program of the Sales Kick-Off event last January, organized by the Centennial Kick-Off Committee.

The tables and benches were built with their importance to Filipino family life in mind, the dining table being at the heart of the home where family members gather to share meals and exchange stories for the day. During the turnover ceremony of the tables and chairs, Chairman and CEO John Miller said that “We hope that, with this modest effort, we shall be able to help serve some of the needs of the GK families, especially those who are without tables and chairs.”

John, with National Sales Director Paolo Rodriguez, Corporate Affairs Head Edith de Leon, and Corporate Wellness Head Cora Sager, presented the tables and benches to GK founder Tony Meloto. Also handed over were “good wishes” messages to individual recipient families and 600 dinner plates inscribed with the Nestlé nutrition guide for moderation, variety and balance (MoVaBa) to encourage sound dietary habits, as part of the Company’s long-term advocacy of nutrition, health and wellness.

Nestlé Philippines sponsors GK Villages in Baseco in Manila’s Tondo district and Lipa City in Batangas. Its involvement in Gawad Kalinga is part of its efforts to Create Shared Value (CSV) to help improve lives.

source: http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/2011/05/nestle-philippines-sales-sets-new.html

survivor redemption island: rob mariano is the sole survivor!

after four seasons of survivor (marquesas, all stars, heroes vs villains and redemption island), one of the show's most popular player rob mariano is finally declared the sole survivor. rob won via a 8-1-0 jury vote over phillip and natalie, respectively, of the strong ometepe alliance.

the finale started with the last duel in redemption island. it was a balancing challenge, with one castaway going back to the game and the other three being the next members of the jury. grant was the first one to be eliminated, followed by matt and then mike. surprisingly, it was andrea who came back to the game.

in the next immunity challenge, which involves balancing on the beam, getting bags of puzzle pieces and arranging 100 tiles in order, ashley won the challenge. in a bold move, andrea attempted to get the girls together for the all girl alliance and vote rob off, which stirred camp a bit. in tribal council, rob played the immunity idol and andrea was voted off, 4-1.

the last immunity challenge was a maze and puzzle challenge. it was a close fight between rob and ashley since ashley's strategy in the maze was to follow rob. but in the end, rob and ashley decided to work together but only one can win. and it was boston rob who wins immunity. in the tribal council, they decided to vote out ashley; making rob, natalie and phillip the final three.

at the last tribal council, both natalie and phillip admitted that they owe their spots in the final 3 to boston rob. it was basically a show of how weird phillip is, how natalie showed his loyalty to rob and how magnificent rob is. it was no surprise that rob won via a landslide, 8-1-0; with ralph's vote going to phillip.

i think rob also holds the record of having played the game the most number of days with 117 days. he also joins his wife, amber in the winner's circle after amber won in the all star season with rob being the runner up that season where their romance started.

in my personal opinion, i think the jury got this one right. rob really played the best this season, even his best game in his four seasons. i already said this in an earlier post that rob deserves to win this season.

in the reunion special, the sprint fan favorite was announced who will win USD100,000. this season's fan favorite is still rob mariano. it was a close fight between him and matt, with 40% and 36% of the votes respectively. david also proposed to another survivor alumae, carolina who was voted out first in survivor tocantins.

it was also announce that season 23 will be in samoa or the south pacific. same format as this season, with the redemption island and 2 returning survivors getting another shot at the title.

image is from: http://www.rickey.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Boston-Rob-Mariano-win-Survivor-Redemption-Island.jpg

scotty mccreery gets homecoming surprise

american idol top 3 finalist scotty mccreery got a surprise of a lifetime during his homecoming visit at his hometown garner, north carolina. during his performance, he sang his first audition piece "your man" by josh turner. just barely 20 seconds in the song, josh suddenly popped up on the stage which caught him off guard. they then sang a duet of the song with turner's own band playing.

here is the video of the awesome moment with scotty's reaction caught on cam.

video is from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGHSL1E6F9E

century tuna launches new healthylicious hotdog

century tuna launched the first tuna hotdog in the philippines, century tuna healthylicious hotdog. it claims to have the same hotdog taste but with the health benefits of the tuna. the product is being endorsed by starstruck winner and kapuso hunk aljur abrenica.

here is the commercial of the said product:

survivor redemption island season finale tonight

the finale of the 22nd season of survivor; survivor: redemption island; will air today via jack tv here in the philippines. as of now, 4 castaways are sure to be in the finals, with one voted off castaway returning from redemption island.

who will be able to return to the game? will it be matt, mike, andrea or grant? who will the jury favor, the ometepe alliance or the one who will return from redemption island? who will win final immunity? will rob mariano finally win survivor after 4 survivor seasons?

if you ask me who i think deserves to win, there are still 2 persons that i think deserves the title. first, matt deserves to win simply because his mental toughness is incredible. after surviving 2 blindsides, he still in the game and has a good chance of coming back to the game. if he makes it to the final vote, he has a good chance of winning, because he will get the sympathy votes from the jury.

the other person is rob mariano. rob definitely dominated his tribe in terms of strategy. he is the brains behind the ometepe alliance. we cannot doubt how he outplayed each and everyone of the castaways, including russel. having everyone know how you play the game (since they have watched you in the previous seasons) would definitely put a big target on your head. but surviving until the end definitely makes you deserving to win the title.

so tune in later to find out who will be this season's ultimate survivor. the next location of survivor will also be revealed tonight. some speculations states that caramoan is next.

image is from: http://www.rolfenorman.com/2010/12/survivor-redemption-island.html

pinoy biggest loser: 12 official contestants revealed

the 12 contestants of pinoy biggest loser was revealed tonight in the show's primer: bigating pinoy: the piony biggest loser primer. the contestants are:

1. ryan razon, pampanga

2. edden cruz, cebu

3. rafael tan, negros occidental

4. alan choachuy, cebu

5. hazel chua, bicol

6. art mendoza, makati

7. angela lupangco, rizal

8. winwin cabinta, bukidnon

9. eric limatog, cebu

10. jm oloris, manila

11. joy siy, pasig

12. eboy bautista, paranaque city

the show will be hosted by the megastar sharon cuneta. prizes of the winner includes a fully furnished 2 bedroom condo unit in tivoli gardens of dmci homes in mandaluyong city ( http://www.dmcihomes.com/tivoli-garden-residences.php ) and 1 million pesos cash. the trainers for this season will be chinggay andrada and jim saret.

happy feet and jem cubil enters the finals of pilipinas got talent

the tap dancing duo of happy feet and singer jem cubil enters the finals of pilipinas got talent. happy feet, composed of siblings lordito and ramonito of bukidnon, got the highest number of votes (50.51% of the total votes) and immediately advanced to the finals.

cebu's pride jem cubil (23.20%) and laguna's collins gutierrez (15.40%) performed again for the judges, after garnering the 2nd and 3rd highest number of votes. all judges favored jem.

the two will now join freestylers, madrigal siblings, b4 and angel calalas in the finals.

other semifinalists in this group are dance selection of taguig, 5 year old rafael pavia from davao and zaldy carlos of manila.

here is the performance of happy feet in then semifinals:

next week's group 4 will be composed of filogram, first beat effects, genevieve rochelle arandia, maribeth callanta, next generation band and john michael narag.

video is from the post of moronicyap in youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXdWdMOX22s

the new nestle fruit selection yogurt commercial

so what's your fruit for today?

please watch the new nestle fruit selection yogurt tv commercial launched today.

also, for all nfsy lovers out there, please do join then fan site in facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NestleFruitSelectionYogurt

bigating pinoy: the pinoy biggest loser primer tonight

since i am missing my previous blog (pinoy reality junkee), my first post will be on reality tv shows... :)

bigating pinoy: the pinoy biggest loser primer will be shown tonight after pilipinas got talent at abs cbn. if you enjoy the american version which is shown in cable tv here in the philippines and the asian version which is shown in diva universal (formerly hallmark channel), don't fail to watch tonight's primer. it will be exciting to see how abs cbn localize another famous reality show after pinoy big brother, fear factor and pilipinas got talent, to name a few.

the show will be hosted by ms. sharon cuneta, who is struggling with weight as well.

you can view the video here:

back to blogging

i finally decided to go back to blogging after more than a year. i had a reality tv blog before but has been inactive for quite sometime due to schedules. i decided to create a new blog not only for reality tv but anything ubder the sun. hope all of you enjoy the blog and still give the same support you guys gave to pinoy reality junkee before.

ciao! :)