The Galing Pook Awards was launched on October 21, 1993, as a pioneering program that searches for and recognizes innovative practices by local government units (LGUs). LGU finalists with outstanding initiatives are carefully selected and winners are recognized in a very prestigious ceremony.
This coming February, the City of Biñan will be celebrating not just one but three important events that mark its history and heritage – its 13th Cityhood Anniversary (February 2), its 78th Liberation Day (February 3), and its 276th Foundation Day (February 4) – collectively known as Araw ng Biñan.
In the three-day celebration of Araw ng Biñan this year, there are two events that stand out—the inauguration of Plaza Rizal and the groundbreaking ceremony for the “Sentro ng Patanghal na Sining.”
For the City of Biñan, the month of February is a time for celebration and thanksgiving. From February 2 to February 4, 2023, local government officials, Biñanenses and special guests will gather to celebrate the 13th Cityhood of Biñan, its 78th Liberation Day and 276th Foundation Anniversary.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) was one of the government agencies established under the Malolos Constitution on January 21, 1899.
SINCE the pandemic situation has somewhat eased with the downward trend in Covid-19 cases nationwide, properties have been constantly in demand, especially in regions outside of Metro Manila.
In April 2018, then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte announced that Boracay, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, would be closed to tourists for six months. This closure would give way to the rehabilitation of the island because of the alleged faulty sewage system, with pipes disposing effluent directly to the sea.
As the country moves into the next normal, many companies are realizing the need to provide healthy workspaces for their employees. There is one company that has not only come up with a new headquarters that promote health and wellness; it also offers green and modern workspaces.
The Philippines is home to more than 110 million people, with the population rising each year by more than 1%. With this massive population number, it’s only expected that certain percentages and subpopulations are afflicted with some sort of health condition or disorder that may be impeding on quality of life. Unfortunately, one of these conditions is obesity. Today, obesity affects about 800 million people around the world – 27 million of which are Filipinos. In this article, we go deep into what obesity is, its causes, the possible effects on population health and the economy, and solutions that have been proposed to combat the obesity problem in the Philippines.
Pakistan Day is commemorated every year on 23rd March on account of a historic RESOLUTION that was unanimously passed in Lahore by a congregation All India Muslim League in favour of a separate homeland for the Muslims of Indian sub-continent. This was demanded in view of the extreme injustice and grievances directed against the Muslims under the majority Hindu rule following elections held by the British Raj in 1930s. This unanimous Resolution paved the way for the first independent Muslim state i.e. PAKISTAN on August 14, 1947.
While the government has loosened up quarantine restrictions, this does not mean that you should let your guard down. The Covid-19 virus is still in our midst and it is just a matter of time before Omicron, the latest variant of concern, finds its way to the Philippines.
We have seen how the Covid-19 pandemic has brought out the best in many people, but it has also brought out the worst in some. Reports from the Association of Certified Fraud Experts indicate that 51 percent of organizations across the globe experienced or uncovered more fraudulent attacks. This led to approximately a five percent loss in total company revenues.
As the lead agency in the implementation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s flagship project, the Build, Build, Build Program, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has undertaken and supervised the construction, maintenance, improvement, and widening of a total of 29,264 kilometers of roads since July 2016.
If you are born between 1981 and 1996, you are a millennial. You have probably been working for almost 20 years and probably hold a leadership or senior position in the company that you work for. You may have also been starting your own family and started to think about the future of your children.
As part of their corporate social responsibility initiative, Globe Telecom, along with the Ayala Group of companies, has donated essential support packages composed of WiFi kits, entertainment sets, grocery, medical supplies, insurance vouchers, and cash support to three hospitals as they continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. This was done as part of the #BrigadangAyala, the Ayala Group’s integrated response to its almost two century-old commitment to national development.
Every June, the Philippines celebrates National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) month, as mandated by Proclamation Number 1521, Series of 2008. During this month, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) brings to light their efforts in working with the government to further the digital transformation in the country.
What exactly is the city government doing to help bring Manila back to its glorious state? Along with major facelifts of many of its landmark structures, the administration of Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso a.k.a. Isko Moreno is also addressing the immediate concerns brought about by the current pandemic. Here are just some of the more noteworthy projects.
For many Filipino-Chinese, the Lunar New Year is like a second Christmas-extended families meet up and share a meal of traditional Chinese food and exchange ang-paos (also known as hong baos) to welcome wealth for the coming year. People may also travel to their ancestral villages in China to meet with relatives still living in the area. As the Lunar New Year traditionally marks the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring, it is also one of the biggest major holidays in China.
Many Filipinos missed doing these on New Year’s Eve: lighting up a firework or a firecracker, blowing horns to create noise, and partying with friends. Except for the Media Noche, that sumptuous meal with family members, when the clock struck at 12 midnight, everything else was not permitted on New Year 2020 celebration.
And so I had always wanted to witness an authentic Chinese New Year celebration and I finally did last year with the tour of Binondo courtesy of my friend, blogger and Filipino-Chinese historian Rence Chan (WalkwithChan). With all its crazy and chaotic ambiance coupled with Chinese favorites, goodies, tikoy and lucky charms on sale plus firecrackers and lion-dragon dances all over, Chinese New Year is really something many Filipinos would surely miss this year on this side of Manila.
Known as the City of Life, Biñan City commemorated three important dates in history in the first week of February amid restriction movements brought about by the existing COVID-19 health pandemic.
WITH one of the largest public markets in the whole region of Calabarzon, it is impossible to miss Biñan, Laguna. The city is also one of the host cities of the Laguna Technopark, one of the country’s first privately-owned industrial parks.
The pandemic has caught every one surprised and unguarded. No one knew it could really be savage. The city government of Biñan, for its part, immediately planned head-on a few days after the news of the first strain of COVID-19 in the country was reported by the Department of Health (DOH).
Photos by Bernard Testa
From a repurposed car dealership to an award-winning real estate business, Damosa Land Inc. (DLI) has come a long way from its humble beginnings.
WITH the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, companies started giving out relief, mostly to the communities where they operate, as well as to employees and other stakeholders.
TODAY, more than ever, is the time to be compassionate — to show real care and compassion with one another.
SINCE time immemorial, traffic congestion has been the country’s perennial problem that continuously affects not only the peoples’ lives but also impedes the nation’s economic progress and development.
As the Philippines’ largest renewable energy company, the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) has always been at the forefront of providing not just sustainable energy, but sustainable living as well. For EDC, renewable power must not only reduce human and businesses’ carbon footprint, but should also “enable national development and create a better life for everyone today and tomorrow.”
Even as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the world, life still needs to go on despite the quarantine. Like many businesses, the education sector also found ways in adapting to the digitized new normal while at the same time adapting to the needs of both the students and personnel.
The once busy street outside your home has become an eerily quiet road for nearly four months now. Unsurprisingly, the unfamiliar and deafening silence has plagued your mind ever since—tormenting a part of you that often seems distant and unreachable.
In the recently published Framework for Reopening Schools from UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the World Food Programme and UNHCR, these reputable international organizations are all one in saying that “the best interest of every child should be paramount.”
Two decades into the 21st century but none of us has come prepared for a pandemic caused by a deadly strain of a viral disease. Indeed, everyone has been caught off guard—changing the dynamics of our society and forcing us to adapt the “new normal.”
Health is wealth may now sound like a clichéd expression but just the same, many people are still taking this popular mantra by heart.
By Samuel P. Medenilla
While it’s hard to remain optimistic during this time of crisis, everyone is looking forward to hearing what the current administration has to say regarding the economic and health measures amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines’ ties with China, the contentious Anti-Terrorism Law, and others.
The year 2020 was supposed to be a prosperous year for the entire world according to fortune tellers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a sweeping impact on economies and financial systems around the world. The outlook for global economic growth has dimmed considerably in the first quarter of 2020, while turbulence in financial markets has constrained liquidity.
Amid the current global health emergency, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has promptly acted to implement a package of extraordinary measures that would help cushion the pandemic’s effect on the economy and alleviate the plight of the Filipino.
The BSP has served as a guardian of financial stability amid the present health crisis, implementing prudential relief measures designed to assist BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) and support households and business enterprises.
Digital technology is becoming an inevitable part of the day-to-day lives of every Filipino. Data from the global mobile network industry show that in 2019, 67% of Filipinos had a social media account and used the Internet, while those with mobile broadband and smartphone stood at 86% and 65%, respectively. Mobile phones have enabled a wide array of services on demand whenever, wherever—whether for streaming movies, buying stuff, ordering food, or connecting with friends and families.
While Filipino entrepreneurs are known for their resilience, passion, and hardwork, the pandemic has truly tested their patience, creativity, and ability to adapt to the changing norms.
Now celebrated in many parts of the world, Father’s Day has become a time to recognize the many different father figures in our lives: old and new dads, granddads, dads-in-law, stepdads, serious and funny dads, and all men doing dad duties.
To say that we’re celebrating Independence Day in a different way this year is an understatement. There is some irony in celebrating a national holiday about regaining our freedom from foreign rule since that very freedom has been compromised as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
THEY say it is better to be safe than sorry, and firms should be heeding those words by now. The community quarantines put in place had kept majority of business operations closed since March.
WHILE experts say that the future is digital, it has become more evident now as the public has in the past months been prompted to shift to online banking platforms amid mobility restrictions due to pandemic-induced lockdowns.
Photos by Bernard Testa
With COVID-19 still wreaking havoc on a global scale, adjusting to the so-called “new normal” has been difficult for everyone.
If you like moving around and walking under the heat of the sun and you enjoy being in a big crowd and the noise it creates, the Chinese New Year celebration in Binondo Chinatown is for you.
ONE year after taking office, then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza tapped the local businessmen and business groups as well as the community and the barangays in organizing the Chinatown Development Authority (CDA) in 1999. The CDA helped Atienza achieve his vision of restoring the area to its genuine character as a Chinese enclave, where a unified Filipino-Chinese community would have a harmonized development program.
Globe Telecom encourages consumers to take steps in reducing their environmental impact by using their mobile devices to access health, financial, educational, entertainment, retail, food, and other services to minimize travel.
Happy Lunar New Year! As we welcome the Year of the Metal Rat, you might be wondering how you can hone in your good fortune this year. Whether it be honing your luck in terms of your health or finding romance, you might consider using the ancient art of Feng Shui to bring that in. This almost four thousand year practice involves placing certain objects or furniture a certain way to bring good “chi”, or energy, into the space. It is often determined by what direction the room is facing and the elements associated to it. This 2020, take a look at these tips to achieve a more productive and prosperous office space.
It’s an exciting year for 2020, considered as the start of a new decade according to the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used in the world.
According to Chinese philosophy, the Rat is a symbol of prudence: an inquisitive, brisk animal that rarely finds itself in a desperate situation. The child of the Rat Year fully enjoys these positive qualities of this animal: curiosity, restraint, hard work, insight, a sharp mind, and a strong intuition.
Master Hanz Cua, acknowledged fengshui master in the Chinese community, said that the Year of White Metal Rat is a great year to launch new business ventures or find a new job.
JONES Bridge, otherwise known as the “Queen of the Bridges” in Manila, was recently brought back to her pedestal. The whole nation witnessed its dramatic restoration during its “inaugural” in November 2019 with its near-original design back and Intagrammable well-lit and ornamented walkways on both sides.
WITH the onset of a new Chinese lunar year, many are wary of what the Year of the Metal Rat will bring to the Philippines.
Megaworld Lifestyle Malls and Lucky Chinatown welcomed the Year of the Metal Rat with the country’s biggest and grandest celebration right at the heart of the world’s oldest and the country’s premier Chinatown in Binondo, Manila.
Conclusion
SIX days after the New Year, another mall went ablaze, more than 400 kilometers away from the NCCC Mall.
DAVAO CITY—Two days before Christmas, the city sidewalks here were busy: people passing, meeting smile after smile.
By Lenie Lectura & Catherine N. Pillas
Conclusion
IF there’s any one thing that I will remember about my recent trip to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, it is the music.
IN August the House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill (HB) 6152. The measure intends to compress the workweek by allowing Filipino employees to work beyond eight hours a day to complete the required 48 working hours in just four to five days.
ASKED on the possibility of another financial crisis repeating in the region—especially in the face of global volatilities and political uncertainty across the world—Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Andrew Wood said member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have learned their lesson and strengthened themselves to better handle such a situation.
FAILURE in corporate good governance. This is what Herbert M. Consunji, chief financial officer of DMCI Holdings Inc., considers the folly of businesses that were severely affected when the Asian financial crisis hit in 1997.
