Maniolas

Davao’s Malagos Chocolate has been adjudged as one of the world’s best drinking chocolates in an international chocolate competition. Malagos Chocolate Malagos Chocolate won a Silver award for Dark Drinking Chocolate Made with Milk at the International Chocolate Awards at the Schokolade Gourmet Festival in Germany. Malagos Chocolate’s 65 percent dark chocolate finished ahead of entries including that from the United States and Germany. Earlier this year, Malagos Chocolate won the Bronze at the Academy of Chocolate Awards in London for Best Unflavoured Drinking Chocolate with its 100% unsweetened chocolate. “We are very proud of this achievement. Winning two international awards in the span of only one year proves that Philippine-made chocolates can be elevated to world-class standards,” said Rex Puentespina, Chocolate Maker at Malagos Agri-Ventures Corp., the company that makes the award-winning chocolates. The company started making premium single-origin cocoa liquor in 2012 with 40 small farmers in the area, using cacao beans harvested from trees growing in the foothills of Mount Talomo in Davao, a highly diverse agricultural zone on the island of Mindanao in southern Philippines. The International Chocolate Awards is the world’s only fully independent fine chocolate competition that recognizes excellence in fine chocolate making. Malagos Chocolate previously received an ASEAN Best Food Product Recognition Award at the ASEAN Food Conference in Singapore.   Related posts: Kalibo, Davao airports named among world’s most efficient Team Philippines makes history in World Pastry Cup Davao exports cacao beans to Netherlands, Europe Bayanihan Dance Company bags grand prize in Italy

The Philippine Team remains undefeated as champions in the 4th ASEAN Plus Three Junior Science Odyssey (APTJSO). ASEAN Plus Three Junior Science Odyssey Philippine Team [via GMA News] The Filipinos won the overall award for the 4th straight year since the competition’s establishment in 2012. Philippine Science High School students from the Eastern Visayas and CARAGA Region campuses bested teams from 13 other countries. The science students demonstrated laboratory experiments in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Innovation. The PH Team earned a gold medal and an Honorable Mention in Physics, a silver in Biology, a Bronze and an Honorable Mention in Chemistry, a Bronze and Honorable Mention in Innovation, another gold and silver in the Project Presentation Category, and an Honorable Mention in Poster Presentation. The country will host the 5th APTJSO in 2016. The ASEAN Center for the Gifted in Science (ACGS), based in the Republic of Korea, is the overall organizer of competition,  in cooperation with the ASEAN-member countries, China and Japan.   Related posts: Philippine Science High School wins in Thailand Science Fair Pinoy kids win 4 medals in Math Olympics in South Africa Pinoy mathletes bag 12 golds, 138 medals in Hong Kong Pinoy kids win 16 medals in Romania Math competition

An international survey ranked the Philippines among the best countries to raise a family for expatriates in 2015. The country placed 14th among 41 nations included in the Family Life Index of the InterNations, an information-sharing network of expatriates all over the world. The Philippines, which ranked fourth in cost of childcare and education and seventh in their availability in 2015, actually dropped seven places after landing seventh among 34 countries in the 2014 Family Life index. Austria topped the list this year along with Northern European countries Finland and Sweden, while Israel and New Zealand landed fourth and fifth, respectively. Singapore placed sixth overall followed by Germany, France, Australia, and Luxembourg. The index ranks countries based on availability and cost of childcare and education, quality of education, family well-being, and childcare and education options. Over 30 respondents raising children abroad participated in the survey for each country in the list. THE Philippines ranked 14th among 41 countries in a listing of best places to raise a family for expatriates, an international survey showed. In InterNation’s 2015 Family Life Index, the Philippines trailed countries like Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, China, Thailand, South Korea, Italy, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, among others. The Family Life Index ranked countries according to expatriate parents’ response to subcategories, namely availability of child care and education, cost of child care and education, quality of education and family well-being. The Philippines ranked seventh in availability of child care and education, fifth Read More …

Hong Kong tourists Kayaking in El Nido [via Lakbay Pilipinas] Foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines grew by 8.15 percent to 2.23 million visitors in the first five months of the year from the 2.06 million visitors a year ago. Latest data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed that for May alone, tourist arrivals rose 13.53 percent to 413,937 visitors, the biggest growth recorded so far since this year. According to DOT, earnings generated from tourism activities in the first five months of 2015 grew 2.74 percent to P93.91 billion from P91.4 billion last year. In May, visitor receipts amounted to P16.77 billion, up 2.4 percent from P16.38 billion a year ago. By visitor market, Korea remained the top contributor of international arrivals with a 24.5-percent share, equivalent to 546,031 arrivals, as of end May, the DOT reported. The United States was the second biggest market with 15.74 percent share (350,776 visitors), followed by Japan, which ranked third with 9.18 percent (327,702 visitors). Last month, the DOT and the Philippine Embassy in Japan organized the Philippine Business Mission (PBM) 2015 as they sought to boost Japanese tourist arrivals here to a million. Local tourism officials, along with 43 Philippine sellers composed of hotels, resorts, travel wholesalers and airline companies, made the pitch before members of the Japan Association of Travel Agencies (Jata) during the three-day promotions and marketing campaign, the Philippine Embassy in Japan said. Deputy Chief of Mission Gilberto Asuque had reportedly encouraged the travel and tourism executives Read More …

(L-R) Consul General Mario De Leon, Jr., Mrs. Vicky Cuisia, Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban, Mrs. Josephine Esteban and Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr. [by Consul Zaldy Patron via Inquirer] Two Filipino Americans, one a university president and the other a retired U.S. Army major general, were among the honored naturalized US citizens named as the “Great Immigrant” by Carnegie Corporation of New York. The tribute was part of its July 4th celebrations. Seton Hall University President Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban and U.S. Army Major. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret) were cited for their contributions in US society. Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation, issued a statement saying the tribute to Esteban, Taguba and the other honorees is “simply a thank you” for their contributions which are “vital to the fabric of our nation and the strength of our democracy.” “These individuals have helped advance and enlighten our society, culture, and economy,” Gregorian stated. Esteban, Seton Hall University’s 20th President, was appointed in 2011 to head the private Roman Catholic university in New Jersey, the oldest and largest Catholic academic institution in the state. Esteban is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines. Seton Hall University issued a statement quoting Esteban as saying, “The promise inherent in the American Dream, which has attracted immigrants to the United States for centuries, has been fulfilled in my life many times over. For that, I will be forever grateful to my adopted homeland. At Seton Hall, I work to ensure that today’s young Americans – many Read More …