Richard Poon and Maricar Reyes pick up insights from successful couples on how to maintain their relationship.
Aug 272014
Aug 272014
Sarsa chef JP “Jayps” Anglo’s take on the Ilonggo soul dish KBL (kadios, baboy at langka). Text and photos by CLAUDE TAYAG The phenomenal rise in popularity of the Ilocano bagnet, Pampango sisig, or Ilonggo chicken inasal on the national culinary scene is a good illustration of how the best — or at least the most popular — of a regional cuisine actually takes part in weaving the quilt that makes up Filipino cuisine as a cohesive whole. And, once you have your foot in the door, one is likely to be curious enough to try the rest of the cuisine. Is it coincidence that the DOT’s “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” logo has the Philippine map woven like our tightly knit banig (mat), with its multi-colored mosaic representing the different regions/cultures that make up our nation? Sarsa Kitchen+Bar is that kind of restaurant. It lures us with Iloilo and Bacolod’s iconic dishes like batchoy, Molo soup, and, of course, chicken inasal. And that was exactly what we had on our first visit with Sarsa. Believe you me, they were as good as any to be had in those twin southern belles, perhaps even better. They are chef JP “Jayps” Anglo’s take on these Ilonggo comfort staples. He defines his style of cooking as modern, mixing all the home flavors and local ingredients with Asian and Western techniques he’s learned in culinary schools in Manila and Australia, as evident in his Bacolod restaurants, Mu Shu and Mai Po Restaurant. Read More …
Aug 272014
One of the problems spawned by a growing metropolis, and further spurred by sustained economic growth, is parking. This may sound trivial but when you have more cars on the road, the next most irksome problem after traffic is trying to get a parking space. When you have to add 15 minutes or more of your commute time to finding a parking space for your car for a few hours, you’d likely end up late for your appointment or stressed out after grappling with all the delaying uncertainties. Availability of a parking space is not only the issue. If you park your car out on the streets, there’s always the risk of security. Or vandalism. Car-napping may be considered under control nowadays, but petty theft is not so. How many have been victimized by thieves or vandals who’d settle for your side mirrors or hubcaps just so to earn a few bucks or kicks? The more daring would go for your car stereo or anything valuable that you may have left inside the car after, of course, messing up big time with your door lock. Killer rates After space and security concerns is the problem regarding the high cost of parking. A yuppie will realize that a sizeable percentage of his income would be spent on parking fees if there is no company-assigned parking area or parking subsidy (separate from fuel allowance). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Parking buildings, either stand-alone or adjunct to malls, and Read More …
Aug 272014
Photo shows Susana Pascual-Guerrero (2nd from right), president and founder of The Cravings Group, accepting the award with Judith Imperial, HR director of The Cravings Group. With them are: Hans Sicat (right), CEO of the Philippine Stock Exchange, and Bonar Laureto, executive director, Philippine Business for the Environment. MANILA, Philippines – The Cravings Group (TCG) has once again been recognized by the international community as it was recently awarded with the “Best Practice in Leadership for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Community” by the Sustainable Business Awards (SBA). The awards aim to increase awareness on sustainable business best practices and demonstrate how sustainable business benefits companies, the environment and all stakeholders, today and the future. “We are very honored with this citation as we are the only candidate from the hotel and restaurant industry among top companies and businesses in the Philippines,”said Susana P. Guerrero, president and founder of The Cravings Group. “TCG’s many initiatives in sustainability earned us this global SBA in CSR. The goal of sustainability is simply maximizing and properly using, and maintaining life’s resources to remain viable for future generations. It is simple enough to understand that if one puts back what he takes from the environment, then it is replenished and is again available for use. Sustainability is more than just being green or eco-friendly. It is about ethical treatment of people and respect for God-given life resources.” TCG is the only restaurant /culinary school/ hotel to have been certified under the ISO14001:2004 standard Read More …
Aug 272014
The 2014 Inspiring Young Cebuano Entrepreneur Awardees. For the past few weeks, the Go Negosyo team has been researching and evaluating several nominations to select the young breed of inspiring and innovative Cebuano entrepreneurs. This is being done to create the new role models for the youth and they will be recognized when we mount the Creativity and Innovation Summit tomorrow at the J Center Convention Halls in Cebu. This particular batch of young entrepreneurs was selected as they have shown passion, integrated exceptional innovation and applied creativity with their products and services. Aside from that, they have made an impact to the development of their communities. They will be awarded in a private dinner tonight in Cebu when we do a dinner forum which will be attended by almost 300 Cebuano entrepreneurs. They will also be recognized and honored in the summit tomorrow and most of them will also join the panel in the different forums. Let me share their stories: First is Gabino Abejo Jr. who is the president and CEO of Abejo Waters Corp. (AWC). At a very young age, he directed the AWC to be one of the biggest bulk water suppliers in Metropolitan Cebu. His efforts were also recognized as he was awarded as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 by Ernst & Young Philippines. Abejo Waters has also given multiple areas of Cebu a water distribution system. At 29, Lorenz Florendo introduced a new variety to the popular lechon Cebu. He opened Tatang’s Extra Crispy Boneless Lechon in Read More …
Aug 272014
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine economic growth in the second quarter could have been faster than the first quarter performance, the research arm of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. said, but added the figure remains below the government’s target. “The second quarter Philippine GDP (gross domestic product) growth is expected to come in at 5.9 percent, underpinned by solid consumption spending, improvement in external trade, and acceleration in the manufacturing sector,” Pauline Revillas, research analyst at Metrobank, said in a report. The figure is faster than the 5.7-percent growth recorded in the first quarter, but below the 7.6-percent growth recorded in the second quarter of last year. At the same time, the forecast is below the government’s 6.5- to 7.5-percent target for 2014. Revillas said the second quarter economic growth was supported by strong consumer spending, expansion in trade, and improvement in the manufacturing sector. “Consumption spending was still driven by robust OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances which grew by almost six percent in the April to June period,” Revillas said. Remittances, which made up 8.4 percent of the country’s GDP last year, support domestic consumption, the main driver of the Philippine economic growth. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The improvement in the economies of some of the Philippines’ major trading partners also supported the expansion in the trade front,” Revillas said. “Furthermore, the growth in the manufacturing sector accelerated as industries adjusted to the effects of external conditions,” she said.
Aug 272014
The Supreme Court magistrates figuratively poured a bucket of ice water on BIR chief Kim Henares when they rejected with finality the motion for reconsideration filed by Henares to obtain certified true copies of the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of the SC justices from 2003 to 2012. In the resolution issued earlier, the SC also slammed Henares, saying that the powers bestowed on the BIR chief are “not absolute.” Like the magistrates, many were also wondering why the revenue chief seemed engaged in “selective targeting” because it did not include the Sandiganbayan and lower court members in her request – only the justices of the SC, the Court of Appeals and the Court of Tax Appeals where cases involving the BIR are being heard. The SC also said Section 5(B) of the Tax Code should not be used in the conduct of a fishing expedition to hunt for any tax liability. Businessmen were relieved to hear the SC ruling, with many saying they hope Henares – shown in the screen-grab photo (sent in by a reader) taking the ice bucket challenge issued by ABS-SBN host Anthony Taberna – would cool down her tendency to overstep the limits of her authority. Business groups actually have a long list of complaints against several memos and regulations issued by the BIR, among them Revenue Regulation (RR) 01-2014 where the Tax Identification Number (TIN) of all payees and income payments to them must be disclosed in the Alphalist of Read More …
Aug 272014
James Reid is being groomed by ABS CBN as a hot young star in tandem with Nadine Lustre.
Aug 272014
MANILA, Philippines—Philippine police said Wednesday they had arrested a Filipino Islamic militant suspected of taking part in at least one deadly kidnapping raid on a Malaysian diving resort island. Hundreds of members of a police special force unit were deployed to arrest Abu Sayyaf member Mobin Hailil at a remote village in the Tawi-Tawi archipelago near the Malaysian sea border on Tuesday, they said. “When local police located him we were called in because they knew members of his clan would fight back,” Filipino police special forces director Getulio Napenas told AFP. The suspect, a Tawi-Tawi native and a “leader” of Abu Sayyaf members based on the island, did not resist arrest but a loaded handgun and a grenade were seized from him, Napenas added. A Filipino police statement said Hailil, also known as Kahumbo, was “involved in kidnapping and killings” on the Malaysian resort island of Mabul, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Hailil’s Tawi-Tawi home. However, it did not provide details of his alleged crimes. National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. A policeman was killed and a second officer kidnapped by heavily armed men in the diving resort, off Borneo island, on July 12, Malaysian security officials have reported. The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, on Wednesday quoted unnamed Malaysian intelligence sources as saying Hailil might have been responsible for that attack, as well as other kidnappings in the area. The July shooting was the latest in a spate of Read More …
Aug 262014
Makibahagi rin sa $100,000 Cash na Ipamimigay! Sa pagdiriwang ng Harvest Moon Festival, isinusulong ng Pechanga ang nakakaexcite na September Table Games Promotions na inyong katutuwaan gaya ng Autumn’s full moon. Halina kayo mula September 1 hanggang 26, kung saan ang pagkakaroon ng “Straight“ hand sa Ultimate Texas Hold’em, “Isang Qualifying Pair “ sa Let It Ride, isang “Straight” hand sa 3-Card Poker, “Dragon Bet” o anumang “ Natural Tie” na diga sa Baccarat, isang “Flush” hand sa Pai Gow, o anumang “Blackjack” na diga, ay maari nyong makamit para sa drawing ticket entry. Mas maraming paglalaro, mas maraming mapapanalunan. Ang grand finale drawings ay gaganapin sa September 12 at September 26. Dalawamput-limang raffle winners ang pipiliin upang manalo ng $1,000 na cash at isang suwerteng mananalo ang mag-uuwi ng $25,000 cash kada araw ng bola. Ang mga mananalo ay kinakailangang nandirito upang makamit ang mga premyo. Huwag kalimutan ang nakakagalak na oportunidad na maging susunod na mananalo – oras na upang Umani!! Binabati ng Pechanga ang lahat ng Happy Harvest Moon Festival! IKINAGAGALAK NG PINAKAMALAKING CASINO SA CALIFORNIA ANG PAGDATING NG BAGONG MANAGER NG ASIAN MARKETING Chau Ly, Ang Bagong Manager ng Asian Marketing Ang Pechanga Resort & Casino, isang AAA Four Diamond resort/casino at pinakamalaki sa California, ay malugod na tinatangkilik ang pagdating ni Chau Ly bilang bagong Manager ng Asian Marketing. Sa kanyang tungkulin, siya ay mangangasiwa sa mga Asian player development hosts ng kumpanya, gayundin bilang ambassador sa komunidad ng Asian Southern California at makikipag-ugnayan sa Read More …