Will Jewel return to showbiz after her wedding?

 Entertainment
Dec 302014
 
Will Jewel return to showbiz after her wedding?

Jewel Mische (MNS Photo) Actress Jewel Mische is still undecided if she will continue to pursue her acting career after her wedding later this year to her American boyfriend. “It’s hard to say what’s going to happen in the future but I’m just so excited right now to get married. There’s so much right now in my plate, so I don’t know yet” Mische said in an interview. “But you know, an actor will always be an actor. That’s what I say,” she added. Mische has revealed that she will be have a winter wedding in Michigan with her fiance, whom she identified only by his first name, Alister. After their US wedding, Mische said they will be traveling and won’t kids right away. “We talked about that already, we don’t want to have kids right now, not yet. Maybe mga two or three years (pa),” the actress said. Mische also said she feels very welcome with Alister’s family. “I stayed there for six months and invested time with his family and friends. I love them so much and they love me so much. I am very much accepted, very much cherished and acknowledged,” says Mische. (MNS)

Lexus celebrates Holiday magic with December sales event campaign

 Entertainment
Dec 302014
 
Lexus celebrates Holiday magic with December sales event campaign

Innovation and craftsmanship spotlighted in fanciful new Lexus ads Lexus 2014 Holiday Campaign TORRANCE, Calif. – Lexus today launches its annual “December to Remember” Sales Event with a new integrated marketing campaign that offers a fun spin on gift giving and holiday cheer. Anchored by three general market commercials, the campaign reveals some of Santa’s inventive gift-giving secrets and illustrates that with Lexus you’re never too old for toys. “The holidays are a time of year when people indulge their imaginations and share stories filled with magic and wonder,” said Brian Smith, Lexus vice president of marketing. “This year’s holiday campaign celebrates the tradition of storytelling and reminds us that children aren’t the only ones who get to have fun this time of year.” The first spot, “Christmas Train,” shows an iconic holiday train maneuvering along a snowy mountain track. The train grinds to a halt in front of a neighborhood home. Holiday elves jump out to help unload a Lexus IS F SPORT sedan, donning the brand’s iconic big red bow, into a family’s driveway. The spot flashes to the next morning, as the mom finishes telling her wide-eyed kids the story of how the vehicle arrived. In “Magic Box,” Santa places a small wrapped box on another neighborhood driveway. The box opens up and magically transforms, gear by gear, into a full-sized Lexus ES sedan. The spot cuts to the dad explaining to his surprised wife and kids how Santa delivered this feat of engineering. The final spot, Read More …

DOT 7 to produce guide on tourism development for LGUs

 Economy
Dec 302014
 
DOT 7 to produce guide on tourism development for LGUs

THE Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 will produce a guidebook on tourism development plans for local government units (LGU) in Cebu Province starting in February. DOT 7 Director Rowena Montecillo said the guidebook will serve as a tool to help LGUs craft their tourism plans. “The aim here is to help LGUs become DOT-independent in terms of making their own tourism plans because these plans should really be initiated by them. DOT’s intervention will come in the form of technical assistance that will suit the community,” said Montecillo. She said the guidebook will help educate and determine the function of local tourism officers and local chief executives in the development of their local tourism roadmaps. DOT 7 has increased its efforts in developing new tourism destinations in the countryside. Montecillo reported more LGUs in Cebu are now active in implementing their own tourism development plan, most of them as eco-tourism destinations. “More LGUs are now aware of the growth opportunities tourism can bring to their locality in terms of income and job generation.Those areas with high potential in tourism have been working closely with the DOT in terms of technical and marketing help,” said Montecillo. She said more LGUs need proper training in crafting their tourism development plan. “There are some who don’t know their tourism plans while others don’t know what to do with their tourism sites but they are starting to learn. We are hoping this guidebook will help them,” she said. Montecillo cited Malabuyoc as an example Read More …

PH posted P6.8B in budget surplus in November

 General
Dec 292014
 
PH posted P6.8B in budget surplus in November

The government posted a surplus in November as the decline in spending outpaced the slight drop in revenue collection during the month, the Department of Finance yesterday said. According to the DOF, a surplus of P6.8 billion was registered in November, 582 percent higher than the P1 billion posted in the same month last year. Even as revenue collection slipped by 4 percent to P158.2 billion in November from P165 billion last year, expenditures slid by a bigger 8 percent to P151.4 billion from P164 billion a year ago. November’s surplus exceeded the P6.008 billion programmed for the month. In January to November period, revenues maintained double-digit growth, posting an 11-percent rise in collections to P1.736 trillion from P1.566 trillion a year ago. Government expenditures, meanwhile, registered a mere 5 percent increase in the first 11 months to P1.762 trillion from P1.677 trillion last year. The end-November deficit stood at P26.8 billion, 76-percent lower than the P111.5 billion registered between January and November 2013. Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO The deficit as of end-November was way below the program of P238.294 billion for the 11-month period, reflecting anemic government spending on infrastructure and public services despite robust revenue collection. For Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, the lower deficit was nonetheless a good thing. “With the recent Moody’s credit ratings upgrade, as well as improved scores in the Millennium Challenge Corp. scorecard leading to our eligibility for a second compact, one thing is clear: the Philippines is in a Read More …

Coffee: A health drink?

 General
Dec 292014
 
Coffee: A health drink?

Remember the days when doctors used to advise their patients not to drink coffee as this could harm their hearts, give them ulcers, and make them overly nervous?  Well, it’s still true today that in excess, coffee, and particularly caffeine, can cause health problems.  But the fretting about two or three cups a day, or even more, is fading as study results suggestive of health benefits from coffee keep pouring in. In the last few years alone, research continues to serve up health perks for coffee drinkers.  Here’s a roundup of results of recent studies on coffee: • Heart failure. Women who drink coffee are slightly less likely to develop heart failure than women who don’t drink coffee. Coffee drinking has little effect on heart failure in men. • Stroke. Women who drink coffee are about 25 percent less likely to have a stroke than those who don’t.  (The study didn’t include men.) • Blood clot in the legs or lungs. Men and women who drink coffee may be less likely to develop a blood clot in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) or the lungs (pulmonary embolism) than non-drinkers. • Premature death. In a 24-year study of female nurses, coffee drinkers — including those who downed four or more cups a day — were no more likely to have died than women who didn’t drink coffee. Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: • Heart rhythm problems. Doctors often advise their patients with heart palpitations or other rhythm Read More …

Investment pledges down 24%

 General
Dec 292014
 
Investment pledges down 24%

MANILA, Philippines – Investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) fell 24 percent in 2014 compared to a year ago. In a statement yesterday, the BOI said total investments approved reached P354.5 billion in 2014, down from P466.03 billion in 2013. BOI managing head Adrian Cristobal Jr. attributed the decline to “fewer applications for energy-related projects this year.” “But overall, there are more projects this year, 294 compared to 282 last year, with 54 percent more jobs projected (at) 58,619 (this year) compared to 38,100 last year,” he said in a text message. “There are more decent and quality jobs expected with these projects,” he added. Bulk or 90 percent of the investment commitments made with the agency came from domestic firms amounting to P317.69 billion. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The remaining 10 percent was accounted for by foreign companies with investment pledges amounting to P36.85 billion. By sector, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply continued to get the biggest share of total investments with P174.7 billion. The construction sector came in second with investments amounting to P64 billion, followed by mass housing which had P47.7 billion, manufacturing with P24.5 billion, and transportation and storage ice activities with P20.8 billion. Projects which had the biggest investments for the period include St. Raphael Power Generation Corp. which will build two coal-fired power plants in Balayan and Calaca in Batangas amounting to P63.17 bilion, GNPower Kauswagan Ltd. Co. which will put up a 540-megawatt Read More …

YEARENDER: Targets remain attainable – DA

 Economy
Dec 292014
 
YEARENDER: Targets remain attainable – DA

MANILA, Philippines – With only a year and a half left before the end of the Aquino administration, the Department of Agriculture (DA) remains confident it can attain the production targets under its key programs. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said for the coming year, the department would build on the gains of its major programs for food staples, animal industry and high-value crops as it strives to strengthen the value chain in various farm subsectors. For the remaining period of the current administration, at least, the department would strengthen further the support provided for producers of major food staples such as rice and corn under its flagship Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP). The Philippines last July succeeded in securing an extension of its quantitative restriction (QR) on rice imports until 2017. This entails increasing the volume of rice that can enter the country at a reduced, albeit still high tariff. The continued imposition of high tariff on imported rice is expected to help build the competitiveness of Filipino farmers amid the full integration of Southeast Asian economies in 2015. Having completed all the legal requirements with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November, the Philippines will allow beginning Jan. 1, 2015 the entry of 805,200 metric tons of imported rice-755,200 MT of country-specific origin and 50,000 MT of omnibus origin-at a tariff of 35 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Alcala said the department would maximize the borrowed time for the protection of farmers by expanding Read More …

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