Kahoy eyewear a big hit among Hollywood celebrities

The Kahoy Kollection eyewear of Filipino-American designer-entrepreneur Ralph Santos is now trending in Hollywood.

Members of the popular show Dancing with the Stars were seen wearing the bamboo-temple frames, along with celebrities Christina Milian, Mike Epps, and Wayne Brady. Fashion gurus and bloggers have also expressed praises for the unique framed glasses of the Kahoy Kollection.

“Kahoy,” which in the Philippine language means wood, is the material used for the high-end eyewear with a line of vintage-inspired sunglass and optical frames.

The styles are named for beaches, streets or districts that Guam-born Santos has lived in or visited.

The eyewear collection is envisioned by the Fil-Am entrepreneur as an eco-friendly business that pushes Filipino culture to the forefront of fashion.

The bamboo material is currently sourced from Japan, but Santos is already looking into using Philippine bamboo.

Santos chose bamboo, believing it is “the most sustainable wood. It doesn’t use a lot of water to grow and it’s the most lightweight and comfortable wood.”

The designer is also teaming up with community organizations in the Philippines to help the business.

The Kahoy Kollection website lists Santos’ Filipino lineage from his parents, a grandfather who managed the first department store in Old Manila’s Escolta District, and a godmother who owns optical chain stores also in Manila.

The Kahoy Kollection brand was established in 2012. Santos drafted strategic plans while completing an MBA degree.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/kahoy-eyewear-big-hit-among-hollywood-celebrities/#sthash.p5u0oZXH.dpuf

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Conde Nast picks PHL X’mas lights display one of world’s best

The Christmas lights display in the heart of the Philippines’ business district has once again placed the country in the top must-see places cited by a global travel authority.

The lights show at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City, Metro Manila is one of the seven places included in the “Where to See Spectacular Christmas Lights Around the World” list released by Condé Nast Traveler.

The list describes the holiday festivity offerings of the Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen, Denmark),

Champs-Elysées (Paris, France), Somerset House (London, UK), Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri), Ayala Triangle Gardens (Manila, Philippines), Kobe Luminarie (Kobe, Japan), and Christmas Market (Jena, Germany).

The citation described the Ayala Triangle Gardens as “natural haven with a diverse population of trees, including kamuning, golden palms, and fire trees.” It gave the visitor a preview of what to expect when seeing the lights display. “As you make your way through the park, Christmas hymns and songs are synchronized to the lights to create an immersive holiday experience,” writer Anna Liesemeyer recounts.

The park Christmas lights show runs every 30 minutes during 6 pm – 9 pm every night until New Year’s eve.

In October, Condé Nast Traveler readers voted Palawan as “Top Island in the World” for its underground river tourist destination.

Condé Nast Traveler is a multi-awarded travel magazine founded on the motto “Truth in Travel,” a creed followed by its correspondents who pay their own way as they travel anonymously to experience the world as their readers do. The magazine declares non acceptance of travel industry freebies in return for inclusion in the publication articles, making it a most trusted travel guide. The magazine commands a print readership of 3.5 million and 2.6 million unique visitors for its website.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/conde-nast-picks-phl-xmas-lights-display-one-worlds-best/#sthash.eyLHUsxA.dpuf

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Pinoy Math wizards sweep Malaysia Olympiad

Filipino students swept the top medals and trophies to emerge as overall champions in the 2014 Malaysia Invitational Mathematics Olympiad in Selangor, Malaysia.

The Philippine team’s participation in the 2014 MIMO earned for them 9 gold, 9 silver and 4 bronze medals in the individual contest. Another 10 trophies were won in the team contest. A total of 816 contestants participated in the 2014 MIMO including the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.

The overall champions in the team contest’s upper primary division are Philippine Team A’s:

1. Eion Nikolai Chua (MGC New Life Christian Academy) who also won individual gold medals
2. Albriz Moore Bagsic (Lilyrose School) who won a silver medal
3. Dion Stephan Ong (Ateneo de Manila High School)
4. Genrish Ng (St. Jude Catholic School)

The other individual gold medalists:

1. Shawn Darren Chua (MGC New Life Christian Academy)
2. Maria Monica Manlises (St. Stephen’s High School)
3. Rikka Grace Sombiro (Solomon Integrated School de Iloilo)
4. Annika Angela Mei Tamayo (Ateneo de Iloilo-SMCS)
5. Frederick Ivan Michael Tan (Xavier School)
6. Patricia Angelica Tan (Chiang Kai Shek College).

Silver medalists:

1. Jose Lorenzo Abad (Colegio San Agustin-Makati)
2. Leandro Martin Acla (Georgia International Academy)
3. Erin Nicole Blanche (Dee Hwa Liong Academy)
4. Noel Stephen Dequito (De la Salle University Integrated School-STC)
5. Kristin Angela Narag (Colegio San Agustin-Binan)
6. Janssen Reign Peña (Mother Goose Special School System)
7. David Kyle Picart (Sunshine International School)

Bronze medals for:

1. Ryan Christopher Deodores (Colegio San Agustin-Binan)
2. Frelean Faith Engallado (Solomon Integrated School de Iloilo)
3. Celine Amanda Montales (Colegio San Agustin-Makati)
4. Justin Tan (St. John’s Institute)

The Team contest winners are:

Overall Champion and Yellow Group Champion – Upper Primary: Philippine Team A:

1. Albriz Moore Bagsic – Lilyrose School
2. Eion Nikolai Chua – MGC New Life Christian Academy
3. Genrish Ng – St. Jude Catholic School
4. Dion Stephan Ong – Ateneo de Manila Junior High School

Overall Top 10 Performance and Yellow Group First Runner-up – Middle Primary: Philippine Team D:

1. Erin Nicole Blanche – Dee Hwa Liong Academy
2. Shawn Darren Chua – MGC New Life Christian Academy
3. David Kyle Picart – Sunshine International School
4. Frederick Ivan Michael Tan – Xavier School

Overall Top 10 Performance and Blue Group Second Runner-up – Middle Primary: Philippine Team E:

1. Krystal Lim Tiong Soon – Grace Christian College
2. Celine Amanda Montales – Colegio San Agustin, Makati
3. Rikka Grace Sombiro – Solomon Integrated School de Iloilo
4. Patricia Angelica Tan – Chiang Kai Shek College

Overall Top 10 Performance and Green Group Second Runner-up – Middle Primary: Philippine Team F:

1. Noel Stephen Dequito – De La Salle University Integrated School-STC
2. Janssen Reign Peña – Mother Goose Special School System Inc.
3. Annika Angela Mei Tamayo – Ateneo de Iloilo-SMCS
4. Maria Elianna Tutor – Assumption Antipolo

Blue Group First Runner-up – Upper Primary: Philippine Team B:

1. Jose Lorenzo Abad – Colegio San Agustin, Makati
2. Enrique Magnaye – De La Salle University Integrated School-STC
3. Maria Monica Manlises – St. Stephen’s High School
4. Kristin Angela Narag – Colegio San Agustin, Binan

Green Group Second Runner-up – Upper Primary: Philippine Team C:

1. Leandro Martin Acla – Georgia International Academy
2. Ryan Christopher Deodores – Colegio San Agustin, Binan
3. Frelean Faith Engallado – Solomon Integrated School de Iloilo
4. Justin Tan – St. John’s Institute

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/pinoy-math-wizards-sweep-malaysia-olympiad/#sthash.etVSH2Cr.dpuf

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Philippines to Manufacture First Ever Local Auto Brand “Parac”

source: thephilippinepride.com

Three years from now, the Philippines has something to be proud of when talking about auto brands. Japan has four major auto brands in Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan, not to mention any other brands like Suzuki and Hino. South Korea has Hyundai, Daewoo, and Kia; China and India have lots of auto brands. Philippines has none.

The agony is over though. Philippines is ready to manufacture its first ever local auto brand after WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), approves Chariot Motors’ application.

Chariot Motors is a Jeepney assembly company in Bacolod City that is responsible in building more than 70% of medium-size passenger vehicles in the whole Negros Island.

Engineer-owners Julio Paredes and Mario Racide built a prototype two years ago and submitted the design to DOST, but the government agency did not support the plan and rejected the project. The pair did not lose hope and submitted the design to Cummins, an American engine manufacturer for trucks and heavy equipment.

The prototype is a 2-door sedan with diesel engine to be specially manufactured by Cummins. This will be the first time that Cummins will produce small engines for cars.

The pair was successful in convincing investors after the second prototype was displayed at Cummins headquarters in Columbus, Indiana, USA. The trademark “Parac” was successfully registered by WIPO and the design is already patented in US under the pair’s names.

Parac has a double meaning. It is a combination of the engineers’ last names “Paredes-Racide, and also means “police” in local term.

According to the news received by the Philippine Pride from Racide, the company is scheduled to start building its main manufacturing plant on May 2015. The planned 27 hectares of assembly plant in Silay-Talisay area will be capable of making 80 to 120 units of cars a day for Philippine market only starting 2018, according to Racide.

The company will not only produce cars but also heavy duty trucks, buses, and heavy equipment. Only Vallacar Transit, the owner of Ceres Liner, is making buses in the province for the company’s use, but news said that Ceres will team-up with Parac to expedite the process.

Most of the parts will be produced locally except for tires and engines which will be imported from US.

The prototype has 160hp diesel engine and is more powerful than Honda Civic, but will cost lower at around 550 thousand pesos.

It was reported earlier that French manufacturer Peugeot offered to buy the design and patent for unspecified amount, but the pair rejected the offer and pursued local brand and production.

Once the main plant is completed, it is also expected that the company will hire more than 50,000 factory workers for mass production.

“Since Negros is already the Sugar Capital of the Philippines, we will add another name and will make this Metro Bacolod as the Motor City, in addition to City of Smiles”, Paredes told reporters at Bacolod-Silay Airport during their arrival from US on Monday morning”

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Vigan makes it to the New Wonder Cities

source: Philippine Star

VIGAN, Ilocos Sur – This city has been named one of the New7Wonders cities of the world, 15 years after its inscription in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list of World Heritage Sites and Monuments.

Joining Vigan in the list of New7Wonders cities are Beirut in Lebanon, Doha (Qatar), Durban (South Africa), Havana (Cuba), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and La Paz (Bolivia).

The winners were named on world.new7wonders.com and YouTube at 3 a.m. yesterday.

In a statement, Vigan City Mayor Eva Medina thanked everyone who voted for their city.

“We hope that this feat will send a stronger message that heritage conservation, interwoven with good governance and community participation, is a very significant tool for development. We did it in Vigan, it can be done by any local government unit,” Medina said.  

Bernard Weber, founder and president of New7Wonders, said they will conduct validation of the winning cities before their inauguration.

“The winners represent the global diversity of urban society. For the first time in human history, more than half of our planet’s population live in cities and this election emphasizes the dramatically challenging character of our changing world,” Weber said during the announcement.

There were 1,200 cities from 220 countries that joined the contest.

More tourists expected

Medina said they will have to prepare for the expected surge of tourists in the city.

The mayor admitted that tourism has been among the major sources of income of locals for the past decade.

“It’s not just the business owners who will benefit from this but also our farmers and fisherfolk who supply major business establishments in the city, as well as the kalesa and tricycle drivers around the Vigan plaza,” Medina said.

She said they also intend to improve infrastructure facilities. 

“The fact that we are expecting more tourists, we have to improve our compliance with the basic needs of our tourists,” she said.

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Philippines in Lonely Planet’s top 10 destinations to visit in 2015

It’s More Fun in the Philippines in 2015. Lonely Planet has recognized the Philippines as one of the top 10 best countries to visit in 2015.

The internationally recognized travel guide in its “Best in Travel 2015” book ranked the country 8th in the list of “Top 10 Countries.”

The recognition marks the first time that the Philippines was included in the “Best in Travel” guide book.

Lonely Planet said that recognizing the country as a travel destination has long been overdue.

“Many would say the time is well overdue for the Philippines to be recognized as the next big travel destination in Southeast Asia,” said Joe Bindloss in an article published in the Lonely Planet’s website.

Bindloss said that the Philippines has “one of the world’s most beautiful coastlines, fringed by dive-tastic coral reefs, sprinkled with sunbathe-ready white sand, backed by swaying palm trees and dotted with simple resorts of nipa palm thatched huts.”

He also said that Filipinos are experts at throwing parties and generally good at singing.

Bindloss also highlighted the penchant of Filipinos to patronize anything that is “trending.”

Other countries that rounded the top 10 list include: Singapore, Namibia, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Ireland, Republic of Congo, Serbia, St. Lucia, and Morocco.

Each country is said to be chosen for three categories: topicality, unique experiences and “wow” factor.

Lonely Planet also recognized the country’s capital recently in an article entitled “10 reasons to visit Manila.” The article cited the various reasons that tourists might visit the city which include: Spanish heritage in Intramuros, world-class museums, art galleries, and day trips and breaks.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/phl-lonely-planets-top-10-destinations-visit-2015/#sthash.oyQOv9AY.dpuf

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Filipino entreps shine in ASEAN Biz Awards in Myanmar

Several Filipinos won prestigious awards during the Gala Night of the ASEAN Business Awards in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, with five Filipino enterprises receiving recognitions for the awards.

Awarded the top prize for the Women Leader category was Sandra Sanchez Montano of Community Health Education Emergency Rescue Services (CHEERS) Corp., who received the same citation at the Philippine level of the ASEAN Business Awards in recognition of her exemplary business leadership skills.

Four other Philippine national winners were named as first runners-up in their respective awards categories: International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) for Corporate Excellence in recognition of its outstanding growth performance, commitment to the welfare of its employees, and impactful corporate social responsibility programs; Pointwest Technologies Corp. for Innovation in line with its consistent and fearless setting of new benchmarks for its industry and peers; Golden ABC Inc. for ASEAN Centricity, lauded as a model for companies aiming to enter into the integrated ASEAN market in a position of strength; and Paulo Tibig, president of Vcargo Worldwide/Vintel Logistics Inc. for Young Entrepreneur, who can serve as inspiration to future captains of industries.

Fountainhead Technologies Inc., which garnered the ASEAN Business Awards Philippines’ Best SME award, was also recognized along with the national level winners from the 10 ASEAN member countries.

CHEERS joins the ranks of ASEAN level winners for the other five awards categories: Absolute Kinetics Consulting of Singapore for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Blue Ocean Operating Management of Myanmar for Young Leader; and Keppel Land, UOB (United Overseas Bank Ltd.), and Cyclet Electrical Engineering Pte. Ltd. of Singapore for Corporate Excellence, Innovation, and ASEAN Centricity, respectively.

This year’s winners bested more than 500 companies from across the ASEAN region that applied for the awards, all of which went through the careful prescreening conducted by ASEAN BAC’s strategic partner KPMG, and stringent deliberations by the panel of judges representing each of the 10 ASEAN member countries.

“This is a proud moment for the Philippines, with our national winners taking their place among the Most Admired ASEAN enterprises in the region,” said ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines and PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan. “These awards are a well-deserved recognition of the efforts of Philippine enterprises to raise their level of competitiveness in light of the ongoing ASEAN economic integration.”

“Our Philippine winners at the ASEAN Business Awards helped drive awareness of the upcoming ASEAN integration and more importantly, our winners’ success will serve to encourage more Filipino enterprises to take advantage of the many opportunities integration offers for growth and expansion,” noted by ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines member and SM Investments Corp. vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson.

“Because the ASEAN Business Awards celebrates not only large corporations, but also our micro, small and medium enterprises, it is the best platform to herald its positive impact on the economy,” shared ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines member and Interior Basics Export Corp. president Jay Yuvallos. “96 to 99 percent of local firms across ASEAN are MSMEs, so it’s time to showcase success stories that our own Filipino MSMEs can emulate.”

The 2014 ASEAN Business Awards Gala Night served as the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2014, an annual event organized by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) to bring together ASEAN’s influencers from the government and the business community.

Attended by approximately 800 delegates, the summit featured informative plenary presentations on issues related to the ASEAN economic integration. Among the speakers and panelists were Yuvallos, who joined the discussion on the Power of MSMEs, and Eric Alberto, PLDT executive vice president and head of Enterprise, International, and Carrier Business, who shared his insights as panelist on the Potential of the ASEAN Consumer.

The ASEAN Business Awards was established by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) to recognize enterprises in the region that have contributed to the growth and prosperity of the ASEAN economy. Since its launch in 2007, the annual awards have awarded more than 60 large companies and micro, small and medium enterprises throughout the region that excel in the categories of: Growth, Employment, Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/filipino-entreps-shine-asean-biz-awards-myanmar/#sthash.MULo9xim.dpuf

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