Pinoy Magic

Music Runs In Filipino Veins

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 31 May 2012 14:27:00 +0000

A natural Filipino has this instinct for music. It has been the innate inkling of every Filipino to sing or listen to music. It seems that music runs in Filipino veins. Filipino ancestors had this tradition of singing lullaby as a way of inducing a baby to sleep and as early as two years old, the child already taught to sing kid’s song. This tradition has been passed down from early generation till now. Music seems to ease their work load where much of the jobs are done manually. Early Filipinos had this cultural tradition; during planting season, group of man will be serenading the rice planters; and in romantic courtship, a guy will bring along his friends to serenade the girl’s subject of his love under the moonlight beam. If the girl opens the window and smile back that means the guy finds a place in the gal’s heart and he would have the chance to pursue his love interest.

Nowadays remote rural areas have their music radio and CD cassette, whereas in the city young teens are constantly updated with their music gadgets. You can see them walking downtown with their earphone plugged on their music gadgets.

Filipino music talents for international fame

Manila is frequently visited by international music celebrities to launch musical concerts and most of the time the venue is full-packed. Filipino passion for music does not only make them an avid audience but there are several Filipinos who have brought fame to the country and consider as world-class talent, to name a few;

Pilita Corrales -regarded as the first female artist to top the Australian pop music charts in late 1950’s.

The Philippine Madrigal Singers –The choir founded in 1963 by National Artist Professor Andrea O. Veneracion and considered as one of the world’s most awarded, consistently reaping all the top prizes in international distinctive choral competition;

Freddie Aguilar or Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar in real name. is a folk musician. He had his first music expose during the inaugural 1977 Metropop Song Festival held in Manila, though landed only as finalist for his song and own-written composition “Anak”, its release became a worldwide hit, which was released in 56 countries and in more than 26 various foreign languages. It won him gold, platinum and double platinum record awards in 1978. It also billboard that the song was the number two world hit of the 1980’s.

Regine Velasquez – won the 1989 Asia Pacific Singing Contest in Hongkong and was locally dubbed as the Asia’s song bird for her voice resembles with that of the bird’s tune. She was the first solo artist to perform a solo concert at the Carnegie Hall in New York as part of the Carnegie Hall’s centennial-year series. She has performed along with internationally known artists such as Paul Anka, David Hasselhoff, Mandy Moore, Michael Legrand, David Pomeranz, Eduardo Capetillo, Stephen Bishop, Jeffrey Osborne and a lot more. Her duet with Hongkong singer-song writer Jacky Cheung, entitled “In Love With You” made it on the top spot in 2000 MTV Asian Video’s top 20.

Lea Salonga at 17-years old was the final choice to play Kim in the musical Miss Saigon in 1989 after painstaking search in many countries to find the lead role of this major British production and together with fellow Repertory Philippines performer another Filipina, Monique Wilson proved to be Salonga’s competitor became her understudy and given the role of bar girl. For her performance as Kim, Salonga won for her the prestigious Olivier award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for the 1989-1990 season. Other prestigious awards; the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Theatre World garnered by Salonga when the Miss Saigon moved from its London’s original home to Broadway in April 1991. “Miss Saigon” is considered as the musical’s eleventh longest-running-Broadway in musical history that casts almost 30 Filipino talents from lead to stint roles.

Allan Pineda Lindo, with Filipina mother and an Afro-American father was brought to America at the age of 14 as an adopted son of an American stepfather. To get over his homesickness, Allan Pineda Lindo together with eighth-graders William Adams whom he met began performing rap around Los Angeles. The duo signed to Ruthless Records and has called out the attention of Eazy-E manager, Jerry Heller’s nephew. Another friend, Dante Santiago joined with them and named their trio Atban Klann. Their debut album was never prospered due to death of Ruthless Records’ founder. Their trio Atban Klann was later changed to Black Eyed pods and finally changed to Black Eyed Peas. They adopted certain aliases for their names William Adams aka will I am, Allan Pineda as apl de ap. Dante Santiago was replaced by Jaime Gomez aka taboo. The release of their third album, Elephunk in 2003 brought them a record sales and worldwide acclaim. Beginning that time they have sold roughly 56 million records worldwide.

Arnel Pineda- a Filipino singer-songwriter who was invited by American rock band, Journey to serve as the lead singer of the group since 2007. Arnel has started singing in the Philippines at an early age and had been successful in his musical career for 25 years until he was discovered through the uploaded video on you tube by his avid fan, Noel Gomez who continuously updating in you tube Arnel’s singing songs of popular rock bands such as the Journey, Survivor, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Air Supply, The Eagles, Kenny Loggins, Stryper and other famous bands of the 70’s,80’s and 90’s. He was absorbed in the Journey group as lead singer to replace Jeff Scott Soto, who has stayed in the band for only several months. The Journey has had a history of series of replacement for line-up of band members. With Pineda in the group, the members say they had the feeling of being “reborn”. Journey’s next album with Arnel, the Revelation debuted as no. 5 in the billboard with sales reaching 196,000 units in its 1^st two weeks.

Charice Pempengco -Just like Arnel Pineda, Charice’ talents was first spotted through You Tube. She was dubbed by Oprah Winfrey as the Most Talented Girl in the World. Her first released album entitled, Charice in 2010 has become the number-eight in Billboard 200 describing her as the first Asian solo singer in history to land in the Top 10 of the said chart. She also had the acting stint on television joining the cast of TV series Glee.

Not dropping in the list of internationally acclaimed musical celebrities are Filipinos with foreign mixed blood, these include; Bruno Mars, Enrique Iglesias, Reggie Lee, Paolo Montalban, Julio Jose Iglesias, jr.Preysler and Maria Isabel Iglesias Preysler and the recent American Idol, Jessica Sanchez

Real Hot Summer this April

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 05:04:00 +0000

It’s real hot summer now this month of April. After La Nina pounded the country with continues rainfall and floods on low lying areas, atlas, now we see the dawn where sun shines brightly at an early morning hour. I can have my laundry dries up quickly. I can now fix those holes on the roof. I can have an active morning when I can do household cleaning and fixing and most excitedly, I can plan some outdoor activities with my family and friends just like swimming in beaches or swimming pool, I now see the point why students and parents protested when some politicians proposed that school opening be moved to September to avoid frequent cancellation of classes, due to normal occurrences of typhoons during the months of June to August and here I say, students would be deprived of enjoyment and summer sports activities.

Resorts and Beaches in the Country

Laguna has the most number of resorts in the Philippines, the major plan of the local government is making Laguna the resort capital of the Philippines. Most of the beautiful resorts thrive in Calamba where you can choose from an array of resorts inside villages in the said town. They take pride of the hot spring that comes from Mount Makiling and the visitors are catered to delicious buco pie that sells on nearby pastry shop.

Boracay is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, with its fine white sand. There are plenty of beach resort that offers prices ranging from ultra expensive to cheaper budget and offers various beach activities. Another beautiful beach in the country is the Siargao beach located in Surigao de Norte in Mindanao. Siargao is the surfing capital of the Philippines where you experience wave surfing and famous Cloud 9, the so called marathon surfing Siargao island faces Pacific ocean and Philippine deep, the second deepest water in the world that measures 11 km below sea level. It offers various exciting beach activities; snorkeling, waterfalls, island hopping, swimming and surfing. Equally beautiful sea view a must-see tourist spot is the El Nido located at the northernmost tip of Palawan, surrounded by limestone cliffs and caves which is home for the famous swallow’s nests that is made into delicious Nido soup.

As a an island country, Philippines boasts of its plentiful beaches all over the major islands which are yet discovered and untapped. With cool tropical breeze during summer and the natural beauty of surrounding, anyone will surely be enthralled. .

Videoke, Popular Filipino Pastime

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Videoke is a popular Filipino pastime these days, since music has been embedded in Filipino culture. Seldom, you find a Filipino who doesn’t know how to sing or dance. In populous area in the country, if there is an ongoing party in certain house, it’s more likely that the party host rents a videoke. A videoke is a combine word of video and “oke” which means “orchestra” in Japan. Itis as big as the traditional jukebox, and is carried through a pick-up van or on an open side-car of a motorbike. Videoke rental becomes a booming business in the country congruous to Filipinos’ fondness for music. Singing contests in search for videoke queen and king has also been initiated in popular tv shows like the “Eat Bulaga” the longest running noontime TV shows in the country. Some contestants revealed that singing through videoke have somehow honed their voices, Adult and children alike are hooked to videoke.

Filipino innings’ for music also has tried some of them to have their voices recorded in paid recording booth installed in big malls. In looking for cheaper price singing enthusiasts would likely settle for videoke.

Holy Week in the Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:18:00 +0000

Holy Week in the Philippines is marked with people’s bountiful activities, as the only Christian country in Asia; the Filipino people focus most of its festivities on life of Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity. This year Holy Week falls on the month of April that commence on the 1^st day of the month which is the Palm Sunday and culminate on the 5^th and 6^th or the Maundy Thursday and Friday respectively which commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus. On these dates the devotees hold their own crucifixion that depicts what Jesus Christ did on Calvary. These activities which are being held simultaneously in different parts of the country are actually discouraged by the Catholic church and thereby it’s on a voluntary will of the eager devotees for the purpose of cleaning their conscience. It has been called off and was advised to stop by government authorities but since it is a religious practices and the country is observing religious freedom, this tradition persists until now. In some instances, those famous places where there thrive this crucifixion practices become attractive spot for the local and foreign tourists. It’s already marked on their calendar and penned on their itinerary as a place to visit.

Practices of not eating pork or any meat during the Holy Thursday and Friday is an observance of the Catholic rite. A huge number of Catholics still observe this fasting from meat eating and works advantageous for those suffering from coronary diseases since heart disease rank the number one killer disease in Philippine society. So expect the carinderia or the canteen operator and food stalls to minimize their meat recipe or not cook at all, instead add more sea food recipe and vegetables to their menus.

Eastern Sunday is characterize with jovial mood, where in some parts of the country especially in rural areas, the picnic and other festival gatherings such as reunion, swimming, baptism and meetings are held during this date. Catholic church hold procession, while the Christian born-again gathered for prayer in a open field as early 4 Am to watch the sunrise.

Summer with Floods and Rains

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:38:00 +0000

March is suppose to be a hot month, where vacationers started packing-up to have a taste of summer, but the floods and rains are thwarting the crave for enjoyment. The lazy air of rainy summer is putting away all these things. Filipinos have the natural zest for life, though how much deprivation the season brings, it can’t baffle the innings of the active Filipinos to go on and enjoy life. The activities for this Holy Week are up to celebrate the season; provincial tour, festivities, reunions, fun games, weddings, kids carnival tour and parties. Litany of activities may not all fun and parties, the lesser fortunate are taking the summer for job hunting and entrepreneurship that would be an added earning to the family purse. . So despite the bad news of weather forecasts, the Filipinos maintain the jovial mood and being on top of fun activities. That’s the mark of a Filipino.

Demand for Filipino Workers is Rising

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 06:49:00 +0000

The rising demand for Filipino workers in Middle East is something to feel excited about, as the current news announces that more than 2000 Filipino workers are needed in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia by an international company who is building a plant in two countries. The best thing is, this company is opening jobs exclusively for Filipino workers. It’s a smart decision says the agency in order to avoid clashes in job sites because of varied culture if the company will hire international workers. Filipinos were known to be hardworking, patient and adaptable besides, being knowledgeable of English language.

Filipinos are also best loved workers in the Middle East. One time, I had a conversation with an OFW and he told me, that when he was in Saudi he used to have a sideline job by peddling fried peanut around the vicinity of the commercial hub in Riyadh or commonly called Bata. It’s a place akin to Divisoria of Tondo where Filipino products are sold like, Galunggong, Sapsap, tilapia, or the coconut, tokwa and much more. Also Filipino vendors thrive in that area. There was a time that he was caught by Saudi police, and since two time job is prohibited in Saudi, he can be expelled from his real job once caught, but lucky enough this Filipino OFW was only given a warning on his first offense. The Saudi police who apprehended him did not ask him for anything upon knowing that he was a Filipino, instead he was just given a warning advice not to be caught by other Saudi police since he admired the Filipinos for being hardworking the police just let him loose.

SWEEP-Industry and Academe Partnership

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:09:00 +0000

Built on an endeavor to improve the level of technology and engineering education in the Philippines, a partnership between Industry and Academe, SWEEP- Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program was launched in 2003 specifically targeting the field of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE)

Since it was launched, the students from various colleges and universities who have been in partner with SWEEPstarted enjoying the state of the art technology provided by SWEEP through the lab installed inside colleges. In here they were better equipped with the basics of mobile phone network and updating the existing and trained on new technologies such as SMS (Short Messaging Service), MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) and 3G technologies.

The training came up with profound results; students have developed and invented gadgets and unique devices that could impact the speedy solution of the problems that engulfed the country.

Inspired by the awards and recognition from SWEEP, team of students from different colleges have brainstormed and developed their entries for the Sweep Innovation and Excellence Awards competition. The top ten finalists were: Aquamarine Solution to Salinity and Oxygen using SMS from Bataan Peninsula State University, Automated Barangay Cases Filing System from Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Design and Implementation of a Low-Cost Breathalyzer with GSM Module interface from University of San Carlos, Electronically Controlled Device for Fish Fermentation Using Hydrolysis Process for the Production of Fish Sauce from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Lakewatch: a Water Quality Monitoring System on Taal Lake from Batangas State University, Smart CARES (Community Assistance on Remote Vital Signs Monitoring for Emergency Situation) from University of Southeastern Philippines, Smart E-Mobilized from Notre Dame of Marbel University, Smart Tracking and Communication System (STACS) Vital Signs and Geographical Location Monitoring via GSM from Wesleyan University- Philippines and Wearable Obstacle Detection System and Braille Cell Phone for the Blind from Mapua Institute of Technology (garnered the over all Champion award).

Filipino Students Invented the Braille Mobile Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:47:00 +0000

Another breakthrough invention of Filipino Students is a Braille mobile phone that can also detect obstacle for the blind while treading his way. The inventors are an all-girl team of Computer Engineering students from Mapua Institute of Technology who were inspired by the blind woman on the sidewalk stationed near their school.

The gadget won the champion award in the competition sponsored by Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) Innovation and Excellence Awards dubbed as “Wearable Obstacle Detection System and Braille Cell Phone for the Blind.” The prize of P500,000. was received by the team and an equivalent amount was awarded to the school in a form of grant.

The students namely; Janiena Roxanne Dirain, Kristine Emy Matabang and Girly Perando developed the gadget in response to their urge to help uplift the condition of the blind with whom they have a regular encounter like listening to their voice and having a massage by them during the team's tough days.

After five months of laborious work on the gadget, they came out with a practical device, a Braille mobile phone in a box designed enclosure. It can be worn either on a wrist or attach with the belt. It has a sensor that can detect an obstacle object five meters away. The wires that connect the sensor is far from the device for flexible mobility of the blind. The device also serves as tool for learning Braille system.

Filipino Inventions Showcasing Student's Ingenuity

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:07:00 +0000

Inventions are making waves among Filipino students showcasing their ingenuity. These are not chosen cream of the crop students who were assigned for a special task, but were buddies driven by a common purpose and strong urge to draft solution for certain problems. The name of the invention, Magis v. 2.0, it’s a Meat’s Anti Germ Solution that can detect contaminated meat or the ‘botcha’

The ten high school students from Dr.Yangas Colleges Inc. of Bocaue, Bulacan were highly elated after they were named the champion in recently held “the First Lego League” (FLL) this early Saturday of February, 2012.

The Magis v. 2.0 was created and developed by the students in two months after which the DYCI join it as school entry to FLL Philippines championship with a theme “food factor”

The machine was tested in public market were it found some contaminated meat, though not necessarily botch (double dead). The ten students namely; Trisha Carmela Santos, Gladys Leigh Malana, dave Adrian Bien, Keight Dela Cruz, Lady Alein Golen, Tim Fabillon, Ramikurt Del Prado, Jules Martin Agsaoay, Jonathan Alejandro and Michelle alcanar. This group named Blue Ocean 10 will represent the Philippines in FLL Food factor World Festival which will be held at America’s Center and Edward Jones Dome Convention Plaza at St. Louis Missouri, USA.

Filipino Cooperative are Booming

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:27:00 +0000

Filipino Cooperative are booming nowadays especially in the rural areas where there are stronger bonding among the baranggay folks.

Cooperative has a slight analogy with corporation but instead of stock, members fee are required from its members in order to raise money needed for revolving fund. A common type of cooperative is consumer cooperative or putting up a cooperative store which resembles that of the sari-sari store. The cooperative store may act as the retailer or the wholesale and the members are also the consumer or the buyer. The store obtain basic needs like milk, eggs, rice, sugar, oil, canned goods and many others and these are sold to members and non members. This maybe the simplest cooperative since it doesn’t need large number of members and big capital.

Other types of cooperative are the:

· Service cooperative- as the name implies it has to do with basic services such as medical service, housing, campus cooperative. This type of cooperative employs the services of other persons which charge for their service at reasonable cost. In school there is the day-care cooperative and in the community is the medical cooperative. In school the teachers are the members of the cooperative and the ones managing it are the officers

· Specialized Consumer’s Cooperative – This provides specific utilities such as electrical, transportation, telephone cooperative and many more.

Organizational pattern:

The cooperative comprises the officers which act as the managers, treasurers and the members who are also the buyers, Each one is contributing each resources and help for the success of the cooperative. At the start the managers and the treasurers are given no compensation and will receive salary once the cooperative is already running smoothly. Their salary will depend on the earning potential of the cooperative.

Source of funding

1. Membership fee –

2. Investment capital from the pocket of capable members

3. Loan financing institutions

4. Profits from the products purchased by members and non-members

5. Concessions of some members- right to do business on the property franchise.

At the end of the year, cash rebates are given to each member. These are parts of the profits after all operating expenses have been deducted.

The rebates serve as incentives to boost members’ concern for the cooperative.

All profits of the cooperative are accumulated and put into saving and after deducting the operating expenses the balance are divided among members and given to them in a form of dividends.

The good thing about cooperative, each member are working together and contributing to increase and expand their resources. It prevents competition and minimizes the crab mentality among members. I’ve known a lot of successful cooperatives in rural areas like in Laguna. In transportation service cooperative for instance, the first van terminal via Cabuyao-Alabang was own by a private person, the terminal rental fees therefore is being enjoyed by the private person himself, so to come up to the amount of the rental fees, gas and other utility expenses of a day trip, the van should be filled the maximum capacity sometimes to the detriment of the passengers because you have to endure the jam-packed situation inside the van and less functioning air-condition, especially during summer, added to it is the longer waiting hours to fill up the van during a lean hours. This situation went for years until the transpo-cooperative group was formed on a rival terminal. In a new terminal it only takes 15 minutes full or not it goes when time is up, even if it has only one passenger and all van are legally franchised. I was wondering then how they manage to cover for other expenses and they told me their transportation group is a cooperative one. I notice that in this terminal, the drivers are more relaxed and more concern and helpful to one another.

Filipino Spirit of Cooperation or the Bayanihan

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:03:00 +0000

Filipino spirit of cooperation is very much alive in the community.

If there is one outstanding trait of Filipinos it is the innate strong urge to help his neighbor. The spirit of Cooperation which is popularly called bayanihan in tagalog has been imbibed in Filipino culture and the term bayanihan was originated from the customary gatherings of male folks in town to carry the house of neighbor for transferring to nearby place. Most houses during the time of ancestors are mostly made of nipa where the house posts were only screwed on the concrete ground post to enable it from transporting to another place. The labor were free of cost, the owner of the house will only provide drinks or any affordable snack to the labor donors. The spirit of bayanihan can also be traced in any emergency situation just like in the outbreak of fire, neighbors bring their pale of water to put out the fire quickly while waiting for the fire truck . With the collective sharing of the neighborhood, the dead body of the poor man can avail of a decent funeral. Bayanihan were not only expressed in the neighborhood, it can also be felt within the family clan. I remember when I was a kid, my elder brother eloped with her sweetheart, it is customary then, that when the couple eloped, the family of the girl would come to the guy’s family to demand for the wedding. During that time our family was really hard-up. My mother opened her piggy bank and was dismayed that it did not amount to the needed funds. My mother cleverly thought an idea of sending my father to her brother who had a farm in the distant province. When they returned home the van that my father rented was filled with live chickens tied together, vegetables and newly butchered pig carcass. With my father are my four elder cousins who intended to help in the cooking and preparation. Another elder cousins who lived within our neighborhood also offered her help to sew the wedding gown of the bride and somebody also in our family sew the coat for the groom. In the end the wedding was successfully pushed through no string of hassle at all.

Filipino Success Story

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:03:00 +0000

Famous Filipino politician and rich businessman, Manny Villar is the author of the popular slogan "Sipag at Tiyaga" or in English "Hardwork and Determination". These are the two qualities that propels him to achieve his status as the fifth richest Filipino by Forbes Asia Magazine 2007 aside from receiving numerous awards and citation for being an outstanding politician and businessman.

Born in a destitute squatter area in Tondo, Manila, Manny Villar belongs to a big family of 9 broods having a fish vendor mother from whom he learned the tenets for hardwork and determination. He earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the University of the Philippines through helping out his mother sell fresh fish and shrimps in Divisoria market later pursue the masteral degree in the same university.

After graduating from college he embarked on entrepreneurship by supplying fish and shrimps to two restaurants in Manila. But these two restaurants were bankrupt and he was not even paid. To earn money he applied for a job at SGV as accountant and later become a financial analyst. At age 25, he mortgaged a dumptruck which he used to deliver gravel and sand to house builders. From this business, he found the answer to the question that lingers his mind, "Why many Filipinos can't own houses?" During these time, subdivision developer sells big houses at price beyond affordable by average Filipino earner. At age 26, he talks to developer and enter a proposal to sell lots at smaller cuts and at lower price affordable by most Filipinos. Despites discouragement from the developer he pursue his house design and named it "Romantic model." Since the maximum loanable amount from SSS is 50,000 pesos, the cost of his house and lot was set at 60,000pesos with 10,000pesos downpayment. His houses were sold out and the rest is history, he became the Philippine biggest and most successful home builders.

Craving for Halo-halo this summer

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:47:00 +0000

Halo-halo is a favorite Filipino refreshing cooler this summer. Fast food and restaurant start offering halo-halo at the onset of hot season. Since many Filipinos are craving for halo-halo this summer why not put-up a halo-halo stall right infront of your house or within your carport to earn an extra cash. Here are some tips to consider;

1). Prepare for an ice box or styrofoam ice-box where you can store your ready crashed-ice.

2). Buy crashed-ice from a known clean and sanitary ice vendor.

3). Buy fruits on season so you'll have a cheaper ingredients.

4). Always have your ingredients cooked in syrup to avoid oxidation (discoloration of fruit) and spoilage.

5). Buy only enough pile of crashed-ice at the first opening day of your halo-halo stand since you are just on the trial period.

6). When adding milk prepare for a consistent measurement or set aside a measuring spoon.

7). Limit a scoop of sugar you put on your halo-halo since you already have your ingredients cooked in syrup. Less is better than more than enough sweetener.

8). Always have an accounting of the expense and profit when putting-up a business eventhough how small it is.

Twenty profitable things to do this summer

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:11:00 +0000

There is no better way for jobless Pinoy to spend his summer vacation than to make it profitable. I gathered at least 20 ways by which you can have a productive summer vacation.

1. Do job hunting this summer- Prepare your resume and other job requirements. Find available jobs at Jobstreet.com and Phil-job.net in the internet or classified ads at any newspaper.

2. Attend free seminar on networking and direct sellng. There are number of companies that offer free seminar on delearship and sales agent certain brands like; Avon, Natasha, Sundance, Triumph and DEI to name a few.

3. Learn vocational courses at TESDA

4. Learn some handicrafts; beads making, fancy jewelry, cross stitching, paper mache etc.

5. Learn computer tutorial; HTML, CSS, Java Script

6. Sell food snacks, candies and cookies to your friends.

7. Learn cooking lesson

8. Learn swimming lesson. When invited to have pool splash, Ask your friend to teach you the basic swimming lesson

9. Attend free seminar on sales of real property.

10. Join sport activities such as badminton, volleyball and tenis

11. Put-up a food stand infront of your house such as gulaman, halu-halo, siomai and barbeque

12. Put up a garage sale right at your front gate

13. Learn hair cutting and make-up

14. Visit beautiful places with your digital camera and upload them in the internet to earn cash

15. Sign-up for PTC (pay to click program) in the internet to earn some cash

16. Do some gardening or pot planting at home

17. Learn driving lesson with your friends who have a professional driver's license.

18. Learn basic art lesson; drawing, sketching and cartooning

19. Learn voice lesson or sharpen your singing stint

20. Learn chess to sharpen your analytical skill.

TESDA - government support for acquiring skills

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000

There was an increase in number of high school students taking-up vocational courses. This is a good sign that many students are realizing the edge of having skills over those graduates of professional level to find jobs. The government support calls for an increase also of the number of public school offering vocational and technical courses. In line with this, more students who have taken vocational courses in high school have passed the TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority).

TESDA is a government support to give training and skills to Filipinos to make them productive. If they can't find job those skills they acquired could employ themselves by offering services to others for a fee. The good news for TESDA , you can now contact them through their internet address in their various regional offices;

Pinoy Business and Culture

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 06:55:00 +0000

When doing business in the Philippines, it is better to know the Pinoy business and culture. The average Filipinos are typically shy and sensitive. Business matters are usually dealt with a warm friendly approach. While many Western businessmen consider time is gold and want to go directly to the point, the Filipinos prefer to take the conversation in a light mood, talking about family, mutual friends and commonalities. They want to establish personal rapport and contacts so they would likely cultivate friendly atmosphere with people they are negotiating with. Whatever the result of the negotiation it usually ends cheerfully and in a cordial manner.

The use of Padrino (go-between)

Setting-up an appointment with government offices can best achieve by using a padrino or person who can go-between and would facilitate the appointment meeting with the requesting person. Most of the time the padrino is the person who has worked for a long time in that office or who has a connection in the said office. This will enable the requesting party to gain trust and cordial welcome from the the party negotiating with. Conclusion of the agreement may not be achieved at the initial meeting so it will take a longer time before the contract will be finalized. There would likely follow a second meeting or few more before reaching a final agreement and there's no assurance of positive results. But Filipino business approach vary with the way they deal with Western business counterpart, they tend to adapt to the Western culture of less personal and more rigid in observing punctuality as what Western people are accustomed to.

Like in most Asian countries, Filipinos are typically restraint and calm when in the meeting table, they decline ideas in a polite way coupled with a smile to avoid outright confrontation. They likely display gestures such as nod of head when they want to show their conformity with the ideas. The "yes" may convey a different meaning, the Filipinos are conscious of self-reputation of what other party might think of him is his blatant concern. To avoid humiliation and "lose of face", his "yes" may mean cutting short of the conversation, rather than giving a negative feedback on the issue.

Business Language

Most documents, contracts and correspondence are written in English. It is the official business language use in the Philippines. The informal conversation is a shift of English to Tagalog or a "Taglish", a mixture of the two languages. It is prominent for Filipinos to express themselves through body language , hand gestures and facial expression (e.g. raise of eyebrow, scratch on the head, faint smile and wide-opened eyes). the means of contact and messages are mostly done through mobile phone and text SMS . If the Filipino would give his mobile number that indicates that he is interested with the person and welcome any possible negotiation.

Food, drinks and music are the integral part of Filipino hospitality. Customarily the one who invites pays for the foods. Small talks on camaraderie usually precedes the agenda and discussions starts in a friendly ambiance. In an informal meeting, songs and music are a common entertaining medium. The guest maybe invited to sing or get entertained by the host through songs.

Addressing names and titles

It is business etiquette for Filipinos to address the person by their professional title or ranks such as Dr. Flores, Attorney Medina, Coronel Quizon or General Lim. I government offices, we recognize the person's position by addressing him by his position; Chairman Fernando, Secretary Mendoza etc.

Business Attire

Barong Tagalog and black pants is the business attire for men most especially worn during formal occasion. For informal meetings, long or short sleeve shirt and ties without a coat made of light cloth material to adapt to our tropical climate. For Women, light cloth suits and dresses with sleeves and collar are the appropriate attire.

More jobs for Filipino workers

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:37:00 +0000

More jobs vacancies are available for Filipino workers here and abroad. This was announced by (DOLE) Department of Labor and Employment and the (POEA) Philippine Overseas Employment Agency. Despite the news on retrenchment and lay-offs the Bureau of Local and Employment Statistics has recorded an estimated of 50,000 available jobs for local and abroad. These jobs include; domestic helper, store supervisor, medical representative, call center agent, customer service agent, delivery driver, nurse, cashier, optometrist and safety engineer.

According to POEA, there are still 400.000 jobs available for Filipinos abroad. These number is based on the reports coming from Philippine labor offices abroad, embassies and other related agencies. This is a good news for displaced Filipino workers. Though there were sectors and countries who were affected by economic slump, there are still other sectors of particular countries like in Middle East which have remained on hiring for Filipino migrant workers.

The displaced (OFW) Overseas Filipino Workers are adviced to avail the free services and pertinent programs of the National Reintegration Center for Overseas Filipino Workers (NRCO)

Codes for Philippine Bank transaction with Paypal

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:18:00 +0000

In case you haven't informed about the codes for Philippine Bank transaction with Paypal, you can refer to this post. The Philippine bank code should have 9-digits. To withdraw money from paypal you will be required to add your bank account number and the bank code. Aside from bank account you will also required to submit your debit or credit card number. For more convenient transaction the Union Bank is offering this debit card which you could use for your transaction with Paypal. One of the many Filipino bloggers who had this experience on withdrawing funds from Paypal to Union Bank Account can vouch for the reliability of the transaction. With many Filipinos being added to blogsphere community, Paypal has enabled the transaction of withdrawing funds from paypal to your bank account here in the Philippines. More banks have been added from the first list and here is the official list.

BANK NAME	9 digit bank code
ALLIED BANKING CORP	010320013
AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND	010700015
ASIA UNITED BANK	011020011
BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS	010030015
BANGKOK BANK	010670019
BANK OF AMERICA	010120019
BANK OF CHINA	011140014
BANK OF TOKYO	010460012
BANCO DE ORO (& EPCIB)	010530667
BANK OF COMMERCE	010440016
BANK OF THE PHIL ISLANDS	010040018
CHINA BANKING CORP	010100013
CHINA TRUST COMML BANK	010690015
CITIBANK N.A.	010070017
DEVT BANK OF THE PHILS	010590018
DEUTSCHE BANK	010650013
EAST WEST BANK	010620014
EXPORT & INDUSTRY BANK	010860010
FUJI BANK	010640010
HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANK	010060014
INTL COMML BANK OF CHINA	010560019
INTL EXCHANGE BANK	010680012
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK	010720011
KOREA EXCHANGE BANK	010710018
INTL NEDERLAND BANK	010660016
LAND BANK OF THE PHILS	010350025
MAYBANK OF THE PHILS	010220016
METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST CO	010269996
PHIL BANK OF COMMUNICATION	010110016
PHIL TRUST COMPANY	010090039
PHIL NATIONAL BANK	010080010
PRUDENTIAL BANK	010150018
PHIL VETERANS BANK	010330016
RIZAL COMML BANKING CORP	010280014
SECURITY BANK & TRUST CO	010140015
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK	010050011
UNITED COCONUT PLANTERS BANK	010299995
UNION BANK OF THE PHILS	010419995
UNITED OVERSEAS BANK	010270189

(reference)

Filipino War Veterans - included in the Stimulus Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:14:00 +0000

At last! the waiting is over. The long time claim of the Filipino Veterans for the equal benefits with that of the US World War II Veterans is now in effect when US President Barack Obama signed into law the $787- billion Stimulus Package Plan.

It's a grand celebration for all the Veterans here just right in time as some are already in their last straw of breath confined in the hospital. Employees of The Philippine Veterans Office has started identifying the pensioners, Families of those Veterans who were in the hospital for serious illnesses are trying to relay the good news to them. Government officials have tried to get their thumb mark as they can no longer sign the paper and their picture were taken right on their bed.

Unfortunately not all World War II Veterans can claim their benefits but only those included in the original record list who were able to sign-up taken by Missouri after the World War II. Those Filipinos who were part of the Guerrilla movement during the World War II and were failed to sign-up are therefore not included to the benefits.

Though the number of listed pensioners have dwindled from its original list of 230,000. Only 18,000 have survived. Twelve thousand are living in the Philippines while 6,000 are in the U.S. The benefits is a one time pay of $9,000 tax-free (an estimated of P430,000) philippine pesos for the Filipino Veterans who are living in the Philippines and $15,000 for those staying in U.S.

Many who have heard about this benefits are trying to stay alive to enjoy it.

Filipino as Pinoy

noreply@blogger.com (Emma) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Pinoy is a colloquial term which refer to Filipino people. Pinoy has been widely used in native tongue, though there was no clear background how the word Pinoy was incorporated in Tagalog vocabulary. As far as I remember the word was coined out of fumbling for the words to describe the Filipino antics by radio broadcaster and was picked-up by media paper which then circulated among the mainstream of Filipino community. Just like the common tag for the Chinese in the Philippines as "Intsik" Filipino addressed themselves as "Pinoy" to mean pure blooded Filipino.