Listed Firms at Philippine Stock Exchange Raise A Lot of Moolah

As a personal investor in the Philippine Stock Exchange, I was actually glad to hear of the news that listed firms were able to raise 107.5 billion pesos when they listed this year!  I actually did not invest in any IPO this year but these IPO's included Megawide Construction Corp., Puregold Price Club, Cirtek Holdings, Calapan Ventures and Touch Solutions.

I also learned now that trading has been extended to 3PM.  How cool is that!  With seven record highs this year, our own PSE is doing very well vis-a-vis our peers in the region. I personally am going to plow in more money into our portfolio this year!

Relocate or Die!

It must be really ironic to die because of a plane crash - and not be in the airplane in the first place!  Well, it has happened before, and it did happen over the weekend when that small airplane crashed into a crowded slum community near the NAIA.  I guess the residents have finally faced the threat of death in the face - and with a very high price to pay!  At last count, 12 people had to die because they lived near the airport!  So now, the government has to enforce strictly the rule not to live very near the airport.  It's relocate or die!  But in a fatalistic society like ours, I'm sure the people in that poor neighborhood would just let God protect them.  It's not a very easy decision since these people have jobs nearby - and will most likely be relocated somewhere farther than usual.  But the bitter pill has to be swallowed now, otherwise, what if a jumbo jet crashes on them in the future!  That would a disaster of catastrophic consequences! 

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PNoy Standing Up To The Paid Bullies of Our Own Supreme Court

For someone who was not even elected to the position he is now, Renato Corona has the gall to thumb the noses of us poor and stupid Filipinos, by allowing Gloria to leave the country!  If not for the quick action of today's poster girl for Aksyon Agad, De Lima, Miss Bansot would've done a Ramona Revilla! Que horror!  

I'm glad he's going to be impeached.  A paid hack like him ought to be. And Ateneo Law School should check their ethics subjects.  Guys like Corona give their law school such a bad name!  

Frankly, how dare he go against the will of the Filipino people.  He is not even elected but was just appointed by a president who cheated during elections!  I'm really glad P-Noy stood up to him.  Go P-Noy!  Put all these guys like Corona and Gloria in jail where they belong.  They are the main reasons why many Filipinos are poor!  They just protect their own interests and businesses and cronies!  They only pretend to care about our country but they're really wolves in sheep's clothing. 

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Annette Gozon Abrogar: From the Courtroom to the Spotlight

I'm sure the worlds of law and showbiz may seem to intersect at some points because of their flair for flamboyance, but in doing the nitty-gritty details of really managing a major film studio like GMA Films, getting a lawyer to do the actual job may seem weird at face value.  But since Annette Gozon Abrogar is the daughter of Atty. Felipe Gozon, president and CEO of GMA Network, now we have two trained lawyers in positions of influence and power to change the programming and entertainment landscape of the Philippines.

I don't really watch local TV since rarely does a local program speak about my life but I do watch local movies, and GMA Films' latest production, The Road, has introduced me to several contract stars of GMA 7.  Anyhow, anyone can go into film producing since we are all, at heart, movie buffs, and we all have stories to tell, so I'm sure Ms. Gozon-Abrogar will find the right talent and right material to make into movies and entertain the Filipino people.

Lalaine Chu-Benitez: Showing the Way for Filipinas in the Middle East

For any Filipino who has traveled or lived abroad, the stereotypes and discrimination of us being Filipinos continue to abound - and it was these things that Lalaine Chu-Benitez sought to change as she saw how her, being Filipina, was being devalued in the eyes of her co-workers and by the people of her host country.   

Through the past 20 years that she has been based in Dubai, she established the magazine, Ilustrado, to show the people in that part of the world, that Filipinas are not only just maids or sex workers, but are competent professionals in any field they choose to work in.  Because of her assertiveness, many of her kababayans have proudly shown their employers that Filipinas can be as good if not even better, than their white counterparts.  By fighting the stereotype, she has opened doors for other Filipinas to shine in their respective fields - in a place where even the native women are constricted to do as they please.

Juan Paulo Reyes Wins the Family Category at Faith Shorts 2011

Juan Paulo Reyes' entry into the Faith Shorts 2011, a global competition run by the Tony Blair Foundation (TBFF) has won in the Fanily category in the said competition. It's a short film which delivers a lot of impact - focusing on faith, especially to young people who have to deal with a deadly disease like cancer - and their resiliency and outlook at that point in their lives.

US Consumer Sentiment Rises to Six-Month High in December

 

Well, the US is an important market, even to my business, so it's a good thing to read this news today.  It's actually very important that Americans spend and spend a lot, since they serve as impetus for exporters like me to earn in dollars and help my own country.   I hope Obama continues with his economic policies to make his countrymen spend like they used to.

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Gwendoline Ruais: 1st Runner Up Miss World 2011

Just a few months after Shamcey Supsup's Top 5 finish in the Miss Universe competition, Gwendoline Ruais, does better, finishing first runner-up in the Miss World competition!  Well, the girl almost won! Imagine that!  She would've been the first Miss World we've ever had.  Darn you, Miss Venezuela!.  Anyway, the good showing by these two beauties has revved up a bit the 'dying' beauty queen franchise for a while - thanks also to Venus Raj's Top 5 finish last year. Well, I just hope it doesn't end this year.  Remember that before Raj's Top 5 appearance, the last time we landed in the Top 10 was way back in 1999, thanks to one of my favorite beauty queens - Miriam Quiambao!

Inspiring Words From Kenneth Cobonpue

For people who aspire to design stuff, like me, Kenneth Cobonpue is a rock star, a god in the world of design, simply because he has paved the way for many other Filipinos to show that we're capable of producing luxurious items even in our supposedly Third World setting.

Today, I read an interesting article about him and it provided quotes on how he felt about his work.  I was moved by his firm intent on putting "Made in the Philippines" in his work - a move which was not favored in the beginning, but soon reaped benefits for him.  I'm glad that he has insisted that his work be identified as his - and in a way - as ours - since just one look at his work would show to anyone that - well, that's 'very Filipino'!  

I don't think he needs the imprimatur of a Louis Vuitton or Kenzo to prove that his work is world-class.  I've always believed we're world class in many ways, we just have to show the world that we are.

Pitoy Moreno: Filipino Designer Extraordinaire

I think one of the reasons why Pitoy Moreno continues to be quite respected in local fashion-dom is because of his ability to infuse the identity of the Filipino into the clothes that he makes.  Except for the Philippines logo in the C2 shirts designed by Rhett Eala, most local designers would be at a loss on how to their national colors in their designs. 

Well, I guess, Pitoy could do that since he lived in a more genteel era where ready to wear was not common, but I guess, even if he were active nowadays, he would've championed Philippine design and given it a more vigorous identifying pattern that would set it apart from, let's say, Japanese fashion.   His contribution to Philippine fashion design is already set in stone and I'm sure, future nationalistic fashion designers would find a treasure of ideas to redux and deconstruct, in the Pitoy Moreno vault of ideas.

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¿A Quién Le Importa Si Es Gay?

Un funcionario de la Corte Suprema se salió del armario sin querer esta semana cuando su micrófono rompió del suelo.  Su reacción era cogido en video y las reacciónes del público vinieron rapido y vertiginoso.   Obviamente el pobre hombre tuvo que comportarse como un hombre heterosexual en público ya que es la cara pública por su oficina – la Corte Suprema – no menos!  

Entonces, sería extraño si se comportó como Vice Ganda, ¿verdad?  Espero que no lo ridiculizamos puesto que es muy dificil ser comportarse como un heterosexual en las ojos de público cuando la realidad es somos gay.  El pobre hombre ya tuvo que bajar su voz hablando para sonar como un hombre real!  Como es nuestro trabajo, nos comportamos apropiadamente, y si decaemos de vez en cuando, somos humanos como de todos.

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Myla Villanueva: Filipina Entrepreneur Par Excellence

To someone like me who saw no other recourse but entrepreneurship, I was greatly inspired by the story of Myla Villanueva, a US-educated tech entrepreneur who chose to build her legacy here in the Philippines in the 80s when almost everything in the cards would have forced her to say no!  I read about her in the Philippine Star Sunday magazine and she would’ve been a very good role model for me since we are almost the same age.  Yes, it’s not easy to do business in this country since we don’t have the financial backing most developed countries have but Ms. Villanueva used her persuasive powers to show to the movers and shakers here that that was the way to go, if we ever wanted to be at par with the technology in most developed countries.  I do hope to hear her speak one of these days.  I’m sure to learn a lot from it.