Award-winning Broadway play STEEL MAGNOLIAS is all set this April 1 and 2 in Cebu

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Are you ready to paint the town blush and bashful?

The award-winning Broadway play by Robert Harling “STEEL MAGNOLIAS” is coming to Cebu City this coming April 1 to 2, 2023.

The play is a comedy-drama about the bond among a group of Southern women in northwest Louisiana. The title suggests the "female characters are as delicate as magnolias but as tough as steel".

Featuring Charlene Virlouvet, Liana San Diego, Clariza Mae Sevilla, Dahlia Alegre-Borres, Yvette Yntig, and Marlinda Angbetic Tan. Directed by Allan Nazareno and Vincent Paul D. Gaton.

CHARLENE VIRLOUVET plays Truvy Jones, the 40-year old beauty parlor owner, who’s always generous in sharing the latest rumors with anyone who’s willing to listen. Her motto, “there is no such thing as natural beauty,” is what makes Truvy’s Beauty Spot the most sought-after in Chinquapin, Louisiana.

LIANA SAN DIEGO steps into the shoes of the shy Annelle Dupuy-Despoto, and walks us through her sad and ambiguous marital affair. She wears glasses out of necessity, hair spray to hold her crown up nice and strong, and her young and troubled heart on her sleeve.

MARLINDA ANGBETIC ANG plays the role of Claire Belcher, the cheerful, gossip-hound, 66-ish widow of the former Mayor. Funny, fiery, witty,

CLARIZA MAE SEVILLA plays the role of Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie, a young blush bashful bride with type 1 diabetes, who’s dealing with family stresses alongside complications. She wants to have children, but has to face the many possible struggles of a diabetic pregnancy.

The character, Shelby, was modelled after Susan Harlin Robinson, the sister of Steel Magnolias playwright, Robert Harling. Sadly, Susan went tragically from complications related to her type 1 diabetes. Her life became the inspiration of this beautiful and heart-warming play.

DAHLIA ALEGRE BORRES plays the role of Ouiser (pronounced as Weezer) Boudreaux. She’s both mature and childish; lovely, but miserable. A wealthy old bitty, whose sense of humor will shred you to bits.

YVETTE YNTIG plays the overprotective mother hen, M’Lynn Eatenton, whose time is preoccupied between being the administrator of the Mental Guidance Center and worrying about her daughter’s health.

Get your tickets at https://2tincans-philippines.yapsody.com

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DOT puts a spotlight on the Pampanga-Clark-Cebu City Interregional Tour

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With the easing of restrictions on leisure travel, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has started to promote the various tourism circuits that it had been developing throughout the year. One of these is the Pampanga-Clark-Cebu City interregional tour that involves a diverse set of tourism attractions and experiences and their respective award-winning international airports.

The newly built Clark International Airport Terminal 2. Photo courtesy of Department of Tourism Region 3

“We have been ramping up our efforts to vaccinate our tourism workers so that we restore confidence in people to travel again. Now, with the resumption of leisure travel, we are encouraging tourists to visit destinations that have a high number of fully vaccinated tourism workers,” said Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat.

For Pampanga, including Clark Freeport Zone, 92.08% of its tourism workers have already been vaccinated. Tourists can now safely visit the restaurants of Pampanga, the country’s culinary capital, and explore the province’s sites, such as the Bacolor Church, Mt. Arayat National Park, Diaspora Farm Resort, Lubao Bamboo Hub, and the various attractions at the Clark Freeport Zone, like Clark Natural Park, Dinosaur Island, Clark Museum, to name a few.

Some of the colorful displays found at the Clark Museum in Pampanga. Photo courtesy of the Department of Tourism

For Metro Cebu, which includes Cebu City, 93.74% of tourism workers have been inoculated. Travelers can now visit these sites in Cebu City: Adlawon Farm, Sirao Flower Garden, Magellan's Cross, Sto. Nino Church, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, Plaza Hamabar, Cebu Heritage Monument, Colon Obelisk, and Museo Sugbo, among others.

This particular interregional tour showcases not only the best of Pampanga, Clark, and Cebu City, but also encourages safe travel by air and highlights alternative gateways that tourists can utilize, such as the Clark International Airport and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. Current available Cebu-Clark-Cebu flights are serviced by Philippine Airlines every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, and by Cebu Pacific every Tuesday and Thursday.

The historical Magellan’s Cross in Cebu City. Photo courtesy of the Department of Tourism

The DOT chief said that with the reopening of domestic tourism in the country, they aim to provide more meaningful experience for travelers while also supporting the restart of the tourism industry and its allied sectors, such as the aviation industry.

For more updates about open destinations in the Philippines and the safety protocols and requirements needed for each location, you may visit www.philippines.travel or download the Travel Philippines app at the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Amaia Steps Mandaue to fulfill homebuyers’ aspirations for a sustainable community

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Amaia Steps Mandaue, Amaia Land’s first mid-rise condominium to rise in the highly urbanized city of Mandaue, casts a wide net as it calls out to homebuyers seeking a sustainable community in Metropolitan Cebu. Located on the corner of Plaridel Street and UN Avenue in Mandaue City, Cebu province, Amaia Steps Mandaue is composed of the Tower 1 and Tower 2, nine-storey developments that collectively house 576 sleek Studio, Deluxe, and Premier units.

Amaia Land’s first mid-rise condominium in the city of Mandaue, calls out to homebuyers seeking a sustainable community in Metropolitan Cebu.

Individuals and families that would settle for nothing less than a dynamic lifestyle will gravitate towards Amaia Steps Mandaue’s Tower 2, the second and final building in Amaia's project portfolio. Tower 2 offers 288 units that range in size from 24.01 sqms to 48.08 sqms. With their flexible and functional floor layouts, these may be converted into One-Bedroom or Two-Bedroom well-designed and efficient residential units for growing families who need more living space.

 Residents can have refreshing dips in the pool or recharge in the landscaped garden.

Amaia Steps Mandaue is composed of the Tower 1 and Tower 2, nine-storey developments that collectively house 576 sleek Studio, Deluxe, and Premier units.

As they thrive in these cozy and modern living spaces, residents will find that Amaia Steps Mandaue’s aspiration for a sustainable community resonates with their own. Young married couples, upwardly mobile professionals and entrepreneurs, and starter families will appreciate the airy, well-ventilated units, some of which have balconies for looking out on Mandaue’s cityscape and breezy open spaces. Large windows let natural light in, reducing the household’s energy use.

Individuals and families that would settle for nothing less than a dynamic lifestyle will gravitate towards Amaia Steps Mandaue.

Amaia Steps Mandaue features a cozy lobby from which residents can take a quick elevator ride to their floor—or walk briskly up a few flights of stairs to boost heart health. To de-stress, they can have refreshing dips in the pool or recharge in the landscaped garden.

Homemakers will appreciate Amaia Steps Mandaue’s ‘walkable’ neighborhood. For quick supply runs, there will be stores and service shops in the retail area of the development. Delivery riders and couriers will also find the condo’s locale easy to pin.

Finally, while Maayo Hotel is within strolling distance, the University of Cebu is just a bit farther down the road. With public utility vehicles in nearby transport hubs and shuttle stations, however, residents will find it easy to commute to work or indulge in their favorite pastime—shopping at the Pacific Mall, Gaisano Grand Mall, and Ayala Center Cebu.

Amaia Steps Mandaue is also close to S&R and the Mandaue Public Market, one of Cebu’s hubs for fresh produce. Best of all, Mactan-Cebu International Airport is just five kilometers away.

All these make Amaia Steps Mandaue an idyllic home and a sustainably healthy community for Filipino individuals and families. To them, Amaia Land offers flexible payment schemes: cash, deferred cash and bank financing.

For inquiries about Amaia, visit https://www.amaialand.com or contact our Amaia real estate sales person.

Smile Train Expands Comprehensive Cleft Care Services Across Philippines

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Smile Train, the world's largest cleft organization, announced today the establishment of four Comprehensive Cleft Care (CCC) centers across the Philippines to increase accessibility of treatment to cleft-affected individuals and their families.

ARC Hospital in Lapu-Lapu City serving as the first Comprehensive Cleft Care (CCC) in Cebu)

Every day, more than 540 babies are born with a cleft around the world, an ongoing reality that calls for comprehensive solutions to help them overcome challenges and live a happy, healthy life.

For the past two decades, Smile Train has supported more than 64,000 cleft surgeries through its 50+ partner hospitals and organizations throughout Philippines. As the organization marks its 20th anniversary in the country, it is further expanding its services to include nutrition support, orthodontic and dental treatment, and speech therapy in more locations across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

“Smile Train’s goal is to provide those born with a cleft the necessary holistic care beyond their initial surgeries. We will continue to build a network that will bring comprehensive cleft care to Filipinos, so they have the support and the tools they need to overcome any challenge. Through this network and these comprehensive cleft centers, we aim to ultimately provide them the ability to work, play, and live happy, healthy and productive lives,” said Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Smile Train’s Vice-President for South East Asia.

Smile Train’s geographical and programmatic expansion comes as the organization celebrates National Cleft and Craniofacial awareness month this July. Smile Train has launched comprehensive cleft centers at partner hospitals including the Philippine Band of Mercy and Marikina St. Vincent General Hospital in Metro Manila, San Fernandino Hospital in Pampanga, and Mabuhay Deseret Foundation in ARC Hospital in Cebu. At these centers, in addition to surgeries, parents and patients in need can access nutrition counselling and nutrition services, orthodontic treatment, and speech therapy sessions at no cost.

These institutions have served as Smile Train’s partners for years, helping patients from across different provinces and performing thousands of cleft surgeries with the assistance of Smile Train, and will be continuing to do so in an increased capacity as CCC centers. Philippine Band of Mercy has performed 25,300 Smile Train-funded cleft surgeries since 2002; Marikina St. Vincent has performed 1,900+ cleft surgeries since 2011; San Fernando Hospital has done over 1,000 cleft surgeries since 2011; and Mabuhay Deseret Foundation has performed 1,500+ cleft surgeries since 2008. Additional partner hospitals will be able to provide CCC in the coming months.

More on Comprehensive Cleft Care (CCC)

Comprehensive cleft care complements cleft surgery, which Smile Train has been providing at no cost to families in need for over 20 years in the Philippines. Cleft treatment is not a one-off process or even just a series of surgeries, but often requires a holistic approach including nutritional support, dental and orthodontic care, psychosocial support, and speech therapy. CCC is provided by an interdisciplinary, supportive team of highly trained professionals that typically includes geneticists, nutritionists, surgeons, nurses, speech therapists, ENTs, audiologists, mental health counselors, dentists, and orthodontists, among others. For Smile Train and its medical partners, CCC means that each person with cleft has access to all the care they need in order to thrive.

The expansion of Smile Train’s CCC footprint also supports its efforts to promote a working telehealth network, which will allow patients to access CCC despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and geography.

In the Philippines, the pandemic has not gotten in the way of Smile Train’s efforts to help cleft patients, providing over 1,800+ surgeries (pandemic-related) done in 2020, and 1,120 in the first 6 months of 2021 with 26 partners actively doing surgeries.

Since the start of the pandemic, Smile Train’s speech telehealth program in the Philippines has treated over 200 patients, providing them with more than 1,000 cleft care-related sessions. Recently, the organization launched the country’s first Filipino speech therapy mobile application which serves as a platform for more patients and families born with cleft to continue to receive comprehensive cleft care with minimal disruptions.

For more information about Smile Train’s global efforts and to donate, please visit smiletrain.org. 

To learn more about Smile Train’s local programs in the Philippines, please visit smiletrain.ph, follow Smile Train Philippines on Twitter and Instagram @SmileTrainPh, and like us on Facebook at @SmileTrainPhilippines. The Smile Train Philippines mobile application can be downloaded via Google Play and App Store.

About Smile Train

Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.ph. For more information about Smile Train’s work in the Philippines, please contact philippines@smiletrain.org.