April 18, 2013

JOHN RENDEZ RETURNS TO RAP RECORDING

Rap artist and composer John Rendez is back to the recording scene. 

Months after he returned to the country in August, 2011, the 42-year old rapper-composer and actor has started to carefully lay out the plans for a comeback to what he loves doing most - doing rap compositions and singing them.

It took him exactly a year to finish the new all-rap album, from conceptualizing the type and quality of its contents, to composing the new rap songs, to deciding on some "updates" to his previous compositions.

Everything fell into place and on October 1 last year, John Rendez, together with Ms. Nora Aunor, his long-time friend and now business manager, has inked a distribution deal with PolyEast Records for the release of the new John Rendez CD album, titled "Metaldog"/"There Can Only Be One".

A follow-up to the self-titled album John did years ago, also bearing the "Metaldog" tag, with its carrier single, "There Can Only Be One" (a new original composition), the album is a decided mix of so-called "high end" rap and what may be regarded as "low end/pang-masa" hip-hop beat.

The experience of doing the whole album was as fulfilling as John has envisioned. 

"It's good to be back to what I love doing most! Couldn't think of any other thing as fulfilling," said John. 


No less than the bosses from PolyEast Records,  Mr. Jesmon Chua and Mr. Chito Ilagan, the album distributor, would attest to the CD rap album's great potential to become a qualified hit.

"It's very positive. It's worth the long wait.  I can now say I'm a professional composer!"  John noted.

PINOY RAP INFULENCE.  Eleven original compositions make up this new rap album by John Rendez, including: There Can Only Be One, No More Musik By The Suckers, Ratt9MM, Metaldog, Kembotan, Everybody Sayaw (relieving John's early years on television, via ABS-CBN's "Ready Set Go!" in the early '90s). Under the Ground, Sowerzitat?, Domination, Coming To A Theater Near You, and a semi-novelty Tagalog rap, Plastik Pala.

"It's really no great surprise, every rap song, very up-to-date music!" said John.

For his second album, John Rendez collaborated with noted music composer, Jonathan Ong, with mixing (mixdowns) by Robert Javier and Tony D.

"We clicked together, so good! Wala akong masabi!" he intoned.  "Jonathan Ong is the best! And Tony D. and Robert Javier, from the Sonic State Studio, in Mandaluyong, very, very good!

"Couldn't be more 'happier'!" the Fil-Am rapper who hails from Angeles City, Pampanga, couldn't contain his happiness.


He said his roots are reflected in the rap songs the album contains.

"These are heavily influenced by my past.  But you know what?  It's also Pinoy rap influence,"  John stated.

PERSONAL STATEMENT.   Like any other artist true to his calling, John expresses a kind of mixed feelings about his comeback as a recording artist, through his new all-rap CD album.

"This is my music," he said.  "This is the quality of my character.
If you want to know what kind of a person I am, listen to my music.”

"This is the statement of the person that I am, at this time; the person that I was, and also the person (to remember me by)," he also said, with words deeply felt.

John hopes that "people try to understand it.  I'm not gonna be something that I'm not; not gonna be something original.”

"I think, maybe, I'm gonna find a balance of my skills, my state of mind, and my 'feel' for what's 'in' nowadays. “

"If you don't like me, it's okay.  You can't please everyone.  I just want my music to be given it's own chance."

John Rendez’ album METALDOG is now available nationwide distributed by PolyEast Records.



Villar Leads Manila Bay Clean-up

In consonance with the forthcoming Earth Day celebration, Team PNoy senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar yesterday led the clean-up drive at Manila Bay in the Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat & Eco-Tourism (LPPCHEA), which was recently included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, an intergovernmental treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
“We have to care and protect our environment. We have to repay Mother Earth for providing us all the necessary materials we need to survive,” stressed Villar.

The clean-up activity at Manila Bay which started 7 am yesterday, Villar said, is their simple way of saying “thank you,” and “demonstrating our love to Mother Earth.” However, she stressed that “caring and loving” our environment should not only be done during the Earth Day celebration.

“Everyday of our lives, we should all strive to protect Mother Earth,’ said Villar who has earned the moniker “Misis HanepBuhay” for giving jobs to Filipinos.

Villar was joined by students and volunteers from various sectors in last Friday’s clean-up activity, which was followed by a tour along the stretch of LPPCHEA aboard a banca around 7:30 a.m. The activity ended with a boodle fight, also led by Villar. The three-term Las Pinas congresswoman said she feels happy with the improvement at the LPPCHEA since there are lesser garbage being collected.

“We can attribute this to our consistent clean-up efforts,” said Villar. The Villar Foundation, where she sits as Managing Director, together with students and other volunteers, also conduct weekly cleanups. “The more partners we work with, the better it will be for the environment,” she said.

The Villar Foundation had earlier inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) represented by radio station DZRH in its Manila Bay Cleanup drive.

“The Villar Foundation and DZRH agree that this is not only a joint cooperative undertaking, but more importantly, it is a major public service activity that would help contribute to the promotion of a livable, healthier and ecological sustainable Manila Bay,” read the MoA.

Villar noted there is more reason to protect the 175-hectare LPPCHEA area after it was listed in Ramsar along with the world-renowned Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Underground River), both found in the Philippines.

"Ramsar has recognized LPPCHEA’s global importance to biodiversity and the need to give it special protection from various threats,” said Villar, adding that LPPCHEA is the so-called 'last bastion' in Metro Manila.

Based on Proclamation No. 1412, LPPCHEA is a critical habitat because to its global importance to biodiversity. It is a habitat for the survival of threatened, restricted-range and congregatory species.

But despite being a critical habitat, Villar lamented it faces threats of being reclaimed. In opposing the planned reclamation, Villar, a strong environmental advocate, noted that taking care of our environment will save us from disasters and calamities.

She maintains calamities would further burden the already poor Filipinos who are facing various problems due to difficult times.

Disasters like flooding, Villar said, can make one poorer if his properties are destroyed.

To avoid worst scenarios, Villar, who has earned the moniker “Misis Hanep Buhay” for giving jobs to Filipinos, underscored the need to clean our rivers, our creeks and other bodies of water especially Manila Bay.

“We can simply help protect the environment by not throwing our garbage into the sea, the rivers, the creeks. If we resort to indiscriminate throwing of garbages, these wastes will return to us during floodings. The garbages that we throw also caused massive floods,” warned Villar.

April 17, 2013

Landco, Younghusbands to hold Tribeca Football Fest on April 21

Leisure real estate developer Landco Pacific Corporation, in partnership with Chelsea FC Soccer School Philippines, the school operated by famed football superstars Phil and James Younghusband, will hold the first Tribeca Football Festival on April 21st. The event, which is expected to feature some 500 football enthusiasts, will be held on the 7-Aside Football Field from 8 am till 4:30 pm. 

James and Phil Younghusband
During the football fest, the Younghusband brothers will be at the event for the awards ceremony along with officials of Landco Pacific Corporation, the developer behind Tribeca Private Residences, and joint venture partner, ATR KimEng Land, Inc. The Tribeca Football Fest is sponsored and supported by Meralco, MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, and PLDT-SME. 

Tribeca Private Residences provides football players a safe and friendly environment, where they can hone their technical skills and sportsmanship. 

“Tribeca is very proud to be the home of the Chelsea FC Soccer School in the Philippines. As such, Landco is able to support our budding and very talented Filipino football players. Phil and James [Younghusband] are to be commended for their generosity in doing their part in helping the country develop world-class soccer players. 

“Landco can do no less and we are honored to host the very first Tribeca Football Festival here in our exclusive property. Through this event, we are helping showcase the talents of our young Filipino football players while giving them a high-level of competition where they can hone their skills,” explained Alfred Xerez-Burgos III, President and CEO, Landco Pacific Corp. 

Tribeca Private Residences is a 9.7 hectare resort condominium development that combines a modern 17-storey condominium tower with lots of open green spaces featuring a 3-hectare Central Park as well as a 1,800 sq. m. Aqua Park. 

Tribeca Private Residences’ newest addition is Hudson Place Tower 1, which is one of five residential condominiums set to rise in the master-planned development. It has 407 residential units. For more information about Tribeca Private Residences and how to enroll in The Chelsea FC Soccer School, please call 842-8000. 
Landco Pacific Corporation is the developer of high-end leisure communities, resort-inspired condominiums and luxury home communities. For more than 20 years, the company has made its mark in Philippine real estate, and is widely acknowledged as one of the leading leisure developers. For more information about Landco Pacific Corp., please call 836-5000. 
THE 1st TRIBECA FOOTBALL FESTIVAL  organizers and sponsors include: Albert Martin Villa-Real (left), Vice President for Sales, Landco Pacific Corp.; links hands with (starting second from left) Alfred Xerez-Burgos Jr., Vice Chairman, Landco Pacific Corp.; Alfred Xerez-Burgos III, President and CEO, Landco Pacific Corp.; James and Phil Younghusband, Directors of the Younghusband Football Academy; Lorenzo Andres Roxas, Chairman and President, Maybank ATR KimEng Securities Inc.; Manuel Tordesillas, Chairman, ATR KimEng Land Inc.; and Renato Leveriza Jr., President, ATR KimEng Land Inc.
JAMES YOUNGHUSBAND shown here in action at the 7-Aside Football Field located in Tribeca Private Residences in Sucat, Muntinlupa which is the venue for the 1st Tribeca Football Festival on April 21, 2013.
PHIL YOUNGHUSBAND shows his moves at the 7-Aside Football Field in Tribeca Private Residences in Sucat, Muntinlupa, the venue of the 1st Tribeca Football Festival scheduled on April 21st. Younghusband and his brother and fellow National Football Team member James are joining up with upscale leisure real estate developer Landco Pacific Corporation for the event. Landco Pacific Corporation is the developer behind Tribeca Private Residences and other leisure real estate developments in the country.


Villar elated over inclusion of LPPCHEA on Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance


Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) is included on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
“The inclusion of LPPCHEA on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance is very good news indeed. We should be proud of the recognition, and at the same time, we are encouraged even more to protect it," said Former Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar.

LPPCHEA is the sixth Philippine site designated as ‘Wetlands of International Importance’, it was included on the list on March 15. 

The others on the list are: the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park in Sulu (listed on December 11, 1999); the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary (listed on December 11, 1999); the Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro (listed on December 11, 1999); the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Cebu (listed on January 7, 1994); and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan (listed on June 30, 2012). 

The Philippines joined the Ramsar Convention in 1994. Signatories to join the Convention agree to "include wetland conservation considerations in their national land-use planning," and commit to implement and promote "the wise use of wetlands in their territory."
The Convention on Wetlands—signed in Ramsar, Iran on 1971— is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the "wise use", or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories.

"The international treaty organization has recognized LPPCHEA’s global importance to biodiversity and the need to give it special protection from various threats. LPPCHEA is the so-called 'last bastion' in Metro Manila and faces various threats" said Villar.

Ramcar Convention cited on its website that LPPCHEA “faces threats” such as “ongoing land reclamation projects and mangrove cutting”, and “waste from nearby cities (that) accumulates along the coast”

Despite being  declared as a critical habitat in 2007 by Proclamation No. 1412, there are existing plans to reclaim the area.

Villar is very vocal about her opposition on the planned 635.14-hectare Manila Bay reclamation project that will also affect LPPCHEA. She filed a petition for Writ of Kalikasan on March 16 against the said project, which the Supreme Court granted on April 10 last year. The writ of kalikasan was issued but not a temporary environmental protection order or TEPO—without a TEPO, the contractor can still proceed with the projects.

A series of hearings, which wrapped up only a few weeks ago, was held at the Court of Appeals. Villar herself took the court stand on October 12 as petitioner and witness. Villar’s group is aiming for the issuance of a permanent environmental protection order, so that the reclamation project will be junked altogether.
   
“I have repeatedly talked about the catastrophic effects that the proposed Manila Bay reclamation project will bring about—including the damage to the bird sanctuary as well as to the mangrove forest and marine habitat. The worst of which, is that it will cause severe flooding in 37 barangays in Bacoor, 11 in Paranaque and 17 in Las Piñas. Floods with a depth of as much as 5.12 meters or equivalent to a two-storey high building,” cited Villar.

LPPCHEA serves as a sanctuary to migratory bird species from as far as Siberia. According to the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, Metro Manila has 150 species of birds, 72 of which are found at LPPCHEA. It is the only bird sanctuary located in an urban setting, thus it is considered as the ‘last bastion’.  
  
Description of LPPCHEA on the Annotated Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance:
Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA):
A coastal wetland in Manila Bay situated within the metropolis of Manila, comprising two interconnected, mangrove-covered islands, shallow lagoons and coastline. A Presidential Proclamation in 2007 designated the site as a ‘Critical Habitat’ for the survival of threatened, restricted-range and congregatory species. At least 5,000 individuals of migratory and resident birds have been recorded at the site, including about 47 migratory species such as the vulnerable Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes). The most important of the resident bird species is the vulnerable Philippine Duck (Anas luzonica) which breeds at the site. Records from 2007-2011 show that the site supports at least 1% of the estimated population of Black-Winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus) using the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. The site faces threats associated with being located near densely populated areas. Waste from nearby cities accumulates along the coast and heavy metals and other organic contents coming from residential and industrial effluents affectsurrounding areas. Other threats include ongoing land reclamation projects and mangrove cutting. Efforts to ensure the long-term conservation of this site are ongoing.

April 16, 2013

Super Summer Offers at the SM Kids’ Fashion Warehouse Sale

Leading retail chain introduces newest promos on children’s apparel 

Prices go down as the temperature goes up at the SM Kids’ Fashion Warehouse Sale. Youngsters can indulge in season-worthy fashion at rock-bottom prices and stock up on outfits for school or play. 
Popular brands like Big & Small, Orange Juice, and Saint Patrick offer the latest in casual separates ideal for any activity. Winnie the Pooh, Barbie, and Mickey and Minnie tune in to their popular toon namesakes for a fun look that never fails to bring a smile to every face. From active wear to swimsuits and rompers, there’s definitely a wide range of clothes to choose from.

Kid-friendly trends are now more accessible with special discounts from SM Kids’ Fashion. Customers can avail of 0% interest on select credit cards with a Php3,000 minimum purchase. Instant rebates of Php 1,000 are also available for MasterCard holders with a minimum single-receipt purchase of 3,000 from April 15-June 30, 2013.

Indulge in fashion that knows no age at SM Kids’ Fashion Warehouse Sale from April 19 to 21 at Megatrade Hall B, SM Megamall.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
enjoying wonderful world