Coca-Cola, Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity enjoin the entire nation and global community to continue small act of kindness for Yolanda survivors

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Every act matters. Share whatever you have. Do whatever you can. Donate, volunteer, share, help. . . rebuild lives . . . warm hearts . . .  spark hope . . .

Coca-Cola Philippines, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), and Habitat for Humanity have teamed-up to campaign for a volunteer round-up and donation drive towards Yolanda-recovery, dubbed RebuildPH. 

The tripartite movement takes inspiration from the kindness of the Filipino people. Motivated by the idea that no action is too small to make a difference, Coca-Cola has been helping raise awareness and public participation in the rebuild efforts, while Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity serve as recipients of monetary and in-kind donations culled in the process. 

Guillermo Aponte, General Manager of Coca-Cola Philippines share his advocacy and inspiration.  “If there is one lesson learnt from Typhoon Yolanda - is that no act is too small. Rebuilding rests in the hands of every one of us, not merely a few. This is what our campaign RebuildPH is all about, and we hope that through this campaign by Coca-Cola, Habitat for Humanity Philippines and the Philippines Red Cross, the Filipino people and the global community will continue to be inspired to volunteer and donate. We have a long way to go and a lot still needs to be done.” 

Right after Typhoon Yolanda struck the country, Coca-Cola immediately brought relief and aid to over 200,000 families through its partnership with the Philippines Red Cross, Department of Social Welfare and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Coca-Cola System has also diverted its advertising resources, including Php10-M worth of cell phone load, to aid survivors of the super typhoon. As part of its rebuilding efforts, Coca-Cola commits to implement its key sustainability programs on education, nutrition, livelihood and water access to Typhoon hit areas. 

Coca-Cola also donated more than $2.5 million to aid in the relief operations for Typhoon Yolanda last November. Its social development arm, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, also obtained donations amounting to more than Php 4-million from the company's employees, later used in various humanitarian efforts. 

Among other Coca-Cola assets that have been used for relief are trucks lent to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Red Cross and the Tacloban bottling plant, which was used by UN World Food Program as a warehouse.

“Our partnership with Coca-Cola Philippines has enabled both parties to act fast and send relief after the typhoon struck. With water and other goods ready since September, all we had to act on was logistics,” said Red Cross Chairman Dick Gordon.

To date, after a full transition from relief to the rebuild stage, there are seven priority sectors identified by the government, namely: Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Negros, Capiz, Aklan, and Palawan that need both humanitarian and resettlement aid. 

Prior to the recent partnership with Coca-Cola, Habitat for Humanity has already been acting since November by distributing shelter repair kits and building homes for those affected by the typhoon.

“At present, Habitat for Humanity is targeting to build 30,000 core houses and distribute 30,000 shelter repair kits for Yolanda victims. We want to achieve this in the next three years but it would take an estimated P6-billion for the construction of the core houses alone. We thank Coca-Cola Philippines for taking this endeavour with us, because we certainly won’t be able to do it alone,” says Charlie Ayco, CEO and Managing Director of Habitat for Humanity.

“Yolanda came last November but everyone still remembers it so vividly. Picking up from one of the worst natural disasters in history, it’s going to take a lot of effort from both individuals and big businesses. While our partners have done much already, we’re positive that our teaming together can make an even bigger difference,” adds Dick Gordon, Chairman of the Philippine Red Cross.

Gordon, along with Ayco and Guillermo Aponte, President and General Manager of Coca-Cola Philippines, led the RebuildPH volunteer round-up at Araneta Center last January 30.

Coca-Cola is helping in the rebuild and recovery process of the Philippines, brought about by the typhoon Yolanda. It has embarked on a landmark partnership with Philippine Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and its other partner organizations to rally volunteers, raise money for sustainable rebuild program and community rehabilitation such as rebuilding schools, water systems and infrastructure, and assist small independent customers with reconstruction of their businesses throughout the year.

Earlier in December, Coca-Cola Philippines launched the RebuildPH donation and volunteer portal to gather additional support subsequent to the rechanneling of its committed advertising space to support relief and rebuilding efforts. Those who wish to help may go to www.cokeurl.com/rebuildph. The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and Habitat for Humanity welcome volunteers, cash, and in-kind donations.

For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com,
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Cinema One Presents "It Takes a Man and a Woman"

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Cinema One, the country's number one cable channel, is bringing the highest grossing Filipino romance film to television for the first time, with its premiere airing of Cathy Garcia-Molina's "It Takes a Man and a Woman," airing on Sunday (February 2).

"It Takes a Man and a Woman," which stars the blockbuster love team of John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo, is the third installment in the "A Very Special Love" film series, wherein John Lloyd and Sarah reprise their roles as Miggy Montenegro and Laida Magtalas.

It follows the life of Miggy and Laida after their break up, which occurred after the events in the second film. Miggy, at this point, is in a relationship with Belle (Isabelle Daza), while Laida is now a fiercer version of herself after having lived in the United States.

When Laida comes home, she gets on board with the publishing arm of Miggy's company, and the two struggle to co-exist in the same workplace after having broken up.

In their attempts to go against or with each other, the two fall into a series of events that lead them to realizing the real definition of true love.

"It Takes a Man and a Woman" received a remarkable critical response, even reaching the point of having its theatrical run extended. It has grossed over P400 million during its run in Philippine cinemas and over P200 million overseas.

The film was graded "A" by the Cinema Evaluation Board and a rating of "GP" by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Bibsy M. Carballo of Philippine Star said, "It Takes A Man & A Woman answered the challenge of offering a more mature perspective, according to direk Cathy, transforming a girl and a boy into a man and a woman with the capability of love and forgiveness, beyond just the 'kilig' factor."

The film was also notably a breakthrough for Sarah as an actress. Tito Genova Valiente, chairman of the Urian Awards (Filipino Film Critics Circle) praised her acting, saying, "There are gems in her performance as Laida. Note the moments when the camera catches her in doubt. See her hurting with a slightest twitch of lips. Those subtleties, not expected by this writer, is good news. This girl knows how to act before a camera."

Catch "It Takes a Man and a Woman" as it airs on television on the country's number one cable channel, Cinema One on Sunday (February 2) at 8:00pm, as part of the channel's Blockbuster Sundays movie block.

Get updates on the program schedule by following @cinema_one on Twitter and by liking its official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Cinema1channel).

Theater Treats 2014 - AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

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Repertory Philippines' second offering for 2014 with “ AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY ” - The 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama written by Tracy Letts.

Written with a strong sense of humor, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY shall follow the meltdown of the Weston family as each member has personal difficulties that they are unable to resolve.

Chris Millado, a well-respected theater veteran and currently the Vice-President and Artistic Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines will direct August: Osage County. 

THEMES: WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY?

Many messages are conveyed throughout the play. Depending on how deep a reader digs, all sorts of issues can be summoned up. For example, it is no accident that the housekeeper is Native American and that the Caucasian characters tip-toe around their cultural differences. There is a walking-on-eggshells sort of tension that seems to stem from the injustices that happened in Oklahoma over a century ago. A post-colonialist critic could write an entire paper on that alone. 

However, most of the play’s themes are derived from the male and female archetypes found in August: Osage County. 

MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS: 

In Tracy Letts’ play, Mothers and daughters are more likely to verbally and physically abuse one another rather than exhibit kindness. In Act One, Violet continually asks for her eldest daughter. She depends on Barbara’s emotional strength during this family crisis. Yet, at the same time, Violet cruelly points out Barbara’s advancing age, her evaporated beauty, and her failed marriage – all issues that Barbara wishes to be left unspoken. Barbara responds by putting a stop to her mother’s pill addiction. She rallies the rest of the family into intervention mode. By this might be less of tough-love and more of a power-play. 

During Act Two’s climactic “family dinner from hell,” Barbara throttles her mother and then declares, “You don’t get it, do you? I’M RUNNING THINGS NOW!” 

TWO TYPES OF HUSBANDS: 

If August: Osage County is a reflection of reality, then there are two types of husbands: A) Docile and unmotivated. B) Philandering and unreliable. Violet’s missing husband, Beverly Weston appears briefly, only during the play’s beginning. But in that scene, the audience learns that Beverly has long since ceased to communicate with his wife in a healthy manner. Instead, he accepts that she is a drug addict. In turn, he drinks himself into a spiritual coma, becoming a very docile husband whose passion for life has fizzled out decades ago. 

Beverly’s brother-in-law, Charles, is another timid male character. He tolerates his unpleasant wife for almost forty years before he finally puts his foot down, and even then he’s rather polite about his uprising. He can’t understand why the Weston family is so vicious toward each other. But the audience can’t understand why Charles has stayed around for so long! 

His son, Little Charles is a 37-year old couch potato. He represents another example of an unmotivated male. But for some reason, his cousin/lover Ivy finds him heroic” despite his simple-minded lethargy. Perhaps she admires him so much because he presents a sharp contrast to the more devious male characters: Bill (Barbara’s husband - the college professor who sleeps with his students) represents middle aged men who want to feel more desirable so they abandon their wives for younger women. Steve (Karen’s fiancé) represents the sociopath-type guys that prey on the young and naïve. 

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND 

Most of the characters dread the notion of living alone yet they violently resist intimacy, and most seem doomed to a sad, solitary existence. The final lesson is harsh but simple: Be a good person or you’ll taste nothing but your own poison.

August: Osage County received the Jeff Award (Chicago – 2007) for Best New Work and Best Production. These two awards were closely followed in 2008 by other six awards: Best New Play awarded by Drama Desk, Distinguished Production of a Play by Drama League, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play. 

Most specially, it was also in 2008 when the play received the biggest award in the industry, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the TONY Award for Best Play.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is set to open on February 21 and shall run up to March 16, 2014 at Onstage, 2/F, Greenbelt 1, Paseo de Roxas corner Legazpi St., Makati City. 

The cast of August: Osage County and the characters they portray are as follows:

BABY BARREDO shall play the role of Violet Weston, the central character of the play and tracks her life across the month of August while she lives in Oklahoma. The devious matriarch, Violet is addicted to painkillers (and any other pill she can pop) including alcohol and is beyond the glory of her life when she was a famous poet. She suffers from cancer of the mouth. But that doesn’t stop her from spewing her cynicism or her hilariously sinister insults. She has also lost Beverly, her husband. 

PINKY AMADOR plays the role of Barbara Fordham, the eldest daughter. In many ways, Barbara is the strongest and most sympathetic character. Throughout the play, she tries to gain control of her chaotic mother, her dilapidated marriage, and her pot-smoking 14 year old daughter. 

TAMI MONSOD plays the role of Ivy Weston, the middle daughter. A quiet librarian, and stereotypically mousy. Ivy has stayed close to home, unlike the other errant Weston sisters. This means Ivy has had to endure the acid tongue of her mother. She has been maintaining a secret love affair with her first cousin. 

LIESL BATUCAN plays the role of Karen Weston, the youngest daughter. She claims to have been unhappy her entire adult life, prompting her to move away from the family and reside in Florida. However, she returns to the Weston home bringing along a fiancé in tow – a successful 50 year old business man who, unbeknownst to Karen, turns out to by the most loathsome character within the play. 

LEO RIALP plays the role of Beverly Weston, husband of Violet and father to his three 40-something daughters. He was a one-time world class poet and full-time alcoholic. He’s polite, soulful, melancholy, and ultimately suicidal. 

KENNETH MORALEDA plays the role of Bill Fordham, Barbara's estranged husband and Jean's father, age 49. A college professor, he has left his wife for a younger woman named Cindy, one of his students, but wants to be there for his family. His marriage is disintegrating and his patience is slowly running thin.

SHEILA FRANCISCO plays the role of Mattie Fae Aiken, Violet's sister, Charlie's wife and Little Charles' mother. Just as jaded as her sister, Mattie Fae constantly belittles her son and antagonizes her husband. Eventually she reveals the major plot point that Beverly, not Charlie, is the real father of Little Charles. Sheila is also the understudy for Violet Weston. 

THEA GLORIA plays the role of Jean Fordham, Bill and Barbara's smart-tongued 14-year-old daughter. She smokes pot and cigarettes, is a vegetarian, loves old movies, and is bitter about her parents' split. More naive than she would like to believe. 

RICHARD CUNANAN plays the role of Charlie Aiken, husband of Mattie Fae and the presumed father of Little Charles. Charlie, a genial man, was a lifelong friend of Beverly. He struggles to get Mattie Fae to respect Little Charles.

HANS ECKSTEIN plays the role of Steve Heidebrecht, Karen's fiancé. A businessman in Florida, (whose business, it is hinted, centers around the Middle East and may be less than legitimate) and not the "perfect man" that Karen considers him. He eventually sexually molests Jean after the two smoke pot together.

NOEL RAYOS plays the role of "Little" Charles Aiken, son of Mattie Fae and Beverly, 37 years old—but, like everyone else, he believes Charlie is his father. Unemployed and clumsy, his mother calls him a "screw-up", which may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. He is secretly having an affair with Ivy, who is revealed to actually be his half-sister.

ANGELI BAYANI plays the role of Johnna Monevata, a Cheyenne Indian woman, whom Beverly hires as a live-in housekeeper shortly before he disappears. Violet is prejudiced against her, but she wins over the other family members with her cooking skills, hard work, and empathy. Johnna is the silent witness to much of the mayhem in the house. 

NATHS EVERETT will understudy the role of Johnna Monevata. 

ARNEL CARRION plays the role of Sheriff Deon Gilbeau, a high-school classmate and former boyfriend of Barbara's, who brings the news of Beverly's suicide to the family.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is presented by special arrangement with 

Abrams Artists Agency.

Puregold Fairview Terraces Opens

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Puregold Fairview Terraces is now officially open!

Puregold is known throughout the country for its reasonable prices and a wide assortment of items. Puregold boasts the fact that it strives to continually give special offers and discounts to its customers.

The opening and blessing of the Puregold Fairview Terraces was launched last January 28, with Puregold and Ayala Land executives, together with QC Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and QC congressman (5th district) Alfred Vargas, and Pricilla Meirelles - Estrada.

Puregold Price Club Inc. opens the newest branch and 1st ever high-end Puregold store in Fairview Terraces in Quezon City. Puregold Fairview Terraces is also the 3rd store that opened in partnership with Ayala Land Inc. The 1st was in Pavillon Mall in Biñan, Laguna and the 2nd was in Harbor Point in Subic Freeport.

Puregold Price Club Inc. consistently continues its unwavering commitment to uphold consumer and retail excellence in the service of the Filipino people as it opens its lifestyle store in Novaliches, Quezon City. The store offers a new shopping experience with its state- of- the -art interior. A selection of the finest products for customers satisfaction.

For over a decade, Puregold has successfully established a well-trusted and respected reputation in the Philippines as a provider of the best hypermarket shopping experience for every hard-working Filipino consumer. Puregold is a leader in the hypermarket in terms of its unmatched customer service and its advocacy to provide Filipinos with their complete shopping needs and best value for their hard-earned money.

"Puregold is very customer oriented. It is in our heart to provide the best hypermarket shopping experience to our loyal customers. We are very pleased to offer a one-stop shopping experience," says Tonio delos Santos, VP for Operations of Puregold Price Club. Inc.

One of the consumer-based programs that is very unique and exclusive to Puregold is the Tindahan ni Aling Puring (TNAP). TNAP is a program that is part of Puregold's mission to provide not only quality products and topnotch services, but also profitable business opportunities for every Filipino family.

TNAP is designed specifically for small and medium scale entrepreneurs, which include sari-sari store owners, carinderia/canteen owners, caterers, and other kinds of resellers. The central objective of TNAP is to assist and support every Filipino family in augmenting their income and Puregold is very happy and eager to make this program available for every Filipino.

Every Filipino can be a member of TNAP for free and enjoy perks such as the instant Ka-Asenso Welcome Kit; the chance to get free Aling Puring Super Suki SIM for an additional mobile phone loading business; a points-rebate redemption program for members to enjoy (as high as 4% on purchases); free delivery; call/order pick-up service; exclusive promo deals such as Kitang-Kita Packs and Kitang-Kita Case, Gold Deals and special invites to events such as Negosyo Sessions and the annual TNAP Sari-Sari Store Convention; a bi-annual "Asenso Booklet" that contains TNAP and testimonials; and a whole lot more.

Customers are always guaranteed to get the best deals and as a bonus thay also stand to win in exciting promos.

For its grand opening in Fairview Terraces, Puregold will launch a Buy 1 Take 1 promo on selected items .Moreover, by adhering to its credo Sa Puregold Always Panalo, Puregold customers can buy premium offers in the " 15th Annibersaya Promo" every week.

Here are some photos during the opening of Puregold Fairview Terraces.

Two of today’s youngest breakout stars features in Metro and Chalk during this month of hearts

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Everything you need to know about the new season, ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc. sets the stage for two of today’s youngest breakout stars during this month of hearts, as fashion lifestyle authority Metro magazine’s biggest trends issue features Julia Barretto and Chalk’s Valentines special features Liza Soberano. 

Metro features Julia Barretto this February 2014

In Metro this month, teen royalty Julia, who is set to star in her first primetime series, “Mira/Bella,” is put under a different sort of spotlight—revealing how she goes beyond her name and comes into her own in a shoot and story that details the fierce and stylish young celebrity she is with hints at who she is bound to become.

Metro also features the biggest trends for Spring/Summer 2014 in its February issue, recognizing the dawn of a new season--with new collections, new trends, and a new attitude to go along with it all. 

Chalk features Liza Soberano this February 2014

The February issue of Chalk shows the newest cover girl Liza all dolled up in her date-ready ensembles. She walks the magazine’s readers through her bright start in show business. Get smitten by Liza’s undeniably au naturel sweetness and charm in an exclusive story that shows why what awaits her is something that everyone should watch out for.

Chalk’s February issue also goes into ways to get that perfect “love glow,” with tips on how to put everything together in the best way to create an affair to remember. Get the lowdown on date-worthy ensembles—plus dating tips and fool-proof recipes perfect for two.

Grab a copy of ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.’s titles Metro and Chalk this February at newsstands and bookstores nationwide. 

Metro is available on the iTunes App Store and Android Play Store. 

For updates, follow @MetroMagPH on Twitter and Instagram

and like Metro on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Metro.Magazine).

Chalk is also available on the iTunes App Store.

For updates, follow @chalkmagazine on Twitter and Instagram

and like Chalk on Facebook (www.facebook.com/chalkmagazine).