Kids Acts Philippines presents “ALADDIN” on August 14 - 16

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As a season offering to all schools, parents and children, Kids ActsPhilippines proudly presents “ ALADDIN ” with script and lyrics by LUIGI NACARIO and music by EUGENE BELBIS.

The story of Aladdin is adapted from the popular version of “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp” by Antoine Galland.

Aladdin is a story of a poor boy and his mother. One day, an African Magician disguised as his uncle asked the boy to work for him. He then brought the boy to a cave full of gold and told him to get an old lamp. Before he entered the cave, the African Magician gave him a magic ring. In the cave, Aladdin found the old lamp, but was trapped inside. He accidentally rubs the ring and a genie comes out and granted him his wish to get out of the cave. He was able to get home and handed the old lamp to his mother for her to clean it. As she was cleaning it, another genie comes out from the lamp and granted him all he wished for.

Later, he fell in love with the beautiful daughter of the Sultan, marries her and gave her an enormous palace. One day, the African Magician learned about Aladdin’s success and went to the palace and tricked his wife into trading an old lamp for a new one. The African Magician used the lamp to get Aladdin’s palace, wife and all his riches transferred to a lonely place in Africa. Aladdin, on the other hand, was despaired but tried to get back everything through the use of the magic ring.

Will he be able to get his Princess and the magic lamp back? Will he be able to defeat the evil magician?

Discover Aladdin’s Adventure as Kids Acts Philippines presents Aladdin and The Magic Lamp!

The cast of “ ALADDIN ” features Noel Rayos, Derrick Gozos, Gian Gloria, Kendrick Ibasco, Al Fritz Blanche, Terence Guillermo, Nazer Salcedo, Ramil Pauig, Arion Sanchez, Michael Fernandez, Ces Dela Cruz, Cristina Peredo, Agnes Sarreal, Zscharmaine Barretto, Meyanne Plamenio, Arielle Magno, Ria Albaladejo, Faye Velicaria, Charlotte Gonzales, Mary Joy Solomon, Justin Orolfo, Shanelle Comia, Atascha Mercado, Hya Leonado, Angel Yu

The artistic team of ALADDIN is composed of Jonathan Rabanzo & Luigi Nacario (Choreography); Eugene Belbis (Orchestration); Christian Bautista (Lighting Design); Emma Doverte (Stage Management); Manuel Edralin (Set Design); Luigi Nacario (Costume Design) and Ed Aguilar Nicart III (Photography).

For further inquiries, please call 7501551 / 09154478959

Or visit Facebook page – www.facebook.com/kidsactsphilippines

Follow Tweeter – www.twitter.com/KidsActs and

Instagram: @kidsactsphilippines

MeralcO Virtual Engine (MoVE) app for better and effective bill management

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Do you measure the exact cost of the electricity being consumed by your appliances, television, DVD players, air-conditioner, washing machines, and other appliances? Appliances consume electricity, even on standby mode.

Knowing that people are more conscious of their electricity usage nowadays, Meralco developed this app to make managing consumers’ electricity spending better.

Meralco has launched its MeralcO Virtual Engine (MoVE), an iOS and Android-friendly app that allows consumers to have more power over their monthly electric bill.

One of the key features allows users to compute their power consumption based on their appliances’ cost per hour and length of use per day and week.

Last July 30, 2014, I was invited by Meralco for a bloggers night held at The Lighthouse, Lopez Building, Meralco Compound. Meralco introduces us the new MoVE app for better and effective bill management Meralco presented us how to use the MoVE.

The MoVE app also gives users electricity-saving tips, Meralco news updates, and more.

This is the full list of features:

1. Usage - tracks your electrical consumption in real time, by adding your appliances and switch them on and off in the app as you would use them at home.

2. Calculator - lets you forecast the electrical consumption when buying an appliance or simply know how much an appliance costs to operate.

3. Directory - easily find the Meralco branch or Bayad Center nearest you.

4. Information - notifications on power interruptions, scheduled maintenance or Meralco events.

5. Bright Ideas - helpful tips for your home on how to conserve electricity

6. E-Bill - delivers your Meralco bill online for convenience

To help promote the launch of the MoVE app, Meralco introduced horoscope videos starring comedienne Giselle Sanchez.

She plays Madame Giselle, a fortune teller who identifies the electricity-wasting bad habits of each Zodiac sign and gives advice on how the MoVE app can help them. Watch the videos on Meralco’s YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8TQSxlEpdQ&list=UUykLu5F8RyxSchZ37KeH2Mw&index=5

Get to know the helpful features in the new and improved MoVE app.

Monitor the power consumption of multiple appliances in real time with the USAGE function. Download MoVE now and register your account for the full MoVE experience! 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.meralco.phone.move&hl=en

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ph/app/meralco-virtual-engine-move/id546535540?mt=8

The MoVE app is available for free, on both the App Store and Google Play. For details, visit meralco.com.ph.

Cinemalaya 2014: “Hari ng Tondo” by Carlos Siguion-Reyna

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Award-winning filmaker Director Carlos Siguion-Reyna and screenwriter Director Bibeth Orteza presents “Hari ng Tondo” as one of the official entry to the Director’s Showcase category of Cinemalaya Film Festival 2014 showing on August 2 to 10 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Greenbelt 3, Trinoma and Alabang Town Center.

Hari ng Tondo is the welcome back movie of Director Carlos Siguion-Reyna after a 14-year break from feature-length filmaking. He's very grateful to have returned in film making and in this project  with a great company of production administrators, energetic and professional creative staff and talented cast  an exciting mix of people from different worlds - from film television and theater. Cinemalaya has been a learning experience, as it was his first time to shoot a film in 12 days.

Director Bibeth said that Hari ng Tondo is not an action movie, as people said when hearing "Tondo" movies. This is a drama, family oriented film and will feature what is Tondo now, not what people used to know, no longer what it used to be. 

Hari ng Tondo, performed by Robert Arevalo, Liza Lorena, Rez Cortez, Aiza Seguerra, Cris Villonco, Ciara Sotto, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, Lui Manansala, Gian Magdangal, Lorenz Martinez, Menggie Cobarrubias, Carlos Canlas, Mark Tayag, Raul Montesa, Jelson Bay, Hans Eckstein, Gino Ramirez, with the special participation of Eric Quizon, Ali Sotto, and Audie Gemora.

“Hari ng Tondo” is the story of Ricardo Villana, a self-made man on the verge of bankrupctcy. Ricardo, a grandfather played by Robert Arevalo, finds out he lost his fortune the day his granddaughter (Cris Villonco) told him her wedding is not pushing through and his grandson (Rafa Siguion-Reyna) disclosed he is not graduating from college again.

A grandfather on the brink of bankruptcy, brings his grandchildren back to the community that made and shaped him, only to find out the place is no longer the same. Thinking that his grandchildren’s’ lack of direction in life is due to their sheltered upbringing, he decided to bring them to Tondo, his birthplace, as he called it "Alapaap."  A grandfather hoping the place would shape them and give them time to reflect on their own problems.

According to Director Carlos, there is much he emphatized with all the characters in the world of this film: Ricardo's singlemindedness, the grandchildren's initial skepticism, the rich parents' indiferrence to the world outside of their own, and the Tondo dwellers' pragmatic mockery of messiahs. This contradictory attitudes refrect current polar attitudes among different classes, particularly between sel-styled saviors and the dispossessed.

A presentation by Renafilms, Inc. and Central Digital Labs, Inc. Produced and written by Bibeth Orteza. Directed by Carlos Siguion-Reyna.

Sound Design by Albert Michael Idioma. 

Original Music Score by Myke Salomon. 

Art Direction by Rolly Carino. 

Edited by Manet Dayrit. 

Cinematography by Jay Abello.

Line Produced by Tess Fuentes, Ruth Racela. 

Executive Producers are Francisco Tiu-Laurel, Jr. and Carlos Siguion-Reyna. 

The much-awaited CineMalaya festival, a showcase of intelligent and sensible movies by Filipino filmmakers, will be on Aug 2-10 in CCP Theaters and Ayala Cinemas in Metro Manila.

Cinemalaya Film Festival features more than fifty films showing covering everything from documentaries, short films to full length narratives. This year's festival, Cinemalaya X highlights fifteen films in competition.

The films in competition are divided into two categories: 

Director’s Showcase (5 entries) and the New Breed category (10 entries).

Cinemalaya 2014 Official Screening Schedule for HARI NG TONDO:

2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees Announced

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The Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) today announced that this year five individuals and one organization from Afghanistan, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines will receive Asia’s premier prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

The Magsaysay awardees of 2014 are truly beacons of progress in Asia, as they boldly building hopeful lives in daunty times. We have much to learn from them, and much to celebrate about their greatness of spirit.

Here are the 2014 Awardees:

Hu Shuli, from China. She is being recognized for “her unrelenting commitment to truthful, relevant, and unassailable journalism, her fearless promotion of transparency and accountability in business and public governance, and her leadership in blazing the way for more professional and independent-minded media practices in China.”

Saur Marlina Manurung, from Indonesia. She is being recognized for “her ennobling passion to protect and improve the lives of Indonesia’s forest people, and her energizing leadership of volunteers in SOKOLA’s customized education program that is sensitive to the lifeways of indigenous communities and the unique development challenges they face.”

Omara Khan Masoudi, from Afghanistan. He is being recognized for “his courage, labor, and leadership in protecting Afghan cultural heritage, rebuilding an institution vital for Afghanistan’s future, and reminding his countrymen and peoples everywhere that in recognizing humanity’s shared patrimony, we can be inspired to stand together in peace.”

The Citizens Foundation, from Pakistan. The organization is being recognized for “the social vision and high-level professionalism of its founders and those who run its schools, in successfully pursuing their conviction that, with sustained civic responsiveness, quality education made available to all—irrespective of religion, gender, or economic status—is the key to Pakistan’s brighter future.”

Wang Canfa, from China. He is being recognized for “his discerning and forceful leadership—through scholarly work, disciplined advocacy, and pro bono public interest litigation—in ensuring that the enlightened and competent practice of environmental law in China effectively protects the rights and lives of victims of environmental abuse, especially the poor and the powerless.”

Randy Halasan, for Emergent Leadership, from the Philippines. He is being recognized for “his purposeful dedication in nurturing his Matigsalug students and their community to transform their lives through quality education and sustainable livelihoods, doing so in ways that respect their uniqueness and preserve their integrity as indigenous peoples in a modernizing Philippines.”

Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honor and is widely regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine president after whom the award is named, and is given every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same selfless service that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.

RMAF President Carmencita Abella says “the Magsaysay awardees of 2014 are truly beacons of progress in Asia. All of them are creating bold solutions to deeply-rooted social problems in their respective societies, problems which are most damaging to the lives of those trapped in poverty, ignorance, and unjust systems. Their inspiring and path-breaking leadership addresses very diverse areas -- education for the poor and marginalized, environmental justice for pollution victims, increased transparency and accountability in corporate and public governance, and the restoration of cultural pride – and yet it is clear that each of this year’s Magsaysay awardees is building more hopeful lives among their people -- one smart, responsible, and persistent step at a time."

“While their solutions are distinctively their own, there is one thing this year’s Magsaysay laureates all share: a greatness of spirit that infuses their leadership for change. They are all unafraid to take on large causes; they all refuse to give up, despite meager resources, daunting adversity and strong opposition. They are all deeply anchored in hope. We have much to learn from them, and much to celebrate about their greatness of spirit.”

The six 2014 Magsaysay awardees join the community of 301 other Magsaysay laureates who have received Asia’s highest honor to date. This year’s Magsaysay Award winners will each receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late President, and a cash prize.

They will be formally conferred the Magsaysay Award during formal Presentation Ceremonies to be held on Sunday, 31 August 2014 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, to which the public is cordially invited.                                                       

Pope Francis will visit the Philippines on Jan. 15 to 19

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Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle announces that Pope Francis will visit the Philippines on January 15 to 19, 2015.

Pope Francis

During a media briefing in Manila on Tuesday held in Intramuros, Manila,  Tagle said the Catholic hierarchy was encouraging the Filipino faithful to prepare for the Holy Father's visit by starting to pratice acts of "mercy and compassion." 

"We have received a letter from the Vatican City and the following message is being announced: 'Accepting the invitation of the civil authority and the bishops, his Holiness Pope Francis will make an Apostolic visit to Sri Lanka from January 12 to 15 and to the Philippines from January 15 to 19, 2015',” Tagle said.

According to the CBCP news, Pope Fancis' visit carries a message of pastoral love, mercy and compassion from a Pope with the scent of a Good Shepherd (cf. John 10). Even though, this will be the fourth papal visit to our nation, for Pope Francis he will be the third Pope to visit our country. As the Successor to the Chair of Peter, the Holy Father is coming to strengthen his brothers and sisters (cf. Luke 22:32).

 Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, with Papal nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto announces Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines set on January 15 to 19, 2015 during a media briefing in Intramuros Manila last Tuesday.

“The program of the visit will be made public by the Holy See later in the year. Thanks be to God.” 

According to Tagle, the Pope's visit would coincide with with the 20th anniversary of the World Youth Day celebration held in the Philippines in 1995. The late Pope John Paul II, who was declared a saint this year by Pope Francis, led the event two decades ago in Manila.

The central theme of the Papal visit was “mercy and compassion." 

“That has been the recurring theme not only of the teaching, of the homilies, but also of the actions of His Holy Father, so the bishops thought of using this as the theme,” Tagle said.

While no specific events have been finalized, Tagle said Pope would visit areas affected by super typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas as well as some places in Manila.

Asked what Filipinos can do to prepare for the visit, Tagle said, “We could prepare best by undergoing spiritual renewal, tasting the mercy of God, returning to God through the sacrament of reconciliation.”

He also urged Filipinos to engage in “specific actions of mercy,” as he reminded Catholics of the unique style of Pope Francis, which was already obvious on the first day of his papacy.

“He wants to journey with the people where they are,” he said.

Tagle noted that when Pope Francis blessed the mosaic of St. Pedro Calungsod at St. Peter’s Basilica back in November, he took time to include Filipinos in his prayers.

He said the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines encouraged the Filipino people to start observing acts of “mercy and compassion” as early as now in preparation for the Pope's visit.

“Spiritual preparation is the most important through spritual renewal, returning to the word of God, frequenting the eucharist, adoration, returning to God through the sacrament of reconciliation and confession, these are some of the ways by which we can prepare spiritually.” 

“Another way is for us to engage in specific actions of mercy. Sanayin natin ang ating sarili sa pagiging tao ng habag at pakikiramay...feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, giving counsel to the suffering,” Tagle added.

Tagle said Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas as well as Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara will lead the Catholic Church's preparations for the Pope's visit.

President Benigno Aquino III has already designated Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. as the government's lead point person in the preparations for the visit.

“The government joins the Filipino people in welcoming the Vatican's announcement that His Holiness Pope Francis will make an Apostolic visit to the Philippines. Filipinos will most certainly accord to Pope Francis the warmest hospitality and manifest the fervor of their faith as they welcome the first Pontiff from South America,” Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said during the press conference.

“President Aquino is calling on all concerned government offices and the citizenry to work closely with the Papal Visit committee in ensuring the success of the Apostolic visit of Pope Francis,” Coloma added.

The theme of Pope Francis' visit is " Mercy and Compassion."

 

#PapalVisitPH

CBCPNews @cbcpnews