World-class Filipino entertainers welcome international delegates at PHITEX 2016

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Some of the Philippines’ multi-awarded entertainers wowed international delegates and guests at the recently concluded Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) 2016 dinner reception held at the Marriott Grand Ballroom. PHITEX is the country’s biggest and longest-running annual travel trade event presented by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB). The event treated more than 200 tourism buyers from across 35 countries to a series of incredible performances showcasing Filipino musical talent and prowess.

Headlining the impressive roster was the Junior New System, one of Asia’s Got Talent season 1 grand finalists and recently hailed as Senior Grand Performer of the World. Other performers were the Show Violinist Juleous who garnered 6 gold medals at this year’s World Championship of the Performing Arts, and the multi-awarded soloist Candice Adea together with her highly-acclaimed ballet dancer and choreographer sister, Carissa. 

The vocal performances were also astounding. Baihana, a multi-awarded all-female jazz trio composed of Anna Graham, Krina Cayabyab and Mel Torre, sang with unique and refreshing harmony, while Raniella Guevarra, a young Filipina singer on the rise, rendered a heartfelt serenade.

The night would not be complete without a cultural show. A colorful display of lights was presented by the Buganda Dancers and Drumbeaters, a 36-year old festival dance company. Whiplash Dance Company, the country’s top contemporary dance group also dominated the stage with their energy. Finally, Sindaw Philippines Performing Arts Guild, the country’s best promoter of Philippine Arts and Culture, performed some of the country’s cultural folk dances.

Now on its 15th year, PHITEX 2016 continues to serve as the best venue to promote the Philippines to the international market. With the impressive array of performances, PHITEX was able to highlight the Philippines not only as a top tourist destination for sports, adventure, lifestyle, business and leisure but also as a premier destination for world-class entertainment.

Multiply to Fly! Double, triple GetGo points this September

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Have you ever imagined the possibility of receiving more free flights just by going through your basic everyday routine? This September, turn your daily shopping spend and bank transactions into free flights, faster, as GetGo, the most exciting rewards program by Cebu Pacific, introduces “Multiply to Fly”. 

The promo enables members to double or triple their rewards points to earn more GetGo points.

To turn shopping sprees to rewarding get-aways, GetGo with its partners, Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Selections, and Robinsons Easymart to allow members to earn three times more points by just flashing their GetGo membership cards upon payment. And for even more rewards points, members can continuously avail of the promo via multiple transactions with any of the participating Robinsons stores nationwide.

Members can also convert their Credit Card Rewards points from Citibank, UnionBank, AUB, BDO, BPI, Metrobank Robinsons-Cebu Pacific MasterCard, RCBC Bankard, and Security Bank Cards—a one-time offer that lets members earn twice as many GetGo points for free flights. Furthermore, the transaction also applies to all GetGo bank partners to receive even more points.

So, hurry! Swipe your way through your next retail purchases—use your GetGo card, multiply your points, and fly to more destinations faster. Don’t miss out on this exciting offer, visit www.GetGo.com.ph to learn more about the multiplier promo. 

Promo period is from September 7 to 30, 2016 only Per DTI-FTEB SPD Permit No. 13745, Series of 2016. 

Not yet a GetGo member? Visit www.GetGo.com.ph or call +632 71-GETGO (43846) to discover how you can avail of a GetGo membership card, learn about the loyalty program, its partners, promos, and how to start redeeming rewards points. The latest updates are also on GetGoPH's official pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Beyond the Vial: A Social Value Business Model For Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengue Vaccine

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Dengue is a serious and complex disease. Dengue is an infection caused by a virus. You can get it if an infected mosquito bites you. The mosquitos that transmit dengue indiscriminately pass the disease amongst people of all ages and socio-economic levels. Aedes aegypti has been identified as the main dengue-carrying culprit, biting between 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Another one is Aedes albopictus, has been discovered to have peak biting hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. In tandem, these mosquito strains now make dengue a round-the-clock concern.

Dengue is a major public health priority. Dengue vaccination is a critical addition to the integrated disease prevention efforts needed to more effectively manage dengue burden. The tide of dengue could be better controlled through enhanced international collaborations in public health, and an innovative social business model with a vaccine at its core.

What's the best line of defense against dengue? About half of the world’s population lives in areas where dengue is endemic, and millions suffer its seemingly bone-breaking pain and severe fevers, each year. 

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi,  is the largest company entirely dedicated to vaccines. Sanofi discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs.

Dr Su-Peing Ng, Global Medical Head Sanofi Pasteur and Professor Tikki Pang from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (2012 ) and at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland as Director of its Research Policy & Cooperation department (1999-2012)

A media round table talks las September 20, 2016 held at The New World Hotel with with Dr Su-Peing Ng, Global Medical Head Sanofi Pasteur as she talks about Combatting Dengue with World's First Vaccine: From Innovation to Implementation and Professor Tikki Pang explains health Impact and value of dengue vaccination.

It was twenty years ago when the global healthcare leader, Sanofi Pasteur identified the potential scale of the dengue problem at its early stages, and began to put in place a set of innovative scientific and industrial solutions. In 2015, the dengue vaccine received its first market approvals. 

In July 2016, after more than two years of review processes and inputs from clinical trial data and from top global dengue and infectious diseases experts, the World Health Organization issued its recommendation that countries where the dengue burden is high should consider vaccine introduction as part of integrated dengue prevention and control measures.As of September 14th 2016, the vaccine was licensed in 9 endemic countries in Asia and Latin America and public immunization programs are underway in Brazil and the Philippines, while the vaccine is also available on the private markets in those countries as well as in Mexico and El Salvador. 

The story behind the vaccine is one of hard-earned research and development – but you’ve heard that story before. This story goes beyond the vial, as well: It’s about a new, social value business model that Sanofi Pasteur has built in collaboration with dengue-endemic countries and global health institutions. In time, it can help control dengue. But as importantly, it can help to support better healthcare outcomes in emerging markets by accelerating access to needed innovations. 

When Sanofi Pasteur first identified a viable dengue vaccine candidate, we saw the opportunity todevelop a health solution specifically for the countries where the dengue burden is highest. We wanted to make sure that people who lived in grip of dengue’s threat were the people for whom the vaccine is designed and delivered primarily. It sounds simple enough but in traditional pharmaceutical business models, this is often not the case. More often than not, travelers and other select groups of individuals from high-income countries have access to new preventive tools against tropical diseases first, at a premium, before these solutions are made available, often as many as 10 years later, in less rich economies, even if this is where the disease burden is heaviest. 

Our faith in this“flipping the model” approach was inspired by the scale of the dengue problem. Vaccines are widely considered among the most effective healthcare interventions against infectious diseases. They often confer protection against a disease that extends beyond the vaccinated to also the unvaccinated population. Given dengue’s massive spread, a vaccine could help national authorities in dengue-endemic countries achieve WHO 2020 objectives for dengue reductions in mortality (50%) and morbidity (25%) if it is implemented in large-scale public health programs1. 

We anticipated this, and began building robust public health collaborations and industrial resources essential to success. The global clinical development program of the vaccine included 40,000 participants in 15 countries across Asia and Latin America.  We invested in extensive skills training for healthcare personnel, upgraded healthcare facilities and increased prevention and education efforts. We captured new scientific insights into dengue epidemiology and transmission which is shared with host governments. In parallel, Sanofi Pasteur built a dedicated dengue-vaccine production facility that will allow large and cost-effective supply to support optimal uptake of the vaccine as needed around the world. 

Successful implementation of dengue vaccination programs can help governments in dengue-endemic countries to take control over the disease. Mathematical modeling of the vaccine’s impact indicate that if countries take up broad public vaccination programs in highly dengue-endemic countries like those that participated in the Phase III development of the vaccine, vaccination can help cut the burden of disease in half over five years. Healthcare systems’ loads can be lightened and they can attract further outside public health investment with demonstrated program results. Successful vaccination programs therefore have the potential to be catalysts for social and economic progress. Today, states like Paraná in Brazil are taking up the lead in this effort. Public program introduction of the dengue vaccine in Mexico has been recommended by CONAVA, that country’s National Vaccination Council. Countries like these that have participated in the clinical development of the vaccine can see the value in the entire process as well as in the potential future results. 

At Sanofi Pasteur, we welcome enhanced support and investment in the robust public-private collaborations that ensure broad reach for innovative health solutions like the dengue vaccine. Working together to establish balanced trust and long-term commitment to new ways of bringing innovation to people is critical to unlocking innovative business models’ fullest potential for improving public health worldwide.

Dengvaxia is the first vaccine licensed for the prevention of dengue in the world. The vaccine is produced in a dedicated production site in France with planned full-scale production capacity of 100 million vaccine doses annually. 

Additional information about Sanofi Pasteur’s dengue vaccine is available on the web at www.dengue.info. 

TP presents “Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw” by William Shakespeare

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TANGHALANG PILIPINO (TP) presents  William Shakespeare's “Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw” traslated by Rolando Tinio and will be on September 30 to October 16, 2016

William Shakespeare’s PANGARAP SA ISANG GABI NG GITNANG TAG-ARAW (Midsummer Night’s Dream) in a Reimagined, Provocative Staging 

Carlos Siguion-Reyna, director of TP production “Walang Sugat” and known for his films “Azucena,” “Kahapong May Dalawang Bata,” and “Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya,” brings his thought-provoking creative interpretation of Shakespeare’s Pangarap Sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw (Midsummer Night’s Dream) translated by national artist Rolando Tinio for a limited three-weekend run from September 30 to October 16, 2016.

Presented by Tanghalang Pilipino, the company behind “Mabining Mandirigma,” “Zsazsa Zaturnah,” and “Himala The Musical,” the production’s strong cast will be led by Audie Gemora, Liesl Batucan, Teroy Guzman, Skyzx Labastilla, Richard Cunanan, Kristofer Kliatchko, Rafa Siguion-Reyna and Jackie Lou Blanco, with the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors’ Company.

We experience a juxtaposition of two worlds—Athens, the home of the powers-that-be, all rigid and structured vis-à-vis the home of the enchanting creatures, the forest, a place where unbridled passions run free. The double entendre of Shakespeare's comedies lends itself to bouts of mild sexual humor. “The rich text from both Shakespeare and Tinio has allowed us to use a mishmash of English and Tagalog – using these two languages to reflect the conflict between order that has gone fascist and the idea of passion gone chaotic,” says Siguion-Reyna. There is a study of contrasts: ‘fakery vs. authenticity,’ ‘reason and sanity vs. emotional lunacy,’ and ‘ego vs. evil’ among the revolving theme of the play. Siguion-Reyna shares, “We’re going with that kind of schizophrenia and it’s coming out organically.”

THEME and MOOD

“Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw is not a whimsical story for me. It’s not about harmless fairies having fun, nor a Victorian-setting / Peter Pan type of story. There are lots of dark elements in this play. We went for thematic manifestations and the suggestion of fascism and passion instead of constricting the play to a certain period. In fact, I even thought about setting it in a mental hospital, a 19th century Spanish precolonial period, traditional Philippine mythology, or a totalitarian state – but that was reducing the play. ,” shares Siguion-Reyna.

SETTING

Siguion-Reyna continues, “We are keeping the woods – its sense of wonder and magic in the woods’ acts.” The foggy woods bring that certain kind of lunacy distinctly found in Midsummer’s Night’s Dream and its otherworldness. “This allows the audience to analyze the play – which is abstract enough and open to interpretation. They can read the circumstance that’s relevant to themselves – politically or from another point of history.” See what the woods are in your life; what the court is in your own life. With costumes not period specific, this play crosses time and culture. It’s a think piece that allows your imagination to run wild. “It’s very liberating.”

CHARACTERS

Theseus is the force of order in the first place, bringing that cold, sterile feeling. Puck and Oberon will do anything to enforce certain magic. Free-spirited Puck is an assemblance of the courtlife. In the woods, the characters are unpredictable in what they will do.

CAST 

“I went into rehearsals as if the two great playwrights, Shakespeare and Tinio, were in the room with me. I had so much fun exploring this play with the cast and I’m enjoying the fact that I can’t fully grasp the entirety of the play. We’re finding it out together. Here, we are exploring the roles of men and women, and sexual and gender politics, among others. I’m working with a great cast,” Siguion-Reyna fondly shares.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Between the horror and the comedy, the mix results in to a provocative staging where you can find yourself in your very own “woods,” a place filled with uncertainty, magic and wonder - anything can happen there; and when you come out of the woods, how does it change you?

Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw opens on September 30, 2016, 630pm at the Tanghalang “Watch Pangarap and experience virtual love, rejection, and emotional transformation,” invites TP artistic director Nanding Josef. 

Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream from Rolando Tinio’s Filipino translation, follows one of Shakespeare’s most controversial works. 

Notable members of the Artistic Staff are: Rody Vera (Dramaturg), Toym Imao (Set Designer), John Batalla (Lights Designer), TJ Ramos (Sound Designer), and James Reyes (Costume Designer). 

Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw runs at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on these dates and times: 

September 30, 2016 (Friday) – 8PM  

October 1, 2016 (Saturday) – 3PM & 8PM 

October 2, 2016 (Sunday) – 3PM 

October 7, 2016 (Friday) – 8PM 

October 8, 2016 (Saturday) – 3PM & 8PM 

October 9, 2016 (Sunday) – 3PM 

October 14, 2016 (Friday) – 8PM 

October 15, 2016 (Saturday) – 3PM & 8PM 

October 16, 2016 (Sunday) – 3PM 

For more information, contact Tanghalang Pilipino Foundation, Inc. at (02) 832-1125 loc. 1620/1621| Direct line: (02) 822 6920 |Lorelei Celestino: (02) 915 607 2275 

Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, the newest brand ambassadors of Platinum’s Alpha Mic Karaoke

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Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards

Platinum Karaoke goes to the Next Level! 

Speaking of going to the next level, no one comes close to being most deserving of being introduced as the newest brand ambassadors of Platinum’s Alpha Mic Karaoke than the hottest and most sought after tandem in the country – Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, better known as “ALDUB.” 

Like the Platinum’s Alpha Mic Karaoke, both embody an element of wholesome fun and entertainment with a vibe that’s fresh and pulsating.

Makers of high quality and high definition karaoke machines and accessories perfect for every home, Platinum Karaoke, has soared to the NEXT LEVEL with the launch of its new and exciting product – the Platinum Alpha Mic Karaoke, a major game changer in the karaoke industry.

Platinum Alpha is a portable karaoke that boasts of unique features, which will definitely bring one’s karaoke experience to a whole new level. It comes with full HD capabilities that promise superb video and high fidelity sound output quality.

Being a 24Gb multimedia console, you can store and watch your favorite movies and listen to your well-loved collection of songs.

It is developed as a Smart Karaoke that features browsing and surfing the net, and sharing your phone’s display on the big screen, which makes the Alpha Mic Karaoke an all-in-one entertainment package. What’s more, it’s portable and convenient to set up so you can enjoy your karaoke bonding moments may it be outdoors, in picnics, at the beach or even road trips!

It is also the first ever karaoke unit that can be bank-powered or via USB port. And with over 17,000 collection of OPM and English songs, and 100 new song updates monthly, what more can you ask for?

“Platinum Karaoke knows that Alden and Maine embody the same personality and vibe of the new Alpha Mic,” quipped Ruth Ana Bautista, Platinum's assistant marketing manager.

“Aside from that, both of them are also known to strengthen bonding relationships, having strong ties with their respective families, and attesting that karaoke is a big part of their momentous family bondings.”

And just like the Platinum Alpha Mic Karaoke, ALDUB is a truly a game changer. They are the phenomenal love team that rocked afternoon television’s audience – nothing like anyone has ever seen and experienced before. Their tandem is organic, fresh, believable and full of life.

This is what continuously endears them to their fans.

After the anniversary of their famous characters and the launch of their first movie together, Alden and Maine are set to reach a whole new level in their careers – next level as they would say. They are still set to go to new heights and who knows, to a new level in their "love team" relationship.

Platinum Karaoke, is definitely ready for the next level as together with Alden and Maine , it brings music to life and life to music!

And with thousands of songs more than what its competitors provide in the market, top brass sound quality and convenience, and with their array of innovative and revolutionary products made available locally and globally, there is definitely no other choice for these two amazing and inspiring performers.

Platinum Karaoke is available in all leading music stores nationwide.

For more information or online orders, please visit www.platinumkaraoke.ph, like The PlatinumKaraoke in Facebook and follow Twitter and Instagram accounts @platinumkaraoke.