Teens with mysterious eye powers fight evil in newest series from Animax

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A 12-episode anime series, Mekakucity Actors is produced by Shaft in collaboration with Aniplex of America and 1st PLACE. Based on Jin’s Kagerou Project, the series is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo.

After living in solitude for years, a NEET named Shintaro is led back into the outside world by a mysterious female character who infiltrates his computer and causes a breakdown. Desperate to fix his beloved computer, he heads to a department store and in one fateful moment he is thrown into a life of action and crime-fighting adventure.

A group of criminals break in and hold shoppers hostage. Among the crowd happens to be a group of teenagers who call themselves “Mekakushi Dan” (or the Blindfold Gang). Wielding powers using their eyes, they are able to stop the criminals from carrying out their evil plans and force Shintaro to join them.

Witness how this young man adjusts and flourishes in his new life this August in Animax. 

Mekakucity Actors premieres August 18 at 10pm, Mon – Tues, two episodes back to back, first and exclusively on Animax Asia.

Animax is seen on SKYCable Channel 46, Cignal Digital TV Channel 34 and Dream Channel 7.

About Animax Asia

Launched on 1 January 2004, Animax is Asia’s first channel brand specializing in Japanese animation – anime. Animax offers a wide variety of anime programs from across the most popular genres including action, romance, horror, supernatural, sci-fi, comedy and slice-of-life.

Animax is home to some of the biggest anime titles in the world that enjoy great following across the region. In addition, the channel created TV history in April 2009 by becoming the world’s first regional broadcaster to air an anime series at the same time as Japan and followed that with six other simulcast anime series. Currently reaching 40 million viewers in 46 million homes across 17 markets in Asia, Animax aims to offer anime programming for everyone.

Beyond television screens, Animax also actively engages its audiences at local events, including its signature Animax Carnival that has rolled out in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. See www.animax-asia.com for more.

DOH and Sanofi-Aventis kicks off 4 o'clock habit campaign tomorrow - "Linisin Ang Kapaligiran, Dengue Ay Maiwasan"

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Department of Heath with Sanofi-Aventis kicks off 4 o'clock habit campaign - "Linisin Ang Kapaligiran, Dengue Ay Maiwasan" to raise awareness against dengue. 

The launch of the campaign will be held August 18, 2015 at Esteban Abada Elementary School, Palomaria St., Brgy. Veterans Village, Q.C. 

Among the special guests are Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and Ms. Ching Santos, Sanofi Pasteur Country Manager. Another highlight of the event is the Dengue Educational Talk by Mr. Mark Anthony Capiral (Sanitation Inspector 1). Mark Capiral and Ruby Lucasan will be the event host. 

The pre-program starts at 7am with the following set of programs:

7:00        -    Registration of students

7:30        -   General Assembly for the Parade

8:00        -  Dengue School Parade

8:45        -  Arrival of Participants

Opening of Dengue Interactive Booths

Opening of Dengue On-line Terminals Intermission Number of Drum & Bugle Games on Stage.

There will also be a Dengue Dance Competition for the Grade School Level and High School Level.

Health : A holistic approach to diabetes treatment can save your future

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Be active, eat right and stay healthy! Eating right is important to staying at a healthy weight and keeping an energy balance the balance between the calories in what you eat and drink, and calories you burn when moving.

Physical activity, along with a healthy diet, helps prevent diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, and other serious medical conditions.

Living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can be tough, requiring consistency, discipline, and a clear plan for achieving the treatment goals that doctors advise patients to pursue. And while standard medication can help get your blood sugar down, this only works if accompanied with lifestyle shifts such as healthy nutrition and physical activity.

Dr. Bobby Mirasol

“It was never an easy disease to begin with, early intervention comes alongside a deeper understanding of the need for comprehensive solutions for T2DM patients, comprising lifestyle adjustments as well as pharmacological treatment,” says Dr. Bobby Mirasol, Former President of Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (PSEDM) & ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies (AFES).

Recent developments in the treatment of diabetes do however point toward a revolutionary new drug that reduces blood sugar while supporting weight loss and blood pressure reduction. It sounds simple enough on paper, but for the people who have to live through the struggle, the burden just got a whole lot lighter.

A shot at a sweeter life

Dapagliflozin is a novel treatment for type 2 diabetes that prevents the kidneys from absorbing sugar and releases excess glucose through the urine instead. Because of this mechanism, doctors may prescribe it on its own, or as a complementary drug that acts independently of insulin therapy.

In clinical trials, dapagliflozin performed at par with or slightly better than leading diabetes medications. According to the International Journal of Clinical Practice, the results strongly indicate a significant reduction of blood sugar throughout the spectrum of type 2 diabetes.

Available in the Philippines since 2014, dapagliflozin has been used to effectively treat more than 20,000 Filipinos with type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Rima Tan, President of Diabetes Philippines, believes that the drug’s far-reaching therapeutic value can give patients a fair shot at a better life.

Dr. Rima Tan

“Dapagliflozin has been lauded for a reducing blood sugar levels of patients with additional health benefits,” she says. “Patients routinely show weight loss and lower overall blood pressure, which is a great for patients struggling with the lifestyle adjustments necessary for managing type 2 diabetes.”

Patients are expected to maintain these benefits over time, and this allows patients to gradually ease into appropriate lifestyle changes. This generally promises a smoother therapeutic experience that’s both effective and ultimately empowering.

The low-down on diabesity

Interest in dapagliflozin has also been fuelled by the looming threat of diabesity, a comorbidity that is particularly common among Filipinos, and that amplifies the risk of developing complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, and blindness. 

Diabesity is a two-fold struggle that not only deals with type 2 diabetes, but also has a deep-seated relationship with obesity. The two are so closely intertwined that up to 85% of grossly overweight individuals end up developing type 2 diabetes in their lifetime, which in turn increases the chance of aggravating obesity depending on the type of medication taken.

Doctors however are hopeful that with the dapagliflozin, presently the only available SGLT2 treatment in the market in the Philippines, diabesity can be successfully addressed.

“It’s an uphill battle at first, but with the right support and dedication, diabesity is something we can all beat together,” says Dr.Mirasol. “While it’s amazing that we have a drug that finally addresses these particular facets of the diabetic experience, we should never forget the value of good old-fashioned support.”

A little help from our friends

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is among the biggest supporters of the fight against type 2 diabetes, going all out with the development of holistic diabetic care solutions covering practical health support from doctors, nutritionists, and physical fitness experts along with dapagliflozin treatment.

They have also lobbied for healthier lifestyle changes in patients with T2DM with activities like The Road to a Sweet Life that seek to couple drug treatment with the adoption of positive health habits like proper dieting, and adequate physical activity.

With these available innovative intervention and the multi-stakeholder approach, people with diabetes can now have better quality of life than ever before. 

“If you are living with diabetes, it’s important to make choices that keep you and your loved ones healthy,” says Dr. Emmanuel Arca, Associate Medical and Regulatory Affairs Director of AstraZeneca Philippines. “It will take concrete changes in lifestyle to bring great success in managing diabetes.”

For more information, visit www.astrazeneca.com

Megaworld to open another hotel in Resorts World, the first Belmont Hotel in bustling Newport City

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Fourth hotel brand in Newport City slated to open in October; sets to cater to business travelers

Property giant Megaworld is set to launch a new hotel brand in Newport City this year. To be called Newport Belmont Hotel, this local brand by Megaworld will be first introduced within the company’s 25-hectare township in Pasay City, just across the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

Set to be fully-operational in October this year, Newport Belmont Hotel is a 10-storey business-class hotel consisting of 480 rooms and suites ranging from 23 to 33 square meters in size. It is located right in front of the new Marriott Grand Ballroom, which is touted to be the biggest pillarless hotel ballroom in the country today. It is also just within walking distance from Resorts World Manila and Newport Mall.

The hotel features a contemporary architectural design with each room having a curtain wall (floor to ceiling glass wall) to maximize the light permeability. One of the hotel’s highlights is its tropically landscaped atrium, which provides an amazing view of Resorts World Manila and the entire township.

“The entry of Belmont Hotel in Newport City is a timely opportunity as the existing hotels experience remarkable monthly occupancy rates since they opened a few years ago. We are bringing a new brand to cater to the discerning tastes of business travelers,” explains Lorenzo Tang, General Manager, Newport Belmont Hotel.

Newport Belmont Hotel boasts of first-class amenities that include podium gardens, a 24-hour fitness center and workout area, lap pool with in-water pool lounge, paved sunbathing lounge, massage deck and seating area, pool spa, steam and sauna rooms as well as its own business center and medical clinic. It will also have a dining and shopping arcade at the ground level.

This will be the first hotel under the Belmont brand to be opened, and the fourth hotel brand to rise in the vast Newport City township, which also houses Resorts World Manila and three other hotels, namely: Marriott Hotel Manila, Maxims Hotel and Remington Hotel.

Currently, these hotels have a total of 1,137 rooms that enjoy an average of at least 85-90% occupancy rate every month.

Last year, Megaworld chairman Dr. Andrew L. Tan announced that the real estate giant along with its sister company Travellers International Hotel Group will be building hotels around the country with a total of 12,000 rooms.

In the next five years, both companies will be expanding to an additional 10,000 new hotel rooms, all of which will be in Megaworld’s township developments.

“By the year 2020, we envision our group to be the largest hotel developer in the Philippines,” Dr. Tan announced.

Just this year, Megaworld has also opened the 12-storey, 149-room Richmonde Hotel Iloilo inside the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City. This is the first under the Richmonde Hotel brand to open outside of Metro Manila.

To date, both Megaworld and Travellers International have already built 2,049 rooms in its existing hotels: Richmonde Hotel Ortigas; Eastwood Richmonde Hotel; Marriott Hotel Manila, Maxims Hotel and Remington Hotel in Newport City; Fairways and Bluewater in Boracay Newcoast and Richmonde Hotel Iloilo. With the opening of Newport Belmont Hotel in Newport City, the total hotel rooms in Megaworld townships across the country will already reach 2,500 by the end of this year.

DepEd boosts capacity for its last mile efforts

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The Department of Education (DepEd) is conducting a series of workshops for its regional and division coordinators for the Adopt-A-School Program (ASP) to strengthen the capacity of its field offices for building partnerships and linkages with educational stakeholders from different sectors for the Department’s Senior High School and other last mile efforts.

The workshop aims to orient newly-designated ASP coordinators on their roles and responsibilities, strengthen coordination, and reinforce guidelines concerning the said program. Standardization among ASP-related processes from project preparation to implementation and monitoring was also emphasized.

DepEd Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages Mario Deriquito said that partnerships with the Local Government Units (LGUs), National Government Agencies (NGAs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), companies, business establishments, cooperatives and schools and other training institutions are vital in achieving expected outcomes in DepEd's various programs. 

“Co-ownership is what we need to establish,” he said. He underscored the importance of engaging stakeholders in institutionalizing educational reforms and in ensuring the continued delivery of quality basic education to Filipino learners. “Through partnerships, we are able to build a constituency, a community of supporters,” he added. 

Deriquito cited some of the notable DepEd programs that need partnerships and linkages such the K to 12 Senior High School and programs for hard-to-reach learners like Pedals and Paddles Project, the Kariton Klasrum, and the recently launched LightEd PH.

The Pedals and Paddles Project targets to provide 35, 734 bikes and 1,216 boats to learners in far-flung areas to ease access to schools. Kariton Klasrum aims to provide street children, out-of-school children (OOSC) and school drop-outs aged 5 to 14 with access to basic education.

LightEd PH is a campaign that hopes to engage partners in expanding access to electricity and technology to 1,101,501 learners enrolled in over 5,000 schools that are still un-energized through conventional and alternative sources of energy. 

Emphasizing that education is everyone’s responsibility, Deriquito added, “There is no need to do everything ourselves. Partnerships allow us to focus on what we do best.” As the Department heads in the full implementation of the K to 12 Senior High School (SHS), Deriquito believes that through the collective efforts of different sectors, we can deliver quality basic education to our learners. 

“Local government units, national government agencies, companies and business establishments, civil society organizations, and other institutions can help provide work immersion opportunities, hands-on expertise, and additional resources for DepEd to be able to offer a more effective Senior High School program,” Deriquito said.