Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) to host the country’s biggest travel trade event - PHITEX on September 4-6

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TPB is bringing a larger and improved PHITEX this year

The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) is set to host the country’s biggest and most significant travel trade event – the Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX), on September 4-6, 2016 at the Marriot Grand Ballroom. In line with the Visit the Philippines Again 2016 (VPA) campaign, this year’s PHITEX is set to once again promote the country as the premier tourist destination among some of the world’s biggest travel and tour buyers.

With this year’s theme “#PHITEX2016: Bigger Business”, TPB is bringing a larger and improved PHITEX with more sessions allocated for business-to-business interactions and better designed pre-tours and post-tours.

Kicking off this week-long event is the 27th Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) on September 2-3 at SMX Convention Center. Organized by the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA), PTM is considered to be one of the major travel trade exhibitions in the promotion of domestic and inbound tourism. The event attracts buyers from all over the world as it presents the best and most affordable tour packages in the country. 

Highlighting the event is the Travel Exchange (TRAVEX), which includes exclusive business-to-business appointment meetings between Philippine sellers and foreign buyers. By giving them the chance to personally meet the local sellers, buyers are introduced to the Philippines’ marketing trends and practices. In exchange, sellers are given an edge to offer globally competitive tour packages to the international market. These sessions will also provide foreign buyers the opportunity to experience the fun and exciting post tours to main Philippine attractions and destinations.

“PHITEX has been instrumental in strengthening the brand image of the Philippines,” shares TPB Chief Operating Officer Domingo Ramon C. Enerio III. “By introducing the best tourism products and services to the international market and bringing together the different stakeholders in the tourism industry, the country has become an important destination, not only for various international and high-level business and economic meetings but also for travel and trade. In fact, the country has welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors from January to May 2016. This is 13.02% higher than the accumulated arrivals in January to May 2015.”

Now on its 15th year, PHITEX has been continuously sustaining the growth that the Philippines has gained in the global tourism market.

Reimagining ‘ever after’ for Beauty and the Beast’s finale

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Only a few episodes remain before Beauty and the Beast’s series finale and time is running short for Cat Chandler (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent Keller (Jay Ryan).

Pursued on all fronts by evil forces, the unlikely pairing of Cat and Jay has viewers wondering what ending awaits these fairytale-inspired characters.

The familiar fairy of the same title revolves around a prince who needed to break a fairy’s curse. The prince would only break this spell if a woman would come to love him despite his hideous form. And as he lay dying, the Beast received the love he needed so he could return to his human form. 

A 1987show inspired by the fairy tale had no such ending. Instead of having a princely human form, the Beast remained as he was so his inner qualities could stand out. This beloved show was the inspiration of the new series starring Kreuk and Ryan.

If the original series ended that way, what ending awaits Cat and Vincent this time?

A spell that must be broken

Like the fairy tale’s Beast, Vincent also faces a curse. This time, however, he is not dealing with an enchantress. Vincent struggles with the effects of an experiment which caused mutations in his body and gave him superhuman strength.

Vincent and many others used for the experiment were to be sent to Afghanistan to win the war in that country. When the experiment turned awry, the government ordered the immediate deaths of the experiment’s subjects.

While struggling with the beastlike qualities brought about by the experiment, Vincent is then forced to run from those who would kill him.

If one would follow the fairy tale’s original plot, reversing the mutation’s effects could be Vincent’s own transformation and redemption. In the show however, Vincent found himself asking if he in fact wanted to reverse the experiment’s effects or not, when finally faced with a cure.

Not a damsel in distress

One compelling element of the show is how it inverts the tired ‘Beauty’ trope of the old stories. While the fairy tale portrayed Beauty as a prisoner, Kristin Kreuk’s Cat Chandler is anything but a typical damsel in distress.

A detective working for the New York Police Department, Cat is trying to solve the mystery of her mother’s murder—a case that is linked to the experiment performed on Vincent. This unsolved mystery then led Cat to Vincent and the two developed a romance.

But while the two came to love each other, a bitter undercurrent of conflict runs throughout the relationship. Overcoming the odds, Cat and Vincent married despite their personal clashes and the outside forces threatening to pull them apart.

The marriage of the prince and his lady is often the beginning of an idyllic ‘happily ever after’ in fairytales. This was not so for Vincent and Cat as they continued their flight from Vincent’s would-be captors and killers.

Finding themselves on the opposite side of the law, Cat has to find ways to lead these hostile away from Vincent.

‘Love is a battlefield’

This refusal to stick to old fairy tale conventions is the beating heart of the new show. Much like real life, there are no tidy endings, and no single character coming to the rescue of another.

‘Ever after’ then is not just about a prince rescuing a distressed damsel or a princess breaking away from an evil curse. The show doesn’t shy away from the many dangers that a forbidden love brings.

The big question remains: will Vincent finally reclaim his humanity by the series’ end? Yet while this moment has yet to happen, one can say his humanity had already been restored when Cat came into his life.

Perhaps the change that mattered most was not the cure to his condition but Cat’s willingness to love him, flaws and all.

Catch Beauty and the Beast’s series finale on August 31, 9:00PM at RTL CBS Entertainment HD.

Health and Wellness : Marielle's and Cindy's Journey to Weight Loss with InnoGen's LesoFat and LesoCarb

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If we have a realistic, specific and measurable goal, what and how really keeps us from reaching it? 

Our mission in our lifestyle including health and fitness begins with the desire to attain something. If the desire is defined and strong enough, it will lead you to act. If you act properly and consistently, you will succeed.

InnoGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. heads with Marielle Mamaclay and Cindy Patrimonio

One of the most issue is losing weight to be more fit and healthy.  Held at the MNB Bldg., Quezon City on Wednesday, August 24, 2016, during the press conference dubbed as "Less Is More", InnoGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. shared to us about "Obesity" and discovering how to get more out of life with Less Fat and Less Carb.

Marielle Mamaclay and Cindy Patrimonio

Sharing these stories from the two newest ambassadors of Lesofat and Lesocarb ( anti-obesity medicines):

Cindy Patrimonio’s Weight Loss Story

Cindy Patrimonio, wife of celebrity cager Alvin Patrimonio, feels a lot stronger and healthier nowadays as on the middle part of her 6-month Project Body, a journey to wellness. She has firmly decided to make the change of becoming healthier and fitter.

Cindy said that when she was starting her weight loss journey, Cindy watched videos of extremely obese people and she repeatedly told herself that she won’t let it happen to her.

Cindy was quick to admit being guilty of Yoyo dieting in her younger days. She would compensate eating her favourite food by spending time at the gym. Working out neutralizes her food intake thus she often rely on her physical activity to maintain her ideal weight. 

Problem came when Cindy reached the age where metabolisms slows down drastically, she finds herself not being in control of her weight gain. Caught in harsh criticism of the public, Cindy couldn’t care less as she is only accountable for her own body. Realization only came at the time when she decided that she needs to be healthy for her own sake and her family. This was her turning point. 

Cindy quips, "I decided I needed to change and start to get healthy last year. I was feeling sluggish, feeling bad about how I looked. Being overweight for 16 years was long enough. I wanted to do it in a healthy and sturdy way. I was also feeling depressed mentally because of certain problems in life and I wanted to divert all that negative energy into something that would be a challenge for me."

Cindy’s biggest challenge was cutting back on her food intake as this is something new to her. She watched a lot of videos and research and soon as she got the hang of it, it was as easy as cooking pancakes according to Cindy. 

Another challenge for weight lost is when you run into a plateau, this is common among women and having to level up one’s fitness activity level should be continuous. 

Lucky for Cindy, Alvin is all out in supporting her and would often find himself accompanying her every now and then during her work out sessions.

Cindy’s family joins her whenever she hits the gym. And being healthy becomes a part of their priceless bonding moments.

Marielle Mamaclay’s Journey to Weight Loss

Multi-awarded singer feels she can reach her dreams and life goals including a healthy and fit body.

Singing out to a lighter figure nowadays is World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) 2010 Grand Champion Performer and Vocalist of the World Marielle Mamaclay. Being a performer, one has to look presentable. Thus, when Marielle reached her heaviest weight and started to lose confidence, she felt ugly and cried a lot.

Marielle’s weight problem also took a toll on her health, she found herself getting sick almost every month. This was her wake up call. She still have big dreams for her family and could not let herself go down in spiral due to her weight problem.

She started a healthy diet and increased her physical activity. Weight loss would not be effective if you feel deprived. Thus, Marielle gives herself cheat days, giving in to her cravings of Pizza every once in a while.

Having cheat days are important in keeping up with weight loss struggles as it gives you the much needed balance. Both Cindy and Marielle credit their weight loss journey with the help of LesoFat and LesoCarb. It’s always better to #BeArmedwithLesofat and #ThinkLesocarb.

Wellness, keeping fit, staying healthy is a lifetime journey. 

Here are important tips, reminders and information on health, healthy lifestyle and wellness journey: 

LESS IS MORE

Discovering how to get more out of life with Less Fat and Less Carb

InnoGen Pharmaceuticals introduces ways in treating obesity. 

The supersized population

It is always an amusing picture to see people wanting to lose weight and at just as amusing to keep a positive thought for people who are happy in whatever size they are in. More than the physical attribute, wanting to lose weight should be an indication of an approach to a healthy lifestyle.

Becoming healthy should be on top of everybody’s choice, since obesity is the main culprit of several health risk such as Arthritis, Cancer, Diabetes, Stroke, Heart diseases and Back pain. 

Restaurants with Rice-All-You-Can or Unli-Rice have the highest foot traffic. The report is also consistent with the steady rise of Restaurants offering buffet / Eat-All-You-Can in which High Fat food are rampant in their buffet spread. Pair these High- fat food with loads of Carbohydrates then you’re in for a food coma.

How to spot Obesity

Obesity is described as a medical condition in which your body fat has accumulated to the point that it may have an adverse effect on your health. Obesity is ruled when you have a Body Mass Index (BMI) higher than 25. A normal BMI should be from 18.5 to 24.9. Know your BMI by following the formula of weight divided by height

Philippine Obesity Scene

In a 2011 survey, it shows that 22.3% of Filipinos adults are overweight and 6.1% are obese. Philippines is on top of the list together with India as countries with the highest obese population according to a report from United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

Another survey by Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) also shows that 3 out of 10 Filipinos are obese which shows an alarming statistics.

Sustaining Activities

In trying to lose weight, we cannot rely on supplements alone. Choosing the right diet coupled with physical activities should be maintained to achieve your desired weight. Many are quick to blame inefficiency of a product due to their own lethargy, supplements are not magic potions which can transform your body without having to exert any effort.

Treating Obesity

Innogen Pharma brings to you two products that will help you with your Journey to Wellness. Innogen Pharma realizes the need to complement Filipino craving for High-Fat and High Carbo diet. 

LesoFat

Lesofat (Orlistat) blocks 30% of your fat intake through pancreatic lipase inhibition, It is in pelletech capsule for a uniform distribution and is non-systemic and works only in the Gastro-Intestinal Tract (GIT). 

LesoFat comes in two variant, 120mg that is suited for obese adults and 60mg for obese teenagers. Sold at Php33.00 (120mg) and Php29.75 (60mg) in box of 20’s. It is advised to take 1 capsule of LesoFat every high fat meal.

LesoCarb

LesoCarb is an all-natural lifestyle supplement made out of white kidney bean, It reduces the absorption of carbohydrates from food intake up to 66%, It is also non-systemic and works only in the GIT.

Lesocarb inhibits the starch digesting enzyme alpha-amylase by interfering the conversion of starch into glucose, thus, it lessens calorie absorption to the body.

LesoCarb is available in 500mg capsule and sold at Php14.75/cap in box of 42’s. LesoCarb should be taken in 1-2 capsule dosage every high carbohydrate meal.

LesoFat and LesoCarb are available in leading drugstores nationwide. 

For more information and tips, follow them on Facebook: @LesoFat and @LesoCarb.

Comedian Kakai Bautista searches for leading man for her first starring film

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From playing perennial sidekick or loyal best friend in assorted TV shows and movies, singer-comedian Catherine “Kakai” Bautista finally takes on the role of lead actress in a romantic comedy film, to be directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Lemuel Lorca.

It’s a break that’s been waiting to happen. With her extraordinary acting ability, a knack for making people laugh, amazing hosting skills, and a mesmerizing singing voice, Kakai Bautista’s time to shine has come. The much-awaited film will be produced by Insight 360 Films in partnership with Manco Productions Inc. and iPR PLUS Consulting Group.

“Kakai is the next big thing in Philippine comedy,” Cahilig says of the multi-talented artist who started out as a singer-comedian in various comedy bars until her impressive performance in a play caught the attention of industry bigwigs. She then worked her way through simple but noteworthy supporting roles in TV and film productions, engaging the hearts—and funny bones—of viewers

“Kakai has always been a bright star,” Cahilig enthusiastically asserts. “I believe now is the time for her light to start shining the brightest.”

On her part, Kakai Bautista is raring to give the project her best shot. “I’m elated and ecstatic about working on this flick. Sobrang saya ko and as always, I promise to give my all to this role,” she enthuses.

Meantime, the producers of the film are looking for the perfect leading man for Kakai.

Baka Siya Na

“Baka siya na pala ang the one ko, ‘di ba? After all the heartache, baka siya na pala ang magpapasaya ng puso ko. Kung sino ka man, I’m very open to being more than friends, more than best friends—alam niyo ‘yan—charot!” Kakai relates.

“Kidding aside, mabigat ang role ng leading man ko sa pelikula kaya kailangan bongga umakting,” she adds.

According to Kakai, while having her first starring role in a film is a dream-come-true, she cannot help but feel a bit pressured by the demands of her role, which she says is a very unique character.

“Hindi basta-basta pagpapatawa ang gagawin ko dito. Level up na Kakai ang mapapanood niyo dito—just the right mix of funny and madrama,” she says.

She also feels that working with an award-winning director is a challenge, but she is willing to take this challenge on.

“Excited talaga ako to work with Direk Lem. I’m very happy na for my first movie, award-winning ang director ko. ‘Yun nga lang, and’yan ang pressure to be the best. But I’m ready,” Kakai adds.

For now, the search is on for Kakai’s male lead.

“The role is open to newbies and big stars. We want to find the best male lead for the movie and for Kakai,” iPR president and veteran publicist Hanzel Villafuerte says. He adds that this film may even be a big break in showbiz for the chosen leading man.

Aspirants must be in their late 20s to mid-30s, with a matinee idol or serious type vibe, and a remarkably fit body. Interested applicants may send their profile and demo reel to chriscahilig@gmail.com.

DOG & BONE: The World's first topless direct touch screen waterproof and drop proof smartphone case

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The World's first topless direct touch screen waterproof and drop proof smartphone case is now available in the Philippines. Dog&Bone Wetsuit, for iPhone 6S and iPhone 6 has a new slim triple layer of shock protection in its slimmest form and most touch-able design yet. 

Dog & Bone's Wetsuit iPhone 6S/6 case is waterproof, shockproof, dirt proof and snow proof. Jump from activity to activity from land to water and stay confident all the while your smartphone is protected. 

Why waterproof protection?

Because sometimes you just don’t know where and when the next splash will come, waterproof smartphone cases just make good sense. Ever been caught out in the rain? Spilt your drink? Or made too much of a splash cooking? You’re not alone! 

A study conducted by GoodMobilePhones.co.uk found 31 per cent of Britons claimed to have damaged a handset with water or another liquid substance in the past.

Why go topless?

If you enjoy optimum touch screen sensitivity on your smartphone, you should really instead ask why you wouldn’t go topless.

Touch ID Compatibility

Masterfully designed with Touch ID compatibility for the iPhone 6S/6. It’s also the first waterproof mobile case of its kind to do so with a topless front. 

Slim triple layer of protection

Wetsuit iPhone 6S/6 enjoys more protection in its slimmest form yet! A triple layer of shock protection with its silicon boot, polycarbonate back and rubber over molding means you can jump from activity to activity - from land to water - and stay confident your iPhone is protected.

Dirt Proof

Take your Wetsuit iPhone 6S/6 waterproof rugged case to work, to the beach, camping or pottering in the garden. Your case is protected from dirt, sand and dust particles. 

MIL STD 810F

Meets and exceeds Military standards to withstand drops to 6.6 feet (two meters).

Waterproof

With an IP68 rating, there isn’t another smartphone case that offers a higher level of ingress protection from water.

Snow proof

Go to the snow, ski and skate with your rugged Wetsuit iPhone 6S/6 waterproof rugged case. Fully sealed from snow and ice, enjoy a winter escape with confidence.

You can get your own Dog&Bone Wetsuit in all Switch stores nationwide.