World champion Nonito Donaire

Nonito Donaire was born in Talibon, Bohol, Philippines, to Filipino parents, Nonito Sr. and Imelda Donaire. He is the third among four siblings: Glenn, Rochelle Donaire-Nasalga and Ermie. Back then, there was no electricity in Bohol. He grew up in General Santos City, South Cotabato, where he lived until age six and went to the same school as boxing icon eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. His father, a second year high school dropout, was in the Philippine Army for eight years and fought as an amateur before trying his luck alone in the US in 1990. In 1993, at the age of eleven, he had joined his father in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California and they lived in San Leandro in the Bay Area, later moving to San Mateo.

In childhood, Donaire was a frail, asthmatic and wimpy kid who got bullied in school and frequently came home crying. He was picked on for three years, until a little after he migrated to San Leandro. At home, he felt no attention was paid to him, as a middle child. He wanted to be recognized by his parents, especially his father. As soon as his brother started boxing, ten year old Nonito craved the respect and recognition his brother received, and started it. His father took him to a boxing gym at age eleven to get him off the streets. In his first amateur bout as a child, he beat his opponent with straight punches, all the while thinking that "I’m going to kill him before he kills me." However, he had little confidence until he earned five professional knockout victories.

During their younger years, Donaire and his older brother Glenn would spar, with the younger brother losing the majority of their bouts. As a kid, Donaire watched videos of his hero Alexis Argüello, using them to learn how to throw his powerful left hook. While in San Lorenzo High School in San Lorenzo, California the brothers won an assortment of regional and district amateur boxing championships. His cousin, Richard Donaire, is also a professional boxer.

Donaire is married to Rachel Marcial, a Filipino-American USA National Collegiate and Military Taekwondo Champion. They were married on August 8, 2008 in a private ceremony in Carmel, California, with all their close relatives. Subsequently, they had a church wedding in the Philippines on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11). Donaire's wife is a pivotal member of his team, with her father acting as his chief security. His parents-in-law, Gerry and Rebecca Marcial, are the leading members of his support group.

During his early career, he had hated boxing. Due to excessive pressure, he had not only never enjoyed boxing, but had even dreaded it every day. Nevertheless, he did stick with it because he did not want to disappoint his father. Currently, he always fights for such people who support him and believe in him, and finally for himself, so he loves and enjoys boxing.

On July 4, 2013, his pregnant wife saved a child from drowning and got injured in the process. She was brought to a hospital and the unborn baby in her womb was unharmed.

Nicole Scherzinger : Half Filipina

Scherzinger was born Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente in Honolulu, Hawaii, into a staunchly Roman Catholic family. Her father, Alfonso Valiente, is of Filipino descent, and her mother, Rosemary Elikolani, is of half-Hawaiian and half-Russian descent. Her mother was eighteen at the time of Scherzinger's birth and lived in an inner city neighborhood. Scherzinger's parents separated when she was still a baby. When she was six years old, her maternal family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, with her sister, Keala, and her German American stepfather, Gary Scherzinger. She took her stepfather's surname after he adopted her. She first attended Bowen Elementary, and later attended Meyzeek Middle School as an adolescent. Scherzinger states that, growing up, her family did not have a lot of money, and she thanks her mother for all the support she gave her to become what she is today. Scherzinger began performing in Louisville, attending the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School, and performing with Actors Theatre of Louisville. As a teenager, Scherzinger was the first runner-up at the 1996 Kentucky State Fair's Coca-Cola Talent Classic contest.

When Hawaiian-born Nicole Scherzinger was growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, she received a Christmas gift at the age of six that would change the course of her life: a tiny purple boombox and a cassette of Whitney Houston’s chart-topping 1985 self-titled debut album. “My parents had no money, but they got me this player and Whitney’s album, which had ‘Greatest Love of All’ on it,” Scherzinger recalls. “That was it for me. From that moment on I wanted to sing. Her voice was so powerful; every note she sang just felt like the truth.”

Ever since, Scherzinger has been chasing that truth in everything she does, funneling her relentless drive and deep desire to connect with people through performance into a multi-faceted career that has enabled her to sing (she lead the multi-platinum pop group The Pussycat Dolls to 10 million in album sales and numerous sold-out global tours), dance (she took home the mirror ball trophy as the tenth season winner of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars), and act (How I Met Your Mother, the Neil Patrick Harris-directed production of the Tony-Award winning musical Rent at the Hollywood Bowl, and a cameo in the upcoming feature film Men in Black III). Scherzinger’s smart critiques during her two seasons as a judge on NBC’s a cappella competition The Sing-Off, as well as her guest judge appearances on the British version of Simon Cowell’s televised talent show The X Factor so impressed Cowell that he tapped Scherzinger to serve as a judge on the American version of The X Factor, which launches on Fox this fall and is already one of the most-talked about new shows of the year.

Torque Mobile Phones and Tablets Offers the Best of Technology at Impressive Pricing

The proud Filipino product sets its own trend in the mobile business making it’s mark to be one of the best this coming year.

Pinoy brand TORQUE, aims to level up the mobile phone landscape for Filipino users with its new Torque MEDIA Technology. With this technology applied across its entire product line-up including entry-level models, every Juan can now enjoy “MUSIC-ALL-U-CAN, MOVIES-ALL-U-CAN” features at its finest for as low as P688 only.

Torque Mobile Phones and Tablets has just announced the release of several new mobile phone and tablet models during its grand launch held at the Le Pavilion in Manila.

The company which has an all Filipino team of engineers and designers initially made concepts for the phone and tablet design with the help of foreign consultants but are now specialized themselves to become independent of the succeeding concept and design requirements after an extensive working relationship with the said foreign consultants.

Customers can also rest assured that there are several existing service centers located nationwide to service their phones in case there would be technical problems or would require servicing or maintenance.

President /CEO Christopher Uycos

The CEO of Torque himself, Christopher Uyco, was the one who proudly discussed infront of the media and blogger groups their new products which are scheduled to be released sometime at the end of the year and some at the beginning of next year.

“We recognize that in today’s day and age, Filipinos use their gadgets not just for communication but for entertainment,” says Christopher Uyco, president and CEO of Torque Philippines.

“We make sure that each Torque phone or tablet goes beyond offering affordable and convenient communication — we want to make movies, music and entertainment more accessible to more Filipinos with budget-friendly prices,” Uyco added.

BENCH Clothing and Apparels

Bench (usually branded as “Bench.” with a full stop) is a British clothing brand that is sold worldwide, including in Europe, Canada, and Australia. The company was founded in Manchester, Britain, and specialises in streetwear.

The brand started in 1989 as a t-shirt brand, with designs influenced by BMX biking and skateboarding. Over the years, the brand expanded into other clothing garments.

The brand’s Manchester roots can be seen in the montage of the Manchester skyline which is used as a design on both their messenger bags and price tags.

Bench designs and markets its own products. While their t-shirts are their most popular product, Bench also manufactures jeans, jackets, hats, hooded tops, watches and jewellery. A common feature of Bench clothing is the conspicuous incorporation of the brand name – many t-shirts and jackets feature the word ‘Bench’ written in highly visible letters either across the chest or across the back of the collar.

Bench expanded into women’s wear in 1998. The range of jackets and tops had the same urban clothing style as the menswear.

In 2009 Bench became the official shirt sponsors of Morecambe Football Club. For the 09/10 season the Bench logo will feature on the front of the club’s final year at Christie Park commemorative home and away shirts.

Charice on Glee

Charice Pempengco said she had landed a role in the popular US television show “Glee.”

The diminutive Filipina, who first gained global renown via video-sharing website

YouTube and has since become a favourite of US TV talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, announced her next career move on her Twitter microblogging site.

“It’s official. I’m on Glee (next season) but (there is a) story behind it,” Pempengco, 18, tweeted.

The local show-business community has been awash with rumours in recent months that Pempengco, whose singing has impressed Winfrey, among others, had landed a role in “Glee”, aired by Fox Television.

“When (the) rumour came out, it wasn’t true. But then after that, I tried to

audition. And I made it!!” Pempengco said.

“Glee” is an hour-long comedy series that follows an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to reignite his passion while working with a group of outcasts to revive the fortunes of the school’s glee club.

Pempengco first made her name on local TV talent show “

Little Big Star”, where her performances became an Internet sensation and caught the interest of the US TV shows. Pempengco has since appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and several times on the Oprah Winfrey Show. “You are a force to be reckoned with. That voice comes from something bigger than yourself,” Winfrey raved after one performance.

Pempengco’s debut, self-titled album was released five weeks ago and has peaked at number eight on the US Billboard charts. She is scheduled to sing the national anthem at the inauguration of Philippine President-elect Benigno Aquino on June.

Co-founder Smart Communications Orlando Vea

One of the reason why almost every Filipino owns a handheld phone is because of Orlando Vea, one of the founders of Smart Communications. A shining example of a successful businessman, Vea turned not only a single product into gold, but an entire industry and culture altogether, teaching the nation’s mass consumers to also see the gold in a once virtually invisible commodity.

Orlando Vea is one of the country’s leading technology entrepreneurs by being the co-founder of Smart Communications, and Chief Executive Officer of Mediaquest.

Orlando’s father was a civil servant and his mother is a retired schoolteacher. He was raised in a simple family but with perfect moral strength and values. He was taught to have community awareness and work ethics (which he is apllying now in his telecommunications business).

He was always curious about science and technology as a child that he had been a scholar in Physics. This was not the course he took, though, in college but Economics which he finished at the University of the Philippines as a cum laude.

Together with Dave Fernando, they founded Smart Communications in 1991. They made cellular phones more affordable and more available to the people. They put cell sites in remote areas providing coverage to everybody anywhere in the country. They aim not only to give mobile devices available for all but also the basic telephone service which they think the people really need. To be able to make this happen, they partner with First Pacific Group and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) which were then the biggest telco in the world in terms of market capitalization.

Smart Communications is the Philippines’ leading wireless services provider now with 27 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-June 2007.

Orlando Vea is also the chief executive officer of Media Quest, a company that delivers news, entertainment, education, and other information through the use of satellite, cable, fiber, wire or wireless networks to a television, mobile phone, PDA, PC, movie screen or any digital broadcast receiver.

“ My greatest high now comes from seeing the cellphone in the hands of little people like market vendors, farmers, fishermen, tricycle drivers, household help and many others…

Visual Artist Leo Abaya

Leo Abaya seems to have that natural artist’s eye. A visual artist, commercial director and the award-winning production designer for José Rizal, Kubrador and Muro-Ami, he admits that he couldn’t point out exactly where in his family he got his affinity for art. He could name about a couple of relatives in the field of art, but most of them are businessmen, doctors, teachers and lawyers.

But influences from Abaya’s childhood prepared him for art. As a child, he was encouraged to read and one of his favorite books then was Alice In Wonderland. In his pre-teens, he enjoyed the works of Margaret Mead, Greek mythology, and comics like Spider-Man, Batman and Tarzan. He was also listened to a lot of radio dramas while in the company of his yaya when his parents were at work. His artistic streak was soon evident. In school, he filled his notebooks more with drawings than with notes.

Abaya basically had a normal childhood, though he felt at some point that his dad had a bit of preference for his brother Butch. In an attempt to get his parents’ attention, Abaya participated in art contests, always managing to win first prize.

However, he didn’t take drawing seriously at that time. When it was time for college, his first choice was economics. After college he got a certificate in short filmmaking from the UP Film Center Cinema as Art Program at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Among his batch were designer Eric Paras, visual artist Alan Rivera and Cynthia Estrada, and their director of photography was Clinton Morales. Their film entitled Napindan won first prize in that year’s festival.

Because he didn’t have any connections in the film industry, Abaya entered the corporate world instead, working in Meralco and PNB. Later, though, he got accepted in Ricky Lee’s workshop and started writing TV scripts. A story that Abaya wrote was used in an actors’ workshop by Laurice Guillen and Johnny Delgado. Soon he was asked to art direct Vietnam Rose by Cesar Ad Castillo, but he got his big break with Misis Mo, Misis Ko by Carlitos Siguion-Reyna. After that, offers started pouring in.

With his pick of scripts, Abaya makes sure he reads each one before choosing. If he doesn’t like what he reads, he doesn’t do it. He believes in aiming for quality not quantity, that what matters is not whether your filmography is long, but that everything in it is good. In retrospect, he admits there were films he wasn’t particularly proud of, but wouldn’t repeat his mistakes.

Abaya also got into directing commercials through Vittorio Romero, who saw one of his films and got him to work on his commercials. Among Abaya’s most memorable works are Bagong Tunog for Cosmos Bottling Co. and shampoo commercials for Head & Shoulders.

After meeting some art directors, he decided to pursue formal art studies. He got his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the UP College of Fine Arts in Diliman in 1995, graduating magna cum laude. In 2004, he got his Master of Arts in Painting from the Winchester School of Art at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.

In 1997, while teaching at the UP College of Fine Arts, Abaya was offered by Greg de Guzman to work on the film José Rizal. Abaya saw it as a challenge and he was determined to see the task through – to recreate

the 19th century Philippines and give people an idea of what we were then. For his work on the film, he won the awards for Best Production Design in the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival, the 1999 FAMAS Awards and the 1999 Gawad Urian, and Production Designer of the Year in the 1999 Star Awards for Movies.

The work he is most proud of so far is Muro-Ami, as well as Kubrador and Itanong Mo Sa Buwan. Still, he feels that his best work is yet to come. For now, his dream project is as a filmmaker and not as a production designer. He feels he is ready for directing, and if he made a film, he would like the story to be very simple but something that reaches the soul.

As an artist, he has held a number of solo shows. These include his first solo show, Bliss, at the West Gallery in SM Mega Art Walk in 1997; Corpora Immobilia, a large installation work at the Corredor Gallery at the UP College of Fine Arts in July 2003; Figures and Grounds at the Pinto Art Gallery in Antipolo in April 2005; and Tropical, Baroque at the Utterly Art Gallery in Singapore in June 2008.

Among his awards and recognition are the Juror’s Prize in the AAP Art Competition in 1993; Best Production Design for Muro-Ami at the Metro Manila Film Festival in 1999; Best Production Design a Faculty Fellowship Grant for Overseas Postgraduate Studies from the University of the Philippines in 2003; shortlisted, one of two finalists for Best Book Design for Ani: The Life and Art of Hermogena Borja Lungay in the Manila Critics Circle National Book Awards in 2007; and Best Production Design for Kubrador at the Gawad Urian in 2007.

Abaya reveals that he is not a harsh critic when watching other films, because he understands how difficult it is to make movies. However, he is a bit harsh when it comes to Hollywood productions, because they have a bigger budget and there is no excuse for making mistakes. As a professor, he doesn’t make too much room for his own opinions, as he is only there to guide his students. He believes that one could make a learning experience out of even the most trivial event and that one should always strive to improve one’s craft. To achieve this, it is important to know oneself and to have passion and discipline. Abaya is a testament to his beliefs.