Boracay Island

Out of all the islands in the world, Travel+Leisure Magazine chose to name Boracay as its Best Overall Island of 2012.

Located in Malay, Aklan, Western Visayas, Boracay is just seven kilometers long, and less than a kilometer wide at its narrowest point – a postcard-sized tropical paradise.

Leisure activities

The White Beach in Boracay
Leisure activities available on or near Boracay include scuba diving, helmet diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, kiteboarding, cliff diving, and beach relaxation.

Boracay is the site of a 18-hole par 72 golf course designed by Graham Marsh.In addition, as of 2010, Boracay has in excess of 350 beach resorts offering more than 2,000 rooms ranging in quality from five-star to budget accommodation. In addition, Boracay offers a wide range of restaurants, bars, pubs, and nightclubs.

White Beach is composed of three sections.

The northernmost section – Station 1 – has the widest beachfront. This has the best (and most expensive) resorts and hotels.

The center of White Beach is Station 2. People come here to eat, shop, and party.

If you’re looking for a quieter area, then Station 3, the southernmost section, is for you.

Because the waters off White Beach are calm during Amihan season (November to May), tourism is at its peak during these months when the northeastern winds blow. Conditions reverse during the rainy season, when the Habagat or monsoon winds blow.

Billy Joe Crawford

      William Ledesma Crawford was born in Manila, Philippines, to a Filipina mother named Mayette Ledesma and an American father named Jack Crawford. He has two half-brothers. Crawford was discovered at an early age of 3 years, singing at a bowling alley that his mother visited often, he then become part of an afternoon show called "That's Entertainment" in the Philippines. He then had the name of Billy Joe but he changed it recently to Billy Crawford.

      He acted in a few movies before he moved back to United States during his teenage years and started a career in music, performing mostly in the United Kingdom and France, as well as in Asia. His pre-career started in Dallas, Texas, USA, where he lived and performed his singing and then moved to New York City. 

      He first went to Professional Children's School and then to Professional Performing Arts School in New York City with many other famous professional children, such as Lee Thompson Young, Mandy Moore and Nina Sky. In 1996, he danced with Michael Jackson onstage when he was 14 years old as one of Michael's back-up dancers at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2008, he went to Manila to host Pinoy Dream Academy's uberture. He was also the host of Miss Earth 2008. 

After a string of unsuccessful singles and album releases, he restarted his career in the Philippines.

He is now a talent of ABS-CBN, a Philippine television network, and was seen in Its showtime (formerly Showtime) and Pilipinas Got Talent as one of the two main hosts together with Luis Manzano.

    Awards    

2002: NRJ Music Awards - Best Newcomer of the Year

Billy was awarded for 2002 NRJ Music Awards for "Best Newcomer of the Year" at France.

2003: NRJ Music Awards - International Male Artist of the Year

Billy Crawford was given "International Male Artist of the Year" at the NRJ Music Awards 2003 in Cannes, France, on January 18, 2003. He beat Robbie Williams to win the award.

2007: Eastwood Walk of Fame - Billy Crawford

On January 15, 2007 he was given a star plaque at the Eastwood Walk of Fame in Philippines and was the first inductee that year.

Nov. 25, 2007: Famas (Philippines)

March 26, 2008 : 3rd MYX Music Awards (Philippines)

November 13, 2010: 24th PMPC Star Awards for TV Philippines - Best Talent Program Host Winner (with Luis Manzano) for Pilipinas Got Talent.

Georgina Wilson : Filipina-British endorser, VJ, and commercial model

Georgina Wilson (real name: Georgina Ashley Diaz Wilson) is a Filipino - British endorser, VJ, and commercial model. She was born on 12 February 1986, in Texas, USA. Georgina's mother is a Filipina while her dad is British. She is the niece of former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz, and the cousin of model and TV host Isabelle Daza who is the daughter of Gloria Diaz. When Georgina was six months old, her family moved to Yorkshire, England where she spent her childhood in the English countryside. When Georgina was eleven years old, her family moved to the Philippines. She attended High School at Assumption College, in Makati, Philippines before starting an Economics degree at Ateneo de Manila University. After two years, she transferred to the University of Sydney, Australia and graduated a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce.

 

Sarah Geronimo Success Story

   Sarah Geronimo is a Filipino recording artist, songwriter, producer and actress. She's a certified pop artist whose name has been an inspiration to a lot of young dreamers. Born on July 25, 1988 in Santa Cruz, Manila, Philippines, to Delfin Geronimo, a retired Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) employee, and Divina Geronimo, who ran a beauty parlor from the family home and raised in Sampaloc, Manila.

At the age of four, she made her first appearance on national television and was a member of the children's television show Pen-Pen de Sarapen for two years. At age six, she performed at a short concert at Isetann Cinerama on Recto Avenue in Manila.She sang for Pope John Paul II during his visit to the Philippines in 1995, when she was six. At the age of eight, her father enrolled Geronimo at the Center for Pop Music Philippines, where she received her first formal music and voice lessons.

She rose to fame after winning the Star for a Night singing competition  Her winning piece, To Love You More, has been and still a staple among the lists in videoke, with young girls imitating the style of then 14-year-old Sarah Geronimo. 

She has drawn crowds who instantly turned fanatics of Sarah and her music.  Her debut album, Popstar: A Dream Come True, reached quintuple platinum status and made her, at age 16, the youngest multi-platinum recording artist. Following the success of her debut album, she had her first major-solo concert at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum at the age of 17, making her the youngest solo performer to have filled the Big Dome. 

She has given justice to the ever-enduring appeal of pop music through her songs Filipinos have come to love—Forever Is Not Enough, Ho Could You Say You Love Me, If Only, Sa Iyo, Broken Vow, Can This Be Love, I Want To Know What Love Is, Lumingon Ka Lang, and the current chart topper, Love Can't Lie. 

She has played significant parts in silver screen's Lastikman (co-starring Mark Bautista) and Filipinas (with Marical Soriano and Richard Gomez). She is also one of the country's most effective product endorsers.

How else can a singer prove her total artistry and bankability but do it via a mojor concert in which Sarah has showcased high-caliber performances.

In 2012, she was the first Filipino to win the Mnet Asian Music Awards as Best Asian Artist. The year after, she snagged three nominations at the World Music Awards. In 2013, her movie It Takes a Man and a Woman broke box office records and became the highest grossing Filipino film of all time.

Sarah has a lot to be thankful for and she is just as grateful… “I thank God for my family. Iba ang suportang ibinibigay nila sa akin, nandiyan sila kahit na anong mangyari. Nagpapasalamat din ako sa Diyos dahil natupad ko ang pangarap ko na maging isang singer. At siyempre malaki ang pasasalamat ko sa mga fans dahil kung hindi dahil sa kanila, wala kami dito.” 

Philippines economic growth to continue

The Philippines economic growth should continue this year and next.

"In 2013, growth is expected to remain strong at 6 3/4 percent, easing to about 6.0 percent in 2014, which is still somewhat faster than potential output," 

Both figures would be below the 6.8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) expansion in 2012, and the 7.6 percent advance in the first half of 2013, the latter underpinned by robust consumption and investment amid subdued export markets.

With the healthy first-half data, the government now expects full-year growth to exceed its 6-7 percent target.

The fiscal deficit should come in within the 2.0 percent of GDP budget target this year as higher spending is offset by an increase in revenues.

Bayanihan spirit : Communal unity during Typhoon MARING

Scenarios during Typhoon Maring, devastating Situation, innumerable casualties, millions of properties were damaged, so on and so forth. In addition to that, floods in metro, not just an ordinary flood, but a flood that will totally ruin the Filipinos’ hope. 

Bayanihan spirit - Bayanihan Pronounced like "buy-uh-nee-hun," is a Filipino term taken from the word bayan, referring to a nation, country, town or community in general. The whole term bayanihan refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective. In time of crisis like typhoon, the spirit if bayanihan arises and that’s the reason that we are proud as a Filipino. Being a selfless is innate from within and we tend to help others without expecting in returns.

Philippines is surrounded by many oceans, basically it is facing in Pacific Ocean wherein Typhoon are usually started. Therefore, Philippines is a country that can be easily hit. It is given, so Filipinos are expecting that phenomenon annually.

Bayanihan spirit during Typhoon Maring

Angel Locsin (actress) 

A boy carries his dog whilst wading in floodwaters brought by the monsoon rain

Bystanders push a car in floodwaters brought by the monsoon rain

Noynoy Aquino: PH President 

A man carries a child as they wade through floodwaters caused by monsoon rains in Sucat, Paranaque south of Metro Manila

Philippine Red Cross team

Volunteers help repack goods at the DSWD National Resource Operation Center in Pasay City

30th death anniversary of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday urged Filipinos to be everyday heroes and to follow the example of his martyred father.

On the 30th death anniversary of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the President asked the nation to “celebrate his courage and patriotism.”

“Let the heroes in each of us thrive in our everyday words and action, in service of the greater good,” Aquino, Ninoy's only son, said.

Hard-won freedom, Aquino said, should be used to “spark a revolution for positive change and cast our stake in forging our destiny as a nation.”

“Individual choice can change the course of our history,” Aquino said, citing his father’s decision to return to the country despite the perils.

Ninoy returned to the country August 21, 1983  after years of exile in the United States with his family during Martial Law.

“[H]e headed home, alone, heart burning with fervor, to fight for the democracy he dreamed of reclaiming for his country,” the President said.

“No exile could lull him into comfort amidst the pleas of his kababayans for a peaceful life; no distance could make him neglect the duties he swore to his motherland,” he added.

Upon his arrival, Ninoy was shot to death at the tarmac of what was then the Manila International Airport, which is now named after him.

His death spurred the famed People Poweer revolution, which ousted strongman Ferdinand Marcos from power in 1986.

“Time and again, we have proven that no challenge is too daunting and no task is too great for a united Filipino nation,” the President said.

He added: “Let us remain steadfast in our journey of renewal and bestow the legacy of an even more mature democracy upon coming generations.”