11 Filipino billionaires in Forbes 2013 list, mall tycoon Henry Sy leads

As the economy and stock market of the Philippines progressed and outperformed others, 11 Filipinos made it to the Forbes Magazine 2013 global billionaires' list, with five more Filipino billionaires added from a total of six last year.

Number 1 Filipino tycoon and business magnate Henry Sy, and his family, ranked 68th on the list with a net worth of $13.2 billion as of March 2013.

"The Philippines' richest man Henry Sy saw his fortune swell by more than $5 billion as shares of his holding firm SM Investments, the country's most valuable company, surged by over 50 percent, fueled by reports that it may merge its property units," Forbes said.

Lucio Tan, owner of tobacco, alcohol, airline and real estate firms, and his family ranked second in the Filipino billionaires list with a net worth of $5 billion. 

The new members of the billionaires' list are this year are Consunji and family, Ty and family, the Co couple, Coyiuto, Tan Caktiong and family, and Gotianun and family. 

Meanwhile, the biggest gainer title goes to Enrique Razon who debuted in the billionaires list just last year. Razon, owner of International Container Terminal Services (ICTS) which purchased various ports worldwide, saw his wealth hike by over $3 billion after Bloomberry Resorts,  his hotel and casino venture, joined the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The names and ranks of the Filipino billionaires worldwie in 2013 are as follows:

1. No. 68 - Henry Sy ($13.2 billion)

2. No. 248 - Lucio Tan ($5 billion)

3. No. 258 - Enrique Razon Jr. ($4.9 billion)

4. No. 345 - Andrew Tan ($3.95 billion)

5. No. 503 - David Consunji and family ($2.8 billion)

6. No. 554 - George Ty and family ($2.6 billion)

7. No. 736 - Lucio and Susan Co ($2 billion)

8. No. 931 - Robert Coyiuto, Jr. ($1.6 billion)

9. No. 1031 - Tony Tan Caktiong and family ($1.4 billion)

10. No. 1175 - Andrew Gotianun and family ($1.2 billion)

11. No. 1175 - Roberto Ongpin ($1.2 billion)

Forbes noted that all the 1,426 billionaires of the world saw an increase in its aggregate net worth from $4.6 trillion to $5.4 trillion, which is roughly near (hundreds of billions in dollars) the gross domestic product (GDP) of Japan or the GDPs of France and Brazil combined in 2011.

Together, the net worth of the Philippine billionaires this year totaled to $39.85 billion, around 16.75 percent of the Philippine economy in 2012.

FOR STUDENTS: No to campaigning on Commencement and Graduation Day

Sa mga kapwa po namin mag-aaral ng iba't ibang paaralan sa Pilipinas, pribado man o pampubliko, hinihikayat po namin kayo na maging mapagmatyag at aktibo ngayong paparating na halalan sa pamamagitan ng simpleng pagpapadala lamang ng mga kuha o litrato niyo ng mga politikong kandidato na kahit sa Commencement Exercises o maging sa Graduation Day (kung saan kayong mga magsisipagtatapos at mga kamag-anak, kapatid o kaibigan ng mga magsisipagtapos ang dapat na pinaparangalan) ay sila pang bibida-bida sa mga araw na ito.

Noong nakaraang buwan po'y may pinaikot na memorandum ang Department of Education (DepEd) na nagpaparating sa mga paaralan ng hindi pagsang-ayon sa mga politikong kandidatong gagamitin ang Graduation at Commencement Day bilang porum upang ipaalam ang kanilang mga plataporma at angking galing bilang pinuno ng anumang sekto ng lipunan.

Sa pagpapadala po ng mga litrato o video ng mga ito ay maipaparating natin sa kanila ang pagnanais nating kundenahin ang pakiki-sawsaw nila sa espesyal na araw na ito. Mahalaga para sa atin na maipagmalaki ang nagawa natin at hindi ang mga pangako at nagawa ng mga politikong kandidaton ito. 

Kung may makuha man po kayo, maaring ipadala po lamang ang mga ito sa spotlightphilippines(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)ph. Higit po naming pahahalagahan ang confidentiality ng inyong ipapadala at maging ng magpapadala mismo. 

Nawa'y maikalat po natin ang mensaheng ito sa ating mga kaklase, kaibigan, kamag-anak at kung sinu-sino pa, nang sa gayo'y maiparating natin sa mga politikong kandidatong ito ang ayaw natin sa kanila.

Sa araw ng pagpaparangal, ilabas ang mga cellphones, camera o tablets bilang armas ng pagbabago, ipadala ang mga litrato o di kaya'y ipost sa Facebook nang malaman nang marami ang hindi katanggap-tanggap na pangangampanya ng mga ito.

Kayo, mga kapwa po naming estudyante, ang ugat ng pagbabago sa bansang ito. Nasa atin po ang mas progresibong pagbabago. Kung hindi tayo kumilos kahapon, dapat ngayon; kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa?

Maraming salamat!

Cynthia Villar says 'sorry' to nurses

Liberal Party senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar has apologized to nurses for her highly criticized statement on national TV during a senatorial debate on GMA New TV's "Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato" two weeks ago.

For what she said, she had written a letter of apology to the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA).

Photo Courtesy: LP website

“I truly am sorry for having offended the feelings of your members. It was never my intention to belittle anyone, least of all, the valiant members of the nursing profession," she said.

Villar explained Monday that "lack of time and the complexity of the issue" regarding a closure order issued by the CHED years ago hindered her from answering the question "in a clear and concise manner."

“Mahirap po talagang pagkasyahin sa loob ng isang minuto at kalahati ang lahat ng gusto kong sabihin tungkol sa mga naging problema ng mga mag-aaral ng nursing noon at hanggang ngayon. Napakalaki ng aking paghanga sa mga nars, saan man sila naglilingkod kaya’t nalulungkot ako dahil nagkulang ang aking pagpapaliwanag," she said.

Aside from that, she was unable to complete her answer because the time limit for the first answer and the thirty seconds allotted for a follow-up reply "quickly lapsed."

“What I was trying to say during that media forum was that nursing students affected by a CHED closure order several years ago deserved concrete and better career and academic options other than just an abrupt closure of the institutions that they were currently enrolled in,” she said.

During that time, she was part of a legislative oversight committee that "had to intervene" to ensure that the welfare and rights of nursing students, their parents, and teachers were provided "sufficient thought and consideration" by CHED and the school owners.

To know what happened and why representative Cynthia Villar caused public outrage on the issue of nurses, read here.

-with reports from Kimerly K Tan of GMA News

Mario Maurer dating Cacai Bautista?

Some sites have been buzz blogging about the rumor that Thai superstar Mario Maurer and "Suddenly It's Magic" co-actor Cacai Bautista are dating. Well, if it's true then everyone must be happy for them.

They were spotted out in a dinner "date" in Bangkok, Thailand. In an ABSCBNNews report, Mario escaped from his shoot just to have dinner with Cacai. Citing the report,

Speaking on “The Buzz” where he is a host on Sunday, Abunda said his sources told him details about Bautista's recent visit to Thailand, where she reportedly had dinner with the Thai actor. 

His sources said Bautista supposedly invited Maurer for a dinner but the actor was disappointed when he learned that it won’t be just the two of them. 

“Ang unang dumating daw 'yung manager ni Mario. The manager was the one who first arrived tapos si Mario daw ay dumating. According to my sources, si Mario was a bit disappointed dahil akala niya sila lang ni Cacai ang magkasama. 'Yun pala nandoon ang kanyang mga kaibigan at kanyang manager,” Abunda shared.

Abunda’s sources also claimed that Maurer even escaped from his movie shooting just to see Bautista.

“When Cacai invited Mario to dinner – sobrang traffic sa Thailand -- dumating si Mario sa dinner, according to my source again, nakamotorsiklo at pawisan. Tumakas siya sa shooting para lang makasama si Cacai,” he said. 

Abunda said his sources told him that Maurer is really enamored by Bautista’s beauty and personality. 

According to Abunda, he tried to ask for Bautista’s side of the story but the actress chose to keep mum about the matter.

Is Cacai Bautista really the new girl of Mario after breaking up with his long-time girlfriend Gubgib Sumontip? Maybe all will be clear if both shows up live and admits it in public.

UAAP Season 75 Volleyball Finals, NU vs FEU, DLSU vs ADMU Results, Schedule

The results and the schedule of the Finals games in the volleyball clash between the NU Bulldogs vs FEU Tamaraws (Men's Division) and DLSU Lady Spikers vs Ateneo Lady Eagles (Women's division) in the UAAP Season 75 will be posted here.

MEN'S FINALS: 

NU smashes FEU at 1-0

Game 1 (March 2): NU catches FEU off-guard 16-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-17, 15-8

Game 2 (March 6): 2PM | SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena | FEU Tamaraws vs NU Bulldogs

Game 3 (March 9): 2PM | Smart Araneta Coliseum | NU Bulldogs vs FEU Tamaraws

Best Scorer: Ron Jay Galang (Adamson University)

Best Spiker: Peter Den Mar Tores (National University)

Best Blocker: Mark Gil Alfafara (University of Santo Tomas)

Best Server: Arvin Avila (Far Eastern University)

Best Digger: Carlo Almario (University of the East)

Best Setter: Vince Mangulabnan (National University)

Best Receiver: Arvin Avila (Far Eastern University)

Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP):

Season Most Valuable Player (MVP):

Rookie of the Year:

WOMEN'S FINALS: 

DLSU takes first win, 1-0

Game 1 (March 2): DLSU aims at ADMU 20-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-6

Game 2 (March 6): 4PM | SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena | Ateneo Lady Eagles vs La Salle Lady Spikers

Game 3, (March 9): 4PM | Smart Araneta Coliseum: |La Salle Lady Spikers vs Ateneo Lady Eagles

Best Scorer: Alyssa Valdez (Ateneo de Manila University)

Best Spiker: Myla Pablo (National University)

Best Blocker: Abigail Maraño (De La Salle University)

Best Server: Sheila Pineda (Adamson University)

Best Digger: Jennylyn Reyes (National University)

Best Setter: Jamenea Ferrer (Ateneo de Manila University)

Best Receiver: Jennylyn Reyes (National University)

Finals Most Valuable Player:

Season Most Valuable Player:

Rookie of the Year:

The Finals games for Volleyball Men's and Women's in the UAAP Season 75 will be aired live on Studio 23.