Erap Estrada, Alfredo Lim clash in TV debate

Here is the fierce debate between incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim who's running for reelection and challenger candidate former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada. Who should be the City Mayor of Manila?

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel TheABSCBNNEws

Two of the candidates running for the Mayoral position in Manila clashed in a seggment of an early morning show, Umagang Kay Ganda. Guess what they talked about and where the heated debate ended. Do watch the video of the Erap-Lim TV debate, as to who should the people of Manila vote for. Should it be Lim or should it be Erap? I guess will have to find out soon.

SPOTTED: Paullete Cambronero, the rising Celine Dion of the Philippines?

I was browsing through my Facebook News Feeds and I found this link of a lady singing Celine Dion's All ByMyself, inside a shopping mall, hitting grand slam high notes and belting out powerful vocals. Her name is Paullete Cambronero, and I must say she's sings great!

Video Courtesy: Facebook Page Basta Bisaya Gwapo og Gwapa, Magpaliwat Ka?

I can't help but feel my spine tingle every time she reaches up the peak. Definitely, one singer to look out for. Who knows, she could be invited by Ellen in her show? I guess I'm just so proud of the Filipino talent!

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