By Anna Valmero

MAKATI CITY, Philippines — Good news to Makati commuters.

Taxi drivers who abuse their passengers will be apprehended, according to Makati city mayor Jejomar Binay who ordered the re-launch of the “Oplan Isnaberong Tsuper” this holiday season.

According to the Makati City local government website, Binay ordered both the Makati Police and the Department of Public Safety to help protect Makati’s constituents from taxi drivers who refuse passengers and even charge extra fare.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

DECORATING for Christmas is not complete without the twinkling Christmas lights that brighten up a night. But how safe are the Christmas lights that you are using?

According to Alex Malong, product manager of the Bureau of Product Standards-Department of Trade and Industry (BPS-DTI), all Christmas lights sold in the market should have the following in its packaging:

1. A visible Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) sticker
2. Safety instructions
3. Manufacturer’s name
4. Country of origin
5. Number of standard used- PNS 189:2000
6. Printed mark “For indoor use only”
7. Rated voltage and rated wattage of the set
8. Rated voltage and rated wattage of the lamp

[Read the rest of this entry »]

DECORATING a Christmas tree should not be that expensive.

Anything can be hung on a Christmas tree as long as it is light and colorful, according to Alice Tesoro-Guerrero, chairman of Tesoro’s marketing corporation. In fact, the decoration can be unrelated to Christmas.

Guerrero’s Christmas trees, namely her Heritage tree and the Filipiniana tree displayed at the Tesoro Handicraft store, are examples.

The Heritage tree glowing in white motif was decorated with handkerchiefs, mini-pouch, wedding souvenirs, shell icicles, Capiz trimmings and lights. Guerrero said she got the idea of shell icicles from the shell chimes that were displayed in the store. Aside from the shell icicles, Guerrero said the handkerchief can be reused after Christmas.

“If it’s no longer Christmas, you can use it as a hanky in suits,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero said she came up with the idea of putting souvenir items on Christmas trees when she found that they have a lot of them in their store.

“I want to have something different,” she said.

You can get creative when decorating Christmas trees. There are other things you can hang: native car dolls, poinsettia napkin rings, butterfly refrigerator magnets, key chains, wine shot glasses, and children’s ballpen.

As Guerrero stressed, you don’t need to spend much this coming holidays.

“Look around the house. Maybe you can find small items. Let your imagination run wild,” Guerrero said.

THEY are golden, round and small yet overly creamy, crispy and sweet. These flavors best describe the cream puffs, which are delectable desserts especially this holiday season. Instead of the usual chocolates, cakes and ice cream for your palettes, try serving a cream puff cake, also known as Gâteau St. Honoré.

Gateau St. Honore got its name from the patron saint of bakers, Saint Honoratus or Saint Honoré who was a bishop in France. According to food timeline, the procedures done in making the Gâteau St. Honoré dates back 17th Century because choux and cream were often used during this time.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

GOOGLE his name and the first entry leads to a collection of trivia naming him the longest serving editor-in-chief in the world. Unofficially, at least.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Sir Etienne Dupuch holds the “world’s longest editorship” at 72 years — he was editor-in-chief of the Nassau Daily Tribune in the Bahamas from 1919 t0 1972, and then as contributing editor until his death in 1991.

Sy Yinchow, meanwhile, stakes his claim as the world’s longest-serving editor-in-chief, since technically, Dupuch held that title for only 53 years.

Yinchow (also known by his pen name Chua Kee) first became editor-in-chief of the Manila New Day, an underground newspaper he founded in 1945 at the height of the Japanese occupation.

Since then, he’s been editor-in-chief for at least three newspapers — until today he’s the chief editor for United Daily News, a broadsheet catering to the local Chinese community.

Born in China’s Fujian province, his family migrated to the Philippines when he was three years old.

Until now, he’s been living in the same house in Binondo with his wife Jade, whom he affectionately refers to as a former beauty queen and the first acknowledged “model mother” within the Chinese community.

A place in the world record books would be just icing on the cake, though. Yinchow has published several books, translating Chinese poems from — as far back as the Tang and Sung dynasties — into English.

The 90-year old Yinchow was born in 1919, according to him during the height of the renaissance in Chinese literature.

Journalism is his career but he considers literature his passion. So he takes pride in numerous accolades given to him for his precise “word-for-word, rhyme-by-rhyme, meter-by-meter” translations.

During my conversation with him, I was quite amazed at how he was able to remember all the highlights of his career, realizing I am talking to someone more than nine decades old already.

So what’s his secret? For starters, running as a sport and eating shrimps and walnuts.

By Marjorie Gorospe

BOHOL is just an hour away from Manila if you were to travel by air to Tagbilaran Airport. Even before landing, you will be amazed by the scenic view of Bohol from above.

But once you’re on the ground, smiling faces are the most consistent trademark in this province, which known for its Chocolate Hills and the Philippine Tarsier, an endangered species that is endemic to the country.

A group of journalists and I were eventually billeted in Panglao Island, courtesy of computer giants HP and Intel.

It took us 30 minutes to settle in. The resort’s good service – not to mention wonderful accommodation and endless line of seafood and Filipino cuisine – was something that you can only have once in a while. There was also a pool where one can bathe while enjoying beach scenery. To top it all, there was wireless Internet through wireless fidelity, which to journalists like us was heaven-sent – or at least to those who were planning to work remotely.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

With the holidays just around the corner, don’t you think it’s time to plan for your Christmas menu?

If you’re tired of the usual fruitcake, cheese and ham, then maybe it’s time to give a twist to your holiday feast.

In Milan, Italy, panettone is at the center of people’s Christmas table.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

I was aimlessly wandering around CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) when I sighted what seemed to be structures amid a clump of coconut trees. So I went further to explore what looked like a park, half-expecting to sit for a while in the shade.

What I found instead were bare-footed kids playing and later on people lying on cartons under the shade. And then it dawned on me that these people could be ACTUALLY living here. From afar, camouflaged by trees and foliage, I spotted makeshift tents. And more kids.

I tried making conversation with Joey and Jingjing — they won’t give me their surnames — and learn more about the people living there. They told me there are about 200 people who live in this park

[Read the rest of this entry »]

IF the film industry has a lot of award-giving bodies for over a decade, the Manila’s Best Kept Restaurant Secrets (MBKRS) Awards unrolled its own red carpet to recognize the best in the food and beverage industry beginning this year.

The MBKRS Awards was born from the MBKRS book published last year, according to Ines Cabarrus, President and CEO of Manila’s Best Kept Secrets, Inc.

“I think we haven’t really haven’t had a chance in this town to really celebrate the best of the dining scene. We have so much to offer as a city,” added Cabarrus.

[Read the rest of this entry »]