Atom Araullo, Joyce Pring and Richard Heydarian for STAND FOR TRUTH

April 15 is going to be a little different. Next gen reporters will do STAND FOR TRUTH , all for 15 weeks. It is a program produced by GMA News and Public Affairs, funded by Youtube. They are an Innovation Fund Recepient.

This is promising as Richard Heydarian, Atom Araullo, Joyce Pring will be at the helm of the show. Field reporters include real young blood millennials, even Gen Z personalities namely Bhea Jeem Docyogen who is a proud Igorot and radio disc jockey from Baguio, Anthony Esguerra a smart reporter and fellow in New Media and Journalism at Ball State University, Indiana, USA, Asmarie Labao a former forester and DENR Information Officer from Marawi, Ardo Miravalles a Certified Public Account specializing in media and entertainment, Darwin Quirino a Communications Officer for Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Middle East and African Affairs, Manal Sugadol, a licensed English teacher and a former administrative assistant from Cotabato, Larize Lee a Filipino-Chinese and former GMA Artist Center Public Relations Executive, the youngest of which is 17yo Eduard Faraon who is a Senior High School campus journalist and Jerald Uy a former TV reporter, Road Safety Advocate and vlogger. These guys and gals are just starting, so stay tuned as they unfurl their work on GMA’s online properties.

Atom says “They have undergone training with stellar names in journalism even people behind the camera to make these stories. It was a very strong field, 150 submissions and we had to pick 10 from it. They are young but not naive reporters and I can’t want to see them evolve. I would say it would be a waste of talent if we do not maximize the story telling talent of these reporters and journalists. The platform becomes bigger and bigger, it is not just for this organization. Anyone can upload content but there are lots of potential. The format is evolving, we want it to be fresh and different from television, visual but it is a daily show.”

Richard Heydarian adds “I was inspired when they pitched this to me, I got to know these people, I am a teacher by heart and these guys and gals are the cream of the crop. We are now talking about how to make this a team, to make this a gold standard for the region. We have a tough battle, but very confident in the team, we can sync productions so we could get more. We do not want this to be seasonal, these things can work, we hope this goes beyond what we are doing today.”

Joyce Pring says “Right now I am trying to manage my time, from Unang Hirit to events, to hosting in the evening then Unang Hirit again (sometimes sleeps in the car), but I have personal block-offs for time for family and since I am covering music I’ll be in Saguijo one day and the Balloon Festival this afternoon. It is going to be my content, I get to talk to the people behind the bands and events I have to cover. It is not a set of tasks because this is ever evolving, we have a lot of stories to tell. We have youtube as partners, so the reach will be massive.”

The show starts this Monday on GMA News and Public Affairs online channels (GMA’s website and GMA’s Youtube channel) on April 15 at 8PM. You should watch it if you want to Stand for Truth.

Kyla - "Private Affair"

Kyla's Album called "Private Affair" has been slowly dominating the airwaves these past few weeks. True enough it now holds the Number 1 single in Pinoy MYX's Countdown. It's the authority for OPM and with that out in the open let me just touch on what the album contains.

1. "Listen" by Christine Bendebel
2. "Mahal Kita (Di Mo Pansin)" by Francis Louis Salazar
3. "Dagli Na Lang" again by Francis Louis Salazar
4. "Don't Tie Me Down"Produced by Kyla, Jay-R, Billy Crawford, Kris Lawrence, Jimmy Muna
5. "How Deep is Your Love (cover)"
6. "Private Affair" by Christine Bendebel
7. "Camouflage"by Yosha Honasan and Karel Honasan
8. "It's All About Us" by Francis Kix Salazar
9. "A Song for the Love in Summer" by Ulysis Calumpad
10."Keep the Faith" by Moby Aragones
11."Don't Tie Me Down ( which is a house mix)"

I know, one of the songs is a little star studded. Listen is a little on the mellow side. When the album starts with this you kinda get the Kyla vibe you got used to in the past albums. Actually, I feel like it doesn't do justice when you see Kyla perform live. When I got to Party Pilipinas a few months ago she's one of the nicest things I've heard since the birthday song. I tell you, Kyla should do something internationally. Maybe release something in the US and Canada because she'll probably fare well with the likes of Brandy/Monica/Mary J. Blige.

My favorite is the track "Mahal Kita (Di mo pansin)". Even though I am not into tagalog songs these days this one definitely catched my attention. I probably have heard of this a couple of months ago on radio/mp3 and the song is both catchy yet still very sentimental. If I were asked what particular song I'd sell for the local scene... this would be it. I kind of love the way it was written but I'm a little hesitant with how it was arranged in the album. Maybe if they didn't put them one after the other (the songs of Francis Louis Salazar) it would have been better. Then again, I really still love that song bar none! "Dagli na lang" became a little redundant for me because it followed a song after the same composer. If that were placed a little differently... then this whole album would be PERFECT! :)

Don't Tie Me Down as you can see is already a sure hit from the get go (see the names indicated in production?!). I like the catchy sound; and this would probably be nice if it's constantly played in bars that play house music/trans. If you mix this up with hard beats much like with DJ Tiesto or any European jocks for that matter, it would be a great collaboration. I can see this would also be nice if there would be "bar tours" coinciding with the release of this single. Imagine Britney, or Madonna but it's our own Kyla doing the moves! Just thinking about it... oooh so awesome!

About "Private Affair", I can definitely relate. It's how you cherish love. It's those small things that make you squirm when your loved one is near. When you can't talk... because you feel it. Yes, its one of those things you do when you fall in love! This song exudes that vibe! Need I say more?

Kyla's recent album is definitely a good thing to have. I'm not surprised why she is the one and only Princess of R&B. If you long for love, if you still reminisce about the past, if you are optimistic about the future and if you feel how lucky YOU ARE when you are with someone special, go to your nearest record bar and get one now!

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PolyEast Records


Kyla

NIGHTMARE @ DFA Philippines (Department of Foreign Affairs)

I Ladies and Gentlemen am a very PATIENT person... yes very very patient indeed... Just this wednesday, I went on to the Department of Foreign Affairs to claim my authenticated Transcript/Diploma. I'll tell you the story...

It was a tiring day at work, I made reports (a bunch of numbers...went crosseyed afterwards), and a short presentation (about a few slides...well okay maybe more) and made corrections on them at work... when I logged out, twas about 7 in the morning already...Sunshine Cruz was staring and glaring at me while walking.. It was hot... I knew I was but it was reaaaaly hot... So I mustered up my urges...and decided to fix my papers at DFA instead of going to the gym... boy! was I in for a surprise!

I was sleep deprived, rode the MRT and a short jeepney ride to the government office...when I went in, it was the wrong place to go to... kind lady guards warded us off to Roxas Boulevard and asked to go to the CHED office located there... it was a short walk... I said to myself "Hey! this is easy!" and so I thought...

So counting the hours, I was about 15 hours awake... at about 10:30am I went inside DFA in Manila and proceeded to read the instructions how to get my Authenticated Transcript and there in the wall it says:

Step1: Ilagay ang CLAIM STUB sa kahon sa table1 at hintaying matawag. (put the claim stub on the box located at table 1 and wait to be called)
Step2: Matapos mahanap ng releasing officer ang inyong dokumento, bayaran ang kaukulang authentication fee (100/doc) sa cashier. (After the releasing officer finds your document, pay the corresponding authentication fee (100/doc) at the cashier).
Step3: Ibalik ang original receipt (pink copy) sa kahon sa table 4 at hintaying matawag muli para sa release ng inyong authenticated documents. (Return the original receipt (pink copy) on the boxprovided at table 4 and wait to be called once authenticated documents have been released)


Oh... I said to myself, I thought since I was already holding a claim stub I'd be just giving that and getting my papers...but nooooo! So I said to myself, that was just 3 steps right? well that should be easy since I saw they were all sitting and waiting there...I thought everything was normal...

I went ahead and got on table 1 and put my claim stub on the box at around the same time...about tennish... and eagerly awaited this fast service... coz it was really just a single piece of paper I was waiting for... but oh my oh my oh my... I waited with these people:

1st hour

2nd hour

3rd hour

Now for a single piece of paper... I WAITED THE 3 LONGEST HOURS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!
Not to mention that in this not so well ventilated room, it was like a BAKERY... I mean it smelled PUTOK ( a term coined after a bread that bursts and means Body odor) ... (-_-)" I was in a nightmare... I just imagined class C D and E were all there trying their luck in other countries, and apparently smelling like that too... meaning thousands of people would go to the same ordeal that I went through and the DFA did not realize something is reaaaaly wrong with 3 long hours just for a single receipt... I told the lady who gave me the paper a piece of advice... DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT...

So I paid the amount...and went back to the room and placed my pink slip on table 4.. I said Oh my... my agony is ending! Yehey!

Then after two and a half hours more....

Yes, it took them about 2 and a half hours just to get the authenticated paper given to me... Yes I implied... I was lucky, I was not the man I met at my side cursing everybody at front already.. I said why should I complain when this old man (probably at his 60's) waited far longer than me... from 9am to 4pm in the afternoon... imagine that huh?! Talk about caring for the Senior citizens!

I was young, but when I went out of that shack I was old and tired... I tried to sleep... but I almost forgot yeah, I had work that night too... and so I was awake for about 23 hours straight... and a single power nap was only for comfort in about less than an hour before I login back to work... yes ladies in the house! and men in the house! The DFA is a nightmare as far as Service is concerned... now I award myself with the medal of ULTIMATE PATIENCE... and may the omnipotent have mercy on their souls....

Department of Foreign Affairs, people there and fellow citizens... There is something wrong with your system, and I'm quite sure it ain't me! Fix it and don't waste hundreds and thousands of OFW's who serve this country regret they ever came back again... not with that kind of office... its not world class... its just shameful imho. Get it? Got it? Good! Get someone else to do your jobs for you! You just can't do it right so get somebody else who can! Thanks! *grin*