Become a World Class Talent at STAR MAGIC's School for the Creative and Performing Arts

If it's about stars getting workshops, there's no other reliable organization to do that in the Philippines and in some parts of the world than Star Magic Workshops. This year, there's going to be a huge change because they've gone the mile, made it even BIGGER... and now call it STAR MAGIC SCHOOL FOR THE CREATIVE & PERFORMING ARTS. This means they'll be catering to folks, kids to adults and hone them in multiple disciplines, including acting, singing, dance and more. 

 What I've learned from the press conference is that they've managed to already do good in the workshops, but wanted to improve and grow. This is why they made sure to get different subject matter experts so that they wouldn't be boxed up in just the ABSCBN grounds. They wanted folks who are excellent in their fields and have them instruct in the workshops too including master classes, character building, music production, and train more directors for live events too. The launch was graced by Star Magic and Production Head Direk Lauren Dyogi, Business Unit Head Raymund Dizon, acting coaches HB Benitez III, Alecx Lorica and Marcel David, theater coach Meann Espinosa, ABSCBN Show Director Jon Moll, Kirby Balagtas, Dale Recina, Troi Bautista who are producers from You Me Us MNL, plus veteran Voice Coach Julie Anne Reyes. They also had coaches of BGYO and BINI Anna Graham, Jerwin Nicomedes, plus dance coaches Mickey Perz, Reden Blanquera, Matthew Almodovar, Aennon Tabungar and Josh Junio. They also had the very talented Talia Concio, BGYO perform on stage so we could have a taste of  what could happen if we have undergone their workshops. It was a sight for sore eyes!

If you want to be part of this, they have onsite enrollment on March 29 and 30, April 5 and 6. Just fill up the form at this website forms.abs-cbn.com/starmagicscpa and follow the directions. You may also follow their social channels at facebook.com/starmagicscpa or @starmagicscpa on IG. Come prove your talent is world class by joining one or more of their classes. Information about the courses are also there. I'm so interested in the Music Production and the Directors course.

The realme 14 Pro + 5G Takes Serious Photos, Water Test Approved

This one (realme 14 Pro + 5G) takes serious photos. (Looks nice even on lower size and FB compression)

Aside from the fact that this is endorsed by the lovely Kathryn Bernardo, there's actually a lot more to the new realme 14 Pro+ 5G. I was able to experience handling this phone for a few weeks, and by far, it's a promising one that's quite serious with photos. 

 I'm saying this from experience, they took us to a far flung resort in Rizal to take a real world test of what the phone can do. Needless to say, I got really good photos... but honestly, I wasn't surprised because I saw the brand they used for the triple cameras, all SONY. I've been a photographer for years now, and I've seen a lot of folks in the industry who's handled pro cameras with lenses from the same corp. Images come out sharp with true colors, so I'm expecting the same with this smartphone. Although I artistically want a more saturated output, photos from it are good without edits. It's something folks would wish on their phones, and they're pretty good at it overall, as a brand. I also carry a realme 12 which I personally use for videos, and swear by its capability to shoot on HD. This realme 14 Pro + 5G definitely shows improvement over that, anyone would love improvements right?

The realme 14 Pro + 5G also has something that wasn't being done in the previous phones, the capability to withstand water splashes, we tested that out too. Check out this unboxing video and water test we did with it.

The thing is, the marble looking version of this handset (Pearl White) has the capability to change colors according to temperature. Sure enough, when we poured cold water from a borrowed phone of that variant, it showed blue veins all over the back. The Black Suede version that I had is more muted, something that I'd want if I didn't want to stand out too much. I like that they gave us options. 

 

This phone also has a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor. This makes it capable of doing even more CPU and GPU work plus AI. AI is quite useful these days both for editing photos and automation purpose. If you're also a gamer and want other work done on your phone, this makes it possible to do that. Overall, you'll love this handset if you're a casual gamer or use it mostly for social meda, a little work and daily abuse. If you are a little adventurous, the phone can withstand usual wear and tear, plus water as indicated by standards. It also carries a huge battery, 6000mAh, it can last a day and a few more hours plus charge fast with the proprietary SUPERVOOC charge that realme carries.

They have promos going on for this model on TikTok and Shopee, so if you're planning to get this phone, you better act fast (as it only is limited and subject to availability, some realme Watch S2 I heard). It costs Php 19,499 and is now available in the Philippines. Would you love a realme 14 Pro + 5G? I'm sure I would!

ACG Set to Hold FAST FORWARD 2025 International Tax and Investment Conference

The Philippines is set to be the host of the International Tax and Investment Conference dubbed "FAST FORWARD 2025" aimed to promote ESG investing in the country. For those who don't know, that stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, a way to evaluate sustainability and ethical impact of a company.

The conference will be very instrumental in this discussion and encouraging more foreign investments in the country. March 26 will start panel discussions, exhibits on local products and the ACG Global Awards to recognize champions and advocates of sustainability. Lead Convenor for this event is Mon Abrea, the CEO of Asian Consulting Group who's tax reform advocacy has moved mountains in the region. To date, ACG has over 191 Billion pesos of savings from BIR cases of their clients. Dr. Bing Limjoco Head of the Philippine Franchise Association and Franchise Asia will be Vice Chairman of this event.

The event will also mark the launch of Mon Abrea's newest book "Re-imagining the World Without Climate Change" which includes real world studies of FAST industries who follow ESG principles, proving it can be done. The press conference also was graced by the one and only Madame Loida Lewis, who was given honors before she left for New York. Young entrepreneur and actress Bea Binene also shared why she trusts ACG and how ESG efforts have made her even trust the firm more in managing her tax and businesses to this date.

Here's the press conference in its entirety!

If you want to join FAST FORWARD 2025 you may email them at itic@acg.ph or visit their website itic2025.helixpay.ph if you want to secure a slot to the event.