GMA Kids Help Typhoon Victims

Adults sometimes take for granted what kids can do. A few days ago we went to a far flung school in Rizal where most of the kids of the community were part of those devastated by recent typhoons that have swept the country. Mona Louise Rey, Migs Cuaderno, Nomer Limatog and Daniela Amable, some of the brightest kid stars from GMA decided to help them get through this by getting them get armed with the proper protection, and get entertained that afternoon. A small gesture, but judging by the smiles I saw with the kids there, it was all worth it!

Mona Louise Rey looked like a porcelain doll turned alive. The sweet kid was adored by the students of Karangalan Elementary School. She was surprised to see that the kids, the teachers and the parents present there actually watched her show "My BFF". She actually performed "Let it go!" and had some of the kids sing along.

She also shared her experience auditioning for GMA, she said it's possible to be an artist just by putting their minds into it. They have to study first because it's not easy but everything starts with a dream.

I thought he was Bimby but this kid is Migs Cuaderno. He's a pretty good singer too and his confidence just comes out when in front of a crowd. He also said a few things to the students and asked them to pray hard so they get through life's struggles. If they want to be successful, school should never be missed because even reading and memorizing scripts would be part of an artists' life. This is also the same in singing, so he did that right after the small talk.

Some of the teachers and girls in the audience got a little excited when they saw Nomer Limatog up the stage. He's one of the kids that sang in Protege, GMA's biggest reality show. Talented as he is, of course he had to sing for them. True enough, he showed why he's been able to perform in GMA's shows because even at puberty, he's doing great with singing. He's also doing good with some "Magpakailanman" appearances and I think he'll be utilized well in future shows. He shared his experiences while auditioning for shows and says all it takes is a little effort, and hopes the kids would be able to learn more while staying in school and perhaps get a career later on.

Daniella Amable looks all grown up! I didn't recognize her. This is the same kid who we watched from the other network, The Good Daughter and Genesis. She also told these guys and gals from Karangalan Elementary School to always put God above everything else and he will take care of them. Then these kids started giving away gifts of rain boots, rain coats and other things from their sponsors. Garfield, Fernando's Bakeshop, Kids Republic, Hammerhead, the sweet people from Made In Candy and GMA Artist Center.

Ultimately, these kids, even when they're so young has been able to chip in and give a little help to the kids who have been ravaged by the typhoon that recently struck Manila. They deserve every little bit of fun they had during this afternoon. Thank you again to GMA Artist Center to let us tag along during this very touching event for the kids. I'm sure there will be more! :) 

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Inspirations: Meet the Pharmaton Life Chargers

We went to a Pharmaton event this afternoon as they selected people that would best represent themselves as Life Chargers, a new campaign specifically to bolster inspiration to people who have inspired others and make themselves inspirations too later on. Their tag line was "What inspires you?" I was asked the same question earlier so I answered quite practically and said money. Of course, there are a lot of things that should be important than that. People like the Pharmaton Life Chargers Hindy Weber Tantoco, Maxie Abad, Michelle Ressa Aventajado, Chef Rob Pengson and Anthony Suntay are truly sources of inspiration, they are also inspired by others who are driven in pursuing their goals.

Maxie Abad is a former member of the Philippine National Football Team. He's also a lawyer and manages to still teach youth who loves the sport. He mentions "I truly find inspiration from kids, it's a venue where you can see them grow up from boys to men in a snap. Finding them achieving more than you would be the proudest moment. Seeing them excel in sports even out of football is already the best "take back" you can get from them."

Everyone in the sports world knows Mr. Anthony Suntay. He's gone to every ball sport in the country and if you're not seeing him here, he's probably somewhere else in Europe, the US or elsewhere in Asia covering the biggest sports events there is. He said "I figured what else could I do when you hit a wall (talking about his stints in the Philippines), I ventured with other companies based internationally and got to cover places outside the Philippines." He advises everyone to stay dynamic, but get Pharmaton so it will get you more energy to take care of your family.

Michelle Aventajado finds opportunities to educate people whenever there is a chance. She doesn't take it personally and takes her time to explain things about special children. She also understands where they are coming from because there are challenges in education and being informed. Still, she remains inspired and continues to provide inspiration to other people. "My students and children teach me too, you can learn so much from kids."

Hindy Tantoco keeps her integrity through trials, resilience and perseverance. If she gets to still take that in her place, she's already fulfilled in making a positive change. She's okay with non organic stuff too and doesn't blind herself from those she can benefit from. She's taking it easy now and supplementing with more while staying healthy. She didn't stop with fashion but she takes her time now unlike before where she goes home so late and think about next season to stay ahead. She researched about the benefits of Pharmaton and the idea of supplementing is a good thing for her. She still is a believer in growing your own food, and staying organic. It's what she's been very busy with and the task has continued to inspire people to do the same. This is why she's part of Pharmaton's Life Chargers. It was a treat to talk to her too that afternoon, she was so nice.

Chef Rob Pengson wasn't the smartest kid but at age 19, he asked his folks to get him to study culinary arts. It was difficult, but he was challenged and got to achieve a lot because he knows this is his passion... and he said when he worked with his passion, that's where his life totally changed. They began to open a school in 2007, saying it was a gamble, but when he showed his passion to students who enrolled at that time, that's how he got the ball rolling. Now, Global Academy is one of the biggest culinary schools in the country. He's now giving chance to students to excel, even giving scholarships to deserving ones from far flung provinces as he continues to still follow his passion. He says "Stay resilient and follow your passion, work out and eat the right food. Supplement well, no matter what you eat you don't get everything and Pharmaton resolves that."

These Pharmaton Life Chargers will be continuing to inspire more people, they're as ordinary as you and me but they make their life better by sharing their passion to other people. Take Pharmaton and do the same, it'll help you understand how anyone can be an inspiration to others. I'll try that too!

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SM Holds Movies for the Deaf and Blind

It was a heartwarming sight to see our brothers and sisters who are differently abled, blind and deaf at the cinemas of SM The Block a few days ago. The plan is, to actually have these facilities (all SM Cinemas) to be retrofitted with the right equipment in order to cater to these wonderful kids and their families a place to watch movies even if they are in that condition. This is a very good move for SM, SM Prime Holdings, SM Cinemas and SM Cares. They are doing this hand in hand with AKAP Pinoy, Philippine Blind Union, NCDA, Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled and the MTRCB.

It was impossible to do this before but with the help of technology and proper dubbing, there are now digital movies that can be interpreted for the blind and put in closed captioning for the deaf. I thought it was not going to be possible because they wouldn't be able to see or understand it, it all became clear to me once they started the movie.

They invited them from special education classes all around the metro and got the movie HUGO on screen for them. Each scene was described meticulously for those who could not see, from going through pipes, smoke, the construction of the fonts and the credits, everything was described for them. The closed captioning was also there so the deaf can actually read the dialogue of the characters. They also described them during the times the characters were only looking at them so you know our blind friends would be able to understand the scenes as they go along.

They signed the memorandum of agreement in order to make more movies like these. Atty. Eugenio "Toto"  Villareal of the MTRCB, executives from SM Cares, SM Cinemas, SM Prime Holdings and other NGO's was there to witness it. They will work on making more movies like these, the Filipino films included and perhaps give more incentives to private corporations, producers who would make their films available to the differently abled brethren. That right there is history, if we could only do this to every film... it would be something that we'll be so happy to share with the blind and deaf individuals so they could be able to live more independently even when watching in the cinemas.

Thank you so much to SM Cares, you truly are working to make every Filipino's life better. Thank you for your heartfelt gesture in making this accessible to the blind and deaf, you deserve every applause you got from them. Including me. *Waves hands in sign language*

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Smart Introduces 5G LTE-A Network in the Country!

Mr. Orlando B. Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of Smart during the tests of 5G LTE-A technology in 2013; where they recorded 209.66 mbps speeds in the Philippines.

In the eve of the rising number of Filipinos clamouring for better and faster Internet connection, the nations largest network Smart Communications just announced the first ever use of 5G LTE in the Philippines by switching to this state in  the Smart JUMP Center in Mandaluyong City.

Mobile operators elsewhere in the world like AT&T and T-Mobile has this and it has delivered data of up to 100 megabits per second (mbps) to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) which is alomst ten times faster than 3G. You can also compare that to be more than twice as fast as current 4G services in the country.

This new LTE-A technology is something historical as this pegs Smart to be in the ranks of a few carriers in the world that has it. Smart just made the Philippines stand along with other leading mobile operators in South Korea, United States, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong. Now that this is going to be available in the country, we would be soon  enjoying dreamy 5G speeds as they roll out these changes in more regions in the Philippines.

This has been a possible task as Smart also utilizes the PLDT Fiber Optic Cable connection. They say it's already around 90,000 Kilometers of underwater cabling installed and they'll be continuing to install lines in the Visayas and Mindanao region to prevent redundant ones. It's going to be faster and better soon and it'll benefit millions of Filipinos. As long as you're with Smart, you're gonna get there!

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