Annasandra's Secret (Ang Lihim ni Annasandra)

Rochelle Pangilinan and Andrea Torres for Annasandra

You've probably seen the show by now and figured what happens when young girl Annasandra transforms into a warthog/boar/wild pig every time the sun sets. The beginning of the story was well explained and I lauded the director about the great job they did on the camera angles because for me, it was cinematic. They're proud to say, they've made their best effort to present the story clearly, precise so that when the time comes that the character grows up, everybody knows where they are coming from.

"Awok" is what they're called, and in normal terms it's also some form of "Aswang" but they coined the term from it's Cebuano equivalent. They did this so it stays away from the latter which has been somehow overused in Philippine cinema. When asked if there would be bloody or gory scenes, the Director Albert Langitan immediately replied the negative and said "love scenes". Hunky Mikael Daez and Pancho Magno is here so their presence alone makes it really conducive to showing some skin. It's intended not to be a horror flick but more of a drama which has been proven effective in the past projects of GMA like "Alakdana", "Kokak", "Pyra" and the likes. They are just making something along the lines type of drama and they've been researching about it for quite some time now. 

Rochelle Pangilinan

Rochelle isn't totally closing doors on the things that she's used to like dancing on GMA shows. She's been doing it for quite a number of years now and the thought of retiring from that is something that she's thinking about. You'll see a very good performance from her as Esmeralda in the series. Even on the first day, she has shown how she's been able to do justice on the mother "Awok" role. When her baby girl dies, she almost mimics a howling wolf if you've seen her on the first day. She was intense. Getting that feedback from us was something like a confirmation that she can do this and felt glad during the advanced screening of their show. She's also coming back to see Anassandra played by Andrea Torres when she's become of age. I feel there's going to be more things to look forward to aside from the story plot that we have seen especially the love angles that the guys are also going to be part of. 

Andrea Torres on the other hand looks stunning. She got really thinner than the last time I saw her. It's one of the preparations she did for the role. We didn't see her that much but we figured how she'll fit in on the story, also her role was done by a kid and she'll probably appear after a few days. Based on some of the clips in the series, she's really going to be a bit daring but nothing that people won't be appreciating for the afternoon prime slot it's in. I'm watching it now as I'm writing and it looks like we're going to be in an epic journey as she finds true love, or is it?

The show also stars Mikael Daez, Pancho Magno, Cris Villonco, Glydel Mercado, Emilio Garcia, Maria Isabel Lopez, Joyce Ann Burton, Arthur Solinap, Gabriel De Leon, Erika Padilla, and Mercedes Cabral. Be sure to watch it everyday right after Dading on GMA Afternoon Primetime.

For more information about their artists:

Official GMA Artist Center

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http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter

FoodPanda Philippines and their new Managing Director Mauro Cocchieri

Mauro Cocchieri of FoodPanda Philippines

FoodPanda Philippines has a new man on the helm as their new Managing Director, he is Mauro Cocchieri. He also was Managing Director for popular shopping site Lazada Philippines and he's really excited to join the company. They launched last June 2014 and under Rocket Internet and they're just starting. They've been able to accomplish much in the last few months and are eager to expand into different cities. We got to sit down and talk to him in Paris Delice, a quaint French shack in Juno corner Makati Avenue in Makati City.

Mauro says "This is quite fun, I am younger than what I look. I'm only 27 years old. I was born May of 1997 in Perugia, a small town between Rome and Florence in Italy. It's very close to Assisi. I grew up there until I was 20, I appreciated the nice life but later on, it felt boring. I grew up middle class and went to a public university. I convinced my parents to invest in me and went to Milan so I could study more. Education there is okay, but I felt I had to go out. I got my business degree there, did 6 months in Netherlands and it was very European. I had my internship in GE and kind of quit a corporate environment. I felt I could do something more, three years ago I decided to join Rocket Internet. I was one of the few German speakers in the company. They were already successful but nobody knew Rocket Internet that much back then. I also founded an online design and furniture company. I stayed there a year and joined Rocket Internet Global Team then got to visit Asia, Europe and Africa because I was with Global Venture Development Manager for Rocket Internet, then Lazada after a few. I stayed with Lazada as Managing Director and handled  Operations and Delivery, Customer Experience and Satisfaction. When I joined Lazada it wasn't as popular as this right now. When they opened the post of FoodPanda Philippines, I wanted to grow professionally and joined them. 

The main value of FoodPanda Philippines this year is city expansion, hopefully to get 10 cities before the year ends. We wish to establish 4 offices in Metro Manila and 6 outside. Food delivery in the Philippines is the hottest business in the moment. We are already in 40 countries and have around 1000 employees or more everywhere in the world. We have a separate office in Jupiter. We are faster than other ventures because this market is really booming now and we've gotten a lot of interest from restaurants, brands and customers. We are to provide the best customer experience because our customers are always hungry. It's not much different with what we do with products, but food is an emotional product. They are either very happy or have very bad emotions because it is food. 

When we deliver, we are more the ambassadors of the customer experience - and not just delivery. We have a restaurant acquisition team and we are here to partner with them if they want to do delivery. We have targeted most on Google and they're surprised that our service work. It's easy to get hundreds of restaurants even in the last 3 months because we have an amazing sales team. The change in strategy with me joining is trying to understand Filipino customers. We don't need so much listings but we'll provide what the customer wants. We tell them what time it gets delivered. If we say the food will arrive in 45 minutes, we will do as is. We've even got requests to deliver in a specific time which we had some OFW's send their families in the Philippines food too by purchasing it off with their credit cards from other countries. We try to do the project and it's completion but it will take some time, we also make the restaurant aware of the importance of delivering on time and what is important for customers and have them satisfied each time they deal with them. That's our goal."  

The Service

FoodPandaPH has an app both available in the Google Play and App Store. You can install this on iOS and Android devices. There are some features though like the review links that don't work most probably because this is still in Beta. I have friends who have tried the web based ordering system at http://www.foodpanda.ph/. So I'll try the using the one for iOS. The app is easy to navigate and understand. It basically just needs your location since it scans for the restaurants near your area. It also has the menu and price listed conveniently plus the minimum order for every restaurant. You can put everything in the basket and pay for it on checkout. Their credit card, paypal (oh yes bloggers your prayers have been answered!) and cash on delivery payments is very convenient especially for either those who are in the office or at home. 

You'll get a breakdown of your order too sent to your email after all the transactions.

One you place your order and proceed on checkout, you would need to fill up your details if you choose to not login. If you don't have an account yet, the app will ask you to enter a password later on if you've finalized the orders. Once you submit it, you'll receive a verification code on your mobile number and FoodPandaPH will call you. They will confirm your order and tell you the estimated time of arrival for your order, more like a rundown. You know the good thing about it? Delivery for the restaurant I chose was FREE. Actually, almost everything I saw there had free delivery. That's neat because it doesn't cost an arm, leg or kidney unlike some delivery services I know.

The food arrived earlier than expected, fresh, hot and fast!

FoodPandaPH is the best thing since sliced bread. It's convenient, it's going to have more restaurants on it's list pretty soon and you'll get great deals without leaving your humble abode. So the next thing you should do, is hurry and download the application on the App Store and Google play. It's like my go to thing now if I'm hungry, it's pretty popular in other countries too. Don't take my word for it, use it when you plan that next meeting or if you just feel like ordering take out in Metro Manila, soon the whole Philippines I hope! 

For more information about their services:

Food Panda Philippines

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Visit their official website

http://www.foodpanda.ph/

Today is World Habitat Day!

Trooped down Bistekville 1 in Payatas, Quezon City with Habitat for Humanity Online Champions and the Habitat for Humanity people so we could lend a hand fixing up houses for the beneficiaries of Barangay Silangan in Quezon City. It was a morning to afternoon affair but the weather was very kind to us, and the project was on its way to be done by some of Manila's awesomest (if there's such a word) digital influencers. 

Today is a day of action. October 6 is the WORLD HABITAT DAY where people dedicate themselves again for the cause, because they believe that everybody deserves a decent place to live in. They also believe that getting adequate housing will bring profound changes to the lives of individuals and communities. It's also true that if these people have a decent place to live in they would also be able to break the cycle of poverty, promote better health and school performance, create wealth and savings, and increase safety and stability. Imagine how much lives you can save just by giving them decent shelter, they would be productive members of the community together with their families. Isn't that enough reason to volunteer with Habitat For Humanity Philippines?

  During the build, good looking endorser Chris Tiu also prepared a basketball clinic together with the his crew so the kids of the community get involved in worthwhile activities even at a young age. I've seen quite a number of them thinking to be basketball players already because they get inspired playing ball this early. He did some shooting, dribbling and passing exercises which will be beneficial in teaching them the scientific way of playing ball.

We also visited a couple of houses and their beneficiaries to take a look at how their lives have improved after getting their own house from Habitat For Humanity Philippines and their projects. They also teach each one of them something that would be able to make them earn a living even when they're inside the community. Indeed, they are thriving.

If you haven't been a volunteer yet, this is the right time to do it. Please visit http://www.habitat.org.ph to know more about the ways you can help. A large part of your donation will go to the materials in building houses for our less fortunate countrymen who are in dire need of our help. You can also call them directly if you want to volunteer, they'll schedule you and provide materials for the build much like how we did it. It's not impossible, you can help!

For more information about their organization:

Habitat For Humanity Philippines

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Visit their official website

http://www.habitat.org.ph/

Yasmien Kurdi, Rich Asuncion for GMA's "Yagit"

We had a treat a few days ago with GMA Artist Center ladies Yasmien Kurdi and Rich Asuncion at the Nail Cocktails nail salon in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. It's part of the Ultimate Bloggers Experience they promised us that day and it was awesome to have been able to talk to these two ladies from the Kapuso network. They've been very busy these past few months and I remember my last interviews with them quite vividly. 

Yasmien Kurdi and Richelle Asuncion is set to bring you "Yagit", based from one of the 80's most iconic series called "Mga Batang Yagit". They won't be using the same script but would make an updated version of it wherein everyone would be able to relate to. I used to watch this show when I was a kid and I knew most of the main villains because I got slightly afraid and scarred with Bella Flores when she was often hitting them with whatever she can grab at home, whilst sometimes she doesn't grab and throw anything but the kids themselves. It's drama, it's comedy, it's life all rolled into one. It did really good in the ratings before I'm sure because you won't probably see anyone not talking about it. It became part of the culture, part of every afternoon, and that's one of the reasons why this should be staged in this generation. They'll be heavily concentrating on the strengths of the show back then discussing family values, good manners, love and life.

When we asked Yasmien about how she got the role, she says "We were handpicked, we didn't have to really audition for the role. We have already taped for quite a while now, several months for Yagit. It's a different role for me, it's something new and something interesting. We're excited and interested about what will happen with the character in the script. I have already done so may scenes with the kids. In the beginning they were trying to learn the terminologies, the cameras they needed to look at, they are learning how it is on the set. They are all very promising, they have their own ways in acting and ways to attack a scene. I don't have favorites because they all do good." When asked about her kid Yasmien says "She's turning two in November, it's going so fast because I'm already having a two year old. My parents and I do enjoy my kid a lot. I can chase her around, watch cartoons with her and I'm very happy I get to spend time. I have a very supportive and loving husband, a very loving father to my daughter. I will rate him excellent or even more if that's allowed." and thanked her for the time we spent with her that afternoon.

Yasmien also shared what she has on her makeup kit, some beauty bloggers also did her make up that afternoon.

Looking gorgeous when she walked inside the nail spa is Rich Asuncion. I find her very beautiful and stunning in that pink number she pulled out from her closet. I sat beside her when she was getting her nails done whilst I was getting a foot scrub. It was relaxing and I got to talk to her more about her studies. She's doing good and she's almost going to get that elusive diploma pretty soon. It's so nice to see someone of her stature still eager to finish her studies even if she's already successful in show business. She also takes time to take care of herself and fancy natural products. She goes to spa's like once a month and usually just asks for home service. Her idea of relaxing is just staying at home, she goes out not that often. In Yagit, she's playing the role of Odette. She's the Executive Secretary of Donya Claudia who is the Mom of James Blanco's character. She's not naturally bad but since she likes James' character, she will be a little evil if the kids would be in the way. She says "The kids are remarkable, I find acting wise "Jocelyn" that she really studies the characters a lot and she really jumps into the character, "Ding" on the other hand is so natural that it's innate to act. "Tomtom" is hilarious and he's really a character, he always plays around with me while on set. Clauie is a little silent but looks so cute. Generally it's so fun to be with kids in the set. For me, it's a regular thing to be with new actors and young stars. It's a very light environment because they are kids. The downside would be that they'd forget that it is work. They are given only a few hours to do it. I see how people adjust to them and prepare everything. Director Gina Alajar is like a kid when they are shooting and I really find that fun as well." Here they are inviting you to watch it.

Yagit will start on October 13th, that's on Monday and you'll see Chlaui Malayao play Elisa, Zymic Jaranilla as Ding, Judie dela Cruz play Jocelyn, Jemwell Ventinilla as Tom-tom and Steph Yamut as Tiffany. This will be replacing hit show "Dading", you guys better watch it!

For more information about their artists:

Official GMA Artist Center

Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter