Polo Ravales and Kiray Celis for Portrait of my Love

Unlikely pair? Yes of course, but funny? Romantic? It surely will be.

I have always been fascinated with these two stars since I have covered entertainment beats. Polo, was awesome in TGIS, Anna Karenina, and tons of character roles he did all these years. Whilst Kiray is super funny during Regal Films’ tapings (we talked during Shake Rattle and Roll days), and her other shows from the other network. Now she’s out and proud to be part of GMA Artist Center and that means we’re going to get more chances to talk to her. Good thing there’s a new movie showing on April 3 called “Portrait of my Love” which prolly stemmed from the song with the same name.

Kiray Celis says “ His chest is just enormous, so I always hold it, it is my height so it’s like very fluffy. I am a fan of his boobs. I didn’t have to adjust, it is a new place but it is just work. I know a lot of people in GMA, I am blessed to have a lot of work, I don’t mind working with hunks and sexy partners, just give me two months and I will make my b00bs bigger. I am so scared of enhancements, I don’t like surgery, I am happy with my body. I am scared about the industry, I am sad about the state which is why I am promoting anti piracy campaigns with Globe. We need to respect the work of people, we need to uplift the standard, that’s what I feel. I am happy with Ms Liza Diño and her efforts, those weeks that only have Pinoy films in cinemas. This made me do more serious scenes, to fight for someone you love, to lose someone when you wanted them, the sincere me, I wanted that. I wanted to cry the way I wanted to cry from my heart. I had my boyfriend two years ago, I realized I didn’t have to find him, you just have to accept. We all want the one person to be your forever. We shot this 99% in Baguio, that place is so beautiful, we have lots of places discovered which are not really tourist spots.“

Polo Ravales adds “I am Kiray’s painting class professor, I was given riches by my folks and I had people who wanted me dead. This is my first time working with Kiray, no dull moment, we had fun on and off screen. We have small scenes in the beach, it may or may not have love scenes. If it wasn’t Baguio, it would have lit up. I was raped in the beach. Off cam she still does it. With the eve of streaming sites it is hard to promote local movies, I believe in producers who still work on. I didn’t expect to see in a perfect woman, it is a choice, you have to appreciate the flaws. It depends on the moment, I am engaged, I didn’t expect it but it came. I found her when I wasn’t looking and felt contented.“

Jeffrey Santos says “ I am the antagonist here, they have people behind them who envy and wanted them dead. Their love goes beyond death and maybe I would be the cause of it.”

Epi says “I am the artist and uncle of Polo here, I may spoil the movie if I make him known today. We have conflicts. Let’s leave it at that. I just came from a film festival and I was awed by the pavilions of other countries compared to the Philippines. This is a way to ask for help, I hope the government gets the needed push because we have good movies, to raise the quality and effort to other countries would be good. I hope they start showing this on weekends because I believe it will help more producers.”

This is RJ 7 Films Entertainment’s first mainstream project and the film is written and directed by Poap Manansala (70+ director who did set design for of Dolphy). Cast includes Epy Quizon, Jeffrey Santos, Cai Cortez, Leo Martinez, Nonong De Andres, Amay Bisaya and Nemie Boy. Produced by Roger and Jane Totanes who in hindsight only wanted to produce Filipino films. Ms. Jane quips “I really appreciate the efforts in doing this film, we are happy they give all their best portraying the characters. It just gives us more hope to make more movies. Thank you to everyone who helped us in this film.”

Maybe it’s a good thing to watch. We really liked what we saw on the trailer. This is also the last movie of Bangky if you know him. Might as well no?

1CISP HR Summit Holds Last Leg in Manila

It’s a grand afternoon of human resource love at the 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines Life and General Insurances’ HR Summit entitled “Third Path: Journey to Cooperative HR Enterprise” held at NOVOTEL Manila in Araneta Center, Quezon City. The organization wants to up the ante for human resource operations and technology that affects local cooperatives in the country. This is their third installment after successfully doing it in Davao and Iloilo but they are now dealing with the challenge to become employers of choice for graduates in different regions. They gathered thought leaders, human resource speakers and panelists to give needed information on how to effectively do capacity development activities and address this issue.

Roy Miclat 1CISP President says “Coops in the PH are always under the radar, in communities, the media or government never picks it up. Coops in the last 20 years has impacted the economy but people consider them small time. Smally hydros, communities, airlines, are also part of coops. They have taken a backseat in HR and in the changing world, if we do not learn best practices we will get disrupted rather than innovators and this program wants coops to be the third pact. The community, the private sector and government make bigger impact in responding in their communities. In Cebu, they have made progress, in CDO they operate water districts, it is not just MVP, Lopezs and usual names that can do that. The members are the users, there is a hospital in Rosario Pasig that is under a coop. We are providing access to services at a lower price. The bottomline, the owners are the users and it contributes to wealth distribution, the advancement of HR is needed and their organization is helping to address problems in technological change. Now we are coping in the fast changing developments. We can have shared services in developing their HR practices and it outpaces the demand in the business. This way the big cooperatives would also get to help smaller ones, HR handles a lot of tasks and it engages employees internally in the organization. They thing this is just employment, but working in cooperatives is huge in other countries. Corporations in New Zealand come from cooperatives, Farmers own it and even set up corporations in other countries because it’s that huge. They need a good program and need a reason to stay in cooperatives. We even have high benefits, 80 percent of our employees are millennials who knows they want to be rewarded. More often, cooperatives have very old geezers working in them. We have to develop the young today and for those who want change, ask the youth. They are all below 30, I believe they need to be engaged and they want to contribute, they need the opportunity, they need the chance to prove they are part of the solution even if they are low key, unlike private companies that just do small things and it gets in the news. It has been bastardized by coops setup by politicians who run one time, then die when the political career of the person also dies. We have to develop the HR program so it would be more attractive to them to work in social enterprises.“

Gilbert Camasura the President and CEO of Asia Select Inc. says “I am a partner of 1CISP, we truly believe our business is disrupted, our evolution to where we are going and heading is becoming different. There are more young professionals in the business, it has changed and technology is here. We do not believe it is to take over, but globalization is here and we need to become more competitive as an organization. Our passion together wants to advance HR to make things happen, any change that comes from us is innovation. Development is key, but we may always see the corporate entities but coops have so much promise in growth. This is where the journey would start in making the country better.“

There are resources but it has to be done with promotion too. 1CISP is being shown in schools, in PUP they have a course now, a BS in Cooperatives. It used to be just a place to go to when other colleges were full but now that there are graduates, and are doing good in actual colleges. Cooperatives have really good employment, they said they have never had people leave. Maybe if the younger folks take a look at this as an opportunity, it could be a really nice place to work. They are technology enabled too, this is a good thing to do especially now that thousands of cooperatives are part of 1CISP. They can serve the small ones and get help from the big cooperatives.

KUMAGCOW

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BOTEJYU Opens One Bonifacio High Street Mall Branch

I was invited to a luncheon a couple weeks ago but didn't get there because of travel schedules. One of my favorite joints called Botejyu owned and operated by Viva International Food and Restaurants Inc. (same mother company with Viva Films) just opened up shop at the 3rd floor of One Bonifacio High Street Mall in Taguig. 

Honestly, I didn't know the mall existed til now, but it sits right across the Mango boutique in Shangrila Fort Bonifacio along 5th Avenue. 

Botejyu is an Okonomiyaki and Okosoba specialty restaurant from Japan. In a nutshell, the name comes from the Japanese impression of how the Okonomiyaki pancake sounds as they flip it on the teppan or steel plate and how it sizzles til it gets crispy outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Their menu is filled with different versions of it but what tickled my fancy during this visit were a couple of things. Of course there will be Okonomiyaki, but take a look at this.

Their Grape Shake wasn't overly sweet, it was just right and might be a good accompaniment for the savory dishes that were about to come to the table. I could taste the tannin of the red grapes they used for this drink, so it is legit. Very refreshing!

The Bacon and Cheese Okosoba was already halved when it reached me. This is an Okonomiyaki with a filling of soba noodles, bacon and cheese inside. As you may prolly imagine, this is a good representation of east meets west because you get the firm springy noodles with the smoky flavor of bacon and melted cheese. Who doesn't love cheese eh? This is good for sharing, around 3-4.

The Pork Cutlet with Egg Rice Bowl was filling. You get white rice, breaded pork with sauce and a serving of fresh salad on the same bowl. If you're a big guy like me this would be good for one but if you don't eat that much rice, go ahead and share as their servings are a bit large. This is one of 4 donburi varieties so order this if you want a rice meal today.

My personal favorite is the Takoyaki All Star! It's firm outer shell and soft interior are what Takoyaki dreams are made of. You can also treat this as a sampler because each piece has a different sauce on top of it. Although I was looking forward to the original Takoyaki, this was a welcome surprise and I loved it!

This one's called Kyoto Paitan Ramen. They serve the chicken pieces separately so that when you do decide to eat, you can just drop it off the bowl and enjoy. It's a bit on the salty side and the ramen likens egg noodles. It is also served with half boiled tamago and springs of onion leeks. If it's raining hard outside this could warm you up in a jiffy. It is rich in collagen too, so you get skin nourished while you eat, imagine that!

This is their Mochi and Gouda Cheese Okonomiyaki. The name alone would make you salivate as it is served hot with soft melted mochi pieces and cheese inside the fluffy scrambled egg. I suggest you finish this fast because it wouldn't feel the same if it's already cold for obvious reasons. I like this the most amongst their various Okonomiyakis.

Do not order one or the other, order both! These chocolate and milk pudding is just so good on so many levels, you need to treat yourself every once in a while anyway!

For matcha lovers, try the Matcha Ice Cream in this store. Ruth loved this so much she finished it in a few minutes LOL!

If you want something fancy to end your lunch or dinner, try the Honey Toast with Brown Sugar Syrup and Creamy Kinako. The crunchy toasted bread topped with vanilla ice cream, brown sugar and Kinako syrup makes you appreciate the existence of sugar in your life. Everything is better when you share so please do!

Now for people in BGC and nearby Makati and Taguig, if you're in the area and want a more filling but comforting Japanese meal, make sure you visit Botejyu at the 3rd floor of One Bonifacio High Street Mall and enjoy these dishes. Their dishes cost around 300-400 pesos so bring around 1,500 for two people (if you have a date please order dessert). This is the new Asian comfort food you are looking for, I have always dined at their Vertis North Branch on Sundays and I vouch for their service and good food. 

They're worth it.

Life Coach Myke Celis Set To Do TedX Talk Series

We all have that dream of imparting what we know to a large audience. This however will happen to Celebrity Life Coach Myke Celis as he embarks to do a series of TedX sessions in different countries this second quarter.

He’s a regular co-host for DZME’s Home Buddy which airs Mondays at 10am - 11:30am. It’s a morning show, set to start to inform listeners of what happens in the metro, a bit of good news. He has also hosted a nightly talkshow in Radyo Inquirer with Tere Gonzales right about last year but he quips “I have also wanted to do a morning show. I’m grateful to be given this opportunity to spread good news on-air once more. I missed this and it feels so great to be back as I found new home in a new radio station, DZME.”

He will be joined in the show by Jaemie Quinto, a veteran radio news anchor. It will be filled with non-scripted banter; a line that would promote discussions from the heart. For those who would want to know, Home Buddy’s Good Vibes with Coach Myke Celis will also include life coaching talks, letter senders will have the chance to send their entries on air and get help from a certified life coach and TedX speaker.

You may also see him on these dates:

1. TEDxUCSIUniversity (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 23, 2019)

2. TEDxUUM (Kedah, Malaysia March 26, 2019)

3. TEDxCUHK (HongKong, April 6, 2019)

4. TEDxYouth Lucena City (Quezon, April 8, 2019)

5. TEDxUPDiliman (Manila, April 27, 2019)

6. TEDxAkitaIntlU (Akita, Japan May 19, 2019)

Make sure you catch the morning show and his talks on those dates. Learn from one of the best life coaches in the country.

Ciao!