Bigger, Better and More Fun in SING GALING!

Just got off the Sing Galing Mediacon (when I was writing this article) and it was fun to see not just the  hosts but the actual contestants who made it far in this contest. Ultimately, it was not just plain singing that got them there, but passion, the calling to entertain people and the hunger to pursue their dreams each time they sing. Regelyn Fernandez, Kim Macaraig, Yuki Takahashi, Niko Badayos, Jean Jordan had their own individual stories to tell, one thing for sure was their lives have changed. Aside from the prizes they won from the show, they also got recognized in their own communities plus supportive fans from the show. Aside from that, ratings have been good so far and honestly, I like the format of it. It works! 

During the presscon, Zendee Tenerife shared her struggles with her health while the show was actually starting... she says "I had COVID during the first week of Sing Galing, I got over that even if I was having a hard time to host and sing. Nobody noticed and now I'm better. I'm really looking forward to talk and sing for fans online, my journey with Sing Galing has been very good so far and I can't wait to see more people join the show, and perhaps soon, to get and see the hosts of the show since we're still under quarantine."

Rey Valera on the other hand had a say with how this compares with the It's Showtime and says "There are two things that I can say this is different form my other shows. This is light, and there's a random factor. You may be good at singing but if you don't know the song, you'll probably lose because of the choices the randomizer makes. I don't sing my songs anymore because I feel like it's work when I'm trying to relax. I also use a guitar for production value. I think it's better! I'm a fan of K Brosas, she's a survivor, and she knows how to survive, I give great value to people who stay in this profession and maintain their careers til now. I have managed to do that because of the songs I made, it connected me to different generations, even if my fans already passed on, I still have a few that support me because I realize, I can still enjoy the moment because of the people that believe in me. I think about what to share especially in Singaling, if I could only do it in music and in life. They don't have to go through the same things that I have, but this is good. I look at them not as contestants, they equally are entertainers and not just here because they can belt out songs."

OPM Icon Jessa Zaragoza was asked about her doing a number on the show and what she tends to sing during off time to relax with videoke, she says "Of course I still sing my songs, I also sing covers but I tend to usually sing the light ones because it's time to relax. "

 

 

Ronnie Liang sang a few lines of Rey Valera's songs and said "I usually sing ballads, I am glad to have been able to work with Rey Valera because I often sing his songs. It's hard to tape several episodes and sing, and perform  the whole day. You don't know if you can maintain the energy, thank God we are able to deliver and stay safe during the few weeks we had to do this for the show. We get really encouraged as we get good feedback from the show, also see people that watch it. It's worth the effort, investment, time, we fulfilled our mission to give happiness and entertain a lot of people during this time." It was nice for him to share some of his experiences in taping the show, I've been to their set and it's very safe there because as soon as you reach the entrance, they ask you to use PPE's, masks, and make sure you follow protocols inside the studio.

K Brosas also told us about the difference of the show versus Sing Galing 2021. She says "TNT is a singing contest but Sing Galing is Videoke, it's not really a priority of sorts. You see the personality, you can do showmanship. It's chosen by the machine. Rey Valera's songs til now are relatable, Singaling made it trend and it blew up overnight on my Twitter account when I told people about the back story of these songs. It was about LGBT relationships, it was just now that people knew about it. Crazy how it felt after hearing about how the iconic songs were formed no?"

Now that there's more contestants bringing their A game and a lot more others who will join the show, there's nowhere to go but up! Happy birthday to Ms. K Brosas who was so fun during this interview, and I hope that they'll have a few more years to discover talented Filipinos and even greater entertainers. It's going to be heck of a lot of fun doing that in Sing Galing, and by the looks of it, they're not doing any disservice to the original show that was successful during its hey days. Sing Galing shows  on TV5's Todo Max Primetime block on weekdays. Thank you to Cornerstone who invited us to this event!

Niña Niño Now On Second Season, Expect More Drama and Fun!

Making waves in TV5 is the new Dramedy Niña Niño. Getting stellar reviews and consistently high ratings means a second season is about to come and we got to talk to some of the people behind the show a couple days ago, plus discussed a few things with the cast now that they're doing it again for the public.

Direk Thop Nazareno says "I'm thankful for the opportunity, this concept was just perfect to have during the pandemic, I hope we could inspire, because in a way we could help in making others forget about their problems, and we have God who we can call to when we do. It's something that I look forward to do each day, we are inspired about the support we get from people who watch our show. When we got news about the extension of our show, we felt we had a lot of people to entertain. During production, we don't have egos, all we want to do is make sure the show becomes better. We listen to the actors, we bond a lot and talk casually, we're a relaxed set and not try to impress each other. We even form stories when we're talking to each other, we have a say on storytelling. I don't think about it that it's on primetime because it might affect the way we tell the story, I take it as a challenge and be honest with ourselves if we put ourselves in the lives of the characters they play.

Noel Comia Jr says "In Nino, we didn't realize how big it is, we're so thankful people are watching and even my relatives close shop just so they could catch the show at home. I don't get tired anymore because it's wonderful to feel what our show can do. When Maja is in the scene, I feel I learn a lot from her. Her energy gives off that you have to do good because she's doing her best. I use my experience here in future work and episodes. The cast has been very supportive and they help me in scenes so I can feel the story per se. When it gets shown on TV, there are times when co actors point out things before we do the scene. That alone helps a lot especially when we have to do intense scenes. When I did the recent scene with Maja, I had to live in the moment and understand that I don't have my Grandma. The emotions were just super heavy and the people at my back were worried because I had to be in the zone, I had to prepare hours before that happened. Til now, I am in disbelief that we are having a mediacon for the series I'm in. I am thankful to Direk Toph, to Cornerstone, to TV5, to Spring, it wouldn't be possible without my parents who are very supportive. I am a bit overwhelmed though. Ate Maj always brings Jollibee on set and it's one of the unforgettable things I remember when shooting, but even if we're tired, we have lots of shots that we couldn't believe that it'll end up that way, the transformation from shooting here is different. I got to celebrate my birthday on set and everyone participated. As an actor, I can say yes it has changed me a lot in a good way. Everyday you learn things, you see what you can improve, plus the relationships you form with the cast is priceless. I love the things we do in between, it helps me in building confidence."

Empoy adds "Because in ABSCBN we already worked with Maja, it wasn't difficult to execute our scenes here. It was catchy, we had to throw lines and the feeling is light. I had to make sure she doesn't fall in love with me because we know. The actors here are super good, even the ones behind the camera. I hope to continue more seasons, like Marco Sison. I hope people continue to watch this show and be assured we're going to do our best!"

Moi Bien says "It's hard to do this during the pandemic and since we're locked in, we can focus on our work and still abide from protocols, we can't sacrifice our health and take care of other people in the set. We also change masks regularly, after takes we get reminded to do so. It's so good that we're following so we have jobs even during this time, it's a little sacrifice.

Dudz says "We have safety officers in place that do remind us of every step. We have them on set so we get reminded about social distancing, we can't allow people to come in. We just eat a lot on set so we do actually gain weight a little. "

Ahron Villena says "So far the crazy things we do on set continues off cam so we don't get stressed even if we're working hours on set. They're very cool to work with because even if I'm doing a guest role, it's pivotal to the other characters. I'm thankful to the production for having me!"

Lilet says "I am very excited to be here now as we're fully vaccinated, I had to go back to set and do this. I joke around on set and tell Direk Toph I'm ready for my scenes now that I got my doses."

Yayo Aguila says "I haven't stepped foot yet in Sta Ynez but I'll be having my own domain. The people behind Nina and Nino were really so warm, hope to see Noel after several days because we haven't seen each other physically. I always tell them that I'm impressed about how organized they are and follow protocols. It's not sugarcoated, this group is just so blessed because of the theme, the people, the way they handle things, I feel so cared for. You'll have to wait for our scenes soon!"

Kat Galang says "I have a lot of people that I wanted to work with especially with the theatre actors and they're here in the TV series. I also had the pleasure of praying for them during the start, and I'm blessed to work with them in that remote location. It would have been hard doing it in that sense especially with mental health on pressure because of the pandemic. It's good that we don't have signal there because we got to really talk and know each other, it feels good to be in the midst of these actors."

Niña Niño will show during weekdays on TV5's Todo Max Primetime slot so make sure you're tuned in on the Kapatid network and their affiliates (Cignal etc). Thank you to the kind people of Cornerstone for having us on this blog conference!

Go Shopping Philippines Issues Statement on Launch Postponement of Go Shopping app

Go Shopping Philippines recently announced the soft launch of their app this coming July 16, but this afternoon, they have sent a notice to media outlets about the postponement of the said launch because of app publishing issues that have been raised by the Go Shopping app developer on iOS. They issued an official statement about this, so please read the statement below.

 

 

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OFFICIAL STATEMENT

July 15, 2021

It is with sincere apologies that Go Shopping Philippines, and GEP Solutions, our partner developer would like to inform our friends in the media and the general public that there is a need to postpone the Go Shopping Philippines soft launch tomorrow because until today, IOS is still needing time to continue review our registration.

Considering that this project is such a gargantuan system development, it is understandable that deep scrutiny will be done, and this is why we have submitted our application way ahead of time. However, the situation is aggravated by the fact that the pandemic has caused the Apple store to operate slower than usual and this is evident in their own statement in their website.

Furthermore, on June 7, 2021, Apple released new policies and guidelines that changed the scenario for the developers to adhere to- adjustments we had complied with already. We shall wait for our IOS approval in the next two weeks and will definitely open our E-Commerce site by the end of July whether we get our IOS accreditation or not. This means we will serve our customers with just the Android registration and people can download our site using only Google Play while waiting for Apple App to be functional. If we have our choice, it is best to launch with both Google Play and App Store together. However, if it takes longer time to wait for the other, we will proceed definitely, with just Google Play.

In the meantime, we will continue our Beta Testing while waiting for the IOS approval for two weeks more, and ensure that the system will be running smoothly, hopefully devoid of glitches and other threats. We understand that since there are many facets of our mega app that need deeper scrutiny so we do not blame Apple in doing what they need to do. Under the circumstances, however, we seek understanding from the general public and continue to communicate to all with excitement that alas, a Filipino mega E-commerce App is about to serve them. The soft launch will happen on July 31, 2021.

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Looking forward to see this published soon as consumers from the Philippines deserve bigger, better retail services, and choose what platform they want to purchase essentials to stuff their pantries in.

Optimism Seen in the Future of Philippine Fabric and Weaving

Dropped by the talk about Philippine fabrics yesterday hosted by Humboldt University in Berlin wherein Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda was guest speaker along with Ms. Analyn Salvador-Amores from UP Baguio. It was entitled "Habi: Weaving Philippine Textiles Future" and it was quite a nice discussion on how those who care are strengthening their efforts to keep the weaving culture alive, learn more about regional designs, documenting it, reviving designs from museum archives (yes a long time ago), and perhaps where to see the industry flourish in the next couple of years.

Professor Dr. Vincent Houben from Humboldt University in Berlin says "I'm very happy to have this happen, to put in place this program to advance Philippine studies. The PH and Germany are close and very intertwined. Rizal spent quite some time here and we have lots of information about that. We're thinking in some scales we can focus with the Philippines and see in a context where there is a weaving connection. The Philippine culture needs to be seen in a broader sense. Through the program over the past couple of years, we're grateful that we have a lot who have done their studies about the country, welcome from Europe."

Analyn Salvador Amores the project leader of Cordillera Textiles Project UP Baguio says "Weaving communities in the Cordillera region exist and empower communities. Cordillera region is in North Luzon from the ranges in Apayao to the more central Nueva Vizcaya, an Igorot domain. Through trade, inter-marriage, weaving patterns have similarities in this study. These communities have a long history of weaving, you can see this in the tribal photos from various photos archived in the US, Russia and other countries. Textile are produced through natural fibers, and cotton, manually weaved with sticks passed on from generation to generation. Lowland Ilocanos introduced new ways through export and trade. Fabric was traded for goods, food, poultry and farm products. There is a decline in weaving in the region because of an aging population, decrease in master weavers, lesser interest in generations thereafter. The government has taken steps like endorsing acts for the use of Philippine tropical fabrics for uniforms of public officials, employees and festivals. They also enacted resolutions for research, put up school for living traditions that promote indigenous weaving but met challenges as it has been not sustainable, and has lesser funding access. In the recent years, there is a resurgence in textile weaving including geographical sourced Cordillera textiles identified with certain communities. The CordiTex currently is doing multi disciplinary research and vigorously documenting textiles. Now local weavers get to access records, learn and re-learn weavings as we continue to do anthropological fieldwork in the Cordillera."

Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda concentrated more on the resurgence on the demand for the more intricate production of Piña Seda (silk) fiber and says "We started in the school of oriental studies 5 years ago. There's so much I have to say about Pina Seda Weaving and Embroidery in the Philippines. It is not just done in my province of Aklan, but in different regions in the country. Traditional textiles are ties that bind, it links the past to the present and brings together cultures no matter how diverse it is. It's a synergy between workers and artisans, several hands are needed to make one fabric alone, not to mention the designer and embroidery of which women would hand make it from farm to shop. Since 1998 we have worked to enact this into law to not just protect but help the industry. The pineapple plant is not indigenous to the Philippines but we have made way to produce the red variety of fibers from it. It is laborious to produce it and the influx of imported fabric and fashion trends made it dwindle. With government efforts, provinces have been tapped to produce this including Aklan, the Bicol region, Cavite, Davao, Misamis Oriental, Laguna, Cagayan, Saranggani has been tapped to produce it. Mulberry farms are needed to produce silk in the Philippines, and demand has remained high for it. In a bid to produce more Pineapple fiber, machinery has been provided to farmer cooperatives in plantations so they can increase production  of pineapple fiber. There's a need for convergence of government agencies, so they can continue building capacity, promote domestic trade and do a systemic development in marketing the fabric. All of these are necessary to produce products to respond to immediate needs of the public. The DA should assure steady supply, DTI can help promote these fabrics through trade fairs both locally and abroad. TESDA can also do skills training for weavers and embroiderers and have a nurturing environment for this industry. It is one way of showcasing our traditional textiles in the hopes to further promote it in different markets. It takes support from legislation to make things happen, soon we will have more galleries in different parts of the country. We plan to put up documentation centers, conservation agencies, to help farmers, weavers, local textile manufacturers and establish centers where they can get services in processing. If there's a desire, there's a need, and we need to support them. It will also provide jobs for the countryside, the Philippine Piña Seda is a prized fabric and it is truly world class. I wish to go back in time and tell you that the task before us is to help our people value and continue our heritage, we must open doors of opportunities for weaving communities and promote greater support for our cultural enterprises."

Honestly, it was like a breather to hear them be optimistic about Philippine fabrics and with a good amount of systems in place, plus continuous efforts in policies and funding, the future looks bright for the weaving industry. It's definitely a pillar for the fashion industry and without the raw materials, how can one create? I feel as the economy is slowly going back to normal, this deserves the attention it should get. It's part of culture, and without it, we would cease to exist as Filipinos because it makes us who we are as a nation.