Questions Loom on Pastrana’s Appointment

Details surfaced on the recent appointment of Christopher Pastrana as PPA Chief (GM) of the Philippine Ports Authority. This comes as a huge surprise to screening committee members Naida Angping and Anton Lagdameo. According to reports in daily spread Philstar, it’s something that should likely be questioned due to conflict of interest as there exists official posts in several corporations at the ferry line industry and even brother in law and daughters who are operating several ports which would then be under this office as a regulatory body.   

This also comes as previous reports include a 132.1 million unpaid amortizations and interests from the Department of Transportation. This is something that should be looked at by officials putting him into office, especially by former PAL President and now new DOTR Sec Jimmy Bautista (who at that time was appointed at the same calendar). 

There are also talks that their appointment comes problematic because they have partnerships and several family connections which may make this all deplorable move.  Is this just? Is this without said conflict of interest? These questions remain unanswered, and maybe, they’ll be having the right ones for the role when it comes to sensitive government positions. 

The 5th Ortigas ART Festival: A Spectacle of Expression and Creativity

The 5th Ortigas ART Festival just started at the Estancia Mall at Capitol Commons in Pasig City. This was attended by the who's who in the art scene, several art gallery personalities, those in fashion and the Ortigas family who's heavily involved in this movement. They want art to be accessible for Filipinos, and what better way to do that but now.

Architect Renee Bacani VP for Ortigas Malls says "We are grateful for you to join us on the 5th year of the Ortigas Art Festival. We were requested a space for artists to showcase their works, and this is how the event came about. We won 2 international awards for making Ortigas properties more accessible to people. We present to you a bigger and bolder Ortigas Art Festival with photography, film, Fashion, Music, artwork and more. We look forward to more years of this for more years to come. Thank you for sparking joy to our patrons."

This is a platform for artists to showcase their works, and have it be seen by people from all walks of life. They want art to become part of the daily lives of Filipinos. There were lots of art installations, sculptures, all free of charge to see at Estancia Mall in Pasig City. There are also seminars and workshops for collectors on how to take care of artworks, and hope you also get to know various Filipino artists from July 7 to August 7, 2022.

"The previous years were a challenge to Ortigas Malls, and the event concentrated on Filipino artists. At the height of the pandemic, we got help from participating galleries, FDCP. The best place is this mall, accessible to everyone. From performance art, art workshops, exhibition center, a whole art ecosystem is here. Art is a catalyst for enlightenment, and this is a good thing." says Renato Habulan, Ortigas Art Festival's Lead Curator

Liza Diño the Chair of FDCP says "It's an honor to celebrate with you face to face. For many of us who lived in lockdowns, we watched, we read and remained creative. Art protects us from harm, this is a noble cause for expressions of the human spirit. The vertical cinema contest is doing shorts asking "Kamusta Ka Na?" to incite hope, change, in this month long festival. Highly acclaimed titles will be seen and highlighted and we hope through Ortigas Art Festival, we show our love for films. We provide ways to educate, learn before artists make films and we will have several noted film makers, screenwriters to do seminars during the month. This will bring cinema much closer to the public."

Gil Granado of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines says "We have come a long way in fashion . We appreciate art, the pandemic has slowed us down but we continue to strike back. Art and fashion is the lifeline of culture. We dedicate this event to the 40 years of FDAP, thank you to Ortigas Inc, and all our fashion patrons."

If you want to know more about the event, download the Ortigas Malls app and register to get their card to get perks from participating malls or visit OrtigasMalls.com. Best of all, these activities are FREE so there's no reason for you not to come.

Monsoon Season Won't Ruin Your Tagaytay Highlands Experience

When it's summer, people flock to cold regions in the Philippines and the closest one from the metro is Tagaytay. During monsoon months, people think it might be a different story but no, lucky are those who live in Tagaytay Highlands because they're still enjoying the cold weather without compromising food, entertainment, activities in the area.

Theirs is a whole refuge perfect for rest and recreation, the complex itself has several walkways and unbelievable vistas overlooking the world renowned volcano and lush vegetation plus a golf course that could rival the best in the world. From Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club and Tagaytay Midlands Golf Club, you can hit a tee or two to further your skills, or just have it be your time to relax after a whole week of working in the city. After all, it'll take you a while to conquer a 27-hole exclusive golf course, and perhaps months to get used to as it is very challenging.

For adrenaline junkies, there's several mountain trekking activities that you and your family could do plus several gustatory destinations as Tagaytay Highlands have restaurants serving the best Filipino dishes, dry aged steak, dimsum, that come from heirloom recipes and served for you. If you work in different time zones, there's several 24/7 establishments that can serve comfort food, coffee, that you and your loved ones could feast on if needed be. All can be found at Midlands Golfers Lounge or the stores at Gourmet Avenue.

Members, residents and guests are assured that you are secure and safe in this place and has been proven so by the safety seal that Tagaytay City Government awarded last year. With a heavily awarded real estate developer SM Prime Holdings, they continue to serve and uphold safety standards so everyone remains safe inside the property. Who wouldn't want to go here right? World class facilities, dreamy place, a place you can also call home soon. That's Tagaytay Highlands for you!

LG Showcases New Monitors and Gives to PH Naval Air Wing

Took a short trip to BGC a few days ago for an epic event from our friends at LG Philippines. They're showcasing their latest monitors and surely, I was already drooling of the huge ones on display on our table because I've been dreading to get one for gaming purposes especially for Valorant and GTA V. I also work with the same setup and having something that can accommodate all the windows for programs and files that I need to function especially when there's a lot to write about. So far, I love what I'm seeing from them. In this TOP GUN themed party, it was fit to see their most technologically advanced monitors and they used it legibly in different scenarios.

From spreadsheets, work related stuff, movies, graphics, they all displayed quite nicely at the event which was also attended by celebrities. Andrei Felix hosted the event and one by one, other celebrities like Eric Tai aka Eruption, PBA's LA Tenorio, Photographer par excellance Magic Liwanag, actress Myrtle Sarrosa and all around performer Gab Valenciano took us around for a tour to look at what's new with LG monitors. 

They used the 32GQ950 OLED Monitor for a race car game and it performed well under these conditions. The LG UltraGear 32GQ950 had 4K resolution, details were on point, the 144Hz refresh rate was something gamers like me would benefit in especially in first person shooting games where lag is an enemy. It also has very nice output as blacks and whites are deeper and brighter, you won't be asking for adjustments right from the start. They also used the 48GQ900 OLED Monitor for console games, and because it's got faster response time and higher refresh rate, you'll see your character take action as soon as keypress happens, no delays in platform games or 1v1 modes because it can keep up with you. You can also see less glare and reflection, something that is quite important especially when you are editing images on the screen on normal work days. Photographer Magic Liwanag showcased the LG Dual Up 28MQ780-B which he uses on portrait mode, beneficial for creatives who would want to see the whole picture then work with a lot of other things while you're rendering videos of events on the side. Myrtle Sarrosa on the other hand loves the 29WP500-B 29-inch which is a 21:9 ratio UltraWide monitor. It gives her more than enough immersive experience when she's playing her favorite games on PC plus do her tasks if she needs to do office work on the side. Gab on the other hand enjoys the LG UltraGear 32GN500 because it gets all those ghosting problems gone as it utilizes NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium at start, something people used to pay for to make things better. There were lots more in the event but I got a little excited when real NAVY personnel came in and met with Sungjae Kim the Managing Director for LG Philippines.

They even used this setup with a real flight simulator software, like the real deal.

LG Executives went up the stage and announced something good, they gave 30 LG UltraGear 32GN500 monitor units to the Naval Air Wing of the Philippine Navy that was also there for the occasion. That part was really touching to give these quality monitors to people that serve the country, in my books, that's huge especially knowing that they'll be able to help a lot of communities with it. 

Real Pilots Appeared!

Congratulations to LG Philippines and to the men and women who organized this event M360 PR+Activations Agency. Haven't had fun in a while so this was something really good to experience physically, after being stuck at home for a number of years because of this pandemic, thank you!