PH Ice Queen Sofia Frank Gets GOLD at 2022 Asian Open Figure Skating Tourney

There's no stopping Filipino Figure Skating champ Sofia Frank as she recently won the 2022 Asian Open Figure Skating Competition. The event was held at the Oasis Center in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is as of date the highest ranked ISU femme athlete in the country and has been a Junior World Figure Skating competitor twice.

Her feat was also recognized via Senate Resolution 360 which marks her impressive performance at the annual competition. This was filed by Senator Bong Revilla cognizant of her outstanding win amongst 8 other world class athletes and scored 50.19 in the short program and 93.78 during the Free Skate. This resulted in 143.97 points to top the Senior Women Category. She could possibly be our next GOLD hopeful in future Winter Olympics.

She was also lauded by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva and marked her performance at the Colorado Spring Invitationals, the famed US International Figure Skating Classic and several other shows in the US and EU.

Sofia also started training at the age of 3 under Natasha Adler De Guzman and Quida Robins. During her teens, she was under Olympic coach Tammy Gambill. She had been doing Junior-Senior level of competitions in the US Figure Skating and International Selection pool which has made her gain more experience in the sport. Currently, she is training for the upcoming 2024 Winter Olympics which will be held in Paris, France in hopes to represent the Philippines in Figure Skating. She's in the Philippines this month to do "Carols On Ice" which is a fundraising gala for the Philippine Skating Union (PHSU) who manages both Figure Skating and Speed Skating sports in the country. This is being done in cooperation with SM Skating and they're doing "Journey to a Dream" as their theme this year. 

The show will be hosted by Bb. Pilipinas 1985 Ms. Joyce Burton-Titular. Guests include GMA artists Ashley Ortega, Skye Chua, Olympian Michael Martinez, Edrian Celestino, Isabella Gamez and Alexander Korovin, Skye Patenia, Sofia Guidote, Hayden Balucating, Felicity Eco, Veronica Eid, Sophie Hernandez, Kate Orrock, Krystle Siy and more skaters from the PH National Developmental Pool, Speed Skating and Hockey Teams. 

Sofia Frank will be performing with other Filipino skating athletes using music (mostly OPM) celebrating Christmas time in the Philippines. So make sure you be there for the event on December 21st, at the Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink and remember, show starts 7PM!

Support the cause and our team in the dream of becoming Ice Skating champs this coming Olympics! Tickets are sold at https://ticket2me.net/e/36073 and it'll surely be a fun time with family if you watch it.

Best of luck Sofia!

Congressman Arjo Atayde Gets Nod at RPMD "Boses Ng Bayan" Survey

Quezon City First District Representative Congressman Arjo Atayde has been working hard in the past few months and this has been cemented by him topping the recent survey done by RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. which is a leading provider of opinion data in the country.

After winning in a landslide victory during the elections, he has already filed over 50 bills and acted on several projects for his district that includes flood control, medical assistance, livelihood projects, feeding programs, disaster preparedness, and work for women and LGBTQIA+ sector in his district and other communities in Quezon City.

With an 80 percent approval rating, his work involving representation, legislation, and service has been the main driver for his rank. This was told by RPDM's Executive Director Dr. Paul Martinez.

Arjo is extremely thankful about the support he's getting from his constituents in Quezon City's District 1 and says he's just giving back to all the love and support he is getting from the community. This was done with over 10K respondents during November 27 to December 2.

Shaina Magdayao’s Organized Chicas Does More COLORS!

During the pandemic, Shaina Magdayao launched lifestyle brand Organized Chicas who's products mostly was white canvas Totes, Bags and organizers. It did really good and she was so happy how her clients, and fans were able to enjoy the wide range of products that they have despite the threats of the pandemic.

Summer will soon be here and people are clamoring for more variety, so what better way to do it buy by launching a new collection called Colore (that's got more ruffles, ribbons and bows).  

Shaina says "I didn't know how long I was in the industry, but 25 years is really a long time. It's so nice to celebrate it with people you love in the industry. It's a different kind of fulfillment especially this year, and it's like a birthday wish come true. Going back in ASAP also was just perfect timing, it was an extension of my celebration, it's been 25 years that people are supporting me and I wouldn't be here without Star Magic. I am thankful for the people who really took care of us. I feel it was just perfect to go back in ASAP, they saw me lost weight, I needed to do something about my hypothyroidism and focused on being an actress. I didn't feel the loss, I feel what I lost when I got on stage and danced again. I was wondering if I could do things again, I asked myself a couple of times. I'm aging, when I was younger I could juggle things, but I'm 33, being fit enough was something I worry about. It was a leap of faith. I sometimes doubt myself but I get a lot of support from people around me. I didn't train in dance, but experience was my teacher. I've been trying to run away from it in the past, but this is my life."

 

She now has accessories, jewelry (Perola Collection) and slip ons

 

 

She adds "Yes I'm wearing our accessories, it's been a goal to support local businesses. The people I work with are mostly women, I put this up with my childhood friend, who's now pro makeup artist. I asked her if she wanted to look for a gig, so we started with bags made in Bulacan. I didn't expect how it grew overnight. Now people are asking for more, so we made clothes from Pampanga, also Footwear made in Marikina. Those little things we do have grown because I believe we have good intentions. Here we are, we've got a brand that not just weathered the pandemic, but a brand that is good commercially now. We do quality control, durability tests, doesn't have to be expensive. My partner is also OC, so she does a lot in quality control. We are helping a lot of people and made this a business too. I don't know if our clientele wants it personalized, but I think it gives more value to it."

They also now have a more feminine looking bag styles with their Frill Collection. This was done to match the different personalities of their clientele. She thinks about naming the products, the design, and her business partner is someone she trusts, who knows her and takes care of quality control. They really align business wise. She has work, she has acting jobs, and this business has really grown over the years.

The business is also helping communities from Marikina, Pampanga, Bulacan so if you are buying from them, you are also helping women from these provinces and cities. If you want to get one, visit their official IG account @organizedchicas, their Facebook page facebook.com/organizedchicas. You can also purchase them on Shopee at https://shopee.ph/theorganizedchicas.

Prices range from 350 to 1250, so very affordable! Go get them now!

QC District 1 Congressman Arjo Atayde Moves for More Safeguards on Maharlika Investment Fund

Things have been very busy in Congress this week as the Maharlika Investment fund takes centerstage on the plenary. They passed it hours ago with 279 saying YES and only 6 against it. It officially holds House Bill No. 6608 and Quezon City District 1 Congressman Arjo Atayde is moving to have additional safeguards in the bill particularly to make sure protection from corruption is in place.

Arjo says "I would support the movement to include safeguards in the Maharlika Investment Fund to make sure the fund really benefits the country. There are amendments already adopted by the lower house. This involves the non inclusion of GSIS and SSS which was announced earlier. We need to scrutinize the source of funds to protect it from irregularities and questionable investments for the fund. I assure that we will continue to safeguard the fund and put the Filipino citizen's interest first. There will be penal provisions meant to punish directors, trustees, officers of those managing the fund. On section 44, fines can be from 50,000 to 2 Million pesos and jail time of 1 to 5 years."

Hopefully this would augment the national budget, create more savings for government offices and increase economic development not just in cities, but the countryside. There are over 50 countries doing Sovereign Wealth funds like Singapore, HK, our neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and new nation East Timor. Hopefully this would generate funds in the future to benefit more Filipinos and not fall in the hands of corrupt politicians.