During Times of Uncertainties: AXA Brings You Home

Monday, January 23, 2023


If there's something that the pandemic has taught us, it's the uncertainty of life. With it still in our midst and in every other country, you've seen the need for financial security especially during these times where people lose their jobs, their loved ones, and scare us with a deadly virus every minute of the day.

People who have insurance surely have had themselves an extra layer of safety from economical stress whether it be life or non life. It was surely there when we needed it, we learned how convenient it was at the most dangerous times. Although uncertainty is still here, Filipinos are starting to look at insurance differently nowadays. We learned to plan ahead, and put importance in investments + insurance.

This should have made sense a long time ago, especially since we're in the ring of fire, in the path of over 26 typhoons a year (and much stronger ones in recent past) and floods have entered cities left and right.

To date, there's only 2.3% of Filipinos spending an average of 26% on insurance. According to the AXA Philippines Chief Marketing Officer Nandy Villar "There's fast growth in insurance services in the country. This can be attributed to the implementation of digital processes during the pandemic. Still, Filipinos seem to be just one crisis away from poverty. It's still an under insured nation."

There's still a lack of financial literacy in the country which is why AXA, aside from being an insurer takes their role as financial advisors seriously. They have trained and qualified people to become partners so you can achieve financial freedom. AXA knows that there are different strokes for different folks, needs change with age and time. Your goals transform into other things including your appetite for investments. Recently, they completed the merger with Charter Ping An which means their portfolio just got bigger, more secured.

To get assessed by the pros, head on to AXA.com.ph today!


COW

ABBY CLUTARIO Does UDD's TADHANA



Had a very pleasant and learning chat with Abby Clutario, a very talented singer and musician who recently released a single, a revival of Up Dharma Down's hit song "Tadhana". She's also a part of AltG Records which is under GMA Music. Primarily, she's an indie artist capable of using the Chapman Stick, a two handed string instrument with over 10-12 strings and is quite unique.

Choosing "Tadhana" she says was more of a collaborative decision between her and producer Kedy Sanchez. She's not new to the industry but always had been an indie artist for a little over 20 years, she's so happy that she gets to showcase her music now for an even wider audience.

She adds "Playing with the Chapman Stick made me feel how versatile it is. It can do any genre and sounds quite soothing. It's perfect for the song "Tadhana" as it is a ballad and very emotional. We did the song with the melody in mind so it gets highlighted, the Chapman Stick is uniqe and it can be a good accompaniment to any song."

Abby adds "I think more than the artist, piano is something I love. When I started playing music in church, I started to do other songs by other Filipino artists and instrumentalists. It's difficult to look for material because when I started there was no internet. I played and wrote it mostly by ear. In the new age, I listened to other Chapman Stick players but put my spin into it. There are not much vocals in progressive music, it's like modern classical. Much of the instruments are modern, different sounds and not just plainly piano."
 

 
She also says "First, if you decide to be who you want to be, you have to enjoy what you are doing, be passionate about it. Equip yourself with knowledge, if you have the tools and can write, go ahead and do it. It revolves around listening to all kinds of music, it's like when you are starting to read and write, you have to absorb everything and you need to treat it like you're starting from scratch, it's how you will grow. Don't prioritize fame, it's a bonus, but when you love what you do you'll go places. Once you're there, you make something and share it with other people. If they like it, that's just an extra."


Making the song she admits was quite challenging and doing justice to an already established hit song was something she was worried about. Producer Kedy suggested to do it because he knows Abby loves it too.

Currently, the song is on the #5 spot on iTunes PH top 100 songs. This was released just on January 20th and is also on the Spotify Fresh Finds playlist. Go listen to it there or on other streaming platforms because it's quite a cool version. She made it all her own.



COW

NET 25 Gets New Shows: David Chua on "GOOD WILL"

Saturday, January 21, 2023




A new year beckons a new show over at the "Let's Get Together, Let's NET Together" Network NET 25. Aside from the new offered news, current affairs and lifestyle programs, a new sitcom called "GOOD WILL" will be premiered on January 22, 2023 at 4PM. This will be right before the much awaited Korina Sanchez-Roxas show "Korina Interviews" and will be part of the network's weekend primetime block offerings.

David by the way has already appeared on several shows in the Kapamilya, Kapuso, and Kapatid networks so he's no stranger to these shows. It's also his first foray as the lead of the show, and he's done remarkable work in Mano Po Legacy: The Family Fortune and ABS-CBN's Love Thy Woman.

David Chua will play the character of Lloyd Patawad, born with a silverspoon, this spoiled bad boy (who also had a colorful share of relationships) wants to try his best to reach his own rockstar dreams. This takes a 360 degree turn when his Mom passed, then can only get his family fortune if he gets to do a few challenges set on the will. This sends him to realize a few things (including managing the Good Will resort), and make his life a whole lot better.

Cast includes Devon Seron who plays Sarah (his love interest in the show), Smokey Manaloto,
Kat Galang, Ryan Rems, James Caraan (an ensemble of great comedians), Ms. Marina Benipayo, and a lot of other artists who will be integral in running the resort.

This is produced by ALV Productions, Viktory 8Media and Dark Carnival Productions and will be directed by Ian Lorenos who also did Mano po Legacy: The Flower Sisters. This is also written by Joma Labayen, Don Santella, Kiko Abrillo, Aica Ganhinhin and Motec Migallen. It's also collaborative so the story concept and creative production are done by the team. Expect this to be funny, romantic and hugely good vibes. Again, this will be shown before Korina Interviews, you can always stay to watch the next one on NET 25. 
 
Make sure you put this on your must watch list!


COW


Everyone plays at "Batang Pilipino Basketball League"

Friday, January 20, 2023




Just got off from the Batang Pilipino Basketball League press conference this afternoon. By any standard, I am so excited about what's going to happen this January 27-28 at 4 different courts in the city of San Juan namely Ronac Art Center, FilOil EcoOil Centre, the San Juan Gymnasium and the Greenhills West Basketball Court in the same area. 

It's a grassroots program initiated by its founders Jun Ebdane and Coach Ron Camara which started October 2020. There's a huge potential in the pool of Filipino youth that still remains untapped and with this program, it'll be an avenue to showcase their talent on the hard court especially in the NCAA, UAAP, PBA and others. They've already held 2 rounds of local games and became champs of their respective regions in order to qualify for this national event. They also have done tryouts for young men and women because they've got separate games for them too. There's also a stark difference with how their version of Basketball is done, because teams must have their players all play once on the court, coaches then can use their best ones in latter quarters hence their tagline "Lahat ng Player Makakalaro, Walang Mababangko!" which means all players will have the chance to have playing time on the court, nobody will be left on the bench.




From a total of 194 different teams composed of 2910 individuals from all over the country, only 500 of them will get the chance to participate in the Finals on January 29 at 4pm. Tickets will be sold at the venue so if you're looking for a place to start for your basketball career, you might just be looking at it.

Aside from that, the league also allows local businesses market their products around venues so they too can earn from the events. Aside from that, they are partnering with the different provinces, local government agencies that help boost tourism in their respective communities to help then grow as a destination. This is just the tip of the iceberg, because they also announced the coming second season which will start around May. So stay tuned for that! 

Meanwhile, here's our interview with them this afternoon as they discussed the challenges they had mounting this league and the upcoming finals where 500 of these athletes will all be flown in to Manila and compete here.




See you on these dates and support your favorite teams! You can also watch it on ABSCBN Sports Youtube Channel and will be streamed live as it happens. See you on the sidelines!

COW