Monday, March 17, 2014

Planet Ocean Exhibit


If you walk around Greenbelt lately, you probably have seen this exhibit. I was waiting for a friend and attended the mass last week when I saw these breathtaking photographs displayed. Most of which capture the beauty of our environment. I wanted to take several photos but I was in a hurry that time.

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Walking man of Manila

Long before the “Damaso incident” at the Manila Cathedral, Carlos Celdran already made it in the news, not for any scandal but because he instills a different kind of entertainment on his Manila tours.

The many faces of Carlos Celdran (Photos by: Joanna Conde)

I almost lost hope when I woke up from a nap on the evening of September 30 as I found out that our interviewee, Carlos Celdran, was put to jail for offending the Church. A week before this incident, I already scheduled an interview with him. A day before he protested he even said he’ll meet us on that weekend that’s why I panicked and messaged the team about the incident immediately because everyone is excited about the interview only to find out that there’s a possibility that it will be postponed.

Maybe luck was on our side, after waiting for the court’s decision if he’ll be freed and praying that our interview will still push through, it paid off. He was freed on October 1.

On the day of the interview, I was not able to receive any message from him, he was also busy entertaining other interviews from big media outfits but we still tried our best to reach him on his tour on October 3. We were late for his morning tour but then we searched for him as hard as we can, we acted like stalkers hungry for his sight. We struggled searching for him in Intramuros. We went to the hotel where he was checked in, we called him, but we still got no response. We almost lost hope thinking that he might not grant our interview anymore because of the incident but then again hard work always pay off. By 2:30 pm that Sunday afternoon, we received a text message that he’ll be in Fort Santiago for his afternoon tour and he will meet us by then.

We were over-joyed, despite the hot temperature and the walks we endured, we will finally meet the man of the hour.

The moment we saw him walked out of his car, we were smitten for he was considered by many as heroic for what he did at the Manila Cathedral. I am not bothered about that since it was his choice and I am already looking up to him for a long time now.

At first, we were hesitant to approach him because he seems like a very intimidating person. Many people were asking for photo ops with him and when we finally had the chance to talk to him, to our surprise, he asked us to tag along on his tour and that was his treat. We felt really blessed as we enjoyed every minute of the tour because it’s not every day that we experience moments like this.

The man being criticized by many is not at all a bad man. There’s always another side of a story. And for this 37-year old tour guide, it is always about what you believed that you should stand up for.

Here are some tidbits of our interview with Carlos Celdran in which you’ll know his side of story and his thoughts about the Filipinos and Philippines.

Describe yourself in one word:
Chubby

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Philippine Veterans Bank launches Home Loan Free Home

Makati City, Philippines- "If they think that we started a war, they are right," those were the bold words of the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB)'s President and CEO Joey Bermudez during the launch of "Home Loan Free Home" promo last Friday, February 28.

Home Loan Free Home dinner launch

For Pres. Bermudez, home loans mean a lot more than just lower interest and quick processing that is why PVB introduces their new promo for real estate housing loan product dubbed "Home Loan Free Home." It was designed for homeowners who wishes to take up housing loan with PVB and avail their cash-bank guarantees.

Get your dream home now by availing PVB's Home Loan Free Home promo!