DepEd grateful to Metrobank Foundation for PEACE recognition

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




The Department of Education (DepEd) extended its gratitude to the Metrobank Foundation Inc. (MBFI) for citing the agency as one of the recipients of the Partner in Empowerment, Advocacy, and Commitment to Excellence (PEACE) Award during its 45th Founding Anniversary last February 29.

Vice President and Secretary of the Department of Education Sara Z. Duterte, in a message, emphasized that DepEd’s partnership with the Metrobank Foundation led to various opportunities and innovations to inspire the education sector.

The PEACE Award is presented every five years by the Metrobank Foundation Inc. (MBFI) to recognize partners that have collaborated impactfully in the mission of uplifting the lives of the most vulnerable and underserved sectors in Philippine society.

DepEd also acknowledged the Foundation, led by MBFI President Aniceto M. Sobrepeña, for being an active partner of the agency in its various activities for the celebration of the National Teachers’ Month.

MBFI also honors excellent educators, military, and police personnel through its Outstanding Filipinos Award. During the 2023 awards, Mr. Rex Sario of Balogo Elementary School in Bukidnon, Mr. June Elias Patalinghug of Catalunan Grande Elementary School in Davao City, and Mr. Edgar Durana of Don Jose Ynares Memorial National High School in Binangonan, Rizal were recognized in the basic education sector.

Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Atty. Michael Wesley T. Poa credited the Department’s teaching and non-teaching workforce when he received the award on behalf of the agency during the ceremony.

“This PEACE Award is a recognition of the men and women of DepEd who embody excellence in their profession and passion to serve our communities. More importantly, it is a recognition of the unrelenting dedication and efforts of our teachers to deliver quality education and contribute to realizing the MATATAG Agenda,” Usec. Poa said.

In the awarding ceremony, the Department is one of the five government agencies cited by MBFI, which also include the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and the Philippine Postal Corporation.

One More Chance, The Musical featuring the songs of Ben&Ben

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

One More Chance, The Musical is based on the motion picture One More Chance (2007), produced by ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc.

One More Chance is a popular Filipino romantic drama film released in 2007. The movie tells the story of Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz) and Basha (Bea Alonzo), a couple whose long-term relationship faces numerous challenges.

PETA’s musical adaptation not only brings the iconic love story of Popoy and Basha to life but also creates a more nuanced and expanded experience for audiences, thanks to Ben&Ben's poetic, emotionally charged, and LSS-inducing songs. The musical includes the band’s smash hits “Kathang Isip,” “Araw-Araw,” “Leaves,” and “Paninidigan Kita,” to name a few.

With the stage play adaptation, we relive the moments of the central characters with much more intimacy, intensity, dimension, and perspective. Here we see them in the flesh; we are with them in the same room, watching them and seeing what goes behind every choice made and chance taken or not taken by the characters we all love so well.

The musical features the songs of the massively popular and award-winning Filipino nine-piece band, Ben&Ben.

One More Chance, The Musical is slated to run from April 12–June 30, 2024, at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City. The musical is presented by PETA and co-presented by Metrobank and Robinsons Malls.

Overview

One More Chance is a classic and an icon. Loved by a generation that saw themselves in Popoy, Basha, and the many friends and lovers that came into their lives. In them, we saw how a seemingly picture-perfect and solid relationship can easily crumble when the small cracks are ignored, or worse, covered up. With Popoy, we learned that giving your best doesn’t mean you won’t get your heart broken, and with Basha, we hoped to be chosen once again for another chance for a better kind of love. In the present context, this story about taking chances and living life without regrets resonates more than ever.

A chance to get closer

The intimacy of theater and the nuanced expression

Hope, love, and chances. These are sentiments that don’t escape us, sentiments that were captured so well by One More Chance because of how the film provided a closer look at a couple growing into themselves as individuals, and as lovers. Now, with the stage play adaptation, we relive the moments of Popoy and Basha with much more intimacy, as lent by the theater. To see them in the flesh, to be with them in one room goes beyond what cinema captured. In this version, we not only show the nuanced and expanded experience of the couple but also their friends, the Thursday barkada—the level-headed Kenneth and Krizzy and their couple goals, the jovial Chino and his heartbreak, tough-loving Anj’s tenacity, and carefree JP’s adventures as a playboy. We can also look into the people who were there for the protagonists at their lowest, Mark and Tricia.

Beyond Love

Behind the choices and chances

A musical provides the avenue to pick the characters’ hearts and minds, for their inner monologues to be heard in song as they make their choices. With the adaptation, the relevant themes and issues presented in the film can be further explored. More than the relationship,

Popoy and Basha’s struggles were also tied up to the expectations shouldered by the age group they belonged to—young professionals making a name for themselves; breaking boundaries in society while establishing their own; expectations from family; expectations to hit the ground running in a rat race that diminishes the self and self-care. These, along with the interrogation of how one handles pressure, pain, heartbreak, and depression, among others, are possibilities the stage play could accommodate.

Cast:

Sam Concepcion as Popoy

CJ Navato as Popoy

Anna Luna as Basha

Nicole Omillo as Basha

Kiara Takahashi as Tricia

Sheena Belarmino as Tricia

Jef Flores as Mark

Jay Gonzaga as Mark

Ada Tayao as Krizzy

Rica Laguardia as Krizzy

Poppert Bernadas as Kenneth

Paji Arceo as Kenneth

Via Antonio as Anj

Dippy Arceo as Anj

Jon Abella as JP

Johnnie Moran as Chinno

Chez Cuenca as Helen/Guia/Roselle

Coleen Paz as Helen/Guia/Roselle

JC Galano as Francis/Mr.Tan

Matthew Barbers as Francis/Mr.Tan

Neomi Gonzales as Rose/Edith

Carla Guevara Laforteza as Rose/Edith

Raul Montesa as Bert/Willie

Floyd Tena as Bert/Willie

Hazel Maranan as Elvie

Icon for an icon

Bridging generations with music

As an iconic film, One More Chance is only befitting of the iconic music that is Ben&Ben.

Their songs capture the emotional angst that will bring the scenes of the movie to the ‘now’.

The music of Ben&Ben reflects the brokenness of a person and his or her journey to heal from it and come out stronger. Their music is a fitting anthem to the film that embodies just those. This coming together of cinema, music, and live performance aims to be a heartwarming welcome for Filipinos back to the theater, for one more chance at love, healing, and the songs that go along with it.

Ben&Ben has endeared itself to many with their heartfelt lyrics, unique musicality, and their electric vibe onstage. In the prime of their youth, the band is keen on dedicating themselves to bringing richness to the music they create through songs of hope, love and positivity.

In a few years’ time, folk-pop collective Ben&Ben has maintained a level of cultural relevance that earned its place in the history of contemporary Philippine music. The award-winning band rose to prominence with heartfelt anthems that define an entire generation and show-stopping performances that mesmerize the audiences from all over the world.

For three years, the dynamic young band emerged as the most streamed OPM Artist and Group in the Philippines, being the first Filipino act to surpass more than a billion streams. In addition to this game-changing feat, Ben&Ben has averaged nearly three million monthly listeners on Spotify, and eclipsed its previous record by simultaneously charting a total of 10 songs on the platform’s Top 50.

Ben & Ben is a 9-piece band from the Philippines, composed of:

● Twin brothers Miguel Benjamin and Paolo Benjamin on acoustic guitars and vocals

● Poch Barretto on electric guitar

● Keifer Cabugao on violin

● Andrew De Pano and Toni Muñoz on percussion

● Pat Lasaten on keyboards

● Agnes Reoma on bass

● Jam Villanueva on drums

Show dates:

April 12 - June 30, 2024

📌 PETA Theater Center

🎟tinyurl.com/OMCTickets

Matinee Shows - 2:00 pm

Evening Shows - 7:30 pm

TICKETS

VIP - 3,000

Orchestra Center - 2,500

Orchestra Side - 2,200

Balcony Center - 2,500

Balcony Side - 1,500

SOCIALS

@petatheater

#PETAOneMoreChance

#PETAOMCTheMusical

#OMCXBenAndBen

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

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College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists.

Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.”

This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate hearing to discuss the proposed revision of the procurement law at the House of Representatives on February 21, 2024.

Aside from Dean Tapang and Dr. Rodriguez, among those present were CS Associate Dean Dr. Eizadora Yu, CS Associate Dean Dr. Deo Florence Onda, National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) Dean Dr. Kristoffer Berse, NCPAG Assistant Professor Herisadel Flores, and NCPAG Atty. Lawrence Villanueva.

The procurement law, enacted in 2003, is a set of rules and regulations for using government funds to acquire goods and services. Although meant to deter corruption and promote transparency, the law introduces numerous problems for researchers and scientists.

Among the problems is that products become exorbitantly priced which hinders research progress. Dean Berse said that when a product cannot be locally produced, foreign-sourced products can be bought through local suppliers. But this method increases and even doubles the products’ prices. “In the event that no local suppliers are interested,” he added, “this will result in the loss of access to the target equipment.”

When researchers fail to procure the necessary equipment, they cannot meet project objectives and need to realign budgets. This will “ultimately delay the dissemination of knowledge and information and in providing solutions to our country’s pressing problems,” Dean Berse said.

Moreover, the procurement law impacts the retention of local scientists. “Once frustrated, they leave [the country] for greener pastures,” Dean Tapang said.

The amended procurement law aims to solve these problems. The revised law, for example, would allow for direct sales and direct acquisition of products in certain circumstances, bypassing the slow bidding process. Under the new law, the sole supplier of resin needed for Dr. Rodriguez’s research would not need to undergo bidding.

UPD professors fully support the amendments to the procurement law. They also proposed further improvements and recommendations, such as on how to counteract “abnormally low bids” or bids that offer equipment and services at suspiciously low prices.

One of the authors of the revised law, Senator Sonny Angara, stated that the law is already in its finalization stage and is expected to be finalized in the next two weeks.