Vista Malls Unveils Customized Community Malls At “All About You” Event

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Customized malls that reflect the heart and soul of their community are the gifts of the New Year for Vista Land residents. Vista Land & Lifescapes Chairman Manuel B. Villar welcomed the tenants and investors of Vista Malls at a pre-Christmas Investors’ Night at the Laurel House in Vista Shaw, Mandaluyong City to tell them about the wonderful things in store for Vista Land’s commercial projects in 2016.

Six community Vista Malls are already up, Mr. Villar announced: the flagship Vista Mall at EVIA in the heart of Vista City in Daang Hari, the yuppie-oriented Vista Mall at Trevi Residences in Pasong Tamo, Makati City; the scenic Vista Mall Lakefront in Sucat, set on a hill overlooking Laguna de Bay; Vista Mall Pampanga, a center for upscale fashion boutiques and diverse dining options; Vista Mall Antipolo, a mall-next-door that acts as a “big backyard” for its huge community of families; and Vista Mall CDO, an activity hub complete with biking trails, running paths, and pit stops for outdoor sports enthusiasts that will surely delight the active community that it serves.

The exciting news is that more Vista Malls are in the works beginning 2016, Villar shared with mall tenants and partners. With over 80 projects nationwide, Vista Land never forgets to think of ways to give their homeowners all the conveniences and amenities to live the lifestyle they have always dreamt of in Vista’s trademark COMMUNICITIES, he said. These amenities, which are at the center of all Vista Land township projects, house facilities to match the personalities of the communities that they serve.

CHED Clarifies So-Called “Unspent” Funds for Poor Students

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) seeks to clarify news reports on the Commission on Audit (COA) findings regarding the so-called “unspent P1.2-B fund for poor students.” COA’s latest report which was posted on their website early this week contains the annual audit report executive summary and outlined observations and recommendations on CHED accounts and operations in 2014. The report also enumerated CHED’s courses of action based on the agreements in the Commission’s exit conference with COA in July 2015.

At the time of the exit conference, documentation for the obligation of funds from the CHED regional offices still needed updating, but to date, these reports have already been completed. In fact, by December 31, 2015, the remaining P1.2-B 2014 budget which had a validity of two years, had been fully obligated with an assurance that the beneficiaries will be paid.

It can be recalled that at the end of 2013, the Supreme Court declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) unconstitutional. In response, lawmakers realigned their PDAF allocations to the calamity fund and six agencies, including CHED for scholarship assistance to students.

As a consequence, CHED’s Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs) composed of scholarships, grants-in-aid and loans totaling 58,155 slots in the amount of P997-M in AY 2013-2014, ballooned nearly seven times to 391,817 slots in AY 2014-2015 amounting to P4.87-B, testing the carrying capacity of the agency.

New Year, New Shows on Discovery Channel, Discovery Science and Discovery Kids

Wazzup Pilipinas!

This year, make it your resolution to learn and go on adventures more, even just through the screen. Discovery Channel, Discovery Science and Discovery Kids will make it easy to stick to your commitment with a line-up of interesting programs for all age groups!


Discovery Channel

Adventures abound as the abalone dive crews of Port Lincoln confront greater challenges this season. Spotting sharks proves a little trickier as an early winter brings vicious swells that cause poor water visibility. Adding to that, a pod of orca whales attack and kill a shark at Neptune Islands, forcing the Great Whites to flee the area. The big sharks now roam the waters off Port Lincoln: where they’ll appear next, no one knows. Despite the deadly challenges, the dive crews continue to enter the water, continuing to risk their lives in search of the lucrative green-lipped abalone. The new season of Abalone Wars premieres January 25, airing Mondays at 9PM.

The image above show Bear Grylls with: (clockwise) Ferguson, Hudson, Rodriguez and Winslet 

Airing also this January is the new season of Running Wild With Bear Grylls. Bear Grylls is accompanied by all kinds of celebrities and sent off to the wild. Each of the actors and athletes will partner with Grylls for two days for a one-on-one adventure, tackling everything from skydiving to repelling as they journey through some of the world’s most unforgiving wildernesses. This season will take viewers from the jungles of Panama to the far reaches of the Italian Alps and then to the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Red Rocks of Utah. The series guests include Drew Brees, James Marsden, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kate Hudson, Kate Winslet, Michael B. Jordan, Michelle Rodriguez and Ed Helms.

A one-episode special of the show aired on December featured US President Barrack Obama joining Bear Grylls in the wild.

The new season of Running Wild With Bear Grylls, which premiered on January 5, airs Tuesdays, 9PM.