Frontrow International Partners with the UP Fighting Maroons

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons continued to get support for their University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 campaign as FRONTROW International, a dynamic and rapidly-expanding direct selling company in the health, beauty, and wellness industry in the Philippines became their newest backer. UP alumni Raymond “RS” Francisco, FRONTROW president (seated, right) and Sam Verzosa, FRONTROW CEO (seated, second from right) officially inked the Memorandum of Agreement on Saturday, May 18, with nowheretogobutUP Foundation (NTGBUP), a volunteer group supporting UP’s varsity programs. NTGBUP President and UPMBT Team Manager Atty. Agaton Uvero (seated left), Maroons Head Coach Bo Perasol (seated, second from left), the coaching staff and the UP Fighting Maroons attended the signing ceremony at the Verzosa Residence in Quezon City. 

FDCP Hosts Its First Session of Film Dev’t Lab in Davao

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) continues its developmental programs for the empowerment of regional cinema with the first-ever Southern Voices Film Lab (SOVOLAB), which aims to advance and develop feature film projects from Mindanaoan filmmakers.

Seven (7) projects in script development from first, second, and third-time filmmakers from Mindanao have been selected for the SOVOLAB, including “Diwalwal” by Jarell Serencio, “Mga Yawa sa Paraiso” by Joe Bacus, “The Widow” by Ryanne Murcia, “Virgins of the River” by Julienne Joy Ilagan, “Cangrejos” by Zurich Chan, “Misery Mountain” by Orvil Bantayan, and “Dancing the Tide” by Xeph Suarez. These projects will undergo the first leg of the Lab from June 7 to 9, 2019 in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

The first leg includes international mentors Raymond Phathanavirangoon, the Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC) for producing, and Maggie Lee, the Chief Asia Film Critic for Variety for script development, as well as Bianca Balbuena, an award-winning producer for creative producing, and Mindanaoan filmmaker Sheron Dayoc.

FDCP Chairperson and CEO Mary Liza Diño expressed her excitement to meet new regional filmmakers and to help more unique tales from Mindanao come to life on the big screen. “As we celebrate the Sandaan, this is the perfect time to bring a film lab to the regions to let filmmakers from the South express their stories through films. We are looking forward to discovering more fresh voices from the regions through SOVOLAB.”

Through the labs, the selected filmmakers and producers will work with international and local mentors and consultants over the course of eight (8) months to refine their stories and to learn key industry practices to guide the production of their films. During the final session, the participants will be presenting a 7-minute pitch of their project to the jury. Two (2) projects will bring home the SOVOLAB co-production grant worth of One Million Pesos.

PHLPost Opens Stamps Exhibit to Mark Chinatown Museum Grand Launch

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has mounted an exhibition called “Revive” featuring a section that showcased historical artifacts of the old post office building, chronicling the history of the postal service and Philippine Stamps to coincide with the Grand Launch of the Interactive Chinatown Museum.

Located at the 4th floor, Lucky Chinatown Building A in the famous district of Binondo, Manila, guests and museum enthusiast were treated with a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage, colorful festivities and traditions featuring “Binondo: A History of Connections”.

The Chinatown Museum has sections that the public can walk through famous places, and historical collections which can also be seen through multimedia displays for the public to enjoy and appreciate.

With PHLPost participation, it aims to inspire Filipinos to protect, preserve and promote this nationally important historical archive of stamps and collections providing visual, physical and written records of 251 years of postal heritage in the country.

The Philippine Postal System has a remarkable history. It was first established in Manila in 1767. The first known location of the Manila Post Office was on Escolta, next to the Estero de la Reina near Santa Cruz church.

The Manila Central Post Office Building was built in 1926 as a modern colonial architecture, an example of a perfect neo-classical monument built and designed by Filipino Architect Juan Arellano and Tomas Mapua in the heart of Manila. The structure was rebuilt, guided by its original design, after suffering extensive damage during the World War II.

The historic building has been declared an Important Cultural Property (ICP) and will undergo renovation with the assistance coming from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) next year.