Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub, Training Ground, Home and Haven for Athletes and Sports Enthusiasts

Wazzup Pilipinas!?



After the successful staging of the Green Run -- a multi-level run for elite athletes, training athletes, fun runners and fitness enthusiasts last July –Ayala Land’s 750-hectare Vermosa Estate is stepping up development to make it a complete venue for an active and healthy lifestyle down south.

Launched in 2018 as a South Luzon-based multi-sports facility that would help hone and prepare national and aspiring athletes to reach their individual and collective goals, Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub (AVSH) is already recognized as the go-to training facility south of the metro. Its multi-feature Sports Hub boasts of a FINA-standard Aquatic Center with an Olympic sized pool, an IAAF-certified Athletics Center with a world-class track oval, a football pitch with natural tiff grass, and a gym operated by Santé Fitness Lab.

In the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, AVSH was the playing venue for underwater hockey. Today, national athletes continue to train at the Sports Hub due to partnerships forged with the Philippine Athletic and Track and Field Association, the Triathlon Association of the Philippines, World Archery Philippines and the Philippine Rugby Union.

Vermosa Sports Hub facilities are constantly growing and evolving. The Aquatic Center now has a 25-meter warm-up pool and 240-seater bleachers around the Olympic-size pool. The installation of a lighting system has made the track oval ready for evening events. Also available is the Athlete’s Lounge that can also be a venue for seminars and small gatherings like product launches. Soon to rise is an athletes’ dormitory called The Athletes’ House. The initial phase will have 30 rooms, with 3 beds per regular room and 2 beds for PWD rooms, with a total of 87 beds.

“The Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub was built with athletes in mind,” said Moses “MJ” Aragones, Vermosa Project Development Manager. “We want athletes to come here and consider it their training place and call it home.

“The Athletes’ House aims to support the needs of elite national athletes who will train in the Sports Hub. It lets them do lock-in training so they can avoid the hassle of transporting to and from the training venue. We want our athletes to start preparing already for the 2024 Olympics,” Aragones said.

A multi-purpose field where sports like archery, frisbee, and rugby can take place is also in the planning stage. Eventually a multi-purpose gym will also be built where indoor sports can be played, with spectators.

The world-class facilities and thoughtful features for competitive athletes and believers in a healthy lifestyle, all show Ayala’s commitment to developing the Filipino athlete. To ensure nurturance while keeping fit, there are food establishments around Vermosa Sports Hub, such as the Vermosa Food and Lifestyle Market, Mc Donald’s, Jollibee, Starbucks, and Chicken Peri-Peri.

“These continued improvements have made AVSH grow into a viable venue for hosting key local and international sporting events,” said Vermosa Estate Head Jay Teodoro.

“Hopefully, we can continue to make this place a home and training ground to more athletes and enthusiasts. This is for all athletes to realize their dreams and for individuals to move forward in their pursuit of a healthy and active lifestyle.” Teodoro added.




For more information about Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub, go to vermosa.ph.

Save the Children sets up learning spaces, repairs classrooms for safe return of children in Odette-damaged schools in Bohol and Southern Leyte

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Over 4,000 learners in the provinces of Bohol and Southern Leyte will be able to utilize four Multipurpose Learning Spaces (MPLS) set up by Save the Children Philippines to support children’s safe return to school and continued learning amidst the ongoing pandemic and emergencies.

The humanitarian organization also repaired seven classrooms and provided back-to-school kits to over 2,300 learners and teaching kits to over 12,000 teachers.

Each back-to-school kit includes school supplies, a school bag, a bluetooth speaker, and mobile load cards. The teaching kits include office supplies, classroom supplies, mobile load cards, and reams of bond papers for the printing of modules.

“Through this multipurpose learning spaces, more learners will have access to basic education,” said Cantumogcad School Head, Nicasio Sosoter.

He adds that the repair of the only two classrooms of Cantumogcad Primary School in Buenavista, Bohol destroyed by Super Typhoon Odette, and the MPLS constructed will significantly help their students as they resume in-person classes.

Save the Children’s humanitarian response integrates the Education in Emergencies framework which provides uninterrupted, high-quality learning opportunities for children affected by humanitarian crises. It also focuses on children’s well-being and includes, among others, the conduct of return-to-learning (RtL) sessions and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services for children, teachers, and parents to address learning barriers. It also provides shelter repair assistance to families with damaged houses and child protection in emergencies.

“Education in Emergencies is an integral part of Save the Children’s holistic approach in responding to the needs of families affected by Typhoon Odette. We give utmost importance to every child’s right to access basic, inclusive and quality education which must not stop even in emergencies,” said Save the Children Philippines Humanitarian Manager, Jerome Balinton.

Funded by the European Union and in partnership with Humanity and Inclusion, the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS), Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya Inc. (SIKAT), and Oxfam Philippines, Save the Children’s humanitarian response is able to support the Department of Education’s thrust to ensure the safe return to schools of millions of students.





Super Typhoon Odette hit the Philippines in December 2021 and left devastating damages in various provinces in Visayas and Mindanao. It affected more than 12 million learners across 29,671 schools. In Bohol and Southern Leyte, many damaged classrooms are still left unrepaired.

Minamahal Kita: The Art of Filipino Love Songs (A Tribute to the 2022 National Artists) All set on September 15

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

A crossover artist generally refers to an artist who has had substantial success in multiple genres of music. It’s been used particularly to refer to a handful who have marketed themselves as performers of the classical and pop repertoire.

One can make the argument, however, that most of them are simply pop artists
who try to sing in a classically trained style.

Going by its definition, or at least by its generally agreed notion, a crossover artist must be someone who, let’s say, has professionally performed operatic roles or oratorio solos while concurrently rocking pop music establishments.

If we go by this definition, then Rogelio B. Peñaverde Jr. is a bonafide crossover artist
par excellence.

Peñaverde is a homegrown Filipino who moved to the US to pursue a scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City for a Master’s Degree in Voice.
After graduating, he carved a career in opera, sacred music and musical theater with critical acclaim.

The New York Times praised his “sweet sound” while Opera Magazine lauded him as an “incisive tenor”.

Some of his career highlights include the role of Ferrando from Cosi Fan Tutte (W. A. Mozart) with the Martina Arroyo Foundation, tenor solo in Missa Solemnis in C (L. Mozart) at the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral of New York,and the role of Basel in the Off-Broadway run of Figaro 90210 by Ragman Ventures.

He has also performed as a featured artist at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, the Manhattan Center, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and wiped away all his engagements, Peñaverde rediscovered his passion and gift for songwriting.

While it began as an outlet for anxiety,
it became a serious creative endeavor as he churned one pop song after another.

By 2021 he was sitting on 12 compositions that he collectively called the
Pearl Drive Project. When Covid restrictions eased, he debuted selections at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn, an institution in New York’s independent music scene.

It was so well-received that the show was picked up by the iconic Mercury Lounge in New York City, a hallowed ground of pop music that has featured the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran.

Performing as Ilustrado (his pop alter ego), Peñaverde became the first homegrown Filipino to play a full set of his compositions in this hall. He is scheduled for a repeat after the commercial release of 2 singles from the Pearl Drive Project this fall.

Catch the artistry of Rogelio B. Peñaverde Jr. as this consummate crossover musician visits home in a featured performance on
September 15 (Thursday), 5:00 p.m. cocktail reception 6:30 p.m. show proper, at the Main Theater Lobby of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Entitled MINAMAHAL KITA: THE ART OF FILIPINO LOVE SONGS (A TRIBUTE TO THE 2022 NATIONAL ARTISTS), the show was conceptualized by Peñaverde and produced by the Friends for Cultural Concerns
of the Philippines (FCCP) under the leadership of its current president, Martin Lopez.

It will also feature the following guest artists, most of whom are FCCP Scholars:
Athena Macatangay (Soprano), Giuseppe Diestro (Cello), Kris Gonzales (Baritone),
Lance Capitan (Guitar), Madeline Jane Banta (Piano), Myramae T. Meneses (Soprano) and
Nathan Gemina (Piano).

Directed by Manolet Garcia, the ensemble will be performing Filipino love songs from both the classical and contemporary repertoire.

The gala is part of Peñaverde’s advocacy to present quality performances of Philippine music here and abroad that educate as
much as they entertain.

Proceeds will go towards funding the tuition or travel expenses of the 26 FCCP scholars studying in local and foreign schools.

For more information, or to buy tickets, please visit the Facebook page of the
Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines or call Angie Godoy at
+63927-2292128.