philippine stock market reaches past historic 6,800 all time high, so far record broken 23 times in 2013

here is some trivia : of the 23 times the record high was broken, 19 times or 83% occurred on consecutive days.

#gangsters make it to national print media – Manila Standard Today

here is the quotation from a piece written by Beth Angsioco in Power Point at the Manila Standard Today, a nationally published broadsheet :

Even offline, tweeps have fun with each other. Yes, in person. I, for one, have met a lot of wonderful, (a few awful) people via Twitter.

At the height of RH debates, pro-RH tweeps belonging to very diverse backgrounds found each other passionately engaging the opposing group. Because of the bill, they banded online.

They eventually did a “tweet-up” (tweeps meeting personally) and named themselves “gangsters”. The bill is now a law but the gangsters still have tweet-ups almost monthly for the fun of it.

Weeks before the bill was passed, an anti-RH parody account came up with the bright idea of listing down pro-RH advocates and labeling them abortionists because of reasons as absurd as, someone is working for a pharmaceutical company, one is a daughter of an advocate, one is gay, one has a sexy picture, etc.

Carlos Celdran, yes, the one sued by a Catholic Monsignor over ‘Damaso’, was number 25 on the A-list. This prompted him to quip, “I work harder than to be 25!”

Another advocate was furious that he was not on the list. So he engaged the parody account and eventually made it. Success!

The gangsters and A-listers partied to celebrate the RH law. It was riot fun! Even Rep. Edcel Lagman who met tweeps for the first time enjoyed the party. He was surprised to know about this new “universe” inhabited by smart and articulate netizens.

source: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/01/26/twitter-fun/

 

results for SY 2013-2014 De La Salle college admission (DLSUCET) is out now, january 10, 2013

click here :
http://enroll.dlsu.edu.ph/dlsu/freshmen/

amazing bird paper sculptures by diana herrera

source and more paper sculptures here :
http://blog.wanken.com/12583/paper-bird-sculptures-by-diana-beltran-herrera/

#gangsters celebrate with a grand tweetup for #rhbill becoming #rhlaw – december 29, 2012

who are the #gangsters? as of now, we do not know yet for sure. we used to be the RH Bill champions on twitter. and since the rh bill  has been signed to the RH Law last december 21, 2012, we are yet to define ourselves in the coming weeks and months.

#gangsters is a nickname we like to call ourselves. we found each other on twitter, on the hash tag #rhbill, we did not know each other personally but read each other’s tweets on the rh bill and found out we were all on the same page on the controversial rh bill. we were not on the exact spot on the rh bill page as we promoted the rh bill and answered the anti rh bill twitter posts in very different ways depending on our individual backgrounds and knowledge. the variety and breath of backgrounds and knowledge were very wide, from  lawyers, media people, from marketing & advertising, doctors, nurses, sales, students, mothers and to many others but we are all tweeting for the same thing – for the rh bill to pass for women, for  pinoy families, for health and for the country. that served the #gangsters well as any tweet from the anti rhbill was adequately answered and rebuffed. aside from the technically superior answers each of us simply used sheer and naked logic and common sense in rebuff to anti rh bill tweets, two ingredients lacking in their tweets.

after hours posting on rh bill, #gangsters would talk about everyday non political things on twitter and that is where the other side of the #gangster personality comes alive. there are no words that are innocent or neutral, only words to be unmasked to its real meaning or turned naked and given new meaning, thus the #gangster alert on tweets was born.

this is a good definition:

in true form, the name #gangsters evolved also on a whim and very random. we thought the group needed a nickname. one that captures what the group does for the rh bill and what the group doers after hours.

we are a gang who reside on the rh bill hash tag and  turns into monsters after hours turning neutral words and ideas into a monsterific evolution, hence #gangsters, the short nickname of  ”a gang of monsters”.  besides, the nickname has “angas” and that alone is reason enough why it is an appropriate name.

part of the #gangsters and rh champions who attended the RH Law celebration

from strangers the #gangsters decided to meet to put a face on the username and from the first tweetup the #gangsters on the average have been meeting once a month. nothing scheduled, just on whim, it just happens. the good thing about the tweetups is that as the regulars continued to attend, new people joined the #gangsters tweetups and the group grew in number, a great and welcome evolution.

representative edcel lagman, main sponsor of the RH Law at HOR

with the passage of the rh bill into rh law, it felt natural for the #gangsters to have another tweetup to celebrate. it was the christmas season and getting together was thought of to be impossible and unwise with work related and family get together scheduled. it was floated in twitter and before you knew it, many had confirmed they were available for a tweetup. the #gangsters invited everyone who were pro rhbill and last night around 50 to 60 pax attended. this was the largest the group has had as the group would just be 15 to 20 at a time in previous tweetups.

the #gangsters tweetup last night was not only special because of the number of people who came to celebrate with us, but several RH Champion celebrities came. we were awed that the following RH champions joined us – no less than representative edcel lagman, main proponent of the RH Bill at the HOR (house of representatives), representative and deputy speaker of the house erin tanada,    dr. esperanza cabral former secretary of the DSWD and DOH during the gloria macapagal arroyo administration, miss international beauty queen aurora pijuan and dr. raquel fortun, famed forensic pathologist and UP professor. the guest list was not at all short of being the A-list behind the rh bill passage into law.

rep lagman was THE rockstar of the night. everyone but everyone in the party wanted to have their picture taken with him. and that meant requests for pictures started the minute he sat on his chair at the dining table up to the door outside the restaurant as he left the restaurant. everyone kept saying – last na, last picture. rep lagman was very gracious and agreed with a smile for all the numerous picture requests.

there were so many requests for pictures with the RH rockstars that we had to ask them to transfer to another side of the table where they were seated, to against the wall to allow those with the camera more space to take a proper picture.

representative and deputy speaker of the house erin tanada

deputy speaker erin tanada talked about the difficult task of presiding over the voting on the rh bill. apparently it was a marathon 10 hour session that did not allow for breaks for food, drink or a bathroom break. but he said it was well worth it and he knew it was the right thing to do.

dr. raquel fortun disagreed with the deputy speaker. she said she did not think what was difficult was the no food, no bathroom break, it was the fact that he had to listen to the inane comments, moves and speeches of the anti rh bill during the sessions. and despite all that, the deputy speaker got the job done just the same.

dr. esperanza cabral former secretary of the DSWD and DOH during the gloria macapagal arroyo administration

dr. cabral is most admired by RH champions for her take no prisoner stand on family planning – the DOH distributed free condoms on valentine’s day during the gloira macapagal arroyo administration. arroyo was a staunch anti rh bill president. arroyo was successful in delaying even the discussion of the bill in congress. arroyo in fact stopped the free distribution of modern methods of contraception (condoms and pills) in government hospitals and clinics as early as when dr. dayrit was DOH chief.

for dr. cabral to get the DOH to distribute free condoms during the arroyo administration was unparalleled success and courage. dr. cabral said she was from the very beginning for modern methods of contraception but was never asked about it by anyone in the arroyo admin and media. she said she was in fact surprised when she was asked that question for the first time by media.

we asked her if ex president arroyo ever asked her to stop the free distribution of condoms or her stand on modern methods of contraception, she said arroyo  never did but secretary ermita did.

unlike the #gangsters, dr. cabral said she is not very active on social media but she said she was aware of the tweets as she read them. asked what she has been doing, she said she was at the senate during hearings on the rh bill as resource person and expert on RH.

miss international beauty queen aurora pijuan

aurora pijuan is unmatched beauty inside and out. she has been part of the #gangsters from the very beginning and attends the tweetups on a regular basis. aside from the very imposing beauty and presence that she has, she can by her self bring the house down with her wit, intelligence and humor. she enters the room and the whole room turns to her to admire her, when she opens her mouth to tell a story or make a comment, then the admiration goes up to the roof. with her wit and intelligence, you cannot be slow or dumb in her presence or else you miss half the fun of having her around.

dr. raquel fortun, famed forensic pathologist and UP professor

dr. fortun is the one woman CIS Manila. we have heard her talk about her craft on tv and she makes her job so easy and simple which of course it is not. someone announced her presence at the party by saying dr. fortun is offering a free autopsy for anyone who wants it. dr, fortun confirmed the offer but nobody took her up on it.

dr. fortun’s tweets we think very much reflect her expertise. we think forensic pathology  demands 55% superior logic and thinking     and 45% brilliant science and medicine. her tweets for the rh bill and comments on anti rh bill tweets expose lack of logic and lack of facts in a memorable one liner.

what is #18? well, the good doctor came prepared to the tweetup by making her own homemade number. the number is part of the world famous  ”concerned number”  that a certain concerned anti #rhbill poster did on twitter. this concerned anti #rhbill poster based on a “magic document” alleged that the #gangsters and other RH Bill advocates were under the payroll of an unnamed super rich organization to tweet for the rh bill. he made a list, similar to what santa does but this one was just on a “naughty” list for him/her. (gender of this poster is unclear) the list stopped at #75.

the “concerned number” created quite a stir among the #gangsters and the the other RH champions on twitter – they all wanted to be on the list. there were protests posted on twitter asking to be included in the list. one even lobbied for 3 days to get included on the list. he succeeded in getting included in the list. still others complained why they were down the list when they felt they deserved to be on the top 10. other RH champions who were not part of the #gangsters got surprised why they were included in the list. nobody among the #gangsters and RH champions understood the criteria for being included and specially the ranking in the list. actually nobody really cared as what was important was to be included in the list and to have fun with it.

rather than being a list of shame by the anti rhbill, it became a list of honor for the #gangsters and RH champions.

this “concerned number” list was used during the party as a running gag and the thread used to get the #gangsters to introduce themselves to everyone. we will be posting the screen caps of the list on the password protected page. but we will not identify the twitter user name as we do not want the poster to get free publicity in this blog.

side from the celebs who attended the #gangsters tweetup, other celebs sent to the party their messages – jim paredes, carlos celdran and representative kimi conjuangco who is one of the prime movers of the rh bill in congress.

—–

pics of #gangsters december 29 tweetup here : 

• #gangsters tweetup #VI (open to all)

• #gangsters group pics (password protected, for #gangsters & those who attended the party only)

• #gangsters solo pics & the world famous “concerned numbers” (password protected, for #gangsters & those who attended the party only)

willie revillame show at TV 5 to close in january 2013?

revillame according to rappler.com has said he will be announcing something on january 5 about what he will do with his life. at the same time, it was reported that he has told his staff and artists at the show to look for other jobs and have asked the audience to look for other shows who can help them. revillame’s shows are seen by many as “helping the poor” with prize money in easy to win contests in his tv shows.

 

 

read full rappler.com article here: 
http://www.rappler.com/entertainment/16592-willie-revillame-to-wrap-up-show

apparently, his tv show at TV 5, Will Time, Big Time has not been getting the tv ratings that it should. we thought TV5′s decision to air the show on the evening prime time slot was a very good move as it avoided clashing with the established noontime shows such as GMA7′s Eat Bulaga and ABS-CBN’s Showtime. revillame was then considered a big draw despite the numerous controversies and inanities that revillame got himself into at ABS-CBN before he moved or was he fired (?) from there. the good thinking that i appreciated was that it will be easier for revillame to beat the tv news shows than the noontime shows of the same format as his show.

it came as a shock to us to read the rappler article saying his show has not been rating. the revillame magic apparently has reach a  limit.

we will be looking forward  to the january 5 announcement. or is this another gimmick from revillame?

philippine stock market breaks the 5,500 mark, 28th time record high broken in 2012

the philippine stock market reached a new and important milestone today – it reached the 5,500 index mark and breaks the record high an impressive 28 times this year. the 5,500 mark is an important psychological barrier. we almost felt it will not be reached this year but it is great news that it did so towards the end of november.

this new high was reached at the back of the impressive recovery of the Dow Jones last night. the philippine stock market tends to react positively on good news from the dow jones.

the philippine stock market will probably be one of the best performing not only in asia but also in the world by the end of the year. unless the dow jones tanks by january 2013 with the fiscal cliff happening in the US, the philippine stock market is expected to rise even higher in 2013 as it is an elction year and the phillippine economy usually spikes up during election years. it is possible that the philippines stock market will go up as well.

philippine stock market breaks all time high 27 times in 2012 & other trivia

just a few weeks more until 2012 ends and the philippine stock market’s record high has been broken 27 times already. breaking the all time high 27 times is more than a good reason to talk about it even though the year has not ended.

the months of august and september 2012 did not have the PSEI index record high broken.

the month of june 2012 did not have the PSEI index record high broken.

click here for other record breaking months:

philippine stock market breaches 5,000 mark, sets 11th all time high record in 2012

Ateneo October, 2012 1BIG5 Bonfire Celebration In Pictures

do you have pictures you took during the 1BIG5 celebration? share it in this blog – send it to this blog via email (wawam.email@ gmail.com) and will post it. include any caption you want placed on it.

video : Psy, korean sensation performs gangnam at WNBC’s Today Show

psy’ single apparently reached the top spot at iTunes after his appearance at the Today show.

he also appeared at SNL:

also at the ellen show with ellen degeneres and britney spears.

English Translation:

Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style

A girl who is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist

I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensable girl like that

I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I’m saying
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

Romanized:

Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil

Naje-neun ttasaroun inkanjeo-gin yeoja
Keopi hanjanye yeoyureuraneun pumkyeok i-nneun yeoja
Bami omyeon shimjangi tteugeowojineun yeoja
Keureon banjeon i-nneun yeoja

2 dengue victims and 1 cure – tawa-tawa

this dengue story happened three years ago and I wrote this to share the experience with members of a yahoogroup composed of parents of my son’s batch when he was in grade 7. I wrote and shared it so that other parents in the batch of my son could be warned and perhaps learn and benefit from my experience with dengue.

there was a palpable dengue scare in the country at the time I wrote this with many dengue cases and dengue related deaths reported. the infection rate at that time was high and rising.

the write up is mostly intact from the original with a few things added for clarity and more details.

please read:

it’s important to note that I am writing this just as a regular parent of children who got dengue. I am not a doctor and my profession and background is not even related to any medical field. the information contained here are the things that I knew then and remember now and may or may not be correct from a medical standpoint.

this narration is purely anecdotal, without any scientific or medical basis or proof.  if dengue infects you or members of your family, you must consult a doctor immediately.  you must discuss, consult and get the agreement of the dengue patient’s attending physician for any action you will take as a result of reading this blog entry.

this is my dengue story:

the nightmare called dengue is done and over with for my family, thank God!  i just want to share a few things.

my son has fully recovered from dengue after being in the hospital for a week. but it was a double whammy for us as my daughter, my eldest and “ate” to my son had dengue too and was hospitalized just 2 days after my son was confined. both are already out of the hospital and fully recovered. thank God twice.

my whole family are now full converts of  tawa-tawa,  the “rumored” herbal cure for dengue. based on our twin experiences, tawa-tawa as

tawa-tawa plant

a cure for dengue is for real.

this is our dengue experience:

one  week-end, my son at night complained of very high fever. i needed to stay on a bed that was beside his to watch over him. even though it was the first night of high fever, he was unable to sleep and kept on complaining of feeling very hot. there was nothing I could do to relieve him of the fever with the medicine given to him does not seem to be working.  he had terrible chills and was shaking almost the whole night and gave a low moan because of the fever.

the next day, a Monday, we decided to take him to the hospital as we thought the high fever was very unusual. after two hours at the emergency room, we were shocked to find out that he had dengue. we immediately had him confined at the hospital.

as soon as I had the time,  i did internet research and read through those sent to the yahoogroup by other parents on the cure for dengue.  i found a lot of anecdotal evidence, mostly testimonies on how tawa-tawa has cured dengue from the internet and the philippine press. I thought that was worth a try.

anticipating that i might eventually use tawa-tawa,  i had the plant bought from the Manila Seedling Bank in quezon city. we bought the actual plant itself as we wanted to make sure we get the real thing.

a group of nuns and priests took it upon themselves to plant and propagate tawa-tawa at the Manila Seedling Bank so that residents of metro manila may be able to have them when needed. the tawa-tawa plant came with preparation instructions on how to make a tawa-tawa tea drink and placed the concoction  in the refrigerator.

i discussed it with my wife but she was not convinced on it. i printed the stuff i got from the internet and left it in the hospital room for her to read.

we also talked to my son’s doctor about it. the doctor, being a woman of science and medicine of course was not for it. her main concern for not agreeing to it was the lack of scientific or formal studies on its efficacy and more importantly the zero knowledge on its side effects. i understood that to her side effects are key issues as being my son’s doctor she will need to face these if they occur.

baby twins’ secret language and dance

watch the baby girl on the left of the screen as she first looks at her twin sister before both start to dance. they don’t say anything to each other but they seem to have exchanged some secret language and understood what the other meant, that was when they started their dance at the same time.  they did the secret language exchange a few more times in the video, once with a laugh, smiles and getting at their dance at the same time. . this video proves what they say about twins – they are connected by an invisible line.

cute babies! cute dancing! share this video with others and spread the joy.

saving all my love for you

ateneo professors, the rh bill and independent thinking

there is a long line of controversy that has involved ateneo professors, ateneo de manila, the CBCP and fr. villarin all to hinged on the controversial rh bill (reproductive health bill).

read them all here (click to read):

• ateneo president fr villarin ignores bishop, upholds independent thinking and appreciates ateneo professors efforts on rh bill
• 33 more ateneo professors support rh bill, now 192 professors
• bishop wants pro rh bill Ateneo professors fired – hahahaha
• 160 Ateneo De Manila University Professors declare support for the RH Bill
• Catholics Can Support The RH Bill In Good Conscience – Ateneo Professors’ Position Paper RH Bill 5043

Church of the Gesu at the Ateneo De Manila University

when “50 shades of grey” joins an advertising agency

(double click image to enlarge)

cut and pasted here:

“How hard is it for you to do as you’re told?” she bellowed, infuriated at my defiance. I could feel her gaze burning through my pitiful existence. My heartbeat racing, I held my breath, anticipating the punishment that was in store for me. “Let’s start over, shall we?” she said, as she stood up. “Try these briefs on for me. Remember, just these briefs.” I glanced at what she held in her hand. My eyes widened. I knew I was going to be disciplined, but three briefs all due tomorrow is just too much!

interesting take on “50 shades of grey” when it joins grey advertising one of the largest ad agencies in the world.

macho theme for ateneo blue eagle’s quest for the One Big Five

 

they have t-shirts with the line proclaiming “we fight for the blue and the white”. it’s a provocative line but it is very aggressive and combative, perhaps too much? we have not seen lines like that for a very long time.

so maybe it’s appropriate now given that the ateneo blue eagles are fighting to make it 5 consecutive championships this UAAP 75 season. getting it 5 straight will make history if ateneo pulls it off this year. players do graduate after 4 or 5 years and that means a change in crew, a loss of power every year. winning the championship in consecutive years in college basketball is indeed very hard. losing your top players every year to be replaced by rookies mean you need to have a great coaching staff and equally important a well oiled and strategic recruitment program.

ateneo has won the UAAP championships 4 straight years. that means this year all the players it had the first time it won are all gone and others in between have been lost to graduation.

ateneo had their first game this season last sunday and they did very well beating adamson on a pile of many points – tambak in other words. that could be a good sign. the game with adamson started on shaky grounds for ateneo. the team lost it’s defensive skills, something they are known for in the league, during the first half of the game. the shooting prowess was still there, including the most feared fast-break shots made on transition but they allowed too many open shots for adamson and some errors.

norman black, ateneo’s legendary coach made the adjustments and the defense came back in the second half, enabling ateneo to comfortably pull away in the second half.

the usual suspects, actually stars were there – slaughter, salva and ravena killing adamson on defense and offense. it was also good to see buenafe back. buenafe’s presence was not yet felt as much as he was still recovering from an injury. but he played good minutes on the court so that can mean the injury is all healed and he just needs to get back on the groove. when he does, it can be very devastating to the opponents of the blue eagles.

slaughter has improved a lot. he has added new shots to his repertoire of shots. he was unstoppable when he was close to the ring and all he needed to do was to gently scoop or drop the ball inside the ring. the coaches has done very well to sharpen slaughter’s guns, exploiting his height to the max.

the ateneo blue eagles are known for two deadly things in the league – defense and the fast-break. no team has yet discovered a system to beat them on those.

ateneo will play UST today, a team seen as a top four contender. we will see how much prepared this new ateneo team is for a strong team like UST. coming from a four-peat championship win, ateneo’s top four players slaughter, salva, ravena and buenafe will pour it in to make one big five this season. UST can be ateneo’s 2nd victim in the league.

 

 

“make it makati” campaign – logo that works hard and beautifully

we have been seeing these banners on the main streets of makati along the ayala avenue business area and it caught our attention on the positive side.

we think it’s a good logo design and even more brilliant was how the logo design concept elements of colorful lines were flawlessly incorporated into the banner design. the whole thing is so put together with elements or components  and the whole working well together.  it’s a very classy logo and banner design which is a perfect fit to makati city and most appropriate to the target audience of business people and investors.

our push back though, although minor is the readability of “makati”. the lines in white and color makes it not very easy to pick up. the eyes naturally separate the lines, deconstructing the shape of the letters.

a farmer’s immortal love letter to his departed wife can only be seen from the air

this is probably the best love letter and tribute any man has ever made for the love of his life – a heart shaped meadow on his property that can be seen from the heavens and yes something that can last forever.

the wife from heaven will be smiling forever.

British Farmer Creates Heart-Shaped Meadow as Tribute to Late Wife

When Winston Howes’ wife Janet died 17 years ago, he wanted to find a meaningful and lasting way to honor her. So Howes headed out to the 112-acre (45 hectare) farm he owns near the town of Wickwar, in the southwestern English countryside. He set aside a 6-acre (2.5 hectare) plot and spent a week planting thousands of oak saplings, leaving a perfectly heart-shaped clearing in the middle.

The heart measures about an acre across and points to the childhood home of Howes’ wife, the Daily Telegraph reports. She died at the age of 50 after suffering from heart failure in 1995. The pair had been married for 33 years.

Read more: 
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/15/british-farmer-creates-heart-shaped-meadow-as-tribute-to-late-wife/#ixzz20qA5Y9UN

jessica sanchez sings US national anthem in pacquiao-bradley boxing match

philippine tourism ad campaign launched in london

the london cab and london bus are two of what are iconic  in london . using these to carry the country’s tourism message is a very good idea. launching the ad campaign at this time, during the celebration marking the 60th reign of queen elizabeth makes it even more special. london must be full of people during the week long celebration. that will mean more people will be exposed to the “it’s more fun in the philippines” ad camoaign.

“It’s More Fun in the Philippines” Campaign Debuts in London

3 May 2012 – Philippine tourism received a rousing boost in the United Kingdom (UK) with the rollout of 75 iconic London black cabs and double-decker buses sporting the new “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” banners last May 1.

Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Enrique A. Manalo and Philippine Department of Tourism-London head Rosario Afuang saw off a large group of invited officials, travel trade partners, media representatives, and members of the Filipino community who gathered at the Philippine Embassy for the start of a ride on the “More Fun” vehicles around central London.

 The Philippine motorcade travelled through some of London’s most famous and visited areas, making an unscheduled stop on Oxford Street – Europe and the UK’s busiest commercial district – to allow passengers to disembark and give delighted British shoppers an impromptu performance of Philippine song and dance.

 Upon completion of their trip, Ambassador Manalo feted the guests to Philippine food and drink at the Embassy.

“This is just a sample of what you will experience when you visit our country”, he said.  “A culture of fun, beauty and excitement await every visitor. With 7,107 islands, guests are sure to find islands that will suit their adventure, and with more than 90 million hosts, you are definitely going to have more fun in the Philippines.”

According to Ms. Afuang, apart from the exteriors of 50 black cabs and 25 double-decker buses, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” images will appear on 75 panels at some of London’s busiest underground stations, including Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus.  There will also be 30-second “More Fun” ad appearing on 1,400 digital screens onboard London cabs.

The advertisements in the UK are part of synchronized efforts with the Department of Tourism in Manila as it launches a worldwide campaign on CNN International which began last April 30.  The UK campaign will remain in time for the millions of visitors from around the world attending the Queen’s Jubilee in June, the Olympic Games in July, and the Paralympic games in September.

The UK ranks 1^st in Europe in number of tourist arrivals to the Philippines, and 10^th overall.  Over 100,000 British tourists travelled to the Philippines in 2011 alone – an all-time high. END

http://dfa.gov.ph/main/index.php/news-from-rp-embassies/5323-its-more-fun-in-the-philippines-campaign-debuts-in-london