Photo Credit: wheninmanila.com

MILAN, Italy – A string orchestra from Zambales received a rousing welcome here during their recent performance at the Santa Maria del Carmine Church.

The Pundaquit Virtuosi String Orchestra was greeted by stomping and standing ovations during their performance on June 6, putting premium in the quality of their music. They played classics by Italian composers Vivaldi and Verdi and favorites by Jenkins, Tchaikovsky, and Offenbach.

The orchestra’s 6-week, 8-country concert trip through 17 venues is led by international violin virtuoso Alfonso “Coke” Bolipata.

The youth string group composed of 30 kids aged 11 to 23 completed the first leg of its 2019 European tour as part of the 20th edition of the Ostend Anchor Festival in Brussels, Belgium from May 26 to 28. This was followed by well-received and remarkable performances in the Vatican, Rome, Florence, Bergamo, and Paris.

“The whole objective of the consular diplomacy program was to bring Filipinos to Europe, as well as part of the diaspora is to kind of show the world that Filipinos are good at a lot of things including classical music. So we come to bring that kind of excellence at the same time bring our music at home to the Filipinos here,” Bolipata said.

Pundaquit Virtuosi is the result of 26 years of devoted commitment by Casa San Miguel in Zambales, a remote fishing village, where natural disasters and precarious environmental situations have always made survival difficult.

The volcanic eruptions of Mount Pinatubo, very close to the Zambales town, then irrevocably marked the history of the people.

Seminars, exhibitions of paintings and local works of sculpture, concerts, and filmographic reviews mounted since 1993 enriched the Zambales area, a Central Luzon province naturally inspiring with its exotic landscape.

This was where Bolipata’s art flourished, and since 1993 the maestro has been recruiting and educating young people, mostly fishermen’s children.

Guest conductor Ruggero Barbieri, also principal conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra commanded the programs in Italy with a selection of famous pieces from the classical repertoire and pieces from the traditional Filipino repertoire.

He was first invited to conduct the orchestra last year.

“Personally, finding myself in Manila as music director of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra from 1996 to 2005, I listened to these young talents in 1997, at the invitation of Maestro Bolipata, as a spectator,” Barbieri said.

“…[T]he enthusiasm, the talent and the joy in making music of those “little” musicians struck me so much that in May 2018, at the invitation of Ayala Corporation to conduct a concert in Manila with the talents of Pundaquit Virtuosi, I did not hesitate to accept,” said Barbieri

The group is set to have shows in Germany, Austria, Spain, and Portugal until July 4.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com

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Photo Credit: Picdeer

The sun rises for the lowly Philippine mango. Just a few days after the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced the country had a surplus of two million kg of mangoes from the recent harvest, a Japanese fruits importer said it was buying 100,000kg of the tropical fruit from the Philippines this season.

Diamond Star Corporation, which has been operating in the country since 1987, said it was looking to buy a huge volume of Carabao mangoes in the country last week – in time for the launching of DA’s mango marketing programme on Monday.

“The Japanese company has been importing papayas, pineapple, mango, bananas and even turnips from the Philippines .?.?. It signified the intent to buy mangoes through Philippine agriculture attache to Japan Dr Samuel Animas [last week],” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said on his Facebook page.

“The DA will arrange a meeting between the Japanese importers and the mango farmers of Luzon,” he added.

The deal also came five days after President Duterte went to Japan to seal trade agreements. The country expects to get nearly 300 billion pesos ($5.78 billion) worth of investments from the visit.

Local mango growers have complained of low prices since the onset of harvest – dropping between 14 and 16 pesos per kg. Farmer leaders said these rates were lower than their production cost.

Due to the unanticipated oversupply, the DA arranged a series of selling events for Philippine mangoes dubbed as “Metro Mango”, the first of which would be held in the Bureau of Plant Industry office in Manila.

DA director for agribusiness and marketing Bernadette San Juan said bulk of the produce would be coming from Ilocos, Zambales and Nueva Ecija. Select farmers from Mindanao and Eastern and Central Visayas were expected to join.

Source: phnompenhpost.com

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ORANI, Bataan – Sinagtala Resort was awarded Best Country Resort by Rotary Club of Manila.

Former SBMA Chairman Tong Payumo and company received the award in a recent ceremony held in Metro Manila.

Payumo leads the corporation that operates the picturesque Sinagtala Resort in the upland Barangay Tala, this town.

The Best Country Resort was one of the awards bestowed by Rotary Club of Manila for its 15 Tourism Awards.

Senator Cynthia Villar was the main guest of the ceremony.

Payumo revealed the resort’s achievement to local newsmen.

Naturally scenic Sinagtala Resort offers numerous adventure rides and nature activities like trekking and nature tripping; has venues for corporate meetings, concerts and other leisure-related events; and has stunning swimming pools.

Barangay Tala is gateway to the lush forest of Bataan National Park where waterfalls, rivers, and springs abound.

Source: 1bataan.com

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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard spotted a Chinese navy warship, along with coast guard vessels and militia boats, in the vicinity of Scarborough or Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Parolo-class multirole response vessel BRP Malabrigo recently concluded a four-day patrol in the Scarborough Shoal, which locals also call Bajo de Masinloc.

PCG spokesman Captain Armand Balilo said two China Coast Guard ships, two militia boats and one naval ship were seen in the area.

Two China Coast Guard vessels, two militia boats and one naval ship, a military ship, were spotted during Philippine Coast Guard’s four-day patrol via BRP Malabrigo (MRRV 4402) in the Scarborough Shoal. | @EZMacairan pic.twitter.com/CqKOGQhhmY

— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) June 10, 2019

Aside from the Chinese vessels, the PCG also saw Filipino fishing boats while patrolling Scarborough Shoal.

“Tatlong malalaking bangka ng mga Pilipino ang nakita ng mga tauhan ng PCG na natuwa naman sa kanilang presensya sa [Bajo de Masinloc],” Balilo said.

(PCG personnel saw three big Filipino boats, which were happy with their presence at Bajo de Masinloc.)

According to Balilo, there was no incident of harassment despite the presence of Chinese ships near the traditional fishing ground off the coast of Zambales.

“Maliban sa regular na pagtatanong sa PCG ng China Coast Guard sa kanilang presensya sa area, wala namang untoward incident sa loob ng apat na araw,” Balilo said.

(Aside from the regular questioning of the China Coast Guard on the presence of the PCG in the area, there was no untoward incident in the four days.)

Asked if the foreign vessels left the area when the PCG patrol ship arrived, Balilo said the Chinese vessels maintain a presence near the shoal.

In April, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippine government was taking legal action against Chinese nationals harvesting giant clams or “taklobo” in the Scarborough Shoal.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the continuous extraction of giant clams by Chinese nationals in the West Philippine Sea violate the country’s sovereignty.

“They are performing acts of ownership… If it’s our territory, therefore, it is an affront to our territory and to our sovereignty,” Panelo said in April.

Source: philstar.com

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Photo Credit: carmudi.com.ph

THE Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has approved new toll rate adjustments for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), authorizing the collection of an additional P0.51 per kilometer.

The new toll increase will be collected starting at 12:01 a.m. on June 14, 2019.

The petition for toll rate adjustments was filed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) in 2011.

Under the approval, motorists with Class 1 vehicles (ordinary cars) traveling from Mabalacat City (Mabiga Interchange) to Tarlac will pay an additional P20 under the new toll fee matrix. Motorists using Class 2 vehicles (buses and small commercial trucks) using the same corridor will pay an additional P40 and Class 3 vehicles (large trucks/trailers) will pay an additional P60.

Meanwhile, motorists travelling between Mabalacat and Tipo in Subic will be charged an additional P32, P66, and P98 for Class 1, 2, and 3 vehicles, respectively.

Although SCTEX toll rates have remained at 2011 levels, infrastructure improvements along the 94-kilometer tollway have continued. Since 2015, BCDA and NLEX Corporation have invested in various enhancement projects in the high standard expressway to maintain motorist safety and convenience.

One of the most notable improvements was the NLEX-SCTEX integration project in 2016 which unified the toll collection of the two expressways under one electronic toll collection system. This project reduced the cumbersome toll collection stops and made expressway travel hassle-free.

The entire stretch of the SCTEX between Tarlac and Tipo also underwent a massive asphalt pavement upgrade in 2017 which made for smoother and quieter rides. On the other hand, the Tipo Toll Plaza and the new Mabiga Interchange were boosted with additional toll lanes.

To improve 24/7 traffic monitoring and provision of roadside services, a modern traffic control room (TCR), with CCTV cameras and radio communications, was built in Mabalacat City. To enhance motorists’ safety, LED highway lights, emergency call boxes, crash cushions, and reflective delineator plates were also installed in key areas of the expressway.

Source: sunstar.com.ph

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