January 5, 2020 when WHO announces on every news entity worldwide that a new infectious disease is emerging and it is one of the deadliest virus discovered so far. As of this writing, 12th of August, there are more than 20 million infected worldwide by this Corona Virus Disease or commonly known as CoViD-19. There are 12.5 million who recovered from the disease but humanity was strucked by 740 thousand deaths. United States, Brazil and India have the most number of cases.  The world hasn't developed a cure so far, and the race is On. Every developed country is trying their best to come on top developing a vaccine to combat this Pandemic. Would you believe that there are more than 150 countries who are engaged in CoViD-19 Vaccine? According to WHO, seventy-five countries submit expressions of interest to COVAX Facility, joining up to 90 further countries which could be supported by the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). The COVAX Facility, and the AMC within it, is designed to g

Part I    Piloncitos Part II    Barter Rings Part III    Alfonso Coin Part IV    Two-Centavo Copper Coin Part V    1906 S This is Part VI of our Philippine Money series. All earlier Parts are linked above. This Part is all about the Japanese occupation in the Philippines during and after the 2nd World War which lasted three years, from 1942 to 1945. After the American Regime in the Philippines from 1900-1941, there goes the 2nd World War. One of the Invaders which plays a great role in that Battle, are the Japanese.  The Commonwealth of the Philippines was attacked by the Empire of Japan on December 8, 1941, nine hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor (the Philippines is on the Asian side of the international date line). The United States of America controlled the Philippines at the time and possessed important military bases there. The combined American-Filipino army was defeated in the Battle of Bataan and the Battle of Corregidor in April 1942, but guerrilla resistance against the

Part I      Piloncitos Part II    Barter Rings Part III    Alfonso Coin Part IV    Two-Centavo Copper Coin This is Part V of our Philippine Money series, all Parts prior to this are linked above. When the Americans occupy the Philippines defeating the Spaniards on 1898, and after the Americans inhibited and banned Aguinaldo to print his own Coins, they released those new form of currency and the United States coins were introduced. This era on our currency is called the American Period and it happens from 1900 to 1941, just before the Peak of the Second World War. In 1903 and 1904, the US mint at Philadelphia struck bronze-minted half centavo coins for circulation. Eventually, the coin was withdrawn from circulation because it was rejected by Filipinos for its low value. Following the Spanish-American War, the United States gained control of the Philippine Islands under the 1898 Treaty of Paris. In 1903, the Philadelphia Mint began making coins for the Philippines based on a Centavos/P

Part I        Piloncitos Part II       Barter Rings Part III      Alfonso Coin This is Part IV of our Philippine Money Series. Earlier Parts are linked above. We will call this Era of our currency The Revolutionary Period. Before we discuss anything about our Money system during the Revolutionary Period, you should learn that the Philippines is under the Ruling of the Spaniards from 1565 to 1898, as the Colonization starts with the arrival of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's expedition on 13th of February. Then it all ended when America defeated Spain on "The Great American War". Of course, the Philippines then became a territory of the United States. Emilio Aguinaldo When the U.S. declared war on Spain, Emilio Aguinaldo saw a possibility that the Philippines might achieve its independence; the U.S. hoped instead that Aguinaldo would lend his troops to its effort against Spain. He returned to Manila on May 19, 1898 and declared Philippine independence on June 12. On 10 December

Part I Piloncitos Part II      Barter Rings OK, we have discussed about Ingots, Piloncitos and Barter Rings, those were our Money here in the Philippines while in our infamous Galleon Trade during the Pre-Hispanic era or during before the 1500s. Before we are being discovered by Ferdinand Magellan, so as our History says.  This is Part III of our Philippine Money series, Parts I and II are linked above. Now, let's see what kind of Money we have used during the Hispanic Era, this happens from 1521-1897, after all, a Portuguese Navigator named Ferdinand Magellan discovered our country on March 16, 1521. Macuquinas 1739 Dos Mundos The cobs or macuquinas of colonial mints were the earliest coins brought in by the galleons from Mexico and other Spanish colonies.  These silver coins usually bore a cross on one side and the Spanish royal coat-of-arms on the other. The Spanish dos mundos were circulated extensively not only in the Philippines but the world over from 1732-1772.   Treasu

Part I    Piloncitos This is Part II of our Philippine Money series, and Part I is linked above.  We have started talking about Philippine money and within that list, one of the probably, oldest system of them all is, The Barter Rings. According to the Central Bank of the Philippines, the trade among the early Filipinos and with traders from the neighboring islands was conducted through barter. The inconvenience of barter later led to the use of some objects as medium of exchange. Gold, which was plentiful in many parts of the islands, invariably found its way into these objects that included the Piloncitos, small bead-like gold bits considered by the local numismatists as the earliest coin of the ancient Filipinos, and gold barter rings. During the early times of the Galleon Trade or the infamous "Kalakalang Galyon", the earliest Filipinos traded with gold ring-like ingots, very similar to the first coins invented in the Kingdom of Lydia in present day Turkey. These barter r

Past 2 AM and I’ve got nothing to do but surf the net trying to look for something to buy online for myself. I've browsed from mountain bikes to bench presses; aquarium fishes to shrimps; and SD cards to flash drives. An hour had past and nothing caught my attention. It's been a long time since I've used the internet to buy something, and during those times, there were a lot of things to choose from, a lot of online sellers are trying to sell goods from the net, well maybe nowadays, they're not that "many" anymore. I've never tried to look somewhere else besides OLX and Lazada, I have no knowledge if there's more sites of the same kind out there, until I came across with MyBenta. Upon browsing from MyBenta site, I've read something that really caught my attention, and I think you really need to know about this. It was written by no other than MyBenta founder Emmanuel Rey Mariano. What makes it more interesting are the comments from online se

What’s more satisfying for every student than to graduate? For some, it is always as grueling as it can be for 2 years, some for 4 years and some for more than half a decade. I remember when I was in college a few years back, ok well maybe a few more years back than I recall, the best signal that we will be graduating is the Baccalaureate Mass. The University of Santo Tomas UST in Manila, Philippines Baccalaureate Mass is an annual event. In 2015, the graduating students of the Institute of Information and Computing Sciences joined the event for the first time. For 8,801 graduates of 2016, the baccalaureate mass at the University of Santo Tomas says a lot and it is a great mark that it is time to graduate and head on the real world! They have celebrated it with laughter, bitterness, sweetness, colorful inks on their uniforms, cries, goodbyes and awesome fireworks! According to 4icu website, or 4International Colleges and Universities University Web Rankings and Re

There was a lot of food chain out there who claims that their version of both chicken and spaghetti are the best. Well, you ain’t seen nothin' yet. If you’ve been in the Philippines, you know about Jollibee. Jollibee Foods Corporation (also called JFC and popularly known simply as Jollibee), is a Filipino multinational chain of fast food restaurants headquartered in Pasig City. JFC is the owner of the popular fast food brand Jollibee, dubbed as Asia's answer to McDonald's in the fast food burger business. Jollibee Fast food restaurant company · jollibee.com.ph Jollibee Foods Corporation, is a Filipino multinational chain of fast food restaurants headquartered in Pasig City. JFC is the owner of the popular fast food brand Jollibee, dubbed as Asia's answer to McDonald's in the fast food burger business. Wikipedia Customer service: 0917 800 7000 Founder: Tony Tan Founded: January 28, 1978, Quezon City Headquarters: Pasig CEO: Ernesto Tanmantiong Revenue

Metro Manila Film Festival entry, "My Bebe Love" has recorded a whopping PHP 60.46 million (approx. USD 1.28 million) earnings on its opening day. The movie, starring Vic Sotto, Ai-Ai delas Alas, as well as the popular tandem AlDub, Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, broke previous record held by the 2014 MMFF entry, Vice Ganda's "The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin", which opened at PHP 53 million (USD 1.12 million), according to GMA News. From Metro Manila alone, over PHP 33 million was accumulated, while another 27 million were from different provinces. Although the movie marks the reunion between delas Alas and Sotto, who worked previously together in the movie, "Ang Enteng Ng Ina Mo", many believed that the record-breaking earning was thanks to the popularity of its younger stars, Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza. According to the famous Wiki, My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore, produced by Octo Arts Films, M - Zet Productions, APT Entertainm

Again, after a days hard work, I find myself loiterring at SM Tayuman. I don't know but I think there's something in that mall that make me come back more often than I should ;-) Again, after mall hours, yeah I stayed there until it was closed ;-) I'm craving again for something different than the usual mall food ;-) Along Dimasalang Street near the famous Dangwa, near corner Dos Castillas Street, you'll find Noodle King. If you're in the vicinity, they are located just across Chowking. According to one of their service crew, their noodles and their Pares meal are tremendous. It is highly recommended and those are their best sellers ;-) So without further ado, I decided to try their famous Pares ;-) Just for a quick info, Beef Pares or simply Pares, is a braised beef dish that originated in the Philippines. It is particularly associated with small neighborhood restaurants, called carenderias, which specialize in economical meals for local residents. Very tender beef

After strolling at SM Tayuman, I never wanted to eat inside the mall. The food establishments there are so typical ;-) I wanted to find something different and more satisfying meal than just any food chain has to offer ;-) There's a gut feel that within the vicinity near SM Tayuman, I'll find something amazing ;-) 10 minute walk (it's worth it I'm telling you) you'll find Chades Tapsilog! It is strategically located at Felix Huertas Street and Remigio Street. There were many people enjoying their food when I arrived there, it is past 10 in the evening and I think it is always like that especially during peak hours like primetime in the evening ;-) When I arrived at the place, they are offering the following, though as you can see in their display, some are maybe not available during that time. They serves: Embosilog = Embotido, Sinangag (Fried Rice) and Egg Chicksilog = Fried Chicken, Fried Rice with Egg Lechon with Rice Pares with Rice Adosilog = Adobo, Fried Rice

Have you ever tasted the infamous Beef Pares? For me, arguably, the Original Beef Pares located at Espana near Blumentritt Extension is the best Pares I've tasted by far. Personally speaking, this is how any Pares should taste like. I can have their version of Beef Pares anytime!!! Just for a quick info, Beef Pares or simply Pares, is a braised beef dish that originated in the Philippines. It is particularly associated with small neighborhood restaurants, called carenderias, which specialize in economical meals for local residents. Very tender beef and a sweet seasoned sauce are the distinguishing characteristics of this dish. The name 'Pares' means "pairs" and comes from the usual practice of serving it with garlic fried rice and a light beef broth soup. "Pares" is pronounced "pah-res."  Cuts of beef often recommended for pares include brisket, chuck and shanks. The texture of the finished meat should be tender and slightly sticky, so cuts tha