Literatus: Morning after

A NEW race of contraceptive pills has already entered the Philippine market. Scientists consider this as an emergency contraception (EC), although it’s popularly known as the “morning-after pill.”

Neri: Silkair affairs

BRAZILIAN revelry was the name of the game when Silkair through its manager Ajish Morris, honored its top producers in the travel and cargo sector as well as service partners in the industry, with a cocktail party dubbed “An Evening of Recognition” at the Peninsula Beach of Plantation Bay Resort & Spa. Colorful as colorful can be marked the celebration. Brazilian dances made up the entertainment numbers to highlight the new destination, Sao Paulo in Brazil, of Singapore Airlines (sister company of Silkair).

Bluewater Panglao, proud to be purely Pinoy

YES, opening Bluewater Panglao on the day Bohol celebrates its annual Sandugo festival was a calculated move.

The latter, commemorating the first blood compact and Treaty of Friendship between Bohol’s Datu Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, turned the tide forever: Filipino with a global outlook.

Cebu Veterinary Doctors: 10 years of giving pets the best health care

WITH 10 years in the business under its belt, the Cebu Veterinary Doctors (CVD) has taken the veterinary practice to a whole new level. Not only is it the first pet hospital to be accredited as such, but the continuous effort to be the best at what it does has made CVD the biggest one in the country.

A testament to this hard-earned reputation is CVD’s extensive list of services, all designed to enhance the quality of a pet’s life.

Expression weeks

AN EXHIBIT wanting to get visitors that best out of an immersion experience. That is what’s happening right now at the Alternative Contemporary Art Studio (Acas) located at the Sacred Heart Parish compound, at Jakosalem St., Cebu City.

Basically, selected works from some of the most frequent featured artists in the gallery will make their rounds for a good, four weeks. These artworks are, according to the notes of the curator, Jason Dy, SJ, “inspired by or express, directly or indirectly, the themes of unconditional love, vocation, paschal mystery, and resurrection based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.”

Espina: Cebu! Cebu!

YES, we can only exclaim, Cebu! Cebu!, with oh so many events from June to August, making Cebuanos busy as ever!

“How do you manage?” a friend from Manila asked. Well, call it time management and creativity. The photos on this page show how Cebu had been very, very busy! True, Cebu never rests!

Woman at the helm

AT THE helm of tourism concerns for Region 7 is Cebu-born Rowena Ylaya Montecillo who has been with the Department of Tourism (DOT) for 28 years. She says she was with the first batch of BS Tourism graduates of what was then known as the Cebu State College (now Cebu Normal University).

That was March 1983. In June, she started to work for the DOT Region 7, with the thought that she would not stay long in government service, but would move to the private sector. But when she was assigned to the licensing and accreditation section, she liked the challenge and she started to enjoy her job and so she stayed.

Costanilla: Zee Band reunion concert for musician Alex Mabatid

WHO doesn’t know such fantastic singers as Bernie Uy, Eva Santos, Chad Borja and Archie Marcial? We all know that the four of them made up the very popular Zee Band that did amazing performances in the local music scene since the ‘80s until they disbanded to pursue individual careers here and abroad. From the time the band vanished, a lot of music lovers have been wanting to see and hear its singers and musicians perform once again. Well, I have good news for all Zee Band fans. Bernie, Eva, Chad and Archie as well as their pioneer accompanists are staging a reunion concert—actually a fund-raising show—dedicated to Alex Mabatid, their original guitar bass player and band leader since 1983.

Worldwide sales of TMC Hybrids Top 3 million units

TOYOTA Motor Corp. (TMC) announces global cumulative sales of its hybrid vehicles have topped the three-million mark, with more than 3.03 million units sold worldwide as of February 2011.

Singlestalk: Parent and child

Michelle (M): I thank the Lord for the gift of life. Micaela was born last July 25. Tomorrow, my eldest son turns five. He wants to be called Ben 10 and thinks he is Ironman, the Transformer robots and Capt. America rolled into one. When we came home from the hospital and Micco first saw his baby sister, he immediately asked what happened to her because there was a bluish mass underneath her right eye. Doctors said it was a dacryocele—a congenital condition in which the infant is born with a swollen lacrimal sac filled with mucoid material.

Luab: High living vs. a simple life

I was blessed to have four families with me during the weekend of Aug.6. My four daughters with their families come home to be with me and we stayed at Imperial Palace, checking in Saturday and checking out Sunday. My son-in-law Cesar Abaricia, Aimee’s soul mate, had to leave Sunday night to be ready to go back to work in Manila.

Simply wondeful

IT COULD pass as news around town that a renter of a fully furbished “living room” decided to do away with the sofas, bring in sets of tables and chairs instead, and then embraced the idea of providing fancy meals to interested visitors. Well, that’s exactly how this restaurant would look like from an observer’s point of view.

Simply J’s is not your regular café in some way. Renting space from a home décor shop, there apparently is some sort of professional collaboration going on.

Sira-sira store: Dragons of the sea

“WHAT do dragons eat, Uncle?”

My nephew Pannon asked me this question after he came from school this week. I couldn’t tell him that dragons are connoisseurs of young flesh, especially young milk maids or princesses that they nicely toast for dinner.

Black intervention

WHY black? Is it because it relatively equals beauty?

Maybe it is for the reason that anything under the sun cannot help but go well with the color. Or perhaps it simply provides for so much mystery that makes it the most interesting color for an imaginative mind. But whatever it is, fashion can surely never go wrong with black as motif.

Serna: Most anticipated Pasigarbo sa Sugbo

UNDENIABLY, this weekend’s most anticipated event is the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo Festival of Festivals as most, if not all, existing festivals around the province vie for big cash prizes. This is one of the highlights of the month-long 442nd Founding Anniversary of Cebu province.

The local government units have spent so much for their respective festivals to catch the fancy of the judges. Some have changed their old festivals with new ones for various reasons.

Puerto

I HAVE always preferred aisle seats when traveling. With a hyperactive bladder like mine, it’s much more convenient to be seated by the aisle, where I don’t have to wrestle my way out just to reach the lavatory. Imagine my slight displeasure when the check-in officer placed me in seat 5A (a window seat!) for my Manila - Puerto Princesa flight that Friday. Little did I know that I would soon be thanking my lucky stars for his little mistake.

Gone glamping!

CAN YOU rough it out in style? Bluewater Resorts says yes.

“In Cebu, we were the very first to introduce Glamping,” says Margie Munsayac, Bluewater’s vice-president for sales and marketing, proud of the hybrid concept. “It’s a term coined from ‘glamorous’ and ‘camping’. And it promises to give the best of both, too.”

Utzurrum: A beachfront wedding reception for Ricca and Kenneth

WHAT a fitting reception Ricca and Kenneth had for their wedding, at the beachfront of Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel!

Actually formal wedding rites were first held at the St. Therese Parish Church (Lahug), at four in the afternoon, with Fr. Ramiro Gallo of Verbum Dei officiating. Bride Francesca Marie “Ricca” Alvarez-Arambulo is the daughter of Maria Luisa Alvarez-Arambulo and Raul Raphael Arambulo, while groom Kenneth Ryan Perreras Pimentel is the son of Maria Lourdes Pimentel and Natalio Pimentel Jr.

Fetalvero: Important choice

HAS there been a better way to galvanize the Church and the State on issues affecting the general population, especially the faithful?

The Philippines may be the only country that remains without a divorce law. That makes us unique in a sense that while the rest of the world believes that divorce is the only solution to irreconcilable differences, Filipinos believe otherwise.

Party evolution

HITTING the 10-year mark is simply a victory in itself. From the very start, Vudu has always been determined to become some sort of an iconic landmark where the party experience is unparalleled anywhere else.

“The total experience,” shares JP Chiongbian, managing director and CEO, about what this popular night spot specializes in.

Literatus: In mother’s milk

HALF a decade ago, childhood obesity alarmed health authorities around the world as it emerged as an epidemic.

Rapidly increasing rates of youths suffering from Type 2 (insulin-dependent) diabetes had been observed. Last year, the Canadian Diabetes Association, Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research conducted a study attempting to determine how much of it can be due to the mother’s milk. Scientists believe that the human breast milk may hold some key in understanding this development as it is the preferred food during infancy. It contains an array of bioactive compounds, including metabolic compounds. Sometime this year or next the result of this study may provide us the answer.

Neri: In the limelight

THE recent reunion of batch 1986 of the Cebu Doctors University College of Medicine was dubbed as the “Mother of all CDUCM Silver Jubilee Alumni Homecoming.” It was the most successful, most organized and best attended homecoming ever (of the original 80 graduates, 50 came), so said Cebu Doctors' University (CDU) president Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal Jr. Lead organizer was Dr. Edgar Tan who as early as three years ago started the ball rolling through emails and all sorts of communication, as well as three mini reunions.

This week only: The Great Kia Auto Sale

ALWAYS living up to its promise of having the power to surprise, Kia Motors pulls out all the stops this week with something that no other car manufacturers could dare to offer – The Great Kia Auto Sale 2011.

Imagine the biggest discounts, the lowest down payments, the highest trade-in appraisal values and other special deals: What sounds too good to be true isn’t so farfetched with Kia’s first-ever sale, as sales manager Noel Ting explains to Sun.Star Cebu.

A diary of Cebuano art

THE spirit of the great Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, is uncannily palpable in a hotel tucked in the busy city of Makati.

Not only do the balcony walls boast of Picasso-like images of cubic eyes and lips, found objects from the old building’s construction were incorporated into the design.

Espina: Cebu’s glorious events

CEBU! Asean City of Culture! The declaration was made by Olivia Palala, the executive director of the office of Asean Affairs during a fabulous luncheon at Radisson Blu.

More than meets the eye

SHE is often recognized as a reporter in a local news show. However, there is more to her than being a renowned TV personality. Behind that assertive and firm façade is a woman of advocacy, a mentor, and a youth leader.

Rachelle Marie Gutierez Dangin, 23, is a familiar name to many Cebuanos because apart from being a newscaster, she is also a newsmaker herself.

Costanilla: Gloria Sevilla to produce a Cebuano show on TV5

Veteran actress Gloria Sevilla, music genius Msgr. Rudy Villanueva and former ambassador Frank Benedicto richly deserve their respective Garbo sa Sugbo awards. It was given by the Cebu Provincial Government over the weekend as part of the 442nd founding anniversary of the province. The three personalities have given pride and honor to Cebu in their respective fields - Sevilla in the performing arts, Msgr. Villanueva in music and literature and Benedicto in international relations.

The Lighter Side of Dog Lovers

A COUPLE of months ago it was reported that the world’s richest dog, Trouble, had already passed away. Trouble had inherited $12 million from his owner, hotel heiress Leona Helmsley upon her death in 2007. Pretty bizarre, isn’t it?

Singlestalk: Marrying the fight one

Michelle (M): A forwarded email talks about love and commitment in marriage. The story started with one woman who popped the question, “Did I marry the right now?” And here’s the writer’s answer: “Every relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love with your spouse wasn’t hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn’t have to do anything. People in love sometimes say, “I was swept of my feet.”

Luab: The loss of childlike innocence

ONE of the tragedies that has occurred to us Filipinos is the loss of our childlike innocence.

Time was when we treated our spouses with complete trust because we believed that marriage was forever and that our better half would not even think of straying from the fold. Today we look with suspicion on every woman he is friendly with.