Cyberzone opens in SM San Pablo

TO conveniently serve the techies without having to shop from afar, SM is set to reach out to more southern communities as it brings the Cyberzone to SM San Pablo on Friday.

Fulfilling its promise that "Everything's here at SM" and to stay at the forefront of the rapid industry evolution, the new Cyberzone will open at the second floor of SM City San Pablo, combining leading and established IT brands, dealers, and tech-related service providers, including the emerging IT trade players.

High-end gadgets like computers, smartphones, cameras, and gaming consoles will be made available in the new SM San Pablo Cyberzone.

SM San Pablo is located along Maharlika Highway in the said city.

Cavinti: A town by the waters

Situated around 100 kilometers from Manila, the town of Cavinti is known for three known aquatic places, the well-known Caliraya Lake and the Magdapio Falls aka Cavinti Falls aka Pagsanjan Falls and the underrated yet cool Lumot Lake. I and a group of bloggers were supposed to go there after Christmas, but because the weather there is relatively inclement during the Yuletide season, the tour, which is formally named Cavinti Eco-Adventure Tour or CavEAT, was moved to a "safer" date, which was right after the New Year. So we packed up for the trip. Herald Bebis, the one who invited us, met us at the Pagsawitan Junction in Sta. Cruz. I was surprised that we were many in the group, and I only knew a few.

Here's a photo of our group.

After meeting new friends, we went straight to the Bumbungan River Eco-Park.

The river, which connects to the Cavinti River, actually overflows through the National Highway, prompting the municipal government to build a higher bridge and turn the old road portion to the eco-park.

We ate breakfast and were briefed about what to expect for the entire weekend. After doing some sightseeing and some instant "foot spa" at the river...

...we went to a sambalilio manufacturing store at the town proper. We got one each. With me doing some "ballies", I donned the hat to my ball!

When I took the ballie, I was reminded a lot of the Dallas Mavericks'
old logo.

Now, one of the highlights of the Cavinti tour: A trip to the Cavinti Falls. The former Magdapio Falls, more popularly known as the Pagsanjan Falls as the town is the easier route to the falls, can be accessed from Cavinti through the El Pueblo Del Salvador Eco-Park. It's a trek route that reminded me of my one and only journey to Mt. Makiling. What makes the trek more exciting are two rappelling stations. At first, I felt somewhat scared that I had to go down 40 steps down via rappelling, but good thing the staff kept us safe. We made it to the falls. Considering it was the first time for most of us, we made the most of it. While it was a nerve-wracking experience, it was fun.

Then we spent the sunset time at the Camarin Park. The place is managed by NAPOCOR since the place is actually a hydroelectric plant along the Caliraya (both Lumot and Caliraya are synthetic lakes built to provide electricity).

Here's a photo of Cavinti's sunset at the Camarin Power Plant.

We spent the night at the Villa Oliveros Resort owned by no less than the town's mayor Milbert Oliveros. To have some fun before we sleep, we played a game of billiards there.

Even by sunrise, the game of pool continued.

Our first destination for the second day was the Cavinti Chapel. Because I was rushing for errands for our news site (plus the fact that I'm a Born-Again Christian), I did not enter the chapel.

Later in the day, we went to the Caliraya Mountain Lake Resort, where I learned how to play golf. Then we went to the Lago Fishing Village (I decided not to join my blogger friends there since I was really on a rush since I'm the new online editor for Dugout). Our trip culminated at the Japanese Garden.

I wished our tour in Cavinti was an extended one, but it was a fun weekend.

How to get to Cavinti? Ride a bus going to Sta. Cruz (trips by HM and JAC Liner extend up to Pagsanjan) and ride a jeep going to Cavinti.

Optional: DLTB offers late afternoon trips from Pasay to Sta. Maria (Yup. There's a town in Laguna named Sta. Maria). If you get lucky to find one, ride that bus and tell the conductor to drop you off at Lumban. Ride a jeep going to Cavinti from there.

LaBS goes to Cabuyao for third installment

The Laguna Blogging Summit finds a new home in the Malayan Colleges Laguna in Cabuyao City for its third annual summit on October 3.

Now presented by Elabram Systems, 3LaBS will focus on social influence.

The summit will bring back past speakers Grace Nicolas, Pocholo Gonzales, Lloyd Luna, and Janette Toral.

Also, Rod Magaru, the perennial host of the summit, will make his debut as a speaker as he will talk about lifestyle and celebrity blogging.

Also joining the list of first-time speakers are Manila Bulletin's Art Smaniego and Saddleback Church's Pastor Boris Joaquin.

Bigger 2LaBS Attended

The Laguna Cultural Center was once again packed for the 2nd Laguna Blog-
ging Summit.

About a thousand people were in attendance as the Laguna Blogging Summit had a second staging at the Laguna Cultural Center in the province's capital town of Sta. Cruz.

The two-day blogging summit proved to be even bigger than the first as no less than motivational speaker Chinkee Tan and SEO expert Ben Francia were among the key speakers.

Also doing a talk again were last year's speakers Pocholo Gonzales and COMELEC Spokesman James Jimenez.

Chris Lao, whose ridicule received from getting stuck at the height of heavy rain inspired him to stand up against cyberbullying, shared his current fight against it during the event.

Anakbayan chair Venzie Crisostomo and Wazzup Pilipinas head Ross Del Rosario also shared their tidbits on how social media helped them win the audience in their respective fields.

Gardenia once again gave free snacks to the attendance, while Greenwich took care of the lunch. Gift cheques from Zoomanity, AirAsia, and 2Go were also given away.

2LaBS Pushes Through This November

The 2nd Laguna Blogging Summit (#2LaBS) will be on November 14 and 15, 2013 from 8am to 5pm with the registration that will start at 7am at the Cultural Center of Laguna inside the Provincial Capitol at the Municipality of Santa Cruz. For this year, the organizers invited different empowered and powerful influencers from the mainstream media and online who they tagged as Social Revolutionists for showing their advocacies without fear, conveying their voices effectively with action, influencing their communities and by being the representatives of social forces.

The organizers are very happy to announce that Governor ER Ejercito is in full support for this historical event. Last year, the event received more than 700 attendees from different schools such as Laguna State Polytechnic University (LSPU), AMA, STI, and UPLB. For this year, students of De La Salle Zobel are coming to #2LaBS to learn more about the importance of Online Marketing, effectiveness of Social Media in todays business, Cybercrime Law, Anti Cyber Bullying, Blogging 101, and why 33% Filipinos are online recently.The 2nd Laguna Blogging Summit (#2LaBS) will be on November 14 and 15, 2013 from 8am to 5pm with the registration that will start at 7am at the Cultural Center of Laguna inside the Provincial Capitol at the Municipality of Santa Cruz. For this year, the organizers invited different empowered and powerful influencers from the mainstream media and online who they tagged as Social Revolutionists for showing their advocacies without fear, conveying their voices effectively with action, influencing their communities and by being the representatives of social forces. 

The organizers are very happy to announce that Governor Jeorge "ER" Ejercito is always in full support for this historical event. Last year, the event received more than 700 attendees from different schools such as Laguna State Polytechnic University (LSPU), AMA, STI and UPLB. For this year, De La Salle Zobel from Alabang, Muntinlupa City are coming to #2LaBS to learn more about the importance of Online Marketing,  effectiveness of Social Media in today's business, Cybercrime Law, Anti-Cyberbullying, Blogging 101 and why 33% Filipinos are online recently.

According to former 2nd District of Laguna board member and current assistant secretary general of Philippine Red Cross Neil Andrew Nocon, "The 1st Laguna Blogging Summit last year contributed to the Laguna influx flow of tourist." This statement from the one in charge last time of the Laguna Tourism Office only proved how effective social media is in giving awareness and hitting the right target market.

For this year, different companies shows support to the 2nd Laguna Blogging Summit. Greenwich Pizza made possible for the organizers to meet at their different restaurants/outlets in Metro Manila most especially at Philfirst Building at Makati where Greenwich has a conference room. The event's first social media launch and website launch happened also at Greenwich Pizza Philfirst Building outlet and attended by Philippine Red Cross and Zoomanity Group.

The newly elected 3rd District of Laguna Representative Marisol Aragones shows also her full support to the event.

The 2nd Laguna Blogging Summit Final Program and Set of Speakers with their respective topics:

1st Day November 14, 2013 Thursday

8:00am-8:15am Philippine National Anthem

8:15am-8:20am Opening Remarks-Dr. Nestor De Vera (President- Laguna Science Polytechnic University) 

8:20am-8:25am Keynote Speaker-Gov. ER Ejercito (Province of Laguna)

8:25am-9:00am  Engr. Grace Bondad Nicolas (Social Media Ethics)

9:00am-10:00am Chinkee Tan (Finding your Passion)

10:00am-11:00am  Eyriche Cortez (Power Tips For Blogging)

11:00am-12:00pm Alvin Cloyd Dakis (Bashers in Your Blog: A Survival Guide)

12:00pm-1:00pm Lunch/Raffle

1:00pm-1:30pm Rhodora Espiritu  (EduBlogging)

1:30pm-2:30pm James Jimenez (Social Media in Voters Education)

2:30pm-3:00pm Bert Guevarra  (Environment & Social Media)

3:00pm-3:30pm Snacks /Raffle 

3:30pm-4:30pm Venzie Crisostomo (Advocacy online/offline)

4:30pm-5:00pm Janette Toral  (Bloggers as Digital Influencers)

2nd Day November 15, 2013 Friday

8:00am-8:15am Philippine National Anthem

8:15am-8:20am Opening Remarks-Neil Andrew Nocon (Assistant Secretary General-Philippine National Red Cross) 

8:20am-8:25am Keynote Speaker-Mayor Girlie Ejercito

8:25am -9:00am Dr. Tess Termulo (Health Advocacy)

9:00am-10:00am Atty. Chris Lao (Anti- Cyber Bullying and Cybercrime Law)

10:00am-11:00am Ben Francia (Search Engine Optimization)

11:00am-12:00 pm Art Samaniego (Journalism  in the Age of Social Media)

12:00 noon-1:00pm Lunch/Raffle

1:00pm-2:00pm Pocholo De Leon Gonzales (Branding)

2:00pm-3:00pm Lloyd Luna (Blogging Inspirational Life Stories)

3:00pm-3:30pm Raffle and Snacks 

3:30pm-4:00pm John Cueto (Niche)

4:00pm-4:30pm Carlos Celdran (Why I do, What I do)

4:30pm-5:00pm Zero Basura Blog Contest Launch under Earth Day Network Philippines & #2LaBS

Oriang and 100 Miles Cafe in Taguig and Tiago Progressive Cuisine at Quezon City helped the organizers too by providing the venue and food to some of their meetings while Zoomanity Group, Air Asia, and 2GO Travel provided gift certificates to be raffled off for the attendees. 

The organizers would like to thank Pro Friends, Gardenia Bakers Philippines, Elabram Systems, Commission on Election (COMELEC), PATAS, and Philippine Health Bloggers Society (PHBS) for their invaluable support to make the event possible not to mention our media partners such as Kliping Times, wheninmanila.com, The Tribune Post, Ronda Balita, Royal Cable, Magic Expose, wazzuppilipinas.com, Blog-PH.com, Webby Thoughts, and Manila Channel. 

The event hosts are Rod Magaru and Florencio Jusay Jr. 

Organizers; Grace Bondad Nicolas, Dianne Salonga, Mac Vasquez, Pepi De Leon, Ross Del Rosario, Rod Magaru, Florencio Jusay Jr, Katrina Capili, Odessa Escaler, Cindy Nicolas, Mark Acsay, JayL Aquino, John Cueto, Jojo Busayong and Ivan Saldajeno. 

For more information:

Official Website: http://www.labsph.com

Twitter: @labsummit #2LaBS

Facebook: The Laguna Blogging Summit

"Pare Koi" Wins Big in Nuvali Indie Filmfest

Directors (L-R) Jade Castro, Jeffrey Jeturian, and Paul Soriano judged the
NuCinema Outdoor Film Festival in Sta. Rosa City.

"Pare Koi", and independent short film directed by Marco Subido, was the biggest winner of the NuCinema Outdoor Film Festival after it bagged the top prize in the professional category during the awarding night at The Fields in Nuvali in Sta. Rosa City.

"Pare Koi" bested two other short movies in the pro level, and Subido walked away with a scholarship for an advanced course in motion picture production.

"Pare Koi" is about a kid who encountered Hanako, a spitting koi fish. The encounter led to him catching the fish and befriending it.

Finishing second in the pro category was Hello Goodbye by Zoraya Lua. Lua received a scholarship for a basic filmmaking course.

In the novice category, Dorina Naraval's "Bugtong" got the top prize, while Athena Mendoza's "Jose Pedal" was the runner-up. A total of 11 short films made the shortlist in the novice category.

Renowned directors Paul Soriano, Jeffrey Jeturian, and Jade Castro and Spring Films producer Lucky Blanco judged the 14 short films, which will be considered for a full-length film conversion.

Aside from the free viewing of all the finalists in the filmfest, the crowd at The Fields also watched a free showing of Oscar-nominated "Transit" and Vilma Santos' "Ekstra".

Meanwhile, another one-year filmmaking scholarship is up for grabs as the voting for the People's Choice Award continues.

The movie which garners the most votes on Youtube and on Facebook will be the People's Choice winner, and the director will get the grant.

The voting is until November 9, and you can vote through Nuvali's Youtube channel or on its Facebook page.

Calamba Gets to Design Own Havaianas Flip-Flops

The Make Your Own Havaianas series goes to Calamba! The event series where the loyal Havs shoppers can design their own flip-flops came to All Flip-Flops SM Calamba Branch at the heart of the city.

The event, which ran for four days throughout the weekends, was well attended by the shoppers looking to get their own custom-made pair of Havaianas.

Also, limited edition glow-in-the-dark Havs made exclusively for the Make Your Own Havaianas series this year went on sale.

This is the first time the MYOH was held in the bustling Laguna city, and Havaianas Philippines hopes that there will be a repeat next year.

IRRI Honors Women

IRRI Chairwoman Emerlinda Roman welcomed everyone who graced the Wo-
men in Rice Farming Event at IRRI.

The International Rice Research Institute paid tribute to the women who are making breakthroughs in rice farming in a major event at its headquarters in Los Baños.

Former U.P. President and IRRI Board of Trustees Chairwoman Emerlinda Roman and Agriculture Undersecretary Berna Puyat graced the event that served to honor the women of rice farming.

IRRI Deputy Dirctor General Bruce Tolentino gave a keynote speech on the current trends of rice production internationally.

The audience, mainly composed of lady farm workers from various parts of the country, were also given a tour to the IRRI complex. The Women in Rice Farming is part of the International Year of Rice celebration of IRRI.

2LaBS Commences this October

The biggest social media summit in Southern Luzon, the Laguna Blogging Summit or simply LaBS, will happen again on October 15 and 16 at the Laguna Cultural Center in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

The summit aims to promote the tourism of Laguna, discuss the latest online trends, and connect the people of the province with the best digital marketing experts and social media evangelists.

This year, the 2nd Laguna Blogging Summit or simply 2LaBS will focus on preparing the people of Laguna for a social media revolution.

This year's edition will also help the people, especially the youth, in becoming social revolutionists by giving them talks on how to become a channel for change through the internet.

COMELEC Spokesman James Jimenez, social media expert and IBlog organizer Janette Toral, renowned voice actor Pocholo Gonzales, and motivational speaker Lloyd Luna return as speakers for the event.

Also joining the four are well-known tourist guide Carlos Celdran, columnist Randell Tiongson, social media activist Alvin Dakis, internet marketing consultant Ben Francia, and former congressman Jack Enrile.

For more on what to expect in 2LaBS, follow its official website: labsph.com, its Facebook page: The Laguna Blogging Summit, and its Twitter handle: @LaBSummit. You can also the pre-event discussions by using the hashtag #2LaBS.

McD Back in LB

McDonald's reopens its UPLB Vega branch.

Hundreds seized the moment as McDonald's reopened its Los Baños branch in grand fashion. After a full summer vacation for the restaurant to be renovated, McD reassured the people that the newly-refurbished branch is here to stay.

Many bought special reopening meals consisting of one free Chicken McDo, a food freebie based on the time the tickets were redeemed, and a non-food freebie of their choice.

Also, a long line almost blocked the main entrance of the Vega Center as a take-out counter was opened to serve the students rushing to their classes or the professionals going to their work in UPLB.

The reopened McDonald's branch will be open 24/7 and soon a Wi-Fi signal will be connected to cater those doing their projects while dining.

McDonald's UPLB Vega Branch is located at the ground floor of the Vega Center, Lopez Ave. cor. Ela St., Bgy. Batong Malake, Los Baños, Laguna.

Tech Summit Kicks Off Future ICT Plans for Calamba

The latest in information and communication technology hits an uncharted territory as Soft Micro Enterprises successfully staged the 2013 ICT Converge at the Party Place of Jollibee Calamba Crossing in Calamba City.

Jun Barrun kicked off the whole-day event with the discussion on the latest news on Mozilla. He discussed the latest features of the Firefox browser and the Thunderbird email portal as well as the human resource programs of the said internet organization.

John Rara of Microsoft Philippines showed how Windows 8 works. Ross Del Rosario

John Rara then discussed the basics of the latest Microsoft operating system, the Windows 8. He said that Windows 8 works best in touch screen gadgets like tablets.

Arnie Locsin was the third to speak, and he taught the audience the use of cloud computing, followed by Randy Cabredo's talk on making information technology environment-friendly.

Patricia Celis started the afternoon session with some introduction on the use of the Bitdefender and DeepFreeze anti-virus softwares.

Philip Tan then shared an enlightening talk about the internet, while Nikko Almazar introduced the Microsoft Office 365. Paul Pajo culminated the activity by sharing the latest trends in communication.

"Our purpose here is to promote the latest developments in IT in places which lag behind in the awareness about these developments," said Mark Wagan, the head of Soft Micro and the organizer of the event. "Seeing the need, we might stage another ICT Converge in August."

Three-Day Sale Rocks SM Stores Friday

The SM Stores at SM Makati, SM City Marikina, SM City Dasmariñas, SM City Marilao, SM City Cebu, SM City San Pablo, and SM City Iloilo will be having a 3-day sale on March 15, 16, and 17. You shoppers will enjoy big discounts on your favorite items come the weekend. 

Aside from the sale, the SM Store will also be having a 3-Way Save on the same period. You can get more discounts through this promo. First, if you own an SM Advantage Card, you can get an additional 10% off if you bought your items within the first two malling hours of Friday. Second, for every PHP2,000 single-receipt purchase you made on Saturday and Sunday, you will get a PHP100 shopping coupon free. Lastly, if you shopped for the entire duration of the sale using your BDO credit card, you can get a 5% rebate.

Also, you can have a chance to win one of seven IPad Minis to be given away in the raffle promo. Each IPad Mini comes with a free Globe prepaid SIM with free Powersurf 99. Every PHP1,000 worth of purchased items entitles you to a raffle coupon for a chance to win an IPad Mini. What are you waiting for? Shop now at SM Cubao, SM Southmall, SM City Manila, SM City Fairview, SM City Taytay, SM City Pampanga, SM City Tarlac, SM City Bacolod, and SM City General Santos! Per DTI-NCR Permit No. 7190 Series of 2012 and DTI-NCR Permit Nos. 0311, 0345, 0560, and 0566 Series of 2013.

EK, TRC Tie Up for Women's Month Series

The Technology Resource Center and Enchanted Kingdom joined forces in bringing a month-long series of seminars to celebrate the International Women's Month at the said theme park in Sta. Rosa City. Entitled "A Day at the Park with Enchanting Women", the four-part seminar series will equip the mom--and the dads and kids too--basic knowledge on making chocolate lollipops, chocolate bites, beautiful arrangement, various balloon twisting forms, jewelries, and colognes. The TRC-EK series will run every Saturday except on March 30, in which the seminar will be moved to March 31, Easter Sunday, 2:00 PM, at the Boardwalk Party Place. For more info, log on to www.enchantedkingdom.ph.

A Trip to UPLB Part 3: The Fair!

File photo from unibersidadngpilipinas.tumblr.com

Everyone in the University of the Philippines, no matter which campus he is in, would love to celebrate his Valentine season, whether he has a date or not, at the UP Fair. Even those from other campuses make a habit to go to a particular campus to have fun. Not to mention those who are not part of the academe.

But as the photo above says, celebrating the UP Fair is more fun in Los Baños! From the UPLB Grange Association's mini-carnival...

...to the foods...

...to even the toy stores...

...to the free (and I mean free admission) concerts every night, the eLBiZens express their advocacy through the activities happening every night.

Update: Silent Sanctuary was the featured band in Razzmatazz, one of the ev-
ents in the UPLB Fair. Their set started at exactly midnight earlier.

A good thing this year is that one should not fret if he can't make it to the LB Fair. UPLB has put up a live streaming so that everyone can still enjoy the LB Nights while away! Check it here: