First Yakimix branch in Cebu opens

CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Spacious, conducive to conversation, an average of 150 dishes including beverages and dessert items worth indulging are the best features of Yakimix Restaurant on Escario, Capitol Site here.

Birthdays also become exciting and memorable because promotions cover free treat to the celebrator, along with three members of the family or friends.

Robert Chua, manager, whose main line is into distribution of fruits and vegetables, sees to it that special occasions become worth celebrating all the more, for the price of none. “We start with some noise we will sustain the bang with a tribute to birthday celebrants. They can choose to celebrate it seven days before their birthday, or seven days after, that is if they can’t be available on the very day of their birth anniversary. Just to make things convenient,” he explained.

Regional manager Chito Manlapaz pointed out that diners will sure be very excited about Yakimix’ cooking features because they have brought in the smokeless grill that their 10 Manila branches are famous for.

“Guests can enjoy very minimal smoke emanating from items cooked on our built-in smokeless grill on every table. They will get to know what it’s like to experience grilling their own food, grill all they can, grill all they want – as we have a selection of marinated meat and seafood. And with our Cantonese chefs Tony Lau and Ken Diao, we assure that every hot dish is cooked and served just right,” Manlapaz added.

Says print media practitioner Que Bajenting: “I’m glad to know Yakimix is already in Cebu. Judging from the rates, it seems a lot better here in Cebu, and you still get to enjoy close to 200 dishes that the restaurant has been known for.”

Lunch is at 499Php while dinner is at 599Php, Monday to Friday. On weekends and holidays, lunch and dinner rates are at 599Php. Children below three feet can dine for free, while children below four feet are to pay 299Php only.

Yakimix, which began operations last year, already claims top spot in being the best smokeless grill restaurant in the Philippines. FB/Yakimix and Tweet @Yakimixo_o.

Yaki means grilled, broiled or pan-fried. Mix means “to put together.”

It offers a fusion of Asian cuisine, mainly Japanese, Korean and Chinese or a cornucopia of the best dishes in these regions.

The facility can seat a maximum of 140 pax.###

Nautilus, dugong highly endangered in Tanon Strait

by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #CebuBloggingCommunity

CEBU, PHILIPPINES (May 27, 2015) — Overfishing, pollution and climate change, lack of enforcement and accountability in the management of Tanon Strait put the chambered nautilus as most critically endangered along with 14 species of cetaceans in danger of extinction.

Dr. Isabelo R. Montejo, DENR-7 regional director, in delivering his State of Tanon Strait Address today here in Badian, southwestern coastal town of Cebu Province, mentioned that only a few nautilus species have survived to date as this unusual resident of Tanon Strait is highly prized for its shell. Its population is believed to have been overfished since the 70s.

With the assistance of non-government organization Oceana (Protecting the World’s Oceans), it was learned that decline in population of important marine species is traced to illegal commercial fishing, destructive fishing, juvenile fish catch, lack of enforcement and accountability, pollution and climate change.

Montejo said that sea mammals, accounting to 14 species of 27 found in the country, like spinner dolphins, dwarf sperm whales, dugongs, whale sharks, among others, suffer from indiscriminate fishing as well as lack of a reliable enforcement of existing laws that govern sustainable economy along with development.

On the occasion of the 17^th anniversary today of Presidential Proclamation 1234 creating the Tanon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS), Montejo and Oceana led the inauguration of a TSPS office in Barangay Malhiao, Badian. This was witnessed by over 60 stakeholders from various government agencies, local leaders, community partners, fisherfolk, print media, and bloggers.

The office placed at the “center of Tanon Strait” serves to link the gap in data gathering, and facilitate solutions to “save Tanon from illegal commercial fishing, destructive fishing and pollution.”

“Tanon is a migration corridor to sea mammals. It has 18,830 hectares of coral reefs and an estimated area of patches of mangroves, 26 species, reaching around 5,000 hectares. But all of these are threatened by industrial waste, being a natural catchment,” Montejo further explained.

Thus, the need for strong leadership, effective enforcement of Fisheries Code, special protections within the seascape and accountability when transiting a protected seascape. As cited by Oceana in its journal, Tanon Strait “needs strong leadership at all levels in the conservation efforts.”

“The Protected Area Management Board has a clear mandate to responsibly manage fisheries, including establishing a comprehensive plan for protection.”

“Effective enforcement of the Fisheries Code will require increased monitoring of fishing activity at sea and in port, increased resources for interception, and strengthening the judicial process.”

“Urgently needed is a management plan which includes regulations specific to the unique needs of the seascape.”

“Although commercial fishing is banned in Tanon Strait, commercial vessels transit through the Strait regularly. When commercial fishing vessels come to port in Tanon Strait, they must be held accountable for the origin and legality of their catches.”

Moreover, environmental lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos said that tools, with improved technology, could help monitor these commercial vessels. “I know of drones, image-capturing satellites, web systems that can help monitor activities at sea. If we have this technology on Tanon seascape, and continue to build on this effort, then it would be a lot easier to facilitate stewardship, address critical concerns in protecting our coral reefs, our fisherfolk, our future.”

TSPS is the largest marine protected area in the Philippines, and the third largest park, nearly as extensive as the two largest terrestrial natural parks in the Northern Sierra Madre and Samar Island which protect the Philippine eagle and other wonders. Tanon Strait is their marine counterpart, with an area of 5,182 km squared, more than three times the area of the Tubbataha National Park.

Oceana went on to report that the Strait is extremely narrow (27 kilometers), 160 km long and 500 meters deep. At its widest, the Strait is only 27 km., and narrowest near the south at a mere five km.

The deep waters which attract dolphins, whales, sharks and manta rays extend down from the surface a distance roughly half a kilometer. Oceana pointed out that in Cebu City, this is equivalent to a jeepney ride between the Basilica del Santo Nino and Fort San Pedro. In Dumaguete, this is equivalent to a walk between the Dumaguete Cathedral and Silliman University. Tanon Strait has a coastline of 450 kms.

Tanon Strait is that body of water between Cebu and Negros Island.###

Cebu City oks creation of film dev’t council

by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #CebuBloggingCommunity

caption: Cinema Rehiyon 7 Film Festival executive director Bambi Beltran with Cebuano Film Development Council member Ron Heri Tan discuss with this blogger the preparation developments for the 7.7.7 event here or the seventh staging of a seventh art in Region Seven.

CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Released last April 14 on the Facebook account of the Cebu City Public Information Office was an official statement that the establishment of a Cebuano Film Development Council was unanimously approved by the Cebu City Council.

Regional films staunch supporter Marlon Douglas Hoffer led a petition last year for the creation of a film development council. This was backed by Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, author of City Ordinance No. 2404.

According to Maria Victoria “Bambi” Beltran, executive director of Cinema Rehiyon 7 Executive Committee, that the approval inspires her team to work doubly hard for the seventh staging of Cinema Rehiyon from August 6-9, this year, here.

Cinema Rehiyon is one of flagship programs of the National Committee on Cinema, a sub-committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in celebration of Philippine Arts Festival.

Bearing the catchphrase: “Sa kinasang-an sa ikapito nga alampat (At the crossroads of the 7^th art),” the event is the first of its kind, scope, and magnitude to be staged here.

Over a hundred film delegates, film programmers, aside from actors are expected to grace the filmfest.

Around 40 films in various lengths and genres from all over the Philippines will be part of a simultaneous exhibition in three different venues, Cine Oriente on Colon, SM City Cebu and Ayala Center Cebu. This is open to the public or free of charge. Passes will be made available on site.

The participants are winners from regional film festivals funded by the NCCA like the recent Lilas Binisaya here staged in November at Cine Oriente, Colon Street. There will also be screening of restored Cebuano film classics like Joe Macachor’s “Manok ni San Pedro” starring Provincial Board member Julian Daan as Esteban Escudero, Gene Labella’s “Alyana” which stars Chanda Romero, and “Badlis sa Kinabuhi,” a film by Leroy Salvador starring real-life couple Gloria Sevilla and Mat Ranillo Jr.

Another feature to look forward to is “Balikbayan #1 Memories of Overdevelopment Redux” directed by Kidlat Tahimik which delves into a theory that the first person to have circumnavigated the Earth is a Cebuano, in the person of Enrique Negro or Makiyong. He was the slave bought by scribe Antonio Pigafetta. He was believed to be captured earlier by pirates and sold to the slave market.

Beltran pointed out that “Kidlat Tahimik’s work is intended as a closing film. Planned as a revisionist historical drama about the first man who circumnavigated the globe, its hero was not to be Magellan, but rather his Visayan slave, Enrique. Directed by Kidlat Tahimik, the film gives tribute to a pre-Hispanic Cebuano who is possibly the first man who circumnavigated the world.”

A press conference in July is scheduled for a look into the rationale of the event, list of participants, and the workshops and forums designed to raise further public awareness, as well as to move public support for regional films.

Beltran said that right now they are focused on marketing the event to forge strong partnerships among sponsors. ###

Mandaue Chamber of Commerce project finalist in Italy world congress

caption: Editha Bonghanoy found P600 among trash at the Umapad dumpsite in Mandaue City. The amount enabled her to start a food business.

by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #CebuBloggingCommunity

CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Women in Need, Now Entrepreneurs and Rolemodels or WINNERS made it as a finalist to the 9th World Chambers Congress in Torino, Italy picked from 79 applications of 39 countries.

In an electronic correspondence, Alexandra Jercaianu, project officer of International Chambers of Commerce – World Chambers Federation in Paris, France congratulated the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry as WINNERS has been “selected as a finalist in the Best Non-Conventional Project category.”

A record number of 79 applications from 39 countries were received for the 2015 World Chambers Competition and that the full list of finalists in the said category are: Stavanger Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Norway), Chamber of Commerce of Zaragoza (Spain), Calgary Chamber of Commerce (Canada), and Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Philippines).

According to WINNERS project chairperson Ms. Carmel de Pio-Salvador, the chamber will be joining other finalists in front of WCF’s panel of international judges for a live presentation at the 9th World Chambers Congress from June 10 to 12, 2015 whereby a Q&A session will tackle the innovative nature of the project, the impact of the project on the chamber and or the business community; measurable outcomes (financial, business and job creation, participation rates, membership recruitment, people involvement); the relevance of the program in the target category, as well as potential for the project to be successfully adopted by other chambers of commerce throughout the world.

The “Search for WINNERS” was launched on July 26, 2011 at the Benedicto College Campus in Mandaue City. Now on its fifth season, the project is MCCI’s quest for model women micro-entrepreneurs from Mandaue City who are supporting their families and are struggling to rise from abject poverty through their business ventures. Their stories of perseverance and creativity, integrity and strength of character are to inspire other women to be empowered, says de Pio-Salvador.

Community development leaders validate the competence of these micro-entrepreneurs to represent barangays of Mandaue City. The finalists go through Basic Entrepreneurial Skills Training, Basic Banking, Formulation or Structuring of Business Plans, Personality Development, as well as Sponsors Tour wherein they gather more insights and perspectives in other traders’ business ventures.

“It is our goal to make the program a national advocacy. Women entrepreneurs today make up more than 50 percent of the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises, thus they should be given a place in national development,” de Pio-Salvador shared.

Editha Bonghanoy, for example, is scavenger turned entrepreneur.

Bonghanoy, a vendor from Barangay Umapad, lives near the city’s dumpsite. She used to survive on segregating trash that can be sold at junkshops, a way of life she, sort of, inherited from her mother. One day, while performing the backbreaking task of scavenging, she pulled out of the dump an envelop containing P600 (six hundred pesos) or roughly 14 US dollars (based on US$1 = P43 exchange), as of this writing.

Bonghanoy decided to leave scavenging behind by investing the money in a startup business. She started frying chicken parts like neck and feet which became a hit in the neighborhood. The crispy chicken business provided for her family decent meals, an opportunity to send her grandchildren to school, thereby nurturing hope that the blessing breaks the cycle of poverty in her family.###

Mandaue Chamber of Commerce project finalist in Italy world congress

caption: Editha Bonghanoy found P600 among trash at the Umapad dumpsite in Mandaue City. The amount enabled her to start a food business.

by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #CebuBloggingCommunity

CEBU, PHILIPPINES — Women in Need, Now Entrepreneurs and Rolemodels or WINNERS made it as a finalist to the 9th World Chambers Congress in Torino, Italy picked from 79 applications of 39 countries.

In an electronic correspondence, Alexandra Jercaianu, project officer of International Chambers of Commerce – World Chambers Federation in Paris, France congratulated the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry as WINNERS has been “selected as a finalist in the Best Non-Conventional Project category.”

A record number of 79 applications from 39 countries were received for the 2015 World Chambers Competition and that the full list of finalists in the said category are: Stavanger Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Norway), Chamber of Commerce of Zaragoza (Spain), Calgary Chamber of Commerce (Canada), and Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Philippines).

According to WINNERS project chairperson Ms. Carmel de Pio-Salvador, the chamber will be joining other finalists in front of WCF’s panel of international judges for a live presentation at the 9th World Chambers Congress from June 10 to 12, 2015 whereby a Q&A session will tackle the innovative nature of the project, the impact of the project on the chamber and or the business community; measurable outcomes (financial, business and job creation, participation rates, membership recruitment, people involvement); the relevance of the program in the target category, as well as potential for the project to be successfully adopted by other chambers of commerce throughout the world.

The “Search for WINNERS” was launched on July 26, 2011 at the Benedicto College Campus in Mandaue City. Now on its fifth season, the project is MCCI’s quest for model women micro-entrepreneurs from Mandaue City who are supporting their families and are struggling to rise from abject poverty through their business ventures. Their stories of perseverance and creativity, integrity and strength of character are to inspire other women to be empowered, says de Pio-Salvador.

Community development leaders validate the competence of these micro-entrepreneurs to represent barangays of Mandaue City. The finalists go through Basic Entrepreneurial Skills Training, Basic Banking, Formulation or Structuring of Business Plans, Personality Development, as well as Sponsors Tour wherein they gather more insights and perspectives in other traders’ business ventures.

“It is our goal to make the program a national advocacy. Women entrepreneurs today make up more than 50 percent of the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises, thus they should be given a place in national development,” de Pio-Salvador shared.

Editha Bonghanoy, for example, is scavenger turned entrepreneur.

Bonghanoy, a vendor from Barangay Umapad, lives near the city’s dumpsite. She used to survive on segregating trash that can be sold at junkshops, a way of life she, sort of, inherited from her mother. One day, while performing the backbreaking task of scavenging, she pulled out of the dump an envelop containing P600 (six hundred pesos) or around 14 US dollars (based on US$1 = P43 exchange), as of this writing.

Bonghanoy decided to leave scavenging behind by investing the money in a startup business. She started frying chicken parts like neck and feet which became a hit in the neighborhood. The crispy chicken business provided for her family decent meals, an opportunity to send her grandchildren to school, thereby nurturing hope that the blessing breaks the cycle of poverty in her family.###