Great Grand Nephew of Dr. Jose Rizal Called for Demolition of Torre De Manila

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"The real value of the monument of Dr. Jose Rizal, considered as the Philippines' National Hero, is determined not by the beautiful pictures we make from it, but how we really remember Rizal, share, and apply his vision for the betterment of our nation."

Armed with placards, Isaac Reyes, a great grand nephew of Dr. Jose Rizal, called for the demolition of the 48-storey building for ruining the sightline of the national hero's monument at Rizal Park.

Isaac honored his word and returned the following day after the ceremony held at Luneta the previous day to commemorate the death of the national hero during Rizal Day on December 30 - the day of Rizal's execution at Bagumbayan, now known as Rizal Park, in 1896. 

The first time I saw him was during a news report where he was interviewed and encouraged others to join him in his objective to make people remember how crudely distracting the great photobomber Torre De Manila building is. 

Known as the Pambansang Photobomber ng Pilipinas, Torre De Manila is a condominium project of DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI), one of the big developers in the country. It is under heavy criticism for defacing the view of the Rizal monument. What was normally a proud postcard moment for most pictures taken at the sight have been ruined by the disturbing presence of the one-tower condominium development at the background.

Spratly Islands: Young and Restless Patriots Shout "Kalayaan ...Atin Ito!"

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang of China was strongly dissatisfied by what the group of young Filipinos protesters had done at the so called Zhongye Dao Island in the South China Sea and reiterated that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands. It urged the Philippines to withdraw its personnel and facilities from the illegally-occupied Chinese island, and never do anything that may harm regional peace and stability as well as China-Philippines relations.

“About 50 protesters, most of them students, reached Pagasa island in theSpratly archipelago on Saturday in a stand against what they say is Beijing's creeping invasion of the Philippine exclusive economic zone, said Eugenio Bito-onon, the island's mayor.

The protesters, led by a former naval commander, proudly displayed their banner containing the words "Kalayaan Atin Ito" (Kalayaan - meaning 'Freedom', the name of the island chain in the Spratlys which the Philippines controls - This Is Ours). The students wanted to highlight the growing Chinese encroachment on the islands. Government and military officials had tried to prevent the group from sailing to the disputed waters, citing security and safety reasons after a storm in the South China Sea earlier.

"Our peaceful and legal patriotic voyage will never be dependent on what china will do. Our objective is to bring to the attention of the world the invasion and militarization done by China inside our EEZ and ECS at the Kalayaan Island Group Municipality. If the world will see what we are seeing, surely China will lose all legal battle at the ITLOS and will face world sanctions if it defies the result of the arbitration."

Miss Philippines Wins Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International 2015

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Congratulations to Leren Mae Bautista for winning the Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International 2015 on December 31,2015 at the Putrajaya Marriot Hotel, Grand Ballroom in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Philippines has totally proven its supreme reign at beauty pageant competitions when it once again bagged another award before the year 2015 ended. Fresh from our win of Miss Universe courtesy of the lovely Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, we again revel in delight hearing about another win of our fellow Filipino.

The candidate from Laguna, Philippines was already another favorite even before the top 12 finalists were announced. Belarus, Bolivia, China, Uganda, Malaysia, Portugal, Lithuania, Iceland, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, India and the Philippines made it to the list.

The Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International (formerly known as Queen of the Year International) is unique beauty pageant that showcases the gems of the respective participating nation. The first ever Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International was staged in Kuala Lumpur, the City of Lights in 1993.

Like a diamond, the pageant unfolds the brilliance and magnificence of its distinctiveness and grace of a perfect woman. Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International is an international world class event that honours the exceptional women of today, women who gracefully uphold the epitome of beauty, poise, good moral character and personality.