...the Miss Tourism International 2019

Filipina wins Miss Tourism International 2019 pageant in KL


Bernama/New Straits Times
09 November 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Cyrille Payumo of the Philippines was crowned Miss Tourism International 2019/2020, beating 39 other contestants at the pageant finals held here, on Friday night.

Charming her way into the judges’ hearts, the 22-year-old will now be realising her dream of pursuing her studies in Mass Communications, as the pageant crown comes with a prize of a scholarship for a course of her choice at any LimKokWing University of Creative Technology, worldwide.

The four-year tertiary study sponsorship for Miss Tourism International 2019/2020 winners and runners-ups was formalised through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked between the university and Miss Tourism International at the university’s main campus on Nov 1.

Overjoyed Payumo later said: “It is a good stepping stone for me to win, as I would love to pursue my higher studies in Mass Communications and to be able to interact and to touch people’s hearts by being a tourism advocate not only to my country, but to the world.”

She added that she is a language enthusiast, and singled out Malaysia as the best place to learn new languages such as Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin and Tamil.

This year’s competition – the 22nd edition of the pageant – was themed “Embracing Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020” aimed at promoting Visit Malaysia Year 2020.

The pageant was first held in Sarawak in 1994.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Malaysian contestant, Cheryl Loo Wen Nee, managed to make it into the top 10. She won three out of 16 subsidiary titles – Miss Gintell Wellness, Miss Glamorous Carlo Rino and Miss Glorious Beautiful. – BERNAMA

...the UAE Architect of the Year nominee

Filipina nominated "Architect of the Year" in UAE

Manila Bulletin
08 November 2019

Filipina Christine Espinosa-Erlanda, a Dubai-based architect, was nominated for the “Architect of the Year” award in the 12th annual Middle East Architect Award.

Architect Christine Espinosa-Erlanda (Photo via MPIO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Erlanda was also nominated for the Big 5 Women in Construction Award.

In an interview with the Kabayan Weekly, a Filipino newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Erlanda shared how she was able to achieve her dreams.

“I am fortunate that my humble beginnings in Tondo, once I was a little girl sketching my dreams on the wall, I have culminated my creative instincts, have met mentors along my way, flew from Manila to Dubai and now I am part of building the future of the Middle East, designing and working on noteworthy award-winning projects, master plans, heritage, residential, commercial, hospitality, and heritage projects, turning visions into reality.”

Erlanda graduated from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) with a degree in Bachelor of Science Major in Architecture.

She spent her internship at the Manila City Planning and Development Office.

Erlanda is now an associate architect in UAE for 11 years, working for Godwin Austen Johnson.

Erlanda explained how she survived to work in a foreign country despite all the challenges that she had encountered.

“I am a Filipino. I smile a lot. Being Filipino helped me cope with the challenges of working abroad. We Filipinos are like water; versatile and can adjust to any shapes or forms and like water, they are necessary to life. Filipinos have the hunger for development and better future. We are not bounded by our race, gender nor financial situation. We Filipinos need to lift each other up, raise our flag and show the rest of the world our ingenuity, resilience and skills, all of those while radiating with the sincerest smiles,” she explained.

One of her missions as an architect was to empower women and promote gender equality: “As an architect my mission is to design and build something valuable that will last even after my own lifetime and in doing so elevate the position of women in what is, still, a male-dominated arena. Being part of the industry that creates and shapes the present and future cities keeps me close to that mission.”

The 12th annual Middle East Architect Award recognizes the great architects behind the best projects in the architecture community in the Middle East. The awarding ceremony will be on November 20.

...the Pinay farmer turned UN Nutrition Ambassador

This Pinay farmer Is Now A UN Nutrition 

Ambassador

Cheeky Albay
Cosmopolitan Philippines
03 November 2019

We first featured Cherrie D. Atilano earlier this year for her mission of “Making Farming Sexy”—encouraging young Filipinos, women especially, to go into farming like she has. But it wasn’t just that catchy slogan that got us hooked.

Cherrie’s inspiring story makes her life peg material: She grew up working on a sugarcane farm in Negros Occidental, graduated magna cum laude with a degree in agriculture from the Visayas State University, gave up a Fulbright scholarship in the US so she could stay in the Philippines and help local farmers, and founded AGREA, an award-winning Marinduque-based social enterprise which aims to help eradicate poverty for farming and fishing families, alleviate the effects of climate change, and help establish food security in the Philippines.

Impressed yet? There’s more. The 33-year-old Pinay has just been appointed by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres as a Lead Group member of the UN’s Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, the goal of which is to ensure a world free from malnutrition by 2030.

As a SUN Lead Group member - one of only 27 from around the world and only Southeast Asian on the list! - Cherrie is now a high-level ambassador for the UN , a role she will hold until 2021.

Below, Cherrie tells us how her trip to the UN Headquarters in New York went, how she'll serve as a newly-minted UN Nutrition ambassador, and how YOU can make your own mark like she has.

What she’s been up to since her last Cosmo interview:

"We launched AGREA programs in Siargao—both More Love for Women Farmers, which makes the island the first women-led agriculture island in the Philippines; and The Garden Classroom Program for public elementary schools, which will allow pupils to learn how to grow their own food, harvest organic vegetables for their feeding program, and love nature at the same time. We will be replicating the AGREA Farm School and Farm Business in the island by next year. 

I grew much wisdom, I must say. So many beautiful things have happened and most of them had me overcoming challenges and waking up every morning with so much hope."

How she and AGREA got the attention of the UN:

"AGREA received the UN Global Compact Agriculture Business Excellence Award in 2017. I also met some people in the UN when I spoke at the World Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agriculture event in Switzerland in 2014. I’ve also been invited several times to UN events in New York and Rome, and also to sustainability conferences around the world.

However, the main reason they chose me is my 21-year advocacy in agriculture, one I’ve had since I was young. As the SUN secretariat said to me, my movement of “Making Farming Sexy” should reach every corner of the world.

I also embody what it’s like to be a female leader in a male-dominated industry, I’m young, and I’m from the ASEAN, which has been called the next frontier."

About the SUN Movement:

"The principle of the SUN Movement is that everyone has the right to food and nutrition, and these two should go hand in hand. The movement addresses the problem of 149 million children who are suffering from malnutrition—which has devastating consequences for health, learning, future earning potential, economic development, resilience, and security. The mission is to work towards a world
free from malnutrition, in all forms, by 2030, nourishing people and planet together."

Her responsibilities as a SUN Movement Lead Group member:

"I support the 60 member countries and five Indian States as they pursue their goals to scale up nutrition. I will also provide strategic oversight on the movement, encouraging coherence and collective accountability for results. With this, I can influence in strengthening both policy and action in terms of solving malnutrition across the globe, while focusing and giving emphasis on our policy and efforts here in the Philippines and the ASEAN region."

What she’s excited to contribute to the SUN Movement:

"I made my commitment to secure nutrition by securing food sufficiency and security. I always make farming sexy by mentoring a lot of young people to venture into agriculture, empower women in agriculture to make sure proper nutrition starts from home, work on multi-stakeholder partnerships in making sure nutrition will be a serious business to lower stunted growth and boost our human capital productivity, and invest in impactful agri-foods."

How it feels to be one of 27 global leaders in the SUN Movement:

"It’s humbling. At the same time, I am so grateful for the privilege to be among them as they are amazing leaders whom I look up to. They created bold changes in their sphere of influence and inspired the world by their great accomplishments. They bring a wealth of experiences that I can learn from, and I am so fortunate to have that network of people I can collaborate with to expand my advocacy and work in the future. It is so good to brainstorm in a room full of intellectuals who are humble enough to solicit your ideas and open-minded enough to collaborate."

How her time at the UN Headquarters in New York went:

"It was the experience of a lifetime. For me, it was not about the special treatment, which was a bonus, but more of recognizing the fact that you are with a group of people who are so hardworking and passionate about creating positive changes in the world. New York during the UN General Assembly was a bustle of brains, hearts, and hands working together to make the world a better place to live in. You come out exhausted from all the events, but with a heart full of inspiration and a lot of concrete steps for taking action."

What she wishes more young Filipinos knew about nutrition and agriculture:

"Every day, 95 children in the Philippines die from malnutrition. 27 out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday. A third of Filipino children are stunted, or short for their age. Stunting after two years of age can be permanent, irreversible, and even fatal, according to UNICEF.

Additionally, the right food is not easily accessible, especially to our poor fellow men. We have 12 million hectares of underproductive lands, farmers are getting old, there is a declining interest among young people to go into agriculture, and our population is exponentially growing.

With all these, I think we have enough reasons to knock on the hearts of our young Filipinos and encourage them to help in boosting our agriculture sector. It will greatly help in establishing food sufficiency and security in the country, which could help in solving our malnutrition problem."

Her advice for other women who want to make a mark in their advocacies:

"Focus! I have been in this advocacy for 21 years, never disturbed by all other great opportunities. I was lucky to find my passion and purpose in agriculture.

Practice excellence and be authentic in what you choose to advocate. Immerse yourself in the community and have the humility to realize that at the end of the day, we are not superheroes who can solve all their problems; we are mere facilitators who can open opportunities for them or guide them in unleashing their potential so they can be the solutions to their own problems.

And at the end of every good job, the sweetest thing to do is pamper yourself. Self-love is a necessity."

...the PH golden day in sports

Two golds in one day


Inquirer.net  Editorial
16 October 2019

There’s a lot to celebrate about the triumphs of Carlos Yulo and Nesthy Petecio in the world stage very recently.

Yulo scored the more celebrated victory, becoming the first Filipino world champion in gymnastics, after ruling the floor exercise in the sport’s world championships in Germany.

But not to be overlooked is Petecio, who ruled her division in the women’s competition of the boxing world championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia, beating local bet Liudmila Vorontsove in a sport notorious for hometown bias.

Their gold medal feats, achieved barely 24 hours of each other, not only polished the country’s image in the international scene, they also helped shatter sports’ stubborn sex stereotypes.

Yulo, after all, triumphed in a sport generally seen as feminine, whose women champions are more often heralded as iconic than their male counterparts. Meanwhile, it is not a stretch to say that you’d be in the hundreds when counting down the most influential boxers in history before coming up with a woman’s name.

Yulo and Petecio got their just due from the government, with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) shelling out a cool million for each athlete as reward.

There is, however, the need to go beyond the cheering and the toasting when looking at the feats of Yulo and Petecio. Their victories in the world stage usher in new hope for the country as it hosts the Southeast Asian Games later this year and, more importantly, navigates its way to next year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Yulo and Petecio reinforce the change needed in our country’s national sports program, highlighting the need to funnel limited resources to focus sports.

PSC commissioner Ramon Fernandez is a staunch advocate of focus sports, disciplines where the Filipino athlete isn’t hamstrung by physical limitations like height and heft and can flourish on talent and hard work. Upon his appointment in 2016, Fernandez crafted a blueprint called “Change the Game,” which seeks to resuscitate Philippine sports.

 Among his plans was to focus on less popular sports where he believes the country has potential to succeed, such as open water swimming — for the Olympic event, known as marathon swimming —
given the country’s vast water bodies.

Sen. Manny Pacquiao also supports the idea of shifting focus to “weight-classed sports and other sports that does not give undue advantage to bigger and taller athletes.” Examples of weight-classed sports are boxing, taekwondo, judo, wrestling and weightlifting.

Filipino athletes can also excel in gymnastics, marathon, synchronized swimming, diving, cycling, shooting, archery, chess and other similar sports that require intelligence, balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination and endurance.

...the Busan Asia Content awardee

Maja Salvador lone Filipino winner at Asia Contents Awards in Busan 

Manila Standard
08 October 2019


Actress and Star Magic artist Maja Salavador bagged the first-ever Best Actress award for drama in the 1st Asia Contents Awards held in Busan, South Korea, for her portrayal of the lead character in the hit TV series, Wildflower. 



Maja, who is also the lone winner from the Philippines, portrayed the role of Lily Cruz who changed her identity to Ivy Aguas, a feisty young woman out to avenge her parents’ death and fight the oppression brought by the cruel and corrupt Adriente clan.

The actress and her show were the only nominees from the Philippines as Wildflower was also nominated in the Best Drama category.  


Wildflower competed with other outstanding Asian TV series from South Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

The 1st Asia Contents Awards recognized the region’s finest TV dramas that were produced in the last five years. It is organized by the renowned film festival Busan International Film Festival and Asian Film Market, an annual film market in South Korea.


Wildflower has begun airing in three French-speaking countries, including New Caledonia, Polynesia, and Reunion Islands, with the recent partnership of ABS-CBN with Ampersand fiction, a French content distributor and will soon air in Madagascar this October with ABS-CBN’s deal with Startimes.

...the first Asian-American Virginia judge

Filipina becomes Virginia's first Asian American female judge


inquirer.net
02 October 2019

WASHINGTON – Maha-Rebekah Abejuela, a Filipino American former prosecutor, became the first Asian American woman judge in the state of Virginia on Sept. 27.

Abejuela is the daughter of Filipino immigrants, according to the Washington Post. She pursued a law career after watching juvenile court judges at work.

“They were in a position to affect children and families at the most critical parts of their lives,” Abejuela said to the Washington Post. “I wanted to be part of that.”

A 2017 Fairfax Bar Association post ranked Abejuela as a “recommended” candidate among a list of potential candidates for judicial office.

Abejuela was an Assistant County Attorney for Fairfax County representing the Department of Family Services in abuse and neglect cases involving both children and incapacitated adults.

“She prosecuted numerous felonies and misdemeanors, and specialized in domestic violence cases for the majority of her time there,” according to the Fairfax Bar Association.

...the Royal Cambodia awardee

Sultana from the Philippines, the First International Woman to Receive the Royal Monisarapown Award from the Royal Government of Cambodia


By MENAFN
01 October 2019 


We Care for Humanity Founder and G.O.D. Chairman, Maria Amor received an award given by the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Samdach Hun Sen for her unwavering support to Save Nature Cambodia for planting almost a million trees in the Kingdom.

H.E. Oknah Sam Dararath, PhD , founder of Save Nature Cambodia and Adviser to Samdach Prime Minister felicitated the Monisarapown Award from the Royal Government of Cambodia to HRH Maria Amor onthe occasion of the8th Global Order of Dignitaries and Philanthropists (G.O.D.) AwardsCeremony and Dinner Gala at the Anaheim Convention Center, one of California’s landmark last September 21, 2019. Dr. Dararath was enjoined on the stage by other Cambodian delegates and honorees of the said function: H.E. Iv Sry, Advisor to the Ministry of Interior who received the Woman of Honor of Asia from G.O.D.; Mrs. Kimly Lim, President of Family Agricultural Development Community who also G.O.D. recipient as Humanitarian Icon of Cambodia; and Dr. Siphal Pheng, a businessman.

...the Filipina Charm

The Charm of Filipino Women


RJ Frometa
Vents Magazine
30 September 2019

It comes to be that foreign men of the contemporary age display much interest in wedding Filipino women. 

Yet what qualities preside in the Filipinas which lacks in other nationalities? The first hint can be the Philippines’ astonishing 8^th position in the Global Gender Gap Index (2018) out of a staggering choice of 149 participant countries. 

This takes into account spheres of health, education, politics and economy. 

This challenges the superpower, America itself holding 18.2% gender pay gap being much higher than the average 13.6%. 

Additionally, this brings attention to the Philippines as unique amongst its Asian neighbors. 

Filipina women are evidently privileged and largely contribute to their country.

Clearly, dating Filipino women and long-term relationships with these women are going to be only beneficial for you.

POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY

Firstly, it is a societal norm for women to strive for an outstanding education as this is a wide held value in the Philippines. 

They have proven to excel, paving for themselves a brighter and well-constructed future. 

They are fond of the English language being their second language, and exhibit common fluency in it. 

The Filipina continue to expand their presence in the labor force, amounting to higher paid and skilled work positions. 

Many firms willingly hire women, as their efficiency and professional attitude are irresistible incentives.

FAMILY WOMEN

Aside from being business orientated, Filipino women are family orientated. Their utmost priority is maintaining an ideal family life, from a loving husband to affectionate children. 

They depend on each other for support and never break ties with their family. Thus they make loyal partners and deserving mothers, this family structure of theirs is a tradition. 

As countries develop these ties dissolve and ignorant systems debase the most important relationships-family and relatives. This traditional mindset also criticizes harsh decisions such as divorce, making it likely for Filipino women to work through difficulties as a better and considerate companion.

Undeniably, the Filipina are headstrong and maintain capable roles in their families. 

This is proven by their financial roles adopted to uplift their family’s standard of living. They display authority in decision making such as managing finance. 

Uniquely, they are willing and beyond joyful to serve those around them. They adopt the household chores including cooking, cleaning, laundry etc. often along with their jobs. 

This mindset of theirs defies modern feminism, in which women majorly have a low tolerance or acceptance for biased roles. 

This sense of responsibility and honor in Filipino women, also sprouts from the poverty-stricken conditions faced by many. Such conditions make the women resilient and hardworking in character.

The women have a frugal and reasonable approach to life as to the lack of wealthy lifestyles they experience. 

This makes them manage in much less money and resources, they choose not to overspend. Along with being resourceful they can be talented in numerous ways.

 Nonetheless, they can be ambitious and concerned for their future which stands out amongst the modern chaos of partying and indulging in frivolities.

LOVING, RELIGIOUS AND LOYAL

What Filipina’s look for in men are loving partners as they are often shy and conservative in nature. 

They also love to socialize and entertain a friendly circle, this outgoing approach being light and attractive. They tend to be sentimental and often over-sensitive and thus expect well from a relationship.

Religion is a monumental aspect of Filipino women’s lives. 

They are religious and 90% are Catholic. 

This appeals to most European and American men, making them compatible. Beliefs are essential to them and they do not tend to compromise over this. 

This strong faith can be seen as declining in upcoming generations but forms the foundation of many relationships for those to whom it matters.

PHYSICAL BEAUTY

Last but not least, Filipino women are highly regarded throughout the world for their exceptional beauty. 

Filipino women are from a very unique gene pool, they descend from European, Spanish and Asian origin, therefore they comprise of very distinct physical attributes, which includes clear tanned skin, pearly white teeth, and shiny lustrous hair. 

These prominent features account to the reason why Filipino women win an array of reputable beauty competitions. For example the worldwide Miss Universe title, Miss International title and Miss Earth. Filipino women even have the most coveted beauty titles, amassing to 15.

In conclusion, Filipino women are debatably the best due to a number of reasons. 

Most importantly, Filipino women have a strong sense of self-respect building to a number of strong morals and principles. 

This contributes to them being widely appreciated and applauded in today’s society.

 In today’s world, it is honestly hard to find women with all the qualities defined above. If you can actually find a life partner with all those merits, we suggest that you stay with her through thick and thin.

Note: All pics are grabbed from the web.