...the Miss Grandslam 2013

Megan Young is Miss Grand Slam 2013!

 

 

Posted on February 7, 2014

by Global Beauties (globalbeauties.com)

 

 

Miss Grand Slam 2013 could be no other than Megan Young, the first woman from the Philippines to be crowned Miss World. The woman who gave pride to her nation when she was crowned in Bali, was always a favorite for the Miss World title, right next to Brazil’s Sancler Frantz, for most her main competition in Miss World and in the Grand Slam. In Miss World, for some unknown reason, Sancler dropped from 2nd to 5th place at the last minute, but here she stands at a well-deserved 2nd position. Patricia Rodriguez of Spain, the Miss Universe favorite who finished 2nd, takes bronze (Miss Grand Slam’s 2nd runner-up).

Rounding out the Top 5 we have Miss Myanmar Supranational, Khin Wint Wah, who thanks to her fans’ support, won the award Miss Grand Slam Popularity 2013, and finished the competition in 4th place (the most voted among fans in this final round, would earn an extra position). Gabriela Isler, Venezuela’s 7th Miss Universe, finished in 5th place.

This is the first time since 1998, when the award was launched by Global Beauties, that a woman from the Philippines wins the Miss Grand Slam title.

See the complete results:

Miss Grand Slam 2013 – Megan Young, Miss Philippines World
2nd place – Sancler Frantz, Miss Brazil World
3rd place – Patricia Rodriguez, Miss Spain Universe
4th place – Myanmar Supranational
4th place – Venezuela Universe

TOP 10
6th place – France World
7th place – Philippines Supranational
8th place – Ghana World
9th place – Ecuador Universe
10th place – Latvia Supranational

Regional winners:
Miss Grand Slam Africa – Ghana World
Miss Grand Slam Americas – Brazil World
Miss Grand Slam Asia – Philippines World
Miss Grand Slam Caribbean – U.S. Virgin Islands Supranational
Miss Grand Slam Europe – Spain Universe
Miss Grand Slam Oceania – Australia Supranational

Special Award:
Miss Grand Slam Popularity – Myanmar Supranational
Miss Grand Slam World – Philippines
Miss Grand Slam Universe – Spain
Miss Grand Slam Supranational – Myanmar
Miss Grand Slam International – Philippines
Miss Grand Slam Tourism Queen – Latvia

Congratulations, Megan Young of the Philippines! You are MISS GRAND SLAM 2013, the best among the very best in 2013!!

Megan Young is Timeless Beauty 2013 2nd Runner-up

Posted by:  Admin

Missosology.org

February 3, 2014

 

- 3rd PLACE -

PHILIPPINES WORLD

(Megan Young)

Ines Ligron – 1st

Tomas Haberl – 3rd

Rafa Delfin – 3rd

Donald West – 4th

Peter Sereno -3rd

Madusha Mayadunne – 4th

Yael Markovich – 3rd

Steve Haynes – 3rd

Internet Poll – 2nd

TOTAL POINTS: 76

Megan Young’s entry into the pageant world is one of the best things that ever happened in Philippine pageant history. She was hyped to death, and supported by many believers, even when speculations about her rumored application for Bb. Pilipinas (the pageant that crowns the Miss Universe Philippines winner) started to spread in Missosology. When news broke out that she was not accepted to compete at the Philippines’ premiere beauty pageant, a lot were disheartened. Not everyone knew that Megan had already cleared that rumor, and that, she actually did not apply for Bb. Pilipinas, and that, her real goal was set on the Miss World Philippines crown. The rest was history. 

A few weeks after winning her national title, she became an instant favorite in Indonesia. Local and international fans alike were expecting her to do well in all of the events leading to the pageant night. She delivered. The Philippines won their first ever Miss World crown in Bali, and a lot of her fans were jubilant and ecstatic about it. Because of this triumph, Megan Young’s local showbiz career may have been temporarily interrupted, but, when she comes back, she’ll surely be able to capitalize on her newly found fame. But of course, she has to finish her reign first as Miss World, and we all know that she is doing exceptionally well, raising funds for various charity works that benefit the less fortunate. 

In the meantime, in a sea of equally lovely and unforgettable beauties from the BIG 4 Pageants, Megan Young emerged as one of the Top 3 Timeless Beauties for 2013! And at third place, here’s another reason for her country to be truly proud of!

 

...the Filipino delicacy

Balut: The Filipino delicacy that makes the world squirm

By Justin Calderon, for CNN

February 6, 2014

The semi-formed bird fetus (pictured) slides right out of the shell. You can eat it by taking a "shot" of the contents, dipping your head back to let the bird slide into your mouth. Some prefer to dip it in a dash of salt or vinegar before eating.

The only thing left is the yolk. It can be scooped out with a spoon, but many Filipinos prefer to use their fingers. It's easily detached from the shell, veins and all. Some prefer to reverse these steps -- cracking the wider end of the shell to eat the yoke first -- saving the little duckling for last.

 

How to eat balut

Open the egg ... carefully

Slurp the soup

Eat the bird

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Balut, an 18-day-old fertilized duck egg, is a popular snack in the Philippines
• Acceptance of balut depends on exposure at a young age
• First time eaters are advised to not dwell on the textures

 

(CNN) -- Despite being an object of culinary fascination around the world, balut is no beauty queen.

The 18-day-old fertilized duck egg -- a snack widely eaten in the Philippines -- has revolted even the most daring foodies with its carnal textures, earning it lofty rankings on many a "most disgusting/strange/terrifying food" list.

 

While food journalists commonly label balut as the Philippines' "much loved delicacy," in reality Filipinos are decidedly split over their nation's oft-sung snack.

 

The science experiment you eat

 

Acceptance of balut often depends on exposure at a young age, much like Vegemite in Australia.

 

In an apparent attempt to preserve the delicacy's popularity among the country's rapidly modernizing and discriminating palates, some schools in the Philippines introduce balut to young students during science classes.

 

Students use balut to study the anatomy of birds, then eat the compressed bird beak, veins and developing wings within.

 

"Our teacher made us eat the egg so it wouldn't go to waste," says Manila resident Anna Vecin of her ordeal.

 

"And if we didn't eat it, we'd get a low score on that day's lesson. Of course, I had no choice but to eat it."

 

The experience can leave some with a lifelong aversion to the so-called national delicacy.

 

Even balut's tamer cousin, penoy -- an unfertilized duck egg billed as a less carnal option, given that it lacks the semi-developed chick within -- can be hard to stomach.

 

The yolk is easily detached from the shell, veins and all.

Taste over appearance

 

For others, balut's combination of savory soup, fresh meaty bird and warm yolk is a revelation.

"My dad had a duck farm once upon a time in Binangonan, Rizal, so at some point growing up, we had a lot of them at home," recalls Cheryl Tiu, a Manila-based writer.

 

"My mom's parents always enjoyed eating it, thus it got passed on to her and her siblings, and then down to us. My favorite part is the soup. And then I dip the yolk in rock salt.

 

"Today though, I'm not sure if I can eat the whole chick anymore, unlike when I was much younger."

 

The dish is particularly popular among Filipino families with ethnic Chinese backgrounds.

 

Balut is also widely enjoyed across numerous provinces in China, especially in the south.

 

Like many Chinese dishes, balut comes with a list of putative health benefits.

 

Among these, it's claimed balut can boost male fertility and libido.

 

Balut in New York

 

Can't make it to Manila?

 

Though balut is hard to find outside the Philippines, New York Filipino restaurant Maharlika offers the delicacy for $5 a pop.

 

The restaurant hosts an annual balut eating contest, held every August.

 

Last year's winner knocked back 27 balut in five minutes.

 

Think you can do better?

 

 

...the world's best BPO destinations

Manila dislodges Mumbai as world's second-best outsourcing destination

By: Jose Bimbo F. Santos,
InterAksyon.com
February 1, 2014

 

MANILA – The Philippine capital has dislodged Mumbai as the second best outsourcing destination in the world.

Aside from Manila, three next wave cities in the Philippines that are outside Metro Manila also improved their rankings in the 2014 Tholons Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations. Davao and Bacolod each went up one place to 69^th and 93^rd, respectively, while Santa Rosa, Laguna moved up two notches to 82^nd.

Cebu and Baguio stayed at their existing places at eighth and 99^th, respectively. Iloilo, which was ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda last year, slid two places to 95^th.

Overall, seven Philippine cities made it to the Top 100 ranking. India remains the dominant country with six cities in the top 10 and 13 overall.

Undersecretary Louis Casambre of the Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ICT) said the goal for 2016 is to add three more cities from the Philippines in the top 100.

"The goal of the Next Wave Cities Program of the DOST-ICT and the IT-Business Process Association of the Philippines (iBPAP) has always been to develop globally preferred outsourcing destinations outside Metro Manila," Casambre said.

Revenues of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector last year are estimated to have increased by 15 percent to $13.34 billion. The industry reportedly employs over a million and is seen to add over a hundred thousand this year.

"We have been getting a lot of support for the Next Wave Cities Program… and we intend to maintain our efforts in bringing inclusive growth to the countryside," Emmy Lou Delfin, Next Wave Cities Program manager, said.

 

...the PH 2013 GDP growth

Philippines’ GDP growth at 7.2% in 2013


 

by Ron B. Lopez

Manila Bulletin
January 31, 2014    

 

 

...the Philippines as one of the best performing economies in the Asian region in the said period, second to China...

 

 

The Philippines’ full year Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 grew by 7.2 percent, higher than the government’s expectations of 6 percent to 7 percent and despite several challenges that strained the economy last year.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Thursday announced that the increase was fueled by the industry and service sectors, service exports, and other services in education, health and social work.

Photo shows part of the skyline of Makati, the country’s major financial district which is home to top companies that help pull the economy forward. The Philippine economy grew by 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, which makes the Philippines as one of the best performing economies in the Asian region in the said period, second to China with 7.7 percent growth. (Photo by Jacqueline Hernandez)

In a televised press conference at the Philippine Statistics Authority in Makati City, Balisacan said the economy grew by 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, which makes the Philippines as one of the best performing economies in the Asian region in the said period, second to China with 7.7 percent growth.

Balisacan, who is also director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), admitted that the man-made and natural calamities that successively struck the country last year have affected the full year growth, but stressed that economy remains strong throughout the year.

“Indeed, growth could have been better, had we not been perturbed by various disasters that hit the country such as the Bohol earthquake, the Zamboanga siege and super typhoon Yolanda,” he said.
Yolanda caused multi-billion-peso damage to infrastructure and agriculture in the Visayas, effectively paralyzing the region’s economic activity.

Balicasan reported that agriculture only represents 0.1 percentage point in the real GDP. This could be due to the effects of the destructive typhoons last year which have severely affected the agricultural supply in Visayas.

The typhoons are also seen as the main reason for the lower growth in household spending at 5.6 percent during the fourth quarter last year as the natural calamities caused “supply shocks” that resulted in higher consumer prices.

Balicasan expects the agriculture and industry sectors to be “vibrant” this year if the two work closer.
Meanwhile, services sector has contributed to 3.6 percent of the real GDP growth in the last quarter of 2013, followed by the industry sector with 2.8 percent. The sectors of manufacturing, trade, finance, and real estate have also helped drive the supply side of the economy, Balisacan added.

The strong demand for communications, land and air transportation, drove a 6.5 percent growth in services sector. The need for storage and services incidental to transport also contributed to the growth.

“Increased air traffic in Q4 2013 was due to the additional flights and destinations of the country’s leading airlines, and number of passengers and cargo for tourism and for relief operations after super typhoon Yolanda,” he said.

Balisacan noted that construction sector had the biggest setback in the fourth quarter, with only 0.8 percent growth due to stricter rules imposed on real estate lending.

“Overall, however, the fourth quarter and full-year 2013 real GDP growth has surpassed the expectations of both the public and private sectors,” he said.

Balisacan said the government is optimistic that the Philippine economy will remain strong in 2014 especially that the outlook on the global economy is becoming more favorable and as the domestic economy remains robust.

He said the the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have higher growth expectations for the global economy in the coming year, with IMF seeing global activity growing by 3.7 percent in 2014 and 3.9 percent in 2015.

Moreover, the World Bank projects the growth at 3.2 percent in 2014 and 3.4 percent in 2015.

 

...the world's top ebook users

Filipinos among top users of world's largest ebook community

            

 philstar.com

January 30, 2014

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos are the second biggest users of the world's biggest online reading and storytelling platform Wattpad, according to latest data from social media monitor SocialBakers.

Seven million Filipinos visit Wattpad every month, coming second behind Americans and ahead of users from United Kingdom, Vietnam, Canada, Australia, Turkey, India, Germany and Spain.

There are currently 300,000 completed stories coming from Filipinos and the number is growing by 10 percent per month. Twenty-three percent of Wattpad's Android traffic also comes from the Philippines, and when a Filipino user joins Wattpad, 50 of their Facebook friends are already on Wattpad.

Wattpad also said out of the eight users who have more than 100,000 followers, five are Filipinos. The most popular Wattpad user with more than 225,000 followers is a Filipino writer Denny who goes by the Wattpad identity 'HaveYouSeenThisGirL.'

Wattpad co-founder and chief executive officer Allan Lau said HaveYouSeenThisGirL’s Wattpad story, 'The Diary of An Ugly Girl,' is poised to become the Philippines’ best-selling book this year.

Lau said among all genres on Wattpad, Filipinos gravitate toward fan fiction, and celebrity fictions on K-pop and the popular local celebrity tandem of Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo are the most written, read and shared of this genre among the young Filipinos.

“Filipinos are definitely a force to reckon with in social media, including Wattpad’s community. We see higher internet connectivity, smartphone and tablet penetration to drive this growth further,” said Lau, “We hope to be able to enrich the reading experience of more Filipinos and discover and launch more Filipino writers in the years to come.”

 

...the Fil-Canadian senator

First Filipino-Canadian senator recounts rise through the ranks

By Matikas Santos
INQUIRER.net

Monday, January 27th, 2014

 

Senator Tobias Enverga Jr.

MANILA, Philippines – Canada’s first senator of Filipino descent was once a struggling overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who left the Philippines seeking adventure.

“I went to Canada for adventure, I took a chance,” Senator Tobias Enverga Jr. shared with INQUIRER.net in an interview January 24, while he was in the country leading a Filipino delegation of “winter escapees” from Canada.

“I never realized I will be a Canadian Senator,” he told the 240-strong delegation, mostly composed of Canadians of Filipino descent, that toured Kalibo, Boracay, Roxas City, Iloilo City, and Guimaras from January 18 to 23 as part of the first “Winter Escapade” tour.

Filipino roots

Enverga was born to a middle-class family in Lucena City. He shared that there were two clans of Envergas in Lucena, one was mostly composed of politicians and the other was mostly educators. “I’m part of the educators,” he said.

During college, he went to the Letran College in Manila where he graduated with a degree in Economics. He worked for less than a year in two banks in the country after he graduated.

He met his wife there in the bank, Enverga recalled. He however said that he felt “tired” about being in the Philippines.

“I got so tired about being here in the Philippines,” Enverga said. “When you are a young man you have so many things going on in your life.”

It was then that he decided to go to Canada to stay with his sisters even though he was not sure whether he would get a job there. He had told himself then that he would just be in Canada for a couple of years.

“My start in Canada was good because my sisters took care of me. But eventually I realized that I have to do some work,” Enverga said.

Starting from the bottom

Enverga applied for work at the Bank of Montreal, one of Canada’s top five largest banks, where he started from the bottom of the corporate ladder.

“The first work I did was actually in the mail room… then I worked my way up,” he said.

“Then I took up computer courses and became a computer operator,” Enverga said. He continued to rise up through the ranks and his last position before he became a senator was project manager for the IT department.

He worked for around 30 years in the Bank of Montreal. “I have a loyalty award,” Enverga said with a laugh.

Even though he has already reached top positions, he saw himself as among the millions of OFWs all over the world.

“I consider myself as an OFW. When I was working I send money to my mom through remittances,” he recalled.

“My younger brothers were still young and my father died earlier so I have to send a little money although my other sisters sent more,” he said.

In 2010, the Toronto Catholic District School Board appointed him as a trustee “which made him the first Filipino-Canadian elected to public office in the city and the first member of a visible ethnic minority elected to the Board.”

From there he involved himself in many socio-civic organizations such as Global Filipino Nation, Global Filipinos Canada, Canadian Multi-cultural Council—Asians in Ontario, Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC), and Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF).

He held top positions, and in some cases was the founder, of many of those organizations.

“As a community leader in Toronto, I have to interact with the government there, it’s important, what is good for my community is good for the government,” Enverga said.

“I have to put them together to ensure that we are well connected and to get all the good stuff from the government, that’s how I got to know the government,” he said.

For his advocacies and work in the many charitable organizations, Enverga was among the awardees of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, a medal created in 2012 that commemorates the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II ascension to the throne.

The award is given to people who “have made significant contributions to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or for an outstanding achievement abroad that has brought great credit to Canada.”

Appointment

Enverga was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2012. He is the first Filipino to be appointed to the Canadian Senate.

In Canada, senators serve until the age of 75, which means he has around 20 years left as a senator.
He recalled that he was so shocked after receiving a call from the Prime Minister that he had to ask to be given 24 hours to think over the “life changing decision.”

“The beauty about being appointed is that we can say no to whatever the government says. There’s no partisanship. You know how it works for politics, if you’re in this different political frame of mind you always go against the other one,” Enverga said.

“Ours is not, we are the free thinkers. We are called the second sober thought of Canada,” he said.

When asked whether he heard about recent controversies in the Philippines, such as the billion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, popularly known as the Pork Barrel scam, he said that more accountability and transparency are needed.

“I’ve heard about it. If only they will apply more accountability, transparency, great reporting, I think that will be a big help,” he said.

Offer to the world

As one of the almost 10.5 million Filipinos that are abroad, Enverga said that the present diaspora of Filipinos to all over the world was a good thing because Filipinos have so much to offer.

“We want the Filipinos to populate the world, because Filipinos have so much to offer the world. We have our culture, we have our values, we have our faith,” Enverga said.

“Leaving the Philippines is a good thing, but of course it’s a bad thing too, because it’s more like a brain drain for us,” he said.

Even though majority of the OFWs going abroad are domestic workers, nurses, and caregivers, Enverga said that Filipinos are more than just “white or blue collar workers, nurses, nannies, caregivers or doctors.”

Filipinos are “also leaders of the world,” he said.

Asked what he would tell the millions of OFWs all over the world, Enverga said: “Keep on going, do some more adventures like me and maybe you’ll find the right path eventually.”

 

...the PH economic growth (IMF, 2014)

IMF upgrades Phl growth forecast

              

By Kathleen A. Martin

The Philippine Star

January 23, 2014

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its full-year forecast for Philippine economic growth to 6.3 percent this year on the back of reconstruction efforts following Super Typhoon Yolanda and the expected rise in merchandise exports.

“We upgraded the 2014 [forecast] to 6.3 percent based partly on slightly better advanced economies outlook which would mean the external sector in the Philippines would improve,” IMF resident representative Shanaka Jayanath Peiris said in a briefing yesterday.

“Then you have the counteracting effects of Yolanda which would be negative but we believe the impact is relatively limited... but the reconstruction will have a positive impact on the fiscal stimulus,” he continued.

Peiris explained rosy prospects for the advanced economies this year such as the US will help increase Philippine merchandise exports. The government hopes to grow its outbound shipments by six percent this year from year-ago levels.

Meanwhile, planned rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts following Yolanda which hit the country in November will boost government spending and drive economic growth.

Budget Secretary Butch Abad has said the government will be spending P360.8 billion over three years for rebuilding efforts following Yolanda.

IMF’s current projection is slightly higher than its September forecast of six percent but still below the government’s target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent.

Peiris recounted the lower figure as compared to the government’s target is due to a high base in 2013, during which economic growth has already averaged 7.4 percent as of September.

“But if the reconstruction [efforts] are implemented in the medium-term, growth can be anywhere between 6.5 and 7.5 percent. That is, if spending happens according to government’s plans,” Peiris pointed out.

The Fund expects Philippine gross domestic product to have settled at 6.8 percent in 2013, unchanged from its September projection.

“Growth was strong last year because of the strong government spending,” Peiris recounted.

This, however, decelerated in the latter part as government spending and construction also slowed down, he added.

Official 2013 economic growth data will be released by the government on Jan. 30, although officials earlier said GDP may still hit the upper-end of the six to seven percent target.

The main risk for the Philippine economy this year remain to be capital outflows resulting from portfolio rebalancing after the US Federal Reserve announced a modest cut in its monthly asset purchases to $75 billion, Peiris said.

Meanwhile, economic growth is expected to pick up to 6.6 percent next year, Peiris said, noting this is a preliminary number based on initial reconstruction needs and spending plans of the government.