OPINION
Bulong
Pulungan
By Deedee Siytangco
Reprinted from Manila Bulletin
Angel Thoughts
Encouragement is oxygen
to the soul. A man has joy by
the answer of his mouth; and
a word spoken in due season,
how good it is! —Proverbs
15: 23
Last Jan. 25 would have
been the 85th birthday of the
beloved icon of democracy,
Tita Cory to everyone. Thank
you for remembering her
in your prayers, texts, and
posts.
PNoy and his sisters Ballsy
Cruz, Pinky Abellada, Viel Dee,
and Kris prayed for her at the
Manila Memorial gravesite
which was festooned with
yellow flowers and wreaths.
It was also the birthday
of my only granddaughter,
Amanda Julia Siytangco
Masigan. She turned 19 in
beautiful Spain. It was her
first birthday alone without
family and she coped with
her new friends, all studying
at the university. We are all
proud of her!
* * *
We are eagerly looking
forward to the country’s
biggest pyromusical show, the
9th Philippine International
Pyromusical
Competition
this Feb. 17 to March 24.
This is staged over the Manila
Bay fronting the SM Mall
of Asia (MOA) and last year
we watched almost all the
Saturdays they had it.
To start it off this year is the
host country, the Philippines,
presented
by
Platinum
Fireworks and Switzerland.
You can watch from the MOA
grounds for free or book in
any of the restaurants facing
the bay-like Conrad Hotel or
the restaurants in S’Maison.
We booked our weekly
tables at the XO Heritage
Bistro which has premium
tables on the deck looking
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY January 16 - 31, 2017
Eco-Tourism, Food Sufficiency in
Zoomanity’s Basket
out to the bay
and the fireworks spectacular.
Those Saturday evenings
were fun with great Philippine
cuisine the company of
friends and beautiful fireworks
set to music. On Feb. 24, it
will be the USA and Germany:
on March 3, it will be the turn
of Austria and Canada; on
March 10 it will be France and
Italy; on March 17, it will be
Taiwan and United Kingdom,
and at the finale, March 24,
China and the host country,
Philippines. Call XO Heritage
Bistro for early reservation at
02 805 3860.
* * *
Our long-time friend,
Robert L. Yupangco (RLY)
of Zoomanity – Yupangco
Group won in the Asia
Pacific
Entrepreneurship
Awards (APEA) 2017. APEA
is the most prestigious award
for entrepreneurship in Asia
and Pacific Region given to
business leaders for their
outstanding leadership and
entrepreneurial
excellence
in a specific field. Another
awardee was Megaworld’s
Andrew Tan.
I remembered Robert well
because of his pioneering eco-
tourism venture farm. Back
then it was simply Residence
Inn, a small tourist hotel
with a fascinating menagerie
of plants and animals, like
alligators, snakes, and so
on. This was in Mendez, just
outside Tagaytay and it has a
sweeping view of the lake.
The
12-hectare
agricultural theme park is
now Pardizoo and now has an
on-going festival of flowers,
vegetables, and livestock
until March 31 on weekends.
It’s open to everyone. You can
walk through greenhouses,
check out vermiculture and
other agri activities, and
marvel at the animals for
sale—rabbits, love birds,
hamsters, goats, turkeys, etc.
Robert bagged the Asia
Pacific
Entrepreneurship
Award (APEA) for Tourism,
Hospitality, and Food Service.
Yupangco is president/CEO
of Zoomanity- Yupangco
Group and was cited for his
exceptional contribution in
the tourism and hospitality
business sector. He established
the foundations of Yupangco
Group such as Yamaha School
of Music, Sound Publishing
Corporation, YL Development
(Real Estate), Yupangco
Electronics
Corporation,
and YL Finance Corporation
(micro financing, consumer
financing, and remittance
services) with the help of his
siblings a