Press Bits

 Gibson is one of the few guitar brands that stand out in the local music industry. Among music-loving Filipinos, Gibson guitars are a favorite. Now, the iconic brand connects to more guitar lovers as it unveiled its second store at Vertis North in Quezon City.



The new Gibson store is a guitar enthusiast’s heaven, complete with classic electric guitars like the Gibson Les Pauls, beautifully-crafted Gibson Acoustics, and more.

“Gibson is connected to music and music connects people. Historically, we go way back, so it has been more than 120 years of supporting music and people,” said Yasuhiko Iwanade, president of Gibson Guitar Corp. Japan, as he talked about Gibson’s legacy and how, from its humble beginnings, Gibson has never lost sight of the vision of bringing people closer to music.

But despite the brand’s global success, Iwanade shared that it is still important to think local and understand musical taste and preferences to connect to more people. That is why Gibson supports many of the country’s local bands, including Franco, Kjwan, and Bleu Rascals.

At the store opening, all three bands admitted that it was an honor to be ambassadors of such a prestigious brand and felt undeserving of the title. “You make yourself deserve it,” said Kjwan’s Marc Abaya, sharing that despite their apprehension, being Gibson ambassadors and holding the iconic guitar made them want to be better musicians and live up to the brand.

Known as “The Standard” among many musicians, Gibson guitars are famous for their unmatched sound and guitar tone. Its versatility, playability and over-all quality are a performer’s ultimate ally.

“It’s comforting to feel that we have the best guns with us,” said Dave Delfin, bassist of Franco. But Gibson also adds a human touch, every purchase of a Gibson guitar includes a picture and a signature of the craftsman who put his heart and soul into making the guitar masterpiece.

“We have plans of expanding further to give Filipinos more access to our products, especially the newer models which we will launch soon,” said Fidel Zamora, Gibson Philippines retail sales manager, as he talked about the possibility of launching the Slash collection and the Gibson 2018 line.

On a global scale, Gibson plans to expand its brand into lifestyle categories to connect more people with music all while keeping its tradition of quality.

The newest Gibson store is sure to delight music lovers and guitar collectors with their stunning guitars up for display and free to try out. So what are you waiting for? Go and check out the Gibson stores at the Estancia Mall, Capital Commons in Pasig City and Vertis North to get your dream Gibson guitar!

“We’re celebrating our 30 th anniversary by introducing someone who completely embodies the way we serve food,” said Tapa King President and CEO Beatrice Magallanes in a press interview. “Baste has authentic Filipino grit, the kind who eats without pretenses. What you see is what you get with him, which is essentially how we are.”

“Pagdating sa pagkain, I’m the type who enjoys what I want, kahit sa’n pa man ‘yan. Wala nang arte-arte. The best for me ‘pag relax lang, when it makes me feel at home. ‘Yun ang gusto ko sa Tapa King – ‘yung parang may lutong-bahay kang mauuwian,” Baste adds.

 “Authentic and purely uninhibited, Tapa King offers home-cooked indulgence at its finest

– the kind that anyone with a healthy appetite will want to come home to,” Beatrice ends.

Cancer can change everything and chooses no one. Even the strongest woman that we know can be inflicted with the disease. For some, cancer is seen as the end of the road – but for many hopefuls, it is just a bend on the road that one resiliently passes through.

Marites Marzan, a mother of three kids and a proud cancer survivor, shares how she faced cancer full of hope.

“At the age of 50, I was diagnosed with stage 3 fallopian tube carcinoma, an abnormal growth of
malignant cells in one or both of a woman's fallopian tubes. At first, I experienced spotting and abnormal duration of my monthly period,, Marites explained.”



Marites got scared so she immediately consulted her ob-gyne and she initially concluded that is due to pre-menopausal period. However, as time passes by, she experienced a lot of changes her my body. That’s where she consulted a doctor from a local hospital and was then diagnosed withfallopian tube carcinoma.

Marites continued expressing, “Years down the line however, my treatment in the Philippines was not successful. I was again instructed to undergo another cycle of chemotherapy and there where I refused to. Some friend of mine told me about Fuda that they have new and advanced treatment in China.”

“Without second thought I took the risk and hoped for the best. Fuda’s diagnosis was the same on the local evaluation in the Philippines. My doctor there was Dr. Chen, an Oncologist and Surgeon in Fuda Cancer Hospital. I trusted his judgments and recommendations on how to treat my disease.

I told myself that I needed to heal for my family, that they need me, and that I need to live to win,” she continued. Fuda Cancer Hospital is known for its personalized cancer treatment program. Dr. Chen gave Marites a Combined Immunotherapy for Cancer (CIC), a treatment done quarterly and Cancer Microvascular Intervention (CMI), wherein a drug is also directly inserted into blood vessels supplying blood to the tumor.

“Aside from CMI, they performed Brachytherapy or Seed knife, a procedure wherein a seed with iodine-125 or palladium-103 seeds (brachytherapy) is implanted in the body. Brachytherapy requires no surgical incision, offers patients a shorter recovery time, and has less chance of troubling side effects,” Marites expounded further.

She continued, “After sometime, I felt the changes in my body, Every day I felt that I was gaining my strength and my hope is slowly being restored. I was given that hope that I will see my kids go to school and seat with them during dinner. Hope that for some time cancer took away from me.”

According to Marites, “Fuda is not just a hospital who treats you - It is an institution that restores your hope and faith. I choose to live, that’s why I flew in to China. Each treatment equates to a new hope and life after cancer. I can say, that going to Fuda was a risk worth taking for.”

Fuda Cancer Hospital: A Hospital that treats and restores hope Fuda Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou, the most experienced cancer hospital who takes a holistic approach in treating cancer celebrates and shares most inspiring stories of a mother who fought cancer just like a man.

The hospital believes in empowering each patient to have a new hope, to feel confident and a gratified life after treatment with the help of their advance treatment. With more than a hundred survivors, Fuda continues to raise the bar in treating cancer and each survivors stand as an advocate to their fellow patient in seeking the right treatment.

Unleash your inner artist and win big cash prizes as Ever Bilena dares you to experiment with different looks through The BIG Beauty Challenge – a weekly make-up tutorial video contest following different themes.



Open to video bloggers, aspiring and professional make-up artists residing in the Philippines, the contest requires participants to create a tutorial video on how to do a complete make-up look, following a specific theme, using only Ever Bilena products.

Ever Bilena, the leading local cosmetics brand, carries Ever Bilena Advance, a full range of make-up essentials for young professionals; Ever Bilena Naturals for skin care; Careline cosmetics for teens; Blackwater for fragrance and other personal care products.

The contest, which began on the first week of December and will end on the last week of February, will test the creativity of the participants as they create their versions of Ever Bilena’s weekly theme which will be announced every Monday on Ever Bilena’s

Facebook page, www.facebook.com/everbilenacosmetics. One winner will be announced every week and will take home P10,000 cash.

Weekly winners will qualify for the grand finals where the grand prize winner will take home P50,000 along with three winners who will win P10,000 for Special Award; P15,000 for 2 nd runner-up; and P30,000 for the 1 st runner up.



Entries must be public and uploaded on Facebook with hashtags #EBBigBeautyChallenge and #EverBilena and tag Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Inc.

Participants will be judged based on the following criteria: 40% most number of Ever Bilena products used in the video; 30% creativity; 20% make-up executions and skills; and 10% most number of views and shares.

Show off your inner artist and join the biggest and most beautiful challenge this season!



To know more about Ever Bilena and The BIG Beauty Challenge, visit Ever Bilena’s website, www.everbilena.com.ph and Facebook page, www.facebook.com/everbilenacosmetics.

The year of the boisterous monkey is about to end, and people are only too happy to bid it farewell. In its place, the Fire Rooster comes speeding in, setting its track ablaze with fortunes waiting to be claimed.



Chicken? Rooster? Not again.
You’re probably thinking that you’re in for a bad year. After all, in Filipino culture, the Rooster or the Chicken is considered a symbol of tight times. “Isang kahig, isang tuka” is only too familiar to kids who grew up with their grandparents.

So before you write down 2017 on your forget list, know that the Rooster favors the hardworking and goal-oriented. It brings great success to those who can aim sharply as this zodiac animal. The rooster has no qualms about sharing a fortune. You only have to earn it with a rooster’s sure-footed steps.

Think and crow like a rooster
Make 2017 your banner year by having a clear goal in mind.  Open the year of the Fire Rooster with your eyes set on a successful outcome, and you will find that great financial habits can yield results.

The trick is to take charge of your destiny. Is it wealth that you want? Is it better work-life balance? Is it a comfortable and secure future? Reflect on your goals and extract every bit of detail you can draw from them.

Be specific. Exactly where do you want to be? You need to be specific about your wishes. Simply saying you want something may not be compelling enough for you to act. You want to be rich? Well, how rich is rich to you? It’s more proactive to say, “I want to have a net worth of P5 million by the time I’m 40 years old.” See, it’s easier to track your progress if you have actual numbers, or metrics, to measure yourself by.

Know when to hold off spending. Tell yourself, “My budget is my friend.” Roosters are long-sighted, because their eyes are transfixed on their goal. Pick up this trait and you can look forward to greater rewards and yields, if you stick to your budget.

Remember, today is the best day to build your net worth. Your net worth is a good place to start and expand your horizon. The way towards wealth starts with building your net worth. Net worth, in simple terms, is your assets less your liabilities. Take heart: having a low net worth isn’t the end of the world! All you need to do is begin. So take one step forward!




Trace that red thread that connects you to your dream future. Asian folklore says there are strings that bring two fates together. Visualize that thread running through time, connecting you to your ideal self. Maximize the time in between by investing and growing your money, from its present to future value.

That is why you should plan for your investment basket. Today, there is a wide variety of investment vehicles that you can choose from. These vehicles come with different risks and expected returns. So,hit the books, and know the pros and cons of wealth-building tools. Better yet, consult with experienced professionals. Let them guide you on the best way to grow your fortune this New Year.
Create and insist on having a good mix for yourself. Your portfolio should be as hard-working as your dreams. Diversify to mitigate the challenges of this exciting year of the Rooster. Be as bull-headed as this zodiac animal and you will take home your desired earning.

Don’t gawk too long over your wins. A strategic financial plan will bring robust yields, but make sure to keep engaged in your goal. Along with your advisor, review your investments’ performance and plan how to proceed. So, during your annual financial review, ask yourself: are your investments delivering the returns you expect?  Are there over-performers? Are there under-performers? How are their results affecting your financial goals?


Review your investments, and re-calibrate if needed.  Like a fire rooster that has a strong sense of time keeping and responsibility, review and re-calibrate your portfolio to get back on track.  That is, you may have to take profits on over-performing portions of your investment and re-allocate these to the under-performing ones, to “average down”. This is the concept called "regression to the mean". This tells us that over time, the returns we get from each investment would approximate its average historical return.


Keep your eye on the prize.  Like the hard working rooster, keep your eye on achieving your goals. The conditions surrounding may become challenging, but just persist and find ways to mitigate those challenges.
 
Rein in the Fire Rooster with a good team. Connect with a team that gets you started on the life that you want today. Pursue your financial goals with Insular Life and have fortune on your side with the right mindset and the burning determination that are perfect for the Year of the Fire Rooster.

To get more advice on personal finance right from the experts, visit Insular Life’s blog, http://www.savingstips.com.ph/.