GenSan News Online Mag

On Sunday, June 12, 2011, PNP GenSan Command is celebrating the country’s 113rd year of freedom from our colonial masters by  spearheading another Marathon cum Fun Run with its INDEPENDENCE DAY MARATHON!

This Marathon is the 13th Takbo GenSan Series which was started by our very fit City Director Cedrick Train and which has proven to be very popular judging by the number of participants as each run in the series progresses.

This time, the registration period for interested applicants began on May 25 and will end on June 11, 2011.  Registration Fees are P25 for Elementary kids and P50 for Adults.  Those who want to avail of the official Independence Day Marathon Shirt will have to shell out P250.

The Marathon will start at exactly 5:00 am although we do not have any info yet on the Marathon route.  We hope to be furnished with this by the GSC Police Office soon, however.

Bariles has been doing some walking/jogging exercises himself for almost two months now and who knows, he must just appear at the GenSan Oval Plaza which is the Assembly Place of the Independence Day Marathon 2011.

Register Now and Run for your Country!!

Saturday, May 28, 2011 turned out to be one event-filled day for GenSan!

Up first was Robinsons’ Place’s “Search for the Most Beautiful Sagalas of GenSan” which unfolded at 4pm at the mall’s Activity Center with Bariles chairing the board of judges.

This was followed by East Asia Royale Hotel’s “Cueshe Live in GenSan Foam Party” at the hotel car lot, simultaneously with London Beach Resort’s “HUNKS & BABES BIKINI SUMMIT” (right after the heels of Tropicana Resort’s BIKINI OPEN Hunks & Babes the other weekend).

Bariles chose to be at Bikini Summit not only to watch the pageant but to check out the newly-reopened London Beach Resort, once known as GenSan’s “only white-sand beach” (actually trucked in from Sarangani).  It was formerly owned by the Pontino‘s but was purchased by a group of Koreans.  It has been a while since the Fishman stepped foot on this resort, located along the shoreline of Barangay Bawing.

As directed by Mark dela Cruz, the “Hunks & Babes Bikini Summit” was staged simply with barely any frills and drama and with as less clutter as possible.  It could have been trimmed though  by speeding up the cat walks of the contestants.  But still, the whole thing finished at 10pm making it one of the shortest bikini pageants Bariles has ever witnessed!

The 20 candidates had three outfit changes, all in beach wear of course.  The simple stage which was wide enough for all of them was just right for the spectators to get a good glimpse of the proceedings.   At the the right of the stage, at the lower ramp was a band stand occupied by GenSan’s enduring reggae group, KUERDAS which provided the musical entertainment before and after the pageant.

The candidates first came out in Hawaiian-inspired summer wear….

Then on to skimpy swim suits….

This was when the first of the minor awards were given out….

Another costume change followed and this time, the London Beach’s Hunks & Babes Bikini Summit candidates all appeared outfitted in even sexier silver and black swim wear….

And finally, a little before 10pm, the winners of London Beach’s Hunks & Babes Bikini Summit were announced to the public… starting off with the Hunks & Babes Bikini Summit 2nd runner-up placers…. Johnsonmagic Sison and Noehgi Casenas.

Then it was for the winners of the Hunks & Babes Bikini Summit 1st runner-up awardees’ names to be called -  Renzo Chiu and Rhea Niones.

And the Grand Winners -  the first ever London Beach Resort’s Hunks & Babes Summit 2011 Major Awardees Hunk Rahj Jose and Babe GenSan Cabatingan!!!

LONDON BEACH'S BIKINI SUMMIT 2011 WINNERS HUNK RAHJ JOSE & BABE GENSAN CABATINGAN

Congratulations to all the winners  who gamely strutted their stuff and just visibly enjoying every minute of it and to the people behind the show too for re-introducing to us the long dormant LONDON BEACH RESORT via this HUNKS & BABES BIKINI SUMMIT!

Watch out for our feature on the NEW London Beach Resort soon!

People who love to eat out but want to cut down on rich fatty foods will be rejoicing once they read about this!

For the months of June and July 2011, GenSan’s premier themed boutique hotel, Ice Castle Hotel Experience Hotel is opening “THE SALAD BAR” and is putting out all stops to make sure you get one healthy delightful culinary treat!

As their poster above is saying:  Eat all you can! Pick all you can of all the freshest vegetables and fruits that GenSan can offer.  PLUS you get to concoct your own salad dressing OR choose from an array of fresh salad dressings available.

The Ice Castle Experience Hotel’s THE SALAD BAR will be made available on all Wednesdays of June and July, from 10am to 2pm and from 5pm to 10pm.  As you can see, you may have it for snacks in the morning, lunch, late afternoon break or dinner!! And just imagine eating all the salad you want for a measly P125.oo!!!!

Wow!  I hope they offer this other than Wednesday because we have a dearth of dining establishments in GenSan offering a healthy alternative just like this one!

Anyway, for reservations to The SALAD BAR, please call telephone #s (083) 554-4423.

The Ice Castle Experience Hotel is located at GLEX Business Center, Ambassador Provido Village, Aparente Avenue, General Santos City!

Dole Philippines, Inc. (Dolefil) was recognized by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) for its excellence in industrial relations, quality and productivity, social accountability, and strategic visioning and partnering for business and job survival. The Kapatiran sa Industriya (KAPATID) Award was conferred by President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III himself during the Closing Ceremonies of the National Conference of Employers (NCE) at the Marriot Hotel in Pasay City on May 5, 2011.

According to KAPATID Awards 2011 Executive Committee Chairman Rene Soriano, more than 28 companies in the Philippines were nominated this year and only 11 were chosen as finalists and were acknowledged during the first day of NCE.

President Benigno S. Aquino III awards the Grand KAPATID Award 2011 to Dole Philippines, Inc.VP and Managing Director Simon Denye. Photo by: Jay Morales/ Malacanang Photo Bureau

The companies vying for KAPATID Award underwent a series of panel interviews, with judges composed of experts from different sectors of society: Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, International Labor Organization (ILO) Manila Director Lawrence Jeff Johnson, Dean Jorge Sibal of UP-School of Labor and Industrial Relations, Antonio Asper from the Federation of Free Workers and David Balangue from Makati Business Club.

Dolefil’s workplace policies and programs, characterized by management-worker harmony, quality products and processes and partnership with the community, impressed the judges. “There were many good contestants, but what we’ve found with Dole, they were able to put the four packages together: they looked at how they can work with their employees, management coming together, their services to society and their communities. There were many participants but Dole edged out and did a very good job. I think Dole has a lot to be proud of!” remarked ILO Manila Director Lawrence Jeff Johnson.

The KAPATID Awards is a biennial awards activity of ECOP established in 1995, and initially aims recognize the fruitful and beneficial outcome of good and harmonious relationship of management and workers. Over the years, the KAPATID Awards evolved into a comprehensive search for best workplace policies and programs highlighted by management-worker cooperation for better labor relations; product and service quality and improved productivity; enhanced relationship with workers, their families, and the society; and the ability of the enterprise to foresee future economic and socio-political changes through long-term planning and sustainability.

Among the other finalists who vied for the coveted KAPATID Awards are Nestle Philippines, Toyota Motor Phils., SM Retail, IBM Philippines, Bridgestone Precision, Amkor Technology, AGC Flat Glass Phils., Inc., HEDCOR, ADD Research Paints and Chemicals, Inc., RCM Manufacturing, Inc., Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (TADECO), and Absolute Service, Inc.

“This award is for all our employees, our business partners and the community. Without your support, we wouldn’t have made this achievement,” Dolefil VP and Managing Director Simon Denye said, recognizing everyone who contributed to the success of Dolefil.

In 2009, Dolefil also received Special Citations for Social Accountability and Productivity and Quality from the same award-giving body.

In view of the upcoming 150th Birth Anniversary of the Philippines’ National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, we are running a series of posts unlike anything we have ever done before.

We will be featuring the monuments of Dr. Jose Rizal found in General Santos and some other areas of Soccsksargen!

And for our first installment, here is a look at the monument of the author of “El Filibusterismo” and “Noli Me Tangere” at Plaza Heneral Santos!

In this rendition, his image is made to appear as if both his hands are holding a rolled bunch of papers with a suitcase at his feet.  What was the artist of the statue envisioning our National Hero as doing with this stance?  A good nickname for this statue could be “The Travelling Rizal“.  It would sure be a good treat for everyone to find out what the other statues of Dr. Jose Rizal are doing in the region’s different parks and plazas and school grounds.

We do not have any information as of yet with regard to the exact age of this Dr. Jose Rizal statue at Plaza Heneral Santos, much more, the identity of its sculptor.   The way it looks, it seems that the local government of GenSan has already repainted it more than a couple of times already so it looks quite new.

Located at the center of the Plaza Heneral Santos right across the GenSan City Hall, this landmark stands directly behind the shrine of the city’s local hero, General Paulino Santos!

President Noynoy Aquino has already declared the day after Dr. Jose Rizal‘s birthday on June 19, 2011 as a special non-working holiday so everyone is enjoined to participate in wreath-laying ceremonies in all his monuments all throughout the archipelago on June 20, 2001.

How about you? Do you know of other Rizal Monuments nearby?

If you want to say goodbye to the Summer of 2011 in a major way this weekend, then Q Bar has concocted something for you!

It is their Summer Kick Off Party happening on Saturday, May 28, 2011!

Q Bar‘s tribute to the summer almost gone by will start at 9pm!  For only P50, you can hobnob with GenSan’s partyphiles as you are partaking of a free bottle of beer!

Other than that, Q Bar which is at the 2nd floor of Sun City Complex, home of Sun City Suites, is also offering a “BUY ONE, TAKE ONE” promo on all their cocktail drinks!

The night’s dance music will be played by the combined forces of DJ Jeri Funk and DJ ICE so expect it to be one hell of a party!

We still have not recovered from the visit of Kapamilya Stars Coco Martin and Majah Salvador and yet KCC Mall of GenSan is at it once again!  For this weekend, on Saturday, May 28, 2011 to be exact, GenSan’s biggest mall is bringing in another pair of hearthrobs – Matteo Guidicelli and Andi Eigenmann!

The two stars of the defunct drama “Agua Bendita” will perform at the KCC Convention & Events Center on Saturday at 6:00pm.

For more info re tickets to the Matteo Guidicelli and Andi Eigenmann show, please call KCC Mall of GenSan at telephone #s (083) 554-5555.

It was a hectic three days for Bariles and eight other Filipinos who were invited to the Google Geo User Summit Singapore from March 30 to April 1, 2011.

The Google Geo User Summit Singapore is the first-ever regional Asia-Pacific gathering of the region’s geo-mappers or users/contributors of high-quality mapping data through Google Mapmaker. About 100 Map Maker Mappers were joined by 20 Geo Modelers and 10 Panoramio Photo Enthusiasts.

Bariles was privileged to be invited to the summit along with his brother Orman Manansala, who helped him spearhead the two Google Mapping Activities in GenSan some months back for the Soccsksargen Bloggers.

DAY O.

Both flew via Cebu Pacific starting from GenSan to the new Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 in Manila in the morning and later that afternoon, out of Manila and landing two hours or so later at the Changi Budget Terminal in Singapore.

The flight to Singapore in itself was smooth and uneventful and except for an attempt to win during the onboard game initiated by the flight attendants, all Bariles and Orman did were to take each other’s photos and drowse off in between.  Finally, touchdown at 4:55pm!

Compared to the Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Airport which had them walking for at least 15 minutes from their plane to the Immigrations Area during their vacation last year, it only took them 5 minutes to do the same at the Changi Budget Terminal.  The terminal though was smaller but less crowded and frenetic than that of Malaysia’s.

The taxi trip to Hard Rock Hotel at Resorts World Sentosa where they are billeted took less than an hour and cost them S$28, roughly P970. Both immediately noted that their hotel was right beside the Universal Studios which they passed as they entered the gates of Sentosa Island!

A Filipina receptionist was waiting for them at the hotel’s impressive low-ceilinged lobby (on instructions from Google Phils Aileen Apolo, naks) who lost no time in registering them for the the Google Geo Summit and gave them their kit, including an awesome Google mailman bag! Both were actually late for the Singapore River Ride prepared for all the Summit delegates.

They then immediately checked in, left their luggage at the concierge and were whisked off in another cab by their  Pinay guide, Tess Umali, to their first meet-up with the other delegates in downtown Singapore who were already having their dinner.

They arrived at The Timbre, a restaurant along the Clarke Quay and although it was nearing 7pm, there was still day light.  They lost no time in looking for Google Phils’ Aileen Apolo de Jesus, a speaker at last year’s Soccsksargen Blogfest who was quite worried about their delay.  Before partaking of what’s left of the dinner, Aileen introduced them to Ms. Jessica Pfund, the Program Manager of the Google Mapmaking Community who was responsible for inviting them to the Summit.

The Brothers just ate a little while mingling with other delegates who came all the way from Western Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, etc), Southeast Asia, Australia, Russia, UK, etc..  Of course, they met the other Filipinos, all of them younger than Bariles and who have been mapping since time immemorial!   Eventually after some small talk and before it got too dark,  the brothers lost no time for some cam whoring at the Singapore River right across the restaurant.

When it was time to go back to Sentosa, they were grouped into three and boarded three buses which took them back to their hotels.  This time Bariles and Orman sat with the Pinoys.

The room of the brothers was colorful and huge.  Their glass window overlooks the Singapore Straits and across them at the main island is a ship of Star Cruises on dock and cable cars arriving at and leaving Vivo City Complex for Sentosa Island. Importantly, they each had a large bed and will have no danger of falling on the floor as was always with the case with Orman.

Since this was Hard Rock Hotel, their headboard wall was adorned with black and white photos of rock legend Jimmy Hendrix.

At the other wall is a flat-screen TV which welcomed them with the words: Welcome MS. Manansala, Orman! Hahaha!

Once settled Orman checked for the FREE wifi connection and it was quite fast.  Eventually they were surfing and Facebooking like crazy using their MACS.  Good thing, the hotel provided them with Adaptors for their chargers since Singapore uses the three-pronged male socket.

A fellow blogger, Rammyboi who now works in Singapore dropped by and so they decided to check out what’s downstairs and roam around the hotel’s surroundings.

To be continued….

Watch out for blog post of the  DAY 1 of the Google Geo User Summit Singapore!  Soon…

Bariles just talked to Mr. Olimpio Par, a senior officer of Soccksargen’s oldest transportation firm, Yellow Bus Line Inc. and confirmed something that has been on some Facebook updates for a week already – they will be offering FREE WIFI INTERNET connection on their Premiere Buses!

“This way, businessmen and and other users of wifi-enabled devices could easily access the internet to check on their email or update their status on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites even while on the move, ” according to an enthusiastic Mr. Par.

Currently,  only Aircon Bus #4 which travels the GenSan-Koronadal-Isulan route and vice versa has been equipped with the FREE WIFI Internet connection.  According to Mr. Par, they are still on the process of monitoring the performance of PLDT’s signal all throughout the trip before they roll out this service totally in June 2011.

Bariles will be personally riding YBL Aircon bus #4, one of the units of their their newest fleet this afternoon along with other bloggers to try out the wifi connection from GenSan to Koronadal themselves.  For sure, they will be making a series of Speed Tests along the way. 

Watch out for their update regarding the Free Wifi Internet Connection of Yellow Bus Line in a follow-up post!

But for now, we could only thank the management of Yellow Bus Line, Inc. for levelling up on their services and giving the riding public of South Central Mindanao something to look forward to each time they ride one of their Premiere aircon buses.  And if this FREE-WIFI-Internet -Connection service extends to their GenSan-Davao route, guess who won’t be sleeping next time along the three-hour trip to the Durian Capital? 

Our hats off to  you Yellow Bus Line!

Thanks to markstopover_002′s for the photo of YBL’s newest bus above from his Flickr account.

Three months after the resounding success of its Kalilangan Festival’s Foam Party, the premier GenSan Hotel, East Asia Royale is once again bringing back the event which has proven to be its most succesful series ever – and this time, with one of the country’s most enduring bands!

As an apt ode to the Summer of 2012, EARH is bringing in CUESHE in its 27th FOAM PARTY billed as Sarap MagBabad- Freeze the Summer, on May 28, 2011, Saturday!!

Come to think of it,  CUESHE has been around for quite some time (since 2005) but it is only now that this group of performers who were discovered in Cebu City will be performing in the Tuna capital!

Tagged as an OPM-Pop Alternative Band, they already have four albums under their belt which have produced hits such as “Ulan”, “Stay”, “Sorry”, “Can’t Let You Go”, among others.

Their members are the good-looking Jay Justiniani (vocals) and Ruben Caballero (vocals, rhythm guitars) together with Mike Manaloto (drums), Fritz Labrado (bass guitar), Jovan Mabini (lead guitar), Jhunjie Dosdos (keyboards).

Performing with them during the East Asia Royale Hotel’s 27th Foam Party are Flight 99 Band of Davao City and GenSan’s very own Backtrack Band.  Babes Bar’s resident deejay DJ Moko together with DJ Louie will be the party music mixers!

Tickets to Cueshe’s first-ever Foam Party Concert are priced at P120 only!  Still very affordable since San Miguel Beer is again co-presenting this latest incarnation of the wettest and wildest party this side of the island!

For more information and for ticket reservations, please call East Asia Royale Hotel at telephone #s (083) 553-4119 to 28.