National Regular Holidays and Special Non-Working Holidays (unless otherwise indicated as a special non-working holiday, the holiday listed is a regular holiday)

Regular Holidays

Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor)-April 6 (Monday)
Maundy Thursday-April 9 (Thursday)
Good Friday-April 10 (Friday)
Labor Day-May 1 (Friday);
Independence Day- June 12 (Friday)
National Heroes Day- August 31 (Monday)
Bonifacio Day – November 30 (Monday)
Christmas Day- December 25 (Friday)
Rizal Day- December 30 (Wednesday)

Special Non-Working Days

Ninoy Aquino Day – August 21 (Friday);
All Saints Day – November 1 (Sunday) and All Soul’s Day – November 2 (Monday);
Christmas Eve – December 24 (Thursday); and,
New Year’s …

The Hollywood Reporter’s 17th Annual Women in Entertainment: Power 100 special issue presents Oprah Winfrey as the No.1 most powerful woman in entertainment in 2008 after being the no. 7 last year.

The Top 10 in the Women in Entertainment Power 100 list includes the following:

1. Oprah Winfrey, - Harpo Inc. Chairman
2. Anne Sweeney, Disney-ABC Television Group (Pres) and Disney Media Networks(co-chair)
3. Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group(Chairman) and Sony Pictures Entertainment (co-chair)
4. Nancy Tellem, CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group (Pres)
5. Stacey Snider, DreamWorks (co-chairman and CEO)
6. Bonnie …

I just chatted with my friend Maui who works as a nurse in San Francisco this morning. I asked him about the effect of economic recession in the US and also on Filipino nurses in the States.

He said that they could really feel the effect of it that’s why he and other Filipinos there work double time and hard to save money. They really feel for the people who lost their jobs and homes because of the current situation. Nurses like him are not yet very affected but they were preparing for it because …

I watched and read the reports about the countries’ recent clamor about banning liquid and powdered milk, candy, biscuits, chocolate bars and drinks, and yogurt with dairy components from China. Four children already died and more than 50,000 got sick because of milk products after the Chinese government found out that the milk was mixed with the industrial chemical melamine.
Imagine this: 22 of China’s dairy companies have been found mixing melamine in infant formula and other milk products. This is to try to cut cost and to add more …

Marketing Survivors : Part 1

When I was still the Managing Editor of Launch Asia Magazine, I got the chance to interface with Professor Kotler in one of his Asian Tour seminars held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Manila entitled “New Marketing in the New Millennium.” If Professor Kotler is to be heard, marketing, the engine that drives growth, is in desperate need of an overhaul. “The only companies that will win will be those who make their customers into winners,” declares the marketing guru before hundreds of senior executives, …

In a tough marketing environment, the customer is king. Where competitive strategies are formulated across today’s market players, traditional marketing no longer works but must rather be as dynamic and able to cope within the ever-changing market trends and demands. Companies spend millions on research, hire topnotch brand managers just to make sure their core competencies are guarded and that their business is heading the right direction. Over the years, we see a great deal of cut-backs on budget spending even among multinational companies and especially true in the Philippine …

Sharon Cuneta did it. Lea Salonga and Kris Aquino did it. And just recently, Karen Davila and Vicky Morales endorsed it. With the renewed interest and advocacy on breastfeeding, more and more women are likely to be fascinated with the idea of giving breastmilk to their babies. Just like these celebrity working moms, however, the transition from being a professional to a “milking professional” is no small feat. It requires rigorous time management, sense of focus, resourcefulness and lots of effort. But at the end of the day, when you …

Since the day we realized that our son is so fond of cars, my wife and I have been looking forward to take a peek into car shows to bring Kyle along. It’s an event we’re sure he will enjoy. The most recent event we attended was the 2008 Transport Motor Show held at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall.
Sadly, we heard about the Members of The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI)’s 2nd Philippine International Motor Show on August 21 to 24 at the World Trade …

“Excuse me, but I think I’m certainly sexier than that those boxing gloves!!!” Nope, I’m not saying a line of a woman trying to woo back her straying man from the lure of another woman, but a line we women have to proclaim when our men are being robbed by the charms of a boxing match, tennis game, golf championship or pool match.

What is it really between men & sports? How come nothing, and I mean nothing can virtually come between men and a championship game? …

“We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers;
wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints;
we spend more, but enjoy less. We laugh too little,
drive too fast, get too angry too quickly,
stay up too late, get up too tired;
These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers,
one-night stands, overweight bodies, & pills
that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.”
–From a poem in an email entitled: “Too Much,Too Little”

“I’M SO STRESSED OUT!”, “Ayoko na… burnt-out nako!” These claims are just too common these days that …