dabawenyo Archives - Mindanaoan - Multi awarded CDO and New York Lifestyle Blog

Jan112015 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Dabawenyo illustrator’s work returns as McDonald’s Happy Meals treat

Arts, Davao City, Media, Mindanaoan Artists, Personalities

Today, I feel really proud to be Dabawenyo! A fellow Atenista, Mindanaoan (and Davaoeno) Macky Pamintuan has made me remember my beloved hometown Davao City and all its amazing, talented people. For the uninitiated, Macky Pamintuan (yes, of the Pamintuans of Apo View Hotel) is a popular animator, graphic and fine artist. Some of his works include illustrations for the books Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew: Cupcake Chaos, The Pumpkin Patch Puzzle, Cape Mermaid Mystery, Scream for Ice Cream, Ski School Sneak and Earth Day Escapade and The Night Before Baseball at the Park by the Bay (in partnership with the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants). Today, I just found out that one of the books he illustrated is part of McDonald's Happy Meals in the USA. The book "Flat Stanley Goes Camp...

Jul32012 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Davao City plastic ban on

Advocacy, Announcements, Consumer, Davao City, Davao Del Norte, Davao del Sur, Features, Government, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, News

I first shared this info about the proposed plastic ban in Davao City last May 2012. Today, I'm so happy to let you all know that the Davao City plastic ban ordinance is now being implemented! Davao City has started to implemented the ban against non-biodegradable plastics and styrofoam materials. The Davao City plastic ban started last June 28, 2012. The measure is in line with the city's Ecological Solid Waste Management efforts. Not all plastics are banned, however. You can still use BIODEGRADABLE plastics in Davao City. You are also very much welcome to use paper bags and other biodegradable packing materials as well. Although the rules and regulations with regard to the plastic ban in Davao City were finalized in 2010 and the business establishments in Davao City were given t...

Aug192011 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Buildex Pagales sings Madayaw Davao, Madayaw Coca-Cola song

Arts, Bisaya, Commentary, Corporate, Davao City, Davao del Sur, Entertainment, Features, Internet, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Music, Musings, Videos

Pilipinas Got Talent alumni and Digos City, Davao del Sur native Buildex Pagales was chosen by Coca-Cola to sing the fun "Madayaw Davao, Madayaw Coca Cola" song. The song is obviously written especially for my beloved hometown Davao and for fellow Dabawenyos :) Buildex Pagales is just 15 years old (I can almost hear the shrieks from all the female tweens! :D) and he's supposedly dubbed as "the Bruno Mars of the Philippines." He basically knocked the Pilipinas Got Talent judges' knocks off when he sang Bruno Mars' "Billionaire" and "Just The Way You Are." Reports also say that one of the judges, Kris Aquino, even shared on Twitter that she found the fellow Mindanaoan's story "inspiring." This "Madayaw Davao, Madayaw Coca Cola" song is part of the said beverage company's ongoing "open ...

Nov72010 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

California Berry Davao – frozen yogurt delight in Mindanao

Blogging, Business, Consumer, Davao City, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Reviews

I was in Manila during the first wave of the so-called "froyo" or frozen yogurt craze. As a self-proclaimed Mindanaoan foodie, I visited almost every available frozen yogurt store (and yep, basically said adieu to my diet!) and I often wondered when the "froyo" craze would invade Mindanao. Fast forward a few months later, the frozen yogurt trend has finally penetrated Mindanao - there are now frozen yogurt businesses in Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City. I'm pretty sure more frozen yogurt businesses will sprout in other Mindanao areas. The froyo outlet I most recently visited was California Berry. Located at the 2nd floor of Gaisano Mall Davao along Bajada, California Berry Davao serves nonfat frozen yogurt. I ordered the seasonal green apple yogurt with, as you can see, three differe...

Sep182010 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Photos: Make Your Own Havaianas Davao City leg

Davao City, Events, Fashion, Features, Mindanaoan Update, Style

The Make Your Own Havaianas 2010 Davao City, Mindanao leg is being held at the Gaisano Mall (GMall) along Bajada Avenue, Davao City. It started last September 16, 2010 and will end tomorrow, September 19, 2010. I was able to visit the MYOH 2010 Davao event on the very first day and by the looks of it, the certified Havaianaticos in this side of the country came in full force! The Davao City leg of Make Your Own Havaianas comes after the highly successful Make Your Own Havaianas 2010 Cagayan de Oro leg, which was held last August 2010 (Mindanaoan was there, too, of course, much thanks to our special friends over at Spruce). Check out more photos after the jump: (more…)

Jun232010 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

Watching GMA 7 longtime running show Eat Bulaga live in the studio

Arts, Broadcasting, Entertainment, Features, Leisure, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Personal, Photos, Society

Whenever this blogger from Mindanao is in Manila, I always see to it that apart from the usual shopping and lakwatsa, I also look for other "extraordinary" things that I can probably do. Just like my recent visit to the KB Studios in Marikina to watch TV5's Sunday variety show, "P.O.5." where I got to see not only my friend and fellow Dabawenyo Jay Durias of Southborder (who happens to be the show's musical director) but also Lucy Torres-Gomez, John Estrada and my crush Kean Cipriano of Callalily in the flesh. I also attended my first ever movie bloggers event in Manila plus I got to watch the much-talked about Presidentiables Gut Talent comedy show of master impersonator Willie Nepomuceno. And because my mom was also in town, we decided to watch another noontime show live inside the st...

Feb22010 by Mindanaoan Irene1 Comment

BlogDavao.com – Davao’s blogging landscape at a glance!

Advocacy, Announcements, Bisaya, Blogging, Davao City, Internet, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Technology

Mindanaoan is super excited to share this great piece of news with you all! As you know, I'm a very proud Dabawenya and I promote Davao City as much as I can and in any way possible. One of the ways that I do this is to blog about my hometown Davao (but of course!). Fortunately, I'm not the only one who loves to write about the world's most livable city. There are a lot of other Davaoenos who are as eager to share updates, news, photos and even the latest chismis about Davao as I am! :D Presenting BlogDavao.com - the most comprehensive aggregator site of Davao-based blogs. Blog Davao features Davao's blogging landscape at a glance! What's great about this site is that you can easily find so many Davao-based blogs and quickly access the entries that may catch your fancy. BlogDav...

Dec32009 by Mindanaoan Irene4 Comments

Why Mindanaoans especially Dabawenyos still love TAPS

Commentary, Davao City, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Musings

New fastfood outlets and restaurants may pop up like mushrooms in Davao City Mindanao but methinks Dabawenyos still love TAPS. Taps, short for "tapsilog" (tapa - sinangag - itlog), has long been in the food industry in Davao City and it's known for its wide array of "pares" or "tapsi" meals. Name it - they most probably have it. From tapsilog to bangsilog (bangus-sinangag-itlog) to tocilog to lekasilog (lechon kawali-sinangag-itlog) to adosilog (adobo-sinangag-itlog), TAPS Davao has it! If I'm not mistaken, they've been in existence for more than 15 years. Taps was one of the places my friends and I frequently hung out in during our high school days (only goes to show my age, eh?) These days, Taps now has branches in Bolton Street (the one I still frequently go to), Sta. Ana Street, Leg...

Dec12009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Christmas shopping? Buy jewelry or furniture from Mindanaoan Ann Tiukinhoy Pamintuan

Advocacy, Arts, Beauty, Bisaya, Business, Consumer, Fashion, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Society, Style

Want to buy furniture or jewelry this holiday season? Thinking of Christmas gift ideas? Why not buy furniture or jewelry pieces from Mindanaoan Ann Tiukinhoy Pamintuan? Because if I only could, I definitely would! This Filipino-Chinese Dabawenya, who's part of the prominent Pamintuan clan in Davao City, is part of the Movement 8 alliance composed of various Filipino designers. Ann's works have invaded New York, Moscow, London and Sweden. Ann Tiu Pamintuan holds the distinction of being the very first female Asian designer to be featured in the International Design Yearbook. Not bad for someone who actually doesn't have any formal training in design. In fact, this passion for design started out as a hobby of hers. Amazing, eh? So far, this gold mango bangle by Ann T. Pamintuan is o...

Nov232009 by Mindanaoan Irene1 Comment

Davao City Mindanao to finally have its own sports dome

Announcements, Davao City, Entertainment, Events, Features, Mindanaoan Update, News, Sports, Tourism

Thankfully, my fellow Dabawenyos and I can now finally say that our beloved Davao City REALLY is a world-class city to live in. I just learned that the world's most livable city will soon have its very own sports dome --- fully airconditioned, ready to accommodate roughly 8,000 people and worth roughly P100 million. And here's something that may surprise a lot of people --- the City Government of Davao need not shell out a single cent since the funds for this project have been sourced elsewhere --- i.e. the national government funds. Interestingly, the funding for this Davao City sports dome will be taken from the congressional development fund of the Speaker of the House Prospero Nograles, a certified Dabawenyo. Nograles said that the initial P100 million was taken from the natio...

Oct52009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Pinoy Big Brother 2009 – PBB Double Up – has two Mindanaoans

Davao City, Entertainment, General Santos City, Mindanaoan Update, Television

So the Pinoy Big Brother 2009 PBB Double Up finally conducted its "magical reveal" of this year's housemates last night. Mindanaoan was able to watch parts of the show, which was hosted by Toni Gonzaga, Bianca Gonzales and Mariel Rodriguez. Thankfully, there are two Mindanaoan housemates this year. One is Melisa Cantiveros from General Santos City and the other is Marielle Sorino, a fellow Dabawenyo. Both are 21 years old. Melisa is dubbed as "Inday Kengkay" and is an aspiring teacher (during her brief interview, she spoke in English...with very good intonation, I must say!) while Marielle is a single mother and admitted to having been "rebellious" before - i.e. she drank and frequently partied and as a consequence, encountered conflicts with her parents especially her mom. The ...

Jul202009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Mindanaoan Maila Mitra reaches WCOPA semi-final round (video inside)

Announcements, Arts, Broadcasting, Contests, Davao City, Entertainment, Features, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Music, News, Personalities

Another Mindanaoan has done it again! Although she didn't bag any major prize, we should all still be very proud of fellow Mindanaoan Maila Mitra for reaching the semi final round of the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA). This fellow Dabawenya and Ateneo de Davao University alumnae competed in the semifinals of the prestigious event held at Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles, California, US last July 17, 2009. WCOPA is also dubbed as the "Hollywood Olympics" or "Talent Olympics." In 2005, Jed Madela bagged the Grand Champion Vocalist of the World and Grand Champion Performer of the World awards. In 2006, Filipino singing group the Cercado Sisters then bagged the Grand Champion Group Vocalists of the World award. Congratulations to Maila Manalang-Mitra! Here's a video of ...

Jul122009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Mindanaoan, Dabawenya Juliana Palermo celebrates birthday

Beauty, Davao City, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Movies, Personal, Personalities, Society, Style

Guess who's celebrating her birthday today? Super sweet and nice Juliana Palermo, of course! This Mindanaoan beauty is celebrating her birthday today, July 12. Go greet her! (I think she has a Juliana Palermo public page in Facebook) Born July 12, 1985, Alvi July Juanico (this is Juliana Palermo's real name) is a true blue Dabawenya and naturally, a Mindanaoan. She bagged the Hiyas ng Kadayawan 2002 beauty title. Happy birthday Juliana!

Jul82009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Sara Duterte declared as the next mayor of Davao City

Controversial, Davao City, Government, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, News, Opinion, Personalities, Photos

MINDANAO - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte is bequeathing his thrown throne (thanks for pointing out this typo, Sir Mike! Ayayay!) And his daughter, Davao City Vice Mayor Sara "Inday Sara" Duterte is, naturally, next in line. Recently, I was in my hometown Davao City for a Philippine Councilors League gig. The boys provided the live band entertainment the night the closing ceremonies was held (June 27 at Grand Regal Hotel Ballroom, Lanang) and there were roughly a thousand councilors from all over the Philippines present. The night's guest speaker was no other than Inday Sara. Actually, while the boys and I were waiting for the program to begin, you could hear the buzz. A lot of councilors were curious about her --- how she looked like (how come she didn't look like her fath...

Jun302009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Disappointed with two Davao City taxi drivers

Consumer, Controversial, Davao City, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personal, Tourism

So I was in Davao City over the weekend for their Philippine Councilors' League gig. Since I'm a certified Dabawenya (born and raised in Davao City!), I was the self-appointed "tour guide" of sorts during our two-day stay in the largest city in the world. Now what I'm about to share is NOT to lambast anyone. Instead, I'm hoping that somehow this could serve as a wake-up call not only for the City Tourism Office of Davao City but also for the hundreds of taxi drivers in Davao City as well. You see, on our first night in Davao, our group, composed of five people, caught two taxis from Matina Town Square (MTS). Ches and I rode in one taxi while the other three rode in the other one. I won't name the taxi company anymore. Suffice it to say that it may take me a while before I flag down o...

Mar262009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Marco Polo Davao offers Holy Week Special for Dabawenyos

Announcements, Consumer, Corporate, Davao City, Features, Leisure, Mindanaoan Update, Society

Marco Polo Davao has just announced their Holy Week special - and here's the good news for fellow Dabawenyos - this very special offer is exclusive only for us Davao City residents! Marco Polo Davao will only charge P2,888.00 for an overnight stay in a superior room. You will also get to enjoy the following benefits: Complimentary Breakfast Buffet for Two 50% off on Foot Reflexology Treatment and 20% discount on other services at Lazuli Spa 30% discount in all Food and Beverage outlets Two (2) extra pool passes with one month validity If you wish to upgrade your room to deluxe category, just add P500.00. Extra bed is also available at P500.00 net per night. This Marco Polo Davao City promo will be available from April 1 to 15, 2009. Again, please take note --- this offer is exc...

Dec12008 by Mindanaoan Irene1 Comment

Things to do in Davao City: Charity Bingo every Sunday

Advocacy, Davao City, Entertainment, Events, Leisure, Mindanaoan Update

This post is the first for Mindanaoan's "Things To Do [in a particular Mindanao city or Mindanao province]" series. Naturally, as a certified Dabawenya, the first entry is about my beloved hometown :) So here's one thing you can do in Davao City on a Sunday - play bingo and help others at the same time! The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) - Davao branch is regularly hosting a Charity Bingo event every Sunday, 1-4PM at the Entertainment Area of Casino Filipino - Grand Regal Hotel, Lanang, Davao City. Each ticket only costs P300.00 (roughly US$8.00) and that entitles you to 4 bingo cards which you can use for ten (10) games (you also have the option to buy extra cards from the game marshals around the area). There are also special games like the Super 6 Bingo, Super ...

Nov192008 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Sarangani to celebrate Munato Festival 2008

Events, Sarangani

The Province of Sarangani, Mindanao is set to celebrate its 16th Founding Anniversary and at the same time, the much-awaited Munato Festival 2008. With the theme, "Ang Galing mo...Sarangan!," the festival will kick off on November 24 and will end on November 29, 2008. Check out the poster below: (CLICK the poster for a larger view) Among the activities that you should look out for are the tribal sports activities (November 27), Mindanaoan Joey Ayala's concert, the Fabil Gu Ni (Municipal Showcase), the Fyu Kura, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Provincial Employees Housing Project, the Cheerdance competition, the Street Dancing competition (November 29) and the Sugarfree concert.

Nov72008 by Mindanaoan Irene7 Comments

Review: Songs I Grew Up With (Jay Durias solo album)

Arts, Davao City, Entertainment, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Music, Musings, Opinion, Personalities, Reviews

Album review written last August 31, 2007 and published by many media outlets. Thank you! The author of this piece (who is also the one behind Mindanaoan.com) is a long-time supporter of award winning Filipino band South Border. She was also cited in the album acknowledgments. Jay Durias, a certified Dabawenyo, is South Border's musical director and keyboardist. Jay's solo album, "Songs I Grew Up With," is a project album. Admit it - you’ve always wondered how South Border keyboardist and musical director Jay Oliver Durias would fare as a solo artist. After all, he’s largely considered as “the main man” behind the highly successful band, having composed and arranged most of South Border’s hits including “Rainbow,” “Love Of My Life” and the favorite of many, “Kahit Kailan,” and h...