With just one high note, Mariah Carey wins #BottleCapChallenge

Mariah Carey wins!

Image: Instagram Account of Mariah Carey

Celebrities and fans alike have been taking a stab at the #BottleCapChallenge, a new online fad that prompts social media users to upload a video of themselves attempting to side-kick the cap off a water bottle.

Singer Mariah Carey joined in the fun bottle cap challenge. In an Instagram post, Mariah said she accepted the challenge.

Mariah wowed netizens by singing just one high note, sending the bottle cap flying.

Mariah first did some karate gestures, put a finger to her ear, sang one high long note, then walked away with a big smile after seeing the bottle cap off. Piece of cake!

The video has garnered over 4 million views and likes asof posting time.

Fire hits Tagbilaran’s Cogon Public Market

Fire broke out at the Cogon Public Market
 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Wednesday afternoon, July 10. 
Photo by Leo Udtohan

A fire of still unknown origin destroyed several concrete stalls at the Cogon Public Market in Tagbilaran City Wednesday.

Acting City fire marshal Marlyn Macatangay said 80 stalls in the market were reduced to ashes when a fire broke out past 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10.

Nobody was hurt in the fire that was placed under control an hour later.

Arson investigators have yet to determine the cost of damages in Wednesday’s  fire incident. 

However, vendors said the fire originated at the second floor of a store which sold bananas and jackfruits located in the dry goods section of the market.

Firefighters and volunteers at the Cogon Public Market
 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Wednesday afternoon, July 10.  
Photo by Leo Udtohan

No casualties have been reported.

Authorities have yet to determine the cost and what caused the blaze.

Cogon Public Market is a popular landmark in the province. 

Pick-pockets steal tourist’s purse captured on selfie-stick footage

A suspected female pickpocket gang have been caught on camera appearing to swipe a tourist's designer purse with £400 cash in London's West End.

According to Metro Online, tourists Nina Spencer and pal Toi McGurran were walking through Cambridge Circus, filming themselves as they toured through the busy capital.

But after they had crossed the road, Toi looked inside her Louis Vuitton handbag and noticed her designer purse containing £400 in cash and her credit cards was missing.

The footage shows the woman casually grabbing the purse
as they cross the road in London. 

Devastated Toi and Nina, both from Thailand, watched back their video and were shocked to see three females had been walking closely behind them on June 16.

The clip appears to show one woman shielding the other's hand as she allegedly grabs the purse.

The two women are then joined by a third woman in sunglasses - appearing to hand off the purse to her.

All three women then quickly walk away together in a different direction.

The Sun reported that  Nina said she reported the theft to police but said they have not had the wallet returned.

She said: ''We reported this to the police straight away. They asked me for the location where it happened and we sent them the video of it.

"We don’t think it’s possible to have the money back now. But we just want to be helpful and let the police be aware of things going on in the city."

Nina, who is originally from Thailand, has been living in the UK for several years with her British husband. Her friend, Toi, was visiting her for a trip to London.

Nina said the theft has left them both disappointed with their experience in London due to being the victims of crime.

She said: ''It’s sad that this had to spoil our trip. I hope the police can catch them so that it doesn’t happen to other people.''

According to Met Police, "No arrests have been made."

Watch video here. 

Are you smarter than a four-year-old? Meet Miggy.

I’ve not seen Czed Miguel “Miggy” Ebojo, the ‘Wonder Kid of Bohol’ for almost three weeks after his story was aired on GMA’s 24 Oras.

It took me three days to finish the story about Miggy because a day was not enough to observe a child   whose intellect and independence of spirit simply aren’t ordinary.

The other day, Clyde, Miggy’s father, told me the genius boy is doing fine.

Miggy has completed tests that show his IQ as very superior– that many people considering him the “Wonder Kid of Bohol.”

“We started to realize he was different at two years old. He learned a lot of things as a two year old far from normal compared to another children at his age group,” said 31 year-old Clyde, also a musician.  

 Czed Miguel “Miggy” Ebojo,
the Wonder Kid of Bohol.  Photo by Leo Udtohan

 

That’s when his parents said Miggy started using words, like the names of shapes, colors and numbers.

Then, Miggy could write and read words at age 2.

At 3 years old, when a typical kid has about a dozen words in their vocabulary, Miggy could sing the ABCs –and well sing it backward, too.

He knows about the solar system, the planets and how many moons does each  planet has. He knows Pluto was the 12th planet until 2006.

When asked who created the universe, Miggy just said, “Jesus! He does. There’s no other God, no god other. Only one.”

Miggy can count in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian from 1-100. He can multiply in Spanish.  He knows the how many chapters of the books in the Holy Bible.

That's not it.

Miggy also knows on what day your birthday falls from 2019 until the year 2030. Plus, he also knows the composition of a planet and how many moons does each planet has.

According to his parents, no one taught Miggy all these things.

When Miggy turned four, first time parents Clyde and Marjorie worried of their son’s abilities.

“I am worried about Miggy’s abilities as parents. I really don’t have idea how to raise a child like him,” said Marjorie, 28, who began searching for resources to help with his rapid development.

She said she is afraid other people may not understand her son’s ways.

  Czed Miguel “Miggy” Ebojo with his parents Clyde and Marjorie.  Photo by Leo Udtohan

Last June, the couple went to Holy Name University Testing Center and had Miggy’s intelligence tested. The result showed Miggy’s  IQ was very superior.

They also went to see a Bohol-based clinical psychologist Dr. Kit Balane to evaluate Miggy’s sky-high IQ. It turned out that Miggy’s IQ is upper extreme or genius.

“Miggy is fours year old but his IQ is in the upper extreme. It’s safe to say Miggy is a gifted child as far as his IQ is concerned,” said Balane.

“He has the potential to learn fast, to process information quickly, and correctly as far as Miggy’s intelligence concerned,” he added.

Balane encouraged the parents to nurture the learning potential of Miggy.

“ It is very important that Miggy is provided enforcement at home other than what he gets at school. Parents can provide time, creative materials, reading materials but also not forgetting the social emotional needs of the child,” said Balane who established the only clinic in Bohol for a decade.

It is also important that Miggy should be in school that has understood his particular creativity since bright kids process so rapidly that by midday they can be mentally burnt-out and hard to teach.

Miggy started nursery 1 last June.  

Miggy Ebojo. Photo by Leo Udtohan

“As a parent, I’m really proud of my son,” his father said. “I’m super-excited he has this gift.”

But his gifted intelligence doesn’t mean Miggy isn’t still like any other four-year-old kid.

When he grows up, Miggy said he wants to be a doctor.

His favorite day is Saturday because it is his cellphone and TV day. Math is his most favourite subject.

Clyde and Marjorie said they just want their son to have a normal childhood, gifts and all.

“We are proud of our little boy what he is now and what he will become in the future,” said Marjorie.

Clyde said it’s not really intelligence that does matter in this world but how his son will deal with different walks of life.

“We are teaching him how to become a good person. It’s not our priority to make him more intelligent. What we hope for and we  love to see  about him is that he will impact the community and he will grow with so much love as we teach him every day,” Clyde said.

***

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Sandugo Queen and Miss Bohol candidates shine in media presentation

The beauty queens talk about their beauty essentials and the causes they believe in

After an extensive screenings, the organizers of the first Sandugo Queen, finally revealed its 17 official candidates last Friday, June 28.

The Miss Bohol 2019 candidates. Photo: Leo Udtohan 

The 17 candidates shared a piece of their mind and showed off their striking personalities to the members of the media.

Sandugo Queen is the first provincewide pageant for gay and transsexual members of the LGBTQAI+ community, a society of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, aromantic, agender, and intersex individuals, with a “+” for those who are in the process of self discovery, or have more complex identities.

According to Khim Ryan Laway Magtagad, Sandugo Queen 2019 pageant chairman, the pageant aims to empower LGBTQAI+  by giving them a platform to express their thoughts and views on inclusion, diversity and equality. It is also a celebration of their unique beauty, wit and talent. 

Sandugo Queen candidates. 

“The pageant is making a big difference and impact of the LGBTQIA+ in the community,” said Magtagad of the LGBT-Tagbilaran community.

She added that the candidates have their own advocacies and the pageant "will be a platform that when they will become part of Sandugo Queen they have the title to touch the lives of other people."

The Sandugo Queen 2019 will crown winners for Sandugo Queen, Sandugo Queen Tourism, Sandugo Queen Youth Ambassadress, Sandugo Queen 1st Princess and Sandugo Queen 2nd Princess.

The swimwear competition is on July 6, at 1 p.m. at the BQ Mall, while the talent competition is on July 17, 1 p.m. at the Island City Mall.

The grand coronation is on July 26, 8 p.m. at the Bohol Cultural Center.

Meanwhile, in their jumpsuit created by Bilar-based couturier Aileen Sendrijas-Pasagad, the 14 candidates Miss Bohol 2019 strutted in front of media, during Friday’s press presentation held at the Ceremonial Hall of the New Provincial Capitol. 

Miss Tagbilaran 1987 Fiel Angeli Araoarao-Gabin
with Mutya ng Pilipinas -Global Beauty Queen 2018
  and Miss Bohol 2017 Pauline  Amelinckx
during the Miss Bohol press presentation on Friday, June 28, 2019.  
Photo by Leo Udtohan

Iza Gail Latonio. 20, representing Atharra Primeland; Mary Tabada, 19, representing Talibon; Catherine Tabaniag, 20, representing Panglao; and Celina Villoceno, 22, representing Tagbilaran City, wowed the press and visitors. Notably, all the ladies answered the gruelling questions from the press.  

Despite their busy schedule, Mutya ng Pilipinas -Global Beauty Queen 2018  and Miss Bohol 2017 Pauline  Amelinckx  and  Miss Bohol 2018 Raclare Stephan Trigo were able to attend the event. They managed to project a positive aura.

On July 12, the ladies will showcase their talent.

The Miss Bohol Grand Coronation Night is happening on July 20, 7 p.m.  at the Bohol Wisdom Gym.

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Scarlet shocked, sad on Eddie Garcia’s untimely death

Wake-uppers:

Scene:  The 17 official candidates of Sandugo Queen 2019.  The search for Sandugo Queen 2019 is open to transgender females that best suit the five titles up for grabs in a competition that showcases their beauty, wit and talent. The coronation night is on July 26, 8 p.m. at the Bohol Cultural Center.

Seen: A new species of shipworm or a clam with a worm-like body found in Bohol was introduced by a group of scientists this week. What’s interesting is this marine species Lithoredo abatanica eats rocks, rather than the wood diet of other shipworm species.

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The world of Philippine showbiz mourned on the passing of Eddie Garcia, a screen icon and director whose career spanned 70 years.

Scarlet Geulen-Boiser on legendary actor
 Eddie Garcia: “He was very modest, very unassuming.
 He was one of a kind.”  Contributed Photo

Garcia died last Thursday, June 20, after nearly two weeks of being in a comatose state. He suffered a neck fracture after tripping on a cable wire during his taping for a GMA Network teleserye.

Garcia was local Showbiz’s Sexiest Man Alive, a durable sex symbol who continued to amaze and intrigue the public by looking 25 years younger than his age.

He joined showbiz as kontrabida (later metamorphosing into a bida so versatile that he could play a screaming faggot with delightful credibility.  In one of his media interviews, he said that “Tubog sa Ginto,” directed by the late Lino Brocka where he played a closet homosexual in that movie, was considered his best performance out of the hundreds of films he had done.

Known as the original “Manoy,” he was a “Festival King” in his own right, who figured prominently in the Metro Manila Film Festival, Gawad Urian and FAMAS. He won several awards for his acting and directing stints.

Colleagues and friends of Garcia took to social media to remember and pay tribute to the veteran actor including Boholano singer-actress-comedianne Scarlet Geulen-Boiser who worked with Eddie in a TV drama.

Their friendship goes almost 7 years back, so when Garcia died, Scarlet grieved as if she lost a member of her family. 

"What do I remember most about Tito Eddie? Well, he was a very nice person. He was very humble and very down-to-earth. He had no star complex at all, despite his stature as a great Filipino star,” she told VRS.

They were together in the 2012 TV drama “Aso ni San Roque” for about three months. 

She shared that at the actors’ hub (standby area), Eddie was so thoughtful that his co-stars loved him dearly.

“He brought fruits in the set and he convinced me to eat fruits rather than eating cakes,” she said.

Garcia was so generous that he even bought all the “ube jam” of Scarlet and gave them to the people in the set.

“He was very professional,” said Scarlet. He didn’t like people working with him are pabaya sa trabaho. That kind of attitude really bugged him. Sometimes he could not tolerate it.

“He told his co-actors that there are no small roles in acting that you could always do well in your roles,” said Scarlet.

In movies and TV series, Scarlet plays her role, no matter how "small" with such honesty, so natural and so casual as if she's not acting at all.  Thanks to Manoy Eddie for being her inspiration.

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Bohol’s Dalareich ‘tableya’ is world’s best

‘Dalareich 100% Unsweetened Chocolate’ wins Gold in London’s Academy of Chocolate

Where to find the best chocolate? Of course, at the Chocolate Hills in Bohol!

Bohol's “Dalareich 100% Unsweetened Chocolate” of Dalareich Food Products (DFP) based in Tagbilaran City has won a Gold Award in a prestigious international London-based Academy of Chocolate Awards 2019.

Elsa Polot sells pure tableya. Photos Leo Udtohan

According to Dalareich Polot, the general manager of DFP, it is the first time that Philippines got the Gold Award since the international chocolate award started in 2015 on all the categories.

“My mom and I are so happy because we were able to go to college because of tableya," said Dalareich who helped the family business since 1994.

Her mother Elsa, owner of DFP, shared that there was no secret that her tableya won internationally with more than 1,500 entries representing producers from 46 nations, making it the most successful year in the history of the awards.

“It’s 100% pure unsweetened chocolate we called tableya,” she said.

It was first time for Dalareich to send an entry to the international chocolate award based in London and “Dalareich 100% Unsweetened Chocolate” got the Gold award under drinking chocolate together with Laguna-based Auro Chocolate.

Other Philippine companies such as Malagos Chocolate, Theo and Philo, also got silver and bronze awards from different categories.

The Academy of Chocolate was founded in 2005 by five of Britain’s leading chocolate professionals, united in the belief that eating fine chocolate is one of life’s great pleasures.

The Academy campaigns for better chocolate and to promote a greater awareness of the difference between fine chocolate and the mass-produced chocolate confectionery which most of us eat.

Dalareich grew up in a family that ran a business of making tableya since 1994. She accompanied her grandmother Tomasa in selling anchovies and tableya in the neighborhood.

Elsa, 54, inherited the small business when Tomasa passed away in 2000.

Elsa, then a street cleaner, and husband Ricardo Polot made tableya on the side to augment their income. But their sideline helped the couple send their five children to college --Irene, 33; Dalareich, 30; Renel, 27; Jessa, 24; and Angelah, 20.

Although a graduate of Computer Engineering, Dalareich helped her parents innovate their products and market it to local merchants.

Dalareich, 30, has been known as the “Chocolate Princess” in Bohol. She established the first and only Chocolate House in the province after studying in Belgium.

From her mother’s tableya, Dalareich launched her own chocolate line—“Ginto Luxury Chocolates”, which has already been showcased in international chocolate exhibits, along with other local brands.

“I want to make chocolates not only tableya on the island of Chocolate Hills in Bohol,” she said.

 To preserve the cacao farming in Bohol, Dalareich launched Adopt-a-Cacao tree advocacy campaign to encourage Boholanos to take care of the cacao trees that had been planted near their houses.

 “We believe that there are more than 10,000 historical cacao trees in each town across Bohol,” she said.

For her, she wants Bohol known not for the Chocolate Hills but also the home of Chocolates.

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