Green Day’s American Idiot Got 10 Nominations From 2016 Philstage Gawad Buhay

The Philippine production of Green Day’s American Idiot led by Globe Live and 9 Works Theatrical is nominated for 10 categories for this year’s 2016 Philstage Gawad Buhay midyear citations. On its 9th year, Gawad Buhay is the only award giving body for the performing arts.

The high-octane musical is one of the top theatrical plays nominated in major categories including Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Musical; Outstanding Stage Direction for a Musical by Robbie Guevara; Outstanding Musical Direction by Daniel Bartolome and Onyl Torres; Outstanding Choreography for a Play or Musical by PJ Rebullida; Outstanding Costume Design by Mickey Hirai; Outstanding Set Design by Mio Infante; Male Lead Performance in a Musical for Nel Gomez; Female Featured Performance in a Musical for Yannah Laurel and Ela Lisondra; and the only citation for Outstanding Production of Existing Material for a Musical.

“We are proud of these recognitions for our 1st Globe LIVE production together with 9 Works Theatrical. This further validates Globe LIVE’s vision of being able to mount productions at par with world-class shows. This is only the beginning for Globe LIVE, and Filipinos can expect even better acts and live events at our one-of-a-kind outdoor venue, “says Globe Stores and Retail Transformation Head, Joe Caliro.

Held last July 2016 at the new Globe Iconic store entertainment zone, Green Day’s American Idiot ran for nine successful shows with its unique open-air setup, making it the biggest and only outdoor theatrical play in the Philippines.

The musical’s story is a journey of three young men as they face the harsh realities of the world around them – a symbolic post-9/11 America – where they must face the challenges of love, teen pregnancy, war, drugs, and loss. The musical brought the incredibly biting and riveting music of Green Day that features a surprisingly profound understanding of the pains and frustrations of today’s youth.

Gawad Buhay’s independent panel of critics, scholars, artists and theater enthusiasts concluded the midyear citations based on various artistic and technical aspects of the nominated productions. Productions and performances are honored in a quarterly basis, all by members of the jury that watched all productions of Philstage member-companies for the entire year.
The prestigious organization reviewed more than 10 acts for the first half of the year including popular local plays such as 3 Stars and a Sun and Almost Maine.

Philstage is an organization of professional performing arts companies in the Philippines. Its members include 9 Works Theatrical, Actor’s Actors Inc., Ballet Manila, Ballet Philippines, Full House Theater Company (Resorts World Manila), Gantimpala Theater Foundation, PETA, Philippine Ballet Theatre, Philippine Opera Company, Repertory Philippines, Red Turnip Theater, Stages, Tanghalang Pilipino and Trumpets.

This coming holiday season, Globe Live and 9 Works Theatrical is set to deliver their next musical A Christmas Carol, which will be about the timeless story of true meaning of giving. Follow @enjoyGlobe on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/globeph for the latest updates.

Piolo and Crizal® Get Into Life’s Moments

What if, in the middle of your routine eye check-up, you ended up face-to-face with Philippine leading man Piolo Pascual?

Watch and share the surprised reactions of patients during a vision screening set up by Essilor’s flagship brand Crizal®

The new video is part of the brand’s campaign to encourage patients and customers alike to stay present in every experience of your life – or, better yet, to create your own precious moments with the clear vision that only Crizal® can provide!

Crizal® lenses are available at leading optical shops and through eye care professionals nationwide. For more information, visit Essilor’s website at www.essilor.com.ph.

Shell Pilipinas Honors Pinoy Parents’ Day

Everywhere in the world, every parent’s goal is to keep their families safe and happy. They work hard, give selflessly, and do whatever they can for the sake of their family without expecting anything in return.

In the Philippines, parents have their own special way of taking care of their families. From preparing their child’s baon, to picking up stranded loved ones during typhoons, or to simply being there during the moments their children need them the most – a parent’s love is truly hard to match. On their special day, it is only fitting to honor and give back to these unsung heroes of every family.

As part of Shell Specials, Pilipinas Shell is putting the spotlight on all the nanays and tatays through celebrating Pinoy Parents’ Day. On September 17, parents who will gas up at any of the participating Shell stations nationwide will receive a treat from Lazada, the country’s leading online store. This gift is Shell’s special way to give back to all hardworking Pinoy parents, which they can use to treat themselves on their special day.

“Pilipinas Shell recognizes the hard work and dedication of parents in raising their children as best they can, and we would like to show our appreciation for them whenever they visit our stations. We hope that by showing our appreciation to all Pinoy parents, we would be able to put a smile on the faces of our customers and their families,” says Anthony Lawrence Yam, Pilipinas Shell Vice President for Retail.

By providing quality fuel products and services to motorists around the world, Shell gained its foothold as a global leader in power and energy that pioneers next generation technology in developing new energy sources, producing smarter products, building smarter infrastructure and providing energy efficient engineering solutions that ultimately promote cleaner energy, smarter mobility, energy efficiency and a new energy future to address the energy challenge.

At Shell, everyone is special. It continues its commitment to make every visit to a Shell service station a delightful experience for all customers and celebrates with them on specials days. More surprises are lined up in the coming months, all designed to delight customers in more ways than one.

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NBI Nabs Counterfeit Producers of Skincare Products

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seized thousands of counterfeit skincare products during a raid at Divisoria malls on August 30, 2016. The total cost of the seized items was estimated at 3.7 million pesos.

The move came following reports of counterfeit items sold both online and in physical retail stores in the country. Around 12,000 fake Cetaphil products sold at Binondo and Paranaque were confiscated by authorities after the brand owner, Galderma, filed a complaint.

  

“This puts consumer safety at risk, especially for skincare products that may cause allergic reactions and also long-term health risks such as exposure to harmful ingredients often left undisclosed by illegal manufacturers” said Atty. Edmund Jason Baranda, the counsel of Galderma, authorized manufacturer of Cetaphil.

Aside from branded high-fashion bags and products, cosmetics and skincare knockoffs are entering the market, even coming from local sweatshops. Based on research intelligence, fake products are manufactured both in China and locally. Aside from the retail stalls in Divisoria, a facility was also raided in Paranaque for illegally manufacturing Cetaphil products.

“As Cetaphil products are made especially for people with sensitive skin, the counterfeit products may cause skin irritation and flare-ups as they are not made in accordance with Galderma’s specifications. The sale of counterfeit products not only affects the reputation of the brand but also potentially puts consumers’ safety at risk” shares the Atty. Edmund Baranda.

“Product quality and safety are absolutely critical for our customers” he added.

“Galderma is committed to provide only quality products to consumers which is why we adhere to strict manufacturing protocols and quality controls. The safety of the consumers is of foremost importance to us, especially since we provide products that care for the skin. Galderma has open communication lines with its consumers so as soon as we received information about the counterfeit items, we promptly sought the assistance of the authorities for appropriate action” said Atty. Baranda.

The NBI urges consumers to remain more vigilant when buying items, especially from questionable sources. As cheaper price is no longer the sole indicator of knowing if an item is counterfeit and the counterfeit items are made to look almost the same as the original, the public is advised to be wiser consumers and to look for tamper-proof signs in the packaging.

To ensure the product is genuine, a consumer should check the product’s physical characteristics such as odor, color; inspect the packaging and the complete tamper-proof signs such as stickers and other trade-registered marks; and most especially, locate the production or manufacturing and expiry dates. It is also wise to check the product’s packaging and item on the company website, especially if it is a big name brand.

“It all starts with consumer vigilance—if a product is sold at a very cheap price, it must be too good to be true. So arm yourself with the proper information about the product or item you are buying. As we are committed to protect consumers from counterfeit goods, it is also the consumer’s job to protect themselves by not buying knockoff items and reporting cases for proper action” said NBI Intellectual Property Rights Division’s Supervising Agent Rodolfo Ignacio, Jr. who led the raid.

Taking Steps to Keep Heavy Machinery Working Well

Heavy machinery, especially that which is used for agriculture, farming, or construction, is extremely expensive. Most owners usually make investments on the scale of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars. Obviously, this type of investment is not something that most businesses can make frequently. As it sits, many businesses will spend their first few years repaying the money that they have loaned or invested in purchasing the machinery that they need to get the job done. The absolute last thing that a business owner is going to want is to have their expensive machinery ruined because of poor maintenance.

In addition to ruining machinery, poor maintenance can actually lead to loss of money. If a machine is essential for the operation of a business and the machine breaks down or starts to perform poorly due to maintenance issues, it is going to affect the company’s ability to provide the service they provide or produce the product that they sell. As a result, they will lose clients and money.

The first line of defense in protecting industrial machinery is properly training the operator. The operator is the one who was going to go through a list of checks to make sure that the machine is working properly. The very first check should be done by the inspection team as soon as the item is purchased. During that initial inspection, the operator should be trained on the steps they need to take in order to keep the machine running well.

It is the responsibility of the management team to monitor their operators, provide new training, and make sure that the maintenance is actually getting done. When a piece of machinery is brand-new, most people are excited to keep up with the maintenance program. However, as the years pass and as the machine loses some of its luster, operators may lose some of their drive to keep the machine functioning well.

Operators should have a basic understanding of the inner workings of the machine. They should understand what parts the machine needs, and they should have a basic idea of the who supplies replacement parts, such as Donaldson Filters Dealers, for example.

Management can work with the manufacturers of large machines to help simplify instruction manuals to the point where even individuals who do not have the highest level of training can have a basic idea of what repair and maintenance items need to be addressed and when with the goal of keeping the machine operating smoothly for as long as possible.