Lampara Books has recently launched Guiding Light, a new Philippine imprint that hopes to encourage parents and families to be a good influence on their children’s journey to life.

The family-oriented and faith-based imprint aims to promote spiritual formation, values education, emotional growth, and community development through highly entertaining but transformative books written and designed by some of the world’s most promising and award-winning writers, illustrators, and personalities.

“It has always been our goal to inspire adult readers, most especially parents, to engage with their children on stories of inspiration, joy, and life lessons within a framework of Christ-centered beliefs and teachings,” says Segundo D. Matias Jr., the Chief Publisher of Lampara Books. “Our activity books create bonding moments between mom and dad with their kids through storytelling that put good values at the forefront of its principles, while inspiring everyone to become a better human being.”

For its premiere offering, Guiding Light has recently released its ‘Little Life Lessons on’ series—a collection of fun activity books that parents and their children can color, play around with, and use as a medium for purpose-driven instruction. Written in both English and Filipino, the series is made for childhood care providers and parents to help their kids learn important values in life. The ‘Little Life Lessons on’ catalog contains inspirational stories that depict kindness, obedience, respect, and love, among many others.

The motivational imprint also takes pride of its Family Bible Illustrated edition, which has 365 pages of bible stories, meditations, and prayers for the whole family to reflect on together, and The Comic Book Bible, which offers a treasury of stories, known and loved by generations of readers.
v For readers who are looking for a refreshing spin to the familiar narrative, there is Classic Bible Stories, illustrated for pictures-and-words format by talented young artist Tommaso d' Incalei. Bringing stories to life for a new generation of readers, this timeless collection will inspire people discover the meaning behind the teachings of God in an exciting and easy-to-read way. Another significant title under its banner is The Classic Children’s Bible, which is beautifully illustrated and presented to cater to a younger readership.

Other titles that are currently available at the Guiding Light website are Rhona Davies’ The Life Of Christ, strikingly illustrated to chronicle the important life events that Jesus Christ went through from his days in Galilee to joining God in heaven, and Angela M. Burrin’s Welcome To The Mass, a beautifully illustrated book that ‘explains the Mass by linking the liturgy to scenes from the Gospels.’

The classic and new titles are available at the Guiding Light official website, https://www.guidinglight.com.ph.

Ben&Ben are redefining the virtual concert-going experience with the biggest headline show of their career.

Aptly titled Kuwaderno: A Ben&Ben Online Concert, the Filipino nine-piece collective are pushing the boundaries of music shows in the new normal setting by integrating creative disciplines such as drama, dance, orchestra, and technology with a live performance. Their highly anticipated major concert will be staged at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, and will be streamed live on December 5, 2021, from 8pm to 11pm via digital streaming platform, KTX.ph.

“We can’t deny the fact that it’s the biggest project we’ve undertaken so far, and I think you just somehow know that it’s a leap of faith when the streams of guidance and providence lead you to the right people who believe in the same vision you have: To bring the music and the messages they carry to life,” the award-winning group said. “This spirit of collaboration was one of the defining themes of our album ‘Pebble House Volume One: Kuwaderno’ and it was only by natural desire that we brought the same spirit and attitude when we began working on the concert. As for the play between grand and intimate, we really wanted our listeners to relish in the grandiosity of what their support means to us. Doing a concert on this scale and bringing them closer into that bigger picture is our way of expressing immense gratitude to them as well.”

Has a celebrity or friend ever influenced you to buy certain items online? The budol is real, as one might say! As shoppers, we’re constantly on the lookout for the best product recommendations so we can maximize our money’s worth.

Now that the end of the month is just around the corner, is your shopping cart ready for the upcoming payday sale? If you’re looking for some inspiration on what to add to cart at Shopee’s Nov 30 Payday Sale, take notes from other shoppers.

According to Shopee’s data on consumer behavior and trends during payday sales, Pinoys consistently spend on essentials and other items for work and play. They tend to use their sweldo to prioritize essentials and splurge on little luxuries from categories such as home essentials, women’s fashion & accessories, health & beauty, gadgets, and mobile accessories. They love shopping for KF94 masks, window curtains, crop tops, headsets, and hair accessories—the most popular items in Pinoys’ online shopping carts every payday.

Below, check out Shopee’s top recommendations for each of these items:

To keep your family safe and healthy for the holidays, stock up on several Health Guard KF94 Masks. Its 3D foldable design makes it easier to breathe and minimizes contact with the lips, while its four-layered structure blocks harmful microparticles.

As we count down the days to the happiest time of the year, SM City Taytay invites everyone to officially unwrap a host of fun-filled activities, exciting deals, and thrilling surprises to light up the lives of everyone this holiday season. Join in on welcoming the majestic season at SM City Taytay’s HOLIDAY PIAZZA!

Piazzas are the beating hearts of a town or city. They can be big or small, intimate or dramatic, humble, opulent, old, new and everything in between. What all piazzas have in common is their symbolic importance: They’re the physical center of the community. There’s no better place to enjoy the jubilant season than in a piazza adorned with the magic of Christmas in every direction you face.

The atrium of SM City Masinag turns into a charmed oasis of reds, greens and golds as they launch their Christmas centerpiece, which is aptly named, Enchanted Christmas.

Great news for jobseekers! The City Government of Pasig and leading online job portal JobStreet officially sealed their partnership that seeks to continue empowering jobseekers and providing jobs that matter to Pasigueños amid the pandemic.

This was done through a virtual ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), led by Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and JobStreet Philippines Country Manager Philip Gioca. Under the MOU, new and existing Pasig-based employers are entitled to free monthly job posting credits on JobStreet. This initiative, in collaboration with Pasig’s Public Employment Service Office, aims to help employers find the right candidates through JobStreet that has a large pool of jobseekers. The initiative will run for the next three years.

“The pandemic has affected a lot of our employers and jobseekers and we want to help them in every way possible. This partnership has come at an opportune time so we are grateful to JobStreet for this initiative — it supports our goal of empowering Pasigueños through good employment opportunities that could enable them achieve a higher quality of life in the years to come,” said Sotto.

To launch opportunities in Pasig to the public, JobStreet in partnership with Pasig City is launching a dedicated microsite where Pasigueños can browse job vacancies and submit applications from the comfort of their homes. Opportunities that will be posted on the microsite are varying from full time, part time, to work from home jobs. Jobseekers can also explore career tools and motivational resources.

“It has always been JobStreet’s advocacy to provide every Filipino with jobs that matter and support government initiatives for our job seekers. It’s an honor that the City Government of Pasig through Mayor Vico Sotto have trusted us in this initiative and we’re hoping that through this program, we will be able to help not only the jobseekers but also the employers during this time,” shared Gioca. JobStreet has always been supportive of government initiatives that aim to boost the labor market, especially in these challenging times. Recently, it has likewise partnered with the Civil Service Commission to host a nationwide Virtual Career Fair for government jobs as part of helping displaced workers.

To check out career opportunities in Pasig, visit https://www.jobstreet.com.ph/event/pasig/in-demand-jobs.html.

Gleaming with festive yet cozy ambiance at SM City San Mateo is its Holiday Garden for its annual Christmas centerpiece this year.

 

It's that time of the year again, and we all are very anxious to spend the holidays together and share some of the things that we can find on shopee, of course for gifts to our love ones.  Anyway, Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, closes the year with its annual 12.12 Big Christmas Sale, the most joyful year-end celebration in the region. 12.12 is set to bring a smile to users as they shop from the widest variety of products to reward themselves and their loved ones during the happiest time of the year. Through the 12.12 Big Christmas Sale, shoppers can also spread the holiday cheer to their favorite local businesses, with 2 times more items sold by local businesses this year.

Users can look forward to a delightful celebration throughout the festive season. In the past year, Shopee has brought fun to users with exciting giveaways and exclusive content, recording over 13 billion engagements and views across its social media channels. This 12.12, users can expect even more entertainment and engagement with a brand-new commercial featuring international superstar Jackie Chan and performances by popular K-Pop group Tomorrow X Together. To get into the Pinoy family spirit of the holidays, Shopee also welcomes first-ever celebrity father-and-daughter brand ambassadors, Dingdong and Zia Dantes.

Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines, said, “Every 12.12, Shopee comes together with our users to celebrate the milestones and achievements over the past year. This year, we would like to show our appreciation to all our users for letting us be part of their daily lives. Many more users are now using digital services, and local businesses are increasingly embracing the shift online. We are glad to have been able to adapt to their evolving needs this past year and we will continue to help more people benefit from the digital economy as we head into a new year. We look forward to celebrating the year-end with all our users as we bring smiles to one another this holiday season.”

1. Celebrating the happiest time of the year with the best deals

As shoppers hunt for the best gifts, Shopee is thrilled to bring users the most exciting deals this 12.12. These include:

• The best promotions: Shoppers can enjoy the best deals for all their gifting needs with deals such as free shipping with no minimum spend, ₱1 Deals, and 10% off daily. 
• Big discounts: They can also get discounts up to 90% off on the biggest Shopee Mall brands:

 

A duet with Eli Ordonez of Count Vernon, “shy (reimagined)” is the 6th single from Dominic Chin’s Re-Licensed To Cry—an online release featuring stripped-down versions of the same set of songs from Dominic Chin’s debut EP. Focusing more on the basic essentials of the tracks, the re-released version is redone entirely, from the music arrangement to the vocal recordings, to capture Dominic Chin’s organic, singer-songwriter side.

A banner to fight poverty through education, Anti-corruption crusader Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson will fight persistent poverty in the country by giving young people more access to education.

Lacson points out that the Philippines has a high dropout rate because of poverty. Young people are forced to leave school to help their families and because being in school are proving to be a heavy financial burden. They remain mired in poverty because without a good education their prospects are limited and they can only get low-paying jobs.

In this latest video, the presidential aspirant who wants to reform government and make it truly work for the good of the people will launch the innovative Edukasyon Plus program if elected. The program will provide free education and institute a government internship program. Each family will receive a P5,000 monthly allowance during their family members’ internship. Lacson believes that this arrangement will allow students to focus on their studies as they will not be under pressure to help their families.

“Even if education is free, young people cannot finish their studies because they have to help their families. If this vicious cycle continues, when will they be able to lift themselves from a life of poverty?” he says.

Studies show that among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines have the highest school dropout rate.

Lacson is convinced that education is the only way to give people the chance of a better future and to improve the lives of Filipinos, many, if not most, of whom still live below the poverty line. People remain mired in poverty, unable to get better-paying jobs, for lack of education, he stresses.

With Edukasyon Plus, young people can avail of free education and participate in a government internship program that will pay their families a monthly allowance. “They won’t have to choose anymore between education and work to help their families,” Lacson says. He believes the program will help many people leave behind lives of poverty.

“Edukasyon Plus is the real solution to the problem of poverty,” Lacson adds.

Lacson and his running mate, Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto, are running on the slogan “Aayusin ang gobierno, aayusin ang buhay mo.” (They will fix the government and put your life in order.)

For more info on Ping Lacson, follow https://www.facebook.com/PingLacsonOfficial.

Finally, Megastar Sharon Cuneta made her debut appearance in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” last Friday (November 26) on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and TV5.

“November 26 na po ang simula ko sa FPJ’s ANG PROBINSYANO!!! Kita-kits po!!!” Sharon said in a post on her Instagram account as she shared a moody video teaser featuring her character Aurora, who is said to have a major impact in Cardo’s (Coco Martin) life and his ongoing quest to protect the country.

Sharon also posted photos of her with co-star Tirso Cruz III and Malu Sevilla, one of the series’ directors.

She wrote in her caption, “We are such a happy family here. Where has this show been all my life?!! I wish I could’ve joined sooner but what I will do is thank the good Lord for bringing this show to me and making me a part of it!!! Sana ‘di matapos ever ang show na ito! Happy na ako dito forever!!!!”

The teaser for Sharon’s character introduction was also accompanied by the show’s newest theme song, “‘Di Ka Nag-Iisa,” an emotional ballad sung by Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez.

As the story of “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” continues this week, Cardo and Mara’s (Julia Montes) groups have temporarily joined forces in order to escape their powerful enemies. Aside from Cardo, President Oscar (Rowell Santiago) is also the main target of Lily (Lorna Tolentino), the first lady of the Philippines, as she continues her search for them by declaring a national crisis and placing the entire city under lockdown.

Will Aurora bring guidance or more trouble into Cardo’s life?

Don’t miss “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, CineMo, Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, iWantTFC, WeTV, and iflix. Viewers who use any digital TV box at home such as the TVplus box only need to rescan their device to be able to watch “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” on TV5 and A2Z.

“FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” which topped the list of the most watched TV programs among U.S. multicultural Asian homes in September, is also available to viewers in and out of the Philippines on iWantTFC, while viewers outside of the Philippines can watch on The Filipino Channel (TFC) on cable and IPTV.

For updates, follow @abscbnpr on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok or visit www.abs-cbn.com/newsroom.

 

"Darna: The TV Series" has started its camera rolling, and ABS CBN released one BTS photo of Jane De Leon as Narda. So, the countdown starts as they air on Philippine TV soon. 

The happiest part of the relationship is when you begin your road to building more roads ahead of you. As for Andrei and Camille (Paulo Avelino and Janine Gutierrez), they vow to fight through thick and thin now that they are happily engaged in “Marry Me, Marry You,” which airs weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and TV5.

As they begin their “road to forever,” Camille’s family has given the couple their full support. Andrei, however, still has to convince his side of the family that Camille has no bad intentions and that they will push through with their wedding no matter what.

Luckily, Andrei’s overbearing father Emilio (Edu Manzano) will slowly warm up to his son when they have a heart-to-heart conversation, which will also lead Emilio to retract his decision on disinheriting Andrei.

While Andrei is on the right track with reconciling with Emilio, all hope may be lost for his step-mother Laviña (Teresa Loyzaga), who will do whatever it takes to ruin Andrei and Camille’s relationship. Laviña fears that Emilio will rekindle his romance with Elvie (Cherry Pie Picache), Andrei’s real mother and Camille’s godmother, if the newly-engaged couple insist on getting married.

KZ Tandingan, Asia’s Soul Supreme creates a global surge as she lands a coveted feature on Spotify’s EQUAL Global Playlist, as seen sky-high on the most prominent billboard in Times Square, New York City, positioned right above where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve.

“My heart is full. I don’t know what I did to deserve these people, achievements, and moments but I am grateful, Lord,” said KZ on Instagram, sharing photos of recent special moments in her life, including a snapshot of the Times Square billboard. “When I find myself doubting the path and questioning my abilities, I will look at these photos to remember that Your plans are always greater than mine.”

Unveiled last November 16, Spotify’s EQUAL feature aims to empower female artists from around the world and increase their music’s visibility. KZ’s newest single under Tarsier Records, “11:59,” amplifies her presence in the music industry as she is selected as the cover artist for Spotify Philippines’ EQUAL playlist for the month of November.

Launched last month, the soulful track “11:59” landed on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists in 10 territories, including Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Gulf, Korea, and the Philippines. KZ was also the top seed on keystone Spotify PH editorial playlists Tatak Pinoy and OPM Rising, her bold, red-clad likeness also gracing the latter as the featured cover artist. To date, the single has amassed 150,000 streams and counting on Spotify alone.

“11:59” was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Luigie “LUGO” Gonzalez with additional composition by Traci Hale, America Jimenez and Dennis Matosky. It was released internationally by Tarsier Records as part of ABS-CBN Music’s continued effort to showcase Filipino talents on the global stage.

Keep streaming KZ’s “11:59” single and watch the amazing, one-take music video on the Tarsier Records YouTube channel. For updates, follow Tarsier Records on various social media accounts @tarsierrecords.