Due to the uncontrolled active cases of coronavirus in the country, luxury hotel Makati Shangri-la is temporarily closing its doors and laying off a plethora of employees starting February 1, the hotel announced earlier today, January 20. In a letter from Summit Media, Shangri-La Group's Vice President of Operations (Philippines) John Rice stated that the almost 30-year-old hotel will be temporarily closing its doors, but could reopen at a later date, once "business conditions have improved." "As part of the reorganisation exercise, we will sadly be parting ways with a number of colleagues and we will be temporarily closing Makati...

  Global K-pop phenomenon BTS officially signs with Philippine telco Smart as their newest brand ambassadors, the telecommunications company announced on Monday, January 18. Prior to the official announcement, CEO Manny Pangilinan took to Twitter earlier on Monday to tease the Filipino netizens about the project, as he wrote “You asked for it, we’re giving it to you. Watch out for the event partnership of the year at 5 PM”. BTS is said to appear in Smart’s biggest 2021 ad campaign called “Live Smarter, Live with Purpose” which is set to release in the first quarter this year. The partnership...

Okay, here we go again—a new variant of COVID-19 from the UK is already detected in the Philippines, are we all ready for it? On Wednesday, January 13, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that the Philippines has recorded its first case of the UK COVID-19 variant. Here’s what we know so far about the case: According to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7. was detected in a Filipino male who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 7. The patient left for Dubai on Dec. 27, 2020, for a business trip and arrived in the...

Yes, you read it, folks, cold days are coming in the Metro! The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather specialist Benison Estareja said that the temperature may drop to 18 to 24 degrees Celsius between January and February in Metro Manila. “Napansin niyo po ba ang malamig na temperatura nitong mga nagdaang araw?  Well asahan pa rin po natin ‘yan hanggang sa katapusan ng Pebrero,” Estareja said. Photo courtesy of Philippine Star   Pinoys can literally enjoy an unlimited and free ‘aircon’ for a little while and expect colder weather until February due to the northeast monsoon....

Oops, BTS fans didn’t like it at all Mr. Cayetano! On Wednesday, January 13, ousted House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano trends on Twitter Philippines for an obvious attempt to ride on the popularity of South Korean boy band BTS. Three months after Cayetano’s ‘congress drama with House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, he announced his comeback together with 6 allies and the launching of their own “independent majority” bloc on January 14, 2020. They’re calling themselves, “BTS sa Kongreso”—well basically, to make waves amongst colleagues and staging a comeback where in a sense, they are using the famous boy group’s fame...