Megan Young - Miss World 2013

Megan Young wins Miss World 2013 held in Bali, Indonesia. She is the first Filipina to win the Miss World title. Her full name is Megan Lynne Talde Young.

First Filipino on 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

Michael Christian Martinez secures a spot for the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics - the first Filipino on the said event. Martinez is from Muntinlupa and is just fifteen years old.

Michael Christian Martinez

Miss Supranational 2013 - The Philippines Win

Crowned Miss Supranational 2013 Mutya Datul is from Isabela, Philippines

Image source: rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - Bb Pilipinas Supranational Mutya Datul is Miss Supranational 2013!

The Filipina won from a field of 82 candidates to emerge victorious in the coronation night held in Minsk, Belarus.


Fellow Filipina, Miss Canada Suzette Hernandez, was in the Top 20 with Mutya. Read more...

The Philippines Win the Pyronale Fireworks Championship

How was that?!

The Philippines win the Pyronale fireworks championship in Berlin, Germany. The entry of the Philippines is entitled Here Comes the Dragon and runs for fifteen minutes.

Gold - Philippines
Silver - Spain
Bronze - Finland

Hulog ng Langit - Angeline Quinto

Hulog ng Langit performed by Angline Quinto is a theme song of the ABS-CBN teleserye Mundo man ay Maguna.

Hulog ng Langit Lyrics

Lahat ay gagawin para sa'yo
Ganyan ang alay na pag-ibig ko
Kahit ang dagat ay aking tatawirin
Maging Ang ulap may akin aabutin
Sa 'yo'y walang hindi kayang gawin

Langit ang alay na pag-ibig mo
Wala na ngang mahihiling ako
Umasa kang laging ikaw ang siyang mamahalin
Sa isip, sa puso at sa damdamin
Ayaw kong mawalay ka pa sa akin

Ikaw ang hulog ng langit
Ikaw ang aking pag-ibig
Ikaw ang katuparan dito sa aking daigdig
Ikaw sa aking ang bituin,
Walang kupas ang ningning
Ligaya kang walang hanggan
Ako'y sa 'yo, at ika'y para sa akin

Langit ang alay na pag-ibig mo
Wala na ngang mahihiling ako
Umasa kang laging ikaw ang siyang mamahalin
Sa isip, sa puso at sa damdamin
Ayaw kong mawalay ka pa sa akin

Ikaw ang hulog ng langit
Ikaw ang aking pag-ibig
Ikaw ang katuparan dito sa aking daigdig
Ikaw sa aking ang bituin,
Walang kupas ang ningning
Ligaya kang walang hanggan
Ako'y sa 'yo, at ika'y para sa akin

Ikaw ang hulog ng langit
Ikaw ang aking pag-ibig
Ikaw ang katuparan dito sa aking daigdig
Ikaw sa aking ang bituin,
Walang kupas ang ningning
Ligaya kang walang hanggan
Ako'y sa 'yo, at ika'y para sa akin

Hulog ka ng langit sa akin

Living Without Pork - Panfilo Lacson

Living Without Pork

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson

Privilege speech, March 11, 2003

Mr. President, I rise today on a question of personal and collective privilege.

Last week, we passed the Senate version of the General Appropriations Bill of 2003. No less than the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and principal sponsor of the bill aptly described the 2003 budget as "bare-bones", thus appealing to his colleagues to contribute their share to arrest the projected budget deficit which our economic managers expect to hit the PhP300B mark by year-end.

I now answer the call.

I call for the scrapping of a very corrupt and corrupting system in our political institutions. All I ask are a few minutes of your precious time - and of your mind.

We now must move to abolish the pork barrel system. We must see its end during our watch without need to mourn its loss. It is a virus of corruption that must die.

And, there is no better hall on this space on earth to make it happen than the Senate - expectedly, a place of men and women with mature age, with honor, with dignity, with integrity. Further, there is no better time to declare its end than now - when the country's budget deficit is at an alarmingly uncontrollable pace. For the past year, it was PhP213B. Of course, we do not believe the numbers.

One thing, I may say is apodictic. It is still counting. There is nothing in the pork barrel system that gives us pride. There is only everything that makes us hide in shame.

It should not matter anymore under what name the system sounds. Be it the Countrywide Development Fund, or the Congressional Initiative Allocation, or the Priority Development Assistance Fund. It is, and will remain to be a fund of compulsive corruption.

The name itself traces its origin to the pre-civil war days in the United States when, in periodic fits of generosity, white masters would give their black slaves salted pork in barrels. More often than not, the eagerness of the slaves would result in ugly shoving and rushing to grab more pork than the others. The more pork one could grab for himself, the more triumphant he would appear than the others who were meek and reluctant.

We may not realize it, but the Filipino people would sometimes see us behave like slaves rushing to the pork barrel. A critic has a worse description - that of swines rushing to get more slabs than they can consume.

Mr. President, our countrymen expect to see every peso of their taxes wisely spent on every project. They become profoundly disillusioned every time they are robbed of it.

Let me say now what they hate to hear. But they must hear what we have been afraid to say.

Under the pork barrel system, only less than half of the taxpayers' money actually goes to the programs of work. More than half habitually goes to the pockets of corruption. Occasionally, depending on the insatiability of the corrupt, a shameful twenty percent of the fund is left to finance the project. Holy mackerel!

We can pretend all day not to know. But the Filipino people have never been stupid not to see through such pretense.

Let me give the breakdown. It is nasty.

• 2% goes to the Commission on Audit as S.O.P.
• 10% is given to the district engineer and other officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
• 2% is passed on to the Barangay Chairman.
• 14% goes to the contractor - 10% in profit and 4% as value-added tax, thank God!
• 5-10%, if the Mayor or Governor so demands.
• And - hold your breath - 20% of project cost is earmarked for the legislator who identifies the project.
Shares sometimes vary depending on greed.

Even the billboards that advertise the proponents of infrastructure projects are overpriced.

Legislators who allocate funds for the purchase of medicines and other pharmaceutical products, as well as school supplies get bigger takes. By how much, Mr. President? Some suppliers say, it is, "from here to eternity."

In a book published in 1998 by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, entitled, "Pork and Other Perks," the author wrote about vivid accounts of actual pay-offs involving legislators. Thus, a pay-off usually takes place inside the office of legislators. The more sophisticated ones prefer hotel rooms and restaurants. Sulo Hotel in Quezon City is said to be a favorite.

"Pork barrel" every year runs to billions of pesos. I hate to say it. The people hate to hear it. But they lose billions of pesos anyway. They lose these billions to the many deep pockets of corruption.

Mr. President, my esteemed colleagues, there is no saying here that every senator or congressman is corrupt. It is only to say that we have all become suspect. The public has every basis and right to suspect. And we seem not to mind anymore.

Mr. President, those with clear conscience among us do not need to rage. They only need to help those without it.

In this regard, may I take this opportunity to thank the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and some of our colleagues who have expressed support to this advocacy.

One colleague, Senator Joke Arroyo has done something truly admirable: he had not allocated a single centavo from his "pork barrel" allocation for the past year. However, I cannot help but wonder how his PhP200M pork was realigned since it was part and parcel of the 2002 GAA. That is the reason why I want my allocation this year deducted from the proposed 2003 GAA. I have an unsolicited advice to the distinguished gentleman from Makati and the Bicol region - why not slash the 2003 national budget by PhP211M more?

To all of us in this august chamber, maybe we can help alleviate the burgeoning budget deficit by waiving our 2003 pork barrel fund allocations. We can actually do our share, no matter how small, in balancing the budget by doing just that. With twenty-three senators, at PhP211M each, four billion, eight hundred fifty-three million (PhP4.853B) will automatically be deducted from the 2003 national budget.

The Speaker of the House, Jose de Venecia, can equally display his statesmanship by doing the same in the lower house. With more than 200 congressmen, at PhP65M each, that would be another PhP13B at least. Let us be the first to sacrifice for the sake of tiding us over a financial nightmare. I, therefore, call on the Senate and the House of Representatives to voluntarily give up the pork.

Mr. President, it is a simple choice between self-respect and self-aggrandizement.

That is exactly my point. Those among us whose hands remain untainted and unsoiled by the fruits of corruption from the evil "pork" must now be insulated from the temptation it may bring upon us. How? Let's try scrapping the "pork." There is life without it!

We all know who we are and what we are on this issue. That is one thing we are all sure about. Mine are not speculations - I definitely have my own sources. The figures I brought out earlier are never a figment of my imagination.

If the "pork barrel" stinks, how much longer must we suffer the stench? I believe it is time to abolish it altogether.

Mr. President, we were elected by the Filipino people to make good laws for the common good and never to make gold under the "pork barrel" system. We are here to make laws, not to build roads and bridges.

We were voted into office to provide check and balance under the principle of powers; and not to accept fat checks to enhance our bank account balance.

Former French President and Prime Minister, the late Jean-Raymond Pompidou, was correct. There is a whale of difference between a politician and a statesman. He said, "while a statesman places himself at the service of the nation, a politician places the nation at his own personal service."

With the "pork barrel" system, we are all perceived as dirty, corrupt and greedy politicians. Without it, we can all become better statesmen and public servants.

Whenever our committees investigate anomalies in government, does it not occur to us how equally guilty they think the legislators could be?

Mr. President, pardon my asking. There are all kinds of arguments to defend the "pork." Its advocates invent new methods and formulas to make every legislator happy. Ironically, in the mind of every Filipino, they are all mad and madly corrupted by it.

I know that the pork barrel system has never been legally flawed. In fact, the Supreme Court has ruled on its constitutionality. But the Supreme Court never ruled that scrapping the "pork barrel" system would be unconstitutional either.

I can only hope the Senate leadership will take a serious look at this proposal and not simply toss it to the dust heap of the Philippine Senate history.

I am sure to lose some friends and create more enemies in this 12th Congress. I am sure skeptics will taunt me and the cynics will mock me without end.

I remember BAYAN MUNA Party-list Representative Crispin Beltran, he who declared the lowest asset in the lower house at eighty-one thousand pesos, said in a media interview immediately after my position on the "pork barrel" issue first came out, and I quote, "mabuti pa si Lacson ay may ibang pinagkakakitaan na illegal. Paano naman kami na sa "pork barrel" lamang umaasa?" Realizing that what he said was an instant give-away, he paused and started to stutter. Another congressman commented that this representation would not need to make money from the "pork barrel" because supposedly, "I have a lot in some foreign banks."

Mr. President, if this is my misfortune, so be it. It is not the one I cannot possibly learn to live with.

Mr. President, I derive no pleasure in telling what I have told. I am sure many colleagues derive no pleasure in hearing what they just heard. But the people surely hate what they already know about.

It is time to bring the "pork barrel" system down. Or, we all go down under.

We can surely live without "pork." Certainly, there is life without it.

Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran - Asin

Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran is a popular environmental song by Asin dedicated to the Pasig River. It was released on the album Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran on 01 September 1 1978.

Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran Lyrics

Wala ka bang napapansin
Sa iyong mga kapaligiran? 
Kay dumi na ng hangin,
Pati na ang mga ilog natin.

Refrain 1:
Hindi na masama ang pag-unlad
At malayu-layo na rin ang ating narating
Ngunit masdan mo ang tubig sa dagat
Dati'y kulay asul ngayo'y naging itim

Ang mga duming ating ikinalat sa hangin
Sa langit huwag na nating paabutin
Upang kung tayo'y pumanaw man, sariwang hangin
Sa langit natin matitikman

Refrain 2:
Mayron lang akong hinihiling
Sa aking pagpanaw sana ay tag-ulan
Gitara ko ay aking dadalhin
Upang sa ulap na lang tayo magkantahan 

(Instrumentals)

Refrain 3:
Ang mga batang ngayon lang isinilang
May hangin pa kayang matitikman?
May mga puno pa kaya silang aakyatin
May mga ilog pa kayang lalanguyan?

Refrain 4:
Bakit di natin pagisipan
Ang nangyayari sa ating kapaligiran
Hindi na masama ang pag-unlad
Kung hindi nakakasira ng kalikasan
Darating ang panahon mga ibong gala
Ay wala nang madadapuan
Masdan mo ang mga punong dati ay kay tatag
Ngayo'y namamatay dahil sa 'ting kalokohan

Refrain 5:
Lahat ng bagay na narito sa lupa
Biyayang galing sa diyos kahit nong ika'y wala pa
Ingatan natin at 'wag nang sirain pa
Pagkat pag kanyang binawi, tayo'y mawawala na

Mayron lang akong hinihiling
Sa aking pagpanaw sana ay tag-ulan
Gitara ko ay aking dadalhin
Upang sa ulap na lang tayo magkantahan

Meron Ba - Nikki Valdez

Nikki Valdez sings the song Meron Ba composed by Freddie Saturno. It is available on Nikki's self-titled debut album released on 2000.

Meron Ba Lyrics

Isip ko ay gulo
Di alam ang gagawin
Kung ako'y iiwas
At sa iyo ay sasabihin
Na ako sa iyo'y may pagtingin
Di mo lang ito napapansin

[Chorus]
Meron bang makapagsasabing iniisip kita
At meron bang may alam
Na laging hinahanap ka
Kung ako naman ay iiwas
Malalaman mo ba
Na ako ay may lihim na pagsinta

Sana ay mayroong 
Makapagsabi man lamang
Kahit na isa lang
Sa iyong mga kaibigan
Na ako sa 'yo'y may pagtingin
Di mo lang ito napapansin

Meron bang makapagsasabing iniisip kita
At meron bang may alam
Na laging hinahanap ka
Kung ako naman ay iiwas
Malalaman mo ba
Na ako ay may lihim na pagsinta

Meron bang makapagsasabing iniisip kita
At meron bang may alam
Na laging hinahanap ka
Kung ako naman ay iiwas
Malalaman mo ba
Na ako ay may lihim na pagsinta

Hmmm... may lihim na pagsinta

Patuloy Ang Pangarap - Angeline Quinto

Angeline Quinto sings the song Patuloy Ang Pangarap composed by Jonathan Manalo.

Patuloy Ang Pangarap Lyrics

Di pa rin makapaniwala Sa lahat ng nangyari
Pangarap parang kailan lang Sa panaginip ko'y nakita
Ngayon ay dumating ng bigla sa aking buhay
Di naubusan ng pagasa ako'y nanalig sa...

Chorus:
Isang Pangarap, ako'y naniniwala
Ako ay lilipad at ang lahat makakakita
Sa isang pangarap ako'y naniniwala
Hindi ako titigil hangga't aking makakaya
Unti-unting mararating, tagumpay ko'y makikita
Patuloy ang pangarap...

'Di pa makapaniwala sa aking nakikita
Lahat ng panalangin ko, ngayon may kasagutan
Lahat ng pinagdaanan at pinaghirapan
Nagbigay ng kalakasan upang marating ang..

Isang Pangarap, ako'y naniniwala
Ako ay lilipad at ang lahat makakakita
Sa isang pangarap ako'y naniniwala
Hindi ako titigil hangga't aking makakaya
Unti-unting mararating, tagumpay ko'y makikita
Patuloy ang pangarap...

Kahit saan, kahit kailan
Alam kong ako'y patungo
Sa marami pang tagumpay

Isang Pangarap, ako'y naniniwala
Ako ay lilipad at ang lahat makakakita
Sa isang pangarap ako'y naniniwala
Hindi ako titigil hangga't aking makakaya
Unti-unting mararating, tagumpay ko'y makikita
Patuloy ang pangarap...

Patuloy ang Pangarap...

Ngiti - Ronnie Liang

Ronnie Liang sings Ngiti in the video above. Ngiti is the Pop Song of the Year during ASAP Pop Viewer's Choice Awards 2007.

Ngiti can be found in Ronnie Liang: Ang Aking Awitin album released by Universal Records on 2007. The album is certified gold.

Ngiti Lyrics

Minamasdan kita
Nang hindi mo alam
Pinapangarap kong ikaw ay akin
Mapupulang labi
At matingkad mong ngiti
Umaabot hanggang sa langit

Huwag ka lang titingin sa akin
At baka matunaw ang puso kong sabik

[Chorus]
Sa iyong ngiti ako'y nahuhumaling
At sa tuwing ikaw ay gagalaw
Ang mundo ko'y tumitigil
Para lang sayo
Ang awit ng aking puso
Sana'y mapansin mo rin
Ang lihim kong pagtingin

(Instrumental)

Minamahal kita ng di mo alam
Huwag ka sanang magagalit
Tinamaan yata talaga ang aking puso
Na dati akala ko'y manhid

Hindi pa rin makalapit
Inuunahan ng kaba sa aking dibdib

[Chorus]
Sa iyong ngiti ako'y nahuhumaling
At sa tuwing ikaw ay lalapit
Ang mundo ko'y tumitigil
Ang pangalan mo sinisigaw ng puso
Sana'y madama mo rin
Ang lihim kong pagtingin

Sa iyong ngiti ako'y nahuhumaling
(Sa iyong ngiti)
Sa tuwing ikaw ay gagalaw
Ang mundo ko'y tumitigil
Para lang sa'yo... 
(Para lang sa'yo ang awit ng aking puso)
Sana ay mapansin mo rin... 
Ang lihim kong pagtingin
Sa iyong ngiti...

Exchange of Heart - Gabriel Maturan

Gabriel Maturan sings Exchange of Heart during
Live in Rhapsody concert
of X-Factor Philippines top 6
at Metrobar with Martin Nievera.

Exchange of Heart Lyrics

One-sided love broke the see-saw down
I got to get rough when I hear the grudge
And you went your way and I went wild
And girl, you'd understand if your heart was mine

If we had an exchange of hearts
Then you'd know why I fell apart
You'd feel the pain when the mem'ries start
If we had an exchange of hearts

I'd never wished a lonely heart on you
It's not your fault, I chose to play the fool
One day may come when you'll be in my shoes
Then your heart will break and you'll feel just like I do

If we had an exchange of hearts
Then you'd know why I fell apart
You'd feel the pain when the mem'ries start
If we had an exchange of hearts

When time turns the tables and soon I'll be able
To find a new romance
And then you'll remember my love warm and tender
Too late for a second chance

(Instrumental)

If we had an exchange of hearts
Then you'd know why I fell apart
You'd feel the pain when the mem'ries start
If we had an exchange of hearts

If we had an exchange of hearts

Dance with My Father - Aldrich Lloyd Talonding, James Walter Bucong

Get impressed by cousins
James Walter Bucong (on guitar) & Aldrich Lloyd Talonding (voice)
as they perform an acoustic of
Dance with My Father by Luther Vandross.

Dance With My Father Lyrics

Verse 1:
Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me and then
Spin me around till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure I was loved

Chorus:
If I could get another chance
Another walk, another dance with him
I'd play a song that would never ever end
How I'd love love love to dance with my father again

Verse 2:
When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way I would run from her to him
He'd make me laugh just to comfort me (yeah, yeah)
Then finally make me do what my Momma said
Later that night, when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he would be gone from me

Chorus:
If I could steal
One final glance
One final step
One final dance with him
I'd play a song that would never ever end
How I'd love love love to dance with my father again

Verse 3:
Sometimes I'd listen outside her door
And I'd hear how Momma would cry for him
I'd pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more

I know I'm praying for much too much
But could you send back the only man she loved
I know you don't do it usually
But dear Lord she's dying to dance with my father again

Every night I fall asleep
This is all I ever dream
Ooohh...

Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin - Juris Fernandez

Juris Fernandez sings the opening theme song of the ABS-CBN teleserye Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin.

Minsan lang Kitang iibigin is written by Aaron Paul del Rosario and arranged by Ryan Cayabyab.

Check the story behind this song at http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/324270/the-real-story-behind-song-minsan-lang-kita-iibigin

Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin Lyrics

Mahal, pangako sa iyo
Hindi magbabago
Ikaw lang ang iibigin ko

Kahit Ikaw ay lumayo
At masaktan ako
Asahan na 'di maglalaho

Ang pag-ibig ko'y alay sa'yo lamang
Kung kaya giliw dapat mong malaman
Minsan lang kitang iibigin
Minsan lang kitang mamahalin
Ang pagmamahal sa yo'y walang hangganan
Dahil ang minsan ay magpakailanman

Minsan lamang sa buhay ko
Ang 'sang katulad mo
Ako rin ba'y iniibig mo
Dinggin puso'y sumasamo
Sinusumpa sa'yo
Ikaw ang tanging dalangin ko

Ang pag-ibig ko'y alay sa'yo lamang
Kung kaya giliw dapat mong malaman
Minsan lang kitang iibigin
Minsan lang kitang mamahalin
Ang pagmamahal sa yo'y walang hangganan
Dahil ang minsan ay magpakailanman

Ang pag-ibig ko'y alay sa'yo lamang
Kung kaya giliw dapat mong malaman
Minsan lang kitang iibigin
Minsan lang... kitang mamahalin
Ang pagmamahal sa'yo'y walang hangganan

Dahil ang minsan ay magpakailanman...
Dahil ang minsan ay... magpakailanman

Minsan lang kitang iibigin

God Gave Me You - Where's the Sheep?

This video is the worship duo Where's the sheep?'s version of God Gave Me You. The music video was shot at a mango farm in Antipolo, Rizal: Kingsville Court Village.

God Gave Me You is a song by Bryan White from his album How Lucky I Am released in 1999.

God Gave Me You Lyrics

For all the times I felt cheated, I complained
You know how I love to complain
For all the wrongs I repeated
Though I was to blame
I still cursed that rain
I didn't have a prayer
Didn't have a clue
Then out of the blue

God gave me you
To show me what's real
There's more to life
Than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth
Is right before my eyes
And all that I live for
Though I didn't know why
Now I do
'cause God gave me you

For all the times
I wore my self pity
Like a favorite shirt
All wrapped up in that hurt
For every glass I saw
I saw half empty
Now it overflows
Like a river through my soul
From every doubt I had, I'm finally free
I truly believe

God gave me you
To show me what's real
There's more to life
Than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth
Is right before my eyes
And all that I live for
Though I didn't know why
Now I do
'cause God gave me you

In your arms I'm someone new
With ever tender kiss from you
Oh I must confess
I've been blessed

God gave me you
To show me what's real
There's more to life
Than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth
Is right before my eyes
And all that I live for
Though I didn't know why
Now I do
'cause God gave me you

God gave me you