It’s the weekend, time to take it easy. Here are some happy stories from Coconuts you may have missed this week:
1. BEA ROSE SANTIAGO WINS MS INTERNATIONAL CROWN. Instead of a Q&A, the 23-year-old delivered a 30-second speech: “The whole world saw how my country suffer. One by one, other countries helped. You have opened my heart and eyes on what we can do to help each other. I will work to sustain the spirit of sympathy and spirit of hope. As long as we work together, there is hope.”
2. MS PHILIPPINES IS 3RD RUNNER-UP IN MISS INTER-CONTINENTAL. Andrea Koreen Garcia Medina won third runner-up in the 2013 Miss Intercontinental pageant held last Saturday, Dec. 14, in Magdeburg, Germany.
3. FILMMAKER CASEY NEIST’S USD25,000 VIDEO THAT HELPS TACLOBAN. Casey Neistat. He was approached by 20th Century Fox to create a promotional video for the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. He told them, “Give me the budget. I’ll go to the Philippines, spend every penny helping people in need.”
4. VIRAL YOUTUBE VIDEO STARRING VIRAL YOUTUBE ARTISTS FOR YOLANDA. GRNMNGO production gathers several Filipino YouTube singers around the world to sing “The Prayer” from where they are, all for #YolandaPH.
5. MANILA STARTS PREPS FOR BLACK NAZARENE FEAST. With less than three weeks before the grand Black Nazarene procession, the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is already stepping up its preparations for one of the country’s most well-attended religious events. A little foresight goes a long way.
6. SURVIVOR: CAGAYAN COMING SOON. The TV reality show shot the episodes in Cagayan last summer, featuring 18 contenders. It airs in February 2014.
7. AFP GIVES UP 78TH ANNIV CELEBS FOR YOLANDA. The leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is seting aside its PHP7 million party budget in order to save money, which will be dedicated to the continuing Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response activities.
8. 10 BEST DINING SPOTS IN DIVISORIA. We understand a trek to DV at this time of the year sounds like a scary prospect, but it really is the best place for last-minute shoppers because here you can get the best bargains on gifts for your inaanak and monito y monita. The good news is that there are as many places to eat at as there are stalls to shop in.
9. 6 UNKNOWN PINOY CHRISTMAS VIDS THAT YOU SHOULD WATCH.
10. ENRILE SAYS HE’LL QUIT POLITICS IN 2016. Enrile, who is now 89, will end his Senate stint on June 30, 2016. He says he’s throwing in the towel by then. He’ll be 92.
