"Suntukan sa Ace Hardware" puzzles netizens, who's going?

MANILA, Philippines – For the past couple of days, the Philippine Facebook community scrambled and bewildered by a sudden event entitled: “Suntukan sa Ace Hardware” which is scheduled to happen on April 15, 2016 at Ace Hardware SM Lucena City created and organized by a certain “Mr. Balagbag: Tuberong kulay green” (His displayed name on Facebook is NSFW).

Thousands of netizens are really looking forward to the fight of the year.

Almost all Filipino yuppies saw the event and got curious. Various assumptions arose. Some guessed that it is one of the gimmicks of the well-known hardware to gain social media engagement. But many say that it is a total non-sense.

We approached “Tokis,” a youth influencer from down South of the Metro who’s a caretaker in a computer shop and tuned in Facebook for almost 24 hours a day for a living to ask what he knows about the hyped event. “Wala yun kuya, trip trip lang yun”, said Tokis combined with a boisterous laugh.

We checked the event page and to our surprise, the event garnered over 35,000 confirmed attendees! Must be a real blockbuster event!

Mr. Balagbag, which is obviously a fictitious name, also manages a fan page full of humorous and viral posts. Interestingly, one of Balagbag’s most engaging page-participants is a parody account of actor Baron Geisler who eventually will be the acting referee of the boxing match that got the netizens pumped-up and excited.

As we were browsing the event page and back-read the comments to look for relevant details such as: the combatants involved and the reason for the brawl, we were almost convinced by what Tokis had said that the event is a total non-sense and a waste of time. But there are tons of funny posts that even few personalities joined the “bandwagon” like Moonstar88 Band:

The popular OPM band didn’t directly mentioned the event but evidently pertaining to Mr.Balagbag’s event that delighted its followers on Twitter.

Finally, someone had the guts to ask Ace Hardware on Facebook. And to clear everything out, the widely-known hardware released their statement via a post denying the event for the benefit of confused and wondered netizens.

Aside from the clarification and as of press time, Ace Hardware has no intentions to investigate, track-down and file some legal actions to the real persons behind the false event.

Our hunch is, the people behind this fake event might be youngsters who just ended the school year for summer vacation.

To sum this up, and to reiterate Ace Hardware’s words, there’s no such event as “Suntukan sa Ace Hardware”. It is purely fictional.

Case closed. - Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express

Megaworld, Lamudi Philippines tie-up for 'next big thing in Makati'

MANILA, Philippines - Real estate giant Megaworld has partnered with the online property portal Lamudi Philippines for the new big project in Makati Central Business District targetted for the tech-savvy millennials.

Lamudi PH CEO Jacqueline van den Ende talked about digital trend that will strengthen partnership with Megaworld.

In an event on Tuesday night at Resorts World Manila, Eugene Em Lozano, Megaworld vice president for sales and marketing for Makati CBD, announced its online marketing campaign for its San Antonio Residence project.

“San Antonio Residence is Megaworld’s 20th residential masterwork in the Makati central business district designed as the ideal home for millennials. Its location and amenities complement the fast-paced lifestyle of the millennials, enabling them to make the most of their time, whether it’s moving up the career ladder or being with their loved ones,” Lozano said.

Taking advantage of Lamudi’s premier listings, recently upgraded mobile app and expert market data, Megaworld will up the game in real estate online advertising. “Now that digital is the way to go in real estate, we believe that Lamudi’s online expertise can help us reach our target market,” Lozano added.

"Philippines has a massive market of millenials and they are mostly online," Jacqueline Van den Ende, managing director of both Lamudi Philippines and MyProperty.ph said.

"Mobile is next big thing for us. We have 46 percent Internet penetration. Lamudi gets 40 percent of traffic from mobile," Van den Ende added.

She noted that about 70 percent of the country’s top developers have already partnered with them.

Lamudi Philippines, together with MyProperty.ph (which the former acquired in 2015), is now the dominant real estate listings portal in the Philippines. And in effort to make itself the go-to place for everything related to real estate, the company also released its Real Estate Market Report for 2015.

Scheduled to be completed in 2020, San Antonio Residence is equipped with amenities such as the very first B.O.N.D. (Begin, Open, Nurture, Discover) area, a Street Fitness Park and a two-story mall. This residential condo project is located along Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., near all landmarks of the Makati CBD.

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Netizen explains why Korina Sanchez shouldn’t be used against Mar Roxas

MANILA, Philippines - Over the past years, veteran broadcaster and Mar Roxas’s wife Korina Sanchez has consistently been plagued by criticisms and had been turned into an issue against the presidential candidacy of her husband.

Compared to the spouses of other presidential candidates, Sanchez is more acceptable,
according to a certain netizen. PHOTO CREDIT: PhilStar

While many netizens claim that they will not vote for the former DILG secretary because of Sanchez, a certain netizen has expressed her thoughts as to why the 51-year-old broadcaster shouldn’t be used as a reason not to vote for the Liberal Party standard bearer.

Through a lengthy Facebook post, netizen Lisa Araneta questioned why Sanchez had become an issue against her husband. Although not a fan of Sanchez, Araneta said that Roxas should “not be made to hide her.”

In her post, she wrote: ”Mar is okay," people say, "but I do not like his wife." My retort always is, "So you prefer Elenita Binay?" Then they laugh and say, "No." Sometimes I add, "Which of Duterte's mistresses do you want in Malacanan?" or "Would you rather the American, Mr. Llamanzares, the one who says he will become Filipino only if his wife wins, be the First Gentleman?”

Moreover, Araneta emphasized that Sanchez is far more acceptable compared to the spouses of other presidential candidates including Elenita Binay, the mistresses of Duterte, as well as Mr. Llamanzares.

According to Araneta, Roxas supporters shouldn’t be neutralized by his opponents since Sanchez has advantage with the CDEFG crowd.

“It's only the AB who are eyeewed by her but the decent people will vote anyway for the Roxas-Robredo tandem,” she wrote.

ON KORINA SANCHEZ. I am very "permissive" or "supportive" when it comes to whom one chooses to love and/or marry. I...
Posted by Lisa Araneta on Monday, March 28, 2016

Meanwhile, a certain GR Rodis shared through one of the comments a supposed reply of Sanchez to Araneta’s post.

Sanchez thanked Araneta for the said post and reportedly said: “I've long made peace with the narrow minded judgments of some people in the AB. I don't really care much about them as I embrace my universe of CDE with passion. I love the poor. The rich constantly disappoint. So, goodbye to them haha.”

Here’s a screenshot of the full reply. PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook/Lisa Araneta

-Mini, The Summit Express

Netizen explains why Korina Sanchez shouldn’t be used against Mar Roxas

MANILA, Philippines - Over the past years, veteran broadcaster and Mar Roxas’s wife Korina Sanchez has consistently been plagued by criticisms and had been turned into an issue against the presidential candidacy of her husband.

Compared to the spouses of other presidential candidates, Sanchez is more acceptable,
according to a certain netizen. PHOTO CREDIT: PhilStar

While many netizens claim that they will not vote for the former DILG secretary because of Sanchez, a certain netizen has expressed her thoughts as to why the 51-year-old broadcaster shouldn’t be used as a reason not to vote for the Liberal Party standard bearer.

Through a lengthy Facebook post, netizen Lisa Araneta questioned why Sanchez had become an issue against her husband. Although not a fan of Sanchez, Araneta said that Roxas should “not be made to hide her.”

In her post, she wrote: ”Mar is okay," people say, "but I do not like his wife." My retort always is, "So you prefer Elenita Binay?" Then they laugh and say, "No." Sometimes I add, "Which of Duterte's mistresses do you want in Malacanan?" or "Would you rather the American, Mr. Llamanzares, the one who says he will become Filipino only if his wife wins, be the First Gentleman?”

Moreover, Araneta emphasized that Sanchez is far more acceptable compared to the spouses of other presidential candidates including Elenita Binay, the mistresses of Duterte, as well as Mr. Llamanzares.

According to Araneta, Roxas supporters shouldn’t be neutralized by his opponents since Sanchez has advantage with the CDEFG crowd.

“It's only the AB who are eyeewed by her but the decent people will vote anyway for the Roxas-Robredo tandem,” she wrote.

ON KORINA SANCHEZ. I am very "permissive" or "supportive" when it comes to whom one chooses to love and/or marry. I...
Posted by Lisa Araneta on Monday, March 28, 2016

Meanwhile, a certain GR Rodis shared through one of the comments a supposed reply of Sanchez to Araneta’s post.

Sanchez thanked Araneta for the said post and reportedly said: “I've long made peace with the narrow minded judgments of some people in the AB. I don't really care much about them as I embrace my universe of CDE with passion. I love the poor. The rich constantly disappoint. So, goodbye to them haha.”

Here’s a screenshot of the full reply. PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook/Lisa Araneta

-Mini, The Summit Express

Passenger takes “best selfie ever” with EgyptAir hijacker

Unlike the terrified passengers of the hijacked EgyptAir, a 26-year-old British man had the guts to take a selfie with the plane’s hijacker.

This man had the guts to ask for a selfie with a hijacker.

Ben Innes, a health and safety officer, was among the passengers of EgyptAir flight MS181. The flight bound for Cairo carrying 62 passengers was hijacked by Egyptian national Mustafa on Tuesday, March 29. Mustafa, who was wearing a suicide belt which turned out to be fake, forced the plane to reroute to Cyprus.

Instead of panicking during the hostage crisis, Innes courageously approached Mustafa and asked him for a selfie. Surprisingly, Mustafa “shrugged ok” after the cabin crew translated Innes’ request.

Innes then sent “the best selfie ever” to a couple of his friends saying: “You know your boy doesn't f*** about. Turn on the news lad!!!”

According to news reports, Mustafa hijacked the plane shortly after if left Alexandria early in the morning. Aside from asking the plane to re-route to Cairo, he also demanded to see his Cypriot ex-wife. Mustafa also made a series of bizarre requests including demanding to meet with the European Union representatives.

Majority of the hostages except for the crew and four foreign passengers including Innes were released following negotiations with the hijacker. Six hours later, the crew and the rest of the passengers were released. Mustafa turned himself in just moments later.

Based on the investigation, the hijacker appeared to be mentally unstable. Although his motives remain unclear, authorities believe that the incident was not related to terrorism. Moreover, Cypriot authorities were able to verify that Mustafa’s suicide belt resembling a bomb was fake.

In a statement, EgyptAir said: “According to security sources received from Cyprus Authorities at Larnaca International Airport, which stated that the explosive belt that the hijacker allegedly said that he was wearing, is fake.” -Mini, The Summit Express

Passenger takes “best selfie ever” with EgyptAir hijacker

Unlike the terrified passengers of the hijacked EgyptAir, a 26-year-old British man had the guts to take a selfie with the plane’s hijacker.

This man had the guts to ask for a selfie with a hijacker.

Ben Innes, a health and safety officer, was among the passengers of EgyptAir flight MS181. The flight bound for Cairo carrying 62 passengers was hijacked by Egyptian national Mustafa on Tuesday, March 29. Mustafa, who was wearing a suicide belt which turned out to be fake, forced the plane to reroute to Cyprus.

Instead of panicking during the hostage crisis, Innes courageously approached Mustafa and asked him for a selfie. Surprisingly, Mustafa “shrugged ok” after the cabin crew translated Innes’ request.

Innes then sent “the best selfie ever” to a couple of his friends saying: “You know your boy doesn't f*** about. Turn on the news lad!!!”

According to news reports, Mustafa hijacked the plane shortly after if left Alexandria early in the morning. Aside from asking the plane to re-route to Cairo, he also demanded to see his Cypriot ex-wife. Mustafa also made a series of bizarre requests including demanding to meet with the European Union representatives.

Majority of the hostages except for the crew and four foreign passengers including Innes were released following negotiations with the hijacker. Six hours later, the crew and the rest of the passengers were released. Mustafa turned himself in just moments later.

Based on the investigation, the hijacker appeared to be mentally unstable. Although his motives remain unclear, authorities believe that the incident was not related to terrorism. Moreover, Cypriot authorities were able to verify that Mustafa’s suicide belt resembling a bomb was fake.

In a statement, EgyptAir said: “According to security sources received from Cyprus Authorities at Larnaca International Airport, which stated that the explosive belt that the hijacker allegedly said that he was wearing, is fake.” -Mini, The Summit Express