WATCH: The first ever Vertis Northern Lights in QC lit up

MANILA, Philippines - Those living in the north are about to witness a magnificent Christmas spectacle as Ayala Land Inc., in the spirit of gratitude, brings its highly anticipated lights and sounds show to Quezon City this year.

The Vertis North Mall's facade transformed into a haven for the holidays with the first ever lights and sounds show in Northern Metro Manila, with the Filipino tradition of Simbang Gabi serving as an inspiration for the spectacle's cathedral design.

Spreading the magic of Christmas, Ayala Land Inc. is bringing the first ever Vertis Northern Lights, an enchanting Christmas fete patterned after Makati’s Festival of Lights, to northern Metro Manila this holiday season right in the heart of Quezon City. Beyond spreading magical moments, the show aims to bring people together in the spirit of gratitude for the many joys that Christmas brings.

Fom November 16, 2017 to to January 8, 2018, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, catch the dazzling light and sound display never before seen in this part of the city.

A giant Cathedral exquisitely covered with thousands of lights, comes ablaze at the Vertis North grounds, transforming it into a magical wonderland that brings to life the wonders of Christmas. The theme was inspired by the Filipino culture of attending Simbang Gabi, where Christmas season in the Philippines begin. This ties back to the idea of the Vertis Northern Lights signifying the start of Christmas in Vertis North.

The light installations are sure to wrap everyone in the joys of the season. Veering away from the traditional red and green Christmas colors, the Cathedral is draped with thousands of LED lights for the full production which includes cyber spheres, meteor lights, intelligent lights, and laser lights that produces a variety of hues.

The décor’ was beautifully executed by renowned designer Zenas Pineda, and the Cathedral by award-winning Voltaire de Jesus.

The musical medleys have three distinct themes – Pinoy Fiesta by Roy del Valle, Traditional Christmas by Von de Guzman, and Techno Christmas by Tris Suguitan. Each one boasts of a different mood, pace, and rhythm, while retaining the Christmas cheer that brings people together and envelopes everyone in the spirit of the season.

“Christmas is the most awaited season of the year, and to show our gratitude to the communities and people around us, Ayala Land Inc. thought it was high time to bring our award-winning Christmas light and sound show to northern Metro Manila. This will allow residents of the north to experience and immerse themselves in the sights, colors, and sounds of Christmas here in Quezon City,” said Jay Teodoro, Estate Head of Vertis North.

Throughout the holiday season, various activities will be held at Ayala Malls Vertis North, Seda Vertis North & ABS- CBN Vertis Tent– from Christmas Bazaars to holiday sales, to Christmas carols at the lobby and many more exciting activities and promos.

The lights and sounds show is now present in the Ayala land Estates, namely: Makati, Nuvali, Bonifacio Global City, Centrio - Cagayan de Oro, and Ayala Center Cebu – spreading the sights and sounds of Christmas to more people.

Indeed, Christmas is the happiest time of the year, and it will even be more festive for residents of northern Metro Manila as an unforgettable Christmas tradition in this part of the city.

— The Summit Express

First Clark Sunset Marathon happens December 9, 2017

MANILA, Philippines – RUNRIO, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and the Clark Development Corporation officially launched on Thursday, November 18, the very first of its kind Sunset Marathon happening on December 9, 2017, at the Parade Grounds of Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga at 4pm.

RUNRIO partners with Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and Clark Development Corporation for a running event that aims to promote night running in the Philippines. (RunRio Events, Inc. representatives Andrew Neri and Franco Bambico and Clark Development Corporation Tourism Promotions manager Noemi Julian.)

The Clark Sunset Marathon is a race conceptualized and organized by RUNRIO, Inc. and was inspired by the fact that in tropical countries like the Philippines, the weather is mostly hot and humid. A night run is the perfect running event for running enthusiasts to have a more cooler and more exciting race experience.

Clark Sunset Marathon features running categories in 5KM, 10KM, 21KM and 42KM with the full marathon’s gun start happening at 5pm. The 21KM, 10KM and 5KM follow shortly at 5:15pm, 5:30pm and 5:45pm respectively.

The race event is expected to attract a total of 5,000 running enthusiasts coming from all parts of the country, as well as runners from other parts of the world. “The Clark Sunset Marathon comes at an opportune time when we are being very aggressive in promoting Clark Pampanga as one of the country’s premiere tourist hub.” Said Noemi Julian, manager, Clark Development Corporation, Tourism Promotions.

This landmark running activity is inspired by other world-famous famous running events such as the Boston Marathon, New York Marathon, Singapore Marathon, and the Tokyo Marathon, and is expected to put the country on the global map as a destination for running enthusiasts.

In partnership with Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and Clark Development Corporation the Clark Sunset Marathon aims to establish Clark, Pampanga as a venue of world-class running events in the Philippines. The activity also aims to establish this event as a premiere international marathon foot race in the country by securing route standard accreditation from AIMS/IAAF, the international governing body for distance races in the world.

“The development of Clark International Airport, including the construction of a P12-billion passenger terminal will not only provide running enthusiasts easy access to attend this event, but will also open new opportunities for both tourist and business groups in Clark Pampanga” added Julian.

Running coach Rio dela Cruz of RUNRIO Events, Inc. is proud of this ambitious running event that will not only promote the sport of running, but more importantly, promote the country as well and boost tourism.

“When we started conceptualizing the Clark Sunset Marathon, we wanted to have a first class running experience that targets not only local runners but also foreign running enthusiasts. We thought of a running event that can be compared to world-renowned marathons such as Boston Marathon, Singapore Marathon, New York Marathon among many others. And our goal is not just a one-time event. But to have an annual running event that will make our country one of the top running destinations” said dela Cruz.

For the inaugural year, runners can choose five categories and their cut-off times. 42K-7 hours, 21K - 4 hours, 10K – 2 hours and 5k – 1 hour.

Since Clark has an international airport, Clark Sunset Marathon is also targeting foreign runners to join the race that will culminate with the Clark Sunset Marathon Music Festival, an after party celebration at the finish line. The activity will showcase DJs that will provide the party atmosphere of the running event. “We at RUNRIO want to give a one-of-a-kind experience to all the participants. We staged this running event on a Saturday evening so that the participants will have a relax and “chill-type” of an experience. It will be a night of running and partying with DJ Ashley Rivera and DJ Tom Taus dishing out the coolest music. This will make sure that participants, their families and friends will have a good time,” said Andrew Neri, managing partner, RUNRIO Events, Inc.

For more information, visit www.runrio.com or like the official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/runrioeventsinc/.

— The Summit Express

'Bagyong Tino' PAGASA weather update November 18, 2017

MANILA, Philippines - 'Bagyong Tino' continues to move away from the country towards the West Philippine Sea, state weather bureau PAGASA announced in its 4:00 a.m. update on Saturday, November 18, 2017.

Bagyong Tino moves away from the Philippine Area of Responsibility. Image courtesy of DOST-PAGASA.

At 3:00 a.m. today, the center of Tropical Depression "Tino" was estimated based on all available data at 305 km West Northwest of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan (10.6N, 116.1E) with maximum sustained winds of up to 55 km/h and gustiness of up to 90 km/h.
'Bagyong Tino' is forecast to move West Northwest at 28 km/h.

'Tino' is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) around 7 to 8 a.m. today.

The weather system which has made landfall over Palawan on Friday brings moderate to heavy rainfall within the 200 km diameter of the Tropical Depression. Meanwhile, light to moderate rains is still expected over MIMAROPA, Bicol Region and Visayas.

The weather bureau said northeast Monsoon is affecting Northern Luzon.

In NCR, partly cloudy to cloudy skies with light to moderate rains or thunderstorms will be experienced. Light to moderate winds blowing from the northeast to east and becoming southeast to east during the afternoon will prevail and the coastal waters will be slight to moderate seas.

For South Luzon and Visayas, thunderstorms is affecting over Catanduanes, Sorsogon and Northern Samar and nearby areas which may persist within 2 to 3 hours.

No gale warning being raised in any part of the country.

— The Summit Express

‘Justice League’ Movie Review: The League Saves The Day For DC

Capping off a comic book movie-filled year is Warner Bros.’ first attempt at a superhero ensemble flick, “Justice League.” Directed by “Man of Steel” and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” helmer Zack Snyder, the movie attempts to feed off of the success of this summer’s “Wonder Woman” by bringing together DC’s finest heroes on the big screen.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Ben Affleck as Batman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash in ‘Justice League’/Warner Bros.

*Minor Spoilers Ahead*

It feels like it has been a lifetime waiting for this DC epic. Between reshoot rumors and director switches, the project’s production definitely went through tumultuous times. Still, fans have been hotly anticipating the flick as it it the first time Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and even Superman all come together on the big screen.

The team’s union, unfortunately, could have come at a better time as the League does not really have the luxury of trying to get to know each other with new supervillain Steppenwolf and his legion of Parademons lurking at the shadows. The newfound squad will be left with no choice but to learn to work as a single unit if they want to have any shot at protecting Earth and preserving mankind.

Henry Cavill as Superman in ‘Justice League’/Warner Bros

On the surface, “Justice League” is an enjoyable film, full of comic book goodness and fan-service moments. Seeing the League come to life after four preceding movies is undoubtedly fulfilling especially for fans’ who have stuck with DC amidst the massive backlash that “BvS” got from last year. The movie clocks out at just 2 hours (including post-credits, there are 2) which resulted to a hurried storyline for the individual story beats, but the good thing about that is it intrigues you more, especially when it comes to the trio of new game players -- Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman.

Following all the tonal inconsistency problems, highlighted by the levity-filled “Wonder Woman’s” success, Warner Bros. opted to lighten up. A different stroke compared to the dreary and gloom vibe they usually go for, thanks to the ever-so-successful Nolan “Batman” trilogy. But it was high time that they realize that being off-brand should not really big of a concern, just as long as the final product they come up with is a worth it time at the cinemas. After all, who goes to see any movie wanting to feel down and disappointed? By this, we find hope in the future for the budding franchise, which has a slew of projects in several stages of production scheduled to arrive in the next several years.

As like every film, the movie is not perfect. The story is very thin, and there are things that happened that just simply do not make any sense. At this point, narrative loopholes seems to be a recurring problem for DC Both “BvS” and “Suicide Squad” have problematic storylines and “Justice League,” unfortunately, falls in the same category. The only difference is that, the cast’s chemistry is so off the charts that you start not caring if the scene actually fits on the bigger picture. Instead, you sit there and just geek out.

There were a handful of cranky CGI shots. Granted that the film had to go through extensive reshoots, leaving VFX people scrambling to deliver on time, it does not excuse Warners for graphic blunder, certainly not in a movie as hotly-anticipated as “Justice League.” The film also looks glossed over and very pristine. The heroes appear the same even after the third act battle, making it a bit unbelievable. Looks-wise, the problem was most definitely evident on the villain, Steppenwolf, who looked like a glorified video game character. This is made worse by his weak characterization. We don’t really get why he is so relentless in doing what he is doing and he does not seem to be as imposing as he should have been to actually back Batman and Wonder Woman on a corner and force them to assemble a team.

At the bottom of the gripe pyramid is its tendency to be a little cheesy -- with lines and even shots that do not quite hit the mark as how it is intended. Lastly and, unfortunately for Superman fans out there, he, once again, gets the shortest end of the stick. The movie could’ve been a great rebirth for him, but that opportunity just was not seized to the fullest.

Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cybrog, Ezra Miller as The Flash and Jason Momoa as Aquaman in ‘Justice League’/Warner Bros.

In total, “Justice League” is enjoyable and is definitely a step in the right direction for the DC Film franchise. It may not be as good as “Wonder Woman,” but it did what it had to do by establishing the team and ushering new characters that fans could see in their solo films down the line. If anything, it makes you really excited for what is to come, especially with Miller’s solo outing, “Flashpoint” and Momoa’s “Aquaman.” It also makes you want Affleck to stick around as Batman amid persistent rumors that he wants out of the Caped Crusader’s suit.

Watch the full trailer:

— ALD, The Summit Express

PERFORMANCE OF SCHOOLS: November 2017 Civil Engineering CE board exam result

MANILA, Philippines - The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) hailed the top performing schools in the November 2017 Civil Engineering (CE) board exam. The results are expected to be released from November 17 to 20, 2017 or in 2-3 working days after the last day of exam.

PRC conducted the Civil Engineer licensure exam in the cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legaspi, Lucena, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga on November 11 and 12, 2017.

RELATED RESULTS

• LIST OF PASSERS: November 2017 Civil Engineer CE board exam results
• TOP 10 PASSERS: November 2017 Civil Engineer CE board exam results

The top performing schools in the November 2017 Civil Engineer Board Exam as per Commission Resolution No. 2010-547 series of 2010: WITH 50 OR MORE EXAMINEES AND WITH AT LEAST 80% PASSING PERCENTAGE

Updating for the top performing schools...

Here's the performance of schools in the November 2017 Civil Engineering Licensure Examination in alphabetical order as per R.A. 8981 otherwise known as PRC Modernization Act of 2000 Section 7(m) "To monitor the performance of schools in licensure examinations and publish the results thereof in a newspaper of national circulation":

Updating for the performance of schools...

PREVIOUS EXAMINATIONS

In the November 2016 Civil Engineer exams, University of the Philippines (UP) - Diliman topped the schools with 96.08% or 98 out of 102 passed the tests. UP-Los Baños (UPLB) ranked second with 95.16% or 59 out of 62 passed.

In the November 2015 exams, UPLB led the schools with 96.61% or 57 out of 59 successfully hurdled the tests. UPD got the second highest place with 89.89% or 80 out of 89 passed.

Here's the list of top performing schools in the previous examinations:

Exam Date	SCHOOL	NO. OF EXAMINEES	NO. OF PASSERS	% PASSED
May 2017	DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-MANILA	105	86	81.90
November 2016	UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINESDILIMAN	102	98	96.08
May 2016	DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-MANILA	88	71	80.68
November 2015	UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINESLOSBAÑOS	59	57	96.61
May 2015	NONE QUALIFIED
December 2014	UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINESLOSBAÑOS	72	72	100
May 2014	DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-MANILA	70	64	91.43

UPDATES

Monitor this page for the real-time updates on Civil Engineer board exam results. Check out also the official website of PRC for more information.

— The Summit Express