Gerald tours Maja around GenSan hometown

MANILA – Gerald Anderson toured his girlfriend, actress Maja Salvador, in his home town in General Santos City where he spent his childhood.

Anderson shared this at the sidelines of the press conference of his upcoming movie “Halik Sa Hangin.”

Although it was not Salvador’s first time to visit the province, Anderson said: “Ipinakita ko lang kung saan ako lumaki. Nag-camping kami which is first time for me. Ang saya.”

The actor said he is also glad that Salvador is slowly getting closer to his family.

“Okay naman. Kumbaga, day by day naman. It's a process. Ganun talaga ang relasyon eh," he said.

What’s important, Anderson said, is that both of them are grateful for their relationship, as well as the opportunities coming their way.

“Sobra lang kaming nagpapasalamat sa lahat ng blessings. And may panibago akong blessing sa simula pa lang ng taon. What else can I ask for?” he said, referring to “Halik Sa Hangin.”

Aside from Anderson, the Star Cinema film also features Julia Montes and JC De Vera. It will be released on January 28 in cinemas nationwide.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao, the street kid who conquered the world

MANILA - In 1992, a 14-year-old boy dropped out of school in General Santos City in the southern Philippines because of extreme poverty.

With his single mother was unable to support him and his five siblings, he made his way to Manila and ended up living on the streets.

When someone suggested to the young Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao that he divert his energies to a local boxing gym, it turned out to be a shrewd piece of advice.

"I kept winning and almost became a boxer without knowing," said the man who would go on to make history as the only winner of world titles in eight weight divisions.

He soon caught the attention of national amateur selectors and made the Philippines team.

With lodging and subsistence provided, it proved the beginning of one of the most glittering careers the fight game has ever known.

"Manny" (as he became known) Pacquiao's natural talent and speed, coupled with a fearsome work ethic, saw him work his way up to being lauded as "the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world".

Pacquiao (56-5-2) will command a payday in excess of $20 million dollars when he fights Chris Algieri at the Venetian Macau, one of the world's largest and grandest casino resorts, on Sunday morning -- a far cry from his desperate beginnings.

It is perhaps memories of his younger impoverished days that prompt Pacquiao never to refuse requests from family and friends.

His philanthropy and generosity are well known, and resulted in the Filipino icon paying for two Airbus A320s emblazoned with his face to fly his 300-plus entourage the two hours from General Santos to Macau for the fight.

His fame and fortune in the ring also enabled him to study and finally pass his high school exams in 2007 at the age of 28.

A college degree followed in 2009 and a further qualification in legislation and governance paved the way for him to be elected with 66 percent of the vote in May 2013 as a congressman in his wife Jinkee's home province of Sarangani. He was re-elected unopposed in 2013.

Back in his pomp

Now just two weeks away from his 36th birthday he shows no little sign of slowing down his hectic life.

Boxing and politics aside, he is also a singer, actor, church minister, army reservist and player-coach for Kia Motors in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), playing seven minutes of their season opener last month to the dismay of his long-time Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao won his first world title at flyweight in 1998 and added a super bantamweight title a year later, but it wasn't until he teamed up with Roach in 2001 that his career really took off as they forged one of the most successful partnerships in boxing history.

Pacquiao went on to win multiple world titles, sweeping aside the world's best.

Marc Antonio Barrera, Oscar de la Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto were all demolished by the Filipino.

Two defeats in 2012 -- a devastating knockout against Marquez and a controversial points decision against Timothy Bradley -- led some to think Pacquiao's star was fading.

But a year ago in Macau he regained his pomp with a comprehensive win against Brandon Rios, and then took Bradley apart in their rematch.

There remains just one thing missing on his considerable CV -- a megafight with the unbeaten American great Floyd Mayweather.

The signs are that if Pacquiao beats Algieri as expected Sunday, the pair will finally touch gloves next year in the richest event in the history of sport -- it will generate an estimated $1 billion.

Whoever suggested that a scrawny Manila street kid should go to the gym could never have imagined where it would lead.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao bloodies sparring partner's nose

MANILA, Philippines -- Manny Pacquiao's first sparring session for the Timothy Bradley fight went pretty well.

In fact, he already bloodied the nose of his sparring partner, Lydell Rhodes, during their four-round session in General Santos City on Tuesday.

“Medyo nasaktan ata ‘yung sparring partner natin kasi parang sinalo ata lahat ng kaliwa ni [Pacquiao] eh,” Pacquiao’s assistant trainer and close friend, Buboy Fernandez, said in an interview with ABS-CBN GenSan’s Jay Dayupay.

Rhodes, who has previously worked with Floyd Mayweather Sr., tried to mimic Bradley’s boxing style. Unfortunately, he got tagged repeatedly by Pacquiao’s power shots.

“Kanina nakita ko na medyo nasaktan kasi may tumulong kulay pula sa ilong nya, so maganda ang resulta [para kay Pacquiao]. Makikita mong agresibo ang ating Pambansang Kamao,” said Fernandez.

Pacquiao’s coach, Freddie Roach, arrived in General Santos City on Monday to begin training the Filipino boxer.

Fernandez said Roach wanted to check if the Filipino superstar is conditioned enough to begin sparring.

“Dumating si Coach Freddie, na-meet niya, nakita na ang kundisyon niya, tinanong kung pwede nating i-sparring. Sabi ko subukan nating simulan ng mga three to four rounds. So kanina naganap 'yung first sparring natin,” narrated the assistant trainer.

Pacquiao will try to reclaim the WBO welterweight belt which was snatched away by Bradley during their first meeting in 2012.

The fight is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas on April 12.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Melai marries Jason in GenSan church

MANILA – Celebrity couple Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros are finally husband and wife after tying the knot on Monday.

The former "Pinoy Big Brother" housemates were married at the Holy Cross Parish in General Santos City, while the reception will be held at the ballroom of Greenleaf Hotel.

Among those who attended the wedding were designer Nat Manilag, director Erick Salud, Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, Ryan Bang and "Pinoy Big Brother" alumnus Paul Jake Castillo.



The wedding came a few months after Cantiveros admitted that she is pregnant with Francisco's child.





The celebrity couple rose to fame in 2009 as fellow housemates on the popular reality TV show but they managed to continue their relationship outside the famous yellow house.

Although they broke up in February 2012, they eventually got back together in June this year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao shows off mansion in GenSan

Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao showed his "mansion 2" in General Santos City on Kris Aquino's morning show "KrisTV" on Friday. 

Aquino and her co-hosts, Melai Cantiveros and Jason Francisco, were welcomed by Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee.

Kris TV, February 15, 2013

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Mommy D's cry of anguish: End boxing stint now

MANILA, Philippines - Dionesia Pacquiao cried in anguish after watching her son’s heartbreaking loss to Mexican fighter Juan Manuel Marquez.

Immediately after seeing her son knocked out, Mommy D – as she is called – pleaded that he already stop from the sport that brought them out of poverty. Manny’s sister, Lisa, also asked that he retire from boxing.

Even the people of General Santos City, from where the boxing icon hails, could not believe what they saw.

Immediately after Pacquiao was knocked out in the sixth round, they began leaving the stadium and only a deafening silence can be heard. – from a report by Jay Dayupay, dzMM

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pacman: Training in GenSan better than in Baguio

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is satisfied with his initial training in General Santos City for his Juan Manuel Marquez fight in December.

Pacquiao said that in contrast to his past training camps in Baguio City, he was less distracted in General Santos City.

"My security nga, hindi na naha-high blood sa pag-awat ng mga taong nagpo-pose for picture o nagpapapirma ng authograph,” he told Philboxing’s Eddie Alinea with a laugh.



(My security details are no longer having a hard time keeping me away from fans.)

Pacquiao said most of his kababayans in General Santos City understand the importance of his upcoming fight.

"Ayaw nilang magsilbing distractions sa preparasyon ko (They don’t want to distract me from my preparations)," the fighting congressman said.

Away from photo-opp hungry fans, Pacquiao has been enjoying uninterrupted road and gym work in General Santos.

He also said that favorable weather in the past weeks helped him get into shape.

"Medyo mainit kaya siguro na-regain ko agad ang stamina. Grabe kung pagpawisan kung kaya nakakaya kong gawin ang lahat pinagagawa sa akin," he said.

(It was quite hot here and it helped me regain my stamina. I perspire a lot, which is why I was able to do everything I was told to do).

Pacquiao is scheduled to fly to the US on Saturday for the remainder of his training.

The Filipino boxer will spend six weeks at the Wild Card Gym owned by his trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Marquez on December 8.

The Filipino champion has said he wants to erase the doubts about his previous victories against the Mexican champion.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Magnitude 5.3 quake jolts Sarangani

MANILA, Philippines -- A magnitude 5.3 quake shook Sarangani province and General Santos City Thursday afternoon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Phivolcs said the quake occurred at 4:14 p.m. with its epicenter located 157 kilometers southeast of Sarangani.

The quake was tectonic in origin with a depth of 87 kilometers.
It was felt at Intensity 1 in General Santos City.

Phivolcs said aftershocks were to be expected.

source: interaksyon.com

GenSan raises dengue alert as death toll rises to 5

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Health authorities in General Santos City are officially on alert as the number of dengue cases and related deaths in the area have continued to rise over the last several weeks.

Dr. Edgardo Sandig, City Integrated Health Services Office (CIHSO) chief, said Friday they have so far recorded 154 confirmed dengue cases and five deaths within the city’s 26 barangays since January, breaching the alert threshold set by the Department of Health (DOH).

He said such figure was eight more than last year’s incidence during the same period, which totaled 146 and only four deaths.

“We’re now in the alert level but I think our overall situation is manageable. Dengue can be prevented and we can effectively contain it through regular cleanup of our surroundings and proper healthy practices,” he said in a radio interview.

Based on CIHSO and DOH Region 12’s records, two dengue patients have died in the city in the last two weeks.

The latest fatality was a one year and 11-month-old baby from Purok Magnolia in Barangay Calumpang here who succumbed earlier this week to complications caused by dengue hemorrhagic fever at the city district hospital.

The victim, who was identified as Charisse Sofia Barile, died after suffering from recurring fever and influenza-like symptoms for about a week.

Sandig said their monitoring showed that Barangays Labangal, Calumpang and San Isidro have posted the most number of confirmed dengue cases in the city this year.

He said all five dengue fatalities came from the three villages, which host a number of crowded residential communities.

He said their health teams are have been conducting health education sessions and regular cleanup drives in the affected communities to help prevent the further spread of the disease.

Sandig said they were also making rounds of local public and private schools to raise awareness on various measures against dengue among students, pupil and school personnel.

The campaign, he said, is centered on the Department of Health’s (DOH) 4S strategy against dengue that stands for: search and destroy, self-protection measures, seek early consultation, and say no to indiscriminate fogging.

A report released by the regional epidemiology and surveillance unit of DOH Region 12 cited that Barangay Labangal here was among the six barangays in the region that monitored a clustering of dengue cases as of May 26.

The DOH’s National Epidemiology Center said a clustering of dengue cases happens when three or more confirmed cases emerge within an affected barangay or community in four consecutive weeks.

Meantime, the DOH-12 reported that it has already recorded 1,137 confirmed dengue cases in the region as of last June 2.

Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

The report said such figure was four percent higher than last year’s count in the same period that only reached 1,095 dengue cases.

Aside from the five dengue deaths in this city, two each were also recorded in North Cotabato and Sarangani Province and one in South Cotabato or a total of 10 cases.

It added that the dengue cases in the region were so far “above the alert threshold.”

source: interaksyon.com

Pacquiao guaranteed $25-m for Bradley bout

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s paychecks are growing as he closes in on retirement.

Pacquiao, the eight-division boxing champion, is guaranteed to earn $25 million (over P1 billion) for his fight against Timothy Bradley, said Top Rank’s Bob Arum in a conversation with News5.

This is $3 million higher than his $22 million guaranteed purse for fighting Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time last November.

The guaranteed purses reflect the amount Pacquiao will receive for the fight, and do not include earnings from pay-per-view sales and commercial endorsements.

The fighting pride of General Santos City is set to defend his WBO welterweight title for the fourth time against southern California’s “Desert Storm” on June 9 (June 10 in Manila) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Bradley will receive $5 million for fighting Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound king. This will be his biggest paycheck in his career.

Arum added that Pacquiao is expected to sign his contract when he flies the United States. Over the weekend, Bradley announced that he already signed the contract.

Pacquiao is set to leave for Los Angeles via a Philippine Airlines flight on Thursday.

Arum likewise confirmed that both fighters will hold press conferences in Las Vegas on February 19 (February 20 in Manila), Los Angeles on February 21 (February 22 in Manila), and New York on February 23 (February 24 in Manila).

“Pacman,” as the 33-year old boxing champion is fondly called, is expected to begin his high-altitude training in Baguio City in March.

source: interaksyon.com