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The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 1,553 out of 5,665 passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Board Examination given by the Board of Accountancy in key cities of the country this month May 2013. Richard Saavedra of Ateneo de Davao University topped the more than 1500 passers by scoring 96% in the said examination. He was closely followed by Mikyll Narvios of the University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu with a score of 95.43%. Shown below is the complete list of the top ten passers. May 2013 CPA top 10 The full list of passers is being shown below. CPA Board Exam Registration for the issuance of professional ID and Certificate of Registration is from June 5-7, 2013. The requirements are as follows: Duly accomplished Oath of Professional (Panunumpa ng Propesyonal) form Current Community Tax Certificate (cedula), 2 pieces passport size picture (colored with white background and complete name tag) 1 piece 1x1 picture (colored with white

Leche Flan is a Filipino dessert made from milk and eggs. It is somewhat similar to Creme Brulee , only that the sugar topping is not crunchy. Instead it is caramelized sugar syrup. Someone requested for me to make this so I am writing this. This is the recipe I follow and you can make revisions to it as you see fit. You would need a steamer, a strainer and elongated baking pans ( llanera ). Make sure that you baking pan would fit inside your steamer. Leche Flan (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Leche Flan Ingredients 1/4 k                        refined white sugar 1 can(big)                condensed milk 1 can(big)                evaporated milk 7 pcs                       egg yolk 1 pc                         whole egg Making Leche Flan 1. Put sugar on the baking pan and caramelize sugar over low heat. Do not burn the sugar too much as it would become bitter. Let it cool  so it would harden. 2. Take 7 pcs. of eggs and separate the egg yolk from the egg white. You

I was surprised by the news about PAL's move to penalize latecomers with additional fees . I actually thought that they have been doing that since the start. Well, Cebu Pacific is already doing that. The first time I actually felt it was in 2010. The story goes like this. My friend is scheduled to fly to Cebu after a week of vacation in his hometown in Marikina. It was a week after the deadly flood of typhoon Ondoy. Many roads were closed. He miscalculated his chances and he ended up 10 minutes late in the airport. And guess what, he was denied to check-in. He paid another 2500 pesos for the next trip. That was terrible but as I read through the Terms and Conditions, I realized what they did is valid. Two years later, I was going to the airport after a few days of vacation in Bulacan. In the past, it usually takes 3 hours from Bulacan to Airport. But it was not a usual day. Starting in East Ave, everything seems to be slow. The bus is slow. The traffic is terrible. We had to re

Bantayan Island has been one of the famous destinations of both local and international tourists here in Cebu. In recent years, it has slowly become an alternative to Boracay because of the white sands as well as the serenity it offers to those who may wish to have a truly relaxing experience during their vacation. Bantayan island is not as crowded as Bora and the expenses there is way cheaper in comparison. In this article, I will guide you on your travel to Bantayan Island from Cebu City. That  includes information about fare prices. Bantayan Island beach Getting to Bantayan Island: Landtrip from North Bus Terminal The first step in getting to Bantayan Island is to ride a bus in Cebu North Bus Terminal. It was located in Mandaue City. For those coming from hotels and inns, it would be advisable to ride a taxi to get there. Or if you have the luxury of time, you can ask a hotel employee or a local friend to know the jeepney route that will pass in the North Bus Terminal.

Last Tuesday, in the article entitled  True Story: Warning to Zest Air Passengers and Potential Customers , I wrote about our problem when Zest Air decided to cancel all flights from Cebu to Davao. Now I'm glad to tell everyone that Zest Air finally conceded and gave us a better option than simply refunding our tickets. Here's what happened. Went Back to Zest Air Office in Mactan-Cebu Airport After trying to contact them through various office numbers, my friends decided to go to their Airport office for the last time. If this turns out unsuccessful, we'll just buy a new ticket and pursue a legal solution. It was a tough decision since the prevailing one-way ticket prices at that time was around 2500 Pesos at the minimum.This is far from the 700 pesos Zest Air offered to refund. But our event in Davao is of utmost importance so we have no choice but to proceed. Even if it's late Tuesday night, around 10PM, they proceeded to Zest Air office. I decided not t

I've never climbed a mountain before. If this one will be successful, then this would be a great accomplishment for me. Well, it turns out that mountain climbing is not an easy task, but the experience is awesome. My first try is probably a less difficult one: Mount Babag in Cebu. In Hiking, Preparation is Important I rose up early morning Saturday to prepare my stuffs. I was told that we'll be going to a far place and that I have to bring a lunch pack and drinking water. I never really knew that I'll be climbing Mount Babag until my friend knocked on my door. To my surprise, he's in rubber shoes, jogging pants and collared t-shirt. A big bag (with emergency kit inside) is on his back. In cotrast, I was dressed differently but upon realizing things, I immediately changed my outfit. I also have to review the content of my bag to suit what I may be needing for the climb. Here's what I brought: - Lunch pack and small snack items - Extra clothes - Water (1 Liter

Beside  CNT , another Cebu brand that is popular with whole roasted pig (locally termed as Lechon) is Zubuchon . Well, I can't really put into writing how Zubuchon  lechon taste like. It's just palatable and addictive. So, here's a little warning for those who have problems in their blood pressure: if you want to eat there, make sure you have someone who can control you. :-) Otherwise, the you may overindulge. Zubuchon offers one of the best Lechon (Photo credit: Roberto Verzo) Other Lechon-based products Zubuchon also offers other products, most of them are lechon-based. Their sinigang lechon is a sinigang where the pork used is lechon. Another one is Prichon which is actually, fried lechon. And they also have Mongos, Zubuchon Sisig, Zubuchorizo, Zubuflakes and more. [Related: Filipino Foods: Sinigang, Sisig, Kare-kare, Pakbet ] Kamias Juice to Neutralize the Fats One of their new products is Kamias Juice. It was a shake made of blended Kamias. We actua

I don't really want write this to my blog but lately, I thought it would be beneficial for many people to know what happened to me and my friends late last month. We Booked  Zest Air Tickets Cebu-Davao We had an event in Davao around the middle of this month. To save money we looked for promo fares from   local airlines such as Cebu Pacific, Airphil, and Zest Air. But because it's just a month before the event, we had trouble finding one, thanks to Zest Air who advertised a 88 Pesos promo Cebu - Davao flight. Here's the promotional poster from their website. We were so glad about it. Five of my friends were able booked a one-way ticket to Davao. Zest Air Cancels the Flight and ONLY Offered Refund  Everything's fine until we received this email from Zest Air last April 23, two weeks before the travel date. Dear __________________, ZESTAIR FLIGHT ADVISORY: Please be advised that effective May __, 2013 onwards flight Z2-____ from CEBU to DAVAO has been C

Many would have seen this coming. Last March, Zest Air and AirAsia Philippines announced a strategic partnership to further their strength in the increasingly competitive local aviation industry currently led by Cebu Pacific. Part of the deal is the acquisition of 40% ownership of Zest Air by AirAsia. And we are now starting to see the progress of that deal. Starting May 10, 2013 all Zest Air flights will now be booked at airasia.com. Instead of booking in two separate websites, Zest Air and AirAsia customer just have to go to one site. A unified system is of course a more efficient way to operate a business. We can therefore expect that starting May 10 all visitors of flyzest.com will be redirected to airasia.com/ph . Efficient Operation Means Better Customer Service? I'm just hoping that this latest development will dramatically improve Zest Air's customer service. I was referring to services that should be given to the customers when flights were cancelled, del