Fortune gone but, really, it was just bad luck by Shirley Yam

Accumulators - now more well known as "I'll kill you later" - have hurt some of the wealthiest people in our community. Just what were they thinking when they essentially flushed their cash down the toilet and do they deserve our sympathy or derision? Based on a number of interviews with bankers and insiders, I think I have managed to get inside the head of one such investor.

'I have lost HK$200 million and a large piece of my business in accumulators.

I know what you think. Only fools would pour their money into a contract that offers limited upside but unlimited downside, right?

But I am no fool.

Together with my college friends, I have built from scratch an enterprise that leads the industry. It was all done within a dozen years. Trust me, in China's business jungle, it took more than just luck.

Early last year, we even managed to get our Hong Kong listing. Overnight, we became billionaires. Watching the market pushing our firm to valuations that rivalled the blue chips was like magic.

In November 2007, the private bankers entered our beautiful world with their pretty Chanel suits, shiny diamond rings, sweet voices and a dazzling list of investment proposals. They are part of the investment bank's one-stop-shopping service - pre-IPO investment, public listing and then wealth management for the major shareholders.

Accumulator contracts were top of the list. They called it an unbeatable opportunity to stock up on blue chips, like HSBC Holdings, China Mobile and China Life Insurance. For every trading day within a year, I would buy a committed number of shares.

Most important of all, they came at a 30 per cent discount to the market price of the day I sign the contract. And I didn't even have to pay in full. For a US$1million contract, a US$300,000 cash or share deposit would suffice.

I had heard of this before, in dining rooms, cocktail parties and on the golf green. Almost everybody with some money was talking about it. If you were not, you are either not rich or smart enough.

The eyelash fluttering girls from the banks named a list of people that were already in. It was a Who's Who list of the city's powerful - the tycoons, their wives and their sons. It felt good to know I was in the same loop with them.

But life has trained me not to trust any banker. Sensing my hesitation, one of the girls quickly added, `Of course, there was a risk that you will be buying stocks at above the market price. But here we are talking about HSBC and China Mobile. They are as good as gold in the long run.'

She was right. If someone offered me China Mobile at below HK$100, I would immediately jump on it. Remember the stock once traded at HK$158. Besides, the market had already corrected from its 31,638-point peak.

I signed a US$2 million contract. I admitted I did not read the fine print.

But I am not betting too much. It's not even a decimal point of the fortune the bull market showered on me. But I played safe. I am not a cowboy like many of my fellow countrymen who bet on accumulators on new but sexy stocks, like Alibaba, a portal that had traded for less than a year.

A week later, the banker called with goods news. As the market rebounded, the stock has risen 3 per cent and hit the strike-out price. I pocketed the 30 per cent discount of the shares that I've accumulated that week. It's small but still a windfall.

Winning tastes good so I increased my bet. There were days where the shares would go under water but quickly recover as the market zigzagged.

The big day came in spring. By late April, accumulators had already brought me a handsome profit following the 20 per cent market rebound. I decided to go big this time. To get the ammunition, I sold some of the holding in my firm as the IPO lock-up period expired.

By then, the press was full of horror tales about accumulators, nicknamed "I'll kill you later" by some. I read about it. But these were losers talking. They lost because their pockets were not deep enough. When the market fell and the margin calls came, they were toast.

It was a different story for someone like me. I was sitting on HK$300 million in cash and a business that was still worth tens of billions despite the correction. I could sit through the darkness until the sun rose.

It was true that Beijing was trying to cool down the overheated economy. But this rhetoric comes and goes every few years.

It was true that the subprime problem was still lingering in America. But China's economy was big and strong enough to decouple not just itself but the rest of Asia from the trouble across the Pacific Ocean.

It may get darker before dawn but the market had already corrected over 25 per cent from the peak. Also, don't forget there was a 30 per cent price cushion in the accumulator.

I was not alone. New bets on accumulators were made even in July when the big market shakeout began.

But who would have expected Henry Paulson to let go of Lehman Brothers? We don't let banks go bust in China. Who would have expected it to ignite a massive deleveraging by funds and banks that turned into an unprecedented death spiral?

In the last two weeks of September, my beloved blue chips dived more than 30 per cent. Gone was the price cushion.

The pretty bankers were after me. They phoned. They send SMS. They asked for HK$200 million, partly to top up my margin and the rest to pay for the committed daily intake of shares.

I had only three days to find the money!

If not, they would dump the blue chips accumulated in my account and ask for the immediate payment of the rest of the stocks that I had committed to buy.

I had no choice but to sell stakes in my firm. I dumped HK$220 million worth of shares in early October. Then, as the price went further south, a further HK$320 million worth of shares was gone 10 days later. By late October, I parted with an additional HK$350 million more of shares. All sold at fire-sale prices. It was painful.

There are four more months to go before my contracts expire. I am negotiating a settlement with my banks. A tycoon recently got a pay-by-instalment settlement. Another's son has successfully cut down his charge by half.

No matter what, a large piece of my fortune is gone. Just don't add salt to my wounds by calling me a fool. I am just unlucky."


*** I guess that we all learned a valuable lesson here, be careful with your money and don't be arrogant. Most of the people that lost a lot of money are smart and considered experts in finance. What did them in is that they think that they can outdo the market.

Scary Stuff

Last night, while I was chatting with Pam, she told me to visit this site www.hotel626.com . According to her, it was one scary site. At first, I thought that it had something to do with the world economy or her school work... Pam doesn't scare easily so I decided to visit the site. True enough, I was scared to my wits end. I am not the benchmark for bravery for these sort of things but I love horror movies--- I can't sleep at night after watching one though.

This site will surely give you the adrenaline rush that you're seeking!

George Canseco

Music is one of my passions which is why I hold a very deep respect for musicians... probably even deeper than the respect that I hold for mathematicians and scientists. It never ceases to amaze me how they are able to touch thousands of lives through melodies and words, how their works are able break down the barriers of time and often times even geography so long as the language are the same.
George Canseco was one of the Philippines' greatest composers. He lived a very colorful life which is reflected through his songs. Below is an article I clipped from "The Inquirer" which hopefully will give you an idea of the man behind the songs which touched our lives.

First posted 02:32am (Mla time) Nov 20, 2004
By Nini Valera
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the November 20, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

GEORGE Canseco is dead.

The songwriter, who wrote some of Pinoy pop music's most enduring classics, died of liver cancer at 10 a.m. yesterday at the Kidney Institute. He was 70. His enduring ballads -- all sad, sentimental songs about having loved and lost -- will forever be part of Filipino pop culture. Like his song says, "Ngayon at Kailanman."

Canseco's wake will be held at the Phil-Am Life chapel in Quezon City starting today. Interment will be announced later. The songwriter was diagnosed with liver cancer only last week. He is survived by three children-Carl, Rachel and Nancy, according to Dr. Ric Berbano, one of Canseco's sons-in-law. Canseco's wife Flora died of breast cancer in 1996. An older brother, Rafael, died of cancer of the pancreas on Nov. 10, according to another brother, Andring.

Canseco was also a councilor of the 4th district of Quezon City. He once said that he entered politics "just for fun," but ended up serving for nine years. The last time Inquirer Entertainment saw Canseco was on Nov. 12. He exchanged jokes with longtime best friend, record and movie producer Vic del Rosario, and insisted on having a picture taken with him. The picture was shot by songwriter Heber Bartolome, who also came to visit. Minutes after chatting with his friends, Canseco was brought to the hospital's intensive care unit. Shortly after Canseco entered the hospital for the last time, he called up Del Rosario, asking him to look into the George Canseco tribute that was being prepared by the Aliw Foundation. The songwriter had earlier asked Del Rosario to fast-track the event.

Canseco was also in the running for National Artist for music."I hope he gets it in this lifetime," Del Rosario said last week. Four decades of OPM Canseco's music career spanned almost four decades of pop music, interpreted by the country's top recording artists. He started writing songs when he was 20.

The first time he sold a song to a record label was in 1966. The song, "Kapantay ay Langit," was recorded by Amapola, and then by Pilita Corrales, who turned it into a classic. In 1978, Canseco wrote "Ngayon at Kailanman." The song, an undying paean to love, launched the solo career of Basil Valdez, one of the lead singers of Circus Band. Basil was one of his favorite singers. "Basil feels," Canseco told Inquirer Entertainment during an interview for a "Yesterday" feature last month. "He sings with his heart and soul." Basil also interpreted another classic "Ikaw," which Canseco wrote for his wife Flora.

Canseco's last recorded song was "Nasaan Ka Man," which he wrote for Martin Nievera's 2002 album. 300 songs "May ibubuga pa ako (I still have something to show)," he said in the "Yesterday" feature of Inquirer Entertainment. "That's why I am still alive. There are still songs I have to write-that's why I am still here." But in the same interview, he also said: "I can go anytime. I would have no regrets if I go now."

By his own estimate, Canseco had written about 300 songs. These were sung by Basil, Kuh Ledesma, Sharon Cuneta, Regine Velasquez, Pilita, Dulce, ZsaZsa Padilla, Leah Navarro, among other top singers. His collaboration with record producer Vic del Rosario, whom Canseco credited to have discovered him, had produced some of the best-selling record albums of Original Pilipino Music in the '70s and '80s, released under Vicor Music Corp. and Black Gold Records. Del Rosario now runs Viva Records.

In 1981, former first lady Imelda Marcos commissioned Canseco to write "Ako Ay Pilipino" in time for the inauguration of then President Ferdinand Marcos, who won another term in a snap presidential election he had called that year.

P1.5M for a song

Canseco said that Marcos paid him P1.5 million to write the song, which was interpreted by Kuh Ledesma. The song also became the theme for a bank's television commercial. The songwriter also brought honor to the country by winning in foreign music festivals. The song "Ako ang Nagwagi," interpreted by Dulce, lost in the Metro Pop Music Festival in 1978. But it brought home top honors for Canseco and the country from the Hong Kong Music Festival the same year. The following year, he bagged the grand prize in the Metro Pop Music Festival with the song "Ngayon," interpreted by Basil Valdez. He also wrote music for the movies and won countless awards for his scores. However, Canseco was not proud of his movie scores, because "not one of them stands out."

He composed his last film score in 1989 for "Paano Ang Ngayon Kung Wala Nang Bukas," which starred Kring Kring Gonzales and Ronaldo Valdes. He also wrote the movie's theme song, "Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas," sung by Basil. Canseco wrote jingles for radio and television commercials. Like his songs, these jingles were also timeless. A jingle for a cigarette commercial which he wrote in the '70s is still being used today.

Musical roots

He was the youngest of three children of Jose Canseco, a doctor of medicine from Cavite, and Ceferina Masangkay, a mathematician from Antipolo. Canseco did not have any formal musical training, although he studied piano as a young boy and learned how to write notes.He did not use any musical instrument to write his music. Instead, he played the song in his head and later wrote it on paper.

He also wrote lyrics for the songs of other composers like Willy Cruz, D'Amarillo, Amado Trivinio, Homer Flores, Ryan Cayabyab, among others. "I have this talent for imagining a situation and then writing a song," he said. Canseco revealed that he was crying when he wrote "Paano," which was sung by Pilita and Dulce. "He's actually a cry baby," screenwriter Bibeth Orteza described Canseco. "He's the most sentimental person I have ever known."

A graduate of journalism from the University of the East, Canseco worked as a journalist from 1964 to 1972. He was also an editor for the Associated Press and the Philippines Herald. But writing songs was his true passion. Through his songs, Canseco lives on.

Big Wigs in Finance- Where they are now...

There's a saying that goes "the bigger they are, the harder they fall..." very apt description for a lot of industry leaders in the financial industry.

I'm certain that they're still a lot richer than me but I still wouldn't trade shoes with them. I can't imagine that millions or billions of dollars can be lost by a person in a year... and I wouldn't want to imagine how it would feel like either. 

I have one question though, if they'd lost their money, where did it go?

Here's a list of the financial big wigs and the estimated damage to their bank accounts

All I can say is ouch!!!!

Here in Manila, the famous fund manager CKP is in comatose. Let's pray for his recovery. His fund has performed poorly in the past due to bad market, bad luck and bad timing. It has cost a lot of people, including me a lot of money. Good people make bad decisions so I'll cut him some slack. I'm sure that he's feeling pretty bad because of the stress brought about by the bad financial environment. 

On the other hand, the famous fund manager, who is also a writer for a popular spreadsheet here in Manila is still alive and kicking... I've learned a newbie lesson never to heed his advice again... When he tells people to buy his "stock picks" that's a signal for me to sell. This guy is heartless and takes advantage of innocent stock investors especially newbies. I have no respect for these kinds of people.

Anyway, it's hard to earn money from stocks because the market is really erratic. My advice is to be liquid. I've pulled out my money from the market last year and am really glad that I made the right decision. For those who are stuck, I wish you all the best... don't do anything rash. Remember, you can still earn what you've lost. 

Life Directions Retreat

In today's fast paced world many are lost. Many don't know what direction their life should take. I admit that I was once a lost soul. I still lose my focus now and then but a little nudge in the right direction and I'm on the right path again. 

A lot of us are not lucky to have all the great opportunities placed in a golden platter in front of us. In fact, most of us have to search for what we'd like to do with our lives. It's not easy. Some 40 something, 50 something, 60 something still don't know what their life's purpose is. 

Life Directions Retreat is being held every year to guide people who want to rediscover themselves or discover their purpose in life. 

Don't expect to immediately know where your life is going to after attending the retreat though. You need to open your heart and mind in order for the retreat to be successful and make the necessary lifestyle changes if need be. The success of this retreat relies 20% on the organizers and 80% on the participant.

*** I've been meaning to attend this retreat but their schedule always doesn't fit mine.

For inquiries, email lifesdirections75@gmail.com 

or contact Tiff Batilo (0917 8612951) or Didi Paterno (0917 8440367)

www.lifesdirections75.wordpress.com

Abe's Farm

Inspite of the Storm Signal Number 1 raised yesterday, my friends and I didn't let the opportunity to spend the day in rural Pampanga pass us by. 

It took us 1.5 hours to reach Abe's farm. The farm although secluded was well guarded. The perimeter of the lot was surrounded by tall concrete walls and entrance was through an equally intimidating gate which was kept closed. A security guard was stationed near the gate to assist visitors of the farm. Due to the existing weather conditions, we weren't able to take a lot of pictures but Abe's farm is a great picture taking spot, weather permitting.

Ample parking space was available for visitors. I would approximate the parking capacity to 15-20 cars. No fear of getting your shoes or car muddied as the grounds were filled with large natural stones.

The restaurant interior was clean and had a rustic approach to it. Most if not all of the furniture were made of hardwood. Antique appliances also added to the place's appeal. Model bedrooms and living rooms were also built as part of the restaurant's interior. Here, visitors can take pictures and lounge around. This is definitely a great spot to visit if one needs to relax or escape the hustle and bustle of city life

The food was superb. All the dishes were tasty and fresh. If you've enjoyed the food in Abe's Serendra or Trinoma then you would definitely love the dishes here at Abe's farm. Abe's farm has bigger portions. The food also seemed tastier. 

What we had:

Lamb Adobo 

Paco Fern Salad

Sinigang na Baboy

Crispy Hito

Adobong Puso ng Saging

Sisig

Sikreto ni Maria (dessert)

Turon (dessert)

I loved all the food except for the sisig. I prefer my sisig to be toasted brown.

It's hard to choose the best dishes but if I were to order just two dishes then it would have to be Lamb Adobo and Adobong Puso ng Saging. 

After lunch, guests can take a swim in their luxurious looking pool. It was raining so we had no choice but to just take pictures of what we could have been doing.

Massage was also available in Abe's farm. Nurture's Spa offers massage services inside. The rates were quite pricey though. We're on a budget so we had to pass.

Rooms are also available for those who wished to stay overnight at the farm. 

Travelling 150km from Metro Manila was worth it. We had lots of fun and enjoyed the food immensely. We spent approximately 800PhP for gas, another 316PhP for the toll and PhP 2,400 for the food. Quite reasonable if you're gonna do it once in awhile.

*** Crickets are also being served in Abe's farm. We were not that adventurous so we didn't order that. A lot of people are saying that it's good though.

You can call Abe's restaurant or any restaurant part of the LJC group to inquire about Abe's farm.

Tainted Milk

China is known for mass producing a lot of fake items: bags, cellphones, shirts, etc. Who would've thought that these wily businessmen would go as far as producing "fake" milk... semi-fake anyway. For those who are oblivious to what's happening, here's the scoop: it was discovered recently that a lot milk produced in China contained melanine. I don't know exactly what the effect of melamine is if ingested internally, but it's considered plastic so it can't be good. 

I've always been wary of China manufactured cosmetics and food products but I didn't expect the Chinese businessmen to stoop this low for profit's sake. Saying that the people in China are ruthless businessmen is an understatement. 

A lot of multinational companies are affected by this revelation. Even the coffee giant, Starbucks was not spared from this unexpected revelation. Expect the price of milk produced locally and imported from New Zealand and Australia to jack up. Nobody would dare buy China produced milk, or if they're wise, China manufactured food products (who knows what else they've added in other food products).

The Chinese government should be more stringent in punishing socially irresponsible and unethical business practices such as this one to avoid similar incidents in the future. 

Multi-Level Marketing/Pyramiding Schemes in Manila

One ways of striking it rich easy is to join a Multi-level Marketing company and to get a lot of recruits. With current economic conditions being unfavorable to start a business, being involved in these kinds of activities is becoming more and more attractive to those who want to earn additional income.

Members of multi-level marketing companies earn money through commission on his sales and the sales of the people who were recruited by him. Members of multi-level marketing companies capitalize on their ability to speak well and convince people to join. Here in Manila, most of those who join are either very smart or just plain gullible. Those who are very smart make lots of money. While those who are gullible just lose money.

Last night, a friend’s friend dropped by in order to “present” a product. Unfortunately for him, I already have a solid opinion about MLMs. He produced a flimsy looking product that the company was selling for USD450. In the back of my mind, I put the product price at around USD30-40. A lot of the product’s value is lost in commissions to the “recruiters” of the sales agent. I have to admire the company though for being able to come up with nice marketing and semi-credible research materials.

The agent went home unsuccessful in making a sale and my opinion on MLMs still remains the same.

MLMs are able to gain recruits by appealing to their greed. The success of MLMs to gain recruits depend on their ability to make earning money look easy. The main product of MLMs is being a part of the team. Secondary products are the actual products being sold. I chose not to involve myself in these kinds of activities since I find it hard to separate MLM activities from taking advantage of the less fortunate and the gullible. This is just my opinion though, some people have different opinions regarding this and I respect them.

There is a thin line between MLMs and pyramiding. I guess that the acid test for me if they are legitimate MLMs is that if they allow you to join the network without asking for money and give you products to sell on credit.

Before you join a multi-level marketing group, please visit this link http://www.vandruff.com/mlm.html. That way, at least you won't be doing it with your eyes closed.

Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database

Wow! I can't believe that there's a site dedicated to giving hazard ratings to cosmetic products. It's a good thing that I stumbled upon Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database .

In this site, you can search companies, products and ingredients and you will see their repective hazard ratings. I tried searching for Pure Anada, Aromaleigh and other small MMU companies but they didn't come up. Their database includes Everyday Minerals and Bare Escentuals though.

Heliocare Gel

Heliocare gel is the perfect sunblock for people with sensitive oily skin. I've tried numerous brands: Neutrogena, Clinique, Shiseido and VMV but they all caused my skin to breakout. I was about to give up in looking for my perfect sun solution when my dermatologist told me to give Heliocare a try. It was quite pricey but well worth it. Since it's gel based, it's non comodegenic (doesn't block pores). However, application is not as easy as the traditional sunblock. You have to spread the product really well to get sufficient coverage. Removing Heliocare is hassle free, though. In fact, I don't use makeup remover anymore if I have only Heliocare on my face. I just wash my face with my regular facial wash and viola! my face is clean! Compared to other sunblocks, Heliocare is quite expensive- mine cost me around $48 USD but it's well worth it. It takes me months to use up a tube so I'm willing to part with some of my shopping money for sun protection. As an added bonus, it smells quite nice.

Private Sale

Great news, my friend is going to have a private sale which will be held in Palm Village Makati this weekend fro 1pm-4pm. Up for grab stuff will include shoes, bags, accessories, storage solutions and of course, mineral makeup (Lumiere and EDM). Attached is the invite for those who wish to go. The private sale will start at 1pm and end at 4pm.

Here's a link to the map
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v602/janfdez/?action=view&current=mappalm.jpg

They would appreciate it if you would text them for your attendance. Free snacks and drinks maybe?!? Hmmm :D

Must read stuff about HPV Vaccine Gardasil

My mom has been pestering me for months to get shots for HPV. Thank God for procrastination and unwillingness on my part to let go of my hard earned money. A series of HPV shots costs around PHP 18,000 or roughly USD 391.00. Think of how much stuff I could buy with that money. It turns out that HPV Vaccine has a lot of side effects that showed up only after years after the shots were taken. Below is the complete article from CNN.

Should parents worry about HPV vaccine? CNN

(CNN) -- A vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer is coming under fresh scrutiny amid thousands of complaints linking it to a range of health problems.

Gardasil has been the subject of 7,802 "adverse event" reports from the time the Food and Drug Administration approved its use two years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Girls and women have blamed the vaccine for causing ailments from nausea to paralysis -- even death. Fifteen deaths were reported to the FDA, and 10 were confirmed, but the CDC says none of the 10 were linked to the vaccine. The CDC says it continues to study the reports of illness.

Gardasil prevents the spread of human papillomavirus, known as HPV -- a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer in a relatively small number of girls and women.

The vaccine's manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., says it has distributed more than 26 million Gardasil vaccines worldwide, including nearly 16 million in the United States. It estimates that 8 million girls and women have received the vaccine in the United States since June 2006.

Two girls allege in court that the vaccine made them sick.
One -- Jesalee Parsons of Broken Bow, Oklahoma -- got the shot at age 13.

Jesalee's lawyer, Michael McLaren, said she got the shot on February 27, 2007 and soon developed a fever and felt pain. The next day, he said, Jesalee felt pain in her chest and abdomen.

Her mother, Laura Parsons, said Jesalee spent weeks in the hospital and underwent two surgeries after developing pancreatitis. She says the federal government should have studied the drug more before approving its use.

"I just feel let down by the government," Parsons said.

Merck says it could be a coincidence that the girls got sick after receiving the vaccine.

The company said in a statement that an adverse event report "does not mean that a causal relationship between an event and vaccination has been established -- just that the event occurred after vaccination."

Merck said it would continue to evaluate reports of adverse reactions. It said it "updates product labels with new safety information as appropriate."

Iisa Pa Lamang

I can't believe that I'm blogging about this new telenovela. I'm far from being a tv junkie. I rarely watch TV and when I do, it's often the news or the Discovery Channel.

The writers and directors of the new telenovela "Iisa Pa Lamang" must be doing something right to have caught my attention with their teasers. I've given up on Philippine telenovela after watching an episode of Dyesebel and Lobo. Both series bored me to death and the only purpose that they serve is a sleep inducers.

To my surprise and pleasure, Iisa pa lamang proved to be different. After watching an episode, I'm hooked to the series. The powerhouse cast and the storyline really engrossed me. Who would've imagined that I would even be writing about it. Below is a synopsis that I found in WIKI to give you an idea of what to expect from the series. It's a must watch show! I wouldn't be surprised if they'd have DVDs with english subtitles of the series out after the series ends.

This series is definitely worth watching!!!

(Codename Asero doesn't stand a chance)

The Synopsis (taken from Wikipedia)

This is the story of Catherine, an oppressed provincial girl who loses her one true love in the hands of a scheming woman.

Early 90s, in a prosperous hacienda in Amadesto, Batangas, lived three childhood friends namely Catherine Ramirez, Miguel Castillejos, and Raphael Torralba. Little did they know that their lives would forever be caught in a complex web of lies, deceit and obsession.

When Catherine Ramirez (Claudine Barretto) grows up into a beautiful young woman, she falls in-love with Miguel Castillejos (Diether Ocampo), the eldest son of Isadora (Cherrie Pie Picache). While Catherine’s and Miguel’s love blossoms, Raphael (Gabby Concepcion) returns after living in the US for years. He also falls for Catherine. But Raphael is 10 years older than Catherine. He also learns that Catherine and Miguel are already in a relationship so Raphael won’t declare his feelings for Catherine.

Hoping for a blissful life with the man she loves, Catherine soon finds herself trapped in a scheme of a devious woman who happens to be Miguel’s mother.

After Catherine’s mysterious disappearance, Miguel was forced by his mother Isadora to marry a rich girl named Scarlet Dela Rhea (Angelica Panganiban). A union founded on needs instead of love, Miguel and Scarlet’s marriage was a failure right from the start.

Heart-broken, homeless and rejected, Catherine strives to build a new life in Manila with her grandmother (Susan Roces). Regaining her pride, dignity and self - respect proved to be a great feat for a young girl like Catherine. Aura, her loving grandmother is her source of strength, hope and values.

Soon, blessings and opportunities come for Catherine. She was very fortunate to have been given a scholarship from a foundation owned by Martin Dela Rhea (Bembol Roco). Things complicate when Martin falls in love and proposes to Catherine. Feeling indebted, Catherine feels she had no choice but to say yes to the man who helped her on her feet again. Martin Dela Rhea was Catherine’s hero, the man who gave her her life back. But Martin turns out to be Scarlet’s father. When she marries Martin, Catherine hurts the people she loves and the people who loves her including Aura and Raphael.

Catherine soon becomes a complex woman with complex values and intentions. Driven by obsessive love and revenge, she starts creating problems and chaos around the Dela Rhea family. She is now Mrs. Catherine Dela Rhea, a billionaire’s wife. She is Scarlet’s stepmother, Miguel’s boss in the office, and she holds more power than anybody else.

Catherine becomes heartless, ruthless and cold as this was the only way she perceives to attain justice for all that has happened in the past.

But beneath her smoldering anger lies an undeniable passion between Catherine and Miguel. Their battle of wills is just an outlet of their own frustrations and deeply buried love and desire for each other.

And through it all, Raphael never lost hope. His love for Catherine is pure and he will do everything to free Catherine from her hatred and anger, despite his mother Estelle’s (Laurice Guillen) disapproval.

And caught in the middle of this powerplay are the two young innocents – Sophia (Melissa Ricks) who is Miguel’s younger sister, and Toby (Matt Evans), Raphael’s younger brother. Will their blossoming love survive amidst the chaos around them?

Catherine realizes that in order to break free from the past, she must find it in her heart to forget and forgive… before she can truly attain the happiness and true love that eluded her all these years.

An epic saga with a powerhouse cast, IISA PA LAMANG is a love story that will show us the real meaning of love.

Love destroys… Love consumes… but ultimately… Love Redeems.

Tilapia is bad for the health!

Jul 10, 2008 (The Philadelphia Inquirer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Consider the latest food to hit the danger list: farm-raised tilapia.
Researchers from Wake Forest University Medical Center say you're better of with a big juicy burger than with this mild, low-fat fish, which turns out to be high in an unhealthful form of fat called long-chain omega-6 fatty acids, especially when it's produced by fish farms.
Long chain omega-6 fats promote inflammation associated with heart disease, asthma, some cancers, Alzheimer's disease, stroke and other conditions, said Floyd Chilton, professor of physiology at Wake Forest and head of the study.

Is there anything left that the experts say we should eat? Not much, said Chilton, thanks to a large-scale corruption of the American food chain with cheap corn feed. That has altered the composition of fats found in beef, chicken, eggs and farmed fish, such as catfish and tilapia.
In tests, the researchers found that grain-fed tilapia concentrated even more of the worst fats than did grain-fed beef.

One animal-based food that Chilton recommends is wild-caught fish, such as salmon and sardines, since they contain inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, he said, public health officials have been wrongly telling people to get more of this important nutrient by eating more fish without specifying what kind.

Hmm, if this article is saying that farm raised fish is bad because of the cheap feeds, then that makes farm raised salmon, milkfish etc... bad for the health too. I guess that I'll be left to eating organic vegetables.

Ionax Scrub

Its fresh lemon scent and small crystals feels like I’m using dish scrub and dishwashing detergent on my skin… Don’t get me wrong, I love this product and use this at least once a week, 2x a week maximum. Its ingredients are mild and I love the scent. Everytime I use it, I feel that my face is really clean. The tiny granules exfoliate your skin and removes dead skin cells making it feel squeaky clean. You can buy it in any Mercury Drugstore for PHP350++ . I’m not sure about the price now since one tube lasts me 1-11/2 years.

Be careful not to be too addicted to this product to use it everyday. Doing so will abrade your skin.