CARITAS MANILA Starts SEGUNDA MANA Grand Bazaar at TRINOMA

Had the chance to visit the Caritas Manila led SEGUNDA MANA Grand Bazaar 2025 at the Ayala Malls Trinoma's 4th Floor in Quezon City. This is the social service arm of the Philippines Catholic church and has been running a couple of years already. 

It was packed but people were eager to help because where else would you be able to purchase really great finds of food and products and in turn help the causes that they support particularly the education of the poor and their livelihood. This was witnessed by leaders of Caritas Manila, our lovely Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, several beauty queens and kings too. 

Rev. Father Anton Pascual the Caritas Manila Executive Director says "For 72 years we have been doing Caritas Manila efforts and there are a lot of people helping us in Segunda Mana. Second Hand Items, new ones, toys, we monetize them for nature and community projects and we hope this would be sustained with your help. This is patterned from the US's goodwill stores and we thank Ayala Trinoma, PMG, Miss Universe PH and Misters Pilipinas, our Mayor Joy Belmonte who has helped social enterprise. We want to thank you, and hope this gets sold in 3 days so we can help the poor. The poor are not lazy, they just need opportunity so they could help themselves. Please spread the good news, may God bless you!"

Mayor Joy Belmonte says "I was lucky to have been able to work after graduation with Caritas Manila. At QC, our values are aligned and have worked to give scholars to lift themselves and not just rely on dole outs. We have 40k now and hopefully have 80k after our term. Thank you to Caritas for doing environmental efforts, textile is another waste we need to address in this economy. Every year we have tons of it in our landfills and in a circular economy we hope to recycle these. I wish people stop a consumerist lifestyle, balance it with new and second hand items to help, declutter and live simple lives to donate in Caritas Manila. We hope to host a lot of social enterprises in the city, it's my dream to do this. Let's all shop for a cause today!"

Miss Eco International 2025 Alexei Brooks says "Coming here I asked what to talk about, but recycling is an important part of it. I am an athlete, and was poor to afford shoes. My grandma went to buy a 500 peso pair which I eventually would win in Palarong Pambansa. I still have it, it's a reminder of who I am, to take care of the environment and climate change is happening. This organization is partnering with international ones and it is a good cause. If you want to achieve great things, please donate so you can make a difference in someone else's life."

PMG GM Agnes Magallanes adds "I rallied our team to donate and went on to do 3 years of helping this cause. We want to be part of the solution, meeting with them, we got to have social engagements and urge corporations to give back. We need to be part of the solution, not just clothes, but plastics, it's part of our sustainable efforts and we thank Caritas Manila for making us part of it. We hope to sell these and have nothing to send back to our warehouse."

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The event will be from today til June 8 so you have about 2 days left to go there and help. Make sure to visit and buy so we can help families send their kids to school through Segunda Mana and other Caritas Manila projects. They also have vendors from communities, as they want them to be self sufficient later on. Hope you can help!

CARLOS MORALES Takes On Directorial Hat in WILD BOYS

Actor Carlos Morales aka Carl Woodruff Jr. in real life just made an impression with his movie WILD BOYS during its premiere night last June 3rd at Gateway Cinemas. This is a totally different hat from his sexy film stints in the 2000's with titles like "Laro sa Baga" which he did with Chito Roño, "Babaeng Putik", "Red Diaries", "Bigasan" and more. His directorial debut was in 2015 for the film "Piring" and it has gotten screenplay and 2nd best picture nods at the World Premieres Film Festival. 

He took a hiatus in 2020 because of the pandemic and practiced his nursing profession in the US. He wanted to go back since he's done film making at the New York Film Academy (2016) knowing that he's so passionate about the craft. He finished filming WILD BOYS and then sought a July-August play date.

This is his passion project, and together with his friends, a throng of very supportive actors, he was able to quench his thirst for music and dance. WILD BOYS had all original tracks and several dance numbers included in the film. Think of it as a Filipinized version of Magic Mike, which had a great spin in building individual characters. I thought I was going to hate it, but no, it was super entertaining! 

The film includes hot brothers Aljur and Vin Abrenica, excellent character actors Martin Escudero, Kristof Garcia, Nico Locco (who did his character crazy), Hashtag Jimboy Martin,  former PBA Pro Arwind Santos, Christian Ty, Billy James, super hot Christian Singson, Rash Flores, and new guy Pedro Red. The film also includes Paul Alvarez, Rolando Inocencio, Cataleya Surio, Mariposa, CJ Garcia, Ms. Krista Miller, Ms. Ina Alegre, the funny Atak Araña, and new comeback comedy queen Inday Garutay. 

Story wise, the film tend to be a bit raw. They have made the effort to introduce each one, and since it's an ensemble cast, it took a huge chunk of the play time. I felt it was necessary and folks in the cinema appreciated it. If the plan was doing a series, it begged a sequel because they definitely could do a lot with the WILD BOYS.

The film also talks about poverty, resilience, reaching for their dreams. Since this is WILD BOYS, you'll see them get naughty at times and slowly make the wishes of matrons and gays a reality. The film is R-13 and will be shown in cinemas very soon.

SEGUNDA MANA Set To Hold 3 Day MEGA BAZAAR 2025 at TRINOMA

Looks like stars are taking out their well loved things and outfits to make sure you get the chance to have it, but proceeds will support youth education and in some way, you'll practice sustainability when you participate in the MEGA BAZAAR 2025 at Ayala Malls TRINOMA's 4th Floor at the Cinema Lobby this coming June 6-8, 2025.

This event is under Caritas Manila which is the social arm of the Catholic Church and it'll include donated goods to finance the education of countless guys and gals who benefit from the program. Some are pre-owned and some are brand new, and as someone who frequent thrift stores, this is something that I've been looking forward to all year.

I took several plushies the last time and this year, celebrities and companies will be participating to get their apparel, home products, all donated to fund the Youth Servant Leadership Program. They also are partnering with Caritas Margins that does projects with marginalized communities and micro businesses, you can be sure this is inclusive too. They are also getting help from PMG, one of the country's leading marketing agency to get the message out there, and also organize the event.

Father Anton CT Pascual the Executive Director of Caritas Manila dubs this as the new way of giving. By buying these goods, you are repurposing and helping causes like education and the environment. But be reminded, this will only happen for 3 days, make sure you drop by early so you won't run out of items in the store! The event will be graced by Mayor Joy Belmonte of Quezon City, and celebrity donors include beauty queen Winwyn Marquez, hearthrob Donny Pangilinan, Jiggy Manicad, Donna Cariaga, Jackie Lou Blanco, Suzi Entrata-Abrera, Maxene Magalona, DJ Robin Sienna of Love Radio, Mr. Fu, Imago Band, Stephanie Sol, Kapuso singer Julie Anne San Jose, Gretchen Ho, Camille Prats, Ms. Jamie Rivera, Ariella Arida, and Blackwater Elite Players.

This is the handy work of Caritas Manila who has been doing charity work since 1953. If you want to be part of their efforts, you can donate or participate in this event. Yes, you can drop off donations too during this 3 day event. You may check their official website caritasmanila.org.ph or their social channels Segunda Mana on FB and TikTok.