STAR MAGIC SPOTLIGHT: PBB Celebrity Collab Edition at the PBB House

It's been years since I last stepped inside the walls of the PBB House. This time we're doing it with the BIG 4 Ralph De Leon , Esnyr , Brent Manalo , and River Joseph. Then we'll also be talking to gorgeous Kira Balinger , Xyriel Manabat , AC Bonifacio , Emilio Daez , Klarisse De Guzman , and Bianca De Vera. This must have been a dream for a lot of people, and it's happening, so I took my phones and tried to record it all! 

This PBB year has certainly been fun, to have 2 giant networks work together must have been a tall order to look at on paper, but they were certainly eager to do it this way because you deserve it. First up is the good looking ladies and gents from STAR MAGIC. They've been doing several bouts of these STAR MAGIC SPOTLIGHT to make sure we get to talk to the artists directly. I was so happy because most of my questions were actually asked, and they answered quite legibly.

 

Here's our conversation with Kira, Xyriel, AC, Emilio, Klarisse, Bianca at the PBB house:

 

Meanwhile here's the BIG 4 Ralph, Esnyr, Brent, and River:

Their lives have really changed over a few months being in the PBB house, and as they mentioned, this isn't the last time they'll be doing collaborations after leaving the house. As a matter of fact, they'll be having the PBB Collab Concert: PBB COLLOVE on August 10th at the Araneta Coliseum. Tickets are selling out fast via TICKETNET so go and get them now!

Thank you to STAR MAGIC for bringing these talented folks together. I'm sure you've got lots of plans for them, they're very talented and if this means they'll be in ABSCBN shows and doing GMA things too. Can't wait for their stars to shine!

Better Tougher Phones, Wearables at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025

We took a trip to Rockwell as Samsung showed us the GALAXY Packed event streamed all the way from Brooklyn New York. It felt so festive as the folks from Samsung unveiled their newest phones, wearables and more!

Joseph Aruta the Product Marketing Head for Mobile Experience in Samsung Philippines said in front of the stage "Tonight we will find out the improvements in the Galaxy Z series, see ultra features, brand new camera, the Galaxy Z Fold, Galaxy Watch series that fit your lifestyle."

They discussed the promise of evolving AI into something that can be used by all, with privacy and security also in it's core. They've got products with new form factors, wearables that are not just limited to wrists, something that can be used in everyday lives. They then released the new Galaxy Z Fold which by the looks of it, is thinner and lighter. It is also built more powerful than it's predecessors. 

It's AI is different because it understands context on its features. Since folks are asking for a bigger screen, more powerful battery, and still have it slim and light, they launched these handsets with that in mind. This is their thinnest yet, but they started improvements with the hinge. This opens wider and they were able to strengthen its layers. They restructured it, designed for all day use. The phone now has a pro grade camera, it's got a 200MP lens but thinner. No, wildly thin! It matters because you have to fold it, you can't fit it on your pocket if it's big, makes sense? 

They also inserted the best processor in the market, with an Android 16 based OS, an object eraser, updated NOW bar, updated multitasking functions which makes this something that you would like. They also now have the One UI 8, so you get Multimodality, which we mentioned that understands content on your phone. It's a shift on how to interact with technology and bring them to life. 

With the phone more personalized, it can also brief you about your day. It let's you see a context of what you will do for the day. It also makes smarter suggestions because of it. I also like circle to search, something that they developed thanks to their partnership with Google. Also a more useful Google Gemini for so many things you can do in a smart home. The device also has 38 percent more faster CPU, 41 percent faster NPU and 26 percent faster GPU, a 200 megapixel wide camera, so you get clearer images, unmatched clarity. It has a native video editor, can erase noise with "Audio Eraser" which can detect 6 different audio levels. At 20:18 it is pretty huge on display, costs 1,999 USD which I think it's worth it. 

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a 21:9 aspect ratio, has 8 more hours of video playback. It is also thinner, has armor flex hinge that can stay tough on impact. The 4:1 display outside and 120hz refresh rate, One UI 8 works wonders on this new phone. It also has games on the flex window. You can access your selected apps quick, and scroll for other content. It also has Gemini, and can use the camera to talk with it without opening the actual Flip phone.

The Galaxy Watch 8 on the other hand can read key health measures, designed for active folks, it looks good on the outside. It can also monitor your sleep, see if it affects your performance, plus those recovery periods will get measured. It'll make a big difference when you're monitoring your overall health!

Check out Samsung's social channels and official website if you want to know more about these products. If you're looking for your next handset, this might be it! 

Foundations Pledge 2 Million for FutureSmart Grants for Edukasyon.PH

There exists brain drain and lack of IT professionals in the country. This includes sectors like programming, network engineering, software development, cyber security and more. While the population is available, it is quite expensive to send them to schools, and this is being addressed by private organizations like D!g!P|us and B!ng0P|us Foundation. 

These efforts were solidified by a MOA signing with executives from Edukasyon.PH, There exists brain drain and lack of IT professionals in the country. This includes sectors like programming, network engineering, software development, cyber security and more. While the population is available, it is quite expensive to send them to schools, and this is being addressed by private organizations like Edukasyon.ph, B!ng0P|us Foundation, There exists brain drain and lack of IT professionals in the country. This includes sectors like programming, cloud expertise, network engineering, software development, cyber security and more. While the population is available, it is quite expensive to send them to schools, and this is being addressed by private organizations like Edukasyon.ph, D!g!P|us and B!ng0P|us Foundation, Amazon Web Services Philippines and Greenfield for AWS ASEAN. So just imagine how much they could train for cloud services and tech using this initiative. 

They will begin with the AWS re/start program that runs for 12 weeks, something that could prepare them for cloud studies, then the folks from Edukasyon.ph will work on job placements that would hopefully land them one in 3 months including D!g!P|us and B!ng0P|us,.plus their affiliates. 

This part of their initiatives to increase work for Pinoys in this economy, as it already has changed over 5000 students, teachers through these efforts, and has already gotten them to win a Gold Stevie Award because of their huge social impact, as they plan to expand this to other areas pretty soon. D!g!P|us and B!ng0P|us will completely commit to help even more in the coming years, to hopefully develop more IT and cloud professionals as we get to become a bullish digital behemoth very soon. 

Head on to Edukasyon.ph if you want to become part of the movement or be one of their scholars!

RHIAN RAMOS, JC SANTOS Take On Complex Characters in PM Productions "MEG & RYAN"

A word was uttered around the venue when we were interviewing the cast of "Meg & Ryan", it was UNDERRATED, which we felt was certainly an apt one after meeting the stars of the movie under Pocket Media Films. 

Lead stars Rhian Ramos and JC Santos will be doing this romantic comedy film together with the cast award winning actor Cedrick Juan, Ces Quesada, Cris Villanueva, Jef Gaitan, JMee Katanyag, and social media stars Steven Bansil and Poca Osinaga, plus beauty queen Alison Black.   

While isn't first film to be directed by Direk Catherine O. Camarillo, this is somehow her first foray in the love story-romcom genre. "This is another masterpiece that I want to share with you, which I hope you would be able to give awareness to the audience, give them a fair chance to watch this in cinemas this coming August 5, 2025. (watched trailer, she became very emotional and said)  I am just overwhelmed seeing them on screen because they really look good together. Doing this was quite easy because I had some of the best actors to work with. It was quite to put them in what I envisioned in the film. I've done so many projects in the past that made me do compromises, I didn't have to do that here. I gave it my all, and got the ones I wanted to have in this project. I'm so happy I was able to do that in Meg & Ryan. I also felt the support of my cast, they respected the material, they loved this film as much as I did."

Rhian says "I haven't had drunk episodes where I wasn't aware of what I was doing. Either that, or may I just couldn't remember it. I really enjoyed the whole experience because JC is such a generous actor. If there's something he could do to help in the execution of a scene, he will. He will go farther than what is expected of him. It's not just the acting part that he's going to do, he contributes in the lines, change it to what feels more natural in the scenes. He really envibes what would Ryan do or say. It really helped me and made my job super easy! I really love complex characters, those with flaws, to make sense of people. Meg is an @lcoh0lic, opposites attract, I've seen Direk Catherine's previous films and wanted to work with JC which is why I wanted to do this. This is how I view love also, we have our own journey, when you find someone who understand that about you, it needs to be watched and told." 

JC Santos added "Actually everybody here was easy to work with. This is what's great about a collaboration because you can feel if you match. We enjoyed the process even the challenges, Rhian Ramos is a part of my bucket list and I'm seeing it now. I see how she gives the truth in her scenes. Even Tita Ces, Direk Catherine gives us freedom so we get our personalities in the mix. I also really wanted to work with Direk Catherine, and seeing the script, it's a different kind of love. It's something new, puberty at 35, he is complex, a bit difficult to do but I think we succeeded in creating this character."

Here's the press conference in full:

Aside from being shown in the Philippines, this will also have a theater run in Australia and New Zealand on August 14th. Please support Filipino films as these don't come cheap in production. They're taking a huge risk because they want to help the industry. The love story between Meg & Ryan was created by prolific writer Gina Marissa Tagasa. The soundtrack is also a fun version of Torete, which will make you feel a bit of nostalgia. This took a while before it was released, but from the looks of it, it has all the ingredients to make you connect with the story of Meg and Ryan. Go watch it on theaters, and see the trailers on their social channels because they already have 2 out!