Edgardo José Martín Santiago Valenciano, better known as simply Gary Valenciano (shortened to Gary V.), is a Filipino musician, composer, actor, producer, and gospel singer who is best known for many songs, especially those that became theme songs for movies. His energetic dance moves also garnered him the nickname "Mr. Pure Energy."

Born in the suburb of Sta. Mesa in Manila on August 6, 1964, he is the sixth of Vicente Valenciano and Grimilda Santiago Ortiz’s seven children. Santiago Ortiz is an Italian-Puerto Rican woman who became a popular opera singer in Manila during the 1960s, and her love for music passed down to her son, Gary. He took his primary and secondary studies in La Salle Greenhills. It was during his high school days, while being on a brief stint the musical group Kundirana, that he devoted himself to music.

He first appeared as a solo in a television show called The Pilita and Jackie Show in 1982, but he was finally noticed after his performances in the TV shows Germspesyal and Penthouse Live. He had his first solo concert on April 1984 inside the jam-packed Araneta Coliseum. He was soon to make 21 albums, three of them released internationally, including a Christian inspired album called Out in the Dark.

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Philippines News

Fly me to the Moon: Japan firm offers weddings in space
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:49:51 -0000
TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese firm on Tuesday began accepting reservations for couples who really want to make the big leap -- by blasting into space to exchange their wedding vows. Each happy couple will spend 240 million yen (2.3 million dollars) for the ceremony in a small space vessel, which will shoot up 100 kilometres (60 miles) into the sky. During the hour-long flight, the couple will spend several minutes in zero gravity during which they will exchange their vows with up to three guests present, said Taro Katsura, a spokesman for Japanese firm First Advantage. The couple would perform most of the ceremony before takeoff "so that they can say their vows and look out the window," Katsura said. From the spaceship, the couple would probably be able to see the outline of the Earth although they will not be far enough into space to allow complete floating, Katsura said. Yahoo
Gasoline up by 626%, Diesel by 746%, since Deregulation
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:20:08 -0000
In April 1996, gasoline was only P9.50/liter, diesel P7.03. Unleaded gasoline is now priced at P59.47/liter and diesel at P52.48, a whooping 626-percent increase for gasoline, 746 percent for diesel. Unabated jumps in the prices of petroleum products continue in the Philippines. Prices of gasoline and diesel have gone up 16 times, and by no less than P12 a liter, since last January alone. Gasoline and diesel prices have jumped by P15.01 and P14.00 a liter, respectively, since the start of the year. As of June 28, gasoline stands at P59.47 ($1.33 at the June 27 exchange rate of $1:P44.79) a liter, while diesel is at P52.48 ($1.17) a liter. Oil price hikes severely affect the prices of commodities, as petroleum products are used in the production and transportation of goods.
Culture of walang paki: another journalist dead
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:53:46 -0000
Following a scathing report prepared by a special United Nations rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Philippines, the number of unexplained killings in the country dropped drastically last year. UN rapporteur Philip Alston had said the Philippine military was in an almost total state of denial on the existence of extrajudicial killings. The attacks targeted mostly left-leaning militants, legal professionals and journalists. Last Monday afternoon another journalist was shot dead. Bert Sison, a correspondent of radio station dzAT and a local tabloid in Lucena City, was driving home with his two daughters at 5:30 p.m. when two men on a motorcycle pulled up and opened fire. Sison died from multiple gunshot wounds while one of his daughters was hit in the arm. After Alston submitted his report to the UN and the country stood to lose additional aid from the US Millennium Challenge Corp. unless it improved its human rights record, the country saw a significant drop in the number of unexplained killings and disappearances. The Philippines used to be regarded as the second most dangerous place in the world for journalists after Iraq. It can quickly regain that dubious distinction, unless the government acts to eradicate the culture of impunity. Editorial, PhilStar
NAIA 3 opens for Arroyo, but obstacles remain for commercial operations
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:16:59 -0000
When President Gloria Arroyo arrived and disembarked at the Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA 3) in Manila early morning Monday, it was her second time to personally visit and walk around some portions of the sprawling airport terminal that was supposed to be her administration's pride and legacy. But for six years, the terminal's delayed opening has proved to be an embarrassment. It has been mothballed since December 2002 and only came alive for at least a few hours to accommodate the international flight that included President Arroyo. LALA RIMANDO
Uncollected income tax now total P500M
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:03:01 -0000
There is a pool of uncollected taxes from minimum-wage earners totaling some P500 million that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is not interested in collecting for the moment. The money represents taxable income that should have been withheld and set aside for the BIR by employers around the country but was eventually dropped as Malacañang issued an executive order stopping the practice of withholding a portion of an employee's monthly income for tax purposes.
Government, Sulpicio to refloat sunken ship
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:54:44 -0000
The government task force for the sunken M/V Princess of the Stars and ship owner Sulpicio Lines, Inc., have agreed to refloat the ill-fated ferry instead of cutting through it to retrieve dead passengers and the highly toxic endosulfan shipment, an official said Wednesday. Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Elena Bautista said after careful study of the sunken ship's situation, with its chemical cargoes, they have realized that cutting through the vesel's hull and resuming diving operations have "too many risks involved." Hundreds of passengers of the sunken ship remain missing. Divers had seen dozens more bloated bodies floating inside the sunken ship.

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