SUNSHINE  DIZON  COOKS  UP  NEW  PLANS

MANILA, MARCH 20, 2008 (MALAYA) STUDIO WHISPERS by ETHEL RAMOS (Sunshine Dizon just finished a crash course in Culinary Arts. It is her dream, she said, to put up a restaurant bearing her name in the future.’)

THE biographical production, "Saint Pio of Pietrelcina," which had a repeat performance twice last week is about the healing priest who became a saint. Most of the audience were devotees of the benevolent saint, who is known for his healing power.

Ricky Davao as Father Pio was good. So was Boots Anson-Roa who portrayed her role as Padre Pio’s mom with humor. The play was produced by Pete Roa Integrated Media Endeavors (PRIME), a foundation Boots put up with her children in honor of her husband, the late Pete Roa.

Actor Andy Bais was also good and so was the support cast of 40 whom some played two or more roles.

Written and directed by Nestor Torre, "Saint Pio of Pietrelcina" was co-produced by PRIME with The Philippine Centre for Saint Pio of Pietrelcina and Ortigas and Company.

Direk Nestor hopes to come up with a bio film of the healing saint this year.

The performances were held at the People’s Village, Tiendesitas, Pasig.

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Young and dynamic couple Paul and Nikki Ng are behind the success of the now very popular flip flops brand, Banana Peel. Both are graduates from universities abroad. After getting married, they lived for a while in North America where they noticed that most people there wore flip flops anywhere they went.

No wonder that when they decided to return to the Philippines, and thought of establishing a business of their own, they came up with the idea of producing rubber "tsinelas."

Their parents discouraged them from pursuing the business. But Paul and Nikki never wavered even when most malls, where they presented their products, were not so keen about the idea of what was popularly known before as mere "beach" slippers.

Having Maja Salvador as endorser helped Banana Peel become a byword among lovers of flip flops.

"How we thought of the name Banana Peel, even if it suggests accidents, just popped up in my mind. But it best describes the flip flop line we are producing, ‘di ba?" said Nikki, now the marketing head of their company. Husband Paul is the over-all head.

Considered the No. 1 lifestyle flip flops in the country, Banana Peel has 13 stores in Metro Manila, including the newly-opened Sta. Lucia East store. In each store, 200 styles are on display. Every month, there are new designs including the beach-ready tote bags which they introduced recently.

"But we make sure," said Paul, "that we keep in stock our best sellers, usually the one they see Maja wearing in billboards and point-of-purchase materials."

Banana Peel has also penetrated the global market. And guess what? In the US airports where Banana Peel flip flops are sold, the pair which only costs P125 in the Philippines, is priced at $20.

Banana Peel has also been featured in Seventeen Magazine (US Edition) and Cleo (Malaysia Edition).

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Sunshine Dizon just finished a crash course in Culinary Arts. It is her dream, she said, to put up a restaurant bearing her name.

Meantime, she wants to practice her culinary know-how by helping her mom, Dorothy Laforteza, who is in the food business. Dorothy owns an eatery and is also in catering.

Sunshine said she’s currently loveless. She just broke up with former boyfriend Jojo Manlongat.