August 5, 2024

2024 Villar Foundation Awards

Filed under: Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation & Governance (SIPAG) — Jomar Balasbas @ 6:02 pm

AWARDS MANAGEMENT

The AWARDS Program is manage by the Villar Foundation, a hub of advocacies, activities and
actions to help poor Filipinos.

Empowering the poor and underprivileged has been a key advocacy of the Villar Foundation
since it was established in 1995 by its Founding Chairman and Former Senate President Manny
Villar and Senator Cynthia Villar.

The Villar Foundation serves as home of all their efforts and endeavors in fulfilling their
advocacies. It is more than a showcase of the Villar’s past, present and future efforts to reduce
poverty in the country. It is a working hub and proactive center. Its name alone highlights and
promotes the value of hard work as a tool in overcoming poverty. The Villar Foundation will
guide, train, teach and empower womenfolk, the youth, jobless and even relatives of overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) to uplift their lives as well as enhance their skills and know-how.

OBJECTIVES OF VILLAR FOUNDATION AWARDS

  1. To recognize outstanding initiatives of community enterprises as models of good practices in income poverty reduction;
  2. To document and share these outstanding initiatives through the Villar Foundation Poverty Knowledge Management Resource Center;
  3. To inspire exchange, transfer or adaption of these outstanding initiatives to other places in the country through action, research, capacity building, conferences and symposia, and
  4. To enhance capabilities in reducing poverty of women, youth cooperatives, farmers’ organizations and local governments.

THE AWARDS SCREENING AND SELECTION PROCESS

  1. The process starts with direct submission of application form and requirements needed from the community enterprise which shall be sent to [email protected] on or before October 15, 2024 with the subject “2024 VFA – [Name of Social Enterprise]”.
  2. Once submitted, the National Screening Committee (NSC) of the 2024 Villar Foundation Awards on Poverty Reduction will assess all submitted applications and come up with the Top 40 Community Enterprises.
  3. The Top 40 Community Enterprises will be scheduled for site validation by the National Screening Committee. Based from the site validation, the National Screening Committee will choose the Top 20 Community Enterprises and schedule them for the Final Interview.
  4. The Top 20 Community Enterprises will undergo a Final Interview wherein they will have a 10 minute presentation followed by the question and answer portion.
  5. After the final interview, the NSC members will deliberate on their preference for the 20 Most Outstanding Community Enterprise who will each receive a bamboo trophy and cash incentives of TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (P250,000.00) the cash incentives should be used to start a new enterprise or expand the existing enterprise.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AS BASIS FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBLE APLICANTS

The Community Enterprise:

SELECTION CRITERIA AS BASIS FOR DETERMINING THE FINALISTS AND AWARDEES

  1. EFFECTIVENESS – the degree to which the initiative has achieved tangible results like increase in household income or creation of jobs
  2. SIGNIFICANCE – the degree to which the program addresses the problem of income
    poverty in a community
  3. FINANCIAL VIABILITY – the degree to which the enterprise is able to generate its own
    income sufficient enough to meet its core operating expenses and financial obligations
    as well as being able to invest in its future growth and development
  4. SUSTAINABILITY – the degree to which the enterprise will continue to operate in the
    long term; being able to balance the need to generate income at the same being
    concerned about conservation, protection and restoration of the environment; having the
    organizational capacity to continue to achieve its enterprise goals;
  5. ADAPTABILITY – the degree to which the initiative or parts of it has been successfully
    adapted by others or shows promise of being adapted by others.
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April 15, 2024

5TH VILLAR SIPAG POVERTY REDUCTION CHALLENGE

Filed under: Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation & Governance (SIPAG) — Jomar Balasbas @ 3:43 pm

AWARDS MANAGEMENT

Empowering the poor and the underprivileged has been a key advocacy of the Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance) since it was established in 1995 by its Founding Chairman and Former Senate President Manny Villar and Senator Cynthia Villar. The Villar SIPAG plays a key role in the foundation’s efforts to combat poverty among Filipinos.


The Villar SIPAG serves as home of all their efforts and endeavours in fulfilling their advocacies. It is more than a showcase of the Villar’s past, present, and future efforts to reduce poverty in the country. It is a working hub and a proactive center. Its name alone highlights and promotes the value of hard work as a tool in overcoming poverty. The Villar SIPAG will guide, train, teach, and empower womenfolk, the youth, jobless, and even relatives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to uplift their lives as well as enhance their skills and know-how.


The Villar SIPAG Awards aim to identify the Most Outstanding Youth Social Enterprise organized by Filipino youth groups all over the country. Through this program, the Top 10 Most Outstanding Youth Social Enterprises shall receive ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (P150,000.00) cash prize to further help their projects and initiatives in alleviating the poverty situation in their respective communities.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Villar SIPAG Awards – Youth Poverty Reduction Challenge is a friendly competition among the Filipino youth whose social enterprises can contribute in alleviating the poverty situation in their respective communities. The participating groups who submit/nominate the most thought-provoking and well-reasoned social enterprise will take the cash prize. Ten (10) Most Outstanding Youth Social Enterprises shall be selected as winners. Each entry shall go through evaluation, comprehensive screenings and rational project defense. Entries will be judged and selected by a panel of social entrepreneurs and socio-civic specialists.

HOW TO JOIN

  1. Fill out the downloaded application form and send to [email protected] with the subject “2022 Youth Challenge – [Name of the Social Enterprise]” together with the completed summary of the social enterprise and other supporting documents, (if any). Your summary must be concise – minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 pages.
  2. To be considered, entries must include the following information: Group Name with each participant’s full name, age, birth dates, email address and contact number. Each group must have at least 2-3 youth members, whose ages fall between 16-29 years old, as of date of entry submission. We require a copy of authenticated birth certificates.
  3. All entries must be duly received by Villar SIPAG Secretariat. All decisions made by the judges are final and not subject to appeal.
  4. All entries that will pass the initial screening process will go through a site validation/ evaluation. If ANY false or misleading information has been submitted, the participant shall be disqualified even without prior notification.
  5. Only one unique social enterprise model entry per participating group.
  6. Punctuation, grammar, clarity, and organization will be considered during the evaluation process, as well as the quality of the ideas, sustainability of the project and should identify positions to justify that poverty reduction measures were met for their respective communities.
  7. There will be 10 winning entries. Each shall receive ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (P150,000.00) cash prize.
  8. All products and services must conform to environment -protection standards; it should also address waste management measures in any given social enterprise set-up.
  9. Deadline of submission is until June 15, 2022.

ENTRY CONCENTRATION

JUDGING CRITERIA AS BASIS FOR DETERMINING THE FINALISTS AND AWARDEES

Originality & Uniqueness
Your social enterprise creatively demonstrates how it will solve the problem of poverty in your communityYou describe a unique product or service that is well-thought out and one-of-a-kind
25%
ADAPTABILITY
Your social enterprise must have the ability to respond flexibility in any given community situation
25%
SUSTAINABILITY
Your social enterprise addresses a sustainable need and how that need will be fulfilled
25%
COMMUNITY UPLIFTMENT
Your social enterprise helps in uplifting the conditions of poor and urban communities/ disadvantaged communities
25%
TOTAL100%
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7th Villar Foundation Youth Poverty Reduction Challenge

Filed under: Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation & Governance (SIPAG) — Jomar Balasbas @ 2:23 pm

Villar Foundation Youth Poverty Reduction Challenge

The future of any country lies on its young generation, whose visions and dreams have always served as rays of hope for a better, brighter and more promising tomorrow.

The Villar Foundation Youth Poverty Reduction Challenge, which was launched in 2017, is a friendly competition among Filipino youth through social enterprises designed to help alleviate the poverty situation in the country.

We believe that the Filipino youth can make a difference in bringing solution to the nation’s most pressing problem, which is poverty. In the competition, ten (10) Most Outstanding Social Enterprises with existing poverty alleviation programs will be named as winners. Each winner will be awarded with P150, 000 plus a trophy.

The Youth Poverty Reduction challenge is open to at group of at least 5 young people, 16 to 29 year old college students, out-of-school youth, young professionals, social enterprise groups, group of young entrepreneurs, youth organizations and other community associations.

The entries must be having been in operation for a minimum of one year and have a bank account in its name.

Each entry shall go through rigid evaluation, comprehensive screenings and rational project defense. Entries will be judged and selected by a panel of social entrepreneurs and socio-civic specialists.

Social enterprises should focus on, among others, food or agricultural products, recycling waste materials or agricultural waste products, green inventions/environment saving inventions/green technology, water/waste/energy solutions, rural and urban innovations, information technology and livelihood development.

All entries must conform to environment-protection standards and should also address waste management measures in any give social enterprise set-up.

Criteria:

  1. Originality and uniqueness, 25 percent. The social enterprises must be able to creatively demonstrate how they solve the poverty problem in their communities.
  2. Adaptability or the ability of the enterprise to respond with flexibly in any given community situation, where others in the same situation can emulate/replicate, 25%.
  3. Sustainability or how social enterprises address a need and eradicate/solve such need, 25%.
  4. Community upliftment or how the social enterprise will help in making better the conditions of the poor and disadvantaged communities, 25 percent.

Judges will review all submitted entries and will select at least 20 entries in the Initial Screening Process. The semi-finalists will then undergo site evaluation and social enterprise model analysis and defense.

The 10 Most Outstanding entries will be picked from the list of semi-finalists. The winners will be selected based on the ratings by the Judges. All decisions of the Judges are final and non-appealable.

The Villar SIPAG office will start accepting entries starting April 15, 2024 until May 30, 2024.

Awarding Ceremony shall be in July 2024.

Application forms for the competition can be downloaded from the Villar Foundation website (www.villarsipag.org). Accomplished forms should be sent to [email protected].

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2023 Villar SIPAG Awards on Poverty Reduction

Filed under: Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation & Governance (SIPAG) — Jomar Balasbas @ 1:50 pm

AWARDS MANAGEMENT

The AWARDS Program is manage by the Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty
Alleviation and Governance), a hub of advocacies, activities and actions to help poor
Filipinos.


Empowering the poor and underprivileged has been a key advocacy of the Villar
Foundation since it was established in 1995 by its Founding Chairman and Former
Senate President Manny Villar and Senator Cynthia Villar. The Villar SIPAG plays a key
role in the foundation’s efforts to combat poverty among Filipinos.


The Villar SIPAG serves as home of all their efforts and endeavors in fulfilling their
advocacies. It is more than a showcase of the Villar’s past, present and future efforts to
reduce poverty in the country. It is a working hub and proactive center. Its name alone
highlights and promotes the value of hard work as a tool in overcoming poverty. The
Villar SIPAG will guide, train, teach and empower womenfolk, the youth, jobless and
even relatives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to uplift their lives as well as
enhance their skills and know-how.

OBJECTIVES OF VILLAR SIPAG AWARDS

  1. To recognize outstanding initiatives of community enterprises as models of good
    practices in income poverty reduction;
  2. To document and share these outstanding initiatives through the Villar SIPAG
    Poverty Knowledge Management Resource Center;
  3. To inspire exchange, transfer or adaption of these outstanding initiatives to other
    places in the country through action, research, capacity building, conferences
    and symposia, and
  4. To enhance capabilities in reducing poverty of women, youth cooperatives,
    farmers’ organizations and local governments.

THE AWARDS SCREENING AND SELECTION PROCESS

  1. The process starts with direct submission of application form and requirements
    needed from the community enterprise which shall be sent
    to [email protected] on or before November 2023 with the
    subject “2023 VSA – [Name of Social Enterprise]”.
  2. Once submitted, the National Screening Committee (NSC) of the 2023 Villar
    Sipag Awards on Poverty Reduction will assess all submitted applications and
    come up with the Top 40 Community Enterprises.
  3. The Top 40 Community Enterprises will be scheduled for site validation by the
    National Screening Committee. Based from the site validation, the National
    Screening Committee will choose the Top 20 Community Enterprises and
    schedule them for the Final Interview.
  4. The Top 20 Community Enterprises will undergo a Final Interview wherein they
    will have a 10 minute presentation followed by the question and answer portion.
  5. After the final interview, the NSC members will deliberate on their preference for
    the 20 Most Outstanding Community Enterprise who will each receive a bamboo
    trophy and cash incentives of TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS
    (P250,000.00). the cash incentives should be used to start a new enterprise or
    expand the existing enterprise.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AS BASIS FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

The Community Enterprise:

SELECTION CRITERIA AS BASIS FOR DETERMINING THE FINALISTS AND AWARDEES

  1. EFFECTIVENESS – the degree to which the initiative has achieved tangible
    results like increase in household income or creation of jobs
  2. SIGNIFICANCE – the degree to which the program addresses the problem of
    income poverty in a community
  3. FINANCIAL VIABILITY – the degree to which the enterprise is able to generate
    its own income sufficient enough to meet its core operating expenses and
    financial obligations as well as being able to invest in its future growth and
    development
  4. SUSTAINABILITY – the degree to which the enterprise will continue to operate
    in the long term; being able to balance the need to generate income at the same
    being concerned about conservation, protection and restoration of the
    environment; having the organizational capacity to continue to achieve its
    enterprise goals;
  5. ADAPTABILITY – the degree to which the initiative or parts of it has been
    successfully adapted by others or shows promise of being adapted by others.
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April 12, 2024

Las Piñas Historical Corridor

Filed under: Culture & the Arts — Jomar Balasbas @ 7:23 pm

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Bamboo Organ Church, Bamboo Organ & Bamboo Organ Festival

Filed under: Culture & the Arts — Jomar Balasbas @ 7:12 pm

THE LAS PIÑAS CHURCH

Las Piñas was once a fishing barrio of Parañaque. In 1762, upon the request of the Augustinians, the barrio was recognized as a town with 1,200 residents, mostly involved in farming, fishing, and salt-making. However, Las Piñas was unable to sustain its own parish and still remained under the watch of the parish priest of Parañaque, Fr. Gregorio Giner. It was in August 1775 when the spiritual administrationof the town was turned over to the Agustinian Recollects, with Fr. Nazario de Ayala as its first parish priest. They were not to receive any support from the government unless they meet the minimum requirement of having 500 tax-paying residents. At that time, there were only 300 taxpayers in Las Piñas.

Two decades after the Augustinians took over the parish, Fr. Diego Cera was appointed parish priest. Upon his arrival in Las Piñas, all that Fr. Cera saw was a small chapel made of bamboo and nipa. Together with the residents, he dreamed of a church made of stone. In 1800, the building of the stone edifice began, with townspeople rendering construction services in exchange for food. The church, in what is described as “earthquake Baroque” architecture, was completed in 1819.

It had three naves, a dome, side altars, crypt sones each with a replica of the “Nuestra Señora dela Consolacion” on one side and St. Augustine on the other, a baptistry with a stone altar, and two sacristies.

The church underwent a major restoration, which was completed in December 1972, under the care of Architect Bobby Mañosa.

THE BAMBOO ORGAN

While the stone church was still under construction, Fr. Diego Cera prepared to build a pipe organ that would fill the church with religious music. In 1816, he gathered bamboo poles and burden these under the beach sand. Bamboo was abundant in the area and burying the poles was a natural way of protecting it from attacks of pests as well as for preservation. After a year, he unearthed the bamboo poles, and with the help of some residents whom he had earlier trained, Fr. Cera began building the organ.

Musicologist Helen Samson writes in her book The Bamboo Organ of Las Piñas that Fr. Cera at first attempted to use bamboo for one hundred and twenty two trumpet pipes. This experiment proved unsatisfactory so the bamboo trumpets were replaced later by pieces made of metal. The initial bamboo trumpets came to be relegated as “blind” or purely ornamental pipes and placed at the rear.

The bamboo organ is composed of 832 bamboo tubes and 122 horizontally placed metal pipes. It has 23 stops and measures 5.17 meters tall, 4.11 meters wide, with a depth of 1.45 meters. Wind pressure for the bamboo organ is supplied by the billows, which, during Fr. Cera’s time, required the steady cooperation of six persons working in shifts each time the organ is played. A steady wind supply is necessary for the proper maintenance of pitch – too little pressure would cause the pitch to go down, while too much would make the pitch higher.

The bamboo organ was completed in 1824 and filled the church with heavenly music for thirty eight years. According to church records, the instrument “was the finest and the first of its kind in the country and even in the whole world because of the materials used in its construction.”

Unfortunately, three earthquakes in July 1880 wrought major damage to the bamboo organ. And a devastating typhoon in October 1882 totally wrecked it, with many of its parts taken adrift in the floodwaters.

Initial effort to restore the organ came in 1960 when the German government offered to cover the cost of restoration, provided it was done in Germany. Various concerns, including the safe transport of the organ parts, put the restoration project on hold. A decade later, the parish priest, Fr. Mark Lesage, C.IC.M. and his assistant, Fr. Leo Renier who was an organist, led the move to restore the bamboo organ.

In 1973, two technicians from the Klais firm, arrived in Las Piñas to dismantle the bamboo organ. On February 18, 1975, the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ was brought back to life and a celebration ensued with a concert at the Philippine Embassy in Bonn with eminent organist Wolfang Oehms. The organ made its homecoming on March 13, 1975.

THE BAMBOO ORGAN FESTIVAL

To celebrate the return of the Bamboo Organ to its home, an inaugural concert was held featuring Wolfang Oehms, Lucrecia Kasilag (who was eventually named National Artist), the Las Piñas Boys’ Choir, Maharlika Rondalla, and the Cutlural Center of the Philippines Orchestra.

Since then, an annual International Bamboo Organ Festival has been held every third week of February, attracting musicians and music enthusiasts from all over the Philippines and the world. The Festival is now on its 36th year, and Villar SIPAG has been a sustaining patron. Villar SIPAG hosts a Filipino-themed cocktail after the gala performances.

References: Crisanto, Joyce M. & Chit dela Torre. Las Piñas: A City with Heritage. Las Piñas City, Philippines: Villar SIPAG, 2006.

Romanillos, Emmanuel Lus A. Bishop Ezekiel Moreno: An Augustian Recollect Saing Among Filipinos. Quezon City, Philippines: Agustino Recoletos, Province of Saint Nicholas Tolentino, Vicariate of the Philippines and China; 1993.

Samson, Helen. The Bamboo Organ of Las Piñas. Las Piñas City: The Bamboo Organ Foundation, 2006.

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Historical Zapote Bridge

Filed under: Culture & the Arts — Jomar Balasbas @ 7:03 pm

The Battle of Zapote Bridge was fought on Febraury 16, 1897 between 3,000m Americans and 5,000 Filipinos. It was the second largest battle during the Philippine-American War.

General Edilberto Evangelista is a prominent figure in this battle. A Belgian-trained engineer, he taught the Katipuneros how to build trenches, batteries and pillboxes. His designs were instrumental in a number of Filipino victories around the Cavite province.

Zapote River separates the City of Las Piñas in Metro Manila from Bacoor in the Province of Cavite. The original Zapote Bridge was hit during the battle, causing one-half to collapse. The office of Congresswoman Villar funded the restoration of the half of the bridge, to become a pedestrian promenade, which connects Barangay Zapote, Las Piñas to Barangay Zapote in Bacoor, Cavite. Monument parks were established on both ends of the bridge: through Congresswoman Villar’s intercession, the Basa family allowed the erection of a monument by sculptor Ed Castrillo on their property in the Las Piñas side; while a monument depicting the Battle of Zapote Bridge was established in Bacoor by the Philippine Tourism Authority under the leadership of then General Manager Barbers, upon the request of Senator Manny Villar, who also funded the rehabilitation of the barangay hall to follow 18th century architecture.

In February 1997, on the centenary of the historic battle, the Villar SIPAG coordinated with the local governments of Bacoor, Cavite and the City of Las Piñas, the National Centennial Movement and the Department of Education in order to orchestrate the celebration, which included a parade and a street drama based on the events of 1896-1897 highlighted by the reenactment of the Battle of Zapote Bridge. Participants and guests came dressed in turn-of-the-century regalia.

Reference:
Crisanto, Joyce M. & Chit dela Torre. Las Piñas: A City with Heritage. Las Piñas City, Philippines: Villar SIPAG, 2006.

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Bulwagang Ezekiel Moreno

Filed under: Uncategorized — Jomar Balasbas @ 6:58 pm

Few towns in the Philippines can boast of their former parish priest being recognized with the highest honor that the Roman Catholic Church can bestow. Las Piñas has Father Ezekiel Moreno.


Canonized on October 11, 1992, St. Ezekiel Moreno served as parish curate of Las Piñas from July 1876 to mid-1879. The small pox epidemic in 1876, drought and crop failures in 1876 and 1878, and the devastating fire of 1879 were trials that brought out the best in St. Ezekiel. His care and concern for his parishioners endeared him to the people.

In his honor, the Congresswoman Villar built the Bulwagan Padre Ezekiel Moreno. The Bulwagan serves as an exhibit hall showcasing old photographs and artifacts of Las Piñas. The hall also serves as a
venue for various cultural and social events. A People’s Park sits atop the hall where residents can stroll or sit back and relax.

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Molino Dam

Filed under: Culture & the Arts — Jomar Balasbas @ 6:53 pm

The Molino Dam’s construction has been traced between the late 18th to the early 19th century. Built by hand, the dam served the irrigation needs of the rice fields in Las Piñas and the nearby towns of Cavite. The long-drawn-out drought in 1885 moved the parish curate, Fr. Ezekiel Moreno, to request for the rehabilitation of the dam wall answer the need for food of many residents.

Rice fields can no longer be found in Las Piñas and Cavite, but the Molino Dam stands as a historic testament to the engineering prowess of 18th and 19th century residents of Las Piñas, and to serve as a recreation area and tourist attraction.

References: Crisanto, Joyce M. & Chit dela Torre. Las Piñas: A City with Heritage. Las Piñas City, Philippines: Villar SIPAG, 2006.

Romanillos, Emmanuel Lus A. Bishop Ezekiel Moreno: An Augustian Recollect Saing Among Filipinos. Quezon City, Philippines: Agustino Recoletos, Province of Saint Nicholas Tolentino, Vicariate of the Philippines and China; 1993.

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Salt Bed (Irasan)

Filed under: Culture & the Arts — Jomar Balasbas @ 6:52 pm

Las Piñas was one of the earliest settlements on the fringes of Manila, which explains its colorful past that dates
back to the 17th century. It used to be a barrio of Parañaque, then a sleepy fishing village with only 1,200 residents.

For the early Las Piñeros, the main means of livelihood were salt-making, fishing, sea shell picking and planting
rice. The community was headed by cabezas de barangay, a westernization of the local chieftains and the
principalia as the local aristocrats were called, a very durable social institution since they were the political
absorbers.

Later simple industries like dye-making, salt-production and handicrafts began to develop in the old town.

On March 27, 1907, Las Piñas was proclaimed an independent municipality by virtue of Philippine Commission
Act No. 1625.

By the 1960s, with the construction of the South Superhighway, Las Piñas became a first class municipality. Las
Piñas’ geographic proximity to Manila and its transportation became a major attraction to real estate developers
and business investors, eventually transforming this once-quiet and rustic coastal town into a booming urban
center of residential subdivisions and large industries.

The Coastal Road or the Manila-Cavite Expressway is a radial road that runs up to 6.6 kilometers and connects
Las Piñas and the province of Cavite to Roxas Boulevard in Manila and Seaside Drive in Paranaque. Its
construction in the 1970’s brought about displacement to salt makers and fishermen of Las PIñas.

But even until now, some Las Piñeros from barangays E. Aldana, Pulang-lupa 1 and Daniel Fajardo are fisher
folks planting and harvesting mussels and clams as a means of livelihood. In their behalf, a fish port was
constructed in Bernabe Compound, Pulang lupa 1 to help them in their livelihood.

Las Piñas was officially included as one of the towns and cities comprising the then Metro Manila area
(now National Capital Region) in 1976.

In recognition of its rapid urbanization and steady growth, Congress passed a bill authored by former Las Piñas
Congressman Manuel B. Villar Jr. converting the municipality into a highly-urbanized city.

On February 12, 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos signed the Las Piñas cityhood bill into law. Residents approved
their cityhood in a plebiscite on March 26, 1997, making Las Piñas the 10th city of Metro Manila.

References: Crisanto, Joyce M. & Chit dela Torre. Las Piñas: A City with Heritage. Las Piñas City, Philippines: Villar SIPAG, 2006. Villar, Cynthia A. My Journey in the Las Piñas Arts & Crafts Industry. Las Piñas City: Villar SIPAG, 2008.

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