Free Weddings in Metro Manila: Which Cities Offer Them

Weddings may be expensive. From venue rentals and catering to gowns and photographers, costs can easily run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of pesos. But for couples with limited budgets, some local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila offer free civil weddings.

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Published at 2026-01-24 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Communities, Culture

Tags: celebration, marriage

The 4 Most Common Types of Coffee Beans and How They Differ

Coffee packs an astounding degree of diversity. The plant grows in over 70 countries, with thousands of varieties categorized into well over a hundred species — new types continue to be discovered to this day. Yet while information like the roast, origin, and flavor notes is what typically ends up on a coffee label, not much attention is drawn to the bean species (except, of course, for arabica beans).

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Published at 2026-01-04 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, Food and Dining, Health

Tags: Coffee, farming

In Memoriam: Filipino Celebrities Who Died in 2025

They were the icons and legends of Philippine showbiz. Some were trailblazers in their fields, while a few were promising yet gone too soon.

Filipinos mourned the deaths of several local celebrities, who have touched the hearts of their legions of fans and supporters.

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Published at 2025-12-30 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Arts, Culture, People

Tags: Pinoy, filmmaking, music

When Educators Stay Silent, Corruption Wins

Each time floodwaters rise in our cities, so does public outrage. Every deluge brings renewed scrutiny of the Department of Public Works and Highways and its flood control projects, many of them overpriced, substandard, or unfinished, according to the Commission on Audit.

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Published at 2025-09-21 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, Education, Politics

Tags: CHED, School, University, research

Marinduque Showcases Its Beauty During the 105th Provincial Day Festival

The picturesque island province of Marinduque, celebrated for its Holy Week Moriones Festival and the captivating sight of its Roman-inspired “moryon” devotees, proudly commemorates a significant milestone as it marks the 105th anniversary of its reestablishment as a province from February 20 to 23.

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Published at 2025-02-19 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Arts, Culture, Recreation, Travel

Tags: Festival, Marinduque

Iloilo City Nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site

This southern metropolis has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mayor Jerry Treñas announced yesterday the inclusion of the city’s historic street, Calle Real, in the tentative list of nominees for the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. Calle Real, the momentous street located in the downtown area, is known for its well-preserved colonial-era buildings, which date back to the Spanish and American colonial periods.

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Published at 2024-03-14 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, History, Leisure, Travel

Tags: Iloilo, Spanish, UNESCO, colonial, heritage

Top 25 Most Spoken Languages in the World 2024

English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi stand out as the world’s most spoken languages, with approximately 1.5 billion, 1.1 billion, and 610 million speakers worldwide. These languages are not only widely spoken but are also experiencing rapid growth.

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Published at 2024-03-12 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Communities, Culture, People

Tags: Chinese, English, English language, Tagalog, language

US-based Pinay Cinematographer on the Important Role of DoPs

Some seem to think that cinematography is just about operating a camera. They’re not wrong. But this important aspect of filmmaking goes beyond that as United States-based Filipino cinematographer Bettina Campomanes pointed out.

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Published at 2024-01-21 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, Entertainment, Technology

Tags: Cinema, filmmaking

Why It’s More Fun in the Philippines Startup Scene

Googling “the Philippines startup scene” in 2023 turns up very different results. Some platforms proclaim that the country’s “Golden Era of Startups” has arrived. Tech in Asia is particularly excited about the market, and we have a three-part documentary about its startup scene. The country is also next on the roster of destinations for our monthly Founders’ Meetup.

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Published at 2023-08-22 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Business, Culture, Technology

Tags: inventors, startup, technology

Is P20/kilo Rice Possible Within 2 Years?

With rice prices increasing in the country, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s election promise of lowering the price of rice to P20 per kilo is seeming more like wishful thinking.

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Published at 2023-08-22 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, Environment, Food and Dining

Tags: Rice, economy, production

Cagayan De Oro Candidate Crowned Miss Grand Philippines 2023

Nikki de Moura from Cagayan de Oro was crowned Miss Grand Philippines 2023 on Thursday night. A Filipina-Brazilian, 19-year-old De Moura emerged victorious among 29 other candidates from various provinces and municipalities in the Philippines at the pageant that was held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

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Published at 2023-07-15 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Arts, Culture, Recreation

Tags: Miss Universe

DOT Probing Alleged Use of Stock Footage in ‘Love the Philippines’ Video

The Department of Tourism’s (DOT) is probing the alleged use stock footage taken from other countries in its “Love the Philippines” promotion video. The clips from the said video, which supposedly aims to showcase the Philippines’ tourist attractions, were purportedly stock footage from Thailand, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates accessible in Storyblocks, a rapid video creation platform, according to various users online.

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Published at 2023-07-02 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, Politics, Travel

Tags: DOT, Eco-Tourism, Tourism

10 Gorgeous Chapels to Book for A Picture-Perfect Wedding

In most cases, newly-engaged couples in the process of planning their wedding find it best to decide on a venue immediately. Every other wedding detail should, naturally, fall into place right after. If you're looking for a unique chapel for that one special day, outside of Metro Manila, we list down the most stunning, heck, even out-of-the-box, options we've seen across our archipelago.

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Published at 2023-06-30 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, People, Religion

Tags: Baguio, Church, Ilocos, marriage

Bill Aims to Find and Preserve Marawi’s Lost Cultural Artifacts

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao del Norte, Philippines — Inside a glass case displayed at the Bangsamoro Museum here, copies of the Holy Qur’an, some of its pages torn and mangled, easily catch visitors’ eyes.

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Published at 2023-06-29 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, History, Religion

Tags: Marawi, artifacts

7 Mistakes Tourists to the PH Make on Vacation

The Philippines is one of Asia's top tourist destinations. In 2019, some 8.3 million people visited the country. It's known for its gorgeous natural landscape including white-sand beaches in Boracay, the Chocolate Hills in Bohol, and some of the best dive sites in the world in Palawan. These are just a few of the reasons why so many Americans have chosen to settle down here.

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Published at 2023-06-21 by Puerto Parrot

Categories : Culture, Opinion, Travel

Tags: Manila, language