#bacolod

Inside the Bacolod Philippines Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

PASAY, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION / BACOLOD, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL -- The retail scene was jolted when "Pan the Bread", a Pinay virtual YouTuber, released her own playful 30-second spin on the iconic SM Malls jingle in late-October 2025. A bold move that challenged the six-decade reign of the corporate shopping giant. Her sole rendition, uploaded through short-form video platforms, reinterprets the iconic jingle by SM with a light touch of playfulness and modernity. Her adaptation maintained the catchy, nostalgic essence of the jingle but gave it her trademark vocal delivery, adapted to the Filipino netizens.

Since her debut in late-June 2021, Pan (an independent VTuber) has become emblematic of a new wave of virtual personalities shaking up how brands connect with audiences. This national retail powerhouse of ShoeMart Prime Holdings Incorporated (SMPHi) boasts 85 malls across the Philippines, and has extended its reach to China and Guam, with major hubs like 'SM City Cebu' and 'SM City Bacolod' complementing its iconic flagship 'SM Mall of Asia' in Pasay City, National Capital Region.

At the SM SaveMore Supermarket inside Double Dragon's CityMall, the so-called City of Gentle People are greeted by Dumagueteño shoppers for a distinct jingle, crafted specifically for the grocery and service needs, right here in southern Negros Island Region (NIR). SM has historically created jingles, including its 60th anniversary song rendition from a previous decade. Their digital-first mindset is an indicator of a change in ownership of older brands approaching the youthful, online-native demographics.

Composed in 1991 by 'Nonong Pedero' and first recorded by 'Diane Espejo‑Velasco' and 'Leo Valdez', the jingle has become a cultural staple in Philippine malls. Compared to the 2018 anniversary jingle of SM, which saw the involvement of Global Media Arts (GMA) Sparkle artist 'Gabbi Louise Garcia', the version of Pan is technically an unofficial collaboration with the brand, raising eyebrows of whether 'SM Prime Holdings' will consider formalizing such partnerships in the future.

Historically, SM has favored brief jingles, but with its 70th anniversary and 100th store on the horizon in 2028, there is growing anticipation for something more ambitious. Should licensing agreements be approved by national mall officials, a longer, VTuber-inspired jingle could mark a bold shift in the brand’s familiar sound.

Pan's VTuber-themed jingle came early to the online scene when SM heavily investing its next generation malls, including a PH₱150 billion push for sustainable, tech-integrated spaces, per cited by Bilyonaryo). Although her version is not officially released yet, it highlights a larger trend: legacy companies using VTubers to stay afloat in a world where retailers are merging digital and physical.

At present, she intentionally created an experiment of corporate mall song, driven by fans, though with a track record of the SM rewriting its jingles based on cultural occasions, a formal collaboration is not that unrealistic. The more important one is whether SM will consider VTubers to be brand ambassadors, which will put it on the vanguard of retail innovation in Southeast Asia. So far, Pan's clip is a proof of concept showing that even century-old mall anthems can be remade for a digital audience.

SCREENGRAB and PHOTOS COURTESY for REPRESENTATION: Pan VTuber via YT Shorts VIDEO and Bilyonaryo BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Nexstar Media Group (formerly TEGNA)

SOURCES: *https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rjii205lO-4 *https://virtualyoutuber.fandom.com/wiki/Pan *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbi_Garcia *https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/sunday-life/2008/03/02/47853/my-musical-romance-sm *https://bilyonaryo.com/2025/09/04/the-future-of-shopping-sm-prime-pours-p150b-into-next-gen-sustainable-malls/property/ *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEz2fCJAefw *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEgyXA8Gs4Y *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_Prime *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_City_Cebu *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_City_Bacolod *https://www.doubledragon.com.ph/files/DD%20Press%20Release%2025%20February%202015%20-%20Five%20CityMalls.pdf *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Zd765JwXI and *https://www.smsupermalls.com/about-us

It’s not even officially summer yet and Bacolod is already trying to cook us alive.

Stepped outside today and the heat just hit different. Not a single breeze. The air felt thick, like even the wind gave up and went home. You know it’s bad when you start sweating before you even do anything.

And the thing is, this is just the beginning. Summer hasn’t even fully arrived yet and we’re already out here melting. What happens when it actually gets here? Do we just. Cease to exist?

Also, I don’t know if it’s the weather or just the season, but so many people are getting sick right now. Colds, cough, the whole thing. And it happened in our house too. I got sick first, and then one by one, everyone else caught it. Like dominoes. Nobody was spared.

So please take your vitamins. Drink water. Rest when you can. Take care of yourself because this weather is no joke and your body is trying its best out here.

My only prayer right now is that our aircon holds on a little longer. That’s it. That’s the whole wish. Just please don’t break down on us. You are the last line of defense. You are all we have.

I am literally sweating while typing this. IT IS SO HOT. 😩

It was around 3pm-ish and suddenly everything just moved for a sec. Wasn’t super strong here (PHIVOLCS logged us at Intensity I “scarcely perceptible”) but like. Still, that little jolt was enough to send my heart into my throat lmao

I was in the middle of a training session when it hit. One moment we’re all focused, and the next the floor just shifted. Our supervisor immediately called everyone out because our office is on the 3rd floor. No questions asked, no hesitation we all filed out as fast as we could. That kind of moment really puts things in perspective, you know?

Turns out a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck at 3:22 PM with its epicenter located about 12 kilometers southeast of Bogo City, Cebu, at a shallow depth of 11 kilometers. So it originated pretty far from us but the shaking still traveled all the way down here to Negros.

By 4 PM, PHIVOLCS had already recorded seven aftershocks. So yeah. Not ideal.

The really unsettling part? This may actually be an aftershock of the devastating magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Bogo back on September 30, 2025 the one that killed 70 people and damaged over 700 structures. The region is still healing from that and now this. My heart goes out to everyone in Cebu and Leyte who felt it way stronger than we did. 💔

Sunsets hit different in Bacolod 🌅✨ There’s something about this city. The slow afternoons, the warmth of the people, and the sweetness you can literally taste in every bite of chicken inasal.

Walking around feels like a mix of calm and quiet joy. It feels like the world isn’t in a rush for once. From colorful festivals to simple street moments, Bacolod has this soft charm that stays with you long after you leave.

(Written by Mabel Pines, Dominique Resuma Canio & Rhayniel Saldasal Calimpong / Regional Correspondent of The Brighton Bugle, Freelance News Writer, Presenter, and Regional Contributor of OneNETnews, Online Public Broadcaster of ONC Holdings, and Barangay President of Pulantubig Persons with Disabilities Association)

BEAVERTON, OREGON / BACOLOD and DUMAGUETE CITY, NEGROS ISLAND REGION -- Paid moviegoers in the Negros Island Region got to see the international premiere of the new animated feature produced by Disney and Pixar last Wednesday afternoon (March 4th, 2026 -- Philippine standard time). A summer vacation in Oregon, catching a solo flight at Portland International Airport, while tuning in to the local news and current events on KATU-TV's ABC 2 under Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG). Days before the flagship American release on a big cinematic screen, a lead character has a similar first name to yours truly. Mabel is an incredibly different character from the misadventures you may be familiar with, in some small town off of Roadkill County, in a certain cable television cartoon show "Gravity Falls" (GF) for two (2) seasons.

In Hoppers, Pixar deals with a topography of ecological crisis. The story involves a scheme of corruption to plow down a pristine glade in order to finish the controversial beltway bridge that would eliminate the local ecosystem, which I would be able to tell you in a moment after touching down Bacolod in northern Negros Occidental. The film kicks off with a young girl whose interest in animal linguistics began in her elementary school days. She was an activist in her childhood, a hyper-active supporter of the voiceless, frequently releasing animals from their school and trying to restore them to nature back into the wild.

Although her academic life was shaky after a lot of critters were taken inside her backpack, the narration takes a new turn several years later. She has been able to build the obsession of her childhood into a scientific discovery as an adult, reuniting with her grandmother and the natural world. That man in the asphalt is the City Mayor of Beaverton, who is a perceived democrat and real estate developer 'Jerry Generazzo', who refused to intervene with 19 y/o environmental activist and Beaverton University (BU) student 'Mabel Tanaka' who has set the stage for a wild confrontation.

The fact that Generazzo does not seriously care about the unlawful effect on the environment is tangible as the construction crews are constantly in place. City officials have already started preparing to fence the territory and drain the local pond. In a tragic, but rather comical, examination of civic participation, the only opposition that was recorded in the official petition logs was a misplaced mini grocery list on the part of a blind citizen, resulting in an utter failure in community contacts.

Head scientist at BU 'Dr. Samantha Emily Fairfax', et al., sat down with The Brighton Bugle (Quad Cities' global newspaper outlet) and OneNETnews in NIR to explain the "Freaky Friday" science at the heart of the film. In an effort to save the glade, Tanaka undergoes a consciousness transfer into a robotic beaver. The outcome is foreseeably comical and anarchic. The call of the Beaver Mountain, known as superlodge, Tanaka (now in fur), confronts the king of the beavers named 'George'. The movie combines serious eco-tourism with humor, a morning worship service of Zumba among the dam-builders. Amongst the slapstick, the movie grounds its sadness, where she lost her late grandmother and whose legacy compelled her to follow the dream of genuinely being able to speak with the animal kingdom.

The story becomes even darker at the animal council. Out of desperation, Tanaka, as the character of the beaver, is thinking of a permanent, assassinating option on Mayor Generazzo, and as such a plot has caused concern among American eyebrows due to its maturity. The tension is heightened as the BU professors observe all the events through the hidden cameras to observe the ordeal through the eyes of the robotic animal, as the faculty kept full surveillance of the laboratories.

The harmony between nature and humans is further destroyed when a butterfly queen is mistakenly unalived, and insect-mammal diplomacy is disrupted. The toxic greed of the leadership in the city consumes Tanaka, and at this point, he ferociously escapes amidst destruction, and in a mad dash back to Beaverton to halt the demolition the following morning. People felt that her revenge was so fragmented that she intentionally preferred him to die in hell.

In the beaver's mind, Tanaka instructs the city mayor Generazzo, to drive off for safety, minus the excess revenge. The conclusion is a storm of plain, honest warzone of critters. She pits the Mayor against terrorism by weaponizing her animal instincts. The animal kingdom came together overnight through a terrifying wildfire, and an election rally framed to drown the plains and rescue their home.

At the end of the film, the Mayor has a change of heart and reroutes the bridge, saving the glade and showing that seeing the world through the eyes of another being, even a beaver, can be all it takes. Weeks following the forest fire, the city authorities literally diverted to a new location. She pays her last visit to the animal land where there are natural wildlife preserves.

In the case of city mayor Generazzo, though, this was not brought to the status of his legal situation. State police and detectives have resolved to discuss him over administrative transgressions during the time of 'Donald John Trump'. Law experts indicate that Generazzo damaged their reputation at the Beaverton Municipal Court (BMC) on the issue of misappropriation of taxpayer funds and the corruption involving the controversial beltway bridge project. Should he be found guilty, he must be sentenced to a minimum term of federal imprisonment, massive fines of restitution that might plunge his real estate empire into bankruptcy, and permanently barred from so much as occupying any state office in this regional state henceforth.

Meanwhile, Tanaka was signed up for a Witness Protection Programme (WPP) on animal cruelty over the weekend, after the wildest incident at the council from the animal kingdom, with prosecutors of pets and insects promising immunity in exchange for her testimony against the alleged misconduct of the mayor. She had now been graduated from Beaverton University (BU) when Tanaka had prettily offered a position as a pro assistant to Dr. Samantha.

To set the record straight, to the bewilderment of some people, Mabel Tanaka is a very daring, very much beaver-y college student who loves science and justice. To us though, I'm the only sibling last name of Pines, my shirt sweaters of GF. A pig called Waddles, and the grappling hook. We both love animals, and we normally tend more to my interaction with the animal being more snacky and less technopathic robotic brain-swap on Freaky Friday, but not right here in the City of Smiles of Negros Occidental!

Yet, as we gathered together to glow our hearts when we saw Tanaka put a corrupt mayor through a firewall. No matter where you are, in the Negros Island Region, or in the rainy streets of Oregon, my home state, this film is a reminder that the tiniest voice or the sharpest tooth makes a big difference. Disney and Pixar's Hoppers, in cinemas right now nationwide and abroad excluding America, then the actual U.S. release on its final tour concludes March 6th.

ART PHOTO and SCREENGRABS COURTESY: DisneyClips & Google Maps BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: TEGNA