Focus on the Philippines: 11-year-old Joshua Oliveros wins The Voice Kids Philippines

Plus: Reality show Marooned films in Coron, Palawan, Filipino restaurant in DC named best in America, and ASAP coming to New York.

Joshua Oliveros (centre) with coach Lea Salonga (right) on The Voice Kids Philippines. Courtesy ABS-CBN

Joshua Oliveros, an 11-year-old boy from the central Philippine province of Antique, has won the third season of The Voice Kids Philippines. Mentored by celebrity coach Lea Salonga, Oliveros beat fellow finalists Justin Alva (coached by Bamboo Mañalac) and Antonetthe Tismo (coached by Sharon Cuneta) to win the reality singing competition's top prize on Sunday, August 28.

For the first time in the show’s three seasons, a contestant mentored by Salonga has won the series. Oliveros is also the first boy to win the show.

Oliveros, who became a fan favourite on The Voice with his emotional renditions of pop ballads, received a cash prize of 1 million Philippine pesos (Dh79,200), a new house, a trust fund and a recording contract from local production house MCA Music.

“When they called my name, I got down on my knees because I was so overwhelmed with happiness,” Oliveros, the youngest of five children, told reporters after the show. “I’m very happy because I received a house — it will be a big help for my family.”

Salonga, the Broadway star best known for playing the lead in Miss Saigon, said: "I'm in shock. I want this kid's dreams to come true. I'm just super happy for him."

A franchise of the international reality talent series, The Voice Kids is one of the most popular programmes in the Philippines, often topping nationwide television ratings. The show was broadcast worldwide, including in the UAE, on The Filipino Channel.

Reality show Marooned films in Coron, Palawan

British presenter and adventurer Ed Stafford has filmed in the island of Coron in Palawan, located in western Philippines, for an episode for the second season of his Discover Channel television series Marooned.

On the show, 40-year-old Stafford spends 10 days in remote and extreme environments to see if he can survive with no tools, clothes or food. Stafford is equipped only with a camera, a medical kit and an emergency phone.

“This new season captures Ed doing what he does best — pushing his survival skills to the limits in his true inimitable style,” said Helen Hawken of Discovery Networks International.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Stafford described Coron as “an amazing place”. “It was a coastal environment. Finding fresh water was a big challenge. I lived off of coconut water,” he said.

Stafford added: “I would love to come back to the Philippines. Everyone is extraordinarily helpful and friendly. The island is stunning, absolutely beautiful.”

Aside from Coron, the new season of Marooned will feature Stafford surviving on the foothills of the Andes in Argentine Patagonia and on a snow-covered mountain in Norway.

The series is a sequel to his earlier Discovery Channel programme, Ed Stafford: Naked and Marooned, which featured Stafford spending 60 days on the uninhabited island of Olorua in the Pacific Ocean. In 2010, Stafford became the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River.

Filipino restaurant in DC named best in America

A Filipino restaurant in Washington, DC has been honoured by Bon Appetit magazine on its annual list of The 10 Best New Restaurants in America. Opened in late 2015, Bad Saint is run by three Filipino Americans: chef Tom Cunanan and co-owners Nick Pimentel and Genevieve Villamora.

The 24-seater, no reservation restaurant placed second on the top 10 list, with the magazine citing the restaurant’s take on ukoy, a Filipino shrimp fritter, and adobong dilaw, a stew of chicken, coconut and turmeric. Other popular Bad Saint dishes include palabok, a Filipino noodle dish with shrimp sauce, and lumpiang sariwa, or fresh spring rolls.

“Ever crave Filipino food? You will now,” wrote the magazine. “Their food is personal, but it’s so much more than just dishes they ate as kids. Bad Saint is the kind of place I spend all year searching for.”

The restaurant’s name was inspired by the small fishing village of Saint Malo in Louisiana, the first settlement of Filipinos in the United States back in 1763.

ASAP coming to New York

The popular Filipino musical variety programme ASAP is filming a live episode in New York on September 3 at Barclays Center.

The show’s star-studded ensemble include actors and singers Piolo Pascual, Kim Chiu, Martin Nievera, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Jolina Magdangal and Gerald Anderson.

Reigning Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach will also be a special guest on the sold-out show, which its producers have billed as “the largest Filipino concert event of 2016”. Filipinos from across America are expected to travel to New York for the show.

ASAP is broadcast every Sunday on The Filipino Channel.