Meet the Writers

Menard Duria

 Senior Writer

Menard is a writer for no reason—he doesn’t even have a degree in journalism, a blog site, and a published book. All he has are his knowledge about correct grammar and subject-verb agreement, keen attention to spelling and punctuation mark, creative mind, and good research and written communication skills. For him, there’s more to writing than expressing and sharing thoughts. It widens his vocabulary, develops his different writing techniques, lets him write about a variety of topics, and helps him earn a living.

Menard earned a degree in BS Computer Science (even if he isn’t passionate about this field). He previously worked as media analyst for DILG’s special project where he gathered news reports from various media platforms, transcribed them, and reported significant news items to concerned government agencies. He loves to jog, play badminton, bike, solve Sudoku puzzles, play [a few types of] board games, look at maps, read trivia, Google unfamiliar words/topics/issues, and read news and some random Wikipedia pages. He is interested in geography and history, too. In his late 20s, he comes to appreciate the importance of healthy living. He is a yogurt addict! He finds morning exercises the best way to start the day and a cup of tea to end it (to feel good the next day). For over three years now, he maintains a rare feat at FilWeb Asia—perfect attendance record—and vows to keep it in the coming years even if his leave credits increase.

Quick Fun Facts about Menard:

• Not a fan of/doesn’t care about pets, coffee, rock music, driving fast-moving vehicles, and extreme sports
• Grew beard at age 14 and moustache a few years later
• Hates cigarette smoke, centipedes, misspellings, thoughts about death, and the sight of (even a single) strand of long hair in/on any food
• First time to visit a dentist at age 27

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Trizhia Marie "TM" Miranda

 Junior Writer

Trizhia was an average student who wanted to avoid math subjects so she took up an I.T. course. Sadly, it was too late for her to realize that it was a very wrong move. It was during her “thesis semester” when she discovered her habit of correcting grammar errors. Wanting to live by this habit, she applied and worked as a proofreader in AsecAsia Inc. Her love for books is what led her to become a writer at FilWeb Asia Inc.

She was brought up in a place where people love to sing and learned how to cook by watching her mother. Trizhia is currently addicted to K-Pop songs and Korean TV series, which encourages her to study their language and culture. She was a C.A.T. Admin/Company officer in high school and handled four to five sections with 55 students each. She also knows how to dismantle and assemble M-16 and 45 caliber guns.

Quick Fun Facts about TM:

• Can’t last a day without music
• True-blue K-Pop fanatic
• Loves anything green
• Adores Sponge Bob and Minions

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Kristine Joan "Tintin" Baldago

 Junior Writer

Tin has always been a writer and was even a participant in many journalism contests since grade school. Unfortunately, she was not able to pursue a related course in college. Although she’s not good in Science (especially in Math), she took a degree in Food Technology to secure a full scholarship from DOST-SEI. But this did not stop her from pursuing her passion for writing. In college, she joined the university publication and became a news writer and photojournalist.

She loves cooking, teaching kids, and cuddling puppies. Doodling, poem writing, and guitar playing are her other interests.

She was working at Waterich for more than a year as a QA analyst before she discovered FilWeb. Shifting from laboratory equipment to computer keyboard was rough and mind-boggling for her. But she claims that living her dream brought her happiness and contentment.

Quick Fun Facts about Tintin:

• A Clash-of-Clan addict
• Prefers rice and pork sinigang as merienda
• Composed a song at 17 but forgot where she hid the lyrics

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Mary Ann "Maan" Santos

 Junior Writer

Who would have thought that there’s depth within the soft name Maan? After earning a secretarial certificate from De La Salle University, she pursued a bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde specializing in business management.

Prior to working as a junior writer at Filweb Asia Inc., she was an office assistant to prosecutors and private lawyers and a dedicated executive assistant to a number of CEOs. Seasoned with diverse practices, she gained superb organizational, communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills. She became adept in managing office tasks and dealing with different people. Driven by her passion for digital arts, she studied photography and graphic design by herself. Now, she works as a part-time photographer and layout artist during her days off.

For Maan, career change means versatility. It helped her become highly motivated for career growth, maturely work and handle people, and create big ideas and useful strategies to make her job more efficient.

Quick Fun Facts about Maan:

• At her age, she still doesn’t know how to ride a bike.
• During her teenage years, she loves to sleep on top and not under a mosquito net.