Stefany Marisa Quintos Prescott (Stef Prescott)

Stefany Marisa Quintos Prescott, who is better known by her screen name Stef Prescott (born March 29, 1991 in Seattle, Washington, USA) is a Filipina actress. She was an avenger from StarStruck: The Next Level and was known to be the most controversial of the batch because of her attitude. She was competing for the title of Ultimate Sweetheart which was later won by Jewel Mische. She was the representative of the country on Miss Internet World Pageant but failed to get the crown that once belonged to Carlene Aguilar.

Personal life
Stef Prescott was born on March 29, 1991 in Seattle, Washington, USA. Her parents are Julian Paul Prescott, a retired paint consultant and Marisa Quintos, a retired banker. She had experienced living a busy life when she was young. She started swimming at the age of 3 and joined the swimming team at the age of 7. She also joined the soccer team, basketball team and the softball team. She’s also in the dance squad, girl scouts, choir. She enjoys playing musical instruments and doing extra curricular activities. After a few years, the Prescott family moved to the Philippines and it broke her heart. When they finally moved, the first year was the hardest. She didn't know how to speak Tagalog, she didn't know anyone and worst of all, there were no sports.She studied in BHC Educational Institution Inc. in La Union. She was made fun of by her classmates because she looked different. She didn't know this though, because she couldn't understand them. She cried because in Washington she was a good student and here she failed in her Filipino and Social Studies subjects. Being the strong person that she always was, she didn’t give up and studied Tagalog with the help of her mom and cousins.

Before Starstruck
Stef had a taste of glamour when she tried modeling. She did VTR’s every week for a while and fortunately got a lot of projects. She was once a part of a girl group called Angels on ABS-CBN. Her first was for Greenwich commercial that she did with Paulo Avelino. After that she did commercials for Skinwhite, Kit Kat Bar, Head & Shoulders and other commercials abroad. She also did some print ads for McDonalds, Sara Lee, BCNY, CD Jeans and the latest with Wrangler Jeans. Her luck change when her manager asked her if she wanted to join StarStruck, a reality based TV show at GMA 7.

StarStruck: The Next Level
Stef was said to be the controversial for two reasons: 1) her competitive attitude. 2) when she turned down StarStruck's very First Prince, Rainier Castillo on live television when they were both guests of the talk show, She had a good chance of getting the title Ultimate Sweetheart because of her talent and it was proven when she was chosen Best Actress on a kissflick episode. She was picked by dance guru, Douglas Nieras, to be the best dancer among the girls of her batch which was also won by Sheena Halili who was the ex-girlfriend of Rainier Castillo. As for singing, there was tough competition between her and co-survivor, Rich Asuncion. But right after the "Sis-Incident", Rainier Castillo fans boy-cotted Stef Prescott over the Internet. After the contest, it was rumored that the 2 were dating. She was eliminated on March 11, 2007 along with Paulo Avelino. Her very first regular show after StarStruck, was the youth-oriented show entitled, Boys Nxt Door

Success on Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2012

About 100,000 people attended the 17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2012 at the Air force City in Clark, up from last year’s 85,000. Most of them were domestic tourists from Northern Luzon and Metro Manila. Only about 5 percent were foreign visitors.

26 colorful, huge hot air balloons painted the sky, leaving spectators in awe and wishing that they too can join this wonderful ride.


They witnessed the beautiful hot air balloons which come from the different parts of the world, such as California USA, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Denmark and of course we have from the Philippines, commandeered by licensed balloon pilots from all over the world.

Hot air balloons were designed as Panda, ice cream, cake, sunflower to the delight of the crowd.

The 4-day event from February 9-12 dubbed as a ‘weekend for everything that flies’ also featured aircraft maneuvers and precision flying, ultra light planes and sky diving.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Regional director Ronaldo Tiotuico said they expect to surpass last year’ ticket sales of over P15 million. A one -day pass ticket was sold at P200.

He sees the potential to make the event brighter and bigger, as Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia, which host the Hot Air balloon fiesta. The biggest hot air event in the world, he said is in Turkey.

"The thrust is to make Clark a sports tourism destination where we can hold event like this hot air balloon festival. The Department of Tourism supports this event which is sponsored by Clark Development Corporation. CDC has already develop sports tourism here such as triathlon, slow -pitch tournament, softball and baseball," he said.

Tiotuico said as the years passed, more and more private companies joined and many shops, fast food opened which also help in revenue generation.

He said hot air balloons cost $20,000-$30,000 a piece, and are imported. He added that there is a potential to manufacture the basket made of rattan here which can carry 2-5 people.

He added that the event also entice companies to advertise through the balloons.

He said Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino, already offers rental of its hot air balloon for P20,000 for two hours.

There are things you should know before riding the balloon. First, you must be with a licensed balloon pilot. And most importantly you must understand that the hot air balloons use propane gas, which is environment friendly, yet more explosive than LPG.

"They (the hot air balloons) are at the mercy of the wind . There is no steering wheel. If the wind is calm, you’ll just stay put. If the wind blows so strong, it has the tendency to shake and set the balloon on fire. The pilot must really really be skilled," he said.

It can go as far as 10 kilometers, an altitude of 15,000 ft. for an hour.

Aside from the balloons, the main attraction were the demonstration flight and skydiving exhibition of Philippine Air force; Philippine, Malaysian, Spain, Australia paragliding exhibition, ultra light flour bombing demonstration, light aircraft balloon bursting competition, and skydiving and tandem jumping exhibition.

The Philippine Air Force led the national anthem, on a parachute while holding the Philippine flag.

Souvenir items like miniature hot air balloons, T-shirts, stuff toys, house decors, toys were sold. Kites and hot air balloon miniatures were priced as low as P50-P60 and as high as P500.

It’s more fun in the Philippines - Hot air balloon festival

The hot air balloon fiesta, one from among the many events the country launches every year, does not set us apart from other countries. Why? Because a lot of countries host balloon festivals yearly.

But what sets us apart is the fact that Filipinos are hosting the festival. And what better explanation can we present than what DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. said in launching the newest tourism pitch, "Our strategy is simple: while other countries invite you to observe, Filipinos can promise a more heartfelt and interesting experience. Wherever you go, whatever you do in the country, it's the Filipinos that will complete your vacation and will make your holiday unforgettable."

Come Feb. 9 or any other day until Feb. 12, try squeezing up your time and visit Clark. Bring your cameras as well. Enjoy the activities that the hot air balloon festival can offer, especially the chance to ride in a flying hot air balloon.

Imagining this, I can readily think of a good tourism pitch…Going around town. More fun in the Philippines!

Joining the Philippine flying and air enthusiasts in the four days of fun-filled air spectacle are representatives from Sweden, United States, Hungary, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Finland, Japan, Switzerland and South Korea.

Organizers envisioned the fiesta as a fuel that burns the passion of flying for all ages and help propel the aviation industry forward.

Further, the festival hopes to instill discipline in the pilots participating in it so that they may be safe aviators for the country as well as impart the spirit of volunteerism to everyone.

More than 100,000 tourists from 25 countries are expected to troop to the fields of Clark Freeport next week as the four-day 17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival (PIHABF) starts on Feb. 9.

Clark Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2012

Joining the colorful and uniquely designed hot air balloons that will be dominating the skies of Central Luzon are transport and trainer planes, ultra-light aircraft and helicopters, some of which will be conducting a series of fly-bys to delight the spectators. This year’s major attraction will be a US Air Force F-16 doing flight demonstrations.

Captain Meynard Halili will spearhead the thrilling aerobatics show that will also be staged by ace pilots from the foreign countries.

Used to be shown only on Philippine television as executed by pilots from other nations, dare devil aerial stunts by classic biplane built in the 1940s. The restored PT13 Stearman is also lined up for the event. Brand new Airbus 320s, gigantic military C17, and a CN235 will also be on static display.

Captain Joy Roa, heading the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, said that following the success of the previous PIHABF festivities, event organizers were even more challenged to come up with new and more surprises on the realm of hot air balloon venture and aviation spectacles to be staged by aviation enthusiasts from USA, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, The Netherlands, Austria, Japan, England and South Korea.

Special-shaped hot air balloons, which include a car-shaped cutie from Germany, a daisy flower, ice cream cone, and a birthday cake from the United States, “Iwi the Kiwi” from New Zealand and several other regularly shaped huge “flying bubbles” will take the center stage of the festivities.

A fiesta not only coined for fathers and other macho-thinking individuals who love sky stunts and sleek aircrafts, the 17th PIHABF will also cater to moms and their children who are not so attached to machines that defy gravity can go for other “never-a-dull-moment” activities, such as watching skydivers from the Brunei, Malaysia and even from the Philippine National Police make heart pumping mass formation in the sky after jumping from an altitude of not less than 5,000 feet.

Sitting on triangular parachutes powered by lightweight motors, local and foreign paragliders will show spectators that flying could be easy at least from the spectator’s point of view.

With the tempo from marching bands, they can also watch precision drills from different military teams and flying dance shows amid a wide static display of unique airplanes – even those that will bring you back to memory lane on the spectacular history of aviation.

Time will also fly for creative kids who will prefer to stay comfortably at the Children’s Activity Center sponsored by Crayola and Hot Dog on Sticks. From there, they will be taught on kite-making, flight simulators and aviation workshops.

While munching delicious fiesta food, kids can also watch Remote Control car and aircraft competition on specially designated spots.

In case you become mesmerized with flying, display booths of flying schools are within the site for prospective student pilots.

This year’s sponsors include Caltex, Hotdog on Sticks, Rudy Project, SM City Clark, Global Gateaway Logistics Corp., UPS, Krukspec, Isuzu Philippines, Crayola, Sunkist, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ROX Recreational Outdoor Exchange, Yellow Cab Pizza, Close Up, Alveoland, Department of Tourism, Fontana and Air Asia.