Although geographically apart, the people that make up PinoyCentric are bound together by one purpose: to articulate how it is to be truly Pinoy.

Armand Frasco /Founder and Editorial Director
Chicago-based Armand was born in Dipolog City and is founder of Moleskinerie.com (acquired in 2006 by Kikkerland Design, Inc., now owned by Moleskine Srl/Milan), the world’s premier fan site for those little black notebooks. His three biggest wishes as a child were a pair of binoculars, a shortwave radio, and a tape recorder. Armand attended the University of San Carlos Fine Arts School in Cebu. His sole claim to notoriety is being arrested and detained incommunicado for “unauthorized photography” during the 1989 Aquino government coup attempt. He now grows kangkong in a flower box in his apartment between consultancy work and documentary assignments.

Noah Omamalin /Chief Technology Officer
Dipolog-born Noah taught seven years at USC Fine Arts School, his alma mater. His interests include silk-screening, which he ventured into for a year in Cagayan de Oro; Web design, which he learned on his own; and shirt printing, a hobby that he hopes to turn into an income stream. Married to his grade-school classmate, Noah is now father to four back in his hometown, where he shoots using a Canon Digital camera. He hopes to learn programming and conquer the world afterwards.

Norman Nimer /Creative Director
Norman, a graphic designer now based in New York, has been design chief to advertising agencies, publishing houses, and a gaming company in the Philippines. A father of two, Norman records life’s precious moments with a notebook he writes backward in and a camera he carries like a tumor. He currently lives a largely insignificant life away from the usual action and aspires to keep it that way.

Ted Regencia /US Bureau
Ted is a global nomad from the village of Dap-dap, which surely nobody has heard of before. His forte is karaoke, a skill he perfected while studying international relations in Tokyo. At the age of 19, he schmoozed with Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel, got conned by a street merchant at Piazza Navona, and almost yielded to the temptation of swimming the frigid waters of Tiber River. He finished journalism in Silliman University and at the age of 23 became one of the youngest reporters to cover the impeachment trial of former president Joseph Estrada. This political junkie is now based in Skokie, Illinois, famous for corned beef sandwich and the Skokie Swift. His biggest interview so far is US Senator Barack Obama. Don’t ever dare him to hit the dance floor because he can stay up until IHOP starts serving breakfast.

Karla Maquiling /Philippine Bureau Chief
Karla has lived in 17 different places since birth but intends to find a permanent home before she turns 35. This editor-writer and former PR practitioner enjoys cooking and is a frustrated Broadway star. She was a vegetarian for two months and briefly practiced tai chi. She wants to write that great Filipino novel before she turns 40 and plans to have more kids to fill her home.

Luis Liwanag/Photographer, Philippine Bureau
A correspondent for World Picture News, Luis was chief photographer for Newsbreak and has worked for Agence France Presse, Asiaweek, and Getty Images. His romance with images started at 12, when he took his first pictures with a Kodak Instamatix 76X. These days, he is never without a Canon 30D or a Leica, which he recently dusted off, for street shots documented in his personal blog. Away from his cameras, Luis tinkers with his scooter and gets busy in the kitchen, baking cookies and bread, and whipping up vegetarian dishes. He makes a mean tofu and gluten with broccoli in shiitake sauce and is set to beat Karla at being Iron Chef.

Nouel Omamalin/Overseas Food Correspondent
Trotting presently in Oceania, Nouel started living his dream as a pastry artist in his teenage years in Dipolog City. A graduate of hospitality management from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, he started his career running his family’s bakeshop. Alongside pastry work, he has written articles for local dailies and Websites such as Ambibo (one of the pioneering members) and even sold brownies online! He later moved to Cagayan de Oro as a hospitality educator, then to Cebu as a R&D chef, and finally to Manila as part of the pre-opening team of Hyatt Hotel. He struck gold when he joined Burj al-Arab and his career took sail from then on. Nouel is currently involved with many activities as the pastry chef of Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa and continues to spread his wings. His best advice? Dream, dream, dream and you will have power to change your life for the better. Visit his website.