27 Filipinas nominated for Noble Peace Prize

First posted 06:01pm (Mla time) June 29, 2005
By Veronica Uy, Leila Salaverria
INQ7.net, Inquirer News Service


TWENTY-SEVEN Filipinas have joined a worldwide bid to bag the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for their significant but largely unheralded roles in peace building.

The Filipino women, among them teachers, artists, political activists, journalists, and religious leaders, were nominated for their valuable and significant roles in promoting peace and unity in the country.

Peace adviser Teresita Quintos-Deles, known graft buster Haydee Yorac, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman are among the nominees. This year’s nominations came from 153 countries.

Deles was nominated following three decades of engagement in peace work as a civil society leader.

Swiss Parliament and the Council of Europe member Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold said the award for women peace advocates is meant to “call the world's attention to the vital but largely unheralded roles of women in peace making and peace building.”

The Swiss-based project 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2005
reports that only 11 women have been accorded the award since its inception in 1901.

The last to get the award was Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi in 2004.

“We have to make an act of faith every day to overcome all threats to peace so we can become effective peace advocates and peacemakers,” said Deles in a statement. “We have to stay the course.”

The 27 nominees were announced on Wednesday during ceremonies at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Aside from Deles and Yorac, nominees include Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, Teresa Banaynal-Fernandez, Piang Tahshim Albar, Mary Lou Alcid, Adoracion Cruz Avisado, Loretta Navarro-Castro, Maria Lorenza Palm-Dalupan,

Sister Mariani Dimaranan, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Hadja Bainon Karon, Myla Jabilles Leguro, Zenaida Tan-Lim, Delia Santiago-Locsin, June Pagaduan-Lopez, Seiko Bodios Obashi, Zenaida Hamada-Pawid,

Sister Mary Soledad Perpiñan, Elisa del Puerto, Irene Morada-Santiago, Teresita Ang-See, Miriam Suacito, and Pura Sumangil.

:urock: :patrioticpinoy:

RP achieves progress on debt relief proposal — JDV
By Jess Diaz
The Philippine Star 07/11/2005

The Philippines has achieved "significant progress" is pushing for a debt relief in the form of debt-for-equity in new projects in heavily indebted nations, Speaker Jose de Venecia reported yesterday.

He said he has received assurances from Paris Club president Jean-Pierre Jouyet and British treasury officials that they will consider the Philippine proposal.

"The Italian government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is giving the Philippine proposal favorable consideration. This could be a breakthrough since Italy is a member of G-8 — the world’s richest industrialized nations — which forms the core of the Paris Club," he said.

The debt-for-equity program seeks to convert 50 percent of the current debt service and/or principal amount into equities for the lending nations and institutions and invested in a series of wealth-creating projects.

He said in the case of the Philippines, under the country’s proposal, half of its staggering $4.5 billion foreign debt service, or $2.25 billion, could be made available for development projects such as reforestation, mass housing, hospitals and health care.

"Our debt relief idea program presents a workable idea, with a reasonable chance of success, to help poor nations lift their peoples from grinding poverty," he added.

A letter sent to De Venecia by the Italian Ambassador Umberto Colesanti said Berlusconi agreed with the Philippine proposal’s objectives to use debt conversion to fund the fight against poverty and pursue the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"I have little doubt that our proposal has stirred interest and, even more significantly, triggered a process of evaluation to determine whether it is workable and how its mechanics would work out in specific development projects," he added.

De Venecia, together with a delegation of six, returned from a three-week European swing on June 30. Hours after arriving, he and his delegation proceeded to the House to vote on playing in public of the controversial "Gloriagate" tapes. He heard the recordings for the first time that day.

De Venecia left the country after attending the June 12 flag-raising ceremony, when the expected jueteng and Glorigate-related rallies did not materialize.

Two days before he and his group traveled to Europe, finance ministers of G-8 nations met in London and decided to write off $40 billion in debt owed by poor nations. The list did not include the Philippines.

Still, the delegation crisscrossed European capitals to plead for debt relief not only for the Philippines but for other poor and heavily indebted nations.

In his report yesterday, De Venecia said any form of debt relief should benefit at least two billion people in 100 poor nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The program would free public funds for investment in debt-for-equity projects De Venecia has identified as reforestation, mass housing, hospitals and health care, schools and classrooms, irrigation and post-harvest facilities, clean water, eco-tourism, reclamation and mining.

The Speaker said the development projects would advance the President’s 10-point legacy program, the 12-point wealth-creation program he has authored, and keep the country on course toward attaining the MDGs and the government’s battle against poverty, ignorance and disease.

Without debt relief, the Philippines and other heavily indebted nations will achieve the MDGs only marginally, De Venecia said.

The Speaker had a series of meetings with top financial and political officials in Europe aside from his talks with Mr. Jouyet of the Paris Club.

Among them were the British Treasury’s Mark Bowman, head of its International Poverty Reduction, and Joseph Thornton of its International Poverty Reduction Team. Both were involved in helping package the British proposal to cancel billions of dollars in bad debt of 18 heavily indebted African nations.

De Venecia also conferred with leaders of the French Senate and the head of the French National Assembly, Jean-Louis Debre; the head of the Vienna-based OPEC Fund, Suleiman Jasir al-Herbish; the Austrian Parliament president, Dr. Andreas Kohl; and Ukranian President Viktor Yushchenko, among others.

=====================================================


That's what politicians should be. :exactly:

If he can make this proposal come to a reality, then he should be the country's first Prime Minister or President under a federal system.

If this is just how far this proposal will get, then this one is not a good channel for his election campaign for our next country's leader.

It should not have been be a news because that is what they are suppose to do as politicians having juicy salaries and allowances, much of it taken from the less fortunate taxpayer's money for them to do a job.

Let's make this a good news only thread, I'm sick and tired of reading and hearing the bad news about our current situation.

I hope there are bright gems of good and happines still left in our country.

Will this do Miss Kookie?

OFW remittances reach $3.95 B in 5 months, up 19%

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2005071639479.html


Hurrah to the real heroes - the OFWs (w/c I'm proud to say includes me) :bow: :bow:

Peso remains at 56.

GMA got a new finance secretary. No problem about money.

Pocket money. P200,000 initial “goodwill” money from still unidentified government fund sources.

They were said to have been promised P1 million plus. Pocket money.

money reportedly is sourced not only from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) but also from the Road Users' Tax.

The female legislator obtained her P200,000 last Wednesday.“She practically admitted it.

Kampi got only P200,000, some members of the Lakas had already gotten their share of P1 million each. “That's why they are being called the P1 million men of GMA.”

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20050722.hed05.html

Corrupting the minds.

Thats the Good News? :drunk:

Tired of bad news?

This thread is about stuff that we DO RIGHT for a change.

Honest janitor hailed

http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?ind...&story_id=46887

LUCENA CITY—The city council has commended a supervising janitor at SM City here for exemplary honesty.

Two weeks ago, Angelito Caintoy found a bag containing P3,200 cash, a mobile phone and two “pay-to-cash” checks amounting to P444,376 in one of the mall theaters.

Caintoy immediately turned over the items to his superiors.

The mall management rewarded Caintoy’s deed by giving him a certificate of commendation, a cash prize and “special treatment” for one day.

SM City Lucena also planned to make Caintoy a regular employee. Caintoy’s picture has also been displayed in all bulletin boards at the mall.

Aye!

I did not give any negative comments against RP-MALAYSIA nor open negative topic about. That's good. :exactly:

Endangered tamaraws breed in the wilds again

First posted 05:28am (Mla time) Oct 23, 2005
By Blanche S. Rivera
Inquirer News Service


Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the October 23, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


IT'S back to the wilds for the tamaraw.

Experts are seriously considering "closing" the gene pool of tamaraws in Occidental Mindoro. Recent surveys showed that the species, a descendant of the cow, deer and carabao found only in the Philippines, might be better off left in the mountains.

The tamaraw (bubalus mindorensis) was nearly wiped out by an epidemic in the 1930s, and then further depleted by the hunt for trade and trophies. It was listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the most threatened mammals on earth. The government has protected the endangered species for the past three decades and established a gene pool.

The tamaraws are endemic to Mindoro and have been breeding well in the wild, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau reported.

In contrast, out of the original 10 tamaraws captured for the gene pool, only two have survived-Mimi and her calf Kalibasib.

"This is the first time we're going to evaluate if we still need the gene pool.

If they're breeding in the wild, then we may not need to capture them for preservation," PAWB director Mundita Lim told the Inquirer.

At least 269 tamaraws, many of them juvenile, were sighted on Mt. Iglit alone. They have also made their homes on Mt. Baco, Mt. Halcon and Mt. Calavite.

While the population is still critically small and insufficient to get the tamaraw off the country's list of endangered species, the 269 sightings are an improvement over the 100-head count in the past decade.

If the gene pool is closed, Mimi and Kalibasib will not be released to the wild, according to Lim.

No to cloning

The increased population has also reinforced the PAWB's decision not to subject the tamaraw to cloning as proposed by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), the first such proposal aimed at preserving the country's endangered wildlife.

The PCC had wanted to clone the tamaraws in the gene pool but the Department of Environment and Natural Resources rejected the proposal, saying that cloning would reduce the genetic diversity of the species.

"It's not ethical because we still have enough tamaraws in the wild. If there were, say, only two or three of the species left, then cloning could be viable," Lim said.

The tamaraws, noted for their fierceness and determination to attack their enemies even when they are wounded, nearly failed to survive one enemy in the 1930s-the rinderpest, a highly fatal viral disease affecting domestic cattle, buffalo and yaks.

Gene pool

From an estimated population of 10,000 in the wild, the tamaraws had been reduced to only about 150 in the 1970s, prompting the government to establish a gene pool.

Ten unrelated tamaraws were captured in the wild, placed in an enclosed area in Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, and allowed to breed.

After almost 30 years, however, the gene pool produced only one offspring, five-year-old Kalibasib, short for Kalikasang Bagong Sibol. Today, only Kalibasib and its mother, Mimi, are left in the gene pool.

"Not only did they not mate, most of the tamaraws (in the gene pool) died of natural causes... The problem probably is that they were treated much like carabaos," Environment Undersecretary Armando de Castro, who oversees the government's wildlife preservation program, said in an earlier interview.

The gene pool had been under the supervision of the PCC and was transferred to the DENR only four years ago.

Tamaraw month

Lim said the PAWB would start consultations this month with the local government, communities and other stakeholders on the necessity of keeping a tamaraw gene pool. October was declared Tamaraw Month in 2002.

Alongside the festivities for Tamaraw Month in Mindoro, Lim said she expects to get the sentiments of the Mindore¤os, who are proud of their unique species.

"The people in Mindoro are very aware of the conservation efforts for the tamaraw, and they are actively helping the government," Lim said, adding that the residents themselves have tried to keep hunters away.

Turning down offers

She said the communities had also refused to create a conservation area outside the island even in exchange for foreign funding for the country's wildlife conservation programs.

A zoo in the United Kingdom had expressed interest in importing the tamaraw for education and conservation purposes, with the condition that the Philippines could retrieve the animals anytime after they had bred.

This was also turned down by the Mindoreños.

"They're very possessive of the tamaraws; they also (want) to protect them," Lim said, adding that the communities' ability to keep the tamaraws safe in Mindoro's mountains could be the key to their survival for the next hundred years-with or without the gene pool.

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=54210

‘Pawikan’ sanctuary along Tayabas Bay

First posted 04:52am (Mla time) Oct 23, 2005
By Amadis Ma. Guerrero
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on page F2 of the October 23, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.


THE COASTAL TOWN OF SAN JUAN IN eastern Batangas, near the boundary with Quezon and facing Tayabas Bay, is known for its quaint houses near the plaza, the baroque Church of San Juan Nepomuceno (constructed in 1890 after the earlier church sank in water—“lumubog sa tubig,” according to the historical plaque), and functional as well as decorative pottery products.

San Juan also has, to one’s pleasant surprise, a Tourist Zone a few kilometers away from the town proper; a big, wide beach cove with white sand and unpolluted waters; and a barangay (Laiya Aplaya) which is a kind of sanctuary, feeding grounds and nesting place for the endangered pawikan (marine turtle).

The roads are lined with trees. And hovering along the coast is Mt. Dao-Macuitib which appears to be well-maintained, with greenery and good forest cover, although illegal logging is said to be a problem. A fish sanctuary is found along the barangay of Hugom.

San Juan is more than 100 km southeast of Manila, a 2 ½-hour ride by car, passing through Lipa City and the towns of Padre Garcia and Rosario. The coastline is home to 17 beach resorts (along with others that are inland), led by Kabayan Beach Resort (0917-8963312).

This resort has nipa huts, big rooms and cottages (from 4-20 persons), swimming pool, multipurpose hall and other amenities. It is also the home base of Laiya Aplaya barangay captain Wivin Llana, who two years ago initiated a program to preserve, protect and propagate the marine turtles. The activities are in coordination with the Parks and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and environmentalist Ramon DL Flores of Mother Earth Philippines.

Unpolluted waters

“The pawikan will live up to a hundred years or more,” notes Flores. “It takes 25 years for them to attain sexual maturity. They can lay eggs for as much as seven times; hatching takes 45-60 days. They can lay up to 106 eggs, with normally 98 hatchlings.”

He adds, “They eat a lot of jellyfish, squid and fish. There are pawikan if marine life is bountiful and the waters are unpolluted.”

This is borne out by the San Juan experience.

“Our coastal waters are clean,” says barangay captain Llana. “That’s why the pawikan like them.” And yet for a long time there were no marine turtles sighted along the San Juan coast. The sightings actually began over a year ago. Some had followed the fishing nets and had been hooked. Injured slightly, they were rescued and cared for.

Others would be seen just floating, and would be plucked manually by project staff and fisherfolk. Still other pawikan would go ashore to lay their eggs and nest. In a few cases, the project has purchased the turtles from fisherfolk.

While most of the fishermen have undergone seminars with PAWB-DENR, you never can tell when they will be tempted to sell the pawikan. So Llana buys the marine turtle for a certain amount. “This is to ensure that they will not become karne (meat) for turtle soup,” as Llana’s wife, Edna, put it.

“Mabait ang mga pawikan (the marine turtles are well-behaved),” observes the barangay captain.

Temporary shelter

Since operations started over a year ago, 25 marine turtles have been rescued or “captured,” given temporary shelter in a resort pond, fed, tagged and finally released back to the sea with much funfare. The tag consists of the letter P (for Philippines), plus four digits. This is a kind of ID for the pawikan, and indicates that it came or passed through the country.

The turtles are known to travel long distances, and have been monitored from Indonesia and Guam to Okinawa. It is said that after 15 years, they return to their place of birth.

The other week found us at the Kabayan resort for the release of a big, 60-pound green turtle (the shell is 76-cm long and 69-cm wide) that had been rescued. It was something of an event. Resort aides gingerly lifted the heavy pawikan from the shallow waters of the pond. She then crawled around for a time, adjusting to the sand. By this time a small crowd had gathered, and they were told not to shout too much so as not to frighten the turtle.

Then she was strapped onto a surfing board and borne triumphantly to the shore, as lensmen scrambled for a photo op. Smelling the sea, the green turtle became excited and started to crawl back confidently to the waters, as boisterous men shouted: “Ingat (take care)!” “Sumulat ka (write)!”

It was a joyous experience being up close and personal for the first time with a pawikan.


http://news.inq7.net/lifestyle/index.php?i...&story_id=54205

:whogives: there are people starving out there and all you can point out is this for good news?

I know.

It's still a good news though!

Cheer up! :armycheers:

Dont be so anxious about what's turning out. :thumb:

Try to read or find something that will make you smile a bit. :armywink:

:agree: How true. There's enough bad news going around, but some of us seem to have a tendency to ignore the pleasant ones.

Good news indeed :thumb:

To be feed up with the bad news is a good news regardless of how boring is the news. :thumb:

Homeschooled Fil-Am wins $10,000 in 'Jeopardy!'

By Ruben V. Nepales
Inquirer News Service

LOS ANGELES, California--Joseph Henares, a homeschooled Filipino-American boy, recently won a "Back to School" edition of "Jeopardy!" -- America's popular TV quiz show.
HENARES: Selected among 500 kids to be one of 15 contestants in a back-to-school edition of America's long-running popular quiz show.

The 12-year-old Henares received a cash prize of $10,000 in the competition that involved 15 contestants selected from more than 500 kids all over America.

Joseph emerged the winner after five daily episodes were taped at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.

Interviewed by phone and e-mail, Joseph credited his "Jeopardy!" triumph to his "mom, who helped me review different topics that we thought would be on the show, and my dad, who helped me with strategy and taught me how to bid in the Final Jeopardy!"

He is the eldest son of John and Jean Henares, both holders of math degrees from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

Joseph heard about the nationwide tryouts in various cities for 10-to-12-year-old contestants for the "Back to School" tournament back in the spring, the elder Henares recounted.

"I went to www.jeopardy.com and signed him up online for the tryout in New York City. A few weeks later, I got an e-mail that Joseph was scheduled for his tryout in New York on July 16. Joseph was interviewed, given a 30-question test and participated in a mock 'Jeopardy!' game with other applicants."

Odds of getting in slim

"The odds of getting in were quite slim," said John. About 500 kids were trying out for 15 slots.

On Sept. 12, Joseph was on the "Jeopardy!" set at the Sony Pictures Studios for the taping of the show that was aired on national TV on Oct. 13.

When asked how he felt when he learned he had made it to the final 15, Joseph offered his mother's reaction instead:
"My mom jumped up and down and screamed." He added, "All my friends were excited." His father was ecstatic.

John Henares reflected on his career as an actuary who calculates insurance reserve liabilities and does financial reporting when he disclosed how he and Jean prepared Joseph for the quiz show hosted by Alex Trebek.

"We drilled Joseph on how to bid, particularly on 'Final Jeopardy!' We came up with various scenarios covering the what ifs. For example, what if you're in first place with $X, and the second and third placers have $Y and $Z, how much should your final bid be?

"We had about less than a month to prepare. So we brainstormed among ourselves what the likely 'kids' categories would be. We came up with Superheroes, recent kid movies, what's on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, among others.

"Then we determined which among those categories Joseph was weak at, and we did online searches on them. We also had Joseph read the latest issue of the Kids' Almanac," said the elder Henares.

Joseph's main worry

"But actually, knowing the correct responses to whatever categories was the least of Joseph's concerns. He knew that he could get his share of correct responses. What he feared more was whether he could buzz in fast enough to make that knowledge count.

"So we had him watch 'Jeopardy!' and take note of the cadence of Alex Trebek's speech and pretend to signal in as soon as Alex was done reading the question. For practice, Joseph used a fat marker as his signaling button."

Joseph and his siblings, Marian, 10, and John Paul, 8, are schooled at home in Avon, Connecticut, primarily by Jean, who was also an actuary before she quit to become a full-time mother.

The Henareses have a younger daughter, Christina, 3. The Henares couple is part of a growing number of parents in the United States who are educating their kids at home. This trend has resulted in the term "homeschool" being accepted as a word entry in the dictionary.

John Henares credited his son's success to his being an avid reader and his ability to retain knowledge and information about things that he encounters.

"His mom does a good job -- and has great patience -- in quizzing him in preparation for 'Jeopardy!' and other contests. But then, any other non-homeschooling mom could have done just as well."

Homeschooling

John explained how he and Jean decided to homeschool Joseph and, eventually, their other children. "Jean met some Catholic parents who homeschool their children," he said.

"She was impressed with their dedication and their testimony of very favorable results that they experienced with their children. She observed first-hand how the children functioned and behaved. The image stuck in her mind. When Joseph reached school age, we decided to give it a try. It hasn't been all that easy but we've managed. We are aided by a good Catholic curriculum that we get from Seton Home Study, a homeschool curriculum provider based in Virginia."

It is rare to hear a 12-year-old say that he wants to be an actuary, but that is what Joseph says he would like to be someday.

John, who was raised by Manuel and Sandra Henares in Bacolod City, worked for two years as an instructor at the UP Math Department. He earned his MS degree in Math-Actuarial Science from the University of Connecticut. A fellow of the Society of Actuaries, John works for Genworth Financial in Windsor, Connecticut.

Jean, the eldest child of Fermin and Florentina Alambra, grew up in La Union province. Like John, she also taught at UP after graduation and earned her MS degree in Math-Actuarial Science from the University of Connecticut.

'Star Wars,' Lea fan

Math and academics are just some of the interests of Joseph. He sings, acts and plays the piano. Joseph, Marian and John Paul are members of The Company, a children's theater program based at the University of Hartford. Joseph, who last played Linus in The Company's production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," hopes to meet internationally acclaimed singer-actress Lea Salonga someday.

He also likes to watch the "Star Wars" (the reason he welcomed questions on this film series in "Jeopardy!") and "Lord of the Rings" movies, play soccer and tennis and join chess tournaments, where he has won trophies.

The young Henares had joined other similar contests before, including the Spelling Bee, Geography Bee and American Math Competition.

"I've been the top scorer in the Connecticut Homeschool Network American Math Competition for two years. Last year, I was second in the school level Spelling Bee of the Woodbury Homeschool Group. I was also in the top 10 for the Geography Bee in the state of Connecticut," he said.

Joseph plans to spend some of his cash prize on computer games but he will save most of it to help pay for his college tuition.

Trebek might see a lot of Joseph as this whiz kid grows up. Joseph declared, "I would like to join the teen version, then the college version, before finally moving on to the adult 'Jeopardy!'"

Ruben V. Nepales is a correspondent in Los Angeles for the Philippine Daily Inquirer

http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_fea/2005/nov/10-01.htm




:thumb:

Grand Dame ready for another facelift

First posted 04:06am (Mla time) Nov 22, 2005
By Jerome Aning
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the Nov. 22, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


(First of two parts)

AFTER almost a decade of neglect and disuse, the Metropolitan Theater -- fondly called the Met -- will be restored to its former glory.

Three government agencies finally got their act together and will be working to restore the “grand dame” of Manila’s theaters, which is located at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the City of Manila had set aside their differences and signed a work and action plan last June.

In response, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the release of P50 million to partially fund the restoration of the Met.

A private consultancy firm was commissioned to conduct a detailed engineering study (DES) of the theater, which began last week. In five months, the firm will submit its report detailing the condition of the Met’s structure and how it could be restored.

It took no less than Ms Arroyo herself to end the feud among the NCCA, GSIS and City Hall. On Jan. 7, 2004, she witnessed the signing of a tripartite agreement among Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, GSIS president Winston Garcia and Tourism Undersecretary Evelyn Pantig, NCCA chair.

The agreement was an offshoot of the President’s speech at the 2002 Cultural and Arts Conference, where she spoke of the need to make culture “folksy,” stressing that one of her administration’s priorities was to provide an accessible culture and arts venue for the masses.

“We must make culture available … [and] attractive to the masses,” Ms Arroyo said.

“I don’t think the Cultural Center of the Philippines will serve this purpose because it is imposing, unapproachable and elitist," she said. "The one that the poor will find approachable physically and psychologically is the Met and I feel we should revive it.”

Curiously, the Arroyo administration’s goal of pro-poor and people-oriented programs for the soon-to-be restored Met were the same as former first lady and Metro Manila governor Imelda Marcos’ when she pushed for the Met’s 1978 renovation.

“This theater is dedicated to a singular goal: To surface the true, the good and the beautiful in the Filipino in Metropolitan Manila,” Marcos said in her message for the 1978 reopening.

NCCA supervision

Under the 2004 tripartite agreement, the NCCA, GSIS and City Hall would put together their resources to spearhead the restoration of the Met to its former grandeur befitting the country’s center of the arts and culture for the masses.

The GSIS, as owner of the 7.6-hectare lot where the Met stands, turned over to City Hall the property, except for the commercial spaces. Under the agreement, the GSIS recognized the fact that as a social security institution, it could not operate, maintain and preserve the Met.

For its part, the City Hall of Manila committed to spearhead the enhancement and improvement not only of the Met’s physical structure, but also its cultural and historical significance. It would also construct or improve the Met’s music halls, actor’s studio, conference and lecture rooms, library, museum, multipurpose hall or ballroom, toilets rooms and parking areas.

However, City Hall was tasked to conduct the restoration of the Met in accordance with the internationally accepted standards of conservation that the NCCA shall provide.

Restoring the theater

How the Met’s restoration should proceed and how long it would take depends on the cooperation of the three agencies.

Rose Beatrix Angeles, NCCA commissioner in charge of national heritage sites, said the commission’s plan was to restore the Met as much a possible to the 1978 version. The lead architect then was Otillo Arellano, nephew of the building’s original architect in 1931, Juan Arellano.

But before the restoration work could begin, the three agencies needed to agree on the work and action plan, or WAP. This was when the delays started.

Angeles said some people in City Hall thought that the NCCA would simply turn over the P50 million to the city government, leaving the bidding and the construction work to City Hall.

The commissioner stressed that the agreement stated that the rehabilitation was to be a collaborative work of the three agencies.

She added that the NCCA had a mandate to make sure that its funds were used properly in the restoration, which should be done in accordance with the internationally accepted standards set by the International Council for Monuments and Sites (Icomos).

The Paris-based Icomos is one of Unesco’s two world heritage-monitoring arms.

Objections and revisions

The Met Conservation Committee, which is chaired by Manila Mayor Atienza, is composed of another representative from the city, two from the GSIS and two from the NCCA.

After the 2004 elections, the NCCA conducted a feasibility study, which included the inspection of the property and the preparation of pertinent documents.

In September the same year, the NCCA came up with the WAP. Angeles said that while the GSIS agreed with the WAP the following month, the City of Manila kept returning the draft to the NCCA with various objections and asking for revisions.

It was only in April 2005, “after much persuasion” that the NCCA was able to get City Hall to agree to the WAP, Angeles said.

Personally, however, the commissioner said she thought the contracts with City Hall were “strange” because by law, it’s the NCCA -- or more particularly, one of its member agencies, the National Historical Institute (NHI) -- that should conduct the restoration of landmarks.

Atienza’s track record

“The restoration is being turned over to a non-expert … so we have to ensure that City Hall complies with the highest standards of conservation,” she said, recalling that the Manila city government “does not exactly rank high” among conservationists and heritage-savers.

Angeles was referring to Atienza’s disagreements with the NCCA, the NHI, the National Museum and other government agencies and private groups on the preservation of “culturally significant” sites, such as the Jai-Alai Building, Mehan Garden, Arroceros Forest Park, the Paco and Tutuban train stations, and the San Lazaro racetrack.

The commissioner also said that people should not be suspicious or impatient if they don’t see any actual construction work at the Met just yet.

“Everything has to be in order … we want to be as close to the original as possible. We’ll make sure that much of the original remains there for the next generations to appreciate,” Angeles said.

Research work

The commissioner recounted that in the ongoing restoration work for the Montpelier estate of US President James Madison in Orange, Virginia, the research alone took two years, during which the building was not touched. The estate, which changed hands twice, would be restored to its 1820s version.

The seven-year restoration employed not just researchers but also assorted craftsmen, architects and even archaeologists.

“We do move slowly, yes, but the rewards will last longer. We want to restore the Met and make it usable. We want to make it sturdy so it will remain a symbol for a long, long time,” Angeles explained.

She said the P50 million that would be given to City Hall was also subject to government regulations on spending and auditing. The amount was not nearly enough for the Met’s complete restoration, which was estimated to be P200 million.

The NCCA released an initial P15 million, of which P1 million was earmarked for the full documentation of the Met.

Another P4 million was set for the detailed engineering study (DES), the contract for which was awarded to Schema Konsult Inc., a Pasig City-based engineering, planning and project management consultancy firm.

Old meets new

The remaining P10 million would be released to City Hall for the restoration of the theater roof, which is a primary concern. Also in the priority list are: raising the floor from floodwaters and checking the electrical system.

Angeles said the NCCA also wanted to conduct “a deeper investigation of the structure, to find out exactly what changes were made between the 1930s and the 1978 structure.”

“If you go in without a plan, you could lose architectural details and designs, and technological innovations that we might not have seen,” she explained.

Architecture scholar Edson Cabalfin said the culture expressed in the architectural style of a building constructed in a particular era is often the product of “intermingling and hybridization of cultures.”

Nationalists may point out that the Art Deco style of the Met was something foreign and forced upon by American colonizers. Not so, according to Cabalfin, author of a critical historiography of the Philippine Art Deco from 1927 to 1941.

He said the Met and the other Art Deco buildings served as expressions of the Filipino struggle for identity -- one that would blend Filipino, Asian, Spanish and American influences.

Met as symbol

“[A]s much as Art Deco is seen as the seeming ‘infiltration’ of a foreign agent in another culture, the style can also be read as the means an ‘infiltrated’ culture adapts and responds to an outside power,” Cabalfin explained.

Philippine Art Deco then, he added, can be understood as “the dynamics of the imposition of power by the colonizer and the demonstration of resistance and empowerment of the colonized.”

Angeles said the NCCA realized that its reputation was at stake with the Met restoration project.

“The Met is more than a theater. It is a symbol. If we screw up this one, we’ll never live it down. We’ll become known as the agency that ruined the Met. The people may forget the City of Manila or GSIS, but they will not forget the NCCA because this [restoration] is our mandate,” she said.

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=57353

=============================================

Manila City's facelift, spearheaded by Mayor Atienza himself will not be complete without touching this historical landmark. :specool:

This is somewhat the culmination of Mayor Atienza's dream of giving the city a new sign of vibrance in theater arts.

Good job, PGMA and Mayor Atienza. :thumb:

:thumb:

too bad about the old art-deco inspired jai alai building along taft.... it wouldve made an excellent public school or govt building if only atienza didn't demolish it...... the city college of manila couldve transferred there instead of mehan gardens, mas accessible pa.... tutuban is also quickly deteriorating into another chaotic and dirty tiangehan.....

here's another:

olongapo mayor giving militant groups to rally - to voice their feelings in the preliminary hearing of rape case:


no pcr? cpr? :fire:

Makati bags int’l robotics award

First posted 10:48pm (Mla time) Nov 23, 2005
By Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer News Service

Although they did not get the top prize, a team of high school seniors from the Philippines won a special award for their entry about a futuristic floating city populated by robots in an international science fair, besting entries from 13 other countries.

Team MS IMAGINe, from the Makati Science High School, received the Best Presentation Award during the 2nd World Robotics Olympiad held in Bangkok, Thailand from Nov. 4 to 6 for their excellent presentation to an international audience of what their project was about.

“We outranked other countries in terms of content, and for us, that is very important. The other countries in the competition were among the world’s richest countries, and at least even just this time, we outranked them, and our project was more convincing than theirs,” said Kathy Javier, the team’s coach.

The winning team was composed of fourth year students Cyril Lumboy, Siegfrid Mendoza and Glenn Angelo Galano.

In the competition, the students were asked to present their vision of the Earth a billion years from now. Their winning entry, titled “World of IMAGINe,” featured a floating city, running on electronic circuitry and populated by robots, all fashioned from Lego blocks.

“We imagined that the world by that time would have extreme temperatures … all volcanoes have erupted and in that setting, robots would be dominant,” said Javier, a physics teacher. “The teams were given five minutes to explain their projects. And we Filipinos are really good in English so that’s the edge that we had from the others. They said the world stopped when we explained.”

Team MS IMAGINe bested 121 other teams from 13 participating countries, including four from the Philippines and neighboring countries like Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Australia.

http://news.inq7.net/metro/index.php?index=1&story_id=57550

that is a great example of what a well-funded public high school can do!

:urock:

RP inventor wins gold for anti-cancer cream
First posted 03:01am (Mla time) Dec 03, 2005
By Christian V. Esguerra
Inquirer


A CREAM locally proven to work against the most common type of skin cancer won a gold medal for a Filipino scientist at the prestigious International Inventor's Forum in Nuremberg, Germany, early in November.

Scientist Rolando de la Cruz bested 54 other inventors worldwide when his "DeBCC" cream, developed from cashew nuts and other local herbs, was chosen over 1,500 entries as the "most significant invention" of the year.

Speaking at a press conference arranged by the Department of Science and Technology yesterday, the 68-year-old inventor said the cream was a simple answer to basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common type of skin cancer worldwide.

BCC affects around 800,000 Americans every year, according to the Skin Care Foundation website.

BCC also affects 500,000 Europeans and 190,000 Australians every year, De la Cruz's RCC Amazing Touch company said in a statement.

Dr. Eric Talens, who did the first clinical trials of DeBCC, yesterday said this type of skin cancer was found in 60 percent of Filipinos. He said this estimate was based on statistics from the Philippine General Hospital and other hospitals in the country.

Talens said the disease was common among the elderly owing to their chronic exposure to the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.

"It doesn't happen instantaneously," he told reporters. "It takes years of exposure to get skin cancer."

He added that lighter-skinned people were more vulnerable to the disease. Darker-skinned individuals have more melanin to protect their skin from ultraviolet rays.

If untreated, skin cancer could disfigure the face, affecting the function of the eyes and nose.

For the trial, Talens, a surgeon with the PGH, treated 14 skin cancer patients using the cream. It was applied to "the very delicate area of the face initially thought of as hopeless by some doctors and rejected by most plastic surgeons," according to a statement by De la Cruz's company.

De la Cruz said the skin cancer patients were cured in 16 weeks with no recurrence even after two years.

"By mere application of the cream, with no radical and unacceptable surgeries or procedures, the patients' skin cancers were cured," the statement said.

"There were no side effects," he added.

The results were submitted to the Germany-based award-giving body, earning the top price for the Philippine-made cream.

De la Cruz said multinational companies from the US, Germany and other European countries had offered to produce DeBCC.

Having completed the required clinical trial, Talens said he and De la Cruz were in the process of securing a certificate from the Bureau of Food and Drugs.

De la Cruz said treatment using DeBCC could range from a minimum of P30,000 to a maximum of P250,000 depending on the size and gravity of the skin cancer.

He said one treatment could last for nine months by applying the cream to the affected portion of the face twice monthly.

The cream is available only at De la Cruz's Amazing Touch clinics in shopping malls.

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=58598

English-speaking Filipinos attractive to UK investors--envoy

By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net

THE PHILIPPINES' big and English-speaking population is attractive to investors from the United Kingdom, British Ambassador to Manila Peter Beckingham said in an interview.

The 80 million Filipinos represent a "large and growing market with good opportunities for UK companies," he said.
And Beckingham said the "obvious" attraction was the Filipinos' ability to speak in the Queen's tongue. "The Philippines comes fourth among the largest English-speaking countries in the world."

Beckingham said he foresaw bigger investments from the UK as he cited the recent opening of a 3,500-job call center by HSBC, which he described as "the biggest this year."

The ambassador also cited the opening of a branch of Debenhams, "a highly prestigious retailer in the UK," and Bronzoak, a joint venture on ethanol production in Negros Oriental province, as the two other big British investments for 2005.

"Next year, with growing confidence on the Philippines, we foresee a sizable and increased investment," he said.

"On the political side, we watched the developments closely and are pleased with the degree of resolutions." Beckingham said.

In his report to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Britain every six weeks, Beckingham tells of "excellent business opportunities" here.

He said he hoped that more British companies would do business in the Philippines, particularly those in the retail.

The success of retail companies provides the indication for other businesses to come in, Beckingham said.

Among the British retail companies in the country are: M & S, Body Shop, Top Shop, Burberry, MFI (fitted kitchens), Tower Records, and Lush.

A trade and investments brief by the British embassy noted that the balance of trade between the Philippines and UK was historically in favor of the Philippines.

"This remains a continuing trend," Beckingham said.

In 2004, the report said UK exports to the Philippines amounted to 316.2 million pounds, while UK imports from the Philippines amounted to 671.3 million pounds.

Top UK exports include electrical and office machinery, medicinal and pharmaceutical products, metal products, essential oils, beverages, textile, chemicals, and power generating machinery and equipment, according to the report. Top UK imports include electrical and office equipment and machinery, garments, road vehicles, coconut products, footwear, and furniture, the report said.

The same report said the UK had invested some 17.2 billion dollars over the past 10 years, a significant amount accounting for 6 percent and 32 percent of total direct and portfolio investments respectively.

"This is largely due to the pre-eminence of the country as a global financial center, with around 40 percent of annual portfolio inflows originating there," it said.

In terms of investments, some 200 British companies in the country are concentrated on power, energy, agri-business, transport, water, and financial services. They include Unilever, Shell, HSBC, BG, Standard Chartered, Misys, Exel, LogicaCMG, and BAT, according to the report.

(1 pound = 93.6230 pesos); (1 dollar = 53.335 pesos)

http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_new/2005/dec/22-02.htm

4 Filipinos invent personal weather bureau

By Blanche S. Rivera
Inquirer

IMAGINE having a personal weather bureau.

Make one missed call to a mobile phone number and it sends back real time data on temperature, wind speed and direction, and rainfall volume of an area.

By April, Filipinos need imagine no more.

Geologist Dr. Carlo Primo David and three computer engineering students from Don Bosco Technical College are putting the final touches on what could be the cheapest system useful to the country's disaster preparedness program.

The group, which is working with the University of the Philippines’ National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP NIGS), will soon introduce the Automated Monitoring System (AMS), a data collection device capable of delivering up-to-the-minute information directly to your cell phone.

The system would be a breakthrough for Philippine environmental field monitoring. It offers a cost-effective alternative to the weather monitoring stations currently used by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Housed in a silver waterproof box the size of a suitcase, the AMS can also monitor water and air temperature, river flow rates and water turbidity. The recorded data are sent straight from the field to a cell phone as a text message.

"We don't have immediate access to weather data except for PAGASA's weather bulletins," David said in interview with the Inquirer yesterday.

For David, the AMS potential to change the way we live our lives is the real significance of the team's invention.

"I want to know if it's raining in Makati. If it's cold at Lafayette [on Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay province]," he says. "Should I bring my jacket?"

"In Mindoro, for example, nobody knew that the rains were already so heavy in the mountains because the only weather station of PAGASA is in Calapan," he said.

The weather bureau has only 58 meteorological stations and 27 agro-meteorological stations for the country's 7,107 islands, forcing meteorologists to rely on data from one station to cover large areas.

No operator required

Unlike the stations used by PAGASA, the AMS does not require an operator to be present to collect data. A rechargeable motorcycle battery powers the AMS, allowing the station to be left unattended in the field for three to five months.

It can also be programmed to send out data to the mobile phone at regular intervals instead of sending out a message only after receiving a missed call.

The AMS was originally designed to monitor river conditions remotely, a task that has become too tedious for a water quality expert like David, who is often tapped by government agencies and non-government organizations to conduct investigations of mine accidents and pollution cases.

Lafayette mine spill

David was part of the independent team formed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to investigate the mine tailing spills on Rapu-Rapu Island, site of the P1.4-billion gold project of Lafayette Mining Inc., an Australian firm.

"I travel a lot, and I'm tired of going back to places to monitor the same things. It's such a hassle and it costs too much, so the idea came: Why not just leave an instrument there that can record the data I need without me having to go to the field?" he said.

David's practical challenge was taken seriously by three Don Bosco students who made the concept of AMS their thesis last year.

Computer engineering students Ardin Lopez, 24; Von Padlan, 24, and Allan Malunes, 25, designed and created a river monitoring system that would replace field data collection visits with a simple automated system.

First AMS

The first AMS has a propeller that monitors the velocity of water. Increases in water velocity serve as a precursor to flooding, allowing scientists to monitor flow rates and warn government officials before a flood hits.

The volume of river silt, indicating water turbidity, and the presence of dissolved solids, indicating conductivity, are also measured. Anomalies in turbidity and conductivity may indicate environmental change or water pollution.

The students, supervised by David and Dr. Cesar Llorente, completed the first AMS in July last year, after a year of conceptualization and testing.

The group received a grant of P100,000 from the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) and P20,000 from the Marikina City government, which is keen on installing the device to monitor the Marikina River.

Only P20,000

The AMS unit, which performs the functions of several devices that would cost more than P200,000, can be built for only P20,000. All the materials used for the project were fabricated at UP NIGS.

"Imagine the data you collect only costs P1 because of the text," David said.

The AMS for river monitoring is a candidate for the best research and development project to be awarded by the DoST and Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development. With a report from David A. Hayes

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=66459

This is something the AFP can use too. :thumb:

Amateur astronomer from Cebu tracks Jupiter storm

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, The Manila Times Reporter

A 35-year-old Filipino amateur astronomer has become the toast of the international astronomical community for his discovery of the transformation of a high-pressure storm on the Jupiter, the solar system’s biggest planet.

Christopher Go, a furniture company owner in Cebu City who gazes at and photographs celestial bodies as a hobby, has been observing Jupiter for the last two years.

On February 24 Go observed that a white egg-shaped storm system in Jupiter called "Oval BA" changed its color to red, thus it was called "Red Spot Junior." He used an 11-inch telescope and a CCD camera to capture the image.

Go informed the Jupiter Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers of his observation.

Go told The Manila Times that the Red Spot Junior is an "anticyclonic" or high-pressure storm that is three times more powerful than a typhoon.

Jupiter, named after the Roman god, has a diameter 11 times that of Earth. It has 63 moons.

The original Great Red Spot was first discovered by the Italian-French astronomer Jean Dominique Cassini in 1655.

According to the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, the Great Red Spot is a perpetually swirling hurricane that "is a cold, high-pressure area two to three times wider than planet Earth."

The Oval BA first appeared in 2000 when three smaller spots collided and merged, according to the NASA.

The Oval BA’s color was white until it turned to brown in December last year and red this year.

Because of his discovery, Go has been invited to participate in the imaging of Jupiter by a team of 20 to 30 astronomers in the United States in April using the Hubble space telescope. He will be taking images of the planet in Cebu. He will become the only non-Ph.D. holder in the group.

He said the imaging session aims "to learn more about the Red Spot."

Go has been an amateur astronomer since 1986 when he was in high school, starting with the last appearance of Halley’s Comet. In 1990 he started taking images of celestial bodies. In 1988 he founded the University of San Carlos Astronomical Society. Since then he has invested in buying telescopes and cameras.

Go and his wife Vicky set up the Christone Industries in Cebu, which manufactures and exports fossil stone and wrought-iron furniture.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=33624

New crop soon to replace marijuana

By GENE BASILIO JR., The Manila Times Northern Luzon Bureau

SANTA FE, Nueva Vizcaya - Farmers who have discovered a new agricultural product are trying to persuade growers of marijuana here and in the Cordilleras to shift to growing yacon, a root crop that is believed to have various health benefits.

According to Alberto Dul­nuan, a yacon grower, one hectare of yacon could yield 2-3 kilograms of tubers that cost P60 a kilogram.

Dulnuan said it takes only seven months from planting to harvest.

The scientific name of yacon is Polymia sonchifolia. It is a distant relative of the sunflower family and produces a camote like tuber that grows on stalks away from the main stem.

Yacon, according to the local agriculture office, is naturally resistant to pests and can be grown organically. It contains properties for treating various illnesses including kidney problems, colon cancer, diabetes and sleep disorders.

It is also used for alcohol production.

Yacon was cultured during pre-Hispanic times in South America, and was later introduced to Europe, Asia and the United States after word spread that former President Alberto Fujimori of Peru clandestinely left Japan carrying some species of the plant.

In the Philippines, yacon was first brought by a Japanese in 2000. It was later grown in the Cordillera, Sierra Madre and Caraballo mountain ranges.

Besides Dulnuan, the biggest producers of yacon here are former congressman Carlos Padilla, Gov. Luisa Cuaresma, Provincial Board member Teoderico Padilla Jr., Rev. Ferdinand Lopez and Josue Salgo.

"We are suggesting to our brothers illegally growing marijuana to shift to yacon so that they may no longer need to hide their plantations," Dulnuan said.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=36018

:thumb:

so yacon can be smoked too?? :demon: :lollol:

Good news indeed! :thumb: :thumb:

It all started with a pencil
BIG DEAL
By DAN MARIANO

A couple of years ago employees of PNOC-Energy Development Corp. were visiting a public-grade school in the mountain village of Tongonan in Kananga, Leyte, when they noticed two pupils running back and forth the tiny school’s two classrooms.

It turned out the pupils were siblings—and they had only one pencil between them. As one was taking down notes or writing down quiz answers in one class, the other had to wait outside for his turn to use the pencil. After the first was through, the second would rush to his classroom clutching the precious writing instrument, and vice versa.

The employees of PNOC-EDC—the geothermal subsidiary of the Philippine National Oil Co.—observed the kids’ routine for several minutes. They later discovered that the solitary pencil was not the only school supply the pupils had to share. They also wrote down their notes from both classes in one notebook.

The incident that the staff of PNOC-EDC, developer and operator of the sprawling Leyte steam field, observed at Tongonan illustrated the depths to which our public-school system has sunk. However, it also gave evidence of the determination of those two kids—and many others like them—to grab whatever opportunity was at hand to get an education and improve themselves.

Then and there, the PNOC-EDC staffers decided something had to be done—and they had to be part of it.

For years PNOC-EDC has been handing out scholarships to children in the communities around its geothermal projects, not just in Leyte, but also in Bacon, Albay-Manito, Sorsogon, Valencia, Negros Oriental and Mount Apo, Kidapawan, Cotabato. However, it had never become involved in the actual process of education—until last year.

In January 2005 PNOC-EDC President Paul Aquino received an invitation from the Department of Education to become a partner in its Adopt-A-School Program. On May 27, 2005 PNOC-EDC signed a memorandum of agreement with the department, together with the local governments of Kananga and Ormoc City as well as the Parent-Teachers Community Associations in the two schools where the program would be piloted.

What emerged from the MOU was a seven-year pilot project called Schools for Excellence. Its immediate beneficiaries were 676 public-school pupils in two adjoining villages—both named Tongonan—in Kananga and Ormoc.

Under the project, the department took the lead role in managing the school site, formulating policy guidelines, deploying teachers and school administrators and ensuring continuity of the school staff. The barangay and municipal/city authorities provided the school site, maintenance personnel and security—aside from ensuring that 50 percent of the schoolchildren are bona fide barangay residents. PTCA members acted as teacher aides by, among others, preparing the kids’ snacks and meals.

The PNOC-EDC committed itself to providing school infrastructure, including new classrooms, playground and sports facilities, feeding centers, library, speech laboratory, science laboratory, computer room, audiovisual room, home economics room, industrial arts room. The company also supplies instruction materials and school supplies for pupils and teachers, electricity and water.

Moreover, the PNOC-EDC foots the bill for a librarian, computer instructor, speech instructor, teacher training, environmental education, feeding program and extracurricular activities.

An evaluation last week of the year-old Schools for Excellence project showed heartening results. Enrollment in the two beneficiary schools rose by 50 percent. School attendance shot up to between 98 percent and 100 percent. The dropout rate meanwhile dropped—from 8.4 percent in 2003 to 1.2 percent last year.

Thanks to the feeding centers, the proportion of children with normal weight increased from 58 percent in May 2005 to 98 percent last February. This is a real achievement in a region where malnutrition is endemic.

Since schools are mainly about education project administrators proudly detailed improvements in the pupils’ test scores. For one, the number of "nonreaders" among the 319 children tested dropped from 104 to 24 in less than a year.

What has spelled the difference was the heightened involvement of everyone concerned with the children’s education. Project administrators reported that the teachers have become more motivated, while the parents now play a more active role in school activities—such as manning the feeding centers.

Meanwhile, local authorities have promised to give more support to the Schools for Excellence. An official of Barangay Tongonan, Kannanga, said his village will install air-conditioning units for the library of the school in his area.

(Local governments earn royalties from hosting PNOC-EDC geothermal projects. Last year the Leyte local governments were paid P16 million, which they can use for power service improvement and electric rates reduction as well as economic-oriented projects. Under Department of Energy rules, 20 percent of the royalty goes to the province, 35 percent to the barangay, and 45 percent to the city or municipality.)

So encouraging was the performance evaluation of the Schools for Excellence project that PNOC-EDC president Aquino was driven to declare:

"Our fervent aim is to send these kids to prestigious colleges and universities like UP, Ateneo, La Salle, UST and the like."

This goal is not entirely far-fetched. For the past three years, Eastern Visayas public-school pupils have consistently topped national scholastic achievement tests—notwithstanding the enormous odds they face. With companies like PNOC-EDC helping them along, the region’s school children now stand a better chance of overcoming ignorance and, ultimately, poverty.

Needless to say, the pupils of Tongonan no longer have to run from one classroom to another just to share pencils and notebooks.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=38471

BIG DEAL indeed! :thumb: worth emulating by other organizations.

To the PNOC-EDC, may your tribe increased

RP-developed PC game to ship in the US

By Erwin Oliva
INQ7.net
Last updated 00:42am (Mla time) 07/03/2006

PHILIPPINE-based game developer and publisher Ladyluck Digital Media said it will ship its first-person PC action game in the United States this week, more than two years after it began development.

Luis Manalac, founder and president of Ladyluck Digital Media, said "Terrawars: NY Invasion" will soon ship in Europe, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand--but not yet in the Philippines.

"Piracy issues" are holding back local distributors from carrying the game in the country, added Manalac who has lived in New York for 14 years.

He said that his company is still negotiating with some online game publishers who can carry the game along with online games, he added.

Using Filipino gaming talent (including voice talents) to develop the PC game, Ladyluck said it hopes to "get lucky" with its debut PC game.

There's a possibility that the PC game will soon be translated into Filipino to cater to the local market, the executive added.

The PC game follows the footsteps of PC games like CounterStrike, which involves a cooperative multiplayer game set in an imagined virtual world. In this game, it is New York City following an alien invasion.

"Fight against a wide variety of invaders, from swarms of mindless Spawn to titanic Aspirants. Each enemy type has its own unique weapons and tactics," the game's description states.

Manalac said the game will sell for about 20 dollars, about half the price of a typical PC game whose prices are between 40 to 50 dollars.

"TerraWars: NY Invasion" has been rated T for Teen. A demo of the game can be downloaded at http://www.terrawars.com.

Meanwhile, Manalac said Ladyluck is now developing a death-match PC game, called New York Battleground.

http://technology.inq7.net/infotech/infote...article_id=7766

Bad news,

That's what's good of free enterprise or capitalism. Yes, the enterpreneur makes profits. But before he gets hold of his profits, he assumes the risk and competes with the possibility of not getting demand for his products (unpredictable demand in the market; law of supply and demand), he has to strictly abide with labor laws and labor strikes inspite of a threatening bancruptcy, he pays taxes which are NOT reimbursible (BIR doesn't care if you go bankrupt the next year)and which are used to pave our roads, constructs irrigation projects for the lesser contributing farmer, pay for salaries of government employees, government hospital doctors and nurses, subsidize elementary and secondary education all over the country,pay police salaries and all services that the public can avail of, finances TV programs which gives us entertainment by way of paid advertisements, satisfies our wants unlike in communism where there are rampant shortages (Joma Sison voraciously ate those Macdonald hamburgers which were banned in China and Soviet Union during Mao), provides employment before and after reinvestments while people in communist countries are stucked into wrapping tobacco leaves and planting sugar through outmoded means, and receives assassination threats from NPAs! MABUHAY ANG MGA KAPITALISTA, MABUHAY ANG MGA MANGGAGAWANG MAKA-KAPITALISTA! MABUHAY ANG DEMOKRASYA!MABUHAY ANG TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES!!MABUHAY ANG DEPARTMENT OF LABOR! MABUHAY ANG AFP!MABUHAY IS ARROYO! MABUHAY SI CORY!!

IT manufacturing money moving to RP with Asian ‘tensions’


By Erwin Oliva
INQ7.net
Last updated 10:41pm (Mla time) 07/06/2006


SINGAPORE -- Information technology investments in manufacturing are likely to move to the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam due to the political tensions between China and Japan, the missile testing in North Korea, and the slow down of Japanese manufacturing investments in China, executives from Hewlett Packard (HP) said in an interview with reporters.

"The Philippines is back in the radar of manufacturing companies," said Kumar Narayanan, general manager of Manufacturing and Distribution Industry of HP's Technology Solutions Group for Asia Pacific and Japan.

The executive said about a third of the computer maker's overall business comes from providing technology and services to manufacturing and distribution companies this region.

In the Philippines, customers include Procter and Gamble, Toyota, Intel, San Miguel Corp., and Pepsi Co., the executive added.

Manufacturing companies in Asia Pacific are expected to expand their operations this year, which means new investments in information technology, the HP executive said.

The oil and gas sector is now the biggest spender on IT in the Asia Pacific region, followed by the semiconductor industry which is building new plants in the region.

While China continues to enjoy a bigger share of investments in manufacturing, the HP executives said the recent North Korea missile testing will make companies jittery, said Mitsuhiro Honda, general manager of Manufacturing and Distribution Industries of HP Asia Pacific and Japan's Technology Solutions Group.

Honda said the cost of running manufacturing plants in Japan is also getting more expensive, while government policies in China requiring manufacturers to form joint ventures with local companies is stifling growth.

The HP executive said the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are now in a position to become possible locations of expansions in the manufacturing industry amid all these developments.

The computer maker offers various supply-chain technology and solutions, consulting, and "managed services" to manufacturing and distribution companies in Asia Pacific and Japan.

The manufacturing industry in Asia Pacific region represents 17 percent of the 238 billion dollar global market in 2005, figures from market research firm International Data Corp. showed.

Meanwhile, the distribution industry in the same region is about 20 percent of the 124 billion dollar global market last year, IDC figures noted.

http://technology.inq7.net/infotech/infote...article_id=8488

Taiwan needs more foreign workers for night shifts

Taipei (dpa) - Taiwan plans to increase the import of foreign workers so that they can work on night shifts which are shunned by Taiwan workers, an official said on Wednesday.



''We plan to lift the ban on foreign workers working in (night) shifts because many Taiwan workers do not like to work night shifts.

The lifting of the ban will benefit many industries, especially electronics companies and slaughter houses which operate around the clock,'' Lee Ying-yuan, director of the Council of Labour Affairs (CLA), said at a meeting.

''We will decide on the quota for these foreign workers and submit a report to the government. If everything goes well, we can lift the ban at the year-end at the earliest,'' he said.

Taiwan has imported some 300,000 workers from six countries - Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Mongolia.

If Taiwan increases the import of foreign workers, the new workers will also come from these countries.

At the meeting, Lee also mentioned that the CLA is considering scrapping the fixed minimum monthly salary for a foreign worker - 15,840 Taiwan dollars (465 US dollars) - and allow companies that hire foreign workers to decide the salary.

''Many Taiwan employers complain that foreign workers' salaries are higher than Taiwan workers' salaries. So we will consdider their suggestions and may scrap the minimum salary for foreign workers,'' he said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2006071969644.html

Don't know if it's okay, but its a another possible flashpoint.

RP still a ‘financially attractive’ BPO destination: Report

By Erwin Oliva
INQ7.net
Last updated 01:30am (Mla time) 07/28/2006

THE PHILIPPINES remains the most "financially attractive" destination for outsourcing mainly because of its traditional ties to the United States, a study showed.

"Despite political instability and infrastructure weaknesses, the Philippines continues to benefit from the global exposure and the English language skills of its workforce. The country tops the financial attractiveness," a report from consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

In its "Global Services Location Index," A.T. Kearney said the Philippines' low cost, well-education population, and English proficiency gives "the country an edge, particularly among American companies."

The report also noted the country's neutral English accent is also attracting more North American companies to outsource their call centers in the country.

The report cited the Philippines' strong base of local and global outsourcing vendors.

Among the more known companies that have decided to outsource service centers in the country include Citibank, Procter and Gamble, Shell, Alitalia, Barnes & Noble and NEC, the report added.

The adoption of American financial certifications also makes the country attractive to financial services companies, it said.

Even the International Red Cross operates a processing center in the Philippines.

The report, however, noted that the Philippines' success is raising issues on wage inflation and attrition.

"This is particularly worrisome because the vast majority of the sector is concentrated in the Manila region," the report said.

Reacting to this report, Mike Hamlin, author of “High Visibility and Marketing Asian Places,” wrote in his blog that the country's current rating was achieved despite very limited government promotional budgets.

Hamlin is also the managing director of Philippine events and public relations firm Teamasia.

The A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index evaluates 40 countries as potential locations for services, including information technology services and support, contact centers, and back-office support.

Each country is rated according to their financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment.

Hamlin said the country's 2004 ranking (announced in 2005) was the sixth highest in the index. The Philippines was behind India, China, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, and Singapore.

In the 2005 ranking, the country moved up to fourth place.

"Given recent reports of the Philippines' low competitiveness ranking in other global surveys, the A.T. Kearney results are encouraging," he said. For 2005, the Philippines was ranked above Singapore.

In terms of financial attractiveness, the Philippines did best but rival countries like Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam are closing in, Hamlin said.

"The Philippines must work to sustain its appealing financial structure; and second, despite that hard work, it is unlikely that the Philippines can sustain this advantage given the relative parity of its hungry competitors," he added. Hamlin said the report indicates the Philippines needs to improve the "business environment."

He said the country performs poorly compared to most of the 40 other countries in the survey, confirming poor global competitiveness findings in other studies.

"So while the Philippines should be justifiably proud of its rating for the year 2005, there's little time to savor the results. Because we are at risk financially, far behind our major competitors overall in terms of workforce and skills, and have much to do to improve the business environment," he added.

A copy of the report can be gleaned at http://www.atkearney.com/main.taf?p=5,3,1,143,1

Just hope those activist going against those call centers read this. They give jobs to so many and we got to work harder and

and invite more investors to the country.

Saw it on TV, John Gokongwei of Robinson's and Cebu Pacific fame is going to donate 20 BILLION PESOS to charity, now ain't this good news?

:bow:

I certainly hope other local taipans will follow suit...

Lucio Tan?

Henry Sy?

the Ayalas?

or the jueteng Pinedas ? :drunk:

And also Miguel Arroyo !

The First Gentleman (este...BI-IK) ? Well I guess they really are filthy rich within their own right? I hope these funds will go to where it should be placed at?

Cebuano yan :thumb: