Online Filipino groups, bloggers, and netizens start to unite in using the #juanvote hashtag for election-related matters leading to the upcoming Philippine Elections on May 10, 2010.
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Showing posts with label Advocacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advocacy. Show all posts
Friday, May 7, 2010
Online Filipino Communities Unite with #JuanVote
Click Here to Read More..
Thursday, December 3, 2009
9th World Bazaar Festival Starts Anew
This year's 9th World Bazaar Festival starts anew tomorrow as ABS-CBN and Worldbex Services International come together for the longest-running Christmas bazaar in the country.
Starting last week when the contract between the two parties was signed, it was all green lights from then on.
Tomorrow, December 4, 2009, the World Bazaar Festival transform World Trade Center into a Christmas shopping destination for the whole of Metro Manila as they fill its halls with local tiangges and ultimate holiday buys totaling about 600 booths and 20,000 square meters of shopping space. In addition, the organizers decorate the center with Christmas theme and symbols.
“In the World Bazaar Festival, we consider everyone from the organizers, exhibitors to the sponsors – to be part of one family. And it’s because we share the common goal of offering Filipino holiday shoppers with the ultimate shopping paradise,” says Joseph Ang, Founding Chairman of Worldbex Services International.
Kapamilya Values
Part of the proceeds of this year’s World Bazaar Festival will go to Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig. The project which aims to rehabilitate the 17-kilometer river system.
Other World Bazaar activities include the Manila Flair Open (Bottle for Supremacy), musical shows, Christmas decor center, Children’s playland and a night market.
Kapamilya Stars
The 14-day event will also feature the Celebrity Village where shoppers can interact, meet and buy items from their favorite stars. Participating celebrities include George and Cecil’s Judy Ann Santos, Ryan Agoncillo, Gladys Reyes and Christopher Roxas, Umagang Kay Ganda’s Rica Peralejo and Donita Rose, ASAP’s G-Force Dancers and Sheryn Regis, Pinoy Dream Academy’s Cris Pastor and Miguel Mendoza, TV Patrol’s Phoemela Baranda and Gretchen Fullido, Wowowee’s Mariel Rodriguez, Pinoy Big Brother’s Nene Tamayo, Bea Saw, Ruben Gonzaga and Jason Gainza, and Banana Split’s Pokwang, among others.
More Photos, Click Here:
You have fourteen solid days to complete your Christmas shopping! Visit the 9th World Bazaar Festival at the World Trade Center from Dec 4 to 16, 2009!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Efren Penaflorida is CNN Hero of the Year
"Pushcart Classroom" educator Efren Penaflorida is declared CNN Hero of the Year 2009 as he championed the children with commitment to the welfare of the young Filipino people.
Amidst difficulties, he brought education to the marginalized sectors of his country utilizing a pushcart where his teaching materials like the blackboard is situated.">Ang pagbabago kasi, magmumula yan sa atin." says Penaflorida in an interview.Hailing from the Philippine province of Cavite, Efen Penaflorida is a Cum Laude student from the Cavite State University. Now 28 years old, he and his team called Dynamic Team Company then started to reach out to the children and teach through their Pushcart Classroom program. Efren will receive $100,000 to continue their work and goodwill.
"With the recognition they receive on our stage,... they'll be able to help thousands and thousands of people. Through their efforts, lives will be changed and lives will be saved." mentions CNN's Anderson Cooper
Held from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood yesterday night (ET, US Time), the CNN Heroes of the Year honored the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009 including Brad Blauser, Jorge Munoz, Roy Foster, Doc Hendley, Budi Soehardi, Andrea Ivory, Derrick Tabb, Betty Makoni, and Jordan Thomas.
Efren Penaflorida CNN Heros of 2009 YouTube.com video:
In his acceptance speech, CNN Hero of the Year Efren Penaflorida says:"You are the change that you dream, as I am the change that I dream,...we are the change that this world needs to be."
Friday, November 13, 2009
"Bagong Botante" New Voters Education Live Webstream
This is the webstream of "Bagong Botante" (New Voters) Education campaign in partnership with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
This is broadcasted live from MagNet Cafe in Bonifacio High Street. Play the video below for the recording.
Streaming .TV shows by Ustream
Reference websites:
BagongBotante.com
PoliticalArena.com
"Bagong Botante" (New Voters) Education campaign.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Renewable Energy: Sinag Harnesses the Power of the Sun
As climate change become more of a reality than a warning, we reap the consequences as well.
The two recent typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng hit the country hard and took it by surprise, not without repercussions. During such occasions, the use of clean and renewable energy becomes more relevant as a long term solution to lighten the load off our environment and the ecosystem within.
One such technology that can be found within our locality is that of Sinag. Sinag is the first Filipino solar-powered car to enter the World Solar Challenge in Australia..
It was held two years ago October 21 to 28, 2007. Surprisingly, it was developed and built by students and faculty members from De La Salle University in Manila.
Sinag caught my attention last week at Bonifacio High Street at The Fort where I saw it as part of an open-air green-themed exhibition.“SINAG weathered the course far beyond any of our expectations. It’s positive proof of not only the car’s solid design and construction, but also our own capability to successfully deploy solar power technology in the Philippines,” says Engr. Fernandez.
as quoted from http://sinag.dlsu.edu.ph/ homepage
Albeit still being developed continuously, it is a step. A step towards a better technology that aids the preservation of our natural surroundings. A step towards renewable energy for a sustainable tomorrow, and step towards the global effort of preparing for the climate change that is already occuring.
This is my post for the Blog Action Day - Filipino bloggers speaking as one on climate change!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Typhoon That Will Never Be Forgotten
It was the morning of September 26, I woke up and it was still raining.
I remembered that I slept raining the night before and the rain hasn't stopped since then. It has become a super typhoon, and they called it Ondoy.
Living in the low lying residential areas of Makati City, I know it's already flooded in our streets even without taking a look by the window. It was just a question of how high will the flood be, knee-high or waist-high?
I wasn't really scared since I live on the fourth floor of a small condominium. I was more worried that there might be a blackout. I knew I will be stranded at home since flood water levels are approaching the waist. I immediately filled up water containers since the condo's water supply is electric pump-powered.
After which, I logged online. As a blogger and a very online person, I was immediately swamped with typhoon signal news and information of flooded areas around Metro Manila.
It was immediately prevalent that Marikina, Pasig and the Antipolo areas surrounding Marikina River were the worst hit by the flood. And unfortunately, the flood water levels were continuing to rise.
Past lunch, the rain still hasn't stopped. By this time, news and messages from friends started to come and that the flood waters were getting into their homes already.
At the same time, a number of helpline numbers, websites and rescue databases were started through social networking sites, news feeds, and the television media such as the Sagip Kapamilya.
Being stuck at home myself, the only way I was able to assist those needing help was by monitoring the situation online and posting it on the 'need of rescue' databases hoping that the military and government rescue efforts would be able to reach them in time.
To make the story short, by evening, a lot of families residing in the aforementioned areas and some parts of Quezon City has their first floor flooded by about eight feet high and they were stranded on the second floor, worse, on the roof of their bungalow homes.
One particular friend whose anonymity I have to maintain even sent me this text message as they were worried that the waters will reach the second floor where they were staying. To make the matter worse, they had children and babies with them and they were all hungry.
Fortunately, the downpour started to slowdown by midnight. Flood waters started to recede and my friend's family were able to go down the ground floor in the morning. Sadly though, government rescue teams were not able to reach their place and they survived on their own.
The disaster does not end there as all their properties on the first floor were destroyed and they still have nothing to eat that morning.
It is during these times when relief efforts are most needed by the victims and survivors. There were a lot of helping hands and donation drives started by kindhearted groups and organizations who reached out to our disaster-stricken brothers. There were also efforts from the online community like TXTPower who was able to start an online donation drive and that of the Facebook page of LopezLink.
There were also online forum discussions which caught my attention on the topic of "celebrities in Sagip Kapamilya rescue operations". I think this is actually helpful in gathering needed funds since these celebrities has a following. Moreover, perhaps their fans would be more encouraged to donate. I think it is also their chance to serve as a good role model in real life and more than just acting.
I would also like to share a photo of my relative's house in Masambong, Quezon City. Thay also had an 8ft flood in the first floor in their house. They are actually on a much elevated ground which means the waters have reached the second floors of the neighbors.
It was really a horrible and traumatic experience for the people in the affected areas. The government should have a long-term solution for this flooding problem especially since we are expecting more typhoons to come.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
ASUS Reaches Out to Ondoy Flood Victims
Asus is extending a special service to victims of the recent flood caused by typhoon Ondoy. As a global computer manufacturer, they are now giving customers whose ASUS products got damaged due to the floods the special offer to bring their units to Asus service centers to get free diagnosis and labor from now until October 31.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tropical Storm Ondoy (Kestana) Emergency Hotlines and Relief Operations
Civil Society/ Media —————————————————————————— All calls for help, please help us by filling out information here at the Rescue InfoHub Center. —————————————————————————— Rubber Boat Requests, 4×4 Trucks Power Supply Relief Aid and Donations People Tracker (using your phones, get your friends and family to turn on their finderservice for you) This map from Help “Ondoy” Victims in the Philippines. You may email the map-maker at segregorio@gmail.com or tweet @flipmozart if you know Google Maps and want to help update this map with the latest information available. Click this photo to view the situation map of Marikina, and nearby places. NDCC Situation Reports (Click to Download PDF): —
Philippine capital Metro Manila and nearby provinces have been hit hard by tropical storm Ondoy (Kestana) yesterday. It has endured rains in less than 24hrs equivalent to more than a month's.
With government efforts for relief oprations, here are key numbers to contact for information, rescue operations, relief services, and donations for your guidance
Rescue Operations
please call emergency nos: +632-9125668, +632-9111406, +632-9122665, +632-9115061)
On a related article: Prepare emergency food in your homes in times of calamities.
This update as of 10am Sept 27, 2009
In the spirit of care and sharing, let us help one another.
Let this also be a reminder to all of nature's power and the consequences of pollution and irresponsibility in taking care of our environment.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III for President
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III announced early this morning his presidential bid for Philippine elections come 2010.
Using the sign "Laban" (fight) which symbolizes his political party's main thrust and the hand-gesture popularized by his late parents Ninoy Aquino and Corazon Aquino, Noynoy Aquino stood tall as he officially declared his candidacy.
A date chosen carefully, 09-09-09 is also the 40th day after Cory Aquino's death.
News Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090909-224337/Noynoy-Aquino-to-run-for-president-in-2010 Photos from Noynoy.ph and Noynoy Aquino Facebook
It was not confirmed however, if Mar Roxas would be his running mate as vice-president. Rumors are going around that other aspirants are also possible like Jejomar Binay, current Makati City mayor.
Noynoy is expected to be largely supported by those tired of the current government and his sisters especially celebrity Kris Aquino. Questions about Noynoy Aquino's girlfriend is also floating around as a prospective future first lady.
Noynoy Aquino is also expected to face other possible presidential aspirants including Estrada, Escudero, De Castro, and Villar.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Ninoy Aquino Day: Araw ng Dilaw
This year marks the 26th anniversary of Ninoy Aquino's assassination back in August 21, 1983 when he was shot in the head upon returning to Philippine soil amidst heated political turmoil.
Although, the results of the case remain in questionable shadows, the Filipino people is sure of one thing - that Ninoy, as the hero he is, died for a worthy cause - the freedom and democracy of the Filipino people. As his famous quotable line today remains with his memory:"The Filipino is worth dying for."
A circulating email accounts and facebook event shares similarly:
"To commemorate the 26th Anniversary of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino and to honor the memory of President Cory Aquino, the Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Foundation is declaring August 21, 2009 as “Araw ng Dilaw”. This Friday, every freedom-loving Filipino is urged to wear something yellow. We ask everyone to light a candle as a way of keeping the spirit of Ninoy and Cory alive and of reciprocating their love for the Filipino people. Motorists are likewise encouraged to turn on their hazard lights from 6pm to 7pm as a sign that the Yellow Spark has been ignited in their hearts. "
August 21 is Ninoy Aquino Day and is observed as a public holiday in the Philippines.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Blog Action Day for Real Change & SONA 2009
Today, July 26 is Blog Action Day for Real Change, not Charter Change. It symbolizes the Internet communities' aghast against efforts to change the constitution to favor certain groups or prolong someone's term of office through technical means by twisting the system itself.
As one of the newest form of media, the Internet Media intends to say in solidarity that we don't want constitutional change at this critical point in time of our political history.
It is the stand of this blog that a change in the constitution this year or in 2010 is untimely and not beneficial for the Filipino people.
Tomorrow is President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's supposedly last State of the Nation Address (SONA), as many of her critics demands it to be. It would surely be full of self-rigihteous praises, as expected. It is our prayer that as thinking individual Filipinos, we have our own eyes and thoughts to see the real state of the nation.
If you wish to participate in this stand today, feel free to use these buttons and post them on our blogs, Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, and Sandbox accounts. If you wish to Tweet or Plurk, use Con-Ass (or #conass).
Say your piece today, Blog Action Day.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
UNICEF & Stairway Foundation Pushes for Anti Child Pornography Act of 2009
Stairway Foundation, in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), aims to break the silence in the realities of child pornography in the Philippines. One of the avenues with which they are pushing this advocacy is through the recent premiere of a new animated film drama called Red Leaves, last Tuesday (June 2), at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Makati City.
The film narrates the story of two young girls led away from their family and into child prostitution and sex trafficking. The film took two years in production and was written and directed by Ms. Monica D. Ray. The short story is based from a book compilation entitled “Black Angels, Street Children Realities” written by Ray herself in 2001.
“We decided to use animation, a very light medium, to communicate a heavy issue...animation can portray realities that cannot be easily communicated in other media.” Ray says.
It was followed by the award-winning Cracked Mirrors theater production.
The short film is an eye opener to the common man. It revealed the story behind a not-so-secret societal taboo here in the Philippines which many hesitates to openly discuss or at least talk about.
Red Leaves Falling is actually the third in a series of animation movies from Stairway. It is an honor for Digital Manila to be given a copy of the three digital animation films from UNICEF and Stairway Foundation. This blog would be more than willing to lend these videos in CD format to any institution interested for educational viewing or other purposes that would help spread the awareness/campaign. Please contact the blog author at DigitalManilaBlog@gmail.com .
The event also played host to different speakers and advocates against child pornography. The night's main concern was to send out the message of urgency in needing to pass the Anti Child Pornography Act 2009 currently on second reading in the House of Representatives. It was a campaign to awaken the Philippine congress to enact the aforementioned bill soon.
This is a far better bill worthy of concern than pushing for a constitutional assembly at this time.
Recent studies show that a child pornography site can receive more than a million hits a month.“The Philippines has no comprehensive law at the moment to prevent the spread of child pornography,” UNICEF Representative Vanessa Tobin states. “The problem in the region and country is getting far worse,” she adds.
Visit Stairway Foundation’s website at
www.stairwayfoundation.org
Send email inquiries at
stairway@stairwayfoundation.org
For the complete schedule of other activities for the ten-day “Silence is Acceptance” campaign against child pornography,
email UNICEF Philippines through mfrancia@unicef.org or call (63)(2)901.01.73.
Break the Silence. Share your concern.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Life Haven Holds "Live Free" Concert
Life Haven will be holding a fundraising concert tomorrow, 8pm-May 30, entitled “Live Free” at Crossroad 77. The project will showcase talents of persons with disabilities in the performing arts. The main performer is the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled Performance Art Troupe which will be joined by Filipinos with disabilities as well as mainstream bands that support their cause.
Other features include Ballroom Dancers on Wheelchairs of Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Rondalla on Wheels of Bahay Mapagmahal, and bands Juan Pablo Dream, Blue Jean Junkies, and Good Morning High Fives.
The press conference was held earlier at Trenza Salon along Mother Ignacia St. where the organization was introduced and the concert pitched.
Life Haven, Inc. (LHI) is a duly registered non-profit organization of persons with disabilities (PWD) with a mission to promote the Independent Living (IL) Philosophy. The IL movement started in the 70’s encouraging the restoration of self-confidence and self-respect of persons with disabilities, promoting active participation in and awareness of our inherent rights such as equal opportunities. The movement is striving for social change within the community that will result to a barrier-free society where persons with disabilities are successfully integrated in the community with equal rights and opportunities as those without disabilities.
It is also their dream to establish an IL center in the Philippines and have different centers across the archipelago as well to further promote their services such as:
• Advocacy
• Peer counseling
• Peer support group
• Peer visits
• Information dissemination
• Wheelchair assistance
• IL program
The Beautiful Gate Foundation (BGF) for the Disabled was established in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia in 1993. They provide accommodations, job trainings, education, recovery programs and various services including independent living programs and services to support persons with disabilities to live independently. The BGF Performance Art Troupe has proven their mettle as shown in their numerous performances like in states and cities throughout Malaysia, such as Sabah, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur.
Among others, the concert aims to
• To raise funds for IL activities and services
• To showcase the talents of PWDs in the performing arts
• To demonstrate the determination and desire of PWDs to live independently
Crossroad 77 is located at Mother Ignacia St., corner Scout Reyes St., Quezon City
For further inquiries about the project, please contactBenjamin Bernandino
Or go direct to Life Haven Inc. located at 2189 M. de Leon St., Fortune Village 2, Gen. T. de Leon, Valenzuela City 1442. Telefax: +63 2 3520868 Their Email is lifehaven@gmail.com.
Project Director – Life Haven
benjamin_bernandino@yahoo.com
Telephone No. 4433459
Mobile No. 09215793996
Please do check more information about Life Haven Inc. at http://www.lifehaveninc.org and http://www.lifehavenilc.blogpsot.com
Thursday, April 30, 2009
GSK Offers 30-50% Price Reduction
Early last month, Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) announced a price reduction on its most major brands. This is to expands Filipino access to its globally-trusted medicines. It has dropped the prices of most of its major medicines by 30 to 50 percent in a bid to make quality medicines affordable.
This is the first time the company embarked in this wide-ranging reduction not only in the country, but in other countries as well.
said Roberto Taboada, GSK Philippines president and managing director.
“GSK recognizes the need to improve patient access to the best quality medicines and have worked to help address this,”
Some of the medicines are for acute diseases including pneumonia, ulcer, bronchitis, hospital acquired infection, nausea and vomiting. Its cervical cancer vaccine continues to be available at a more affordable price, after it was reduced by as much as 60 percent in November 2008.
"...up to 40% of our people live on less than 2 dollars per day and are unable to afford essential drugs and medicines that they need in order to fight disease."
according to Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, MD, MSc. During the Launch of the Corporate Initiatives of Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK)
This is somehow a more expanded ValueHealth program. Value Health was a program initiated in 2004 by GSK, which offered significant price reductions for the company’s most widely prescribed treatments for cough, asthma and bacterial infections.
Other plans of Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) global chief executive officer Andrew Witty includes drastically reducing prices in the 50 Least Developed Countries such as the Philippines.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Today is World Autism Day
I only knew about this and their cause through Ria, a friend-blogger who is supporting their advocacy by making it her own as well as part of her simple birthday celebration. Autism is a developmental disorder that is characterized by speech/communication and social impairments in individuals with the disorder. It is a lifelong disorder that affects not just the individual with autism, but their families as well. Estimates show that approximately 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism. Although more prevalent in males than females, autism can affect anyone: it knows no gender, age, no race, nationality, and socioeconomic status. I realized that as a preschool teacher and a psychologist, this would be something I can actually get involved in and be a part of, and not just in name or by word: but because I can actually DO something ...
April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. And one organization in the Philippines which provides support for families in the provincial areas is Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP).
If you think this is a worthy cause, please do check her article from which the quotes and images were referenced and possibly support her campaign by ordering limited edition Angel Baller Bands (I have) :) whose proceeds will benefit the chapters of ASP. This would assist the awareness campaign and the children with autism and their families.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Philippine e-Lib: Your Anywhere, Anytime Digital Library
I still remember the days back in my college years where I used to spend time in the main library of UP Diliman scanning through piles and piles of books for my research as a Computer Science student. It was almost a decade ago and how I wished information were more easily accessible.Technology has changed a lot since then. Even Manila maps are now readily available online. Another proof of which is today's Philippine e-Lib.
The Philippine e-Lib, as coined from the term "electronic library," is the first public electronic library in the country which serves as a web-based gateway to a variety of online resources available.
It boasts of an exclusive and updated set of information about the Philippines and other resources. The Philippine e-Lib holds a collection of more than a million bibliographic records, 25 million digitized Philippine materials and 29,000 full-text journals.
It contains electronic copies of books, thesis, manuscripts, and even Filipiniana materials scanned microfilms into electronic copies in Portable Document Format (PDF) format. On the other hand, union catalogs containing bibliographic records from partner libraries and institutions are in Machine Readable Catalog (MARC) format.
Other Services
The web portal aims to provide information for different sectors of society in an affordable, convenient, and efficient way. With these in mind, aside from the regular download features, they also offer document-delivery services for e-Lib users who want their digitized material delivered through courier services. User membership is also categorized as either Partners, Content Builders, Individual or Institutional/Corporate Subscribers, and Pre-paid card users.
Yes, you read it right, the system utilized the prepaid card model similar to that of the private telecommunication industry. Card denominations are in P100, P300, P500, and P1000. THese are available in the national Library and strategic locations within the partner institutions.
Recent Developments
The website was renewed lately wherein system migration from the old system is ongoing. While some full-text materials may not be available yet for download, you could still visit the site by simply typing in your browsers http://www.eLib.gov.ph and sign-up as a member to gain access.Recently, they held an afternoon seminar for an online community of bloggers last March 14, 2009. A short talk by Mr. Chito Angeles, the project manager of Philippine e-Lib portal, briefed the attendees about the portal and new developments. Project Director Dr. Jaime D.L. Caro and Ms. Myra Jill Siason of the UP DILC were also present.
In conjunction with this renewed thrust, they are currently holding a training workshop which started yesterday, March 17, and will end tomorrow, March 19 entitled "Web Technologies: Training for Development of Library and Teaching Resources". This is being held at Vidal Tan Hall, Quirino corner Velasquez Sts., University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.Origin
The Philippine e-Lib was formed in mid 2003 through the concerted efforts of Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the National Library of the Philippines, and the University of the Philippines. It was funded through the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) which was then known as the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC).
For Inquiries and details, pls contact:
Prudenciana C. Cruz
Director
National Library of the Philippines
nanie@nlp.gov.ph
Salvacion M. Arlante
University Librarian
University of the Philippines Diliman
salvacion.ariante@up.edu.ph
Chito N. Angeles
Head, Computer Services Main Library
University of the Philippines DIliman
chito.angeles@up.edu.ph
Project Management Office:
National Library of the Philippines
T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita,
Manila, Philippines
1000
Technical Support:
Portal Development Team
elibsupport@gmail.com
The Philippine e-Lib is your access to the most comprehensive libraries in the Philippines and the world.
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