The tough-as-nails rugby players are out to prove that “real men care for their skin.”
Jun 042014
Jun 032014
THE NATIONAL government’s outstanding debt grew by over 6% year-on-year, as of April, as both the domestic and foreign components of its liabilities increased, the Bureau of the Treasury yesterday said.
Jun 032014
THE MAKATI Business Club has backed other major business groups in their call for the “full implementation” of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) — instead of amending the law — to resolve the country’s energy woes.
Jun 032014
ILOILO CITY — An umbrella business organization in Iloilo has expressed support for Ayala Land, Inc.’s (ALI) plan to redevelop the resort island of Sicogon.
Jun 032014
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and Consul General Mario De Leon with Dr. Bernardo Villegas and members of the delegation and organizers of the Philadelphia leg of the 3rd Private Sector-Led Philippine Investment Mission: First row, left to right are Brad Baldia; Deputy Consul General Zaldy Patron; Rainerio Borja; Benjamin Philip Romualdez Jr.; Martin Pascual; Alfredo Austria; and Dr. Rommel Rivera. Second Row, left to right, First Secretary and Consul Lilibeth Almonte-Arbez; Dr. Aida Rivera;Elisa von Lange; and Michael von Lange. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO WASHINGTON, DC — The visit to Manila of a high-level business delegation from the United States led by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker underscores the growing international interest in the economic prospects of the Philippines, the Philippine Ambassador to the US said. “The visit of Secretary Pritzer goes to show that the Philippines is in the radar screen of American investors,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said. Secretary Pritzker who arrived in Manila on Monday, with and a delegation of senior American corporate executives will join the US-ASEAN Business Council in meetings with Philippine officials and business leaders as part of Washington’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with long-established trading partners like the Philippines. Pritzker’s visit comes a few days after the successful conclusion of the 3rd Philippines Private Sector-Led Investment Roadshow led by Cuisia and noted Filipino economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas as part of economic diplomacy efforts being undertaken by the Philippine Embassy and the Consulates General in the US. Cuisia said the roadshow, which was participated in by Alfredo Read More …
Jun 032014
• John Paul Balmonte is named a Fellow with Dr. Robert Ballard’s Nautilus Exploration Program • 22 educators and 24 students to explore Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean E/V Nautilus CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina – Filipino American John Paul Balmonte from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was named one of 46 educators and students from around the world selected from a competitive pool of applicants by the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) to participate at sea during their 2014 Nautilus Exploration Program. The selected educators and students hail from schools, universities, science centers, aquaria, and non-profit organizations in 23 states and from six countries. They will join the Nautilus Corps of Exploration during ocean expeditions from June through October. As a 2014 Science Communication Fellow, Balmonte will sail with the Nautilus Exploration Program, with the Corps of Exploration onboard Exploration Vessel (E/V) from June 11 to July 5 as they explore the Straits of Florida, the Great Bahama Bank, Dry Tortugas and the Gulf of Mexico. “Since entering graduate school, I have truly discovered a strong passion for exploring the oceans and for communicating to a broad audience all that I have seen, learned, and experienced,” Balmonte said. “That’s the beauty of being an oceanographer – visiting previously unexplored places and being able to tell stories that excite others.” The 2014 educator and student selectees will embark on several expeditions aboard Dr. Robert Ballard’s ship of exploration, E/V Nautilus off the coast of the United States, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica and Grenada. Read More …
Jun 032014
Stanford doctor Vyjeyanthi “V.J.” Periyakoil, lead author of a new study on end-of-life care. PHOTO BY RICHARD SPRINGER/INDIA WEST SAN FRANCISCO, California — A new study questions whether doctors providing end-of-life care are “prolonging life, or are we prolonging the dying process,” said lead researcher V.J. Periyakoil, MD, who directs Stanford Medical School’s Palliative Care Education and Training program. The study, titled “Do Unto Others,” reveals that even though an overwhelming majority of physicians Stanford surveyed (88.3 percent) would reject unnecessarily invasive treatment for themselves and opt instead for comfort care, patients in the United States continue to spend their last days receiving high-intensity care that is often ineffective and sometimes ordered contrary to patients’ wishes. The nearly 1,100 doctors who participated—over half of them women physicians and nearly half of them from immigrant and minority communities—were also highly supportive of patients filling out advance directives that state whether they’d prefer intensive treatment or palliative comfort care, if they become incapacitated at life’s end. Doctors, patients want the same care The Stanford study, published last week in the respected journal PLOS One, cites research showing that most Americans want the same care doctors do for themselves: “More than 80 percent of patients say that they wish to avoid hospitalizations and high-intensity care at the end-of-life, but their wishes are often overridden.” Despite that knowledge, says the Stanford report, high-tech treatments have increased dramatically in recent years. Medical data show a 12 percent jump just from 2003 to 2007, in Read More …
Jun 032014
In the American magazine Foreign Affairs http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/24006/benigno-s-aquino-jr/whats-wrong-with-the-philippines published in July of 1968, a young Filipino senator introduced his country to the American people as “a land in which a few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor . . . a land consecrated to democracy but run by an entrenched plutocracy… a people whose ambitions run high, but whose fulfillment is low and mainly restricted to the self-perpetuating elite…a land of privilege and rank – a republic dedicated to equality but mired in an archaic system of caste.” The novice senator should have also introduced his country to the Filipino people as his insightful essay also should have been published in the Philippines and been made required reading in Philippine schools. It still should be, even now, 46 years later. The young author was Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., himself a member of the “entrenched plutocracy” and the “self-perpetuating elite” of the Philippines. Ninoy Aquino came from a “prosperous family of hacenderos” (Wikipedia), a family which gained prominence when his grandfather, Servillano Aquino, served as a general in Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo’s Revolutionary Army. Aquino’s father Benigno Aquino, Sr. was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives in 1919 before winning a Philippine Senate seat in 1928, the first of many Aquinos to be elected to the Senate including Ninoy, his son Noynoy, his siblings Butz and Tess, and his nephew Bam. While Aquino was the youngest Filipino politician ever to be elected mayor (at age 22), governor (at age Read More …
Jun 032014
WASHINGTON, DC—Ten young Filipino-American “change-makers” will be given the opportunity to connect with their Philippine roots this year as part of the 2014 Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro). The 10 Filipino-American fellows will immerse in local communities and converse with government and industry leaders. The fellows who were selected from nominations from across the United States are: Edward Aparis of Chula Vista, California; Ryyn Chua, Gardena, California; Rommel Clemente, Milpitas, California; Adette Contreras, Brooklyn, New York; Michael Dahilig, Lihue, Hawaii; Rafael Diokno, Washington, D.C.; Abbey Eusebio, Lincolnwood, Illinois; Jan Paul Ferrer , Tinley Park, Illinois; Ryan Letada, New York, New York; and Jason Tengco, Washington, DC. “I am excited with this group of promising individuals,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said. “We truly had a difficult time narrowing down the choices, as many of the applicants were impressive and well qualified.” Cuisia said the delegates will take part in an immersive program in the Philippines from July 24 to 28 that will give them the opportunity to meet and dialogue with high-ranking officials and policymakers in the Philippines, leaders of industry, media, cultural experts, traditional business leaders, social entrepreneurs as well as innovators in different fields. A brainchild of Cuisia and his wife, Victoria, the program builds on the success of the programs held in 2012 and 2013 that were participated in by 20 other promising Filipino-American youth leaders. Minister and Consul Emilio Fernandez said previous FYLPro delegates have gone on to undertake, among other things, political advocacy initiatives, cultural Read More …
Jun 032014
MANILA, Philippines – Chevrolet Philippines – The Covenant Car Company Inc (TCCCI) truly knows how much their Filipino customers value vacations and out of town road trips with friends and family; hence, to provide new Chevy-buyers a worry-free experience in terms of going the distance, Chevrolet Philippines is offering the first 10,000-kilometer Periodic Maintenance Service (PMS) and 1-year motorcar Insurance for free for every purchase of a Chevrolet through a PBCOM Auto Loan program from May 10 to July 31, 2014! Worry less about your car maintenance expenses and just enjoy your perfect summer getaway! And what better way to do so than by driving to some of the most picturesque land-travelled beaches of Batangas, La Union and Baler with an awesome and dependable traveling companion—Chevrolet. Concerned about the sharp turns or the steep uphill and downhill of the roads to Baguio or Batangas? Then take your family for a ride on the Chevrolet Trailblazer. It’s got enough space to comfortably seat a family of seven. Equipped with the improved Duramax Turbo-diesel engine, the Trailblazer now produces 200hp of power at 3,600 rpm and a whopping 500Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm, making the Trailblazer the most powerful in its class and perfect for any summer road trip terrain. Looking for ways to beat the heat? In that case, take the gang for a trip to Tagaytay or Baguio with the all new Chevrolet Spin. The Spin is a 7-seater all-around utility vehicle which is the first in its class Read More …