...the nursing board topnotch

Nursing board topnotcher: Top 10 was my only option

by Michael Josh Villanueva

Rappler.com

02/17/2012

 

 

 

MANILA , Philippines - “Wala sa option ko na hindi mag-Top 10. Nandoon ang hopes ko,” said 22-year-old Jerald Pelayo, a graduate of Mountain View College in Valencia, Bukidnon. (Not placing in the Top 10 wasn’t an option for me. All my hopes were pinned on it.)

“I’m still in utter disbelief. I still have to keep reminding myself that it is not a dream,” Pelayo told Rappler in an interview. Rappler spoke with Pelayo 3 hours after he received the phone call from his clinical instructor who informed him about the exam results.

 He placed No. 1 in the Nursing Board Exams out of 67,095 who took it on Dec 18-19 in 2011.

 Born and raised in Masbate, Pelayo, however, started dreaming of becoming a doctor after seeing a lot of medical dramas on TV while he was growing up. And while he wasn’t sure about where to go for medical school, it appears that he has the rest of his life planned out.

“When I pass the board, I dream of becoming a missionary doctor to help those patients who are financially burdened. I want to take up a specialization -- either be a neurologist or a cardiologist. But I want to practice in other countries and then come back and help my countrymen,” Pelayo said.

Nursing was part of his plans to prepare himself for his medical ambitions.

Lifted all to Him

A deeply religious person, Pelayo said he had a covenant with the Lord.

If he finished in the Top 5 of the Nursing Board Exams he would attend medical school at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay (UERM). If he placed anywhere between 6-10 then he’d attend the West Visayas State University.

His uncertainties about where to go for medical school became irrelevant when he received news that he had topped the board exams.

 While waiting for the results to be announced, Pelayo was working on editing a review book for nursing students called “FundaTips.” He said he didn't want his mind to remain idle while waiting for the results. His book co-editor is Weanne Estrada who topped the Nursing Board exams last year.

As if a foretelling of what was to come, the book’s author, Art Sarossa, teased him earlier this year, “Sana Top 1 ka rin, para back-to-back top notchers ang mga editors ko.” (I wish you’d top the exam too, so my editors would be back-to-back topnotchers).

To prepare for the exams, Pelayo formed a study group with 3 other Adventist students from Mountain View College in Valencia, Bukidnon. Pelayo said they all passed.

When the day of the exam came he had help from above. “The exam was so hard, so during the exam I lifted it all up to Him. I prayed that He’d use my knowledge and that God would do great things through me.” - Rappler.com

..the business challenger winner

Pinay wins business challenge award in Netherlands

By Dheza Marie Aguilar

ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

06/17/2011

NETHERLANDS - For the second time, a Filipina took home the grand prize in the BiD Network Women in Business Challenge, a yearly competition for women entrepreneurs from around the world held here.

Hailing from Bukidnon, Philippines, Nathalie Arsonillo bested 140 businesswomen from Asia, Africa and South America with her organization Sustainable Growth for Rural Venture Inc. (SUGRUVI), which aims to better the lives and income of cassava farmers in her home province, particularly the Matinsalog-Manobo tribe.

Her goal to bring mobile cassava processing units to remote mountains in Bukidnon, in order to minimize spoilage and increase farmers' profits, earned the nod of judges from Dutch Bank ING, and business organizations United Success and iCCO.

“I’m very happy but this is just icing on the cake. My coming here and their efforts to connect me to future investors, I would not get it if I’m alone or if I’m just staying in the Philippines. I made a lot of contacts, I met a lot of people so the future looks great, not only for me but also for all the cassava farmers in the Philippines,” said Arsonillo in Tagalog.

The overwhelmed Arsonillo received 5,000 euros worth of business coaching from and membership to United Success, a women-only business network helping women entrepreneurs all over the world. She would also receive assistance in finding possible investors.

Advancing the lives of cassava farmers

A banker for 11 years, Arsonillo left her job at an international bank in the Philippines in 2008 to start SUGRUVI. Whenever she comes home to Bukidnon, she frequently sees cassava being grown in small patches in the province. She learned that cassava is not only for human consumption but for other productions as well. She thought of uniting cassava farmers into a community making cassava produce.

“Aside from being food on the table, cassava is also being made into noodles, one of the main components of glue, made into chalk, textile and many others. It has a lot of uses and now, one of the big markets for it is the production of ethanol. It’s like corn but only cheaper,” explained Arsonillo.

They partnered with a rural bank and sought other financing schemes to buy the good variety of cassava and distribute it to the farmers for free. She approached San Miguel Corporation to sell cassava chips but the company did not respond very early. For two years, the cassava farmers booked high costs, but no income. Because cassava rots in 48 to 72 hours, the farmers had little time to make them into something useful, thus lowering their income considerably.

“What we want is to make a transport unit that will go from the center to the mountains so the processing will take place there. This will avoid spoilage, lower transportation and labor costs and increase the productivity of the farmers and the organization,” she continued.

Fortunately, after two years of waiting, San Miguel started ordering from SUGRUVI. This inspired Arsonillo even more, as well as the farmers in her organization. She is proud of her kababayans' solidarity as they produce the amount of order that their clients demand.

SUGRUVI now has 278 members, 48% of whom are women and 23% are from the Matinsalog, Manobo tribe.

Social and environmental impact

The BiD Women in Business Challenge, now on its second year, was established to focus on women who are already in business but want to expand. According to Thierry Sanders, director and founder of BiD Network, 27% of all the business pitches they are receiving each year come from women entrepreneurs. Since there wasn't any international competition for these women, to help them assist in the expansion of their businesses, BiD Network pioneered one for them.

“There’s a lot of women entrepreneurs out there and they just need to put their business plans together, find a coach and get financed. They have great business ideas,” said Sanders.

Last year, it was Marianne Olano from Naga City who won the grand prize for her business Baycrafts Jewerly.

“The most important thing we are looking for is an entrepreneur who has growth ambitions. They must have social impact and we are looking for environmental businesses as well. So if you can have that combination of 20% of income growth, social impact and environmental impact you're in the right spot and you're looking for finance because we can help you look for finance,” continued Sanders.

According to Sanders, they do not entertain businesses which have lower that 20% predicted growth income in one year because these will not generate jobs that are needed in the community. He cited the statistics in the United States where 90% of jobs generated in the last 20 years were from companies which had start-up of $250,000 and more than 20% yearly growth.

All the five finalists, including four from Peru and Uganda, got business coaching from BiD and ING especially in areas like finance and investor match-making, marketing, women leadership, overcoming cultural barriers and finding export partners.

They were also advised to find business partners or investors who have solid background to build trust and track records, in addition to having perseverance.

Going International

SUGRUVI is currently only producing for domestic distribution but Arsonillo said that their end goal would be to go international. A few Dutch companies have already expressed interest in looking at their products and using tapioca starch instead of corn starch.

“The cassava chips are still on the starting level but starch is the end of the line. When the selling prices are high, the buying prices are also high so hopefully we can go and reach that goal (of going international),” said Arsonillo.

There is also a possibility of acquiring mobile units and other kinds of technology for their cassava processing. Some investors are also willing to buy SUGRUVI shares, prompting Arsonillo to turn the organization into a corporation.

“We waited for a long time but we didn’t think expect that it will this worth it,” she ended.

...the greener PH

Aquino vows PH to use 50% 'green' energy by 2030



President Benigno Aquino III inspects the solar-powered aerator project of Adamson University. During the launch of the National Renewable Energy Program, Aquino vowed the Philippines will increase its use of renewable energy sources.



By Anna Valmero

loQal – Tue, Jun 14, 2011

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA—Two decades from now, half of the Philippines' energy needs will rely on renewable energy as the country aims to increase by threefold power generated by “green” energy sources, President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday.

“We aim to achieve 50 percent sustainable renewable energy by 2030 so that we will not be relying too much on coal and fossil fuels that have fluctuating prices and limited supply,” Aquino during the launch and turnover of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) from the Department of Energy (DoE).

Aquino noted that his administration will prioritize the electrification of “off-grid” areas such as Kalinga and Bukidnon provinces, and other remote villages through renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal plants.

“At this age, progress should be inclusive and there should be no child who cannot afford to study at home at night because there is no electricity in their community,” said Aquino.

In remote villages in Mindoro province, most families rely on bunker fuel for light and average cost of power is P25 per kilowatt house (kWh), which is significantly higher than prices from conventional electricity resources at P5 per kWh, based on statistics from the DoE.

To mitigate the impact of climate change and to curb the reliance on fossil fuels, it makes sense for the country to invest in renewable energy, costs of which are expected to decrease over time.

Present costs of renewable energy are as follows: P6 per kWh for mini hydro, P7 per kWh for biomass, P10.95 per kWh for wind, P17.95 per kWh for solar, and P17.65 per kWh for ocean resources. “Mature” renewable energy sources such as geothermal and large hydroelectric plants average at P6 to P7 per kWh.

Under the NREP, the Philippines is being groomed to become the top producer of geothermal energy, double the capacity of hydroelectric plants and expand the percentage of biomass, wind, ocean and solar resources, said DoE secretary Jose Rene Almendras.

Through the development of renewable energy, Almendras said the country can increase its energy sufficiency by threefold from the current 27.5 percent.

DoE will also implement a national database for solar, tidal and wind, which are intermittent resources that are not continuously available all throughout the day. For example, solar energy is at its peak during daytime but cannot be harnessed at night.

Wind, solar and ocean or tidal wave energy require huge capital outlay and are intermittent resources so they are eyed as secondary or complementary green energy sources by government and the private sector partners.

Under the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9153 or the Renewable Energy Act, the country's renewable energy supply will have an incremental increase of one percent each year.

Presently, 34 percent or about 5,000 MW of the country's power supply is from renewable energy sources. This means it will take at least two decades for the country to use renewable energy for 54 percent (15,300MW) in the energy mix, according to Department of Energy undersecretary Jose Layug Jr.

“There is high interest among foreign and local investors given that DoE already processed 227 renewable energy, another 80 pending for approval by July and 150 more for further feasibility study,” Layug said in an interview.

The government strategy is to tap foreign and local investors to finance and build these renewable energy plants to offset huge capital outlay. The investors are eyed to pass on the feed-in tariffs for technology development to consumers via local distribution partners, said Layug.

There are pending petitions to the National Renewable Energy Board to set the feed-in tariffs for renewable energy consumers at P10.65 per kWh.

Over time, Layug said renewable energy will reach grid parity and will be as cheap, if not cheaper, as energy produced by coal-fired power plants.

...the choir reps in Prague

Bukidnon choir to represent PHL in Prague competition

06/15/2011

GMANEws.tv

The Bukidnon State University chorale in Mindanao will represent the Philippines at the Prague Quadrennial 2011 to be held from June 16 to 26, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The DFA said the choir also participated in two celebrations marking the Philippines’ 113th Independence Day in the Czech Republic.

Philippine Ambassador Evelyn Austria-Garcia led the Embassy’s celebration with a diplomatic reception at the Hotel Hilton Celnice on June 10.

Some 200 guests including resident ambassadors, diplomatic officials, and representatives of the Czech government and business community attended the event.

High officials from the Czech government were present, including Director-General Vítězslav Grepl of the Section of Non-European Countries and Development Cooperation and Director Hana Mottlova of the Asia-Pacific Department represented the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the event.

In her remarks, Garcia cited the long-standing bilateral relations between the Philippines and the Czech Republic, at the same time underscoring opportunities to further expand bilateral ties in other areas including trade, investment, tourism, labor, culture, education, science, and sports.

On June 12, the choir performed again at a program at the courtyard of the Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague. This was preceded by a Holy Mass celebrated by Rev. Fr. Lancy Lewis.

The program started with a flag-raising ceremony, followed by the traditional salu-salo where Filipino food was served.

“The Bukidnon State University Chorale also graced the occasion with a rendition of the ‘Lupang Hinirang’ and a live performance of classic Filipino songs," the DFA said.

During the program, Garcia and Consul Mersole Mellejor delivered the Independence Day messages of President Benigno Aquino III and DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario, respectively. - VVP, GMA News

...the Woven Hope

2 UP students bag award for cogon grass business The Philippine Star June 05, 2011 By Ranier Allan Ronda

Using cogon grass, UP students Kevin Paolo Hernandez and Ponce Ernest Samaniego make furniture pieces such as this table under their ‘Woven Hope’ business.| Zoom

MANILA, Philippines - Two senior business administration students of the University of the Philippines in Diliman won the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) business proposal competition last week for their idea of manufacturing furniture from cogon grass.

The Woven Hope business proposition, submitted by Kevin Paolo Hernandez, 19, and Ponce Ernest Samaniego, 22, was one of three business ideas that topped the PBSP’s Business in Development (BiD) challenge.

Hernandez said Woven Hope is an idea for a social enterprise that he, Samaniego and former classmates in the UP College of Business Administration came up with to pursue after college.

“We despised the idea that after four years worth of college hard work, we will just end up as corporate slaves in some multinational company. We felt that our curriculum was geared more toward the corporate track, that we were being trained to be mere employees. So we asked ourselves: why don’t we start up a company of our own?” Hernandez said.

The students started the company Outliers Inc. as a vehicle company for Woven Hope last month with the help of Hernandez’s mother, interior decorator Clariza Hernandez, who had come up with three furniture pieces to jumpstart the fledgling firm.

“We have a standing lamp, a sun-inspired hanging lamp, and a center table. Aside from cogon, we used other materials such as scrap metal, wood, and glass,” Hernandez said.

“We will be opening our own showroom very soon and we are contemplating on six to seven new designs to be displayed there and to be included in our brochures. We are also talking to different designers like Mr. Ito Kish to take part in our social enterprise by helping us out with our future designs,” he added.

Hernandez said cogon grass grows in 1.25 billion acres of land worldwide, a nuisance to farmers that can be a source of livelihood for poor communities.

“Farmers rid their lands of this pest by burning them or through the use of chemicals to treat them. So why not turn something considered as waste into something that will create value for underprivileged communities in far-flung areas by giving them jobs?” he said.

“This will be a steady source of income for our beneficiaries and probably a source of national pride when we go global. We hit the triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit,” he added.

Aside from Hernandez’s and Samaniego’s Woven Hope, other winners in the PBSP BiD 2011 challenge were Healthy Sweets, a coconut sugar business proposed by Betty Marfil-More from Davao.

Hernandez and Marfil-More will represent the Philippines in an international business idea competition in Bogota city in Colombia.

Thirty-nine-year-old community entrepreneur Nathalie Arsonillo of Bukidnon, meanwhile, won in the BiD women entrepreneurship category for the cassava mobile processing unit developed by her group, Sustainable Growth for Rural Ventures Inc. (SUGRUVI).

The enterprise was developed to help cassava farmers in Bukidnon process their harvest and sell it for better prices in the market.

The BiD Challenge Philippines is an annual international online business plan competition that promotes poverty reduction through enterprise development.

Since 2007, PBSP, together with Citibank, holds the annual competition to recognize the most innovative, viable and socially developmental enterprises that combine the potential for making profit and reducing poverty in poor communities.

PBSP also offers mentoring and guidance to some participants whose business ideas have piqued their interest.