...the ballerinas

Ballet Philippines principal dancers triumph in Boston ballet competition

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Saturday, May 21st, 2011

(Thumbs up)Ballet Philippines’ principal dancers Candice Adea and Jean Marc Cordero made the country proud by receiving special awards at the First Boston International Ballet Competition (BIBC) held last May 12-16 in Boston, Massachusetts.

With the support of Philippine Airlines, Adea and Cordero, both 24, competed in the Senior Division as partners. In the final round they performed a well-received rendition of the “Don Quixote” pas de deux and the show-stopping contemporary piece “Evacuation” by Bam Damian.

Making history as the first Filipino pair to receive such high recognition, the pair won the Lead Role in a Russian ballet performance. This special award is given by the artistic director of Chelyabinsk State Academy Opera and Ballet Theater to a single participant or a couple of the highest level, to perform the lead role in a full-length production.

Adea made even more history as she also won the Maris Liepa Prize for Outstanding Artistry, presented by BIBC 2011 judge Andris Liepa, son of the late ballet legend Maris Liepa. Adea will be invited to perform in Paris in 2012 along with stars from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters.

“Watching Candice and JM perform in competition at BIBC made me truly proud as a Filipino because they are on par with the best in both classical and contemporary dance,” says Ballet Philippines president Margie Moran Floirendo, who was with the dancers in Boston.

“The awards, coupled with international invitations, illustrate how their talent is ready to take on the world,” says Paul Alexander Morales, artistic director of Ballet Philippines. The pair was coached by Ballet Philippines ballet master Victor Ursabia.

...the rice sufficiency

Phl eyed to be rice self-sufficient by 2014 By Charlie Lagasca (The Philippine Star) Updated May 22, 2011

Alcala

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines  – The country is expected to be self-sufficient in rice by 2014 because of good harvests that lessened rice importation, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said during his visit here last week.

Alcala was here Thursday to inspect the strawberry farm in Santa Fe town.

He said that under the present administration, the country has imported only 86,000 metric tons of rice, 214,000 MT less than the 300,000 MT which was expected to be imported.

“We proved that with a good harvest, there was no need to import additional rice. The good thing about this is that with another good harvest, we project that our rice imports will be even further lessened,” Alcala said.

The government targets to import only 500 metric tons of rice next year, provided that rice production remains good. “After that, after 2013, we will hopefully be self-sufficient (in rice production),” Alcala said.

Exploring opportunities

He also said the governments is exploring opportunities for rice export.

“We should be ready this early, since if we (become self-sufficient earlier) because of the interventions we are making, we will be able to identify where to export this extra rice,” Alcala said.

The country last achieved self-sufficiency in rice production and became a rice exporter under the Marcos administration in the 1970s.

Lower rice production

Rice production in the county deteriorated over the years because of the low buying price of palay, high cost of production, deteriorating irrigation facilities, debts shouldered by farmers, and climate change.
While in the province, Alcala also visited other agricultural projects.

Nueva Vizcaya, a mountainous province, is considered Cagayan Valley’s vegetable bowl. Neighboring province Isabela, meanwhile, is the leading corn producer in the country.

Alcala noted that when vegetable production slowed down in Benguet last year because of frost, Kapaya town in Nueva Ecija made up for the supply shortfall.

...the breed

PHL breeds corn variety to fight diabetes, hunger

05/22/2011

 

The Institute of Plant Breeding-University of the Philippines in Los Baños (IPB-UPLB) is carrying out a white corn seed-production program that aims to enhance food security and help reduce national diabetes incidence.

A staple food for about a fifth of Filipinos, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao areas, white corn could capture a wider market because unlike rice, it has low glycemic index which makes it slower to digest, thus lessening the risk of diabetes.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is funding the seed production program and is planning to sustain this on a yearly basis.

IPB-UPLB is propagating a recommended variety, the high-yielding IPB Var 6. The variety can have a yield comparable to commercial white corn hybrid.

Based on the national corn testing, the IPB Var 6's yield in Luzon was at an average of 5.84 metric tons (MT) per hectare; in the Visayas, 5.45 MT, and in Mindanao, 4.47 MT.

DA had released P15 million for the seed production program, which produced a total of 10,000 bags at 18 kg each. Then, the department released P25 million for the next phase, good for about 22,000 bags.

Half of seeds produced has already been distributed to DA’s regional offices.

The said DA it will release P7 million yearly over the next five years for its proposed continuity of the seed production program.

Food security, fighting hunger

Aside from its health benefits, white corn will impact significantly in reducing hunger and malnutrition in the uplands.

“Our aim is to bring technologies to the boondocks where many people don’t have much to eat," according to Dr. Artemio M. Salazar, UPLB-IPB deputy director and National Corn Research, Development, and Extension Network head.

“You don’t need capital-intensive irrigation facilities because corn grows where ever there is rain. The only other thing we have to provide to communities is the corn mill.

We also helped develop an inexpensive and mobile mini corn mill, which we believe is a critical component in this effort to provide nutritious and inexpensive food to our compatriots in the far flung rural areas," he added.

The said mill only costs around P100,000, far more affordable than the million-peso price tag for high-capacity machines in the market.

White corn will also have a huge health benefit among residents in Metro Manila and other urban areas where there is high incidence of diabetes.

“Later on we’ll turn over these to the private sector as there is a big demand for it because many Filipinos are now diabetics. And this is the perfect food for diabetics," said Salazar. Diabetes is now a top degenerative disease and a major cause of death in the Philippines.

Compared to rice, white corn has more protein, lysine, tryptophan, dietary fiber, minerals, and antioxidants. The government is now taking initial steps on educating urban consumers on the health benefit and food preparation for white corn, he said.

“Ultimately, this will lessen demand for rice. Just by increasing demand for corn, and we can definitely grow it productively and cheaply, we would no longer have to import rice. This is actually a part of the DA plan," he added. — MRT/LBG, GMA News

...the educators

17 teachers hailed for educating Dumagat folk


By Dino Balabo
(The Philippine Star)
May 22, 2011

A Dumagat reads a newspaper in a huddle with fellow Dumagats at their settlement in Donya Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan. DINO BALABO| Zoom

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has recognized the contributions of 17 educators who have been teaching members of the Dumagat tribe in the hinterlands of the Sierra Madre mountains.

“They are like religious missionaries who go to the mountains to care for indigenous peoples,” said Dr. Edna Zerrudo, division superintendent of DepEd-Bulacan.

A team of 17 teachers has been educating Dumagat tribesmen since the DepEd-Bulacan division opened an educational program for them in 1998.

Celestino Carpio, supervisor of non-formal education of DepEd-Bulacan, said the team has sacrificed physical comfort to fulfill their duties to the tribal folk.

They hold classes with 50 to 80 persons each in makeshift classrooms in various settlements in the Sierra Madre.

The team also has to stay in the settlements for a week or two before replenishing their supplies and obtaining new instructional materials.

“Teachers are called heroes, but our missionary teachers are the unsung heroes,” Carpio said. “They are not there just for the job, they keep on teaching the indigenous peoples because they love them and they are concerned.”

At present, the educators receive the same compensation as regular teachers, but Carpio said they are thinking of giving them extra allowance. Vergel Libunao, who was part of the first batch of 10 teachers hired in September 1998, admitted that he was at first thinking of staying on the job for only three years.

Thanks to these 17 teachers, Dumagats in the hinterlands of Sierra Madre learn how to read and write. DINO BALABO

“I admit that at first, I only wanted to get a job and planned that after three years, I would request to be transferred. It’s different now, though,” he said.

Libunao, 41, teaches in a settlement in Sitio Talamsi 2 in Barangay Kalawakan, Donya Remedios Trinidad town. It takes more than two hours to reach the settlement via motorcycle, and then three more hours on foot.

Libunao said they have become greatly concerned about the tribe.

“If we back out, there will be no one to replace us. We are needed in the mountains to pursue our mission to teach the children. Now, it’s not only the need for employment that pushes us, but our concern for the children,” he said.

Joel de la Paz, 38, and Nestor Alfonso, 36, who were also part of the first batch of teachers, said that after three years of teaching members of the tribe, they could have opted to be reassigned to other schools but decided to stay on.

De la Paz said the biggest danger he encountered was when
government troops engaged New People’s Army rebels who encamped at the Sitio Talamsi 1 settlement in January last year.

“I thought it would all end for me so I just prostrated myself inside,” he said, pointing to an old chapel converted into a classroom.

Ryan Villegas, who hails from San Luis town in Pampanga, said he had to endure the long travel to reach Sitio Basyo in Barangay Kabayunan.

He would sometimes hitch a ride with the service boat of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, which maintains the 13-kilometer Umiray Angat Transbasin project tunnel with an outlet in Sitio Macua.

Arlyn Lazaro, also among the first batch of educators, is working on the development of a culturally sensitive curriculum for Dumagat students.

...the young astronomers

Minor planet named after Fil-Am student in US — report

05/20/2011

GMANews.tv

Filipinos have been shining brightly at the Intel science and engineering fairs in the United States.

Recently, an asteroid was named after the Philippine Science High School student who placed second in one of the categories at the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel-ISEF) in Los Angeles, California in the United States.

A year before, a minor planet (26740) has been named after a Filipino-American after placing first in one of the categories at the 2010 Intel-ISEF, a Philippine Star report on Thursday said.

Intel-ISEF is a high school science competition of the Society for Science and the Public and Intel Foundation.

According to the report, the planet was discovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) Program of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory.

The report said Martin Ayalde Camacho is now a freshman at Harvard College under US presidential scholarship.

He won the award when he was still in Central High School in St. Paul Minnesota, the report added.

The award was announced recently by Dr. Grant Stokes, head of the Aerospace Division and principal investigator of the LINEAR program, the report added.

Camacho is the son of University of the Philippines alumni Godofredo Camacho Jr. and Patricia Ayalde, who are based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Asteroid named after Pinoy student

Earlier this week, an asteroid was reported be named after the Philippine Science High School student Miguel Arnold Reyes for placing second in one of the categories at the Intel-ISEF.

Reyes received the award for his project on producing a natural and biodegradable substitute for commercial film plastics.

Reyes' project won $1,500 (approximately P58,800) in the Materials and Bioengineering category of the 2011 Intel-ISEF.

Another Filipino student, Angeli Joyce Dy of Capiz National High School also won fourth place in the Biochemistry category at the 2011 Intel ISEF.

Dy received $500 (approximately P21,000) for her research on milkfish serum as an alternative supplement for the culture of human lung and colon carcinoma cells. - VVP, GMA News

...the UN human right council

PH elected anew to human rights council

abs-cbnNEWS.com

05/21/2011

 

 

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines was re-elected for a 3-year term to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a press statement.

“The country’s election to a new term in the UNHRC is a clear indication of the appreciation and confidence of the international community in the significant gains in our human rights record and the strong commitment of the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III to further protect and advance human rights not only in our country but also around the world,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said.

Indonesia obtained the highest number of votes in the elections held at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly in New York last Friday, May 20.

The Philippines was only two votes behind fellow ASEAN Member Indonesia.

The elections were presided by Honorable Joseph Deiss, President of the 65th Session of the GA.

“The Philippines is a vibrant democracy working very hard to further consolidate and strengthen the gains we have achieved in human rights, together with the rights which we fought for that led to the restoration of democracy at EDSA in 1986. Human rights is a cornerstone of good governance, as enunciated by President Aquino himself, and the world – through our election to the Human Rights Council with a fresh mandate – recognizes this national commitment of ours,” said Ambassador Libran N. Cabactulan, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

The UN HRC, made up of 47 UN Member States, is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.

The Council was established by the UN General Assembly on March 15, 2006 primarily to address human rights violations and make recommendations.

The other 14 countries elected to the HRC for 2011 to 2014 were Indonesia, India, Kuwait, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Congo, Benin, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Czech Republic, Romania, Austria and Italy.

The Philippines was first elected to the HRC in 2006 and the second was for the term 2007 to 2010.

...the Pinoy world music

Human + Folk = Pinoy World Music

By Tony Maghirang | Coke Music Studio

Fri, May 20, 2011

• 

  Humanfolk (NPPA Images)

Humanfolk is a collaborative project anchored on the musical bond between acclaimed jazz guitarist and record producer Johnny Alegre, and avant-garde musician Susie Ibarra.

Johnny Alegre has done seminal work on Pinoy rock and jazz starting from the '70s and his more recent releases with his super-band Affinity have caught the attention of jazz aficionados as far as London and Los Angeles. Fil-Am artist Susie Ibarra, named best percussionist in the 2010 Downbeat Magazine international readers' poll, has worked with such new music leading lights as Matthew Shipp, David S. Ware, Mark Dresser and the late Derek Bailey.

Alegre and Ibarra met while Susie was engaged in research on indigenous Philippine music. Their initial work on a suite composed by Johnny Alegre and news that Johnny was jamming with rising star Susie Ibarra attracted like-minded musicians to their fold including renowned bassist Cynthia Alexander, sound designer Malek Lopez, keyboardist Abby Clutario and Susie's husband, Cuba-born drummer Roberto Juan Rodriquez whose musical chops were honed in the orchestra of the great composer Israel "Cachao" Lopez.

Expansion of repertoire

The cross-pollination of individual talents inevitably expanded the collective's repertoire to new music that incorporates native elements in internationally recognized folk-jazz genres. The nascent Humanfolk naturally leaned towards world music.

Johnny Alegre remembers with pride, "We recorded half the album in one afternoon, 5½ songs actually—five real songs and two ethnic jams. The music had gongs from the Muslims and bamboo instruments from the Igorots. We practically fused elements of our Northern and Southern musical traditions---North meets South!"

The Humanfolk project was a daunting enterprise even for a thirty-year veteran in the Pinoy rock and jazz scene. It also took a while for the project to complete mainly due to conflict in schedules of the multi-national group members. The gaps between sessions would stretch for a year or so on end.

Johnny remembers, "There would be a flurry of activity for a few months. Then Susie would go home to America and go on tour, and the rest of us would all go back to our regular gigs.

"In the end, the project was worth it. I was in good company so I had a feeling we were up to something special. We were actually just exchanging knowledge and the whole thing just fell together."

Natural and graceful mesh

On record, the meshing of traditional Filipino and Western instruments sounds natural and graceful even. While Johnny's electric guitar wizardry has potential to overwhelm, the simple yet tight production gives space for the other players (and their tools—kulintang, keyboards, samples, bongos, etc.) to shine. It's probable that the long wait between studio takes also allowed for fresh inspirations culled from numerous sources to seep into the final proceedings.

Only the opening track "Para Sa Tao" has lyrics and its clincher echoes the Filipino alphabet as in .. pa ra sa ta u wa ya!. The other cuts with titles like "Humanfolk-1", "HF-3", and "Bon Talk" are wordless compositions devoted evidently to display the instrumental dexterity of the musicians involved.

Fortunately, each of the instrumentals has its own hook such as the "Ventura Highway" acoustic guitar strum of "Humanfolk-1" giving way an expansive samba tune. "Humanfolk-4" resounds with the chance meeting of Eumir Deodato and a humming-bird Flora Purim while "Ethnic-HF3" has Seventies jazz fusion written all over its genetic code. Final track, a radio edit of "Para Sa Tao", has a little 3-minute surprise beyond the 7-minute playing time.

Performance

Performed live during the press briefing of the album's release, selected songs drawn from Humanfolk came out alive and kicking, with Alegre and a guest drummer rocking the venue. The overall kinetic interplay of the ensemble headed towards progressive jazz/rock, cool enough to transport most heads to another world.

When asked about the commercial prospects of the album, Alegre said, "I requested my record label MCA to let me do a world music album instead of a new Affinity recording. I argued, 'Let's bring our (Pinoy) music to the rest of the world. Para sa bayan na 'to!'"

MCA Music Phils. managing director Ricky Ilacad could only concur: "I've personally seen how hard these guys have worked for their music. I believe the Humanfok project is as much our way of giving back as theirs."