Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:38:00 11/18/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Host Xavier University overcame a fight-marred match with Ateneo de Zamboanga University for an 80-61 victory Sunday night to keep its qualification hopes alive in the Philippine Collegiate Championship Mindanao zonals in Cagayan de Oro City.

The Crusaders were to meet the University of San Carlos Warriors late Monday in the playoff for one of the two Sweet 16 berths at stake in the zonals.

The other slot was being disputed by Far Eastern University and another team from Cagayan De Oro City, Capitol University.

A victory by the FEU Tamaraws will set up a first-round clash with NCAA first runner-up Jose Rizal University in the Sweet 16. With this scenario, the winner of the Xavier-USC tiff automatically draws 2008 UAAP first runner-up De La Salle University.

PCCL commissioner Joe Lipa said a bench-clearing brawl which lasted close to three minutes broke out at the 4:34 mark of the third quarter of the Xavier-Ateneo match.

Lipa did not suspend any player involved in the brawl but said the two teams may face banishment from the Champions League if they figure in similar incidents in the future.

The Sweet 16 pairings pit UAAP titlist Ateneo de Manila University against Lyceum Manila, NCAA champion San Beda College versus University of San Jose Recoletos, University of Visayas versus University of the East, Mapua Institute of Technology against Manuel L. Quezon University, Letran College versus San Sebastian College-Cavite, and Arellano University against Universal College of Nursing.

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:38:00 11/18/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Ateneo de Manila University and LA Salle-Green Hills lead the roster of champion teams that will see action in the Small Basketeers of the Philippines and Passerelle National Championships slated Nov. 22 and 23 in Iloilo City.

The highly regarded Eaglets will be challenged by Luzon finalist School for Better Beginnings, Visayas champion Bacolod Tay Tung High School and Mindanao winner Ateneo de Davao University.

Standing in the way of the La Salle Junior Blazers are Luzon champion Don Bosco Academy-Pampanga, Visayas titlist Sacred Heart-Jesuit and Mindanao winner Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori of Cagayan de Oro.

Meanwhile, Smart Communications has joined the list of supporters of the annual national championships, according to Nic Jorge, founder and president of Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training Center.

“We are very honored to have Smart Communications as a new partner,” said Jorge, also the chief organizer of the SBP-Passerelle tournament.

“The SBP-Passerelle tournament will continue to develop as many young athletes as we could. This will be our contribution to basketball development as envisioned by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Manny V. Pangilinan, who is also president of Smart Communications.”

By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net

SONY Ericsson definitely made some improvements in the design of its latest Walkman phone but what caught me outright was its sort of rugged styling. Or maybe because the review unit they gave us was army green in color, which deviates a bit from the candy-color of previous Walkman phones.

The quad-band W902 is a bit bigger than previous Walkman phones (the W880, for example). It has a slightly bigger 2.2-inch screen but is definitely thicker. At around 100 grams, it weighs good enough for a steadier grip than the W880.

Music and camera controls are conveniently located in the right side of the phone, and since the W902 is thicker, it feels more stable to fiddle around the buttons with your thumb.

It also makes taking pictures (or recording video) a bit more stable when you tilt the phone to its side. Those with less nimble fingers, however, may still find it cumbersome and like what I experienced with the W880, it’s more convenient to just press the center button when takings pictures.

Also, unlike the other side which has a smoother finish, notice the criss-cross pattern on this side. I’m not sure whether this is on purpose, whether it’s meant to make one’s grip more stable when using the camera.

As mentioned, the other side has a smoother finish, but nothing smooth about Sony Ericsson insisting on its proprietary earphone jack, unlike most smart phones that have standard 3.5mm slots.

The W902, though, comes bundled with an adapter cable in which you can either connect the supplied earphones or any other standard earphones.

In short, this phone isn’t too earphone-friendly. If you must insist on using your favorite earphones (like the one you probably use on your iPod), you have to live with another dangling cable. Not pretty.

The sound quality, though, is excellent like previous Walkman phones.

What’s not too hate, though, is the pixel boost: the W902 comes with a 5-megapixel camera (with autofocus) that takes better pictures than previous Walkman phones. It also has an LED light. Overall, not bad for a non-Cybershot model.

The top button can be easily confused for an on/off button. It’s actually a shortcut when you want to play music. Speaking of, the W902’s speaker (the sound comes from that small circle near the base) plays decently without the earphones.  The buttons in the keypad are spaced just enough to type SMS comfortably. The call/clear/erase buttons are conveniently located in those three circles in the middle.

Overall, save for the 5-megapixel camera, there is not much innovation in terms of function. Avid Walkman phone users, however, may welcome the W902’s design. Suggested retail price is P25,000 and this comes bundled with an 8GB memory stick with USB adapter.

By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:58:00 09/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Yup, we socialize to the max.

The Philippines not only has the reputation as the texting capital of the world, with one billion text messages sent daily, but it also has the highest number of Internet users in the 16 to 64 age group who join social networking groups.

In Universal McCann’s study on social media Wave 3 report, the Philippines had the highest penetration of social networking among Internet users at 83.1 percent, compared with the global average of 57.5 percent.

Social networking is practiced by Web based communities of people who share interests and activities. Users have a variety of ways to interact, such as e-mail, instant messaging services and blogs. Some examples are Multiply, Friendster, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Live Journal and Blogs.

Favorite reading fare

The Philippines also had the second highest incidence of blog-reading among Internet users at 90.3 percent. South Korea topped the blog readership list at 92.1 percent. The global average was 72.8 percent.

All over the world, including the Philippines and South Korea, personal blogs or diary blogs are the favorite reading fare.

About 65.8 percent of Filipino Internet users write blogs, compared with China which topped the survey at 70.3 percent. Globally, 44.8 percent of Internet users blog, mostly about themselves.

Penetration only 15%

This means that Filipinos prefer to read about other people more than write blogs about themselves—but so does the rest of the world.

It must be noted, though, that Internet penetration in the Philippines was relatively low—around 15 percent—compared to cell phone penetration of more than 60 percent. There’s definitely a lot of room for growth.

Still, Universal McCann said its study indicated that blogs and social networks were becoming “mainstream” media and were a valid platform for spreading information.

The study also showed that there was a wealth of opportunities for traditional media publishers as well as advertisers to explore.

But more importantly, it indicated that consumers were no longer passive—they had more control on how they consume content. They also had more ways of telling other people about their views on products, services, people and events.

Universal McCann’s study was undertaken in March 2008 among 17,000 respondents in 29 countries. Those included in the study were Internet users 16 to 54 years old who accessed the World Wide Web every day or every other day.

By Alexander Villafania
First Posted 10:20:00 08/03/2008

MANILA, Philippines — A group of students from the University of the Philippines Diliman has taken the top prize in an Asia-wide viral video contest, beating groups from Thailand, India, Singapore, and Indonesia.

The UP students, composed of nine Fine Arts majors, won US$5,000 in cash for the competition. They had previously won another $2,000 in December 2007 for a local competition that decided who would represent the Philippines at the Asia-wide level.

In an interview, the group’s director, Jaime Quiano, said he gathered together nine of his friends and classmates to compete in the local contest in which they had to present a storyboard idea to competition organizer Sony Ericsson. These are Clarence Santos, Lilli Beth Gelvezon, Cathlene Samiano, Pocholo De Villa, Marius Talampas, Emmenuel Carandang, Frank Magalona, and Joseph Torrijos.

The competition required participants to create one-minute long videos that poke fun at a fictional beverage called “Shake Pop,” which represents the Shake Control feature in Sony Ericsson’s latest Walkman mobile phone lineup.

The feature lets users skip audio tracks by shaking their Walkman phone back and forth.

“After we won the competition, we were given an additional $2,000 as production budget to create the viral video. It took us one day to create the first video, then another one day for the re-shoot,” Quiano said.

The group shot their video at a dimly lit street in the Escolta district in downtown Manila. The clip involves a big, balding bully who forcibly takes a “Shake Pop” bottle from a child. Unfortunately, the bully shakes the bottle too much, causing it to burst and knocking him off his feet. The child then draws a chalk line around the knocked-down bully before walking away.

The Philippines’ entry can be viewed on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTOrKklcVuo).

July 13, 2008 19:19:00
Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA — Sarah Cua, 14, thought she would end up a runner-up in a numbers game against competitors from five other countries when somebody finished the last puzzle ahead of her.

But when the winners were called, the Filipino teen from Pangasinan was declared champion of a Sudoku tournament in the Asia-Pacific in Singapore on Saturday.

The number-placement puzzle challenges players to fill empty blocks in nine-by-nine squares with the correct digits so that each row, column and quadrant will have digits one to nine without any repetition.

“The last puzzle was so difficult, it was an expert-level puzzle and the time limit was 50 minutes. I passed [my finished puzzle before the limit]. Somebody finished ahead of me but, unfortunately, she made a mistake,” Cua said at the airport on Sunday.

She said she was too shocked. “It was really unexpected,” she told reporters upon arriving in Manila Sunday afternoon.

Cua, a second-year high school student at the Pangasinan Universal Institute, bested 50 other contestants from China, Malaysia, Thailand, India, host country Singapore and the Philippines in the Sudoku open that accepted Asian players of all ages.

Besting five other Filipino players, Cua took the champion’s trophy and 10,000 Singapore dollars (more than P330,000), finishing the final puzzle in 15 minutes with all digit entries correct.

She also took home a hamper of products from brain vitamin BRAND’s, organizer and host of the Sudoku challenge.

“When it was down to 5, the Malaysian contestant finished first so we felt we had a second-placer. But when all contestants finished the puzzle, the one who submitted first was declared fifth-placer because she was incorrect. So we had a champion,” said Cua’s coach, Sid Aguilar of the Philippines’ Mathematics Trainers’ Guild (MTG).

The championship came two years since Cua solved her first Sudoku puzzle, which she encountered through training with the MTG.

A consistent topnotcher in her school, Cua was among math whiz kids that the MTG, an organization of Filipino math teachers, took under its wings and trained for mathematics competitions in the Philippines and abroad.

Competing against a crop that included fellow teeners and professionals, Cua showed a fighting chance early in the competition, only her second math competition abroad for which she had spent several weeks training.

She placed 6th among 15 players that pushed on to the second round after the easy-level challenge. In the next rounds, she consistently placed first.

“She became the darling of the press during the marathon competition because she was consistently making first place so all cameras were on her. She was already leading so she began feeling nervous,” Aguilar said.

As cameras clicked away into the final round, Cua zeroed in on her game as it required intense focus and analysis. It was just her against a game sheet with 22 digits as the only clues in an 81-block puzzle.

“I calmed down and I just didn’t mind [the people] around me. I just concentrated [on the puzzle],” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

An intense math trainee since third grade, Cua is bound for Singapore again this week for the International Mathematics Competition on July 18.

Responding to a joke on why she didn’t just stay in the city-state until her next contest, Cua said with a shy chuckle: “Because I have to go to class.”

By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines–The Metropolitan Manila Dvelopment Authority assured the public on Sunday of a peaceful and orderly metropolis come June 10 when about two million students shall go back to school.

The agency said it was prepared for the onset of the rainy season, having spent practically the whole year cleaning up waterways to prevent flooding especially around school campuses.

MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno said in a statement that school administrators could call the agency at any time for help should they experience garbage problems as a result of floods.

He added that the agency would also be looking closely at the traffic situation.

More traffic enforcers have been deployed to places that are expected to fill up with students, including University Belt in Manila, Ortigas Avenue in Pasig, Greenhills in San Juan and Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.

The MMDA also said it was in constant communication with other government agencies like the Department of Education and the Philippine National Police to ensure the safety of schoolchildren.

In particular, MMDA personnel have started painting pedestrian lanes in the vicinity of school campuses that do not have them.

Operations against sidewalk food stalls with questionable sanitation and without proper permits have been ongoing, the MMDA said.

By Schatzi Quodala

MANILA, Philippines—Over 80 children joined Saturday’s Inquirer Read-Along session and went home with three life lessons: One is never too young to help, one should not judge based on appearance, and a mother’s love for her child is unconditional.

The 32nd Read-Along session featured broadcast journalist Karen Davila and returning storyteller Rich Rodriguez of Alitaptap.

Davila read “Ang Siopao na Ayaw sa Batang Matakaw” by Amang Medina, published by Lampara, and “Little Raindrops” by Gloria Villaraza-Guzman, published by Adarna.

The first story was about a group of siopao that refused to be eaten by a boy because he looked scruffy although his heart was pure. The second tale was about a raindrop that was able to help a lot of people despite its teeny size.

Davila said this was her first time to read to so many children although she often reads to her son David, 6, and sometimes, even to her five-month-old son, Lucas.

“I read to David almost every night. It’s a special way to bond with your son. But I’ve never read to a large audience of kids before. I agreed to do this because I have several advocacy projects for children,” she said.

Reading is key

She recalled one of her experiences as ambassador for World Vision, an international Christian development organization committed to uplifting the lives of less-fortunate people.

“We went to the remote areas in Kenya. The children there had nothing. No slippers, no uniforms, etc., but they all knew how to read,” she said.

Davila praised the Inquirer for its accomplishments in spreading a love for reading.

“I believe education is the only thing you need to fulfill your dreams in life. My mother once told me: ‘Karen, even if I don’t get to leave you any property, money or jewelry but I was able to send you to school, you can be anything you want to be.’ And I really took that to heart. Education is important and I think reading is one of the keys to education,” she said.

She added that “when you read, you learn to expand your imagination … Reading also teaches discipline and patience because you need to focus since there is usually no visual stimulus.”

Rainbows and goats

Returning storyteller Rodriguez from Alitaptap drew laughs from the audience with his wacky and interactive retelling of “Ang Bahaghari” by Genaro Gojo Cruz, published by LG&M, and the classic fairy tale “Three Billy Goats Gruff.”

Hands On Manila brought several children to the Read-Along session. One of them was 12-year-old Jennica Restopando, who said she would never tire of the Inquirer’s storytelling session.

“It’s fun, and at the same time, I learn so much,” she said.

Fourteen-year-old Michael Baisac said his favorite story that day was “Little Raindrop.”

“Because it showed that you can help, no matter how little you are,” he said.

Lots of stories

Winnie Sioson, a resident of Quezon City, came with her daughters, 8-year-old Faith and 5-year-old Francesca.

“This is our first time to attend a storytelling session and we really enjoyed it,” she said.

She said that her daughters initially had no idea what the Read-Along was all about. “I just told them there would be a storyteller and there would be lots of stories,” she said.

Sponsors of yesterday’s session were Perfetti Van Melle, Hands on Manila and Virlanie Foundation.

The children were also given free copies of books from Adarna Publishing House.

Michael V is next

Launched in May by Inquirer Research, Inquirer Library and Junior Inquirer, the program aims to teach children to love reading through storytelling sessions.

The next Read-Along session scheduled on June 14 at the Inquirer office in Makati will feature comedian Michael V.

Interested participants may contact Ellen Caparros or Girlie Refran at tel. 8978808, local 329.

By Vicente Labro

PALO, Leyte, Philippines—The Department of Education in Eastern Visayas has convinced several honor high school graduates to enroll in a teaching course so that schools here would have good teachers when they graduate. DepEd regional director Sol Matugas had encouraged valedictorians from the public secondary schools in Eastern Visayas to take up education after she was challenged by an Inquirer editorial that tackled the dismal state of Philippine education. Matugas targeted the valedictorians in the region because of their “strong potentials and contributions in achieving quality education.” This resulted to 40 of the region’s topnotch students eventually enrolling in a teaching course this school year, DepEd-8 information officer Rebecca Ragrag said. Ragrag said they would tap government and nongovernment organizations, especially the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI), to sustain the “Region VIII Honors Program for Quality Teaching. Ragrag said that, under the program, DepEd would like to provide the students with stipend and book allowance as well as dormitory and travel expenses to sustain their enthusiasm and interest. “Director Matugas, who was inspired by the Philippine Daily Inquirer article, initiated this program and wants it to succeed,” she said. The Inquirer editorial, titled “Teachers can’t teach” and published on Jan. 5, had tackled the deterioration in English proficiency of public school teachers as well as in Science and Mathematics. It had cited, among others, the very low scores students got in the National Achievement Test that resulted from the country’s poor education system. “Educators have cited a host of reasons for the dismal state of Philippine education, including the lack of teachers and classrooms as well as the error-filled textbooks and instructional materials. But way up there among the major reasons should be the poor preparation and training of teachers,” the editorial had said. It added that only 60 percent of public elementary school teachers passed the English proficiency test while only one out of five secondary school teachers had a grade of 70 percent or better during an assessment test conducted by DepEd. Matugas, through DepEd-8 secondary education chief Brenda Estoy, organized last April a “Top Students Summit” attended by the region’s valedictorians, Ragrag told the Inquirer. The summit aimed to encourage the topnotch students to enroll in the teaching course and to inform them of the scholarship programs offered by the Commission on Higher Education, DOST and teaching education institutes. While 94 of the 146 valedictorians who attended the summit signified interest to enroll in education courses, only 40 enrolled, Ragrag said. Ragrag explained that some of those who earlier signified to take up an education course had changed their minds because they passed college entrance tests in the University of the Philippines while the others were discouraged by their parents and had instead enrolled in other courses. Eastern Visayas has been topping the National Achievement Test in recent years.

GIAN Dapul of Philippine Science High School, won the English Speaking Union’s International Public Speaking Competition in London.

The incoming senior student bested 57 other contestants representing 35 countries with his delivery of a five-minute speech on the theme “New Frontiers.”

In his speech titled “Fish Mucus and Foot Fungus,” Dapul cited recent scientific finds and expressed his desire to help his country by joining the avant-garde army of science researchers discovering new ways to enhance health and extend life spans.

The sixteen-year old became the official Philippine representative by winning the local contest for 16- to 19-year-old students held at UP Diliman a few weeks ago.

Gian was named one of 12 finalists after the preliminary heats held at Dartmouth House, ESU International’s headquarters.

The finals were in turn conducted at the American Embassy at Grosvenor Square, with Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James Edgardo Espiritu in attendance, together with Loline Reed, a Filipino officer of the Overseas Women’s Club who has helped the young Filipino contestants since 2002.

As the very first speaker, Gian led off the highly competitive Heat 1 with 14 other participants from the US, UK, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan and China.

In the finals held later in the day, he competed against representatives, mostly college students, from Thailand, Poland, Bulgaria, Argentina, Lebanon, and China. This time he was the last speaker.

Gian reportedly impressed the judges and audience with his relaxed and humorous delivery of a substantive speech with a clear message.

Placing second was a young lady from Thailand who spoke on the need to avoid pre-marital sex, while the third-placer, from Bulgaria, promoted the use of bicycles instead of cars.

Reed recounted that the chairman of the judges for the finals, Peter Kyle, the chief executive of the Shakespeare Globe Trust, acknowledged that Gian “impressed everyone with his speech, which from the start got the audience’s attention.”

The other judges were Dame Mary Richardson DBE, who set up the HSBC Global Education Trust, and Tony Byrne, special adviser to major cultural organizations in the UK.

Reed added: “Not only did Gian speak very well, but his replies to questions from the floor were succinct and quite scholarly. One question asked of him was, ‘What does he think of the ethics of stem cell research?’ He obviously knew what to say, which should make his school proud, as he evidently knows his Science subjects, indeed!”

In November, Gian will be presented with a certificate at the ESU Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace by His Royal Highness, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Most likely, the Queen herself will be present as well, since the English Speaking Union marks its 90th anniversary this year.