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The passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill has yet to see the light of day in the current administration.   The media community has not ceased urging President Aquino to make it a law. In the observance of the FOI Day on August 15, various media organizations and media practitioners once again prompt the government to prioritize its passage.   The public is also asked to join in the nationwide call as media outlets and journalists publish the pooled editorial in newspapers, online, and social media demanding: “With time fast running out on the 15th Congress, the long wait for the FOI Act should be over yesterday. The time for decision is now.” “ Citizens need and must know how public officials exercise their powers and authorities, how they spend public funds, what contracts and agreements they sign and seal on our behalf, what policy issues bother them that must also bother us so we may participate in making decisions,” the editorial says. The joint positio...

Sharing their Singapore experience in a forum Sixteen-year-old Jenmabel Gie Mendoza sashayed confidently across the room full of adults and spoke with ease and authority. Momentarily, there was a hush, as all eyes and ears were on her. Jenmabel introduced herself as a CWD (or one of 'children with disabilities').  By just looking at her, the audience wouldn't have guessed that she has hearing impairment. Unlike other children who have severe cases of auditory damage like complete loss of hearing, Jenmabel does not use sign language because she can still hear.  She said: "Nakakarinig po ako pero low (I can still hear but has low-frequency hearing.)." She is supposed to take up a course in education or social work this school year, but had to defer such plan due to financial constraints. Nowadays, she makes use of her time doing catechism and social work for children at Kaisaka,  Inc. (Kaisahan ng Magulang at Anak na Maykapansanan) ---...

A tradition of Filipino warmth and respect   (Disclaimer:  This is not a paid press release but a request from a good friend who used to be with The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC), who supports media programs.) One of the special guests of Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) Philippines, a young boy with Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) a rare metabolic disorder, raises the hand of Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Golsby to his forehead while politely saying “mano po” in the traditional Filipino way of greeting an elder. Golsby was in town for a series of business meetings with the local leadership of Mead Johnson Nutrition and his visit was capped with a simple breakfast get together with the children with orphan or rare diseases (metabolic disorder) today   (July 5) at the MJN Offices along Pasong Tamo. Mead Johnson Nutrition Philippines, in partnership with the Institute of Human Genetics of the UP PGH National...

Two years in the office as President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA) has not escaped ‘like and dislike’ from both supporters and critics who scrutinized every line and statistics blurted out by the President.     Some ‘likes’ were tentative or seemingly half-hearted while some dislikes were extreme as expected by the allies of the current administration.  Senator Jinggoy Estrada said that it was the most realistic SONA so far.   His father said the same of it, adding that it is “well-crafted”. Political analyst and University of the Philippines professor Prospero de Vera thought that the SONA has more pluses than minus, but said “it is a long speech and short and limited legislative agenda”.  Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay said that it left more questions than answers. Some quarters also questioned the veracity of the statistics on criminality.   The Philippine Nat...

From left to right: MBFI Executive Director Nicanor L. Torres, Jr., MBFI Executive Vice President Elvira Ong Chan, MBFI President Aniceto M. Sobrepeña, PMFI Founder and Trustee Cheche Lazaro, PMFI Vice President Twink Macaraig , and PMFI Executive Director Yasmin Mapua-Tang. "You're in good hands with Metrobank." True to its tradition of recognizing excellence and in celebration of its 50th year, the Metrobank Foundation Inc. (MBFI) will once again award the best journalists from print, broadcast and online media for 2012.   "There can be no appropriate partner than Probe." Through the signing of a memorandum of agreement for the Journalists of the Year (JOY) Awards "Shaping the Nation Through Powerful Stories , the MBFI  has partnered with the Probe Media Foundation Inc. (PMFI) to administer the awards program  that will include nomination, screening and judging a journalist's body of work for the last five years.   "...

Is criminality on the rise in Boracay? Coming at the heels of a recent accolade as the best island destination in the world by the Travel and Leisure magazine, the country’s favorite beaches are being hounded by talks of occasional thefts that occur in some resorts.  According to reports, the police have yet to solve some cases of thievery. But some residents and business owners dismissed these as isolated and petty crimes that should not taint Boracay’s reputation as a safe place to enjoy the sun, sand and sea. They said they took it upon themselves to secure their resorts from untoward incidents and curb petty crimes such as theft, robbery, akyat-bahay (breaking-and-entering thievery) and other similar crimes by tightening security measures and collaborating with residents and business colleagues. In 2011, the Boracay Special Tourism Police Office (BSTPO) estimated a decrease of 44 percent in criminal presence.  It deploys 66 police personnel all over the isla...

After a near drowning experience in Puerto Galera in his early teenage life, Alvin Alcober made sure he learned how to swim. Alcober is now very careful about choosing places to swim, checking if they have facilities to secure swimmers. In the Philippines, young boys like Alcober are common victims of drowning --- the second leading cause of death among Filipino children aged 14 years and below. "About eight persons die everyday due to drowning and that more were reported to be victims of near drowning (10 cases per day)," a Philippine report presented at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP) 2011 said. Children were found to be more prone to or at risk of drowning, according to Lita Orbillo of the Family Health Office, National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Department of Health (DOH) who made the oral presentation. Drowning has been ranked as the fourth leading cause of death from injury in the Philippines by a United Nations Children...

Encouraging close supervision by adults and set viewing hours for children The long wait is over. Finally, after fifteen years of promoting and advocating excellent television for the Filipino children --- and in between, struggling to make a difference in the Philippine television landscape, the National Council for Children's Television (NCCT), an attached agency of the Department of Education (DepEd) is poised to make its mandate even stronger by encouraging television networks and cable operators to produce more shows that portray children in a good light, tackle issues and promote child's rights. The NCCT was established in 1997 via the Children's Television Act. Through its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), the NCCT hopes to work closely with TV networks and independent content providers to adhere to the requirement set by by the law. "We are partners. Should not be adversarial," said Mag Cruz Hatol, NCCT chairman.  Prior to the promulgat...

Maricel Oriña, a self-employed housewife and mother of two boys, can only sigh in exasperation over the lack of sensitivity on how children are portrayed on television. TV5's Batibot She cited a teen show which blatantly shows teenagers below 18 kissing and hugging on national television and a foreign cartoon that is just unbearable to see because of its violent content. "We do not have good shows for children anymore," she said.  "My kids have nothing to learn from these stuff." Aside from supervising the homework of her kids, she now also carefully chooses which programs her children are allowed to watch during set viewing hours.