If the huge turn out of people in the  rally  of  United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) over the weekend  in Lucena, would be an indication, Team P-noy had a lot of work to do to win in Quezon Province, one of the vote-richest provinces in the country. No less than House minority leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) welcomed UNA's candidates at the Quezon provincial capitol which Quezonians filled to the rafters. Amid the festive atmosphere, provincial goverment workers believe there were about 17,000 supporters who trooped to the provincial capitol to welcome UNA candidates led by Vice President Jejomar Binay. Suarez is a staunch ally of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a bitter rival of UNA stalwart former President Joseph Estrada. Despite this, Suarez said he and Estrada have good relations. He also told reporters that his party is inclined to support UNA's senatorial bets even if the tw...

  Colorectal cancer (CRC), commonly known as colon cancer or bowel cancer, is a cancer from uncontrolled cell growth in the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine), or in the appendix. Colorectal cancer starts in the digestive system. It usually starts as polyps, which are abnormal growths in the inner lining of the colon or the rectum. Colorectal cancer symptoms are rare in the early stages, but when they occur, the following maybe experienced: rectal bleeding, prolonged diarrhea or constipation, abdominal pain, and body weakness. Statistics on colorectal cancer show that it is among the top five most common cancers in the Philippines today with approximately 5, 787 new cases in 2010.  It is the 4th lead cause of cancer deaths in the country. In observance of colon cancer awareness in March, the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO), PhilHealth, and Merck Serono have banded together in organizing “Join our Bowel Movement,” a ...

The March 2013 Public Governance Forum, with the theme “KICKOFF: The Race to 2015”, highlighted practitioners in the public sector who are eager to work together towards a shared vision for 2015, a milestone and highlight year for the Philippines because the Country will be host to the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) Summit, among others. Done every March and September, the forum is a venue for local government units, national government agencies, uniformed services, and sectoral associations to report on their gains in public governance, using ISA’s (Institute for Solidarity in Asia) Performance Governance System (PGS) – the official Philippine adaptation of the Harvard Business School’s Balanced Scorecard. For the 2013 forum, held recently in Mandaluyong City, the Philippine National Police was  conferred with the Silver Governance Trailblazer Award by ISA and National Competitiveness Council (NCC) and the Center for International Private Enter...

Fisrt published at Abante Online on Monday, 18 March 2013   http://www.abante.com.ph/istayl   Team Pnoy senatorial candidate Edgardo “Sonny” Angara has started his advocacy campaign for quality education  with a  tour of Manila’s university belt  recently. Joining him and his supporters is popular and award-winning actor Coco Martin. Angara, chair of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Higher and Technical Education, has paved the way for Filipinos to have access to quality education by passing laws that improve the educational system and help new graduates. Among these are The Kindergarten Education Act and the law raising the teachers’ salaries. He is also the main proponent of the Bill of Rights for New Graduates, which mandates government to help graduates find employment. Angara and Martin visited the Philippine Normal University (PNU), Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) and Philippine Women’s University...

Townhall debate participants, from left: Grace Poe, Atty. Marvil Llasos, Rep. Sonny Angara, Sen. Chiz Escudero, Prof. Samson Alcantara and Sen. Gringo Honasan First published at Abante Online on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 Two new faces -- first time aspirants for the senatorial race in the midterm elections made a mark among students-- during Town Hall debate. Atty. Marvil Llasos, a son of an OFW, underscored the importance of labor export policy of the country and its bilateral agreements abroad. "I know the pains of having a mother working abroad. But our OWFs deserve the best care from the government. After working abroad, they should be given economic education to improve their lives in the homeland," he said. On the other, hand UST Professor Samson Alcantara proposes for a Teacher's Code believing that quality of education is the key to producing good citizens and better governance. The Universtiy of Sto. Tomas, in partnership with the P...

Mayor Herbert Bautista is glad to note that comedic or comical  movies continue to be produced by local filmmakers, shown and patronized by moviegoers. That's why he is more happy to be part of Raketeros, a comedy-adventure movie starring Ogie Alcasid, Andrew E, Dennis ­Padilla,  Joey Marquez and Mayor Herbert himself. Bautista is one of the this business' most effective comedians. In fact, he earned his monicker Bistek from one of his earlier comedy shows on television entitled 2+2. It was such a hit and it has ran for quite a long time that people have become used to calling him Bistek, his character in the show, until today that he's a politician. I believe the name recall of Bistek has helped him a lot in his political career. One of the younger officials of the country, Bautista took oath into office on July 1, 2010,  as Mayor of Quezon City after his landslide victory in the 2010 local elections. Prior to that, he was  the youngest and first bachelor Vi...

CAKE ART competition took center stage in the recently concluded BAKERY FAIR 2013 at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Inspired by the theme “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” and in cooperation with the Department of Tourism, exhibitors produced fun and innovative Cake Art representing various local sights, food and culture displayed in the center aisle of the WTC Exhibition Hall. BAKERY FAIR 2013, the 7th International Exhibition on Bakery, Confectionery and Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, took place from Thursday, February 21 to Saturday, February 23, 2013. The biennial show is designed to provide a forum where suppliers, small- and large-scale bakers, and buyers of baked goods as well as baking implements and equipment can all meet on common ground and share information, ideas and products. Other competitions include  the Bakers Cup Philippines 2013 Bread-Making Competition, where both amateur and professional bakers aged...