It's More Fun at Aliwan Fiesta 2013! Iloilo Dinagyang Festival from Iloilo City once again emerged as champion of Aliwan Fiesta 2013. This makes Iloilo Dinagyang Festival   Aliwan Fiesta grand champion for 4 straight years! Kalivungan Festival from Cotabato Province (North) represented by street dancers from the town of Midsayap bagged the 2nd Place with Meguyaya Festival and Padang-Padang Festival for Upi and Parang, Maguindanao, respectively as third and fourth placers. Now on its 11th edition, Aliwan Fiesta indeed was grander and more fun this year through its tie-up with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), and with the collaboration of the City of Manila, City of Pasay, Cultural Center of the Philippines, and Star City. Dubbed as the “Mother of all Fiestas ,” both local and foreign spectators were able to witness all the major festivals in one sweep at the heart of  Manila. "This benefits

Reps. Martin Romualdez and Danilo Suarez announced Lakas-CMD's final senatorial line-up for May 13 polls during a press conference  in Makati City on April 17. Barely 27 days before the midterm election on May 13, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) has released the final list of its senatorial line-up. This is the result of straw voting of the executive committee of Lakas  on Wednesday  following the party's second seminar on legal and technical issues pertaining to the coming elections held at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City. Added to the list the party released last week are Vice Presidential daughter Nancy Binay, Sen.  Richard Gordon, former Rep. Cynthia Villar and Bro. Eddie Villanueva. The candidates who were endorsed earlier were Team PNoy’s Aurora Rep. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Grace Poe, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA)’s Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, and San Juan City Rep. JV Ejercito.Cagayan Rep. Juan Ponce “Jack” Enrile and

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 two parties d

  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 press co

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 Enterpris

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 (PWU) as part of the U-belt

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