Xang-Li Football fest kicks off at Magalang today, FUTBulakenyo to defend title

MALOLOS CITY—At least 20 football teams, including six from Bulacan will compete for the annual Xang-Li Football Festival today (Sunday).

The one-day competition will be held at the Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) campus in Magalang, Pampanga.

Emmanuel Robles, coach of defending champion FUTBulakenyos said they split their team into two.

The same is true for this city’s Agila Ladies Club, the defending champion in the ladies open.

Bulacan Sunday United, another football club in Bulacan is also planning two join with two teams.

Other teams will come from the provinces of Zambales, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, the known football capital in Central Luzon.

Robles explained that unlike the regular football game with 11 players each from competing teams, Xang-Li Football Festival only require seven players from each competing team to play the game but they can register a maximum of 12 players.

Playing is also reduced to 15 straight minutes every half during the elimination round and 10 for the semi-finals and final games.

“This is another step for the continuing popularization of football in Central Luzon,” said Robles who noted that Philippine Azkals greatly contributed in the increasing popularity of the game in the country that remains addicted to basketball.

He said the Philippine Azkals has rejuvenated local players specially those who played college football under the Bulacan State University (BulSU).

“Our former players came back and are playing again,” said Robles who also coach the BulSU football team that ruled the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) in Central Luzon in the last four years.

This developed, John Bayarong of the Amihan Football Club based in Subic Bay announced that the first season of the Central Luzon Football League (CLFL) will start on May 13.

Bayarong said that the CLFL is a third division amateur football league, just behind the United Football League (UFL) and Philippine Azkals, the national team.

Initially, five teams from Zambales, Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac will play in the first season of the CLFL.

This includes the FUTBulakenyos, Tarlac Football School, Pampanga Football Club, Bayarong’s Amihan Football Club, and the all-Korean Subic Football Club.  

Search for best biodiversity and climate change reporting is on

The hot issue of biodiversity and climate change will receive a much-needed public awareness boost when the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Agency for International Cooperation) or GIZ, and the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) launch the special award on “Best in Biodiversity and Climate Change Reporting” at the 16th National Press Forum on April 24 at Traders Hotel Manila. The launch of the special award will be announced at the press forum by Rolando Inciong, head of ACB’s Communication and Public Affairs.

“The relationship between biodiversity and climate change cannot be translated into a gut issue that the man on the street will understand without the help of media, especially the newspapers. GIZ and ACB recognize media’s significant role as a partner in demystifying biodiversity and promoting the link between biodiversity and climate change and highlighting their importance to humans,” Dr. Berthold Seibert, Project Manager of the ACB-GIZ Biodiversity and Climate Change Project, said.

In recognition of media’s key role in generating a greater awareness of biodiversity, ACB and GIZ will partner with the PPI for the special award, which will be part of the 2012-2013 Civic Journalism Community Press Awards. Hosted by PPI and The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, the awards is an annual event that aims to recognize community papers excelling in the field of civic journalism. There are six existing categories: Best in Business and Economic Reporting, Best in Science and Environmental Reporting, Best in Photojournalism, Best Editorial Page, Best Edited Paper, and Best in Culture and Arts Reporting.

For the past two years, ACB has been supporting the awards by serving as judge in the Best in Science and Environmental Reporting category. For 2012-2013, ACB and GIZ, through the Biodiversity and Climate Change Project, will launch a special awards category: Best in Biodiversity and Climate Change Reporting.

“By opening this special category, ACB, GIZ and PPI will recognize the efforts of community journalists who have taken the initiative to educate more people about biodiversity and climate change,” Mr. Rodrigo U. Fuentes, executive director of ACB, said.

By partnering with PPI on the awards, ACB and GIZ seek to “form a cadre of journalists who will become active partners in promoting the link between biodiversity and climate change through their reportage. Communicating biodiversity and climate change is a daunting task. While successes have been achieved on some fronts, a lot of communication gaps still need to be filled. This award is a step toward bridging those gaps,” Director Fuentes explained.

P-Noy to open national forum of Phl Press Institute

By Dino Balabo, www.philstar.com

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – President Aquino will open the 16th National Press Forum of the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) at Traders Hotel Manila next week.

This is the first time that the President will serve as keynote speaker of the PPI. He will deliver a message on the “protection and preservation of press freedom and democracy.”

This year, PPI is celebrating its 48th founding anniversary and 25th year since its reactivation in 1987.

An annual gathering of owners, publishers and editors from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao representing 72 publications, the PPI National Press Forum tackles issues concerning the industry that affect the professional and ethical practice of journalism.

This year’s conference theme “Media Accountability and Public Engagement” will serve as opportunity for the media to assess itself since the restoration of democracy over 25 years ago.

Some of the issues that will be discussed include the “Asian Media Barometer: The Philippine Study,” media self-regulation, and the safety and welfare of journalists.

Held since 2009, the annual National Press Forum is supported by leading daily newspapers based in Metro Manila, namely, The Philippine STAR, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Malaya, Manila Standard Today, BusinessWorld, and the Journal Group of publications.

Aquino will join Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, who will serve as keynote speaker on April 24 at the Community Press Awards, a yearly event that honors the best in civic journalism.

PPI was established in 1964 by publishers of the biggest newspapers in the country to address industry concerns.

The imposition of martial law in 1972 rendered the Institute moribund until July 3, 1986 when the reconstituted Board of Governors met for the first time. The following year the PPI was incorporated.

In the years that followed, the institute’s membership, training programs and advocacies expanded.

Major Manila-based national newspapers were represented in the board, while smaller newspapers served as regional trustees.

Maximum security readied for convicted carjack gang leader Raymond Dominguez in Bilibid

Maximum security readied for convicted carjack gang leader Raymond Dominguez in Bilibid

Court sentences carjack gang leader Raymond Dominguez up to 30 years in prison

Court sentences carjack gang leader Raymond Dominguez up to 30 years in prison

6 more suspected Dominguez carjack gang members fall

6 more suspected Dominguez carjack gang members fall

DOST studies tawa-tawa as potential cure for dengue, TB

By Luisa Soriano-Lumioan, S&T Media Service

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through its Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), is currently doing studies on tawa-tawa’s (scientific name Euphorbia hirta) anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties and its supposed ability to increase blood platelets.The discovery of tawa-tawa’s active ingredient will lead to the development of treatments for dengue and tuberculosis.

Tawa-tawa and other Philippine herbs are current research priorities in DOST’s drug development program which looks into natural substances from plants and animals as possible sources of cure for diseases.

“Natural products research in the country is being refocused and modernized by DOST as competition in the increasingly global industry becomes more intense,” DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said.

An analysis of drug origins from 1981-2002 showed that28 percent of new chemical entities (NCE)are from natural products.

“This is a significant percentage,” said Dr. Jaime Montoya, DOST-PCHRDexecutive director.

An NCE is a molecule developed at theearly stage of the drug discovery process. Itgoes through clinical trials before it is developed into a drug that could cure certain diseases.

That most NCEs come from natural productssuggests that natural products are important sources of new drugs or lead compounds suitable for further modifications during drug development, Dr. Montoya explained.

Drug development is one of the priority programs of DOST-PCHRD starting this year. To harmonize drug discovery researches in the country, the Council launched  "Tuklas Lunas" (Filipino for cure discovery) Centers  to build the health research capacity in the regions. Named as the first Tuklas Lunas Center in the country is the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) campus, to be followed by two more research institutes in Luzon and the Visayas.

Along with developing new drugs from natural products, DOST-PCHRD will also embark on development of diagnostic kits for priority diseases, genomics and molecular technology; functional foods; hospital equipment and biomedical devices; information and communication technology (ICT) in health; and chronobiologyor the study of the effects of night and day to living organisms. PCHRD in particular will study the effect of shifting work schedules for workers in the Business Process Outsource industries, Dr. Montoya revealed.

PCHRD, one of the sectoral councils of DOST is mandated to formulate policies, plans, programs, project, and strategies for health science and technology development; program and allocate government and external funds for research and development; monitor research and development projects; and generate external funds.