Filipinos learn to rescue whales, dolphins

MANILA, May 22 (PNA) -- Swimming on the beach, you quickly notice something huge thrashing in the water. Panic vanishes as you realize it is a whale, stranded by the tide. What do you do?
To address rising incidents of whale and dolphin strandings, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) recently conducted a two-day cetacean stranding rescue workshop at Hamilo Coast in Nasugbu, Batangas. Over 40 staff and officers from Hamilo Coast underwent classroom and field sessions on cetacean biology, identification, threats, conservation and actual rescue techniques.
“Few Filipinos realize that whales are found right here in the Philippines,” explains WWF-Philippines Hamilo Coast Project Manager Paolo Pagaduan. “Training local residents to rescue cetaceans far more than ensures the safety of stranded whales and dolphins -– it cultivates their natural sense of stewardship.”
Cetaceans include all whale, dolphin and porpoise species, divided by type: Odontocetes or toothed whales feed primarily on fish and squid. Mysticetes or baleen whales have fringed strips of hair-like plates in place of teeth and feed primarily on plankton, krill and tiny fish. Twenty eight – a full third of all known species – have been recorded in Philippine waters as of 2012.
Since 2007, Hamilo Coast has been working closely with WWF to restore and protect the degraded coastlines and marine resources of Nasugbu, Batangas. The 8,000-hectare eco-tourism project has fused tourism with sustainable land development by balancing conservation and land conversion.
Each year, thousands of cetacean strandings are reported worldwide. Some die at sea and washed ashore, while others become trapped in shallow water. Left unaided, many die within a day or two.
About a dozen stranding events are reported in the Philippines yearly, most occurring during the "amihan" or north-eastern monsoon from November to March. During this period, strong winds generate stronger-than-usual currents.
WWF-Philippines Vice-Chair and CEO Lory Tan says, “Our priority should be to return stranded cetaceans to their natural habitats as soon as possible. WWF conducts these workshops so local leaders would know just what to do.”
Cetacean stranding causes include the presence or a lack of food, predators, stress, injuries, disease, pollution, rough seas, tidal fluctuations, undersea quakes, seismic testing, blast fishing or the disruption of magnetic fields used by some cetaceans for navigation.
On 10 December 2009, a stranded 29-foot Bryde’s Whale (Baleanoptera edeni) was towed and set free by locals in nearby Barangay Calayo, Nasugbu.
On 10 February 2009, 300 Melon-headed Whales (Peponocephala electra) were stranded off the towns of Pilar and Orion in Bataan, in the largest recorded stranding event in Philippine history. Three of the whales died but the majority were herded to deeper waters by volunteers.
On 3 March 2009, another pod of 100 Melon-headed Whales was ushered back to deeper waters in Odiongan, Romblon.
"When I was young, beached dolphins used to be slaughtered for meat," recounts Hamilo Coast Security Officer and Barangay Calayo resident Zaldy Flores. "The skills shared by WWF have given us both the competence and confidence to deal with future strandings. We’re now ready to rescue all stranded whales and dolphins in Nasugbu.”
The training team was composed of Paolo Pagaduan, AG Saño, Marlyn Santiago, Vanessa Vergara, Joanne Arnaldo and Gregg Yan.
WWF has been collaborating with leading Filipino marine mammal experts and conservationists to conduct marine mammal training programs with local governments, coastal communities and private sector allies since 1997.
So what to do in a stranding situation? “Immediately contact WWF-Philippines, the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines or local authorities. WWF-Philippines alone has a 25,000-strong following on Facebook and pools volunteer experts from a wide range of disciplines to accomplish conservation goals. We’re just a Facebook message or a text away,” says Pagaduan.
“All Pinoys can do their part,” shares Saño. “When at the beach, throw your trash in bins. Here and abroad, never order whale or dolphin meat. Finally, we call on everyone to boycott dolphin shows. If you love dolphins, then please watch them in the wild. Palawan, Bohol, the Tañon Strait and the Davao Gulf are excellent places to see them in their natural element.” (PNA)
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German designers hope to reawaken creativity among Filipinos

MANILA, May 15 (PNA) -- German designers have travelled to the Philippines to exhibit around 150 objects that showcase their conventional design in an unconventional and quirky or “somewhat different” way. 

'Oplan Balik Eskwela' to ease the opening of classes on June 4 -- DepEd

MANILA, May 14 (PNA) -- The Department of Education (DepEd) is scheduled to initiate an inter-agency task force that will ensure the smooth opening of classes for school year 2012-2013 on June 4.


DepEd Secretary Armin A. Luistro said that in connection with this, the task force shall conduct “Oplan Balik Eskwela” (OBE) from May 28 until June 8.


According to the DepEd chief, the OBE is the department’s solution to the problems commonly encountered during the early part of the school year, especially concerns on the enrollment process, and if the students would be able to attend school.


DepEd Memorandum No. 83 stipulates that this year’s OBE shall include convergence, information dissemination and information and action center (IAC).


Convergence means the involvement of government agencies which have concerns on school opening matters.


The inter-agency task force shall be composed of the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Defense (DND), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Health (DOH), the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).


As for information dissemination, DepEd shall distribute press releases, conduct press conferences, media interviews, website posting and other available medium to update the public on important information. The department can also be reached by the public through its DETxt facility.


For the "Oplan Balik Eskwela" duration, information and complaints processing and routing mechanism shall be done at the information and action center that will be located at the DepEd Bulwagan ng Karunungan, DepEd Central Office, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City.


The action center will be manned by representatives from the Office of the (DepEd) Secretary, the Office of the Undersecretary for Regional Operations, Office of the Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs, Office of the Undersecretary for Programs and Projects, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Programs and Projects; Bureaus of Elementary Education (BEE), Secondary Education (BSE), and Alternative Learning System (BALS);


Health and Nutrition Center (HNC), National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC), Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF), Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS), Administrative Service (AS), Office of the Planning Service (OPS), Technical Service (TS), Employees Welfare and Benefits Division (EWBD), and Accounting/Budget Division. (PNA)

Hackers’ glory days come to an end

MANILA, May 8 (PNA) -- Have you ever been attacked by hackers? Or have you heard of high profile websites in the Philippines recently attacked by hackers such as the case of the University of the Philippines?


Hackers may seem to be spreading like a disease but, luckily, a cure has already been formulated to fight them before they totally consume the cyberspace.


Such cure has been formulated by the IP Converge Data Center, Inc. (PSE: ‘CLOUD’), the country’s first and only publicly-listed Internet data center and cloud services provider.


IP-Converge offers the world’s most advanced cloud-based Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation services through its partnership with US-based Prolexic Technologies, the world’s pioneer and leading solutions specialist for the mitigation of DDoS attacks.


DDoS attacks are probably the most expensive of all cyber crimes. They are same ones recently used against gov.ph websites purportedly by a group of Chinese hackers in relation to the two countries’ current Scarborough Shoal standoff.


DDoS is able to cripple a network for a period of time by using multiple computers that have been infected to send out bogus traffic to a specified target.


This bogus traffic floods networks causing them to go offline – resulting in lost revenues and harmed reputation.


”With the right people to support you, the worst DDoS attacks on your network or websites can be mitigated easily, allowing you to focus on your business.


No need to be a hapless victim to cyber criminals,” Percival C. de los Reyes, IP-Converge SVP for Managed Data Services, said.


Prolexic created the cloud DDoS mitigation space nine years ago. IP-Converge started providing Prolexic’s DDoS mitigation services in 2007; it has remained to be the only company in the country offering this kind of service.


“It is typical for government websites all over the world to experience DDoS attacks. As proven in the past, Prolexic can handle the most damaging attacks that government institutions can ever encounter,” de los Reyes said.


Prolexic has unparalleled experience fighting DDoS attacks against companies especially in the gaming and banking verticals.


According to Prolexic, companies in these industries are most susceptible to hacking attempts. Currently, more than 10 of the world's largest banking organizations rely on Prolexic to fight complex DDoS attacks.


Moreover, because it services a large number of banking clients, Prolexic is most often the first to become aware of the types of attacks being used in campaigns against companies in this sector.


Prolexic's Security Engineering and Response Team (SERT) is also constantly researching threats against the banking sector.


During its seminar on DDoS mitigation aptly entitled “Banking on Prolexic” held at Makati Shangri-la Hotel, IP-Converge and Prolexic discussed the dangers of DDoS attacks and how it has become more rampant in Asia over the past years.


Oliver Kwan, Prolexic vice president for sales – Asia, further equipped IT decision makers in attendance with knowledge on how to address the worst threats on online security especially in the banking and government sectors.


Notably, Prolexic offers the most sophisticated Time-to-Mitigate service-level agreement (SLA) of any company offering DDoS mitigation services.


Among other things, this means that Prolexic does not stop fighting attacks until they end.


Contrast this to other companies that offer DDoS mitigation services only as a part of existing business lines like domain name systems (DNS), content delivery networks (CDN) or IP transit services, and as such offer SLAs that have clauses that limit the extent they can and will fight attacks.


“With IP-Converge’s global network infrastructure and market reach, combined with Prolexic’s unique technology, our customers from government and across verticals can have peace of mind knowing that what they have is a secure hosting environment,”de los Reyes said. (PNA)
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Priest’s group to discuss the sacred mysteries of falling in love

MANILA, May 7 (PNA) -- Love is divine. Or as Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, described it: Love is a divine madness.


But to many modern-day couples, love is an ordinary aspect of a relationship that is usually taken lightly and within their control.


Others feel they are complete, energized, inspired and have power and freedom. And there are also those who feel that their souls seem to be partly in eternity and partly in time.


People also know that love may lead to so much pain, failure, loss and separation, especially in a soulful relationship. But there are ways on how you can recover from them.


Fr. Loreto A. Jaque and his group, DUWA (Deliverance and Uplift in the Wonders of the Arts), will be discussing these topics in a workshop, entitled, “Honoring The Sacred Mysteries Of Falling In Love: Expressive Arts for Singles.”


The workshop will be held on May 19-20 at the Talavera Retreat House in Pardo, Cebu City.
The fee is pegged at P1,300 per person, which is inclusive of meals, snacks and handouts.


“In this workshop, we will examine the sacred mysteries of falling in love. We will also discuss the difference between 'dark love' and 'impossible love' and what do they do to the soul,” Fr. Jaque said.


He added that they will try to unravel some of love's sacred mysteries as they hope to find ways to celebrate them artfully by using archetypal myths of “Tristan and Isolde” and “Admetus and Alcestis.”


The participants should bring a notebook, pen, small vigil candle and play/dance clothes.
Slots are limited so those who are interested to join need to register early at telephone number (032) 254-91-95. (PNA)
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Here's to Mother Earth beauty contests that use recyclable materials

MANILA, May 7 (PNA) -- Beauty pageants are now widely used as means to actively involve the youth in the conservation and improvement of the environment.


Although they may be jeered as “gaya-gaya” (devoid of originality), they have apparently been effective in boosting awareness campaign for such age bracket as target.


Another environment and earth-friendly competition was the Miss Teen and Little Miss Earth Philippines 2012 recently held at the Trace Leisure Club in Los Banos, Laguna.


The event is an annual campaign focusing on educating the youth on environmental awareness and to encourage it to actively promote the preservation of the environment.


Since the pageant began seven years ago, it has been encouraging eco-fashion designs that are eco-friendly, meaning, all the costumes of the participants were made from recyclable materials -– used plastics, aluminum foil, styro foam, organic materials, etc.


The event, which was conceptualized in 2005, was patterned after Miss Earth competition, an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness.


Like the international pageant, Miss Teen and Little Miss Earth Philippines 2012 also aim to to assure that each of the participating candidates is not just physically beautiful but environmentally knowledgeable as well.


In this year’s event, the winners were Chastine Earl Nolasco as Miss Teen Earth Philippines 2012; Jevalene Delizo, first runner-up; Gemmalyn Samson, second runner-up;


Fave Enriquez as Miss Pre-Teen Earth Philippines 2012; Maela Madel Cahigas, first runner-up; Monica Jane Ilagan, second runner-up; and 


Akira Sapla as Little Miss Earth Philippines 2012; Sandra Unno, first runner-up; and Lujille Watanabe, second runner-up. (PNA)
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