By Jaime Pilapil

The Office of the Ombudsman has to begin looking into the P728 million fertilizer scam and determine who should be held liable for the irregular use of public funds.

Two progressive groups, the Lakas ng Magsasakang Pilipino (LMP) and Aksyon Sambayanan (AkSa) said yesterday that the panel created by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to probe the fertilizer scam should not drag its feet.

“The Ombudsman should not protect the officials being linked to the scam by ignoring the overwhelming evidence presented by the Commission on Audit (COA),” Ali Asis, LMP president, said.

AkSa Spokesperson Jorge Azuelo pointed out that it is the ombudsman’s job to go after grafters in government. “Delaying the probe would only trigger speculation of a coverup.”

COA auditors have confirmed that the fertilizer purchased under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) was overpriced by P127 million.

Te anomaly was noted in the fertilizer allocation for nongovernment organizations.

Of the P728 million allotted for the GMA program, P643 million were allocated to the regional field units of the DA. The fertilizers purchased under the program were to have been distributed to farmers.

COA auditors also unearthed other irregularities such as inconsistencies in bidding and purchase documents and nonexistent liquidation reports.

In all, the auditors said government officials involved in the distribution of the fund may have pocketed at least P48 million.

A witness earlier said four congressmen who received the fertilizer fund got 30 percent kickbacks from their allocation. One of them even demanded a 70 percent “commission.”

COA report said over 100 congressmen, 53 governors and 26 mayors received fertilizer allocations.

“The sheer immensity of the anomaly should propel the ombudsman to take action at once,” Asis said.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics04_feb13_2006

Banana Split Girls Roxanne Guinoo, Cristine Reyes, Angelica Panganiban, Valerie Concepcion and RR Herrera. Banana Split is the female version of Goin’ Bananas, the popular ’80s gag show that starred Christopher de Leon, Johnny Delgado, Edgar Mortiz and the late Jay Ilagan. The scriptwriters of Banana Split consist of the same writers, who worked in Goin’ Bananas, Tropang Trumpo and Goin’ Bulilit. Banana Split Girls Cast are not just sexy girls but are touted to be good actresses as well. At first Banana Split got a negative reaction mainly because of its allegedly suggestive concept, and that it mainly targets the male audience. Banana Split airs every Saturday right after MMK (Maalaala Mo Kaya) on ABS-CBN.

The 2008 online poll showed Boracay and Palawan ranking seventh and eighth respectively in the top 10 holiday destinations in Asia. Palawan shared eighth place with Chiang Mai, Thailand. Both Philippine destinations were jointly ranked seventh in the 2007 Smart Travel Asia poll.

Boracay is famous for its white sand beaches, which make it a popular tourist spot in the country. On the other hand, Palawan is rated by National Geographic Traveler magazine as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia region in 2007, and the 13th best island in the world having "incredibly beautiful natural seascapes and landscapes." Some of the most famous tourist spots in Palawan are the Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, Coron Bay in Busuanga and the El Nido Marine Reserve Park.

The otherworldy Bali, Indonesia was chosen Asia’s top holiday destination in the Smart Travel Asia poll for the third straight year followed by Phuket, Thailand; Kerala, India; the island republic of Maldives; shopping mecca Hong Kong and Bangkok, Thailand. Angkor, Cambodia ranked ninth place while Koh Samui, Thailand and Rajasthan, India both shared tenth place.

Smart Travel Asia said the poll results revealed the continued dominance of Thailand as a "holiday brand" with four destinations in the Top Ten, and the strong emergence of India.

The same poll also showed El Nido Resort Lagen Island in Palawan ranking among the top 25 leisure hotels and resorts in Asia this year.

According to Smart Travel Asia, the poll results reflect the online voters’ "substantial hands-on travel experience, word-of-mouth at dinnertime chats, as well as an idea of the brand drawn from advertising and editorial exposure in the media, which is mostly online." Smart Travel Asia is the region’s only dedicated online travel magazine with over one million readers worldwide.

Vijay Verghese, Smart Travel Asia editor, said voters in the annual travel poll took an average 15.5 annual air trips and earned $175,162 with roughly 60 percent based in Asia, 20 percent in UK/Europe and 20 percent in the United States. - David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com

as of 09/18/2008 4:55 PM ]]> http://rhenzyme.blogsome.com/2008/10/11/boracay-palawan-among-asias-top-vacation-spots-poll/feed/ http://rhenzyme.blogsome.com/2008/09/28/vina-morales-is-two-months-pregnant/ http://rhenzyme.blogsome.com/2008/09/28/vina-morales-is-two-months-pregnant/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:05:12 +0000 Administrator Knowledge http://rhenzyme.blogsome.com/2008/09/28/vina-morales-is-two-months-pregnant/

 

Manila, Philippines - Singer-actress Vina Morales doesn’t mind letting the whole world know she’s pregnant.

Vina is carrying her first baby with boyfriend Cedric Lee, who owns a beauty clinic. She says she considers her baby a blessing, and thanks her fans for not judging her.  Vina adds that she and Cedric have always wanted a baby. It’s still unclear though when the two will tie the knot.
Vina will talk about her pregnancy in an interview on ABS-CBN’s talk show "The Buzz" this Sunday.

1.       Teach them how to learn, in a manner that is relevant, meaningful and memorable.

2.       Bridge the gap between theory and practice.

3.       Good teaching is about listening, questioning, being responsive and remembering that every student and class is different.

4.       Good teaching is about being flexible and adjusting to changing circumstances.

5.       Good teaching is entertaining.

6.       Good teaching is about humour.

7.       Good teaching is about caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents.

8.       Good teaching is supported by strong and visionary leadership.

9.       Good teaching is about monitoring senior and junior staff/faculty, teamwork.

10.   Good teaching is about having fun.

The Roles of a Teacher

·         As an “Instructional Expert”

·         As a manager

·         As a counsellor

What is Teaching?

·         It is an action of a person imparting skill, knowledge or even value to another. (Moore, 1992)

·         It is an attempt to assist students in acquiring or changing some skill, knowledge, ideal attitude or appreciation. (Clark & Starr, 1993)

·         Pre-instructional skills

·         Instructional Skills

·         Post-instructional Skills

Step 1 – Identifying content

Step 2 – Writing objectives

Step 3 – Introducing the lesson

Step 4 – Selecting an instructional strategy

Step 5 – Closing the lesson

Step 6 – Evaluating the lesson

Step 7 – Identifying the new content to be taught

·         Ability to .communicate effectively

·         Ability to gain students attention

·         Ability to arouse and maintain interest

·         Ability to use stimulus and reinforcement effectively

·         Use of appropriate questioning techniques

·         Management of the learning environment smoothly and effectively

·         Ability to use appropriate lesson closure

·         Skill in evaluating lesson objectives

·         Ability to analyze collected evaluative information

·         Making judgments regarding evaluative information

·         The teacher as a decision maker

·         Commitment to the students

·         Commitment to the profession

·         Instructional responsibilities

·         Non-instructional responsibility

·         Executive functions

·         Interactive functions

·         Organizational functions

            Man has always tried to understand and control his environment. Inseparable from this instinctive effort is his impulse to express his understanding of his environment and life.
            Using nature as his guide and inspiration, the visual artist – the painter or sculpture –formulates a basic style or mode of expression with which to express and communicate an idea, feeling, or mood. He sees shape, color, texture and space in nature. He uses them, and organizes them into a work of art.
            Thus, the visual artist turns to nature for insights to power his imagination and inventiveness, because practically everything under the sun is raw material for the visual artist to draw his subject from. Many an aesthetically admirable work of art by visual artist has Nature for its theme. Among the favorite subjects are landscape, seascapes, and cityscapes; flowers and fruits; animals, and the human figure.

            Diarrhea is a common symptom of gastrointestinal disease, characterized by increased frequency and fluid consistency of the stool.
How to control
1. Withhold food and liquid if possible, for 4 hours. Sips of 7-Up or buko juice may be taken every 30 minutes. Take small amounts at a time, but frequently.
2. For nursing babies: Replace milk with rice water or buko juice for feedings. Withhold all solids and other liquids except the rice water or buko juice.

3. If controlled within one day, consult the physician.

Athlete’s foot is an eruption on the skin characterized by the formation of itchy small vesicles with cracking and scaling on the hands and feet, especially between the toes.

1. Keep feet and toes always clean and dry.

3. Don’t wear other slippers, sneakers, socks, and shoes. Don’t let others wear your footwear.

4. Don’t go barefoot in the bathroom. Wear you own rubber slippers n public bathrooms, swimming pools and river beds.