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4 GMs in young RP squad to Chess Olympiad

Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, September 05, 2008

A new-look Philippine team led by International Master John Paul Gomez and Grandmaster Wesley So will compete in the 38th Chess Olympiad set in Dresden, Germany, from Nov. 12 to 25. The 22-year-old Gomez and the 14-year-old So wound up 1-2 in the National Chess Federation of the Philippines qualifiers that ended Sunday night at the Kaban ng Hiyas Building in Mandaluyong City. Joining them in the team bidding to improve on its 44th-place effort in the 2006 Turin Olympiad are GMs Bong Villamayor, Jayson Gonzales and Darwin Laylo, who finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 17-round qualifier. Gomez, a mechanical engineering student at De La Salle University, drew his final-round match with fellow IM Rolando Nolte after 31 moves of the French defense to fend off So’s rally with 13 points. So, the country’s highest-ranked player with an ELO of 2577, handed Gomez his lone defeat in the 16th round and then bested IM Ronald Bancod in 28 moves of a Caro Kann to finish with 12.5 points.

The 41-year-old Villamayor will be vying in his fifth Olympiad with 11.5 points, while Laylo will be making his third straight appearance with 10 points. Gonzales, a veteran of the 2004 Calvia Olympiad, matched Laylo’s total following a draw with National Master Leonardo Carlos in 30 moves of a King’s Indian Defense. Laylo outplayed IM Chito Garma in 31 moves of the English Opening while Villamayor split the point with GM Mark Paragua after 30 moves of the Slav. Actually, Paragua wound up tied with Gonzales and Laylo at 10 points but he missed the Olympiad berth with a lower tiebreak score.

Final men’s standings:
13.0 points—J. Gomez; 12.5—W. So; 11.5—B. Villamayor; 10.0—J. Gonzales, D. Laylo, M. Paragua; 9.5—C. Garma; 9 – L. Carlos,R. Nolte; 8.5—J. Sadorra; 7.5—R. Bancod, R. Bitoon; 6.5—N. de le Cruz; 6.0—J. Nodado, H. Pascua, J. Habla; 5.5—B. Nadera; 5.0—E. Gatus.

Final women’s standings:
8.0—C. Perena; 7.5—Shercila Cua, D. Rivera; 7.0—C. Camacho; 6.0—C.. Bernales, Sherily Cua, J. Fronda; 5.0—C. Mariano; 4.5—K. Cunanan; 3.5—R. Young; 3.0—E. Magno; 2.0—E. Tumbos.
inquirer,net

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| Posted in » Sports

RP nurses remain competitive globally

Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, September 05, 2008

Filipino nurses still have the competitive advantage in the Southeast Asian region, an official of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has said. PRC Commissioner Ruth Padilla said that despite the 2006 signing of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on Nursing Services, other Southeast Asian countries have been having a hard time keeping up with the Philippine educational and professional standards. “Nursing degrees in other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) only take two to three years; they do not have a full baccalaureate degree on nursing like we have,” Padilla said. With the signing of the MRA on Nursing Services, Filipino nurses now have easier access to employment opportunities in the ASEAN healthcare sectors. Under the MRA, licensed Filipino nurses will be recognized by the host country and will be allowed to practice their profession in ASEAN member countries and vice versa. Padilla said other nations in the region have been sending their experts to the country to examine and study the Philippine's comprehensive degree on nursing.

The PRC official said North American countries such as Canada have likewise been attracted to the quality of nursing services in the Philippines. “Members of the Canadian parliament are coming to the country to negotiate with the government,” Padilla said, adding that officials of Saskatchewan in Canada even invited local leaders of the nursing industry to an all-expense exposure trip to the North American province in November. “This is a welcome development, considering that we have a current surplus of 400,000 registered nurses,” Padilla said, adding that universities and colleges in the country produce about 100,000 nursing graduates annually.

She pointed out that Philippine government and private hospitals only have positions for about 60,000 nurses.

PRC Commissioner Nilo Rosas cited the need to continually improve the country's educational and training system to produce globally competitive professionals.

“While we would be able to send and export professionals such as nurses, we should also be open to foreign counterparts working in our own institutions,” Rosas said.

He stressed, “One important implication of this development is the need to make sure that our workforce is ahead with the latest trends.”

(inquirer.net)

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Dindong Dantes on E! Entertainment Top 25 Sexiest Men List

Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, September 05, 2008

DingDong Dantes is the only Filipino to make it to the roster put together by one of the largest and most popular networks in Hollywood with 88 million cable subscribers in the US alone, and in 600 million homes internationally. Also in the list are Los Angeles Galaxy star player David Beckham, rugby union footballer Dan Carter (New Zealand), actor Gilles Marini (France), actor and fashion model Michael Lewis (Israel) and singer Kostas Martakis (Greece). “Actually, nung nalaman ko, e, natatawa ako dahil talagang never in my wildest dreams ko naisip na mapapasama ako dito. Na-appreciate ko siya and much more that napabilang ako sa beinte-singkong taong ‘yon, so isang karangalan sa akin ‘yon.” said Dantes.

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| Posted in » Actor and Actress of Philippines

Michael V. on cover of Reader Digest

Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, September 05, 2008

Reader’s Digest is a widely read general interest family magazine, which started in the United States and has international editions, including Asia. The comedian said he was so surprised because he thought the magazine would only write a feature story about his life. “Parang ‘di ako makapaniwala kasi may nagpadala ng sulat regarding the cover. Sabi pangalawang Pinoy palang daw ako na mag co-cover.” he said. “So parang di ko alam gagawin ko talaga. Kasi alam ko lang may feature. ‘Di ko alam na mag co-cover pala.” he added. He is a mainstay of GMA Network’s gag show Bubblegang and he is also the host of Bitoy’s Yari Ka.

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| Posted in » Actor and Actress of Philippines

Students of Albay wins UK drawing awards

Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, September 05, 2008

A 17-year-old high school student of Marcial O. Rañola Memorial School (MORMS) in the province of Albay bested it over 1,676 entries around the world in the Shoot Nations 2008 Drawing category held in the United Kingdom. In the official communication from Plan International, sponsor of the competition, it was said that the judges of Shoot Nations 2008 selected Bryle Napay’s art work as Best Overall Drawing. Napay is a fourth year high school student of MORMS. Said Shoot Nations 2008 is a global online youth photography competition addressing the theme of “Young People in a Changing Climate.” The competition aims to build a global picture of how climate change is affecting young people, how they can act now to slow the change and how they can adapt to the inevitable changes in the future. The competition was held in conjunction with the United Nations International Youth Day last August 12 and is open to anyone aged 11-24 years from anywhere in the world. The exhibition showcases the best of these entries and provides a forum for discussion

According to Napay, the Shoot Nations enables the smallest family, community or environmental issue to reach the highest level of global governance. Napay believes in empowering young people to mobilize and influence policy at all levels is crucial to successful development. “I never expect to win this kind of competition because of the huge number of entries,” he said. “We just sent our entry through email before the given deadline last July 2008 and after several months of waiting the organizer informed us that my entry has been chosen as the overall winner in the drawing category,” Napay added. He also stated that the role of young people is very important in responding to environmental problems. “It also reminds me that we can still do small things before it’s too late. On the other hand, a certificate of recognition has been presented to Napay by the provincial government of Albay whose artwork has brought honor and glory to the province and the Philippines when his art entry was adjudged.

Story courtesy of PNA and Good News Pilipinas