Now on its second run, Unilab Ideas Positive program was launched as a response to the increase in community issues in hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, disease prevention and intervention, and environmental care and protection. Unilab believes that these concerns are more effectively addressed when two or more groups or organizations are working together in true Bayanihan spirit, the Filipino trait of working together to achieve a common goal.

Unilab is thus partnering with the youth to tap into their creativity, idealism and sense of social purpose to find fresh and innovative solutions to emerging and recurring health and wellness issues in communities. Unilab is not just providing youth groups a venue to be heard, but more importantly, empowering them to turn their ideas into reality.

A seed fund of Php100,000 is awarded to the winning team to implement their social marketing program for their chosen community. Two runner-up groups are given Php75,000 each to do the same for their programs.

Last year, Team Biggkas of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) bagged the grand prize for its farm-in-the-city concept, teaching hydroponics gardening to mothers in Barangay San Joaquin in Pasig City so they have their own sustainable source of vegetables within the community. Mothers made their first harvest of lettuce and kangkong in April this year. The local government of Pasig City has expressed a desire to replicate the same program in other barangays.

Due to the successful run last year, the program has now expanded from Metro Manila only to include nearby provinces like Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, and Rizal.

Interested students can form a team of five and submit their idea through http://www.unilabideaspositive.com until July 18. Ten semi-finalists will be chosen to undergo a 3-day camp in August where social marketing thought-leaders led by 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Efren Penaflorida and social marketing guru Dr. Eduardo ‘Ned’ Roberto will help teams to firm up their social marketing plans.

Five finalists teams will be chosen to defend their plans on Sept 18 before a multi-sector panel of judges that will pick the team that wins the seed money from Unilab.

The MOU was signed by UP-Min chancellor Professor Gilda Rivero, vice chancellor for administration Professor Miguel Soledad, vice chancellor for academic affairs Professor Emma Ruth Bayogan, NHA regional officer-in-charge Engineer Carolina Angel and Viane Negarol, chief of staff of Ungab. The agreement signing was highlighted during the UP-Min 60th anniversary celebration this week.

Rivero said the fund, which came from the congressional office of Ungab, and NHA’s services in building the dormitory was the fruit of the university administrators’ efforts to give the students the best education they could possibly give.

“The dormitory will be another manifestation of our efforts to bring the best to our students. Nagbunga na rin ang aking pangungulit sa mga (This was realized thru my frequent follow ups with) national agencies to help us become a better state school,” Rivero said.

“We’re also very happy to say that other than the P10-million fund for the dormitory, the office of Congressman Ungab has already allotted a P5-million fund for the roadway to replace the aborted road in the area,” Rivero said.

Meanwhile, Negarol said the dormitory would be constructed soon as the P10-million fund was already under a special allowance release order from the office of Ungab.

Other activities during the anniversary celebrations, UP-Min and the UP Alumni Association-Davao held the “Kasadya ug Pasiklaban” 2009 lantern parade and skit contest.

Festivities began with Kasadya, the annual UP-Mindanao Christmas lantern parade and competition. This is the second year that Kasadya was held in People’s Park. The lanterns were paraded around People’s Park and ended at the stage where the lanterns’ creators explained their meaning and significance.

The Pasiklaban (challenges) annual skit contest of the UP Alumni Association-Davao was held after the Kasadya (merrymaking).

Source: Philippines News Agency

Under the program We Advocate Time Consciousness and Honesty or Watch, it is hoped that the Filipino youth ages 8-18 will be inculcated with the value of time consciousness and honesty and thus help in the development and productivity of the nation. It is aimed to curb the infamous values of ‘Filipino time’ and cheating among young Filipinos.

Watch is a joint values advocacy movement of the JCI Senate Philippines, DepEd, and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU).

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently declared the month of June as Watch month. Last May 20-23, the DepEd held its Watch summit in Baguio. This served as an orientation to the advocacy and was attended by representatives from different DepEd regional offices.

According to DepEd regional director Susana Estigoy, she aims to start WATCH among the region’s teachers and DepEd employees. These teachers, in turn, will serve as role models for their students.

Estigoy said Watch will be geared on the positive inculcation and will not be punitive in nature. She said, the DepEd will be mapping out strategies on how to promote these two values.

The Watch program in Davao was officially launched last June 5 at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) conference room. Present were Watch national chairman JCI Senate Maria Agnes Angeles, who handed over promotional materials to Estigoy. Before the turn-over, Estigoy and the JCI Senate officials were guests at the Kapihan sa PIA media forum disseminating the program through the local media. Credits (Davao Today)

Celestial Buenaventurado, a preschool teacher of Bulacao Community School in Bulacao Pardo, Cebu City said the training taught them on systematic teaching.

“We now have methods on the proper handling of children. Aside from that, we also learned the techniques on small group instructions so we can monitor the children properly,” Gleen Cabatingan, day care worker of barangay Sta. Cruz, Cebu City, said in Cebuano.