World Class Photographers in the Philippines

Pinatunayan na naman ng mga Pilipino sa buong mundo na may ibubuga tayo. Ngayong taon ay isang Pilipino din ang nanalo sa Photo Contest ng National Geographic.

Pilipinas - [Politicians(corrupt)+ Tamad na Pilipino] = Maunlad na Pilipinas

Pinoy from Surigao wins Photo Walk grand prize

ROSE-AN JESSICA DIOQUINO, GMA News

A 32-year-old educator from Surigao del Norte, Jaime Cesar Tibe, was named as the grand prize winner of the 2011 Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk.

Tibe's winning photo — showing a naked boy leaping into the water with his arms outstretched— stood out among nearly a thousand entries from various Photo Walk locations around the world.

The Worldwide Photo Walk was started by Kelby, an American photographer and post-processing trainer who heads the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).

In the announcement he made on his blog Friday, Kelby lauded the shot's "sense of balance" and said it "makes me smile."

"As soon as I saw it, I smiled, and I'm still smiling," the award-winning photographer wrote. "Just looks like a beautiful summer's day, and a wonderful scene along the walk route... Great capture, moment, emotion, processing, and composition."

According to its website, a Photo Walk “is a social photography event where photographers get together in any public area to walk around, shoot photos, and generally have fun with other photographers."

Tibe, a first-time participant at the Worldwide level, will receive a number of technology-savvy prizes which include:

a collection of books authored by Kelby;

a 32-gigabyte iPad;

a one-year membership at the NAPP; and

a one-year subscription to Kelby Training.

Aside from the grand prize, Kelby also named 10 honorable mentions. A People’s Choice award will also be given to the photo with the most number of online votes.

‘Overwhelmed’

In an e-mail to GMA News Online, Tibe admitted that he "was overwhelmed" to have won the photography contest because he is only a hobbyist.

A dean at the Northeastern Mindanao Colleges in Surigao City, Tibe shared that he has only been into photography for more than a year who only bought his own camera two months ago.

Before getting his own gadget, he said he borrowed from his photographer friends, who influenced him to dip into the craft as well.

“Pahiram hiram lang ako noon. I started last year sa hobby na ito, and I know marami pa akong bigas na kakainin. [I’m] still in the process para maging professional photographer," he said.

"I can't believe na nanalo ako. Imagine out of 20,000 walkers, ako ang napiling grand prize winner," he wrote.

Tibe, a member of the Surigao Photo Club, said he was among the 40 photography enthusiasts who joined the Walk in Surigao City last October 2.

He shared that his entry was taken by the end of the two-kilometer walk at the Surigao City Blvd., when a group of young boys on the rooftop of a waiting shed called his attention.

“Pagkadaan ko, sabi ng isang bata, ‘Uncle, magtapon ka ng limang piso sa dagat, kukunin namin.’ Doon nag-start ang composition ko. Every time my girlfriend [would] throw [a] five-peso [coin] sa dagat, tumatalon sila [para kunin ‘yun]," he told GMA News Online.

Tibe decided to use his photo of the second coin diver, which he believed was his winning shot out of 195 captures that day.

Two Filipinos have previously made the Honorable Mentions list—Minella Rivera of Malolos, Bulacan in 2009 and Ronald Suello of Cebu City in 2008.

For this year, two other Filipinos made the list that Kelby made for entries that did not make the winning cut:

Victor Kintanar of Cebu City for “Best Shot That Gets Better Once You Spot The Subject"; and

RJ Palad of Manila for “Best Shot That Tells a Story".

Brilliant Student from the Philippines

Good job!! Dito ipinapakita na may pag-asa pang magbago at umunlad ang bansang Pilipinas. Tamang edukasyon para sa mga kabataan at pag-alis sa mga makalumang ugali na walang disiplina at walang pagmamahal sa bayan.

Filipino student wins world environment award

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

LEVERKUSEN, Germany — For promoting environmental education among children with special needs, a Filipino student won the Bayer Young Environmental Leader Award Thursday night here (early Friday in Manila) along with three other young environmentalists from around the world.

Mary Jade Gabanes, 19, a Special Education major at the West Visayas State University won the top prize with delegates from Kenya, Indonesia and Ecuador.

Winners will receive project support from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and global company Bayer, which have been jointly implementing the youth program since 1998.

Gabanes hopes to inspire others to take better care of the environment by showing that special needs children could do the same despite their limitations.

“If you see special needs children doing something for the environment, wouldn’t we take a second [look] at ourselves and ask what we can do?” said Gabanes in an interview moments after her win here.

A panel of judges composed of representatives from UNEP and Bayer picked the winning projects out of 18 top country winners from across Asia, South America and Africa.

Gabanes’ project engages special children aged 12 to 22 in environment-themed sessions, from arts and crafts, using recycled materials to performing environmental songs, at a locally supported special education center in her native Iloilo City.

The articulate and animated Gabanes impressed judges at final presentations on Wednesday, responding to questions about her project without pause.

When one judge asked how she coped with the known challenges of teaching special children, Gabanes said: “I’ve never had a problem. I’ve always had a soft spot for special needs children.”

Bayer flew in winning environmental envoys from around the world for an exposure trip around Germany, engaging them in discussions on trends in environment protection, experiments in Bayer laboratories and site visits around Cologne and Leverkusen.

Aside from Gabanes, three other Philippine envoys were invited to the field trip: Reymart Canuel of the University of Baguio who designed a website called “GreEnitiative” which aims to raise awareness on forest conservation;

Cris Viray of the St. Paul University of Quezon City who organizes youth environmental camps and training programs in his native Rizal; and Alfie Desamparado of the West Visayas State University who wrote and performed 10 original environmental songs in bus and boat terminals in Guimaras and Iloilo.

Delegates from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam participated in the youth conference.

Some 550 students from around the world have been invited to visit Germany since the program started 13 years ago.

Airport in the Philippines

Dito minsan o kadalasan magaling ang Pilipino... pagdating sa bagay na "worst" o kabaliktaran ng "best" o "excellent".

Hindi lahat ng Pilipino ay ganito.. meron namang matitino at magaling sa trabaho.. pero siguro mga 30% lang.. Yung 70% ay napaka tradisyonal o makaluma ang pag-iisip.. o kaya naman saksakan ng katamaran o batugan. O kaya naman walang disiplina.. haaay Pilipinas kong mahal.. kailan ko kaya makikita ang bansang Pilipinas na maunlad.

Naia 1 is rated ‘world’s worst airport’

By Tina G. Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

It just gets worse and worse.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), particularly Terminal 1, now ranks No. 1 among the “Worst Airports in the World,” said “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports,” an interactive website that gathers reports from various reviewers.

Naia 1’s ratings worsened from the website’s 2010 assessment that it was the world’s fifth-worst airport and the worst in Asia.

The ranking of Manila’s international airport was based on reviews of travelers who complained, among other things, of “safety concerns, lack of comfortable seating, rude staff, hostile security, poor facilities, no (or few) services to pass the time, bribery, being kicked out and general hassles of being in the airport.”

Sought for comment, Dante Basanta, Naia Terminal 1 manager, said the issues raised on the website were old and rehashed.

“It’s unfair for them to say that we have the world’s worst airport because we’ve already implemented several improvements at the terminal for the past several months,” Basanta told the Inquirer.

He said the photos shown on the website were old ones.

Basanta said that to date, a total of 16 rest rooms had been renovated and that the ceilings at the boarding gates and waiting lounges improved.

“We’re also improving water services; the replacement of old pipes is ongoing,” he added.

Worst 10

Besides Naia 1, the following made it to the 10 worst airports in the world: Paris Beauvais in France, Keflavik International Airport in Iceland, Bergamo-Orio al Serio Airport in Italy, Kiev International Airport in Ukraine, Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany, London Luton Airport in the United Kingdom, Pisa Airport in Italy, Paris CDG Airport in France and Los Angeles International Airport in the United States.

“The list this year is very heavily European, simply because that’s where the most airport-sleeping adventures are to be had. We base our list on user reviews and poll votes and we just happen to receive more reviews for overnight sleep overs for European airports,” the website said regarding the quality and facilities of the world’s airports.

Best three

The website also named the world’s three best airports in 2011—Singapore Changi, Hong Kong, and Seoul Incheon. The facilities—all in Asia—were named the best airports the previous year.

Most complaints of reviewers about Naia concerned the old Terminal 1, which hosts all international flights except those of Philippine Airlines, which uses Terminal 2 and Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines and All Nippon Airways, which use Terminal 3.

“The current administration should hire a bulldozer and a ramming team and start tearing it apart,” said ajloren123, a reviewer.

Promise

Among the problems cited by the reviewers who managed to survive the airport were theft, bribery and the absence of toilet seats and running water in the bathrooms.

“Earlier this year, some bad press regarding the state of the airport made airport officials promise to clean its Terminal 1 toilets and provide running water and soap. Imagine…. they actually had to “promise” to offer this!” the website said.

It also pointed out physical hazards that recently plagued Naia 1, including the collapse of a portion of a ceiling plaster in May, which prompted an inspection by government officials led by President Aquino.

“Their arrival ramp is not user-friendly because it slopes downward!! If you happen to be pushing your loads of baggage through this ramp, watch out or your baggage might get to the bottom of the ramp before you,” said Tiffycality, another reviewer.

The Guide to Sleeping in Airports acknowledged that there was hope at Naia if one went to Terminal 3, which it said was clean, spacious and had Internet connection.

But the website, citing a report that reportedly came out earlier this month, also reminded travelers that the 9-year-old terminal had been deemed “structurally flawed.”

The woes that confront travelers at Naia 1 went beyond poor facilities, the site said. It warned passengers about sleeping in the terminal because of bribery and theft.

“Forget about sleeping in this airport! You will not want to even close your eyes here! Bribery and theft exist. Airport taxes are collected, but the money does not seem to go toward the betterment of the airport. Document holders have been told their papers are not correct, but a fee of x amount should clear up the matter,” the site said.

Big bucket

One reviewer said a big bucket with a dipper was by the front door and about four attendants demanded a tip.

“When I asked a security guard where the smoking area was he told me to follow him … and took me out on to the tarmac where he then insisted on a bribe before he let me back into the terminal. How does one say “no” to a security guard with a gun?” the reviewer said.

Another reviewer said nothing compared with his experience at Naia.

Mind-blowing

“It’s a horrible waste of time and you should all hold onto your wallets as tightly as possible. I especially advise any foreign travellers to avoid this airport. The amount of corruption and bribery is just mind-blowing,” said Shizumasa, a reviewer.

A reviewer named Monette said she lost her cell phone between the drop-off at the entrance and the security check.

Handbag slashed

“The phone was in my side pocket of my handbag and this side pocket was slashed with a sharp knife! I mentioned it to the (police) officer and he referred me to an airport policeman.

“This guy had the guts to suggest that I go to the lost-and-found office and check if they found it. Long story short, he didn’t even get my name and address to file a report and was just saying: ma’am there are many thieves in this airport. Just look after your belongings!” she said.

The website also noted that terminals were lacking such services as left-luggage and pay-in lounges for transit passengers.

It said free WiFi connection and day rooms at the air side of Naia 1 were among the airport’s redeeming qualities.

Typhoon Ramon - Oct 2011

Patuloy na maghanda at mag-ingat sa ating mga kababayan. May papasok na namang bagyo ngayong Biyernes. Ihanda na ang malinis na tubig sa selyadong lalagyan, tinapay o pagkain na di na kailangang lutuin (mga de lata), flash light, konting gamot sa lagnat, sipon, at pagtatae, mga papeles na nasa selyadong lalagyan, at konting damit na pwedeng baunin.

Panalangin na rin na di lumakas ang hangin at ulan ng bagyong Ramon.

Residents in low lying and mountainous areas under Public Storm Warning Signal are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides.

Estimated rainfall amount is from 5 - 25 mm per hour (moderate to heavy) within the 300 km diameter of the Tropical Depression.

The public and the disaster coordinating councils concerned are advised to take appropriate actions and watch for the next bulletin to be issued at 11 AM today.