DOH, MSD, Medical Societies Come Together to Prevent Cervical Cancer

Tweet

Implement free nationwide screening for the month of May

The Department of Health (DOH), global pharmaceutical company MSD and medical societies hope to go full circle for this year’s Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in May, and strike directly at the source of cervical cancer—the human papillomavirus or HPV.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in both men and women which causes cervical cancer. According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer afflicting women worldwide with about 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deaths each year. In the Philippines, an estimated 12 Filipino women die due to cervical cancer each day.

For these reasons, the DOH and MSD, along with medical societies Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS), Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines (SGOP) and Philippine Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (PSCPC), continue with their partnership, dubbed as Babae, MahalagaKa!, for the 6^th year of the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM) celebration.

Free cervical cancer screening will be offered to women aged 30-49 years old in 58 DOH-retained hospitals nationwide for the whole month of May. “Screening, either through Pap smear or visual inspection using acetic acid (VIA), should be done on women who are sexually active or had history of sexual contact. This service is being offered for free every May in government hospitals, to help detect cervical cancer in its early stage, while it is still treatable and curable,” said Dr. Rey Delos Reyes, past President of POGS and SGOP, consultant of Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

“The good news is that early this year, PhilHealth included the treatment for cervical cancer in the Z Benefit Package program. The benefit package includes cervical cancer chemoradiation with cobalt or primary surgery worth Php120,000 or cervical cancer chemoradiation with linear accelerator for Php175,000 depending on what is needed by the patient,” imparts DOH Secretary Enrique Ona.

Apart from free screenings nationwide, MSD in partnership with DOH will be providing free quadrivalent HPV vaccinations to 9,000 girls aged 13 years old this coming school year. “Our mission is not only to discover and develop medicines and vaccines for unmet medical needs but we would also like to make these accessible to people who can benefit from them. This initiative would help demonstrate how to implement a school-based vaccination program which can serve as a model for a national program,” shares Sanjiv Navangul, President and Managing Director of MSD in the Philippines.

Aside from cervical cancer, the quadrivalent HPV vaccine can also prevent vulvar and vaginal cancer, as well as genital warts. It is important to note that HPV is implicated in various diseases aside from cervical cancer such as cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, head and neck, and genital warts. It is themost common sexually transmitted infection in both men and women. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that HPV is so common that nearly all sexually-active men and women get it at some point in their lives.

“Due to the many risks that HPV poses and the many lives claimed by cervical cancer, the DOH hopes that through the yearly celebration of CCAM, more and more women will be educated and encouraged to undergo screening and vaccination, “says Secretary Ona.

The one-stop hub for your next dream vacation

Tweet

Research and book great travel experiences with iTraveler Asia

With its diverse and vibrant 7,107 islands, the Philippines was touted by American magazine Condé Nast Traveller as one of the “top destinations to watch out for” in 2013. The country is spoilt for choice for pristine beaches, excellent dive sites and diverse cultural heritage sites.

A popular locale mentioned by Condé Nast Traveller that makes up the perfect idea of a beach getaway is Palawan—one of the destinations offered by the new one-stop travel website, iTraveler Asia.

Mai Gonzales, iTraveler Asia’s Chief Product Officer, shares, “iTraveler Asia was borne out of a love for traveling around the Philippines. It is the first curated travel website in Asia, an online hub where visitors can enjoy expertly curated content, then book enjoying exclusive privileges for the most sought-after travel destinations in the country.”

“We’ve carefully chosen resorts, and we begin in the Philippines because traveling around the country has cultivated our wanderlust. There is just so much to see and discover here,“RJ Samson, Chief Executive Officer explains.

Users can read reviews on a special selection of resorts and hotels, and instantly book their stay. From stylish travelling to more adventurous trips, iTraveler Asia caters to the diverse world of travelers with their Luxe, Unchartered and Getaway collections.

Gonzales shares that iTraveler Asia has tapped popular personalities who are experts in their chosen fields such as photographer, George Tapan, designer Amina Aranaz-Alunan and Chef Sau del Rosario among many others because they are avid travelers themselves to curate hotels and destinations. Their perspectives add another dimension to our recommendations.

The Henry, a hip and offbeat design hotel in Cebu City, is one of the hotels you can book through iTravelerAsia. The one-stop travel website simplifies how you prepare for trips, giving you more time to enjoy each experience.

“iTravelerAsia makes planning your trip an enjoyable experience. From the moment you research on a destination to booking your trip, iTraveler Asia simplifies how you prepare for trips, giving you more time to just sit back and enjoy the best of what the Philippines has to offer,” Gonzales concludes.

To know more about iTraveler Asia and book your travel packages now, please visit http://www.itravelerasia.com/

and email concierge@itravelerasia.com.

You can also follow them on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/goitravelerasia Condé Nast Traveller. 

Destinations to Watch in 2013.

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/itineraries/hot-destinations-to-watch-2013

PAMORA FARM, The Home of Free-range Chicken!

Tweet

Pamora Farm, Inc. is a Filipino-European joint venture that operates a free-range chicken farm in Barangay Garreta, Pidigan, Abra. 

Free-range farming is a method of raising animals where they are left to roam freely in an allocated area with minimum required space. Free-range chickens are raised for a longer period than commercial chickens. They are allowed to develop natural habits and grow the way a normal chicken should -- scratching the ground and roaming the barnyard. They are grown for their flavorful taste.

Free-range chickens are grown naturally. Free-range chickens have low fat content, only 8-10% compared to regular commercial chicken that has 19-29% fat content.

Last April 27, 2013, we had a lunch meeting with the friendly owners of Pamora farm Mr. Gerard Papillon and Tina Morados, in Brasserie Cicou Restaurant at Greenhills. The sumptuous menu prepared by Chef Cyrille Soenen and Chef Summer,  while Gerald and Tina talks and presented to us through with every meal we had.

First we had Green Salad, Pickles and Mustard, Baggette and assorted Pamora Pates. There are six (6) varieties of Pamora pâtés. These Home-made Pâtés are good for appetizers. 

Green Salad, Pickles and Mustard

Assorted Pamora Pâtés

The Roasted Coquelet with Rosemary and Garlic served with Mashed Potato is really flavorful. I tasted it, different chicken roasted from other restaurant, but seasoned simply and roasted to perfection.

Roasted Coquelet

For the dessert, we were served with Trio of Crème Brulee (Vanilla, Chocolate and Green Tea). As the delicious mouth-watering Trio of Crème Brulee main ingredient is the Pamora egg which came from the Pamora free-range chicken.

Trio of Crème Brulee (Vanilla, Chocolate and Green Tea)

Mr. Gerard Papillon and Tina Morados with Chef Summer

As shared by Tina, Free-range chickens are grown longer, thus the meat is firmer, cooking time takes longer for free-range chickens, although you will not need any flavoring additives like broth cubes or chicken stocks. Salt and pepper will be enough, and sometimes even those are not needed.

"You can cook it in any way as you would your regular chicken. But with deep-frying all the natural flavors and health benefits will be lost. Cooking time is always longer than regular commercial chicken."

Gerard and Tina Morados Papillon's hardwork and enduring partnership led them to be awarded by the French Ambassador with the “Order of Merit for Agriculture, Grade of Knight” for promoting the natural and humane way of raising and manufacturing chicken byproducts.

We enjoyed having this sumptous lunch and great conversation with passionate advocate people who gave us combination of French and Filipino hospitality and their combined stories of Pamora Farm. Thanks to Ms. Nana Nadal inviting us to know more about free-range chicken by the Pamora farm brand. I hope to experience Pamora farm at Barangay Garreta, Pidigan, Abra sometime.

Read this for more  information, and enjoy this wonderful world of Pamora Farm. 

THE FREE-RANGE METHOD 

Free-range is a method of farming husbandry where the animals, like the chickens, are permitted to roam freely. The principle of free-range method is to allow the animals to live at their instinctual behaviour in a reasonably natural way instead of being contained in a cage like commercial broiler production where the chickens are forced to grow abnormally fast in just about 4 to 5 weeks (28-35 days).

Free-range chickens roam in a barnyard or field (range) to forage with a minimum of eight (8) hours daylight. Aside from the daily intake of milled yellow corn, they eat whatever organic food they could find on the ground like grass, insects, and the like.

Pamora free-range chickens come from a coloured breed from France. This breed is a slow growing type of broiler. Quality F1’s or first generation offspring are being raised in Pamora Farm.

Two weeks before the scheduled arrival of a new batch of day-old chicks, housing are being prepared for brooding (heating) purposes. Cleaning, disinfection, repairs, and equipment/materials check-up are requisite routine to ensure the bio-security of the flock and of the farm.

Chicks are kept for the first 21 days inside the housing with brooding facilities. This helps them gain strength and get ready for outside life, free-range. The farm grows different trees, grass, and herbal plants for shade and natural feeds for the chickens.

There are several ranging areas operating in the farm. Each range has between 500 to 2,000 chickens. Depending on the topography, each range occupies some 1,000 to 3,000 square meters, which provides approximately 1 to 2 square meters ranging area per bird to freely graze and find organic food available on the ground.

The use of herbal medicines, like oregano, chilli, garlic, ginger, kakawate leaves, caimito leaves, ipil-ipil leaves, guava leaves and many more, is also practiced and given at proper and appropriate times. Veterinary and technical consultants who are experts in free-range poultry practice regularly visit and assist in the farming methods, which applies and implements both local and French technologies.

Pamora Free-range chickens are grown at a minimum of 70 days. Having the chickens ranging for longer period gives the optimum natural chicken taste, firmer meat quality, and much healthier poultry meat with less fat content.

THE FARM

Pamora Farm started raising free-range chicken in March 2000 as a small-scale farm undertaking by the Papillon (Gerard) and Morados (Tina) family, their last names forming the brand, PAMORA.

Pamora Farm is also promoting their farming method the among people of Abra, providing livelihood opportunities for the community.

Aside from the free-range chicken farming for meat and eggs production, the farm also grows organic fruits and vegetables for own consumption and for visitors/guests’ staying in the farm. Using natural fertilizer from earthworm dung (vermin-culture) and composts from degradable farm wastes such as chicken manure, Pamora Farm produces fruitful and high quality crops.

Within the farm premises, reforestation projects, and planting of high quality wood trees like Narra and Mahogany.

THE PRODUCTS

Pamora Farm products are all inspected, passed, registered and certified by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) and Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

All dressed chicken and chicken meat by-products are processed in the Poultry Dressing Plant owned and operated solely by Pamora Farm, Inc. Accredited by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) and certified Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

Pamora Farm also manufactures traditional French “home-made” pâtés from the free-range chicken. Pâté is a mixture of various parts of the chicken (liver, gizzard, meat) blended (with herbs, black pepper and sea salt) into a paste and sterilized in glass jars. Pâté is a traditional practice in France of preserving meat of any kind.

The following six (6) varieties of Pamora pâtés are creations of Mr. Gérard Papillon using old-fashioned recipes from his grandmother.

·      Chicken Liver Pâté

·      Chicken Breast & Liver Pâté

·      Chicken Gizzard Pâté

·      Chicken Liver & Gizzard Pâté

·      Chicken Breast Pâté

·      Chicken Breast & Gizzard Pâté

Pamora Farm also produces limited quantities of free-range chicken eggs, which are well appreciated for its quality that is comparable to native chicken in taste, color, and texture. They also offer chicken burger patties.

Pamora chickens, eggs & pâté products are available at the following :

Santis delicatessen
Terry Selections
Rustan’s Supermarket
Shopwise
Metro Market! Market!
RFI Farm Outlet (Holy Spirit, QC)
Joji Berry (Crossroad 77 Mother Ignacia, QC)
NCCC – Davao
Champetre restaurant (BGC)
Brasserie Ciçou (Greenhills)
Resorts World Manila
Ilustrado Restaurant (Intramuros)
El Nido Resorts
Amanpulo
Saturday Market, Ayala Alabang Village
Golden Acres Farm, Inc. (distributor)

For more information, visit www.pamorafarm.com

or call (02) 759-2678 / (02) 506-1082 / (0917) 537-5639 / (0917) 591-7391.

View more photos @Enjoying Wonderful World Facebook Page.

PHILPOP Music Festival 2013 Announces Final 12

Tweet

“Your theme, your genre, your song”

PhilPOP Musicfest with the main message of “Your theme, your genre, your song” encouraged Filipinos from all over the world to write song limited only by their creativity. The response to the call for entries was tremendous, generating a record breaking 3,383 submission!

The majority of the entries come from Quezon City, Makati, and Manila and outside the country like Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Germany, China, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Australia, Canada, Norway, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Ireland, UK, Thailand, and Macau. Most overseas entries came from the United States, official entries are down to the Final 12.

As announced by Philpop MusicFest Foundations’s Executive Director Ryan Cayabyab here are this year's finalists and their song entries:

(Photo c/o PhilPop )

Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana "Dati"

Myrus Apacible "Sana Pinatay Mo Nalang Ako"

Paul Armesin "Segundo"

Marion Aunor "Do, Do, Do"

Joey Ayala "Papel"

Marlon Barnuevo "Araw, Ulap, Langit"

Gani Brown "Askal"

Raffy Calicdan "Space"

Johnoy Danao "Kung 'di Man"

Lara Maigue "Sayo Nalang Ako"

Jungee Marcelo "Pansamantagal"

Adrienne Sarmiento-Buenaventura "Sometimes That Happens"

Philpop MusicFest Foundation’s executive director Mr. Cayabyab shares that this is the most diverse collection of entries.

“I heard a lot of rock, pop, rap, hip hop, folk, R and B, ballad, a sprinkling of swing and dance music. There are some attempts to do a modernized kundiman and quite a lot of novelty songs that visibly entertained the adjudicating panel. I can’t wait to hear the top 12 that this year’s special panel will present in the finals night on July 6, 2013!”

Respected and renowned industry professionals, from record label executives, musicians, composers, singers, artists, radio personalities, and people from the academe make up the adjudication panel. The organizing committee had to fill around 140 seats throughout the 4-stage screening process.

“It was mind boggling at the start. Going through more than three thousand songs is no joke but Philpop has almost perfected the system. Maraming puedeng winners. Maraming puedeng hits. More than half of the 12 finalists were consistently in the top of the heap. 4 sets of panelists could not have been wrong. Dark horses made it too. It’s thrilling,” Cayabyab adds.

With the hands-on leadership of business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, the foundation, with the endeavour to involve itself in nation building through music, have set out to identify deserving songwriters who can inspire and spark positive change through their songs and are given the opportunity to shine. This is reinforced by its board of directors headed by Ricky Vargas, Ogie Alcasid, Noel Cabangon, Doy Vea, Al Panlilio, Patrick Gregorio, Randy Estrellado and Butch Jimenez.

The million-peso champion of the first ever Philippine Popular Music Festival is former Akafellas member Karl Villuga with his song “Bawat Hakbang”. The composition, which was about overcoming a personal crisis, was interpreted by Villuga along with his former groupmates and balladeer Mark Baustista.

“We are looking forward to again stage the biggest and most illustrious song writing competition in Philippines history with an even more songwriters vying for the 1 million pesos grand prize this 2013,” says Mr. Cayabyab.

PhilPOP is supported by Maynilad, Smart, Meralco, PLDT, Resorts World Manila, TV5, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, NLEX, Sun Cellular, the First Pacific Leadership Academy, KBP, and Philex.

The IMMIGRANT , quarterly direct mail newszine

Tweet

The IMMIGRANT is the Philippine travel issue. This is a free quarterly direct mail newszine for expatriates in the Philippines. It is the premium quarterly publication for the foreign Immigrants, expats communities, Balikbayans, high-networth Filipinos, the emerging affluent entrepreneurs and international visitors in the Philippines.

The IMMIGRANT was launched last April 18, held at The Taipan, Tower Club, Makati City. It was hosted by well known Atty. Katrina Legarda and with guest speakers Henry Schumacher, VP External Affairs, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP and Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador Stephen Lillie and speaker Department of Tourism Undersecretary The Hon. Daniel Corpuz. 

The IMMIGRANT’s dream is not just to have the power to be heard, or be read, but moreover, the power to influence their decisions. By always giving them everything and only what’s relevant. The vision is to be more than just a paper. In every article and content that we put out, the goal is to always to earn and to deserve our readers' trust.

With the influx of high net worth foreign investors, executives and entrepreneurs into the Philippines, the expat community is continuously growing. And with this massive growth, there is a steady rise of opportunities that these individuals would gladly benefit from - being their personal adviser on everything about life in this country, to being a professional consultant on business, laws and immigration affairs, or even as simple as being their personal storyteller. They need to hear a voice that is focused on them. A voice that professionally informs and personally connects them to everything and only what’s relevant to their stay in the Philippines. And right now, there is only one publication that is trying to be this voice. “Trying” being the operative word. And so the Immigrant has spotted this role that needs to be fulfilled, and not just for the sake of putting a paper out there for them, but actually perfecting that paper, from design, to relevant content, to distribution, to basically every detail, The Immigrant will be that voice that they would trust and would want to hear again and again.

The IMMIGRANT is headed by Publisher Atty.Jose 'Pepe' Villanueva III and Editor-at-Large Walter C. Villa. Editorial Board members are Henry Schumacher, Atty.Katrina Legarda and Dean Ernest P. Maceda Jr.

THE IMMIGRANT is providing all much needed and much desired information, in a paper that’s created perfectly and specifically for them, The IMMIGRANT gives them relevant solutions, which would render their residencies convenient and their business ventures as profitable as possible. And most importantly, The IMMIGRANT will share with them stories worth being heard for them to feast on the colorful life that this country has to offer.

Quick round-up of the more relevant immigration and embassy news and updates for foreign immigrants and expatriates on-the-go.

CALENDAR: Upcoming parties, happenings, arts and culture events you shouldn’t miss.

ARTS & CULTURE: Read on the latest and hottest personalities and trending topics in the visual arts and culture circle.

LIVE & LEARN: Discover real estate options, interior design tips and other do-it-yourself projects that are sure to enrich your domestic life.

The IMMIGRANT FAQs: : Get enlightened with the most pressing immigration laws and issues – controversial questions answered by our authoritative advisers and columnists

ESSAY: Tongue-in-cheek or thought-provoking. Our essays by the Philippines’ renowned writers and foreign resident authors bring you in the current socio-political economic milieu with deep insights from the experts.

GOOD COMPANY: Our society page not only highlights the chicest parties, it also features occasionally top companies’ corporate social responsibility projects.

HIP PROFILE: Meet the hottest personality or corporate bigwig hogging the headlines or the current toast of the expat clique

WINE & DINE: Unravel the myriad of epicurean choices in Manila and beyond – from the basic to the most luxurious.

WHEELS & STUFFS: Boys and their toys – our motoring and technology section dishes out honest reviews of the latest cars and gadgets

TRAVEL & LEISURE: From diving, traveling or golfing, your holiday takes a memorable spin with practical tips and essential heads-up.

The IMMIGRANT is available in all of the 207 Starbucks coffee shops in the entire Philippines and one can get an e-copy at issuu.com/theimmigrantphilippines

Thanks Editor Walter Villa for inviting me to witness launching of The IMMIGRANT which will be the expatriate community’s most powerful paper.  Moreover, here are some of the great partners of The IMMIGRANT publication.