DepEd and AusAID boost Philippine education

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The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) signed the Memorandum of Subsidiary Arrangement (MSA) for the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) Program to boost the education agenda at Neptali Gonzales High School in Mandaluyong, Friday.

“DepEd and AusAID have been partners in pushing the educational agenda for 15 years. This new partnership signifies the commitment of both parties to attain quality education for Filipino learners,” Secretary of Education Armin Luistro said adding that AusAID had always helped the education sector by implementing projects across the country—some of which covered Basic Education Assistance in Mindanao (BEAM), Technical Vocational Educational Project, School Building Projects for Basic Education, and other projects in partnership with DepEd.

The BEST Program, a Aus$150M six-year program, aims to assist the Philippines in improving learning quality and access to education in the context of the K to 12 program. The program would aid in teacher development, boost a unified management and information system, enhance education leadership and management, promote gender sensitive education, and advance curriculum, assessment and materials.

“Through BEST, there will be additional 1,000 classrooms, 40 science and computer laboratories, and two Indigenous Peoples’ Learning Centers for our learners,” said Luistro.

In addition to this, scholarships and trainings for teachers would be provided. A technology and research center focusing on Assessment, Curriculum and ICT in education would be established through this program. It would also aid in strengthening DepEd’s capacity for disaster preparedness.

The program would improve teaching and learning and strengthen systems within the Department. BEST would work at the national level and would provide intensive support to six regions initially—National Capital Region, Bicol, Northern Mindanao, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas.

Present at the signing of MSA were Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Bill Tweddell, Commission of Higher Education Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, and Mayor Benjamin Abalos, Jr.

COMPLICATED Exhibit opens at Lopez Museum and Library

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Lopez Museum and library presents Complicated.

"It's Complicated", a phrase popularized by social media, has become the catch all for all undefined and problematic relationships typical of the post-modern world.

Seeing parallels between these and the complex relationship of the Philippines with its colonial pasts, the Lopez Museum and Library, in partnership with Tin-aw Art Gallery, opens its first exhibit for the year, Complicated on February 21, 2014 featuring commissioned works by guest artists Mike Adrao, Leslie de Chavez, and Ea Torrado, juxtaposed with works by Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Juvenal Sanso, Bencab, Ang Kiukok, Jerry Elizalde Navarro and other artworks from the Lopez Museum collection.

Mike Adrao's charcoal on paper works collectively titled "Colony" comprise of intricately ornamented, larger-than-life anthropomorphic pillars and delicately drawn insects whose patterns were researched from the Lopez Library collection.

Representing various forms of colonization our country has undergone, his works reference the interplay of our living culture and those of the colonizers that have reached our shores.

Several of these pieces were selected for the curated "platform exhibits" representing Southeast Asian art trajectories in the recently concluded Art Stage 2014 in Singapore.

Leslie's de Cahvez's mixed media instalation entitled "I Just Ca't Stop Loving You" featuring Michael Jackson inside the basin with water and holding a hose. 

Leslie de Chavez

Leslie de Chavez presents several installations and paintings that focus on colonization, not just as the context of our history, but as an ongoing process in which we are very much a part of. 

Known for his acerbic cultural commentary, his works take a critical stance that aims to jolt audiences to reflexivity, awareness, and realization.  One work in particular is created in reaction to the museum's collection of Per Pacem et Libertatem (For Peace and Liberty) studies.

These studies are what remains of a mural-sized work by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo commissioned by the American colonial government and exhibited during the 1904 St. Louis Exposition where villages were set up in St. Louis, Missouri and people from various ethnolinguistic groups of the Philippines were shipped and exhibited to the American public.

His other works are likely premised on touchy subjects in our culture and history.

Here's Choreographer and dancer Ea Torrado.

Choreographer and dancer Ea Torrado presents a three-channel video installation based on the frantic search of Jose Rizal's Sisa and reflections on the museum's iconic España y Filipinas by Juan Luna. Using Sisa's search for her missing children as a metaphor of post-colonial identity, Torrado presents the search for the many desaparecidos and victims of extrajudicial killings in recent history as premised in the promises of modernity and progress which are both at the core of nation-building and Luna’s painting.

This film is produced with the support of Tuchi Imperial, sound designer Chris Aronson, cinematographer and film editor Dan Pamintuan and the ABS CBN Film Archives.

These commissioned works are contextualized amid various collections from the museum's painting and archival collections.

Visit: www.eatorrado.com

Great works by Juan Luna, Fabian Dela Rosa, Juvenal Sanso, Jerry Elizalde Navarro, Bencab, Ang Kiukok, among others, are exhibited with select books from the library's collection and rich archive of colonial photographs, maps, travel journals, sketches and cartoons, including those done by Tony Velasquez (known for his creation of the early Filipino comics series Kenkoy), Liborio Gatbonton, and Mario Dangan.

The exhibit is further supplemented by loaned artworks by Juvenal Sanso and contemporary artist Anton del Castillo.

Complicated is curated by Ricky Francisco and Ethel Villafranca. It will run from February 21 to August 2, 2014. It is presented with support from Tin-aw Art Gallery. For more information, call Tina at 6312417 or email lmmpasig@gmail.com

Visit Lopez Museum and Library at the G/F Benpres Bldg., Meralco cor. Exchange Rd., Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Museum hours are 8-5pm Mondays through Saturdays except Sundays and holidays.

Extended MRT-3 Operating Hours to Be Tested by DOTC

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To give the public another option to beat traffic, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Metro Rail Transit III (MRT-3) Office will extend the operating hours of the metropolis’ most utilized urban rail transit system starting on 24 February 2014.

The longer hours of service will be tested for one month to determine whether it will be viable in the long run. 

“This is part of our program to mitigate the traffic situation. Based on the test run, we will monitor how much passengers are willing to alter their riding habits by commuting earlier in the morning or later in the evening. We will also see whether this will encourage motorists to take the train instead of their cars,” said DOTC SpokespersonMichael Arthur Sagcal. 

Currently, the rail system’s regular hours of operation are from 5:30am to 10:30pm. For the first 2 work weeks, or from February 24 until March 7, the MRT-3 Office will start operations at 4:30am from the North Avenue station and 5:00am from the Taft Avenue station. 

In the 2 following work weeks, or from March 10 to 21, it will also extend the evening runs up to 10:30pm from the North Avenue station and 11:00pm from the Taft Avenue station, in addition to the earlier opening hours. 

After the 4-week testing period, the MRT-3 Office will make its recommendation to the DOTC on whether the extended operating hours may be regularized, based on its impact on commuters, daily train maintenance requirements, and the additional cost of operation. 

“Our limitations are on maintenance and costs. For maintenance, the coaches have to be checked every night to ensure safety. It seems that we will be able to shorten the turnover process without compromising actual maintenance hours. As for costs, the testing period will allow us to project how much more we need to spend to make it sustainable over time,” Sagcal explained. 

“As always, we are looking for ways to serve the public better. We want to deliver convenient, efficient, and safe transportation options, especially with government’s push to improve infrastructure over the next few years,” he added. 

The DOTC has previously announced that the Philippine National Railways (PNR) will begin its Special Coach service to ply the Tutuban to Sta. Rosa route as another mitigating step to help ease traffic. Together with the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), it is now also finalizing options through which LRT Lines 1 and 2 can accommodate more travellers who will be affected by the various construction works in Metro Manila.

dotc.gov.ph

Singapore Airlines Showcases Next-Generation Cabins, Offers Exceptional Value Fares

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Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) Next Generation Cabins at the Singapore Airlines Showcase held today February 21 at the Glorietta 2 Activity Center. For the first time, Filipino travellers experienced first-hand the comfort and innovative design of SIA's next generation comfortable seats.

Ranjan Jha, Singapore Airlines’ General Manager for the Philippines

 Here's really a treat for Filipinos. The Singapore Airlines Showcase treads on the heels of an ongoing promotion which began last February 1. Under the Singapore Airlines Exceptional Value All-in Fares promotion, the airline is offering roundtrip economy class tickets to various destinations within its wide network, including fares that start from only USD 150 to Singapore and USD 888 to 12 cities in Europe among others.            

 “The Exceptional Value promotion is our way of thanking travellers from the Philippines for their support as well as a means to encourage more and more Filipinos to travel by air. By giving them greater access to premium air travel, we want Filipinos to realize that, with Singapore Airlines, the journey would be as wonderful as the destination,” added Ranjan Jha, Singapore Airlines’ General Manager for the Philippines. 

Mr. Philip Goh, Singapore Airlines’ Regional Vice President for Southeast Asia

“We’ve always been committed to make air travel more comfortable and hassle-free, which is why we have been investing heavily in our aircraft, products and services. We’ve brought in the next generation seats for everyone to try before they fly. These new cabins are the result of more than two years’ worth of efforts and we are proud of the feedback that we are getting so far,” said Mr. Philip Goh, Singapore Airlines’ Regional Vice President for Southeast Asia.

“Singapore Airlines has been flying in the Philippines for 48 years now. Not so long ago, we started our Manila operations with three flights a week, and today, we are flying four times daily. This growth is a testament of the support that we have received from Filipino travellers and we are very thankful for this,” said Goh.

Sherina Cham, Singapore Tourism Board 

In partnership with BPI Express Credit, Ayala Malls, Globe Telecom, British Council and Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Airlines unveiled its new First, Business and Economy class cabin products at the exciting and unique showcase, which is open from February 21 to 23, 2014.

Setting the new industry standard for premium air travel, Singapore Airlines has made significant innovations in its cabin designs in collaboration with world renowned design companies.

The New First Class has been designed together with BMW Group DesignWorks, and the new seats and beddings have been restyled with exquisite details that transform into a more exclusive experience.

The New First Class boasts of a personal 24-inch LCD screens, longer and wider seats, padded headboards and an additional mattress layer. Lights on each side of the seat have three different intensities of lighting to suit different passengers’ needs at varying positions in both seat and bed modes.

The New Business Class seats are designed together with James Park Associates, which now sport a more contemporary design with a curvaceous shell, metallic colors, and luxurious soft furnishings. 

The New Business Class seats are still the widest in the sky, featuring greater recline with new seating positions and an all-in-one business panel. 

Similar to the New First Class, the New Business Class also has varying lighting options to suit every passenger’s mood.

The New Economy Class is more comfortable than ever with more knee and leg room, a unique and moveable headrest, plush seat cushions featuring bolstered sides for increased sitting comfort and in-seat power supply to charge and connect personal devices. 

Completing the experience is SIA’s New KrisWorld In-Flight Entertainment System which offers passengers a truly pleasurable experience on-board. With the innovative features of Panasonic Avionics next-generation eX3 system, passengers across all seat classes can now enjoy their favorite movies, TV shows and games on a larger and high-definition LCD and touch-screen handsets. KrisWorld LCD screens increased from 23 to 24 inches in First Class, 15.4 to 18 inches in Business Class and 10.6 to 11.1 inches in Economy Class.

These exceptional, all-in value fare offers are available until February 28, and travel period is from now until October 31, 2014.

For more details on the Singapore Airlines Showcase and all-in value fare offers, visit www.singaporeair.com.

DepEd honors 2013 Search for Outstanding SPED Teachers & Centers awardees

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The Department of Education (DepEd) lauded the winners of 2013 Search for Outstanding Special Education (SPED) Teachers and SPED Centers. 

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro expressed his deep appreciation to the nominees and winners, “There are lots of good things to say about those who made Special Education their advocacy and life’s work, but the most fitting would be: Only those with a great deal of intelligence, fortitude, and love can nurture learners in an atypical setting. This recognition is a small thing compared to all the difference you’ve made for the future generation, the Department of Education and the whole nation thank you.”

The Search was organized by DepEd through the Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) SPED Division to honor the efforts of the schools, teachers and officials in supporting and delivering the education agenda to children with special needs.

There were seven categories in which nominations have been placed, as divided according to their specialization: autism, hearing impairment, visual impairment, intellectual disability, learning disability, teaching the gifted and talented, and children with special needs. Out of the dozens of nominations received, one candidate per region was selected for the final evaluation process.

The criteria in selecting outstanding SPED teachers were instructional competence, teaching effectiveness, personal qualities and character. Whereas in selecting the best SPED center, learner performance, linkages with stakeholders, classroom accessibility and functionality, management and staff were taken into meticulous consideration.

DepEd officially announced the results of the Search through DepEd Memo no. 21, s. 2014. 

The national winners are as follows:

The winners each received cash gifts and plaques of recognition as prizes