As the largest Google Enterprise Partner in the Philippines, IP-Converge provides organizations with licenses and support for Google Apps and other GoogleEnterprise products such as Postini services, and Google Maps and Search.

According to Rene Huergas, President of IP-Converge, “We are happy to be a part of Airphil Express’ leap to the Cloud through Google Apps for Business. This further strengthens our commitment to promote cloud computing across the Philippine enterprise, as it enables companiesto compete and maintain profitability in a highlycompetitive environment such as the airline industry.”

Said Airphil Express Chief Financial Officer Richard Benedict O. Laig, “Given the competitive nature of the local airline industry today and with our goal to cater to end-to-end traveling needs of our customers, we need reliable partners to be successful. Partners like Google and IP-Converge will help us in our goal of sustaining our very encouraging market share growth from virtually none to almost one-fourth of the market.”

Airphil Express felt the need to migrate from their existing legacy email system to a flexible, more accessible, and stable email service that not only had the storage space necessary for unhampered operations, but also dependable spam protection and security. With Google Apps for Business, Airphil Express uses corporateGmail with 25GB of storage per user, powerful and customizable spam protection; BlackBerry and Outlook interoperability; mobile accessibility; instant messaging, voice and video chat capability; as well as 99.9% service availability.

Google Apps for Business also includes online collaboration on word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, calendaring and scheduling, as well asintranets, groups and video sharing all in one very cost effective package for a flat rate per user per year. And because Google Apps runs on the Cloud, it requires noinvestment on expensive equipment and manpower forimplementation and administration.

Mathew Tamaray, Airphil Express VP for Operations and Head of Management Information System (MIS) said, “Thanks to Google Apps, Airphil executives like myself can now act and respond faster, as needed, to drive and implement critical business initiatives for Airphil Express. The accessibility of Google Apps has also increased employees’ flexibility in working from anywhere resulting to increased productivity.”

“Our more efficient operations, in turn, help us to consistently provide low fares for the benefit of the traveling public, so that Pinoys can fly more often. We also become better equipped to develop and offer the budget traveler a differentiated travel experience through adventure packages, for example, to sustain the growth of local tourism”, Tamaray adds.

IP-Converge received training, support and deployment services from Google, as well as access to application programming interfaces (APIs) for integrating Google Apps into customers’ business operations.

The 13th TBS DigiCon6 Awards in Tokyo, Japan in November 2011. The annual competition organized by the Tokyo Broadcasting Systems recognizes talented creators throughout Asia – including Japan, China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Digital content entries include computer graphic animation (2D/3D), live-action films shot/edited with digital movie equipment an 3D-rendered films which includes stop-motion and clay animation.

The official Philippine representative, Kristian Gabriel Villalon (fifth from right), , a student at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts  was chosen after an elimination round organized by CITEM and the Creative Economies Council of the Philippines (CECP).

Villalon’s creation, an animated short titled, “Kwentong Makulay,” bagged one of the grand prizes in Asian Regional Awards category.

Japan bagged the Golden TBS DigiCon6 Award, with Korea received the Silver TBS DigiCon6 Award and China the Bronze TBS DigiCon6 Award.

The awards are conferred on alumni who have demonstrated in their chosen field of endeavor, exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions that bring about substantial benefits to society and distinct honor to the University.

Recognition is given to achievements and contributions that impact the community in which the alumni are or have been active, whether this is at the local, national or international level.

Nominations for the awards will be accepted from any U.P. alumnus or alumni chapter until March 31, 2012. The award ceremonies will be held during the U.P. General Alumni-Faculty Homecoming & Reunion on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at Luciano E. Salazar Hall, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, U.P. Diliman Campus, Quezon City.

Award nominations will be considered in such thematic categories as public service and good governance, poverty alleviation and human development, peace and social cohesion, gender equality and women empowerment, community empowerment, environmental conservation and sustainable development, entrepreneurship and employment creation, institutional or corporate social responsibility, culture and the arts, science and technology, education and health, or as defined by the achievements of a deserving nominee.

This year, UPAA is making a special effort to identify for nomination, unsung alumni achievers — those whose achievements in little-known corners of the country are exceptional but have remained unheralded and unrecognized.

Also to be honored are families who have produced U.P. alumni across at least three successive generations, i.e., families with alumni among their grandparents, parents or children.

For inquiries, the UPAA Secretariat can be reached at 920-6868, 920-6871, 920-6875 (email: upalum.awards2012@yahoo.com).

More information about the UPAA website is available at http://www.upalumni.ph.

Hong Kong's Octopus microchip-powered ticket. Photo credit: asiancorrespondent.com

DOTC Secretary Manuel Roxas said in a press briefing that the concept is similar to Hong Kong’s Octopus stored value ticket with a micro chip that allows the owner of the ticket to top up the value of the ticket.

The ticket can also serve as an ATM card which can be used to purchase items in convenience stores, Roxas said.

“Para minsanan na lang at hindi doble-gastos sa gobyerno. [This will be a] design-build-operate-and-maintain project, under the BOT Law. This will roughly have a market of one million passengers a day, for the yellow, green, and blue train lines,” Roxas said.

The DOTC chief said that a survey on current smart card technology is now being conducted about the project. Once the study is complete, the project will be put out to bid, sometime this year.

Since the ticket will have an e-banking component, Roxas said the bidder must partner with local financial institutions, telecom and technology organizations, and retail and department stores where the card can be used to purchase items and services beside train rides. (Newsbytes.ph)

Under House Bill 5683, otherwise known as the “NBI Reorganization and Modernization Act of 2012,” the Cyber Investigation and Assessment Center will serve as the nerve center for computer, information technologies, data on cybercrime cases, computer intrusion, threats and other related crimes or activities.

The bill is authored by Ang Kasangga partylist Representative Teodorico Haresco, who said that the present NBI is still practically using medieval forensic technology that it does not even have its own national deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) database despite rapid advances in DNA technology.

Apart from equipment modernization, Haresco also raised the need to re-organize the entire agency so that it would become more responsive to the changing challenges in the battle against all forms of criminality.

“The only way that we could realize the NBI’s mission-vision of a world-class investigative institution providing quality investigative and forensic services to the people through advanced method and equipment in the pursuit of truth and justice is through modernization and reorganization. We cannot modernize without investing on the latest technologies in forensic science and put competent people who know how to use these latest technologies,” Haresco noted.

Haresco also noted that the NBI, whose creation can be traced from Commonwealth Act No. 181 which was enacted by the legislature on November 13, 1936 was patterned after the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) but after 76 years of existence, it has barely adapted with the ever-changing society.

“The main objective of the NBI is the establishment and maintenance of a modern, effective and efficient investigative service and research agency. However, with almost 76 years of existence, there is a need to reorganize and modernize the NBI to fully adapt to the ever-changing society,” Haresco.

“This bill seeks to reinforce the NBI’s vision-mission of a world-class investigative institution providing quality investigative and forensic services to the people through advanced methods and equipment in the pursuit of truth and justice,” he added.

Under his proposal, the NBI shall implement a modernization program geared towards the acquisition of state-of-the-art investigative and intelligence equipment and the establishment of forensic and scientific laboratories. The program shall include provisions for the training of its personnel.

Haresco also proposed that the number of investigative and non-investigative staff of the NBI shall be increased and their positions upgraded “to adequately meet the increasing demands of an expanded investigative and detective work,” while recommending an upgrade of their salaries and benefits upon the determination of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the NBI director.

Among other things, the salient features of the bill propose the establishment of an NBI Academy which shall be responsible for the recruitment, training and development of all NBI agents and personnel.

Haresco’s NBI modernization measure also seeks to “establish and maintain an integrated, comprehensive and state-of-the-art network, equipment and facilities to be used by the NBI in its criminal investigation, detection and evidence gathering, and to provide the corresponding training in this regard.”

The bill also proposes the creation of a Forensic and Scientific Research Center which shall service as the primary center for forensic and scientific research in furtherance of scientific knowledge in criminal investigation, detection, and evidence collection and preservation. (Newsbytes.ph)

If you think some dogs are only good for fetching, eating, sleeping, and repeating; you might want to think again. Just like humans, dogs have an organized sport called “Mondioring” or “Mondio Ring”.

The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) developed and certified this dog sport in the 1980s. While mondioring is a new sport in the country, it is making itself known through events like the FCI Asia and the Pacific Section Dog Show 2012 being organized by the Philippine Canine Club Inc. (PCCI).

An internationally recognized organization advocating the responsible ownership and registration of pedigreed dogs in the country, PCCI will showcase six all-breed competitions and as well as a mondioring demo on February 24 – 26 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. Meanwhile, the mondioring trials will be held on February 17 and 19 at the Ayala Alabang Country Club polo field.

“PCCI is honored to feature the world’s best purebred dogs this year in various competitions as well as the exciting sport of mondioring during the FCI Asia and the Pacific Section Dog Show 2012,” said PCCI president Augusto Benedicto Santos III.

Obedience, agility, protection

According to Carl de Leon, secretary of the Philippine Mondio Ring Association, Inc. (PMRAI), “Mondioring is a protection dog sport. What makes it different is it demonstrates the dog’s discipline.”

In mondioring, there are three categories that dogs must go through: obedience, agility, and protection categories. These have to be done without a leash and handler’s touch. The obedience category highlights the dog’s focus on a task despite distractions.

Obedience tests require the dog to heel for one minute; hold sitting, standing, and down positions, food refusal then retrieval of the judge’s chosen object. Erring is sometimes inevitable, and the more commonly seen fault in this category is the double command. The handler is supposed to signal only once. Any more than that is a deduction.

The dog’s willingness and dexterity are put to the test through a series of jumps in the agility course. There are three types of jumps: palisade, hurdle, and long jump.

The last category of the competition involves the dog’s ability to distinguish when and where it needs to attack then defend itself or the handler. A trained mondioring decoy takes charge and assesses the dog. The decoy will try to distract and take away points the whole time the dog is biting. A common fault during this test is the recalling, or when the dog ignores the handler’s signal to stop biting. Deductions are made for every second that passes.

German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois usually dominate the mondioring scene, but de Leon goes against this trend, and is the only one in the Philippines who trains an American Bulldog. “If German Shepherds and Malinois require only one-step instruction, you will need two steps for the bulldog. And you can’t expect a bulldog to learn as fast as the dominating dogs. Treat the bulldog like a bulldog,” de Leon says.

If you own a Shepherd or a Malinois, don’t be too quick to start training your dog since not all can be mondioring dogs. “It all depends on the dog’s drive, character and courage, and they are all supposed to be balanced,” de Leon explains.

“The dog shouldn’t be biting or ‘nanggigigil’ all the time. Trainers look for a calm and balanced dog.” And when it came to what age the dogs are supposed to start training, “Trainers have the eye to spot puppies with potential. The earlier the better, but training needs to be suited to the puppy’s age.”

Training champion dogs

The adage “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” doesn’t apply to these trainers. As long as the dog has the right balance of character and is physically well, they can prepare it for mondioring. The sport can also easily transition the dog into more serious jobs like being K-9 dog, bomb sniffers, or rescue. “It depends on the handler. There are some dogs in the workforce that also do mondioring at the same time.”

Mondioring trainers are usually found in their offices and day jobs; de Leon is a data analyst when he is not in the field training his dog. “It takes a lot of hard work for a mondioring trainer to pass trials. There must be passion for the breed, and discipline for the dog and the handler and training is a year-round event,” De Leon said.

To every challenge, there are tons of lessons, and de Leon elaborates on the top three from his mondioring experience. “First is to instill discipline on yourself and dog. Sometimes there are days where you don’t feel like training, but you must keep in mind that it’s a necessity. Then there is patience; there are dogs that are slow learners. Finally, you need to have passion for both the dog and the sport. One can’t be without the other.”

“With this growing certified dog sport, the country can count on our dogs to bring home the doggy treat,” De Leon said.

Inquiries about the FCI Asia and the Pacific Section Dog Show 2012 can be sent to PCCI via email at jojo_pcci@yahoo.com.ph (telephone number 721 8345 and 721 7152).

The Philippine Canine Club, Inc. was organized in 1963, as a non-stock, non-profit service-oriented corporation for the purpose of promoting and encouraging the love for purebred dogs. The Club’s charter extends until year 2038 and authorizes PCCI to maintain a registry of purebred dogs or stud books and to conduct dog shows and competitions.

PCCI maintains a registry of regular and associate members, and of litters and kennel names. PCCI also issues registration certificates and certified pedigree certificates of dogs, and confers championship titles, obedience and field trial titles to qualified dogs. PCCI issues dog show judging licenses to qualified members for individual breeds, groups of breeds and all breeds of purebred dogs.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (14 February) – In yesterday’s INQUIRER.net, Chief Justice Renato Corona said: “I do know my law. I have not broken any law.” Does he, really?

He continues: “I have no liability to the people and to the government. What my wife and I have is the fruit of hard and honest work for which all taxes have been fully paid.” Do they, really?

 He deplores: “Since the prosecution alleged wrongdoing, the obligation to prove it is theirs and theirs alone. Do not extract it from me through means that are foul, coercive and illegal.”

 By these three points, he professes his innocence. On them he stands to accuse President Benigno Simeon Aquino III and his allies in the Congress of persecuting him. Of course on the same three points he will be judge of his innocence.

Of the first point, Corona must be most familiar with the 1987 Constitution and RA 6713. How do these two laws test his honesty with what he claims he knows?

Article VIII, Section 7(3) of the 1987 Constitution states: “A Member of the Judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence.” Article XI, Section 1 of the same Constitution states: “Public office is a public trust.”

 RA 6713 embodies these two complementary provisions of the 1987 Constitution into “A Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees to Uphold the Time-Honored Principle of Public Office Being a Public Trust.”

Section 8 of RA 6713 requires all public officials and employees to file every year their “[a] statement of assets, liabilities and net worth; and [2] disclosure of financial and business interests including those of their spouses and unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households.”

Why is he being impeached for the alleged irregular and improper filing of his SALNs from 2002 to 2010? Is the charge just whimsical?

Section 8(A) of RA 6713 requires that the “Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Financial Disclosure … shall contain information on the following: (a) real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value and current fair market value; (b) personal property and acquisition cost; (c) all other assets such as investments, cash on hand or in banks, stocks, bonds, and the like; (d) liabilities; and, (e) all business interests and financial connections.”

Yet, his condominiums are either not included in his SALNs or are undervalued when compared with their acquisition costs – not stated in the SALNs together with the current market value as required. There are also big differences between the cash declared in his SALNs and his bank deposits – the latest revelation by the prosecution on last Monday.

The discrepancies in his SALNs, Internal Revenue Tax Returns, Register of Deeds documents, and his bank accounts impeach Corona’s vaunted claim, “I do know my law.” This leads to the conclusion that he culpably violates the laws he so well knows. This casts doubt on the second point of his statement.

Of his third point, if he really has no wrongdoing, he should not stop the prosecution with technicalities and temporary restraining orders from presenting evidence to prove their allegations. Let the prosecution present all the evidence they can gather by any means. His defense counsel should and must be able to refute all charges against him.

The Senate as the impeachment court will sift the valid evidence from those extracted by “foul, coercive and illegal means – the lies from the truth”. The impeachment trial is his means to prove that he has “no liability to the people and the government”. If he is really innocent, he will be proven clean.

Sure of his innocence, why does he not just allow the prosecution enough rope to hang themselves? Then, he can have the last laugh. But by obstructing the prosecution at every step, he and his prosecution panel cast doubt on his media pronouncement: “I do know my law. I have not broken any law.”

The Department of Science and Technology recently launched the Water Hyacinth Harvester, a machine that collects up to 25 kilos of free-floating water hyacinths per load. Demonstrated at the Laguna Lake area by the C6 Road, the harvester addresses the fast-increasing number of water hyacinths that clog waterways. DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said that the prototype can be modified according to the needs of the community. The collected hyacinths can be used for income-generating activities. (Photo: Henry De Leon, S&T Media Service)

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) recently launched the Water Hyacinth Harvester, a machine that collects up to 25 kilos of free-floating water hyacinths per load. Demonstrated at the Laguna Lake area by the C6 Road, the harvester addresses the fast-increasing number of water hyacinths that clog waterways. DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said that the prototype can be modified according to the needs of the community. The collected hyacinths can be used for income-generating activities. (Photos by Henry De Leon, S&T Media Service))

Developed by engineers from the Department of Science and Technology’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC), the machine, called the Water Hyacinth Harvester, can collect and hold up to 25 kilograms of water hyacinth per load. When full, the harvester discharges the collected plants to a dumping site or an assisting barge.

The harvester mechanically removes water hyacinths using a specially-developed conveyor system. “Mechanically removing the plant is the better alternative because chemical methods are hazardous to plants and animals,” according to the research team. The harvester was launched Feb 15 near the banks of the Laguna Lake in C6 Road, Taguig City.

The Harvester, one of DOST’s technology solutions, is a collaboration between DOST-MIRDC and the Project Management Engineering and Design Service Office, with funding of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.

According to DOST Secretary Mario Montejo, the Water Hyacinth Harvester prototype can still be modified and enhanced, depending on the need or the size and type of body of water where it will be used. “The DOST is very open to the adoption of the technology and also the improvement of the equipment,” he added.

Meanwhile, Corazon T. Jimenez, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Undersecretary and General Manager, also said that she expects the harvester to be permanently stationed in Pasig River to collect hyacinths that flow from the Marikina River.

“I thank the DOST and the MMDA for choosing the City of Taguig as their pilot site in the testing and demonstration of another innovative and breakthrough project,” Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano enthused. “This machine solves the problem of the tedious and time consuming manual harvesting water hyacinths that have clogged our waterways.”

Known locally as water lily, water hyacinth is infamous for clogging irrigations and water systems. As the plant multiplies rapidly, it depletes entire water reservoirs, damages fishing activities, and reduces biodiversity. It also holds vectors, or disease-carrying organisms, and hinders water transport.

Among the country’s hyacinth-infested waterways are the Liguasan Marsh in Central Mindanao, the Pasig River in Metro Manila, and Laguna de Bay.

On the other side of its otherwise notorious reputation, the water hyacinth can actually be a very good raw material for novel products that can churn in income for individuals and communities.

Among these products are handicrafts, pieces of furniture, and tablewares.

Meanwhile, the DOST continues to develop several technologies that specifically use water hyacinth. These are biogas, animal feeds, and geotextiles that prevent soil erosion.

Also, the Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) recently held a fashion show that showcases fabrics from water hyacinth fibers. (George Robert Valencia III, S&T Media Service)

Led by Men’s 7s Captain Jake Letts, with guidance from national coach Matt Cullen and assistant coach Noel Flowers, the Volcanoes qualified in the Hong Kong Sevens after finishing 4th in the inaugural HSBC Asian Sevens in 2011.

According to the official website of the Philippine Rugby Football Union, the impressive performance of the Volcanoes during the HSBC Sevens World Series’ Borneo 7s outing convinced organizers to invite the team to participate in the Hong Kong Sevens. The Volcanoes finished second while Japan earned top honors in that series.

Organised by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union and co-title sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airways and HSBC, the Hong Kong Sevens 2012 will take place March 23 – 25. Around 120,000 spectators from all over the world are expected to watch the tournament, which will be held at the iconic 40,000-seater Hong Kong stadium.

The event will feature 24 international teams, including the 12 core teams of the HSBC Sevens World Series: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Kenya, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, USA, and Wales.

The Philippines will make its debut at the three-day event together with Guyana, winner of the North American Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Sevens championships in November 2011. The addition of two new teams is expected to heat up the competition. Adding to the excitement, the Hong Kong Sevens will reveal a dramatic and exciting new format in the coming weeks.

The final 4,000 event tickets were sold on January 14, marking another sell-out for the Hong Kong Sevens. The Official Tournament Draw will be held in Hong Kong on February 16 after the conclusion of the USA Sevens in Las Vegas on February 12.