Silliman University grad a TOSP finalist
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 25 (PIA) --- A fresh graduate of Silliman University (SU) in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental is among this year's 30 national finalists for the search for Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP).
Jonathan Andro P. Tan, who graduated magna cum lade with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Physics in March this year, made it to the final leg of said search which will culminate on August 4, according to a statement from SU's Office of Information and Publications.
Tan, who was awarded Most Oustanding Student of the Year upon graduation and was a member of the Corps of Campus Ambassadors in SU, will undergo a weeklong intensive formation program in Tagaytay prior to the awarding, the press statement said.
According to a communication from RFM Foundation President Ms Marie Concepcion-Young, this year’s TOSP search is described as a milestone “as it celebrates 150-50-10 years of excellence, leadership, and service.”
“It has been 150 years since the birth of Dr. Jose Rizal who serves as inspiration for the program; 50 years since Joe Concepcion Jr. established the search believing in Rizal’s words: “the youth is the hope of our fatherland”; and 10 years since the TOSP Alumni Community was formed as a concrete response to the call for nation-building set by Rizal’s heroic example and JoCon’s affirmative service,” Ms Concepcion-Young wrote.
Silliman has produced a good number of TOSP recipients and its student-leaders have consistently ranked on the TOSP-Region 7 list.(RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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DENR plans to reforest 8-million has nationwide
by Rachelle M. Nessia
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| PENRO Oscar Magallones |
The reforestation efforts are in line with the National Greening Program launched by the national government, a priority project of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III who issued Executive Order No. 26 early this year for the nationwide implementation of NGP.
"There are actually around 8 million hectares of land nationwide waiting to be reforested," saidNegros Oriental Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Oscar Magallones in a June 23 forum held at Bethel Guesthouse, Dumaguete City.
Magallones is hopeful that DENR will achieve NGP's goals of massively greening the country.
He pointed to the denudation of forests in the country as the culprit behind the floods and landslides experienced in some parts of the Philippines.
"This is a challenge to us, to do our share in bringing back our once beautiful and virgin forests," stressed Magallones.
Under NGP, DENR aims to plant 1.5 million trees in Negros Oriental within a six-year period, starting with a target of 100,000 hectares for this year. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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NegOr media, info officers mass vote for RP's bid to global search for new natural wonders
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 24 (PIA) --- Around 30 reporters and information officers in Negros Oriental on June 23, 2011 took out their mobile phones and simultaneously sent their text votes forPuerto Princesa Underground River in the ongoing global search for the New 7 Wonders of Nature(N7WN).
The reporters and information officers typed PPUR15 on their cellphones and sent it to 2861, thereby casting their votes for the underground river to be included in the N7WN.
The simultaneous text voting capped an environmental forum held at Bethel Guesthouse, Dumaguete City which was participated in by local tri-media members, information officers under the Association of Negros Oriental Public Information Officers (ANOPIO) and environment officials led by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 7 Technical Director for Forestry Dr. Isabelo Montejo.
The mass voting was done in response to an earlier call from Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III for Filipinos to vote for the underground river to be declared as one of nature's seven wondersworldwide.
Considered an important biodiversity area in the country, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) features a limestone landscape containing an 8.2-km long underground river that flows directly into the sea.
In 1999, it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was declared a National Geological Monument in 2003 due to its unique and outstanding scientific, biological and geological features.
Pres. Aquino on June 3, 2011 issued Proclamation No. 182 declaring a national and international campaign to promote the underground river and urged Filipinos here and abroad to help ensure the river's inclusion in N7WN.
This after the underground river was declared an official finalist in said search, making it the lone finalist from the Philippines and now among the top 14 of the 28 official finalist candidates selected by a panel of international experts, according to the Puerto Underground River website (www.puerto-undergroundriver.com). (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)