By: SIMON JULEOVENZ L.GARNACE  

Philippines has been recognized all over the world for winning in pageants and boxing arena; now is the right time to mobilize our country’s social media powers to vote for our future scientist!
Besting more than 6000 entries from 146 countries, the Philippine entry by Hillary Diane Andales bagged one of the coveted Top 30 spots as a semifinalist in the prestigious Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
To secure a place as a Top 6 finalist, the entry needs to garner the most Facebook likes and shares before 3 PM, November 10 (Philippine Time). Votes for this entry should be cast this official link: https://www.facebook.com/BreakthroughPrize/videos/1406243266067692/.
A Grade 11 student of Philippine Science High School – Eastern Visayas Campus, Andales submitted a video entry explaining an advanced Physics concept called “Feynman’s Path Integrals” and relates it to simpler concepts and ordinary human life in order to encourage understanding even to the average person.
So far, the video has caught the attention of former Harvard University assistant professor and esteemed String Theorist Lubos Motl. In his popular physics blog, he lauds the entry saying: “Andales of the Philippines and her musings about the path integral could be my winner …”
“She sees some true scientific beauty behind the physical concept and that she has articulated her ideas and feelings about it herself – while many others are just repeating things that have been aired in popular programs many times,” Motl adds.
The sole winner of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge will be flown to the United States to accept the award along with a $250,000 scholarship, a $100,000 science lab for the winner’s school, and a $50,000 award for the winner’s teacher.
As a campus ruined from the onslaught of typhoon Haiyan in 2013, this feat is a manifestation that Andales is not only resilient but also creative, inventive and innovative, and this possible new lab will surely help produce more scientists in the country,” Dr. Reynaldo Garnace, EVC Director quoted.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge was launched in order to showcase the scientific knowledge of the world’s young leaders in development, and also to promote science awareness among the general public.
The entrants must display exemplary skills in science communication and be able to simplify complex ideas into basic terms. Their videos are evaluated based on four criteria: Creativity, Difficulty, Engagement, and Illumination.
“I hope that this becomes a chance for the people especially Filipinos worldwide to unite and support a Pinoy representative to the world stage, just like how we always did with our beauty royalties and boxers. This could prove to the world that we’re also competitive even in science and technology,” states Andales.

Promise to return on December to check progress  

TACLOBAN CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed dissatisfaction over slow housing development project for supertyphoon “Yolanda” survivors, prompting him to order concerned agencies to make significant improvement within a month.
Addressing a throng of local officials and typhoon survivors during the 3rd year anniversary of the monster typhoon at the mass grave site located in Barangay Basper, Mr. Duterte noted the problem of water supply in relocation sites and unoccupied completed houses in the northern part of the city.
“I am not satisfied. In three years, only few families were transferred to their permanent houses. The national offices, the respective departments, they’re only given one month to process the paper and it must be out. I will be coming up with rules that bind everybody, including government corporations,” said Duterte, eliciting applause from the crowd.
The Chief Executive directed Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino to closely monitor housing projects and ensure that water supply project is done.
“I have to ask Dino to help. I want to see them in their new homes by December. I will be back in December to check. I ask everybody to kindly cooperate and do not delay government projects. You cut the red tape because I’m disappointed,” Duterte added.
Specifically, the President ordered the National Housing Authority (NHA), Department of Public Works and Highways, and Local Water Utilities Authority to address the basic needs of families in resettlement sites.
Mayor Cristina Romualdez was pleased with the Presidents’ pronouncement.
“I believe that this will be done with the President’s willpower to mobilize all concerned agencies,” the city mayor said.
The NHA reported that out of the 14,000 houses targeted for construction in this city alone, 7,148 have been completed so far, but only 1,564 units have been occupied.
There are nearly 1,000 households that moved to units built by private donors. The pace of transfer heavily relies on the availability of stable water supply, according to the city government.
Earlier, LWUA approved the P159 million water supply plan as a medium-term solution to the water shortage problem at the Tacloban North Resettlement Area.
Concerned officials met on Tuesday (Nov.8) to iron out issues related to project implementation.
Under its original plan, the project will run for six months while waiting for the implementation of the P527 million level 3 Tacloban North Water Supply Project of LWUA and Leyte Metropolitan Water District. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO)

Hit by “Yolanda”  

PALO, Leyte-The National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) is committed to help the region’s business sector especially in the area of information technology.
This was assured by Wilfredo Sa-a, Jr., president of NICP, in his remarks during the 8th NICP Information and Communications Technology (ICT) two-day summit held this town.
“To the people of Samar/Leyte, this is your time to rise and rebuild your IT/BPM industry. The National ICT Confederation of the Philippines and the Department of ICT are committed to see you back in business,” he said during the two-day summit which ended on November 11.
“We have seen tremendous amount of rebuilding. It needs more catalyst to help rebuild better and even faster,” he added.
Sa-a informed his audience that the IT/BPM industry has generated at least 300,000 jobs in the countryside since NICP has actively developed and promoted cities outside Metro Manila like Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, and Metro Clark.
Much of this success could also be credited to the efforts of then Commission on ICT which has evolved as ICT Office and now to the newly created Department of Information, Communication and Technology (DICT), he added.
Sa-a claims that NICP continues to partner with DICT in not only bringing IT/BPM jobs to the countryside but also creating new opportunities such as rural impact sourcing or home based outsourcing and encouraging our local techpreneurs to go into startups.
“Through the 8th NICP ICT Summit, we want the IT/BPM companies to rediscover the potential of Leyte/Samar through its people,” Sa-a said.
Engr. Edgardo Esperancilla, regional director of the Department of Science and Technology, in an interview said that this year’s national ICT summit attended by nearly 600 delegates from all over the country which carried the theme “Accelerate Growth thru Digital Economy,” is the first major national event after super typhoon Yolanda battered the region three years ago.
“This summit is spearheaded by the Regional Information and Communication Technology Committee-Eastern Visayas Federation for Information Technology (RICTC-EVFIT), in partnership with the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, the province of Leyte, the city government of Tacloban and the Department of Information and Communication Technology,” Esperancilla said. (RESTITUTO A.CAYUBIT)

At a cost of P40 million

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will build a P40 million warehouse for better storage of relief goods meant for disaster victims in the region.
DSWD Regional Director Restituto Macuto said the national government has already earmarked P30 million to construct the new permanent warehouse at the Government Center in Palo, Leyte.
“The proposed warehouse is safe from storm surges, flooding and pilferage. The location is strategic, hence, it will be easy for us to bring relief goods to needed communities,” he said.
Macuto said the new warehouse is badly needed since the DSWD regional office has been renting a storage facility in the city for P200,000 monthly located in Barangay Caibaan, this city.
When the region was devastated by supertyphoon “Yolanda” exactly three years ago, the said facility became the regional warehouse where food assistance were loaded and repacked for distribution for the survivors.
Patterned after the DSWD’s National Resource Operation Center, the warehouse will store rice, assorted food packs, blankets, cooking implements, and mosquito nets.
Macuto said that the construction of the regional warehouse will start next year once the needed money will be available.
“We (also) need additional P10 million for filling of the 5,000-square meter lot donated by the provincial government for the new warehouse,” Macuto said.
Recently, the DSWD asked funding assistance from the Department of Public Works and Highways for land preparation since the cost is not included in the original budget proposal.
The DSWD will enter a 25-year usufruct agreement with the provincial government which owns the more than 25-hectare Government Center which also houses several regional government offices.
The DSWD is pushing for the construction of new warehouses after an internal investigation by the agency found that the food packs and sacks of rice dumped in Leyte last year were meant for distribution to victims of typhoons “Ruby” and “Glenda” that hit the country in 2014.
About 200 sacks of relief items intended for typhoon survivors of Ruby and Glenda were dumped in a hole in Barangay Mac-alang, Dagami town.
The DSWD claimed that the dumped items were already spoiled and unfit for human consumption.