The 1st International skyrunning race is set on Feb. 18, 2012, Saturday, 630am, at Mt. Ugo Itogon, Benguet.

The race; spearheaded by the Philippine Skyrunning Association (PSA), in partnership with the Department of Tourism-Cordillera (DOT-CAR), the Provincial Government of Benguet and other event sponsors; will be a 32.88 km race going up the 2150 meters above sea level summit of Mt. Ugo and back to the barangay hall of Tinongdan, Itogon.

The Pilipinas Akyathlon (Philippine Skyrunning), the country’s first ever international mountain trail high altitude race, is the first of its kind here in Asia to be accredited by the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) according to PSA president Nina Dacanay. It is also part of the 2012 SKYRUNNER™ World Series Trials.

Pre-Registration
Pre-register to this race by emailing (1) name, (2) gender, (3) birthdate, (4) mobile number, (5) country represented to kath@philskyrunning.com.

Race Course Description:

This is a 33-km out-and-back race, starting from the Barangay Hall of Tinongdan (779 masl) in the Municipality of Itogon, Province of Benguet. The first 1.7km is a downhill run on paved road to the start of the trail (499 masl). From this point, the route to the summit is mostly uphill with a total elevation gain of 1858 meters, and loss of 195 meters. The scenic route will showcase magnificent views of surrounding mountains, including portions of Binga and Ambuklao dams as far away as Pangasinan. It will navigate through pine forest trails and 3 sitios: Cayuco, Cawayan and Lusod which lead to vantage points where other peaks in Benguet can be seen. The turnaround point will be at the summit of Mt Ugo (2162 masl). The 16.4-km route from the summit to the finish is a mirror image of the route to the summit, and concludes with a 1.7-km (280m vertically) ascend to the finish line at the hall of Barangay Tinongdan.

Awards and Prizes:

Trophies and valuable outdoors prizes will be awarded to the top 3 overall winners in both the male and female categories.

Medals and valuable prizes will be awarded to the top 3 runners, male & female in the 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 and above age groups.

All finishers will receive a medal, finisher’s t-shirt and will be qualified for raffle prizes.

Registration Fee:
For local Philippine runners: Php1,500 until 30 November 2011.

Php1,800 until 31 December 2011

Php2,000 until 31 January 2012.

Php2,500 until 17 February 2012.

*USD50 for foreign entries payable on Feb. 17 during race kit claiming.

Payment by local residents can be made by depositing the fee to BPI current account number 3191-0473-02 of Philippine Skyrunning Association, Inc. Email scanned deposit slip (with your name) to kath@philskyrunning.com.

Dacanay said they have chosen to pilot the event here in Cordillera as it is very apt with the region’s mountainous terrain. Sky running by definition, is a mountain running at a minimum height or altitude of 2000 meters above sea level.

Mt. Ugo is known for its annual summer climb which won last year in the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines’ (ATOP) Search for Best Tourism Event in the Philippines under the Sports, Adventure and Wellness Category – Municipal Level.

For more information: www.philskyrunning.com

Planning for next year’s vacation already? Below are the Regular Holidays, Special (Non-Working) Days, and Special Holiday (For All Schools) for the Year 2012 based on Proclamation No. 295 as released by  Malacañang on November 24, 2011.

For those who are looking forward to some long weekends, based on this list -  the longest of these long weekends is  five days — from April 5 (Maundy Thursday) to April 9 (Araw ng Kagitingan).

List of Regular and Special Philippine Holidays 2012

• January 1 (Sunday) – New Year’s Day
• January 23 (Monday) – Chinese New Year
• February 25 (Saturday) – EDSA Revolution Anniversary
• April 5 (Thursday) – Maundy Thursday
• April 6 (Friday) – Good Friday
• April 9 (Monday) – Araw ng Kagitingan
• May 1 (Tuesday) – Labor Day
• June 12 (Tuesday) – Independence Day
• August 21 (Tuesday) – Ninoy Aquino Day
• August 27 (Monday) – National Heroes Day
• November 1 (Thursday) – All Saints Day
• November 2 (Friday) – Additional special (non-working) day
• November 30 (Friday) – Bonifacio Day
• December 25 (Tuesday) – Christmas Day
• December 30 (Sunday) – Rizal Day
• December 31 (Monday) – Last Day of the Year

The first special non-working holiday will be on Jan. 23 (Monday) for the celebration of Chinese New Year. I think this is the first time the Chinese New Year is declared as non-working holiday.

The EDSA Revolution Anniversary was declared a special holiday for all schools.

Accordingly, November 2 may be declared as a special (non-working) day without detriment to public interest.

For our Muslim brothers:

“Proclamations declaring national holidays for the observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha shall hereafter be issued after the approximate dates of the Islamic holidays have been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations,” the proclamation said.

I received this email today from a friend of mine which I want to share to all the readers of KayaMoPinoy. The Christmas holiday season is fast approaching and I want to remind everybody to be more extra careful when using our credit cards.

Be sure to read scene 3. Quite interesting. This is a new one. People sure stay busy trying to cheat us, don’t they?

Scene 1:

A friend went to the local gym and placed his belongings in the locker.

After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself, ‘Funny, I thought I locked the locker… Hmm, ‘He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in order.

Everything looked okay – all cards were in place…

A few weeks later his credit card bill came – a whooping bill of $14,000!

He called the credit card company and started yelling at them, saying that he did not make the transactions.

Customer care personnel verified that there was no mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen…

‘No,’ he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled out the credit card, and yep -you guessed it – a switch had been made.

An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet. The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards.

Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would  have to pay the amount owed to them.

How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy? $9,000!

Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small amounts rarely trigger a ‘warning bell’ with some credit card companies.

It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one!

Scene 2 :

A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal with his credit card. The bill for the meal came, he signed it and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along.

Usually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person.

He called the waitress and she looked perplexed.

She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the man.

All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card.

No exchange of words — nothing!  She took it and came back to the man with an apology..

Verdict:   Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours. Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away for even a short period of time.

Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at it, ‘assuming’ that it has to be theirs.

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!

Scene 3 :

Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an order that I had called in. I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked directly to my checking Account.

The young man behind the counter took my card, swiped it, then laid it on the counter as he waited for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure.

While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started dialing. I noticed the phone because it is the same model I have, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Then I heard a click that sounded like my phone sounds when I take a picture.

He then gave me back my card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons.

Meanwhile, I’m thinking: I wonder what he is taking a picture of,  oblivious to what was really going on.

It then dawned on me: the only thing there was my credit card, so now I’m paying close attention to what he is doing…

He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open. About five seconds later, I heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved.

Now I’m standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of my credit card. Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, I probably would never have known what happened.

Needless to say, I immediately cancelled that card as I was walking out of the pizza parlour.

All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Whenever you are using your credit card take caution and don’t be careless. Notice who is standing near you and what they are doing when you use your card.

Be aware of phones, because many have a camera phone these days.

If Australian crocodile hunter Steve Irwin  is still alive today, he will surely be surprised with the size of the crocodile that was captured live recently in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Philippines.

Photograph from Reuters

The Guinness Book of World Records lists a 17.97-foot-long (5.48-meter-long), Australian-caught saltwater crocodile as the largest in captivity while the crocodile caught on September 4 is an allegedly 21-foot long (6.4 meter) and 3.5 feet wide female crocodile.

Unfortunately, some experts were skeptic on the reported 21-foot crocodile. According to alligator biologist Allan Woodward, “there’s never been a crocodile longer than approximately 18 feet [5.5 meters]“. If the report is true, he said that it would be an exceptional jump.

Herpetologist Brady Barr, host of the National Geographic Channel show Dangerous Encounters was surprised, adding that a scientist would need to verify the claim.

Philippine federal wildlife official Ronnie Sumiller, who led the team that captured the behemoth, told the press that another search was under way for a possibly larger crocodile spotted in nearby marshes.

Honda Motor  Corporation announced a voluntary recall of some Honda Fit (Jazz in the Philippines) City and CR-V models.

No. of Units Affected : A total of 19,143 units of combined Yr. ’05-’07 Honda Jazz, Yr. ’06-’08 City and Yr. ’05-’06 CR-V models.

Part To Replace : Power window master switch assembly.

Reason : The silicon component commonly found in air fresheners or automotive cleaning agents, etc. enters into the power window master switch. This accelerates wear in the contact area and over time, wear particles accumulate between the power source and ground of the unit switch. The resin material of the unit switch is then heated and carbonized. This may cause smoke and in worst case, partial burning of the window switch cover.

Reports : No accidents or injuries have been reported related to this defect.

Jazz, City and CR-V models with the following frame numbers are included in the voluntary recall:

Official list of Jazz, City and CRV for Recall

According to Honda’s website:

Letters of notice will be sent to concerned Jazz, City and CR-V owners starting September 06, 2011. To conduct the voluntary recall in an orderly manner, customers are requested to call their respective dealers or the Honda Hotline at1-800-1000-Honda (46632) or (02) 857-7240 and visit our website,www.hondaphil.com, for inquiries and details of scheduling. Replacement of affected parts will be carried out in all 28 authorized dealers and 3 service centers nationwide, free of charge and will take no more than 30 minutes.

Owners of Jazz, City and CR-V models not included in the list above have no reason to worry since the affected parts are of different specifications. Other Honda models such as the Civic, Accord, Pilot, Odyssey and HR-V sold and distributed by Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. are likewise not affected.

Aug. 29 is observed as National Heroes’ Day, while Aug. 30 is Eid’l Fitr – the end of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. The latter date was declared under Proclamation No. 234, s. 2011

Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Baldoz urged all private sector employers to pay proper wages to workers.

Secretary Baldoz said the following pay rules will apply on Monday and Tuesday next week, both regular holidays:

source: http://www.dole.gov.ph/secondpage.php?id=2229

ROOT CROPS! the energy of nutrients

The multiple health benefits and ready availability of root crops in our soil like gabi, potato, ube, and cassava are primary reasons to further elevate root crops into staple food status, as is already being done for kamote and cassava.

The innate nutritional benefits of root crop consumption is primarily for the prevention of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes.

Root crops are good sources of soluble dietary fiber that actively lowers cholesterol in the body and also prevents tumor formation in the colon

Among its diversified range of products developed from root crops are chips, starch, flour, and grates.

Filipino Food Festivals features the indigenous root crops at the Foot Bowl Night Market on July 29, 30 and August 5, 6.

Meet Your Producers Forum 5-7pm, July 29 Atiaman Katutubo Tribes of Palawan on The Story of the Indigenous Root Crops

August 5 IMO Formulation using Root Crops by Mr. Jessie Hermosura, a natural farming advocate.

Organic and Natural Food Free Tastetival’s Root Crop Cooking Demo on Saturdays (July 30 & August 5), 7-9pm. Cassava and sweet potato “Kamote” will take center stage.

Food Bowl Market is a convergence of producers practicing and advocating for safe, clean and healthy food through organic, biodynamic and natural farming systems.

Food Bowl Market is open every Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 pm and Sundays 6am to 2pm at the ETON Centris Walk, EDSA corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

For more information:

Desiree T. Segovia
Holistic Events and Relations Business Services
(+63920) 969-3242
www.holisticevents.multiply.com

The Search for Ten Outstanding Expat Pinoy Children honors children of Overseas Filipino Workers who are excelling in both the academic and non-academic field. The ‘Search’, launched in 2007 is an annual campaign set to promote the value of education, culture of excellence and nationalistic pride among the children of Overseas Filipinos or Expat Pinoys, as BPI calls them.

The ‘Search’ hopes to bring the Bank and the Overseas Filipino family together as BPI honors both the Expat Pinoy parent and their children. The ‘Search’ recognizes the achievements of the children of Overseas Filipinos and the OF’s themselves whose remittances play a major role in keeping the local economy afloat. By giving such recognition to Expat Pinoy children – their source of inspiration and motivation – BPI feels that it is giving greater honor and importance to the sacrifices that any Expat Pinoy bears abroad.

Four categories that an applicant may apply for are:

1. Ibang Klaseng Talino Award (Excellence in academics)
2. Ibang Klaseng Community Leader (Excellence in community leadership)
3. Ibang Klaseng Entrepreneur (Excellence in managing his/her own business)
4. Ibang Klaseng Artist/Athlete (Excellence in the Arts and Sports)

Each applicant is allowed to submit only one entry. Applicant must choose a category where he/she thinks he/she is most qualified

Application period for this year is from June 1- August 15, 2011.

Interested parties may download the application from Download Form!

Submit the application form and the other requirements by mail or personally deliver the application to:
BPI Search Project Secretariat
Mr. Paul Joseph V. Fonte
9F BPI Card Center, 8753 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

source: http://www.mybpimag.com

The Expo Science 2011 is the 1st Philippine Science, Technology and Engineering Exposition underscoring the future of Science & Technology and the Philippines as well as the important contributions of Science and Technology in the country and its significance to us.

Themed “Nasa Siyensya ang Pag-asa”, the 2011 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) celebrates Filipino genius and ingenuity in the field of S&T that raise the hope of the nation. The event, aptly titled‘Expo Science 2011’, describes the latest breakthroughs from the Philippine science community.

Date : July 27, 2011 – July 30, 2011

Time : 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

Venue : SMX Convetion Center Hall 4
Mall of Asia, Pasay City

FREE Admission!

Highlighted in the science exposition are the Department’s High Impact Technologies and Services or HITS, the centerpiece exhibit. The latest technologies and services from the DOST system on display include the Mosquito Ovicidal-Larvicidal Trap, brown rice, baby foods, water filter, automatic weather stations, mass transit system, PC tablet, RxBox, PCOS machine, gantry crane, windmills, and initiatives on emerging fields of genomics, biotechnology, nanotechnology nuclear energy.

These technologies alleviate the socio-economic conditions of Filipinos, provide long-term solutions, strengthen national competitiveness, and contribute to national development.

The NSTW will be participated in by government offices, the business sector, and the academic community, mostly with their respective exhibits.

Organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Expo Science 2011 overall concept vividly pictures the mission and vision of the Department as it steers the country towards national development.

The NSTW 2011 is co-chaired by DOST Undersecretary Fortunato T. Dela Peña and Director Raymund E. Liboro of the DOST Science and Technology Information Institute.

The Philippines’ 40 richest collectively  worth $34 billion, up from last year’s $22.8 billion. This is based from the latest list of Forbes.com

Six Filipinos became billionaires for the first time, they are construction magnate David Consunji, 90, and port operator Enrique Razon, San Miguel Corp. chairman Eduardo Cojuangco, 76, former finance minister Roberto Ongpin, 74, banker George Ty, 78, and hamburger king Tony Tan Caktiong, 58, of the Jollibee restaurant chain.

Shopping mall king Henry Sy, 86, stays on top while the 40th place goes to the youngest on this year’s Filipino richest list was Edgar Sia, the founder of Mang Inasal.

It’s good to know that Filipinos rich were also among Asia’s most generous.

The Philippines’ 40 richest list are as follows (as of 2011):

1. Henry Sy    $7.2 billion
2. Lucio Tan    $2.8 billion
3. John Gokongwei Jr.    $2.4 billion
4. Andrew Tan        $2 billion
5. David Consunji     $1.9 billion
6. Jaime Zobel de Ayala    $1.7 billion
7. Enrique Razon Jr.     $1.6 billion
8. Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.    $1.4 billion
9. Roberto Ongpin    $1.3 billion
10. George Ty        $1.1 billion
11. Tony Tan Caktiong    $1 billion
12. Inigo and Mercedes Zobel     $980 million
13. Emilio Yap            $930 million
14. Andrew Gotianun        $795 million
15. Jon Ramon Aboitiz        $760 million
16. Beatrice Campos        $685 million
17. Manuel Villar             $620 million
18. Vivian Que Azcona        $555 million
19. Robert Coyiuto Jr.        $400 million
20. Mariano Tan            $375 million
21. Alfonso Yuchengco        $370 million
22.  Enrique Aboitiz        $310 million
23. Oscar Lopez            $280 million
24. Jose Antonio            $245 million
25. Eric Recto            $200 million
26. Gilberto Duavit        $190 million
27. Menardo Jimenez         $185 million
28. Alfredo Ramos        $180 million
29. Betty Ang             $165 million
30. Felipe Gozon            $163 million
31. Tomas Alcantara        $160 million
32. Benjamin Romualdez        $155 million
33. Wilfred Uytengsu Jr.        $150 million
34. Manuel Zamora Jr.         $145 million
35. Jacinto Ng Sr.        $115 million
36. Frederick Dy            $110 million
37. Luis Virata             $100 million
38. Bienvenido Tantoco Sr.    $95 million
39. Eugenio Lopez III        $90 million
40. Edgar Sia II            $85 million