MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine’s only national university is now most popular university in cyberspace, according to the latest ranking from Sydney-based academic search engine posted on 4ICU website (www.4icu.org/ph). UP Diliman campus website (www.up.edu.ph) was ranked number one in the Four International Colleges and Universities (4ICU), an international higher education search engine and directory, where ranking of the 11,000 universities and colleges websites in 200 countries was released early this week.

The Philippine list was made up of the 200 most searched university and college websites, with UP Diliman (http://www.upd.edu.ph) emerging on top. 4ICU listing however treated each UP campuses as separate institutions, as each campus has its own website. Second on the list was  the De La Salle University in Manila.

Other universities included in the top 10 were: the Quezon City-based UP System (3rd), which includes all seven campuses; Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City (4th); University of Sto. Tomas in Manila (5th); UP Los Banos in Laguna (6th); Aquinas University of Legazpi (7th); Mindanao State University’s Iligan Institute of Technology (8th); Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro (9th) and University of San Carlos in Cebu (10th).

According to the 4ICU, rankings were computed using an algorithm, including “unbiased and independent web metrics” from three search engines – the Google Page Rank, Alexa Traffic Rank and Majestic Seo Referring Domains.

The algorithm formula was not disclosed for copyright reasons and to prevent any attempts at manipulating the rankings, the website added.

No Philippine tertiary education institution made it to similar online popularity rankings of the top 200 universities and colleges in the world, as well as the top 100 institutions in Asia.

The 4ICU releases its rankings every January and July of each year and have been posted since May 2005, the website said.

Aside from worldwide and regional rankings, the search engine also computes rankings for the 200 countries in its database – all free of charge.

4ICU made it clear that the list was not an academic ranking and is intended to help foreign students in understanding how popular a certain university is in its country, “it should not be adopted as the main criteria.”

MANILA, Philippines – “It was a dream come true”, Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup exclaimed after entering the top 5 of the Miss Universe 2011 beauty pageant, and placing 3rd runner-up.

“I was so happy. I didn’t think that I would be actually part of 16 lang. I’m so happy and I owe it all to the Filipino people,” Supsup said in an interview.

This year’s Miss Universe title goes to Miss Angola Leila Lopes.

Miss Ukraine Olesya Stefanko was the first runner-up, Brazil’s Priscila Machado placed 2nd runner-up, Supsup placed third and China’s Luo Zilin was 4th runner-up.

Supsup ranked a place higher than her predecessor, Venus Raj, who was fourth runner-up in the 2010 pageant.

Supsup was topping the final fan rankings and was one of the strongest contestants in the competition.

In the crucial question and answer portion, American actress Vivica A. Fox asked Supsup, “Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person you love? Why or why not?”

“If I had to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love because the first person that I love is God who created me and I have my faith and my principles and this is what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God too,” Supsup answered.

Shamcey Gurrea Supsup was born on May 16, 1986 in General Santos City, the same town where world boxing icon, Manny Pacquiao came from.

She graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines-Diliman with a degree in architecture. She also topped last year’s Architecture Licensure Examination.

Sexy Shamcey in the swimsuit round.

Most elegant candidate in evening gown competition.

A recent report by researchers under the World Health Organization (WHO) have again confirmed that oral contraceptives can directly cause cancer. CBCP News mentioned this as a “setback for lobbyists seeking billions of pesos in yearly taxpayer-funded subsidies to distribute pills nationwide for free under the reproductive health (RH) bill”.

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a research arm of WHO, classified the pill as a “Group 1” carcinogen, which means the highest level of evidence of cancer risk. Other Group 1 carcinogens include asbestos, arsenic, formaldehyde, and plutonium.

IARC Monographs are published to provide concensus evaluations and evidences about various agents that can cause or increase the risk of cancers in humans. Prior to this third report, France-based IARC previously formed working groups evaluating carcinogency in pills in 1988 and 2005. Monographs of these findings were published in 1989 and 2007 respectively.

The US National Cancer Institute also acknowledged that pills could cause breast cancer, advising women “who are concerned about their risk for cancer to talk with their health care provider.”

Pro-life groups in the Philippines have consistently called on RH bill lobbyists to bare information on the dangerous side effects of pills and other contraceptives such as the IUD to the public.

According to latest government data, only 16% of Filipino women use the pill. And only about 60% of contraceptive pill users know about “possible side effects.” It was also unclear what side effects were properly dissimenated by government health workers, and whether women were informed that pills are carcinogens.

Result of the July 2011 Nurse Licensure Examination was released by the Professional Regulation Commission where 37,513 passed out of 78,135 examinees.

Cebu Normal University (Cebu State College), together with West Visayas University – La Paz and University of the Philippines (UP) – Manila got the highest passing rate of 100%. The second highest rating goes to University of Sto. Tomas (UST) who got 99.79%, closely followed by Trinity University of Asia (Trinity QC) with 99.74%, Chinese General Hospital College of Nursing & Liberal Arts (99.71%) and St. Paul University-Iloilo (99.22%).

PRC will soon announce the dates and venues of oath-taking for new nurses at a later date.

The complete list of successful examinees of the July 2011 Nurse Licensure Examination can be viewed from the link below:
July 2011 Nursing Licensure Board Exam Result in PDF

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 1,605 out of 2,131 passed the Physician Licensure Examination given by the Board of Medicine in the cities of Manila, Cebu and Davao this month of August 2011.

University of the Philippines alumnus Mark Augustine Saquido Onglao topped the medical board exam with a rating of 88.42%. Followed by Mary Rose Mañas Maballo of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila with 88.17%.
UST and UP Manila shared third place with UST alumnus Sharlene Marie Lo Lao and UP Manila’s Guerrero Odoño garnering both a score of 87.92%.

The top 10 successful 2011 medical board examinees are:

1. Mark Augustine Saquido Onglao, University of the Philippines Manila, 88.42%
2. Mary Rose Mañas Maballo, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 88.17%
3. Sharlene Marie Lo lao, University of Santo Toma,s 87.92%
   Eugene Guerrero Odoño, University of the Philippines Manila, 87.92%
4. John Lyle Tron Montero Gomez, University of the Philippines Manila, 87.75%
5. Deonne Thaddeus Vite Gauiran, University of the Philippines Manila, 87.67%
6. Caroline Bernadette Olanka King Kay, University of Santo Tomas, 87.58%
7. Mark Lester Santos Sy, University of Santo Tomas, 87.50%
8. Marie Shella Baduel de Robles, University of the Philippines Manila, 87.42
9. Juan Carlos Reyes Abon,  University of the Philippines Manila,   87.33
   Jan Miguel Clutario Deogracias, University of the Philippines Manila,  87.33
   Erickson Fernando Torio, University of the Philippines Manila, 87.33
10. Heherson Ballesteros Adriano, Far Eastern University-Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, 87.25

Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration issuance will start on Monday, August 22, 2011 until August 26, 2011 at 4th Floor, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Annex Building, P. Paredes St., cor. N. Reyes St., Sampaloc, Manila.

Those who will register are required to bring the following:

• Duly accomplished Oath Form or Panunumpa ng Propesyonal,
• current Community Tax Certificate (cedula),
• 2 pieces passport size picture (colored with white: Cebu background and complete name tag),
• 1 piece 1” x 1” picture (colored with white background and complete name tag),
• 2 sets of metered documentary stamps and
• 1 short brown envelope with name and profession

Successful examinees must pay the initial registration fee of P600 and annual registration fee of P450 for 2011-2014.

The oathtaking ceremony for all successful examinees will be held on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Roxas Blvd., Manila.

Registration for membership with the Philippine Medical Association, Inc. (PMA) will also start on Monday, August 22, 2011 at PMA Building, North Avenue, Diliman, Quezon

You may download the complete list of August 2011 Physician Licensure Examination results from the link below:
List of successful examinees in the August 2011 Physician Licensure Examination

MANILA, Philippines – The US Embassy in Manila has announced on Tuesday its new visa program that would process renewals for Philippine visa applicants who have previously been issued multiple entry visas to the United States valid for 5 years or longer.

According to the U.S. Embassy, in the new Visa Reissuance Program (VRP), a Philippine citizen holding an eligible US tourist visa (B1/B2) can apply for re-issuance of the visa within 12 months of its expiration date.

The embassy also said that visa reissuance applicants will be given priority in their appointment date.

Applicants will only need to appear at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy at the given appointment date to submit their valid Philippine passport and application confirmation page, and have their fingerprints digitally scanned. The embassy added that under normal circumstances, no interview with a consular officer will be needed.

VRP applicants can usually expect to receive their passport together with a new US visa within a week of successful application. The cost of a US visa still remains at $140, and no additional cost for VRP appointments will be collected.

The embassy also confidently added that the new procedure will dramatically reduce the time involved in processing applications for visa reissuance at the embassy.

The U.S. Embassy advised visa pplicants to visit their website at http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3024.html or call its call center at (02) 982-5555 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday for more information on the new VRP.

The World Youth Day 2011 Global Song Contest announced recently the results and a UK/Filipino entry made it as one of the winners.

British-Filipino singer and songwriter, Cherrie Anderson, originally from Manila, is the lead singer of the pop band Ooberfuse. Anderson entered the competition with “Faith in You” receiving the highest number of plays on the competition website. Ooberfuse is made up of quartet, Cherie, Hal, Alex and Michel. They sang the Youth Anthem for Pope Benedict’s historic visit to the UK in 2010.

“I am happy and humbled that my songs have been chosen from out of the 270 entries. When I submitted them earlier this year there were only around 20 entries. There are some really good songs included in the other submissions so my expectations were not that high,” Cherrie said.

The World Youth Day will be held in Madrid from August 16 to 21, 2011. It will be the second time that Spain will host the event and is expected to draw millions of pilgrims from all over the world.

Earlier this week, February 8 at exactly 8:32am, retired AFP General and former cabinet secretary Angelo “Angie” Reyes was declared dead at the Quirino Hospital allegedly by gunshot wound in the chest, a victim of an apparent suicide. The incident happened just minutes after visiting his mother’s tomb at the Loyola Memorial Garden in Marikina

His death brings to an end a colorful yet controversial political career marked with controversies that concluded in a corruption scandal in the AFP involving at least 3 more military chiefs during the Arroryo administration.

His death also leaves so many questions unanswered. What really made him kill himself? Was it guilt? Was he able to realize that his current predicament and humiliation was too much to bear? But who really knows what was he thinking during those last moments. And who really is General Angelo Reyes?

Reyes first rose to political limelight when as Armed Forces chief, he joined opposition forces during the 4-day bloodless revolt that ousted then President Joseph Ejercito Estrada in January 2001. Ironically, it was Estrada himself who chose him to become chief of staff of the military a year earlier.

His role in the second EDSA revolution won him President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s favor. During the incumbency of President Arroyo, he held different Cabinet posts as secretary of the defense (2001-2003), interior and local government (2004-2006), environment and natural resources (2006-2007), and energy (2007-2010), making him Arroyo administration’s longest-serving cabinet member.

During the “Hello, Garci” wiretapping scandal, he became part of a cabal of officials who remained loyal to President Arroyo despite calls for her removal.

During last year’s national election, Reyes ran for Congress as representative of party-list group called 1-Utak but was disqualified by the Commission on Elections.

Last month, he was accused by his former military budget officer Lt. Col. George Rabusa of pocketing P50 million in military funds upon his retirement as AFP chief in 2001. He was also accused of protecting his former military comptroller Carlos Garcia who is facing plunder charges for allegedly stealing P303 million from AFP funds. Reyes denied the accusation during the Senate Blue Ribbon comittee and later filed libel charges against Rabusa.

Reyes refused to return to the Senate inquiry until 4 senators inhibited themselves in the hearings. Before his death, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee said they would cite Reyes in contempt if he continued to ignore the panel’s summonses.

Education and personal life

Reyes held a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) at Harvard University (1991), and an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management (1973). Aside from these, he also studied trust corporations at the Northwestern University in Chicago, and logistics management at the Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterrey, California.

He graduated among the top ten (7th) from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1966.

He also topped the command and staff course at the AFP Command and General Staff College, as well as the trust corporations management course at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

He was also the valedictorian during high school (class of 1960) at the now Ramon Magsaysay High School in Cubao, formerly Cubao High School.

He was born on March 17, 1945, in San Miguel, Manila, to public school teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Pablo and Purificacion Tomas Reyes.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Teresita Pernia Reyes, and five sons.

(ABS-CBN News, Manila, Philippines) – There’s no stopping eight-world division boxing champion and pound-for-pound king Manny “Pacman” Paquiao from expanding his business empire. He already owns high-end fashion boutiques and apparels, coffee shop, boxing gym, water refilling and gas stations and a best selling music album. And there’s no sign of him slowing down.

It was during the “Redhorse Pambansang Muziklaban: Francis Magalona Tribute” on Saturday, that Manny Pacquiao revealed that his new business venture – a tattoo shop in Los Angeles, California.

Famous Filipino tattoo artist Chris Garcia, also known as “Champion Ink,” is his new business partner.

“Magandang karangalan ito na makasama ko siya sa tattoo shop dahil isa siya sa mga pinakamagaling mag-tattoo dito sa atin and I’m very proud of him. Marami siyang tina-tattoo-han, mga sikat na actors, Hollywood actors, mga singers at marami pang iba. Sana malayo ang marating namin,” said Pacquiao.

The eight-world division champion, who is a tattoo enthusiast, said he is looking forward to have a new tattoo when he flies back to LA for his training.

The boxing icon, who is also a tattoo enthusiast, said he is looking forward to have a new tattoo when he flies back to LA for his training on his upcoming fight with Sugar Shane Mosley.

“Pagbalik ko sa LA magpapa-tattoo ako sa kanya (Garcia) ng Panther dito sa kamay ko,” Pacquiao added.
Garcia, on the other hand, said he is overwhelmed to be the “Fighter of the Decade’s” business partner.

“Ibang klaseng pakiramdam. Napaka-sarap ng pakiramdam, napaka-sarap marinig ang mga salitang ‘yon mula sa isang Manny Pacquiao na idolo ng lahat ng tao sa Pilipinas, sa bansa. Napakalaking karangalan sa akin na mapili,” said Garcia.

“It represents the excellence synonymous to Manny Pacquiao. Pagkasinabi mo ‘yong pangalan ni Manny, ang unang papasok sa isip mo ay absolute excellence kaya ‘yon ang gusto naming i-offer sa shop niya, nothing but absolute best,” the US-based Filipino tattoo artist added.

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network) – American investment bank Merrill Lynch has picked the Philippine peso as among its two currency favorites this year 2011, saying that Philippine’s local currency was undervalued by about 10-15 percent given the strength of the country’s external surplus.

Merrill Lynch foreign-exchange strategist Ashok Bhundia told reporters Monday (January 10) that the peso and the Singapore dollar were among his firm’s top currency picks for this year.

“The peso, we believe, is mainly being supported by remittance inflows, which remain very strong. The growth dynamics is getting structural boost from a reform-minded government and if expectations prove right, we should see the fiscal position improve structurally,” Bhundia said.

Based on a statistical model used by Merrill Lynch in estimating the sustainable level of current account, Bhundia said the country’s surplus was “a little too large.” As such, he said the local currency needs to appreciate to attain an equilibrium, thereby explaining the perceived undervaluation of the peso.

However, he said external jitters would likely bring the local currency under pressure in the 2nd quarter. In particular, risk aversion from the lingering fiscal crisis in Europe is seen bringing the local currency to about 43.50 against the US dollar by June from around 42:$1 by March this year.

But the currency upswing is seen resuming in the second half, bringing the peso to 42 by September and further to 40 against the greenback by end-2011.

Another factor that would underpin the strength of the peso and other Asian currencies, he added, would be the likelihood that China would allow the renminbi (RMB) to appreciate.

The Philippines is also seen as among the few countries where the risk of resorting to capital controls was very low given recent pronouncements from the Central Bank (BSP) rejecting such an idea.

What the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) had instead done, Bhundia said, was to stop rolling over maturing foreign-exchange currency swaps, which had the effect of squeezing peso liquidity by shutting down onshore borrowing rates in peso. But he said this was a very “technical” response that could not likely be sustained going forward.

“We don’t think central banks will lean against appreciation. What they will lean against is too rapid appreciation,” he said.