Environment - Trivia : Are We Killing the Bees?

Here is one very interesting information all cellphone companies and cellphone users must ponder  and be concerned about :

"Half of the world's food supply rely on honeybee pollination but millions of honeybees die resulting into "colony collapse disorder" reportedly due to waves emitted by cellphone base stations."

Honeybee

Information Source :
Zero Waste Philippines Newsletter

Related Link :
http://www.natureknows.org/2013/11/scientists-discover-another-cause-of.html

Economy : The Philippines on the Upswing

The Philippines is really an enigma! There was a time when the economies of its neighboring countries were all doing well and the Philippines was bungling with its own. It was even tagged as the basket case of Asia. But now that other countries' economies are slowing down or collapsing, its economy is surprisingly on the upswing. As a matter of fact, it is now the fastest growing economy in Asia.

According to a CNN report, the growth is mainly due to two factors : the remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers and the booming call center industry. Normally, these factors are not what other countries would rely on to grow their economies, in fact it doesn't apply to most of them. Very few countries have big overseas workers population, and most do not have a call center industry. The only country which has a similar experience is India. India has a lot of overseas workers and also has a  booming call center industry. As a matter of fact,  it was the leading call center network in Asia until recently. Lately, the Philippines has overtaken India as the leading call center network in the region. But India is an industrialized country, unlike the Philippines which is basically an agricultural country.

Who would ever think that the facility of Filipinos to speak English as a second language would  someday be useful and eventually help in the economic recovery of their country. When Spain sold the Philippines to the Americans, the Philippines became a colony of the US for almost a century, and Filipinos were forced to learn the English language.

The Philippine Call Center Industry

And who would over think that Filipinos seeking employment and greener pastures abroad due to unemployment and lack of better job opportunities,  would someday help save their country's economy. Almost a tenth of the Filipino population are working abroad, and these millions of overseas Filipino workers are now remitting billions of dollars to the Philippines, thus helping its economy grow.

Click pictograph to enlarge

Overseas Filipino Workers Remittances (1987-2007)

Hopefully, the Philippines has reach its turning point.

News Source :
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/12/world/asia/philippines-surprise-surge/index.html?eref=edition&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=cnni

Picture  source :
filipinocallcenter.com

Announcement : Top 10 Placers and List of Passers of the July 2012 PRC-Real Estate Appraiser Licensure Examination

Congratulations to all the successful examinees of the recent PRC-Real Estate Appraiser Licensure Examination. Below is the official  announcement from the PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) on the result, the roster of successful examinees  and Top 10 placers :

Click to enlarge

Top 10 Placers

Posted on 7/11/2012
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 587 out of 1,117 passed the Real Estate Appraiser Licensure Examination given by the Board of Real Estate Service in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo this July 2012.

The members of the Board of Real Estate Service who gave the licensure examination are Dr. Eduardo G. Ong, Chairman; Ramon C. F. Cuervo III, Florentino C. Diño II and Rafael M. Fajardo, Members.

The results were released in three (3) working days after the day of the said examination.

Registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will start on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 until July 24, 2012 at the Registration Division Unit C, Ground Floor PRC Main Building. 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 background and complete nametag), 1 piece 1” x 1” picture (colored with white background and complete nametag), 2 sets of metered documentary stamps and 1 short brown envelope with name and profession and to pay the Initial Registration Fee of P600 and Annual Registration Fee of P450 for 2012-2015.

All registrants are likewise required to submit an original copy of Surety Bond for three ( 3 ) years (with certificate of good standing from the Insurance Commission), minimum amount of which is P 20,000.00, with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) as Obligee. For government employees, no Surety Bond is required, but instead, submission of a notarized original Certificate of Employment from their respective offices is required.

Successful examinees should personally register and sign in the Roster of Registered Professionals.

The date and venue for the oathtaking ceremony of the new successful examinees in the said examination WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER.


Click link below for complete roster of successful examinees :
http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712se.pdf

Click link below for the Top 10 Placers :
http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712t10.pdf

Click link below for the PRC official announcement :
http://www.prc.gov.ph/news/?id=355

                                                                              PRC

Places : Boracay is World's Best Island of 2012 - Travel+Leisure Magazine

From its No.4 ranking in 2011, Boracay Island jumps to the No.1 spot of the World's Best Islands of 2012 in the Travel + Leisure Magazine readers' survey. Boracay jumps over Santorini of Greece and Bali of Indonesia, which were last year's No.1 and No.2, respectively. 
Besides being a beautiful island, Boracay Island's local residents, is one if not the friendliest in the world. 

Boracay 

Click here for a 360 degrees view of Boracay :
http://www.philippinetourism.us/boracay-aklan/

2012  Ten World's Best Islands 
Rank   '11 NAME                                                        
1            4 Boracay, Philippines                                  
2            2   Bali                                                                  
3           10  Galápagos                                                    
4            9   Maui  
5            5   Great Barrier Reef Islands, Australia     
6            1   Santorini, Greece                                         
7            8   Kauai                                                               
8            7   Big Island, Hawaii                                         
9            6   Sicily, Italy                                                     
10          -    Vancouver Island, British Columbia     

About Travel + Leisure Magazine   www.travelandleisure.com :
Travel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is put out by American Express Publishing Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company led by President and CEO Ed Kelly. The company also publishes Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure Family, and Departures magazines.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_%2B_Leisure

Survey Source :
http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2012/islands

Related Link :
http://theprojectreview.blogspot.com/2012/03/places-boracay-takes-no1-spot-as-asias.html

Picture Source :
Department of Tourism
http://www.philippinetourism.us/boracay-aklan/

Announcement : DAVAO CITY - Room Assignments for July 2012 Real Estate Appraiser PRC-Licensure Exam

Here is the complete list of  Davao City examinees with their corresponding room assigments for the July 8, 2012 - Real Estate Appraiser PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) Licensure Exam.

Place of Examination :
SCHOOL / BLDG :  UNIVERSITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
ADDRESS: BONIFACIO ST., DAVAO CITY

Click list to enlarge ( page 1 only )

Click here to see complete list of examinees-room assignments :
http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712ra_Davao.pdf

Announcement : MANILA - Room Assignments for July 2012 Real Estate Appraiser PRC-Licensure Exam

Here is the complete list of  Manila examinees with their corresponding room assigments for the July 8, 2012 - Real Estate Appraiser PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) Licensure Exam.

Place of Examination :
SCHOOL / BLDG : MONZON HALL, MLQ UNIVERSITY
ADDRESS: QUIAPO, MANILA

Cilck list to enlarge ( page 1 only )

Click here to see complete list of examinees- room assignments :

http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712ra_Manila.pdf

Related Links :

http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712ra_Iloilo.pdf

http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712ra_cebu.pdf

PRC

Announcement : ILOILO CITY - Room Assignments for July 2012 Real Estate Appraiser PRC-Licensure Exam

Here is the complete list of  Iloilo City examinees with their corresponding room assigments for the July 8, 2012 - Real Estate Appraiser PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) Licensure Exam.

Place of Examination :
SCHOOL / BLDG : PRC Office
ADDRESS: ILOILO CITY

Click list to enlarge (2 pages)

Real Estate Appraiser  PRC Licensure
Exam Room Assigments for Iloilo City

Click here to download complete list of Examinees-Room Assignments :

http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712ra_Iloilo.pdf 

PRC

Announcement : CEBU CITY - Room Assignments for July 2012 Real Estate Appraiser PRC-Licensure Exam

Here is the complete list of Cebu City examinees with their corresponding room assigments for the July 8, 2012 - Real Estate Appraiser PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) Licensure Exam.

Place of Examination :

SCHOOL: SWU-ABA HIGH SCHOOL DEPT.

ADDRESS: URGELLO ST., CEBU CITY

Click to enlarge ( page 1 only )

Real Estate Appraiser PRC Licensure
Exam Room Assignments for Cebu City

Real Estate Appraiser  PRC Licensure
Exam Room AssigmenClick here to download complete list of Examinees-Room Assignments :
http://www.prc.gov.ph/uploaded/documents/REA0712ra_cebu.pdf

PRC

Trivia : 3 Philippine Universities Among World's 50 Best School for English and Literature

Despite some negative news about the Philippines, there are also some good news that the country can brag about. One of them is the country's high grade on English Education.

According to the 2012 survey by London research and ratings firm Quacquarelli Symonds, three Philippine universities are among the world's 50 best in teaching English : University of the Phlippines, Ateneo de Manila Uniersity and De La Salle University.

The 2012 QS World University Ranking for English Language and Literature lists the best universities in the world to study English language and literature. See the full university subject rankings below to find out which universities have performed the best in English language and literature this year :
                  Ranking :
1 University of Cambridge United Kingdom
2 Harvard University United States
3 University of Oxford United Kingdom
4 Yale University United States
5 University of California, Berkeley (UCB) United States
6 Columbia University United States
7 Stanford University United States
8 Princeton University United States
9 University of Chicago United States
10 University of British Columbia Canada
University of Toronto Canada
12 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States
13 Duke University United States
14 Trinity College Dublin Ireland
15 Cornell University United States
16 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom
17 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom
18 University of Pennsylvania United States
19 McGill University Canada
20 The University of Manchester United Kingdom
21 The University of Warwick United Kingdom
22 National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore
23 University of Michigan United States
24 Ateneo de Manila University Philippines
25 The University of Melbourne Australia
26 University of Texas at Austin United States
27 University of York United Kingdom
28 The University of Sydney Australia
29 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States
New York University (NYU) United States
31 Brown University United States
32 University of California, Irvine United States
University of the Philippines Philippines
34 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
35 City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
36 Indiana University Bloomington United States
37 Johns Hopkins University United States
38 The University of Tokyo Japan
39 Peking University China
40 University of Minnesota United States
41 University of Leeds United Kingdom
42 The University of Queensland Australia
43 The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
44 De La Salle University Philippines
45 King’s College London (University of London) UK
46 University of Bristol United Kingdom
47 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign United States
48 Boston University United States
49 Monash University Australia
University College Dublin Ireland

50-100   Others

Click here to see the complete list and scores :

http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2012/subject-rankings/arts-humanities/english

Related News :

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/36314/ateneo-up-dlsu-among-worlds-best-schools-in-teaching-english

Interesting Places : Palawan Oil and Gas Fields

The Philippines is one country that is blessed with abundant and diverse natural resources. Among these are minerals, oil and gas deposits. But does the country have oil and gas producing fields? If so, where are they located?

The gas and oil producing oil fields are all located in the province of Palawan and its surrounding waters. Other locations in the country are being explored for potential oil and gas production. Please see the maps below to know their locations.

Click maps to enlarge

Palawan Oil and Gas Fields

El Nido Oil Fields

Malampaya Gas Pipeline Going to Batangas and Manila

Related Links  and Map Source:
http://malampaya.com/
http://www.nido.com.au/
http://www.poweroilandgas.com/2011/10/philippine-oil-and-gas-industry.html