26 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY May 1 - 20 , 2017 RP News and More ...
Filipina student top 6 at Young Chef Olympiad in India
Over 50 students from around the world flocked to India to compete in the Annual Third International Young Chef Olympiad ( YCO ), a global tournament for youthful talents in the culinary field .
Jasmin Castillo Buensalida of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde ( DLS-CSB ) represented the Philippines , accompanied by Chef Sabrina Gan , an instructor of the college ’ s School of Hotel , Restaurant and Institution Management ( SHRIM ).
Buensalida was named one of the 10 finalists and finished sixth overall . The YCO , organized by
THE Commission on Appointments ( CA ) is likely to bypass the ad-interim appointments of three cabinet members as congress goes on sine die adjournment on June 2 , ending the first regular session of the 17th congress .
Among those who may not be accommodated by the CA are Secretaries Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial of the Department of Health ( DOH ), Judy Taguiwalo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development ( DSWD ) and Rafael Mariano of the Department of Agrarian Reform .
Senate Majority leader and CA ’ s assistant majority leader Vicente Sotto 3rd said that the appointments body decided to resolve first the
India ’ s International Institute of Hotel Management ( IIHM ), tests the skills of the participants , as well as introduces them to an international network of celebrity chefs and industry professionals . Originally launched in 2015 as an all-India tilt , it now sees young apprentices worldwide who battle it out in three rounds of grueling challenges . Entrants cooked preselected dishes for three elimination rounds . Only the competitors with the highest cumulative scores advanced to the finals . The participants traveled to New Delhi , Bangalore , Pune , and Kolkata , for the cities hosted one segment each .
“ Time management was the most challenging task of the competition ,” she said . “ Even if you presented the best dish , but you finished beyond the time limit , then you lose points . There should be an organized workflow , so that everything runs smooth . Proudly , I trained for each round under time pressure . That ’ s why when it was the actual competition , I finished minutes ahead .” ( mb . com )
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CA may bypass 3 cabinet members
resolution filed recently by Sen . Paolo Benigno Aquino 3rd regarding the secret voting rule adopted by the body .
“ We cannot do that in a week ’ s time . So we cannot vote next week and the week after . It ’ s useless unless we already resolve the issue of secret balloting ,” he explained .
Aquino recently filed a resolution calling for a review of the amended rules on executive session and action on referral of nominations or appointments , which allow secret voting via ballot .
The senator described the secret voting system as “ problematic ” in the confirmation of exenvironment Secretary Regina Paz Lopez , who was rejected by the CA .
But Sen . Franklin Drilon said that he does not see the resolution of Aquino as a hindrance to the confirmation of cabinet members .
The CA committees on labor , employment and social welfare and health were supposed to resume hearing Ubial and Taguiwalo ’ s appointments the proceedings were not finished for lack of time .
The panel also was not able to tackle the appointment of Taguiwalo .
The CA committee on health chaired by Sen . Gringo Honasan 2nd suspended the consideration of Ubial ’ s nomination in order to give time to members of the panel to discuss the issues raised
against her by oppositors .
There were three sworn opposition submitted to the committee by Kabayan Partylist Rep . Harry Roque , ACTS OFW Partylist Rep . Aniceto Bertiz 3d and Restituto Mendoza , questioning Ubial ’ s fitness to head the DOH .
But it was only Roque who was able to present his opposition . He cited several reasons why the appointments body should not confirm Ubial , who according to him has a propensity to lie to hide her incompetence .
Among the issues raised by the lawmaker was her inability to come up with factual information about the presence of Zika virus in the country . Roque accused Ubial of lying to the public when she declared that Zika virus is not
‘ Not feeling good ’ at lowest since 2015
endemic to the Philippines and that there were no local cases of the viral infection . Her subordinates at the DoH contradicted her .
He also cited Ubial ’ s inconsistent statements on the P3-billion dengue vaccination program , at one point calling for its suspension but later on saying it should push through .
Roque also accused Ubial of neglecting the Expanded Program of Immunization ) of the DoH , which resulted in the shortage of regular vaccines for the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine , and her failure to implement the Universal Health Care Law
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Ubial dismissed the allegations as incorrect . ( J . Antiporda , MT
OPTIMISM over the quality of life weakened to its worst level since September 2015 , with only three out of 10 Filipinos expressing optimism that their lives would improve in the next 12 months , the first quarter survey of the Social Weather Stations ( SWS ) from March 25 to 28 showed .
The survey , which involved 1,200 adults nationwide with a margin of error of +/ - 3 percent , also showed that close to four out of 10 persons are optimistic the country ’ s economy would improve in the next 12 months .
The SWS results showed that 43 percent of those surveyed said they expect their personal quality of life to improve in the next 12 months (“ Optimists ”), while 6 percent expect it to get worse
(“ Pessimists ”) which resulted in a “ very high ” net personal optimism score of + 36 — percentage of optimists minus percentage of pessimists .
The survey said net score is 9 points down the equally “ very high ” at + 45 personal net optimism rating recorded in December 2016 and is also the lowest net optimism score since September 2015 ’ s + 33 .
The net personal optimism score also remained in the “ very high ,” despite a 6 to 8 point drop , among socioeconomic classes ABC with + 37 ( from + 45 ), and D with + 38 ( from + 44 ) ). It was downgraded to a “ high ” + 29 among socio economic class E after dipping from a “ very high ” + 46 .
The SWS also found that 47 percent of Filipinos are optimistic about that the Philippine economy will be better in the next 12 months while 9 percent said it will be worse , yielding a “ very high ” net optimism score of + 38 - percentage of those who said it will get better minus percentage of those who said it will get worse . The net score is 5 points down from “ very high ” + 43 in December .
There was not much change on the personal quality of life of Filipinos compared to a year ago , with 35 percent of respondents ( down from 37 ) saying their lives improved or the “ Gainers ”, and 19 percent ( down from 21 percent ) saying it got worse or the “ Losers .” This resulted in a net gainers score of “ very high ” + 16 , percentage of gainers minus percentage of losers , which unchanged
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from the December survey .
P r e s i d e n t i a l spokesman Ernesto Abella blamed the drop in the Filipinos ’ optimism over their quality of life and the Philippine economy to inflation .
Abella said Filipinos were “ feeling the pinch ” of inflation in March which was influenced by the hike in prices of electricity after the Malampaya temporarily shut down to undergo maintenance , and the rise in prices of gasoline , diesel , kerosene and LPG in the market . ( J . Montemayor , Malaya ) .