The United States Department of Labor has awarded a Filipina with the first annual Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor.

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney presented the award to Maria Cecilia Flores-Oebanda of the non-governmental organization Visayan Forum Foundation (VFF) at a ceremony at the US Embassy in Manila.

“It is a great honor to present the Iqbal Masih Award to Cecille, who is a long-time partner of the US Mission in the Philippines in combating exploitive child labor as well as trafficking of women and children for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation,” Kenney said.

“The award recognizes Cecille’s work that has brought real change to the lives of thousands of children in the Philippines,” she added.

The Iqbal Masih Award was established by Congress to recognize the work of an individual, company, organization or national government to end the worst forms of child labor.

The award reflects the spirit of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani child enslaved at the age of four who escaped servitude and became an outspoken advocate against child slavery.

Tragically, in 1995 at the age of 13 and a year after receiving the Reebok Human Rights Award, Iqbal was killed in Pakistan. His dedication to ending child slavery, however, continues to inspire individuals around the world.

Like Iqbal Masih, Flores-Oebanda was born into poverty. As a child she helped support her family by scavenging; as a teenager she advocated the rights of youth and farm laborers.

Flores-Oebanda later founded and now leads the VFF, a non-governmental organization that has rescued and provided assistance to more than 32,000 victims and potential victims of trafficking.

The VFF has helped to file more than 65 trafficking cases on behalf of more than 165 victims. Flores-Oebanda serves as the Southeast Asia coordinator for the Global March Against Child Labor and is active with other significant events supporting work against child and exploitive labor.

Kenney said the battle against human trafficking is a high priority of the US Government and the American people. Philstar.com

A Filipino professor has received the 2008 Rolex Award for Enterprise for developing a new technology that transforms the waste from rice production into clean, affordable cooking fuel.

Alexis Belonio, associate professor of Agricultural Engineering at the Central Philippine University in Iloilo City, was one of the five Associate Laureates named by Rolex and presented with $50,000. He also received a Rolex chronometer.

He developed a low-cost stove powered by rice husks aimed at reducing fuel costs and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

In the 48-year-old inventor’s design, a stream of oxygen converts the burning rice husk fuel to a combustible blend of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane gases, yielding a hot, blue flame similar to that produced by burning natural gas.

Started in 1976, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise have supported pioneering work in science and medicine, technology and innovation, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural heritage.

“I will spend the Rolex Award money on promoting and sharing the technology with others for free, as widely as I can. I will focus on disseminating it throughout the world. I will produce more publications to show people how to do it,” Belonio said in an interview.

According to reports, Belonio’s early stoves, made in the Philippines, sold at $100 each and were too expensive for poor families. However, further research and development conducted in Indonesia significantly reduced the retail price of the stove to only $25.

“This was achieved by simplifying the design of the stove in terms of operation, materials and fabrication. Thousands of cookers are now being manufactured by companies cooperating with Belonio in the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia,” reports said.

By exploiting a freely available waste product at a time of soaring energy prices, the stoves can save a family of rice farmers about $150 a year in fuel bills, a huge benefit for families that live on $2 or $3 a day, Belonio said.

He said a ton of rice husks contains the same energy as 415 liters of petrol or 378 liters of kerosene.

Belonio said his stoves reduce greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate toxic fumes inside houses.

“Even the char left after burning can be recycled to improve farm soils or to form bio-coal briquettes,” he said. Philstar.com

The Philippine Star

Sen. Pia Cayetano was unanimously elected president of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Thursday during its 118th General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa.

Cayetano ran unopposed and was voted by acclamation, obtaining the unanimous support of delegates representing all the geopolitical groups comprising the committees of Asia Pacific, Latin America, EuroAsia, Africa, Europe and the Arab Group.

“I feel deeply honored by this opportunity accorded me by my colleagues in the IPU to serve as its president and frame the agenda and steer discussions among women parliamentarians based on our common interests and advocacies,” Cayetano said in a statement sent to Manila right after her election.

She became the first Filipino and first Asian to head the committee, which was formally organized in 1990 by women delegates to give them a permanent voice in the IPU.

Cayetano, previously elected first vice president of the committee in 2006 at the IPU’s 114th General Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, expressed her thanks to the women delegates who manifested support for her as the candidate of the Philippine delegation.

“I am humbled by their expression of support for and confidence in the Philippines’ capability to lead the world’s women’s parliamentarians,” she said.

She takes over leadership from Uruguay’s Monica Xavier, the outgoing president, and will serve two years.

Cayetano has been actively involved in the IPU since presiding over the meeting of women parliamentarians at the Union’s 112th General Assembly in Manila in 2005.

In 2007, she spoke before the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) in New York on violence against women and children.

She was also a speaker at this year’s assembly on the topic of maternal, infant, and child health.

“The opportunity to make a serious difference is so real. Working with these women in high political positions all over the world who are equally passionate about breastfeeding, addressing maternal, infant and child mortality, and violence against women and children, can truly bring us closer to solutions,” Cayetano said.

“My presentation alone on the migration of health professionals in the Philippines has already captured the attention of certain developed countries.

“The members of parliament have promised me they will look into their policies on Filipino health professionals who are lured to their countries,” she added.

The IPU is an international organization of parliaments of sovereign states established in 1989 and is widely considered the world’s very first permanent forum for multilateral cooperation.

It currently counts 143 national parliaments as members, and seven regional parliamentary assemblies as associate members.

Philippine Star

Nestor Jardin, president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, was given the 2008 John D. Rockefeller 3rd award for outstanding professional achievement.

The award, established in 1986 through a special endowment donation from The JDR 3rd Fund, honors “individuals from Asia and the United States who have made particularly significant contributions to the international understanding, practice, or study of the visual or performing arts of Asia.”

Jardin has served as CCP president since 2001, and before that was its vice president and artistic director. He has “devoted his extensive career to championing the arts and artists of Southeast Asia and the Philippines and working to create an environment in which these can flourish.”

Cited for being “a cultural leader of rare energy, commitment, and vision who has set an extraordinary example both regionally and internationally,” Jardin is also responsible for the creation of the Philippine Cultural Education Plan, a comprehensive national plan for arts and culture education.

Jardin, who holds a BS Zoology degree from the University of the Philippines, started as a dancer with Ballet Philippines and rose to become its artistic director and president.

Through various international grants and fellowships, he has pursued studies in arts management and is a recognized leader and educator in the field.

He is the second Filipino to win the award, after the late National Artist for Music Jose Maceda in 1987.

Candidates for the award are nominated by artists and scholars from all over the world who are actively involved in Asian art and culture, and the awardee is selected by the board of trustees of the New York-based Asian Cultural Council (ACC) in consultation with specialists and experts.

The award will be conferred on Jardin during the ACC-Philippines gala on Feb. 29 by Elizabeth McCormack, chairman of the ACC board; ACC trustees Josie Cruz Natori and Sir Kenneth Fung; Ralph Samuelson, ACC director; and Wendy Wang, granddaughter of JDR 3rd The ACC-Philippines gala at the Makati Shangri-la will feature a fashion show by internationally-acclaimed designer Natori.

The Philippine Star

President Arroyo’s handling of the Philippine economy, which is experiencing its fastest growth in more than a decade, is nothing short of phenomenal.

This was the consensus of the 11 members of her International Board of Advisers (IBA) who met with the President in Zurich before she proceeded to Davos to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Presidential Adviser for International Competitiveness Roberto Romulo, who attended the Zurich meeting on Wednesday, said the President decided way back in 2001 to create the IBA composed of chief executive officers (CEOs) and noted businessmen from top international corporations to seek their views and comments on her economic programs.

During the meeting, Romulo said the advisers, including Zuellig Pharmaceuticals Chairman Dr. Stephen Zuellig and other key international players from various industries, freely expressed their views on the President’s handling of the country’s economy.

According to Romulo, the advisers congratulated the President for her sound economic programs and praised the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its excellent handling of the country’s monetary policies.

Romulo said the advisors expressed concern over a possible revenue shortfall but Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, who also attended the meeting, explained that any shortfall could be offset by earnings from the government’s ongoing privatization program.

The advisors also said that the Philippines is well on its way towards achieving a strong economy but expressed concern on whether the President’s programs can be sustained even beyond the end of her term in 2010.

Romulo said the President expressed confidence that her programs, particularly in infrastructure and education, are strongly in place and the Philippines would continue to reap the benefits of these investments regardless of who succeeds her in 2010.

The Philippines was seen as being in the best position to survive what could possibly be a worldwide economic crisis brought about by the slowdown in the United States economy.

In a meeting with Mrs. Arroyo at the sidelines of the WEF in Davos, Citigroup Inc.’s senior vice chairman William Rhodes said that the Philippines is “going into the crisis in very good shape.”

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., who was in the meeting with the President, agreed that the Philippine economy could buffer the possible slowdown or recession of the US economy but emphasized that it would still depend on the depth and duration of the slowdown.

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The Philippine Star

The Philippines’ growing economy and robust stock market, assisted by a strong peso and a declining dollar, have boosted the fortunes of its richest citizens.

For the first time in years Forbes magazine has included a Filipino among the world’s top billionaires. It also listed 39 others as Philippines’ richest, with a total worth of $17 billion.

The complete list of the Philippines’ 40 richest:

1. Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family ($2 billion)

2. Henry Sy and family ($1.7 billion)

3. Lucio Tan and family ($1.6 billion)

4. Andrew Tan ($1.1 billion)

5. Manuel Villar ($940 million)

6. George Ty ($870 million)

7. Andrew Gotianun ($860 million)

8. Enrique Razon Jr. ($820 million)

9. Tony Tan Caktiong and family ($790 million)

10. Oscar Lopez and family ($775 million)

11. Vivian Que Azcona and family ($670 million)

12. Inigo and Mercedes Zobel ($660 million)

13. Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. ($540 million)

14. Emilio Yap and family ($445 million)

15. John Gokongwei Jr. and family ($430 million)

16. Enrique Aboitiz and family ($375 million)

17. Alfonso Yuchengco and family ($365 million)

18. Beatrice Campos ($220 million)

19. David Consunji and family ($210 million)

20. Luis Virata ($200 million)

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The Philippine Star

Quezon City has joined the ranks of Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei as one of the Top 10 Asian Cities of the Future.

Quezon City was ranked No. 7 among more than 200 Asian cities, based on a survey commissioned by the London Financial Times through AsiaBiz Strategy, an investment and trade promotion consultancy based in Singapore.

Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei were the top three.

Consistently figuring in the top 10, and practically outranking other Philippine cities except in one category, Quezon City was assessed No. 5 in the category “Best Economic Potential.” It was third best in Asia in terms of “Cost Effectiveness,” sixth best in terms of “Best Human Resources,” and 10th best in terms of “Quality of Life.”

Analyzing the reasons for Quezon City’s splendid showing, the think tank Advocacy for Empowered Local Governments (AELG) cited the city government’s ability to parlay the most cumbersome challenges into assets for development. Studying the city’s growth over the past two decades, AELG noted the rapid rise in investor interest over the past five years.

Among the reasons consistently cited by business owners is the credibility of the local government whose governance initiatives have made it a favorite case study of international institutions like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Add to that the huge resources being invested by the city government for infrastructure improvement, which has prompted a taxpayer to remark, “At least in Quezon City, we can see where our taxes go.”

Mayor Feliciano Belmonte’s forward-looking management style has been able to make the most of the city’s strategic assets – its large and generally young, 2.4 million population, its central location at the heart of Metro Manila, as well as its location of choice for media operations, schools and training centers and medical facilities.

While other cities and municipalities would view a huge population as a burden and a drain on public services, Mayor Belmonte views the city’s young population both as a large, trainable human resource pool as well as a big consumer market. While previous administrations regarded the city’s 16- hectare expanse as a problem of uncontrolled blight, Belmonte has transformed it into an investment attraction.

The results have been policies and programs that have attracted a continuous inflow of education and training institutions (counting just colleges and universities, the city now has 65), shopping malls in practically every community cluster, and information technology companies that find real estate values in Quezon City very competitive.

IBM and eTelecare, which decided to locate their largest Philippine facilities in Quezon City, cite the city’s large population, wide choice of available locations and real estate prices, as their main reasons for expanding in the city.

Ayala Land, which has invested P3.5 billion in the TriNoma Shopping Mall along North Avenue, and the UP North Science and Technology Park, reportedly capitalized at P1.2 billion, believes that Quezon City is the strategic door of development for northern Metro Manila.

TriNoma marks the start of development of the City’s 250-hectare Central Business District (CBD) set to rise over the North and East Triangles and Veterans Memorial area of Quezon City.

Belmonte saw the waste of government assets just across City Hall where the national government owns about 95 percent of the properties. He envisioned a modern, mixed-use community to rise in these 250 hectares that would make the most of its broad EDSA frontage and its multiple transportation access points.

This attracted the World Bank to commission a framework plan for development. President Arroyo gave the national imprimatur by creating a management team called the Urban Triangle Development (TriDev) Commission, co-chaired by the mayor, to direct the development of this CBD.

The Philippine Star

Two scientists doing groundbreaking research work on deriving powerful painkillers from local snails for severe pain, epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders have been conferred national honors.

President Arroyo has named Lourdes Cruz National Scientist and awarded the Legion of Honor, rank of Grand Officer, to Baldomero Olivera.

In 2007, Olivera was chosen as “Scientist of the Year” by the Harvard Foundation. Cruz received the Outstanding ASEAN Scientist and Technologist Award in 2001.

Cruz, an academician from the National Academy of Science and Technology, is currently doing research on neuroactive peptides and other marine toxins at the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

Olivera’s group, which includes Cruz, made a breakthrough discovery of a family of biomolecules they collectively called conotoxins, from Conus sp. marine snails (Cone shells) collected in tropical waters in the Philippines.

These biomolecules are widely used in neuroscience research today in the study of ion channels and neuro-muscular synapses.

Olivera graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1960. He finished his doctoral degree in Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1966, and rendered post-doctoral work at Stanford University from 1966-1968.

Olivera also teaches at the University of Utah.

On July 9, 2007, UP honored Olivera for his research on neuropharmacology using the venom of conesnails (carnivorous, predatory marine snails which thrive in tropical and subtropical habitats).

Cruz, on the other hand, conceptualized and established the Rural Livelihood Incubator or Rural LINC in 2001 which was meant to generate employment opportunities and establish sustainable means of livelihood as long-term solutions to poverty and socio-political instability in rural areas especially among Aetas, upland farmers, and fisherfolk.

Cruz’s scientific achievements include, among others, the elucidation of the biochemical and molecular structure, properties and mechanisms of action of conotoxins from Philippine marine snails. She has inspired and challenged Filipino and international scientists with her achievements that include her pioneering work in conotoxins.

Her expertise in marine toxinology has been recognized not only in the country but also in the international science community. In 1993, she was awarded the “Sven Brohult Award” by the International Science Foundation for Science in Sweden.

Since its first awarding in 1978, 31 National Scientists have been conferred the honor.

The Philippine Star

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – Filipino-American musician and record producer Allan Pineda Lindo of the Black Eyed Peas (BEP) is coming out with a solo album that includes songs promoting his Filipino roots.

Lindo revealed that for his solo album, he composed a song titled “Mama Pilipina” which highlights the beauty of the Philippines while another song depicts the “economic imbalance between the rich and the poor.”

“Although each of us (BEP members) has solo projects, we’re not breaking up and we are actually helping each other with our solo stints,” Lindo stressed during an interview with the local television station Aksyon Central Luzon.

“Within the year, we will come up with a new BEP album,” added Lindo, also known as Apl.De.Ap to his fans.

Lindo’s album, scheduled for release this May, includes “Shake,” “Dance With You,” “Back Away,” “Repeat It Loud” and “Put Your Hands Up.”

His best friend William James Adams Jr., also known as Will.I.Am, is the executive producer of the album.

Lindo also said he created Jeepney Music as his “search engine” to open up projects for Filipino talents in the US and other countries.

“I have already signed up for an R&B project in the US. I will sign up and promote R&B, hip-hop and rock projects. I believe that there are many talented Filipinos and their talent is great and globally competitive, just waiting to be tapped. I don’t want such great talent to be wasted,” he said.

He also stressed that BEP members have vowed to become “models of humility because they make it a point to perform for free once in a while in the places where they started and where their original fans are.”

Lindo said he has invested in a farm in Pampanga and also plans to invest at the Clark Freeport.

He also contributes to the humanitarian projects of the Apple Benefit Foundation and Pearl S. Buck Foundation which support several Amerasian children in Angeles.

Lindo is the son of Christina Pineda of Sapang Bato in Angeles City, which is just a fence away from this freeport. He went to high school at the Holy Angel University in Angeles City.

Lindo said he grew up as a “grandma and mama’s boy.”

At 14, he was adopted by an American through the Pearl S. Buck Foundation.

He and best friend William started rapping and breakdancing all over Los Angeles, California in 1995 but the group signed up for their first record album in 1998.