A Silliman alumnus stood out as the Filipino who best embodies the values of optimism, resilience and hope amidst life’s challenges.
Mr. Winston Maxino, who finished high school at and graduated cum laude from Silliman University with an undergraduate degree in political science, was chosen as the country’s “Happiest Pinoy.”
Out of 218 nominees, Mr. Maxino topped the list of seven finalists in “The Search for the Happiest Pinoy,” a project of the Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions.
He was cited for his optimistic outlook in life, his cheerful disposition, his ability to rise above life’s challenges, and his positive impact in the lives of others.
When Mr. Maxino was still a student, he always had asthma attacks. But this condition did not deter him from excelling at Silliman and at the Ateneo Law School where he graduated with Distinction for Honor Scholarship.
Mr. Maxino remains a sharp corporate executive despite his being diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (a generative and incurable bone disease), osteoporosis, asthma and uveitis. He is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hooven Philippines, Inc. and presently General Manager of Green Earth Power and Energy Corporation and COO of its three sister companies.
A committed family man, Mr. Maxino is a proud father of three daughters, with his second child born with Down syndrome.
He became president of the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines and was instrumental in securing Presidential Proclamation No. 157, which declares the month of February each year as the "Down Syndrome Consciousness Month.”
Mr. Maxino is a certified balloon artist and magician. He performs for free and wears costumes at children’s parties.
Awarded on February 17, he received a cash prize of P200,000, a plaque and an accommodation package in Boracay for four. Four runners-up received P25,000 each, a plaque and gift packages.
To read more about Mr. Maxino, click this link to access the article on the Business Mirrorwebsite released before the awarding: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21903:search-for-happiest-pinoy-no-worries-for-man-always-on-sickbed&catid=23:topnews&Itemid=58.
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McLuhan Prize Winner Speaks on Media’s Role in Democracy
The College of Mass Communication hosted in a forum on responsible media its alumna who holds the distinction as the first community journalist winner of the Marshall McLuhan Prize for 2009 from the Embassy of Canada.
Ms Diosa Labiste, who is based in Iloilo and a contributing writer to VERA Files, talked about “Media and the Elections: Our Role in Participatory Democracy.”
A journalist for almost 20 years, Ms Labiste obtained her undergraduate degree from Silliman in 1985 and is presently finishing her doctoral studies in sociology at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. She is a multi-awarded journalist and was the recipient last year of the top prize in Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism organized by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.
In the forum, Ms Labiste discussed some communication theories popularized by Canadian media scholar Marshall McLuhan, after whom the grand prize she received was named. One was on the concept of a “global village” which points out to how the global exchange of news and ideas would change societies. A post-modern take on it, she said, highlights technology as an extension of one’s self.
She captured the interest of the audience composed largely of Mass Communication students from Silliman when she focused on new media technologies. She tackled their role in building a culture of democracy and how they facilitate the process of making judgment.
Ms Labiste cited how cellular phones and the internet played a crucial role in fomenting significant historic events that rocked the country. She mentioned how social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, carry messages that stimulate dialogues among citizens.
During the death of former President Corazon Aquino, she shared how the photo and video documentation of the funeral march on Facebook and YouTube, respectively, helped unite the Filipino people.
“They bridged distances, united us in collective mourning, and discussed our hopes and fears as a Filipino nation,” she said. It was one of the instances when technology was able to shape society.
Ms Labiste said media’s role in democracy transcends information dissemination. She described the impact of the work of media to take on different levels. From providing the public access to information and to key sectors in the society, media is able to stimulate discussions and deliberations that assist the public in coming up with choices and decisions. The continuing support that media affords the public through coverage of issues sustain discussions and deliberations which lead to an action characterized by public involvement.
There is growing appreciation for new media technologies that make possible convergence of traditional and new media. This, she attributed, to three elements of new media: speed, simplicity and solitude (detachment). Ms Labiste said the growth of new media technologies has facilitated the process of exercising citizenship and making judgment online.
Signing of petitions and casting of votes online were examples she gave to prove the catalytic potential and influence of new media. She explained that the online process of making judgment, while even on a private site, contains a conscious attempt at addressing something of public interest.
“Exercising judgment is not by accident; it is with knowledge of action. …It’s not entirely an individual choice; there is a public dimension to it,” she explained. In addition, she described the “duality of function” of social networking sites where “you own the site but other people can read it and it can be passed on.”
Ms Labiste said while there is no question on the relevance of media in promoting democracy, there is a continuing debate on the quality of content. With media companies holding business interests in other ventures and with their operations dependent on revenues from advertisements, journalistic ethics could be compromised.
The commercialization of media, she said, threatens what she quoted as “public sphere”. This is a space where citizens, regardless of age and economic conditions, “can identify, discuss and deliberate on issues and decide to do something about them.” Growing competition over profits causes the decline in the public sphere and dilutes genuine discussions and critical debate.
The lecture of Ms Labiste at Silliman was supported by the Canadian Embassy which was represented at the lecture by its Public Affairs Officer Mr. Carlo Figueroa. It was part of a series of fora around the country and parts of Canada on a similar topic of responsible media.
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Feeding Project Targets Improved Nutrition of 69 Kids
The Nutrition and Dietetics (ND) Department of Silliman University is undertaking a three-month complementary feeding project in Dumaguete City as part of its campaign to address malnutrition.
Sixty-nine children, aging 0 to 5 years, in barangays Looc and Piapi are the recipients of this project. The children are served with high-protein and high-caloric snacks twice a day. These snacks are prepared by the ND majors under their Food Technology course and are delivered fresh daily.
ND Chairperson Prof. Michele Naranjo said the project, which started last month, is aimed at alleviating malnutrition in Dumaguete. Statistics from the City Nutrition Office peg the number of malnourished children in the City at 632.
To effectively monitor the progress of the project, the Department selected 69 children to comprise the first batch. These children – 44 from barangay Piapi and 25 from barangay Looc – belong to areas selected based on their proximity to the University and reported incidence of malnutrition.
At the end of three months, at least 60 percent of the children-beneficiaries are expected to improve their nutritional status. The children-beneficiaries undergo regular anthropometric measurements to evaluate the weekly progress in their body profile.
The Department hopes to sustain the project through community and corporate partnerships alongside education campaigns on having a healthy lifestyle.
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CBA Professor to Attend Envt’l Economics Course in Bangkok
The Chairperson of the Economics Department is one of only two from the Philippines invited to attend an environmental economics course in Bangkok, Thailand on April 12 to May 3.
Prof. Wilma Tejero has been accepted into the “Regional Short Course in Environment and Resource Economics” organized and sponsored by the Economy Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA).
An advanced-level graduate course exclusively for those with at least a master’s degree in economics, the program will tackle three different topics per week: (Week 1) Cost-Benefit Analysis and Pollution Control Economics, (Week 2) Valuation Tools, and (Week 3) Natural Resource Economics.
Professor Tejero will also present her paper, “An Economic Valuation of the Coral Reefs Ecosystems in Tañon Strait Seascape.” The paper served as her application to the course.
This is not the first time for Professor Tejero to be involved in an EEPSEA project. Her previous work, “Recreational Use of Value of Apo Island,” received funding from EEPSEA and was undertaken with two professors from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).EEPSEA supports training and research in environmental and resource economics. It uses a networking approach to provide financial and technical support to researchers in its ten member countries.
The other participant from the Philippines is a professor at UPLB. They will join other shortlisted participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
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