Bohol: Top Ten Facts to Remember When Up Close With a Tarsier

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It was our last destination for our Bohol countryside tour but I chose to write about it first because of the thrill I got meeting the tarsier up close.

It's my first time to see the adorable little creature considered as the world's smallest primate and is so famous as an iconic symbol for Bohol. It is the only smallest primate that feeds on live prey.

You'll see their images in shirts, stuffed toys, postcards, figurines and other souvenir items every time you visit the Philippines. It is not only in Bohol that it's widely known but all over the Philippines and even the world. It is one of the animals that represent the Philippines aside from the carabao and the monkey-eating eagle ... and the askal (Asong Kalye) which has now been elevated to "aspin" (Asong Pinoy).

They say you never really have seen Bohol if you never visited the sanctuary sites of the tarsier. Just like the Chocolate Hills and the Loboc River Cruise, a visit at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella, Bohol is a must for every itinerary. It should always be part of your list of places to visit and explore.

I would have to thank the Department of Tourism (DOT) for giving me the opportunity to be pat of the Bohol familiarization tour. It will be a very memorable part of my life.

Nominees for 2015 Globe Media Excellence Awards in Visayas Announced

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A total of 53 entries were shortlisted for various categories of the Globe Media Excellence Awards (GMEA), the most anticipated premier award-giving body that gives recognition to excellence in journalism in central Philippines

The premier award-giving body which recognizes excellence in journalism from the best breed of scribes in Visayas and Mindanao, the awards pay tribute and gives recognition to print, broadcast, and digital media practitioners who have excelled in their respective fields.

Awards night for the GMEA Visayas leg will be held on September 24, 2015 at the Grand Convention Center of Cebu, to coincide with celebrations for the Cebu Press Freedom Week.

Entries were from various media organizations in Cebu, Bacolod and Iloilo. The finalists will vie for nine award categories namely: Reporter of the Year for Print, Explanatory/Investigative Story of the Year for Print/Online, Columnist of the Year, Photojournalist of the Year, Reporter of the Year for Television, Explanatory/Investigative Story of the Year for Television, Reporter of the Year for Radio, Blogger of the Year, and Social Media Advocate of the Year. There were a total of 688 entries this year compared with 522 last year.

DSDS 2015: Accelerating Inclusive Development through ICT Innovation

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In this digital age, most people rely on digital technology to perform daily activities. The emergence of information and communications technology (ICT) paved the way for better delivery of services from different organizations including the government, private sector and nonprofits to the consumption of the general public. However, digital divide still exists where some people, mostly located in the rural areas, don’t have access to digital resources.

Now on its second year, Digital Strategies for Development Summit (DSDS) 2015: A Knowledge Exchange Forum for Asia-Pacific Region and Beyond aims to address this problem by promoting digital inclusion. Organized by DOST-ICT Office, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and managed by Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation, the event will be held on Sept 22-24 at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, Philippines. DSDS 2015 is sponsored by Intel, Accenture and Microsoft.

With the theme, Accelerating Inclusive Development through ICT Innovation, DSDS 2015 brings together international development partners, policy makers, regulators, telecentre operators and managers, content and services developers and providers and key players from the public sector, NGOs, industry and academia. This dynamic circle of participants equips each attendee to bring home best practices and lessons learned from real experiences on ICT innovation.

Among the globally renowned speakers were International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary General Houlin Zhou, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Mario Montejo, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director of Poverty Reduction, Gender, and Social Development Division Bart Edes, Intel Corporation Regional Director for Corporate Affairs, Asia Pacific & Japan, Anjan Ghosh and DOST-ICTO Assistant Secretary Bettina Quimson.