Advocacy Group Encourages the Youth for their First HIV Test

Wazzup Pilipinas!

With 30 Filipinos being diagnosed with HIV every day, LoveYourself, Inc. will hold a free, fast and confidential HIV screening day for the Youth on 28 May 2017 (10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.) at Victoria Court, Malate dubbed as “Let's TestMNL.”

Let’s TestMNL specifically targets the Youth sector following the rate of HIV infection in this population, but nonetheless, all are invited, to register at this link: go.loveyourself.ph/testmnl to join the event.

“We are aggressive in bringing this free, fast and confidential HIV testing to the Youth because of their apparent vulnerability to the causes of the disease, and most importantly, only through testing that we can detect if one has the virus,” LoveYourself Executive Director Ronivin G. Pagtakhan underscored.

According to the latest Department of Health (DOH) data, there are 2,160 individuals aged 15-34 who have contracted the virus for the first January to March of this year alone.

Pagtakhan clarified, “Let’s TestMNL testing day is for all ages, but LoveYourself highly encourages college students and those in their early 20s to support the movement in knowing their HIV status for the first time, especially in a safe yet welcoming space.”

4th Philippine Property Expo: Find All Things Real Estate under One Roof

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Mediacom Solutions is staging the 4th Philippine Property Expo, to be held on May 27-28, 2017 at the Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila and will be open from 11:00am until 08:00pm.

With its tagline “Find All Things Real Estate under One Roof”, the Philippine Property Expo will feature over 80 property developments, from condominiums to house and lot, as well as various real estate suppliers, from furniture, kitchen, technology to home accessories.

This 2 day event is also filled with an interactive program where visitors will be able to learn from property industry experts all about real estate, from property market trends, to property investment tips, a guide for first time home buyers, home beatification hacks and more.

“Now on its 4th year, the Philippine Property Expo will provide interested home buyers, property investors and real estate professionals a wider selection to source for their dream property and supplies, as well as the opportunity to learn from property experts, all under one roof for free” says Mediacom Solutions CEO and Founder of the Philippine Property Expo, Mr. David Abrenilla.

More Coffee Export Deals Eyed at IFEX Philippines

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Philippine coffee is being positioned for a bigger role in export trade at IFEX Philippines, the country’s biggest international food show, currently held today until May 21 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) and the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC).

According to Leandro Gazmin, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Agriculture-Agribusiness and Marketing Services (DA-AMAS), IFEX Philippines will serve as a platform to streamline the goals of the Philippine Coffee Industry Road Map (PCIR) 2017-2022.

Recently signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last March, the roadmap serves as the country’s coffee industry guide to achieve a more competitive, profitable and sustainable growth, contributing to improving national food security measures and poverty alleviation.

“We want to showcase coffee here at IFEX Philippines 2017. The coffee pavilion will demonstrate the value-chain of coffee from bean to brew. Through IFEX, we would like to promote trade and position the Philippines as one of the sources of the best coffee,” says Asec. Gazmin.

“Roadmaps are vital instruments to provide direction to the industry stakeholders to move the industry forward. Roadmaps assess the current industry situation, identifies critical key result areas which have to be addressed to meet its short term and long term goals of developing the industry. Crafting of these roadmaps is stakeholders-led and thus participation and collaboration of both government and the private sector are promoted,” adds Gazmin.

According to the roadmap, the Philippine coffee industry intends to export 214,626 metric tons of green coffee by 2022. Should the goal be met, the Philippines would have surplus coffee available for export.

“From being a significant player, we are now a minor player in Southeast Asia. But the huge potential of Philippine coffee cannot be understated especially for specialty coffee. Our coffee has distinct flavor and aroma. In fact, based on a study, the Philippine beans is said to be competitive with imports from Viet Nam and Indonesia. Coupled with the right intervention, Philippine coffee has a bright future,” explained Gazmin.

The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world producing the four coffee varieties: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and Excelsa. Local coffee farmers have evolved from subsistent farmers to entrepreneurs through the active support from coffee organizations pushing coffee for a more sustainable enterprise. Coffee farmers are continuously adopting environment-friendly technologies and are intensifying their efforts to comply market standards.

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IFEX Philippines is the country’s biggest international trade exhibition on the Philippines’ and Asia's ethnic and specialty food, tropical fruits, vegetables, seafood, beverages, bakery and confectionery products, meat and poultry, Halal-certified products, as well as natural, organic, and healthy food products.

It is one of the official business events in the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Summit. The three-day event is organized by DTI-CITEM, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the ASEAN Committee on Business and Investment Promotion (CBIP), which is chaired by DTI.