Pinoys Lead Names Submission for Mars Journey

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Who wants to go to Mars?

The Philippines leads in the number of names submitted for a spacecraft bound for Mars which will carry the names.

Guess Filipinos are desperate to leave the country. The farther the better. Are they running away from the Covid-19 virus or the veerus president that announced at his 5th SONA that he is inutil against China?

NASA has launched its $2.7B nuclear-powered "perseverance" mars rover, carried by the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The rover will take 7 months for a 300 million miles journey to arrive on the planet.

It's the first step of NASA's newest effort to hunt for signs of ancient microbial life and collect samples that will eventually be returned to Earth.

If you are running away from the virus, please bear in mind that China may have already been there....and left you a big surprise.

But some Filipinos also believe thst Senator Cynthia Villar has already struck the flag of Camella there.

Phl to compete in first ever online Int’l Math Olympiad

Wazzup Pilipinas!

With the pandemic affecting all sorts of gatherings and travels, the toughest mathematics competition in the world will soldier on via the online route.

The 61st International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), originally slated this July in St. Petersburg, Russia, will push through instead with a first-ever online competition.

With this, the Mathematical Society of the Philippines (MSP) announced the roster of the national team. This year’s Philippine representatives will include:

1. Immanuel Josiah Balete from St. Stephen's High School

2. Sarji Elijah Bona from De La Salle University Integrated School Manila / Palawan Hope Christian School

3. Raphael Dylan Dalida from Philippine Science High School Main Campus

4. Vincent Dela Cruz from Valenzuela School of Mathematics and Science

5. Andres Rico Gonzales III from De La Salle University Integrated School Manila

6. Bryce Ainsley Sanchez from Grace Christian College

The online IMO will be held worldwide this coming September 19-28, 2020. Team Leader, Christian Paul Chan Shio from Ateneo de Manila University, and Deputy Team Leader, Carlo Francisco Adajar from the University of the Philippines Diliman will mentor the national bets.

The national team members were determined at the end of the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp (MOSC), which was also done online in the past months. The MOSC is a rigorous training program that serves as selection phase among the national finalists and winners of the Philippine Mathematical Olympiad (PMO).

Earlier this January, Sanchez, Balete and Dalida emerged atop of the PMO as Champion, 1st Runner-up, and 2nd Runner-up, respectively. They were then joined by fellow math veterans, Gonzales III, Dela Cruz, and Bona.

Just recently, all six emerged victorious in the first-ever Cyberspace Mathematical Competition (CMC), held online last July 13 and 14. Organized by the American Mathematics Competitions in partnership with Art of Problem Solving, the CMC also served as preparatory test for the team. Dalida, Dela Cruz, Gonzales III, and Sanchez nabbed bronze medals while Balete received an Honorable Mention.

Meanwhile, Sanchez, Balete, and Gonzales III each won bronze medals in last year’s IMO where the Philippines also ranked 31st out of 112 countries. The three now look to lead the team to an improved showing this year.

Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) Director, Dr. Josette Biyo, congratulated the team and the MSP for “soldiering on” amid the challenges posed by the pandemic.

“We congratulate our national team for the 61st IMO. Although we’re living in very challenging times, your constant pursuit of excellence inspires us to do the same. We wish you all the best in the coming competition,” said Biyo.

The country's participation in the IMO is a project of MSP and DOST-SEI, with support from major sponsors Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) Foundation, Manulife Business Processing Services, Foundation for Upgrading the Standard of Education, Inc. (FUSE), Sharp Philippines Corporation, and C&E Publishing.

Bringing the Philippines Safer from HIV

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The first-ever holding of the Philippine National HIV Prevention Month (NHPM) will kick-off on Friday, July 31, 2020, bringing Filipinos safer from the virus compared to previous years.

The Philippine NHPM is set every July of every year. This initiative supports the Presidential Proclamation No. 971, which was signed last June 23, declaring the second week of July as Infection Prevention and Control Week.

This year’s NHPM theme is “SaferNow,” following the new HIV combination prevention concept, which includes innovative and effective ways to prevent HIV: condoms and lubricants, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and antiretroviral treatment as prevention (TasP).

Given the availability of these preventive measures, the Department of Health reported that between January-March of this year, 2,818 Filipinos have been newly diagnosed with HIV. Age group 25-34 year-olds has the highest with 1,359 and followed by 15-24 year-olds with 834.

In addressing the country’s growing HIV challenge, the Philippine NHPM aims to intensify the health promotions of the HIV combination prevention methods.

This month-long celebration will highlight the HIV combination prevention methods through the “SaferNow” campaign and a series of online activities scheduled in August:

July 31 – Kick-off and Launch of the NHPM 2020 and the “SaferNow” Campaign

August 8 – Condoms and Lube Day

August 15 – PrEP and PEP Day

August 22 – Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) Day

August 29 – Culmination Activity

The NHPM is spearheaded by the Sustainability of HIV Services for Key Populations in Asia Program and the Champion Community Centers network and is supported by UNAIDS Philippines, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, APCOM, and LoveYourself, Inc.

Also, community-based organizations around the country, catering to HIV-related services, will conduct parallel activities to support this national event.


For more details, follow the Philippine NHPM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @HIVPrevMonthPH.