President Rodrigo Duterte and DOTr are set to lead the inauguration of 143 social-tourism port projects nationwide

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Growth and development are in the offing for the country’s coastal and island communities as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and Transportation Secretary Art Tugade are set to lead the inauguration of an unprecedented 143 social-tourism port projects nationwide.Opportunities likewise abound for coastal communities and fishers with better port facilities, while tourism is also seen to provide a lift in geographically displaced areas.

The 143 seaport projects involve the construction of new and modernized social and tourism ports as well as the rehabilitation and expansion of existing ports to provide better accessibility to fishers, tourists, and coastal communities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

In the last two years, the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Maritime Sector has completed 52 port projects in Luzon, 64 port projects in Visayas, and 27 port projects in Mindanao. The completed projects have managed to generate 4,000 jobs, and assisted over 8,000 fisherfolks nationwide.

The 143 social and tourism port projects form part the 484 projects completed by DOTr and the PPA nationwide over a five-year span.

In addition to addressing the accessibility of Filipino fishermen, the 143 seaport projects will also ensure that equitable and inclusive growth in coastal and island communities with the efficient delivery goods and services in remote areas.

CineMapúa 2021 winners to be revealed on Dec. 3

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Fifteen short films in the collegiate category and ten films from the high school division will vie for the Cardinal Best Film Awards of CineMapúa, the country’s longest-running student short film festival.

The winners of its 19th edition will be known during the awarding ceremonies to be streamed via Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/CineMapuaOfficialPage/) on December 3 at 7 p.m.

The Cardinal Best Film Awardees (Gold, Silver and Bronze) in both categories will receive cash prizes and certificates. Special Cardinal Individual Film Awards will also be given in both divisions, including the new Cultural Heritage Award for the film that best depicts and preserves Philippine arts and cultural heritage.

Mapúa University’s School of Media Studies Dean Benigno Agapito Jr., who also acts as the chairman of CineMapúa, was elated by the overwhelming response that they got from student filmmakers, getting more than 100 entries for both categories – the highest since its inception in 2002.

Agapito shared that the festival serves as a testament to the power of visual storytelling through film technology and it empowers students to continue creating quality stories in uplifting the spirits and articulating the concerns, dreams, and hopes of the viewing public despite the pandemic.

“Stories have no boundaries, and this health crisis needs more visual narratives to deliver information and knowledge to the people. Their visual storytelling could be a powerful medium for human and social development, particularly during this time of the pandemic,” he added.

“Ang Laswa ni Lola Mame” (Vincent Joseph Entuna, UP Diliman), “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Lola Mayumi” (Shiri Francesca de Leon, MINT College), “Blood Stew” (Aaron Neil Domingo, FEU), “Bycatch” (Jerico Felicilda, PUP), “Lysistrata” (John Patrick Manio, UP Diliman), “Manyaok” (Kate Villanueva, UP Visayas), “Maupay Nga Aga, Puniti Kita” (Chicken Ligaya, University of San Carlos), “Miss Informed” (Earvic Noay, UP Open University), “Silang Mga Naligaw Sa Limot” and “Sina Alexa, Xander at ang Universe” (Vahn Leinard Pascual, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde), “The Congressus” (Jan Darryl Villafuerte, Mapúa), “The Girl from Nowhere” (Flory Ann Tacuban, UP Visayas), “The Transfiguration of Saint Mike” (Jermaine Tulbo, MINT College), “Tugaw sa Uma” (Raphael Jay Cordova, Mindanao State University), and “Unsaved Changes” (Andrei Francis Arrocena, Ateneo de Davao University) comprise the collegiate film finalists.

Meanwhile, the ten high school division finalists are “Ahmad & Abdul” (Muhaliden Cawi, MSU-Malabang Community High School), “Babo Kikasoy” (Nabelah Dimaocom, MSU-MCHS), “Dapithapon” (Ethan John Dela Cruz and Marie James Palisoc, Siena College of Taytay), “Ilaw” (Aldwin Jerico Atutubo, FEU High School), “Lente” (Tereon Jay Tulaña, University of Perpetual Help System Biñan, Laguna), “My Dearly Love” (Joseph Marc Salas, St. Mary’s School of Cagayan de Oro), “Orpheus” (Vince Ivan Vesiete, General Santos City National Secondary School of Arts and Trades), “Sa Labas” (Jadrien Marc Morales, MINT College), “The Elusive Star” (Norbert Francis Baylon, Kabankalan Catholic College), and “The Girl from Paradeyes” (Amelia Elizabeth Perez, Catholic Filipino Academy).

This year, it also selected four international student films, “Grandma's Tale of the Magical Outenga” (Rishab Thakur, India), “My Black Heart” (Garush Ghazaryan, Armenia), “Split” (Kang Zheng Shueen, Malaysia), and “Tears of Gold” (Richie Chooi, Taiwan), for its inaugural World Short Film Section.

The festival ran from November 22 to 28 via Yuchengco Museum’s new digital platform YFilms (yfilms.ph), a hub created to offer and promote independent Filipino filmmakers and cultural films.

DOST-SEI, Knowledge Channel ink content partnership

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The Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) entered into a partnership agreement with the Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) towards making the Institute’s educational content more accessible to students and teachers throughout the Philippines via the Knowledge Channel’s on-air and online platforms.

On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOST-SEI set out to adapt its educational programs into distance learning initiatives in line with the Institute’s mandate to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These initiatives included novel video programs such as RadyoEskwela sa Siyensya and TuklaSiyensya, as well as beloved mainstays such as the Indie-Siyensya Filmmaking Competition, the imake.wemake Youth Innovation Prize Award, the #Push4Science Campaign, and the Climate Science Youth Camp—all of which have been revamped for online learning.

KCFI is a non-profit organization that develops, acquires, and distributes Department of Education K-12 curriculum-based multimedia learning resources on-air, online, and offline to supplement the effective and relevant delivery of basic education, improve the engagement and learning of public school children, and contribute to national development and progress. The company works towards educating and empowering poor and marginalized children through media, and is well-known for its educational shows such as Sineskwela and Math-Tinik.

Through the newly-signed Memorandum of Agreement, DOST-SEI and KCFI look to collaborate on bringing the Institute’s programs to a wider audience, leveraging the Knowledge Channel’s on-air and online platforms. The agreement was signed on behalf of the DOST-SEI by its Director, Josette T. Biyo, and its Chief Science Research Specialist, Ruby R. Cristobal. The KCFI was represented by its President and Executive Director, Elvira Lopez Bautista, and its Director of Operations, Edric C. Calma.

Bautista welcomed the agreement, pointing out that it is just the latest of many private-public partnerships between the TKCFI and the DOST. In particular, she noted that the DOST-SEI’s mathematics and science courseware have reached hundreds of schools nationwide thanks to the Knowledge Channel’s portable media libraries.

“We are thrilled to enter into yet another exciting collaboration. We’ve been on this adventure of introducing our young Filipino children to the world of STEM for many years,” she said.

“Through this partnership, we will be able to reach new horizons and bring STEM closer to our youth as the DOST-SEI and The Knowledge Channel collaborate to uphold the value of science, technology, and innovation in building up the next generation of Filipino youth,” Biyo concluded.