Make Magical Memories this Yuletide Season at Park Inn by Radisson North EDSA

Wazzup Pilipinas!

No need to travel far to experience staycation options, diverse views and enjoyable activities with the family as you celebrate the holidays. Park Inn by Radisson North EDSA is right here for you. Share the holiday cheer and experience “Christmas in the City” with our delightful dishes and refreshing room offers.

Gather up this Christmas season with your loved ones at Casa-Urban Table featuring food selections perfectly fit for Noche Buena priced at Php 1,500nett on December 24 and Media Noche at Php 1,800nett on December 31. Surprise your family and friends with a heartwarming lunch buffet on December 25 and dinner buffet on January 1.

Have fun with the season in a magical way. Set into a Christmas staycation featuring an overnight stay with buffet breakfast for 2 adults and 2 children (7 years old and below) at Casa Urban Table, Christmas welcome amenity, Php 300 Ginger bread house credit per stay, Php 1,000 Food & Dining Casa - Urban Table credits and 20% discount on regular spa service. Rates start at Php 5,300 nett inclusive of government taxes and service charge. Reserve your room and avail of the special rates applicable now until December 24, 2019.

Looking for freshly-baked Christmas goodies to give as presents to your family and friends? Choose from a selection of tasty and delicious treats from our Christmas displays found on the 7th level. Yuletide treats are available until the 6th of January.

Dance and celebrate with us for the New Year Countdown and welcome the coming of 2020 priced at Php 1,300nett. Dress up, revel and be in style as we bring you the night full of entertainment. The celebration is inclusive of light cocktails, one round choice of local beers, red of white wine, one round of soda or iced tea, one round of sparkling wine for toasting, party favors and live acoustic entertainment.

For reservations and more information, call (02) 7944-1888 or email reservations.northEDSA@parkinn.com.

Tuklas Lunas for Accessible, Affordable and Reliable Drugs

Wazzup Pilipinas!

According to Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo of the Department of Health (DoH), the Philippines still pay higher prices for medicines than other countries. This high cost of medicine is a barrier to access reliable healthcare solutions, especially for low to middle income families. To address issues on access of drugs, the Department
of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and
Development (DOST-PCHRD) established the Tuklas Lunas™ Program which aims
to produce reliable and affordable medicine sourced from our very own biodiversity.

As part of our country’s tradition, communities have been using remedies sourced from our very own biodiversity as a relief from ailments. These learnings served as the foundation for the development of the Lagundi and Sambong products under the Council’s National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants (NIRPROMP).

The Tuklas Lunas Program builds on what had been started by NIRPROMP in
refining the DOST-PCHRD’s drug discovery and development program with two
tracks: the drug and herbal track. To implement the program, 28 Tuklas Lunas Centers (TLDCs) all over the country were established, each research institutions
working on the unique resources of each region. The 28 research implementing
institutions are distributed as follows: 17 TLDCs in Luzon, six in Visayas and five in
Mindanao.

Some of the most advanced projects under the program include university-industry
partnerships. Pharmalytics Corporation working with the De La Salle University
Medical Health Sciences Institute (DLSU-HSI) is now undertaking clinical trials for the Dengue Herbal Drug to determine the safety combination of three plants identified to have effect against the dengue virus. Meanwhile, UP Manila, UP Diliman,
Pharmalytics Corporation, Herbanext Laboratories and the Pascual Lab focus on
formulating standardized dosage forms from 28 plants for possible anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-gout and anti-hypertensive applications.

Drug discovery and development is one of the priority areas for health research set
under the National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA) and the Harmonized
National Health Research and Development Agenda (HNRDA).

2019 Oath Taking of the Newly Conferred and Upgraded Scientists

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The 2019 Oath Taking of the Newly Conferred and Upgraded Scientists was held on December 16, 2019 at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City.  The Oath Taking was hosted by the Scientific Career System (SCS) and the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL).

The SCS is a system of recruitment, career progression, recognition, and reward of scientists in the public service as means of developing a pool of highly qualified and productive scientific personnel.  The system is an effort to uplift personnel in government institutions where the number of higher plantilla positions is limited.  Co-implemented by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) with the CSC Chairman and DOST Secretary serving as Co-chairs of the Scientific Career Council, the SCS program is now administered by the NAST PHL.

Conferred Scientists are ranked to and receive the corresponding salary grade as follows: Scientist I – SG 26; Scientist II –SG 27; Scientist III – SG 28; Scientist IV – SG 29, and Scientist V – SG 30.  Conferred Scientists are also entitled to receive the following support grants: Representation and Travel Allowance; Magna Carta Benefits; Membership in International Scientific Organization and/or subscription to Scientific Journals; Publication Assistance; and Foreign Travel Assistance for oral paper presentation of 3,000USD per SCS Scientist every two years.

Latest evaluation of candidates to the SCS program resolved to confer scientist rank on five researchers and upgrade the rank of two active scientists.  Three of the researchers and one upgraded scientist come from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) of the Department of Agriculture (DA); one, from the Ecosystems and Development Bureau (ERDB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); and two, from the Philippine nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) of DOST.

To take their oath under Agriculture Sciences Discipline are Mr. Edwin C. Martin, Dr. Jonathan M. Niones from Phil Rice, Mr. Sotero S. Resilva from PNRI, Dr. Jose Alan A. Castillo from ERDB; under Social Sciences Discipline is Dr. Jesusa C. Beltran from Philrice; under Engineering and Technology Discipline is Ricardo F. Orge from PhilRice, and Dr. Lucille V. Abad from PNRI under the Natural Sciences Discipline.

With this development, the roster of scientists conferred under the System brings the total number to 172 since the System was institutionalized in 1983 by the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos.