Two Cordillerans recognized for their exceptional acts of honesty

Photo Courtesy || La Trinidad FB / Abrenean.com

Cordillera - Alice Baguitan, a vegetable vendor and Sixto Brilliante Jr, an airport cleaner were recognized for their exceptional acts of honesty. 

37-year old Baguitan, a native or Bauko, Mountain Province and residing in Pico, La Trinidad returned a bag full of cash worth Php2.7 million she found inside a restaurant in Laog City, Ilocos Norte. 

The local government of La Trinidad under the leadership of Mayor Romeo Salda has awarded a certificate of recognition and some gifts to Mrs. Baguitan for her exemplary display of extraordinary acts of honesty.

The Sangguniang Bayan also filed a resolution commending her for serving as inspiration and pride to the whole of La Trinidad community. 

"The extraordinary acts of honesty by Alice Baguitan is a true act of Cordilleran and is worthy of emulating and be proud off," Mayor Salda said.

Xixto Brilliante Jr, who originally from the province of Abra was also recognized for returning a bag containing Php430,000 cash and an iPad to a Turkish passenger on August 10, 2019.

Manila International Airport Authority manager Ed Monreal recognized and admired Mr. Brillante for his honesty. 

"Mr. Brillante could have easily kept the bag and favorably benefited from what's inside it, but he chose to surrender it. I admire him for his integrity. Hearing stories like this makes us Filipinos proud," Monreal said.

He encourage other airport employees to emulate Mr. Brillante and encouraged them to always practice the virtue of honesty in any situation that may call for it.

Doing good should never be an option. It must be a way of life for all of us. Monreal added.

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Baguio City to hold first-ever Mindanao Fruit Festival on August 25

Photo Courtesy || Baguio Tourism Office

Cordillera - Durian lovers may not need to travel to the south of the country just to buy this fresh king of fruit as truckloads of fresh fruits from Mindanao will be on sale on August 25, 2019 (Sunday) along Session Road.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said in a press conference that truckloads of fresh fruits from Mindanao will be sold during the closure of Session Road on Sunday.

Buyers can take the chance to buy fresh fruits at a much cheaper price in designated areas along Session Road from local vendors who were tapped to display and sell fruits from Mindanao.

The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) will lead the fruit festival in Baguio City on August 24-25 featuring products of Mindanaoan farmers. 

Former DA Sec. and now MinDA Secretary said the festival seeks to help Mindanaoan fruits farmer sell their produce as well as create an avenue for Baguio local vendors to form business ventures with them. 

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Job Fair: TESDA-CAR to hold 'World Cafe of Opportunities' on August 25

Cordillera - Tech-Voc graduates in the Cordillera Administrative region and nearby municipalities may now start preparing their resumes and heed up to Baguio City to participate in the nationwide Job Fair dubbed 'World Cafe of Opportunities' (WCO) to be held by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority-Cordillera on 25 August (Sunday). 

The WCO is an annual job fair that aims to connect government and private agencies to Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) graduates which is also a highlight of the National Tech-Voc Day celebrated every 25th of August.

"Consistent to our advocacy "TESDA Abot Lahat", TESDA shall continue to implement Job Linkaging and Networking Services (JoLiNS). Throught JoLiNS, TVET graduates will be linked to possible employment opportunities and one of it's strategies is the conduct of WCO", TESDA-CAR OIC Regional Director Manuel B. Wong said via PNA.

Events Management Committee Chairperson Joel Piloten explained that the WCO will serve as a ' one-stop-shop" not only for TVET graduates/alumni, but also entrepreneurs, companies/industries with job vacancies, and returning overseas Filipino workers and their qualified beneficiaries where national government agencies, private companies, tech-voc institutions and financing institutions converge in strategic locations to offer all possible employment, training and financing opportunities and facilitate higher job skill matching.

Among the opportunities at the event are job vacancies in private companies, entrepreneurship orientation, financial opportunities and employability skills orientation.

According to Piloten, WCO targets to serve at least 1,000 certified TVET graduates/alumni with 15 percent hired-on-the-spot.

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Pinoy referee from Baguio among chosen to officiate World Cup

Photo Courtesy || Bong Pascual Facebook Page

Cordillera - A Baguio-pride Pinoy referee Ferdinand (Bong) Pascual has been chosen as part of the 56-man crew from 39 countries who were tasked as arbiters in the upcoming 18th FIBA World Cup in China on August 31 to September 19, 2019. 

A FIBA veteran, Pascual is the only Filipino in the pool of referees in World Championships. 

This will be the 2nd time Pascual was assigned as referee in the World Cup after he was chosen back in Spain in 2014. Pascual is the second Filipino referee to work in the Olympics after Medardo Felipe in 1984.

The 49-year old Pascual was one of two Southeast Asians assigned by FIBA secretary-general Andreas Zagklis together with fellow Southeast Asian Harja Jaladri of Indonesia. 

Pascual will be heading to Beijing on August 31st to attend the five-day Officiating Team Pre-Competition Camp, held in Beijing to finalize their preparation prior to the commencement of the FIBA Basketball World Cup on August 31 according to a statement. 

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Ex-Baguio doctor says tawa-tawa plant can raise blood platelets in dengue patients

Photo Courtesy || region5.healthresearch.ph

Cordillera - A former assistant health officer of the city of Baguio has proven the efficacy of taking tawa-tawa to increase blood platelets in dengue patients. 

Dr. John Tinoyan said his own trial of the tawa-tawa plant which naturally grows on the roads have properties that can increase platelet and red blood cells of patients suffering from dengue virus.  

According to Dr. Tinoyan, he tried the plant to his grandchild and the caregiver who were both hospitalized due to dengue. 

"I was not afraid because I want my apo to get well. I got the plant, dried it, pounded it and capsulized it and sent it to Manila. They took it while they were hospitalized and three days after, they were out of the hospital," Dr. Tinoyan said via PNA News.

He also tried the plant to other patients who were receiving treatment at a hospital and he noted that none of the patients subjected to the tawa-tawa plants were on the brink of death. 

His trials that got him positive results convinced him about the effectiveness of this plant and began to place the capsule in the emergency kit of the EMS to be given to dengue patients for free. 

Dr. Tinoyan said the plant can be either made as powder and capsulized or as dried, pounded and added in water and drink it like a tea. 

In 2013, students of the University of Sto Tomas (UST) studied tawa-tawa to verify its effects to dengue fever patients showing  a symptom of thrombocytopenia (low platelet count due to excessive bleeding).

In the study, the students used chloramphenicol, ethanol and heparin to induce thrombocytopenia on rat models, mimicking dengue hemorrhagic fever. They administered tawa-tawa decoction to the sample groups and collected blood samples to check for platelet count, bleeding time and blood clotting time in several stages of the experiment. 

Results showed that platelet count increased by 47% depending on the drug used to induce thrombocytopenia. Bleeding time was reduced up to 62% while blood clotting time decreased to 58% compared to the controlled groups. 

The study found out that tawa-tawa was able to promote cell production, and prevents platelet destruction. It was also found out that it can preserve and promote the hemostatic function of platelets. - http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph

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Airport cleaner from Abra returns Php430,000 he found at Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Photo Courtesy || Abrenian FB Group

Cordillera - This is another story of a fellow with a good heart who, without hesitation returns anything valuable left or forgotten by the owner. 

On August 10, 2019, Sixto O. Brillante, Jr, an airport cleaner who was assigned in one of the male comfort rooms in the Ninoy International Airport helped locate the owner of a bag containing cash. 

Brillante was originally from Abra Province in the Cordillera region. 

According to a post from Abrenian Facebook Group, Brillante was mopping the floor when an unknown passenger called his attention to inform him about a black sling bag possibly left behind by another passenger. 

He immediately coordinated with his partner to help him locate the owner through the paging system and later turned it over to the Lost and Found Section of the Airport for safekeeping. 

Authorities opened the bag for inventory and found a cash amounting to EUR7,300 or Php 430,000 placed inside two white envelopes and an iPad.

READ ALSO:  Honest Igorota vendor from La Trinidad returns 2.7 million cash to owner

A Turkish passenger came around one and a half hour later to claim the bag. After going through the verification process, he was determined to be the rightful owner of the bag.

"Mr. Brillante could have easily kept the bag and favorably benefited from what's inside it, but he chose to surrender it. I admire him for his integrity. Hearing stories like this makes us Filipino proud," airport chief GM Ed Monreal said.

Photo Courtesy || Abrenian FB Group

Monreal hopes Mr. Brillante's good deed would encourage  airport workers to always practice the virtue of honesty in any situation that may call for it.

RELATED: Honest Passenger and Driver from Tublay return Php400,000 lost cash to a former OFW owner

"Doing good should never be an option. It must be a way of life for all of us," Monreal added. 

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Honest Igorota vendor from La Trinidad returns 2.7 million cash to owner

Photo Courtesy || Gabriel Alipio

Cordillera - An honest Igorot vendor from La Trinidad did not hesitate to return a bag containing a large amount of money worth 2.7 million pesos to the owner, according to a recent news from GMA News Online. 

The Igorota vendor was Alice Baguitan from La Trinidad Benguet. 

According to Baguitan, she was eating at a fast food restaurant in Laog, City when a woman sat beside her and left a bag beside her feet. 

The woman suddenly left the restaurant but  forgot to take the bag with her because she was rushing to the bus station. 

READ ALSO: Honest Passenger and Driver from Tublay return Php400,000 lost cash to a former OFW owner

Baguitan took the bag and followed the woman to the bus station to return it. The woman hugged and  thanked her. She also tried to give her a reward money for her honesty, but Baguitan refused to take it. 

According to her, there are more blessing she will receive from the Lord when she does the right thing. 

Photo || Dennis Gabriel Alipio

Baguitan said she also found cash money worth half million before and she also returned it to the owner. 

READ ALSO: Honest Passenger and Driver from Tublay return Php400,000 lost cash to a former OFW owner

Indeed it was a wonderful example worth emulating. Doing the right thing to anyone is becoming a blessing to them. In return, we will also receive blessings a thousand fold more than we can imagine.

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MMA figther Dave Banguingui from Mt. Province wins ONE Warrior Series via 2nd Round Submission

Photo Courtesy : ONE Championship

Cordillera - Another promising young Igorot Mixed Martial Artist is making its way as one of best figther in ONE Championship. 

Dave Donguis Banguingui defeated Albeir Correiaba Silva of Brazil in the recently concluded ONE Warrior Series event held in Singapore last week.  

The 23-year old from Bauko, Mountain Province is being tagged as one of the promising athletes to sign up with the ONE Championship roster. 

He made his successful debut with Rich Franklin's ONE Warrior Series last month when he defeated Indian figther Susovan Ghosh with a stunning second-round KO. 

Banguigui is a good striker and he is also mastering his ground game. His two recent fights shows his scrambling ability and submission. 

He has the ability to control the match, submit his opponent to the ground and follow with barrage of ground and pound or end the contest with rear-naked choke. 

Rich Franklin's ONE Warrior Series (OWS) is a development league aims to look for the best fighter in the world with a chance to bagged a deal worth more than US$100,000.

Meanwhile fellow Igorot figther Lito Adiwang was also successful in the league and successfully got a contract to fight in ONE Championship. 

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Danny Kingad to face American MMA figther 'Mighty Johnson in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Final

Cordillera - Igorot Mixed Martial Artist Danny Kingad has officially made its way to the final of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. 

Kingad, the only member of Team Lakay pulled out a win against Reece "Lightning" Mclaren via split decision last Friday in the Mall of Asia Arena during ONE: DAWN OF HEROES event.

The Igorot fighter survived Mclaren's rear-naked choke early in the first round and managed to score a favorable winning decision in the last round when he landed multiple takedowns and solid ground and pound to Mclaren. 

With an improve record of 13-1 in his career, Kingad is set to meet American MMA fighter Demitrius "Mighty" Johnson in the final of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. 

Johnson defeated Japanese foe Tatsumisu Wada via unanimous decision to fill the bracket for the upcoming Grand Prix Final set for October in Tokyo Japan this year.

Meanwhile, Kingad's teammates Edward Kelly, Honorio Banario, Eduard Folayang and Geje Eustaquio didn't make it last Friday as they suffered defeats from Foreign foes. 

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Baguio's new law prohibits using mobile phone while walking on sidewalks and crossing streets

Photo Courtesy || PTV Cordillera

Cordillera - A new law has been passed by the city government of Baguio to prohibit and regulate the use of mobile devices and other distractive devices and items while walking and crossing the streets and sidewalks anywhere in Baguio. 

The new Ordinance 49-2019 which takes effect following its publication aims to help in safeguarding pedestrian on the streets. 

The Ordinance is created because distracted walking is a major pedestrian safety concern, citing pedestrian getting worse each year.

The Philippine News Agency said that each year, more people get injured because of texting or listening to music while on their cellphones, unmindful of their surroundings. 

Violators of this said Ordinance will face a maximum penalty of 2,500 pesos and community service or 11 to 30 days imprisonment on the fourth and succeeding offenses.

"Distracted driving is a deep-rooted problem that many cities and provinces in the country have prohibited the use of technology, especially cellphone while driving. However, the problem of distracted walking is a relatively new one but an emerging cause of numerous road accidents." Scout Official for a Day (SOFAD) Councilor Eriko Coscoluela said. 

Ericko Coscoluela is the original author of the said law who wrote the proposal last year. 

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