Is Philippine business process outsourcing a smart move? Here are the tough nine questions to replicate information technology outsourcing, especially in the third world country

Outsourcing firms in the third world country like the Philippines formally set out a few years ago and at present gradually make a boom. In fact, there are pros and cons of outsourcing, but one thing to make it sure that here in Cebu, it soars high on top of the others. Outsourcing is being done in roughly 2/3rds of organizations for three principal “information technology” reasons: cost savings, efficiency and business value--and to cushion the impact on global IT dissemination and at the same time to level the playing field for small organizations. 

Presently, outsourcing takes many forms. Organizations hire service providers to handle distinct business processes, such as benefits management. But some organizations outsource whole operations. The most common forms are information technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing.

A few questions had been preliminarily asked for us to respond to the IT needs in the third world country. The type of job is highly recommended and it is the chosen company to work with among the Cebuanos as Filipinos in general. Here are the prerequisite questions and the rest will ensue with, based on the contents of the article to be used for further IT clarity, IT emphasis and IT coherence.

1. So, what is outsourcing?

2.  Is Philippine business process outsourcing a smart move?

3.  Is outsourcing becoming a common development among specific industries and services?

4.  In the area of call centers, is end-user-experience deemed to be of lower quality when a service is outsourced?

5.  Is this exacerbated when outsourcing is combined with off shoring to regions where the first language and culture are different?

6.  Is the questionable quality particularly evident when call centers that service the public are outsourced and off shored?

7.  Does business process outsourcing encompass call center outsourcing, human resources outsourcing, finance and accounting outsourcing, and claims processing outsourcing?

8.  Does outsourcing take many forms with regard to organizations that still hire service providers to handle distinct business processes, such as benefits management?

9.  What are the knowledge and skills required and needed by call center agents?

All of these questions can be answered categorically based on the knowledge and skills which are absolutely required and needed by the call center agents, among others. Based on the experiences, knowledge, skills, customary ways and practices here in Cebu, Philippines, a lot of things, being involved in outsourcing industry, will take into account and will greatly ease the tension of a call center agent himself. It is inevitable to have engaged in telecommunications and sometimes, a call center agent makes experience something awful and something odd.

Everything is part of the job once you are paid to do business in outsourcing company. Your main job is to have the telephone with you because this is mainly connected with your daily task as a call center agent. You have to possess the knowledge and skills in order for you not to put behind others because telecommunication business is a competition so you have to prepare for it and be knowledgeable of everything in outsourcing business.

As far as the telephones are concerned, they are used as an everyday part of business and often aided in your customers a first impression of your company that you are connected with. You have to possess and identify telephone skills needed to be successful and more professional. It provides strategies to enable you to give your callers the quality service they deserve. You have to influence your customers with great pride and perception of the company. Once you are hired, you have to look after the knowledge and skills that you have possessed yourself. You may use them in day-to-day activities in the outsourcing company. What is the call center? Why is it connected to the outsourcing industry? The call center is a dynamic and fast-paced department.

 It is a highly-structured operating environment where constant change is the norm. Having said that, a typical call center agent should possess and must have the  profile that includes himself if the following skills set requirements:

1) Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills;

2) Professional and courteous demeanor; 

3)  Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, high-volume environment; 

4) Excellent problem-resolution skills; 

5) Strong systems skills;

6) Ability to meet established productivity, effectiveness, training, sales  and quality goals; 

7) Ability to work in a highly-structured environment; and the ability to accept and learn whatever tasks are given to him without complaints for personal advantage and promotion.

To dig deeper into the importance of outsourcing, what is outsourcing success all about? Here in the Philippines, we have a large pool of information technology – a call center to do business with. We can communicate well with other country in terms of telecommunication because of this outsourcing business. 

English is the universal language, that is the main reason why the Filipinos are adept at speaking in English. English uttered by the Cebuanos is based on American and British accents. Like all the companies that hired skilled workers in IT, English is the main source of outsourcing industry that provides us with greater advantage over the other country as far as telecommunication is concerned.

We have fixed and variable costs as well as targets to make a daily profit. Our country and its outsourcing industry are rapidly emerging when they are being talked about. The first thing that comes into people’s mind is call center outsourcing business. Information Technology (IT)  is in the field of outsourcing, and it is paving the way for success. This is considered as the newest one in business today. One’s success in outsourcing industry will rely on the knowledge and skills; besides, information will follow after gaining momentum in the field of information and technology in the Philippines.

Outsourcing firms in Cebu, Philippines, started a few years and tremendously make a boom up to now. In fact, there are pros and cons of outsourcing, but one thing to make it sure that here in Cebu, it soars high on top of the others.  Outsourcing is being done in roughly 2/3rds of organizations for three principal “information technology” reasons: cost savings, efficiency and business value– and to cushion the impact on global IT dissemination and at the same time to level the playing field for small organizations. 

Presently, outsourcing takes many forms. Organizations hire service providers to handle distinct business processes, such as benefits management. But some organizations outsource whole operations. The most common forms are information technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing.

Outsourcing has the potential to deliver ongoing budget savings as well as business benefits, depending on the outsourced function. It got a bad rap in the past with a lot of major firms that were taking advantage of the worldwide economic difference, but in the process took precedence and advantage of their overseas staff and were paying them below minimum wage. Other countries can still catch up as far as outsourcing industry is concerned.  

Outsourcing can be a good or bad business—depending on the gravity of workloads/assignments. It is a thing for the economy, whether it gives a moral or not. But it can also be a bad thing, sometimes.  Companies today both large and small organizations do not have the capacity to display and manufacture every component of an end product they are getting ready for sale.  This is a good thing as this creates the need for additional jobs provided the market is good for the product being manufactured and assembled.  The key to outsourcing is choosing the resource that can provide the quality product or service in completing an end product. 

There are a lot of advantages to wield over the outsourcing industry, particularly in Cebu areas. How to single out the best outsourcing companies? People, particularly clients may opt to look at the possibilities by knowing the vision and mission as regards industry’s operations and expansions. Outsourcing industry should cater to the entire populace and to the entire clientele when it comes to good services. In fact, people ought to be aware of the companies that can offer a great deal of options for the benefits not only for the company itself but also for the clientele in general.

In Cebu, we have the leading outsourcing companies like ExcelAsia which is geared towards expanding its operations in Cebu, citing the increased demand for its training services from call centers, such as Wipro. Another outsourcing company is Convergys which is geared towards continuing to expand its Philippine operations, with the opening of another call center, aside from the original outsourcing hubs situated at the UP-Ayala Technohub in Quezon City, and other places in Cebu and Manila areas. 

Besides, according to the press release, Manila-based business process outsourcing company eTelecare will soon open a delivery center in Managua, Nicaragua to serve as a near-shore site addressing United States customers.

The new call centers located in Cebu City, aside from Quezon City, Sta Rosa, Laguna and The Fort this year, are expected to create more new jobs for Cebuanos. Convergys inaugurates more centers in Cebu Asiatown in Cebu City and others. Two more will be opened this year with a total of five call centers that will create 7,000 employment opportunities for Filipinos.

Here in Cebu, the people, especially the applicants for employment will take part in this kind of industry once they got hired to work as call center agents. Convergys has 12 operational contact center facilities. Cebu City was picked as one of the two city locations for the back-end financial operations of multinational transport company abroad. Cebu City bested 62 other cities around the world, including outsourcing and off-shore destinations. It was stated in the press release that Bombardier Transportation has formally commenced its Global Finance Shared Service Center for Accounting and Reporting at the 14th floor of the new TGU Tower in Asiatown IT Park with 20 employees that is expected to grow by 150 in 2014. It is good, perhaps, for the Cebuanos!

ExcelAsia officially opened its business in Cebu in the year 2005 with Convergys as its first client. It has since expanded in Metro Manila and has trained the so-called “newly-hired applicants” who also received scholarships subsidized by the government. On the average, the company’s Cebu office trains 200 to 300 people every month. ExcelAsia president expects this to increase to at least 400 per month. We have Western WATS as the one source destination that everybody can bank fully on as regards data collection needs. It offers a variety of comprehensive solutions and works with its client partners to determine which services are best for each research project.

Over the years, the company has successfully conducted every type of survey such as client behavior and character-tracking, ad/concept testing, client contentment and integrity measurement, new product development, and business or market scenarios. Western WATS Philippines Inc., an American outsourcing company conducting a market research located at Mactan Economic Zone II. Cebu, the dominant player in outsourcing touted as the “back office of the country,” would soon have to contend with Manila-based counterparts in outsourcing industry. They said “Cebu is the best option,” a highly skilled English-speaking labor force, a reliable telecommunication infrastructure with low cost of qualified personnel. That is why these are the important reasons for choosing Cebu companies in outsourcing support.

THE IT OUTSOURCING IN INDIA. It is a former colony of the British Empire for almost two centuries, has the second-largest IT talent pool in the world, a result of its Britain-influenced education system that places great emphasis on science and mathematics. With 120,000 trained IT professionals added to the Indian workforce yearly, India is gearing to be an IT giant in the third world and is ranked as the first choice of U.S. companies for software outsourcing. According to Nasscomm, a conglomerate of India-based software and services companies, Indian companies are software solution provider to more than half the Fortune 500 companies.

The launch of India’s first private undersea cable has tremendously improved the international bandwidth situation. In addition, considerable bandwidth is available with the state-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited, partially owned by India’s largest business conglomerate. The privatization of telecom industry has also resulted in a significant drop in telecom rates. Observers predict that the entry of newer industry players will see a further drop in telecom prices. In the last ten years, telecom costs in India have dropped by 85 percent.

Over the years, India has built strong brand equity as an attractive destination for software development and support. India is host to established IT companies such as IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Sun, HP, and Alcatel.

OFFSHORE DESTINATION LIKE THE PHILIPPINES.  According to IT outsourcing press release as locally  circulated last year, the Philippines is one of the world’s second-largest English-speaking populations, and it  is fast catching up with India. With a literacy rate of 94%, the Philippines has a large pool of information technology professionals and a cost-competitive telecoms infrastructure. The country ranks third in Knowledge and Information-based jobs in the 2002 Global Technology Index research done by the META Group. Three million college graduates join the workforce each year, providing a tremendous source of talent. An American colony for close to 50 years, the Philippines has a Western-influenced culture, a unique trait that clearly distinguishes the country from other offshore destinations. Although Asian in orientation, Filipinos watch American TV and are thus able to communicate effectively in American English.

PHILIPPINES IS A CALL CENTER HUB. The press release made another booming comeback of the IT outsourcing based on the gross productions. It said, “In recent years, the Philippines has become the offshore destination of choice for call center outsourcing, specializing in customer support services.” Because of the Filipinos’ high level of English proficiency and strong customer orientation, many leading multinationals have used the Philippines as a global center for customer service. American OnLine, the largest U.S. Internet service provider, maintains a staff of 600 at its call center in Clark, Pampanga. Caltex, Procter & Gamble, Barnes and Noble, among others, have built large-scale service centers in the Philippines.

The press release finally added that one very promising industry that has sought outsourcing support in the Philippines is the medical transcription business. The Philippines boasts a large talent pool of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and medical technologists. The demand for medical transcription has risen as U.S. hospitals are now required by federal regulations to convert medical records into data format. Seventeen medical transcription companies are now in operation, employing 1,200 Filipinos.

DepEd-Region VII supports SPFL-French and adopts new programs offered by DepEd-NCR starting this school year

“It has always been a marvel to me -- that French language; it has always been a puzzle to me. How beautiful that language is! How expressive it seems to be! How full of grace it is! And when it comes from lips like those [of Sarah Bernhardt], how eloquent and how limpid it is! And, oh, I am always deceived--I always think I am going to understand it.” - Mark Twain, a Biography

In Cebu Province Division 2 science high schools, namely, Minglanilla National Science High School and Medellin Science High School officially started to teach French under the tutelage of native French teachers from Alliance Francaise de Cebu and Alliance Francaise de Manille. Teaching said language is spearheaded by the French Embassy and DepEd-NCR.

In the Philippines it is not only enough to have taught foreign languages but also to have propagated cultural diversities. According to FrancoPhil organizers, a new, fresh and exciting French cultural season in the Philippines, otherwise known as FrancoPhil, the 2011 French cultural season is a play on the word “Francophile,” meaning a lover of French culture, and is a celebration of the ties that bind French and Filipino culture. 

The word also signals the expansion of the cultural season to other major cities such as Cebu, as well as highlights the collaboration between French and Filipino artists in many of the events. The FrancoPhil program, spread throughout the year, is a sustained mission to bring French culture to the greater Filipino public, which usually sees French events as “too highbrow” or too distant from their everyday lives. 

Meanwhile, in a press release of the Department of Education, more foreign languages will be introduced aside from French, Spanish, Japanese and German. 

It said that priming Filipino students for the global arena, DepEd is set to introduce more foreign languages in pilot schools as the department aims to produce more internationally competitive graduates.

Aside from English which is the first foreign language to be mastered by selected secondary students, other foreign languages being taught among third and fourth year students are Spanish, French Japanese and German.

Mandarin, which is widely used in world economic power China and Arabic which is spoken in the vast Middle East market, are set to debut this school year, DepEd said.

Deped’s Bureau of Secondary Education chief Director Lolita Andrada said the Special Program in Foreign Language is designed for schools whose students have demonstrated competence first in English before they start to learn another foreign language.

“Studies have shown that facility in just one foreign language is now perceived as a disadvantage in a global market that is culturally and linguistically diverse,” added Andrada.

She explained that while English is a major language, it only accounts for around 30% of the world gross domestic product and is likely to account for less in the future.

DepEd piloted foreign languages in selected high schools starting with Spanish, Japanese and French in school year 2009-2010. The following year, German was introduced. Mandarin and Arabic are set to be introduced beginning school year 2011-2012.

Currently, Spanish is being taught in 54 high schools across the country, Japanese in 13 high schools, French in 12 high schools and German in 9 high schools. The program is piloted in public secondary schools (preferably with speech laboratory) for students who are in the last two year levels of high school where they are allotted four hours weekly to learn the language.

“We believe the last two years of high school is the most appropriate time to learn a second foreign language because that is the time they are most ready,” Andrada explained.

To prepare the teachers in teaching the foreign languages, DepEd has made an arrangement with the Instituto Cervantes for the teaching of Spanish, with the Japan Foundation Manila for Japanese, the Alliance Francais for French and Goethe Institute for German.

Teaching English must start with preschool children

 
The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth."  ~Dan Rather

Learning English language must start with preschool children and they should be given the right amount of time and training in their education concerning the use of a language. The only problem why we lack in communication is that the pupils starting with kindergarten are not trained well by their teachers as regards the macro-skills in teaching a language.

“Attaining the language skill requires the mastery of a system that takes literally years to learn. This requires on the part of the teacher skill in noting the difficulties of the learners in both oral and written English, presuming that the primary children have mastered the listening skill while still in their elementary years. But this does not mean that listening should be done away with. Much as the teacher wants to perfect language learning in speaking and writing, he can still require his pupils to practice in the open air where sounds are freely transmitted inasmuch as language is sound. The outcome of individual or societal integration cannot be achieved unless the student has acquired a command of the language he learns in school. It is through this that his personality adjustment and social participation are achieved, relevant to his future professional and preparatory years in elementary school.”

Learning English language must commence with preschool children and they should be given the right amount of time and semi-rigid training in their education concerning the use of a language appropriately without a hassle. The only problem why we lack in communication skills as far as English language is concerned is that the pupils starting with kindergarten are not trained well by their teachers as regards the macro-skills in teaching a particular language.  Aside from that, the principles and practice of writing should be required as part of rudimentary task and professional work. The reader to whom the training is directed is primarily the technical learner who has had enough training in the fundamentals of composition to be ready for consideration with some specialized problems of technical writing. 

In the second language situation, mastery of a certain language is significant to the public in the sense that it helps perceive what is lacking for them in the other aspects of communication skills; in addition to the mastery of form, it does not guarantee communicative proficiency neither does communicative practices necessarily result in such a mastery of form. In the bilingual setup, only grammatical patterns and forms are needed in the Philippine setting, and they should be taught to the point of mastery. 

Thoroughly reforming the art of speaking…

Another problem that needs to be raised is to reform thoroughly the art of public speaking in a distinct and strategic way of communication. In fact, giving speeches or public speaking is tremendously feared by most people from all walks of life. It has caused them to cringe in front of the audience, drop their natural warmth to zero as they talk with professionals, lose spontaneity and stamina as they relate to business people or even shrink in a casual chat. That is why constant practice needs everyone perfect at all times, and many recitations, presentations and reports inside the classrooms are shared by the artistic and creative language teachers despite the fact that learning such a language is gloomy and dragging. Many speakers conquer fear by hiding themselves behind the slides, overheads, out-of-sight narrations, tables, copy reports, speeches of other persons and the results are devastating. Potential leaders deprive themselves of an opportunity to reach their maximum levels and potentials. It can’t be avoided to have experienced and encountered that kind of strategic approach in public speaking, and can’t be avoided that we will redound to effective outcomes of acquiring communication skills.

By all accounts, it is true that we lag behind others  in terms of English language communication because we neglect the value of dedication as well as rigid training every day until each of us will complete the entire course. There are a lot of factors why we can’t surpass, conquer or overcome weaknesses in communication skills, and can’t attempt to work out by degrees the reasons behind of such a poor communication. The solution to the problems, besides knowing profoundly what is English all about and what are the structured lessons in English using the macro-skills in language teaching, is paving the way to structured lessons in English utilizing the macro-skills’ learning performance--thus attaining more developments in intellectual aspects and acquisition of language to make the valuable resource assimilate with peers and adults in developing a sense of personal growth and find a place in social and economic life adopted to this capacity and personal preference. 

Language skills require the mastery of a system…

Attaining the language skill requires the mastery of a system that takes literally years to learn. This requires on the part of the teacher skill in noting the difficulties of the learners in both oral and written English, presuming that the secondary freshmen students of a public school have mastered the listening skill while still in their elementary years. But this does not mean that listening should be done away with. Much as the teacher wants to perfect language learning in speaking and writing, he can still require his students to practice in the open air where sounds are freely transmitted inasmuch as language is sound. The outcome of individual or societal integration cannot be achieved unless the student has acquired a command of the language he learns in school. It is through this that his personality adjustment and social participation are achieved, relevant to his future professional and preparatory years in elementary school. 

The manifestation of various teaching strategies for use in the field has perplexed a lot of public secondary English teachers whose students come from different educational backgrounds. These students come from exclusive schools which have diverse English books and students come from remote barangay elementary schools which have dearth of learning materials and limited learning experiences. The teachers are cynical whether or not the methods they use in their classes could keep up with the standards of a good and effective teaching procedure considering a mixture of students they have in the classroom.

Teaching should be adjusted to the needs of the learners. Because of this, it is imperative to determine first their difficulties and needs so that whatever materials a teacher purports to design should be in accordance with these needs. This is what is known as directional teaching. This means an assurance of more achievements in teaching than mere teaching without any sound basis. 

Bilingual teaching has become a setback in the students’ attempts to gain proficiency in English. It used to be that the Philippines’ biggest competitive advantage in the global job market is the proficiency of our skilled workers in the English language. This advantage is fast being eroded by rising competition from other countries coupled with declining mastery of the English language by our high school and college graduates. That is the reason why there is a private sector willing to invest in the Philippines in order for the Filipinos to be globally competitive when it comes to oral and written communications in English. 

Poor English communication…

Philippines is lagging behind in terms of English language, both in oral and written communications as compared to other Asian and European countries. Before, it was highly regarded as the best country as far as oral and written communications are concerned; although, English is only the second language, aside from Filipino language spoken nationally by the entire region. There is a deteriorating factor that affects so much in the interest in learning a particular language—and that is English. Some reasons are, perhaps, overloaded with subject offerings within the educational system of DepEd. Well, the answer lies in us as Filipinos who are stagnant about the intellectual skills and linguistic developments—both verbal and non-verbal. 

Filipinos, despite the loss of enthusiasm in the acquisition and adaptation of a modern English language, strive hard to surpass or excel in all the subjects that have something to do with English communication since the target language is used as medium of instructions in the Philippines. 

The NGOs and other private sectors are very supportive of the Filipinos and find ways about speech or language difficulty in order to remedy slowly whatever problems that entailed in language communication. Failures to correct mistakes in speech difficulty are the twisted principles that must be corrected at once; otherwise, these are the stumbling blocks in learning the target language. 

In previous years, the Promoting English Proficiency Project of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, the Makati Business Club and Sun Microsystems Phils., Inc. commissioned the survey. It was aimed at developing a world-class Filipino workforce with English proficiency that meets high international standards. “English means jobs,” said Rick Santos, AmCham president. “We believe that there are great opportunities in business process outsourcing (BPO), IT-enabled services, software development, and tourism in the country.” 

In a competitive learning institution…

Life is a wonderful journey for the school achievers, especially to our proud parents with their kids who pan out this year with flying colors. It is an achiever's path that you set and determine by the choices you make each day. As the saying goes, "The future belongs to those who strive hard academically, those who succeed by receiving the awards, and those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." So as you step out to meet the challenging world each year with your mind prepared, your skills and achievements tuned, I urge you to set your academic direction with a positive attitude and strong spirit. Hereunder is the detailed account of what really a preschool life for me and my child who is enrolled in a competitive preschool learning institution. Frankly speaking, the preschool education here in our area caters to the quality of education and needs of our children for the optimal development during their preschool years. The parents and teachers cooperate in providing the best possible environment for the growth and development of the preschoolers. The parents single out to enroll their kids in a competitive school to learn from experience and imitation. They expect individualized instruction by each competent teacher who is equipped with a caliber of intelligence and a vast repertoire of experiences.

To tell the whole world what I feel about preschool education, I am very happy that my kids are enrolled in a prestigious "competitive school" in our town because he can survive all the challenges that the school is giving and tasking. Based on parents' accounts, experiences were so great and competition was very tough. I would like to advise the parents out there to choose a "competitive preschool" school in your area that offers quality of education to your children. Here in neighborhood preschool institution, there's a motto that teaching is a big business. When a teacher stands before his class and directs his pupils to recite, this is only a small part of teaching. He is fully qualified educationally and then he must have the following professional qualifications, instructional competencies, skills and personal characteristics. I observed that the school is student-centered. It gives the preschoolers' varieties of activities such as materials and other stuff for experimenting and learning; materials that are available for the child at all times, including his personal tools and text books; playground apparatus for large muscle development has been built for the children; picture books, drums and other simple musical instruments have been provided for them; the planned program of cooperation between parents and teachers is accessible from time to time; individual conferences, study groups, and sharing of materials are strictly implemented; utilizing community agencies and resources; and parent active involvement and participation in any activity for the preschool learning institution.

As a parent of two kids, for five years of attending the "preschool" school, I've been actively recommending other parents to study in the primary school because of the tuition fees which are so affordable, and the personal characteristics of the teachers are tremendous. They are well-trained preschool teachers. They possessed characteristics such as punctuality and enthusiasm, intelligence, good physical and mental health, loyalty and commitment, respect for the dignity of the individual, fair level of tolerance, good professional and human relations, good moral and ethical character, leadership and followership, and most of all love for children.

Let's celebrate the days of preschool recognition and success and always prepare for the challenges that meet each of our children as they venture through life. For although we may consciously make the most positive decisions in day-to-day struggles in their preschool studies, you and I know that there will always be hard days for them and for all of us parents. It is during the times of success that the kids will stay and enjoy, will know their teachers' names. And it is also during funny times of competition that the preschoolers and parents will know each character. To our children who enrolled in a competitive primary learning institution, you are now the recipients of this school year with various academic awards and you are equipped to take on the world of preschool recognition and achievements. Your life is now your destiny. In fact, a competitive preschool education will not impose deadlines but give constant learning struggles to achieve. In my point of view, whether we like it or not, your preschool life is yours to create. We have simply built a strong foundation for the kids' future, so you must single out a "preschool" that offers competitive learning and can independently design and shape one's character--building your child's character just to be submissive, but competitive in a righteous manner.

Press Conferences in the Philippines: DSPC, RSPC and NSPC

1ST PLACE IN RADIO BROADCASTING IN ENGLISH CATEGORY AND BEST IN ANCHOR. The contestant writers, radio broadcasters and coach Dr. Ermetes F. Adolfo Jr. from Minglanilla National Science High School won at Division Schools Press Conference with various competitions in English category such as Editorial Writing, Sports Writing, Editorial Cartooning and Radio Broadcasting.

DepEd slates reg’l schools press confab in Lapulapu City and gears up for nat’l schools press conference in Butuan City

"There is power in the pen and we highlight this in our school journalists and their publications. We enlist their active participation in this advocacy because our young journalists know how to optimize the power of communication. We can also expect that the government will find more community stakeholders who will be our partner," said former Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

“Republic Act No. 7079, also known as the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, aims to promote awareness and develop young talents in journalism. It is also intended to uphold and protect the freedom of the press at the campus level.”

“Education Secretary Armin Luistro will grace the almost weeklong press conference. The aim of the national conference is to enhance the capability of the students in news gathering, news writing, radio and TV broadcasting and editorial writing and even digital news generation. The 2011 National Press Conference competition will include home line writing and desk top publishing.”

The Department of Education (DepEd) is set to schedule this school year’s Regional Schools Press Conference (RSPC) in Lapulapu City.

English Supervisor Mrs. Evelyn Balang said the staging of the regional schools press confab as announced recently  by Dr. Arden D. Monisit in his Division Memorandum No. 552 will focus on the theme “Promoting Global Environmental Awareness through Campus Journalism.”

The week-long conference, to be conducted and supervised by the DepEd’s Director of Region VII, Recaredo Borgonia, will be participated in by some 1000 leading public and private elementary and secondary school campus journalists from Region VII, the presscon organizer said.

According to Dr. Adolfo, the school head  of Guindaruhan National High School, the first top five (5) winners in individual writing category-contests and the first placers in special contests from division press conference shall qualify for the Regional Schools Press Conference to be held in the Division of Lapulapu City.

“The conference aims to enable the participants to demonstrate understanding of the importance of promoting environmental awareness by expressing it through varied journalistic forms and approaches; enhance journalistic competence through healthy and friendly competition such as individual, group as well as TV broadcasting and scriptwriting contests; and select the division’s representatives to the regional press conference,” he also said.

The Access school publication staffers who were the writer-contestants  during the DSPC at Cordova, Cebu as follows: Aldrin Navarro, 1^st place for editorial cartooning; Carlo Galicia, 1^st place for editorial writing; Joy Degamo, 4^th place for sports writing; Ron Bugay, 7^th place for editorial writing; Delfin, Fedelf Niño, 6^th place for editorial cartooning.

Mrs. Balang said the RSPC will feature professional lectures by prominent regional media practitioners who will also administer and judge individual writing contests to the participants, separately for elementary and secondary school writers.

2011 National Schools Press Conference in Butuan City…

·     Carlo Galicia from Minglanilla National Science High School will fly to Butuan City for NSPC competition in Editorial Writing Category (English), representing Cebu Province Division

·      The theme  for said event is "Freedom of Expression: Rights and Responsibility." 

·     The organizers are expecting more than 4,000 delegates from 17 regions who will be joining the 2011 National Schools Press Conference in Butuan City that would converge in friendly competition and exercise the freedom of expression.

The National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) 2011 focuses on the “Freedom of Expression: Rights and Responsibility." As such, the Department of Education (DepEd) mobilizes schools support by advocating and integrating rights and responsibility in related school-community initiatives.

The annual NSPC draws a thousand campus journalists from public and private elementary and high school students nationwide. It will be held this school year in Butuan City, Caraga Region.

Carlo Galicia from Minglanilla National Science High School will compete with other qualified winners during the RSPC for 2011 NSPC competition in Editorial Writing Category (English). He is one of the winners in editorial writing from Cebu Province Division. He is to be accompanied by his coach Dr. Ermetes F. Adolfo, Jr., the Access school paper adviser.

Individual and group writing contests in English and Filipino will carry the conference theme: “Freedom of Expression: Rights and Responsibility." The campus writers will be aware of the freedom of expression, especially their rights as students in particular and their rights of teachers in general. Each of them will be responsible for carrying out the tasks for the benefits of everybody.

The group contests comprise five categories: editorial page, feature/literary page, news page and sports page.

High school and elementary students will participate in the individual contests such as editorial writing, news writing, feature writing, sports writing. There will also be competitions in copyreading and headline writing, photojournalism, editorial cartooning, and scriptwriting and radio broadcasting.

Your actions can kill you if you don’t know how to manage your life and how to manage the people around you

 At times the poem points out and at other times it connotes the end of a summer  where the universal life cycles in different seasons. Do good before it’s too late. Time is too short to enjoy life with virtues. Life is good! Ponder it, excogitate it and discard the bad things inside you. Remember that it’s the end of a summer.

"It's the end of a summer…at last! It's the end of a summer…at last! It's the end of a summer…at last!"

Who are you by the way to say that to me?

Are you the boss?

Are you the one responsible for my life 
and the people around me?

Are you the inventor of my foreordination and existence?

Oh, come on, you are not a God, you are just a commoner.

Who are you to stop me?

Can you control my life?

Are you really the right person to control everything
that I possess?

Oh, come on, you are not a controller, you know that?

Don’t you know it’s the end of a summer?

Remember that life should be valued profoundly 
without frittering away your precious time.

You value summer and life, if you dare then do it!

By the way, who are you to utter me like that?

Are you my friend or my boss?

Are you the one responsible for my life 
and the people around you?

Are you the inventor of my foreordination and existence?

Oh, come on, you are not a sentimental lunatic, 
you are just an imbecile.

Are you aware of that?

Your actions can kill you if you don’t know how to manage your life and how to manage the people around you.

Who are you to interfere with me and do that 
without a cause and without a reason?

Do you possess with a good reason 
or just a plain nonsense?

Can you wield over me?

Are you really the right person to control everything 
that I possess?

Oh, come on, you are not a life controller, you know?

Remember that life should be valued profoundly
without frittering away time.

If you dare to control life, then do it!

Please assess before it’s too late.

Change for the benefits of all!

Remember that you are not my friend or my boss.

Are you the one responsible for my life
and the people around me?

Are you the inventor of my foreordination and existence?

Oh, come on, you are not a sentimental lunatic, 
you are just an imbecile.

Are you aware of that?

Your actions can kill you if you don’t know how to manage your life and the people around you.

Who are you to interfere with me and do that
without a cause and without a reason?

Are you the person with logic?

Please change before it’s too late.

It’s the end of a summer.

Time is too short to enjoy life with virtues in this summer.

Ponder it, excogitate it and discard the bad things inside you.

Savvy is the solution for you to be aware of the things
that surround you.

Are you the boss?

Who are you to say that to me?

Are you the one responsible for my life 
and the people around me?

Are you the inventor of my foreordination and existence?

Oh, come on, you are not a God; you are just 
a sentimental lunatic.

Change, change, change, change, change, change.

Do good before it’s too late.

Time is too short to enjoy life with virtues.

Ponder it, excogitate it and discard the bad things inside you.

I repeat … change, change, change, change, 
change, change.

Do good before it’s too late.

Time is too short to enjoy life with virtues.

Life is good!

Ponder it, excogitate it and discard the bad things inside you.

Remember that it’s the end of a summer.

Guindaruhan National High School: Celebrate Buwan ng Wika with fervor and patriotism

"Spearheaded by the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino and the Department of Education, a lineup of activities has been firmed up to draw maximum participation from students who themselves are the biggest group that uses and studies  the national language as part of  their school lesson."

To boost student as well as teacher morale on the campus and to promote appreciation of the Filipino language among students while advocating love for a healthy environment, the Filipino teachers and School Head Dr. Ermetes F. Adolfo, Jr. of Guindaruhan National High School joined forces in order to cultivate a productive Buwan ng Wika celebration last August 2011 with the year's theme “Ang Filipino ay Wikang Panlahat, Ilaw at Lakas sa Tuwid na Landas.” It was celebrated by the teachers and students from first year, second year, and third year up to fourth year. 

The celebration was spearheaded by the Filipino Coordinator Mrs. Henrisa S. Fernandez. Cultural performances from the Filipino Club members kicked off the 1 month celebration and successfully made the lineup activities given by DepEd as calendar of activities to follow.   

The following teaching and non-teaching personnel who cooperated with the Filipino Coordinator and School Head during Buwan ng Wika celebration and inculcated in the minds of students the FILIPINO VALUES: Noel Abendan, Belinda  Alindao, Virginia Andaya, Annalei  Baga, Frankie  Delos Santos, Nympha  Kasayan, Magine  Layan, Alicia  Libreas, Olimpio Mantua Jr., Jonathan  Recebas, Rosalie  Rubia, Delia  Saavedra, Araceli  Tapanan, Jerry Tortusa and Feliciano Delicana.

In a press release circulated by DepEd, it said that the country significantly observes the whole month of August as “Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa” in grateful celebration of having a common language that unites the whole nation. 

Spearheaded by the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino and the Department of Education, a lineup of activities has been firmed up to draw maximum participation from students who themselves are the biggest group that uses and studies  the national language as part of  their school lesson. 

According to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, the month-long celebration of the national language is divided into five parts.  From August 1 to 7, the focus is in giving importance to the national language which will be highlighted by taking to heart the lyrics of the national anthem. 

“I think this generation has to revisit and better appreciate the significance of every word and the depth of nationalism embodied in our national anthem,” said Luistro. 

In a press release sent out a few weeks ago, DepEd said from August 8 to 14, the highlight is on the importance of the national language in enforcing discipline that will lead to national development. For this, the text of the pledge of allegiance to the Philippine flag will be dissected and put to heart. The schools are encouraged to stage plays and writing contests that emphasize why discipline is important in achieving progress. 

On August 15 to 21, the theme is the use of language as an instrument to achieve freedom and justice. Schools are encouraged to conduct a symposium on the history of the country’s struggle for freedom and the holding of debate following the theme “Ang Kahalagahan ng Wika sa Larangan ng Katarungan.”

 

For the week of August 22 to 28, the theme is “Wikang Filipino: Tugon sa Malinaw na Programa sa Tuwid na Landas.” The week will be about composing songs and writing poetry on the programs being pursued by the government such as caring for the environment, cleanliness and promotion of national language. 

The remaining days of August will be anchored on the celebration of the Filipino language as the voice of teachers, students, and the language of heroism. 

Luistro said this will be observed by celebrating the ideals by which our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal lived and died for the motherland. Schools are also expected to come up with programs that will make students understand why the language is the light and strength of a nation.