LOCAL NEWS:

MAKING THE DREAM WORK: BNHS secures SBM Level 3 thru teamwork
Frency Mae C. Capanang

With strong partnership among its stakeholders, the Banisilan National High School notched the School-Based
Management Level 3 (Advanced) with the rating of 2.85 du-ring the SBM Regional Validation on March 11, 2020.

The rating was obtained from the 60 percent Key Performance Indicator (KPI) categorized as Access, Quality, and
Efficiency and 40 percent from Document, Observation, and Discussion (DOD) from School Years 2016-2017 to 2018-2019.

School Principal Alex B. Palmes together with the stakeholders received the Certificate of Recognition from Regional
SBM Validating Team Leader Agney C. Taruc. He then expressed his gratitude for another milestone that the school has
achieved. He also commended the officers and members of the school organizations spearheaded by the School Governing
Council (SGC) and Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) for the all-out support in all Programs, Projects, and Activities (PPAs) of
the school.

“I feel so blessed to have worked with people who unselfishly shared their time, effort, resources, and expertise that
our quest to be in the Advanced Level has turned into big success. It proves that with concerted effort, perseverance, and
patience, big challenges seemed small, light, and manageable,“ Palmes expressed.

According to Xyle Kristine D. Nadala, SBM coordinator, the said rating score is a sign of collaborative effort exerted
by the school personnel and its stakeholders.

In KPI, both the Junior and Senior High School manifested the increasing enrolment in Access, fluctuating Grade Point
Average (GPA) in Quality and fluctuating Drop Out rate with increasing Graduation Rate and fluctuating Promotion Rate for
Efficiency.

archiving documents with Master Teachers as group leaders. Principal 1, Leadership and Go-vernance was led by
Azucena B. Serue and Genuine Q. Palmes; Principle 2, Curriculum and Instruction was led by Dr. Noemie Roxan C. Fulgencio
and Evelyn S. Dusaran; Principle 3, Accountability and Continuous Improvement was manned by Darryl C. Paredes and Nilda B.
Vito, and Principle 4, Management of Resources was headed by Bertito N.Molina and Nenita S. Cabilla.

Different organizations and agencies also participated actively in making the documents intact from the Division Level
Assessment up to the Regional Level such as the SGC led by Hon. Julius M. Valdez as chairperson, PTA headed by Juanito B.
Gumban III as President, Teachers and Staff Association (TSA) led by Niña P. Majan as President, Supreme Student Government
(SSG) manned by Christian Dave Z. Nebla as President, Local Government Unit (LGU) led by Hon. Mayor Jesus F. Alisasis,
Barangay Poblacion 1 Council led by Barangay Chairman Jose Rodillo S. Baldeviso, and Barangay Poblacion 2 led by Barangay
Chairman Ronald V. Soberano.

In the best interest of the school populace, the shared responsibility and governance have been practiced by the school
administration and stakeholders. As the retired Principal of the school and the current SGC Vice Chairperson Wilfredo C.
Capanang, Sr., shared their involvement in helping the school achieve the highest SBM Level of Practice. “As far as the SGC is
concerned, we were able to draft and finalize the Student’s Handbook that contains the school policies and guidelines for the
students, teachers, and parents to follow. The SGC holds monthly regular meeting to discuss matters concerning school issues
like infrastructures, physical improvement, problems on students’ behavior, and resource mobilization,” Capanang stated.

Meanwhile, Juvy D. Binayao, PTA auditor, who shared her presence during the Regional Validation said that the SBM
guides the parents on how they can help in ensuring quality education for their children. She also expressed her appreciation on
the success of BNHS in achieving the level 3 because the school administration and the stakeholders had worked hard for it.

The stakeholders’ support had been evident from SBM Division Assessment held on January 10, 2019 when the school
was adjudged “Maturing” Level 2 after garnering the rating score of 1.93. The SBM Division Team led by Margie M. Macasaet,
SBM Division Coordinator had given Technical Assistance in several fora with the Division Technical Working Group for the
school to gain Level 3 ”Advanced” in the Regional Validation.

Along the duration of preparation, the school had faced difficulties. There was a need to transfer the SBM Showroom
from the Principal’s Office to a classroom in order to make it more conducive, and big enough to showcase the performance of
the school in the last three school years, with complete and updated documents. The school was also confronted with issue on the
accommodation of Regional Validating Team. It was resolved when all TSA members approved to utilize the prize from the
DepEd Variety Show amounting to P50,000.00.

Teachers’ remarkable involvement helped a lot in making the documents complete and organized despite their teaching
and ancillary loads. Each group assigned in every principle devoted time and effort in pulling the documents that were no longer
needed and in upda-ting records that speak of the school performance.

TSA President Niña P. Majan shared the sentiments of the teachers and staff while the declaration of rating score was
fast approaching.

“Everyone was in awe, screaming with great joy upon hearing the result. Indeed, nothing is impossible if everybody
works towards the common goal,” she added.

In the same manner, Christian Dave Nebla, SSG president narrated the experience of all officers in helping the school
administration in the preparation of the organization’s pertinent papers and in enhancing the physical features of the school.

All who attended the SBM Regional Validation went home with a big smile, with honor and pride of the legacy made
for the next generation of learners, educators, school head, and stakeholders to sustain.

NATIONAL NEWS:

Teenage pregnancies in PH up by 7%
CNN Philippines Staff

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 8) — The Philippines has recorded a 7% increase in births among girls
aged 15 and below in 2019, up from the figure on teenage pregnancies in 2018, the Commission on Population and Development
said over the weekend.

In a statement on Sunday, PopCom cited the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority which revealed that
Filipino minors who gave birth in 2019 increased to 62,510 from 62,341 in 2018.

This is the ninth consecutive year that the country has reported a rise in teenage pregnancies, PopCom warned.

"In 2019, 2,411 girls considered as very young adolescents aged 10 to 14 gave birth, or almost seven every day. This
was a three-fold increase from 2000, when only 755 from the said age group gave birth," the commission said.

It added that one in three births among minors occurred in the three regions of Calabarzon with 8,008, National Capital
Region with 7,546 and Central Luzon with 7,523 births.

Outside Luzon, the highest number of minors who gave birth were in Northern Mindanao with 4,747 cases, Davao
Region with 4,551, and Central Visayas with 4,541.

Population and Development Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III said they are coordinating with the Department of
Social Welfare and Development for the teenage pregnancy reduction program as part of the government's roadmap to reduce
poverty.

He added that a "whole-of-government approach" will be applied with the help of the private sector, local government
units, relevant government agencies and other development partners to tackle the issue.

"PopCom and DSWD, together with other agencies, are looking forward to roll out this social protection program this
year," PopCom said.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

Myanmar military companies become prime target for US sanctions

YANGON/SINGAPORE/TOKYO -- As the U.S. chooses targets for sanctions in response to last week's coup in Myanmar,
military-linked conglomerates with interests in industries from finance to farming are likely to be in the Biden administration's
crosshairs.

President Joe Biden's new executive order authorizes sanctions against "the military and its leaders, their business interests, and
their close family members," according to a letter to Congress published by the White House on Thursday. Biden said the
previous day that the targets of the first round of measures would be selected within the week, adding that Washington is "ready
to impose additional measures."

A Myanmar military spokesman said little in response to Washington's move, which marks the Biden administration's first volley
of actions in response to the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"They are doing their job," Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said Thursday morning when contacted by Nikkei. "They have already
announced earlier to do so and now they did it."

By adding targeted companies and individuals to the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals list, Washington can
freeze U.S. assets held by these entities and bar them from doing business with Americans. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who
seized power in the coup, was put on the list in 2019 due to his involvement in the crackdown on Myanmar's Rohingya minority.

"It's likely that companies with ties to the military will be added to the SDN list," said Yusuke Yukawa, partner at the Yangon
office of Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi.

Two such companies are Myanmar Economic Holdings, whose shareholders include current and former members of the military,
and military-controlled Myanmar Economic Corp. Both conglomerates have interests across a broad range of industries,
including agriculture, mining, real estate, gem extraction, banking and insurance, ports, and telecommunications.

Where the profits from these businesses go is unclear. But the U.N. Human Rights Council said in a 2019 report on the Rohingya
crisis that revenue from these companies "provides financial support" for "international human rights and humanitarian law
violations" by the military.

Since the coup, foreign multinationals have been severing ties with military-linked Myanmar companies.

Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings said last week it would seek to terminate its joint-venture partnership with Myanmar Economic
Holdings, also known as MEHL. The company plans to sell its entire interest in the beer ventures to MEHL and seek a new
investment target without military connections.

Lim Kaling, co-founder of Singapore gaming hardware developer Razer, said on Tuesday that he would unload his stake in a
joint venture that owns tobacco company RMH Singapore. RMH controls 49% of Myanmar-based Virginia Tobacco, which is
co-owned by MEHL.

The U.S. imposed wide-ranging sanctions on businesses and individuals with close ties to Myanmar's military during its long
years of junta rule. These were fully lifted by October 2016 -- while Biden was vice president -- after the country's democracy
icon Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy rose to power that March following a general election. Suu Kyi and other NLD
members have been arrested as part of the coup.
"Right now, it's unlikely that we'll see the sort of comprehensive sanctions that were in place before 2016," said Yukawa at
Nishimura & Asahi.

Following the full-on economic isolation strategy of the past would risk driving Myanmar closer to China, and there is concern
about the effect such measures would have on the lives of the general public.

But sanctions limited to military-linked companies alone have less bite, making cooperation with partners such as Japan and
European nations all the more important.

SPORTS NEWS:

EJ Obiena breaks PH indoor pole vault record again, settles for silver in Poland meet

David Tristan Yumol, CNN Philippines

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 13) - Filipino pole vault sensation EJ Obiena set a new national indoor
pole vault record as he bagged the silver medal in the 2021 Orlen Cup on Saturday (Philippine time) at Lodz, Poland.

Obiena reached the 5.86-meter mark in three tries for the new Philippine record, marking the third time he broke the
national mark this year while also achieving his personal best jump.

The 24-year-old pole vaulter first recorded the new national record last January 30 at the Karlsruhe World Indoor Tour
Meeting, when he jumped 5.62 meters but only good for a fifth place finish. He then shattered the national mark last February
6 after acing the 5.80 meters mark to rule the ISTAF Indoor Athletics Meet in Berlin, Germany.

In the Orlen Cup, Obiena breezed through the 5.40 meters and 5.60 meters in one attempt. He also aced the 5.72 meters
and 5.80 meters in two tries.

Obiena faced two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the United States in the final match-up in the 5.86 meter
clearance. The American also hurdled the mark, but opted to skip the 5.91 meter jump which proved to be beneficial as he took
home the gold.

Obiena settled for a silver finish after failing to clear the 5.91 meters mark in three attempts.

He is expected to compete in another competition at Poland next week as he continues to prepare for the 2021 Tokyo
Olympics.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

LOOK: Heart Evangelista marks birthday with another Times Square billboard

Niña V. Guno, Inquirer.net

Heart Evangelista has much to be grateful for on her birthday, and among those is no less than seeing her face on New York’s
Times Square.

Evangelista is seen posing with a handbag from sustainable fashion brand Ia’s Threads. The pink and teal Capri round bag sells
for $285 (P13,600). The designer Ia Faraoni, who hails from Davao, provides livelihood for weavers in the Philippines through
her pieces.
The fashionista was previously on a Times Square billboard last January, also for Ia’s Threads. At the time, she modeled the
Panda Minaudière bag, named after her dog Panda.