Tropical fabrics on the catwalk
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Elegant, trendy and chic—these just some of the adjectives thrown at the Philippine tropical fabric (PTF) outfits modeled at the recently heldBagong Habi, Salinlahi: Cutting Edge Philippine Textiles fashion show at the InterContinental Hotel Manila. Among the audience were executives, fashion designers and stakeholders of the textile industry who were dazzled at the seeming metamorphosis of indigenous fabrics into classy, eco-friendly fashion pieces.
Spearheaded by the country’s lead textile research and development agency, the Philippine Textile Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PTRI),Bagong Habi: Salinlahilaunched fabrics made of native Philippine plants such as piña, abaca, and banana. The real revelation, meanwhile, was the introduction of newly-developed fabrics made from water hyacinth,saluyot, and maguey. All garments were dyed using natural plant sources, namely: mayana, guava, mahogany, achuete, indigo,talisay,and coconut husk.
The featured designers showcased a wide array of stylish garments created from tropical fabrics—from cocktail dresses to office uniforms, bridal pieces, and casual to formal wear for men and women. Special ethnic fabrics from different parts of the country were also incorporated in several designs to pay tribute to local craftsmanship and culture, namelyinabelof Ilocos,piñaandjusiof Aklan,hablonof Iloilo, andinaulof Maguindanao.
Excitement filled the grand ballroom as models flaunted their attires individually on the runway with accompanying Filipino music of various rhythms, beats and genres. Meanwhile, through audio-visual presentations, the audience learned of DOST-PTRI’s step-by-step processes in manufacturing various tropical fibers and natural dyes.
Philippine tropical fabrics seize the limelight in the recent Bagong Habi, Salinlahi: Cutting Edge Philippine Textiles fashion show by the Philippine Textile Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PTRI). Held at the InterContinental Hotel Manila, the fashion show featured DOST-PTRI-developed fabrics, such as water hyacinth, saluyot, maguey, piña, banana and abaca styled into classy and elegant pieces by young and talented Filipino designers. The fabrics were naturally-dyed using native plant sources. They were also enzyme-treated for comfort and a softer drape. (Photo by Henry de Leon, S&T Media Service)
DOST sends experts to assess earthquake area
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Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo sent a quick response team yesterday to Negros Oriental to assess the damage in earthquake-affected areas. The team, headed by DOST-Phivolcs Chief Mariton Bornas and Senior Science Specialist Mabel Abigania, is composed of geologists, seismologists and information staff from the DOST- Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-Phivolcs). They arrived in Dumaguete City yesterday afternoon and will proceed to the Tayasan and Libertad areas in Negros Oriental to immediately conduct post-earthquake assessment.
The team will evaluate the extent of damage around the Negros-Cebu area, particularly the hazards caused by the earthquake such as landslides, liquefaction, ground rupture, tsunami and other developments in the areas near the epicenter. The team will also install instruments in gathering intensity reports to determine the strength of ground shaking in various areas.
Also, the team will use portable seismic monitoring equipment to accurately identify the position of the epicenter of the aftershocks, and identify and locate the fault plain that caused the main shock. The experts will likewise document the condition in the areas around the epicenter through pictures and video to help them better understand and study the incident.
Meanwhile, the information team will conduct on-site lectures on what to do during and after an earthquake and distribute information materials on earthquake and other hazards.
“We assure our countrymen, especially those in the earthquake-damaged areas, that DOST-Phivolcs is doing its best to monitor all events related to the Cebu-Negros earthquake,” Sec. Montejo stated. “We are doing this to deepen our own knowledge of what happened and continually provide our people with the relevant information they need to understand this earthquake event and how to cope with its effects.”
Tsunami alert cancelled
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Phivolcs bulletin: After two hours of extended observation period in the areas of Negros and Cebu islands that experienced a 6.9 magnitude earthquake of tectonic origin, there were no reports of unusual sea level changes. Hence, tsunami alerts for the Philippines are now CANCELLED. There is no more possibility of tsunami incident in the earthquake area.
After dominating call centers, Philippine IT-BPO seeks world leadership in four more fast growing services
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The Philippine Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) Industry is aiming to become one of the world leaders in four more fast growing offshoring and outsourcing services, namely: Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing, Finance and Accounting Outsourcing, HR Outsourcing and Animation and Game Development, as well as solidifying its lead in call centers in the coming years.
This was revealed in a joint press conference held by the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) on ICTO and BPAP’s new programs targeted to develop several key BPO market segments.
The Philippines recently overtook India as the call center capital of the world, and in 2011 the IT-BPO industry contributed approximately $11B in export revenues, about 640,000 direct jobs and approximately 1.5 million indirect jobs (e.g. construction and service jobs generated to serve the sector’s growth) to the Philippine Economy.
According to ICTO Deputy Executive Director Alejandro Melchor, “We are the world’s number one call center provider and we intend to attain market leadership in the UK and Australia as well. With our new development programs for the IT-BPO Industry we also intend to position the Philippines as a world leader in Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing, Finance and Accounting Outsourcing, HR Outsourcing, and Animation and Game Development. Our third goal is to double our market share by 2016 in Information Technology Outsourcing, Engineering Services Outsourcing and Multilingual BPO.”