Michelle Dee claims top spot in

ongoing Miss Universe 2023 fan vote

contest
Earl D.C. Bracamonte - Philstar.com
November 5, 2023 | 10:50am

Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee currently leads in the online poll for Miss Universe
2023.
Miss Universe Philippines via Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Marquez

Dee finally claimed the top spot in the ongoing Miss Universe 2023 fan vote
contest.

The actress-beauty queen landed on the top spot after a see-saw battle with
Miss Universe Ukraine 2023 Angelina Usanova, who climbed the leaderboard
quite meteorically. Former first-placer Shennis Palacios of Nicaragua went
down to third place.

There are still 13 days before the online poll closes, and it will be determined
who will be announced as Silver Finalists during the preliminaries.

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In a social media post, the Miss Universe Philippines Organization wrote,
"Pilipinas, we need to keep voting!"

It also reminded Pinoy pageant supporters to vote on the Fan Vote site to
secure a spot in the semifinal round. Furthermore, it also reminded voters to
check their emails to validate their votes in the Voice For Change online poll.

While most from the leaderboard list have stayed in the Top 10, it is
interesting to note that a lot of delegates have moved several places up from
their former ranks but have yet to land in the Top 10. They include:

 Tunde Blaga, Hungary (up by 4)

 Maria Brechanne, Brazil (up by 4)
 Michelle Cohn, Guatemala (up by 6)
 Estefany Rivero Bolivia (up by 6)
 Ana Barbara da Silva Coimbra, Angola (up by 7)
 Priyanka Annuncia, Singapore (up by 8)
 Delary Stoffers, Ecuador (up by 10)
 Margarita Golubeva, Russia (up by 17)
 Isabella Garcia Manzo, El Salvador (up by 21)
 Sameela Urias, Namibia (up by 28)

Yesterday saw a lot of arriving delegates. Today's schedule includes finishing

their registration, fitting sessions for their production number outfits
and photoshoots with makeup sponsor MUBA Cosmetics.

The 72nd Miss Universe edition will unfold on November 18 at the National
Gymnasium in San Salvador, El Salvador. Stay tuned!
Tolentino hot in Ynares
Olmin Leyba - The Philippine Star
November 13, 2023 | 12:00am

NorthPort gunner Arvin Tolentino fires away a career-high 35 points against Rain or Shine.

ANTIPOLO, Philippines — On the first anniversary of his first 30-point game in

the PBA in the same venue, Arvin Tolentino exploded for a new career high of
35 points.

That import-esque number from Tolentino spiked by five triples set the tone as
NorthPort dumped Rain or Shine, 113-103, for a hot 2-0 start in the PBA
Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the Ynares Center here.

Tolentino, who also had nine rebounds, three assists and four steals, fired
nine in the third and helped the Batang Pier to a 19-point lead at one point
then banged in 12 in the fourth quarter to quell the Elasto Painters’ late
uprising.

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The 6-5 forward capped his heroics with a steal off Dajuan Summers and a
subsequent transition slam over ROS veteran Gabe Norwood that gave
NorthPort a 107-99 breathing room after seeing their lead trimmed to only
four.

Tolentino was surprised to learn he reset his scoring best on the exact day
last year and the very place where he previously shot 31 in a 91-85 comeback
win over Terrafirma in the Commissioner’s Cup.

Later, Magnolia also made it two in a row via a 107-92 drubbing of Phoenix (1-
1). The Hotshots used a 56-31 salvo in the second to break away after a tied
first half for a followup to their 110-102 verdict over TNT a week ago.
MECO wants placement firm
blacklisted
Mayen Jaymalin - The Philippine Star
November 13, 2023 | 12:00am

Skyline of Metro Manila

The STAR / Miguel de Guzman, file

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO)

yesterday sought the blacklisting of a placement agency for allegedly
defrauding Taiwan-bound Filipino scholars.
MECO chairman Silvestre Bello asked the Department of Migrant Workers
(DMW) to sanction JS Contractor for the illegal collection of fees from Filipino
students.

Bello said he received reports that JS Contractor collected P45,000 each from
32 students who arrived in Taipei last Nov. 2 under a scholarship program in
one of Taiwan’s leading universities.

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The amount was supposed to cover airfare, visa, pre-departure orientation
seminar and overseas employment certificate, but Bello said the students are
not required to secure an OEC and need not undergo the PDOS.

According to Bello, only departing Filipino workers for deployment overseas

are required to secure an OEC from the DMW and go through PDOS for a
fee.

“Aside from being too excessive, the collection of OEC and PDOS fees is
patently illegal,” Bello pointed out.

“This agency must be punished for its nefarious activities. It has to be

prevented from further victimizing hapless young people whose families are
seeing fresh hopes with their inclusion in the scholarship program,” he added.

The Taiwan Ministry of Education guidelines on the program provide that a

university or college cannot accept scholars deployed through recruitment
agencies.

The scholarship is a work-study program for Filipino students under Taiwan’s

Academe-Industry Collaboration Program of the New Southbound Policy.

There have been 201 recipients of the study-work program since it started in
March 2019.
DepEd not expecting ‘good’ results in
PISA 2022
Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
November 12, 2023 | 4:08pm 11

K-12 students at a high school in Marikina City during their in-person graduation ceremony on July 2,
2022.

Walter Bollozos

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education said it is not expecting

to see high scores in the upcoming results of the Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA), where the Philippines previously ranked last in
terms of reading comprehension.

Ahead of next month’s release of the PISA 2022 results, DepEd

Spokesperson Michael Poa said they have asked to realign the proposed
P150 million in confidential funds to the National Learning Recovery Program
(NLRP) to improve students’ skills in reading, mathematics and science —
subjects covered by PISA and other global assessments.

While PISA has been conducting international assessments on students’

competencies since 2000, the Philippines only joined for the first time in 2018,
performing the worst in reading and second-worst in science and mathematics
among 79 countries.

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“To be honest, we’re not expecting good results. So right now, we're really
focused in learning recovery. And that is why we requested that if there were
realignments to be made, it should be realigned to the NLRP,” Poa said in an
interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source.

DepEd made the same request in the agency’s budget hearing at the Senate
last week, saying that any transfer of its proposed confidential funds should go
to the NLRP “because we do not expect good scores for the 2022 PISA
results coming out this December," according to a DepEd statement.

Senators initially eyed realigning DepEd’s proposed P150 million in

confidential funds to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in
Private Education (GASTPE) program — the country’s largest private school
scholarship program.

DepEd's GASTPE subsidies aim to "decongest" public schools by issuing

vouchers to eligible public school students to subsidize their tuition fees in
private schools.

Poa said that while there has been a deficit in DepEd's funds for GASTPE,
initial talks with senators indicate that DepEd "has been given a P1 billion
additional funding for the voucher program," Poa said.

Poa added that the National Learning Camp - an end-of-year “learning

recovery” program partially rolled out in July - is not covered by the National
Expenditure Program for 2023 because it was not yet created during last
year's budget proposals.

With P4 billion allocated for the NLRP in 2024, which the National Learning
Camp is under, there may be a need for more funding “depending on the
number of participants,” Poa added.
“When we talk about realignments, we need to look at where it would have the
most impact,” Poa said.

While the Senate has already approved the budget of the DepEd, its final
provisions — including where the P150 million figure will be realigned to —
will depend on the bicameral conference between the Senate and the House
of Representatives.

DepEd this year rolled out three new national programs focused on providing
students additional learning in mathematics, science and reading.

The DepEd Order outlining these programs as part of the NLRP cited the
Philippines’ weak performance in PISA and other international assessments.

RELATED: DepEd to launch reading, math and science programs in learning

recovery plan
The findings of the 2018 PISA prompted the DepEd under then-DepEd
Secretary Leonor Briones at the time to shift its focus from widening access to
education to improving its quality.

Dubbed the "Sulong Edukalidad" program, DepEd had planned to improve the
quality of basic education in the Philippines by reviewing the K to 12
curriculum, improving facilities, and leveling up teachers' and school heads'
skills, among others.
DepEd also formed a technical working group for international large-scale
assessments to study how Filipino students can achieve higher scores in
global learning assessments.

DepEd’s shift from access to quality was disrupted in 2020 after the COVID-
19 pandemic forced the closure of schools and the abrupt pivot to distance
learning.

PISA is set to release the 2022 scores of all participating countries on

December 5.
Drunken cop kills niece in shooting
rampage
John Unson - Philstar.com
November 13, 2023 | 2:06pm

Crime scene tape.

The STAR / File

KIDAPAWAN CITY — A drunken police sergeant shot his niece dead in a

rampage in a residential area in Kidapawan City on Sunday morning, causing
panic among villagers.
The Kidapawan City Police Office, in a report to Region 12 police director
Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, on Monday said that the 13-year-old Yuki
Maangue died instantly from a bullet wound in the throat

Citing accounts of witnesses, the local police reported that his uncle, Cpl. Roy
Soliva Maangue, 36, first had an altercation with other relatives amid a
drinking session in Sitio Mateo in Barangay Birada in Kidapawan before he
pulled out a Glock 9 millimeter pistol and opened fire. This hit his niece fatally
and sent people in the scene running for their lives.

Maangue, who is a member of the municipal police force in Magpet, an upland

town in Cotabato province about 20 kilometers from Kidapawan, immediately
scampered away but was eventually arrested by pursuing personnel of the
Kidapawan CPO and barangay tanods.

He is now locked in a detention facility of the Kidapawan CPO, to be

prosecuted for his criminal offense.

Macaraeg, whose office is in General Santos City, told reporters that he has
ordered the filing of an administrative case against Maangue for him to get
booted dishonorably from the police service.