PDI: Imus City Public Library

Today's anniversary issue of Philippine Daily Inquirer 

featuring the program of the Imus City Public Library 

"Kwentuhan na sa Plaza... Mga Bata Tara na!"

News Clipping : 7 things You Should Know About Random Drug Testing in Schools

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/922442/deped-guidelines-random-drug-testing-in-schools

By: Pathricia Ann V. Roxas - @inquirerdotnetINQUIRER.net / 05:59 PM August 13, 2017

The Department of Education (DepEd) has issued guidelines in conducting random drug testing among students in public and private secondary high schools.

DepEd Order No. 40, posted Aug. 8 on the DepEd website, was based on parameters laid down by the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165) and its implementing rules and regulations.

It also adapted Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 6, series of 2003, as amended by Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 3, series of 2009.

Here are the seven most important things you have to know about the order:

The number and location of students to be tested will be based on a stratified cluster sampling of junior and senior high school students. A committee will be created at the DepEd Central Office. The committee will then organize random drug testing teams (RDT teams). The exact date, time and place of testing, and participants will remain confidential among authorities.

A regular or special parent-teachers conference will be conducted to explain the drug testing. Failure by parents or students to attend such meeting will not exclude the student from the possibility of being chosen.

Students selected for the drug testing will be oriented and will be required to accomplish a drug testing form. To safeguard the integrity of the urine sample, the student will be accompanied by a specimen collector of the same gender as the student.

All specimens collected should be transferred to the Department of Health’s (DOH) custody. DOH will issue the results within 15 days. The results should remain confidential, whether negative or positive. Only the parents and the student will be informed of the results by the drug testing coordinator. All positive results must be subject to confirmatory analysis.

For students who test positive, the concerned drug testing coordinator will set a conference with the student, parents and a DOH-accredited physician to discuss issues of drug use and possible dependency.

After the conference, the drug dependency level of the students should be identified. If found to be drug-dependent, the student will be referred to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Or the family may opt to send the student to a private rehabilitation center. Even if parents should refuse to act, the process would still continue.

Positive confirmatory drug test result should not be a ground for expulsion or any disciplinary action against the student and should not be reflected in any and all academic records. The results should also not incriminate any student or be used as evidence in any court or tribunal proceedings.

Schools that refuse to implement the random drug testing program will be reported to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Dangerous Drugs Board for appropriate action.

Meanwhile, chosen students who refuse to undergo the random drug testing will be reported to the committee.

PDI Article on Filipiniana

Filipiniana books are often collectible because they are out-of-print within a year after publication. At most, a thousand copies of such books are printed, with 400 of them acquired by libraries; a smaller print run at 500 copies means there would only be 100-150 copies left for private libraries.

Philippine publications are often printed on cheap newsprint that does not survive the test of time because of acid built into the paper. The acid starts to eat up the pages as soon as the books land on bookstore shelves. Add these to the list of challenges: floods, heat, humidity, silverfish, cockroaches, rats, and the greatest enemy of them all —humans. Read the full Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper article by Ambeth R. Ocampo HERE.

Selfie + Essay Contest

Who can join:

There are two categories for participants: Category 1: Edsa millennial (15 to 35 years old), and Category 2: Edsa survivor (36 years old and above). Each participant is limited to one entry.

How to join:

Edsa millennials can take a selfie with an older person, one who lived through the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, and caption the selfie thus: “Edsa is a historic moment for Filipinos. I’ve always wanted to ask my [mom/dad/teacher/etc] [a question about Edsa]. #OurEdsa”

Here’s an example: “Edsa is a historic moment for Filipinos. I asked my mom why Edsa was important and she said Edsa is a testament to what ordinary people can accomplish. #OurEdsa”

Explain or elaborate on the question you’ve chosen to ask an Edsa survivor in an essay that must not exceed 500 words (2,500 to 3000 characters). One guide question to keep in mind: Why have you always wanted to ask that question about Edsa?

Edsa survivors, or participants in Category 2 can take a selfie with a younger person who was not yet born during the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, and caption the selfie thus: “Edsa is a historic moment for Filipinos. I told my [son/daughter/

student/etc] that [a statement describing what you want to pass on about Edsa]. #OurEdsa”

Here’s an example: “Edsa is a historic moment for Filipinos. I told my son that Edsa made me believe that violence is never the answer to our country’s woes. #OurEdsa”

Explain or elaborate on the lesson you’ve chosen to pass on to an Edsa millennial in an essay that must not exceed 500 words (about 2,500-3,000 characters). Keep in mind this guide question: What have you always wanted to pass down to the younger generation about Edsa?

How to submit:

Go to http://inquirer.net/ouredsa and fill out the form to submit your entry.

Make sure to fill out the form completely and upload your selfie. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.

The file size of the selfie image (in .JPG, .PNG or .GIF format) should not exceed 2 MB.

Deadline of submission of entries is 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 21 (Sunday).

No revisions whatsoever will be accepted once the entry has been submitted.

All submissions become the property of the Inquirer Group of Companies and may not be used in other competitions or submitted to other media organizations.

The Inquirer Group of Companies reserves the right to publish your name and entry on its various platforms after submission.

Book reviews: 5 books that will inspire you to travel

From: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 November 2015 issue.

With great inspiration comes great adventure. Here are some of the stories that will inspire you to travel:

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

Christopher McCandless decides to leave his home to escape from domestic violence. He abandons his comfortable life and becomes a hitchhiker, meeting new people and living in the wilderness where adventures happen on every corner. This non-fiction book will touch all kinds of emotions and make you realize that sometimes, being alone and away from your daily life will make you appreciate living even more.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

A search for everything—this is what urges Elizabeth Gilbert to travel in her memoir. After getting divorced, she travels to Italy, India and Indonesia to fight her depression. On her adventures to help her ease her anxiety, she discovers that the way she’s been living hardly scratches the surface of what the world has to offer. At the end of her wonderful journey a surprise awaits that changes her life.

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien http://www.tolkiensociety.org/author/biography/

With the help of Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins agrees to help a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Kingdom of Erebor. The journey from Shire to Erebor includes treacherous lands swarming with ogres, orcs, goblins and other dangers, while also having an unexpected encounter with the well-known character in the previous books, Gollum (Smeagol). This story is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and it will take you to amazing places you’ve never imagined.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This book will encourage you to do whatever it takes to follow your dreams, even if you have to cross a continent to find out where the real treasure is. Despite the lack of money and experience, Santiago manages to pursue his Personal Legend because of perseverance and faith, making him achieve his goal while never giving up. This book will rouse your inner adventurer, making you long to find your own path and goals in life.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Although the main genre of this book is romance, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight allows you to experience the misfortunes of traveling alone and missing a flight. But all the hassles of the main character are soon forgotten when Hadley meets a handsome young man. This is a great read, especially when you’re at the airport waiting for your flight. This can help put you in the shoes of our heroine, wondering what it’s like to find love out of the blue. A real heartwarming novel that will make your heart flutter.

Relax with a cup of coffee and experience the world between the pages of these magical books.

ebooks: Doing Business 2016

Click HERE to read / download pdf copy of the ebook.

Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency, a World Bank Group flagship publication, is the 13th in a series of annual reports measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 189 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time.

Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation, which is not included in this year’s ranking.

Info from http://www.doingbusiness.org

Click HERE to read "Philippines slips in World Bank ranking on doing business" from The Philippine Star (PS) while HERE for the "PH business ranking drops; truck ban cited" from Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI).

PLAI Congress 2015 @ PDI

THE PHILIPPINE Librarians Association Inc. (PLAI) with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts through its National Committee on Libraries and Information Services (NCLIS) and the National Library of the Philippines (NLP), will be conducting its annual National Congress on Nov. 24-27 at the Plaza del Norte Hotel and Convention Center, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. 

This is in line with this year’s celebration of the Library and Information Services (LIS) Month.

This year’s congress theme is “Asean 2015: Borderless Librarianship, Limitless Opportunities.”

Click HERE to read more.

Book Reviews

From Philippine Daily Inquirer

Review : Top 10 Books of 2014

















From Manila Bulletin

12 Books You Can Give This Christmas

Pinoy Kasi : e-books

The column of Michael L. Tan on Pinoy Kasi in today's issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer is about e-books. He offered an insight, which i believe is music to our ears as librarians.

Maybe it’s my age, but I still enjoy books you can hold, turning the pages by hand. It’s really all conditioning and I suspect my kids will take on to the e-books more quickly. But I’m also certain there will still be bookstores and libraries (real libraries) for a long time to come because when you do read a good e-book, you end up wanting to get the real copy. There was one book on child development that I liked so much I ordered three “real” copies to give to friends.

Click here or the title of this post to read the full article. Thanks.

Ambeth Ocampo's thoughts about Librarians

Ambeth Ocampo, a columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, wrote an interesting article about librarians. The article is a welcome testimony from somebody who just happens to know a few librarians and yet appreciate the roles these librarians play in the intellectual development of the nation. To quote his parting words: "A librarian is a gateway to information, and how he or she fulfills the job is a way to social change."

To read the complete article, please click here. To clip the article, see PDI Vol 22 No. 91 dated March 9, 2007.