Karen finds an igloo in the tropics

ABS-CBN news anchor Karen Davila spotted igloo-like structures in Surigao, which can very well be an alternative to expensive school buildings in the country. Made only of sand, cement, and drum, the structures are not only cheaper and easier to build, but also offer better ventilation for students.

Surigao’s igloo is just one of the many ingenious Filipino inventions that Karen will feature tonight on The Correspondents.

Due to the economic crisis, Filipinos have found a way to cut expenses by inventing alternative systems and machines that can help “Juan” cope with the demands of his everyday life.

High gasoline prices and environmental concerns, for example, have fueled the development of vehicles powered by electricity like the “e-jeep” and “e-tricycle.”

Karen was recently named one of the 2008 Ten Outstanding Young Men by the Junior Chamber International Philippines for her significant contribution to Philippine journalism and her award-winning documentaries. continue reading...

Filipino honored for inventing low-cost stove

MANILA - A 48-year-old Filipino professor has been honored as one of the recipients of the prestigious Rolex Awards for Entrepreneurship for inventing a low-cost stove that uses what is usually considered as waste from rice production.

The honoree is Alexis Belonio, an associate professor of agricultural engineering at the privately-owned Central Philippines University located in Iloilo City in Iloilo province in the Visayas.

Officials of the Rolex Award said Belonio was granted a $50,000 cash prize in addition to a Rolex chronometer watch.

Started in 1976 the Rolex Awards have been established to support pioneering work in science and medicine, technology and innovation, exploration and discovery, the environment as well as cultural heritage.

Belonio’s invention is now widely used by farming households not only in the Philippines but also in Indonesia and Cambodia which belong to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean).

Belonio said he would use his cash prize to promote his invention for free, especially by the poor throughout the world who are suffering from the high cost of cooking food.

“I will focus on disseminating the stove throughout the world,” he vowed. “To achieve this, I will produce more publications to show people how to do it.” read more...

Alex Belonio is Rolex enterprise laureate

A 48-year-old Filipino inventor created a new technology that transforms waste from rice production into clean, affordable cooking fuel.

For his unprecedented feat, Alex Belonio was honored by Rolex as one of five Associate Laureates in the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, which for more than 30 years have supported pioneering work in science and medicine, technology and innovation, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural heritage. continue reading...

Monthsary: A Filipino Invention?

It seems like the concept of “monthsary” was invented by Filipinos. Google the word “monthsary” and 99% of the links you will come up with are Filipino blogs. I said 99% because I didn’t bother to check if there’s an international link there. There should be a few, though, because Filipinos are all over the world and they’re bound to spread the concept of “monthsary” to foreign countries.

The first link in Google is from Urban Dictionary. The first definition says that a monthsary is celebrated like an anniversary but you only celebrate it for the first eleven months of the relationship since the twelfth month is already an anniversary. It has 52 thumbs up and seven down as of this writing.

Urban Dictionary’s third definition is even more revealing. It reads:

“Commonly used among Filipinos. Its actually supposed to be monthiversary. for some reason they use it. monthsary mean that a couple has been together for a month, thus, monthsary!”

I’m quite sure a Filipino wrote that definition or a foreigner with a Filipino partner. The definition ends:

“used rather than anniversary coz couples are playas and b*tches enough to be together for only a meager amount of time.”

Now, that’s informative — or at least, insightful. Indeed, a monthsary seems to be a convenient way to enjoy the pleasures of celebrating a committed relationship without necessarily being committed to a long-term relationship at all. continue reading...

Engineer creates Philippines’ first ROV


MANILA, Philippines — The remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), better known as a submersible, has become stuff of the movies ever since it was used in some scenes in the movie Titanic. It found huge applications in the underwater research, mining and salvaging sectors.

One Filipino company aims to be a player in this industry.

Pobletech Inc recently released the Roboteknik i100, country’s first commercial ROV, a robotic machine that can submerge to a depth of up to100 meters and be controlled via remote control box. The ROV and the control box are all connected via an umbilical cord that serves as both power and data cable for the ROV, which transmits live streaming video to a monitor on a control box.

Because the Roboteknik runs on external power, it could be operated for over 24 hours while operators of the ROV work in shifts. The ROV could also be outfitted with external attachments, such as soil and water sample collectors, robotic arms and special cameras.

Meanwhile, the control unit has its own hard disk drive to save hundreds of hours of videos and photos. continue reading...