Text by Marie Astrid Amboy and Vicky Migo
Photographs courtesy of Dr. EJ del Rosario and Fayme Magallanes

Ariella Arida (center) with fellow winners of the Binibining Pilipinas 2013 

Our 2013 Bb. Pilipinas Universe, MS. ARIELLA H. ARIDA hails from Alaminos Laguna.  Ara, as she is fondly called by her friends, finished her high school at Laguna College (LC), San Pablo City.  She started her tertiary education in 2005 at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, initially with a degree in Veterinary Medicine, but shifted into BS Chemistry on her second year in the university, which she finished in 2010.  Her undergraduate thesis is entitled “Virtual Binding of Synthetic Nucleoside Analogues and Phyto-brassino steroids to NS5 Dengue Virus mRNA 2’-o-Methyltransferase Domain Using Dock Software”, which she presented in the 2010 Philippine Chemistry Congress held at Subic Bay, Zambales.

Her academic adviser is no other than the accomplished Professor Ernesto J. del Rosario who is known to his students as “Sir EJ”. Ara described Sir EJ as the “coolest and smartest teacher she has known”.  In the acknowledgement part of her thesis manuscript, Ara wrote “Sir, salamat sa lahat ng wisdom, mapa- Science, Philo, Psy, religion, lovelife, in short, anything under the sun, ang dami nyo pong natuturo sa akin”.  Ara’s favorite hang-outs in “elbi” are ICs and Boston Café which she acknowledged to have played a big role why she graduated because of its 24 hour-internet and cafe service.  She enjoyed eating and hanging-out with her barkadas at LB Square, Los Kababos, and Rally Point for the “comfort food” plus Baan Thai for her favourite pad thai.  Other things that she enjoyed doing in her college years during her spare time are going to the beach and bargain shopping. Being an Iglesia ni Cristo, she has also been a devoted church goer, making sure to go to church in spite of her busy schedule.

“From a different kind of life I used to have—I used to go to school wearing rubber shoes and a laboratory gown—and now here I am with the crown, wearing makeup.” It was the only thing that mattered after she was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2013  at the 50th culmination night of Binibining Pilipinas last April 14, 2013 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Overwhelmed by her victory, she says she is prepared to handle the pressure that comes with her new crown.
Ara, who also won the Best in Swimsuit Award earlier that night has also competed at Miss Philippines Earth 2012 and was a former Mutya ng Laguna titleholder.  She is a ramp model and enjoys sports including volleyball, swimming, and running.

During the most anticipated question and answer portion, she was asked by PNP Chief Allan Purisima what lesson in life women can teach men. Her answer was, “One lesson in life that we, women, can teach men is being sensitive. Because we all know that men are more logical when it comes to decision. They usually are more rational, straight forward. Unlike we, women, we use our heart and we tend to get emotional in some of our decisions. For me, sensitivity is something that we can teach men.”

She describes herself as an average person. But during this pageant she worked hard physically, mentally and emotionally which is evident in her physique and performance that Sunday night. She surely has big shoes to fill but no one can stop her from fulfilling her dreams.

Profession-wise, past beauty queens have covered a lot ranging from an Architect (Shamcey Supsup), a Pharmacist (Janine Tugonon), a Physical Therapist (Miriam Quiambao) and a Lawyer (Ana Theresa Licaros) to name a few. Will a Chemist bring home the most coveted crown this time?

By Dr. Linda Torres

The Integrated Chemists of the Philippines (ICP)  conducted a one-day seminar on “Maintenance and Troubleshooting of Basic Laboratory Equipment” in  Silliman University, Dumaguete City on April 8, 2013  prior to the 28th Philippine Chemistry Congress.  This  is in coordination with  the Department of  Chemistry  of  Silliman University chaired by Dr. Paulina Aspilla.

Top to bottom: Mr. Carmel Tony Vella (HPLCworks), Mr. Arturo Torres (Shimadzu), Ms. Edna Mijares (Jefcor)

Invited Speakers include Mr. Carmel  Tony Vella of HPLCworks Philippines based in California, USA;   Mr. Arturo Torres of Shimadzu Philippines Corporation and Ms. Edna Mijares, CEO, Jefcor Laboratories  and   ICP 1st Vice-President. Ms. Mijares discussed the preventive maintenance and troubleshooting of gas chromatography,  followed by   Mr. Vella’s talk on  HPLC.  Meanwhile, Mr. Torres conducted a comprehensive presentation on preventive maintenance and troubleshooting of UV-Vis spectrophometry and atomic absorption chromatography in the afternoon.

 ICP President Dr. Toby Dayrit (left) with speakers

Chemistry Department Chair of Silliman University Dr. Paulina Aspilla (left), Dr. Toby Dayrit (right) and speakersSpeakers and Participants of the seminar

Dr. Fabian Dayrit, ICP President welcomed the participants  and stressed ICP’s commitment for continuing professional education to our chemists. The seminar was participated by 67 ICP members and non-members chemists all over the country including chemistry students of the said university. ICP would like to acknowledge Mr. Bernardo Mitra Sr.  for sponsoring the foods served during  the seminar. It was a succesful activity again by the ICP despite of a short preparation and notices to our members. Let’s congratulate Ms. Mijares for spearheading this activity. Job well done.

The white smoke used to signal the end of papal conclave is produced from a mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose, and rosin, a natural amber resin obtained from conifers.  The white “fumata” that emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney on March 13 hailed the election of Jorge Bergoglio, Argentien cardinal, and Bishop of Buenos Aires, as new pope and leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.  He is the first pope to choose the name Francis (drawing connections to Francis of Assisi and Francis Xavier), the first non-European pontiff in nearly 1300 years, the first Latin American pope, and the first Jesuit pope.  He prefers keeping a low profile and is known for his simplicity and humility, choosing to use public transport and live in a small apartment.

In celebration of the Chemistry Week, the Integrated Chemists of the Philippines conducted a two-day training workshop on “Preparation of Chemical Safety Manual” at the Makati Palace Hotel last February 11-12, 2013. This workshop is part of the continuing Chemical Safety campaign of the ICP.

The objective of this workshop was to train the participants to prepare their institution’s chemical safety manual.  The 62 participants, who came from the industry, government and academe, included researchers, analysts, faculty members, safety officers, laboratory technicians and regulatory officers.

The resource speakers are Ms. Tessie B. Corpuz of TERECOR Environmental Health and Safety Consultancy Services and Dr. Glenn Alea from the Chemistry Department, De La Salle University.

There were four topics presented and discussed during the first day. The first topic was on the Safety Manual: what it is, and what its benefits and elements are. The second topic was on the Philippine Occupational Health and Safety Rules as promulgated by the Department of Labor and Employment.

The third topic discussed the use of Gap Analysis as a preparation for developing the institution’s chemical safety manual. Each participant completed the checklist for the gap analysis based on a review of their own institution’s safety programs.  The fourth topic presented the process of how to prepare and write a safety policy.

The workshop was conducted during the second day. The participants were grouped into industry, academe and government sectors, and their respective subsectors. Each group was asked to complete their gap analysis and then describe their proposed action plans and programs to fill the gaps. Finally each group was asked to develop a safety policy  and outline of safety manual and present their outputs.

The ICP plans to follow-up the progress of the participants in its effort to institutionalize chemical safety in the country.

Every year, the Professional Regulation Commission honors the outstanding professional from each profession during the PRC Week which is held every June. We would like to invite ICP members to nominate individuals for the honor of Outstanding Chemist for 2013.

The criteria for selection include the following:
1.    Professional Competence and Integrity in the exercise of the Chemistry profession
2.    Meaningful participation in professional activities through the professional organization
3.    Significant contributions to the advancement of the Chemistry profession
4.    Evidence of social responsibility through meaningful social activities

The Outstanding Chemist can come from government, industry or academe. The evidence for outstanding performance will depend on the sector where the nominee comes from.

Through the years, we have honored outstanding Chemistry professionals, such as the following:
Dr. Benigno Peczon, Dr. William G. Padolina, Dr. Ester A. Garcia, Dr. Modesto T. Chua, Dr. Fortunato Sevilla III, Dr. Elma C. Llaguno, Ms. Ella Deocadiz, Dr. Aida Aguinaldo, Dr. Alumanda dela Rosa, Dr. Trinidad Trinidad, Dr. Ernesto del Rosario, Gen. Lina Sarmiento, Mr. Fred Reyes, Ms. Teresita Cayton, Dr. Nemesio Montaño.

The PRC announcement and nomination form may be downloaded from the ICP website. The deadline for submission by the nomination committee to PRC is April 2, 2013. However, since the nominees have to be evaluated and endorsed by ICP, the deadline for submission to ICP is March 4, 2013 (Monday).

You may download the nomination form HERE.