Barangay/ SK Election 2007

I thought the campaign period for both Barangay and SK Elections commenced last Saturday night, October 27 as clarified by The COMELEC. These kids greeted me as I made my way through Salapan Elementary School in San Juan.

Navotas public school teachers in Bagumbayan Elementary School wear black as a sign of protest following the filing of criminal charges against 13 of their colleages last october 23 by a mayoralty candidate who lost in the may 14 elections. See related story here.

See my dirty finger!

Join! iBlog Mini: Blogging and the 2010 Elections

iBlog Mini: Blogging and the 2010 Elections
Bloggers as Election Watchdog
University of the Philippines - College of Law
24 November 2007
9:00 AM - 12NN

Agenda:

9:00: Welcome remarks - Bloggers as Election Watchdog (Atty. JJ Disini and Luz Rimban)

9:20 - 9:50 - Blogging and Philippine Elections (Manuel L. Quezon III)
Review of how bloggers played a role in the past Philippine elections. Examples of how bloggers participated in other countries can be cited as well. What were the problems encountered? How can it be improved?

9:50 - 10:20 - Getting Bloggers Ready for 2010 Elections (Janette Toral)
How can Bloggers participate more effectively in the 2010 elections?(present a program where bloggers can be prepared for the 2010 elections)

10:20 Reactor Insights (Rachel Khan)

This event is free. As seats are limited, you are encouraged to register ahead.

Thanks to Janette for the invite.

Hands-On IP

Got an invite from Ms. Zephora 'Pie' Telan of IP Philippines about their upcoming basic orientation on Copyright called "Hands-On IP" which will be held this coming Friday, October 19, 2007:

In line with the Intellectual Property Rights Week Celebration (October 2007), IP Philippines invites you to the Basic Orientation Seminar on Copyright:

HANDS-ON-IP – Open to the Public

HANDS-ON-IP is designed for scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and artists scheduled every Friday of the month at 1:00 p.m. The participants will attend a free basic orientation seminar with IP volunteer lawyers on hand to provide free legal and technical assistance.

October 19: Copyright - 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Venue: IP Philippines Multi-Purpose Hall, 6/F, IPO Bldg., 351 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Ave., Makati City

ADMISSION IS FREE. FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS.

For confirmation, please call at 752-4869 or 897-1724 and look for Ms. Pie Telan or email at zephora.telan@ipophil.gov.ph

Click here to download confirmation sheet.

Likewise, IPR-Photo Philippines will be coming up with a seminar on IP exclusive for photographers/ visual artists. Schedule and seminar details will be announced later.

Know your rights and uphold photographer's/ visual artists' Intellectual Property Rights, join IPR-Photo Philippines.

Blog Action Day: On Solid Waste Segregation

I was made aware through the Philippine Blogosphere of Blog Action Day - an international initiative of bloggers with the aim of uniting thousands of blogging voices talking about one issue (environment) for one day. So I thought of writing about the current situation on solid waste segregation - based on my observations.

While it is true that many establishments – both commercial and residential – have adopted this idea of waste management, there are still few who do not put this into practice. Aside from the effort being done by residential and business establishments, I wonder if garbage collectors and waste management companies are doing their share?

Obviously, the success in the implementation of this scheme depends much, not just on the government/ LGU’s but more importantly, from the household/ barangay level - including the building/ apartment owners. Among the measures that will help in the implementation are monitoring, enforcement similar to fire compliance (for apartments), etc.

It’s time everyone implement solid waste segregation scheme, because environmental protection is everybody’s concern.

Pursuing Copyright Infringement Committed Against Photographers

Copyright infringements committed against photographers’ works often remain unsolved and many have a hard time pursuing the case because of the high fees involved. The photographers, who like many in the creative field, are dependent on the income generated on the usage (licensing) of their photos and are often on a disadvantaged position when this happens. They are literally at the mercy of those infringers (only in the Philippines?).

Ideally, such case can be dealt through a Collecting Society but it might take long before this can be realized. But for the meantime, Atty. Louie Calvario of IPO Philippines advised that the easy way for photographers to claim damages is through an out-of-court settlement. Some photographers told me that, upon discovery of the infringement, they send the billing to the infringing party/company and get paid - but this is not always the case though.

Others tried an alternative route - like photographer Anton Sheker who chose to write a story on how his photographs was infringed, which, eventually was picked-up by ABS-CBN Interactive through Ron Cruz who featured Anton's story in their Special Feature section.

And so I think other photographers who has a similar case can post their stories online (see Anton's post) through IPR-Photo blog. It may not generate instantaneous response or solution but exposing copyright infringements committed by companies/ image-users will put them into bad light. And in a way put pressure on them to take action especially if such stories were picked-up by the press or big media entities, such as Anton’s case. One alternative avenue for photographers was the IPR Photo blog which is looking for stories related to copyright infringements. Submit your stories now!

'Opportunistic' Photo Contests Abound

"Opportunistic" photo contest still flourish and these are being targeted to photographers who are new in the craft and are not aware of their rights. Some contest organizers even have the guts to stipulate an exclusivity clause stating that all entries shall become the property of the contest organizers - just like the "Me and My Adidas Originals" Photo Contest, which in their mechanics states: Entries become exclusive property of Adidas Philippines, Inc. and maybe used for any advertising, promotional, publicity or retail purposes.

Read more...

Freebies

Last August 28, 2007 I posted a link in my multiply page regarding the upcoming Bangkok Photography Workshop of James Nachtwey & David Allan Harvey (November 24-30, 2007). The workshop is designed for emerging and committed photographers, semi-professionals and professionals who are seeking to work on their style to the next level. And both workshop facilitators are of international renown- James Nachtwey is one of the founders of VII Photo Agency while David Alan Harvey is associated with Magnum and National Geographic. Attending this workshop is a dream for many (myself included) except for its workshop fee of $ 2,750 (P126,500!). The fee is quite steep and obviously, it's not designed for third-world-country-photographers =)

But do you know that David Alan Harvey has been a blogger since the beginning of 2007? In fact, his blog is one of the most popular photography blogs among photographers out there. Through his blog, David shares his thoughts, advice and insecurities with those of us who don’t have a chance to attend one of his workshops. And it’s FREE! - visit David Alan Harvey's Road Trips.