OFW Filipino Heroes

Monday, September 15, 2014

Philippines wins Most Valuable Fans (MVF) Best Country award at the FIBA World Cup 2014

Supporters of Gilas Pilipinas earned the Philippines the Most Valuable Fans award at the FIBA World Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas Pilipinas fans, stand up and take a bow. The outpouring of support for the Philippine men's national basketball team earned the nation the Most Valuable Fans (MVF) Best Country award at the FIBA World Cup.

The Philippines, which competed at the FIBA World Cup for the first time in 36 years, had supporters converge on Seville, Spain from around Europe and as far as the Philippines.


The Philippines captivated the imaginations of a nation of 100 million people, coming close to knocking off the third ranked Argentina, plus the highly regarded Croatia and Puerto Rico teams while losing a competitive match to fifth ranked Greece.

Gilas' victory over Senegal in a non-bearing game was celebrated like a championship win, despite the Philippines having already been eliminated the night before. The victory was the Philippines' first at the World Championship since 1974

FIBA says that it used "a broad range of social actions" including hashtags like #Spain2014 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to measure "MVF points."

"All points earned by fans that support the same national team accumulated to determine the MVF Best Country Award," said a news item on the FIBA website. - Rappler.com

Friday, September 12, 2014

Philippines displays ancient maps to debunk China's sea claims that limit 'til Hainan only

A local photographer looks at an ancient map on display at a Catholic university in Manila September 11, 2014.  REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco- View in Full screen here http://bit.ly/1uySB9o

 

Philippines displays ancient maps to debunk China's sea claims

 

The Philippines on Thursday put on display dozens of ancient maps which officials said showed that China's territorial claims over the South China Sea did not include a disputed shoal at the centre of an acrimonious standoff.

The Philippines is in dispute with China over parts of the South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, an area believed to be rich in oil and natural gas as well as fisheries resources.

China seized control of the shoal in June 2012 and has prevented Philippine fishermen from getting close to the rocky outcrop, a rich fishing ground.

Philippine officials said the exhibition of old maps at a university showed that for almost 1,000 years, from the Song Dynasty in the year 960 until the end of the Qing Dynasty early in the 20th century, China's southernmost territory was always Hainan island, just off the Chinese coast.

"We should respect historical facts, not historical lies," said Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who has done extensive research on the territorial disputes.

The facts were graphically illustrated on the ancient maps, both official and unofficial, he said.

Carpio said the exhibition could be viewed online and it would help everyone in all claimant states understand the facts, "either to restrain extreme nationalism fuelled by historical lies or give hope to a just and durable settlement of disputes".

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea.

But Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims in the sea, which is traversed each year by ship-borne trade worth about $5 trillion.

Exhibition organisers said the Scarborough Shoal never appeared in any old Chinese maps. But on numerous ancient maps made by foreigners and Filipinos, from as early as 1636, the rocky outcrop was consistently shown to be Philippine territory.

Carpio, in an earlier lecture, said the shoal was also used as a naval gunnery range by U.S. and Philippine armed forces from the 1960s to the 1980s, and neither China nor any other country protested against the bombing practice.

In June, China unveiled a new official map of the country, giving greater play to its claims on the South China Sea.

The Philippines, a close U.S. ally, has brought a case to the U.N. arbitral court in The Hague, seeking clarification on its entitlements under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China has refused to take part in the arbitration. A ruling is expected late next year.

Ancient Philippine Map

Philippines' Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio (L) gestures to an ancient map on display while Philippines' Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario (2nd L), Justice Secretary Leila De Lima and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin look on at a Catholic university in Manila September 11, 2014. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco - View whole album here 

 

Visitors point at an ancient map on display at a Catholic university in Manila September 11, 2014.  REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco - View whole album here 

Published in Paris in 1650, this map shows an unnamed shoal as part of the East Indies.Philippines Institute for Maritime and Oceanic Affairs. View Photo here http://on.fb.me/1rZfWmO

 
A map published in 1770 by Britain's Royal Hydrographer shows the “Panacot” shoal, today's Scarborough Shoal.National Library of Australia. View Photo here http://on.fb.me/1rZfWmO
 
Published in 1734 by a Jesuit named Pedro Murillo, this map is one of the first to identify what is today the Scarborough Shoal, then named the “Panacot” shoal.US Library of Congress. View Photo here http://on.fb.me/1rZfWmO
 
 
Tian Ditu, or “the Atlas of Heaven and Earth,” published in 1601 during the Ming Dynasty shows shows Hainan Island as China’s southernmost territory.U.S. Library of Congress. View Photo here http://on.fb.me/1rZfWmO
 
 
A world map published by the Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci in 1602 at the request of the Ming Dynasty shows the southern boundary of China as Hainan. View Photo here http://on.fb.me/1rZfWmO
 
 

LEARN FOREX TRADING AND GET RICH

Investment Recommendation: Bitcoin Investments

Live trading with Bitcoin through ETORO Trading platform would allow you to grow your $100 to $1,000 Dollars or more in just a day. Just learn how to trade and enjoy the windfall of profits. Take note, Bitcoin is more expensive than Gold now.


Where to buy Bitcoins?

For Philippine customers: You could buy Bitcoin Online at Coins.ph
For outside the Philippines customers  may buy Bitcoins online at Coinbase.com