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Caring mother, wife leads PDP Cares Partylist Posted: 27 Feb 2022 09:23 PM PST POLITICAL spouse Kathryna Yu-Pimentel has gone beyond being wife to Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and has built a substantial work portfolio as a humanitarian and manager. This May, she is making a bid to become a political force in her own right.Running for Congress under the PDP Cares Partylist (No. 8), Kathryna hopes to make policies on humanitarian governance which will focus on honest and organized means to enhance welfare, promote a better quality of life, and ease the travails of most vulnerable populations such as women and children, victims of natural calamities and conflict, and OFWs. These are part of the party's 8-Point Agenda which includes forming policies on building infrastructure and promoting the United Nation's sustainable growth objectives.If she makes it, Kathryna will advocate for the rights of mothers and unborn children.This pet cause was born out of her challenges as a Covid-positive mother who gave birth in March 2020. At the onset of the pandemic, hospitals lacked pre-existing scientific data in managing infected patients, particularly pregnant women. Several hospitals had rejected Kathryna for fear of spreading the virus among the healthcare personnel. She finally gave birth to Ma. Kathryn Helena at the Chinese General Hospital."It risked saving the mother and child. I became their first case," recalls Kathryna. And we owe our lives to the doctors and nurses of Chinese General Hospital who took us in with open arms. Fortunately, Helena did not test positive for Covid.Kathryna notes that many infant deaths during deliveries could have been prevented if hospitals responded immediately to the needs of infected mothers. Four months after giving birth, she urged her husband to allow her to visit public hospitals. She brought cheer to every mother in the wards and left mommy kits outside the wards for infected mothers.Even before their marriage in October 2018, Kathryna forged a remarkable role as partner and ally to Pimentel. She began humanitarian work in 2017 when the senator's office received requests to aid victims of the Marawi Siege. Kathryna and her team flew to war-torn Marawi several times to bring food and blankets and comfort the victims."We contacted the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to bring relief goods and help displaced victims," she recalls. The foundation likewise assisted the trip of the European Union ambassador to Marawi.As a result of her dedication, the PDP Cares Foundation Inc. was formed with Kathryna as its head. Seeing her strong leadership and integrity, friends and organizations started to donate to the PDP Cares Foundation. Since then, the foundation has been active in responding to victims of natural calamities.Kathryna adds that before they were wed, Pimentel's partners in their law firm saw her people skills and organizational abilities. She was then asked to become managing director of the Pimentel Salomon Baltao-Basilio Law Office."I manage the staff and monitor the cases. It was my way of adjusting to my partner," said Kathryna.During the early months of the pandemic, volunteers of PDP-Cares Foundation went around the Philippines to provide ayuda or relief goods such as rice and groceries, as well as masks, gloves, and alcohol. Up until early February, the foundation continued to bring relief packs to victims of Typhoon Odette, in Surigao del Norte, Siargao, Surigao del Sur, Caraga, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Negros Occidental, among others.Her work has brought her into contact with the local UN office where they discussed her support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). "If we win, we will form legislation to push the SDG agenda, particularly the protection of the environment," she maintained.Before her foray into politics and humanitarian work, Kathryn was a self-taught chef and a restaurateur. She majored in Management at the University of Asia and the Pacific where she served as president of the student executive board in her junior year.In 2013, she was asked to cater for Pimentel's office in the Senate. This became the start of their solid relationship as partners in life and in public service.Through all her years of experience, she learned how it will always be urgent to help others."We will never know up to when we will still be alive. We must help while we can, and as many people as we can. Tulong lang ng tulong." she said. (Sponsored Content)

Malayan Colleges Mindanao introduces ‘HyFlex’ courses in Mindanao Posted: 27 Feb 2022 09:22 PM PST MALAYAN Colleges Mindanao, A Mapúa School, launched Hybrid Flexible "HyFlex" courses that allow students to choose whether to attend classes face-to-face or online synchronously or asynchronously.The hybrid flexible, or HyFlex, course format is an instructional approach that combines face-to-face (F2F) and online learning. Each class session and learning activity is offered in-person, synchronously online, and asynchronously online. Students can decide for each class or learning module how to participate.On-site classes can be threatened by climate change, natural disasters (including tropical depression, floods, and earthquakes), health crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and other disruptions. When campus reopens, students still face a range of uncertainties surrounding health and safety, financial concerns, and travel issues, among others.The Malayan Colleges HyFlex model will maintain educational and research activities as the circumstances of a given disruption or personal concerns unfold. It also allows students to choose different learning modalities that work better depending on proximity to campus, work and family commitments, and other factors.In HyFlex courses, students can choose from one of three participation paths:1. Participate in face-to-face class sessions in-person (in a classroom)2. Participate in face-to-face class sessions via video conference (Zoom, MS Teams, Engageli)3. Participate fully asynchronously via MCM Digital (Blackboard Learn) LMSThe system will make available to students all class meetings and materials online or in-person, during or after class sessions. Regardless of the path taken, all students will achieve the same learning objectives.Malayan Colleges Mindanao has outfitted its classrooms with video cameras and distributed microphones to create hybrid learning environments ("HyFlex Classrooms"). Video conference software such as Zoom, MS Teams, and Engageli connects in-person and remote students to the synchronous learning sessions. All video conference sessions are recorded and uploaded to MCM Digital, the MCM's learning management system powered by Blackboard Learn."Our goal in offering HyFlex courses is to reduce learning barriers by providing equitable access and meaningful learning opportunities for all our students," said Dr. Dodjie Maestrecampo, President of Malayan Colleges Mindanao, A Mapúa School. "Our HyFlex classes reconceptualize the learning experience and rethink how students engage with their teachers, learning content, and peers," he added.Selected HyFlex courses will start in the 3rd Term of SY 2022-2023 (February 2022) during the implementation of limited face-to-face classes. All relevant courses will utilize the HyFlex approach starting SY 2022-2023 (August 2022)."I firmly believe that the Hybrid Flexible Learning Modality is the best way to learn given the current predicament we're under," said Nimrod Angelo Binghay, a 4th year B.S. Electronics engineering student. "I have experienced the best of both worlds carrying out laboratory experiments alongside lecture classes; be it completely virtual or face-to-face... and it's remarkable how MCM reinforces it's already established blended learning modality to coincide with the health protocols set in place."Learn more about unparallel flexibility in learning. Visit mcm.edu.ph/about-hyflex/ for more details. (Sponsored Content)

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