The Philippines Has A New National Olympic Committee President And Chairman

Victorico "Ricky" Vargas (rightmost) and Abraham Tolentino (leftmost) were elected as president and chairman of Philippine Olympic Committee, respectively

After more than a decade, the Philippines has a new president and chairman of the Philippine Olympic Committee. Victorico P. Vargas was chosen as the new president while Abraham Tolentino was hailed as the new chairman of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) in an election held Thursday, February 23 held at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. Vargas succeeded the current POC president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco Jr. who ruled the organization for 13 years before his defeat in the election.

Vargas is the president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) the governing body of boxing in the country while Tolentino is a congressman from Cavite and president of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines the governing body of cycling in the country.



Photo Source: 

A. Panlilio on Twitter for CNN Philippines

Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games History Making Records

The 23rd edition of the Winter Games took place from February 9 - February 25, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea the first Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea and second Olympic games after the 1988 Summer Games held in Seoul. 2,914 athletes from 92 National Olympic Committees representing 92 countries participated and competed for the medals in the event. Here are just some of the historical firsts and record makers in the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. 



Winner Olympics Debuting Countries: Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore.

First athlete to compete at eight consecutive Olympic event: Noriaki Kasai of Japan participated in the ski jumping qualification on February 8, 2018 on the eve of Olympic Games.

Youngest winner of Snowboard (Slopestyle event) - Redmond Gerard of USA (17 years old)

First two consecutive Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medal (Men's Single Event):  Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan

Most consecutive Winter Olympic win in Snowboard (Men's Half-pipe - 3 Olympic Gold Medal) - Shaun White of USA

Highest score obtained in Snowboard Men's Half-pipe - 97.75 achieved by Shaun White of USA

Highest scores obtained in Figure Skating Ladies' Single - 82.92  achieved by Alina Zagitova and 81.61 achieved by Evgenia Medvedeva both by OAR (Olympic Athletes of Russia)

Olympic Debut winning Gold Medal: Ladies Ski Half-pipe (Freestyle Skiing):  Cassie Sharpe of Canada

First Southeast Asian figure skater second consecutive Winter Olympics participation:  Michael Christian Martinez of the Philippines

Greatest Winter Olympian - Shaun White of USA

Countries Which Enjoy Participating At Every Olympics But Do Not Intend and Want To Win: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, Romania, San Marino




Special Awards:

Opening Ceremony

   Best in National Costume - Tonga flagbearer
   Best Dance Performance - Jamaica
   Best Outfit During the Ceremony - France and Slovenia

REGIONAL MEETS FOR PALARONG PAMBANSA 2018

These are the following schedules of the seventeen (17) regional meets all over the Philippines whose winners will represent their respective regions in the annual and largest multi-sporting event in the country, Palarong Pambansa 2018 to be held in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur from April 16 - 20, 2018. 



ACRONYMS

ARMMAA - Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Athletic Association

CARAA - Cordillera Autonomous Region Athletic Association

NCRAA - National Capital Region Athletic Association

IRAA - Ilocos Region Athletic Association

CAVRAA - Cagayan Valley Regional Athletic Association 

CLRAA - Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association

STCAA  - Southern Tagalog Calabarzon Athletic Association
  * aka CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon)

MIMAROPAA - Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan   
                            Regional  Athletic Association
  *aka Southern Luzon Region 

BRAA - Bicol Region Athletic Association

WVRAA - Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association

CVRAA - Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association

EVRAA - Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association

ZPRAA - Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Athletic Association

NMRAA - Northern Mindanao Regional Athletic Association

DAVRAA - Davao Region Athletic Association 

SRAA - Soccsksargen Regional Athletic Association
*aka SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos).



                                       Date                        Venue / Host Province

ARMAA -    February 12 - 16, 2018                         Upi, Maguindanao
CARAA -     February 4 - 9, 2018                            Bangued, Abra
NCRAA -     February 12 - 17, 2018                        Pasig City, MM
IRAA (Region I) -   February 11 - 17, 2018              Alaminos City, Pangasinan
CAVRAA (Region II) -  February 23 - March 1, 2018  Tuguegarao City, Cagayan
CLRAA (Region III) -   February 25 - March 2, 2018  Malolos City, Bulacan
STCAA (Region IV-A) -  February 11 - 17, 2018        San Pablo City, Laguna 
MIMAROPAA (Region IV-B) - March 12 - 16, 2018    San Jose, Occidental Mindoro
BRAA (Region V) -  February 3 - 10, 2018               Naga City, Camarines Sur
WVRAA (Region VI) -  February 18 - 23, 2018         Iloilo City, Iloilo
CVRAA (Region VII) -  February 24 - March 2, 2018   Tagbilaran, Bohol
EVRAA (Region VIII) - February 5 - 10, 2018            Calbayog City, Samar
ZPRAA (Region IX) -  December 10 - 14, 2017    Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur
NMRAA (Region X) -   December 13 - 16, 2017   Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Occidental
DAVRAA (Region XI) - February 18 - 23, 2018    Tagum City, Davao del Norte
SRAA (Region XII)  -   February 17 - 21, 2018    Koronadal City, South Cotabato 
CARAGA (Region XIII) -  February 24 - March 1, 2018  Butuan City, Agusan del Norte

Can You Identify These Biblical Fathers?

How many of the biblical fathers (biological and adoptive) described below can you identify? Choose the letter below for your answer before peeking the correct answers


1. His son was a military genius who became a great leader and successor to Moses

2. He was literally left speechless when an angel told him he would become a father

3. A man whose greediness shows mostly clearly in his dealings with his son-in-law

4. God told this man to go ahead with wedding plans even though his intended bride was already pregnant

5. His son had many adventures before he was able to save his entire family from starvation

6. Although a great patriarch, he is most honored for his steadfast faith in God 

7. Although he was a wise and able king, quarreling among his sons brought him much unhappiness

8. This unhappy king feared that his son's bestfriend was trying to usurp his throne

9. Despite a great accomplishment under God's direction, his discovery of fermentation brought embarrassment to his sons

10. Sibling rivalry brought much sadness to this father of twin boys

11. The fact that this father's beloved daughter lived to become a teenager was truly a miracle

12. Although a bachelor, he was a spiritual father to one of his young assistants

a. ABRAHAM

b. ISAAC

c. JACOB

d. JAIRUS

e. JOSEPH

f. LABAN

g. NOAH

h. NUN

i. PAUL

j. SAUL

k. SOLOMON

l. ZECHARIAS 












Answers

1. h. (Deut. 1:37)
2. l. (Luke 1: 18-22)
3. f. (Gen. 31: 1-16)
4. e. (Matt. 1: 18-25)
5. c. (Gen. 45: 4-28)
6. a. (Heb. 11: 8-12)
7. k. (1 Kings 11, 12)
8. j. (1 Sam. 18: 1-16)
9. g. (Gen. 9: 20-22)
10. b. (Gen. 25: 21-23 and 27:33)
11. d. (Luke 8:41, 55)
12. i. (1 Tim. 1:18)