JOLINA CHOSEN AS THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADVOCATE

Jolina has, indeed, been designated as the country's first National Youth Advocate, tasked to help "create awareness and encourage participation among the youth and the society on issues that promote health, social, cultural, and family values." Jolina will thus be working closely with the First Lady Dr. Loi Ejercito, the Department of Health(as the lead agency), the World Health Organization(WHO), the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports(DECS), the Department of Interior and Local Government(DILG), the Philippine Pediatric Society(PDS), Rotary Clubs and, that's it, the UNICEF.

So that's the connection between Jolina and UNICEF which asked the help of the DOH for a role-model and an influencial figure capable of encouraging Filipinos to support the participating organizations' programs. Jolina was the unanimous choice on the strength of her ideal lifestyle and achievements, not to mention the fact that, the UNICEF and DOH discovered a background check, Jolina has been pursuing various humanitarian projects, spending her own money, aimed at helping street children and alleviating juvenile delinquency.

Her first project is to promote the Philippine Measles Elimination Campaign which is a global concern of UNICEF and WHO and is being pursued locally by the DOH.

"Did you know that more than 3,000 Filipino children die of measles every year?", said Jolina. "Among those who survive(about 12,000 annually), there may be permanent disability such as blindness, deafness, brain/ear infection, etc.) Measles also causes acute problems of malnutrition, diarrhea, and pneumonia."

(Incidentally, Jolina is the featured artist this month on ABS-CBN's Star Drama Theatre.)