Top of the Morning: Here's a Sneak Peek of Paula Peralejo's Maternity Shoot

1. Sneak Peek: Paula Peralejo's maternity photo shoot

Former actress Paula Peralejo-Fernandez is currently in the third trimester of her first pregnancy, and is expecting a baby boy. The owner and writer behind the travel blog Paula The Explorer and her husband, Charlie Fernandez, shared a sneak peek and behind-the-scenes photos of their couple maternity shoot which was shot in Baguio by Jamie Espadilla-Mapagu of Jamie & Baby Lifestyle Photography. Paula credits Pilates and yoga for making her pregnancy easy and happy, allowing her to still explore and travel with her husband. Paula announced her pregnancy in March. 


2. Watch: Highlights of Mariel Rodriguez's dream baby shower

The soon-to-be first-time mom called her baby shower "Heaven on Earth," thanking everyone who attended for making it come true. The video made by Nice Print Photography captures the highlights of the TV host's #BabyMozartAngel-themed baby shower held last Saturday, September 3, including the fun games like drinking from a baby's feeding bottle and identifying poop (which, of course, is not really poop!) in diapers. Mariel, who is expecting a baby girl, is due to give birth in the U.S. in late November. She and husband Robin have picked the name Maria Isabella for their daughter.


3. UP back in world's top 400 universities list
This year, the University of the Philippines (UP) ranked 374th on the annual list of the world’s top 400 universities. This makes UP the only Philippine university to make it on the list conducted by the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). According to a report by Inquirer.net, UP improved in three QS metrics: academic reputation, faculty-student ratio, and international faculty ratio, which were factors in its rise in the rankings. The country’s premier state university ranked 367th in 2014, 380th in 2013, and 348th in 2012, but fell within the 401-410 bracket in 2015. Ateneo de Manila University also made it to the list, ranking within the 501-550 bracket, and the De La Salle University and the University of Santo Tomas were in the 701+ bracket. (inquirer.net)


4. CHED planning to include drug tests in college admissions
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is studying a policy that will include drug testing as a requirement for admissions in colleges and universities. "In our experience, there are already schools implementing it. Even in the government and private sector, drug testing is also a requirement during pre-employment. They will not hire you if you're positive. So I think the prospects for the admission is also good," CHED Executive Director Julito Vitriolo explained. The idea came from an inter-agency committee for drug testing, a group tasked to study how the government can address the drug problem in schools and in the workplace. Currently, only random drug testing is required for all public and private high schools, colleges, and universities. (rappler.com)


5. WHO issues stricter safe sex guidelines for Zika-endemic countries
Regardless of whether a couple is trying to conceive or not, the World Health Organization (WHO) advises everyone in countries where the Zika virus is active to practice safe sex or abstain from having sex for six months. The WHO lengthened the time from at least eight weeks to now six months based on new evidence of Zika transmission from asymptomatic males to their female partners, and symptomatic females to male partners. Another reason behind the guideline update is new evidence that shows Zika is present in the semen for longer than previously suspected. In one male patient, the concentration of the virus in the semen was 100,000 more than that in his blood 14 days after he was diagnosed. (gmanetwork.com)