Friday, November 12, 2004

PNR train 580 falls into ravine in Quezon Province, said to be the worst train tragedy in 20 years. They said overspeeding on a sharp curve and stolen railroad tracks caused the accident. *

The four coaches lay scattered at the bottom of the ravine while three remaining coaches stood above them, still on the railroad tracks.*

Seven died on the spot while three died at hospital due to multiple fractures and concussions.*

GMA 7's 24 Oras reported that at least ten people were killed and 115 wounded after a Manila-bound train from the Bicol region slipped of its tracks and fell into a 12-meter deep ravine early dawn Friday. The Philippine National Railways (PNR) train had 312 listed passengers, but its total occupants could reach 400 since commuters are picked up along the way.*

GMA-7 sets up telethon to aid victims of train accident. The telephone numbers, as listed on a GMA Network Flash Report, are as follows:

+63 2 925-7050   +63 2 924-3062   +63 2 924-3014   +63 2 929-6508
+63 2 929-6950   +63 2 928-2019   +63 2 922-7220   +63 2 927-6880

They can also be reached via e-mail at emergency@gmanetwork.com.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

The weekend had been quite busy for me. I was in Makati City, the financial district of the Philippines and had an opportunity to take some photos using NOKIA 3660.

The above photos were taken on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. If you know Makati very well, can you guess which building where I had those shots taken?

Monday, October 18, 2004

My sister, Neth Lansang, wishes to offer made-to-order calendars at affordable prices for corporate christmas give-aways.  You may wish to get in touch with her thru her mobile phone number, +639275751658 or e-mail her at bonethl(at)yahoo.com.

Please CLICK HERE for more details.

To Ate Neth, advance Happy Birthday on the 20th of this month!!!

Friday, July 23, 2004

A 5-year old 8th storey SIA Bldg. at the corner of Padre Rada and Juna Luna Streets in Tondo, Manila collapsed:

This SAi Bldg was constructed 5 years ago, based on TV news reports. Residents and office employees were advised to vacate the building after loud thud were heard twice, early Friday morning.

The SAI building started leaning Friday afternoon.

There were no casualties nor injuries reported...

except major inconvenience to motorists who were trapped in a big traffic jam around the vicinity.

Monday, May 17, 2004

I called PLDT 171 this morning and made a follow up on my DSL broadband internet application but, unfortunately, I have to call again next Monday, to know the status of my application.

After series of questions, I also applied for PLDT Internet Vibe (Dialup internet) but, to my disappointment, I was told that they could not process my request until my DSL application has been served.

Well, if not for a certain R. Tan, a lineman working for PLDT, maybe until now I do not have a telephone line. He was the one who facilitated installations not only of my phone, but, including those phone lines of my neighbors...

Sunday, April 04, 2004

Congratulations to ANTHONY OCAMPO, the first Filipino to win the Visual Effects Society Award or Vesy in the category Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial, with his winning work in the TV movie "Helen of Troy". The 2004 Vesy Awards ceremony was held last Feb. 18 at the Palladium in Hollywood.

Full Story here at Inq7.

Those tremendous pressures I had lately pushed me to visit my parents. I missed them a lot these past few days and I finally decided this morning to go to Quezon City and had my lunch with them. It's kind of boring here at home since my daughter wasn't here because she went out swimming with her friends.

Upon seeing my father, he looked older than the last time I saw him, and, it breaks my heart when he had lost so much weight. He got serious burns two weeks ago when he had an accident while cooking and it was a miracle burns healed faster than expected considering he's diabetic. My mother had more white hair this time but, she remained faithful attending Sunday mass. It's Palm Sunday today and she left early with her bestfriend.

I had the opportunity to have a longer talk with my elder sister, Ate Neth, and she mentioned that Leila, the secretary of my EX who is still in HK, will stay for another 8 months there under maximum security, as punishment for Human Trafficking. What's worst, Leila's siblings here in the Philippines would like to sell some of her properties to cover and support their personal expenses, instead of visiting her in HK. Although we believe that what has happened with Leila had been so unfair, we cannot questioned the wisdom of God. It was Leila, herself, who insisted to visit Hong Kong, and she left Manila last month, along with my sister and fellow agents.

Somehow, we really do not know what is in store for us, but, if ever something bad shall happen to me, I just wish God will allow me first to finish all my duties and obligations with my children and family!

Anyway, many thanks to Jojo, the elder son of my sister, for repairing my TV's remote control. I wish all of you can read my blog everyday, after setting the newly installed Mozilla browser on your PC, with my blog's site as your default home page. I'd thought at first that the new PC of my sister was slow, because each time I wanted to open any site using IExplorer, it took me 5-10 minutes before the page is fully downloaded. But, when I downloaded and installed Mozilla, presto! Browsing is faster, to the extent that I enjoyed buying some Ideas at BlogShares.

My sister stopped my enjoyment when she reminded that we must leave to do some shopping. But, the moment we're in SM North shopping mall, I changed my mind and excused myself to go home, guess what? I missed my children...

Thursday, March 18, 2004

My elder sister, Ate Neth, told me that the next hearing of Leila (in Hong Kong) will be on April 30, 2004! Shocked with the news, I remembered her three boys waiting for her at their home. Two of her boys will graduate next week from Kinder and Elementary School. Unfortunately, she would not be around on their Graduation Day.

Although she was found NOT GUILTY by Hong Kong authorities, we do not understand why they do not pardon her for tampering entries on her passport and she has to spend one more month. She does not have any plans at all to stay in Hong Kong that long. I could imagined the reflection Leila is experiencing right now. She's quite a busy and occupied person and to be stagnant in one place without her beloved kids was such a boring, probably the longest days and nights in her life...

What she's been going through is some kind of test on her faith... wish she will hold on to God. Her children badly need her...

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

This morning, I spoke with my elder sister, Neth, over the phone and she told me the bad news, Leila was jailed in Hong Kong! My sister and her fellow colleagues at work decided to visit Hong Kong last Friday for a three days group tour. She arrived late last night in Manila, but, without Leila!

Leila, my inaanak and a very young widow with three sons, was a victim of fraud / forgery, which she consented and agreed on her willingness to go to the USA in the near future, fraudently have her passport stamped with arrival / departure in Brunei and Hong Kong. In her legitimate trip to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong immigration authorities discovered that the immigration stamps on her passport was fake! She definitely can afford to travel if she wants to but, that was her first trip last week, in spite of the fact that she's a millionaire!

Ate Neth called the attention of all the authorities concerned but, Leila is in Hong Kong jail and should be submitted to HK immigration laws and legal proceedings. Whoever made the scum in Leila's passport is in hot seat right now. I am not aware if this will attract media people to sensationalize the case but, hopefully, the politicians will make big headlines and no one will pay attention to a Filipina who was jailed in Hong Kong for forged entries on her passport.

Perla posted at The Entrepreneurial Filipina, describes Colonial Mentality as the mind-set of Filipinos that anything from overseas, that is, commercial goods or genetic lineage, is better than whatever is native to the Philippine Islands. On another level, it can be described as the illusion of those material qualities that gives some Filipinos a form of status, however superficial.

It is unfortunate that because of the recent incident, Leila is now blacklisted both in Hong Kong and in the USA. Many Filipinos have this colonial mentality that their lives would be better in the USA than spending their whole lives in the Philippines. In fairness with Leila, she got a very nice position being the secretary of my EX, USA is not always the Land of Bread and Honey. Because of her interest to go to the USA, she is now in jail and no one knows when the HK authorities will set her free and send her home back to the Philippines.

I had been to over 25 world cities but in my opinion, the most important thing that will make us happy, fulfilled, and contented is where our heart is. There is nothing as beautiful than to spend our lives with the people we dearly loved...

Sunday, March 07, 2004

Three New Queens were Crowned at the glittering coronation night of the 2004 Search for Bb. Pilipinas at the Araneta Coliseum, 6th of March 2004:

• Margaret Anne "Maan" Bayot, Bb. Pilipinas-International 2004 and 2 Special Awards as Ms. Lux Super Rich 24-hour Beauty and the Peoples Choice Award
• Maricar Balagtas, Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 2004, bagging 5 Special Awards including Ms. Red Bull Supreme, Ms. Philippine Airlines 2004, EACOMMs Ms. Internet 2004, Ms. Creamsilk 100% Super Beautiful Hair, and Best in Swimsuit
• Ma. Karla Bautista, Bb. Pilipinas-World 2004

and,

• Tracy Ann Javelona, Bb. Pilipinas 2004 1st Runner-up, won 3 Special Awards, Best in Long Gown, Binibining Avon and Ms. Close-Up Smile
• and Princess Jasmine Tiongson, Bb. Pilipinas 2004 2nd Runner-up, won 2 Special Awards, Miss Talent and named Ms. Pond's Noticeably Beautiful Skin

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Thousands of commuters in Metro Manila and other major towns and cities nationwide were stranded yesterday, including my Sweety Pearl, who arrived late last night.

Strikers demanded for a fare increase and the scrapping of legislation that gives oil companies leeway to increase fuel prices.

However, PGMA threatened jeepney and transport groups with a revocation of their franchise to operate. Detailed report on Inquirer.

Saturday, February 14, 2004

Inquirer7: Over 5,000 Filipino couples set world kissing record.

Inq7 reported that about 5,122 smooching Filipino couples kissed simultaneously for 10 seconds to welcome Valentine's Day and set a new world record, organizers of the "Lovapalooza" in Manila said Saturday. read more

Monday, January 26, 2004

So impatient when Meralco would call us to pickup the netrefund, I tried to call all their three numbers this morning and yet all their lines were busy. There were cases that it will just kept on ringing and no one dares to answer the phone!

What I did, I called Meralco Hotline 16211 and guess what? They forwarded my call to Alabang Branch in split seconds and I talked with a certain Mark Infante who gave me a tentative date on February 3 and by then a Citibank crossed-check under my name will be available!

My bestfriend asked me last Sunday why she does not receive any schedule yet from Meralco. I explained to her that consumers who are scheduled for this month are those consuming electricity between 301-320 KWH average per month. And, since her consumption monthly is about 3,000 KWH (maybe more, because she runs a water business), her refund might be scheduled by 2011 :-)

When Parañaque City had water problems earlier, we paid so much for deepwell maintenance and electricity. But, the improvement of water system in the subdivision through its privatization helped us a lot. From 2,000 KWH monthly consumption, it went down between 300-350 KWH a month.

However, the meter reader asked few questions on what appliances do we have and also, Meralco electricians made thorough inspection of our premises because our bill dropped more than half of what we normally paid in the past. They probably suspected a jumper had something to do with it and, to remove their doubts, I showed them the deepwell and told them how tired we were on maintaining it.

Friday, January 16, 2004

My daughter claimed our Meralco Net Refund today but she just brought home a piece of paper that says:

Your check will be available after twelve (12) to fifteen (15) working days. Should you wish to verify if your check is ready for pick-up, you may call us at the following tel. nos. 6328714; 6328491; or 8099928.

Please look for MS. SARAH AVEGAIL MENDOZA.

Meralco pays cash for net refunds below PHP4,000.00 and, although I didn't like to wait for another two weeks, as usual, Meralco is unfair for holding our money that long.

They took my latest Meralco bill and furious because I always file my bills, I registered myself with Meralco website to keep track of my record. To register, you will be required to submit your Meralco details.

Saturday, January 10, 2004

I called Meralco Hotline 16211 and asked for requirements needed in claiming our refund. And, I was disappointed when "Jo" of Meralco Customer Service informed me that they will require 2 valid IDs of my authorized representative plus my valid ID before we can claim our refund.

So, to those who are planning to fall in line and collect your cash, be sure to bring the following with you (NO EXCUSES):

1. Original copy of your latest Meralco Bill with refund schedule
2. Your valid ID
3. 2 valid ID of your representative plus Letter of Authorization
4. Xerox copies of your IDs and Meralco Bill

If you forgot to bring any one of these requirements, they will not honor your claim. So, be guided accordingly and be smart enough...

NOTE: You cannot claim any cash if the bill is not under your name.

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

I'm not aware if all Meralco consumers receive their Phase 3 refund this month but as far as I am concerned, I am grateful they made my day when I received my bill this morning and I had nothing to pay for December power consumption, as the amount due was P 0.00! Although it surprises me that the bill was the highest in twelve months, with over P500 amount difference, I thanked God Meralco overcharged us for the last ten years! At least, in the next couple of months, we will not pay our electric bills prior to Phase 3 refund... wish I don't have to pay for the whole year!

It's inexplicable though how we consumed more electricity last month... were those Christmas lights consumed so much electricity?

Monday, December 29, 2003

Too many times in my early mornings that this GMA7's Unang Hirit's segment, "I Saw The Sign" by Love Añover, made me smile. Guess why? Well, everytime she asks those drivers, by-standers, barangay tanods, or traffic police officers, if they know what's the name of the traffic sign she's holding, too seldom she got the right answer...

Embarrassed for failure to answer the question correctly,
this traffic police officer just hugged Love Añover

Funny but very disappointing that both drivers and traffic authorities didn't know the meaning of traffic street signs. No wonder the traffic problems nationwide never been resolved because traffic signs were just mere road displays and do not mean anything to the public anymore, or, because some street signs were now painted in pink???

More power and good luck to Unang Hirit Staffs. Please continue educating the Filipino masses...

Monday, December 15, 2003

Simbang Gabi (Dawn Mass) or Misa de Aguinaldo (Gift Mass), a treasured Filipino tradition, will start tomorrow, December 16 at 4:00 o'clock in the morning, a uniquely Filipino custom dating back nearly 439 years ago, back to the time when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi celebrated the first feast of the Nativitiy in 1565 in the archipelago.

Since then, the Philippines has celebrated the longest Christmas season in the world - from Dec. 16th until Jan. 6th, the Feast of the Three Kings. It begins with nine dawn masses (novena) which will start tomorrow, for nine consecutive nights, before the final midnight Mass on Christmas Eve (Misa de Gallo), after which, families partake of a hearty post-midnight meal called noche buena, which includes the queso de bola (literally "ball of cheese") and hamon (Christmas ham).

After hearing the dawn mass, Simbang Gabi is not complete without native delicacies, like 'bibingka' (rice cake), puto bumbong (finger-shaped violet-colored glutinous rice steamed in small bamboo tubes attached to a steamer), and a nice 'painit' of hot thick cocoa or coffee. I love castañas, by the way...

Christmas 2003 may not be as lavish and elegant as last year but, there's so many things to thank God for for all the blessings and for all our loved ones' good health and happiness, and the most important thing of all, it would be wonderful if all our loved ones will be together this Christmas.

Maligayang Pasko Sa Inyong Lahat (Merry Christmas to all)...

PLEASE READ:

• A sampler of Christmas Carols
• Titik ng Awiting Pamasko with midi files
• Serenade your family, friends and special someone with dedications on air!
• Celebrating Filipino Christmas traditions

Sunday, November 30, 2003

ANDRES BONIFACIO, Founder of The Katipunan, was born to Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro, a Spanish mestiza, in Tondo, Manila on November 30, 1863 and died on May 10, 1897 at the age of 33.

To remember Andres Bonifacio on his 140th birth anniversary is to rekindle in us his ideals - Liberty, Equality, and the Brotherhood of Men - a man of action, a great organizer, an indefatigable worker, and selfless Filipino who sacrificed his life to see his beloved Motherland freed from foreign domination. Source: Manila Bulletin Editorial

RELATED TOPICS:

• Heroes of the Philippine Revolution
• Andres Bonifacio, the Father of Philippine Revolution
• Andres Bonifacio, The Great Plebeian

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

I am furious today upon knowing that my Meralco Phase III refund is scheduled in March 2004. Meralco is quick in discontinuing service in the event we failed to settle electric bill on time even I reminded them that I have a Meralco refund (which I believe is) worth more than my current bill. They are not fair!

Business World: Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) is scheduled to service the third phase of the refund starting March next year, to cover all residential customers consuming more than 300 kilowatt hours per month. The third phase is estimated to cost Meralco about PhP5 billion. READ MORE

ERC REPORTS ON STATUS OF MERALCO REFUND

• Meralco has a total of about PhP2.1 billion cash refund to Phase I (100 KWH consumption and below) servicing around 2 million customers. As of August 25, 2003, Meralco has refunded a total amount of about PhP1.7 billion for some 1.5 million customers.
• Phase II of the cash refund started September 1, 2003 and is expected to be completed not later than December 31, 2003. Meralco has cash refund amounting to about PhP4.6 billion for Phase II (100-300 KWH consumption) with number of customers estimated at 2.3 million
• Meralco also requested ERC for an extension of time for the submission of the proposed procedures for the implementation of Phases III and IV of the refund scheme, together with the total amount involved for each phase.

Meralco advertised both on TV and newspapers said to notify customers in their bills on the details of how and where to claim our refund and when I couldn't see anything in my bill for schedule, I contacted Meralco Refund Hotline (1622-8888) two weeks ago and I have learned from them that said refund was computed based on the total kWh consumption from February 1994 to May 2003 AND the reason there was no schedule yet is that I belong to Phase III. It's surprising that this electric company had been overcharging the entire Filipino people for more than 9 years without our knowledge!

I spent the whole day gathering my old bills and when some bills were missing, I called Meralco Hotline once again and I was told that they had my records. I was real worried 'What if I sold my house' and I have not received yet my refund?' They assured me not to worry about this because they will refund to me what is due under my name AND even the amount I deposited 15 years ago will be refunded to me should I vacate my property. When I asked the guy who accomodated my call how much refund am I entitled to, he could not give me yet any figures as the amount will be determined by the total KWH consumption for 9 years. However, they had one customer in Phase I who refunded as much as PHP13,000 (US$236.00)! WOW! I belong to Phase III -- this refund is something I am looking forward to in 2004!

Still, I am furious, they should start the Phase III as early as January 2004...

Friday, October 31, 2003

Tomorrow, November 1, is the day when we pay respects to our departed family members by visiting cemeteries and praying for the dead.

We're not going anywhere nor will visit any family members. It is safe and peaceful to stay home, watch TV how PGMA will handle the possible Constitutional Crisis should the Davide Impeachment will push through:

• Impeachment crisis makes Macapagal look isolated
• Senate head: It's Supreme Court that can defuse crisis
• Solon: No consensus, binding decision on impeachment rap

I have been addicted lately watching GMA 7 Unang Hirit aired over Channel 7 (Channel 12 on Destiny) early morning from Mondays thru Fridays until 8:00 o'clock in the morning and will switch to Net-25's Liwanagin Natin ni Ka Totoy over Destiny Channel 86 (previously Channel 41). If you are news hungry, these channels are best to start your day.

Friday, October 24, 2003

WHILE THE PHILIPPINES' foreign debt rose to 56.1 billion dollars at the end of June 2003, making every Filipinos have outstanding debt of P38,000 or US$700 each AND with the country's budget deficit reached 144 billion pesos in August this year, it is ironic that the Philippines pledge $1 million aid for Iraq's reconstruction

.

Survey shows about 72% of Filipinos believe to reach the poverty level or are now living below poverty line and 1 out of 4 Filipinos would like to migrate to other countries to find job opportunities abroad. During Bush State Visit to the Philippines, a lot of poor families were relocated and ejected from their shanties, are now homeless and do not have access to water and electricity.

With the $1M pledge to help build Iraq, the Arroyo government should practice "CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME" before helping other countries...

Monday, July 14, 2003

For the benefit of thousands of ATM cardholders in the Philippines, please read here the full reprint of the victim's letter.

If in case you encounter any of these incidents, please be forewarned that you might be the next target of ATM machine syndicate:

• If the button for balance inquiry was hard and was not following the command;
• The card did not eject. It was stuck;
• In the middle of your troubles and someone came and asked if the machine was on line.

Whatever happens, never ever enter your PIN code infront of them! Just run and leave your ATM card, machine will take it in after three failed attempts, anyway... The Mighty Bond Gang might be nearby watching you. They vandalize ATM machines by putting glue on the buttons which cause cards to get stuck. Once a client enters the ATM booth, they strike as they did to the letter sender. Source: Philstar.com

Filipino voters are being urged to register with their embassy to be able to take part in the country's elections on May 10 next year. For the first time in Philippine history, we (Filipinos abroad) will be able to exercise our political right to vote outside the country.

• To register, Filipinos are urged to bring their passports or any other identification, such as their CPRs, that proves they are Filipinos.
• Filipinos aged 18 years and above are eligible to vote.
• Employers are also urged to encourage their Filipino employees to register.

An estimated six million Filipinos all over the world are expected to vote.

Source: Gulf Daily News

Thursday, July 10, 2003

What will you do if you won over $1 million dollars in a lottery? A chorizo (native sausage) maker and his wife realized that money cannot buy you peace of mind after winning the jackpot prize of more than 54 million pesos in the Superlotto draw on Sunday, according to Inq7.net Newsletter.

The couple and their five children have decided to go on vacation to have peace of mind, even for few days due to a lot of pressure since Sunday after their neighbors learned about their good fortune.

Several people had been flocking to their house to ask for balato (tip or winning's share)...

They could not sleep. They could not eat. They are faced with a lot of pressure. They don't know how to manage and what to do with their winnings... Read more

Although it came to my thoughts last night while washing dishes what if I won in a lottery? What would I do with the money? And then my imaginations went on and on and just sighed ater that. In what way I will win in any lotteries? I do not buy nor bet to have the opportunity to win one great prize? And then here comes the news this morning about the $1 million lotto winner.

I could imagined how they are feeling right now. When I have some money before, I was scared all the time. I even didn't know who to trust and I always kept the door of my room and also the gate of my house always closed. I was scared to walk down the streets, fearing someone would just grabbed my jewelries and hurt me.

So, you see, we cannot blame the family who fled away for few days just to have peace of mind. I may not have (a lot of) money this time but, at least, I can sleep peacefully and never run away from any one for my safety. Hey! I am damn lucky, don't you think so? It's called FREEDOM...

God has many ways to return to us what we have lost in the past. In fact, on April 29, the new millionaire's family's house was among those destroyed during the fire that hit Barangay Ermita, an urban poor community in Cebu City. The family was able to partially rebuild its two-bedroom house. Earlier, their eldest son was in second year college when he was forced to drop out because his parents did not have the money for tuition while the rest of the children were enrolled at a public school.

I am not losing faith that our great opportunity is just... uhmmmm... wish, it's like a mouse-click away...

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Global Community's PhilStar.com reported:

"Filipinos avoid donating blood because they are "afraid of being pricked by needles, people think the nation has a fixed supply of blood, and last, it's against their religion," Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit told reporters, seeking to explain the woeful donation levels as he kicked off a "Blood Donors' Month" campaign."

I do not know what made DOH Scy. Dayrit explained such a comment as alibi for blood shortage. As far as I am concerned, there were many of us who wanted to give blood donations during Church Blood Donation program. Unfortunately, many Filipinos are either suffering from low blood pressure or are anemic.

Mr. Dayrit, you are not being resourceful with your news!!! The Lady president and you (Mr. Dayrit) should go around Metro Manila and check the living standards of the majority of Filipinos - see if majority of the Filipinos are still eating three times a day, to be eligible to donate blood...

Related Topics:

• Filipinos urged to donate blood to sustain plasma bank
• Philippines below world standard for blood supply

Thursday, July 03, 2003

Why is the government running out of money? In today's Neil Cruz's Editorial in Inquirer.net, he mentioned many unfair practices of the Philippine government favoring the rich through dishonest strategies. Complete editorial is here.

Issue No. 1: Collect income tax from the small traders (who live a hand-to-mouth existence) at flea markets even before they earn any income by asking them to pay 500 pesos as advance income tax payment and the 30,000-peso rent for the stall in advance;
Issue No. 2: Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is giving billions of pesos in tax refunds to big taxpayers, i.e. The Supreme Court had ordered Manila Electric company (Meralco) to refund the two billion pesos it had overcharged and collected from its customers, so it is asking seven billion pesos as a tax refund from the government;
Issue No. 3: Spurious tax credit certificates, secured in connivance with corrupt government officials, some in the names of non-existent companies, are sold to the biggest income earners like oil companies;
Issue No. 4: Personnel of the BIR steal whatever taxes are really collected, deposit the tax money in bank accounts under fictitious names and then withdraw the money for themselves;
Issue No. 5: Perpetrators of numerous high-profile "pyramiding" pseudo - investment scams are still free, in spite of the billions of pesos they have bilked from gullible investors. Source: Inquirer.net Editorial

With all these crimes government participated in, I think it's about time the vigilantes run also after these corrupt officials...

Friday, June 27, 2003

The 21st century global citizen or worker

"The 21st century global citizen or worker will have to keep up with this evolution of current times. He must be a citizen of the world because companies and brands are global. He must, therefore, be a global consumer," said STI Education Services Group chairman Felipe Alfonso. "It's going to be one world, one market, one consumer, where boundaries, citizenships, ideologies, economies and businesses will blur. How we live, how we relate with each other, how we buy, how we sell and how we make things will change." Full Story on Developing a world-class workforce

6th Philippine Web Awards nominations on

To be eligible for nomination, websites must meet three requirements:

• They should be developed and owned primarily by Filipinos;
• They should not contain illegal or offensive material, for example, pornography, violence, plagiarized or "hate" content; and
• They must be accessible to the general public.

The Web Awards was conceived and organized by Media G8way Corp. (formerly WS Computer Publishing Corp.), the exclusive Philippine licensee of the US-based International Data Group (IDG) and publisher of Computerworld Phils., PC World Phils. and Enterprise.

The nomination period ends on July 15, at exactly 11:59 p.m. Full Details Here.

Mobile phone users in RP seen to hit 20M in December

MOBILE phone subscribers in the Philippines are expected to grow to 20 million by the year's end, up from 18 million currently. Smart Communications Inc., a unit of telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., is the leading mobile phone firm, accounting for over 10 million subscribers, followed by Globe Telecom with seven million. And the rest are accounted for by fringe mobile phone service providers. Source: Inq7.net

New airport scans could expose travelers

A scanner the government is testing for airport screening reveals too much more than meets the eye to be comfortable for most passengers. Full Story.

Publishing to BlogSpot

I was having difficulty synchorinizing my blog entries between BlogSpot and Geocities FTP since old users were moved to the new.blogger.com server. If you will check my BlogSpot Blog, it is no longer updated simply because I could not make a connection with the new server settings. It always redirected me to FTP even I already selected BlogSpot to publish my work. Anyway, I hope this bug will be fixed soon...

My background image on BlogSpot is not working with Netscape and Mozilla FireBird. Please check out my Geocities Blog for more updated news...

Thursday, June 12, 2003

The Philippines is making history today, on the 105th anniversary of the proclamation of our independence, courtesy of Macapagal-Arroyo's father who changed the day from July 4 to June 12. [July 4th is America's Independence Day]

"No other nation on earth considers its independence or national day a 'movable feast'; and no other nation has turned the most solemn of national holidays into a celebration of the degradation of love of country." [Full Editorial: Contempt]

The Independence Day That Wasn't

"The Bell Trade Act prohibited the Philippines from manufacturing or selling any products that might "come into substantial competition" with U.S.-made goods and required that the Philippine constitution be revised to grant U.S. citizens and corporations equal access to Philippine minerals, forests and other natural resources. As Americans relax around their barbecues this Independence Day, we might consider how our own forefathers would have reacted had such a provision been demanded by Britain as part of the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War." Source

"The idea that American rule introduced freedom and democracy in these islands in fact insults not just the dead in Balangiga but the country's heroes, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, Makario Sakay et al. who fought tyranny, including the American Occupation, and bequeathed to us a true understanding of freedom and democracy. We did fight side by side with the Americans in Bataan and Corregidor, and succored those who hid from the Japanese, for which pains we had postwar rehabilitation funds tied down to parity rights." [excerpts from Editorial of Conrado de Quiros]

Friday, May 23, 2003

THE PHILIPPINES is facing a balance of payment (BoP) deficit this year -- a reversal of the 660 million dollars surplus reaped in 2002 -- due to slower inflows from trade, investments and foreign borrowings, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Thursday. Full story

When I talked with Vera over the phone of my willingness to sell the house in a much lower rate, she mentioned to me about the fate of commercial establishments in our area. It's unfortunate that most small businesses failed to make it and were forced to shut down.

Life here worsened after the Iraqi war (US-led invasion). We're into recruitment and deploying people to the Middle East slows down. We can barely cope up with bills and other obligations. It's very sad that my children will not be able to make it to college again this school year. The last school they have attended refused to release school credentials unless we settled previous balance.

Somehow, watching news and seeing what has happened with those Iraqi people living in poverty in their oil rich country and/or those people who were victims of earthquake in Algeria, made me have second thought that we are still very lucky to be born here in the Philippines in spite of life's challenges we are now experiencing. There are many ways to thank God for this wonderful life we're having. Many thanks to God for the good health my children and I are enjoying. And, most of all, we have a house that safely shelter us... ah! we are indeed fortunate and very blessed!