Martial Law Lifted

Today, the residents of Maguindanao are once again Free People. Martial Law has been lifted and all of their civil rights have been restored. However, may we ask if the Maguindanaoan’s were really free prior to the imposition of military rule?

It has been reported several times in several online and offline publications that the residents of that province are languishing from the threats of armed groups who terrorize them every harvest season. Whether the reports were accurate or not, none of us, people from the mainland, are in any position to determine the truth. The place is too far and very remote.

More Than Exercise

There are people who swear that fat burners and other weight loss pills work on them. However, I am afraid that there are people who need much more than exercise and diet supplements. I have a grossly overweight friend who will probably have to under the knife in order to have their fats trimmed. I heard that another procedure is to “staple” some of their food storage facilities in their bellies in order for them to feel stuffed despite their little food intakes.

Gaining Unwanted Weight

These holiday season would surely see a number of people gaining several inches in their waistlines. After Christmas, the same people will be on the lookout for a good fat burner that will help them get thin once more. Holy cow! Why can’t we just stop eating for a while? The food that we will probably consume will be greater than what we need and a lot of poor people will surely appreciate being given what we don’t need!

Christmas Give Aways

I have just realized that despite the advances in technology, especially gadgets in Asia, the cost of a micro sd remains quite prohibitive. These storage devices which are small than my pinky’s fingernail, is readily available almost anywhere in this country but not necessarily affordable. That reminds me to start looking for shops that actually offer such item at a steal. A lot of my friends would surely love to be given these storage devices this Christmas.

Medical Travel to the Philippines

A lot of visitors come to the country for medical travel. With the high cost of medical care in the United States and other modern states, a lot of people in those countries actually find it cheaper to come to Manila, get proper treatment and have some vacation time, than actually get it in their home states. This is despite the thousands of miles of expensive air travel.

Driving in Maguindanao

If I am to visit Maguindanao, the first thing that I will probably do is look for a used rv for sale. I will send scouts who will have a one kilometer lead from me and get reports regarding possible private armies who are out to create havoc in the highways. And should darkness come before I get to any town, I will probably pull over, camouflage my RV and spend the night. It will only be during daytime when I will travel.

Increasing Premium

Now that flooding has taken with it thousands of vehicles in various cities, the rush is for the remaining vehicles as well as brand new models to get insurance quotes that has force majeure or so called “Acts of God” included in the policy. Of course, if ever insurers would cover such previous exclusions, the premium rates can be expected to go up. I think, initial feedback has placed the new premiums to be 25% higher than the previous. Whoa!

Mad Scramble for "For Rent" Homes

The flood that recently hit town resulted in a panic search for homes for rent. With most of their belongings gone and the house still submerged in flood waters, those who can afford frantically searched for fully or semi furnished houses for short term leases. The intention is to stay in these rented homes while contemplating on what to do next.

Increasing Social Security Coverage

I hope that my government will give better social security disability benefits. The working class is so poorly paid that any medical emergency will undoubtedly create a financial crisis for their families. Life in my country is not easy, for the ordinary employee and much more difficult for the poor. At this point, I would say that social security had improved. But I believe that there is much more left to be desired.

Sad Auto Stories

The recent flooding greatly increased the need for Mopar parts as well as other vital automotive hardware. It is such a pity that people who are still starting or barely halfway through their amortization, have to deal with more massive expenses just si they can use their automobiles again. These floods, though referred to in the injsurance parlance as an “Act of God” is actually, man made.

Fat Politicians

Most of these country’s politicians are badly in need of fat burners. Even those who seem to be fit were caught like lard in a freezer when massive flooding struck home. Only a handful of rescue boats and land vehicles were available and most local governments did not know what to do. And of course, there were also those who did nothing until it was time to give interviews. Election time is near…

Neglecting Oneself

Unless your policy is as good as the NC short term health insurance, you can never be really sure whether you will end up spending all your hard earned money on hospitalization. Last week, I was working on a plan to insure my properties against calamities and other events considered as “force majeure” but it is only now when I realized that my being, which is more important, is actually being neglected. My advice to everyone is Get insured!

Losing weight

Unless you are an overweight person trapped on top of your roof because of rampaging flood waters, you are probably considering the use of slimming pills in order to lose weight. That is what I am feeling now, being grossly overweight and feeling quite sickly as I type. While I did not intend to work all day so I can earn enough money to finance my weight loss regimen, what is happening is that I am working really hard but gaining lots of weight in the process.

High Rise Living

With the flooding, Tsunamis, quakes and various catastrophes that is hitting many country’s in the world nowadays, investing in high rise residences like condos in panama city beach fl, seems like a good idea. First it was the massive flooding in the Philippines. Then, it was flooded by a 7.3 quake and Tsunami in the American Samoa and Sumatra. Now, I heard that other countries like Australia are also being hit. Shall we go a bit high rise?

Needing an RV

Last week was probably the worst time to experience an rv breakdown. Most areas were heavily flooded and those that were dry had tremendous traffic jams. My God, it was probably the worst that I had ever experienced. In the heavily flooded areas, even huge cars floated like cut logs. I am inclined to believe that this is not the only time within the next few years that this will happen. God forbid, but I pray that this isn’t an irreversible effect of global warming.

My car's new tailights

What I like about led taillights is that it consumes very little power and it does not burn out like the lightbulbs of yesterday. On top of that, the light that it emits is brighter and can be spotted from longer distances. As for the power factor, I believe that lesser electrical consumption allows the battery to better serve high performance vehicles. In regard to the non burnout factor, we all know what that means – no more need to replace it, ever!

1988 Olympics

One of the first Korean brands to seriously infiltrate the western economy is Samsung. I remember the 1988 Seoul Olympics where Korean made television screens covered the events. Everywhere else, Samsung advertisements showcased Korean technology. I remember taekwondo competitions and demos being parts of the brands advertisements. I must admit that the televisions were good. It was priced lower than Japanese and US brands but the quality was close, very close.

Government Excesses

In this period of economic uncertainty, the government’s policy is to increase its spending in order to give life to the construction and related industries, provide jobs and many others. One thing that should also be emphasized is a burn fat policy. Different governments all over the world are known for being wasteful and during times when cash is scarce, trimming down those excesses is a very intelligent decision.

Laptops and pocketsized gadgets

Just this afternoon, I went out looking for new gadgets and found new netbooks that are on sale. Scanning the new gadgets in the store, I realized that the smaller (pocket sized) computers are mostly equipped with Atom processors while the normal sized ones operate on core duo processors. The main differences between the different models are in the RAM size and hard drive capacity. Other than that, there’s not much difference worth talking about.

Web Directories for the Philippines

In this country, the number of people with web access is steadily increasing. I would say that thanks to the numerous internet cafes that set up even in the most depressed areas, more people than the ones surveyed are actually online. Because of that, web directories catering to the Philippines should be set up. More and more people now turn to the internet for everything that they need and having a reliable directory is one good way to separate the junk sites from the good ones.

A look into our BPO Industry

The Philippines is now known as a major outsourcing destination and a lot of industry insiders argue that the country now ranks second to India for this distinction. Looking into the industry, I noticed that probably 90% of the monetary contributions of the industry to the local economy came from the call center sector. I noticed that software development, animation, film editing and other tasks that has the potential to generate more income per individual is not that dominant at this point. Perhaps, the country should invest in the development of those higher valued disciplines so that more money will come into the country. In addition, those who are not that good in verbal (English) communications may also benefit from the outsourcing boom that the country is experiencing.

Smart Driving in Manila

As usual, traffic was heavy along Buendia, Malugay and Yakal streets this afternoon. It’s a good thing that there is a garage type building selling auto accessories in between Malugay and Yakal. When it became pretty obvious that the congestion in Yakal was going to be worse than I thought, I simply drove through the garage and exited in Malugay. In no time, I was back in Ayala Avenue and on my way to Alabang, where the traffic is another story.

Baby's Names

Just as the country is reeling from the passing away of Cory, a rash of birth announcements came out. For sure, a good number of females and some males will be named Cory. Of course, males being named Cory is not so odd. Jose Corazon de Jesus, for instance is a name that seamlessly included Cory. Just as Thousands of kids were named Jaworski after the basketball legend, it will not be surprising to encounter a lot of Cory’s after the most famous woman in Asia, as of today.

In few Years...

If you need a motorhome towing, consult your friends for recommendations, check the yellow pages and better yet, search the web. The web is the media of the future. As internet access becomes more widespread, printed newspapers will be replaced by online publications. Therefore, those wanting to get into the publications business, a good web presence is highly recommended. It is just a matter of time and the paper will be a thing of the past. Trees should be better protected by then.

As Shakespeare simply puts it...

Yesterday’s march was just the conclusion of several days of mourning. Needless to say, I had irregular sleeping patterns and it resulted to bad skin breakouts. Back in the real world, I need to have better skin. Appearances, though I have not that much regard for, is something that I have to give some priority. Therefore, I will have to see my doc for much needed acne treatment.

"All the world is a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances.." Therefore, I need to look like the best looking human, in order to get the best parts.

Ciao!

A march for a dearly beloved

Yesterday’s funeral made me search the net for herbal weight loss pills. The long march from the church to the cemetery was equivalent to about 45 holes of golf. While I was with the mourners and until I got home, I felt fine. This morning however is a different story. My body aches were all over and had I been fit, it would not have been as bad as that. Got to get back into shape.

Stop Piracy!

Like a good Plano Dentist about to start a delicate tooth procedure, it seems that hi tech pirates in Somalia are eyeing new ships to capture and hold for ransom. With most of ship crews being Filipinos, these pirates are in fact damaging the shipping industry and depriving thousands of Filipinos to find maritime jobs. As people that are directly affected by these evil deeds, it is but time for people of this country to act and stop this problem. Bloggers can keep the interest going and write letters to their legislators. With the clamor becoming so widespread and loud, let’s hope that governments will act and come up with a long term solution.

Joseph and Hayden

This month’s hottest issues remind me of a lot of people’s unending search for the best diet supplement. Joseph Estrada, the former president was so overweight that his knees were hard up in supporting his upper body. Today, he is strongly being rumored to be running for the top office once more. The other issue involves Hayden Kho, a doctor who makes people look good. Both personalities deal with health issues but their biggest involvement in the newspapers are about something else. Whoa!

Goodyear Manila Closes due to "Bad Year"

Not so goodyear after all. The tire company is closing it's manufacturing operation in the country in the light of "uncompetitiveness" compared to its other branches in other countries. The Philippine branch plans to sell tires imported from its other branches.

Let's hope that the imported tires are better than what they are manufacturing locally.

Consult a Legal Doc

Just last week, I read about lawyers specializing in drunken driving arrests. Today, I would like to highlight Mesothelioma lawyers. These people are well versed and extremely experienced in handling Mesothelioma cases that those who have such a health condition should consult them. Illnesses, especially those acquired from work can possibly get financial justice through legal specialists and it is good for people to see them while it is still possible for patients to do so.

Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets

I wonder if the appeal of gadgets will ever make a comeback in my old fashioned heart. It seems that as I get older, I become like the old folks that I knew as a child. They were very old fashioned and backwards. Now, gadgets have made a comeback in the form of PSP & PS3 players, Nintendo game boys and many more. As a child, I was heavily fascinated with those game and watch thingies. Now, it seems that those are as simple as kindergarten school projects in terms of technology.

Honduras, Iran & Manila

In Honduras, the president adamantly pushed for a referendum designed to pave way for his being granted another term of office. The Supreme Court already ruled it illegal but he still pushed for it, anyway. What happened was, the military ousted and exiled the president.

In Iran, the current president is being accused of having cheated his way to another term and the streets have become violent and bloody, as we speak.

In Manila, people have proven to be less violent but the current president was almost toppled after being accused of cheating in the elections. Today, she is being suspected of railroading the amendment of the country's constitution so she can have another term. Will the military follow the Honduras route?

I hope not. Military is plain and simple wrong. The men with rifles are nothing but security guards of this country's borders. They are not in any way supposed to interfere in a political process. The amendment of the constitution, at this point, may be illegal. Nonetheless, it remains to be a political exercise.

What I fear is that, people will probably find such a coup justified and this country will go back to the dogs.

Madame President, please stop this cha cha nonesense, for the good of this country.

SOLAR ENERGY FOR CLEANING WATER OF PESTICIDES

Yeah baby!

Filipino scientists are now trying to harness solar power to eliminate pesticides in contaminated water.

The Department of Science and Technology's Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) is now embarking on a project to develop a technique dubbed as wastewater detoxification to also help the handicraft industry reduce contamination of water.

Read More

Life's Signs

Those looking for exit signs in their current problems should do nothing but calmly seek for solutions and immediately act on it. Worrying will not solve their problems so all they had to do is stay calm and not be pressured.

And since I am using signs in this post, another piece of advice that I would like to give is people should never ignore life’s different road signs. Pedestrian lanes for example, should always be respected street crossers are helpless against mighty automotive steel. On the road, as well as in life, people should be mindful of all road signs.

Online Hardware

It used to be that people visited their local hardware stores for most of their household repair and improvement projects. Now, all they have to do is check the internet. Like when their looking for the ideal porcelain tile, all they have to do is check buytile.com and they will be treated to an assortment of fine tiles in various sizes. That’s what I like about the internet. Most things can be sourced through it.

Hayden Kho Again..

The guy claims to have been influenced to take drugs by the victim of his illegal and pornographic homemade video. He also claims that he cannot disclose his supplier of illegal drugs for fear of his life. If I am to believe Mon Tulfo (an opinion writer of the Philippine daily Inquirer), Dr Hayden Kho is still alive because the dads of his sex partners chose not to fight for their daughters. With all the death threats being floated, I wonder if the high risk doctor is still illegible for Wholesale Insurance life insurance?

If I am the insurance company, I’ll insure him with a clause that requires him to be surrounded by armed guards all the time.

HAYDEN KHO

Yes, he's a doctor who specializes in making people look beautiful. His field of specialty does face lifts, organ repairs and enhancements, etc.. But with illegally obtained videos of naked women, I wonder if he should again be allowed to be in the company of women or men for that matter, again.

Dr. Hayden Kho may not have uploaded his illegally obtained sex videos on the internet but he has shown it to his fraternity brothers. At least, that's what Lolit Solis, his girlfriend's talent manager boldly claims.

Because of that, I think, he should be closely investigated for violating laws on public viewing of government unrated and pornographic material, on top of illegal wiretapping.

Gay Vacations For Manila's Homosexuals

That guy should go to gay vacations where he can flaunt his homosexuality where there is little likelihood of him refused entry.

In Manila a once famous actor publicly announced his homosexuality. A few months further, he made a complete wardrobe change and christened himself a female. With the public humoring him, he publicly announced the demise of himself as a male and that he is now a complete she. A couple of weeks ago, she was invited by a friend to a bar. However, the restaurant manager refused him entry due to its policy of disallowing cross dressers. Many bars in Manila previously had troubles with males claiming to be females that adamantly demanded to be allowed to use the female restroom. Of course, no right thinking manager will expose vulnerable females to in comfort rooms. However, the issue had been blown to huge proportions by homosexuals and friends of the actor. Let’s see what else will happen.

In this time of plague

All these talk about the need for Medicare supplement insurance cannot be as timely as it is now. The dreaded flu that is threatening to infect a huge part of this planet’s population is simply horrendous. However, the thought that the survivors will be the ones left footing the bill makes it more horrifying. People need to have adequate access to health care so that their medical bills can be taken care of and the recovery to follow will likewise be smooth.

Brouhaha over the Philippine National Anthem

"Mexicanos, al grito de guerra"....

In most of the Pacquiao bouts, the opposing fighters were Mexicans. Whilst the Mexican national anthem was sung the same way all the time, the Philiipine national anthem was done a variety of times.

In the Philippines, there is a law on how the song should be sung (check my earlier posts) but the stubborn artists of this land have used their artistic freedom to mangle it. Beautiful, as they claim their %^&* renditions may have been, the point remains the same. The law is intended to preserve the ways by which it is originally sung and to remind us that during difficult times, a group of people fought to make this country independent.

And while I may be in favor of making revisions to the song, I, and all of us, have no right to break the law. I will sing the anthem differently, as soon as the law has been ammended and never before any formal proposal had been made.

So Martin Nievera and the rest of you people who remains stubborn, I am strongly in favor of having you remain stubborn--- inside the Manila City Jail!

"Bayang Magiliw"

Asbestos Exposed People

In most parts of the world, including the Philippines, a lot of people were exposed to asbestos, a couple of decades ago. By this time, a number of those people are probably suffering from Mesothelioma cancer. God forbid but if there are actually people who in one way or another, was exposed to asbestos and are feeling at the very least, a bit abnormal, they should consult specialists. A good resource page can be found in this post, just click on it to find the symptoms and other information.

Hahaha!

A friend of mine once remarked that one common denominator between all those on diet is that “they all won’t stop eating”. If that is the case, people should learn to exercise a lot more in order to burn more than the calories that they are taking or… take the best diet pills. That’s the only way, in my opinion. Of course everything intended to alter one’s physical state should always be guided by qualified doctors.

Saddening

In some instances, mesothelioma is like suicide. The root cause of death has long been present in the body and it is several years before the real gravity of problem manifests. In the case of Mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos gives rise to that form of cancer after time has passed and when it has been diagnosed, it is almost too late to remedy it. In the case of suicide, people prone to it are oftentimes not diagnosed psychologically and the victims’ loved ones only gets to realize after the victim had committed the act. Quite sad.

Furnishing My Home

Gotta look at area rugs before I write today’s blog post. I am about to move to a new house because of office proximity reasons and furnishing it is becoming a major production, larger than the biggest project that I have ever done for the company.

Well, it is my personal abode and sanctuary from the annoying world and building it to my specs should be given as much attention than ever.

Vamos a ver!

Don't Bury That Excess Cash!

When you continue to buy that sexy lingerie, you are continuing to provide employment to employees of garments factories. Provided that the factories manufacturing those garments are located in your country, it is but fine to spend. This solution was successfully implemented by the people of South Korea who increased their spending and kept their local industries afloat. Just read the lessons learned by the Koreans during the Asian Crisis that started on 1997 and try to preach it in your own countries. Who knows, it might just work.

A weekend getaway!

With so much going on with so little benefit to most people in this land, I am thinking of taking a break by going to the countryside and checking in a very nice boutique hotels for the weekend. The fresh air and nice view should be more than enough to clear my mind and soul of everything and leave me refreshed and ready to face the world anew in the next few days to come.

Jalosjos Back. Seeks Case Reopening

In the news today, newly released ex-congressman Jalosjos is unrepentant and even pushing for a retrial. Most people in his situation would have hidden inside the cabinet of their undermount sink. This gut however, after serving his term is aggressively asking that his case be tried again so that he can this time prove his innocence. Lesser people would have sulked but this guy is a man with a belly, if I may quote the words of Mario Puzo, in his most popular novel.

Shall we Apologize, Smith?

The hottest news in the country today involves a lady codenamed “Nicole” and a soldier named Daniel Smith. Nicole is about to get married while Daniel, who is still single, will probably need some weight loss pills, in order to get back to shape. Daniel has considerably gained weight and looks a far cry from the baby faced accused that most of the country got to know.



That was just an intro.

After I have calmed myself, I will write my thoughts regarding the facts of the case, as the entire country got to read and hear and the sudden turn around that will probably result to the overturning of the guilty verdict that a local judge rendered against Smith.

Back to Blogging!!!

So many unforeseen events have caused me to neglect my blogging activities. Erratic schedule coupled with unforgiving weather patterns had made me cancel a lot of activities and be a few days delayed. It’s a good thing that there are extended stay hotels in the areas that I went to making me save a bit of money. Otherwise, I would have been left begging. Now, I am back! Villains of the world, beware!!!!

RIP: Francis Magalona

"Every color and every hue Is represented by me and you.
Take a slide in the slope.
Take a look in the kaleidoscope.
Spin it round, make it twirl In this kaleidoscope world."

Good bye, dear friend. You were a part of my early years. Now you are gone. That means I have gotten quite old myself. See you when I see you.

FRANCIS MAGALONA'S KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD.

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others grieve while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate and
Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bassline strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can't talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don't ask me how don't ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Exam Scandals

File Photo: Fireman

It happens in other countries, too.

In Springfield, NJ, two firefighters are suing for annual salaries lost when their entrance exams were rigged to favor other applicants. The two are claiming for the amount that they would have earned if the exam was not rigged plus attorneys fees and damages.

The story in this link.

Obama and Philippine Outsourcing

While reading fat burner reviews, I cannot help but feel lucky that I am not as fat as some of the people that I see in the gym. I call that “counting my blessings”. On a serious note, I am glad to see that the young and newly employed graduates from our call center industry are still employed. All these news about Obama discouraging outsourcing to offshore destinations scared a lot of people. I hope that he will fail on that one, if ever he really intends to crack down on this business. Outsourcing has made life a little better for the talent rich but relatively poor countries. Policies aimed at reversing the offshoring trend may seem to be palatable to American voters’ ears but in reality, it is not. Offshoring creates high valued jobs in the US. That is the whole damn truth to it.

Education Officials here and there

Errors are a dime a dozen and near disasters happen all the time.

Even in my office, despite all the precautions that we have installed, disasters always find ways of slipping through.

To me, what matters is how people handle it.

Let us examine the education department.

In the US, whenever errors are committed, officials admit to it and immediately rectifies the mistake. Take for example the story when a student found a misspelling in a state exam that made a question somewhat strange. The examiner alerted his supervisors, who in turn alerted state officials. The education officials were red in embarrassment but they acted fast and rectified the error.

In this country, somebody alerted education officials to huge and scandalous errors in our textbooks. The officials have the temerity to deny FOR YEARS the existence of the mistakes. At this point they have only admitted very minor errors and they claim that there were mistakes in the past because their previous textbooks went through ONLY THREE SCREENINGS.

Three screenings and so many big mistakes still slipped through.

What kind of educators do we have?

You all know the answer to that.

Happy Valentines Day!

For some, the the best diet pill is moderate food intake and exercise but to most of us, that is not workable. Never mind the fat and dirty politicians all over the world. They don’t need to lose weight at all. They can get fat and sick and dead for all the people care. But for most of us, ordinary beings in this world, we need a combination of food discipline, exercise and some supplements. Of course, consult a doctor, just to make sure. Stay healthy and fit. Happy Valentines!

Never Ending Traffic

The huge traffic jam along EDSA and most of Manila’s thoroughfares had my dinner appointment starting late for two hours according to the new set of new Nooka watches that I brought with me last night. Monstrous jams are not the way to go for a country that is heavily dependent on imported fuel and I hope that the government will seriously implement permanent remedies. Problems are a way of life for all of us but doing nothing about is goes against the natural flow of nature. The traffic problem has been in Metro Manila for decades and it seems that solutions being implemented are way below the minimum required.

Shooting the Innocent

Citing testimonies of witnesses, the police said six men were spotted at a “gotohan" (rice soup eatery) near the crime scene past 5 a.m. The gunmen then riddled the vehicle with bullets at 7:15 a.m. when it passed at the corner of Balagtas and Juan Luna streets.

Upon seeing that Esquivel’s son was hit, the suspects were heard as saying "Di ito ang ating target [This is not our target]." But witnesses said the suspects finished the driver off deliberately. - GMA news

a leaflet apparently left behind by the attackers near the crime scene indicated that the elder Esquivel was the target of the ambush by a group that identified itself was the Armadong Operatiba ng Partidong Marxista-Leninista ng Pilipinas (Armed Operatives of the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines). - Inquirer

There is an old age saying, “Why shoot the messenger?” In this case, a lowly driver, who had nothing to do with the issue, was purposely gunned down. After the hitmen fired at the vehicle, the grabbed the head of the driver and pumped a .45 caliber bullet into his head. The supposed target of the assassination was nowhere near the scene. The gunmen who are supposed to be fighting for the rights of the poor, has deliberately killed somebody so poor.

World Bank Blacklist Issue: A Matter of Credibility

The hottest news today is the World Bank’s (WB) controversial blacklist of public works contractors. According to a World Bank report, the companies allegedly conspired to rig the bidding of public works projects. Portions of the congressional inquiry into the matter were shown on television and it seems that the entire crowd of congressmen, government officials and blacklisted contractors were all out to draw blood from the agency that is lending a lot of much needed money for infrastructure improvements in the Philippines. One congressman even remarked that the WB is even muddying the good name of the DPWH. To quote, he said; ”Dinudungisan ang Public Works (DPWH)!!!!!”—Que Horror!

Is the DPWH’s image clean?

If I remember it correctly, the DPWH inever fails to be tagged as one of the most corrupt government agency in the country!

How can the congressmen even express disbelief?

Today, the news reported that the congressional hearings ended with the chairman already announcing that there is no truth to the alleged World Bank allegation.

Here is what I have to say about this matter. Among the three parties involved in this fiasco (WB, contractors and congress), the WB has the most credibility. For a long time, we (yes, me included) have been calling the WB names but at the end of the day, it cannot be denied that WB money resulted to a lot of badly needed roads and other facilities that the government would have been unable to provide.

And looking at this issue, I see no reason why the WB would want to blacklist the contractors, other than concern that big portions of the monies allotted for public works are being stolen. In the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), I once read a report about two provinces that were able to build so many kilometers of roads at a cost that was much cheaper/ kilometer than the DWPH’s average construction cost. To think that those provincial governments had very little of the equipments used by big construction companies and mainly relied on manual labor, the disparity in cost was unbelievable.

I therefore find the lower house’s quick acquittal of the contractors very alarming. It is devoid of sensitivity of the real issue and even mocking of the WB’s long experience in handling public works projects. Compared to these congressmen (some of which are former contractors) and DPWH officials, the WB have seen corruption of public works projects in various forms in different countries that whatever was done here, they have seen it in other countries, again and again.

We have a saying, “Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ko”. I believe that the WB has seen it all, long before.

He's in the Senate Again Today.

While doing my stuff in the latest of our two home ellipticals, I remembered that Joc joc was detained in the US for a long time. He tried to fight his deportation through his hotshot lawyers and was successful for at least a couple of years. At the end of it all, he was brought back to the Philippines and is busy attending senate hearings. For everyone’s sake, let’s hope that the senate hearings, which is frankly redundant to the court hearings, should there be a criminal case filed, end the soonest.

The Week's Issue

The long term of office (10 years) of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has left a lot of people fearing that the courts are becoming her rubber stamps. By the end of her term on 2010, her administration would have filled so many benches in the lower courts and an overwhelming majority of the justices in the Supreme Court. In fairness, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has made plenty of rulings against her government.

Still, the opposition cannot help but feel uneasy, especially that she is being heavily suspected of planning to extend her term through the courts or acts of congress.

Joc Joc's Wish

Joc Joc Bolante’s weight loss has nothing to do with the popular Lipovox. Of course, he most probably wished that it was. The embattled former undersecretary of agriculture has been besieged by allegations of redirecting farmer’s fertilizer subsidies to government campaign funds during the last presidential elections. The once heavy set businessman has visibly lost a lot of weight undoubtedly due to stress. His hair has also become very gray and the once confident demeanor that people used to associate him to has now radically changed.

If he has really wronged the people, he should suffer some more. But if not, he should be released ASAP. Whatever the verdict on this case will be, let's hope that it comes fast. Everybody's guaranteed the right to a speedy trial.

STUPID TEACHERS

It is so amazing how teachers from supposedly elite schools can be sooo stupid. If I am a parent, I would have several times gone to school and called a lot of them stupid and ignorant, right in their faces.

These stupid ones give assignments, that are due for submission the following day, that are so out of this world.

1. They would ask 6 ~ 7 kids to bring to class, the following day, things are not easily available. Imagine the panic of parents that are due to come home late that day. How can they procure those things that easily?
2. They would give assignments that no ordinary kid can actually accomplish. Who will do the assignments then? -- The parents, of course!!!
3. etc, etc..
   

What kind of values are these teachers teaching then?

Well, let me start by cramming, and having other people do their tasks. All the rest follows.

Stupid teachers, no doubt.

PHOTOGRAPHER PERVERT!

Even in the malls, we are not safe. Read this

As a young man, I, several times, got verbally harassed in hair saloons.

Those fags thought that since I was young, they can rain me with their talk of fagotry, sexual innuendos, tease and direct sexual solicitation.

If only they knew that my dad was a professor who taught young officers who are now generals.

Had they known that I was hanging around with people known to associate with known subversives.

Had they known that I myself can slash their throats and feel no remorse. They would have thought otherwise.

Sexual predators come in different forms.

Males looking for females. males looking for girls, males looking young boys and vice versa.

I remember reading a tabloid story about the assasination of a gay talent manager who picked poor attractive women and made lots of money by developing them into porn stars and adult entertainers. I felt no pity when I saw the photo of his lifeless body after being gunned down.

Joma Sison calls these people-- Lumpen! <-- Society's trash.

Susmaryosep

Received so many solicitation letters starting last November.

That's separate from the village security guards who gave us envelopes (the main gate + the ones guarding our street). I have no problem with the guards, janitors and garbage collectors asking for some Christmas presents. After all, they are lowly paid and hardworking people that are serving the community, more than what they are being paid for.

But yesterday (January 2), I was surprised to receive an empty envelope from the motorcycle man that brings our SMART telecoms bills. Early today, the motorcycle man is back shouting at the top of his lungs, "Tao po!!!" I thought it was a delivery or something. It turned out that he was back to collect his Christmas gift. I told my maid to tell him that I am still asleep. I am in a bad mood and I didn't want to deal with these empty envelopes, not now.

I was also told that the Globe Telecoms messenger also gave us an empty envelope last week.

Can you believe that?

Se Spari, Niente Sesso!

Happy New Year Everyone!

The past couple of days once again made all of us witnesses one of this poor country's excesses!

The poor burned and exploded their food allowances through disgusting combinations of gunpowder, fertilizer (yes, the farm supplement) and carabao manure (i'm not kidding). While the rich flaunted their extravagance by exploding more and commanding their househelps to be in the line of fire by setting up and igniting the deadly fuses.

These exploding devices, which also causes deadly bacterial infections to firecracker victims (remember the carabao dung?), come in various shapes and sizes and referred to as 5 stars, triangullo, diablo, whistle bomb, sinturon ni hudas, etc..

Here's a tip to the wives. In order to stop your men from wasting their hard earned money, threaten them with no sex if they will burn firecrackers. -- Se Spari, Niente Sesso!