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Applications for Our 6th Term Now Accepted

The 6th term of our Caregiver Scholarship Program will start in the first half of November this year. We are accepting applications now from third generation nikkeijin, dual Filipino-Japanese citizens, or Japanese nationals with Filipino blood who are presently based in the Philippines.

Grab this chance to train as a caregiver for free and have a sure, ready job when your arrive in Japan.

The Career-Service Japan of the Konoike Group has joined hands with world-class medical school Cebu Doctors University (CDU) in accepting training applicants among nikkeijins up to the third generation or prospective third generation (fourth generation whose koseki is being upgraded).

If you pass our interview, you will enrol at our intensive language course and special program with Cebu Doctors University. Training is for free--from transportation, tuition, dorm, plus living allowance!

For third-gen or fourth-gen nikkeijins, just prepare a clear copy of the latest koseki tohon of your first-generation Japanese ascendant (lolo or lola) and your family tree.

Please note that upgrading of your koseki ang visa documentation fees are not for free. But arrangements for easy payment terms may be made.

For those who can obtain visa on their own or through Certificate of Eligibility (COE) application by relatives, or those who already have visa, you will receive your training entirely for free plus living allowance during your three-month training.

For specifics, please PM your contact number or get in touch with me by phone or text message at 0917-640-9648.

I will communicate to you the e-mail address through which you will send your biodata.

Winnie Monsod video goes viral


By Lawrence de Guzman
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:38:00 10/12/2010

Honor and Excellence (Prof. Monsod's last lecture to her class)


MANILA, Philippinesâ€"A lecture on honor and excellence, as well as the importance of trying to pay back, by economics professor Solita “Winnie” Monsod has gone viral on the video-sharing website YouTube.

As of press time, the 10-minute video has reached over 210,000 views after it was posted last week.

Monsod, a professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics in Diliman, Quezon City, and a Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist, delivered her annual “last lecture” in her Economics 100.1 class on Oct. 5, wearing high heels that, she said, were “killing me.” The remark elicited laughter from some 350 students in attendance.

Then she imparted in 10 minutes what felt like “an entire course plus grad school” in a university, according to one viewer’s comment.

“You’re going to be as good and as honorable as you should be. You are going to stay in the Philippines. And if you leave the Philippines, you are at least going to try to pay back,” Monsod said.

“Excellence is not the only important thing that matters,” she said.

Stressing that the premier state university’s motto is “Honor and Excellence,” Monsod warned her students of the dangers of putting excellence before honor.

Honor first

“[It’s] honor first before excellence … And what is the fruit of honor and excellence? Is it not competence and integrity? In other words, if you have lived up to your promise and your potential as a university student, you are in a position to be part of the solution to this country’s problems, not part of the problem,” she said.

Monsod took a swipe at the UP alumni who have occupied or are occupying top positions in the government.

“If they were so good, why are we where we are now? And so you have to ask yourselves that. And part of the reason is because we have always looked at excellence, and not looked at honor and integrity,” she said.

The 70-year-old economist also said students would do well to stay in the country after graduating.

Going cyberspace

“If you are going to help this country, you’ve got to be in the country. If any of you have ambitions of going abroad so that you can earn more, please disabuse yourself, because by doing that, you are essentially betraying the people in the Philippines who trusted you and who invested their money in you,” she told her students, whose tuition at UP is subsidized by the government.

“And if you leave the Philippines, you are at least going to try to pay back,” she said.

The lecture, delivered at the school auditorium, found its way into cyberspace when Joe Drigo Enriquez, one of Monsod’s students, uploaded it on YouTube.

“This is no doubt one of the most moving [and entertaining] pieces of public lecture I’ve heard from a professor, and is definitely something that every Filipino must hear and watch,” Enriquez said, describing what he had done.

As of press time, the video of Monsod’s last lecture has stirred up nearly 800 comments on YouTube, most of them expressing appreciation. It has also been posted and shared over other social networking sites and blogs, creating discussions among web users.

Male22Maroon wrote: “I am so glad and so blessed to have been mentored by Prof. Solita ‘Winnie’ Monsod during my days as an economics student in UP. She’s really a great economist, educator and leader of the intelligentsia in this country.”

Said Gabrield7: “I’m not from UP, but this is one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard. And what she said is something that must hit everyone in this country. We definitely have to do something about the condition of this country.”

But not everyone agreed with Monsod’s views.

Commenting on Monsod’s Facebook fan page, Alex Timbol wrote: “I disagree strongly with her views that to help the country, one needs to be in the country … The return on work overseas, particularly for highly trained professionals, is significantly higher than it is in the Philippines at the moment, and working overseas may help individuals to accumulate human and financial capital to effect change.”

Bohol Opens 10,500 BPO Seats
Manila Bulletin
By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.

October 4, 2010, 6:13pmTAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol â€" Job prospects for information technology (IT) graduates  in Bohol glimmer as business process outsourcing (BPO) pops up in talks among local leaders and the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

The possibility of a call center or BPO investment in the province has also been fueled by the fact that the Province of Bohol has the capacity to hold at least 10,500 call center seats in the island.

Bohol Governor Edgard Chatto made this pronouncement following the completion of the installation of a new fiber optic system that opens the entire province to investors in the BPO industry.

Chatto said the new fiber optic system, in effect, opens up an estimated 10,500 seats for call center agents in Tagbilaran City or in any other part of Bohol

BCCI President Joseph Norris Oculam earlier revealed that the Chamber, along with local officials are sealing the arrangements to convert corporate space at Tagbilaran’s Island City Mall into Bohol's first call center hub.

Such news have made several parents of Boholano call center agents in Cebu excited with the  prospects of having their children work in an environment closer to home.

Perceived as a good venue for business process outsourcing, Bohol has never failed to amaze information technology entrepreneurs who see the existence of competitive schools offering standard call center courses as a telltale sign of competitiveness.

Sources with the Bohol Investment Promotion Center said the need to put up fiber optic cables to integrate Bohol into the vast worldwide network was realized last year,

The formal ushering of Bohol into the rest of the world has also signaled the opening of the Bohol One Stop Shop (BOSS) for investment support now located at the BIPC.

I've been home -- mostly in Cebu -- for more than a week now.

It's exhilarating to be home, to shift gear to an easy routine, and to interface more with people than with the computer screen (as was my previous daily grind). I am actually surprised that I have a lot of time to watch free concerts, with a choice of venue between Ayala and SM, after work. This was unimaginable before, when I was always in a frenzy 24/7 and yet felt grossly underpaid. I know I will get busier as the days go by, so I'm just enjoying my time while I still can in this soft transition.

I am surprised by Cebu's development. The Ayala area is slowly becoming a replica of Makati. Cebu is becoming not only an economic hub, but also a cosmopolitan city. The sad part is that alongside the glass buildings are shanties. Having been away for so long, it took sometime for me to absorb the flashy display of prosperity and the stark poverty--the latter seems to be the only thing that remains unchanged through the years.

I am still feeling my way around. I still find myself counting in foreign currency once in a while. But I've now learned to negotiate with the taxi drivers--and to demand for my 5-peso change. I now slowly remember the streets, but I don't know if I will ever have the confidence to drive in them.

My laptop is running low on battery. I'll sign off for now. Thanks for all the help.

WITH ALL MY LOVE

by

James B. Reuter, S.J


When I came to the Philippines, I thought that I was a missionary.  Bringing to the
Filipinos  the  beautiful values of God.

But I discovered, when I got here,   that the beautiful gifts of God had arrived,  in the
hearts of the people,  long before I did.

It was a strange fulfillment of the truth in the Gospel;  “You have not chosen Me, but I
have chosen you.”

The desire to become a missionary came to me when I was seven years old, in Grade
Two, at Saint Mary’s Catholic School,  in Elizabeth, New  Jersey,  U.S.A.

It never left me.  I went to a Jesuit High School â€" Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City.  I was
fascinated  by  the gentleness,  the  wisdom,  and the genuine desire of the teachers to
show  us how to live according to the law of God.

So I became a Jesuit, and a missionary,  and I came to the Philippines.

I thought I was coming to give.  But I was not.  The Filipinos gave to me.  From them I
Learned  how natural it was for them to love God, by loving each other.

These are not just words. It is an amazing reality.  During the Japanese Occupation one
of my students, Ramon Cabrera, went into the underground.  He was picked up by the
Japanese.  They asked him to give the names of all his friends who were in the
underground.

He said:  “I don’t know any names.”

To  make him talk, they beat him in the mouth with a gun butt.  They broke out all his teeth.  They smashed his jaw and his nose.  Then they asked again for the names of his
friends in the underground.

He said:  “I don’t know any names.”

So they brought him to the cemetery, gave him a shovel, and told him to dig his grave.

He said:  “Dig it yourself!”

So they bayoneted him.  As he dropped to his knees, he looked up at the Japanese and
smiled.  And then he died.

“Greater love than this no man hath, that he  lay down his life for his friend” . . .
“Whatever you do for the least of these my little ones â€" you have done  it to ME”.

He would not give  the  names of  his friends in the underground.

At the age of 93, in the hospital with pneumonia, I am saying this to tell you â€" all of you,
my friends. . .

·         The Filipino has deep, strong courage. . .
·         He has courage enough to die for his friends. . .
·         He loves God with all his heart, because â€"

“Greater love for God no man has  - that he lay down his life for his friend. Whatever you do for the least of these, my little ones, you have done it to Me.”

What I discovered when I came to the Philippines was that the Filipinos do not need
missionaries.

I did.

And so I am deeply grateful to God for sending me here.


I did not choose Him.

He chose me.

I will be living in Cebu City for at least three months from June. I have never lived in Cebu but I am looking forward to this working stint for a Japanese consortium in the Philippines. My daughter intends to take up schooling at UP Cebu this school year, so I prefer the Lahug area. Sa atong mga kaubanan sa Cebu, naa ba mo'y marecommend nga apartment nga safe neighborhood para sa mga bata? Mas barato mas OK, 15K~20K ang budget. Thanks!

Manny V. Pangilinan's Keynote Remarks Inauguration  of the New Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University, 8th December 2009: Libraries are as old as civilization. From the 30,000 clay tablets found in the library of Ashurbanipal  at Nineveh, to the computers of a modern library â€" stretch more than five thousand years of man’s insatiable desire to establish written immortality, insure the continuity of culture and civilization, to share his wisdom, his dreams, his memory, and his story with the rest of mankind, and with future generations
Dr. Vartan Gregorian in his Keynote Address White House Conference on School Libraries: Libraries are as old as civilization-the object of pride, envy and sometimes senseless destruction. From the clay tablets of Babylon to the computers of a modern library stretch more than five thousand years of man's and woman's insatiable desire to establish written immortality and to insure the continuity of culture and civilization, to share their memory, their wisdom, their strivings, their fantasies, their longings, and their experiences with mankind and with future generations.
*****
Manuel V. Pangilinan at the 8th Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility 26th November 2009: From the streets of Marikina to the flooded plains of Pangasinan, Filipinos should write the next chapter in their stories. Together, we should ensure that the legacy of a terrible storm is a country that is safer, and better prepared, for the tragedies that may come
Barack Hussein Obama Katrina Anniversary 29th August 2009: From the streets of New Orleans to the Mississippi Coast, folks are beginning the next chapter in their American stories. And together, we can ensure that the legacy of a terrible storm is a country that is safer and more prepared for the challenges that may come
*****
Manuel V. Pangilinan at the 8th Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility 26th November 2009: These trials also remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this nation â€" that the despair of one touches us all
George W. Bush Hurricane Relief Address to the Nation 15 September 2005: And they remind us that we're tied together in this life, in this nation -- and that the despair of any touches us all.
*****
Manuel V. Pangilinan at the 8th Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility 26th November 2009: But we must believe that that future will come -- that with every tragedy comes the chance of renewal, that adversity can give birth to hope, and the lessons of the past hold the key to a better future
Barack Hussein Obama Katrina Anniversary 29th August 2009: But we also remember that with every tragedy comes the chance of renewal. It is a quintessentially American notion â€" that adversity can give birth to hope, and that the lessons of the past hold the key to a better future
*****
Manny V. Pangilinan Commencement Address Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan 23rd March 2007 : I just want you to do me a favor. Just one favor. Exercise your right to dream. Sure, you must face reality â€" that which is. But dream of a reality that ought to be â€" that must be.
Martin Luther King Jr: I just want young America to do me one favor, just one favor. Exercise the right to dream. You must face reality -- that which is. But then dream of a reality that ought to be -- that must be.
*****
Manny V. Pangilinan Commencement Address Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan 23rd March 2007 : As for myself, I have always believed in the strenuous life, in the life of labor and effort. The highest form of success comes not to the man who desires easy peace or inherits instant wealth, but to the man who does not shrink from risks, from hardship, or from bitter toil
Theodore Roosevelt 10th April 1899: I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.

Riding on the wave of accusations that the Catholic Church hierarchy all the way to Rome has been complicit in sweeping under the carpet the clergy's sexual offenses, the American media continues to hound Fr. Skelton who has a conviction of sexual misconduct in the US.

More snapshots of priests accused of abuse

By The Associated Press (AP) â€" 2 hours ago

JOSEPH SKELTON

Skelton was studying for the priesthood in Michigan in 1988 when he was convicted of sexual misconduct with a 15-year-old boy and dismissed from his seminary.

He went to the Philippines, where he was ordained a priest in 2001 in the diocese of Tagbilaran in Bohol province. Today, at 48, he is parochial vicar of St. Vincent Ferrer parish in the town of Calape, according to the diocese directory. Reached on his cell phone, Skelton declined to comment.

The bishop who ordained Skelton said he wouldn't have made him a priest if he had known about the criminal conviction. But he added: "The priest is trying to live well. If he has really changed, the heart of the church is compassionate."

The archdiocese of Detroit, after learning Skelton had been ordained, sent a letter about his conviction to then-Bishop Tumulak in early 2003. Tumulak said he doesn't remember if he received the letter. In any case, he added, it would have been too late.

Informed of the case, current Bishop Leonardo Medroso said he would investigate. But he added: "He was convicted, and that means to say he has served already the conviction. So what obstacle can there be if he has already served his punishment or penalty?"

Here are some snapshots taken during my two kids' vacation in Japan (FB friends, sensya na for the redundant post). Despite the erratic weather, the cherry blossoms are brightening up the surroundings on schedule. But such a glorious sight is expected to be around for only two weeks. That's why the Japanese invariably wax poetic over sakura. The best things in life are ephemeral--so breathe them in, relish those moments, seize the here and now! This moment is the only certainty we have of joy!


The family--sans Sarah who's temporarily with her auntie in Bohol--greets the first buds of sakura at the Kasimagaura Lake Park in Tsuchiura City, about 80 km from Tokyo.


Raya and Paolo taking a whiff of Japan's springtime air and refreshing themselves before the start of college life.


A father is only too happy to have his son tower over him.


A family that prays and relaxes together always gets the windmills behind them.


Lynne with friends Dinah and Evelyn


Tulips in blazing red

Erectile dysfunction is strong predictor of fatal heart ailments, study finds

By Thomas H. Maugh II

March 16, 2010

For the first time, researchers have shown that erectile dysfunction is a strong predictor of the likelihood that men will die of heart disease.

Men who suffer from the problem, which some consider more an emotional than a physical issue, are twice as likely to succumb to cardiovascular disease or heart attacks as those who do not have the problem, German researchers reported Monday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn.

Researchers have known for years that there is a link between erectile dysfunction, commonly abbreviated as ED, and heart disease, said Dr. Sahil Parikh, an interventional cardiologist from University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland who was not involved in the study. "But now there is pretty clear evidence that there is a substantially increased risk of heart attack and death when patients have erectile dysfunction."

The results are probably not too surprising, added Dr. Robert Kloner, a cardiologist at USC's Keck School of Medicine, "because arteries in the penis are smaller, so atherosclerosis shows up there sooner," perhaps three to four years before the onset of cardiovascular disease.

The take-home message, both experts said, is that when a patient seeks treatment for ED, typically from a general practitioner, he should be given a full physical work-up to look for heart disease and referred to a cardiologist.

"When they are treated aggressively early, we can prevent heart attacks and stroke and they can have many years added to their lives," Parikh said.

Existing guidelines for treating men with ED from the Princeton Consensus Conference already state that "a man with ED and no cardiac symptoms is a cardiac (or vascular) patient until proven otherwise." Kloner, a coauthor of those guidelines, said that when the guidelines are updated this year, they will probably carry a stronger recommendation that a patient presenting with ED get a cardiovascular examination.

Dr. Michael Bohm, a cardiologist at Germany's Saarland University, and his colleagues studied 1,519 men from 13 countries who were involved in a study of two drugs to treat cardiovascular disease. The men were also queried about their ED at the beginning of the study, two years into it and at the end at five years. A full 55% of the men had ED at the beginning of the trial, nearly double the normal incidence of about 30% in the population at large.

The team reported that, in the five years of follow-up, men with ED were 1.9 times as likely to die from heart disease, twice as likely to have a heart attack, 1.2 times as likely to be hospitalized for heart failure and 1.1 times more likely to have a stroke. The risks increased with the severity of the ED.

Disappointingly, the two drugs tested in the study, ramipril and telmisartan, did not improve the course of the ED.

That's not surprising, said Dr. Peter Pelikan, a cardiologist at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, "because it takes years and years and years to get any resorption of cholesterol" that would reduce blockage of the penile arteries. "The study was too small and too short to see that."

Many men with ED see a general practitioner or a urologist to get treatment and are prescribed drugs like Viagra or Cialis, Bohm said in a statement. "The drug works and the patient doesn't show up any more. These men are being treated for ED, but not the underlying cardiovascular disease. A whole segment of men is being placed at risk."

EDITORIAL - Blame the system, not those who leave
(The Freeman) Updated March 16, 2010 12:00 AM


Roughly 200 hospitals around the country, many of them in the provinces and rural areas, have been reported to have closed down. And the reason given was that there were no more doctors or nurses to serve in them.

While that may be true, it is quite unfair to stop just there and not put things into context. To do so is to cast doctors and nurses in a bad light, making them appear as if all they want in life is go abroad and earn good money there.

First of all, let us not lose sight of the bottomline. And the bottomline is that doctors and nurses do not just save lives. They have to live too. And with the kind of salaries they are being given, especially in these hospitals, they will be dying first before their patients.

If it has not sunk in to those concerned, medicine and nursing have become among the most expensive college courses to take. Nursing in particular has become especially prohibitive, and for no other reason than that schools are cashing in on the demand.

The nursing boom of a few years ago, which in fact has grown bust by now, drove many young people to take up the course. But instead of the time-tested laws of supply and demand prevailing, something unique has happened in the Philippines.

Yet, for all the expense invested in taking up a nursing course, nurses are paid peanuts if they work here. Not only is it an affront to the dignity of a profession requiring great skills, it is also damning to perdition to be paid less than half of what a jeepney driver makes.

Many jeepney drivers never went to school. Most even secured licenses by greasing some palms so they do not have to take driving tests. Yet on a good day they make at least P500. Many nurses working in government hospitals are lucky if they earn half of that.

And yet we make it sound as if it is their fault that hospitals are closing because they prefer to work abroad. Perhaps the question to ask is -- has anybody made any effort to make it even just morally worthwhile to work here?

First you milk the nurses in school, then you starve them when they work. And you blame them for saying enough is enough? Instead of blaming those who leave, they should be declared heroes for finally standing up and fighting the rotten system.

San Pedro
LITO BANAYO
Malaya
March 11, 2010


HOW could a piece of property sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), and a lis pendens annotated upon its transfer certificate of title, land in the hands of a corporation called Crown Asia, owned and controlled by the so-called "brown taipan", Manuel Villar, who wants to be president of the land?

The 2.18 hectare property is in the vicinity of a swanky golf course called TAT, before that Filipinas Golf Course, and even before that, during the Marcos years, known as Holiday Hills, in the municipality of San Pedro Laguna. It straddles the boundary of the first town of Laguna with the last city of Metro Manila, and is now connected to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) by an interchange, and to Las Piñas and Bacoor to a so-called Daang Reyna, which in turn connects to Daang Hari. Pretty good property, one must say.

It used to be titled to one Maximo Argana, remembered by many to be the feared and powerful mayor of Muntinglupa during the martial law years. When the dictatorship fell, the newly-created PCGG went after the unexplained wealth of Marcos, his cronies and other public officials. They went after Maximo Argana’s wealth, and this San Pedro property was one of them. Because Argana had meanwhile died, the PCGG attached an encumbrance upon the title, what is called a lis pendens, which means the property cannot be sold, leased, or otherwise encumbered while the case is pending. And up till today, that case pends before the Sandiganbayan.

Meanwhile, the informal settlers who had stayed in the property by tolerance or sufferance of the registered owner, Argana, had hoped that when the government finally got full leave of the court to confiscate the San Pedro property, they could apply for land ownership under the social justice programs of the State.

Their hopes brightened with the enactment of the Urban Dwellers Act during the Cory administration, otherwise known as the Lina Law.

But lo and behold! In the year 2000, a corporation called Crown Asia suddenly claimed ownership of the property, on the basis of a deed of sale executed between it and Capitol Bank. Both Crown Asia and Capitol are owned and controlled by the spouses Manuel and Cynthia Villar. Crown Asia, along with its sister corporations, had already acquired other properties in the vicinity, which it was then developing into medium and high-end housing projects.

How did this happen? There was a lis pendens on the property, and a check with government agencies, including the Office of the President shows that the Argana title should not and must not be the subject of a deed of sale, not even a contract of lease, for as long as the courts would not lift that lis pendens (or pendente lite, which means pending legal resolution of the case.

But apparently, Capitol Bank foreclosed the property from a certain Jose Nunez, who failed to pay a short-term loan, and made no effort whatsoever to restructure or re-schedule the loan, as most are wont to do, but instead, immediately had his property foreclosed by the Villar bank. And the Villar’s Capitol Bank turns around and sells the property also immediately, to Crown Asia. Seems like this is a pattern, a modus operandi of the Villar’s interlocking corporations.

In 2002, Villar’s Crown Asia posted security guards and then ordered demolition of the settler’s houses. The demolition squad succeeded in destroying 30 houses and led to the killing of Quirico "Rico" de los Santos, a leader of the neighborhood association of poor informal dwellers called ironically, Paradise Park. But the informal settlers resisted and they remain there to this day, their Paradise Park Neighborhood Association knocking from one government agency door to another, hoping to seek justice and their urban dwellers’ rights under the laws of the benighted land. There are now some 205 family houses walled inside the 2.18 hectare property, with no basic services such as electrical connections and water. They have to walk to buy expensive retailed water and inter-connect or share one electricity source. Guards of the neighboring walled subdivision, armed with shotguns strictly monitor their movements. They are not allowed to bring in construction materials even to repair their rickety dwellings.

Is this another racket where fake titles are produced surreptitiously, and prey on helpless landowners, such as the Dumagat and Remontado farmers in Norzagaray, Bulacan (read our articles of February 25 and 27, Malaya)? In Norzagaray, the titles issued during the Japanese occupation, which under Commonwealth Act 141, as amended, have been declared null and void, were "foreclosed" by Capitol Bank, and then paid in kind to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas which had earlier issued an emergency loan to the said Villar-owned bank of 1.5 billion pesos.

In San Pedro, property encumbered in temporary favor of the Republic of the Philippines, pending resolution of a sequestration case, is suddenly claimed by a family corporation which "bought" the property from the same family-owned bank, which in turn foreclosed the same from a person, fictitious or real, who "borrowed" a short-term loan and "failed" to pay.

But the Paradise Park homeowners are now in mortal fear of imminent ejection, should this "poor man turned billionaire", whose heart "bleeds for the poor", and who makes a holy vow (panata) to end poverty (tatapusin ang kahirapan), become president. Truly, night will fall upon the lives of these poor people "squatting" on government-owned land. Because if Villarroyo succeeds with his money, and buys the presidency come May 10, 2010, with secret help from the woman who replaced the man he impeached in 2000, then the "government" and their nemesis will be one and the same.

"Mayaman na siya. Huwag na niyang agawin sa amin ang karapatan na manirahan sa lupang hindi naman kanya", said Aling Gloria Barrameda of the Paradise Park Neighborhood Association , who along with some 40 other settlers marched and picketed the front of the historic Laurel House that Money Villarroyo bought two years ago, and from whence he launched his quest for the presidency.

The man who claims to have shared the tribulations of the poorest of the poor, who used to live in a single-room house with his entire family (but transferred as a kid later to a 560 square-meter property in San Rafael Village in Balut, built by his government employee of a father and his industrious fish merchant of a mother) and used to sleep in a narrow bench in Divisoria market (but was schooled in a Catholic parochial school where he and brood were fetched by a stainless steel owner-type jeep), and virtually mocks the toil and sacrifices of his truly industrious parents in order to propagandize alleged poverty, now sends his guards to confiscate property held by the Republic, at the expense of poor, landless settlers, one of whom was executed by his unknown security guards.

As Aling Gloria stated in poignant anger: "Sa ginagawa niya sa aming mahihirap, kasinungalingan ang sinasabi niyang siya ay para sa mahirap at siya ay may malasakit. Siya ang tunay na pasakit. Siya ang tunay na pahirap".

Narco-politics and the elections
March 05, 2010 07:06:00
Cebu Daily News

Two candidates and a barangay captain in Cebu and Bohol are reportedly being investigated due to their links to illegal drugs.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) claims these three have history of arrests due to their alleged involvement in illegal drugs trade.

The investigation was announced after a tricycle driver from Bohol was arrested for trying to sell 12 medium packs of cocaine worth P720,000 to policemen who posed as buyers in barangay Capitol Site on Monday afternoon.

Vedasto Jubahid Corsiga, 54, later led the police to an abandoned shanty in Borongan town, Samar where a kilo of cocaine worth P6 million was seized.

The arrest of Corsiga confirmed intelligence reports that cocaine, a preferred illegal substance of the rich, has penetrated Cebu.

Corsiga's arrest as well as the ongoing probe of the three politicians in the region happened to be a loose thread in the web of narco-politics that supposedly swept across the country based on a claim by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

What gave the PDEA report some credence was a United States government advisory that supposedly warned the national government about the possible involvement of powerful drug lords with ties to the South American cartel that may help influence the course of elections.

As if Filipinos don't have enough problems trying to understand how the automated elections work and sifting through the promotional gimmicks of national and local candidates, now they have to deal with the moneyed death grip of drug traffickers.

To be sure, most voters are wary and uncompromising when it comes to drug traffickers but the problem lies in verifying who among these candidates are backed by drug lords.

According to Sen. Richard Gordon, who is running for president, a recent rice shipment from Vietnam supposedly contained a sizable cache of drugs and entered the company through Bacolod, Iloilo and Capiz.

It would be quite easy for the national government, specifically senators to call on the US government to issue the names of these candidates.

But there is protocol to observe and the Americans certainly would provide all the information needed.

Arresting drug traffickers, however, isn't as simple as obtaining a shopping list of names.

There is plenty of legwork to be done by all the agencies concerned. The national government should do its homework in order to effect the arrest of these pushers and traffickers and stem, if not totally stop the flow of drugs in the country and not just during this year's elections.

Why I will Vote for Noynoy Aquino

     
    Monsod's Musings
    Winnie Monsod

    Villar still refuses to attend the Senate to face questions, and it only reminds me of how GMA used the privilege of her office to avoid questioning. What will happen if Villar wins and more corruption scandals surface?With Villar catching up to Noynoy in the polls, I am honestly quite terrified of the prospect of him winning. There is a clear case of graft in this instance, and instead of delving into the issues, his allies in the legislative are simply brushing off the allegations as "politically motivated". As a citizen, we should not accept this. If there is smoke, we must see if there is a fire that needs to be put out. Yes, the timing of the allegations seem a bit off. ( Joker Arroyo was pushing these issues as early as 1998). A known crook and political opportunist, Juan Ponce Enrile, is the person leading the censure. However, when the facts are presented, it is clear as day that something is amiss. It just further builds on my strong suspicions that Villar is a businessman simply looking to control the political arena to make a boat load of money.I have never trusted Villar since day one. I never trust businessmen who enter politics, because in the end, their core value is and always will be profit maximization. It is well documented that Villar's real estate empire ran into some serious financial problems when his overexposure to the real estate market and the Asian Financial Crisis made him unable to pay debts he took out to expand his real estate business in the early 1990s. After the Asian Crisis hit, Capitol Bank, owned by Villar and heavily exposed to his real estate investments was essentially ran to the ground and needed to be bailed out. In 2005, Villar tried to solve his debt problems by hiring a group of investment banks to advise him on how he can consolidate all his assets into one company (Vista Land). With the local and foreign investment bankers, Villar came up with a growth story for investors: "Invest in my company because we need it to fund all these wonderful project!" However, what was downplayed during the IPO roadshow was that instead of financing growth, resources from the offering would be used to finance his debt. To appease creditors, Villar even had his investment bankers pitch some form of a debt-to-equity conversion that raised skeptical eyebrows of many. In 2007, the IPO of Vista Land did not do as well as planned, in part because many investors and brokers were the same people who were burned by Villar's inability to pay back his loans.Now, as part of a corporate growth (or should I say corporate restructuring) plan, Villar is lusting for the highest position in the land. This scares me because Villar already has a track record of using his political position to gain the upper hand for his businesses. To save his empire and increase shareholder value of his business, Villar used his influence as Senate Finance Chair to shrewdly derail a Cavite road project that was supposed to be BUILD, OPERATE, and TRANSFER. Villar built a longer and more expensive road, the C-5 extension, adjacent to it; subsequently forcing the private investor in the initial project to pull out. The fishy thing is that this new road, longer and more expensive than the previously planned project, passed through all of Villar's land in Cavite. It is a clear case of graft, pointing to Villar use of influence and government funds to substantially improve the values of his real estate properties. To add insult to injury the right of way the government would have to pay in order to complete the project was substantially higher for the land that Villar owned. These funds could have easily been used to build needed schools.This scandal should be a red flag for all voters. However, the scary part is that Villar is spending billions to keep this out of the picture as he continues his attempt to brainwash our masses that he is their saviour. He convinces the masses that he is one of them. A poor boy from the slums of Tondo. In actuality, he is more like the 5-6 and syndicates, slum dwellers themselves who make a profit out of their poor brethren. Villar's ad agencies are doing an excellent job of maintaining this image as well as doing damage control. TV and radio continues to churn out Parokya Ni Edgaresque jingles that compete with "Nobody, Nobody." Dolphy is Villar's new spokesperson and Wowowee is one giant ad for him. In this process of brainwashing, the masses are not cognizant of how Villar conducts business as a politician. What they do not see is a man hell bent on turning our archipelago into his own personal piece of real estate.It is sad that the efforts of Juan Ponce Enrile, who is leading the censure for Villar, is actually giving Villar more sympathy votes. People do no trust Enrile, and when Enrile pounces on someone, it is usually met with a high degree of skepticism. I do not blame people for feeling this way. I also think Enrile is a crook who should be jailed for conspiring to implement Martial Law, for coup attempts, and for the human rights abuses during the Marcos regime. If someone with a more respectable reputation were to level these charges on Villar, I am sure the surveys would tell a different story.
    I also fear from some credible reports that Malacanang has actually made a deal with Villar (under the table). Essentially, GMA's goons said, "We will help you, in return, leave us alone when you win". Villar's behaviour in recent forums further adds credence to these reports as Villar has been very tame and quiet when it comes to how he will treat GMA after the elections. Appealing to common sense, it makes ALL THE SENSE for GMA to support someone who has a chance of winning, not a person rating at 4% in the surveys. GMA tried to reach out to Noynoy after Tita Cory died. All she got was rejection.

    Who can stop Villar in his quest for the presidency?

    I am known to be a Noynoy supporter, but to those skeptics and to those who are still undecided, I do concede that he is not perfect. His record as a politician is average and unspectacular at best. He does not have the charisma of his father. Before the death of his mother, he did not get much mileage. But I am going all out in support for Noynoy in 2010 because he stands for clean governance and appear willing to accomplish this. In addition, he has the best chance of preventing a opportunistic businessman, the assured next President of our country before Cory died, from using the Office of the President as a personal growth asset to his business empire.

    Noynoy's clean record is a big plus for me. It is a trait that I think should be the most important quality that we should look for in our next president. His appeal is that his track record is not tarnished by corruption scandals and his political debts are minimal. I know that many critics are trying to make an issue over his involvement in Hacienda Luisita, but Noynoy is not even heavily involved in the company. As a shareholder, Noynoy only owns .04% of Hacienda Luisita, a drop in the ocean and hardly in any position to do something about it. The case of the Hacienda does not have the substance that the C-5 extension controversy has a lot of.

    In addition, Nonoy also has an incredible legacy to live up to. All the pressure is on him to be clean and stay clean. He can't afford to tarnish the Aquino name and the immense legacy that his parents left behind. Cory and Ninoy practically sacrificed their family for their dream of a better Philippines. For Noynoy, to know that your father and mother went through so much hardship to improve our country is a heavy burden to think about if you do decide to become a crook and destroy everything that they fought for.

    We all have to make a choice. In my opinion, it has to go to the presidentiable who has an independent mind, stands up for what he believes in, is clean, and has the legacy his parents to live up to and maintain. For me, Nonoy, with all his flaws, is that candidate. For what this
    country needs is a clean president who can set an example top-down for the entire state; it needs a president with the will to change things and stamp out corruption; it needs a President who can set an example and is willing to perfect our dysfunctional democracy.

    I want someone who stands for being clean. He does not need a degree from Harvard. He does not need to have a multi-million peso business to show me he can make us all rich. He does not have to speak well. He just has to be clean. Nothing else should matter. He has to prioritize a platform of clean and effective governance and make sure that it delivers on that promise. Policies on the economy, education, energy, environment and health can all follow after the fundamentals are taken cared of. So far, the only candidate who promotes my vision with a clean record to back it up is Noynoy.

    Our urban landscape is replete with political slogans that attempt to convince people of certain candidate's ability to lead our nation

    Galing at Talino? Sorry Gibo, those were the supposed qualities of GMA, rubber stamped with a Phd in Economics. And what happened? She only worsened our economy. To GMA's credit she did balance our budget at one point, but it has again ballooned to the level where the next president will have to deal with the same economic issues she faced in 2005. During GMA's watch investment in infrastructure was insufficient, poverty incidence worsened, public education deteriorated, our nautical highway is still incomplete, goons like the Ampatuan's flourished in the south, and a culture of corruption flourished in our institutions. Instead of creating jobs, GMA focused on a policy of exporting labor without measuring the social costs of such a policy- thousands of broken OFW families and children of OFW's who do not have the proper parental supervision to teach them the differences between right and wrong. In effect, our next generation is left on their own to figure out how to become empowered patriots who love their country and will fight to defend it. In effect, whatever statistics in GDP growth GMA and her allies love to advertise, non of it trickled down and benefitted the poor..and none of it accounts for the social costs to her policies.

    Good speaker? Sorry Gibo, Marcos had that quality and he did nothing good for our contry. In fact, Marcos squandered the opportunity to be our Lee Kuan Yew and Dr. Mahatir. If I want a good, charismatic, and eloquent speaker, let's just run down the list of effective public speakers and vote them in.

    Para sa mahirap? Sorry Erap, you had your chance and failed miserably. Your only accomplishment is in convincing our masses that movie roles do not carry over into the political area.

    My only concern with Noynoy is how deep he might be in the Liberal Party and whether he has accumulate political debts to Liberal trapos. The Liberal PArty, like any party, has its own share of crooks (including those bandwagon trapos who jumped off GMA"s boat to ride on Aquino's popularity). How much will Nonoy have to give back to the Liberal trapos (and bandwagon Liberals who jumped GMA's ship) if elected? We will never know. However, I am willing to live with that unanswered question if it means preventing someone like Villar from turning the Philippines into Vista Land's next subdivision development. I am also reassured by the fact that he has that "Aquino" name and the ghosts of his parents to answer to if does decide to go down the immoral path.

    Nonoy will not solve all our problems. One person can't. But we need a start somewhere and it should be with someone who pushes honesty, reform, and good governance. It will be a tough battle, but I want to give Noynoy the chance to build on what his mother tried to accomplish. And I hope that if Noynoy wins, he will have the courage to make tough decisions and go after crooks, even if it means hurting a lot of friends and colleagues in government.

    To give you a better sense on how Villar conducts business, here is also a link to Joker Arroyo's 1998 privilege speech:
    http://www.malayang halalan.com/2010/01/ 26/joker- arroyo-raises-issue- of-accountability-of-public- officers-against-manny- villar/

    Actual notes scanned: http://www.scribd. com/doc/22789941/Joker- Arroyo-Privilege-Speech

    I guess "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck.." Well, as the saying goes......

    Vote wisely Philippines. And continue to work towards uplifting the masses and freeing them from their state of hopelessness. Defend them from opportunists. DEVELOP THEM (FIRST) SPIRITUALLY AND BEHAVIORALLY; THEN ECONOMICALLY! When we lift up the poor and ween them off the mentality of hopelessness, our country will become first world. Only then will we have the powerful middle class that our young democracy is screaming for.


    Winnie Monsod

I was recently asked to deliver a message on love to close the Valentine month, and I just found this heart-warming piece on how a female eagle chooses her male partner. Ladies, I think you can learn a lot from this.

HOW THE FEMALE EAGLE CHOOSES HER MATE
(As told by the Wintu Tribal Elders of California)

When it comes time for the female Eagle to choose her mate, she prepares herself for many suitors. And many come before her. She looks them over quite well and then picks one to fly with for awhile.

If she likes the way he flies she finds a small stick, picks it up and flies high with it. At some point she will drop the stick to see if
the male can catch it. If he does, then she finds a larger stick and flies with it much higher this time. Each time the male catches the
sticks, she continues to pick up larger and larger sticks. When she finds the largest, heaviest stick that she herself can carry, the stick is at this point almost the size of a small log! But she can still fly very high with this large stick.

At any time in this process, if the male fails to catch the stick, she flies away from him as her signal that the test is now over. She begins her search all over again. And when she again finds a male she is interested in, she starts testing him in the exact same way. And she will continue this "testing" until she finds the male Eagle who can catch all the sticks. And when she does, she chooses him, and will mate with him for life.

One of the reasons for this test is that at some point they will build a nest together high up and will then have their Eaglettes. When the babies begin to learn to fly, they sometimes fall instead. It is then that the male must catch his young. And he does!

Site picks 'Unusual Places for Romance'
Published: Feb. 5, 2010 at 7:45 PM

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. tourism Web site's list of "Unusual Places for Romance" includes cities with amorous names and an island shaped like a heart.

Topping VirtualTourist.com's list was Heart Island, N.Y., a heart-shaped island home to Boldt Castle, a century-old structure that now hosts weddings.

The Manhattan Beach, Calif., based Web site said Kissing, Germany, was chosen due solely to its name, while Oregon's Hug Point State Park boasted a name evocative of affection as well as romantic views for lovers of nature.

Fourth on the list were the Chocolate Hills of Bohol, Philippines, which VirtualTourist said resemble "something out of a Tim Burton movie," despite being natural formations.

Finishing off the list was Valentine, Neb., chosen not only for sharing its name with the most romantic day of the year, but for the scenic splendor of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge.

More ‘skip trips’ in Bohol eyed
By PHOEBE JEN INDINO
December 27, 2009, 2:47pm

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol â€" As more and more people inquire about additional day tours popularly known as “skip trips,” many tour and travel agencies are eyeing collaboration with SuperCat Fast Ferries Seacrafts Inc., in possibly launching additional packages in 2010.

Lourdes Sultan, the Managing Director of one such agency, Travel Village, said that with the numerous good feedbacks they are receiving from their clients, they are thinking of organizing more day tour packages next year.

“We are going to launch at least eight more packages next year, which will now include an over night stay so that our clients will have more options to choose from,” she said.

Sultan explained that since the province has opened new tourist destinations like the town of Danao â€" approximately three hours away from the port area - with its adventure rides and zip lines, an overnight stay package would be a good option for visitors intending to check out the place.

She added that for tourists who want to go on a night cruise at the famous Loboc River, an overnight stay is highly recommended.

Presently, the agency is offering a one-day tour package which features a tour to Baclayon Church and museum, lunch while cruising Loboc River and trips to the Chocolate Hills, the Butterfly Farm, and other places worth seeing before returning to Cebu at the end of the day.

The so-called skip trip is an original collaboration between Travel Village and SuperCat where the former provides the itinerary for a day tour in Bohol, while SuperCat handles the transportation from Cebu to Bohol and back to Cebuvice versa.

Hayden Kho confirms Bohol getaway with Vicki Belo
ABS-CBN

MANILA, Philippines â€" Embattled doctor Hayden Kho confirmed reports that he and his former girlfriend, Dr. Vicki Belo, have recently spent time together in Bohol.

In a taped interview done at his new bar along Tomas Morato in Quezon City, Kho shared that while in Bohol Belo mostly talked about her plans for the future.

Kho also maintained that they went there for “bonding” session only.

“Galing kami ng Bohol. Bonding lang. Wala siyang kasamang pumunta ng Bohol kasi gusto niyang pumunta. Ako, hindi pa ako nakapunta. Nagkayayaan lang… We talked about her plans for the future,” Kho told “The Buzz.”

Reports said Kho and Belo, who broke up due to his affair with actress Katrina Halili, were spotted in one of the province’s tourist spots. In his previous interview, Kho declined to say if Belo was with him during his vacation in Bohol.

He also shared that Belo had once visited his bar, and that he was happy to see his former girlfriend’s approval of the place.

“Isang beses pa lang siyang nagpunta… Nagandahan din siya, which is good. Parang nakita niya na kahit magkahiwalay na kami ng landas, I’m still up on my own 2 feet,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kho, one of the most controversial personalities this year, is looking forward to a fresh start in 2010.

He said: “I do plan to make amends with some people... build relationship, start slowly [and] develop new friendships.”

He also plans to appeal the decision of the Professional Regulation Commission to revoke his medical license due to his involvement in the sex video scandal.

Kho reiterated that he regrets videotaping his most intimate moments with various women, some of whom were movie and television personalities, as he branded his actions as "very stupid.”

He is, however, positive that people will eventually forget about the scandal.

“Kung akala natin hindi na makakalimutan yang mga videos na yan, makakalimutan din yan eventually,” he added.

Written by Willy Rodolfo III / Reporter
Business Mirror
Sunday, 27 December 2009 19:13

THE Central Visayas Regional Development Council (CVRDC) has endorsed for funding the feasibility study on the proposed Bohol Business Park, which will rise from the existing Tagbilaran City domestic airport.

With the construction of Panglao International Airport expected to go in full swing, the old airport was planned to become a new center for business and investments and has received full endorsement from the local governments of Tagbilaran and Bohol.

According to CVRDC economic development committee chairman Ernesto Quiamco, the development of the old airport is also part of the 10 in 2010 Development Agenda of Bohol.

“The agenda envisions the establishments of nonagricultural economic drivers for the province of Bohol,” Quiamco said. He said the business park proposal is also part of their response to President Arroyo’s order to study the privatization of the old city airport.

The CVRDC resolution will be sent to the office of the President whom they are asking to fund the prefeasibility study.

He said the business park intends to develop a high-quality business area and environmentally-friendly light industrial complex. It will also be a site for mixed, but complementary prime areas for commercial, business office spaces, tourism and high technology uses to stimulate economic growth.

The old airport is about 8.7 hectares in size, mostly owned by the provincial government with a smaller section owned by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Tagbilaran city government.

Bohol was once one of the poorest provinces in the country and a hotbed of communist insurgency. Huge infrastructure investments and development, however, positioned the island province as one of the biggest tourism draws of the country as well as an agricultural center.

All men watch porn, and it is not bad for themâ€"study

By Michel Viatteau
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 06:58:00 12/04/2009


MONTREAL â€" All men watch pornographic videos but it does not impact on their sexual habits or their relationships with women, a Canadian researcher has maintained after a two-year study.

Montreal University associate professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse told AFP his research had refuted views that pornography enthusiasts seek out in life what they see in X-rated videos, leading to sexual abuse or denigration of women.

"It would be like saying that vodka ads lead to alcoholism," the sociologist said.

The majority watches X-rated movies to satisfy a "fringe fantasy," according to his research, and it would be unfair to extrapolate from that that it leads to criminal behavior.

Lajeunesse said he had difficulty setting up the study as adult video stores and sex shops refused to allow him to post notices inviting men to participate.

A handful of universities permitted him to address their campuses, and after appealing to some 2,000 mostly women students to take part, 20 heterosexual men agreed to discuss their sex lives in depth.

His first discovery: all the respondents watched adult videos online. Singles viewed twice the amount of pornography as others with an average of three 42-minute sessions weekly, versus 1.7 27-minute sessions for those in a committed relationship.

Second: almost all searched alone for online erotica, whether in a committed relationship or not. Respondents explained they just did not feel comfortable sharing such moments with others, even with a spouse or girlfriend.

Some fit it into their leisure routine, as one respondent put it: "a good meal, a good movie and masturbation."

The study also revealed that men tend to fast-forward through scenes that do not interest them, often involving sexual violence or group ejaculation which they found "disgusting."

According to his research, said Lajeunesse, men search out pornography that relates to their earliest sexual fantasies, generally conceived at age 12 at the onset of puberty. They are not looking for new tricks to show off.

One student who participated in the study confided that he used to fantasize about orgies, but when presented such an opportunity he found himself unable to perform sexually.

Lajeunesse also dismissed suggestions that avid pornography enthusiasts seek to imitate in life what they see on screens, or that they watch X-rated videos in an attempt to purge vile sexual impulses.

"Both arguments are worthless," he said. Men make a distinction between their real lives and sexual fantasies, he argued.

One respondent, who claimed to dream of seducing a porn star, explained why he would never date one, saying simply: "I couldn't introduce her to my parents."

How men attract women through underwear
ABS-CBN

LONDON - Men only buy their own underpants when they are hoping to entice a potential partner into a relationship, according to a new survey.

The poll by British retailer Debenhams showed that men normally leave the purchasing of their underwear to their mothers until about the age of 19, relatively late when compared to women, who start buying their own knickers around 13.

Between the ages of 19 and 23, men tend to buy their own underwear, up to 31 pairs a year in the belief that wearing new underpants is an essential prerequisite to a relationship.

Buying declines gradually to zero between 23 and 33, because most men are in stable relationships and leave the shopping to their partners, unless they are still on the prowl.

"Our research shows that you can tell when a man is looking for a partner by the number of new underpants they buy for themselves," said Debenhams Head of Men's Accessories Buying, Rob Faucherand.

"If he buys more than 31 pairs every year then he's either still trying desperately to impress the woman in his life -- or else she's not The One," he said.

'Shop for me, baby'

However, Faucherand said that if your man seldom goes to the underwear section on his own, and instead assumes that you will choose for him, then you can be certain that your relationship is in a very stable phase.

The survey also reveals that underwear-buying among men picks up again briefly between the ages of 38 and 40, when some men are going through relationship break-ups and seeking new partners again.

The incidence of this new-found purchasing enthusiasm is short-lived however. It goes into a sharp decline and slumps to zero again at the age of 44 when men mostly find themselves in another stable relationship.

After 44, most men remain strangers to the underwear department for the rest of their lives, handing all responsibility for their underwear to women, Debenhams said.

"This is the one issue that feminism has never addressed," Faucherand said. "It's not who wears the pants in each household -- it's who has to buy them that counts."

DPJ's Ozawa calls Christianity 'self-righteous'
Wednesday 11th November, 06:17 AM JST
Japan Today

TOKYO â€"Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa said Tuesday that Christianity is an ‘‘exclusive and self-righteous religion’’ after meeting with a Buddhist group leader. ‘‘European and U.S. societies with a historical background of Christianity are bogged down,’’ the ruling party’s No. 2 leader told reporters after meeting Yukei Matsunaga, president of the Japan Buddhist Federation, in Wakayama Prefecture.

On Islam, Ozawa said, ‘‘It is better than Christianity but it is also exclusive.’’ But Ozawa praised Buddhism, saying, ‘‘It teaches us a state of mind and way of life from the start about how human beings should be.’’ He added that the cause of the current social turmoil in Japan is that Japanese people are losing their original spiritual values.
   
‘‘Politicians cannot conduct politics if they are not prepared to work as both a human being and Japanese,’’ Ozawa said.
   
On the Liberal Democratic Party which became an opposition party following a general election in August, Ozawa said, ‘‘It is originally a typically Japanese party, but it lost that virtue. That is the biggest reason why it lost people’s support.’’

Bohol priest has skeletons in his closet
The Manila Standard Today

CATHOLIC officials in Detroit claimed they have contacted the Tagbilaran diocese and have made officials there aware of the “criminal history” of the former lay brother who is now a priest in Bohol.

Ned McGrath, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Detroit, claimed in a statement published at its Website that they only became recently aware of the ordination of Joseph Skelton Jr. as a priest in Tagbilaran.

He said they were not consulted prior to the ordination but “the Detroit archdiocese has since contacted the bishop of Taglibaran, to whom Skelton reports, regarding the priest’s criminal history in Michigan.”

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in a statement published by several Detroit-area newspapers, said people should have been warned that Skelton had once studied at a Catholic seminary in Plymouth, and pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy in his seminary room. He had resigned from the seminary in 1988.

“And this month, a settlement was reached involving allegations that Skelton was involved in the abuse of a 14-year-old boy in Washington, D.C., in 1984, according to attorneys Jessica Arbour and Adam Horowitz,” the Detroit Times reported.

SNAP president Barbara Blaine told newspapers that a letter sent in 2003 warning of Skelton’s history was not enough and that Church officials should do much more. “Kids are safer and the Church is healthier when the truth is exposed.”

But the Detroit archdiocese said in a statement that Skelton had been dismissed from the St. John Provincial Seminary after being accused of sexual misconduct. “Not unlike any other institution of higher learning, the archdiocesan seminary does not track or hold responsibility for every student who ever attended classes but left before ordination.”

Blaine said people should have been warned and wants Catholic leaders to post such allegations on Catholic Web sites and have priests announce publicly names of clergy with accusations of past abuse who are transferred to their dioceses.

Skelton, in his Website, was identified as an accomplished “Praise and Worship Leader and Singer in the Philippines.” The Website said Skelton has joined several recording projects here and in the US and has performed in concerts here.

Not ready for the presidency

The Daily Tribune
EDITORIAL


10/08/2009

Going by the forum meeting between a group of local executives four presidential aspirants, the answers Sen. Noynoy Aquino, the Liberal Party presidential bet, gave the local executives showed clearly that he just isn’t ready for the presidency, and worse, he does not appear to have any understanding of how government works or shouldn’t work, under a system of laws.

The answers he gave to the questions raised by the local executives were much too vague and indirect, offering nothing substantive, probably because he has no position on these issues in the first place or he is plain clueless.

He kept on going about democracy and people power in virtually every answer he gave, two issues which are not the issues at this time, but as he was still evidently following the campaign spiels taken by his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, including the "walang alam" bit which is better than having an experienced one that is corrupt, which criticism had been leveled against his mother, he continues to tread this path, which will hardly resonate with the voters, just as it did not resonate with the local officials present in that forum.

But it has been noted for sometime that Noynoy Aquino, even in media interviews, is always vague and never directly answers the questions and at times, even his answers are off tangent. Mar Roxas has also been noted to "save" the day for Noynoy by explaining what Noynoy meant to say.

Another thing going against Noynoy, no matter what his yellow supporters say, is that he can’t seem to make any decision unless and until he gets his four sisters â€" and their husbands apparently â€" to agree on a decision to be made.

Even when he holds "unity meetings" with other opposition bets, the sisters and their husbands are always present. Can’t he make a decision on his own and make a firm stand on issues? Is his presidency going to be a presidency of five Aquino siblings?

What is, however, surprising is the ignorance of Aquino in local government issues, which should have been right up his alley, given the fact that Aquino is the chairman of the local governments committee.

It was apparent that Noynoy, as chairman, never studied his lessons, nor for that matter, has he even called some kind of hearing â€" even now, with the disaster and the unpreparedness of Malacañang and the local government officials in addressing the needs of the typhoon victims, today being questioned by the public.

All Aquino said, by way of answers to the questions posed by the local governments, was that this and that have to studied first.

A bigger mistake he made was telling the local government executives that he wouldn’t, as president, be giving funds to the local government units that do not perform. But hey, such funds, meaning the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) fund is a must, as the law says the local government executives get 40 percent as IRA. To withhold it is unlawful and not to provide any funds to a non-performing LGU even when it is needed is unconscionable.

Outside of that, no specifics were given, no concrete examples were given on how he, as well as the other presidential bets, will go about their presidency in reforming the system, mainly because they really have no idea on how to bring about reforms, given their varied backgrounds.

If truth be told, none of the presidential aspirants invited to speak at the forum were impressive in their answers, but as all politicians do, they all mouthed motherhood statements, and from the faces of the audience, it was evident that the local officials were hardly impressed by the four presidentiables, with some looking much too bored.

As one former local executive put it, "If all that the candidate can tell us is that he will study it, we’ve been through that already. He has to say and do something good for us and the country."

Noynoy just lost a golden opportunity for him to prove to the nation that he is prepared for the presidency.

He just proved that he isn’t and won’t ever be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qprqnwni2w&feature=related

Bohol maintains record as region’s top rice producer

The Bohol Standard
October 4, 2009

BOHOL has consolidated its position as the No. 1 rice producer in Central Visayas with irrigation facilities, hybridization and government support as its underpinning.

This was bared by Gov. Erico Aumentado during the Bohol Irrigation Forum last week with the theme “Irrigation: The Road to Progress which we must Protect”.

He said Bohol attained 113% rice self sufficiency in 2008 because of the foregoing factors for which the Department of Agriculture (DA) under Secretary Arthur Yap and the provincial government have worked together to make the province an exporter of the prime commodity to other provinces.

Aumentado cited the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for achieving the actual accomplishment of 9,735 hectares of new, restored and rehabilitated irrigated rice lands as against its physical target of 10,312 has. for calendar year 2008-2009 or a 97.82% accomplishment

Citing figures from NIA Administrator Carlos Salazar’s report, the governor said the project cost of P4.23 billion contributed so much to stabilize Bohol ’s economy even in the light of the global financial crisis.

The Bohol Irrigation Project Stage 2 with the mega Bayongan Dam costing P3.6 billion as the spearhead is now irrigating 5,300 has. of rice land, followed by the Talibon Small Reservoir Irrigation Project costing P420 million and irrigating 1,600 has.

The Bohol Provincial Irrigation Office accounts for 57 projects with a cost of P169.7 million and irrigating 2,128 has of rice land. On the other hand, the Bohol Irrigation System (BIS) contributed six irrigation projects costing P36.7 million and irrigating 707 has.

Aumentado lauded NIA for its role in Bohol ’s unprecedented rice production which he said has the bright chance of being sustained because of the NIA Central Visayas regional office in Tagbilaran City under Regional Director Modesto Membreve and the combined resources of the DA and the provincial government to support Bohol ’s agriculture program.

He said Yap frontloaded 117 large scale and small scale irrigation projects to service 12,371 has. with an estimated cost of P2.423 billion for 2010 and onwards in the DA agricultural program. The biggest portion of irrigable areas consisting of 7,384 hectares with an outlay of P1.311 billion is in the 3rd District where Yap is running for congressman.

The governor said the provincial government and DA are working to sustain the primacy of Bohol in rice production of Central Visayas through its convergence strategy in the rice hybridization program and the Rice Accelerated Enhancement Response (Racer) to the global crisis program where it allocated P34 million for its plant and fertilize now and pay later project plus a special outlay of about P4.5 million for Bohol’s organic agriculture development.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/features/10/05/09/pinay-follows-cory-hillary-woman-year

Pushcart classes help break gang chain

updated 3:16 p.m. EST, Thu March 5, 2009

CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.
Dynamic Teen Company offers Filipino youth an alternative to gangs through education.

"My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."

He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.

"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren."

Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year

"Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty."

For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.

Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump.

Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.

"Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best."

In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says.

"I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street."

Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says.

He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved.

"They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says.

Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers. Video Watch Peñaflorida and his group in action with their push cart classroom »

"Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says.

The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.

Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle. Video Take a look at the slums where Peñaflorida and his group spend their Saturdays »

Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems.

"Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together." Video Watch Advincula describe how he met Peñaflorida in the slums »

Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers.

Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs.

"I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."

Two teachers are better than one!
By RACHEL C. BARAWID
October 1, 2009

They are looked up to as geniuses for developing a model school that is revolutionizing high school education in the country.

Others, however, regard them as freaks largely due to the subculture they have imbibed in their students.

Yet husband and wife, and theoretical physicists Dr. Christopher Caseñas Bernido and Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido do not even see themselves as either. They are simple professionals who are just doing their job, making a difference in the lives of their students, and certainly in the country’s educational system.

“Iba na kasi ‘yung culture of the school, the subculture is the love of learning that our students have developed.

Whereas other young people in the provinces would look forward to join fiestas and street dances, our students have changed and would rather study than be absent from class and join fiestas. Academics is a priority,” shares Marivic, principal of the Central Visayan Institute-Foundation
(CVI-F), a small secondary private school in Jagna, Bohol.

The Bernidos is the first couple to ever be awarded as one of this year’s Many Faces of a Teacher honorees by the Diwa Learning Systems and Bato Balani Foundation, Inc. This is not the first time, though, that they shared an award. Early this year, they were bestowed the 3rd Gawad Haydee Yorac by Meralco and the University of the Philippines in honor of the late chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

FROM AMERICA TO MANILA TO BOHOL

As individuals, both enjoyed fruitful careers before they left for Bohol to restore what was then an ailing school in danger of closure.

Although Chris is five years older than Marivic, the two would later end up sharing the same interests, ambitions and of course, a life together.

Both studied theoretical physics at UP Diliman, took up their PhDs at the State University of New York, Albany, and held teaching posts in top universities such as UP while also gaining prominence in their field both here and abroad.

Aside from doing research and publishing their works in international journals, both also contributed greatly to the development of the National Institute of Physics in UP where Chris served as director.

But in 1999, Chris’ 77-year-old mother asked him to help recover what was left of the family business, a private high school built by his grandfather. Located in the seaside municipality of Jagna, the CVI-F was then on the verge of closure because of its decaying infrastructure, the exodus of teachers, and the low morale of the school community.

Chris, CVI-F’s director, says enrolment dropped from 1,000 to 330 because they were losing good teachers transferring to public schools for bigger salaries. Many private schools, including those run by religious orders, also closed in the 1990s.

UNCONVENTIONAL AND DIFFERENT

Without time to look back, the couple readily packed their bags to relocate to Bohol and took over the management of the school.

The first three years were a challenge for the Bernidos who were adjusting to the transition from a career in the college and graduate school to high school. Chris says it took them a lot of time, energy and effort before they realized that the traditional teaching method would not work for this particular school.

In 2002, they introduced the Dynamic Learning Program, a breakthrough in high school education. Its Parallel Learning Groups component required three sections in all levels to take one subject â€" simultaneously â€" with one teacher per level. But how could one teacher teach three sections all at the same time? You may ask.

“It’s simple, a mixture or synthesis of different things. It’s just having the same ingredients and mixing them up to answer or address the problems and needs of the school. The teacher will have a reduced lecture time of only 20 minutes or 30 percent of the time. The rest of the 40 minute (70 percent) class period is then devoted to the students’ study time where they are left to do activities independently.

A facilitator (usually a History or English teacher) takes over during this period only for classroom management and definitely does not answer content questions,” explains Marivic.

The school requires that Science and Math be the first two periods in the morning and Languages in the afternoon.

“This method is simply about biorhythm. The more difficult subjects are placed in the morning where the minds of the students are most active. Obviously, a big difference from the traditional method where students already exhausted from a long day would still have to go through a Math class as their last subject for the day,’’ Chris explains.

NO HOMEWORK

Wednesdays are PE days when students have absolutely no homework! Everything is done in school including projects.

Chris explains that the no-homework policy is due to both superficial and profound reasons.

“We all know that it is usually the father, mother, brother or even the tutor who does the homework of a child most often. So it defeats the purpose and what’s worse is we’re even teaching the child to be dishonest. Also, people say that in the office, if you want workers to be more productive, they must not bring work home. This is the same with students who spend the whole day in school and still have to contend with loads of homework when they go home. But really, the more profound reason is in the learning. Neuroscientific studies show that if you want to have creative students, they must need lots of rest. The brain needs to rest,” stresses Chris.

This learning program, according to the Bernidos, proves to be efficient and fail-proof because it maximizes the time of the teachers and even addresses their shortage.

“We placed structures, a built-in system so that there will be no sliding back to the traditional and the system will still continue, even if the teachers are new, not highly trained or eventually leave the school after awhile. The school can still maintain the independent learning program,” he points out.

This, Chris adds, is even designed for large classes such as CVI-F with 40 to 50 students per class. “It’s really something like, think global but act local.”

Two years after they implemented the program, schools from Abra to Zamboanga have visited them and observed. CVI-F is also the home of the Research Center for Theoretical Physics, which the couple later on established.

EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS

Chris happily notes that their progress translates in the steady increase of their students passing the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) from four in 2003, to 12 this year.

Another performance indicator is in the results of the National Secondary Assessment Test where 19 percent of their seniors belong to the top 10 percent in the country.

In reading comprehension, one fourth or 25 percent of seniors belong to the top 10 percent in the country.

This, Marivic notes, is quite an accomplishment for their students who come from a poor community and are children of mostly tricycle drivers, farmers, and market vendors. “So we had to make an effort to ensure that the program will be able to lift them up to higher standards of living,” she adds.

This year, the couple is bent on going global by sponsoring their valedictorian’s US Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) just for benchmarking. They feel that they cannot rely on the UPCAT passers as a performance indicator because in the ranking of universities around the world, UPCAT is nowhere. Filipino students are also way, way down below in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), an international survey of top performing schools.

In all these, the couple attributes the success of the program to their rich expertise and background in science as physicists, which they still practice up to now.

“Each enhances the other. If we were just focused on education, I don’t think we would have come up with this program. Here, we were using the methods of physics objectively. I think it enriched our perspective,” Marivic says.

But take away the program, she adds that the school has remained very simple, with rural facilities. Every summer, they make it a point to upgrade it though to adjust to the needs of the students and the times.

SILENT WORKERS

With such a feat, it is surprising to learn that this humble couple, if given a choice, would still prefer to work silently and even refuse to be feted.

“Awards can distract you and make you lose focus. Instead of focusing on the problem, you suddenly focus on yourself. If there’s plenty of attention on you and you can’t handle it, it can even destroy you. It’s quite similar to absolute power corrupts absolutely. You don’t even know it because it’s incremental. Mayabang ka na pala hindi mo pa alam. So it’s not good in a sense. Plus, there are many other teachers out there who are quietly doing their job and remain unknown. Pag nalaman mo ang storya nila, mahihiya ka na ikaw ang nabigyan ng award,” notes Chris.

Wife Marivic says with the Many Faces of a Teacher award, they accepted it primarily because of the noble cause of recognizing the teaching profession.

But still, the Bernidos feel that they have yet to accomplish many things â€" from the dropout cases in their school due to poverty, to their dream of overall improved performance of Filipino students in the TIMSS, and yes, even the much-needed improvement of the country’s educational system.

For them, their mission is all about “climbing a mountain, and another mountain, and still another. It just never stops.”

Rise from rags to riches

By Ana Felicia Dulay

IN THIS day and age, rags to riches stories are relegated to bedtime stories, as Aesop becomes an alien entity vis-a-vie Manga anime.

But rags to riches stories still abound.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Myrna Padilla, the woman behind a successful business in information technology, was once a domestic helper (DH) in Hong Kong.

With three employees when she started in 2006, Mynd Tech Management Services is now a thriving small scale business with an office at the ground floor of Landco Bldg., Bajada, Davao City.

Padilla was born and raised in an undeveloped fishing village in Bohol. Poverty drove her to work abroad and her main goal was to provide better education to her two children. She worked as a domestic helper for 12 years, reaching three different countries.

In 1996 while in Hongkong, she had her coup d'grace.

"Ang trato sa domestic helper abroad is the worst. You are treated like a slave, not only because you do menial jobs but there is also ridicule since they think you know nothing. You are treated like a machine, you slept late and had to wake up early," she said in an interview.

"Karamihan naman ng mga DH tapos ng college. Dumating sa point na inisip ko paano to lift up your personal values. We are more capable in other things aside from answer calls or cleaning the bathroom," she said.

The hardest part she said was not being able to assert themselves for fear of their employers.

"Pinakasakit sa buot (What hurts most) is not to exercise our rights as human beings," she said.

Her first challenge to better herself came when she became a nanny to a nine-year-old boy. Her ward constantly tinkered with his laptop.

Padilla was amazed with the gadget and even asked why the mouse was called as such.

"I was already in my past 30s and here I am asking a boy bakit mouse ang tawag dito," she said, lifting a computer mouse. Padilla said that her amazement with the computers propelled her to enroll at a Basic Information Technology course. With her one day off a week, she took the course which lasted for six months.

"I had a dream, but it was also a realistic dream," she said. She also studied advanced cosmetology with the hopes of opening a beauty parlor when she came home to retire.

But another challenge awaited her.

During a meeting with other Filipinos working in Hong Kong, lawyer Jolly dela Torre, then the Labor Attaché of the Department of Labor and Employment, handpicked her to spearhead the Mindanao federation of workers.

"This was another challenge for me. If other people believed in me, I should also start believing in myself," she said.

Padilla then headed the Mindanao Hong Kong Workers Federation, starting with five members. The organization has now 12 affiliated organizations of Filipino workers in Hong Kong.

"Dumami lalo problema ko after I headed the group. They all came to me for help, advice," she said. It was then that she decided to explore technology some more to help her fellow Filipinos in distress.

Lauding her efforts to help other Filipinos for free, her employer gave her a laptop and internet access to support her endeavor.

Upon her return home, she decided to settle down in Davao City as most of her sisters are already based here.

She also decided to try the information technology business instead of a beauty parlor.

"I knew that there would be more internet users in the future," she said.

Mynd Tech Management Services offers all types of computer services both for home and office.

"It is possible in life to overcome fear. There is no finishing line in learning. When you open a business, you have to make sure it is going in the right direction," she said.

The lessons learned working as a domestic helper has been valuable to her.

"It is important to have ethics, character and honesty in your work. When you reach out to people, you do not just "copy paste". You must have passion and love for your work," she said.

This girl from a small fishing village has indeed come a long, long way.

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 3, 2009.

Is Bohol ready for disasters?

Tagbilaran City (2 October) -- Pinpointing danger zones may be something new for government agencies and units as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo asked them to better prepare, but its nothing new for Bohol.

Since 1997, Bohol through the Capitol has had the READY project implemented under the Philippine Vulcanology and Seismology (PhiVolcs).

READY Project is basically hazard mapping and assessment for effective community based disaster risk management, explains Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) Action Officer Lt. Col. Raul Mendez.

Speaking at the weekly Kapihan sa PIA, Col. Mendez reiterated that with the Ready Project, towns have been capacitated to know which areas in their responsibilities are prone to disaster.

This allows them to plan well ahead and so local government can also appraise people about the risks involved in insisting to develop areas within the hazard zones.

The project also puts in place specific responses and evacuation plans to keep people save from disasters, Col. Mendez bared.

The presidential directive also came on the heels of disasters hitting Metro Manila and brought about by storm Ondoy.

"Somebody must be in charge of designating the areas," the President stressed at the Cabinet meeting held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

In Bohol, the PDCC has broken the usual reactive approach to disasters with the hazard maps now in place.

With Capitol, the local governments here have received trainings on Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System, a computer-software born out of the hazard maps, he continued.

Using the concept of simulation, Philvolcs geoscientists and now local governments who see the software as useful in their land use planning can now generate seismic and hazard maps for emergency response.

With officials trained and aware of these areas in their localities, it would be easy for barangay captains to implement land use plans to make sure people do not build houses on hazardous areas.

The result is a well-informed populace of the dangers, evacuation plans on the ready and more lives are saved, Mendez summed. (PIA)

Nursing student ‘pocketed’ P120T donations

   
CEBU CITY -- A nursing student was accused of pocketing P126,000 cash he allegedly solicited abroad, telling donors the amount was for Typhoon Ondoy’s victims and the solicitation was authorized by the GMA Kapuso Foundation.

At least three other nursing students went to the Investigation and Detective Management Bureau (IDMB) for help.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

The police force plans to ask the GMA Kapuso Foundation to join the victims in filing the complaint against the student. Sun.Star is withholding the parties’ names, after failing to contact the suspect for his comment.

Investigator Police Officer 3 Jun Tago learned that the suspect borrowed one 25-year-old nursing student’s ATM card since last June and has yet to return it.

The suspect reportedly told his classmate that he needed the card to accept remittances from his relatives abroad.

But the cardholder was surprised when a BPI Bank manager called and informed her that an organization was using the Kapuso Foundation’s name to collect donations for typhoon victims through her bank account.

The manager told her the bank did not want to be involved in any illegal activity.

Investigator Tago also identified another victim, a 21-year-old nursing student who holds a US passport and was described as the suspect’s friend.

This student said the suspect, using her name, acquired an $800 gift card, encashed it and had the money delivered to their school in Barangay Alang-Alang, Mandaue City.

This student also learned from New York Bay Remittance that her name had been used in another financial transaction, though she had no idea what was going on.

She remembered allowing the suspect to scan and reproduce her passport. She even allowed him access to her e-mail address.

When asked why she trusted the guy, the victim said the suspect promised to bring her along when he attends a nursing convention in the United States next year. He also promised her a ticket.

When she confronted him about the shady deals, he allegedly said, in front of another classmate: “I’m sorry, this is my life, this is how I get money, and I’m sorry I put you in it.”

Another victim, a policeman’s daughter, joined the complainants when they visited the IDMB office, saying she, too, was earlier “used” by the same suspect to facilitate another transaction. (OCP of Sun.Star Cebu)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 3, 2009.

Just a curiosity. Wala man gud ma-associate nga pagkaon sa Bohol sama sa ubang lugar like bachoy (Iloilo), Bicol express (Bicol), bulanglang (Pangasinan), igado (Ilocos), etc.

• Naa ba'y pagkaon nga peculiar sa Bohol?
• Do we have local variants of popular Filipino food of any kind--sud-an, sabaw, dessert, sweets, etc? Example, adobo, sinigang, bulalo, etc.  prepared the Boholano way?
• Do you know of any food specialty in any of the towns of Bohol?

Kung naa mo'y nahibaw-an, palihog share sa ngalan, description--and if available, recipe and photo will be most appreciated. Naa man to'y contest sa una on Bohol-style food preparation. Unsa kahay resulta? Developing Boholano food culture would be an additional come-on for visitors.

Nahanaw na ang duha ka mythical creatures sa TB. Patim-aw tawon mo.

Basin pud tuod, I might be looking for one and the same person.

35 quakes rock Mayon anew


By Rey M. Nasol
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 14:55:00 10/02/2009

Filed Under: Volcanic activity, Earthquake


LEGAZPI CITY, Philippinesâ€"At least 35 volcanic earthquakes jolted Mayon Volcano on Thursday and Friday, the highest recorded seismic event since July when the volcano started showing signs of restiveness, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported Friday.

The surge in the number of volcanic tremors started in the Wednesday, with 14 tremors recorded during the Wednesday-to-Thursday monitoring period. Only one tremor was recorded in the previous 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Eduardo Laguerta, Phivolcs resident volcanologist, said the agency's seismic network recorded a total of 82 earthquakes since Sept. 27.

Scientists monitoring the volcano still do not discount the possibility of an explosive eruption because of the fluctuating indicators, such as quakes, ground swelling, gas emissions and crater glow.

Phivolcs' Friday advisory said high- and low-frequency harmonic tremors were detected by seismic instruments, signifying that magma intrusion was developing in the volcano's crater vent.

Sulfur dioxide emissions from the volcano indicated a fluctuating trend, ranging from 392 tons per day to 445 tons per day for the past three days.

No reading was recorded Thursday due to bad weather.

Precise leveling result indicated a 6-mm swelling on the volcano’s ground surface, with bulging noted at the bu****, Tabaco City, side of the mountain.

The volcano's crater glow was obscured by the prevailing bad weather in Albay.

Alert level 2 remained hoisted over Mayon Volcano.

The Phivolcs strongly recommended that the six-kilometer permanent danger zone and the seven-kilometer extended danger zone be off-limits to any human activity due to threat of sudden explosions and rockfalls from the upper slopes of the volcano.

Residents living along river channels, gullies and low-lying areas were also warned about possible lahar flows.

Congressman Mikey Arroyo rails at Facebook
September 30, 2009 14:22:00
Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines â€" Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo on Tuesday pushed for tighter regulation of the world’s leading social networking site, Facebook, after he claimed to be a victim of a “malicious attack” by one of its members.

“My picture was posted on Facebook with a caption saying I was shopping for wine at the height of [Storm] ‘Ondoy.’ [This] is another malicious attack on my person. It is so depressing,” Arroyo wrote in an e-mail response to the Facebook post which has appeared in several blogs.

The original post had the following caption: “Was buying food for keeps… then we saw Mikey Arroyo in Rustan’s liquor section asking the salesman for a brand of hard alcoholic drink. Effin’ crazy! Just a few kilometers away from Katipunan, people are needing help for search and rescue, and there he was buying bottles of alcohol. See for yourself and tell me what you think.”

The picture showed a man’s profile with his back to the viewer looking at rows of alcohol inside what appears to be a liquor store.

Arroyo claimed he was in Malacañang last Saturday and that it was difficult to cross Katipunan from the village where he lives because of the rising floods.

“How could I be at Rustan’s on Katipunan Avenue at the height of [Storm] Ondoy when Katipunan was impassable at that time? [For the] record, I was in Malacañang with my family trying to mobilize rescue and relief operations for people of Metro Manila and for my constituents in my district in Pampanga,” Arroyo said.

Bohol gets NNC Crown award

BOHOL just bagged another national award â€" this time the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (Crown) from the National Nutrition Committee (NNC).

In a letter to Gov. Erico Aumentado who also chairs the Provincial Nutrition Committee (PNC), Assistant Health Secretary and NNC Executive Director Maria Bernardita Flores said Bohol will be presented the Crown Award after it won the Outstanding Province in Central Visayas Region plum for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Flores said the selection of Bohol “was based on the recommendation made by the inter-agency Regional Evaluation Team (RET), approved and endorsed by the Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) to the NNC Central Office.”

Aumentado lauded the concerted efforts of the PNC members through Provincial Health Officer Reymoses CAbagnot who is Bohol ’s Nutrition Action Officer..

He said their teamwork, cooperation and leadership to shepherd the town nutrition councils to give their best as well have reaped good results for the province.

These include the Crown trophy and P100,000 cash prize for future nutrition projects to be awarded on October 15 at the Philippine International Convention Center with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo expected to present the award.

Other benefits, the governor said, are healthy children, lesser incidences of malnutrition, more nutritious food on the table and added income for the family.

Bohol ’s nutrition program includes but is not limited to mothers’ classes whereby they are taught to prepare nutritious and delicious food at reasonable budgets, backyard gardening for home consumption and sale â€" a pet project of the administration of Aumentado and Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera for which they appropriate amounts in the main and even supplemental budgets to ensure sustainability, regular weighing of children to monitor weight gain, mass feeding, distribution of iodized salt and others.

Aumentado has asked Herrera and Cabagnot to represent him in the awarding rites as he will still be out of the country to attend another international conference.

Flores also invited the other members of the PNC to the awarding rites.

14 dead in American Samoa from quake, tsunami


Agence France-Presse
First Posted 03:30:00 09/30/2009


APIA â€" (UPDATE) At least 14 people were reported killed in American Samoa following the powerful earthquake and tsunami which hit the area early Tuesday, radio KSBS-FM reported.

Another five people were feared dead in neighbouring Samoa.

The earthquake, with a revised magnitude of 8.0 struck at 6.48 am (1748 GMT), the USGS said, generating a tsunami that smashed into the two South Pacific island states.

Crocodile seen in Cainta floodwaters
abs-cbnNEWS.com/ Newsbreak | 09/29/2009 7:49 PM


It’s not an urban legend.

While most parts of Metro Manila and its environs remained submerged in floodwaters sometime after midnight on Monday, September 28, three people got the scare of their lives when they saw a crocodile floating in the flood.

Abs-cbnNEWS.com learned of the incident when 26-year old Michael Lambert, one of the three witnesses, posted a photograph of the animal on his Facebook account. Lambert happened to be the Facebook friend of a friend of a staff member at abs-cbnNEWS.com.

The other two witnesses are Kenneth Taneo (25 years old) and Marie Tan (25).

“I had to back-up and take this from a higher point. A few seconds earlier, this was right in front of us!” Lambert said in his Facebook post. “I adjusted the exposure and brightness of this photo.”

Seen in Cainta

Taneo told abs-cbnNEWS.com that the incident happened at the corner of Dollar and Schilling streets at the Cainta Greenpark Village.

The town of Cainta was among the areas most affected by the flood brought on by tropical depression Ondoy when it visited the Philippines over the weekend.

Lambert explained that he and his companions were on their way to visit a friend who got stranded in her house at the Cainta Greenpark Village when the incident happened. “We brought her food because she has not yet eaten.”

About a block away from his friend’s house, Lambert and friend saw an object that “looked (either) like a tire or a crocodile floating in the floodwaters.” The water at that time, he said was about thigh deep.

“It was pitch black. There was no electricity or whatever,” he recalled. “But we had a flash light. We trained our flashlight on the thing and saw that it was a crocodile.”

Scared by the close encounter, Lambert said they stepped back slowly by a few feet and avoided making sudden movements. “We didn’t panic because we didn’t want to alarm it.”

“We climbed up a mound of soil. We wanted to get out of the water first. And that was when I took the picture.” That, he explained was why the photo was a bit blurred already.

Luckily for Lambert and his companions, the crocodile just kept floating, apparently not noticing their presence.

He said they waited for the crocodile to swim away before they stepped back into the water and continued walking.

Forest park escapee?


“Apparently, a lot of these creatures had escaped from the Pasig Rainforest Park during the typhoon. And one of them made it into the flooded streets of this private village in Cainta,” Lambert said in his Facebook post.

But Pasig city Mayor Robert Eusebio denied earlier that any of the crocodiles from the forest park escaped.

An Inquirer.net report quoted the Pasig city Mayor saying, “Nothing to worry. The crocodiles are still in their cages as reported by the zoo keeper.”

Lambert later conceded that the animal may have come from anywhere. “We do not know where it came from. Might have come from the zoo or swamps around the area.”

Lambert’s encounter with the crocodile is not the only one involving wildlife that victims reported in the aftermath of the disaster wrought by typhoon Ondoy.

At the height of the floods, Metro residents also reported of snakes suddenly appearing in their houses. â€" Gemma Bagayaua Mendoza, abs-cbnNEWS.com/ Newsbreak with Mark Telan, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Government study foresaw floodâ€"Palafox
Top News
Written by Dennis D. Estopace / Reporter
Monday, 28 September 2009 21:39

THE government was warned 32 years ago that ceding control of urban development may have adverse consequences, such as the devastation experienced by the metropolis on Saturday.
“Some are saying it’s [the flooding of key Metropolitan Manila areas] an act of God. It’s not. It’s neglect on the part of the government,” architect Felino Palafox Jr. told the BusinessMirror on Monday as casualties of Typhoon Ondoy grew to more than a hundred dead and thousands of people displaced.
In the document sent by Palafox, the Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project (Mmetroplan) already cited the Marikina Valley as among the areas deemed “unsuitable for development.”
The area that includes the city of Marikina were among those that sustained the most damage, according to news reports. In one hard-hit site alone, Provident Village, TV reports said 58 bodies had already been recovered, presumably people who never had time to leave their homes as floodwaters rose too quickly.
“Development should be restricted by the application of controls in three major areasâ€"in the Marikina Valley, the western shores of Laguna de Bay, and the Manila Bay coastal area to the north of Manila,” said the report submitted in July 1977 to then-Public Works and Highways chief Alfredo Juinio.
“We’ve told government all along [that] this would happen because of the flooding [in] the same month in 1970,” Palafox said.
He said he was working for the government then when he and a group of researchers undertook this World Bank-funded study on a land-use plan that was finalized by Hong Kong-based consulting firm Freeman Fox and Associates.
Palafox cited a recommendation from the study that the government should monitor the Marikina Riverbank so that the water would not reach 90 meters. Likewise, no structure should have been allowed within nine meters from the riverbank, he added.
“Dahil hindi sinunod ’yun, parang massacre ang nangyari [Because the recommendation was not heeded, what occurred was virtually a massacre],” he said.
The three-volume report also noted that “urban development is spreading into [these] areas which are, in their present state, unsuitable for developmentâ€"either because they are low-lying and liable to flooding, or because development is without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage [the norm in Manila] and so will continue to contribute to the severe pollution of areas, such as Laguna de Bay.”
The study added: “The unsuitable areas for development, where pressures are nevertheless considerable, are primarily the flat coastal areas to the north where extensive areas are liable to flooding and where increased pressures for reclamation are likely to further exacerbate this problem.”
Another is “the Marikina Valley, to the east, where the land is liable to flooding and where development with inadequate provision for the treatment and disposal of sewage is contributing to the severe pollution of Laguna de Bay and where flooding is a problem in the adjacent areas.”
Finally, the study said the pressure for development, but requiring control, includes “the western shores of Laguna de Bay where development without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage is contributing to the severe pollution of Laguna de Bay and where flooding is a problem in the adjacent areas.”
“In order to avoid development contributing to longer-term flooding and water pollution, it is necessary that the short-term development is restricted in these areas. Only when remedial measures to deal with the problems have been implemented, should the development of these areas proceed on a significant scale,” the study said.
“Lessons are to be learned, for sure, but these have been taught three decades ago,” Palafox said.

And the Middle Eastern media is picking up this latest web uproar! The lynching is catching on faster than the Marikina River current at the peak of Ondoy! Imbis magtinabangay, nagkagubot na hinuon.

Dubai-based Filipina Vilified for Calling Typhoon ‘Well-Deserved Punishment’
Lily b. Libo-on
Khaleej Times

29 September 2009
DUBAI â€" A Dubai-based Filipina, who called the devastating flash floods in the Philippines “a well-deserved punishment for the sins of the Filipino people”, is facing harassment from her compatriots across the globe through social networking websites “Facebook” and “Starfishbuang.multiply”.

Several hours after the flash floods washed away houses and killed people in Metro Manila and in 25 provinces in eastern Luzon, the woman commented, “Buti n lng am hir in dubai! maybe so many sinners bak der! so yeah deserving wat hapend” referring to what happened back in Manila at the height of Typhoon Ondoy’s onslaught. (Good that I am here in Dubai! Maybe so many sinners back there! So yeah they deserve of what happened).

This comment earned the anger and outburst of Filipinos worldwide who started vilifying her in social networking websites where the blog appeared. Facebook members even claimed in their press statement that they were able to unmask her identity, her workplace, and contact number. They also contacted her employer pushing for her sacking from the company.

An irate blogger started Monday a group website in Facebook titled “JB Be Gone, We Sinners Don’t Want You Here”. Filipino bloggers have flocked to dish out grievances against the said Filipina calling her Facebook blog “so insensitive”.

Another blogger identified her as working in an HR Department of a property firm in Dubai and many others called on her to apologise. However, efforts to reach out for her comments have failed. “You so insensitive! People are dying out there and you say they deserve it!”

Apologise before it’s too late,” one comment reads in Starfishbuang.multiply. Countless comments are posted every minute on Facebook.

Huge comments have left ill-wishing remarks, and hundreds are more rapidly launching online campaigns to bring what they called tasteless and insensitive remarks to the awareness of the masses.

“Heartless! It would have been better if it were you who drowned. You do not know how many people are affected in the disaster!,” a comment stated.

Reads another blog in Tagalog, “If you know that a member of your family died, maybe you will eat your words. And if tsunami hits Dubai, your name will be the first to come out in the dead list. It’s better to be nobody than to be somebody but the entire Philippines is angry at you. Let us see if the Immigration will still allow you to come back.”

Her brother came to her rescue saying that her Facebook and Friendster accounts are hacked, which conveniently lead to the conclusion that the latter may have been a victim of identity fraud all along.

“My sister is educated, a graduate of the University of the Philippines, and does not speak English as crudely as is evident in the infamous Facebook comment. We come from a known political family and my sister would never do anything to tarnish the reputation of the family name,” her brother explained.

A sympathiser to this Filipino also wrote to the Filipino reporters saying she did not conform to the barrage of ill-wishing remarks.

From the Facebook, a lady blogger said, “I totally agree to walwyn, her brain is not sharp enough to compensate the results of her actions. So, let’s just forgive her as much as we can forgive our pets whenever they break something in the house…(and that’s to be serious). I was also irritated last night, but hey, I pity the girl now.”

BSP shuts down Tagbilaran rural bank

By Joey A. Gabieta
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:20:00 09/22/2009

Filed Under: Banking

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines - When he sent his assistant to withdraw money from the Philippine Farmers’ Bank branch in Tagbilaran last Friday, tailoring shop owner Johnny Mallari did not have an inkling the bank was no longer operating.

To Mallari’s shock, his assistant came back and told him that the bank, where he had deposited a sizeable amount, was closed.

According to a notice placed at the bank's entrance and signed by Imelda Singzon, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) executive vice president, the PDIC placed the bank under receivership through Resolution No. 1313 dated Sept. 17 that took effect on Sept. 18.

"Officers and employees of the bank are no longer authorized to transact business or enter any contract for and on behalf of the bank," part of the notice said.

Virgilio Cayanong, the manager of the bank with 10 staff members, was not around and could not be contacted for an interview.

Mallari, who opened his savings account with the bank in 2007, said he has been worrying over how to get back his money from the bank, which had thousands of clients.

But a PDIC employee, who declined to be identified for lack of authority to speak on the matter, assured depositors on Tuesday that they could claim their deposits in "due time."

However, she would not disclose the reason for the bank closure.

She said the PDIC has started verifying bank records on deposits and number of depositors, among others, but this could take several weeks.

Leonides Sumbi, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas regional manager, said bank depositors need not fear the PDIC takeover of the bank because it was done to protect depositors’ interests.

The Philippine Farmers' Bank's main office is in Cagayan de Oro City and it has branches in Ormoc City, Leyte and Catbalogan in Samar.

An old friend from Xavier U gave this friendly reminder on the common use of "batch" instead of "class" among Filipinos. A Xavier Awardee, Jose Nilo Binongo teaches at Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

It's always great to hear news about Ateneo's 150th Anniversary. It's
great that many people are involved in celebrating Ateneo's long
tradition in educating for excellence. But please let's stop referring
to ourselves as "Batch '84." It's OK to ask, "Ka-batch ba tayo?" as
the word "batch" has become part of our Tagalog vocabulary. However,
let's not use that expression in English. For a university that, for
decades, takes pride in the quality of its English program, it's
surprising this expression has remained uncorrected. Can we start
calling ourselves "Class of 1984" instead?

After doing some investigative work, I learned that only the Indians
(i.e., those who live in India) share this expression with Filipinos.
Native speakers of English -- British & Irish, American, Canadian,
Australian or New Zealander -- don't use the word "batch" to refer to
a group of people graduating in the same year. And I have to agree
with the native speakers, not with the Indians. Calling ourselves
"Batch '84" is degrading; it reminds one of a manufacturing process.

I would like to welcome my childhood friend Evangeline "Vangie" from Mindanao. She is not from Bohol, so I would like to ask your forbearance for this intro to explain how she came upon TB.

We were practically next-door neighbors in Wao, Lanao del Sur. Being  her age and gender, my two older sisters were her playmates. Because of the persistent strife in our hometown, we were sent by our parents for schooling in Cagayan de Oro where city life cut short that neighborly interaction and we met only during school vacations. It was actually like, I last saw her as a girl and when we came across each other again, she was already a woman. As fate would have it, that last time was when I was leaving for Japan and she for the U.S.

By chance, we came across each other again at Bob Martin's Mindanao blog, particularly Wao travel blog. I was the first Waonian to leave a comment there two years ago, when I was on the verge of a decision to bring my family back to the Philippines. Since then, many old friends and acquaintances from different parts of the globe have discovered that site, including Vangie. Since there are more than 20 years of catching up to do, I just provided a link to my travel posts in this forum to update them of the latest events in my family. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Vangie also decided to sign up here, since she has many Boholano friends in the U.S.

Vangie, please feel free to share your views and comments with us. We really look forward to your Boholano friends to enliven the exchange here. I was actually thinking of asking our webmaster Mike to make a similar forum for us Waonians. Meanwhile, enjoy your stay...

Young foreigners hunt jobs in China amid crisis
(philstar.com) Updated September 20, 2009 10:01 AM

BEIJING (AP) - When the best job Mikala Reasbeck could find after college in Boston was counting pills part-time in a drugstore for $7 an hour, she took the drastic step of jumping on a plane to Beijing in February to look for work.

A week after she started looking, the 23-year-old from Wheeling, West Virginia, had a full-time job teaching English.

"I applied for jobs all over the U.S. There just weren't any," said Reasbeck, who speaks no Chinese but had volunteered at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In China, she said, "the jobs are so easy to find. And there are so many."

Young foreigners like Reasbeck are coming to China to look for work in its unfamiliar but less bleak economy, driven by the worst job markets in decades in the United States, Europe and some Asian countries.

Many do basic work such as teaching English, a service in demand from Chinese businesspeople and students. But a growing number are arriving with skills and experience in computers, finance and other fields.

"China is really the land of opportunity now, compared to their home countries," said Chris Watkins, manager for China and Hong Kong of MRI China Group, a headhunting firm. "This includes college graduates as well as maybe more established businesspeople, entrepreneurs and executives from companies around the world."

Watkins said the number of resumes his company receives from abroad has tripled over the past 18 months.

China's job market has been propped up by Beijing's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus, which helped to boost growth to 7.9 percent from a year earlier in the quarter that ended June 30, up from 6.1 percent the previous quarter. The government says millions of jobs will be created this year, though as many as 12 million job-seekers still will be unable to find work.

Andrew Carr, a 23-year-old Cornell University graduate, saw China as a safer alternative after classmates' offers of Wall Street jobs were withdrawn due to the economic turmoil.

Passing up opportunities in New York, San Francisco and Boston, Carr started work in August at bangyibang.com, a classified listings Web site in the southern city of Shenzhen.

"I noticed the turn the economy was taking, and decided it would be best to go directly to China," said Carr, who studied Chinese for eight years.

Most of his classmates stayed in the United States and have taken some unusual jobs _ one as a fishing guide in Alaska.

China can be more accessible to job hunters than economies where getting work permits is harder, such as Russia and some European Union countries.

Employers need government permission to hire foreigners, but authorities promise an answer within 15 working days, compared with a wait of months or longer that might be required in some other countries. An employer has to explain why it needs to hire a foreigner instead of a Chinese national, but the government says it gives special consideration to people with technical or management skills.

Rules were tightened ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, apparently to keep out possible protesters. That forced some foreign workers to leave as their visas expired.

Some 217,000 foreigners held work permits at the end of 2008, up from 210,000 a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Thousands more use temporary business visas and go abroad regularly to renew them.

Reasbeck said it took her two months to find the drugstore job after she graduated from Boston's Emerson College with a degree in writing, literature and publishing. She said she applied to as many as 50 employers nationwide.

Today, on top of her teaching job, she works part-time recruiting other native English-speaking teachers. She makes 14,000 to 16,000 yuan ($2,000 to $2,300) a month.

"I could have a pretty comfortable life here on not a very high salary. English teachers are in high demand," she said.

Reasbeck said most of her college classmates are in part-time jobs or unemployed.

"People are sleeping on their mom's couches, as far as I know," she said.

While many jobs require at least a smattering of Chinese, some employers that need other skills are hiring people who do not speak the language.

Bangyibang.com's founder and CEO, Grant Yu, has five foreign employees in his 35-member work force. Yu plans to add more and said he might hire applicants who cannot speak Chinese if they have other skills.

"I don't believe language is the biggest obstacle in communication, as long as he or she has a strong learning ability," Yu said.

Feng Li, a partner in a Chinese-Canadian private fund in Beijing that invests in the mining industry, said he needs native speakers of foreign languages to read legal documents and communicate with clients abroad. He plans to recruit up to six foreign employees.

"We don't need Chinese guys who speak English like me," Feng said.

Some foreigners see China not just as a refuge but as a source of opportunities they might not get at home.

"Having one or two years on your resume of China experiences is only going to help you back at headquarters in the United States or if you apply for business schools," said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai.

A 28-year-old former London banker took a job a year ago with a Chinese private equity firm after the crisis devastated his industry at home. He said that even though he spoke no Chinese, his experience and contacts made him a sought-after asset in China, a market that he said offers "a much faster route to a top-level position."

"I actually earn more out here," said the banker, who asked not to be identified by name at his Chinese employer's request. "And the hours are much shorter."

Konstantin Schamber, a 27-year-old German, passed up possible jobs at home to become business manager for a Beijing law firm, where he is the only foreign employee.

"I believe China is the same place as the United States used to be in the 1930s that attracts a lot of people who'd like to have either money or career opportunities," Schamber said.

Job hunters from other Asian countries also are looking to China.

An Kwang-jin, a 30-year-old South Korean photographer, has worked as a freelancer for a year in the eastern city of Qingdao. He said China offered more opportunities as South Korea struggles with a sluggish economy.

Still, foreigners will face more competition from a rising number of educated, English-speaking young Chinese, some of them returning from the West with work experience, Rein said.

"You have a lot of Chinese from top universities who are making $500-$600 a month," Rein said. "Making a case that you are much better than they are is very hard."

Bridge linking Cebu to Dumaguete eyed
By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.
September 19, 2009, 5:52pm
Manila Bulletin

DUMAGUETE CITY â€" A plan linking all the provinces in Central Visayas through by a bridge has been revived during the Annual General Assembly of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 last Friday in this city.

Cebu City South District Rep. Antonio Cuenco, who attended the gathering in Dumaguete City said a bridge connecting Cebu and Negros Oriental would be the best way to improve the two island’s transport links and spur economic growth.

The proposed Cebu-Negros bridge is timely as authorities are gearing up for the feasibility study of the Cebu-Bohol Friendship Bridge which has already gained funding approval by the South Korean government.

“Cebu to Dumaguete is near. I propose that we put up a bridge linking the two islands as part of our project proposal to the national government,” said Cuenco.

This is not the first time that plans to link the Visayas islands have been discussed. The building of a bridge link between Barangay Bato, Samboan in Cebu and Tampi Wharf in Amlan town, Negros Oriental had already been proposed during the time of then Cebu Governor and Regional Development Council (RDC) Chair Emilio Osmeña. But Negros Oriental Gov. Emilio Macias II said while the plan was laudible, there are some factors that have to be addressed before such bridge can be constructed.

For one, Macias said, the sea current in Tanon Strait between Barangay Bato, Samboan in Cebu to Barangay Tampi in the town of Amlan, Negros Oriental is very strong and a Japanese contractor earlier invited to study the project said it was difficult to build a bridge over the area.

Also, the plan has not taken off due to the high cost â€" P7 billion at that time â€" involved in constructing the bridge.

Earlier, in the second RDC meeting held in Bohol, Gov. Enrico Aumentado sought the assistance of Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. with documentary requirements after the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) assured him that South Korea will fund the feasibility study on a bridge linking Cebu and Bohol.

Aumentado said the anchors of the bridge will be in Getafe town in Bohol and the municipality of Cordova in Cebu.

Passing through shallow waters between the two provinces, the bridge is estimated to be 18 kilometers long.

The Bohol-Cebu Multi-Access Friendship Bridge (BCMAFB) already has the endorsements of the Bohol Provincial Development Council (PDC) and the Central Visayas Regional Development Council and will need to be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.

OWWA-7 awards OFWs' families
(The Freeman) Updated September 12, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Families of two Overseas Filipino Workers were awarded yesterday in line the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration 5th Annual Search for the “2009 Model OFW of the Year Award.”

The awardees were chosen among the six finalists from Cebu and Bohol provinces.

The family of Dioscoro Ayag Jr., from Tagbilaran City, Bohol won the land-based category while the family of Rudy Española from Barangay Inayagan, Naga, Cebu received the Model OFW Family of the Year award in the sea-based category.

Ayag is working as an HR consultant in Saudi American Bank for more than 20 years already while Española is employed in a shipping firm as a chief officer.

Both winners received P20, 000 cash and a trophy each courtesy of Globe and the Banco de Oro’s “Asenso Kabayan Savings Account” with initial deposit of P3,000 as well as SM gift certificates worth P2,000 also courtesy of BDO.

OWWA said the winners represent a “wholesome” family, have strong involvement in the community, and successful in managing their family finances and the education of their family members.

The winners will represent Region 7 and will compete in the National MOFYA in Manila on November 6.

The award aims to give honor and recognition to the outstanding achievements of the Overseas Filipino Workers and their families. The annual MOFYA search is for Filipino migrant workers who have managed the impact of overseas employment and maintained strong family ties.

They are model OFWs who have used the gains of working abroad to their best advantage, are achievers in both their professions and education, and have made an outstanding impact in their community. â€" Johanna T. Natavio/WAB (THE FREEMAN)

Villar as standard-bearer of ruling party?

By Nancy C. Carvajal, TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:43:00 09/11/2009


MANILA, Philippines â€" Lakas-Kampi-CMD may adopt Sen. Manuel Villar, a consistent survey topnotcher, as its standard-bearer in the 2010 presidential election, according to a member of the ruling coalition’s executive committee.

“The possibility of Villar’s being adopted by the party as presidential candidate is high, based on conversations [among] members of the party,” Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor told reporters Thursday at the Serye weekly forum.

Defensor also disclosed that the Lakas-Kampi-CMD executive committee conducted an informal poll two weeks ago with select party members taking part.

He said the party members were told to write down “three names as our choices for standard-bearer regardless of party,” and that his “impression” from their discussions was “Villar was a majority choice.”

Defensor said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita presided over the informal poll during the coalition’s meeting at Anabel’s restaurant in Quezon City late in August.

He said the votes were not counted in front of them and that he had yet to find out the results of the poll.

Asked about his own short list, Defensor rattled off the names of Villar, Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, and Vice President Noli de Castro.

No way

On the phone with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, however, a surprised Gabriel Claudio dismissed Defensor’s claim that Lakas-Kampi-CMD might adopt Villar as its standard-bearer.

“There’s no basis for such a speculation. There was no such discussion, much less agreement,” said Claudio, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s political adviser. “I don’t know where that is coming from. I intend to talk to [Defensor] about it.”

Claudio, the secretary general of the coalition, maintained that its standard-bearer would be named on Sept. 16.

“Once we’ve made the choice, that’s it,” he said, ruling out the possibility that the coalition would later adopt an outsider to replace its choice of standard-bearer.

Claudio said the coalition had set Sept. 15 as the deadline for outsiders seeking its endorsement and support to formally join it, and would pick a party member to be its standard-bearer.

“The selection process will have to be limited to aspirants who are members of the party,” he said.

Claudio said the coalition has not authorized anyone to talk with Villar, the head of the Nacionalista Party, into joining the administration and submitting to its selection process.

“He’s not a party member,” Claudio said. “It doesn’t make sense to consider other candidates outside of the party, especially those who are heads of [other] parties.”

Claudio also said he doubted that Ermita had conducted the informal poll that Defensor had mentioned.

“There is internal consultation, but no straw vote,” he said.

Villar, who was in Iloilo, responded tersely when asked to comment on the possibility that Lakas-Kampi-CMD would adopt him as its standard-bearer: “I’m with the Nacionalista [Party]. Buo na kami (We have a complete slate already).”

Noli off radar screen?

Ermita, the coalition president, laughed off Defensor’s remarks.

“Everyone has his own idea of how things should be done, and who he talked with. But it doesn’t mean that’s the entire truth. This should not be attributed to the party,” he said by phone.

On Defensor’s claim that he had conducted an informal poll on who should be the coalition’s standard-bearer, he said: “Claudio is the one getting assessments. I can’t make a comment.”

But earlier Thursday, Ermita declared that the coalition’s choices were now down to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando.

“There are only two in our radar screen: Secretary Teodoro and Chairman Fernando,” Ermita said when asked over dzRH radio who were included in the selection process.

Asked about De Castro, Ermita said the Vice President “is not a party mate.”

When pressed further, he said it appeared that “nothing clear has come out” of the talks between Claudio and De Castro.

Claudio confirmed this to the Inquirer, saying: “Honestly, there’s no indication that [De Castro] will join the [selection] process or the party. We’re proceeding with the time table.”

But he said the process remained open to the Vice President until Sept. 15.

“We have not put any pressure on him,” Claudio said. “We have not tried to dictate on him. We have allowed him to make his own decision. Whatever happens, we will continue to admire and respect him.”

He added that being party members, Teodoro and Fernando were “part of the process.”

‘I didn’t say that’

On Thursday night, however, Ermita said De Castro was still being considered in the coalition’s selection of standard-bearer.

“I never said that the Vice President is out of the running as presidential candidate. It’s not for me to decide whether he can run or not run with us. Who am I to dictate upon the Vice President?” Ermita said on the phone.

He added: “The Vice President is his own man. He can run if he decides to run, and with what party. That’s his prerogative.”

Ermita said that in saying only Teodoro and Fernando were in the coalition’s radar screen, he was only referring to the fact that the two were party members vying to become the standard-bearer.

“Because as of now, they are members of the party, [and] they’re the ones in our consideration. As for Vice President De Castro, I could not speak for him because I have not talked to him,” Ermita said.

‘Winnability’

But at the Serye forum, Defensor said choosing Fernando or Teodoro as Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer was unrealistic and “a waste of time.”

“They can run, but having them as standard-bearer is unpragmatic and a waste of time because of their showing in the surveys,” he said, adding:

“They are qualified, and Teodoro is young and brilliant, but we have to consider ‘winnability’ in choosing.”

Asked to explain why the group supposedly preferred Villar, Defensor said: “It must be because of competence, preparedness and ‘winnability.’”

He also said Villar’s belonging to the Nacionalista Party would not pose a problem in the event that the latter would be formally adopted as Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer.

“Parties always coalesce when necessary,” he said.

Defensor emphasized that no official negotiation had started between Villar and coalition leaders.

He also said Ms Arroyo, being the coalition chair, was a big factor in the selection of its standard-bearer: “The President does not have the final say, but she is very influential in the decision-making.”

More defections

Makati Mayor and United Opposition president Jejomar Binay said he expected more defections from the administration to the opposition and vice versa before the 2010 polls.

He said the political scenario would remain fluid until the end of November, the deadline for filing candidacies for national positions.

“Wait until October and November ... There will be a lot of realignments from the administration to the other side,” Binay told Inquirer editors on Wednesday night.

He noted, for example, that Villar had managed to court many local government officials to move to the Nacionalista Party.

Binay said the lack of a winnable standard-bearer had been posing a huge challenge to Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

“The administration is really in a dilemma. Teodoro has been campaigning for months and yet he only scored 0.8 percent in the survey. You can’t say [it’s because he’s new]. For six months, [you have to move somehow. Fernando has even scored higher], 1 percent,” Binay said.

Thus, he said, there was “a strong possibility that Malacañang will get [its candidate] from the opposition.”

Noncommittal Noli

Administration officials had been coaxing the low-profile but popular De Castro to join Lakas-Kampi-CMD and become its standard-bearer in 2010.

With his consistently high ratings in the surveys despite his silence on his political plans and lack of TV ads, he was seen as the administration’s best bet against the opposition presidential aspirants.

Until Thursday’s pronouncements, De Castro appeared to be a shoo-in for selection as standard-bearer, especially in the light of Ms Arroyo’s Aug. 28 declaration that he had the “traits of a good President.”

But even after that virtual endorsement, he remained noncommittal.

Ermita, however, said De Castro’s decision was still important to the ruling coalition.

“He is a significant personality ... as Vice President and Cabinet member. That’s why [his decision is] material. But all that will be discussed next week,” Ermita said over dzRH.

Sought for comment on why Ermita did not say that De Castro was still in the coalition’s radar screen, Claudio said: “Some indicators might have become clearer to some members of the party.”

“Yeah,” he said curtly when asked if indeed nothing definite had resulted from his talks with De Castro.

Claudio declined to answer other questions pertaining to the Vice President, saying: “I can’t make conclusions about the process in relation to him.”

He said De Castro would make a statement soon.

Must be party member

Also over dzRH, Claudio said De Castro had to join Lakas-Kampi-CMD so he could take part in the selection process.

“While we respect him as our Vice Presidentâ€"he ran under Lakas in 2004 as Vice Presidentâ€"he was never a member of the party,” Claudio said. “Nobody becomes a presidential candidate unless he’s a party member.”

Claudio also said the scheduled Sept. 16 announcement of the coalition’s standard-bearer would not be delayed. With reports from Allison W. Lopez and Nestor Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas

World's oldest person dies in Los Angeles at 115
AP

FILE - In this April 6, 2009 file photo Gertrude Baines celebrates her 115th AP â€" FILE - In this April 6, 2009 file photo Gertrude Baines celebrates her 115th birthday, at the Western …
By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer John Rogers, Associated Press Writer â€" 1 hr 8 mins ago

LOS ANGELES â€" Although she liked her bacon crispy and her chicken fried, she never drank, smoked or fooled around, Gertrude Baines once said, describing a life that lasted an astonishing 115 years and earned her the title of oldest person on the planet.

It was a title Baines quietly relinquished Friday when she died in her sleep at Western Convalescent Hospital, her home since she gave up living alone at age 107 after breaking a hip.

She likely suffered a heart attack, said her longtime physician, Dr. Charles Witt, although an autopsy was scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.

"I saw her two days ago, and she was just doing fine," Witt told The Associated Press on Friday. "She was in excellent shape. She was mentally alert. She smiled frequently."

Baines was born in Shellman, Ga., on April 6, 1894, when Grover Cleveland was in the White House, radio communication was just being developed and television was still more than a half-century from becoming a ubiquitous household presence.

She was 4 years old when the Spanish-American War broke out and 9 when the first World Series was played. She had already reached middle age by the time the U.S. entered World War II in 1941.

Throughout it all, Baines said last year, it was a life she thoroughly enjoyed.

"I'm glad I'm here. I don't care if I live a hundred more," she said with a hearty laugh after casting her vote for Barack Obama for president. "I enjoy nothing but eating and sleeping."

Her vote for Obama, she added, had helped fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing a black man elected president.

"We all the same, only our skin is dark and theirs is white," said Baines, who was black.

The centenarian, who worked as a maid at Ohio State University dormitories until her retirement, had outlived all of her family members. Her only daughter died of typhoid at age 18.

In her final years, she passed her days watching her favorite TV program, "The Jerry Springer Show," and consuming her favorite foods: bacon, fried chicken and ice cream. She complained often, however, that the bacon served to her was too soft.

"Two days ago, when I saw her, she was talking about the fact that the bacon wasn't crisp enough, that it was soggy," Witt said.

She became the world's oldest person in January when Maria de Jesus died in Portugal at 115.

The title brought with it a spotlight of attention, and Baines was asked frequently about the secret to a long life. She shrugged off such questions, telling people to ask God instead.

"She told me that she owes her longevity to the Lord, that she never did drink, she never did smoke and she never did fool around," Witt said at a party marking her 115th birthday.

At the party, Baines sat quietly, paying little attention as nursing home staffers and residents sang "Happy Birthday" and presented congratulatory notices from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and others. But she laughed when told the Los Angeles Dodgers had given her a cooler filled with hot dogs.

With Baines' death, 114-year-old Kama Chinen of Japan becomes the world's oldest person, said Dr. L. Stephen Coles of the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks claims of extreme old age. Chinen was born May 10, 1895.

The oldest person who ever lived, Coles said, was Jeanne-Louise Calment, who was 122 when she died Aug. 4, 1997, in Arles, France.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (written by kids)

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff.. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with...
-- Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough...
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10 (isn't he ready for the world of dating?)

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich.
-- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
-- Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them... It's the right thing to do.
-- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys.. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8 (I like this kid)

And the #1 Favorite is ....

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
-- Ricky, age 10 (He'll be married forever)

‘Feminist' porn film opens in Sweden


Agence France-Presse
First Posted 09:29:00 09/04/2009


STOCKHOLM â€" A porn movie shot by a feminist documentary maker and funded by taxpayers was set for its premiere in the Swedish capital of Stockholm on Thursday night.

Dirty Diaries, a collection of 12 short pornographic films, shot by director Mia Engberg received 500,000 Sweden kronor (69,000 dollars, 48,000 euros) in public funds from the Swedish Film Institute.

"Porn has always been made by men for men," Engberg told AFP, explaining her reasoning for shooting the Dirty Diaries.

"Above all, it's about showing sexuality through a female's perspective. It's not made to please a male audience and it's not made to make money," she added.

Engberg said what makes Dirty Diaries feminist is that it displays women's sexuality in a natural way and shuns what she perceives as mainstream porn's sexist tendency to treat women as objects.

"I think this is the future. The most popular genre now is homemade porn made by ordinary people," she said.

Clips from the films appear on Engberg's website, www.dirtydiaries.se, carrying titles such as "Flasher Girl On Tour" and "On Your Back Woman."

Beatrice Fredriksson, a youth member of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's conservative Moderate Party and the author of the Anti-Feminist Initiative blog, slammed the decision to use taxpayers money to fund the films.

"I do not think that the government should be funding this kind of thing, just because it’s 'feminist' it gets money," she said.

But Engberg brushed off criticisms that funding X-rated sex movies with taxpayers money was a waste of funds.

"We are producing 70 minutes of high quality film...it's just 500,000 kronor. They couldn't spend the money any better," she told AFP.

When asked by AFP if she opposed the Swedish film body backing mainstream pornography, Engberg said: "They should not be given any money at all, especially when they are making money out of women's bodies."

In an interview on the Swedish Film Institute website, the group's head Cissi Elwin Frenkel defended providing the money for the film.

"Everyone in the films is over the age of 18, no one is doing anything against their will, everyone shares equally in the money from the films," Frenkel said.

"All of this makes Mia Engberg's project different from regular porn in many ways. This is an ambitious project that in both form and content lives up to the demands we set for the projects we support," she added.

Miyuki Hatoyama claims her soul traveled to Venus on UFO

Thursday 03rd September, 07:08 AM JST
Japan Today

TOKYO â€"Japan’s next prime minister is known for being bland in his speeches. His wife, however, is anything but.

Miyuki Hatoyama, a former actress and wife of Yukio Hatoyamaâ€"who will likely be sworn in as Japan’s prime minister on Sept 16â€"promises to become one of Japan’s most colorful first ladies ever.

A strong believer in spiritualism, Hatoyama said in a TV appearance earlier this year she met U.S. actor Tom Cruiseâ€"in a previous life. She also claims that her soul has traveled to Venus on a UFO.

“I have a dream that I still believe will come true, which is to make a film in Hollywood,” she told a TV talk show in May. “The lead actor is Tom Cruise, of course. Why? Because I know he was Japanese in a previous life.

“I was with him then. So he would recognize me when I see him and say ‘long time, no see!’” she said, though cautioned the program’s young interviewer not to take her seriously.

Cruise starred in the 2003 film “The Last Samurai,” which was set in Japan.

“I also eat the sun,” Hatoyama said on the program, looking up with her eyes closed, raising her arms high as if she was tearing pieces off an imaginary sun. “Like this, hum, hum, hum. It gives me enormous energy.”

“My husband has recently started doing that too,” said the 66-year-old Hatoyama, who was born to Japanese parents in Shanghai and met her husband in the United States where he was a Ph.D student at Stanford.

The Democratic Party of Japan, which her husband heads, scored a sweeping victory in Sunday’s elections for the 480-seat lower house of parliament, winning 308 seats and ending the ruling party’s virtually uninterrupted more than half-century domination of government.

His party’s majority means he is a shoo-in to be the next prime minister.

Miyuki Hatoyama, a former actress, dancer and singer in the hugely popular Takarazuka Revue all-female theater group, wrote in a book published last year about her surrealistic space trip about 20 years ago.

“While my body was sleeping, I think my spirit flew on a triangular-shaped UFO to Venus,” she said in the book called “Most Bizarre Things I’ve Encountered,” according to an Internet bookstore bk1, which quoted the passage from the book.

“It was an extremely beautiful place and was very green,” she said.

The book is a compilation of interviews with 26 prominent people, including writers, scholars and culinary experts revealing their strange or spiritual experiences, originally published in her “Miracle Interview” column in the monthly spiritual magazine “Mu.”

She is also known for her healthy cooking and has published several books, including “Miyuki Hatoyama’s Spiritual Food.” She is also in charge of making her husband look presentable and healthy.

Cebu is 4th best island in Asia for 2009
By Boboi Costas
Cebu Daily News First Posted 13:34:00 08/31/2009


CEBU, Philippines â€" Cebu ranked no. 4 among Asian island destinations, according to Travel + Leisure magazine, which recently rleased the results of its World’s Best Awards 2009, a listing of the best hotels, airlines, cruises in islands and cities all over the world.

No other Philippine city, island, resort, hotel, or airline made it to the listing in other categories.

The awards are based on the American magazine’s 14th Readers’ Poll survey conducted from mid-January to the end of March this year.

“An unprecedented number of new names and places made their debuts on this year’s list, sometimes unseating longtime favorites,” says Travel + Leisure editor in chief Nancy Novogrod.

Cebu got a rating of 79.68 points.

It ranked behind Bali (87.41), Maldives (84.43), and Phuket (80.93).

Respondents were asked to rate the islands based on natural attractions, activities and sights, restaurant and food, people and value.

They had to rate a candidate on a scale of 1 to 5 where “1” means poor and “5” means excellent.

In the magazine survey, Cebu island was shut out, however, from the coveted list of Top Islands Overall.

Bali with a rating of 87.41 was still no. 1.

Phuket in Thailand ranked second last year but failed to land in this year’s top ten.

Top Islands Overall rankings include: Bali (87.41), Galapagos (86.80), Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia (86.09), Kauai (85.90), Mount Desert Island in Maine (85.87), Maui in Hawaii (85.48), Aeolian Islands in Italy (85.13), Maldives (84.43), Big Island (83.92), and Vancouver Island (83.74).

For the past three years, the announcement of the World’s Best Awards winners has been preceded by the release of findings from The Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America, created by Travel + Leisure’s parent company American Express Publishing and Harrison Group, a strategic-marketing research firm.

Novogrod says she was struck by the consistency of the insights of American consumers. “They have a high regard for value and service, brand loyalty and small rewards,” she said.

The Best Islands awards were divided into geographical categories: Continental US and Canada; Hawaii; the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas; Mexico and Central and South America; Europe; Asia; and Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

The questionnaires were developed by editors of the magazine in association with Harris Interactive, an independent research firm. They were posted in the magazine’s website.

Readers were invited to participate and a select group also received invitations by e-mail.
Respondents were screened and responses from any identified travel-industry professionals were eliminated from the final tally.

In the Condé Nast Traveler annual Readers’ Choice Survey, Cebu has occupied the seventh spot in the best island destination in Asia/Indian Ocean three times: in 2008 at 70.9, which is two points short of 2007’s 72.3 points and 2004’s 72.8 points.

Twice, it has been ranked 8th best island destination: in 2006 with 71.0 points and in 2005 with 69.5 in the same magazine survey.

Both Travel + Leisure Magazine and Condé Nast Traveler are American publications based in New York.

‘Much to be proud of

Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo said the award proves that Cebu Island has a lot to be proud of.

“That's good news. It really speaks well of the destination and has erased doubts among travelers. It is a very good development,” Alburo told Cebu Daily News.

He said Travel + Leisure, based in New York, was a “prestigious” American publication.

Alburo said Cebu gets a share of 500,000 international tourists in a year while the number of local tourists exceeds more than 500,000 a year.

“Cebu has all the ingredients for an ideal destination,” he said.

He cited the island's accessibility with an international airport, natural attractions such as diving and beaches, heritage sites, and the hospitality of the people, making it one of the best destinations in Asia.

Lapu-Lapu City Vice Mayor Mario Amores said “tremendous” efforts were poured by officials into tourism development.

He said the presence of an international airport and world-class resorts were a big plus, aside from the business appeal.

“Without a business-friendly environment, these resorts would not be investing here. They look for assurance of returns on their investment and that the environment factors are stable.”

Lapu-Lapu first lady Paz Radaza, co-chairperson of the City Tourism Committee, said the recognition would encourage more cooperation between the public and private sector.

“With this recognition, it will encourage both the private and the public sector to work hard to give tourists the best amenities at par with the world standards. The recognition will make every Cebuano proud,” Radaza added.

Japanese voters reject longtime ruling party


By John M. Glionna and Yuriko Nagano
Los Angeles Times
August 30, 2009 | 7:30 a.m.


Reporting from Tokyo and Seoul - Japanese voters today handed a historic and humiliating defeat to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its half-century of nearly unbroken rule, opting for an untested opposition party that pledged to revive the nation's ailing economy.

Signaling frustration over a declining quality of life, a record-high unemployment rate and unraveling social services, voters rebuked Prime Minister Taro Aso and a party that had dominated national politics here since the Eisenhower administration.

In landslide numbers, they turned to Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama, a wealthy 62-year-old son of a former prime minister who 13 years ago abandoned the Liberal Democratic Party to help co-found a now-thriving opposition movement.

The Kyodo News Agency reported that Hatoyama has begun talks today on forming a new government. News media exit polls show the Democrats could win more than 315 seats, or two-thirds of the parliament's 480-member lower house.

In a speech carried nationwide, Hatoyama acknowledged that he rode a sentiment of public anger against Liberal Democrats. "We are very grateful for what is happening. The Japanese public is feeling anger toward the ruling party," he said.

"We have felt this great need to change things to make life better for the public. We have been vowing to change the government in this election. It feels very likely that that is the situation that is unraveling."

Aso announced that he would resign, taking responsibility for the defeat. Â"The outcome of this election has been a very tough one. I am taking what the Japanese public is saying sincerely,Â" he said.

Throughout the campaign, the Democratic Party echoed the promise of change that Barack Obama last year rode to the U.S. presidency. Although experts say there was jubilation among many voters today, they believed that those high spirits were tempered.

"People feel better and lighter because the LDP is gone, but there is not the same jubilation felt in America after Obama's election," said Masaru Tamamoto, a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute.

"Obama told America where he was going. But the Democratic Party really hasn't told us where it and we are going."

The Democratic Party's campaign platform pledged to wrest control of government from well-entrenched bureaucrats they say have failed to fix the nation's ailing pension system.

The platform included child allowances for middle-class families and assistance for struggling farmers. The party promised to bolster an economy suffering its worst recession in six decades and which in July saw a record 5.7% jobless rate.

Hatoyama co-founded the party in 1996 after he bolted from the ranks of the Liberal Democrats. This is the first election in which the Democrats represented a viable alternative to the ruling party, which in recent years has isolated voters with a series of scandals and leadership gaffes by Aso.

Today's results represent stinging defeats to politicians -- including at least one former prime minister -- unaccustomed to losing elections.

One was Toshiki Kaifu, who served as prime minister from 1989 to 1991. At age 78, he was campaigning for his 30th term.

Yoshio Tezuka was one benefactor of the power shift.

Winning his first election at age 26, the two-term politician in 2005 lost his seat in the lower house representing Tokyo's 5th District to his Liberal Democratic opponent.

Early returns showed him regaining his seat. Tezuka, 42, said before today that he could feel the sense of change in the air in Japan. Still, he wasn't taking any chances.

Forsaking the election vans that candidates often use to cover more ground, broadcasting their message to voters via loudspeakers, Tezuka campaigned on foot between train stations to meet voters up close.

"Japan's never gone through a real political power shift. I think voters are feeling the possibility of the regime change being real," he said. "I feel a lot of sense of anticipation that may come from something like that. I've never gotten this much response in my career as a politician."

Flu-hit choir contest sings to phantom audience
Japan Times



IWAKI, Fukushima Pref. (Kyodo) A three-day annual junior high and high school choir contest began Friday without any audience after organizers decided it was the best way to prevent the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus.

According to the Fukushima Choral Association, the decision came as some students among several participating schools were reportedly infected with the new flu.

Some 3,700 participants are expected to take part in the three-day event held at the Alios Iwaki Performing Arts Center, but only the members of the choir and their teachers are allowed to enter the hall during their performance, they said.

"Both the performers and audience are indispensable to a choir. So it was really weird singing without the audience," said Ena Yasuda, 18, the leader of the choir team of Koriyama East High School, which finished its performance Friday morning before the empty hall, which seats 1,700.

"Listening to the choir of other schools is part of the experience, but it's going to be a very cheerless event. It's a shame," an official from the association said.

Results of the competition will be announced on the association Web site Sunday, the organizer said.

According to Japan Choral Association in Tokyo, some schools decided to withdraw from the choir competition in Hyogo Prefecture because students were infected with the new flu. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, the local organizer of the contest may consider asking the competitors to submit recorded versions of their performance.

Swine Flu May Not Be as Deadly as Past Pandemics


Doctors Question WHO's Severe Swine Flu Warning
Some Say While Severe Swine Flu Exists, Warnings May Be Overblown
Aug. 29, 2009

The World Health Organization warned Friday that doctors around the world are now reporting a severe form of swine flu that goes straight to the lungs of otherwise healthy young people -- but some infectious disease experts said the alarm could be unwarranted.
WHO Warns of Severe Form of Swine Flu
A nurse carries test for H1N1 influenza on a woman on Aug. 21, 2009 at the Noumea flu treatment... Expand
A nurse carries test for H1N1 influenza on a woman on Aug. 21, 2009 at the Noumea flu treatment center. Doctors are reporting a severe form of swine flu that goes straight to the lungs, causing severe illness in otherwise healthy young people and requiring expensive hospital treatment, the World Health Organization said.

The WHO update comes in the wake of reports from some countries that as many as 15 percent of patients infected with the new H1N1 pandemic virus require extensive -- and expensive -- hospital care.

"During the winter season in the southern hemisphere, several countries have viewed the need for intensive care as the greatest burden on health services," the report said. "Preparedness measures need to anticipate this increased demand on intensive care units, which could be overwhelmed by a sudden surge in the number of severe cases."

But infectious disease experts from both inside and outside the government say that the phrasing used by WHO raises some questions -- particularly because the existence of such a form of the disease is not a new development.

"WHO is certainly putting the fear of [God] in people with this type of release," said William Muraskin, a professor of urban studies at Queens College in New York, who is a specialist in international health. "The description by the WHO is similar to lung infections that claimed so many young people during the 1918 pandemic."

Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted, "Severe pneumonia occurred in 1918 too, but we cannot confirm the pathophysiology is the exactly the same."

And Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, one of the government's preeminent figures on swine flu, told ABC News' Brian Hartman, "The severity should not be anything near what we saw in 1918 -- again, underscoring that things can change.

"But if what we're seeing now is predictive of what we'll be seeing in the fall and the winter this looks like a mild to moderate, not a very severe, pandemic."

Indeed, many believe that the ultimate impact of the swine flu will not be as disastrous as that of pandemics of times past.

"The total mortality remains extremely low," said John Barry, author of "The Great Influenza." "And as far as the cases go, it's important to remember that while such [severe] cases have been seen, they are extremely rare."

But rare or not, the severe form of the illness is a deadly emergency. Dr. Jeffrey Boscamp, chair in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, said that the lung infection triggers a syndrome called acute respiratory distress syndrome.

"The lung becomes a battleground: the virus versus all of the immunologic components that are recruited to the lung to fight the infection," Boscamp said. "The inflammation is so severe that it becomes impossible for the lung to put oxygen back into the blood.

"When oxygenation becomes impossible, other organs -- kidneys, heart, et cetera -- fail, and death can be the outcome."

And Dr. Greg Poland, director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic, noted that the intensive care doctors he works with are in contact with other intensivists around the world who describe a bleeding, or hemorrhagic, lung infection. Poland said these doctors "are indeed seeing high viral, overwhelming viral, pneumonia, which then leads to hemorrhagic pneumonitis and severe respiratory distress syndrome; this has been requiring extraordinarily intensive therapy."

A spike in such severe cases could have big implications for hospitals, some fear.

"I have seen a number of these cases, with a number of deaths," said Dr. Christian Sandrock, medical director of the Intensive Care Unit at the University of California Davis Medical Center.

He added that while doctors can treat patients with much more specialized medical care now, if these very sick patients increase in numbers at hospitals, "These are the patients that are going to crush us."

Henry Sy remains richest Filipinoâ€"Forbes list


Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:59:00 08/29/2009

MANILA, Philippines â€" Mall magnate Henry Sy remains the richest Filipino, according to the latest list by Forbes magazine, which was posted on its website on Aug. 25.

The 84-year-old tycoon has a net worth of $3.8 billion. Forbes cited the increase in the stock price of SM Investments since December, as well as the increase in net income of the group’s interests in malls, retail, property in the first half of 2009.

Following Sy is tobacco king Lucio Tan, 75, with a net worth of $1.7 billion. Tan owns the national flag carrier Philippine Airlines and has interests in beer brewing and mining.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala, 75, chairman emeritus of Ayala Corp., one of the country’s largest conglomerates, is third with a net worth of $1.2 billion.

Andrew Tan of the Alliance Global Group, owner of the country’s McDonald’s franchise, is fourth with a net worth of $850 million.

John Gokongwei, founder of JG Summit, a conglomerate with interests in airlines, telecoms, power, banking and real estate, and owner of Robinsons department stores, is fifth with $720 million.

Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee Foods is sixth with $710 million, while Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., chief executive of Southeast Asia’s largest food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel Corp., is seventh with $660 million.

Enrique Razon, chair and president of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), the largest corporation in the country engaged in the handling of container and bulk cargoes, is eighth with $620 million. Razon also has an interest in Monte Oro Grid Resources Inc., a leading member of a consortium which in 2007 won a 25-year franchise to operate the national grid system of National Transmission Corp.

Sen. Manuel Villar, who is eyeing the presidency in 2010, is ninth with $530 million. Villar is also the largest shareholder in property firms Vista Land & Lifescapes and Polar Property Holding.

Rounding the top 10 is Metrobank founder George Ty with $515 million.

Also making it to the top 40 are:

Emilio Yap ($510 M), Inigo and Mercedes Zobel ($440 M), Beatrice Campos ($410 M), Vivian Que Azcona ($390 M), Oscar Lopez ($350 M), Andrew Gotianun ($310 M), David Consunji ($300 M), Robert Coyiuto Jr. ($290 M), Alfonso Yuchengco ($230 M), Mariano Tan ($180 M).

Menardo Jimenez ($160 M), Gilberto M. Duavit ($159 M), Felipe Gozon ($135 M), Jon Ramon Aboitiz ($125 M), Betty Ang ($120 M), Alfredo Ramos ($115 M), Manuel Zamora Jr. ($110 M), Bienvenido R. Tantoco Sr. ($90 M), Tomas Alcantara ($75 M), Benjamin Romualdez ($70 M).

Wilfred Uytengsu Sr. ($65 M), Lourdes Montinola ($60 M), Luis Virata ($56 M), Eugenio Lopez III ($55 M), Enrique Aboitiz ($53 M), Philip Ang ($50 M), Jesus Tambunting ($45 M), Frederick Dy ($40 M), Rolando and Rosalinda Hortaleza ($39 M) and Marian Rosario Fong ($38 M).

Do you think you could have had better opportunities at work if you went to a more well-known school? O ang paningkamot ug kaugalingon nga abilidad ang mas importante sa kinabuhi?

I just caught up with a high school friend who is now based in Dumaguete. He shared to me about the call center boom in that small city (I suppose comparable ni siya in size sa Tagbilaran?):

Right now naa ang Teletech ug SPI(PLDT). Naa pud gagmay based sa Foundation Univ. ug one more. Two are under construction - Ventus and Transcom which will employ at least 500 persons each. So murag ok ang IT business.

Nganong murag wa man nangusog ang atong siyudad to catch up with the trend that has been proven to buoy the economy even in this deep recession? Unsa kaha'y problema--dili competitive ang English skills sa atong mga college graduates, kulang ang bandwith sa internet, kulang ug vision and priority ang local government?  Unsa man gyud kaha?

I seldom hear a song that speaks as instantaneously to my heart as this one, shared by my former vocal partner at the praise & worship team who is now in New Zealand.

I think this spirit-lifting song is a newly released song by the Kiwi Christian band, Parachute. I hope you'll be as blessed as I am.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNYc5El60PI

GMA to Obama: I'm out by June 30, 2010
(The Philippine Star) Updated August 27, 2009 01:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo continues to be coy about her political plans for 2010, but she has categorically told US President Barack Obama that she is stepping down as scheduled on June 30, 2010.

“Yes, we have elections in 2010. I will leave office on June 30. But I will be working until the last minute on issues that matter,” President Arroyo told Obama at their White House meeting last month, according to a highly reliable government source.

This developed as Malacañang submitted to Congress yesterday what was described as President Arroyo’s “final” budget proposal, amounting to P1.5 trillion for 2010.

The source said the White House meeting, which lasted 45 minutes, started with welcome remarks by Obama, in which he dwelled at length on the “important elections coming up in 2010 in the Philippines.”

“You are Asia’s oldest democracy. It’s important that your election process proceeds in a way that will solidify the democratic process and be a model of transparency and democracy in the region,” Obama told President Arroyo, according to the source, who asked not to be named since there are spokesmen designated to talk about the visit.

Malacañang did not mention to the media this aspect of the meeting. Instead the Palace touted Obama’s supposed designation of the Philippines as its coordinator with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In fact it was President Arroyo, the source clarified, who had mentioned to Obama that ASEAN had picked the Philippines as the grouping’s coordinator for the United States.

ASEAN designates country coordinators for each of its dialogue partners. The role is rotated among ASEAN members every three years. The Philippines takes over from Singapore as US coordinator in 2010.

The Philippines will also be chairing the ASEAN review conference next year on the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was repeatedly mentioned by Obama during the White House meeting, according to the source.

President Arroyo flew to Washington shortly after delivering her final State of the Nation Address at the joint session of Congress, in which she gave no categorical statement that she would be stepping down or that she would ensure the holding of the general elections in May 2010.

During the press briefing at the end of the White House meeting, the two presidents did not mention Obama’s opening remarks on the elections.

Given one chance to ask a question, a Filipino journalist asked the two presidents their impressions of each other. An American journalist asked about US issues.

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, who was at the meeting, later told The STAR that Obama was glad that Filipinos would elect new leaders in 2010 in an exercise that “would solidify the democratic process.”

This was confirmed by the official note-taker of the Philippine delegation to the meeting, Ambassador to the US Willy Gaa.

President Arroyo has avoided stating categorically in the Philippines that she intends to hand over power as scheduled at noon of June 30, 2010.

She has been a frequent visitor to her eldest son’s district in Pampanga, fueling speculation that she plans to seek his congressional seat next year in preparation for a shift to a parliamentary system, wherein she could become prime minister.

This plan would require amending the Constitution, which her allies in the House of Representatives appear to have abandoned.

Filipino White House chef hooked on ‘patis’

By Alex Vergara
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:09:00 08/26/2009


LIKE most Filipino-Americans, White House executive chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford, 46, always keeps a bottle of patis (fish sauce) handy in her suburban Maryland home. She credits the favorite Pinoy seasoning for keeping her adobo and other home-cooked Filipino dishes flavorful and authentic.

Even daughter Danielle, 8, often uses patis as her sawsawan (table seasoning) during meals.

This early, the third grader has already shown interest in cooking. In a recent “show and tell” in school, for instance, she brought with her pre-cooked rice, egg and sautéed corned beef flavored with, yes, a dash of patis.

“She cooked it herself,” said the proud mother.

That leaves American husband John, also a chef, in the minority. He doesn’t hide his dislike for patis as staple on the Comerfords’ dinner table, but can take it as cooking ingredient.

“As long as it’s mixed with adobo or sinigang during cooking, I’m fine,” he said.

Comerford insisted she doesn’t keep a bottle of patis in her basement kitchen at the White House. Still, there are certain cooking habits passed down by her mother, now 82 and living in Chicago, that die hard.

“As a Pinoy, you tend to overdo things,” she said. “Whenever there’s a chance, for example, to add extra onions or garlic, you don’t hesitate to do it, which makes for a better-tasting meal.”

And thanks to the White House’s famous organic vegetable patch on the South Lawn, she has easy access to okras, eggplants, tomatoes, spinach, string beans and whatever vegetables are in season.

“The Obamas are into healthy eating and enjoy simple, well-made meals,” she said. “They have certain preferences like steamed vegetables and brown rice that you’d want to do a lot.”

Break

Taking advantage of her famous clients’ summer vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, Comerford, upon the invitation of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), took a break from her White House duties and recently flew to Manila with John on a week-long visit.

As one of this year’s BPInoy awardees, Comerford gladly dropped everything to receive a well-deserved recognition given by BPI to outstanding Filipinos based abroad.

Apart from encouraging nationalism among Filipinos, the annual award, now on its fourth year and comes with a P100,000 cash prize to be donated to the honoree’s favorite charity, is part of BPI’s commitment to excellence as it serves a growing number of overseas Filipino workers.

Other awardees are HK-based economist Eli Remolona and modernist painter Anita Magsaysay-Ho. They now join the ranks of past BPInoy awardees such as Lea Salonga, Josie Natori, Monique Lhuillier, Dado Banatao, Jorge Garcia and Rico Hizon.

“The last time I was here was six years ago to attend a high-school reunion,” Comerford, a product of the country’s public school system, said. “This is a special trip, as it marks the first time since I became White House executive chef. It’s also John’s first trip to the Philippines.”

Comerford, the 10th in a brood of 11, pursued a degree in food technology at the University of the Philippines before immigrating with her family to the US in the mid ’80s. She trained for almost a year as chef in Vienna before working for various fine-dining restaurants in the US.

“I’ve always been interested in cooking,” she said. “As a young girl, I would often hang out in our kitchen in Manila to watch my mother cook. It didn’t take long before I started volunteering to do the family meals.”

Hands-on

In 1995, then White House executive chef Walter Scheib recruited her as one of his assistants. When Scheib left in 2005, then First Lady Laura Bush appointed Comerford to the position, making her the first woman, first Filipino and first minority to assume the top post.

Amid speculations that the Obamas would replace Comerford with a more high-profile celebrity chef once they moved into the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama did the opposite by retaining her and her six-person team.

Comerford has three assistant or sous chefs working directly under her. On top of her executive duties, she remains hands-on.

Ms Obama appreciated the fact that Comerford, like her, was also a mother raising a young daughter. “I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families,” she reportedly said.

The Comerfords would have loved to bring their daughter along, but figured they didn’t have enough time as a family to fully savor the trip.

The couple plans to make a day trip to Subic with a family friend and do some shopping and dining. Comerford even asked journalists where she could get a good Manny Pacquiao T-shirt, one of the items on her friends’ wish list back home.

“One of the first things I did as soon as John and I were settled in our hotel was to troop to The Landmark,” she said. “I headed straight to the fruits section to buy some atis and lanzones. Even if they sometimes have imported lanzones in the States, they’re not as good as the ones you have here.”

Modest

Up close, the woman responsible for conceptualizing menus and preparing America’s first family’s daily meals as well as those during official state functions is modest, soft-spoken and circumspect to a fault.

Comerford would rather remain vague about her famous and powerful employers’ eating habits.

“She’s a very busy woman with lots of things to attend to,” Comerford said of the First Lady. “She’s a hands-on person, but she’s not a micro manager. She knows how to delegate.”

Comerford also describes the Obamas as “warm” people. They don’t have to say thank you since she and her team are simply doing their jobs, but they would often drop by the kitchen to express their appreciation.

No maid

As for her own schedule, Comerford, who, unlike perhaps most of her colleagues here in the Philippines, doesn’t have a maid, is often out of the house by 5 a.m.

She uses the one-hour drive to the White House as “me” time to plan her entire day. If the Obamas have no state dinners or late-night guests to attend to, she’s usually home before 7 p.m. in time for dinner.

Weekends, she said, are sacred. But before she hies off, she makes sure an assistant is left manning the post.

For state dinners and other official functions, she coordinates directly with White House social secretary Desiree Rogers weeks, sometimes months in advance.

Because of her killer schedule, she doesn’t cook for the family as often as she used to. But during the rare times she does, Comerford makes sure such extras as a clove of garlic and a helping of patis are within easy reach.

Bohol dads urge Davao-Tagbilaran flights

By Chito A. Fuentes, Inquirer Visayas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:06:00 08/21/2009


TAGBILARAN CITY â€" The city council here is seeking direct air transport services between the cities of Tagbilaran and Davao to boost the tourism industry in Bohol province.

The city council, in Resolution No. 09-78 adopted on July 31, called on Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and Zest Air to explore the possibility of establishing direct flights between two cities.

Tagbilaran City Councilor Nerio Zamora II, who sponsored the resolution, said migrant Boholanos and Mindanaoans of Bohol descent were appealing for direct flights between the two cities.

“The direct Tagbilaran-Davao flights will bolster the tourism industry which is now flourishing in Bohol,” he added.

He said the Davao City Council already passed a resolution on April 15, 2008, requesting the three airline companies to establish the direct flights.

The Davao City Council, in Resolution No. 0768-08, said it was necessary and vital for a city to have direct transportation links with other cities and countries, citing the policy of the Davao City government to promote the city as a tourism, investment and trade destination.

The Davao council resolution also noted that Davao and Bohol were two of the country’s prime tourist destinations.

It said the current air route between Davao and Bohol is via Cebu. Davao City Councilor Conrado Baluran, who traces his roots to Loboc, Bohol, moved for the passage of the resolution.

Last June 23, the Bohol provincial board (PB) also passed a resolution requesting Zest Airways Incorporated to establish direct Davao-Tagbilaran flights.

Leyte town showcases nature-based business projects      
Written by Felix N. Codilla III / Correspondent  
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 20:30
Business Mirror

LIKE any fourth-class municipality, Tabango, Leyte, has its own share of socio-economic problems that hamper the community’s growth. But financial constraint has never been an excuse for its visionary mayor, who opted to rely on the beauty of his town’s natural resources and join the eco-tourism bandwagon.

Eco-tourism is not new anymore in Tabango, which lies 63 kilometers northwest of Ormoc, a one-and-a-half hour drive away. Since assuming his position in 2001, Mayor Bernard Jonathan Remandaban saw the town’s potential to attract foreigners in experiencing the sights and delights of this hidden paradise.

A former IT educator of De La Salle Taft, “Mayor Benjo,” as he is fondly called by his constituents, knew early on that tourism was Tabango’s only ticket to development. Thus, in 2006, he launched an island-hopping tour which took visitors to seven nearby islands, including the famous Malapascua in Cebu.

Another proof of Remandaban’s seriousness in promoting tourism was the launching of a new floating restaurant that would cruise the stretch of the wide Palaypayan River. For only P500,000, the local government unit (LGU) and barangay Hibacungan manufactured the floating craft.

The barangay will operate the vessel from which it can earn income. Mayor Remandaban admits the concept is copied from the renowned river cruise of Bohol. But he believes their own Palaypay River has its own share of scenic spots that deserve to be appreciated.

As passengers enjoy their hearty meal to the accompaniment of live acoustic music, a boat tugs the vessel and takes them to 23 turns spanning the stretch of the river. Some of the sights along the route are the Cota Bridge and fishpond project of Kalahi-CIDDS at the cruise’s endpoint in Botason I.

But this river cruise takes passengers further to the sea, something not done by its original Bohol counterpart. As they sail off to Tabango Bay, passengers will easily see the Bantay Dagat watchtower/observation station jutting out of the coast of sitio Buho in barangay Tugas.

They will also marvel at the sun-drenched beaches and the vista of Tabango’s rolling peaks and hills, including Mount Kantur-aw, which soars 200 meters from the ground. And if they’re lucky to take the late- afternoon trip, they will catch the sun dim to a deep-orange glow as it gives way to a dimly lit evening.

While the river cruise has no regular schedule, the LGU accepts reservations for the use of the floating restaurant which is an alternative venue for parties to those who want a unique experience in celebrating special occasions.

‘Mummified’ baby found in Bohol

By Ma. Rosanna Mina, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/26/2009 3:54 PM


MANILA â€" A preserved corpse of a baby girl has reportedly been unearthed in the municipality of Mabini in Bohol.

Such discovery sparked widespread interest among residents of Brgy. San Roque (Cabulao) in Mabini.

Curious residents have been trooping to the St. Michael Cemetery to catch a glimpse of the “mummified” baby.

A mummy is a corpse treated for burial with preservatives in the process done by ancient Egyptians.

It could also be a body that is unusually well preserved possibly through incidental exposure to chemicals, very low humidity and extreme coldness.

A body could also be preserved if there is a lack of air when it is submerged in a bog or a wet ground with soil.

Dug up

The baby girl’s corpse, which was accidentally dug up by a gravedigger about a week ago, is in a casket with a glass cover.

“Di nag-decompose,” was how people described the corpse, according to Councilor Vicente Gulle. It has been almost a year, yet the baby has allegedly not decomposed.

“Di maubusan ang tao lalo nung na-discover,” Gulle told abs-cbnNEWS.com over the phone. He added that local newspapers already featured the discovery.

Gulle, who is part of the Mabini Municipal Council, said he has not been to the cemetery because he had work to do.

“Di na masyado marami,” he noted of the people who are presently going to the cemetery.

Faith

Fr. Mario Umbao, meantime, said about 100 people were at the cemetery when he went there Wednesday afternoon.

Umbao is the parish priest of St. Michael Parish in Brgy. San Roque (Cabulao).

He said he was able to speak with the baby’s father, Rico Tuyor. The baby’s mother was not in the cemetery because she had just given birth.

Tuyor always goes to the cemetery because he fears that the body of his baby, Mary Jane, would be stolen. “Baka manakaw,” Umbao said of Tuyor’s fear.

Umbao said Tuyor told him the baby was 1 year and 4 months when she died last September from pneumonia and loose bowel movement (LBM).

He then mentioned that he feels “neutral” about the situation.

However, he disclosed: “I’m afraid the people will lose their faith in God as they are concentrating on the mummified body of the baby.”

But he cannot help it. “I cannot prevent them from going to the cemetery,” he said.

Miracle?

Veronica Asas, 30, was one of the many who wanted to see if the “mummified” baby is true.

Asas, a housewife, went to the cemetery with her brother because they just live nearby.

The baby’s clothes were said to be rotting but the corpse was still intact and fresh. The baby reportedly had fever before she died.

Asas said the corpse was washed with alcohol because it was muddy when dug up. The baby’s skin color reportedly changed to purple because of that. “Parang nasunog,” she said.

In addition, she said the baby’s eyes were open. But Umbao noted that the baby’s eyes were closed when he went to the cemetery.

“Hindi naman nakakatakot ang mukha,” commented Asas.

She surmised that a lot of people went to the cemetery because they probably believe it was a “milagro” (miracle). “Di nangamoy,” she added.

“Buong-buo,” was what Asas’ brother, Federico Ibañez, Jr., said about the corpse.

Asas and Ibañez said they heard that the baby would have been 1 by September.

Donations

Ibañez, 46, noted that they did not pay any amount to see the corpse, although he mentioned that there was a donation box in the cemetery.

Umbao explained that the curious people would leave money after seeing the corpse. Some would just leave the money around since there was no place for them to put it.

A small box was placed but it could not hold the amount of money the people were donating. A larger box was then placed by Tuyor.

Umbao related that Tuyor also fears that the donation box would be stolen when there are no more people in the cemetery.

According to Umbao, the donation money will be divided between the cemetery and Tuyor.

Gulle, meantime, said he will look into the donation box matter.

Mabini, where Gulle serves as municipal councilor, is located in the eastern part of Bohol. According to the 2000 census, Mabini has 22 barangays, 5047 households and a population of 27,250.

Brgy. San Roque (Cabulao), meantime, has a population of 2391. It also has 451 households.

In a press conference August 20 at the Bellissimo Ristorante on Tomas Morato, Quezon City which he owns, Cesar Montano announced that he is "99.5 percent sure" of running for the gubernatorial post in Bohol.

Cesar also announced that his platform will focus on education, agriculture, and bolstering the province's tourism business.

Arroyo party gave away P6M in tips during six-day US stay
08/20/2009 | 01:20 AM


President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage gave away about P6 million in gratuities during the chief executive’s working visit to the United States from July 29 to August 5.

Based on an official breakdown of expenses provided to GMA News by Susanna Vargas, Malacañang’s deputy executive secretary for administration and finance, Mrs. Arroyo’s party spent $66,000 in Washington D.C. and $59,000 in New York for various service tips.

GMA News said the Arroyo party gave money to bellboys, porters, drivers, convoy escorts, and housekeeping personnel in the US for the services they rendered to the President and her party.

Mrs. Arroyo came under fire after media reported on her supposed lavish meals with husband Jose Miguel Arroyo and government officials in at least four restaurants in Washington D.C. and New York City.


The Washington Post reported that President Arroyo and her entourage dined on lobster, steak, and fine wines for $15,000 at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on 15tn Street in Washington D.C. The dinner took place on July 30 hours after Mrs. Arroyo met with US President Barack Obama.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, an Arroyo ally, later claimed that he paid for the Bobby Van’s dinner, including the $1,500-tip for the celebration of the 41st wedding anniversary of the President and her husband.

The second dinner was at Le Cirque last August 2, according to US tabloid New York Post. Arroyo’s group reportedly spent $20,000 for the meal that included "very expensive wine" at the upscale French restaurant in Manhattan, New York City.

Malacañang later admitted that Mrs. Arroyo’s group dined at Le Cirque, but denied that the Office of the President spent for the meal.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said it was Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who picked up the tab for the Le Cirque dinner. But Romualdez evaded media queries about the issue.

The third meal was at the posh Bouley Restaurant in Broadway, New York also on August 2. This was confirmed by Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas who said it was part of the celebration of the First Couple’s wedding anniversary.

The fourth was at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Park Avenue in Manhattan, according to Mindoro Rep. Amelita Villarosa.

Malacañang has defended the President over critics’ claim that the expensive meals showed Mrs. Arroyo's insensitivity toward the plight of many Filipinos suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis.

According to Remonde, when President Arroyo is abroad for official visits, her expenses are exempted from the government’s austerity measures. He says Mrs. Arroyo’s "aggressive" foreign engagements has brought huge investments to the country. - ARCS, GMANews.TV

Lim backs Lim in rebel general’s Senate bid
August 20, 2009 00:15:00
Chito A. Fuentes
Inquirer Visayas

TAGBILARAN CITYâ€"Detained Army Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim has a staunch supporter in Bohol provinceâ€"his namesake Mayor Dan Lim of this city.

Mayor Lim on Wednesday declared his support for the detained general, who has signified his intention to run for senator in 2010.

“I will campaign like I’m running for senator myself,” the two-term mayor said.

Mayor Lim said he would personally take care of General Lim’s campaign not only in Tagbilaran but also in Bohol.

“I’m at my elements. Why not? When I tell people [to vote] ‘Dan Lim for senator,’ it’s virtually introducing myself,” he added.

The mayor admitted that he had always wanted to be a senator himself but that this was “not realistic.”

Lim also recalled that his life changed soon after General Lim was arrested for withdrawing support to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006.

“I was asked to make a personal appearance when I purchased an airline ticket,” said the mayor, pointing out that he had often been mistaken for the general.

Mayor Lim said that if he did not mind the inconvenience when it was not fashionable to do so, there was no reason for him not to come out in the open this time.

“General Lim is a man of principles. He takes a stand in times of crisis and is willing to suffer the consequences of his actions,” he said.

Mayor Lim said that his commitment to General Lim was “unequivocal.”

“I will campaign for him regardless of what ticket he will be part of and whether he recognizes me or not,” he added.

Mayor Lim said the general has always advocated for reforms and the Senate would give him the platform to do that.

The mayor said that his namesake’s decision to run for senator proved that he was giving parliamentary struggle a chance.

General Lim is kept in detention for his alleged role in the Feb. 24, 2006, coup plot.

He was a graduate of Westpoint, a military academy in the United States and was involved in, but received amnesty for, the 1987 coup against the late President Corazon Aquino.

The mayor remained hopeful that the general would be granted temporary liberty to campaign nationwide.

“It would be a treat for me to be introduced with him during his campaign sorties,” he said.

He also expressed optimism over General Lim’s chances of victory even if he would be campaigning behind bars like Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who is also in detention for his role in the Oakwood mutiny.

“Contrary to what many people are saying, Filipinos are suckers for those who stand up for their convictions,” Mayor Lim said.

El Shaddai leader mulls presidency

MANILA -- With only nine months before the 2010 elections, El Shaddai leader Mariano “Bro. Mike” Velarde said Wednesday that he is thinking of running for the presidential race next year.

The El Shaddai leader admitted he is consulting his members on whether or not to join politics in 2010, adding that the decision does not only depend on him.

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“I can’t do it myself because there are millions of people. So, I am in the process of consulting our members nationwide and worldwide what to do in the 2010 elections. If they don’t want me to run, then let’s agree to make a choice who we can vote. I still have my plan,” he said.

Velarde revealed that he is consulting almost everybody, particularly core groups that are spread all over the world to get consensus membership.

He said he wants to become President of the Philippines because “I thought that iyon ang paraan para matulungan ang mahihirap, the gap between the rich and poor mabigyan natin ng solusyon.”

However, he said: “My entering politics lie in their (El Shaddai members) hands because we believe in the voice of the people is the voice of the Lord. That dictum is not just for any people it should be for the voice of the people of God.”

Velarde earlier said he has no plans of running for an elected position but if he gets the nod of the bishops, he will reconsider it.

Asked if he will support former President Joseph Estrada in the 2010 election, Velarde said no.

“Napagbigyan na natin siya (we already gave him the chance), and probably, he could best serve kung gagamitin na lang niya ang kanyang popularity to choose the better candidate or best candidate,” he said.

Velarde said Estrada and other former leaders of the country should give others a chance to serve the Philippines.

“Give the younger generation the chance,” Velarde said.

The El Shaddai leader also opposed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s reported bid to seek a seat in Congress in next year’s elections.

“We’ve talked about her completing her term. And I said, ‘I will support you until the completion of your term in 2010. My support ends there,’” he said in television interview Wednesday.

For some politicians, Velarde’s running for presidential race in 2010 is his not impossible. But Senator Ping Lacson said he doesn’t think Velarde has enough numbers to win for president in 2010.

Lacson, however, said the El Shaddai leader has the right to seek the country’s highest political post.

For Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Velarde should better help politicians who could help improve the country than run for president next year.

Velarde though asserted Wednesday that his real dream is to become President of the Philippines.

Also on Wednesday, Velarde invited President Arroyo to be the guest of honor at the inauguration of the House of Prayer building inside Amvel City in Barangay San Dionisio, Paranaque City.

The country’s biggest charismatic movement will be launching Thursday, August 20, the cross-shaped like, multifaceted El Shaddai House of Prayer.

Considered as the biggest place of worship and prayers in Asia, the 10,000-square-meter house of prayer is situated on the sprawling 10 hectares lot.

It has a seating capacity of 16,000 and for Standing Room Only (SRO), it can accommodate 25,000 people. The group has seven million members worldwide.

According to Velarde, the altar has a strong semblance to Noah’s ark, which is surrounded by water.

“The rainbow is there just above the ark-shape stage which represents God’s covenant with Noah that they will no longer be disturbed by flood,” he said.

Under the Noah’s ark-like stage is the Baptism Healing Pool.

The group used to conduct its prayer worships in Luneta, Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, Rizal Football Stadium, Reclamation Area, Araneta Coliseum, Folk Arts Theater and all the biggest spaces in Metro Manila.

Velarde said for the last 15 years, their congregation has already spent almost P300 million in rentals.

He said there is also a provision for the crowd overflow -- the 200,000 El Shaddai members who weekly trooped to the venues of El Shaddai activities to listen to the words of God.

The House of Prayer has four entrances with rainbows above the doors. On top of the structure stands a crucifix.

At the back of the main fellowship area is the chapel -- a traditional Church-like European structure complete with stained glass.

There is also the adoration chapel and the Father’s Love chapel known as the “Prodigal Son” which will serve as a confessional area.

Velarde said it took them almost two years to finish the construction of the El Shaddai House of Prayer, which amount was pegged at close to a billion. The amount does not include the 10-hectare lot.

However, he clarified that the lot is not actually for free as the fellowship will pay it at a minimal cost for 20 years.

“The savings from our operations have finally driven me to come up with the El Shaddai House of Prayers and the College of the Divine Wisdom,” Velarde said. (FP/Sunnex)

Canadian model unmasks blog tormentor

By Chris Lefkow
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 09:31:00 08/20/2009


WASHINGTON â€" A Canadian model has won a landmark case in a New York court after Google was forced to disclose the online identity of a blogger who anonymously posted derogatory comments about the Vogue covergirl.

Justice Joan Madden of the New York State Supreme Court ordered the Web giant on Monday to hand over identifying information about the person who created the anonymous blog a year ago using Google's Blogger.com program.

The ruling came after Liskula Cohen, 36, filed suit in a bid to unmask the identify of her tormentor, who posted suggestive photographs of Cohen on the blog and described her as a "ho" and a "psychotic, lying, whoring... skank."

The blog was removed in March.

But Cohen, who has appeared on runways for top designers around the world and on the covers of numerous fashion magazines, was determined to pursue the case to learn the identity of the blogger.

"If somebody attacks somebody on the street you're not going to let it go," she told ABC's "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. "If somebody attacks you personally you're not going to let it go.

"Why should I just ignore it? I couldn't find one reason to ignore it," Cohen said. "So I didn't."

Following Madden's ruling, Google turned over the email address and computer IP address of the person behind the blog and that allowed Cohen to immediately figure out who it was.

She told ABC she was relieved to discover that the person who created the blog -- a woman whom she declined to identify -- was not someone close to her.

"She's an irrelevant person in my life," Cohen said. "She's just somebody that, whenever I would go out to a restaurant, to a party in New York City, she was just that girl that was always there."

Cohen said she immediately called the woman on the telephone and told her: "I just want you to know that if I've ever done anything to you to actually deserve this then I'm really very sorry.

"I said, 'I forgive you, it doesn't matter any more.'"

Cohen's lawyer, Steven Wagner, told ABC the case was "sending out a message that the Internet is no longer a safe harbor for defamatory language.

"I don't know if it'll change the Internet," he said. "It'll change the way some people act on the Internet."

Google said that while the company does not tolerate "cyber bullying" it is also respectful of privacy.

"We sympathize with anyone who may be the victim of cyber bullying," Andrew Pederson, a Google spokesman, said in an email statement to AFP.

"We also take great care to respect privacy concerns and will only provide information about a user in response to a subpoena or other court order," he said.

"If content is found by a court to be defamatory, we will of course remove it immediately," Pederson added.

Pinays don’t know their body and how it works

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:32:00 08/19/2009


MANILA, Philippinesâ€"They may look grown-up and sophisticated but young Filipino girls are among the most misinformed in Asia when it comes to their body and how it works, according to an international online survey sponsored by Kimberly-Clark.

The Kotex BodyLife IQ Study, which covered 1,800 women aged 12-24 from six Asian countries, discovered that there was an “information gap” among young Asian women when it came to knowing their body, how it works, and how to take care of it from puberty to womanhood.

“Of all the nationalities surveyed, Filipinas were the most misinformed, with the biggest body-knowledge gap,” according to the Kimberly-Clark paper detailing the results of the survey.

“Eighty-three percent of young [Filipino] women surveyed believed myths about their body to be true,” it added.

For instance, 54 percent of Filipina respondents said drinking beer increases menstrual flow and 38 percent said menstrual blood applied to the face could prevent pimples.

One Filipina said that on the first day of her period, she would jump over three steps on their stairs so her menstrual flow would last only three days instead of one week.

Myths

The online “quantitative study” was conducted by international research firm Millward Brown in April and included women from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and India.

The online questionnaire tackled myths about a woman’s body, female biology, pregnancy, virginity and health.

“Many young women are ignorant of even the most basic facts when it comes to the essentials of womanhood,” the study said.

“No matter how sophisticated they appear or how contemporary their lifestyles, or what country or city they live in, there are shocking gaps in the basic knowledge of their own bodies in 97 percent of all young women surveyed,” it added.

Sex talk

Almost 40 percent of young women surveyed said they never received a sex talk from a medical practitioner, a teacher at school or a parent.

Over half of the respondents also said that they were afraid to ask questions during their sex education classes out of fear of being labeled “promiscuous.”

“Young women from two countries with the lowest body-knowledge IQ scoresâ€"the Philippines and Indiaâ€"expressed the most satisfaction with the education they received, suggesting that lack of knowledge is self-perpetuating because ‘you don’t know what you don’t know,’” the paper said.

With the exception of respondents in Singapore, the other young women surveyed revealed that their top sources of female body-knowledge were their close friends, followed by their mothers and their older sisters.

Mass of confusion

While the survey results showed that 95 percent of young Filipino women answered the health section questions correctly, 98 percent got the biology section questions wrong.

“Some 26 percent of Filipinas believe that only men have hymens, which is why they are named as such,” the survey said.

The subject of virginity was also a “mass of confusion” for many Filipina respondents, with 18 percent believing they could lose their virginity by riding a bike.

Body Life IQ

Kimberly-Clark, which produces Kotex and other feminine products, inked a deal on Monday with the Department of Education.

They are working on a program that will make students better-informed about their bodies.

Dubbed “Kotex You-niversity program,” it consists of supplementary materials to equip students with knowledge, skills and value orientations to “develop their Body Life IQ,” or their ability to comprehend how the body works and how it affects one’s life.

The program will be included in the values education classes and will initially be conducted in 150 public and private high schools in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Cebu and Davao.

Students to benefit

Organizers said they expect some 340,000 students to benefit from the program by the end of the year.

“It will give our young women learners the right information and knowledge that will enable them to make informed decisions and better choices,” said Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

“This initiative is in synch with the fifth goal of Education For All, which is to achieve gender equality in education by 2015,” he added.

Arroyo party becoming a sinking ship, critics say
SOPHIA M. DEDACE, GMANews.TV
08/18/2009 | 06:38 PM


Amid President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's record-low popularity ratings, partymates and allies are leaving what is "already a sinking ship."

"If President Arroyo would ask me now, I would tell her... the rats will abandon your sinking ship," political analyst Joel Rocamora, executive director of the Institute for Popular Democracy, told GMANews.TV on Tuesday.

At least five Palace officials and Arroyo partymates have severed their ties with the administration coalition Lakas-Kampi-CMD over the last few weeks.

On August 11, Ralph Recto resigned as socio-economic planning secretary and director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority. He hinted he would seek to regain his Senate post, which he lost in the 2007 polls under Arroyo’s Team Unity (TU).

On August 12, Anthony Golez, Jr. and actor Cesar Montano took their oath as members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition. Golez is Arroyo’s deputy spokesperson. Montano lost in his senatorial bid in 2007 under TU.

On August 16, national security adviser Norberto Gonzales announced that his party, Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, was breaking away from the administration coalition.

A day later, former President Fidel Ramos refused to become Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s chairman emeritus. He chose to hold the same post only under Lakas-CMD. He claimed that the merging of Lakas and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino was done in haste.

Kampi president and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte was the first Arroyo ally who defected from the coalition. Last May, Villafuerte left Kampi after voicing his opposition to the merger.

Rocamora said the departure had nothing to do with the credibility of the merger, but with Mrs. Arroyo’s declining influence.

“I think this is about (Arroyo) becoming a lame duck," said Rocamora, adding that the loss of her partymates would cripple her moves to perpetuate herself in power after 2010.

For those who can't tell between an i and an e, o and u...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvjg6Vcc5d4

Power crowd launches tourism center in Bohol

By Maurice Arcache
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:34:00 08/18/2009


WOMAN OF substance and stature, la simpatica Bea Susana Zobel “Junior” and her constant companion, brilliant businessman Joel Uichico, invited the media and some pals to Bohol for a weekend of extreme sports, fantastic culture tours and the ribbon-snipping of the first Municipal Tourism Center in Baclayon, no less.

Bea has been the patroness and strong force of Baclayon’s tourism growth. She tags Ino Manalo, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila as “the culprit who got me involved with Bohol.” It all started, dahlings, when he invited her over to help save the leaking roof of the old Our Lady of the Assumption Shrine and some ancestral houses from being knocked down.

Being nationalistic like her mom and dad, Bea fell in love with the place. While our group was having dinner at the elegant dining room of the Peacock Garden Luxury Resort and Spa, Joel suggested to develop a dive site in Pamilacan island, off Baclayon. After a meeting with the local officials of Baclayon, they worked on several projects and brainstormed on how to start several super tourist programs so the locals can make a living while preserving the beauty of its marine life.

After a year, the Municipal Tourist Center, gateway to Baclayon, has become a reality. The building was funded by Bea, with the help of Ayala Foundation and the kindness of the genius in the retail world, Ben Chan, chairman of Suyen Corp. and a gentleman who cares, dahlings. The tourist center was designed like a modern Filipino house by talented architect Noel Saratan and Niño Guidaben, while artistic Al Caronan dressed up this much-needed center.

The blessing and turnover rites attracted tons of town folk from Baclayon and other nearby towns. Attendees included popular Mayor Alvin Lim; Bill Luz of Ayala Foundation; and Ben Chan, together with his entourage of dazzling stars like Richard and Lucy Gomez, good-looking John Pratts, vivacious architect Miguel Pastor and super articulate Jojo Liamzon.

In the evening, it was like a town fiesta, headed by Vice Mayor Marilyn Uy and other government hotshots. We watched a fun cultural program at Baluarte’s basketball court, palanggas, with an all-star cast in attendance. It was a screaming affair, more so when they saw their favorite Boholano star and gentleman of all seasons, handsome Cesar Montano, and his gorgeously adorable wife Sunshine Cruz; Representative Edgar Chatto and even First Daughter Luli Arroyo, who came with her husband, witty Luigi Bernas. They are both dedicated divers who have been supporting Joel’s efforts in saving the environment in Baclayon. Luli stayed behind for Joel’s dive guide training program and talk about environmental awareness. The Bernases also went to Bien Unido in northern Bohol to check out a new dive site, palanggas.

We were also taken to a fantastic cultural tour of the gorgeous church, where the old pipe organ and roof had been renovated, thanks to Bea who had gone all out in restoring the town of Dauis and the famous Dauis Church complex, now a National Historical Landmark. Our palangga Ino Manalo also took us to a tour of top resorts in the town.

It was a fantastic feeling seeing the dedication of brilliant cultural lovers Bea and Joel conserve the many awesome ancestral homes, sights in the towns of Baclayon, Dauis and Pamilacan island. The latter Joel hopes would become a haven for diving tourism and underwater photography.

Special thanks to our hotel hosts and owners, Hans Schoof, his wife, stylish Lani, and their adorable daughter, Katrina Schoof, who is Peacock Garden’s resort and spa assistant general manager. They all made our stay unforgettable. Yes, palanggas, a different world awaits you in this hotel in Bohol.

Reader's Digest plans prearranged bankruptcy
Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:22pm EDT


By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reader's Digest Association Inc, whose namesake magazine has been a staple of dentists' offices for generations, said on Monday it planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its U.S. businesses as part of a prearranged plan with lenders to cut debt by 75 percent.

The media company, known worldwide for its family magazine filled with general-interest and inspirational stories, has been trying to cut costs since it was bought in 2007 by an investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings LLC.

The bankruptcy would take the form of a prearranged filing, which comes after a company has already reached deals with lenders to reduce debt. The deal, if approved by a bankruptcy court, would allow Reader's Digest to slash its debt load to $550 million, from the current $2.2 billion.

The arrangement would also allow the company to reduce its annual interest payments on remaining debt to less than $80 million from about $145 million, said President and Chief Executive Officer Mary Berner in an interview.

"Our deal has already been negotiated and hammered out with a majority of our creditors," said Berner. The arrangement "doesn't affect our employees, it doesn't affect the vast majority of vendors, it doesn't mean we'll do mass layoffs, it doesn't mean we're going to be selling off assets. It's business as usual."

Reader's Digest, based in Pleasantville, New York, has said it is the largest selling magazine in the world. It has offices in 45 countries and sells books, magazines, recorded music collections and home videos. Among other offerings, it also publishes food magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray.

BANKRUPTCY PLAN

The company expects to file its petition in bankruptcy court within 15 days, said Chief Financial Officer Thomas Williams, and the company hopes to conclude the restructuring process within 45 to 90 days, said Berner.

The Chapter 11 filing will apply only to the company's U.S. businesses. Operations in Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia-New Zealand will not be affected.

Ripplewood will have no ownership stake going forward either in the United States or internationally.

Reader's Digest is the latest media company to be hurt by an economic slowdown that has hampered companies' abilities to repay debt.

Print media organizations have struggled to pay down debt over the past year as the U.S. economic recession has cut ad spending and readers have flocked to Internet sites for free news. Newspaper publisher Tribune Co is among companies that have filed for bankruptcy.

"I don't think this (announcement) is unexpected," said Stephanie Wickouski, co-vice chair of the corporate restructuring group for law firm Drinker Biddle. "The telecom revolution and the appeal of Internet news has put anything in print under tremendous stress."

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Under the plan, the company will work with lenders to swap a portion of its $1.6 billion in senior secured debt for equity, and transfer company ownership to the lender group.

Grieving girlfriend woes ill-equipped soldiers

By Jhunnex Napallacan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:30:00 08/17/2009


CEBU CITY -- While the government assistance to the families of the 23 slain soldiers was welcome, the live-in partner of Private First Class Elfie Igcalinos, one of those who died in last Wednesday’s Basilan clash, said it would have been better if the soldiers were better equipped to fight the Abu Sayyaf.

Grace Bacalla, 24, said on Monday that her live-in partner, a dedicated soldier, deserved the honors given him but she could not help but think that money spent on the expensive dinners of the President and her party in the US could have been better spent for the fighting troops in Mindanao.

"They (the soldiers) are our defenders. We should give them importance. It appeared like they were just the bait and if they die, the assistance was used only to appease the family," said Bacalla.

While the honors seemed nice to have, these were not enough to compensate for their loss, she added.

"We were escorted to Bohol (Igcalinos' home town in Lila, Bohol) but it no longer mattered for us because he was dead. I am happy for him (Igcalinos) because he really wanted to become a soldier. But for me, it is so painful, especially because he left behind a child," Bacalla lamented.

She called on the government to improve the fighting equipment of the soldiers in destroying the Abu Sayyaf.
Bacalla said that Igcalinos' family, who has been living in poverty, needed the financial assistance.
However, of the initial P50,000 in cash assistance announced for each family, the Igcalinos received only P30,500 after the cost of his coffin was subtracted.

Bacalla said they were still awaiting the additional P250,000 cash assistance promised by the government.
She said they would need the money to pay for the costs of the wake, where many attended, including the soldiers who have been standing guard until Igcalinos’ burial on Sunday.

Igcalinos' mother Lucia said she had accepted her son's death since it was her son's choice to become a soldier. Nevertheless, she wanted the government to run after the Abu Sayyaf for the brutal murder of her son.

Lucia said the right eye of her son had a contusion and her son's body bore hack wounds.

"We ask for justice. The Abu Sayyaf should be wiped out so the Philippines will no longer have a problem. They hacked my dead son and pounded his eye," Lucia said, citing the cruelties inflicted on her son.

Igcalinos, 26, a father of a five-year-old boy and a criminology student for only a year, was a security guard for five years, before becoming a soldier.

He fulfilled his childhood ambition to become a soldier when he joined the Armed Forces of the Philippines two years ago.

Bacalla said they have been living together for several years and Igcalinos had promised they would get married in 2010.

She added that Igcalinos also wanted to pay off the debts of his parents in Bohol who pawned their land when his mother suffered stroke.

Igcalinos was the eldest of five siblings and both his parents, Pedro and Lucia, were sickly, Bacalla said.
Igcalinos' body arrived in his hometown at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

He was one of the three soldiers who were flown to Mactan Airbase on Sunday on board a C130 plane.
The two others were Private First Class Lemuel dela Cruz of Daan Bantayan Cebu and Pfc. Redentor Batoctoy from Dalaguete, Cebu.

ePassport online applications start Aug. 26

INQUIRER.net First Posted 12:12:00 08/17/2009

MANILA, Philippinesâ€"The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will accept applications for ePassport through the online appointment system starting August 26, Wednesday.

In a statement, the DFA Office of Consular Affairs advises interested applicants to set an appointment through the DFA website.

Until the DFA’s ePassport system has achieved full capacity, only 100 ePassports will be issued daily, on a first-come-first-serve basis. From August 26 to September 30, only passport applications for renewal will be accepted.

Before submitting their online appointment application, applicants are requested to fill up the required fields on the online appointment page at the DFA website. Otherwise, the online appointment process will not proceed. After internal verification, the DFA will inform the prospective applicant of his/her schedule by electronic mail. Subsequently, the applicant will confirm his/her availability by sending a reply.

Personal appearance is required for prospective ePassport applicants. Until an announcement is made, all ePassport applications during this period shall be filed by the applicant personally to the exclusion of third parties.

Interested applicants will be required the following: old passport, one photocopy of old passport data page, a valid identification card, and the duly accomplished passport application form.

An applicant may use the current machine readable passport (MRP) application form for this purpose, which is also available in the DFA website.

Current MRP holders are firmly advised that their MRPs remain valid and are compliant with global standards.

Daredevils in Danao
RENDEZVOUS By Christine S. Dayrit (The Philippine Star)
Updated August 16, 2009 12:00 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oTvuas4Kd4

To each man, his own madness,” my late dad Vincent “Ting” Dayrit would often say.

Being my father’s daughter, I embrace this philosophy but always with great caution and weighing the risks. Growing up, I often had to convince Dad whenever I wanted to do a certain thing like study or work abroad, pursue my fields of interest or engage in what he considered a perilous activity like scuba diving, parasailing and the like. Most of the time, I would eventually gain his permission but admittedly, it was the exercise of preparing arguments and rebuttals to defend and win my case before Dad that made me appreciate each activity to the hilt.

Today, I understand that any extreme challenge has two faces; one may be confronted spontaneously without warning while the other may be anticipated and thus prepared for. My new penchant for seemingly daredevil, adrenalin-pumping activities is born of my desire to elevate my wanderlust to more pulsating, life-changing levels. From the exhilarating zip-line rides in Albay to wakeboarding in CamSur, from the helicopter ride to take photos above steaming Mayon Volcano, to parasailing 150 feet above the cerulean waters of Boracay.

Now here comes the country’s newest and most exciting extreme-adventure park called E.A.T. in Danao, Bohol. In fact, our very own Tourism Secretary Ace Durano recently inaugurated the park and tried the thrill-seeking Canyon Plunge and invited me to experience this “ride of your life” myself. Very timely, Cebu Pacific, my preferred carrier because of its beautiful airport in NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City, with its great service, inexpensive airfare plus countless promotions, launched its “Wandering Juan” project allowing Pinoys to explore the country and savor the many new travel jewels like the E.A.T. Danao Adventure Park.

Danao, once a sleepy fourth-class municipality, has recently earned a reputation as the country’s extreme adventure capital, as it launched its latest attractions â€" cable car or “sky rides,” the country’s longest 450-meter zip-line or suislide, rappelling, kayaking across the winding Wahig Ihabangan river, cave spelunking and the Canyon Swing or “The Plunge” patterned after the death-defying ride in New Zealand. The adventure park is located at Brgy. Magtangtang, 72 kilometers (just a two-hour ride away) from the City of Tagbilaran. For very affordable accommodation for visitors, there is the Danao Eco-Lodge within the vicinity of the park.

E.A.T. Danao is the town’s newest brainchild, as spearheaded by its self-effacing Mayor Tom Gonzaga. Tom is so low-key he barely puts his name on the projects he enacts in his town. Instead of his own name blaring from billboards and signs in his town, the phrase “A Project of the LGU” is all visitors will see, proof that Tom gives the credit of the success of Danao back to the many people whose hard work and dedication to the local government unit is worthy of emulation.

Danao offers unique and exhilarating activities in different categories set amidst verdant valleys framed by the majestic expanse of mountain ranges. To trim down the choices for the individual tourist, specific activities were grouped into three: “E” for Extreme, Economic and Educational trips; “A” for Adventure; and “T” for Tours. Other activities there include river tubing, village and historical tours, camping, boulder climbing, organic farm visitation and root climbing.

During the two-hour drive from Tagbilaran to take the Canyon Plunge in Danao, nervousness accompanied the thrill of the inevitable. Being chauffeured by gracious, outdoor sports enthusiast Mayor Tom himself, with my best friend and two-time CMMA awardee Bum Tenorio and gorgeous friend Mel Martinez, the scenic drive seemed endless. Perhaps knowing this locale was the site of the country’s longest revolt of Francisco Dagohoy, I must have commiserated with history. We learned from Mayor Tom that the Dagohoy revolt from 1744 to 1829 stemmed from the saga of his brother Constable Dagohoy who was requested by the Jesuit Gaspar Morales, in charge of the Inabangan district, to bring back a renegade indio who had fled to the mountains. The renegade killed Constable Dagohoy instead, thus Francisco requested a Christian burial. Father Morales did not allow the deceased brother to be buried on consecrated grounds because he had been killed in a fight. For three days, the corpse remained unburied. Angered by this harsh treatment, Dagohoy swore vengeance and organized Boholanos to join him in the longest revolt in the country against the Spaniards.

Mayor Tom pointed to our group the mountain where the Filipino hero Dagohoy built his fortress during the revolt. That fortress was just near the launching pad of The Plunge and I felt all the more compelled to embark on the stunt. I remarked, “Whatever happens, guys, the leap may be insignificant today, but part of history tomorrow!”

Realizing that too much reflection can kill spontaneity, I became more resolute about mustering my courage. Gracious Makati councilor Armand Padilla, who led our group, advised us to practice fear management as we faced each adventure. I agreed, saying the only fear is the one created in the mind. As I gathered my strength to take The Plunge, Bum attempted to convince us not to do it and vise versa. He even texted my three sisters Jaqui, Michelle, Yvonne and only brother Mark to dissuade me from doing the death-defying stunt. Unfortunately for him I had already secured their nod of approval because I assured them of its safety. Mayor Tom said the plunge and suislide are both capable of carrying five tons working load and a maximum of 200 and 50 persons a day respectively while the sky ride can accommodate eight tons of working load and can carry 190 passengers a day.

The irony of all this unfolded when we all took the 450-meter zip-line suislide where we lay facedown and slid securely across the 300-meter-high gorge. We incessantly screamed “Darna!” After Bum’s turn on the zip-line, he announced that he, too, would do the Canyon Plunge as long as it was captured on video for evidence. Our videographer, Monet Lustre, gamely and bravely rappelled down the cliff for the best angles. The men at the Canyon Plunge hurriedly strapped the giggling Bum into his harness before he could change his mind.

When my turn came, I whispered, “It’s just my God and me!” Everyone shouted “Bombs away!” and like a free-falling pendulum, I swung freely, a thousand feet above the picturesque gorge. Hearing your own breath and pounding heartbeat from such an altitude amidst such an expanse is a surreal and peaceful adventure. For about 10 minutes, swaying above the lush Danao vegetation and the inviting Wahig river, my eyes combed the scenery replete with breathtaking beauty. It was an opportune time for a very serene and private conversation with God. Suspended in disbelief for a few seconds across the canyon, I thanked Him for all the countless blessings, for keeping my loved ones happy and healthy. As they handed us the cable to pull us up from the ravine, we even flashed the “L” sign in remembrance of our dear Tita Cory, a salute to valor and courage. Shortly after the plunge, Bum posted our experience on Facebook. Many thanks to Makati councilor Jojo Javier and gracious wife Babylet who took our photos and provided us with M&M chocolates for our glucose fix before and after the plunge.

Looking back, it was an awesome encounter between man and nature, feeling secure in God’s omnipotent presence. A leap of faith, literally. In the face of extreme challenge, you ponder why we pursue such hurdles, then suddenly all fears melt away and peace pulls you through. Truly a geography of blissful moments worth savoring for a lifetime.

* * *

For more information, please call PACER Travel at 521-8884. You may also call Danao municipal tourism officer Ana Loinda Saluan at 0917-3021701. Cebu Pacific Air has launched its Wandering Juan Travel Journal Photo Contest online to showcase their flair for travel, but with a twist. Each entry must include a pair of tsinelas â€" something all Pinoy travelers never leave home without â€" to represent the adventurous wandering Juan attitude. For contest details and prizes, please log on to www.wanderingjuan.com.

Today, I sit still.

I just had 80 push-ups and I feel physically hale and hearty. But something tugs at my heart. I am on the brink of tears for no reason. Perhaps it's because I just saw my youngest daughter's winter clothes when I was rummaging the closet for a shirt, and I suddenly felt like hugging her.

How ordinary things can trigger extraordinary emotions! And I suddenly realize that for all my attempt to be strong and in control, I am just a wisp of a man. I have to look to Him who is the source of real strength.

In happy times and in sad, I will sing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAdhEtrX7Yg

Taking slow boat to profit from ecotours

By Ester Dipasupil
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:19:00 08/16/2009

A NO-FRILLS trip away from the frenzy of all-night beach parties, gelled bronze bodies, loud music, garish booths with tacky souvenirs and thick crowds jamming boats headed to already overdone river routes.

This river tour beats them all.

In Cambuhat, a tiny village of Buenavista town and a two-hour drive from Bohol’s capital of Tagbilaran, residents are showing the way, and how unpretentious, no-glamour come-ons can attract a sizeable portion of the tourist crowd with no preferences for creature comforts like heavy-duty airconditioners, streamlined boats and hefty buffet lunches of pasta and barbecue.

It begins with a cramped ride on a banca for three (including the boatman) at the receiving station in Barangay Daet, home to Daet River, that, at some point, becomes the Cambuhat River.

It is not for the fainthearted, emotionally attached to the life vest, because there is none in sight. Not to worry, says the boatman, the river is not too deep, meaning we can manage if you happen to fall off.

The ride takes all of 40 minutes, passing through thick clumps of mangrove and nipa palm, punctuated by the sound of bird song and fanned by an occasional breeze.

Along the way, you meet boats headed to town loaded with oysters or buri (raffia), the village’s main source of income. Children wave from little huts by the banks, others show off their swimming skills.

At the end of the trip, guests are led to a small visitors center, where they are welcomed with leis of wildflowers and oyster shells strung on raffia. Wooden tables groan with a sumptuous spread of steamed and omelet oysters, fresh shrimp, grilled fish and guinatan and sago pudding â€" our lunch for the day.

We are met by Anneli Chua of the tourism department, a Buenavista native only too eager to show how the village ecotour program took off after it was first introduced in 1999 as a coastal management project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAid).

It has since received the support not only of the local and national government but by agencies like the Canadian International Development Agency (Cida).

The Cambuhat experience is one example of how a community can showcase its natural resources, in this case, oysters and buri, and weave this into a tour that is not only entertaining but educational as well, says Chua.

With lunch over, a group of women, in colorful costumes woven out of raffia, materializes from nowhere and proceeds to lay out bamboo musical instruments. They introduce themselves as residents of the village; one explains the songs they are about to sing, about planting and harvesting buri and oysters, in their native dialect.

The women, Chua explains, are the driving force in the program, attaching oysters to sturdy rafts and poles floating by the river banks, or weaving buri into fabric that are later turned into attractive table runners or placemats. The menfolk, on the other hand, bring the produce to town or serve as boatmen cum tourist guides.

Dudong Aparece, a barangay kagawad (village councilor) before he joined the program, is now the business manager of sorts of Cambuhat Enterprise Development and Fishermen’s Association, a cooperative put up by the villagers to ensure the total involvement of the community as its prime stakeholders.

Aparece admits that running the coop for the first three years was the most difficult task he had to undertake since he was up against old bogeys like mistrust and fear of the unknown.

“I know now that education is the best weapon against many of our fears,” he says. “Now, the residents not only know how to deal with the tourist market, they have also learned to take care of the river and also about waste management. With a clean river and proper waste disposal, they are aware that our marine resources will not be depleted and will even thrive, and this is good for community revenues.”

Tourists have not been coming in droves, like they do in Loboc, famous for its much-awarded children’s choir and its river cruises, or the world-renowned Chocolate Hills, but Chua says there has been a significant increase in numbers among the local “bakasyunista.”

When we were there, we saw families from nearby towns lugging picnic boxes full of rice, beer and lambanog. All they had to do was buy shrimps, fish and oysters they called “our local Viagra” and roast these on the improvised grilles provided at the visitors center. Chua says the place is packed with domestic tourists on weekends, especially in summer when school’s out and the kids turn to the river as their swimming hole.

Still, Chua still hankers for that slice of the tourism pie that could help put Cambuhat on the tourism radar.

Although details of the tour are on the Web, Chua had difficulty connecting and often had to go to town to have access. On the day we were there, Chua was still trying to connect but couldn’t, until my travelling companion, Aileen Carreon of Vision and Image offered the use of her Smart flashdrive. After some configurations, she was finally connected.

Chua was ecstatic. She had several visitors from out of town, and in particular, a group of visitors from a US university who joined a study tour initiated by their professor, and who kept coming back, and she figured this would be an easy way to get more visitors from overseas to come.

Since it is still quite a long ride from the capital, tourists may not seem inclined to go all the way out to come to the river, however unique the experience may be. Promoting the tour, so far, has attracted only hardy tourists or the adventurous, apart from the locals.

After the program was launched in 1999 (with the number of tourists totaling a measly 47 at the end of the year), tourist arrivals so far have not been encouraging. Last year, the figures were 307, compared to the 2007 record of 380.

It will take more than glitzy brochures and sleek advertising campaigns to draw the market to brave new worlds like Cambuhat and other out-of-the-way and unheard of destinations.

Aparece believes this can be done, but only if the residents- the immediate beneficiaries of the program â€" are able to sustain their interest in ecotourism. He says that of all the other ecotour projects launched in Bohol, only Cambuhat’s has survived so far.

“It’s the community’s will to prevail, against all odds,” he says. “That is what makes it work.”

Lack of cases closes NBI Bohol office
(The Freeman) Updated August 16, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - The lack of cases being filed for investigation in Bohol has prompted the management of the National Bureau of Investigation to close its district office in that province and recall all the agents assigned there back to their mother unit.

The decision to close the NBI Bohol District Office came out during the recent command conference held in Manila attended by all regional directors after the Bohol office did not report any significant accomplishments.

NBI Central Visayas regional director Medardo de Lemos said the agents are also complaining that they are lagging behind in the performance evaluations because there are no cases filed for them to investigate.

The NBI management reportedly consulted Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado on the predicament of the agents. Aumentado allowed the closure provided that the clearance office will be retained.

De Lemos said that starting next month the district office in Bohol will be closed and that three of the agents assigned there will be recalled to Cebu while the other two will report back to their mother units elsewhere.

De Lemos said that a clearance office will be retained in the province to service the clearance applicants. Bohol however will continue to get the investigative services of the bureau because the regional office in Cebu can send agents if the need arises.

The agents in Bohol were given until the end of this month to wind up their cases before reporting back to their mother units. â€" Fred P. Languido/BRP(THE FREEMAN)

Bohol solons told: Avoid foreign trips

By Chito A. Fuentes
Inquirer Visayas
First Posted 18:46:00 08/15/2009

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippinesâ€"Refrain from foreign travels unless absolutely necessary.

Bohol Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera made this call to Boholano congressmen while the controversy raged over the lavished dinners of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage during a recent trip to the United States.

The vice governor noted that Representative Edgar Chatto of Bohol's first district was with the President's party in her trip to the US.

The New York Post reported that the President and 50 from her entourage racked up a $20,000-bill for their dinner at the upscale Le Cirque restaurant in New York while the Washington Post revealed that the President and a party of 65 had a $15,000-dinner at a steakhouse.

Herrera said that it would be more prudent for Boholano lawmakers not to travel abroad in the near future.

"Let us not add fuel to the fire in these times of difficulty," the vice governor said on Saturday.

But he lamented that the controversy over the expensive dinners has put the Philippines in a bad light.

Palace spokespersons had tried to justify the pricey dinners, saying they were not as lavish as critics tried to make them appear.

To this, Herrera said, "The damage has been done. Whether true or not ... government officials now appear insensitive and callous to the plight of the millions who are poor and hungry not only in the eyes of our own people but even before world opinion," Herrera added.

Herrera said that Chatto’s silence on the controversy would not leave Bohol unscathed by the controversy.

The vice governor added that the first district solon should defend the President if he believed there was nothing wrong with the dinners not only because he has been a reliable ally of President Arroyo but more importantly because he was handpicked to join the President's party.

But Herrera said he was grateful that Chatto did not foot the bill for any of the dinners.

"Considering that there are many poor people in Bohol's first district, it is good that Congressman Chatto showed prudence with his personal money," the vice governor added.

He also credited Chatto for not going on a spending binge during his foreign trips, even if he was among the millionaires in Congress.

Herrera nevertheless urged Chatto and Boholano solons Roberto Cajes and Adam Relson Jala to "make sacrifices by refraining from making any more foreign travels" until their present terms expire next year.

"They will not only save themselves from the wrath of our people but also spare Bohol of the negative publicity that comes with the lavish spending in this time of crisis," he added.

May we worship God, looking less to unburden our pains than to give Him glory.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-afZJ9_TIM

From the Inside Out

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring
You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring
You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

The real diva is back, with a soulful melody that really touches the heart. May Whitney find her rightful place back under the sun. A successful comeback is always a heart-warming affirmation that life is all about second chances, no matter how many times we fall down.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwlEkiiREFA&feature=channel

Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009
Japan Times

Overboard? Have PET bottle

KAGOSHIMA (Kyodo) A Japanese man who fell off a freighter clung to an empty 2-liter PET bottle until he was rescued by a ship off Kagoshima Prefecture's Yoron Island, Coast Guard officials said Friday, noting that was all he had to keep him afloat.

The 24-old-year man fell off the deck of an Okinawa-bound tanker Thursday morning. The crew of a Liberian-registered freighter found him about two hours later, according to the JCG officials.

They said there were several fortunate factors for the man, who was rescued about 25 km east of Yoron Island.

"He might have become much weaker without the plastic bottle and may not have stayed alive," one official said. "The freighter happened to pass nearby and it's likely the crew only spotted him because of the fine weather and clear visibility. The sea was tranquil and apparently the water temperature out there was quite high. It seems that everything worked in his favor."

Davao City outlaws spitting in public

By Dennis Jay Santos
Inquirer Mindanao
First Posted 16:22:00 08/15/2009


DAVAO CITY, Philippinesâ€"The city council here has outlawed spitting in public places.

On Tuesday, the Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) passed an ordinance that banned spitting in public places and would penalize violators with fines or a jail term.

The city council passed the ordinance not only to stem the "nasty habit but to protect the health of the people as well," Councilor Samuel Bangoy, the city law’s proponent, said.

Bangoy said they considered the measure timely in view of the pandemic of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, which could be transmitted by air from droplets of saliva.

In adopting the law, Bangoy said they studied the anti-spitting laws that France passed in 1880 and America in 1896.

During that time, the aim was also to control the spread of deadly diseases.

"Many of these diseases can spread by air and spitting," Bangoy, who chairs the city council’s health committee and a practicing radiologist, said.

"As you can see, there are people who will just spit anywhere like in the malls, cinemas or in public transports," he said.

Bangoy urged people to use a handkerchief or tissue paper, when sneezing or spitting.

"You can always use a handkerchief, a napkin and look for a proper place to discard your saliva," he said.

He said violators would be fined P100 for the first offense, P200 for the second offense and P300 for third offense.

"In case of insolvency, the court may grant a subsidiary imprisonment of not more than six months; or at its discretion, may slap both fine and imprisonment," Bangoy said.

"This can also bring about personal change and has ethical value as well," the councilor added.

Tony Ajero, a publisher of a local tabloid here, described the measure as "novel, timely and healthy in the light of so many reasons."

"It can also be good for tourism," he said.

Bohol in Taiwan's ice cream ad
August 15, 2009, 1:49pm
Manila Bulletin

The pristine white beaches, crystal-clear waters, and historical landmarks, are  among the attractions of Bohol that captivated the makers of DuRoyal, the number one ice cream brand in Taiwan, which led them to make it the location for their ad campaign shoot for 2009.

Every year, DuRoyal spearheads a unique promotional drive for their summer months, and this year they chose Bohol, Philippines for their main location.  The campaign also includes a raffle that would entitle one hundred lucky winners to a dream trip to the country.

According to Secretary Ace Durano of the Department of Tourism (DoT), whose team hosted the crew for the duration of their shoot, “The country’s exposure in an international commercial for a successful ice cream brand reaffirms our country’s position as a best-selling summer destination.  Our partnerships with leading companies continue to strengthen the Philippines’ international marketing links.”

Durano added that at the recent visit of DuRoyal executives in Bohol, they were impressed with the hospitality of the Boholanos as well as its serene and appealing environment.

Eduardo Jarque, Jr., Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions, also noted, “The producers commented that Bohol was the perfect choice for their ice cream brand’s latest ad campaign, to be launched in time for the summer holidays in Taiwan.”

DuRoyal was declared as the number one ice cream brand in Taiwan, according to Breakthrough Magazine, their country’s leading publication, and the International Center of Photography (ICT) Marketing Year Book.

Aiming at providing quality ice cream to the Taiwanese market because of its strict selection of the world’s finest ingredients for their products, DuRoyal maintains the highest standards.

In fact, DuRoyal’s bestselling product Crunch Pie overtook McDonald’s and Coca Cola as the leading consumer product in the Taiwanese market.

Their packaging design was awarded the Taiwan Packaging Star for five consecutive years, also receiving theWorldstar Excellence in the international competition.

Dir. Rica Bueno, Marketing Head for DoT Team Asia Pacific, said,“One of the highly-regarded consumer brands in Taiwan choosing the Philippines as the main highlight of their campaign is a privilege we are grateful for.”

The TV commercial is part of the joint promotions campaign of the DoT and DuRoyal to feature the RP's attractions through its ice cream product line.

Drunk man arrested after stealing police car in Hokkaido

Friday 14th August, 08:15 AM JST
Japan Today



SAPPORO â€"A 30-year-old man was arrested for theft on Thursday morning, accused of stealing a police car while the officers were conducting random alcohol breath tests.

Yasuki Mori, an unemployed resident of Sapporo, is accused of getting in the police wagon and driving off just after 4.30 a.m. The vehicle was unlocked and the engine left running to power the electric sign and other lighting set up to caution drivers to slow down for a possible breath test.

Officers in another car caught up Mori with about five minutes later, one kilometer away from the scene. He was arrested for theft and police are pursuing a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Mori told police he had been drinking at a bar and that he didn’t want to walk all the way home, about 7 kilometers away.

For Macho Men, Doctor Visits Are Less Likely
HealthDay
 
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter by Randy Dotinga
healthday Reporter â€" 1 hr 44 mins ago

TUESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- It's no secret that men don't like to go to the doctor, but new research finds they're especially likely to stay home if they're big on being macho.

Middle-aged men who are most devoted to traditional beliefs about masculinity are half as likely as other men to get routine medical care, researchers report.

It's not clear whether feelings about masculinity directly make men avoid doctor visits; the study only indicates that a cause-and-effect link might exist. Nor do researchers know what this might mean for men's health.

Still, the findings suggest that "we could help men's health if we could dismantle this idea that manhood and masculinity is about being invulnerable, not needing help and not showing pain," said study author Kristen W. Springer, an assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

Previous research has suggested that "men are less likely to go to the doctor than women, across the board," Springer said -- a notion she finds surprising because men are wealthier overall, potentially giving them better access to medical care.

Springer and a colleague launched their study to determine the role that ideas about masculinity play in the decisions men make about their health care.

Springer said she defines masculinity as a "stereotypical, old-school, John Wayne- and Sylvester Stallone-style" approach to life.

The researchers examined the results of surveys taken in 2004 by 1,000 white, middle-aged men in Wisconsin. The men answered questions about their beliefs regarding masculinity and disclosed whether they'd gotten recommended annual physicals, prostate checks and flu shots.

After adjusting the results to reduce the chance they would be thrown off by such things as a high number of married participants, researchers found that men who were the highest believers in masculine standards were 50 percent less likely to get the recommended care than other men.

Springer was unable to provide statistics about the percentage of men in each group who got the recommended care. Overall, though, fewer than half of all men did, according to the study.

There was one exception to the rule: Blue-color workers who had a high attachment to masculinity were more likely to get the recommended health care.

The study has limitations. All participants were white, and all had completed high school. And Springer said unanswered questions remain, such as whether spouses play a role through "support or nagging."

The findings were to be presented Monday at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in San Francisco.

Howard S. Friedman, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Riverside, said his research has found that less masculine men live longer than masculine men. But the new study doesn't show anything like that because it doesn't examine long-term effects on health, he said.

As for the gap between men and women when it comes to living longer, he said, "it would be a stretch, going beyond the data, to link it closely to men's increased mortality risk as compared to women."

Here's an interesting result of one question in the Great Male Survey 2009. This result pertains to the American sample, but I think the trend is similar in three other countries.

Q6: If there was no chance of your partner finding out, how likely would you be to cheat on her?
               
35%    Not at all likely, I might be tempted, but cheating violates my morals
35%    Not very likely, I might be tempted but I love and respect her too much
20%    Somewhat likely, but I would feel guilty nonetheless
8%           Very likely, she can't be hurt if she doesn't know about it    
2%            I already cheat on her

Was working abroad for a quarter of a century worth it?

By Mike Bolos Jr. | 08/08/2009 11:37 AM
ABS-CBN

It was by accident that I worked abroad. My younger brother asked me for placement fee. Unfortunately, he was illegally recruited, so I ran after the recruiter. As payment for my brother’s being gypped, the recruiter referred me to an employer in Saudi for a job in accounting.I was immediately interviewed and hired, without going through POEA. Since I already have a passport, I was able to leave for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in a week’s time.

I left for KSA in February 1980 to work for a small-sized Saudi-owned travel agency as an accountant. I was 27 years old then, completed a BS in Accounting. I have been working as an accounting clerk all through my college years until I left for Saudi Arabia. I have just taken the Board Examination the year before. I was already in Riyadh when I heard I passed.

I was young and idealistic. I wanted to work like I’ve been working professionally here in the Philippines and do things in KSA the way things are done in the Philippines. But I found out that Saudis are too hands-on and by nature do not trust others. At first, I did not realize that I had to keep a low profile especially since I come from a Third World country. They expected me to do only as I was told.

The first two years of my employment was worst than I could imagine. I was very miserable mainly because of the clash of cultures.  Fortunately, before the two years were up, I was able to find another employer.

When I was about to leave my first Saudi employer, he must have realized my worth and capabilities in spite of our bad start since he tried hard to make me stay on.

Early Years in Saudi Arabia
Many Kapampangans are migrant workers, in Manila or elsewhere in the Philippines or abroad. Hence, when I decided to work in KSA, working abroad was a common thing in our province.

What made me decide to work abroad? My salary was not enough to buy a house and lot and send my children to good schools. Few OFWs then would have long-term plans because Saudi jobs are very temporary. One usually gets to work for one renewal of a contract, totaling to about four years, then one need to look for another job. I was one of the few who worked there with practically no break for 25 years.

After my vacation, in the Philippines, in March 1982 I worked as an accountant in GAMMA Services LTD., another Saudi-owned but Western-managed company, which is into health care management. It was a progressive company and I was able to show my best. I rose through the ranks, first as senior accountant in 1983 then as accounting manager in 1985, as assistant corporate comptroller based in the head office in1987 until I retired in 2005.

While with GAMMA, I was also involved with its various companies and subsidiaries and was always a part of the opening crew or start-up team assigned to organize the finance and accounting department of its various projects so I went around and traveled a lot. As such, I held the position of Chief Financial Officer in the interim and stayed on until the project stabilized. When they hired my permanent replacement I went back to the home office.

My Children
When I left for Saudi, my two girls were four and five-year old, and later I also had a son. I think I did not fail as much with them, except for the fact that I was not there when they were growing up and when they needed a father most. I thought that since there were many children like them with fathers working away from home, either in Manila or abroad, they were kind of psychologically prepared to miss me.

Even when my children were still young, we traveled together often, around Asia, in the US as well as in Europe. I was able to send my two daughters to good schools. They did well academically. One of them completed a BS in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She is now married to a dentist, has two kids and she put up a drugstore. The other daughter completed a BS in Pharmacy and has electronics and internet business interests.

The problem I encountered with my children was in relating with them when they were growing up. They would be spending money left and right, as if to punish me. One was more responsible in handling financial matters, but our separation may have affected her adversely. For instance, to date she has not gotten married. The other daughter really maximized the credit card I gave her while she was studying abroad.

I think my daughter Michelle can better appreciate now this issue of migration and its social costs. She is now a professional. It is easier to say now that she wished mothers would not need to tell their children they have to work abroad to buy food and to send them to school â€" it is a lot easier for someone who is not financially poor or suffering. But we do not live in an ideal world. Definitely, they enjoyed the luxuries my work abroad provided them. It is definitely different from those who cannot afford such luxuries.

I know of OFWs who return to the Philippines for good only to be back in Saudi after six months, crying that it was difficult to tighten up belts and their children themselves told them to go back abroad.

My Relationship with my Wife
However, I failed as a husband. My wife and I got married in 1975, while I was still studying. It is possible that at that time my wife already had some feelings of insecurities. These feelings intensified because of our longer separation and lack of communication or miscommunication.

At that time, the main form of communication was letters and it took a month for letters to reach and get reply from Saudi. Telephone calls were expensive, costing $5/min. In fact, the best communication channel for a Kapampangan OFW is the “padala” or the “OFW postman” with OFWs and their partners networking sufficiently that every week, at least one OFW is leaving or returning to Saudi. With promotion that is not common for OFWs and for whom, compared with Westerners, it is tougher to achieve and therefore one’s performance has to be glaringly better, I became very busy with work forgetting to communicate with her.

I was away for two years for my first contract and could take vacation only once a year in my early years with GAMMA. After ten years, I was coming home more frequently, but I think it was too late to repair the damage in our relationship. I think I took my wife for granted, neglected her and failed to address this problem soon enough.

During our vacations with our children, I think my children were feeling miserable when for a tiny thing my wife and I would argue and fight. I felt we were just wasting money on our vacations.

Later on, our relationship further deteriorated and became so intolerable. It was like for as long as she holds our marriage contract she could not give up and continued messing up with my life even if we were actually separated because she has some “right” over me.

Thus, there was no choice but to part ways. In fact, the children helped finalize the separation. They talked to their mother and advised her to move on with her life. Much later, we got our marriage annulled. I think the children took it well. It was for the better for all of us and we all now enjoy peaceful coexistence.

Self-Development
I am a natural and fast learner. Even if there is not much opportunity to develop and advance oneself professionally in KSA, I learned to use the computer on my own in the early 80s, which helped me tremendously to succeed in the company.

To progress in my job, I had to learn international financial market and the financial derivatives which were still new in the 80s. I applied these knowledge in my job in the company, and as a result I got to shine in the job which is not an easy thing to do for someone from a Third World country.

KSA is very particular about nationality, whether Westerner, Asian and Middle Easterner. The employers’ qualifications are biased for Western qualifications as manifested in their different pay, different regard and greater respect for Western people.

To prove to my employer that the educational qualifications of Filipinos are just as good as any others, I corresponded with the University of Illinois to have my Philippine qualifications recognized. Fortunately, they gave me the equivalence and was allowed to take the US CPA State Board examination in 1995. I passed, and got accredited and therefore became “Western-qualified”. Thus, when I was managing the Finance Department of a big hospital, I was considered as good as any “Westerner.”

Interactions with the Filipino Community
Earlier in my career, I traveled a lot so while the Embassy Officials and Filipino leaders knew me, I was not visible in Filipino community affairs and organizations. However, being an executive in a big company with thousands of Filipino employees, it was unavoidable that I had to mingle with the Filipino community. I came out of my shell during the time of President Estrada when I joined e-Lagda. I became totally immersed in the community during the Overseas Absentee Voting campaign.

When already financially better off in the mid 80s, I started helping my hometown, particularly my high school, the Betis National High School in Guagua, Pampanga. I contributed financially to improve some school facilities (e.g. basketball court, rooms.). I also arranged for the shipment of books from the US through the Books for the Barrios Program.

Later, I gave scholarships to high school students and college students. These college scholars, from poor but deserving families and who have to pass qualifying exam, only had to study and did not have to worry over their tuition fees, books, uniforms and school materials and were given P3000 monthly allowance for their transportation and miscellaneous expenses. My daughter, Michelle, managed it for me. In return, they had to maintain 1.75 grade average. I also had scholars whom I did not even get the chance to meet in person like the scholar from Bulacan, endorsed by Center for Migrant Advocacy, who graduated cum laude.

I also donated to social programs like the Bahay Kalinga in Riyadh and the Bantay Bata. I once paid for Bahay Kalinga’s TFC subscription and provided tools and materials (e.g. computers, sewing machines, pots and pans, etc.) for its livelihood training program. The Bantay Bata used my donation for its anti-child abuse program. I also provided medicines for the embassy’s medical missions. I supported individual medical cases like cancer patients and contributed tickets for stranded OFWs needing repatriation.
I come from a poor family. This is my way of paying back society â€" my way of showing my appreciation for what I have accomplished.

Is it Worth Working Abroad?
Was working abroad worth it? I do not know. At my personal level, I know what I got out of it and what I achieved. I know I tried hard and proved I could do it. I worked hard in my profession and I think I was a financial success. But my marriage and my children suffered. But life is not all that perfect.

Hence, to me, working abroad doesn’t seem really worth it. If you were to ask me, I think it is still best to work here, close to one’s family. This is the best situation because money is not everything, especially for women. It is tough enough for a family when the father is not there. It is even tougher when it is the mother who is not around to hold the family together.

In terms of our country, ideally, we should find jobs here. There should be no need to go abroad. At the same time, people should be free to make choices, to travel and to find jobs when there are none here. But the social costs are just too great. The greatest advantage of working abroad then seems to be the financial gains.

OFWs should maximize their stay abroad. They should not waste their time and resources because they can do something, in fact a lot, with their time abroad that can contribute to their early return to the Philippines. They should continue learning and improving themselves so that they do not have to work abroad forever. They should maximize their stay abroad because they are paying such a high price for it. They should preserve and not squander their earnings (e.g. on consumer goods like electronics, cell phones, and signature goods).

They should save and invest their earnings well so that when they return home they would not have to start from zero. Savings no matter how small will eventually amount to something over time if done consistently and invested wisely.

Based on my experience, I would enjoin the OFWs now to exert everything possible to preserve their families at all costs. Knowing then what I know now, I would have done things differently to preserve my own. Despite the distance, the OFWs should try to be as close to their children as possible so that they will not become delinquent children.

It appears to me that the risk is high and the probability is great that the children may not grow up like those with both parents around them most of the time. In which case, is the social cost worth it? Most OFWs would say they had no choice.

I'm trying to retrieve the study on this. "Flirting" refers to the harmless mutual-attention giving that you give to someone at work without the intention of consummating the relationship in sexual intimacy. CNN calls it "platonic flirting." Especially for those whose marriage has been made monotonous by child-rearing, mortgage payments, bills, work, household chores, etc. the intentional activation of one's sexual energy through flirting with someone other than your spouse can be beneficial to your own marriage. That is, as long as your restored, enlivened sexual desires are expressed only with your spouse.

Agree? Disagree? Any experience of having your ero-zones tickled by someone other than your spouse and when you went home, you had the best sex of your life?

Fil-Ams not model minorities in the US
CRISTINA DC PASTOR, Philippine News
GMA
08/04/2009 | 05:35 PM


NEW YORK â€" Are Filipino-Americans model minorities in the United States?

Not quite, if Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at the John Jay College in Criminal Justice, would be asked.

In his book, "Filipino American Psychology: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice", Nadal said the 'Model Minority' tag is a myth; at best, it is a stereotype, and many Asian-Americans, among them Fil-Ams, "do not fit this model."

Nadal's work attempts to flesh out "misleading" data about Filipino-Americans in terms of family income, employment, and education. While Fil-Ams may appear to have higher median family income than other Asians, it points out that an average Fil-Am family has more members contributing to this income - 3.41 members - compared to an average Asian (3.08 members) and American (2.59 members) family.

"Thus, Filipino American families are making less money than others," Nadal said in his book.

Nadal, who is best remembered for mobilizing an online signature campaign against an episode of "Desperate Housewives," added that several studies have noted many Filipino-American youth have participated in gangs or gang culture and have been incarcerated at higher rates than East Asian Americans. [See: More signing up plaint vs ‘Desperate Housewives’ ]

While Fil-Am gang activity has declined from its apex in the 1980s, gangs have morphed into the DJ hip hop crews, with disc jockeys providing some kind of leadership in this particular subculture. As explained in the book, "They knew they don’t fit into the white culture, so they rejected it and embraced hip hop because hip hop was already embraced by gang culture."

Americanized Pinoys perform poorly in school
The more Americanized Filipino students become in the US, the worse they tend to perform in school. Such was the finding of a study of 10 urban communities across America conducted by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) of Washington, DC.

Hydra Mendoza of the San Francisco School Board pointed out that 36 percent of Filipino students in San Francisco dropped out of high school which, while still 8 percent below the district average, still constituted a cause for alarm amongst Filipino parents.

Read more

Among Asian American youth â€" specifically Chinese-, Korean- and Vietnamese-Americans - Fil-Ams tend to be more likely to get into trouble, according to the book, citing multiple research. They’re more likely to be arrested for curfew violation, truancy or other forms of “problem behaviors." They also tend to not do very well in school.

"Statistics have shown that second generation Filipino-American students have experienced higher rates of high school dropouts and lower rates of college admission and retention than East Asian Americans," Nadal said in his book.

Aside from that, previous research has supported that Filipino-Americans may have a higher prevalence of substance abuse than East Asian Americans.

It has also been revealed that Filipino-Americans have higher rates of HIV/AIDS and out-of-wedlock and teen pregnancy than other Asian American groups.

Employment and competence

In terms of employment, the book notes that Fil-Am male workers make "significantly less money" than Asian and American males even though they are better educated and speak English relatively well. A full-time Fil-Am male worker earns an average $35,560 compared to an Asian male ($40,650) and American male ($37,057).

"Despite the fact that many Filipino-Americans are well-educated, they do not receive the same levels of income and are often at a lower occupational status when compared to other Asian-American groups of similar education qualifications," Nadal noted in his book.

The book made reference to a study that states that Filipino-Americans are sometimes "categorized with marginalized groups" like African-Americans and Hispanics, and for that reason, “they may internalize inferiority and may not expect to succeed."

"Because Filipino-Americans may also have similar sociocultural outcomes as Black- or African-Americans and Hispanics or Latinos (eg, experiences with racism, teen pregnancy, gang involvement, and juvenile delinquency), they may believe they are not meant to achieve higher levels of education and instead are meant to remain in the working or lower social classes."

Studies have likewise shown that Fil-Am males have "higher rates of incarceration."

The book offers a number of reasons why Fil-Ams would fare poorly compared with other Asian-Americans within the same socio-economic status: racism, acculturation, colonial mentality, and the quest for material success. Add to that disconcerting brew “body image issues," with some Fil-Ams having a “need to be like the colonizer."

Nadal also discussed racial and ethnic discrepancy, with Fil-Ams showing closer connection with African-Americans and Latinos than with Asian-Americans to whom the Model Minority label is usually attached.

The book is a "valuable reference" for scholars, educators, mental health professionals and the average person who wants to get to know Filipino-Americans better, says Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D. of Teachers College-Columbia University, who wrote the foreword.

Sue says Nadal takes the reader into the life experiences of Fil-Ams - including the period of colonization, the impact of Catholicism, and the matter of skin color â€" and “provides us with a new framework of Fil-Am identity."

Ang Buyog

After the queen bee and the male drone mate, the male drone's genitals explode and snap off inside the queen! Ang naputol kuno nga penis ang function niya to plug the queen bee's genital to prevent other drones from fertilizing the queen.

The Praying Mantis

In one species of the praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, the male ejaculates as soon as its head is cut off by the female during mating. The female then eats up the body of the male.

Tarsier

Matud pa sa "Tarsier Man" nga si Lito Pizarras sa Corella Tarsier Sanctuary, makig-mate lang kuno ang captive male tarsier kung tagaan nimo siya'g pilian nga duha ka baje. Kinahanglan naa siya's mapilian unja mao ra pud to ijang i-mate. Kung usa ra kuno imong ipares niya, padayon na lang siya'g kapyot sa sanga ug isnabon ang baje. Luoy pud. Tsk, tsk.

Bohol livestock projects gains support from overseas Boholanos
By JUNE S. BLANCO
August 2, 2009, 7:48pm

Artificial insemination (AI) and livestock dispersal projects in Bohol will be further expanded with assistance from Conbusac (Conferederation of Boholanos, USA and Canada, Inc.) an organization of Boholanos residing in the US and Canada.

Conbusac President Carlos Cagaanan and Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) outlining their responsibilities in the expanded projects during the recently concluded rodeo and horse show which highlighted the celebration of July as Sandugo Month at the President Carlos P. Garcia Multi-Purpose Complex in Tagbilaran, capital city of Bohol province.

The MOA formalizes the expansion plans hatched during Conbusac’s “Sleepless in Seattle” 13th biennial convention at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington State, US, in early July.

As convention speaker, Aumentado noted the success of the ongoing AI and livestock dispersal projects as well as updates on the establishment of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in Bohol using the convergence strategy with Conbusac.

Proud of said projects’ successes and moved by an audio-visual presentation showing a farmer shedding tears of joy on receiving his first and very own carabao for keeps the confederation members began pledging more financial assistance for Bohol.

Aumentado had earlier said the carabao is a valuable and essential farm input that could spell the difference between a farmer’s being dirt poor and his being economically empowered.

With Conbusac’s cash donations, Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz, provincial veterinarian, purchased AI equipment and materials like liquid nitrogen tanks and thermos bottles for storing carabao and goat semen, as well as motorbikes for use by the technicians in going to Bohol’s remotest barangays to monitor the twin projects.

Lapiz said the AI project fast-tracked the livestock dispersal project, putting Bohol to the top in Central Visayas and third nationwide in 2007 where livestock production among provinces in the country is concerned.

With Bohol and Conbusac’s responsibilities in the expanded project laid out, Cagaanan and Nat Calacat, president of the Bohol Association of Washington State (Boawas) requested the province to open a trust fund in which they can deposit their solicited donations.

Run your household like a business
08/01/09
Inquirer.net BLOGS

WHEN personal finance coach Randell Tiongson asked the audience at the recent Money Sense Live’s Family Finance 101 seminar how many have made decisions they regretted later on, a number of hands went up. Randell was quick to admit that he, too, has made bad decisions in the past.

“People can be logical in business but illogical in the house,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s how we use money in the house that determines the quality of life. So treat your house like a business.”

Randell explains this further: “The household is an enterprise that operates like a business.” For instance, households have revenues (your income) and non-discretionary costs (bills). It needs efficient use of cash flow and wise allocation of resources over time. A household has assets and liabilities which must be taken into account in planning out one’s personal finances.

Just like a business, the household calls for people to make logical decisions and promote efficient operations. To do that, here are some valuable tips he offered:

1. Money that comes in must be bigger than what comes out.

2. Be objective-oriented.

3. Observe the 20/20 rule: Prepare for retirement 20 years before you actually need to retire.

4. Come up with a budget. Don’t take out wants; otherwise your budget will be like a New Year’s resolution that doesn’t get carried out. Prioritize needs.

5. Reduce consumer debt. “You can’t even start investing if you have liabilities.”

6. Use the liquidity ratio. “If the ratio of your expenses to income is 85 to 90 percent, that is too high. The solution is not always to increase income.”

7. Set goals.

8. Use the integrated portfolio approach for financial decision making. Don’t use emotions in financial planning, especially in investing.

Wise words from a wise family man.

CHILD OF THE SUN: Idja-idja, aho-aho!
by Ting Tiongco/MindaNews 
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
(Speech of acceptance as one of the Ten Outstanding Boholano Award (Tobaw)  delivered at the Tapok Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan awarding ceremonies on 25 July).

TAGBILARAN, Bohol (MindaNews/28 July) -- I accept this award both with great pride and humility. I dedicate this award to my late parents who came from Bohol; my father from Bilar, and my mother, a Manigque from Tagbilaran. My mother, who died a few months ago, lived 63 out of her 86 years in Mindanao. But she died a true Boholana, speaking Binol-anon to the end. I was not born in Bohol. Neither did I grow up here.  My parents made it clear to their children who were growing up in Mindanao that we are Bol-anons. Ang Bolanon, murag Amerkano. Maskin asa ka ma tawo, basta Amerkano ang imong tatay o nanay,  Amerkano ka lang guihapon. Ang Bol-anon, mao sad. Maskin asa ka matawo, basta Bol-anon ang imong kaguikan, Bol-anon ka lang guihapon. Mailhan man gud ang Bol-anon sa uban, kay tag-as man ug ilong.

I was often puzzled,  growing up as Bol-anon in Davao where a welter of cultures flourish; the moment my companions knew I was Bol-anon, I was immediately set apart as different from the rest. I was puzzled by the  saying ‘ idja-idja, aho-aho!’ often said in jest by classmates. And this was usually followed by the declaration that Bohol was ‘outside da Pilipins’. Predictably there ensued a typical schoolboy fistfight. Sinumbagay!

I often asked my mother what all this was about but she only told me to be proud of such things. There was a history and a culture behind this that she did not bother to explain because perhaps she knew that sometime in my life I would realize what it meant.

And indeed, I did. It happened the first time I came to Bohol to set up a health cooperative. I was warned that the Bol-anon attitude of ‘idja-idja aho-aho’ was against the basic principles of cooperativism. But setting up a hospital and health services cooperative in the land of my parents, ang akong yutang guinikanan, was a promise I made my father before he died.

So 15 years ago I landed in Tagbilaran, walked to a restaurant, and unthinkingly ordered more lunch than I could consume. I had the rest packed in a brown paper bag to give to a hungry street child.

Outside, I met a raggedy malnourished little boy and wordlessly handed him the brown paper bag. He looked suspiciously at me and asked what was in it. Learning it was food, he immediately ran away, shrieking ‘Di ko!’ (No!)

I was surprised, a bit disheartened. So I walked to the cathedral where I expected to find beggars. There I found an old woman sitting on the ground by the main door, in the heat of noon, clutching a rosary. This time I was more circumspect. I explained to her that I had ordered too much for lunch and I was loathe to see so much food wasted and I was wondering if she would accept the rest, assuring her that it was clean. She gladly took the brown paper bag, thanking me profusely. Then, as I was leaving, happy that no food was wasted, she called after me.

‘ Doy,’ ingon siya, ‘ pila man ni?’ (‘Doy,’ she asked, ‘how much is this?’)

I was floored. Only then did I realize what ‘idja-idja, aho-aho’ means.

It means the Bol-anon does not beg!

It means that I belong to a noble culture that believes Man must provide for himself and the community he belongs to. It means that we are free of the humiliating cultural muck of Mendicancy  that the rest of our country is drowning in.

It means that we believe in ourselves. In our own capacity to provide for our own needs through our own resources.

Happily, this is what cooperativism is all about. Self-sufficiency and pride in one’s own.

Then this could be very well our battle cry: ‘idja-idja, aho-aho!’. With this, from ‘outside da Pilipins’ we may be able to rebuild the Philippines, flattened by financial crises, sucked dry by unscrupulous politicians, debased in its own eyes by cultural pollution and disoriented by a demented media that foists the ‘Wowowee’ mentality on Filipinos  in massive daily noontime doses.

Idja-idja, aho-aho!

Mabuhi ang Bol-anon!

Mabuhi and Filipinas! 

[Dr. Jose “Ting” M. Tiongco, chief executive officer of the Medical Mission Group Hospitals and Health Services Cooperative-Philippines Federation,  writes a column, Child of the Sun, for MindaNews. He is author of two books, “Child of the Sun Returning” (1996) and “Surgeons Do Not Cry” (2008). The second book is available at UP bookstore, National bookstore and MindaNews]

Guv seeks DPWH endorsement for funding Bohol-Cebu bridge
Philippine Information Agency (PIA)

Tagbilaran City (31 July) -- Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado successfully goaded the Regional Development Council (RDC7) to prop up the move for the government's public works department to endorse another mega project here, during the recent full council meeting of the regional development body.

Aumentado, who has been so convinced about the feasibility of a multi-access friendship bridge that would cross the shallow channels of Bohol to Cebu has initially sought for grants for its feasibility study.

As soon as the feasibility study is done, a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) endorsesent for international funding would allow funding agencies to pore into the project.

Finally succeeding in getting a $3M grant from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of South Korea, Aumentado then took the privilege of seeking the RDC support to push the DPWH to endorse the project for funding.

Despite its non-inclusion from the prepared meeting agenda, Aumentado who sits as the host province's main representatve reported that the project has already gained a grant for its feasibility study.

Rising to the occasion, and to the mutual benefits both provinces can economically get from the proposal, RDC Chair and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia steered the council to yield in to the Aumentado request.

The plan, according to the Bohol governor is to put up a bridge which would connect Tugas Point in Getafe Bohol to the islets within the Danajon reefs and then off to Olango and then in Cordova Cebu.

Proposed to be a multi-access friendship bridge, the facility would be a conduit for three major development projects: an open transportation access for Cebu and Bohol land trips; a common channel for the fiber optic connection that would tap Bohol into the digital information superhighway and for further developments, a possible infrastructure conduit for sharing potable water for the requirements of highly urbanized Cebu City and its nearby areas.

Reporting further, Aumentado said he was already set to meet the South Korean Ambassador to thresh out the details of the project and for possible funding by the Korean International Cooperation Agency.

A staunch administration ally, Aumentado has been aggressively seeking the realization of high impact infrastructure projects wants this final act as an Administration legacy and a clear econmic investment of the people. (PIA) [top]

Tourism up in Bohol despite crisis

By Chito A. Fuentes
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:22:00 07/31/2009


TAGBILARAN CITY -- The tourism industry in bohol is on the upswing even when tourism was on a downturn in other places, according to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

During the 155th Bohol Day celebration at the Bohol Cultural Center in Tagbilaran City, the President said tourism arrivals have gone down even in leading tourist destinations in other countries due to the world economic crisis.

“But here in Bohol, tourism has gone up [by] 15 percent. Congratulations,” she told her audience composed mostly of government workers in the 2,000-capacity venue.

From 1.8 million visitors in 2004, the President said this rose to 3.14 million in 2008, which made tourism a $5-billion industry.

In her speech, President Arroyo talked about her mega projects in Bohol, including the Bohol irrigation project, the Bohol circumferential road improvement project, roll on-roll off ports and the airport project in Panglao that had already started.

The President arrived at the Tagbilaran airport 5:40 p.m. Tuesday and proceeded to the Amorita Resort in Barangay Tawala, Panglao where she met briefly with provincial officials.

Amorita is the fifth resort in Panglao island that hosted an overnight stay for the President. Ms Arroyo has stayed at the Alona Palm Beach Resort and Eskaya Beach Resort and Spa, both in Panglao; Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa in Bingag, Dauis; and Bohol Beach Club, which was the venue for her 2006 state dinner visit with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, the first state dinner outside Malacañang.

A marker was unveiled at the inauguration of the P20-million Bohol Medical Center Institute (BCMI) building in Barangay Dao.

The BMCI is a joint project of the provincial government, First Consolidated Bank Foundation, Bohol Chronicle-DYRD-Inyong Alagad Foundation and the New York-based Home Reach Foundation to give indigent and middle class families socialized medical and diagnostic services.