MikeLigalig.com

LOT FOR SALE

Basak is located near Booy.  The property is in front of Victoria Memorial.  It has clean title.  It's about 450 sq. meter@ Php2,500/sq. m.

Source:  GMA News



01/20/2011 | 05:28 PM


A Filipino flight attendant of Cathay Pacific died after a 12-hour flight from Italy to Hong Kong, an official of the airline in the Philippines said on Thursday.

Rosemarie Perez was found unconscious at the arrival hall of the Hong Kong International Airport at around 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, said Jan Agoncillo, Cathay Pacific's assistant marketing manager in the Philippines.

A report from Radio-TV Hong Kong quoted a spokesman for Cathay Pacific as saying that the attendant - a senior purser - did not report feeling unwell before collapsing.

In an email to GMANews.TV, Agoncillo said no irregularities were reported during the flight (flight number CX234) from Milan, Italy which arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport at around 6:20 a.m. on Thursday.

"Shortly afterwards, she was found unconscious in the arrivals hall," Agoncillo said. She added that Cathay Pacific is awaiting the autopsy report of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong, which pronounced the flight attendant dead on Thursday.

Agoncillo said the "Cathay Pacific management has contacted her husband in the Philippines and has arranged for her family members to come to Hong Kong."

She said Perez has been a cabin attendant for Cathay Pacific since 1998. â€" With Paterno Esmaquel II/VVP,

To all Tubag Bohol friends, I request your good hearts to offer special prayer for Aya san in remembrance of her second death anniversary. 

Aya san, you are dearly missed!

Our dearest cat Mocha is gone. He died peacefully few minutes ago. I guess he didn't want to be euthanized as he was scheduled for the procedure tonight. So long, my dearest Mocha. You will live in our hearts forever. I'll be so sad especially whenever I go to the garden because you are not here anymore to accompany me or Murage. I terribly miss you and love you, Mocha baby!

So long, Baby Mocha...      

Go Celtics go!

There's still 2 minutes to play but I can tell Celtics is winning!   

Partial unofficial result:

Mayor
1    BUEZON , Rodrigo Sr. P.    2,093
2    DUTERTE, Sara Z.    371,924
3    MARCELLONES, Magdaleno S.    1,561
4    NOGRALES, Prospero C.    153,735
5    SULAMIN, Rodrigo J.    1,853
Vice-Mayor
1    DE GUZMAN, Benjamin C.    101,260
2    DUTERTE, Rodrigo R.    421,792
3    MACARAEG , Roberto V.    2,171
MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD of DAVAO DEL SUR - DAVAO CITY - FIRST DIST
1    ABELLERA, Nilo Jr. M.    89,801
2    ANDOLANA, Domingo A.    9,067
3    ANTOLIN , Rodolfo F.    4,331
4    AVILA, Lester Lawrence T.    53,941
5    AVISADO, Wendel E.    117,188
6    BONGUYAN , Jo Anne M.    80,934
7    BORNEA , Inocentes Jr. R.    3,795
8    BRAGA, Pilar C.    79,594
9    CIRILO, Carlos J.    4,038
10    DE LOS REYES, Hector E T.    31,859
11    DOLOR, Shane L.    36,152
12    FUENTES, Eddie C.    9,357
13    GALICIA , Emmanuel D.    94,072
14    GALIDO, Arlex L.    3,064
15    GONZAGA, Edwin A.    6,737
16    HO , Jeff O.    63,190
17    IBUYAN, Edgar R.    94,320
18    LAVIÃ'A, Evelyn G.    54,089
19    LEONAR , Ranoelo C.    25,573
20    LIBRADO, Leah A.    96,885
21    LIM, Christian Jay D.    11,666
22    LU, Ferdinand C.    5,500
23    MACASAET, Ernesto Jr N.    11,093
24    MAGANDIA, Magompara M.    1,673
25    MANDING , Amil Bangsa T.    13,852
26    MILITAR, Napoleon T.    59,179
27    MOJICA, Prospero P.    33,469
28    PACONLA, Rogelio C.    1,947
29    PARILLA , Pablito P.    39,359
30    PONTERAS, Randy R.    13,532
31    QUITAIN, J Melchor V.    89,756
32    RAMIREZ, William I.    49,550
33    REYES, Stella Marissa V.    3,363
34    RIVERA, Benjamin Jr G.    7,386
35    SANTES , Joel A.    46,987
36    TABELO, Michael M.    1,609
37    VERGARA , Antonio H.    12,725
38    VILLARENTE , Rene Alexis P.    46,145
39    VIRADOR , Jose Joel G.    52,317
40    YAP, Alberto C.    3,299
41    YAP, Jocelyn P.    2,962
MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD of DAVAO DEL SUR - DAVAO CITY - SECOND DIST
1    ALCEBAR, Richard A.    2,737
2    ALEJANDRE , Alryan S.    63,783
3    ALTERADO, Ernie I.    47,086
4    ALTERADO, Senforiano Jr I.    22,573
5    AMBAN , Jose E.    15,380
6    APORTADERA, Angelo A A.    41,750
7    APORTADERA , Michael P.    58,174
8    APOSTOL , Dante L.    92,383
9    AQUINO , Leonardo Miguel T.    40,072
10    BANGOY , Gerald Anthony B.    58,685
11    BONGUYAN , Louie John J.    97,269
12    CABLING , Arnolfo R B.    74,837
13    CAGATIN , Leopoldo L.    40,080
14    CASILAO , Ariel B.    29,692
15    DAYAP, April Marie C.    60,162
16    DUREZA , Jimmy G.    60,630
17    GALIDO, Dino Ferdinand I.    5,953
18    LAPITAN , Lito B.    21,054
19    LUMANOG, Joji Jude J.    57,262
20    MONTEVERDE , Tomas Iv J.    74,084
21    NORIEGA , Rhoda F.    2,017
22    ORCULLO, Beethoven L.    28,750
23    ORCULLO, Nenita R.    50,708
24    PICHON , Anthony F.    24,319
25    RODRIGUEZ, Luis Jr Q.    21,835
26    SALVADOR- ABELLA, Marissa P.    62,973
27    SAUCEJO , Joseph P.    13,911
28    SEDERIOSA , Elvira J.    10,805
29    UNLA , Richard C.    3,731
MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD of DAVAO DEL SUR - DAVAO CITY - THIRD DIST
1    ABALLE, Lyndon G.    2,629
2    ADALIN , Magno Jr. G.    49,999
3    ADVINCULA , Victorio Jr. U.    53,954
4    AL-AG , Bernard E.    66,588
5    BALURAN , Conrado C.    57,858
6    BANTILES, Rogelio B.    3,081
7    BELLO, Karlo S.    82,905
8    CAINGLES , Salvador V.    24,251
9    CASUMPA , Genaro M.    6,857
10    DALODO , Domingo G.    37,787
11    DALODO-ORTIZ, Myrna G.    69,520
12    DOLOR , Allan L.    42,315
13    GERODIAS , Ernesto V.    1,614
14    GUILLEN, Daniel G.    6,312
15    GUTIERREZ , Lucio Jr. G.    1,777
16    LASAY , Samuel E.    4,343
17    LAYAO , Aldion N.    32,728
18    LOPEZ, Rene Elias C.    57,239
19    MANAOIS , Cecilio Jr. E.    1,704
20    MATA-MARAÃ'ON, Teresita C.    41,564
21    MONTAJES , Rogelio A.    1,558
22    PANTIG , Gregorio R.    41,093
23    REYES , Reynaldo P.    26,506
24    SABERON, Romeo Sr. C.    1,530
25    SANTANDER, Angelico Jr T.    17,907
26    SUCAYRE , Lolito O.    27,196
27    SUMANDANG, Allan Joy A.    7,188
28    TRINIDAD , Eduard B.    6,209
29    VILLAFUERTE, Jose L P.    66,104
30    ZOZOBRADO , Rachel P.    75,466

Mayor
1    AUXTERO, Restituto B.    10,935
2    ITEM, Juanario A.    10,544

Vice-Mayor
1    ARTIAGA, Robesito E.    8,665
2    AURESTILA, Marcos Q.    11,655

MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG BAYAN of BOHOL - TALIBON - LONE DIST
1    ARTIAGA, Lazaro E.    7,709
2    AUZA, Vicente P.    8,097
3    AVENIDO, Fortunato E.    7,504
4    AVENIDO, Marciano R.    6,993
5    AVERGONZADO, Joel A.    7,775
6    BUNADO, Melchor E.    6,231
7    CABANES, Fernando B.    2,544
8    DOMINGO, Eugenio A.    730
9    DULANG, Gershon N.    10,008
10    EVANGELISTA, Carlito Sr. V.    6,001
11    EVANGELISTA, Concordio R.    8,905
12    EVANGELISTA, Dave A.    10,088
13    EVARDO, Jose Wayne A.    7,844
14    GALARSE, Vicente Y.    8,385
15    PACULABA, Byrnah F.    6,238
16    PALANGE, Corcillano C.    10,758
17    QUIMSON, Epifanio F.    10,917
18    VALMORIA, Nomie T.    9,367

Hello, Amie dear, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! Enjoy your day and all the days of your life!  God bless you and your family!  Lavooo, dear!

source:  businessweek

Philippines Votes for President as Aquino Holds Lead in Polls
May 09, 2010, 1:37 PM EDT
More From Businessweek



By Francisco Alcuaz Jr.

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Voters in the Philippines choose a new president today with Benigno Aquino, the son of a former chief executive, holding a 2-1 lead over his closest rivals in the last pre-election poll.

The new president will inherit a government that has run a deficit in all but four of the past 24 years. Aquino, 50, who had no plans to run until the death of his mother and former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino in August, campaigned on a pledge to fight corruption, clamp down on tax cheats and create jobs through infrastructure spending.

Aquino and his main rivals, Manuel Villar, 60, and Joseph Estrada, 73, have focused on combating poverty in a nation where one in four people lives on less than $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank. The Philippines’ $167 billion economy ranks 13th among 17 in Asia tracked by Bloomberg.

“We’re slipping from emerging market to frontier market,” said Paul Joseph Garcia, chief investment officer at ING Investment Management Ltd. in Manila. “We’re now being compared to Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Pakistan; we’re not even in the league of our Southeast Asian peers. The biggest challenge for the next president will be on the fiscal front.”

The deficit rose to a record 298.5 billion pesos ($6.5 billion) last year and the government says balancing the budget could take until 2016, the end of the incoming president’s term.

Finance Secretary Gary Teves has proposed raising the value-added tax to 15 percent from 12 percent to fund the roads, ports and airports needed to compete for foreign investment. The Philippines received $1.5 billion in foreign direct investment in 2008, compared with $7.3 billion for Malaysia, $9.8 billion for Thailand, and $8.05 billion for Vietnam, according to Association of Southeast Asian Nation statistics.

VAT Raise

Raising the VAT is “very necessary,” said Marvin Fausto, who oversees $10.7 billion as chief investment officer at Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. in Manila. Improving collection will be hard because corruption is “institutionalized” at the tax bureau, he said. “I’m not sure they can fix it during their term.”

The Philippines ranked 139th out of 180 by Berlin-based graft watchdog Transparency International. Outgoing President Gloria Arroyo has faced three impeachment attempts over allegations of graft, human rights violations and of rigging her 2004 re-election.

She took office after Estrada, a former movie star, was convicted on corruption charges. He was later freed from jail by a presidential pardon.

Aquino has vowed to prosecute Arroyo when she loses presidential immunity. Villar was ousted as Senate president after a fellow member alleged he used his influence to divert a highway so it ran through his property. He has denied any impropriety and the Senate hasn’t voted on the censure motion laid by 12 of the 23 senators, including Aquino.

Cheats ‘Known’

There is “no point” in raising taxes until the rate of collection can be improved, Aquino has said. He says he can raise more revenue “practically instantly” because he has the will to chase evaders, whose identities he says are known.

About 1.2 million people left the country to work abroad in 2008, 14 percent more than the year before, according to government data. Overseas Filipinos sent home $16.4 billion that year and $17.3 billion last year, accounting for about 10 percent of the economy.

Aquino was supported by 42 percent in a poll conducted by Social Weather Stations, a Quezon City-based research institution, for BusinessWorld newspaper. Estrada had 20 percent and property tycoon Villar 19 percent in the poll, which was conducted May 2-3 and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Aquino had 38 percent in a poll taken April 16-19 by the same institution. Villar had 26 percent, while Estrada was on 17.

The nation this year switched to electronic balloting to reduce the disputes and cheating that went with manual counts. A week ago, voting machines malfunctioned in tests.

The Commission on Elections raced to replace flash memory cards in all of its 76,000 machines, saying some may only be installed and tested today.

--Editor: Ben Richardson.

To contact the reporter on this story: Francisco Alcuaz Jr. in Manila at falcuaz@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Austin at billaustin@bloomberg.net

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Tita Lee!!! 

Thank you so much for your friendship!  Lavooo!

Villar admits Guido Delgado is ‘NP supporter’
GMANews.TV
GMANews.TV - Thursday, April 29

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Nacionalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. admitted Wednesday knowing former National Power Corporation president Guido Delgado as his supporter but refused to take any sanction against the latter.

"Kilala ko si Mr. Guido Delgado, isa syang dating gabinete ni FVR (former President Fidel Ramos), kaya lang hindi ko alam ang issue na yan (I know Mr. Guido Delgado, he was with FVR’s former Cabinet, but I don’t know that issue)," he told reporters during an event organized by the Filipino Hairdressers Cooperative in Pasay City.

Delgado released to media on Tuesday copies of a purported report on Liberal Party presidential bet Sen. Benigno Aquino III's mental health. The report was later found out to be fake.

Villar said Delgado's move was without NP's consent but he could not sanction the latter because he was just a volunteer.

"You cannot remove a volunteer kasi nagbo-volunteer lang yan (because he is merely serving as a volunteer). Wala akong karapatang gawin ang anuman kay Guido dahil siya'y isang citizen na volunteer at kung ano ang gusto niyang gawin ay gagawin niya (I have no right to impose anything on Guido because he is a citizen volunteer, and he can do what he wants to do)," he said.

Villar added that he sees nothing wrong with Delgado's decision to come out with the report.

"I have yet to read the report but to be fair, what if he was right?...You are already concluding na meron siyang ginawang masama, e hindi ko pa nga alam. Paano kung mabuti yung ginawa niya (that he did something wrong, but I don’t know about that yet. What if he did something that was good)?" the senator said.

Villar reiterated that NP does not engage in black propaganda. "Ako ang naliligo sa black propaganda (I’m the one awash in black propaganda)," he said. â€"JV, GMANews.TV

By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:24:00 04/30/2010

Filed Under: Inquirer Politics, Eleksyon 2010, Benigno Aquino III, Manny Villar

MANILA, Philippinesâ€"Former National Power Corp. president Guido Delgado Thursday said Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was “lying” and was “wrong” when the Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer accused his wife of starting the e-mail chain of a psychiatric report showing Aquino was “mentally unfit” to lead the country.

“I flatly deny Senator Aquino’s accusation and demand that he retract his statement and that he apologize to my wife and my family,” Delgado said in a two-page statement sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“Senator Aquino cannot fathom the deep hurt he has caused my family because he does not have a wife or children. If he wants to hurt me, he has to hit me. He should be man enough to face me squarely and not to pick on my wife who was only going out of her way to verify the report,” Delgado added.

Delgado is a supporter of Aquino’s rival, Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Sen. Manuel Villar.

Aquino and his party said that it was Delgado’s wife, Joy, who started the e-mail chain of the first psychiatric report that cast doubts on the LP leader’s mental fitness.

Delgado said that the e-mail was sent “in confidence and good faith to Dan Songco, a close friend and Noynoy supporter.

“I have been informed that the same e-mail was forwarded to Rapa Lopa (Aquino’s cousin) to precisely verify the psychiatric report. Dan Songco informed me that he never said that it was my wife who made the report,” Delgado said.

“I would like to remind Senator Aquino again that no amount of denial and scare tactics could obfuscate from the public mind any amount of doubt the report has raised regarding Senator Aquino’s mental health. It is the duty of every voting Filipino to know the qualifications and readiness of public officials if they are fit to perform their official duties,” he said.

Delgado released the report to the media on Tuesday and admitted that he did not verify it. He claimed that the report was brought by a messenger to Villar’s volunteer office in Mandaluyong City.

Delgado said in his statement that last Tuesday, when he went public with the “unverified psychiatric report,” was his and his wife’s 25th wedding anniversary.

“She did not know what I was about to do and she was so upset and she cried because we have many friends who support Senator Aquino,” he said.

Kaluoy sa inahan, gi apil-apil sa pagpangampanya!  Hahay!

MANNY VILLAR BRINGS OUT THE BIG GUNS! HIS MOM, CURING UMIYAK AND SISTERS DEFENDING VILLAR

Aquino tags Villar volunteers

E-mail traced to wife of ex-Napocor head Delgado
By Philip Tubeza, Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:13:00 04/29/2010

Filed Under: Inquirer Politics, Eleksyon 2010, Elections, Benigno Aquino III, Manny Villar

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MANILA, Philippinesâ€"The wife of former National Power Corp. (Napocor) president Guido Delgado started the e-mail chain of the first psychiatric
report that cast doubts on the mental fitness of Liberal Party standard-bearer Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, the presidential candidate and his party said Wednesday.

Aquino particularly mentioned Joy Delgado, the wife of the former Napocor president, a volunteer of the camp of Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manuel Villar.

“The wife reportedly started the first e-mail on this issue…So, this is the second time and we are saying that there is already malicious intent. They’re open for legal action,” Aquino said in Calumpit, Bulacan.

He said a mistake that happened once might be forgiven easily. “(But) it looks like this is the second time and it was really malicious. That is wrong and we should not let this pass easily,” he added.

The first report was followed by another, also found to be bogus, which Delgado himself made public on Tuesday.

LP spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the party had gotten hold of the e-mail showing Joy as the source of the first fake psychiatric report, which was reported in the news on April 8.

“We have this e-mail as early as the date stated and we have kept this under wraps for a long time now. But considering that Guido Delgado maliciously and irresponsibly lent his name to this second fake report as part of their continuing campaign to taint Senator Aquino, we are constrained to release this e-mail,” Lacierda said.

Joy’s e-mail

The e-mail of Delgado’s wife, forwarded by Lacierda to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, showed that she received it from someone. She asked if the signature of Fr. Tito Caluag, who signed the first report, was genuine.

“I got this in the e-mail, just now. I have never been one to forward destructive e-mails unless verified. But looking at Fr. Tito’s signature, as far as I can recall, it does look authentic. Unless of course, somebody did a copy-paste. Can you verify this with him please? I seem to have lost his mobile number,” her e-mail said.

An attachment to the mail was the fake evaluation of Aquino by Caluag.

Bum steer

In Tacloban City on Tuesday night, Aquino said the former Napocor president fell for a bum steer (nakuryente) when he presented a fake psychiatric report that said the former suffered from depression and melancholia in college.

“That’s it. Napocor ha,” Aquino said while laughing when asked if Delgado was given a bum steer.

Aquino said his detractors were getting so desperate that they were willing to believe anything, even unverified reports.

“They might have been set up. But the point is, they’re getting so desperate that they used it,” he told reporters at the Leyte provincial capitol.

Depression, melancholia

Delgado came out with a report on Tuesday showing that Aquino voluntarily sought psychiatric treatment when he was 19 years old while his father was detained at a military camp for political crimes.

The report said Aquino, then taking up Economics at Ateneo de Manila University, was found to be suffering from depression and melancholia.

“The patient has complained of hostility, anger and being openly punitive,” said the report that was purportedly signed by Jesuit priest Jaime Bulatao, a psychology professor at Ateneo.

Bulatao and the Ateneo Department of Psychology that supposedly conducted the test on Aquino declared the report bogus.

Aquino said his critics were even spreading lies that he had a heart ailment or that he was suffering from epilepsy.

Faith in the public

“There’s really no more sense, rhyme or reason. We could have talked about our platforms, if they have one. Maybe they don’t,” he said.

Aquino said his critics might have learned their dirty tricks from Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

“He was the one who said something like ‘A lie repeated often enough might be [believed by] some [as the] truth,’” he said.

He said his political opponents were coming up with black propaganda “to create doubt [about his mental fitness] but I have faith in the public.”

Aquino said he never had Bulatao as a professor at Ateneo.

Escudero defends Aquino

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero Wednesday dismissed the allegations that Aquino was mentally unfit to become President.

Escudero said that the second purported psychological exam on Aquino was just part of the mudslinging and character assassination that happen during the election period.

“Maybe they no longer have any other issue against Noynoy. That’s why they’re using this issue. But Noynoy has already addressed it and there is no longer any need to explain this again,” Escudero said in an interview.

He said Aquino could answer all the allegations because these were not true.

Escudero said that in the years that he had worked with Aquino, the senator did not show any disturbing behavior that would have raised concerns about his mental health.

“I would not be helping him and would not have endorsed him if these allegations were true,” he added.

Enrile vouches for Aquino

An unlikely defender of the LP candidate was Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. Enrile is seeking reelection under former President Joseph Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

“Even if I’m from the PMP, let’s be fair with one another. I don’t think you can consider Noynoy mentally deficient, otherwise he would have shown that in his work as a senator of the country,” he said.

Enrile turned the tables on Aquino’s principal accuser, saying Villar could be the one suffering from a “physical problem.”

“Perhaps, he has atherosclerosis (building up of plaque in the arteries) because he’s been spending a lot of money yet more and more issues have been floating against him. And his ratings are going down. Of course, you will be stressed,” the PMP senatorial candidate said.

Last week, Estrada and Enrile presented documents purportedly showing that Villar had pressured the Securities and Exchange Commission and Philippine Stock Exchange officials into releasing the lock-up shares of his family’s Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc.

The public offering raised some P26 billion, P5 billion of which Villar is now using to fund his campaign, Enrile said. Villar has denied any wrongdoing.

Where there’s fire ...

Where there is smoke, there is fire, said presidential candidate Richard Gordon when sought for comment on Wednesday about the second psychiatric evaluation of Aquino.

Gordon said: “Why does it (the question on Aquino’s mental state) keep coming back?”

Gordon said he was willing to submit himself to a psychiatric test to show he is fit for the presidency, but he also challenged fellow presidential candidates to submit themselves to drug testing.

In Unisan, Quezon, Estrada told reporters that he had already submitted himself to a psychiatric exam.

“And I think I don’t need [one]. My wife is a psychiatrist. If there’s basis, I’m still willing to submit myself to a psychiatric examination,” said Estrada, a PMP’s presidential candidate.

Stress test, too

Villar and his running mate, Loren Legarda, renewed their call for all presidential and vice presidential candidates to take physical and psychiatric tests.

In separate interviews, they both agreed that the next president and vice president should be physically and mentally fit to accomplish many things in government with much more ease.

Legarda said that besides the “mental and physical stress tests,” the presidential and vice presidential candidates should be willing to “confess their habitsâ€"good or badâ€"to voters.”

Villar said everyone’s assumption was that candidates for higher office were “ready” to lead the country.

“You will be the commander in chief and it is necessary that we are physically and mentally prepared for the presidency,” he said. With reports from Christian V. Esguerra, Michael Lim Ubac, Edson C. Tandoc Jr. and Norman Bordadora

my home made noodles


gihimo'ng chicken noodle soup. gibutangan pod nako'g carrots ug udlot sa swiss chard.

note:  mas maayo pa palit nalang ug noodles kay pirte ka hago magbuhat noodles.

Nagbuhat ko'g Atsara two or so weeks ago.  Daghan naman gud ko'g ma harvest na fennel so I decided to pickle them.  I bought half of raw papaya kay mahal bya.  Half lang gani nakabayad ko'g almost 4 dollars!  

Nalimot ko'g hulagway sa shredded fennel pero mao ni itsura sa fennel:





Mao ni ang gi shred na nako na half papaya:



Gisagul nko ang shredded papaya and shredded fennel with other veges like carrots, peppers - red ang green:





Gahimo dayon ko'g pickling brine- vinegar, salt, sugar, spices, herbs/aromatics:



Viola!  Finish product:

Hello Joan!  I am wishing you the happiest birthday ever and may you have a grace-filled birthday and the days to come!  God bless your whole family, too! 

Happy birthday, Kods!  May you have more of God's blessings today and everyday of your life! 

Thank you for sharing your knowledge to us from farming/gardening to analyzing dreams and more!  And most of all, thank you for your friendship!   

To my dearest sisters, Lumine and Icel, happy birthday!  May God continue to bless you always! Thank you for being such respectful and loving sisters!  I love you both very much!

Ate Ging

I am kindly asking for your prayers for the speedy recover of Lumine and Mamatt.  They were admitted to the hospital two days ago due to diarrhea.  They suspected it was the egg sandwich they ate in SM. 

Thank you all!

Below is Lumine's text message to request for your prayers:

LUMINEMARGINET (Phils): (February 12, 2010 16:05:47)
Te,ask 4 more prayers 2 our TB friends 4 Mamatt's recovery d soonest.He still has wet greenish discharge.Last nyt,he was crying,"mommy,its yayay.Lets go home," D nurse gave him skin test 2 check f he has allergy kay naay addtnal intravenous med na ibutang.Looy kaau paminawon.

Balik na Jams!

Go Saints!!!

(CNN) -- A major earthquake struck southern Haiti on Tuesday, knocking down buildings and power lines and inflicting what its ambassador to the United States called a catastrophe for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

Several eyewitnesses reported heavy damage and bodies in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where concrete-block homes line steep hillsides. There was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening, but the U.S. State Department has been told to expect "serious loss of life," department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington.

"The only thing I can do now is pray and hope for the best," the ambassador, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN.

Pictures sent to CNN's iReport show homes and small businesses in Haiti that have collapsed.

Are you there? Submit an iReport

The magnitude 7.0 quake -- the most powerful to hit Haiti in a century -- struck shortly before 5 p.m. and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It could be felt strongly in eastern Cuba, more than 200 miles away, witnesses said.

Experts warned of earthquake risk on Haiti

Mike Godfrey, an American contractor working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said "a huge plume of dust and smoke rose up over the city" within minutes of the quake -- "a blanket that completely covered the city and obscured it for about 20 minutes."

Witnesses reported damaged buildings throughout the capital, including the president's residence and century-old homes nearby, and The Associated Press reported that a hospital collapsed. President Rene Preval is safe, Joseph said, but there was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening.

He said an official of his government told him houses had crumbled "on the right side of the street and the left side of the street."

"He said it is a catastrophe of major proportions," Joseph said.

Impact Your World: How you can help

Frank Williams, the Haitian director of the relief agency World Vision International, said the quake left people "pretty much screaming" all around Port-au-Prince. He said the agency's building shook for about 35 seconds, "and portions of things on the building fell off."

"None of our staff were injured, but lots of walls are falling down," Williams said. "Many of our staff have tried to leave, but were unsuccessful because the walls from buildings and private residences are falling into the streets, so that it has pretty much blocked significantly most of the traffic."

Read what people in Haiti are saying via social media

Haiti's government is backed by a U.N. peacekeeping mission established after the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004.

The headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Port-au-Prince collapsed, a U.N. official told CNN.

There was no immediate report of any dead or wounded from the building, but Alain Le Roy, the undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations said of the 9,000-member, Brazilian led-force, "For the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for."

Outside the capital, several people were hurt when they rushed to get out of a school in the southwestern city of Les Cayes, said the Rev. Kesner Ajax, the school's executive director. Two homes in the area collapsed and the top of a church collapsed in a nearby town, he said, but he did not know of any fatalities.

Les Cayes, a city of about 400,000 people, is about 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince.

The quake took place about 6 miles (10 kilometers) underground, according to the USGS -- a depth that can produce severe shaking. At least 10 aftershocks followed, including two in the magnitude 5 range, the USGS reported.

Appeals for aid after quake strikes Haiti

Jean Bernard, an eyewitness in Port-au-Prince, told CNN the city had no electricity Tuesday evening. The first quake lasted 35 to 40 seconds, he said.

"A lot of houses [and] buildings went down, and people are still running all over the streets," Bernard said. "People are looking for their wives, looking for their husbands and their kids. It's scary."

Luke Renner, an American staying in Cap-Hatien, a city nearly 100 miles north of Port-au-Prince, said he was sitting at his home when "the whole world started to shake."

"It felt like our whole house was balancing on a beach ball," Renner said. "We heard the whole community screaming and in an uproar during that whole 20- to 30-second window."

"I haven't seen any structural damage here," Renner continued. "With the sun setting it may be difficult to tell. In the morning we'll know for sure."

Because of the earthquake's proximity to the capital, and because the city is densely populated and has poorly constructed housing, "it could cause significant casualties," said Jian Lin, a senior geologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

In Washington, President Obama said the U.S. government would "stand ready to assist the people of Haiti." At the Pentagon, the U.S. military said humanitarian aid was being prepared for shipping, but it was not yet clear where or how it would be sent. A U.S. aviation source said the control tower at the Port-au-Prince international airport collapsed, possibly hindering efforts to fly relief supplies into the country.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters that Washington is offering "our full assistance" to Haiti."

The deputy chief of the U.S. mission in Haiti, David Lindwall, told Clinton that he saw "significant damage" from the quake and said U.S. officials there expect "serious loss of life," Crowley said.

And Clinton's husband, former President Clinton -- now the U.N. special envoy for Haiti -- said the world body was "committed to do whatever we can to assist the people of Haiti in their relief, rebuilding and recovery efforts."

The United States has been heavily involved in Haiti commercially, politically and militarily for most of the last century. U.S. intervention under Clinton restored Aristide to power in 1994 after a 1991 coup, and a U.S. jet hustled him out of the country again in 2004 following a rapidly spreading uprising against his government.

The disaster is the latest to befall the country of about 9 million people, roughly the size of Maryland. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and among the poorest in the world.

With people stripping the trees for fuel and to clear land for agriculture, the mountainous countryside has been heavily deforested. That has led to severe erosion and left Haitians vulnerable to massive landslides when heavy rains fall.

Hurricane Gordon killed more than 1,000 people in 1994, while Hurricane Georges killed more than 400 and destroyed the majority of the country's crops in 1998. And in 2004, Hurricane Jeanne killed more than 3,000 people as it passed north of Haiti, with most of the deaths in the northwestern city of Gonaives.

Gonaives was hit heavily again in 2008, when four tropical systems passed through.

In addition, a Haitian school collapsed in November 2008, killing more than 90 people and injuring 150 -- a disaster authorities blamed on poor construction.

Eighty percent of Haiti's population lives under the poverty line, according to the CIA World Factbook.

source:  CNN

Maring, my dear, happy birthday to you!  May your new year (and our new year too!  ) be more blessed and be more colorful like the beauty of nature you capture in your camera!  May you be granted with the desires of your heart and may all your wishes come true!  Lavooo!

Aylabeet! 

Bohol Welcome Song

Father R, I felt a profound happiness and pride to celebrate with you in spirit your 25th year as God's servant.  May you continue to be blessed as you bless other people.  May peace, joy and love be with you always, Father! 

Thank you so much, Father for all your priestly service to humankind.

Today is the birthday of Mari, the second member of TB (next to Mike L.).  Let us all wish her a happy birthday! 

Mari dear, may God continue to bless you!  Dear, recycled birthday pic sa lang kay kamulo pa ko'g buhat sa imong cake. 

Here's my version of humba.  Actually this is from my email to jamo2x kay nag ask man sya ug recipe ani adtong mid July. I copy ko na lang aron madali. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Jams, here's my wa dinhi wa didto recipe for humba.  ambot kon makapasar ba kaha ni sa akong lola (dugay nang namatay) kon nahitabong natilawan ni sya but daghan nailad na liwat kuno ko sa akong lola kay kamao mobuhat ug humba. hahaha pwera bujag!

ayaw ko'g ipa hatag ug measurement ha kay wa jud ko ana but mag try ko'g jama2x sa measurement.

pork legs, let say about 3 to 4 pcs. or about 7 to 10 lbs., sliced
soy sauce, 1/4 cup
garlic, 5 ka dagko jamo'ng piraso (or 10!)
bay leaves - 4 leaves
corn pepper (i think we call this pamenta), ground and whole
vinegar or suka, 1/4 cup (ingon sa akong mommy lahi ang suka sa vinegar kay ang suka gikan sa tuba.  ayaw supak!)
add a hint of lemon juice just to be cool.

brown sugar, about 2 table spoons
red wine, about 1 to 2 cups (optional)
pork or beef broth or just plain water
pork cubes
cooking oil

now let's get cookin' but first let's prep the meat.  the night before or at least 6 hours, marinate pork legs with the first 7 ingredients.

once ready to cook, in a huge pot, depending on the amount of meat you are gonna cook (kadaghan ba'g adlib oi!), of course, heat the cooking oil.  once starting to smoke, add brown sugar and keep stirring to avoid the sugar from burning.  you just want to caramelize the sugar, not make tira-tira out of it! hehehe  so padayon ta.  once the sugar is caramelized, add the meat excluding the marinade, though you have to reserve it.  brown the meat and then add the marinade, and the rest of the ingredients.  bana-banaa lang imong liquid igo lang ma cover.  imong lat-an or if you have pressure cooker, mas dali but the conventional cooking method is just fine, even better daw.  season to taste with salt and maybe more pepper.  if you use pork cubes, you may add too.  there's a pork cube called Herbox  that has no MSG. (consider that as a comercial break nang Herbox! hehehe).  Keep cooking until most of the liquid is reduced and that it looks like the humba served in fiestas in Bohol.  Check if you need to add vinegar or other seasoning like salt and pepper. 

Optional:  you may want to add whole boiled eggs and friend bananas.  Add the fried bananas towards the end kay aron di malata pero kon sab-a imong gamit, hala at the middle of cooking kay di na dali-dali malata. You may also add black beans which I highly recommend.  If you are adding black beans, go easy on the salt and soy sauce because canned black beans are really salty.

That's it!  Serve hot with nilung-ag na rice. 

sige sibat nako kay adto pa ko sa akong serbisyo publiko sa simbahan.

should you have questions, ask lang mo. 

Father R, as promised, I am "stealing" your video from Raquel's Welcome to my kitchen thread so we have easy access to your recipe.

How To Cook Escabeche - From The Working Man

Vince, happy birthday to you!  Bisan baha basta birthday lang jud gihapon pasalamat sa mga grasya!

God bless you always!  Thanks for being a good brother here in TB!

Exactly a year now, TB was in great grief due to the sudden death of a very dear friend Aya san aka Orchids.  She was still blogging here that same day then few hours later she was gone.  Stroke at a very young age.  Gone forever. 

She was a loving wife and a mother of two girls and a boy. Her family, especially her children were everything to her.

She was a very dear friend, a loving and generous friend.  Often times we find people saying good things about somebody when he or she is gone already but what I am saying here is really true.   A few members of TB had the chance to meet her in one of the EBs in Cebu can attest to this.  Tita Sol aka Langgamtamsi can attest to this.  I can attest to this from our conversation in the public forum, and privately.  We all can attest to this in her posts here.  And she was funny too - in a good way! A woman of substance...

She loves flowers.  Orchids were her most favorite among all flowers.

About the author:

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

For more info about Dr. Ting Tiongco, please see other thread, per link below:

http://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=21391.0

source:  goodnewspilipinas.com, dated 8/30/09

Filipino-American US Deputy Marshal Roland Ubaldo is now the official spokesman of the US Marshals Service in New York.

The 31-year-old federal officer also promoted in July to a supervisory rank led federal marshals in the widely-covered seizure of the $7.8-million Manhattan penthouse of multi-billion Ponzi swindler Bernard Madoff and the eviction of his socialite wife Ruth.

“My bosses said they liked what they saw and how we handled the media,” said Ubaldo, referring to the smooth and orderly seizing of the luxurious penthouse and his TV appearance addressing members of the press on the stairs of Madoff’s Upper East apartment building last July 2.

Ubaldo, whose official title is now Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal, was born to Filipino immigrants Rolando Ubaldo of Singalong, Manila and Grace Mortel Ubaldo of Quezon City. Both parents are retired New York City employees and now reside in Florida. His younger brother is connected with Sony Music Entertainment in New York, while a sister works at a Pennsylvania insurance firm.

He was only 10 the last time he set foot in the Philippines. “I can hardly remember it, I was so young,” said Ubaldo, who doesn’t speak Tagalog but understands it “very well.” “But I want to go there again one day.”

Ubaldo took criminal justice at Middlesex County College in New Jersey while working as night manager at Embassy Suites Hotel, also in Middlesex. After graduation, he served the US Marine Corps for six years before joining the U.S. Marshals in 2001.

“The US Marshal service is very prestigious and not many people know it’s the oldest law enforcement agency in the country,” he said.

source:  goodnewspilipinas.com
Posted on September 1st, 2009


Philantrophist Irene K. Yusingco joined the ranks of other great Filipino humanitarians in the country after being bestowed the 2009 Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Award.

The award, named after Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa, who embodied selfless humanitarian work throughout her entire life, was created to give honor to the men and women who emulate the ideals of the late humanitarian â€" also known before her death as “The Living Saint” â€" in the service of the poor.

The annual tribute is given by the AY Foundation of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, and the Junior Chamber International Manila (Jaycees).

“The lives of those who devote themselves to serving and uplifting the lives of the poorest of the poor in our society are incredibly inspiring. To sustain such selfless act of charity requires an extraordinary soul indeed,” AY Foundation Inc. Chairman Alfonso T. Yuchengco said in his message. “In our 22nd year of giving the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Award, we will once again commend another soul who has chosen the arduous yet consecrated path of lifelong charity. It is heartwarming to know that Blessed Teresa lives on in the lives of these people.”

Mark Steven S. Ong, president of the Manila Jaycees, said that the award also embodies the creed of their group that ‘Service to Humanity is the Best Work of Life.’

“Nowhere is that better demonstrated than through the work of individuals to whom we bestow this award,” he said.

Yusingco was chosen to receive the honor this year for her work in addressing the needs of the less fortunate, which started with the caring of her six younger siblings when their mother died during the first World War. Since then, she has opened her heart and her home in Cebu City to the homeless, to the abused and to the less fortunate.

In 1977, Yusingco led the Sacred Heart Parish Ladies Association in spreading its reach to include outreach programs. Among the major programs initiated by the group was the establishment of the Francis Lim Charity Clinic to serve underprivileged parishioners and their families as well as provide regular feedings for undernourished children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1F_bsT4Hu8&feature=related

Dedicated to Taga Tigbao 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cmffLlkwxc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cnRXmMn2Ag&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Falbum.php%3Faid%3D86038%26id%3D615950348%26comments%3D&feature=player_embedded#t=36

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrOnaHUrG4U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Fpid%3D64906%26id%3D100000095893303%26comments%3D%26alert%3D&feature=player_embedded#t=66

Last week, a friend of mine (Amy) who used to study at MSU (Mindanao State University) got reconnected with her room mate (Debbie) thru Facebook.  Debbie told Amy that her husband was from Bohol.  I was introduced to Debbie and learned that one of her sisters in law hailed from Taloto, my dad's barrio. I got so excited because the family name (Penaflor) was one of our relatives in Taloto.  To cut the story short, her sister in law, Aunt Matie who is based in the Bay Area was indeed a relative of my father's family.  In fact, she and her husband, Uncle Ador, are the long, lost godparents of Alyssamarie aka smiffytheninja!

Debbie invited me and my friend Amy for a dinner Saturday evening.  When I went there, to my surprise, Aunt Matie and her husband was there too!  It was one nice evening of recollecting our dear Taloto.  She told me that her and my father were classmates in Taloto Elementary School and when she left Taloto for US, Dad was still single.  She hugged me like she has seen a long lost niece!    We promised to see each other again very soon.


my friend Amy and Lee McBride, John and Debbie Auza, Ador and Matie Auza and si ako.  The Auzas hail from Balintawak, Talibon.


After our dinner, we went for a mile walk to go to the bank of American River.  It was one enchanting evening!  It's a small world after all!

A tribute to the classic art of Fernando Amorsolo, the powerful filipino song, Bayan ko, and the timeless artist, Kuh Ledesma. The song is taken from Kuh's newest album, K.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5HXqQR1LM4

Last weekend, an old classmate of my aunt visits us. His name is Engr. Ben Redulla.  He came with another Boholano local here, also my aunt's classmate from way back UB college days and he is also a "reading" aka pahipi member of Tubag Bohol, Engr. Emil Mante.

We had a simple dinner but a fun-filled one because some of our friends came for the gathering too.  There were music and laughter - lots of laughter! 

To Engr. Ben Redulla, thank you for the visit.  Until we see each other again.  Happy trip back to our dear Bohol!


UB College of Engineering classmates:  Engr. Ben Redulla, Engr. Emil Mante and Engr. Edna Pitoy-Smith



Friends Amy and Lee McBride, Engr. Ben Redulla, si ako, Tia Edna, Uncle Ray, Friends Gil and Maye Garcia, Engr. Emil Mante, Eeza Garcia, ytesski and Alyssamarie aka smiffytheninja.

<a href="http://exposureroom.com/members/teddybear.aspx/assets/5396510c18984902b5097f1be5acad44/" target="_blank"><img src="http://exposureroom.com/getassetthumbnailimage.aspx?id=5396510c18984902b5097f1be5acad44&size=lr" border="0" alt="Click Here to View The Video Titled: Bohol Island Tourism Video" title="Click Here to View The Video Titled: Bohol Island Tourism Video" /></a>

Video done by Ted Ramasola.  Just copy the link to view the video:

http://exposureroom.com/members/teddybear.aspx/assets/5b6ace96162547598f2a31082cfb87b4/?im=Less

August 18, 1973
FortBonifacio
Makati, Rizal

Ms. Maria Elena C. Aquino
25 Times St. Quezon City

My dearest Ballsy,

I write you this letter with tears in my eyes and as if steel fingers are crushing my heart because I wanted so much to be with you as you celebrate your legal emancipation. Now that you have come of age, my love, a voice tells me that I am no longer young and suddenly, I feel old.
An old poet gave this advice very long ago "when you are sad, remember the roses will bloom in December." I want to send you bouquet of roses, big red roses from my dreamland garden. Unfortunately for the present, my roses are not in bloom, in fact they have dropped all their petals and only the thorns are left to keep me company. I do think it is fitting to send you a thicket of thorns on this memorable day!

I am very proud of you because you have inherited all the best traits of your mother. You are sensible, responsible, even-tempered and sincere with the least pretenses and affection which vehemently detest in a woman. I am sure like your mother, you will possess that rare brand of silent courage and that combination of fidelity and fortitude that will be the life vest of your man in the tragic moments of his life.

During my lonely hours of solitary confinement in FortMagsaysay, Laur, Nueva Ecija last March and April with nothing else to do but pray and daydream, with only my fond memories to keep me company, I planned a weekend barrio fiesta for you in Tarlac for your 18th birthday. I fooled myself into believing that my ordeal would end with the fiscal year. I planned to invite all your classmates and friends and their families for the weekends.

The schedule called for an early departure by bus from Manila and the first stop will be Concepcion , where lunch will be served by the pool. And after lunch, you were to visit the SantaRitaElementary School to distribute cookies and ice cream to the children of that public school where you were first enrolled.

I guess sheer nostalgia prompted me to include Santa Rita. We were only three then: Mommie, you and I. Those were the days of happy memories little responsibilities, tremendous freedom, a great future ahead and capped by a fulfillment of love. You are the first fruit of our union, the first proof of our love and the first seal of our affections.

From Concepcion we were to proceed to Luisita for the barrio fiesta. I intended to invite a friend who could roast an entire cow succulently. Swimming, pelota, dancing and eating would have been the order of the day.

Sunday morning was reserved for a trip around the Hacienda and the mill and maybe golf for some of the parents and later a picnic-lunch on Uncle Tony's Island . Return to Manila after lunch. I am afraid this will have to remain as one of the many dreams I had in Laur.
Our future has suddenly become uncertain and our fate unknown. I am even now beginning to doubt whether I'll ever be able to return to you and the family. Hence, I would like to ask you these special favors.

Love your mother, whose love for you, you will never be able to match. She is not the greatest mother in the world, she is your sincerest friend.
Take care of your younger sisters and brother and lavish them with the love and care I would like to continue giving them but am unable to do so.
Help Noy-noy along and pray hard that he will grow to be a real, responsible man who in later years will protect you all.

You are the model for your three younger sisters. Your responsibility is therefore great. Please endeavor to live up to our highest expectations. Be more tolerant to Pinky, more accessible to Viel, our little genius-princess, and more charitable to Krissy, our baby doll, and make up for my neglect.

Finally, forgive me, my love, for not having been an ideal, good and thoughtful father to you all as I pursued public office. I had hopes and high resolve of making up, but I am afraid my destiny will not oblige.

I seal this letter with a drop of tear and a prayer in my heart, that somehow, somewhere we shall meet again and I will finally be able to make up for all my lapses, in the kingdom where justice reigns supreme and love is eternal.

I love you,
Dad

Here are some pictures taken during the recent CONBUSAC gathering in Seattle on July 2 to 6, 2009:



Big shot Manong Lindy rubbing elbows with other big shots! hehehe




and the beautiful Boholanas!

I got this wonderful text message from my dear Auntie Malou in Davao.  I just want to share this with you. 


What is Charity? 

It is silence when your words would hurt; It is patience when you're being hurt; It is deafness when scandal flows; It is thoughtfulness for another's woes; It is sharing whatever little we have; And, it is being kind than being right most of the time. God bless. Good day!

In 8 hours, Raquel will have her induce labor procedure to have her new baby!  Let us offer prayer for Raquel that she will have a smooth procedure and she and her baby be well and safe.

Manila - Philippine democracy icon and former president Corazon Aquino died Saturday after battling colon cancer for more than one year, her family said. She was 76. Cory, as the people fondly called her, had been hospitalized in the Makati Medical Centre in Manila since late June after her health deteriorated and the cancer spread to other parts of her body.

"Our mother peacefully passed away at 3:18 am August 1, 2009 of cardio-respiratory arrest," Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said.

"She would have wanted us to thank each and everyone of you for all the prayers and your continued love and support," he added. "It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for our country."

The entire nation has been offering prayer vigils for Aquino, who led a four-day bloodless people power revolution in 1986 that toppled the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos.

Yellow ribbons have been tied on street lamps, trees, fences and buildings throughout the Philippines to honour the late president. Yellow was Aquino's symbol in her fight against Marcos.

This is to inform you that I know who you are and your tentacles.  You may be happy to cause pain and defame people but there are consequences to this.  I hope you sleep good tonight but I am not asking God to punish you as you did to these people you accused of those indiscretions but rather I am asking you to heal your heart.  Remember, you are not only hurting the people you were accusing but also the people who loved these people.

Remember, God healed you when you were sick.  Remember God heard your parents' prayers for your safety and for you to be in the right path always. Just remember that.

Maricel aka Happy is asking for our prayers for her dear father's condition.  Please let us all be one in praying for a dear father of our beloved friend and sister of Tubag Bohol.  Thank you so much.  God bless us all!

Below is her message sent through my ym:

"magpatabang lang ko ampo nga unta madali ang recovery sa ako papa, naoperahan man gud sa ulo kay nag internal bleeding man siya, naa ron siya sa icu sa chong hua hospital. naa na hinoon siyay improvements, pero dili paman kalihok iya pikas lawas.
mrcllandiza: i know nga wala matulog ang Ginoo, bisan uns apa iya ihatag nato nga pagsuway, hatagan pud ta niya ug kaigong kusog pag atubang niini. "

For the loss of her dearest grandfather, Macario Lopena.  May Tatay Macario rest in eternal peace.

Ams, take it easy lang. 

I would like to personally welcome our newest member, Carmel Marie!  I hope you will enjoy our friendship here, Meow!  Hala dayon ug ihimamat ang mga katawhan dire! 

 

The Los Angeles Times confirms that the King of Pop, 50-year-old Michael Jackson, has died after a cardiac episode in Los Angeles. Jackson was reportedly rushed to UCLA Medical Center this afternoon; paramedics reported that Jackson was not breathing when he arrived at the hospital.  NBC News and other sources have also confirmed the singer's death.

His death comes just days before the scheduled start of his 50-date tour at London's O2 Arena.  Story developing.

source:  http://blog.newsweek.com

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

I am a fan of the shows of this crazy guy Antony Bourdin and I was thrilled to know that he did a show there in the Philippines! 

Maayo pa sya ganahan ug palija! ngek!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ztagbvodPk&feature=channel_page



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avCA0uUTXI0&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avCA0uUTXI0&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmKeB61OrCQ&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZLjlZgER8o&feature=related

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

June 10, 2009: Law enforcement officers stand outside the Holocaust Museum in Washington after a shooting.



    *
    *

WASHINGTON â€"  A gunman opened fire inside the Holocaust Museum in the nation's capital Wednesday, fatally shooting a security guard before other officers returned fire and injured the assailant, officials said.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect to FOX News as James W. Von Brunn, who has a history of virulent racism, ties to white supremacy groups and a criminal record that includes an attempt to take members of the Federal Reserve board hostage, according to media reports and Web sites. Washington police, however, haven't publicly named a suspect.

The gunman was in critical condition Wednesday evening. His victim, 39-year-old Stephen Tyrone Johns, had served on the museum's security staff for six years.

"There are no words to express our grief and shock over today's events," the museum said in a written statement released after the shooting, adding that the museum would remain closed Thursday in Johns' honor.

Joseph Persichini, assistant director in charge of the Washington FBI field office, said the shootings were being investigated as a possible hate crime or a case of domestic terrorism.

Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center said Von Brunn's Web site has long been listed as a hate site.

Click here for photos.

When Von Brunn was captured he possessed a list he had made of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, a law enforcement officer told the Associated Press. The purpose of the list was not immediately clear, the official said.

Von Brunn, 88, was sentenced in 1983 to more than four years in prison for attempting to kidnap the Federal Reserve Board after a guard found him outside of a board meeting with a gun, knife and sawed-off shotgun.

Police said he wanted to take the board hostage because of high interest rates and the country's financial problems, MyFOXDC.com reported.

A Web site Von Brunn maintains, Holy Western Empire, carries several anti-Semitic statements, as well as comments against blacks.
Related Stories

    * Holocaust Museum Shooting Suspect Has History of Anger, Racism
    * RAW DATA: Facts About U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Photo Essays

    * Shooting at Holocaust Museum

Click here for more on Von Brunn's backround.

Law enforcement officials were searching a car believed to be Von Brunn's parked in front of the museum. They were also testing the vehicle for explosives, MyFOXDC.com reported.

Authorities also raided Von Brunn's home to check his computer and investigate the shooting as a possible hate crime or domestic terrorism.

David Schlosser, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said the gunman entered the museum shortly before 1 p.m. and shot the security guard, before two other security guards returned fire and wounded the shooter. Both the shooter and security guard, later identified as Johns, were then sent to a local hospital, he said.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the gunman was carrying a rifle and used it immediately. "He raised the rifle and started shooting," she said. "The second he stepped into the building, he began firing."

Lanier told reporters the suspect appears to have been a "lone gunman" and that authorities received no prior threats.

Museum officials estimated the entire incident unfolded in approximately two minutes.

"Our hearts and thoughts go out to the security guard and his family," D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said at the press conference.

At the White House, just blocks away from the museum, President Obama said: "This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms. No American institution is more important to this effort than the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world."

In a statement from Israel's government, Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein said the shooting was "further proof that anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial have not passed from the world."

And the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a prominent American Muslim organization, said in a statement, "We condemn this apparent bias-motivated attack and stand with the Jewish community and with Americans of all faiths in repudiating the kind of hatred and intolerance that can lead to such disturbing incidents."

Police and other law enforcement, including the FBI's Terrorism Task Force, had surrounded the museum Wednesday afternoon after the gunshots.

"We heard a huge boom and we all kind of looked around," said a visitor from Chicago. After they heard more shots, she said, "We all hit the ground and definitely knew it was gunshots."

Kimberly Frank, also from Chicago, said she and her son Tyler were just finishing up their tour of the museum when she heard five shots, though she didn't initially know they were gunshots.

"I was terrified," her son said.

The Holocaust Museum is a popular tourist destination, located south of the National Mall and near the Washington Monument.

source:  fox news

Mingaw mag handum na pirte ka bibo karon sa among baryo sa Manga kay kasaulugan sa fiesta sa Most Holy Trinity.  Manghinaut ko na malinawon ug malipayon ang tanan sa pagsaulog sa fiesta.

To all parishioners of Most Holy Trinity and all the guests, enjoy!

This place is in San Diego, California.  I visited this place with my eldest sister on May 16.  There were a lot of thrill rides but I would never go near them.  However, the aquariums and animal shows were so spectacular! 

Here's a video I took with one of the shows.  It's called Shamu Rocks. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBV-efJvxTI

I apologize kay banhaan kaayo ko with my side comments. 

The much delayed construction of the Panglao Bohol International Airport (PBIA) will finally commence in October this year, according to Gov. Erico Aumentado who wants to leave a legacy of mega projects during his nine-year incumbency as chief executive of the province.

As if wanting to seal the new timetable, Gov. Aumentado will personally present the sequence of work for the modern airport during his 10-minute powerpoint presentation before Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her Cabinet on Tuesday at the Imperial Resort
in Mactan, Cebu.

for more info, click the link: http://www.boholchronicle.com/2009/may/10/front1.htm

source:  www.boholchronicle.com

simbako kahadlok aning dulaa oi!

is hatton dead?

Happy birthday again, Vida!

Let's have a virtual birthday party!

from RORO Music collection.  Sorry, chicogon kay nangawat ko didto sa inyong kaban.  Ako pa gani ning gi email ang youtube link sa akong mga cousins kay naa man dire na starring among cousin pod.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzA-9fAPPTk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Filovebohol-roromusic2009.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fpage14.html&feature=player_embedded

The battle for the Third District congressional seat will be a virtual clash of the titans - between two administration figures holding national posts in the Arroyo government.

As reports arise that Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur Yap is maneuvering to cut a compromise deal for a single term in Congress, former congressman and now Transportation and Communication Assistant Secretary Eladio Jala, who has bared his plans of staging a comeback in the 3rd district, says no such agreement was reached between him and the agriculture boss.

In fact, the two officials have evaded discussing their own political agenda during chance encounters and sorties in the 3rd district, said Jala in an interview with the Chronicle yesterday.

The rumors on Sec. Yap's intention to run in the 3rd congressional district was confirmed after he filed for voter's registration in barangay Buenavista, Loboc town, two weeks ago.

Originally registered as voter in Manila, Yap is a Boholano by affinity due to his marriage to the daughter of Annie Gow, a native of Loboc.

According to reports, the camp of Yap is striking a deal with Jala in order to be given the opportunity to represent the 3rd district in Congress. The congressional mandate will purportedly be Yap's stepping stone for a senatorial bid in the 2013 elections.

The 3rd congressional district will be tendered to Yap "on a silver platter", according to the report, with the assurance that Yap will vacate it after one term in office and run for senator in the 2013 polls.

When asked to comment on such negotiation, Yap in a text message to the Chronicle last night said, "I have not been informed or aware of such arrangement".

Jala will not totally sit it out in the next three years as he will retain his cabinet portfolio in the Department of Transportation
and Communications (DOTC) or may be given an even higher position by President Arroyo, according to the report.

Jala however brushed aside any likelihood for such a scenario.

"Such a deal is the surest way to alienate your supporters," said Jala who declared his intention of reclaiming his old congressional seat presently held by son Adam Relson Jala.

"If somebody has to withdraw from this race, it should be him (Yap), not me," Jala stressed.

Jala said his desire to serve again the people in the 3rd district gained momentum as supporters and leaders have persuaded him to seek re-election.

Jala was first elected as provincial board member representing the 3rd district for six years before his three terms in Congress.

The former lawmaker's dominance was put to test in the last election following his son's slim victory over former governor Rene Relampagos. Jala got 65,081 votes over Relampagos' 62,106 votes.

Despite allegations of vote-padding and vote-shaving, the Jalas persevered keeping the congressional post within the family.

"The voters will be the ultimate judge. But as I see it now, I still have the warm support of my constituents in the 3rd district," he added.

"While forging such an agreement allows us to form alliances and ensure that the top leaders of Bohol remain a cohesive force, I don't think I can turn my back to my supporters who have been intact for more than 15 years," Jala pointed out.

GMA'S NOD?

Asked whether Pres. Arroyo would intercede to iron out hitches within the administration bloc especially the looming collision with Sec. Yap, former congressman Jala admitted there has been no official statement from the president on the matter.

In fact, Pres. Arroyo was very cautious to comment on Bohol political positioning during a recent meeting at the Palace with Gov. Erico Aumentado, Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera, Rep. Edgar Chatto, Rep. Roberto Cajes, and the Jalas.

"Even before we met with the president in Malacañang, I already informed the other Bohol leaders that in the event Pres. Arroyo would ask me to give way for Sec. Yap, I would readily turn down such proposal," Jala disclosed.

He said Aumentado, Herrera, Chatto and Cajes all agreed to respect his decision but each expressed their intention for party unity.

"I was honestly worried that the president would ask me to yield in favor of Yap, but I'm glad she did not," Jala said.

Arroyo went on to discuss about ongoing projects in the province and simply listened to the Bohol political situationer.

YAP'S VISIBILITY

The DA secretary is always visible in Bohol, especially in the towns of the 3rd district where he had been rumored to run since last year.

One of Pres. Arroyo's designated stewards in implementing the Comprehensive Livelihood Employment Program (CLEEP), Yap has at his disposal some P50-million in DA funds to help farmers.

In another interview, Yap had said his visits to Bohol "must not be injected with political color" as this is in line with his job to implement agri-related production program especially that he was assigned by the President to coordinate the projects in the province

Asked to comment about the use of agriculture funds and Yap's political positioning in the 3rd district, Jala said he is just thankful to the secretary for bringing projects to the district which is represented by his son.

One of the youngest to be appointed to the Arroyo cabinet, Yap, who is a lawyer by profession, held at least five positions in government since 2001.

He first entered government as president of the Philippine International Trading Corporation of the Department of Trade and Industry. He later served as administrator of the National Food Authority for two years. Yap was also designated director general of the Presidential Management Staff.

Pres. Arroyo became the secretary's economics professor when he took management and economics in college.

source:  Bohol Chronicle

Manay, I read in one of the threads that your Father-in-law died days ago.  I am extending my sincerest condolences to you, and to your children for the loss of their loving grand father.  May he rest in eternal peace!

Congratulations to Gary and Amy aka willmerit!  Pregnant na si Amy - made in the Philippines!

Take care, Ams! I am excited to have a TB niece or nephew here! 

lavooo,

Ate Ging

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

I just would like to inform TB friends that BOC Bambi and her hubby Markus arrived in LA late lastnight.  She called me about 2 a.m., very tired but ecstatic to start their adventure here in America.  My family here and I will be seeing them on the 19th pohon. 

Spring forward starts this morning at 2 a.m.  For people affected in this change, adjust your clock accordingly. 

Quote from: fdaray on March 04, 2009, 08:34:01 AM
BEEF AMPALAYA WITH SOTANGHON

YOU WILL NEED
1/4 kg ampalaya, seeded and sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pc medium onion, sliced
150 g beef sirloin, cut into thin strips
1 pc beef bouillon cube
1 pouch (200 grams) DEL MONTE Original Style Tomato Sauce
50 g sotanghon, cut into shorter strands
 
HERE'S HOW
1  PREPARE brine solution by mixing 1 tsp iodized fine salt (or 1 tbsp iodized rock salt) with 1-1/2 cups water. Soak ampalaya in brine solution for 10 minutes. Squeeze and set aside.


2  SAUTÉ garlic, onion and beef. Add bouillon cube, DEL MONTE Tomato Sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp iodized fine salt (or 1/2 tbsp iodized rock salt) and 1-1/2 cups water. Simmer for 10 minutes.


3  ADD sotanghon and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ampalaya and cook for 3 minutes or until tender.



Serves 7
High in Vitamin B12 â€" prevents anemia. 

from thread:  Ampalaya Mo Diha Peeps

Quote from: fdaray on February 25, 2009, 09:43:24 AM

                                                    Ampalaya Pickles

You will need:

Vegetable Mix:
2 medium sized Ampalaya seeded
1 medium sized onion, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, sliced
4 cloves of garlic

Pickling Solution:
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
6 tbsp sugar (or sugar substitute)
1 tsp fine salt


Directions:

1. Wash Ampalaya. Cut in half lengthwise to remove pulp and seeds with spoon. Slice into 5mm thickness.

2. Mix in 2 tbsp. salt. Rinse after 15 minutes Drain well.

3. Combine carrots, onions, and garlic.

4. Prepare boiling solution by boiling vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Set Aside for it to cool down. Note* When sugar substitute is being used instead of sugar, add sweetener only during the cooling period.

5. Pour pickling solution over vegetable mixture. Toss.

6. Place in a jar. Serves best when cold as a side-dish.











Print-Friendly 
   

From thread:  Ampalaya Mo Diha Peeps

Quote from: VirusScan on February 26, 2009, 12:28:26 PM
Ampalaya ( Bitter Melon ) Cooler Shake

Ingredients:

2 pcs Ampalaya
1-1/2 cups Water
2 pcs Dayap or lime , squeezed juice
Sugar syrup to taste
3 cups Crushed ice

 

How to make Ampalaya ( Bitter Melon ) Cooler Shake

Wash and de-seed the ampalaya. Cut into thin slices. Place in a blender
with water, blend until smooth.

Strain and squeeze out the pulp. (You can use this in the other recipe.) Save the liquid.

Put the ampalaya juice back into the blender with the dayap juice, sugar syrup and ice. Blend until well incorporated.

If the drink settles, just shake or stir before serving. Serves 4-6 persons.


To make sugar syrup

In a small saucepan, combine 3 cups sugar and 1-1/2 cups water.
Cover and let boil over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
Cool and store in refrigerator.




<= See More Drinks


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

reposted from thread:  Unsay imong gikaon karon?

as requested by Glacier,

Quote from: grazie7y on February 28, 2009, 12:13:05 AM
Glace, cook the gizzard as you do - like templahan ug suka or lemon juice, soy sauce or salt ba kaha, pepper, garlic, bay leaves and simmer until tender and without sauce anymore. Mura ba'g magluto ug dry adobo. Let cool.  For the beer batter, rough estimate ra ni kay di ko ga measure2x man gud.  Mix corn starch and flour, say 1/3 cup corn starch and 3/4 cups flour.  (Depende ra pod unsa kadaghana sa imong lutuon but adjust accordingly.)  Season with a little salt and pepper, taking note that your gizzard is properly seasoned already.  Then, add beer just enough to get to the consistency of ranch dressing. Mix just enough to moisten the starch flour mixture.   Dayon, readyour pan with frying oil as you are frying chicken.  Individually dip the gizzard unto the beer batter and drop to the hot frying oil. Do not overcrowd your pan aron di magka create ug steam. Once brown, remove and drain in a paper towel.  If you wish, you can sprinkle salt right after removing from pan but if it's salty enough then ayaw na.  That should be yummy, glace!

Naay laing paagi.  Cook the gizzard as you do in the first procedure but instead of putting water for the simmering period, add beer.  Once mabugnaw na ang gizzard, dredge in corn starch and flour mixture, seasoned with salt and pepper,  dip in lightly beaten egg white then dredge again with the flour mixture and unto the frying pan. 

Good luck, Glace!  Dali ra ba?

Wherever you are, Aya san, I wish you peace, happiness and joy.  I particularly remember you today because today is your birthday!  I will always miss and love you, my dear friend! 

Dodong, kindly greet Angel a happy, happy birthday from her extended TB Family! 

Hazel aka Ginger created this video for all of us to enjoy.  Please take note that this is still subject for editing.  We are requesting other members who are not in this video to kindly send pictures i.e., Sir Felix, Glacier, Ellen aka Bad Godesberg, Calle, Buwadsanga, CC, etc.  Thanks and enjoy this video!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2470343/tubag_bohol_friends/%27/

It's my pleasure to welcome you here to our virtual payag called Tubag Bohol!  May you enjoy your stay with us and should you need help, please don't hesitate to PM us. 

Els, congratulations for passing the Nursing Licensure Board Exam!  Wow, I am so proud of you, girl!  Double celebration jud ni dungan sa kasal! 

Your self-imposed vacation from TB to concentrate on your review really paid off!  Way to go, girl!

Pasagdi lang ko ninyo kay I am a proud Ate.   

29808 PITOY, MARI TERESSEE RIZALADO

For the complete list, click the link below.

http://inquirer.cdnetworks.us/inquirer/examresults/NURSE/20090220/index.htm

Congratulations Ter for passing the Nursing Licensure Exam!  We are so proud of you!

I am glad Mom didn't stop when she got her 12th child!  Guys, Terter is the 13th in our family!   

Surrender Strengthens You
by Rick Warren

We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose. Living or dying we follow the Lord. Either way we are his. Romans 14:7-8 (LB)

*** *** *** ***

The paradox of surrender is that it produces power and victory. Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems can be defeated by Christ when handed over to him.

As Joshua approached the biggest battle of his life, he encountered God, fell in worship before him, and surrendered his plans. That surrender led to a stunning victory at Jericho.

Surrender doesn’t weaken you, it strengthens you. When you are surrendered to God, you don’t have to fear or surrender to anything or anyone else. The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, once said, “The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”

Why surrender?

Because you belong to your Creator. God has a right to direct your life: “We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose” (Romans 14:7 LB). “Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people …” (Psalm 100:3 NLT).

Because Christ bought you with his sacrifice. The Bible says, “And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15 HCSB).

When you surrender to Christ, you fulfill the very purpose he died for â€" not just to save you from hell, but also to save you from self-centeredness!We Christians do not live for ourselves, but for our Savior.

“At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes” (Romans 6:19 TEV).

Because God modeled it first. He took the initiative, surrendering Jesus for our benefit. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son …” (John 3:16 NAB).

Our surrender is the only reasonable response to that kind of love. You cannot love Christ without surrendering to him.

The Blessing of Surrender
by Rick Warren

Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong. Job 22:21 (LB)

*** *** *** ***

The Bible is very clear about how we benefit when we worship God through surrender: “Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong” (Job 22:21 LB).

In surrender, you begin to really live the life God intended: “Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 LB).

You are set free, liberated from self-preoccupation: “But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!” (Romans 6:16-18 MSG).

God is able to use you in great ways.

Why did God choose Mary, of all women, to be the mother of Jesus? It was because she was totally surrendered to God. When the angel explained God’s improbable plan, she humbly responded, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said” (Luke 1:38 CEV).

Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God.

 A bird suspected to be extinct was reportedly photographed for the first time in the Philippines, and then sold to a poultry market as food.

Worcester's buttonquail was known only through illustrations based on decades-old museum specimens until a television crew documented the live bird in the market before it was sold in January, NationalGeographic.com reported.

Scientists had suspected the bird, found only on the island of Luzon, to be extinct, according to NationalGeographic.com.

Wild Bird Club of the Philippines President Michael Lu, told the Agence France-Press news agency that it’s unfortunate that the locals aren't more conscious of the threatened wildlife around them.

"What if this was the last of its species?" he said.

Click here for pictures and more on this story from NationalGeorgraphic.com.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090218-extinct-bird-photo.html

source:  FOXNEWS

When the Future Seems Uncertain
by Rick Warren

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans … to give you a future and a hope … You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.” Jeremiah 29:11, 13 (LB)

*** *** *** ***

No matter what the pollsters, pundits, and prognosticators claim, no one can accurately predict all that is going to happen in the next year, let alone the next few days or weeks. Our best forecasts are just educated guesses.

Change is not only increasing in speed and intensity, but also in unpredictability. How can anyone succeed when the future is so uncertain?

The Bible suggests three timeless principles for facing an uncertain future:

1. Set goals according to God’s direction. It’s foolish to make plans without first consulting God. He’s the only one who does know the future â€" and he’s eager to guide you through it.

The Bible says, “We may make our plans, but God has the last word” (Proverbs 16:1 GNT). In other words, planning without praying is presumption. Start by praying, “God, what do you want me to do in 2009?”

2. Live one day at a time. While you can plan for tomorrow, you can’t live it until it arrives. Most people spend so much time regretting the past and worrying about the future, they have no time to enjoy today!

John Lennon once wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Decide to make the most of each moment this year. Jesus said, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Matthew 6:34 LB).

3. Don’t procrastinate. Do it now! “Don’t boast about what you’re going to do tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

Procrastinating is a subtle trap. It wastes today by postponing things until tomorrow. You promise yourself that you’ll do it “one of these days.” But “one of these days” is usually “none of these days.”

What did you plan to get done last year that you didn’t do? When do you intend to start working on it?

Surrender: Let Go and Let God Work
by Rick Warren

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 (GWT)

*** *** *** ***

Surrendering your life means:

· Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you;

· Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come;

· Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;

· Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.You don’t have to always be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.

Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.

The most difficultthing for many people to surrender is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.”

Retirement is not the goal of a surrender life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,” (Matthew 6:24 NIV)and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV).

The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mark 14:36 NLT).

Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.” He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too.”

Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!”

This level of maturity doesn’t come easy.In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

source:  Rick Warren

To my two beautiful and beloved sisters Lumine and Icel, happy birthday to both of you!  May God continue to bless you and guide you always.  Be always at peace and be happy.  I love you both very much!


NB:  Lumine and Icel have the same birth date (February 18) although Lumine was born seven years earlier. 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. â€" After a frustrating holiday weekend that failed to yield the one vote needed to end California's budget stalemate, the state is poised to begin layoff proceedings Tuesday for 20,000 government workers.

In addition to the layoffs, the state also plans to halt all remaining public works projects, potentially putting thousands of construction workers out of jobs.

"We are dealing with a catastrophe of unbelievable proportions," said state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat from Long Beach and chairman of the Senate transportation committee.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg announced late Monday that lawmakers had failed to find the final vote in his chamber as Republicans refused to support tax increases. He called a session for Tuesday and said he would put the tax provisions of the budget proposal up for a vote, even if they would not pass.

Steinberg warned lawmakers to bring their toothbrushes, saying they would not leave until that vote was secured.

"One member," Steinberg said. "One more member to put the interest of the state ahead of ideology and ahead of any parochial concern."

Like other states, California faces plunging tax revenue that has imperiled state services. The proposal put before lawmakers this weekend was negotiated by Schwarzenegger and the four legislative leaders and appeared to have support of the required two-thirds majority in the state Assembly.

However, it was falling one Republican vote short in the Senate, a situation that had not changed throughout a weekend marked by long hours and uncertainty over the state's future.

The plan includes $15.1 billion in program cuts, $14.4 billion in temporary tax increases and $11.4 billion in borrowing. The package also would send five ballot measures to voters in a special election to be held May 19.

The stalled effort prompted Schwarzenegger to make good on an earlier promise to begin the layoff process for thousands of state workers.

The governor had delayed releasing the notices on Friday when it appeared lawmakers would pass a compromise plan to close the state's $42 billion shortfall. But with marathon weekend sessions failing to produce the necessary votes, Schwarzenegger's spokesman said the administration had no choice.

"In the absence of a budget, the governor must do everything he can to cut back on state spending," spokesman Aaron McLear said.

The notices will start going out Tuesday to 20,000 workers in corrections, health and human services and other agencies that receive money from the general fund. Administration officials are seeking to eliminate up to 10,000 jobs as part of the governor's order to cut 10 percent from the government payroll.

Despite the warnings of impending fiscal calamity, most rank-and-file Republicans have refused to agree to higher taxes. Republican lawmakers blamed Democrats for years of overspending.

"You're not going to go back to the people's pocketbooks to fuel that spending," said state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula.

During a lively floor session Monday night, state Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, defended his colleagues' stance against tax hikes and said his constituents were pleading with him to vote no on the budget proposal.

He accused Democrats, who hold majorities in both houses, of using the recession to drive an agenda of tax increases.

"You want this emergency," Runner said, drawing jeers from Democrats in the chamber. "Listen, you may not like to hear what we have to say, but it's what we believe."

Steinberg, the Senate president pro tem, acknowledged that tax increases were difficult for all lawmakers to swallow but said the Legislature had no choice.

"Nobody likes that idea, but remember the reason we are in this crisis is because we are in a national and international crisis," he said.

Lawmakers broke the record for longest legislative session in state history over the weekend before disbanding Sunday night. The Assembly was at one point in session for 30 hours.

source:  yahoo news

Worship: The Barrier of Pride
by Rick Warren

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5 (NLT)

*** *** *** ***

Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s in Genesis 32:22-32, is really with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we’re going to win that struggle, but we try anyway.

A.W. Tozer said, “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us.”

We aren’t God, and we never will be. We’re humans, and the times when we try to be God are the times we end up most like Satan, who tried to be equal with God, too.

We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. We give mental assent to the idea, but when faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, beautiful, and wealthy.

We want to have it all and do it all, and become upset when it doesn’t happen. Then, when we notice God gave others characteristics we don’t have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity.

What it means to surrender. Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness. It is not accepting the status quo. It may mean the exact opposite: sacrificing your life in resistance to evil and injustice, or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed. God often calls surrendered people to do battle on his behalf. It’s not for cowards or doormats.

Surrendering is not putting your brain in neutral and giving up rational thinking. God would not waste the mind he gave you! God does not want robots to serve him. Surrendering is not repressing your personality. God wants to use your unique personality. Rather than being diminished, surrendering enhances your uniqueness.

C. S. Lewis observed, “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become â€" because he made us.He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.”

source:  Rick Warren

Forty-nine people died when a Continental Express airplane crashed into a house in Clarence Center shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, setting off a huge fire that could be seen miles away.

The dead included 44 passengers, four crew members and a person on the ground.

A nurse at Erie County Medical Center said the hospital's second shift had been told to stay late to treat survivors but was sent home before midnight.

"There were no souls to bring in and treat," she said.

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority spokesman C. Douglas Hartmayer said there was little communication between the plane, Flight 3407, and the tower before the crash. Crew members aboard the flight from Newark Airport had reported mechanical problems as they approached Buffalo.

The plane reportedly was a Bombardier Q400, a twin-engine turboprop with a passenger capacity of about 74.

"I was told by the tower the plane simply dropped off the radar screen," Hartmayer said.

Initial reports said the crash site was 6050 Long St., not far from the Clarence Center Fire Hall on Clarence Center Road. Police said one man was in the residence at the time of the crash.

About 12 other nearby homes were evacuated. Several of them sustained fire damage.

"We had a significant amount of fuel left in the aircraft, said Dave Bissonette, emergency co ordinator for the Town of Clarence. "It was a hazmat situation."

Chris Kausner of Clarence, whose sister Ellyce was aboard the flight, told The Buffalo News that after he heard about the crash, he called another sister who had gone to pick her up at the airport to see if her plane had landed.

"She said that they told them the plane had landed and was taxiing, but that was not the case," he said.

Kausner said Ellyce was a law student at Florida Coastal University in Jacksonville and was coming home to visit.

In Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board announced that it will be sending a team to Buffalo this morning to investigate the crash.

Lorenda Ward will serve as chief investigator. She has investigated several other plane crashes during her tenure at the agency -- including the fall 2007 crash in Manhattan that claimed the life of New York Yankees pitcher Corey Lidle.

Safety Board Commissioner Steven Chealander and public affairs officer Keith Holloway will accompany Ward to Buffalo. While the agency's investigations usually take months to complete, the agency said it would hold a news conference to discuss the accident in the Buffalo area today.

The crash is America's deadliest since a Comair commuter jet crashed in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 27, 2006. That crash also claimed 49 lives.

David Luce, who lives about 150 yards from the crash scene, on Goodrich Road, said he wasn't surprised to learn that there were so many deaths.

"I can't imagine that anyone survived it," he said. "If you heard that explosion, and you saw how fast the whole area was on fire, it was pretty clear that it was jet fuel burning."

Just before the crash, Luce heard the plane and noticed that it sounded a little funny.

"It sounded quite loud, and then the sound stopped," Luce said. "Then one or two seconds later, there was a thunderous explosion. I thought something hit our house. It shook our whole house."

"There was the initial boom, and then these cannon shots ... these loud secondary explosions, and they went on for about 10 minutes."

Within 5 to 10 seconds, Luce said he saw flames 40 or 50 feet high.

One or two minutes after the crash, Luce had walked to a spot that gave him a clearer view of the scene.

"The house was already flattened. There was no house, just a pile of rubble and still burning."

Luce said he heard screams following the crash, but he doesn't know whether they came from injured people or from neighbors.

Almost two hours after the crash, Luce said he still saw flames shooting from the crash site, but they were not as high as before.

source:  www.buffalonews.com

Hello Thyl!  Happy birthday!  I wish you all the best!  May your year be filled with graces! 

Our Inheritance: Grace, Patience, Wisdom, and Power
by Rick Warren

God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 1 Peter 1:4 (NLT)

*** *** *** ***

The New Testament gives great emphasis to our rich “inheritance.” As children in God’s family we get to share in the family fortune, that everything God has belongs to us (Galatians 4:7). The apostle Paul adds, “I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people” (Ephesians 1:18 NLT).

What benefits do we inherit?

As children in God’s family we are given “the riches ... of his grace ... kindness ... patience ... glory ... wisdom ... power ... and mercy” (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 2:4; 9:23; 11:33; Ephesians 3:16; 2:4). We also inherit eternal life and God puts his Spirit inside us now as a guarantee of all that is to come.

What an inheritance! You are far richer than you realize, which is why Paul could write with confidence: “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

Your eternal inheritance is priceless, pure, permanent, and protected; no one can take it from you. It can’t be destroyed by war, a poor economy, or disaster. This inheritance, not retirement, is what you should be looking forward to; retirement is a shortsighted goal.

What's going on?

I heard the sad news today from my sister that a 16-year old pretty girl, our family friend committed suicide.  Her family used to live in Manga, just a few steps away from our house then they moved to Dauis.  We even consider her and her siblings as part of our family. Why are there more cases of suicide now?  Is life really that bad that they have to curtail their own life?  Didn't they realize it's a BIG sin?  My heart is grieving for the family of this young girl.  May she find peace wherever she is now.  And may God comfort the family.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Senate voted to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office Thursday, marking the first time in the state's long history of political corruption that a chief executive has been impeached and convicted.

The 59-0 vote followed several hours of public deliberation in which senator after senator stood up to blast Blagojevich, whose tenure lasted six years. And it came after a four-day impeachment trial on allegations that Blagojevich abused his power and sold his office for personal and political benefit.

The conviction on a sweeping article of impeachment means the governor was immediately removed from office. The Senate also unanimously voted to impose the "political death penalty" on Blagojevich, banning him from ever again holding office in Illinois.

Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, Blagojevich's two-time running mate, has become the state's 41st governor.

he whirlwind of change capped a dramatic day in Illinois politics that promises to have repercussions for years to come. Quinn and lawmakers must bail out a state in the red by as much as $5 billion, and the campaign for statewide offices including governor formally kicks off late this year when candidates file to run in the February 2010 primary.

Highlighting the day's serious nature, Blagojevich offered his own sprawling, passionate closing argument after ignoring a Senate impeachment trial all week to take his case to the nation on the talk-show circuit.

Alternately praising and upbraiding those who will decide his political fate, Blagojevich urged the senators not to remove him from office, saying he has "done absolutely nothing wrong" and "never, ever intended to violate the law."

"There hasn't been a single piece of information that proves any wrongdoing," Blagojevich said to senators who were mostly stoic. "How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?"

Blagojevich warned senators against setting a "dangerous precedent" that would thwart the will of an electorate that twice voted for him.

"Imagine what future governors will face if I'm thrown out of office for this," Blagojevich said.

Senators dismissed the governor's plea, saying Blagojevich violated the public trust and paralyzed state government.

"He reminded us today in real detail that he is an unusually good liar," said state Sen. Matt Murphy said. "We bent over backwards to make sure that this process was fair."

Others took issue with Blagojevich's criticism of the impeachment trial rules, saying the governor could have asked for a vote on witnesses he wanted to call or evidence he wanted to present.

"At its core, it is dishonest, and it must be rejected by the members of this Senate," Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton) said. "We must find him unfit for this great office."

Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) said Blagojevich is "inept, he's corrupt, he's cost the state millions of dollars."

Dillard, who worked for two previous Republican governors, also referenced the now-infamous colorful language Blagojevich is alleged to have used on secret federal recordings. "Former Gov. Jim Edgar's strongest language was "Golly, or Jimminy Christmas.'"

House prosecutor David Ellis attacked Blagojevich's speech in his short rebuttal argument.

"When the camera's on, the governor is for the little guy, the little people. When the camera's off, what are his priorities?" Ellis asked, pointing behind him to a poster board with transcripts of intercepted phone conversations. "`Legal, personal, political,'" Ellis said, paraphrasing words attributed to Blagojevich by federal authorities. "Nothing in that statement about the people of Illinois."

Earlier, the governor blasted the rules that he claimed don't allow him to call witnesses or challenge evidence.

"I was hopeful I would have that opportunity. I was hopeful I would have the chance to call every single witness in the criminal complaint. It would have been nice to have them here and tell you, under oath, what they know," Blagojevich said. "Unfortunately, these rules have prevented me from being able to do that."

source:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-blagojevich-impeachment-removal,0,5791846.story

I humbly ask for your help in praying for Kiddo, Joseph Cesar V. Del Gallego's healing.  Kiddo is the nephew of a dear friend from way back when and a son of a very wonderful woman and a good friend too.  Below is Kiddo's mother's text message to me:

Nang Bing: (January 18, 2009 22:45:40)
hi ya grace. pls help us beg GOD for the healing of kiddo. he is going to start with his chemotherapy session 2moro.

Nang Bing: (January 18, 2009 23:03:24)
Tnx grace. pls urge ur friends to do d same. we need all d prayers we can get frm anyone willing enough to pray 4 kiddo. he has been given 2 =3 mos to live but we r not giving up hope we r praying for a miracle. but in d event that GOD decides that it is kiddo's tym to go we r all praying 4 d strength to bow down to HIS HOLY WILL.

Lt. Governor Garamendi, Chief Justice George, President pro Tem Steinberg, Speaker Bass, Senate Republican Leader Cogdill, Assembly Republican Leader Villines, Members of the legislature, ladies and gentlemen, we meet in times of great hope for our nation.

Although we hear the drumbeat of news about bailouts, bankruptcies and Ponzi schemes, the nation with great anticipation is also awaiting the inauguration of a new president.

Our nation should be proud of what President-elect Obama's election says to the world about American openness and renewal.

President Reagan used to tell about the letter he got from a man who said that you can go to live in Turkey, but you can't become a Turk. You can go to live in Japan, but you cannot become Japanese. And he went through other countries.

"But," the man said, "anyone from any corner of the world can come to America and become an American."

And now, we know that any American child, no matter what corner of the world his father or mother comes from, can even become President of the United States.

What a wonderful national story for us.

This nation rightfully feels the hope of change.

Californians, of course, desire change here in their own state as well.

Yet they have doubts if that is possible.

For months, in the face of a crisis, we have been unable to reach agreement on the largest budget deficit in our history.

We are in our third special session and we've declared a fiscal emergency - and every day that goes by, makes the budget problem that much harder to solve.

As a result of all this, California, the eighth largest economy in the world, faces insolvency within weeks.

The legislature is currently in the midst of serious and good faith negotiations to resolve the crisis, negotiations that are being conducted in the knowledge we have no alternative but to find agreement.

The importance of the negotiation's success goes far beyond the economic and human impact.

People are asking if California is governable.

They wonder about the need for a constitutional convention.

They don't understand how we could have let political dysfunction paralyze our state for so long.

In recent years, they have seen more gridlock in Sacramento than on our roads, if such a thing is possible.

I will not give the traditional State of the State address today, because the reality is that our state is incapacitated until we resolve the budget crisis.

The truth is that California is in a state of emergency.

Addressing this emergency is the first and greatest thing we must do for the people.

The 42 billion dollar deficit is a rock upon our chest and we cannot breathe until we get it off.

It doesn't make any sense to talk about education, infrastructure, water, health care reform and all these things when we have this huge budget deficit.

I will talk about my vision for all of these things... and more... as soon as we get the budget done.

So, no, I did not come today to deliver the normal list of accomplishments and proposals.

I came to encourage this body to continue the hard work you are doing behind closed doors.

There is a context and a history to the negotiations that are underway.

It is not that California is ungovernable. It's that for too long we have been split by ideology.

Conan's sword could not have cleaved our political system in two as cleanly as our own political parties have done.

Over time, ours has become a system where rigid ideology has been rewarded and pragmatic compromise has been punished.

And where has this led?

I think you would agree that in recent years California's legislature has been engaged in civil war.

Meanwhile, the needs of the people became secondary.

Our citizens do not believe that we in government are in touch with their needs.

These needs are not unreasonable.

At the end of the day, most people do not require a great deal from their government.

They expect the fundamentals.

They want to live in safety.

They want a good education for their children.

They want jobs.

They want to breathe clean air.

They want water when they turn on the faucet and electricity when they turn on the switch.

And they want these things delivered efficiently and economically.

One of the reasonable expectations the public has of government is that it will produce a sound and balanced budget.

That is what the legislative leaders are struggling to do right now.

There is no course left open to us but this: to work together, to sacrifice together, to think of the common good - not our individual good.

No one wants to take money from our gang-fighting programs or from Medi-Cal or from education.

No one wants to pay more in taxes or fees.

But each of us has to give up something because our country is in an economic crisis and our state simply doesn't have the money.

In December, we even had to suspend funding that affects 2,000 infrastructure projects that were already underway.

So, now, the bulldozers are silent. The nail guns are still. The cement trucks are parked. This disruption has stopped work on levees, schools, roads, everything.

It has thrown thousands and thousands of people out of work at a time when our unemployment rate is rising.

How could we let something like that happen?

I know that everyone in this room wants to hear again the sound of construction.

No one wants unemployment checks replacing paychecks.

So, I am encouraged that meaningful negotiations are underway. And, as difficult as the budget will be, good things can come out of it.

Because, in spite of the budget crisis, when we have worked together in the past, we have passed measures that moved this state - and even the nation - forward.

When a budget agreement is reached, when some of the raw emotions have passed, I will send to the legislature the package of legislative goals and proposals that a governor traditionally sends.

These proposals are sitting on my desk. Let me tell you, I have big plans.

They include action on the economy, on water, environment, education, health care reform, government efficiency and reform, job creation.

But, our first order of business is to solve the budget crisis.

And I have an idea going forward.

As you know, in the last 20 years of budgeting, only four budgets have been on time.

So, if you don't mind, let me make a little suggestion.

We should make a commitment that legislators - and the governor, too - lose per diem expenses and our paychecks, for every day the budget goes past the constitutional deadline of June 15th.

You have to admit it is a brilliant idea.

I mean, if you call a taxi and the taxi doesn't come, you don't pay the driver.

If the people's work is not getting done, the people's representatives should not get paid either.

That is common sense in the real world.

And I will send you some other reforms, too.

Let me close by saying something about the fires of 2008.

At one point, I got a phone call that we had 875 wildfires burning all at the same time.

I said to myself, how do we deal with this?

The next morning I get a call, "Governor, there are now 2,014 fires burning all at the same time."

The largest number on record.

Imagine, 2,000 fires, a huge challenge and every one of those fires was put out.

You know why? Because we have the best trained, the most selfless, the toughest firefighters in the nation.

Thirteen of whom lost their lives.

They gave their lives for this state.

Ladies and gentlemen, the courageous examples of those firefighters should not be lost on us.

In our own way, we, too, must show courage in serving the public.

Ladies and gentlemen, let this be a year of political courage.

Let us be courageous for the people.

Let us be courageous for the common good of California.

Let us resolve the budget crisis, so that we can get on with the people's work.

Thank you.

 An eccentric loner in Britain hoarded so much trash he had to burrow through it to get around his home â€" then got lost in the maze of tunnels Friday and died of thirst.

Human mole Gordon Stewart, 74, had filled his rooms up to the ceiling with 10 years’ worth of garbage and clutter, making it impossible to walk around.

The compulsive hoarder is believed to have become disorientated inside the walls of rotting trash and unable to find a way out â€" then collapsed with dehydration.

Neighbors raised the alarm after failing to see him leave his house in Broughton, Bucks, for several days.

When cops arrived, the stench from the garbage was so foul they brought in a police diving team equipped with breathing apparatus.

It is believed they crawled around the tunnel network until they uncovered Stewart’s body.

A neighbor revealed: “A police officer said the interior was piled up with huge mounds of rotting rubbish and there was an elaborate network of tunnels to move around."

“They think Stewart may have got lost and died from dehydration.”

source:  FoxNews.com

by: David J Pollay

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an
instant you're probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed breaks, skidded, and ,missed the other car's back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And i mean, he was friendly. So, i said, "why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car
and sent us to the hospital!"

And this is when my taxi driver told me what i now call, "the Law of the Garbage Truck." Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they''ll dump it on you.

When someone wants to dump it on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.

By Alexander L. Lacson


One of the most important things we need today as a people is a beautiful way of looking at ourselves as Filipinos, a positive and healthy image of ourselves, a wonderful definition of ourselves as a people. Our children especially need to believe that there is greatness and beauty in us as a people and as a race.

So much beauty and greatness can spring from a beautiful mind and a faithful heart.

But loving ourselves as Filipinos is not only patriotism or nationalism. There is a reason higher than that. It is primarily about stewardship. It is loving what God has given us. God gave to each one of us the Filipino and the Philippines, for us to love and care for. But how is the Filipino in our hands today? How is the Philippines, the land God gave to us as a people, in our hands today?

It is for this reason that I wrote the poem below. I give this poem as my humble gift to all of you, my fellow Filipinos. You are the brothers and sisters, the family of people, God gave to me.

It is my hope that this poem will help develop in us and in our children a healthy sense of faith and love in the Filipino, in ourselves as a people. For truly, our Creator wants us to have faith in and love for the Filipino.

Here it is:

I am Filipino. I am a child of the One God who is the Creator of all that is in our world and the universe. I am as perfect and as beautiful as my Creator planned me to be, for God created me in His image, out of His perfect love.

I am a beloved child of God, like everyone else in our world, no less than the stars above or anyone else below. As such, I have equal right and claim to all the beauty and bounty that God provided in my country and in the world.

I am an equal part of the family of humanity. I am therefore a sibling to all the men and women of our world, brethren to all Christians, to all Muslims, to all Jews, to all Buddhists, and all other peoples whose faiths lie somewhere else.

I am Filipino. My Creator planted me on a specific spot on earth, where the sun always shines, in an archipelago of 7,107 wonderful islands, which the whole world calls the “Pearl of the Orient.” Pilipinas is the country God gave to me and my people. It is the birthplace of my race. It is the home of the Filipino.

The beauty and richness of my country lured many mighty powers of the world to invade our shores. So today, my blood is a mixture of the best and the finest of the West and the East. My mind is an heir to all the great thoughts of the West, and the great virtues of the East. My heart beats with the romanticism of the West and the passion of the East.

I am Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Juan Luna, Ninoy Aquino and all those who fought for our land to become a nation of free people. I am the grandeur of Banaue, the enchantment of Boracay, the serenity of Manila Bay, and the depth and breadth of Tubbataha Reef.

I am Filipino. My Creator’s plan is for me to live my life as a Filipino and therefore, in my heart and in my mind, I shall always be a Filipino wherever I may be in the world. God wants me to belong to the Filipino family and as such, I am a “kapatid” [brother] to anyone and everyone who is Filipino, wherever he or she may be on earth.

You will know me by the word “po” in my sentences. You will know my children by their “mano po.” You will know me by the smile on my face and the warmth of my hospitality. Most important of all, you will know me by my loving and caring heart when you are in need of help, even if you are a stranger.

As a child of God, my Creator has a beautiful story for me and my people. And the story we see today is but a fleeting portion of that beautiful story that has yet to fully unfold before the eyes of the world.

I am Filipino. I am who I am today because of the role God wants me to play.

I am born to succeed. God has equipped me, within me and around me, with all the essentials I need to succeed in this world. God truly wants the highest, the best, and the most beautiful for me, because I am His child.

I am destined to be great. God planted seeds of beauty and greatness in me. He truly wants me to be great and beautiful, for God truly wants me to add more beauty and greatest to our world.

I am Filipino. I am born of freedom, in a free country. As such, I dedicate my freedom to ensuring that my people and country shall always remain free. I shall use my freedom to help other peoples, in my country or in other parts of the world, gain their own freedom.

I am born of love, out of God’s immeasurable love, in a country and in a world that can only be made beautiful by love. Love is the reason why God made me. It is what He wants me to bring into this world, so love shall be who I am.

I am born as part of the whole, as part of the answer to the question, as part of the solution to the problem, as part of the hope to our people. I am born to help the Filipino become great not only in the eyes of the world but, more so, in the eyes of our Lord.

I am Filipino. I am a faithful child of God. I shall live my life to do God’s work on earth, to help build a beautiful country for my Filipino family, and a better world for all humanity. And soon the world shall see the full measure of the greatness of Filipino, for truly the world has yet to see what God can do to and through a child, like the Filipino, who is faithful to the Lord.

I am Filipino.

source:  goodnewspilipinas.com

Ein friedliches Neues Jahr!

Un prospero Año Nuevo!

Malipayong Bag-ong Tuig!