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'Flagpole with wi-fi'

Some netizens who critized the project were even sarcastic in theorizing why the flagpole is worth P7.8 million.

"Flag pole??ano yan digital?touch screen?" said Facebook user Uel Eastchoco.

"May kasama pong libreng wifi yang flag pole na yan kaya medyo mahal. Para din sa mga mamamasyal sa Luneta, para makapag instagram din. Para sa ito sa ikabubuti ng mga namamasyal," Justine Torgo commented.

"bka kaya ganyan ka mahal pagtinaas flag naten kita ng mga taga north pole...." said Magallenes Eman Ryan.

"Mabuti na nga siguro may mechanized flagpole na tayo sa luneta. Pagdating ng panahon, dyan natin sila bibitayin," Facundo Roco said.

"baka gusto na rin nila palitan pangalan. Luneta PORk," Edel Berto said in a Facebook comment.netizens have commented, with some venting their rage against the seemingly pricey project. with Camille Diola

He assured that the agency will show all documents related to the project.

DPWH South Manila District Engineer Mike Macud had said that it is time to replace the 15-year-old pole standing at the historic Rizal Park in Manila.

"Inorder pa nila sa China yung flagpole. 'Yung almost P4 million kasama dito yung removal of existing pole, reinforcing of steel bars, concrete works, carpentry works, tile works. Meron din po tayong construction safety and health," Macud explained in a previous report.

Meanwhile, cultural activist and now Manila tourism czar Carlos Celdran said he is not joining the public outcry against the flagpole project since there seems to be no irregularity.

"Sorry. I'm not joining the protest against the flagpole. The price was above board and posted for the whole public to see. Nothing backroom and sneaky there so far as I can see," Celdran said in his Facebook page.

"The Luneta team are stellar people and I would NEVER accuse any of them of wasting our tax money. Fixing our national heritage isn't cheap and should never be done on the cheap. I'm moving on from this topic. Thanks for trying to get me involved. But no thanks," he added.

Made in China

The report also said that the flagpole itself will be imported from China.

Some netizens are also disappointed that the flagpole will come from the Asian giant, which is currently locked in a territorial dispute with the Philippines.

"At ang pinakamasaklap dito, ang pinakamalaking insulto dito, manggagaling at bibilhin ang flagpole sa CHINA!!!," the Facebook page TAX Rebellion Pilipinas said.

"This make me sick.. wla n me msabi..sang ayon me sa lhat ng sinsabi nyo.. kawawa tyong mga Pilipino!. At sa CHina pa na binu bully na nga tyo!" Facebook user Dangz Allanza Docot said in a comment.

"Kung ibida ang galing ng Pinoy sa buong mundo... Tapos itong simplemg flag pole di magawa ng pinoy? Sa China pa kukunin?" said Julius Arroyo.

In a radio interview on Wednesday, DPWH National Capital Region Director Reynaldo Tagudando clarified that the project went through public bidding and was not overpriced.

"Base ho 'yan sa aming canvass kaya okay lang po ang presyo niyan," he told radio dzMM.

More than a thousand netizens have commented, with some venting their rage against the seemingly pricey project.

Architect Jinky Oliveros said there should be a breakdown of the project cost.

"I am an architect...overpricing na kapresyo ng isang bahay...pwede na mag-renovate ng schools sa mga poor areas...nakakainis ang laki nyan..hindi makatotohanan, dapat may breakdown ang estimate nyan..." Oliveros said in a Facebook comment.

According to a previous Philippine Star article, National Parks and Development Committee (NPDC) spokesperson Kenneth Montegrande said the 105-foot (32-meter) flagpole in front of the Rizal monument will be replaced by one that measures 150 feet (45 meters) before December 30.

The Philippine flag will also no longer be manually raised as the flagpole will be mechanized.

“Raising the flag would become mechanized because it would be strenuous for humans to bring the flag to the top because they would have to deal with the strong wind at that height, at 150 feet,” the report quoted Montegrande as saying.

Netizens slam P7.8-M flagpole project in Luneta
By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated August 28, 2013 - 10:27am





MANILA, Philippines - After the mass protest at the Rizal Park (Luneta) on Monday against the pork barrel and corruption, netizens are now outraged by the P7.8 million flagpole project in the national landmark.

A photo on the Facebook page TAX Rebellion Pilipinas showing the construction details of the project have been making the rounds online, garnering nearly 7,000 shares in just more than 24 hours.

"Kakagaling pa lang ng karamihan sa Luneta, at ito mga kabayan ang napansin ng isa nating kababayan. Ano ang masasabi ninyo dito sa proyektong ito. Sulit ba ang pag-gagamitan ng halos P8 Million pesos natin hindi para kumpunihin dahil sira, ngunit nais lang nilang gawing mechanized ang flagpole," the Facebook post containing the photo said.

Cowin and her crew stumbled upon the $2,500 chicken as they assembled their latest issue of Food & Wine -- the September issue is a celebration of chicken.

"It's almost embarrassing to say that it's a chicken moment" but it is, says Cowin. The magazine details the most incredible juicy, crispy and fragrant things that chefs are doing with chicken across the country.

To be clear, there is an economic reason behind the current resurgence of chicken.

"The fact is that grain prices have dropped which means feeding chickens [is] less expensive so it is cheaper to buy a chicken today," says Cowin. "And beef and pork are becoming more expensive. So there is an economic underpinning but I am gonna have to go for flavor first."

Collectors covet this bird because it's beautiful, exotic and hard-to-get. Greenfire Farms says it was able to legally import the Ayam Cemani despite a current USDA export ban on importing live chickens from Indonesia. Their website says the “friendly” chickens are renowned in Asia “for the mystical powers of their black meat.” It’s traditionally eaten as part of various rituals. So while they are relatively cheap in Indonesia, the delicacy won’t have a chance to catch on in the U.S. until the Cemani are more widely available.

Bradshaw expects that eventually the Cemani population will grow and the price will fall. Then the bird could be sold in specialty meat markets, especially Asian markets across the U.S.

Cowin says you can collect the large, cream-colored eggs and eat them too. But she thinks the current price tag could cause some buyers to think twice before they slaughter this bird.

"At $2,500 a pop, $5,000 for a pair, you're probably not gonna go eat that bird anytime soon," she notes. "The market is not large, but it's passionate. This guy [Paul Bradshaw] who has imported this breed...he has a higher demand for these chickens than any other chickens in his rare breed collection. So among the people who care... they do care a lot."

For comparisons sake: Cowin notes you can get 15 run-of-the-mill chicks sent to you for about $85. And other special breeds â€" like the Chocolate Wyandotte â€" sell for $149 for a dozen. So the Ayam Cemani definitely stands apart.

Rare $2,500 Chicken Is ‘Lamborghini’ of Poultry
By Justin Maiman | Daily Ticker â€" 8 hours ago





How much would you pay for chicken?

Paul Bradshaw, a breeder in Florida at Greenfire Farms, sells chickens for $2,500...per chicken, that is. And $4,999 for a juvenile pair. Bradshaw says the rare Indonesian breed Ayam Cemani is “my most requested bird, ever.”

It remains to be seen if there's a mainstream market for the bird. He’s the first U.S. breeder and doesn’t expect to have chicks available until early 2014.

We asked Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief of Food & Wine, why this chicken costs so much.

"To be fair, it is an all black chicken," she says. "So it's very chic. Its feathers are black. Its organs are black. Its meat is black. So it's very special, it's a rare breed chicken."

The chicken is named after a village (Cemani) in central Java. The black coloring is the result of a genetic trait known as “fibromelanosis” and is also characteristic of Chinese Silkies, a black chicken treasured across China.

Hmm, that's also how it seems to my layman's eyes. The angel of life looks worried while his adversary is coolly puffing away...

Ayam Cemani is a breed of chicken, originating in Indonesia. It is a rarely kept breed.

Ayam means "chicken" in Indonesian and Cemani is "completely black" in Javanese.

The breed originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. It was first time imported into Europe in 1998 by Dutch breeder Jan Steverink. Nowadays it is kept in the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

There are many descendants of the Ayam Cemani including the Swedish Black Chicken. It is thought that Ayam Cemani may have been brought to Europe by Dutch seamen that had numerous contacts in both Africa and Asia.

The birds are completely black: black plumage with a greenish shine, black legs and toe nails, black beak and tongue, black comb and wattles, black meat and bones and even dark blood (not black) and organs. The roosters weigh 2-2.5 kg and the hens from 1.5â€"2 kg.

The hens are nonsitters and produce 80 white eggs with a slight pink tint per year of 45 g weight.

Despite many rumours the blood of the Ayam Cemani is not black as this would be impossible. --Wiki

Ayam cemani

Mabuhi ang Pinoy!

Mr. Huzheng, maghuzha man pud ta aning imong painting...

DAVAO. Si Linda Aran, gikan sa tribung Matigsalog, mihigot sa iyang sinina sa tradisyunal nga paagi aron siguradong luwas ang anak sa wa pa siya misud sa City Council para mangayo og tabang sa mga konsehal nga mitambong og session kagahapon. (King Rodriguez)

He said the airport’s capacity will only be good until 2024, or even earlier.

Records of MCIA showed that there were close to 1.5 million passengers and 23,281 aircraft that landed and left the MCIA in 1991.

In 2012, the number of passengers increased to 6.7 million and the number of aircraft to 58,888.

A single runway can accommodate approximately 202,000 aircraft movements annually in a 16-hour operation, the Airport Development Reference Manual of the International Air Transport Association said.

“The MCIA serves as a hub for air transport in southern Philippines and a vital gateway to the country’s economic prosperity. An additional runway would mean more flights in and out of Cebu, which will cause a tourism boom,” Carillo said.

He said that Cebu City stands to benefit from the project.

HB 1080 is the 21st bill that del Mar filed in the 16th Congress. (Sun.Star Cebu)

Del Mar said an underwater tunnel is more feasible compared to a third bridge. With the short distance between Cebu City’s port area and Lapu-Lapu City, the bridge that would connect the two cities would be too steep, he said.

Meanwhile, del Mar’s proposal to construct a second runway at the MCIA gained the support of the Cebu City Council.

In its regular session last week, the council approved Councilor Gerardo Carillo’s resolution expressing its full support for the passage of House Bill (HB) 1080.

The council said that the construction of an additional runway is needed to accommodate the increasing passenger and air traffic at the MCIA.

Quoting del Mar, Carillo said that MCIA is the second busiest airport in the country after the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, and it would no longer be able to accommodate Cebu’s passenger traffic after 11 years.

“There should be a devoted expressway going to the airport terminal, that will bring back the 15 minutes travel time to the airport,” del Mar told reporters during an earlier interview.

He said, though, that the proposal will go through a lengthy process, and that feasibility studies have to be made.

Del Mar said he already brought up his proposal to Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya during a recent meeting with Cabinet members in Malacañang.

“Wala siya mubalibad (He didn’t reject it) but we need to discuss it further,” he said of his proposal, which is pending before the House committee on transportation.

Proposals for a third connection to Mactan Island were raised in recent years amid the growing traffic problem in major thoroughfares leading to the two Mandaue-Mactan bridges.

By Linette Ramos Cantalejo and Princess Dawn H. Felicitas
Wednesday, August 28, 2013


CEBU -- It will take only 15 minutes for motorists to reach the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) from Cebu City, vows Representative Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district), if he gets Congress to approve his bill.

Del Mar has again filed before the 16th Congress a bill proposing a third connection to Lapu-Lapu City in the form of an underwater tunnel.

This time, however, he wants the exit and entry points to be at the Gen. Maxilom Ave. Ext. or San Jose dela Montana Ave. in Cebu City, and in Lapu-Lapu City proper, rather than the Cordova-Cebu City tunnel he proposed during his previous term.

He also proposed to have an express lane solely for motorists bound for the MCIA.

Sa dayandayan lang, klarong milyonir...

Quote from: diablo on July 30, 2013, 09:40:28 PM
agoroy. bantay bitaw ug di ka mo tunga inig sugod sa shoting ha. hapit na

2 weeks

Bwahaha!

Quote from: diablo on July 28, 2013, 06:37:59 AM
hubagbohol, mag pa kita pa gani ka dinhi after august 17, piktan naho ang imong itlog.

Kaluoy sa unggoy...

"Deja-vu," Alexei Pushkov, the head of the lower house of Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee wrote on Twitter.

"It feels like in the White House it's still (George W.) Bush, (Dick) Cheney and (Donald) Rumsfeld and in Downing Street Tony Blair," he said, referring to the former US president, vice president, defence secretary and British premier during the Iraq war.

The Interfax news agency quoted a diplomatic source who derided US Secretary of State John Kerry's most recent statement on Syria, saying it was "pompous".

Kerry called the use of chemical weapons against civilians "a moral obscenity".

A military diplomatic source also told the news agency the possible use of force would not lead to "an easy victory" because Syria had enough air defence systems to rebuff attacks.

On Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the "hysteria" over the claimed chemical attack and said the West had yet to come up with proof that Assad's regime was behind it.

He also said Russia would not get involved in a military conflict in Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron in a telephone call on Monday there was no evidence yet that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against rebels, Cameron's office said.

Pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper Izvestia published Monday an interview with Assad who ridiculed as "nonsense" the idea his regime used chemical weapons and warned the United States of failure if it attacked Syria.

Russian officials are now comparing the possible use of force against Syria to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which was vehemently opposed by Moscow as based on flawed intelligence that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.

"However, the United States' decision to postpone the meeting in The Hague is sending precisely the opposite signal to the opposition, encouraging their intransigence as they await outside intervention," he said.

Lukashevich added convening the peace conference was the "most urgent task."

Western countries led by the United States are considering their response to an alleged chemical weapons attack by Assad's regime on August 21.

Russia has said it believes rebels were behind the incident and has warned any military action without UN approval would violate international law.

The scrapping of the meeting, which was due to take place at The Hague later in the week, is the latest sign of a new peak in tensions between Moscow and the West over the possibility of strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"It arouses regret that our partners decided to cancel the bilateral meeting," Gatilov said on Twitter.

"Working out the parameters of a political solution in Syria would have been especially helpful right now, when military action is hanging over this country."

In such a climate, it was especially important to work in concert to try to organise the repeatedly postponed peace conference bringing together the Damascus regime and the rebels, Lukashevich added.

AFP
Anna Smolchenko
2 hours ago


Russia on Tuesday warned a military intervention in Syria could have "catastrophic consequences" for the region and called on the international community to show "prudence" over the crisis.

"Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa," foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.

"We are calling on our American partners and all members of the world community to demonstrate prudence (and) strict observance of international law, especially the fundamental principles of the UN Charter," he said in a statement.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that Moscow regretted Monday's decision by the US to postpone a meeting on the Syria crisis, as Western powers mulled military action over last week's chemical attack in Syria.

Quote from: taga tigbao on August 27, 2013, 02:39:12 PM
Pareho pud ko sauna ninjo mga madam nga hilig ug manok. Pero natinga ko nga samtang nagdako ko kay langsahan na ko ug manok. Maski ang baho ra. Usahay kasukaon ko.

He he, morag bahong iti, di ba?

Quote from: Lollapalooza on August 27, 2013, 12:59:21 PM
dropping by to say hi ^__^ hi Madam CJ Isles, Lorenz-kun, Fr. Chic, Tigbao, Hubs (still being hated?) i miss my engineers na hehehehehe pakita pod mo oi..

Hi, Ms. Lolla, thanks for dropping by and, hopefully, dropping your anchor for an indeterminate period. Been under siege of late (speaking of the Sith Lord's recent blitzkrieg) such that the presence of friendly forces offers such welcome succor.

Hoy, bajot, nia man jud ka ron, tubaga ni! It's about time you admit it to yourself!

Quote from: diablo on July 28, 2013, 12:51:27 PM
you better heed your own advice. the game begins august 17. i am the hunter. you are the prey

He he, the real cut and paste master...

Aquino’s pork uses

Critics of President Aquino have also accused him of deploying pork barrel funds to force the ouster of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez (who resigned before the start of her Senate trial) and former Chief Justice Renato Corona as well as push for the passage of the reproductive health bill and the amendments to the sin tax law (lawmakers were enticed with pork to attend a session and ensure a quorum).

With 289 members in Congress,  only 96 votes are needed to carry an impeachment case against the President to the Senate where at least two-thirds have declared publicly, for now, that they supported the President’s move to abolish the pork barrel.

But Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone was doubtful whether an impeachment case would prosper against the President in retaliation for his decision.

“I don’t think any move of the opposition to initiate an impeachment will fly just because of the abolition of the pork barrel. In the first place, the majority coalition supports the decision made by PNoy. Second, the abolition of the pork barrel is very popular with the people,” Evardone said.

Bello has some advice for lawmakers grumbling about the imminent loss of their pork.

“If members of Congress had any sense, they should just surrender on the PDAF issue and concentrate on legislation. Or if they’re interested in getting rich, they should just quit Congress and join the private sector or join the Abu Sayyaf in the hostage-taking business. In fact, what (fugitive Janet Lim) Napoles’ accomplices in Congress engaged in was pirate capitalism that is hardly different from the entrepreneurial activities of the Abu Sayyaf,” Bello said.

Power of the purse

In a radio interview, Drilon defended the right of the representative or senator to retain his or her “power of the purse,” or constitutional mandate to set the state’s spending and taxation.

“I will repeat the question, if a road is needed, what is wrong if the proposal will come from a congressman just to get it done? Let’s say a bishop (will make the proposal), what is the difference? What is important is that the identification of the project goes through the proper budget process and proper implementation,” said Drilon who claimed to have spent his pork funds on school buildings, public hospitals and indigent patients.

He stressed that the lawmaker would have no say on what entity would implement the project.

Drilon also assured the public that the Senate would approve the freedom of information bill along with the abolition of pork but he could not make any guarantee on the House’s action.

Then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo used the pork system and other state funds, such as the multibillion-peso Malampaya Fund and the massive annual savings from the reenacted budget, during her term, copiously to please friends and foes alike.

This is seen from the Commission on Audit (COA) special report from 2007 to 2009, which suggested that Arroyo used the pork barrel system to stymie multiple efforts to impeach her after her reelection in 2004 due to public alarm on corruption scandals and election cheating charges.

Outmaneuvered

“Theoretically, one-third of the House can impeach him, but I doubt if there would be anyone who would be foolish enough to court popular condemnation by initiating such a move on the pork issue. The fact is Congress has been completely outmaneuvered by the President’s move, and it can’t do anything about it because pork is so unpopular. The President, the media, and citizens’ opinion is a formidable alliance,” Bello said in a text message to the Inquirer.

“Yes, it is a brave act, though he needs to ensure the PDAF is not simply replaced by a new pork system,” he added.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said that while the PDAF would be abolished as declared by the President, each lawmaker would still retain their right to direct a portion of the annual budget (P200 million  for each senator and P70 million for a representative) to a hospital or a road project that they desired.

“What will happen if we will not take a direct hand (in the identification of projects)? Let’s just abolish Congress then,” he said.

Drilon said the only difference from the reviled pork barrel system and the President’s plan was that these allocations would be made during the regular public hearings on the budget in Congress and that the funds would go directly to the implementing agency and not to nongovernment organizations. The NGOs handle the implementation, monitoring and reporting under the current system.

By Gil C. Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
3:19 am | Tuesday, August 27th, 2013



Senate President Franklin Drilon: Let’s just abolish Congress. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO


MANILA, Philippinesâ€"President Aquino’s decision to abolish the pork barrel is a “big gamble” because he has placed himself at the mercy of Congress which could conceivably impeach him for cutting off their pipeline to the national treasury.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. agreed that in theory, any legislator opposed to the President’s abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) would seek to kick him out of office. “Yes, hypothetically. But there is really no ground to impeach him.”

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello said the President’s declaration that it was time to abolish the pork barrel took some courage to make considering the resentment it would cause among members of Congress.

Quote from: islander on August 27, 2013, 09:28:53 AM
"alligator hide" okay with you?

Quote from: chicogon on August 27, 2013, 09:52:17 AM
Pork Chop na lang

He he, good suggestions. Huwat ko sa sugyot ni Bugsay...

Quote from: islander on August 27, 2013, 09:23:50 AM
di man kahibawo mo-emote kanang mga tawo sa litrato.  they're either afraid of the pig or too conscious of the photo ops.

Nag-emote baya ang duha nga leftmost. Morag ang mga baje maoy conscious...

Quote from: hubag bohol on August 27, 2013, 10:43:47 AM

Janet Lim-Napoles. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Now pa ko kaklaro sa hitsura aning Napoles. Hmm, nawong baya pud og mahilig sa pork...

As part of the nationwide manhunt operations, the “wanted” pictures of Napoles, and her brother were posted in the airports.

Mison said strict measures were implemented by the Immigration officers especially in airports and seaports. The BI also told its personnel to be “always alert” if they enter through the ports.

He also advised the foreign affairs department to be cautious when processing passports since Napoles and Lim, who were said to have heavily-armed protectors, might file for new passports under different names.

After warrants of arrest were issued to the two, the DFA immediately cancelled their passports to prevent them from leaving the country.

The Court of Appeals (CA) also froze the 415 bank accounts of the businesswoman as well as the accounts of her family members, relatives and JLN Group of Companies employees.

By Julliane Love De Jesus, Ricky Brozas
INQUIRER.net, Radyo Inquirer 990 AM
10:14 am | Tuesday, August 27th, 2013



Janet Lim-Napoles. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO


MANILA, Philippines â€" The Bureau of Immigration (BI) warned the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) against approving and releasing passports with photos resembling Janet Lim-Napoles and her brother, both wanted by authorities.

“[To the DFA] Be wary of passport holders who resemble high-profile fugitives Janet Lim-Napoles and brother Reynald Lim,” BI officer-in-charge Sigfried Mison said Tuesday.

Napoles, the alleged mastermind behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam, and Lim were served an arrest warrant by the Department of Justice and Makati City regional trial court for serious illegal detention of the whistle-blower Benhur K. Luy.

Mison confirmed that the siblings were still in the country, based on the immigration’s travel records.

Quote from: islander on August 27, 2013, 09:22:07 AM
how dare them blame the innocents.  whoever invented that phrase, who i understand was an american, must stink.  come to think of it, even blaming the barrel is unfair.

Hmm, do you, as a certified wordsmith, Madame, have a suggestion how best "pork barrel" should be called?

He he, cool pud ning paria da...

A Commission on Audit (COA) report has tagged Napoles as being involved in questionable non-government organizations that received pork barrel funds from lawmakers for ghost projects.

Lorna Kapunan, Napoles's lawyer, welcomed Reyes's offer, although she said they have yet to be approached by any Church official.

"Magandang development nga ito, kung totoo nga 'yun. Wala pang officially nakipag-usap sa akin," Kapunan said in the same television report.

The controversy over the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds, which led to a massive nationwide street protest on Monday, has forced President Benigno Aquino III to order the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

The PDAF is only one of the country's pork barrel system, which also includes the Various Infrastructure including Local Projects formerly called Public Works Fund, and other discretionary funds. â€" Marc Jayson Cayabyab/KBK, GMA News

GMA News Online â€" 15 hours ago


A Catholic priest has offered fugitive businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles protection from those who may want to harm her, but with a condition: spill the beans on the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

"Ms. Napoles, mag-ingat ka. They might kill you. Surrender to the Church and we will not kill you. We will make sure that you survive," said Fr. Robert Reyes in a report on GMA News TV's "News to Go" on Monday.

"If you survive, you have to tell the truth for the sake of your people," added Reyes, more popularly known as The Running Priest.

Reyes said some priests favor his offer of protection to Napoles.

A Makati court has ordered the arrest of Napoles and her brother Reynald Lim over a serious illegal detention charge involving the scam's whistleblower, Benhur Luy.

Media practitioners in Davao City show unity as they make a thumbs down sign at a live pig that was used as a symbol of pork barrel during a protest at Rizal Park on Monday. (King Rodriguez)

Quote from: TUBAGBOHOL.com on August 27, 2013, 08:57:48 AM
Likewise, De Lima has not yet decided on the putting up of the reward money more so that she cited the case of the so-called "Big 5" such that although there is a P2-million reward money for each of the accused, they have not yet been arrested by authorities.

Here neither.

Quote from: TUBAGBOHOL.com on August 27, 2013, 08:57:48 AM
If the exposes of the whistleblowers in the pork barrel scam will be the basis on the alleged assets and properties of Napoles, De Lima said, it would appear the businesswoman would just raise an equivalent amount of the reward money against her.

I don't see the logic here.

Quote from: Lorenzo on August 27, 2013, 08:13:53 AM
Hahaha, my eyes focused on the 5 in 1 coffee.

Lami ba?

Mas lami kuno ang 5 in 1 kaysa 3 in 1, pero ang pinakalami (so far) mao kuno ang 7 in 1. Huwaton nato ang 9 in 1...

Hmm, bahal ang lami nga ipares ani...

He he, Hirohito reminds me of one of my box turtles long ago...

Here's a picture of him:

Padingoldingol uroy ang bajot...

Lacierda said President Aquino was keen on pushing “prosecution toward accountability.”

“We are after accountability. The President was very disgusted with the results of the COA special audit,” he said, adding this was why Mr. Aquino specifically tapped IAAGCC to pursue the matter. “They [Carpio-Morales, de Lima and Pulido-Tan] will investigate; they will prosecute; they will recover [misused pork funds].”

The Palace official added that the council is “now going to go after those foundâ€"those who were found to have misused the funds of government. As in Greek mythology, they will be the Three Furies who will go after those who have wronged the people, okay.”

At the same time, Lacierda admitted that the just-abolished PDAF pork-barrel system became prone to abuse because the previous Arroyo administration was “desperate to hold on to power.”

“You’ve got congressmen immersed in a culture of transactionalism; a bureaucracy co-opted and coerced; a lack of transparency in the system; a passive and disengaged citizenry,” Lacierda said, adding: “We are reforming that. We are changing that.”

He explained that the abuses in the PDAF existed “primarily because of the environment or the atmosphere of corruption that existed.”

Valte, likewise, admitted it remained unclear to her “whether these groups or persons making these calls are aware that by calling for the abolition of Special Purpose Funds, they are also actively calling to scrap the Calamity Fund.”

Also on Monday, the President affirmed his marching orders to the Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council (IAAGCC) to pursue charges leading to the conviction of erring administration and opposition lawmakers linked to reported misuse of billions of pesos of the PDAF.

“We will do everything in our power to find those who conspired to take advantage of the PDAF’s good intentions and to hold them accountable. We will not allow anyone to be used to propagate the corrupt practices of a few,” Mr. Aquino said in his National Heroes Day speech.

He assured the public his administration “will make certain that the mistakes of the past are not repeated so that we may further ascertain that the people’s money is spent properly.”

In a subsequent news briefing at the Palace, Lacierda confirmed Mr. Aquino’s directive to the Anti-Graft Council­â€"composed of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and COA Chairman Grace Pulido-Tanâ€"to make sure all those found to have misused the PDAF are made accountable.

Mr. Aquino said his decision, announced on Friday, abolishing the PDAF was “part of continuously finding and forming a mechanism that ensures that the people’s money can only be used for the people.”

Earlier, the BusinessMirror reported Palace Deputy Spokesman Abigail Valte as saying there was “no need” to come up with another name for the pork-barrel system that would replace the PDAF that the President abolished last week.

“As Secretary Abad said, there is no need for a name as additional funding support identified by legislators [for projects in their bailiwicks] will be made part of the national government project,” Valte said.

She explained, for instance, that funding for scholarships would be placed under the existing scholarship programs of the Commission on Higher Education.

Valte also dismissed the clamor to scrap all pork barrels amid criticisms the Palace abolition of the congressional PDAF was “selective” and did not cover presidential pork-barrel allocations.

“There is no such thing as a presidential pork barrel, as some groups insist to distort the issue,” the Palace official said. “All Special Purpose Funds under the Executive, such as the Calamity Fund, Contingent Fund and others have very clear purposes.”

Moreover, she added that stricter measures have been put in place since the President assumed office in June 2010 “to make sure the aforementioned funds go to its intended purpose.”

The clamor for the PDAF’s abolition peaked recently with Commission on Audit (COA) findings of misuse of some lawmakers’ allocations, in an alleged scam that diverted money to bogus non-governmental organizations.

According to Lacierda, in the reformed system, legislators will already be made to propose, during Congress deliberations on the budget bill, the specific projects to be implemented only for their respective districts and for their sectors. “These [congressional insertions] will be included in the proposed budget as specific line item budgets in place of the lump sum,” he said.

Details of the reformed pork-barrel system for lawmakers will be finalized in an upcoming meeting between Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and congressional leaders, Lacierda said.

He justified the new setup amid criticisms that lawmakers were elected to craft laws, not implement projects, which is the task of the Executive branch. “But they were elected as representatives of the people; we, in the national government attend to national concerns while those elected to represent their districts are the ones who are more acquainted with the needs and requirements of their constituents.”

Speaking at the National Heroes Day rites at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Monday, President Aquino said that for the new pork-barrel system his government is putting in place of the PDAF to be truly effective, “we also need our people to keep vigilant watch of each project that will be funded.”

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/
Published on Monday, 26 August 2013 21:01   
Written by Butch Fernandez


PALACE officials on Monday deflected calls to scrap what critics call “presidential pork barrel,” saying these are  calamity funds that the President must have the flexibility to use, as needed, while assuring the people that the “new” system that would replace the congressional pork barrel would be effective and less prone to abuse.

Palace Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said calls for scrapping “all of the President’s pork barrel” ignore the fact that the President’s Social Fund, for instance, has gone to quick-response and long-term rehabilitation of disaster-ravaged areas.

The lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which will be removed from the 2014 budget, comes as an arbitrary lump sum, with a cap of P200 million annually for each senator and P70 million for each congressman.

“It does not specify how the funds will be used by the lawmakers,” noted Lacierda.

Other traditions

In Gnosticism, the snake is thanked for bringing knowledge to Adam and Eve, and thereby freeing them from the Demiurge's control. The Demiurge banished Adam and Eve, because man was now a threat.

Ancient Greek mythology held that humanity was immortal during the Golden Age[citation needed]. When Prometheus gave the gift of fire to humans, helping them live through times of cold weather, the gods were angered. They gave Pandora a box and told her not to open it, knowing full well that her curiosity would get the better of her. When she opened the box, she released evil (death, sorrow, plague) into the world due to her curiosity. See Ages of Man for more.

In classic Zoroastrianism, humanity is created to withstand the forces of decay and destruction through good thoughts, words and deeds. Failure to do so actively leads to misery for the individual and for his family. This is also the moral of many of the stories of the Shahnameh, the key text of Persian mythology.

The Eastern Orthodoxy rejects the idea that the guilt of original sin is passed down through generations. It bases its teaching in part on the passage Ezekiel 18:20 that says a son is not guilty of the sins of his father. The Church teaches that, in addition to their conscience and tendency to do good, men and women are born with a tendency to sin due to the fallen condition of the world. It follows Maximus the Confessor and others in characterising the change in human nature as the introduction of a "deliberative will" (θέλημα γνωμικόν) in opposition to the "natural will" (θέλημα φÏ...σικόν) created by God which tends toward the good. Thus according to St Paul in his epistle to the Romans, non-Christians can still act according to their conscience. Nonetheless, as a consequence of Adam's sin, seen merely as the prototype (since human nature has been degraded) of all future sinners, each of whom, in repeating Adam’s sin, bears responsibility only for his own sins, humans became mortal. Adam's sin isn't comprehended only as disobedience to God's commandment, but as a change in man's hierarchy of values from theocentricism to anthropocentrism, driven by the object of his lust, outside of God, in this case the tree which was seen to be "good for food", and something "to be desired" (see also theosis, seeking union with God).

Original sin

Catholic exegesis of Genesis 3 claims that the fall of man was a primeval event, where the crime took place at the beginning of the history of man." This first sin was "transmitted" by Adam and Eve to all of their descendants as original sin, causing humans to be "subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin." Baptism is considered to erase original sin, though the effects on human nature remain, and for this reason the Catholic Church baptizes even infants who have not committed any personal sin. Although the state of corruption, inherited by humans after the primeval event of Original Sin, is clearly called guilt or sin, it is understood as a sin acquired by the unity of all humans in Adam rather than a personal responsibility of humanity. Even children partake in the guilt or sin of Adam, but not in the responsibility of Original Sin, as sin is always a personal act.

The fall depicted in the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo

Interpretations

Immortality

According to the Genesis narrative, during the Antediluvian age, human longevity approached a millennium, such as the case of Adam who lived 930 years. Christian exegetes of Genesis 2:9, On the day that you eat of it, you will die, have applied the Day-year principle to explain how Adam died within a "day". Given these conditions, it has led some to believe that God may have intended for Adam and Eve to be immortal. Thus, to "die" has been interpreted as to become mortal.

Babylonian legend

The cylinder seal, known as the Temptation seal, from the post-Akkadian period in Mesopotamia (c. 22nd century BCE), has been linked to the Adam and Eve story. Assyriologist George Smith (1840â€"1876) describes the seal as having two figures (male and female) on each side of a tree, holding out their hands to the fruit, while at the back of one is a serpent, giving evidence that the Fall of man legend was known in early times of Babylonia.

Origins

Genesis 3

The concept of the fall of man is extrapolated from Christian exegesis of Genesis 3. According to the narrative, God creates Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, in His own image. God places them in the Garden of Eden and forbids them to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (often symbolised in European art and literature as an apple tree). The serpent tempts Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. Eve shares the fruit with Adam and they immediately become ashamed of their nakedness. Subsequently, God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and places cherubim to guard the entrance, so that Adam and Eve will not eat from the Tree of Life.

Many Christian denominations believe that the fall corrupted the entire natural world, including human nature, causing people to be born into original sin, a state from which they cannot attain eternal life without the gracious intervention of God. Calvinist Protestants believe that Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for the elect, so they may be redeemed from their sin. In other religions, such as Judaism, Islam, and Gnosticism, the term "the fall" is not recognised and varying interpretations of the Eden narrative are presented. The term "prelapsarian" refers to the sin-free state of humanity prior to the fall.

From Wikipedia



Adam, Eve, and a female serpent at the entrance to Notre Dame de Paris


In Christian doctrine, the fall of man, or the fall, was the transition of the first humans from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience to God. Though not named in the Bible, the concept for the Fall comes from Genesis chapter 3. At first, Adam and Eve live with God in the Garden of Eden, but the serpent tempts them into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God forbade. After doing so, they became ashamed of their nakedness and God expelled them from the Garden to prevent them from eating the Tree of life and becoming immortal.

Muscari on Evening Island, Chicago Botanical Garden, Glencoe, Ill. (Photo: courtesy Chicago Botanical Garden)

Conservatory pool, New York Botanical Garden, New York City (Photo: Joseph DiSciose)

Bwahaha! 

Quote from: diablo on August 10, 2013, 11:32:37 AM
countdown to the 17th. 

Bwahaha! 

The Monet garden at Giverny, Olathe, Kan. (Photo: Debbie Hughes)

The Missouri Botanical Garden's Victorian District, St. Louis (Photo: courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden)

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas (Photo: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas)

Quote from: diablo on July 31, 2013, 01:43:00 AM
i just want you to get out of tbnation. okey lang nang ubang alyas. i hate it when i see hubagbohol avatar.

Suffer, scum!

Japanese Garden, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, Washington (Photo: courtesy Hillwood Museum)

Way hanaw nga siya diay ang hingtungdan...

The Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix (Photo: courtesy The Desert Botanical Garden)

Quote from: balong on May 04, 2013, 09:22:32 PM
next week operation tulion formally begins. just to make it clear, it is up to you to determine your fate. kong mo kalma ka okey lang . di madajon ang operation. pero mag sigi pa ka ug gara gara aron ingnon nga isog ka. sigi ug post naa ra na nimo. but it is false bravado and you know that.
lajo pa man hinoon ang summer of 2014 for part 2 of our operation. this is guaranteed to "thrill" you. everyday mag kurog kurog ka sa kahadlok. mag lakaw ka sa karsada mag pang lingi. but you will not see my men. 24 hours you are under constant observation. i divide the dirty dozen into 3 teams of 4 men. 8 hours duty. rotation. hala pa abota pa ug 500 posts a day by the idiot hubagbohol. it will make it easier for me to trace you up. but if you are not an idiot you will lie low and listen to the voice of reason. dili ka naho abogon. just limit your posts to 20 a day when the operation begins. every time you exceed 20 posts a picture of a bundle of money worth $10000 will appear. dili jud ka pa badlong mo gawas na ang 5 bundles the operation to identify who you are where your address is will begin. this is part 1 of the operation

Sensory garden, Coastal Maine Gardens, Boothbay Harbor, Maine (Photo: Barbara Freeman / Coastal Maine Gardens)

Bwahaha!

Sunken garden lawn, Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, Canada (Photo: Charles Twine)

Mirror Lake at Bellingrath Gardens and Home,  Theodore, Ala. (Photo: courtesy Bellingrath Gardens)

Protestors run to protest the recent pork barrel scandal. The scandal, which centered on a powerful businesswoman who allegedly collaborated with Philippine senators and congressmen in channeling the funds but went into hiding after she was charged with illegal detention of a whistle-blower, prompted President Benigno Aquino III to go on nationwide television and promised to reform a system that allows lawmakers to allocate government funds following an audit that millions of dollars were misused. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

10. You become an instant expert, even in new situations.

As the brain encounters new experiences, it develops schemasâ€"mental frameworks that allow us to recognize and respond to similar circumstances when we come upon them again. By midlife we’ve accumulated a stockpile of schemas that help give us our bearings even in novel situations. We just know what to doâ€"and this sense of effortless mastery flows from the reservoir of experience we’ve built up over time. In fact, we have a name for this ability to draw on deep knowledge of the past while accommodating what comes up in the present: It’s called wisdom.

9. You gain control of your emotions.

While young people ride a roller coaster of happiness and sadness, excitement and disappointment, older adults are able to maintain a more even keel. In a study published in 2009, psychologist Vasiliki Orgeta, PhD, evaluated younger and older adults and concluded that older adults (between ages 61 and 81) had more clarity about their feelings, made better use of strategies to regulate their emotions, and had a higher degree of control over their emotional impulses.