MikeLigalig.com

Quote from: Bambi on May 17, 2008, 05:46:56 AM
Belated wedding anniversary too...let's shake our hands with luck and happiness!

Let me join your remembrance in this thread by sharing snapshots of our moments through thin and thick (literally) in the last 17 years...


When Lynne and I were still dating during my graduate school days...


Two kids later...


Three kids later...

Japan to accept 1,000 Indonesian nurses, caregivers over next 2 years

Saturday 17th May, 06:17 AM JST

TOKYO â€"Japan and Indonesia agreed Friday that Japan will begin accepting a total of 1,000 nurses and nursing-care specialists from the Southeast Asian nation over the next two years from July, government officials said. The move came after the Diet approved a bilateral economic partnership agreement to that effect at a plenary session of the House of Councillors, the upper house, earlier in the day.

In the first six months, candidates will receive Japanese-language training and work as caregivers or assistant nurses at hospitals or nursing homes for the elderly. If the nursing-care workers and nurses pass national exams within three and four years respectively, the workers will be able to remain in Japan. But they will be forced to leave the country if they fail the exams.

Quote from: orChids on May 11, 2008, 11:13:40 AM
Aguy ugma na ni da.Sir Benne ayu-ayo ha,ang botelya sa red wine akoa na.

Hi Aya,

Nia na baya ko sa Japan... Musta ka na man diha?

Quote from: -<GEC348>- on May 16, 2008, 03:27:41 PM

And if I may add, "Great minds travel in one direction".

Hi GEC,

And where were you when I was headed towards ICM? Perhaps you were on a peerless journey in another direction? Mari, Handel, Paul, Vida and I were not in your league of "great minds"? Or you were simply in the wind?

Just wondering why you'd disappoint a friend who had to hug a bottle of red wine through land, air and sea to bring to you ...

Anyway, GEC, I still look forward to sharing Cabernet with you one of these days...

Hi Bambi,

Just discovered this thread. Belated happy anniversary indeed.

Lynne's and my wedding anniversary also falls earlier on this month, May 4.

Quote from: Sigbin II on May 16, 2008, 07:56:52 PM
Sir Ben, it was an honor and a pleasure to finally meet you and also your wife.  And the chocolates had nothing to do with this comment.

Hi Paul,

The pleasure was mine. Talking to you, Vida and Butch on my last night in Tagbilaran wrapped up my stay. I'd really like to pursue our little conversation on the English program for Japanese, Koreans and Chinese... I hope I'll be able to e-mail you my first manuscript in the coming days. Right now, I'm cooped up before my computer trying to catch up with the manuscripts and video tapes that have piled up on my table for translation...

Quote from: Happy on May 16, 2008, 03:15:28 PM
Mari and Sir Bene,
Thank you for posting your photos
It's nice to see your family Sir

Hi Happy,

Sori, na OT man ning thread, nahimo nang tiangge... Yes, I am happy as well to share memories of my short stay in Bohol with my family... I hope we'll have more pictures next time.

Quote from: Edelweiss on May 16, 2008, 03:14:36 PM
Hi Benne,
salamat sa info ug sa mga pics. mo order na ko daan aron sigurado pag abot nako sa Bohol i can try your product. 1 bottle of Glutawhite advance formula and 1 Mosbeau white cream set. 
puedi ko magbuwad sa init if i'm using this product kay pang whitening ra ba ni unya maladlad ko sa init diha sa ato kay mag swimming sa dagat. what do you think Sir? i can still make it a try as test person to document the effect while i'm still in Bohol. sige Sir, take note of my order and see you in Bohol. 

Hi Edelweiss,

I think you have the same concern as Bambi, which I already replied to above... I was told that you would have to try Glutawhite formula for at least three months to really see its effects. The stocks are available in Tagbilaran, but it's better to give me a one-week notice beforehand.

Quote from: mae_flor on May 16, 2008, 02:40:50 PM
sakto jod ka bambi, rain or shine jod dapat,, i know si El Mundo is late na man pud atong pag adto sa ICM..4pm na man naa pa sa alturas kay nag uwan man, then pag abot sa ICM lapas na ug 4pm..and perte baya ug pangita nila..taud taud pa gatindog didto pero wala man jod sila nakita..mao to ningadto nalang sa chowking

Mae Flor, El Mundo,

I look forward to seeing you next time. Rain ra ba gyud hinuon tong May 11... Ig-agaw man gud ning mga German ug Japanese when it comes to timeliness, so I hope we'd really make it next time. If I'm not mistaken, we were there till after 5 PM. I really look forward to meeting you...

Quote from: Bambi on May 16, 2008, 12:25:37 PM
Sir Bennelyne unsa man ni ug atong gamiton ( face cream) and /or taking that vitamin tabs  dili ba dilikado nga magbulad tas init (garden works etc.)?

Hi Bambi,

I don't pretend to be a medical expert. But my wife tells me that herself being the type who easily tans under the sun (and she is already the kayumanggi type), her complexion has been maintained despite her busy outdoor sked accompanying the kids from their school to their tutorials and other errands.

This is taken internally, not only as a skin-whitener but also as an antioxidant, so it should protect you from the abrasive effect of sunlight.

Quote from: Bambi on May 16, 2008, 12:16:08 PM
You need not to thanks Sir...ug didto pa ko sa Tagbilaran ahong ipasibya ang imong pagbisita ug kinsa tong dili motunga..ipadakop 
Natakdan kos mga German sa life motto nga "rain or shine", and  very punctual.  Our last EB 2007, Sigbin had said: we will meet at the church at 7:00 o'clock mass (kami rang duha sa ahong bana ang misimba).  Well, am excited to meet you in the future I will assure you to
bring with me "Dornfelder" German wine...my favorite one.  Who knows GEC348 will come forward then.

Hi Bambi,

Actually, I was already at ICM 10 minutes before 3 PM. I was seated on one of the tables by Jollibee facing the main entrance, scanning faces for any resemblance to the photos I saw posted here at TB... Then I started getting restless 30 minutes later, and texted Mari... Happily she did reply, and I saw the familiar face of the TB muse with her friend Jing. Sir Handel, I glimpsed from a corner of my eye, as he was seated inside Jollibee. The magical thing about TB is that it takes only one look for two people to connect, as though they had been friends for ages....

Murag lami jud ning imong Dornfelder da. Ug di pa jud mutungha si GEC, I'll simply presume he is just a poetic character, a figure of speech, a shadow in the dark, a mist in the wind... Oh, GEC, that you were indeed real!

Quote from: Bambi on May 16, 2008, 02:35:26 AM
Hello Sir Bennelyne,

Nice to know that you arrived back to Japan safe and sound and not as a real foreigner as what you're being afraid for not meeting our beautiful TB people there. Got a feed back from that  non-stop heart to heart emails sent to them.  At least, they appeared except El Mundo ( nasala-ag sa ICM) and GEC348 who is still playing hide and seek.     Yes, as observed:  "You have that Japanese looks but you are an original Pinoy in heart and thinking." My compliments to your beautiful Family!

Hi Bambi,

Bambi, i-nominate ta jud ka ug Chairman sa TB Welcoming Committee for Homecoming Boholanos. Thanks to your tireless efforts, nagkikita-kita gyud ming tanan, except El Mundo. But I think there will be more chances in the near future. Again, daghan kaayong salamat.

Quote from: bol-anon_ko on May 16, 2008, 01:03:26 AM
mamaligya ka ani Ben, na asa man ni palita. kay gisamokan nko aning akoa mga ig-agaw papalit daw ug paputi.. matud pa nila dghan daw sa america.. akoa na ingnan wla ma uso na paputi dri kay mga tawu dri halos mga puti..
is there a site where i can reliably buy this stuff? how much are they? wla man kaha gud ni health risk?

You can contact my wife in Tagbilaran. I think she is presently out of stock, as I have sold out everything I brought with me. I'll PM you her phone number. But she will have new stocks by next week. Wala pa man koy nadawat nga reklamo sa side effects so far. But Japan's product liability law is very strict.

Quote from: lumine on May 16, 2008, 12:28:27 AM
hello sir benne!
just asking, are the prices of the products affordable? maau na lang naa koy lingaw mamaligya diri sa cdo para naa sad ko money, .

Hi Lumine,

CDO is a huge market. In Tagbilaran, my wife is selling this product for PHP 3000. This is much cheaper than a similar product, of lower grade, being sold by a famous beauty and cosmetic surgery brand in the local market, which retails at P5500. Since this product is made entirely in Japan, it has passed the most rigorous regulations for products of this kind. We tried to officially import the Philippine-made products to Japan but none made it, even the top brands.

Quote from: Edelweiss on May 15, 2008, 06:31:23 PM

oi demand diay kaayo nang inyong product, kinahanglan mag pa reserve na diay ko ini ug 1 bottle. pila may content anang 1 bottle? i would like to try the facial cream kay kung moangay ko i will order a year supply kay wa man tingali diri sa Europe nang inyong product. i usually change my brand every now and then i always try different product to compare. my skin was sensitive to some cosmetics before pero karon morag baga na kog nawong di na dutlan ug allergy kay bisag unsa ra may akong gigamit flexible na ning akong nawong ron kay matured na hehehe ...

Hi Edelweiss,

I gather that you are interested in two products--Glutawhite Advanced Formula and White Cream.

Here's the product description of both:


Mosbeau Glutawhite Advanced Formula
120 tablets 500 mg
US$55 exclusive of delivery (or peso equivalent)

Along with the highest quality of Placental Protein and Collagen extracts, the newly improved Mosbeau Glutawhite now contains Natural Glutathione, Asupara Gaba and Vitamin C. You don't have to take separate supplements because it contains the top skin whitening and anti-aging ingredients today for the fairest skin that goes beyond perfection.


Mosbeau White Set photo
US$125

Mosbeau White Cream
30g
US$40 exclusive of delivery (or peso equivalent)

Originally made for well-known Asian actresses, Mosbeau White created several unique formulations for different women with varied needs and skin type. Feedback gathered from these early mosbeau users helped refine and perfect the current line of products. Mosebeau White Series addresses the desire of Asian Women for fairer, younger, more beautiful skin that complements their stand-out beauty and confidence.


Note that the White Cream is part of a four-product set that cost US$125. My US-based sister who is presently visiting for a dental makeover in Manila tried one set and decided to buy 3 after trying it. Her other friends at the hospital she's working in are also ordering 1 set each.

The prices I am quoting here are already discounted by as much as US$12, but for bulk purchases of ten units for each item, I can give more discount.

Deliveries inside the Philippines are free for purchases of more than 10 units. Orders within Tagbilaran can be hand-carried by my wife Lynne at ICM, Marcela, BQ or any mutually convenient place. Delivery cost to other countries will be shouldered by the client.

It was raining almost everyday when I was in Tagbilaran, and I actually saw the flooded streets. In fact, on our way to HNU Elementary School with my daughter, she was laughing hard when I told her the tricyle would soon turn into a boat as we approached a depressed strip of the road brimming with floodwater. I could imagine that Dao, being an elevated area, is actually better off than the other parts of the city.

Being touted as the No. 1 ecotourism site in the country, Bohol should address this drainage problem with urgency.

There should also be garbage boxes in public places. I was surprised that local tourists were just mindlessly throwing away food wrappers and other garbage on the street along the Loboc River. All that trash will certainly find themselves flowing downstream on rainy days.

Hi Macky,

The business and more important part. OK, will you be going home in July? We can iron out the details for distribution of the product in your choice of area in Visayas and Mindanao. We already have the export approval but official launching also happens to be in July. So I might have to fly first to Manila for the launching then to Bohol for the EB, or vice-versa whichever is scheduled earlier.

Quote from: Macky Ferniz on May 15, 2008, 06:17:19 PM
Hi Benne,

Glad to hear your safe arrival.

Hope you don't mind our jokes with GEC.

I look forward to your information regarding distributorship of your new products in our region.

Hi Macky,

Not at all, Macky. I'm grinning ear to ear. I would just like to make a little brag that once, when ABS-CBN's new IPTV product called TFCko was launched in Tokyo, I found myself entering the dimly lit party venue at the same time with Sam Milby (I have the photo to show for it). Would you believe, I got noticed first! Bisag unsa ka kagwapo, mas daku pa gyud ang bintaha sa "radiant face" in a half-lit place.

While I am still in my reminiscent mood, let me share with you old photos taken in Bohol a year after my wife and I got married. This visit was circa '92, after a week-long field job I had with the NHK, the Japan National Broadcasting Network, which was then filming a docu in Bantayan and Mactan. My wife Lynne was already heavy with our eldest daughter Raya.


This was taken in Anda. Third person from the left is me.


My wife Lynne (seated leftmost) was heavy with our eldest daughter, at the picnic table with my uncles, aunts and cousins of the Tutor clan.


With my parents and younger sisters.


(Left to right) My uncles the late Judge Beato Tutor, Fidel Tutor and my father Benigno Tutor Sr. sharing a hearty meal and an even heartier laugh.


With my Uncle Fidel Tutor at the Department of Agrarian Reform office in Tagbilaran.

Quote from: Edelweiss on May 15, 2008, 05:40:08 PM
Hi Mr. Bene,
although wa pa ka kaila nako diri sa TB kay talagsa ra ko mopakita pero i've been reading your post and as what Jun Ayag said  you are one of the respected names in TB, my honor sir to meet you in Tagbilaran karong July pohon. i will be in Bohol July 1-14. will you be there by that date?  i'm interested  to try your beauty product tingalig mawagtang ning akong mga wrinkles and will look 10 years younger

Hi Edelweiss,

Just being in Bohol will remove decades to your age... Pero ug muinom ka pa ug Mosbeau Glutawhite, you will be glowing young. Bitaw, you don't look like you need any enhancers. But since this is a vitamin C, placental protein and collagen-fortified product, it will work from inside. I brought 10 bottles of the product and all of them were sold out just by word of mouth. In July, we will officially be launching the product in Manila... I look forward to meeting you then...

Quote from: michael-ligalig on May 15, 2008, 12:22:52 PM
Ben, thank you for sharing with us your private thoughts and emotions. It is never easy to be uprooted from the arms of our loved ones.

Hi Mike,

I was disconsolate last night. But I'm OK now that the skies have cleared and I am able to log in to TB. Murag naa ra pud ko sa Tagbilaran ron. I have lots of documents and videotapes to translate (so many things have piled up in the four days I was gone), so I guess when I regain the momentum of my work, I won't be so sentimental anymore. Daku kaayog tabang ang TB. But I guess I'll have to discipline myself to log out for some stretch of time from hereon so that I can buckle down to work. Pasil-ip-sil-ip ra siguro ko sa mga sunod adlaw, kon maantos.

Quote from: junayag on May 15, 2008, 01:18:56 PM

Hi Benellyne,

Glad that you'll definitely be back on July... thought, we'll never get the chance to meet one of the respected names in TB pohon sa Grand EB as you've just returned from Bohol... looking forward to have you again in Bohol this July.

Hi Jun,

The qualifier "respected" belongs to you. I really hope you'll win the recognition you so much deserve.

Now that my family is in Tagbilaran, I'll try to be home as often as possible, and what better time to be there than during the grand EB.

One of the reasons I moved my family to Tagbilaran--aside from my desire to steep my children in their Filipino roots, improve their English and allow them the exuberance of their youth--is that I really want to start a business in Tagbilaran that will see my family through retirement. I am going 44 in December, and I want to retire before 50.

Since my wife and I visited Tagbilaran 16 years ago, we have decided to make it our retirement home so we purchased some lots that have so far been idle. Nothing can be started unless one of us is there. My wife is also business-minded (she's into marketing), so we have decided to pace our movement to make sure we have something stable by the time we really settle for good there.

I am glad that TB has made possible the network for exploring business opportunities. In my EB with Vida and Paul, as well as Vida's friend Butch, we also covered promising prospects for joint projects. I am sure we could expand the horizon for common undertakings during our grand EB. I look forward to meeting you.

Quote from: michael-ligalig on May 15, 2008, 01:10:20 PM
It's so heartwarming to see online friends in real flesh.

Mike,

How can I thank you for making these encounters possible? As I mentioned before, I could spend a lifetime scouring Bohol for kindred souls, but at TB, it's possible to build friendships in just a matter of weeks and months.

As you yourself had experienced in your down moments, I am grateful to have TB to stand by me in moments of yearning for my family.

Quote from: grazie7y on May 15, 2008, 08:57:15 AM
Wow!  Thank you for sharing these pictures, Bene san!  I am so happy you were able to see some of our friends here in Tubag Bohol!  Plus, you shared more pictures of your family! 

Hi Grazie,

I am sure you were one of those who pulled strings to make this EB possible, nakaduha pa gyud ko. I am honored to meet our TB friends--so warm, humble, talented. Magkita pud unta ta pohon.

Quote from: Mari on May 15, 2008, 10:08:17 AM
Bene san i posted some pictures on another thread 'Meeting Mr. Bene'
It is my pleasure meeting you and your family. Glad that u are back in Japan safe and sound.

Thanks Mari. You were so gracious. Regards kay Jing.

Hi Friends,

Thanks to all who helped arrange hastily an EB of our friends Mari, Sir Handel, Paul and Vida during my very short stay in Tagbilaran. We were like long-time friends who were so excited to see one another.

Bambi, Ms. Da Binsi, Grazie, Orchid, B--even from afar, thanks for the warm concern. Without TB, I would have felt like a stranger in Tagbilaran, except for the few people we have befriended in the neighborhood and the kids' school and my sister's family.

My heart is laden with sweet memories of family, TB friends and Bohol. I arrived May 14 past noon to an overcast Narita and it made the remembrance even more unbearable.

Midway, when I arrived at my hotel in Mactan, I had the chance to talk to my son, whom I had sternly been disciplining since we departed from Japan. He was always complaining about everything in the Philippines. I thought that he had resented my strong admonition, as he had been putting up an expressionless face to the very last day of my stay. But on the phone that night, he started crying profusely and muttering his apologies saying he missed me. I just had to tell him, "Now you have to let me hear you laugh so I won't have an excess luggage in my heart when I board the plane."

I had to sleep at the sofa of my office on my first night because I could't bear staying alone at the apartment. I feel better when I woke up to a bright sun this morning. I will definitely be home in July again.

Paul, Vida, I hope we could jumpstart our business venture so that I could fly more often to Tagbilaran. Here are some photos of my family photos taken when I was in Bohol.


Tagbilaran-bound with daughters Raya and Sarah on Weesam.


Cramped in back seat of a small van on the way to Loboc.


Daughter Sarah playing tour guide pointing the way to the tarsier cage.


Son Paolo and nephew Louie at the Bee Farm.

I'm back in Japan, with a heavy heart weighed down by sweet memories, and teary eyes washed by Panglao's salty wind.

This is really my first time to upload fotos. I'll try, following Mike's instruction.Yehey, seems I've got it done.


With Mari and Jing. Despite Mari's hectic sked last May 11, she really took the time to meet me.


The following day, Paul and Vida (aka Melrose) also came to meet me at the Buzz. GEC was nowhere to be found.


Hey, I also had an EB with those real huge eye-balls, the tarsier.


At the Loboc riverbank, with my wife (beside me), son Paolo, youngest daughter Sarah and my sister Ging with her son Louie. Camera-shy daughter Raya is photographer.

Quote from: Bambi on May 09, 2008, 05:17:02 AM
Sir Bennelyne,

I wrote this morning an email to Sigbin (Paul) and I hope that he will be online before this date stated above. Had requested to contact the others (Mari, Melrose, Atty. Lagunay and Leo Udtohan) and to  set a time to  meet you in ICM.   Paul is young gentleman, TB member I'd meet and the one whom I can trust to.  He was a very active/organizer who made everything possible that last EB. I hope that you will be having a wonderful day with this nice people around.

Thanks a lot. This may be my last chance to log in as I will be leaving for the airport in two hours...  I'll PM you my wife's contact no. as we still don't have a landline, much less an internet connection in Tagbi...

My son just came back from his last early morning soccer practice this morning and he is inconsolably tearful. His soccer friends have been giving him a sayonara (sendoff) party almost daily since the start of the weeklong holiday here and his bags are all full of his friends' gifts and memorabilia... He has a very strong bond with them. Who says tough guys don't cry? It really breaks my heart, too, to wrest him away from his friends, if only temporarily, into a new world... Can't show him my tears, but I comfort myself by saying this will prepare him for life's inevitable changes and unexpected pains which make us stronger men.

Please pray for the safety of our travel.

Quote from: orChids on May 07, 2008, 08:21:38 PM
I will pray for your safe,regards to your wife,hope she's comfortable sa Bohol.Kisses for your loving kids Sir Benne.Ajaw kalimti ang tugon gajod.

Unsa man pod imong tugon inigbalik nako, Aya? Sige lang kay mangita lang ko...

And beware, if someone comes up to you and says he is GEC, you might actually be talking to me.

Unsa man ni nga ako may muuli unya si GEC man ang gikagubtan? Well, maybe I should do a GEC and come to ICM in disguise...

I'm done with packing up one maleta. Sa mga tugon pa lang nga pagkaon sa mga bata, puno na. Intawon, gimingaw na sa nori, furikake, miso, chahan mix, hondashi, etc. Otherwise, the kids seem to be very much at home in Tagbilaran and don't even want to come back to Japan anymore...

I have another 36 hours to go, and after I told my clients that I'd be gone for a few days, I'm neck-high with rush translation work today... I hope tomorrow will be a slower day so I can do last-minute shopping of the kids' orders for the school opening...

Yes, I, too am excited to be home. Do pray for my safety as well as my wife's and two girls' who will be traveling to Cebu to meet me...

Quote from: Glen on May 07, 2008, 12:20:55 PM
Sir Benne, Have a wonderful trip.

God bless you and your family. Enjoy sa Bohol.

Ot: Please give Mari a big hug for me. Thanks

Hi Gemma,

Thanks for the prayer for safety. I am looking forward to a longer stay next time if everything goes well.

Quote from: EL MUNDO on May 07, 2008, 12:47:40 PM
daghang resorts nga mahal pero barat ilang service as in walay ayo.

El Mundo,

Hope to see you this Sunday afternoon at ICM.

Quote from: Bambi on May 07, 2008, 05:23:19 AM
It is now the  great time that GEC348 will reveal his identity, right?  The spy who love us!

What if GEC shows up at our rendezvous at ICM this May 11th? Am I duty-bound to keep his identity a secret until the grand EB? Let's see...

Hi Aya,

You're ever so thoughtful. Thanks for this send-off...

Quote from: swakee on May 07, 2008, 09:29:07 AM
mga Sir ug Maam! hotel housekeeper baya ko dere sa hawaii... ayaw ko ug kalimti kung matarok na ang inyong hotel ha?

Swakee,

Di na diay ka mahadlok muuli?

Bitaw, at this stage, this business concept is still a dream. The land area is only 2000+ sqm. I'll have an ocular inspection of the place to see if anything related to hotel business can be done in the place... Para siguro matukod dayon, pwede nato i-subdivide ang yuta to make single-unit villas or payag with Bohol architechtural motif and TB members can buy a unit each or share each unit and if you are not using it during your vacation, or when we do not have EB in Bohol, we can rent out the units to tourists or your vacationing guests... I will just charge a management fee. So your unit earns the whole year round while you are abroad earning dollars...

Just giving my imagination a wide sweep of Panglao's horizon.

Swakee, Hawaii-standard room maintenance gyud na ha?

Quote from: Bambi on May 06, 2008, 05:37:06 PM
Mikes personal descriptions towards honorable TB members touched my heart. These wonderful people really deserves these words.  I am speechless. Although...never meet yet them in persons, I feel the deep tight  of friendship bounded through virtual site.    A short  acquaintance with Sigbin, Barbaro, Glen, St. Agnes, Scott, Svelana, Mari and the rest last Dec. 30, 2007 EB...that unforgettable memories lingers on from day to day... meeting as strangers and parted as good friends. That is TB secret. As ever told, without Mike- this called TB secret might not be possible.

Hi Bambi,

Tabangi daw ko'g tawag aning mga taga-Tagbilaran kay basin unya pag-uli nako this weekend, I'll arrive as a stranger and go back as a foreigner... paita kung taguan na pud ko ni GEC kay ang red wine maaslom na lang...

Quote from: PrincessSaDagat on May 07, 2008, 03:24:27 AM
ngano man ka mahal ang hotel sa Bohol? Ginoo ko.

Law of demand and supply man daw. According to our Department of Tourism, Bohol has only 2,500 hotel rooms. But our tourist traffic is shooting for 600,000 this year.

Princess, patukod na lang pud ta atong hotel sa Panglao. Naa ko'y yuta duol Bee Farm. Since you have a travel agency, I think between the two of us, you can fill it with your clients and Aya's and my Japanese clients. Pangandoy lang, kay basig makaapas ta sa homecoming ni Balong and give him an opening day rate of P79,000 for one day.

Boholano tops teachers' board

Topping the 2008 national board exam for teachers was farthest from his mind. He did not even expect to pass.

"But I prayed so hard for Divine help and did the best that I could to pass the exam. So when I was informed that I landed in top 10, I could hardly believe it," Jessie Auxilio said.

Auxilio, a 2006-2007 Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED) graduate of BIT-Talibon landed 6th place in this year's successful board passers.

The Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) released the result last Thursday.

Following its publication in national dailies, Governor Erico Aumentado was the first to extend congratulations to lawyer Dionisio Balite, Chairman of the Board and President-Emeritus of the BIT International College.

A top official of Cebu Normal University (CNU) in Cebu City also congratulated the administration and teaching staff of the Teachers College for the accomplishment.

Aida Dela Serna of CNU told BIT officials that BIT is the only school in Central Visayas that landed in the top 10.

Auxilio, sixth child in a brood of seven, is a consistent honour student since the elementary and high school years.

He took the exam and qualified for the President Carlos P. Garcia Scholarship Program.

The semestral and monthly stipend that he received from the program provided the means to complete his BEED degree at BIT-Talibon in Talibon town.

Congressman Edgar Chatto (Bohol, 1st District), a prime mover of the CPG scholarship program, also extended his felicitations to the BIT IC administration.

"The achievement of Jessie Auxilio will no doubt be a source of pride not only to the BIT community but to the Boholanos as well. Hopefully, this will also inspire the other scholars and stakeholders of the CPG scholarship program," Chatto said.

His teacher in Grade 1 sparked Auxilio's interest in the teaching profession.

"My teacher in Grade 1, Mrs. Flora Casquejo of the Balintawak Elementary School, Balintawak, Talibon was a good disciplinarian and a good teacher. She serves as my inspiration and role model of what a good teacher should be," he said.

Perhaps overwhelmed by his latest achievement, Auxilio stammered when asked about his plans.

"Frankly, I still have no idea. But for sure, I will look for a teaching job so I can also help my younger sister in her studies. Public or private employment, it doesn't matter, but I guess public employment offers better pay," he concluded.
   

Quote from: Bambi on May 06, 2008, 06:10:02 PM
I learned from my past bad experienced engaged into kind of business just "talking with heart and feeling more pity to the other party". To avoid aggression and getting depressive waiting for a better outcome, doing it again  but must be duly signed and notarized under a notary public. Promissory note will not function at all.

Bambi,

From my experience, no legal instrument or court order can compel a person to pay if he has no money or has no good faith from the start. Worse comes to worst, he could just file for personal bankruptcy by proving his lack of capacity to pay.

Ang akong masulti, sa sinugdanan pa lang, lisod ipugos ang usa ka transaction kung murag tagilid na ang kliyente o lisdan siya magpagawas ug kwarta. One can tell more or less if a transaction will go well if the financial resources are available to the client or if he has a history of keeping his word.

Illegal promo for Choco Hills warned
By KIT BAGAIPO

A support group of the global search for the world's New 7 Wonders of Nature is warning private and commercial firms from engaging in a campaign for Chocolate Hills without sanction from the organizers.

Unauthorized promotions using the New 7 Wonders campaign would cause in another disqualification of Bohol's nominee, the world-renowned hills.

Dr. Oscar Galang, lead organizer for the Chocolate Hills Support Committee based in the United States, relayed to the Chronicle the official rules concerning private and commercial companies supporting nominees to the New 7 Wonders tilt.

Galang cautioned business groups to observe the rules as an airline company is currently carrying the Chocolate Hills campaign by painting it on their aircrafts that are serving international flights.

Under the terms of nominees' participation agreement, an official candidate of the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign "can only promote and communicate using public, national and governmental support."

As a general rule, any form of marketing, communications, advertising, promotions and initiatives with any form of support by private and commercial companies is not allowed by the organizer - the New 7 Wonders Foundation.

Promotions by commercial firms are only permitted through a license with the foundation, the rules state.

Violating the rule would automatically disqualify the Chocolate Hills from the campaign.

The Chocolate Hills was reinstated in the list of official nominees last Tuesday retaining the votes gathered before it was de-listed almost two weeks ago.

The de-listing dropped the Chocolate Hills' ranking from the 6th spot down to its current 9th place.

According to the N7W Foundation, its policy is designed to "ensure that private companies are officially licensed and make a fair contribution to the costs and resourcing of the entirely self-funded global campaign, from which [the] companies can receive significant positive advertising, promotional, commercial and image benefits."

The foundation said that commercial and private companies who want to support the Chocolate Hills can either acquire license as an Official Nominee Supporter (ONS) and for a Nominee Supporter Advertising (NSA).

As ONS, the company has a right to use N7W logo in advertising and messages, in all media of the nominating country for an agreed period of time.

The ONS company also gets advertising space at the N7W website.

For a company which has acquired NSA, it can only advertise in the foundation's website. Promotions or advertising outside the website is prohibited.

"Companies that advertise, promote or communicate an association with an official nominee that are not contractually licensed by N7W will risk the disqualification of the nominated natural site," the rule said.

Advertising agreements can be acquired through the N7W website www.new7wonders.com.

Quote from: Melrose on May 06, 2008, 09:37:06 AM
Sir Ben,

When are you arriving? I'm not available on May 11 since my papa and mama (my dad's brother and his wife) are celebrating their 50th wedding anniv and i'll be singing during the ceremony. Dili pwede mo-ikyas. Can we meet later that evening? Like coffee na lang or something? I'll tell Paul about you plan. He might be able to meet you.

About GEC, I may know him in person. Mao na ang pungot kay di magpaila dinhi. Anyway, I hope he's a friend and not someone i don't like. (hehehehe! padungog-dunog ba! Aron magpaila na gyud siya...)

Hi Melrose,

Sure, sure. I'll be glad to meet with you and Paul later that evening, if you could accommodate this in your sked... Congratulations diay sa 50th Wedding Anniversary sa imong parents...

GEC bitaw uy, elusive kaayo... I can only say he's real if I see him drinking red wine with me. But from all indications, he's worth the hunt.

Quote from: orChids on May 06, 2008, 09:03:21 AM
I agree Sir Benne aning manguli na ta.How I wish to live in our TuBo Village.

Ug nagtapok na tang tanan sa TuBo Village, diri lang kaha ta gihapon sa computer mag-istorya?

US fund aid picks Bohol as beneficiary
By KIT BAGAIPO
Bohol Chronicle

There is another piece of good news for Boholanos as the Department of Finance has announced recently the inclusion of the province among the areas selected by a United States government funding company to receive much-needed monetary aid for various developmental projects.

In a letter to Gov. Erico Aumentado, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said that representatives of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which was established by the US government to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, is visiting the province "to witness firsthand the economic and social condition" of our localities.

Last month, the MCC has elevated the the Philippines as one of the "Compact Status countries" in recognition of the government's commitment to promote political and economic freedom, investments in education and health, control of corruption and respect for civil liberties and the rule of law.

The MCC provides two different kinds of monetary assistance - Compact and Threshold.

A Compact is a multi-year agreement between the MCC and an eligible country to fund specific programs targeted at reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth.

A Threshold program, on the other hand, is a contract between the MCC and a country that provides financial aid to help improve a low score of a country on one of the MCC's 17 policy indicators.

Among the policy indicators are civil liberties, political rights, immunization rates, public expenditure on health, inflation and trade policy.

By improving a low indicator score, a country would become eligible for a Compact such as the Philippines.

In line with the initial discussions on the Compact Agreement Process and to assist the Philippine government in preparing for a Compact Proposal, the MCC is dispatching its mission here in the country from May 12 to 16.

The US mission will hold dialogues with representatives of the government, the private sector and civil society on issues of poverty alleviation, sustainable economic growth and fighting corruption.

The MCC mission will be in Bohol on May 14, according to Teves.

The finance secretary said that Bohol was chosen as one of the areas for investment "in view of the high importance being given by [the] province to alleviating poverty, the holistic approach to development and the success of implementing development projects.

The mission will be headed by John Hewko, vice president for Compact development of MCC; Darius Teter, deputy vice president for Compact development; Darius Nassiry, country director, Compact development; and Jerry Dutkewych, MCC director for country relations.

The US group will hold talks with provincial board members and stakeholders.

They will be visiting project locations in the towns and see eco-tourism sites.

The provincial government will host a dinner for the visiting MCC representatives while holding a meeting with local government officials, heads of non-government organizations, civil society and the business sector.

Being included among the MCC's investment areas, the province will have an opportunity to get millions of dollars in aid.

MCC is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom and investments in people.

Sad thing about recession is that it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. What we fear becomes true.

It may start with an external event, such as accumulated mortgage arrears, then turns into a foreclosure crisis, which grips everyone's mind... Then everyone is into a scrimping mode, cutting down on spending, which in turns results in lay-offs, more foreclosures, etc.

Japan is in no better position. It is the first time, in my long stay here, that  I've heard of TV commentators discussing butter running out of stock, soy sauce prices rising for the first time in 30 years, not to mention gasoline prices spiking up...

Murag joke-joke lang nato ang camote ug kangkong, but it seems it's no laughing matter on our dinner table in Tagbilaran. You see, our family doesn't really eat much of meat and we're more into veggies and fish. During my wife's first week in Tagbi, she called me up bubbling about the price of kangkong in Dao wet market... P2.50 per bundle... and camote (also a favorite of the Pangasinanenses) abound... Among our native veggies, kangkong has become the favorite of the kids. They think it tastes like spinach.

Our decision to relocate to Tagbilaran has really been good for us so far. The kids are enjoying their childhood for the first time... And what used to be our budget for housing alone in Japan can now cover a lot of other things--including hobbies our children would like to pursue but we found so hard to finance here...

Sige, manguli na lang ta tanan sa Bohol and let's have a TuBo Village (acronym courtesy of GEC)...

Quote from: B:) on May 05, 2008, 04:47:33 AM
Annie, sus kasabot gyud ko anang imong pasabot like what we talked before hehehe
I think gipasabot sa # 6 aning Igorot businessman, it only applies to a Store ra siguro. Kay ang iyang giapas nga para mobalik pa ug palit ang kana nga customer. In a business man gud, the last thing you want to do is to upset your customer man gyud.

In my experience as a businessman, if a person needs your goods or services badly, he should be able to pay it in cash or you should devise a way wherein he can enjoy the benefits of the goods or services only upon full payment.

My wife had been doing the garments business for more than ten years. When the economy was good, and there were many customers (mostly entertainers), she did not mind accepting credit and it did not hurt much because the cash turnover was fast. Then Japan banned the entertainers and the economy started to skid downwards... She still tried to do business the way she did in the past, and she was weighed down by unsettled receivables. Although the amount of receivables is really huge, I told her that she would just be spending more money running after debtors (nga nangawala na) than collecting money. So I told her to stop and just look after the kids...

I have very low credit rate in my balikbayan cargo forwarding and translation business. If they don't pay up,  I don't deliver the boxes. In my documentation and translation business, except for corporate clients, I ask for downpayment (half the agreed amount), and the balance when they receive the documents. As for goods, I deal only in products that can be sold in cash. And I replenish my supply only in quantities being ordered. By setting your business rules clearly, and in a friendly manner, I seek to keep my civility and business relations over the long run.

Excerpted from
Pride of Place
Expressing 'Filipino-ness' in today's lifestyle

By Augusto Villalon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:27:00 05/05/2008

Amarela

Very obvious are the Filipino cultural symbols at Amarela Resort in Bohol, which combines contemporary architecture with a superlative collection of antique and modern Boholano religious and folk art.

The architecture of Amarela, straightforward and contemporary, skillfully evokes the vernacular balay na tisa of the Spanish colonial era-steep hipped roof, large second-floor windows, and solid-walled ground floor-done in today's simple, commercially available materials.

Designed in the boxy architecture of the balay na tisa, Amarela goes a step farther into tradition by following the Filipino penchant for transparency.

Interior walls disappear. Spaces inside the structure flow into each other. Double doors, glass panels, and wooden fretwork always provide beguiling view of what lies beyond, ultimately throwing the entire area open to the stunning, infinite vista of sea and sky.

If the architectural references to tradition are too subtle to be discerned, it nevertheless strikes a familiar chord. Much as Filipinos look for comfort food, Amarela's may be called comfort architecture.

And comforting Amarela is. Its collection of outstanding hardwood furniture in the distinctive Bohol primitive style is for sitting or dining on. Museum-quality pieces of Boholano folk and religious art, and an amazing collection of antique architecture details are incorporated into the structure itself.

Amarela is a successful example of expressing Filipino-ness, or Filipino lifestyle, in a thoroughly modern setting.

Panglao

Panglao Island Nature Resort expresses Filipino-ness in a different manner.

Taking its design cues from clusters of bahay-kubo in rural villages, the familiar bamboo-and-nipa cottages that wind along the Bohol coastline are not only a familiar sight to Filipinos. Foreign guests find the image evocative of the Philippines, its tropical beaches, and culture.

The image of Panglao Island is immediately and unmistakably Filipino.

Panglao Island's clusters of wood-clad and nipa-roofed cottages interconnected by landscaping evoke rural Philippines, inviting guests to wander about the resort's hectares of lush tropical green.

In the style of the traditional Filipino bahay-kubo, the architecture skillfully combines modern construction and up-to-date amenities with the look and material that evoke the wood-, bamboo-, and thatch-handcrafted houses of old.

Large and lofty pavilions with exposed bamboo and wooden framing house reception and dining areas. Mostly open to the sea, they are cooled by natural breezes and shaded by a veritable jungle of mature trees.

The setting of Panglao Island evokes traditional Filipino lifestyle well. It puts across both image and experience of Filipino-ness so well that the resort touches a psychic comfort zone which keeps Filipino and foreign clients coming back.

Tourism chief warns Cebu hotels and resorts


Cebu Daily News
First Posted 15:27:00 05/05/2008

CEBU CITY, Philippines - The tourism industry in the provinces of Cebu and Bohol will be adversely affected if commercial establishments such as resorts and hotels fail to implement environmental conservation practices, a senior tourism official said on Friday.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano issued the warning after a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) report showed eight of nine resorts in the east coast of Mactan Island in Cebu and Panglao Island in Bohol were found to have high levels of fecal coliform.

Fecal coliform include the bacteria that are of fecal origin. The total coliform bacteria test is a primary indicator of suitability for consumption of drinking water. It measures the concentration of total coliform bacteria associated with the possible presence of disease causing organisms.

The DENR report said these resorts failed to meet the standard of 200 mg per liter for fecal coliform and 1,000 mg per liter for total coliform in each station, according to results of tests done during the last quarter of 2007.

“Coliform, that is a by-product of liquid waste, does not pass through the sewerage system,” said Durano. He added the report prompted DOT to accredit resorts based on their environmental practices.

“Most of the hotels have a sewer system but it goes beyond that,” Durano told reporters at the School of The SEAs (Sea and Earth Advocates) in Barangay (village) Okoy in Sta. Fe town on Bantayan Island on Friday.

Durano stressed that hotels and resorts, through the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Green Hotel Standard program, are not just accredited by the DOT based on the facilities available but also on their environmental practices.

“What we have is the Green Hotels and Resorts program, an ASEAN-wide program. We are the ones implementing it here in the Philippines,” he said.

Durano said there are only two Philippines-based establishments that are recognized for its eco-friendly practices; the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa in Cebu and the El Nido Resort in Palawan.

Criteria for the Green Hotels and Resorts program include adopting policies and practices that promote energy and water efficiency, management of solid wastes, control of noise pollution, indoor and outdoor air quality management and proper treatment of wastewater.

“Ang DOT, our power is the market power. We don't have police power. So, aside from the Green Hotel campaign we are campaigning to tourists to choose Green Hotels,” said Durano.

“For me, that is the most powerful tool or the most powerful change agent. For us to tell resorts to change the way they operate,” he added.

Durano said if there are enough tourists that choose resorts and hotels that are involved in measures to save the environment, this would be “the greatest motivation for the (other) hotels and resorts to change.” /Editorial Assistant Bernadette A. Parco

Quote from: orChids on May 05, 2008, 08:09:49 PM
SIr Benne,you're hurting me.
Di bitaw,how I wish naa ko sa Tagbilaran pod ani nga time oy.Grabe masuya jod ko.hahaha.

Hi Aya,

Uban na lagi, aron bibo... Unsa'y buhat nimo sa Golden Week? Sige lang kay gipaibog pud ko nimo last time you went home.

Quote from: Mari on May 05, 2008, 07:18:46 PM
pagkadaku raba sa ICM, mahurot na og libot pagpangita ni Mr. Benne... hope to see u and ur family

Hi Mari,

At last, a word from the TB muse... I'll stay close to the main entrance, or better still suggest a place Mari. My 16-year old eldest daughter is into computer graphics, charcoal and watercolor painting. I really want her to meet a fellow artist and photoshop expert...

Quote from: Melrose on May 05, 2008, 05:51:21 PM
GEC! Garaon ka! I still don't know you. hu hu hu hu!

Hi, ninyo! Musta na man mo?

Wa pa ko naminyo uy! Hapit na! heheheh!

Wish you all the best. see you around.

Hi Melrose,

I'll be in Tagbilaran this weekend. Are you sure you really don't know GEC? And he swears by your yellow ribbon so he'd share a bottle of red wine with me... ICM on May 11, between 3 to 4 pm. I still don't have mobility in Tagbi, but my wife tells me ICM is just a stone's throw from our place... Please, if we could meet together with Paul, Marie and the rest of the TB guys... I'll have enough good memories of Tagbi so I'd come back for the grand EB.

But I thought Melrose is missing in action? So should I look forward to meeting a mystery man and a miss-ing in action?

Naa ba'y taga-payag nato diha sa Tagbilaran aning adlawa?

I'll be at ICM between 3 to 4 pm on May 11. (Will update for last-minute changes.)

I haven't really been to the place yet so I have no idea where you could find me best. Should I stand beside the guard? I look just like my avatar. I'll very likely be with my wife and kids. I'll keep a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon just in case GEC will finally step forward from the deep mist... GEC, Sigbin, Mari, Melrose, kinsa pa man naa diha? Am sure Sir Delaguna is too preoccupied? Come on, don't let me come back to Japan not having seen any of you!

If nature conservation is the goose that lays the golden eggs for Bohol, I think getting the sonic noises too close to the nest is killing that goose. According to an international team of researchers, among whom is a Japanese, Panglao boasts of marine biodiversity that is twice that of the entire Japanese archipelago and exceeds that of the Mediterranean sea. And then you build a mammoth man-made structure smack-dab in the middle of this tiny island...

I have an undeveloped property close to the Bee Farm and had thought that the airport would certainly boost its value. But now I believe Panglao will lose its pristine, hideaway charm if it becomes the gateway to Bohol... I have always imagined that the best is reserved for the last, that you would build up a tourist's appetite for the place by showing him the cream destination towards the end of his journey. But if he lands smack on Panglao, where's the thrill and suspense? I think the long-term effect is devaluing what is supposed to be Bohol's prime destination.

We should heed the advice of Dr. Ernesto Pernia... Panglao can be developed as a nature destination, and in the long-run eco-tourism will be its own economic engine... It should be shielded from the hustle and bustle of the urban world...

The airport is not a bad idea, but the location should be moved to the adjacent towns in the mainland which certainly need the economic value-added of an airport.

Quote from: michael-ligalig on May 04, 2008, 09:11:19 PM
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ben is a top-rated Filipino journalist in Japan. He used to own and run a newspaper in the Land of the Rising Sun. His crispy ideas and unconventional commentaries have been quoted by several newspapers and magazines. You can actually google him. If you wish to know his real name, just PM him.

Ben, I'm glad that you understand my feeling of frustration. In the age of information highway and knowledge economy, those who know more will win in the economic race.

Feel free to promote your business ventures in Tubag Bohol without any cost. Hint: Your profile's signature is a powerful marketing tool.

Hi Mike,

Murag nag-roll call na ka sa mga "real" TB members... I am replying to confirm that I am not simply a virtual creature. Anyway, I am red-faced, even without red wine, at your superfluous intro... Without TB, we'd probably never have a chance to know one another, exchange not only our ideas but also our deepest cares and fears, utter "I love you" to both men and women without fear of being misjudged... Bitaw, Mike, you may just have sought self-consolation in putting up this site, but you have set our world aglow wherever we are in this world... I'd probably spend a year or two scouring Bohol for people with kindred thoughts and feelings but not find as many people, with very diverse talents and personalities, as have already converged here at TB... Daghan kaayug salamat for giving us this opportunity...

Having said all, I'll swear GEC is not only 'virtual' but also di-ingon-nato if he doesn't pop his head up at ICM on Sunday afternoon... So that goes for the rest of those of us who are in Tagbi...

Quote from: C2H4 on May 04, 2008, 11:45:49 PM
^Kahibaw naka aning nagka edad na Sir Ben, brittle bones na, dali ra ma fracture. About moderation, this is such a loose term. This is where piang piang comes in.

I've read somewhere that sex triggers the release of hormones or whatever that give people a sense of well-being. So it's really good for health. Kana sigurong mangapiang, daring o adventurous ra kaayo... basig kasirku-sirko na. If we just follow our bio-rythmn (and temper it with judgement as to the timing and place), sex will add years to our lives...

You have a heartwarming story that parallels my own search for info about Bohol at the time my wife and I have seriously considered sending our kids to school in Tagbilaran and partially setting base there.

Yes, I went through the same frustration of browsing through local papers (that seemed to take forever to update their news and even settled for nearby Cebu's SunStar that is at least updated daily), and tried the tourist forums that were always brimming with "ohs and ahs" about the place but lacked substantial content relevant to what I wanted to know.

Fortunately, I stumbled on this handiwork of yours at about the time the traffic was starting to pick up... I remember I would update my wife about the daily exchange and information I got from this site. One day, she said that perhaps I was already getting more information than I needed and was already enjoying the company of virtual people... Oh, did I bristle at that comment and replied that the most "real" people I've met are here. Now she is happy that even from afar, I feel very much at home in Bohol.

Now I can say that this forum really helped me a lot in firming up my decision on the kids' schooling. My wife and two daughters are there already and are immensely enjoying their stay. I am scheduled to fly with my son on the 9th but I will have to be back immediately. I really do hope to meet some of our Tagbilaran-based members even for a quick EB somewhere at ICM. But perhaps I'll be available only on Sunday or Monday afternoon. Anyone available on either either of these days? I will certainly take a longer trip in July.

Jack Dulnuan, Igorot owner of a chain of restaurants in Baguio City and La Trinidad, auto repair shop, vocational and technical school and recently a bus company, shares the following tips:

1. Learn to saveâ€"“You should not be in business if you do not know how to save. For every transaction, save, no matter how small.”

2. Do not put money in your pocketâ€"“You will be tempted to buy unnecessary things if you have money in your pocket. Money will be wasted.”

3. Live a simple lifeâ€"“Don’t spend much. Buy only important things. Don’t gamble, smoke or drink. Avoid vices. Don’t be extravagant.”

4. Wear shortsâ€"“If you are a farmer, wear shorts. This will save much laundry soap.”

5. Cook all the day’s meal in the morningâ€"“Cooking every lunch and dinner would cost more fuel and energy.”

6. Do not demand payment from one who took goods from your store and refused to payâ€"“If he tended to forget his debt, do not demand payment because if he has money, he would not buy from your store anymore.”

7. Give the right changeâ€"“Do not shortchange your customers. They will spread bad stories about you and you will lose your reputation as a store owner.”

Read complete article at http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080503-134382/The-businesses-that-Jack-built

Dream vacation for family that reads together

By Kenneth del Rosario
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:01:00 05/04/2008

MANILA, Philippinesâ€"For science teacher Noria Lim, reading the Inquirer is just as important as eating a good breakfast.

Food nourishes the body, she says, while the Inquirer’s news and information energizes the mind.

There’s nothing like starting the day sipping coffee and reading her favorite newspaper, Noria says.

On most mornings, Noria, her husband Paul and their 7-year-old son Krelian have breakfast together while reading their favorite sections of the Inquirer.

Indeed, the family that reads together, should vacation together.

So when Noria wished for a three-day, two-night vacation in Boholâ€"because her son Krelian wanted to “dig up all the chocolates” in the world-famous Chocolate Hillsâ€"the Inquirer couldn’t resist granting her wish.

Noria was one of 22 Inquirer letter-writers chosen to have their wishes granted during the paper’s 22nd anniversary last December.

Last week, the Lim family was sent packing on their “dream vacation.”

“Krelian was really excited [when he learned we were going to Bohol],” Noria says. “He thought that if he could eat just one hill [of the Chocolate Hills], he would become really fat.”

The Lim family had been planning a trip out of town for a long time. For one reason or the other, it never materialized.

“Times are hard,” says Noria, a teacher at WordLab School Inc. in New Manila. “There were other priorities.”

As to why she chose a trip to Bohol instead of a trip abroad, she explains: “We wanted our son to know that one does not have to go far to find the best things in life. Sometimes, traveling in our own country, marveling at our local treasures can be a priceless adventure.”

The Lim family visited the Inquirer office in Makati City and they couldn’t stop talking about their memorable trip to Bohol.

On the first day of their summer vacation, they visited a reforested area filled with mahogany trees, a butterfly sanctuary, the Loboc River and the Baclayon Church. This is the second oldest church in the country after the San Agustin Church in Manila.

They also trekked up the cone-shaped Chocolate Hills.

“It felt like we were in the Amazing Race,” says Krelian, referring to the reality television show in which teams race around the world in competition with each other.

But was Krelian able to dig up any chocolates?

“Yes, yes!” he says, adding in jest: “I brought a shovel with me.”

On the second day, Noria and Paul, who are both licensed open water divers, went diving off Balicasag Island where turtles, hammerhead sharks and other marine life abound.

Krelian, on the other hand, spent the day glued to his Game Boy. When it became too hot, he swam in the pool at the Amarela Resort where the Lim family stayed for the duration of their trip.

The best was left for last. On the third day, the Lim family went dolphin-watching and snorkeling, much to the delight of Krelian, who was in summer vacation mode after completing Grade 1 at the Raya School on Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

“We had a truly wonderful experience,” says Paul, a program development specialist at the recently opened Manila Ocean Park.

The three days were packed with so many activities, the Lim family didn’t have time to buy souvenirs. Instead, they took lots of pictures and bought peanut candies.

“I remember my first encounter with the Inquirer. I was in high school and I bought the paper from a newsboy to do him a favor,” Noria recalls. “Reading my first bought copy of the Inquirer made me feel like an adult.”

Her loyalty to the paper continued until her college days at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna, where she took up BS Biology major in Genetics. It was in this campus where she met her husband-to-be, Paul, who was taking up BS Zoology.
Noria’s says her favorite part of the paper is the Lifestyle section, because it gives “practical information about health, food and fashion.” It also gives “useful advice to young mothers who want to be money-smart.”

Krelian, on the other hand, says he likes reading the comic strips and the Junior Inquirer on Sundays.

The rest of the paper, Noria says with a wink, goes to her husband, Paul.

As to why he thought Noria’s wish letter was chosen among the hundreds of letter-senders who joined the contest, Paul muses: “I believe the Inquirer saw a sincere and genuine wish from a family who wanted to spend quality time together in a paradise like Bohol. For that, our heartfelt gratitude to the leading newspaper in the country.”

Quote from: C2H4 on May 04, 2008, 03:57:09 AM
Sir Ben, lisod ning imong mga tips dah, basin mangapiang ta ani.

Nganong mangapiang gud? Mag-calisthenics ba diay ta? Red wine, and sex, when done in moderation are good for health.

Philippines sees boost from North America
02 May 2008

The Philippines has seen a substantial boost in the number of visitors it has welcomed from North American countries this year, according to new figures.

After a record year for tourism in 2007, the tropical island nation saw an 18.7% year-on-year increase in its number of visitors from Canada in the first two months of 2008.

Some 7.1% more tourists from the US visited the Philippines in January and February this year than in 2007, according to official figures.

The success is thought to be partly a result of marketing campaigns focusing on adventure, dive and wellness travel, as well as promotional work by the Philippines' North American offices.

Los Angeles-based tourism director Annie Cuevas told the Travel Industry Wire: 'This upward trend shows no signs of slowing.'

The Philippines comprises more than 7,000 islands and boasts attractions including the Tubbataha Reef marine park, the White Beach of Boracay and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol.

Last year, a record-breaking 3m people visited the archipelago.

http://news.opodo.co.uk/articles/2008-05-02/18579183-Philippines-sees.php

Bohol: Country's model for eco-tourism, says Durano

by Rey Anthony Chiu

Tagbilaran City (2 May) -- Eco-Cultural tourism was then an unthinkable word, until the Boholanos showed what it is.

Entirely packaging a tourism that is a spin-off from the traditional definitions, Bohol's eco-tourism has made it a model for the country, admits Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, during awarding ceremonies of the Department of Tourism (DOT) Turismo Mismo grantees in Magtangtang Danao, Bohol, May 1.

"Even at a time when eco-tourism was not crafted yet, the Boholanos were able to define it," he said after going through the Eco, Educational, Extreme Adventure Tourism (EAT) in Danao.

The eco-tourism concept is one where there is responsible travel to nature areas, doing activities like birdwatching, caving, farm visits and rice field walks, kayaking or simply sightseeing.

In Danao, local officials led by Mayor Thomas Louis Gonzaga also put in a twist in their adventure tourism by introducing river trekking, tyrolean traverse, rappelling, bouldering, rock and root climbing and even bungee jumping.

The concept is to integrate all these in a huge nature park which has been the base camp of a revered Boholano hero; Francisco Dagohoy, while instilling in the tourists' mind the idea of preserving nature, the natural landscape, the watershed, the forest ecosystem and the town's history and cultural heritage, said a billboard at the park's jump-off point.

In fact, even Bohol Representative Edgar Chatto also confessed that when the House of Representatives deliberated on the bid for Bohol to be declared an eco-cultural tourism destination in the country, legislators called it a misnomer.

Legislators said [being] cultural also encompasses the ecology and the environment.

Chatto said he argued that it took the Boholanos about seven months to craft the vision for Bohol, and eco-cultural tourism is what they meant.

He said the House legislators finally agreed to adopt the term, after the local representative detailed the meaning of the word according to the Boholanos.

Chatto, who was a vice governor then was a key instrument in the crafting of Bohol's tourism vision as a province.

On eco-tourism, Durano asserts that Danao Bohol's tourism direction is basically what the DOT's Turismo Mismo is all about.

The department spun a campaign of not just giving people jobs, which seems to be superficial, but on giving people livelihood, which would make the projects sustainable.

Turismo Mismo is one where it is the people of the place who benefit from the resources, one he calls as Pilipino Mismo.

In Danao, the DOT brought Grass Roots Entrepreneurship and Employment in Tourism (GREET).

Meanwhile, Danao Mayor Gonzaga agreed that tourism to be sustainable should not just be about jobs but about livelihood as well. (PIA) [top]

Out of the ordinary

“Myra, these are not chocolate hills,” says Myra, our guide to the island of Bohol, quoting one of her Italian clients. “These are giant breasts.” On the top of one of the thousand hills, it seems as if only a sex-mad man could have made that remark.

The Chocolate Hills, so named by a nameless tourist, are covered in a thin green coat of scrub vegetation. They look like hills, the way a child would draw them, a series of stolid sinusoidal curves marching forward into a socialist utopia.

“In the summer when the green cover dries up, they look brown,” says Myra. “The legend says that there was once a giant who fell in love with an island girl. Every day, he would hide and watch her bathe. One day, she was going to get married and he knew he would lose her forever so he reached out to grab her. She died of fright. And the giant wept all night, huge tears that turned into the hills.”

A woman who could not see a giant when she bathed? What kind of giant could hide successfully and watch a woman bathe? A wee giant? And then a giant who wept hills? Truly, the Republic of the Philippines is another country.

Mythology, then geology

“The geological reason is that when the area was under water millions of years ago, those ridges of mountain caused certain tide formations. Those brought the material and deposited it there. The currents caused by the ridges turned it into hills.”

At the foot of the hills, we stop to shop. Our little group, brought to the Philippines by the kind courtesy of Wow Philippines, the tourist authority, is addicted to the retail experience.

Six shops at the bottom of a hill?

Let it not be said that we left those unexplored.

I wander into one and discover a small stuffed toy attached to a fake branch. It has huge eyes and a red t-shirt. “That’s the tarsier,” says Myra. “It’s the world’s smallest primate.”

Contemplative primate

Later, we go and see some real live tarsiers. This is the only animal that is cuter than its stuffed-toy avatar, and this despite the fact that it looks like it was made of spare parts from various other animals. It’s a nocturnal primate so it has huge eyes, each larger than its brain. It is a fistful of ape, which weighs maybe 140 grams, and most of this seems to be tail.

This is a monster appendage, easily five times the length of the tarsier from head to bum, and helps it get about. I believe that when the tarsier is studied it will be discovered that the rest of the body is designed only to take that tail places.

But it was not named for its tail. It was named for its fingers, the tarsal bones of which are extraordinarily long. At the sanctuary, where we meet the real tarsiers, we are offered grasshopper kebabs with which to feed them. Thin fingers unprise themselves from the branch that my tarsier is holding and slowly take the stick. A few leisurely crunches and the tarsier returns to immobility.

This is the oddest thing about the tarsier in a series of odd things. It is a primate that seems to have decided that it would rather achieve satori through an intense calm contemplation of the universe. It does not rollick or frolic. It does not hop about and scratch under the armpits. It does not move much.  It takes hold of a likely branch and stays there. It opens its eyes. A Japanese tourist looms large. It is still. An Indian tourist takes a photograph. It closes its eyes. It is tired of grasshopper kebabs and refuses any more. It opens its eyes.

The excitement is far too much for anyone in our group to handle. We retreat to the shop and someone buys eight cases made of shell.

Island trail

Bohol, the last stand of the tarsier, is not where we began.

We began in Manila with a mall or two. Smart Filipinos. They know what we’re about. If Indians like to go shopping, let’s show them the shops. After the mall visits, we fly to Puerto Princessa, a town so tiny that it would fit into Gurgaon and no one would notice. It is comfortable and you can walk almost anywhere you want to go. We drive off to Honda Bay, which is why we are here. This is a beautiful bay with many islands, surfacing at irregular intervals, each one looking a bit like a Crusoe experience.

In the year Sushmita Sen earned her title, Miss Philippines was asked: “So how many islands does your country have?”

She is said to have answered: “At high tide or low tide?”

The correct answer as we all know is 1,707.

We’ve been to two. We are now going to double our score.

There’s Starfish Island and Snake Island and this island and that island. The government protects this one, that one is private and so on. “Can one buy an island?” someone asks. “If there were one on sale, there isn’t, but if there were one, it would cost about eighty million pesos.”

The good thing about the Philippines is that you don’t have to bother calculating. The rupee and the peso are sort of equivalent.

We snorkel off Snake Island. The water is clear despite many young Japanese and Korean kids kicking up storms of sand. We swim at Starfish Island where the starfish look like they have been on steroids. And then we go down an underground river, into a deep space filled with glints and rock. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this river, and it feels like something out of a quest for the gold of the dwarfs.

Time to return to Manila to see Intramuros, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s practically the only patch of the city that has any old stuff left.

“We are the Warsaw of Asia,” says Lynn Yerba, our guide. “In World War II, the Japanese bombed us when they conquered us. Then we were bombed by the Americans when they liberated us. Nothing was left standing, except the Church of San Agustin.”

This is a magnificent church, built between 1587 and 1606. It stands comparison to the churches of Old Goa, certainly. And it has a magnificent ceiling. You look up and you see carved pediments and pilasters and other folderols of Baroque architecture. They look magnificent but they are even more magnificent when you realise that they are painted. It’s trompe l’oeil and my goodness, it certainly trompes your oeil.

Besides it has survived any number of earthquakes, bombs and even a fire that the faithful extinguished by using their urine. That kind of place. Mabuhay.

© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://lifestyle.in.msn.com/travel/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1369220

By the way, for the red wine lovers, try drinking it with raw veggies and fruits as pulutan:

-radish
-carrots
-cucumber
-celery
-paprika

Just dip the veggies lightly in mayonnaise. The combination is really good for the digestive tract. Also good with squid or fish barbecue. I don't eat meat very much. I believe these veggies are also good for sex life.

Quote from: C2H4 on May 02, 2008, 08:34:15 AM
Sir, dili man siguro ang pasta naka ingon ani...it must be the wine! The Italians and the French often drink wine with their meals...ang mga Mexicans pud, they have tequila...

Therefore, I conclude, it must be the wine? (dili lang ko sure  )

I am a red-wine lover, and can vouch for its aphrodisiac effect (we had this thread somewhere). That's why I drink only once every three to four days recently since I am living alone.

Yes, I'm sure it's not the pasta, though this association comes first when you mention Italian. But since the wine-loving French come in only at a middling 48% according to this research, I am sure there is something else in the Italian staple that makes them hot even without chili.

Tomatoes... red... plus wine... red... that's what probably makes the Italians paint the (bed) red.

Quote from: orChids on May 01, 2008, 08:31:41 AM
I'm afraid looking at the mirror at night time Sir Benne.I feel there's someone behind me.I don't even look at the mirror when I shower,specially when I'm using hot water,when it fogs,it seems like there's a kind of thing forming into obake.
I am a bit scary since I heared women talking at my husbands walk in closet,t'was past 1 am.And I saw someones white feet when I was washing dishes.I thought ako lang,but when my friend came and stayed with us,she saw the same thing too.

Horror man kaayo ni! After all, there really are tales of out-of-this-world beings showing themselves in the mirror!

After working late on the translation of some legal documents, I came home to a dark room with mirrors turned backwards.

My 15-year old son had just come back from a trip in Kyoto. I told him to go home straight ahead as I would be late at the office. This is our third week of father-son bonding in a single-room apartment which will be my home for the coming year.

In this short span of time, I notice that he has grown taller than me, quite a good-looking boy. Just as I thought I had already known his every quirk, I discovered something for the first time. As soon as I entered the room, I noticed that all three mirrors--a body length one, and two small bathroom mirrors --have been turned backwards and covered with towels.

When I asked him in the morning why he covered the mirrors, he said, "Obake ga desou da mo" (What if a ghost comes out of it!)

Needless to say, he uses all three mirrors together in daylight to check his appearance.

Quote from: ms da binsi on April 30, 2008, 09:52:45 AM
So you mean to say is that,  Pasta is diff'rent from Pancit and sotanghon?

Maybe it has something to do with the gravy or sauce Benne san?

Common denominator of these climax satisfied people-tomato!

fresh tomato, tomato sauce in can, tomato paste in can, etc, etc.

most low/no climax people only are fund of ginisang tomato!

(just my own opinion      )

Yes, I guess red tomatoes deliver the aphrodisiac. Sagulan na lang nato tomato ang atong pancit to get the desired effect...

Ngano kaha undersexed ang Hapon, according to this poll? Too much sushi and sashimi? Maybe they should eat these raw treats with red cherry tomatoes. Let's hear from Aya.

Chinese struggle to orgasm, easier for Italians -poll

SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters Life!) - The Chinese might be top global performers when it comes to business, but during sex they appear to be struggling to reach their peak.

Couples from China and Hong Kong are the least likely to reach orgasm during sex, while the Italians and Spanish claim to have no problems climaxing, a global sex survey showed on Tuesday.

Less than a quarter -- 24 percent -- of those surveyed from China and Hong Kong were able to achieve an orgasm every time they had sex.

Italy, Spain and Mexico tied for top place, achieving orgasms 66 percent of the time, said the Durex Sexual Wellbeing survey, which polled 26,000 people in 26 countries.

The French, famous for their romantic overtures, came in at a middling 48 percent of the time -- the global average, the survey said.

Other Asian countries such as Japan and Singapore ranked poorly with those polled saying they only reached orgasm 27 percent and 36 percent of the time respectively.

Of those who manage to climax, the Japanese were the least satisfied with the intensity of the orgasm while Mexicans and Brazilians said they were the most satisfied.

Women climaxed less than men, with 32 percent saying they reached the peak every time they had sex, compared with 63 percent of men.

Factors that enhanced an orgasm included delaying climax, longer foreplay time and having a strong emotional relationship, the survey said.

The survey also found that while men preferred to orgasm with a partner, women achieved an orgasm more easily through masturbation.

"If you want to have an orgasm, it's important that you allow yourself to surrender to the good feelings you are experiencing," said Kevan Wylie, a sexual health expert, in a statement.

Male life expectancy lowered by smoking and drinking

By AKIRA OGAWA
Kyodo News

The difference in average life expectancy between men and women in Japan was 3.9 years after World War II but has since expanded to nearly seven years.

Why do women live longer lives than men?

The answer is smoking and alcohol are shortening men's lives, while women's hormones and other characteristics are prolonging theirs, widening the difference in average life expectancy, according to a recent study.

The finding was disclosed by Hirotsugu Ueshima, a professor at Shiga University of Medical Science, at the recent inaugural meeting in Tokyo of the Association for Gender-Specific Medicine in Japan. Ueshima surveyed about 10,000 people across the country over a period of 19 years.

It is a global phenomenon that women live longer than men. In Japan, women's average life expectancy has been the highest in the world for 22 straight years. In 2006, the figure was 85.8 years for women, compared with 79.0 years for men.

There are striking differences in average life expectancy between men and women in advanced countries, with Russia recording the largest difference at 14 years.

"There are fewer cases of cancer and cardiovascular disease among women. That is the reason," Ueshima said.

Smoking, alcohol, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity also contribute to the difference, he added.

The rate of smoking among Japanese men was 60 percent around 1990 and is currently 40 percent, high for an advanced country.

The rate among Japanese women is much lower at 12 percent to 15 percent.

Women's blood pressure is also lower than men's.

"In the 1960s, when the death rate from strokes was high, the difference in blood pressure between men and women was not large, but women's blood pressure has lowered considerably since then," Ueshima said.

"The rate of smoking among men is declining. If the negative factors among men decrease with improved living habits, the difference in average life expectancy between men and women will narrow in the future," Ueshima said.

Quote from: Lorenzo on April 30, 2008, 02:34:10 AM
This is why I always get angry at my younger brother Don for engaging too much in Manga, and watching  late night Anime shows. The last time I came back during spring break, he was watching some kind of demon-based anime show, and had my little brother Andre with him.

I was shouting at them for watching such kinds of movies and at such a late hour.

I don't like these animes and mangas that my brother reads because they are so violent; they are always talking about demons, demon slayers, demon lords etc. I remember I forced my brother to pack away his old mangas under threat of taking away his game systems. "I'm sorry Kuya" iyang reply. Di ko gusto ma hilak sila, pero sometimes my parents do not intervene kai they think it is only a comic book. Pero some of these comics are just so down right perverse, gruesome.

There was a manga that became so popular here among the junior and high school students from 2003, when it was first serialized in a magazine, entitled Death Note. I am not very familiar with the content. But I think the "note" here refers to a supernatural notebook that a youngster discovered in which he could just write or draw the names of his oppressors and other evil persons and they die.

I think this was a reaction to the pervasive bullying problem at school that took sometime for the Ministry of Education to address.

Now I can say it was partly the subtle influence of this book on my children, as on most Japanese children, that led to my decision to bring them back to the Philippines. One day, I simply noticed that when they quarreled, they'd curse one another, "Shi-ne!" (pronounced the abakada way, shi-ne) It means "You die!" I thought at first I misheard them, until I confirmed that I heard them right. When my teenager had a tantrum because he was asking me something that I couldn't give immediately, he also blurted towards me, "Shi-ne!" and slammed the door. I almost exploded in anger. Later, when everything had calmed down, my two teenagers explained that it is a "common expression" ( nay an expletive) among the youngsters. I can accept being talked back to by my children, but not this expression, however "common" it may be. I traced the origin of this expression to this popular manga.

It was then that I realized that I have to wrest my children away from the pernicious psychological influences of this society and teach them back respect for the parents and the old. I know it will take sometime for them to adjust and reconnect to their Filipino roots. But I just realized that accepting death wishes as a matter of expression is not the way I want them to grow.

Quote from: Bambi on April 30, 2008, 01:19:53 AM
Thanks Sir Bennelyne for that report and your interesting comments.  Wa ba diay death penalty diha sa Japan nga daghan mang mga buangon?   Have seen Japanese movies really extremely bloody and horrible.  There was one...I forgot the title - storyline: He was married and had a mistress, they were both  deadly in love and crazy practising sex games up to the extent.  Losing  the bottom  of reality... he died being over sexed and she cut her penis, got crazy and carried his organ round around in Tokio. As far as, I remembered it was based from a true story.    I observed Japanese as educated, respectful and having a smooth/nice personality. 

Hi Bambi,

They do have death penalty. In fact, they executed quite a number this year. But this is reserved only for serial killers and other murderous criminals that have no mitigating circumstances (such as insanity, victimization of domestic violence, etc.) It's horrible how the Japanese judicial system left loose ends in the first case of Nozaki. If I am not mistaken, his victim in the first case was also a non-Japanese, prompting criticism that Japanese courts are too lenient when the victims are foreigners.

I do not know about the exact incident that became the basis for the movie that you describe, but I can only say that this extreme "fatal attraction" type is not farfetched in Japan. In the last three years, two Caucasian women have been victims of fatal attraction from their Japanese paramours or suitors which sealed the deadly end of the women. The case of the British hostess still remains unsolved, despite relentless quest of her parents for justice.

This country is starkly ironical. You feel you can walk alone safely in most places, even at night. The people seem so ceremonially polite and peace-loving. The surroundings seem quiet and even heavenly. But when crimes are committed, the scenes invariably look like all hell broke loose. As I mentioned elsewhere,the serenity is only on the surface. In some unpredicatable places underneath, there is a cauldron of insanity, perversion and destructive forces that is bound to explode somewhere, sometime.

Quote from: orChids on April 29, 2008, 04:18:24 PM
That would be nice,pero I have to practice a lot pa .My son don't have inclination about arts.Daughters did draw only manga.My eldest is good in bunshu where she recieved recognation from the prefecture.She's jioning kendou lately.SHe's now in 1st year hi-school and still interested to study outside Japan.Thanks Sir Benne,just a duwa-duwa lang  if I don't have nothing to do.

pro kaayo imong duwa-duwa.

lain-lain jud ang personality sa mga bata. genes can play a big part, but environment is also a strong influence. ang akong youngest, si Sarah, 8, nakadawat pod na ug award sa shodo (Japanese calligraphy, naa man diay ta lain readers).

si paolo, akong 14-year old, is into soccer. nagproblema ko kay dili kaayo mahilig mag-benkyo (study)... pukpok jud nako ang ulo sa English during his remaining days here... hope he'll do better in Bohol.

pursue your hobby, Aya... who knows you can have a public venue for it one day, if not in Japan, in Tagbilaran during our EB.

By the way, superb imong obra maestra.

Hi Aya,

Naa ba pud artistic inclination imong mga anak? My eldest daughter Raya is also into computer graphics and she has received numerous awards from the city mayor and the school for her paintings (including flowers and landscape). She also does portraits. Ang iyang allowance pag-uli sa Bohol, gikan sa mga mama-san nga kliyente naku nga iyang gihimuan ug charcoal and water color portraits. Kung tua na imong mga anak sa Bohol, mag-summer workshop ka for the kids and then we can have exhibits, sponsored by TB. Looking forward to this...

Quote from: orChids on April 29, 2008, 03:41:48 PM
Yes that's true Sir Benne,.I want to bring my kids in our place na jod.Labi na about the 14 years old boy nga gibunalan sa bat tungod lang sa ilang away sa internet..

Hi Aya,

Sige na pagdali kay aron naa'y makauban akong mga anak. I talked to my two girls last night and asked them if they want to come back to Japan. Di na sila gusto mubalik dire. Enjoy na kaayo sa Bohol. My 8-year old daughter is taking supplementary summer classes at HNU ug tanoshii kuno kaayo. Murag nakaapas na dayon siya sa English reading and even in Filipino... My 15-year old is having a one-on-one tutorial lesson everyday at Great Minds in ICM man siguro. Nalipay kaayo ko kay nawala na gamay ang ilang strong Japanese accent sa English. OK kaayo ang teachers sa HNU... If things go well, I'll let them proceed with their studies all the way there. Diri sa Japan, mingaw kaayo ilang kinabuhi kay iya-iya ra man dire inigkahuman sa bukatsu. I want them to enjoy their childhood and youth and friendship the way I enjoyed mine.

Here's the latest update on this case from Japan Today:

TOKYO â€"A 48-year-old Japanese man was served a fresh arrest warrant Monday on suspicion of killing a Filipina woman whose body he also allegedly dismembered at an apartment in Tokyo’s Odaiba waterfront area, police said. The suspect, Hiroshi Nozaki, 48, allegedly admitted to the charges, saying he killed Honiefaith Ratilia Kamiosawa, 22, because she ignored him despite his devotion to her and that he dismembered her body as he wanted to possess her.

Some other body parts of hers have also been found in a coin locker and a canal in Tokyo. Nozaki allegedly strangled the Filipina and cut up her body in the 26th-floor unit of a high-rise condominium in the Odaiba waterfront district on April 3. The apartment was shared by Nozaki, Kamiosawa and two other Filipinas, all of whom worked in the same food service shop in Roppongi.

*****
My comments:

This was not the first time that Hiroshi Nozaki committed this perverse crime. He had just been let loose after serving 3.5 years for mutilating another body. He was not convicted for murder in the first case for lack of evidence, and was meted a prison sentence only for chopping up the body which carries a maximum penalty of 3.5 years. Even the Japanese themselves are puzzled why justice had been served so loosely on this man the first time he committed this crime. Is it possible to be charged only with mutilating a body and not for murdering the person?

I remember another Filipina was murdered some 10 years ago in our neighborhood, about 1 km from where we lived. Her corpse was likewise beheaded. I remember how the Japanese police kept bugging me at my office as she was my client, until I challenged them to prove that I know anything about the murder before I allowed them into my office. To this day, the crime remains unsolved.

I do not know what's with the Japanese. But if you look at their manga or comic and pornographic literature, it's so full of bloody, sordid violence. A Japanese TV commentator mentioned that perhaps the man is afflicted with a psychological disorder of deriving sexual satisfaction from cutting up the bodies.

Another interesting development. Yesterday, the Japanese Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision that held a woman psychologically incapable of judgment when she killed and cut up her husband into pieces due allegedly to domestic violence. This woman was given 15 years in prison. Although the court accepted the unanimous psychiatric opinion of insanity due to protracted violence, the Court asserted that the woman so methodically carried out the crime up to disposal of the body parts that refutes the argument of insanity.

Japan is peaceful on the surface, but there is raging insanity underneath.

Quote from: Scott on April 29, 2008, 10:59:47 AM
i don't know if this one still holds water today: that there is a high suicidal rate among Japanese teens brought about by stress in University admission. I read that research abstract way way back in college.

meanwhile, one trend in major corporations these days is the inclusion of "welfare" or holistic development program in employees' perks--like the company pays for the membership to fitness gyms (of its workers). some even put up their own company fitness gym. in the case cited above, just like what we are planning here at school--a boxing ring would be good to release anger, stress and what-not. besides, it's a good sport to burn those flab. tee-hee!

one latest research finding reveals that TRAVEL occupies the TOP SLOT in the most preferred perk or incentive among employees. And I absolutely agree.

Hi Scott,

Stress can come in good economic times--when workload increases and individual and company competition heats up. In this case, perks such as welfare benefits and free gym passes can do a lot to defuse pent-up tension.

But this time, the social stress in Japan comes from economic anxieties. Those who were used to the vaunted Japanese lifetime employment system and the anticipation of comfortable retirement suddenly find themselves on the brink of uncertainty. Even travel becomes a luxury when the fear of job loss hangs in your mind.

If only I could get the Japanese to travel to Bohol to unwind...

Quote from: ms da binsi on April 29, 2008, 08:38:13 AM
Benny dear, I think Japan is not Alone! Look at America too! My husband said the same thing too.

Like the www, our economies are so closely tied that when America sneezes, Japan also catches a cold. (Ug ang Philippines pneumonia--tan-awa ang rice crisis!)

In the finely manicured city that I live in--Tsukuba City--there are so many houses and residential buildings being built. And yet everyday all you hear from the Japanese and foreigners alike is the hardship of life. I simply doubt if there is an economic wellspring hidden somewhere that provides for all these developments, but I am afraid Japan is indeed following  the trails of the mortgage crisis in the U.S.

A businesswoman friend of ours who bought a house of her own recently folded up and gave up the place for foreclosure.

Quote from: orChids on April 29, 2008, 08:41:17 AM
Sir Benne hello.

Hi Orchids,

Musta na akong silingan? Wa pa jud ta nag-istorya ug nagkita. Na-stress ko sa relocation sa akong pamilya, ug ako nag-hikkoshi pud sa single room apartment. Tanshinfunin na ko ron. I'll be leaving for Tagbi on the 9th or 10th with my son. He's now enjoying his last school trip to Kyoto.

OK lang ba ang mga tulips sa inyong dapita diha?

After a series of murder with bodily mutilation, and a spike in suicides, the normally even-tempered and peace-loving Japanese are turning to helpless tulips and swans to vent their pent-up stress.

No, they're not turning to gardening or taking care of swans as pets to ease their stress. Dignified-looking salary men in  suits have been caught on cameras swiping potted tulips, or overturning the pots with flowers in full bloom, on the roadside. And the incidents are increasing in the hundreds daily in different cities all over Japan.

And yesterday, about a hundred swans have been found beheaded or beaten to death at a lakeside park in Mito, the capital city of the prefecture I live in.

Stress is building up in this society that prides itself on being harmony-loving and that practices Shintoism which believes that all living and non-living things have spirits.

Among the causes of stress are the pension mess (through bureaucratic lapses, pension payments cannot be traced to policy-holders), increase in personal medical and health care costs and decrease in pension payments to the old, unemployment, unprecedented inflation especially of food and energy, and generally dismal economic outlook.

From where I stand, this country doesn't look anymore like the Land of the Rising Sun.

Hi Lorenzo,

Congrats on graduating with top honors! Am so proud for a fellow Bol-anon to be given such accolade.

Michael W. Smith is one of my favorite Christian singers. I am glad you introduced this song to our friends here at TB. This song really touches a chord with anyone's heart, young and old, man or woman. We are all looking for a place in the world--not a literal geographic space, but a reason to live for.

Among my other favorites by the same artist:

Draw Me Close to You
Awesome God
Above All
Breathe
Agnus Dei
Friends

If I'm not mistaken, his latest release is entitled How to say goodbye, which is a song dedicated to his grown-up daughter who is about to walk down the aisle... I can see myself in the same position in just a few years' time.

Kudos! You bring us, Boholanos, great pride once again!

Quote from: -<GEC348>- on April 27, 2008, 06:55:24 AM

Benny, your presence in Bohol in the near future will greatly matter.  Cheers!

Hi GEC,

I'll be in Tagbilaran only for three to four days in mid-May, but I really hope we'd share a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon someplace.

Quote from: Glen on April 27, 2008, 04:02:21 AM
Hala Ms Belle laliman ka ang name sa ilang product Mosbeau. Mura dool rani sa mostbeauty. Agoy mosamot jod ka ana og
ka gwapa, permi jod kang ma dokdokan sa imong banana hahahaha.

Sir Bennelyne naa bay free sample ana kay atung pasuwayon atung model dire si Ms da binsi.
Kay unya og dile siya hiyang sos ma dokdokan jod siya og samot sa iyang banana.

Diba si Sir Macky mga beauty product pod iyang project karon. Hala duha na sila.

Hi Glen,

Si Ms da binsi flawless naman na, so she doesn't need any oral gluta for an internal makeover. But I guess for long-term maintenance of skin, the product will help a lot. Kapin pa naa man mga reinforcement ni nga collagen, Vitamin C, etc. Tan-awon nato ug naa ba ko'y madala nga sample... But with the orally taken gluta, one will not really see the effect with a one- or two-time intake...

Quote from: B:) on April 27, 2008, 11:13:25 AM
I'm so glad to see you back here in TB Nong Bene, murag na correct gyud di ay ang akong panaghap about what you've been up to:)
Anyway, I'm also happy to hear your wife and kids are adjusting Bohol very well. Like I said, don't worry about their school, the next thing you'll know, they'll be speaking English in no time. and of course, binon-anon pod

That's wonderful oi nga maayo ang starting sa inyong business. And yes, I've heard about that product kay mao man nay sikat kaayo nga gipang gamit sa mga artista sa Pinas. Pero diri nako nakahibaw sa akong friend in NYC bahin ani. Kay ang iyang kauban ug trabaho tig-gamit ani, unya and uban, mouli lang sa Pinas kay magpa- inject pod in one of the trusted clinic.
Basta, I wish you and your family the best of everything, especially your children.

Hi Beth,

Wa na gyud nato napadayon atong exchange of PM da. Anyway, yes, I'm doing fine. My older sister who is also in the US is being swamped with inquiries from the Filipina nurses at the hospital where she works when they learned that it's my latest business foray. She's coming home this May and has reserved some for herself and her friends.

Actually, glutatione has been the center of media attention because this is the most popular product being endorsed by our artistas. The comebacking Gabby even took the hotseat recently because he has double-booked himself for endorsement in two companies... I had no idea this product is such a hit until I invited the Japanese company head, who has persistently been wooing me to market this product, to a Filipino event that I organized in my place.

I normally talk to my kids in Japanese and I cannot quite contain my excitement in being able to communicate with them just as well in English. Maayo man daw kaayo ang ilang teachers sa Holy Name. Unya ang guidance counselor daw nila murag relative pa nato kay Tutor man daw ang maiden name...

Quote from: Macky Ferniz on April 27, 2008, 05:43:27 AM
Bene,

As I informed to you, we are exclusive distributor of a Japanese brand in the Middle East named "Pigeon Baby Products". To give you an idea of the size, our turn over for Saudi Arabia alone is USD 260MM annually. KSA being the largest in terms of land mass and population claims 60% of sales share Vs. smaller ME countries (Kuwait, Lebanon, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar...etc.). Baby products sector is fast growing with very limited competition.

Regarding cosmetics, competition is very tough; however, since the ME is a melting pot, there is always a good opportunity, where it matters on management and marketing.

You may send company portfolio of Mosbeau to my email: purchase@gtcl.com.sa and I will endorse it to our GM for review.

We too have cosmetics products like: Sebamed from Germany, Brylcreem and Kiwi from Zetra UK, Church and Dwight products. We also distribute optical like Bausch&Lomb Contact Lenses and Designer Sunglasses/frames from Italy. Also WD-40. You may notice the variety of our acquired portfolio, which proves anything sells here as mostly the market is expanding and unsaturated.

However, like Japan, it is imposible for a foreigner to establish a private business here in Saudi Arabia. The King won't allow any outsiders except if you sell it to a Saudi National as franchise. So, kutob ra ta sa empleyado.

Regarding Mindanao distributorship, the brother of my wife owns a bakery business in Butuan and his wife a nutritionist dealing beauty products (door-to-door selling). I am pretty sure they can handle the northern Mindanao Area and I can guarantee their integrity. His wife is good in public speaking being the one who conducts seminars in CARAGA region for nutrition facts sponsored by Nestle. They too are Boholanos migrated to mindanao.

For further discussions and help, please send me PM. Not now, since you are still busy.

Once again, welcome back to TB.

Hi Macky,

I still keep in tact your business advices. I'm going one step at a time... Yes, yes, I need the distribution network in Mindanao. I'll communicate with you at length by PM when I get enough time. I just want to acknowledge that I've read your message and I am very interested in your proposal.

Quote from: Bambi on April 26, 2008, 08:11:30 PM
Hello Sir Bennelyne,

Nice to hear you and your Family are at the best of everything despite of that hectic schedules, culture and weather adjustments especially for the kids.  I wouldn't be surprised that  your children like and love Tagbilaran/Bohol at once. Our island is really much improving to a positive side of live never to mention the high prices then.  What counts more that the whole Family are happy together, right?  Have a wonderful start, good health and success in all your future endeavours. God speed his assistance and blessings to the whole Family!

By the way, would you be kind enough to give me a bit of  information about this "glutathione"  (chemical products). Sorry, have no single idea about this. Thank you Sir.

Am happy that you are at the best of health and never forget us aside of those busy days.  Mr. Junayag,  might be probably excited to have you as one of his distinguished guests this coming July Grand TB EB formal evening affair.  I guess, Jun as a host and a promoter already prepared a red carpet to be rolled on for that night (see GRAND TB EB IS SET). Enjoy! We, other TB members who can't be on the dot...."maglaway lang 

Hi Bambi,

Yes, I am so happy that my two kids love Bohol and are adjusting well. We'll have to weather the temporary separation, but I promised to travel as frequently as I can to be with them. I have to look after my small company here in Japan, which after all still delivers our bread and butter.

Regarding the Mosbeau products, I've given some product description above. I'll try to come up with a more comprehensive product profile.

I'll try my very best to be at the grand EB. I think my schedule will allow it, barring any unforseen work. Red carpet is for the ladies. My glutawhite will contrast sharply with the red.

Nice to see you around!

Quote from: ms da binsi on April 26, 2008, 07:54:20 PM
Gem unsa may maayo ug mag distributor sad ta diri sa Merika? ikaw lang dili lang ko! ako lay model nimo! whehehe!

Ben, Im so glad to hear back from you, i had that mix feeling that  you deserted us forever or you were very busy with your family. Im just so glad everything went well in Bohol. Ben, kana injung feeling karon preha ra sad na sa ako when i moved here in Michigan kay nag minyo. I lived and worked my butt off in LA for years and honest wala kuy nahimo so i made my plan B which is "now" and Jeeeez Ben, it took me a year to adjust from being a working and independent woman to a desperate housewife! hahaha tinuod! but i got used to it and im really loving it!

Anyhow, you looked like a bit Hapon so mo fit ra ka gamay sa mga pikot diha! hahaha pero i know they would know somehow nga di ka Hapon kumbaga wakwak ba nga makatimaho sila sa imong dugo nga dili ilang kaliwat! hahahhaha so much for that, i am so happy to hear that you moved back to our country.

Good luck Ben and when everything gets calm, do silip us here more often okay? we really missed you here.

You guys take care okay? Everything will be fine... Goodluck Benne san!

Hi ms da binsi,

Thanks for the concern. Actually, I'm always around, taking a peek at TB. But I am not always able to log in... Know the reason why, kung masugdan na nako, mahurot na sab akong tibuok buntag o hapon. You guys make my fingers stick to the keyboard for one reason or another, busa pugong gyud labi na daghan kaayong kalihukan diri sa akong pamilya ug panginabuhi. If I only get paid 100 dollars per logged hour here, I'll drop everything else I'm doing...

My older sister who lives in Oregon is reminding me no end for me to leave her the Mosbeau White Series in Manila when she arrives there for a vacation in early May. She's also gathering orders from her friends at the hospital she works in so she could hand-carry them to the US. The set consists of White cleansing foam, White beauty essence, white lotion and white cream for US$ 110, free of delivery within the Philippines. The Glutawhite advanced formula (containing natural glutatione, asupara gaba and Vitamin C and reinforced by placental protein and collagen extracts) is being retailed at PHP 2500 and is good for one month.

We have already obtained the import permit from the Philippines and Thailand but not yet from other coutries, so we can't ship them out commercially to US yet. But it is readily available for shipment from our call center office in Manila for orders in the Philippines. I'm sure our Japanese producer will eventually venture into the wider US market.

See you around!

Quote from: Glen on April 26, 2008, 02:44:41 PM
Maayo kay ni angay imong wife sa Bohol aron pod makamao siya magluto og mga binol anon style.
Unsa diay nang inyung nigosyo? mura lagi og lami na pasanayun.

If plans push through, diri sa Tagbilaran and hopefully sa ubang parts sa Visayas, mahimong distributor mi sa glutatione and other related beauty & health products from Japan nga ang brand Mosbeau. I-launch formally ang product sa Manila sa among Japanese partner in July this year with Beth Tamayo as image model ug coverage namo ang Visayas and hopefully Mindanao.

Quote from: grazie7y on April 26, 2008, 01:19:52 PM
Thank you, Bene san, for your reply.  Of course, your presence in Tubag Bohol matters a lot to us!  We missed your friendly, mature and intellectual posts. 

I can't imagine having to go through all those huge changes in your life at the same time  and since I can't physically help you and your wife and your children carry the bags and boxes of life in Japan to the Philippines, all I can offer is a fervent prayer that everything works out fine with you and your family and that your children will very soon call Bohol a HOME. 

Do keep us in your prayers. My wife and I have decided to make this crucial move because we could feel that in Japan, our children are growing up torn from their Filipino roots and yet are not completely assimilated to the Japanese society... A Filipina friend who married a Japanese, raised her children here for 30 years and recently retired with her husband in Iloilo summed up her life thus, "In Japan, you can gather a lot of acquaintances over the years but it is difficult to have real friends."

I feel the same way, although I am not yet at the age of retirement. You can speak Japanese perfectly, know their culture intellectually, even practice it--but you will always remain outside the Japanese social circle. The Japanese claim that their world is inscrutable and so they self-consciously guard themselves against gaijin or foreign penetration.

Also, since the demographic profile in Japan is becoming an inverted pyramid with more aged than young people, the tax is heavy on the working people and especially on those who run their own companies like myself (even if my company is almost a one-man operation). In the last five years, it has been very difficult to build any form of asset here... With this new arrangement for the family, we hope to be able to prepare better for the kids' college education. We have three pieces of land in Mansasa, Bool and Panglao that remain idle and we hope to start some income-generating projects. Of course, all this comes with a sacrifice. But as they say, no guts, no glory...

I appreciate your concern and especially prayers...

Quote from: Glen on April 26, 2008, 01:15:39 PM
Salamat kay okay na ang mga bata karon sa Tagbilaran. Adto na diay sila mag schooling Mr Bennelyne?
Imong wife dile napod mubalik sa Japan. Kamao mag bisaya imong mga anak?
Good luck and God bless your family.

Nagustuhan na man sa mga bata ang Bohol ug naka-adjust na sa environment. Wala pa ko nakadungog ug reklamo. So I am having them prepare for enrollment in regular classes in June. Accommodating man pud ang Holy Name. The principal said the school also has or used to have a German student who speaks nothing but German. At least akong mga anak mag-Tagalog man.

My wife, who is used to doing business, is taking a rest from hectic business life and settling down as a regular mom. She is slowly making the adjustment. She will be traveling between Bohol and Japan every three or four months, especially kung mahimong successful ang business partnership namo sa Mosbeau, a Japanese beauty & health product company. I also will be traveling back and forth as frequently as possible.

My wife is not a Boholana, but a Pangalatok (that's how the Pangasinan people call themselves). But she has always loved Bohol and I think is enjoying her stay there. Basig makatuon pud siya ug Binol-anon or Binasaya kay sa telepono, naa nay Binisaya iyang sulti.

Hi TB people,

It's so heartwarming to know that my presence here matters to you. Na-KSP naman hinuon ko.

Anyway, personal update... My family is going through a major transition--that is why I only have a chance to look in here once in a while.

My wife and two daughters have been staying in Tagbilaran since April 5. We have an old house in Mansasa but my two kids were not so comfortable in it so we decided to rent a furnished apartment in Dao while we prepare to renovate the place.

During their first night in Cebu (direct flight from Narita), my 16-year old daughter cried relentlessly on the phone asking me to pick her up back to Japan... I assured her that Cebu was not their final destination and the next day, they would be in a better place. Did I spend a sleepless night pondering whether or not I made the right decision!

When they reached Tagbilaran the following day, her mood had changed 180 degrees... "Koko wa zettai ii yo!" (I absolutely like this place!) I was so relieved and happy. Now, the two girls are taking tutorial lessons in preparation for enrollment at Holy Name U. My 8-year old is catching up unbelievably fast in English and Filipino. Well, most kids adapt to a new environment quickly. She is reportedly teaching her classmates Japanese as well. My eldest daughter is also taking up tutorial lessons in most subjects to familiarize her with the English instruction.

My son is still with me in Japan because he requested to join their junior high school trip to Kyoto starting tomorrow. After their trip, the two of us are tentatively scheduled to go to Tagbilaran via Cebu on May 10.

I also had to vacate our family-size apartment here in Japan and move to a bachelor's pad as I will mostly be alone here in the coming year. Relocation across the seas, and across the street, are equally nerve-wracking especially when you do them at the same time. I will still continue to work until we have settled our livelihood in Tagbilaran.

We have obtained an agreement with a Japanese company to distribute Japan-made beauty products named Mosbeau, the main product being Mosbeau Glutawhite Advance Formula, for the Visayas. As of last update, the import licence was already issued by the Philippine government. My wife has already tested the market by selling the glutatione to the PAL stewardesses and her landlady and we were surprised she disposed her hand-carried personal supply in an instant. The last I heard, her landlady is asking her to pay her rent in glutatione. Any business-minded ladies over there?

I'll buzz some of our friends here when I'm in town. I may only be in Tagbilaran for five days. See you!

I told my kids-- two of whom are presently in Tagbilaran now--that in the Philippines, you know the places and people to avoid to be out of trouble. But in Japan, you have no idea who will slash your throat or push you over the platform in the way of an oncoming train. Duol ra dire sa amo katong last gruesome incident nga nanunggab indiscriminately ang batan-ong nga lalaki sa gawas sa Arakawaoki train station. I sure am relieved my three kids have graciously agreed to try schooling in Tagbi at least for a year, and possibly more.

Hi Jun,

Sorry for having been so irregular in TB in the last few weeks or months. So are you all set for the  business launching? I am scheduled to be in Tagbilaran in May... I am settling my family there ahead of me, while I hope to travel more frequently between home and Japan depending on business opportunities.

I was just thinking of asking existing call centers to optimize return on their capacities by selling products to Japan-based Filipinos, more than 60% of whom are Visayans. Since communication is basically Filipino to Filipino, and most likely Visayan to Visayan, we can skip the unwieldy problem of English communication skills. There is an estimated population of 250,000 Filipinos in Japan (of whom 50,000 are undocumented). I heard that call centers serving North American markets are still undermanned because they cannot find Filipinos with the required English capability. My job is to provide the product and the client database.

Quote from: ms da binsi on March 21, 2008, 11:29:35 AM

Quote from: benelynne on March 05, 2008, 10:26:41 AM
1. Apple Inc
2. Berkshire Hathaway
3. General Electric
4. Google
5. Toyota Motor Corp
6. Starbucks
7. FedEx
8. Proctor & Gamble
9. Johnson & Johnson
10. Goldman Sachs

By the way, where's Microsoft? Unbelievable, it lost its luster to Apple and Google!

Benny dear, di magka pareha depende sa trend...

Admired man na sila karon kay sila man ang daghan trendy nga products...

next unsa na ad kaha?

Refreshing springtime sight of fresh bright colored flowers. Murag blooming ka kaayo after the rest... Nice to see you back...

Yes, Fortune ranking is always controversial. I think it is the turnaround that Steve Jobs pulled off for Apple after sliding almost into oblivion that gave the thumbs up for Apple. I think it is really a vote for Jobs.

Quote from: Mari on March 12, 2008, 05:18:30 PM
korek...kay bisan pa nagbalintong balintong imong english but the jest is there, u can tell she got it. the recent binibining pilipinas world obviously dont know how to deal with the question otherwise she could have made an effort answering it in tagalog rather than speaking in english pero wala man moigo sa question

mari,

ug wa nay height requirement, apil ra gud para mapasampolan nimo ug winning answer.

Quote from: frog70 on March 12, 2008, 04:11:16 PM
I want you to check out "Which Is MOre Important? Beauty Or Brains?" on Mikey Gatal Connection. To view it, please click this link:
http://www.mikeygatal.com/connect/index.php?topic=1042.0

The Filipina contestant in this video clip actually fared better in the q&a than this year's Bb. Pilipinas winner. Keep in mind that Gloria's question is to make an exclusive choice between being beautiful and smart.

But check out Ms. South Carolina's answer down the thread... It simply proves that what's inside your gray matter shows through whatever language you express it in.

So I don't buy the argument that this year's Bb. Pilipinas could have given a saner reply had she spoken in Tagalog.

philippines is the only country with two corrupt leaders. and the data is 2004... which means if updated to the current year, we will have three...

wow, philippines!