MikeLigalig.com

ayaw mo pailad ni loren legarda. pa gwapa ug pahumot lang ang nahimo ana. pareho lang na sila ni noli de cash-tro. whatever is generated from their mouths are simply lip service.

amanpulo is for the privileged few. definitely not a place that anyone can easily go to.

grazie: same place as usual... kinda bz these days though. can only do a quick look-see when i do get the chance to visit. hope everyone's doing ok :-)

naay daghan ana sa siquijor, bai. if you want to learn the how-tos, mas maau moadto kag biyernes santo kay annual renewal nas mga voodo artists didto.

to maximize customers, the management of this cafe that they have established in the gorund floor of the catholic rectory in dauis town can certainly advertise its existence thru signages - as ben here suggests - or thru media outlets (radio, print, TV, internet). this place should not be marketed as a place that caters to tourists but as a cafe and gift shop that caters to everyone. i'm certain a lot of people from tagbilaran or even from other neighboring towns would love to hang out if they are in the mood for a nice and quiet place with great food and good service. they should not close the place when "the nuns go back to their cells", if you get my drift.

but i would further admire dauis authorities if they file charges against fred ong for violation of existing environmental laws, and have the unfinished structure demolished and the area restored to its original state at mr. ong's expense.

kudos to the Dauis LGU and its police force for enforcing the law!!!

it's about time that the government engage an expert in creating a master plan for development initiatives in the future particularly for the tourism industry. ideally, a master plan should not only be created for the island of panglao; a master plan should be created for the whole province of bohol.

"Speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA, Engr. Maximiano Servillon and Ghenie Mayol of BAS and BFAR respectively, admitted there is a dwindling fish catch in the province."

this fact has been long established. what is surprising is that no one, including people from BAS or BFAR and other government agencies for that matter, is doing anything about it. for the most part, boholanos want to continue relying on fishing (as in hunting) from the sea. fish culture is being done in many places in the country but not in bohol.

any idea why this is so? it is because government, in particular the bohol provincial government, which is supposed to take the initiative in finding a way to fill the need for more fish, is not doing anything to solve the problem.

just an observation: in the towns of dagupan, binmaley, alaminos in pangasinan which are all coastal areas, you will see fishponds along the highway. lots of them. you go to the market and you will see these cultured fish for sale. lots of them.

in effect, the pangasinenses are putting less pressure on their marine environment by raising and eating cultured fish such as bangus and tilapia, and providing their people with the protein that they need.

why can't boholanos do the same???

i hear there's this automobile company in laguna or thereabouts that operate only 7 days every month.

and if there is nothing interesting to see under the water, what is the point of going to alona beach at all???

ergo, dumping more sand to extend beachfront toward the water can actually diminish the number of tourists that will go to that area in the long term.

if the intention of adding sand along the shore line of alona beach is to extend the beach front towards the water, then the whole initiative is going to be counter productive.

while it is technically possible to extend the beach front in such manner, the corals that abound right in front of the shore line are going to be covered in the process.

in other words, this development initiative, if pursued in the above manner, only destroys the structures that provide habitat to marine life in the area.

and without the diverse marine life that the corals support, what else is there to see under the water???

bnc, my fault. i guess i missed that part where you wrote about how fast the license renewel center at SM city.

bnc, did you read my previous post? in SM-davao LTO licensing office, it only took 20 minutes to get my driver's license renewed in a plastic card! you should try it to believe it.

ayessa: that's what i'd call "cardiac delight" :-)

anyone in tagbilaran: how cold is it there at night? how many degrees C?

i renewed my driver's license last year for another three-year term and for a change decided to go to the new LTO licensing office located at SM davao to get it done. for a government office, it is strange (albeit in a pleasant way) that they close at 6:30 PM. it thus allows people who observe an 8 to 5 office schedule to swing by after work and get their driver's license renewed or whatever. but i'm getting ahead of my story.

having experienced how a very minor transaction with LTO can take the whole day, i came early to give me enough time to complete my transaction. guess who long it took to get my driver's license renewed? starting from the time when i had to take the mandatory drug testing by providing urine sample and getting a physical examination which included taking my BP and up to the time when i had to sign their logbook to indicated that they have released my license in a plastic card, it took only 20 minutes! repeat, 20 minutes. and i had my new driver's license in a plastic card. it was pretty unbelievable that despite my being a really, really hard-to-please guy, i ended up giving the front desk people a thumbs-up sign. i even told them that i was very impressed.

the downside though is that this kind of service may be available only in selected areas in bigger cities.

grazie: posible na. sayon kaayo maka pick up ug expressions from friends and people you always interact with.

raq: obviously, there is no official pronouncement from the FDA regarding its stand on the two opposing camps that claim canola oil is harmful and that canola oil is fine for human consumption. i guess this is the reason why canola oil continues to be sold in groceries across the U.S. the same thing is actually happening for soya aproducts. there is a group of scientists that claim soya is healthy, while there is another group that say soya is harmful for humans to consume. but since there is no official stand on the matter from the FDA, soya products continue to be sold.

since we are not experts on canola oil and soya, it would be difficult for us to determine who possesses the correct information. my personal take on this is that if there is controversy (such as canola oil and soya), molikay na lang ta. anyway, these products have a number of alterntives and these we can use in the meantime. olive oil is a certified healthy vegetable oil. however, i can't say the same for butter whether as a spread or oil for cooking. whatever manner you use it, butter is still heavily loaded with saturated fats.

"If only NFA will be allowed to buy rice, what will happen to free enterprise which is a hallmark of a democratic country?

Does NFA have enough fund to buy all the rice needed to feed the entire country? Granting the Philippine government will allocate a chunk of its national budget for this, are we prepared to let the delivery of  other services (health, education, infrastructure, etc.) suffer?

While sometimes there are practices of the private sector that make us curse to high heavens, it is an acknowledged fact that private sector participation is necessary in our society. Many government services are even privatized. Government cannot do it alone. We even curse the government more. "

Just a comment on dots' post indicated above: free enterprise is not absolute. while it is a commonly accepted idea that government cannot do it alone and needs the private sector to deliver basic services to people in an efficient and effective manner, there are still some matters that are better left for government to manage. we may have noticed some government services that have been privatized for the purpose of making these services more accessible and cost effective both for government and the consuming public but it should be taken on a case to case basis. take for example the oil industry in the philippines. it used to be run by government. then ramos deregulated it and in effect we are now subjected to the dictates of giant oil companies. so much so that there are many sectors now that are asking that it be put back to government control. if there is a food crisis, do we expect the private sector to take care of it? it is always government that we call upon and expect to fix the problem because the rice cartel which is operating in this country doesn't have a face. that being the case, government might as well take over in the tradidng of rice to ensure there is enough rice for everyone.... interestingly, just got an email re a prediction that in the next 3 years, the U.S. will be experiencing food riots. i just hope that this will not happen in the philippines just to prove that it is government which is most effective in the distribution of a very important commodity such as rice and ensure that there is enough supply. let us remember that unlike other commodities, the need for food cannot be postponed. in my opinion, we can privatize everything we want to if only to allow private sector to take a piece of the pie like we have done for utilities and companies that distribute water and electricity, fuel, etc. but not an essential food commodity like rice.

grazie: taga valencia siguro nang imo auntie sa davao nga moingon ug "wa ka bikogi". naa koy auntie nga tubong valencia nga nia na nagpuyo sa davao, mahilig mogamit sa expression nga, "as bikog".

manay tess: thanks for the clarification on grape seed oil. just wanted to make sure you weren't referring to rape seed.

one word for all 5 somali pirates: MIRISI.

murag gilok kaayo.

i'll put that in mind, cals. thanx.

sounds good cals. i'll check it out next time i'm in town. the best gyud ang organic rice and i wish more people would start eating it so that a new market will open and farmers will realize and work to fill it... there are so many establishments everywhere - bohol included - that sell lechon manok. this does not even include the chicken that jollibee and mcdonalds serve. but they are all using broilers which are heavily-laden with antibiotics and who-knows-what-else. why hasn't anyone thought of opening a chicken restaurant that serves nothing but native/free-range chicken? it's not only a healthy alternative, it is also a novelty and being so might be good business strategy

grape seed oil? i hope you don't mean rape seed oil. rape seed is the source of what is known in the market as canola oil. according to information i found on the web, nobody knows why they have called rape seed oil as canola oil. some people are speculating that perhaps the manufacturers are doing this in order to disguise rape seed oil when scientists found out that it is dangerous for human consumption, and thus they renamed it as canola oil. anyway, rape seed oil or canola oil is taken from the same source from where mustard gas is made. mustard gas is a biological warfare agent that was widely used during WW II but is now banned due to the harmful effects it has on humans.

there's been a prediction that WW III will indeed happen and that a crisis in the middle east (oil-related?) will trigger it. wish i could say this is something i'd look forward to :-)

i understand your concern, mdb. but because it's been done before, there's a big likelihood that provincial authorities will proceed to do it if they have the resources it takes to undertake the project. unless someone is able to hammer down some good logic and rationality into their thick heads.

manay tess: thanks for the additional information on sesame seeds. now, i have more reasons to add sesame seeds to my rice :-)

i read somewhere (it could have been an item from the bohol chronicle) not too long ago that at 450 meters long, the zip line that is being installed in the municipality of danao is reportedly the longest zipline in the country... well, i think boholanos had better check their facts and figures and be sure about making claims like that because it might cause them embarrasment... there's this existing facility in davao city which has a zipline that is 200 meters high and 1,000 meters (1 kilometer) long. it goes very fast that can be compared to the speed of a race car: 1 kilometer in about 20 seconds. that fast. fee is Php 300 per person flat rate. FYI

apothecary: i am quite intrigued by these people whom you describe as extremist environmentalists. are they in bohol? from the sound of it, i would imagine that they should be the kind of people who would not ride any type of vehicle that is powered by fossil fuel, and do not wear clothing that are made from either petrochemical sources such as nylon, polyester and the like, or animal hide which leaves them nothing else to wear except organic cotton (which is not found anywhere near bohol or the philippines for that matter) or raffia (saguran). nonetheless, i would appreciate if you can provide information on the matter. thanx.

dredging sand from the ocean floor in order to spruce up some shoreline with more sand is nothing new. back in the early 80s, the coastline of dio island in tacloban city which is owned by one of imelda marcos' brothers was filled in with more sand that ws dredged from somewhere. in the late 80s, i visited white island in camiguin where my guide informed me that the boat which was anchored in the distance was dredging sand from the ocean floor. during the early part of the new millenium, there was noise in the media regarding some sand bars belonging to talibon and getafe areas that were "sinking" due to unauthorized and unregulated dredging of the sand supposedly to beautify and provide sand to the otherwise rocky shorelines of mactan island especially those fronting 5-star resorts. thus, doing the same thing for alona beach is quite possible. however, it can only work if they lay the sand beyond the reach of the water at high tide. but if they intend to extend the beach area towards the water, then they are going to need a very large volume of sand to accomplish that. it would be similar to reclamation and i seriously doubt if the provincial government has the financial resources to do that.

the only way to end instances of so called rice shortages that seem to occur once every few years with alarming regularity is for government to stop allowing private individuals or companies for that matter to engage in buying and selling of rice. the NFA has been doing this for years and it's about time that they do it exclusively. this way, the consuming public is assured that when there is a rice shortage, it is indeed a genuine rice shortage, not an artificial one as a result of manipulation by private sector to make a fast buck.

grazie: as far as i know, sesame seeds play a role in keeping the liver in tip-top shape. since ganahan man diay ka, you may as well put in some sesame seeds in your rice on a regular basis... good idea to use saffron in place of turmeric. all spices are healthy food and the orange color that saffron makes lends more "palatability" to the rice. more so if you mix it with green and red veggies. that would make a very attractive bowl of food.

gelacio gementiza who traces his roots in antequera, bohol was the former governor of davao del norte. prior to that, he was city mayor of tagum, capital of davao del norte.

also, kung tricycle driver ang moabuso, ang city hall mao ang dapat mo disciplina nila. ang problema lang is that city hall officials usually drag their feet when imposing disciplinary action on abusive drivers kay mahadlok nga dili na botaran sa mga drivers ug sa ilang mga pamilya... on the other hand, kung multi cab drivers and moabuso, it is the LTFRB nga maoy mandated nga mo disciplina sa mga public utility vehicles. being a national agency, mas visible sila and therefore a bit easier to pressure to do their job in disciplining erring drivers. kasagaran ana, pressure from media will do kay dili man gud politiko ang head sa LTRFB, so drivers have no way of getting back at them the way they have with LGU officials.

mao gyud cals. pero that can only be applicable to areas nga medyo duol pa sa mga established commercials centers. it's fairly difficult to convert a huge agri land into industrial if it's located in the boondocks. klaro na na kaayo nga gihimo lang na excuse to keep their land intact. still, dili gyud perfect and ato agrarian law... back to biotechnology, i don't think planting crops for biofuel production in bohol will do any good for the province being a rice producing area. concentrate na lang gyud ta sa rice production. let marginal areas where corn will not even grow be planted to these crops instead.

actually, i don't know them kay tagsa ra ko makabisita sa valencia but i'm sure that they're relatives. medyo daghan pud daw na sila.

sige, ipa promote gyud nang pagpananum ug jatropha sa bohol para kung magkuwang na ang yuta para tamnan ug humay ug mais, pwede na nilang kitkiton ang jatropha.

"bolingitboy, i have a very good friend whose son is so allergic to bee stings.  unya, she shared pod that diha sila'y neighbor na pilot and was so handsome. A bee bit him and he didn't reach the hospital intawon."

grazie: tinuod gyud na about bee stings being very deadly. i have a colleague at work who is a vet nga allergic pud ug bee sting. got bitten one time and she was immobilized very quickly and shortly experienced difficulty in breathing. maayo na lang that someone was with her that who administered medicine through IM injection... i gathered nga naa ra daw na sa tao re allergy sa bee sting just like allergies to other things like food, perfume, and certain flowers and plants.

your peanuts looked nice and yummy. it's good that you used olive oil because it's healthy. ayaw na gyud mog gamit ug vegetable oil that is derived from coconut because it has a very high saturated fat content. almost double the saturated fat found in lard! healthy kaayo ang olive oil and corn oil. they're both very low in saturated fat and very high in unsaturated fat (the healthy kind of fat). i regularly add one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to 2 cups of rice together with other ingredients like turmeric and sesame seeds for extra flavor and additional nutrients. you might like to try it.

bol-anon: nice joke hahaha... seriously, pwede silang manginhas.

"bolingitboy, na pa diay, and makarelate ini si dong enzo:
salvo-salva-salve-salvador-salvaleon"

calle: naa pa diay gyud na? lima man gyud kabook... kaliwat baya kog salvaleon.

i'm a type O+ pero i seem to be the complete opposite of what a type O should be according to the above personality description... basin dili lang gyud mo mag fit into any classification kay lahi ra gyud.

calle: na notice lang nako ba, kining mga apilido nga sale ug pala, murag gi conjugate.
             pala-palac-palaca
             sale-sales-salise
pero wala silaya relation.

the family names that you mentioned are very familiar names and they are still around.

the pangandamans probably though that they were in muslim country that particular time maong hawd kaayo.

na notice lang nako nga kining pagka bintahoso sa mga drivers grabe sa bohol including tagbilaran city. sa uban lugar, naa puy mosingil ug dako but no more than the official rates approved by LTFRB as incidated in the fare matrix that public conveyances are mandated to display inside their vehicles. pero kanang tricycle nga mosingil ug 15 pesos maski doul lang, klaron na gyud nang pamintaha. kanang plete nga 25 pesos within city limits sa tagbilaran, klaro gyud nga pamintaha. kanang mosingil ng 200 pesos gikan anda paingon guindulman, grabe na kaayo na... ang dunay mandate nga modisiplina sa mga tricycle drivers mao ang LGU kay ang LGU ang nag issue of certificate of conveyance aning mga tricycle para makapamasahero sila. kung bus o van ang nag overprice, and naay mandate nga modisciplina nila mao ang LTFRB. dapat i report ning mga drivers nga kusog kaayong mamintaha sa concerned government entities. in the meantime, kung duol lang, dili ta manakay. manglakaw lang ta (which i always do) kay healthy pa.

manay tess: i didn't know joey ayala was your classmate. i heard his family owns MTS (matina town square), one of the entertainment and commercial places to go that's located right across ateneo high school... actually, the city government and especially mayor duterte has been providing assistance to lumads who come during the holidays. this has been a sort of tradition for these mountain folks and city officials have been extending assistance to them like opening almendras gym so that they'll have a safe place to sleep at night. they are also given food, even transportation for those who go back to where they come from ahead of the rest. one thing nice about davao officials is that they recognize the lumads as the true and original dabawenos. in fact, because of this, the kadayawan festival is always dedicated to the lumads and they are made the focus as main actors in this annual celebration.

the international SUV, is that for real? looks like a 6-wheeled version of a semi. unique pud.

hi SAtown. my hunch was wrong, i thought you were male... there's no other way going to bukidnon from either the north or southern corridor but by bus. there used to be an airport in malaybalay but they closed it down due to the runway's proximity to the mountains and the fact that there's always a fog in the area during rainy days. there used to be a time when i traveled the bukidnon stretch of road and i have began to enjoy traveling through the mountain roads especially when it's drizzling and there's a thick fog. i love sticking my head out of the car window and feel the mist and fog hit my face. such exhilirating experience. but you are right about the roads that can be dangerous though. almost always, there's a car or a semi lying on its side or back along the road... by the way, you might want to touch base with someone who may be one of your valencia, bohol relatives: <bscanlas@transco.ph>

careful gyud mo ha when swelling and feeling of tightness in the chest occurs. chances are naa pud swelling internally. inom dayon anti histamine. also be careful with bee stings. they can also cause allergic reactions, and sometimes severely at that.

grazie: thanks for the info re contacts at the mintal police station and raquel's sked in davao. murag napasubo diay ang tubag bohol ani being the next sponsor for the sardinas party. but like you say, it may not be that difficult to raise the funds to feed the lumads. rice and sardidnas man lang, with a few more dishes on the side. the usual contributors will be there and i don't think solo sa tubag bohol and logistical requirements... i think it's a nice idea to donate whatever else anyone can afford such as used clothing, toys, reading materials, etc.

tricycle drivers in tagbilaran are PESTS!!! they are hoodlums with a license. tulisan sa atubang. they ought to be elimimnated.

no, grazie. it wasn't me who provided a link to abs-cbn's TV partrol between the annual sardinas party for the lumads by the montal police station and tubag bohol. in fact, i was surprised when the news item mentioned that tubag bohol will be the next sponsor of the sardinas party... at any rate, i guess tubag bohol will be able to raise funds to needed to feed around 3000 or so lumads with rice and sardinas.

grazie: i might be able to relate with the offline messages you got from maricar, whoever she might be... last december 28, i was watching the late afternoon news of abs-cbn and they showed the sardinas party which was held at the premises of the mintal police station. around 3000 lumads came and they were all happy to join the affair which has become an annual activity since it started a few years back. but what was interesting was that the news article mentioned that tubag bohol will be the activity sponsors for the lumad sardinas party for christmas 2009... i really didn't know that initial discussions have been made relative to tubag bohol's involvement in the next party.

in my vocabulary, tricycle drivers -- and particularly tricycle drivers in tagbilaran -- belong to the same category as mosquitos, rats and cockroaches. tinuod gyud kaayo nang imo gisulti, day raquel. next time you ride in a tricycle and they refuse to take you to your destination, ayaw pagnaog maski panaogon ka and tell the driver to take you to the police station. pagabot nimo didto, you can report the driver right away and file a complaint para motagam na sila. all the things that they do are violations of the certificate of conveyance that are issued to them by city hall.... on another note, mo amen gyud ko sa si kinsang city official nga maka disciplina aning mga trycicle drivers sa tagbilaran.

SAtown, do you live in mindanao? there are a lot of saleses in valencia. but i know someone from that clan who now works for transco in general santos city. let me know if you are interested in meeting this potential relative, i might be able to provide an email addy. i'm wondering about your gender though. this sales that i know is a female.

allergies of any kind should not be taken for granted. anything that causes allergic reactions (flowers, perfumes, food, etc.) must be avoided. grazie, your husband is right about allergies that can kill. this happens when swelling occurs. when swelling is observed externally, it is possible that swelling also occurs internally but you can't see that. but when internal swelling does occur, it can include the windpipe through which oxygen passes. if that body part gets constricted due to too much swelling, the flow of oxygen will stop and we all know what happens after that.

judging from a rather strange and thought-provoking material that i read not too long ago about superpowers, it is possible that it might be the E.U. which will become the next superpower. the article said that the third world war will indeed happen and that it will be fought between the U.S. and a german-led european coalition. it said that the third world war will be triggered by a crisis in the middle east.

if people in this country continue putting the kind of leaders that we have into office, then there is no way for this country to go but down. statistics do not lie. the number of poor people in this country has been growing a steady pace over the years. this has got to stop or this country will sink deeper into an abyss it might not be able to extricate itself from. as to ermita's statement that lives will get better here, that can easily be determined at the end of his boss' term.

as an afterthought, i am reminded of greening initiatives being spearheaded by abs-cbn at the la mesa watershed. they have been reforesting this area for the past several years and this activity continues to this day. it is not surprising for this tv network though to engage in such initiative being a member of the lopez group of companies which also supplies half of metro manila's water needs. they are indeed showing good business sense by doing so because it ensures sustainability of the resource that they are making money from. i'm just wondering why other entities, particularly LGUs like bohol, are not doing the same. if provincial officials think bohol has lots of water because it has attracted the attention of cebu which is already experiencing scarcity of water supply, then our officials had better think again. it they don't start planting trees in the watersheds now,then bohol will be destined to follow the way of cebu.

waste coffee can serve a much better purpose if simply converted to organic fertilizer, a process that has zero cost. converting it to biofuel certainly sets us back two-ways: (1) cost in processing; (2) processing method that requires burning of energy that contributes to GHG emissions.

i can't see the point of wasting a good cup of coffee just to fuel a vehicle when that can be achieved by using plain water.

dugay na kaayong gi predict sa UN (more than 10 years ago na) that water will become the MOST EXPENSIVE resource in the future. so, it is a big wonder then that despite this information, hardly anyone is planting trees and in fact,  everyone is cutting down trees when no one is looking. we are indeed well on our way to inevitable extinction.

given that francisco dagohoy declared bohol as independent and did not pay allegiance to spain in the 85 years that the revolt he started and led was in effect, it can be said that this act was much better and more meaningful than the supposed declaration of philippine independence by emilio aguinaldo whose republic was only on paper at best. aguinaldo ended up a prisoner of the americans shortly after his declaration kuno of a philippine republic, whereas dagohoy did not have an elaborate government format but reigned over bohol as military generalissimo... we boholanos should be proud of this fact more than the cavitenos are of aguinaldo. mabuhay ang bol-anon!

grazie, naa ra na sa imo hunahuna about worms being scary than snakes. ako, bali. i hate snakes but can live with worms. pero ayaw lang ang til-as kay katol :-)   
hot peanuts are nice. kanang both hot as in init and hot as in hang. pagkalami na lang gyud.

i'm fine with public toilets that charge a fee to keep it going. but never in malls. restrooms in malls are a requirement and are supposed to be provided to its customers for free. i don't remember going to a mall anywhere in this country that charges a free for toilet use. if malls in tagbilaran are indeed charging mall goers for toilet use, dapat protestahan na sila.

10 pesos for using toilet facilities at malls? sobra ra nila ka laog. malls are required by DOH to install toilets for use by its customers. dapat walay bayad. moawat man pud sila sa mga public toilets nga naa sa mga bus terminals. but still 10 pesos is still very expense. in most places here in mindanao, 2 pesos lang. the most expense toilet that i have been to is the bus terminal in valencia city, bukidnon. they charge 5 pesos. but their toilet is very nice, naay curtains. humot pa gyud kaayo. after you use, naa dayon magsunod ug flash and spray sa air freshener. sulit kaayo ang bayad.

it was the city government, through the DPWH, who had this drainage system built to minimize flooding at CPG every time it rains. the exit point of this drainage system is the sea fronting tagbilaran wharf. specific location of the spout is near the gasoline depot going to tropics. when it was ready for turnover, they found out that some households (around 38 or 40 of them) have tapped into the drainage system that releases effluents from kitchens and toilets. this means that each time it rains the water that will come out of the system and into the sea will include the kitchen and toilet waste which peolle are afraid might case the proliferation of e. coli in tagbilaran waters. there has been several meetings about how this system should be managed to prevent adverse effects to marine life. the meetings have included the governor, dan lim, even secretary atienza of DENR who ordered it closed until the illegal disconnections are eliminated. later, dan lim opened it despite DENR order to keep it closed. this is now a big controversy in tagbilaran.

vehicle emissions has long been identified as one of the major contributors of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. for as long as there is no program to veer away from vehicles with internal combustion engine that uses fossil fuels (and presently there is no meaningful program) carbon emissions will continue to grow. there is a so called green jeepney that is being used in makati which was also endorsed by greenpeace. the vehicle runs on electricity. personally, i think electric vehicles whose power is derived by sticking a plug in the socket on the wall (which is how these elecric jeepneys get its power) is not really contributing to reducing carbon emissions. i wrote greenpeace about it and told them that the way their "green vehicle" in the ultimate analysis is still dependent on fossil fuels. i explained that most of the electricity that we produce is generated by power plants that run on fossil fuels like diesel, bunker fuel oil, coal and natural gas. as the source of power for their vehicle, electricity as fuel in effect becomes "fossil fuel in disguise". being the proud people that they are, greenpeace has never reacted to my comments and suggestions that i made in lieu of what they are presently doing.

CARP has proven to be beneficial to most farmers since it was made into law during the incumbency of cory aquino. the problem is of course the way the law is being implemented in that land holdings of very influential individuals don't get to be given out to tenants as the law provides. but what properties DAR officials have been able to put under CARP has been distributed to farmers. would they have rallied for its extension if it was not giving them any benefits?

grazie: you remind me of one of my sisters in that she also can't stand worms and she also lets her husband who is an agricultural engineer do the planting. i think you had better leave the planting to the husbands. you can do the eating
mdb: as far as i know, peanuts are packed with fiber and being so promotes easy elimination of waste. it seems to be especially true when it comes to raw peanuts as compared to cooked peanuts, though i'm not sure if this is backed by scientific study. am speaking from experience :-)

the extension of CARP has been the agenda of many a farmer's rally in many places in the philippines. yet congress kept delaying. i remember nograles saying last that they have another six months to work on its extension before the year was over (when the CARP law shall have expired). obviously, nograles and his cohorts failed to act on a very important issue that would spell a lot of difference for the lives of many farmers in the countryside. mao pay ilang e dali2 karon nga magpasko na?

being a young and idealistic individual, i hope this doctor's idealism doesn't get muddied along the way. there are so many doctors who started out with medical school filled with deep idealism of going to the barrios and serving the poor and underprivileged but this idealism gets lost most of the time as reality begins to set in that doctors- and other medical professionals are grossly underpaid compared to their counterparts who work the same jobs in out-of-country locations. my wife is a doctor who is currently serving as a municipal health officer in a poor, rebel-infested town in davao del sur. this job is something that she acquired by choice. all her classmates are either already working abroad as nurses or are waiting for work placements as nurses abroad. joining the bandwagon, my wife has entered nursing school this year and will graduate after another year. needless to say, you know where this is going to lead to, and what it manifests. more often than not, idealism eventually gets eroded over the years especially with growing opportunities - and choices of working where remuneration is much better... it is kind of hard to imagine tht the health department would treat an application of a doctor-for-the-barrio application as lightly as what happened to our friend in bohol. if they lost her application, they could have offered to process it or something so that at least one of the many unmanned rural clinics will have a resident doctor. as it is, rural folks continue to be deprived of medical attention for the simple reason of lack in doctors. i think one of the reasons why there is a shortage of doctors in rural areas is the ineptness of our health department. if there's shortage of filipino doctors because they go to the U.S as nurses, they can hire other asian doctors who are willing to work in our barrios. there was a report in 2006 or thereabouts that there has been around 500 applications from indian doctors who indicated their desire to work in philippine barrios. and these indian doctors are not all that bad given that while the U.S. prefers to hire filipino nurses, americans also prefer to hire indian doctors. as far as i know, until now, our health department has not been able to act on these applications by foreign doctors, or adopted any measure or action that would provide doctors in our barrios. mga inutil gyud.

nice idea, bnc. this proposed coop can act as either middleman between bohol seaweed farmers and shemberg (or any other cebu-based exporter) or they can operate as an exporter, thus becoming a competition for shemberg and other cebu-based dried seaweed exporters. but this is going to be a business decision this proposed coop will have to make based on what is most cost effective.

an environmental management book that i read mentioned that there is a new technology that is capable of eliminating carbon dioxide when fossil fuel is burned. however, it is not cost effective and it is doubtful if it will ever be used because of the huge cost involved. pareho ra pud ni sa water desalination, it is now possible to convert salt water into potable water. pero, mahal lagi pud kaayo ang cost, which is why people are looking at other possible options for now.

malunggay has been developed to become a good number of food products para it will become more palatable given the natural bitter taste of this leaf: malunggay flour (which is made into various bakery products), malunggay noodles, malunggay tea, etc... speaking of malunggay tea, i think present processors of this leaf are doing an overkill in the pricing of malungay-based products. a box of malunggay tea of 20 sachets costs php 168.00. given the easy availability of malunggay in any given part of the country, it seems preposterous that malunggay tea can cost that much even if it was already processed.

fdaray: filipinos are survivors by nature. we can always survive but our potential to experience financial growth on a personal level is robbed when our own leaders steal our money. mao nay giingon nga: buhi lagi pero niwang :-)

lindy: the COA is there. most likely the figure (php 36 billion) came from that agency. the government institution that is charged with running after grafters is the office of the ombudsman. but this office does not act without a written complaint. obviously, what is needed here is someone who will actually file a complaint that will be used by the ombudsman as basis for conducting an investigation. if and when somebody claims that there was more than php 36 million that was spent without authorization, then that would be the time to put COA on the examination table.

i might be inclined to believe that this shoe-thowing incident will go down in history in some way. certainly, everyone who think that america does not have any business whatsoever in iraq would consider the iraqi journalist some kind of a hero... one thing that the incident proves in regard to security is that no amount of measure is foolproof. unless security people begin to ban shoes in areas classified as restricted :-)

grazie, ako pa nimo, you paint your thumb with the color green para ma himo kang greenthumb. sigurado gyud motubo bisan usa imong itanum :-)

getting the provincial government of bohol certified to ISO 14001 standards was designed to make it a model for environmental management that hopefully will be emulated by various industries including the tourism sector. back in early 2000, orientations on EMS were given to members of the bohol chamber of commerce and industry, all government-owned hospitals (15 of them at that time) and the tourism sector. hopefully, the bohol environment management office (BEMO) will able to follow up on those sectors with regards to adoption of environment management practices and pollution prevention/pollution control (P2/PC) measures.

mdb: basin ganahan kag fried mani nga 50% ahos and 50% mani... i have a co-worker who buys peanuts but takes only the garlic :-)
grazie: ngayo na lang ug liso ni mdb and try planting some. basin diay motubo diha sa inyo kay motubo man sa ila mdb. para naa kay stock kanunay. lami baya ang kinilaw nga mani. fiber na, laxative pa gyud :-)

shemberg has been an established exporter of seaweed exporter since the 80s. if there are any boholanos who are enterprising enough to buy up all the seaweeds cultured in bohol, pwede gud kaayo. however, because the international port is in cebu, any bohol-based exporter will still need to establish facilities in cebu. so, it will turn out nga mas sayon kun ipasa na lang sa shemberg. unless you find a buyer nga mas taas ug buying price.

basically, that's the general definition of EMS, manay... i'm just wondering if the provincial governmentof bohol was able to maintain the ISO 14001 certification that was issued to them in 2001. every 3 years, an audit is supposed to be conducted to ensure that the standards are being maintained and that continual improvement activities are being conducted as part of certification requirements. if standards are not met as seen from the result of an environmental audit, the esablishment/entity that was issued a certification is decertified.

most people in government are really full of BS. hilas lang ni si arroyo to ask alvarez to pursue possibilities of technololgy transfer as a way to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases to climate change. not too long ago, instead of looking for renewable energy sources to to provide for the increasing power needs of consumers, arroyo approved the release of funds for the establishment of SIX (6) coal fired power plants that will be set up in different parts of the country. in case you did not know, coal is the most destructive type of fossil fuel because it emits the most volume of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that contributes to global warming. mura uroy ug wa siya kahibaw nga ang coal-fired power plant nga iyang gipatukod makasamaut ug kadaghan sa carbon dioxide sa hangin... nagpa gwapa na pud nis arroyo, da.

there goes another Php 36 billion down the drain. na TY na pud. pwede na unta pambayad sa atong foreign debt. naimpas na unta to para 100 percent sa national budget ang actual mga magamit. as it is only about 70 % of our national budget actually gets to be spent kay 30 % of it is committed for debt servicing para sa atong foreign debts.

seaweed farming in the visayas area has been ongoing since the mid 80s. from 1984 - 1993, there was a world-bank funded project called central visayas regional projects (CVRP) which was implemented in the provinces of cebu, bohol, negros oriental and siquijor. the project had both upland and nearshore fishery components. in bohol, the project area included the municipalities of talibon, bien unido and ubay. among the nearshore fishery technologies, seaweed farming was one of those technologies that was introduced to fisherfolks in the project area. specifically, the seaweed farms that were established propagated the species called eucheuma. i'm sure some of those farms that were established then are still in existence today. but even before CVRP started to introduce eucheuma farming, there were several seaweed farms in cebu that were already well established. the biggest buyer of dried seaweeds in cebu that time was shemberg marketing which was owned by mr. benson dakay. these people are the pioneers of seaweed farming in central visayas. now, the industry has spread to a lot of places in mindanao as well. last year, the DAR project i was working with was able to assist in the establishment of several seaweed farms in dinagat island, surigao del norte. the seaweed industry has indeed grown considerably over the last 20 years or so, and bohol ought to be part of this growth. i just hope that the agriculture department has the technical capability and resources to promote and facilitate the replication of seaweed farming to many other places in bohol, as carrageenan continues to be used as materials for processed foods, cosmetics, and toothpaste.

raquel: maayo gani kay hinan-aw ug sine si bush. mao nga nakalikay siya, wa maigo sa sapatos. murag na kingkoy lang siya ug kadiyot.

manay tess: i'm particularly interested with your mention of bohol being "qualified for ISO 9000" which greenpeace lauded for a well-intact environment as one of the many items featured by media professionals in germany. i'm just wondering if this might actually mean ISO 14001. ISO 9000 is the international standard for quality management system (QMS), and ISO 14001 is the international standard for environmental management system (EMS). i don't know if the province of bohol or the provincial government of bohol is certified to ISO 9000 but i'm sure the provincial government of bohol was certified to ISO 14001 in October 19, 2001. i have first hand information about this because i had professional involvement in the initiative to get the provincial government certified to ISO 14001 which was made possible through a grant from the united states agency for international development (USAID). the certifying body which conducted the environmental audit was TUV Product Service which is a german company. greenpeace had nothing to do with it.

good for bush! i hope he doesn't get the wrong idea that the shoe thrower's sentiment is an isolated case.

asianfairy: taga valencia pud ka? you know what? just now i noticed that you used "as" to mean "sa". you must be from valencia. my grandma used "as" a lot. this is a particular grammar usage which is peculiar only to valencia.
gingah: sorry, i don't know who barney is pero nakaila man diay si calle. he could very well be one of the many relatives in valencia that i haven't met yet.

mdb: the soil in your backyard must be very rich in nutrients. tiaw moy 2 gantas ang yield sa 10 punoan nga mani. that's a lot of peanuts coming from 10 ka punoan!
janjan: actually, karon lang ko kadungog about caucasians having a propensity to be allergic to peanuts. as far as i know (until i read your post) tagsa ra kaayo ang allergic sa mani.
raquel: it's good that you regard almonds as a favorite. they're very healthy so keep eating. i'm sure i'll do the same. medyo limited lang siguro for me because it's very expensive sa pilipinas. almost php 1,000 man siguro ang 2 pounder. anyway, enjoy.
grazie: naa na pud koy nakit-an nga wapa :-)

hulat na lang tag lain kun naa pay lain nga intresado.

Pero wholesome lang ha :-)

grazie: abtik gyud ko basta ing ana na :-)

calle: basig parente ciguro ta.
grazie: the name joseph namoc sounds familiar. got to know this name back in high school. or pwede pud daghan sila having the same name.

just curious if this golden seal root or golden root seal or whatever it really is available in local drugstores. i don't need it though.

if i'm not mistaken, the coconut song which was sung by smokey mountain was written by ryan cayabyab.

fdaray: i never thought a muslim could have a family name of bete. but the name nourwena is very muslim fro the way it sounds. i'm just wondering is she is maranao or iranon. most of these girls are fair complexioned... dako2 na diay pud ka nakwarta sa imong mango plantation? i've seen a good number of mango pglantations in digos, siguro one of them was yours. i'm just wondering how much money that huge mango plantation that is located along the highway to padada that they say is owned by danding cojuangco will make once they start harvesting.