MikeLigalig.com

There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions.
-Bill McKibben, Author, Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For a More Joyful Christmas

How to Organize a Toy Drive
Manage a Toy Drive

Quick Tips: How to Organize Gift Wrap Ribbon
Organizing Gift Wraps

Quick Tips: How to Code Your Christmas Gifts
Christmas Code

How To Successfully Pull Off a Mistletoe Kiss
Pulling off a mistletoe

How to Hang Christmas Lights Outdoors
Christmas Lights On Top of Your House

How to Make a Christmas Wish List
How to List Your Christmas Wish

How to Store Christmas Lights
Keeping Christmas Lights After the Holiday

How To Make Eggnog
Making Eggnog Guide

How To Make a Fruitcake
Making Fruitcake Guide

Quick Tips: How to Make a Snowy Candle Lantern
Making Snowy Candle Guide

How To Hang Ornaments on a Christmas Tree
Putting Ornaments on Christmas Tree

How To Choose an Artificial Christmas Tree
Making Artificial Christmas Tree Guide

How To Hang Garlands and Tinsel on a Christmas Tree
Christmas Garlands and Tinsels

How to Prevent Common Christmas Disasters
How to Avoid Christmas Blooper

How To Make a Popcorn-Cranberry Garland
Making Popcorn-Cranberry Guide

How To String Christmas Tree Lights
Making Christmas Lights

How To Safely Put Up a Real, Live Christmas Tree
Real and Live Christmas Tree

How To Recycle Christmas Cards
Recycle Christmas Cards: Guide

How To Celebrate Christmas on a Budget
How to Enjoy Christmas With Little Budget

How To Pick the Perfect Stocking Stuffer
Best Stocking for Christmas

How To Make a Wreath Out Of Old CDs
Making Wreath for Christmas

How To Make a Personalized Christmas Stocking
Making a Customized Christmas Gift

How To Give Secret Santa Gifts People Will Actually Like
How to Give Gifts to Santa Claus

How To Green Your Holidays
How to Make Your Christmas Green

How To Host Your First Christmas Dinner
Hosting in Christmas

How To Decorate Christmas Sugar Cookies
Making Christmas Sugar Decoration

How To Have a Stress-Free Family Christmas
Christmas without stress guide

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How To Choose a Real Christmas Tree
Choosing a Real Christmas Tree Guide

How To Make a 3-D Paper Snowflake
Guide to Making a Good Snowflake

How To Make a Snow Globe
Guide to Making a Nice Globe Snow

How To Make a Snowman

How To Make an Easy Gingerbread House
Guide to Making Gingerbread House

How To Survive the Office Holiday Party
How to Manage Your Christmas Party at Office

How To Pick the Right Gift For Your Relationship Stage
How to Choose the Best Gift for a Loved One

How To Re-gift Without Getting Caught
How to Recycle Gifts During Christmas

How To Avoid Giving Terrible Gifts
How Not to Give Bad Gifts During Christmas

How To Wrap a Present Creatively
Learn how to wrap gifts creatively

How To Pick Up Extra Cash At Holiday Time
How to Make Extra Money During Christmas

How To Deal With a Screaming Child While Shopping
How to Handle Your Child When He Screams

How To Snag the Best Bargains on Black Friday
How to Find a Good Bargain in Store

How To Survive a Trip To the Mall
How to Survive at the Mall on Christmas

By Agence France Presse

Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday, pulled up by financial stocks after US economic growth estimates were revised upwards and data showed the beleaguered housing market was faring better.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26.33 points (0.23 percent) to close at 11,559.49, while the S&P 500 index, a broader measure of the market, gained 4.24 points (0.34 percent) to 1,258.84.

The tech-rich Nasdaq gained 3.87 points (0.15 percent) to 2,671.48.

"The rally continues, even though volume is rather light," said analyst Peter Cardillo of Avalon Partners.

The Commerce Department reported shortly before trade opened that the rate of the US economic growth in the third quarter was revised up to 2.6 from a previous estimate of 2.5 percent.

The upbeat revision points to an improving US recovery driven by higher consumer spending, business investment and stronger exports.

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Philippine Stock Exchange is to acquire a new surveillance platform to give more teeth to its market regulation department, which will be spun off into an independent regulatory company.

In a disclosure, PSE chair Hans Sicat said the new systemâ€"described as "dynamic, efficient, scalable, and reliable"â€"would enhance the capability of the local bourse to monitor stock trading activities and strengthen market integrity.

The new surveillance system is an advanced, fully automated system known as "EXTURE" developed by the Korea Exchange (KRX).

The purchase agreement with KRX will be completed by the first quarter of 2011 and is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2012, Sicat said in a press statement.

The system will be used by the successor company of the PSE's market regulation department, which is currently in the process of incorporation.

“The PSE has taken a major leap in improving governance in the exchange by separating the regulatory and business functions through the incorporation of an independent and separate corporation that will supervise and monitor activities of trading participants," Sicat said.

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Local stock prices firmed up on Thursday, the last trading day before Christmas, as window-dressing activities ahead of the long holiday break fueled a Santa Claus rally.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 52.35 points or 1.27 percent to 4,166.04. The index gained for five straight days before the long Christmas weekend.

For the whole week, the index has risen by 107.73 points or 2.6 percent.

The gains on Thursday were led by the financial index, which rose by 1.65 percent as investors took heart from a rally in banking stocks that boosted trading on Wall Street overnight.

All counters were up, with holding firms, property and mining/oil counters likewise gaining over 1 percent.

By Michelle Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The peso inched up some more in the last trading day before the Christmas break, moving consistently with other key Asian currencies, as reports of growth in China's trade surplus elicited a general optimism on the economic performance of emerging Asian countries.

The local currency closed at its intraday high of 44.04 against the US dollar on Thursday, up by 16.5 centavos from Wednesday's finish of 44.205. Intraday low settled at 44.21:$1.

Volume of trade dropped to $608.85 million, down from $729.28 billion previously.

Traders said investors were perked up by reports that China posted a trade surplus of nearly $23 billion in November. The trade surplus was caused by growth in imports and a much faster rise in exports during the month.

Market analysts said the report on China's trade performance substantiated expectations that the Philippines and neighboring countries would be able to export more goods to China, the world's biggest developing economy.

By Michelle Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

EXPORT GROWTH is expected to slow down sharply in 2011 given the challenges confronting the country’s major export destinations led by the United States and Europe.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which earlier set an export growth forecast of 10 percent for 2011, said yesterday that it might have to revise the figure lower.

“We will have to review our forecast given what is happening in the global economy. There is a continued weakness in global economic activity and this could influence our exports,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a briefing.

The United States and some European economies are facing an anemic recovery from the latest global economic crisis, which peaked in 2009.

A high unemployment rate in the United States and meager growth in consumer spending there might decelerate growth of Philippine export earnings next year, he said. The BSP official added that many European countries were facing economic challenges such as widening fiscal deficits and burgeoning debts.

Happy, Happy Birthday to Ms Da Binsi who will celebrate her __th birthday on Dec. 31.

Best to Use: Daddy or Papa or Tatay?

Best to Use: Mommy or Mama or Nanay?

Your Birthday gift idea could be to get a silly gift like our Wind Up Chicken and Egg Toys and then something a little bit more personal like an Eternal Rose or Personalised Whisky Glass. This way they have a fun novelty item to keep them entertained and then a keepsake item to treasure. Find Me a Gift’s engraved crystal is a classic gift and can be personalised with up to 50 characters on most items. These make a great Birthday gift idea if you are stuck for something to get your boss or a colleague! - read more here

Legend has it that the triangular shape of the Fir Tree was used to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to people of the 7th century in Germany, who referred to the tree as 'God's Tree'. By the 12th century it was being hung, upside-down, from ceilings at Christmastime in Central Europe, as a symbol of Christianity. But it was Queen Victoria, who made the Christmas tree so popular in Britain, when soon after marring Prince Albert. Some of the Christian associations have been lost with the Christmas tree except that an angel or star is often placed at the top of the tree, representing the host of angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity story. - read more here

By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

An elderly widow who spent more than 13 hours waiting in line to watch a television game show collapsed and died Friday.

The 72-year-old was identified as Alejandra Santos, a resident of Macabebe, Pampanga, who went all the way to Novaliches, Quezon City just to get into Willie Revillame’s “Willing Willie” television show.

Long wait

Reports reaching the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit showed that Santos had waited for more than 13 hours outside the TV5 studio on Quirino Highway before she lost consciousness.

“She had been standing in line since 8 a.m. on Thursday. She endured the heat and the queue of people wanting to get inside the studio,” case investigator PO3 Joel Gagaza said.

Later that day, at around 9:30 p.m., Santos collapsed and fell to the ground.

Christmas Eve fatality

Two other people standing in line beside herâ€"Milagros Orio, 60, of San Pascual, Batangas and Santos’s distant relative, Narciso Aguilto, 62, of San Luis, Pampangaâ€"tried to help her.

The victim was rushed to Bernardino General Hospital where she died at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, Christmas Eve.

Attending physician Dr. Leila Gino-gino said Santos died due to cardiopulmonary arrest.

Police said they found no signs of external injuries on the victim and that the old woman probably got exhausted due to the heat and from waiting in line for more than 13 hours.

Agulto told the police that when the “Willing Willie” staff learned about what happened to Santos, they gave P15,000 in financial assistance to the victim’s family.

Air-powered batteries, 3-D cellphones that project holographs, and personalized commutes are among the predictions of IBM scientists gazing into their crystal balls.

The US computer giant this week released its annual "Next Five in Five" list of five innovations expected over the next five years.

Among the predictions are advances in transistors and battery technology that "will allow your devices to last about 10 times longer than they do today," IBM said.

Today's lithium-ion batteries could be replaced by batteries "that use the air we breathe to react with energy-dense metal, eliminating a key inhibitor to longer lasting batteries," IBM said.

"If successful, the result will be a lightweight, powerful, and rechargeable battery capable of powering everything from electric cars to consumer devices.

"Better yet, in some cases, batteries may disappear altogether in smaller devices," IBM said, by reducing the amount of energy per transistor to less than 0.5 volts and relying on a technique known as "energy scavenging."

Christmas Promo Fare Cebu Pacific Airline

The largest Philippine national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB), offers you the best Christmas gift this Holiday Season with our PISO seat sale to all CEB domestic and international destinations! This is for sale until December 25, 2010, for travel from November 11 to December 11, 2011.

Grab our long-awaited PISO FARE Sale this Christmas! CEB flies to 16 international destinations, namely: Brunei, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Osaka, Busan, Seoul (Incheon), Macau, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh.

Cebu Pacific has the most extensive network of 33 domestic destinations operating from 4 hubs: Manila, Cebu, Clark and Davao. These destinations include Boracay, Siargao, Bohol, Coron, Puerto Princesa, San Jose, Legazpi, Naga, Zamboanga, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.

“Christmas is the Disneyfication of Christianity” - Don Cupitt

Do you believe in soulmates?

What do you hate most in a person?

What do you value most in a person?

Do you want to have kids?

Do you want to get married?

How would your friends describe you?

Have you ever broken a bone?

What do you like to do for fun?

What would be your house of dreams?

What is your favorite animal?

Do you like reading?

Do you prefer talking or texting?

What do you label youself as?

What shirt are you wearing?

How often do you brush your teeth?

The person you would never want to meet?

What's the meaning of life?

Can you describe your life with a six-word sentence?

can insanity bring on more creativity?

Do you have any regrets in life?

Is revenge sometimes justified?

What is the difference between existence and essence?

An estimated 200,000 visitors have arrived in this mountain resort 250 kilometers north of Manila for their Christmas vacation and are finding this city's cool weather perfect for their holiday activities.

Gabby Keith of the city tourism office (CTO) said the estimated number of visitors still does not include the more than 2,000 members and officials of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) Luzon chapters attending their regional conference as well as the nursing students who just had their recent board examinations.

Many visitors normally spend Christmas in this cool city which has an average temperature of 14 to 23 degrees celsius.

Keith said hotels and restaurants in keeping with the Christmas spirit are giving discounts as well as improved services to attract more tourists to the city.

An indication that tourists' number had ballooned in the past few days was the apparent shortage in taxi units plying the city streets.

To date, the most frequented places here are parks and malls. The Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) has tightened the security measures since December 16.

By Marinel Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:40:00 12/22/2010

The bride wore a flaming red gown, her signature color, to her wedding.

Singer-actress Regine Velasquez, who tied the knot on Wednesday with longtime boyfriend, singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid, “derives power from that color,” her friend, fashion designer Rajo Laurel, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

The off-shoulder outfit was a creation of Monique Lhuiller, the US-based Filipino designer who has also designed gowns for Hollywood celebrities Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Kristen Stewart and Hillary Duff.

Alcasid’s gray suit was by Randy Ortiz. “I have nothing against the barong Tagalog. It’s just that parang mas pogi kasi ako (it appears I look better in a suit),” he told the Inquirer in a previous interview.

The ceremony was held at The Peak, Terrazas de Punta Fuego Resort, Nasugbu, Batangas.

The wedding rite was set in time for the sunset. “A thousand butterflies were released while Regine was walking down the aisle. They all clung to her. It was an amazing sight,” Laurel said. “Everyone cried when the couple exchanged their marriage vows.”

For the Filipino people, it’s going to be a merry Christmas after all, as revealed by Synovate, one of the world’s largest market research firms.

Synovate said the October 2010 results of its Asiabus Survey showed that there is a general upbeat feeling among Filipinos towards the Yuletide season and the coming year.

The research agency interviewed 2,000 male and female consumers, 15 to 64 years old, across all socioeconomic classes from urban areas nationwide. Majority are optimistic about 2011 as they foresee their personal financial situation to be either better (51 percent) or at least stay the same (39%) in the next 12 months.

In fact, optimism for the country is noted, with half of the respondents (47%) saying that they expect a better economic situation for the country, or at the very least, expect that the economy will remain as it is (40%).

As Christmas is nearing, majority (58%) are expecting their holiday celebrations to be just the same as last year, but three out of 10 (27%) disclosed that they are expecting more from the upcoming revelries.

There are plans to spend more this Christmas season compared to last year’s budgets. Interestingly, however, this increased spending would go more to decorations and gifts, rather than to food.

The budget for food would be just the same as last year (57%), with just a fifth (18%) saying that they can afford to spend a little more.

There is an intent, however, to make this year’s celebration more festive, as the majority (58%) will spend more on decorations and 38% percent will spend the same amount as last year.

Come gift-giving time, 42% will spend more and 48% will spend just the same as the previous year on gifts for immediate family. A little over half of the 2,000 respondents have also revealed that they plan to spend more for other relatives and friends. = pna

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Tuesday said over 100 contracts of its attached agencies have been cleared for implementation.

In a briefing, DOTC Secretary Jose de Jesus, told reporters that out of 130 agency contracts reviewed, 111 were cleared for implementation.

In July, de Jesus ordered agency contracts and all major infrastructure projects to be held in abeyance pending a detailed review by the DOTC legal arm, headed by Undersecretary Aristotle B. Batuhan.

These projects were approved in the few remaining months of the previous administration.

The Transport chief said the move was meant to ensure that these contracts are above board.

He added that these steps are necessary to remove the potential obstacles that might get in the way of the full implementation of these projects.

De Jesus said the DOTC has put on hold all pending signed contracts, particularly the “midnight” contracts to rehabilitate and upgrade the airport facilities for Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

He said that the value of the "midnight" contracts for NAIA 3 could reach to P2.3 billion.

De Jesus said that the DOTC has set in motion an approach that will fast-track the full operationalization of NAIA 3 at a lower total cost of civil works and equipment.

"Savings of millions of pesos will be generated from the cancellation of NAIA 3’s midnight contracts," he said.

The Transport chief added that the government is in talks with Takenaka to complete the unfinished work at the NAIA 3. Takenaka is the Japanese contractor of the NAIA 3.

Earlier, the government won a case against Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) Inc. before the International Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

In 2007, the Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes junked the claim of compensation by Fraport AG, Piatco’s German partner.

NAIA 3 opened in 2008 after six years of neglect caused by a clash among the parties that put up the facility. The airport terminal was an unsolicited build-operate-transfer project undertaken by Asian Emerging Dragon Corp., a group of Chinese magnates, in 1994.

At present, Cebu Pacific and AirPhil Express operate at NAIA 3.

Also, the DOTC has unravelled most of the tangled transactions in the MRT 3 Project, including the buyout scheme that has been proposed.

He said that legal and financial experts have been tasked to finalize a strategy for a government takeover of the project.

The DOTC will also review the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems for Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) Package 1 Project.

De Jesus said the project is crucial because it will ensure the country’s compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements on the satellite-aided aviation system that has been awarded to a French supplier.

For the procurement of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) driver’s license, de Jesus ordered the revision of its terms of reference (TOR) to uphold general performance specifications instead of card type-specific procurement guidelines.

"This initiative is expected to widen the area for competing bidders, lower the license production cost and ensure transparency and level playing field in the bidding process," de Jesus said.

The DOTC also ordered the review of the inter connectivity agreement entered into by the Stradcom Corp. with other third parties.

This is meant to ensure consistency with the BOO agreement between Stradcom Corp. and the LTO, and to make sure that fees charged are warranted and reasonable.

CNN vs Fox News
what is your preference?

A Catholic prelate on Tuesday said godparents need not hide from their godchildren or “inaanak” if they cannot give them material presents this Christmas.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez noted that gifts is just part of the Filipino tradition during the Holiday Season. What the godparents should do is to make use of the moment to talk with their inaanak or to establish relationship with them.

“This is one opportunity where we can establish a special relationship with our inaanak and the inaanak to their ninong or ninang,” he said.

The chairman of the Public Affairs Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said instead of avoiding their inaanak, what godparents should do is to seize the opportunity to bond with them.

He noted that giving gifts is not part of the responsibility of the godparents.

“That’s only part of the Filipino tradition…” the prelate added.

He said that children should not feel bad if their ninong or ninang did not give them a gift this Christmas.

An official of the CBCP, earlier, said that the responsibility of baptismal and confirmation sponsors is to help parents guide their child.

“As godparents, they should help the parents in guiding the child to grow morally upright,” said Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life. (PNA)

paid the Internet bill. then had dinner with my cousin.

unperturbed by sounds of firetrucks

The Philippine football team will see action in three major tournaments in 2011, including the qualifying tournament for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil which the country is joining for the first time in more than a decade.

The Azkals resume their campaign in February when they clash with Mongolia in a home-and-away tie in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup qualifier.

The home game will most likely be held at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod on Feb. 9, but the Philippine Football Federation is also pushing to have the away game at Panaad because of the cold weather in Mongolia.

Also lined up is the qualifying event for the 2014 World Cup and the Southeast Asian Games in December in Indonesia.

The SEA Games is an Under-23 event and only six players from the senior team, including goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and Jason de Jong, will be eligible for the tournament.

Given little chance because of their poor results in the past, the Azkals emerged as the surprise package of the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup, reaching the semifinals where they bowed to Indonesia.

A stunning 2-0 victory over Vietnam and draws with fancied squads Singapore and Myanmar propelled the Filipinos to the semifinals for the first time in the tournament’s 14-year history.

“It was a culmination of a very nice run for us,” said team manager Dan Palami at the PSA Forum, sponsored by Pagcor, Shakey’s and Outlast Battery, at Shakey’s UN Avenue in Manila, on Tuesday.

“We never expected to reach the semifinals and credit goes to the players for playing their hearts out. Our campaign was a reflection of the Filipino spirit of never backing down.”

The Azkals also paid a courtesy call on Smart Communications chair and CEO Manny V. Pangilinan, on Tuesday, at the Smart Tower in Makati, where they received a warm welcome.

Pangilinan pledged P1 million for the Azkals’ future campaigns. - pna

Two of the country’s biggest carriers started to beef up operations on Tuesday as they anticipate a surge of passengers heading for the holiday break.

Leading budget airline Cebu Pacific and flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) added more flights in selected destinations for the Christmas season, which is expected to last until the first week of January.

For this year's peak season, PAL said it added flights to five international (Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Riyadh and Singapore) and seven domestic (Zamboanga, Ozamiz, Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Dipolog, Bacolod, and Cagayan de Oro) routes.

Five selected flights going to Guam are also using a bigger aircraft (Airbus A330), the same with the mid-morning flight from Manila to Davao, using the Boeing 747-400. The Airbus 330 plane can carry up to 293 passengers.

Meantime, Cebu Pacific will launch more flights to Bacolod (January 2), Butuan (January 3 and 5), Cagayan de Oro (January 3-5), Davao (January 2-5) and General Santos (December 30 and January 4).

Cebu Pacific is also set to increase trips to Iloilo (January 2), Kalibo (December 30, January 2-5), Roxas (December 30, January 2-5) and Tacloban (December 30). (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, concurrent Presidential Adviser on OFWs Concerns, in a recent letter to President Benigno S. Aquino III, has recommended the creation of a bank especially for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The Vice President said in his letter that having such a specialty bank "will provide an alternative yet viable economic financial and remittance institution for our kababayans (compatriots) at the local and international levels."

Binay said OFWs themselves have long clamored for the creation of an OFW Bank, as they claimed having been “victims of exorbitant remittance rates charged by financial intermediaries and money brokers.”

"The (hoped-for) bank will provide fair competition towards the reduction/lowering of remittance/transaction costs and provide a productive outlet for our overseas Filipinos' savings as bank investors and shareholders," he added.

In Binay’s concept, the OFW Bank would be “initially funded and underwritten by government financial institutions,” and later “sold to and controlled by OFW investors and stockholders.”

According to the records of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), OFW remittances from January to October this year grew to US$ 15.5 billion a year-on-year growth of 7.9 percent.

A major bulk of remittances came from the United States of America, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway. - pna

Did You Experience Deja Vu This Year? What was it all about?

How Do You Avoid Flu?

By Juan V. Sarmiento Jr
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(Editors’ Note: For 25 days, we will be telling stories about the Philippine Daily Inquirer to mark the paper’s 25th anniversary on Dec. 9, 2010. Some are little inside stories but impacting on how we cover unfolding events; some are mark-the-day stories that become talk-of-the-town types; others are turning-point stories that have changed the landscape of history; still others, big or small, seize the heart and never let go. But whatever, the Inquirer will tell you the story.)

I WAS PART of the “Inquirer 8”â€"seven editors and the publisherâ€"detained one afternoon in March 2007 in a Manila police station on a libel charge filed by the husband of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Until then no group of Inquirer editors had been held by the police since the newspaper was born two months before the Marcos dictatorship fell.

Detained were Isagani Yambot, publisher; Jose Ma. Nolasco, managing editor; Abelardo Ulanday, associate editor; Rosario Garcellano, associate editor for readership; Jorge Aruta, opinion editor; Artemio Engracia Jr., news editor; Pergentino Bandayrel Jr., national editor; and myself, a senior desk editorâ€"the core of the News Desk and Opinion section.

We were respondents in a P22-million libel suit (Criminal Case Nos. 07-251368 to 72) that Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo filed in 2006â€"among the many cases he lodged against a total of 45 journalists critical of his activities as “First Gentleman.”

Smuggling

The libel arose from several columns written by Ramon Tulfo about the alleged smuggling activities of Vicky Toh, Mike Arroyo’s former accountant and secretary who had been romantically linked to him. Toh was among those linked to smuggling at a previous Senate hearing.

We took the suit in stride, accepting it as part of the territory. We had no inkling that we would wind up in the company of thieves, like cell phone snatchers, at a police station in Pandacan, Manila, on March 20.

Confident that this was just another of those suits that we had grown accustomed to, we boarded company vehicles at the Inquirer editorial office on Chino Roces Avenue in Makati shortly after lunch and went to Manila City Hall, where the Manila regional trial court was located, to post bail.

We did not proceed to the court but stayed on the second floor of a restaurant in a building across from City Hall on Arroceros Street, while waiting for instructions from our lawyer.

Piano

About an hour after engaging in small talk while pop music blared from a speaker of the air-conditioned room, we started “playing on the piano.” We pressed our fingers on a stamp pad soaked with ink and set our fingerprints on cash bond forms.

Bobby Cristuta of the Inquirer administration services handled bundles of peso bills for the bondâ€"P50,000 for each respondent.

The cash bond did not keep us from jail. At about half past 3 p.m., we were told to move out of the restaurant. We did not go to the court. Instead, in a convoy, we went to Police Station 10 on the corner of San Luis and Jesus Streets, about 2 to 3 kilometers from City Hall.

Wet market

It turned out that the station, right above a talipapa (small wet market), would be our detention center.

Fortunato Pagdanganan, our lawyer, explained to us what was happening. After the libel case was raffled off, warrants of arrest were issued. “The process was railroaded,” he said.

Manila policemen led by a Chief Inspector Dacara had tried to serve the arrest warrant on us at the Inquirer editorial offices in Makati at 3:25 p.m., we would later learn from an Inquirer security guard.

Roll call

At about 4 p.m. the names of the respondents were called out one by one by a Pandacan station police officer seated at the service desk with a marble top.

By instinct, having covered various beats before I joined the news desk, I pulled out my notebook and ball pen and began taking notes.

“Technically, you placed yourself under the custody of the police. Based on the [arrest] warrant, I have to book you. You are detained,” Senior Insp. Mar Reyes, chief of the anticrime section, said in a room where we had been ushered into.

Petty thieves

Within spitting distance from where we stayed was a cell holding a woman slumped on the floor. Twelve men, including petty thieves, were behind bars in an adjoining cell.

It was a very warm day and we were perspiring a lot.

“I will issue a certification of detention. Without the certification, without the booking, you will not be released,” the burly Reyes said while sitting before a computer in the room measuring about 20 square meters that also served as a dining area for police personnel.

Two other respondentsâ€"editor in chief Letty Magsanoc and Tulfoâ€"were not with us. Magsanoc called in sick. She and Tulfo paid the cash bond the next day.

Reyes said the “Inquirer 8” could not go out of the station until there was a release order.

By this time, the station was crawling with reporters, photographers from different media organizations and TV crews covering the gatekeepers of the Inquirer, who had become news. Allison W. Lopez, then our Metro reporter, was also covering the news.

Under pressure

A police officer said that the station commander, Efren M. Perez, was under pressure from higher-ups to transfer us to the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters on UN Avenue.

“Huwag nang patagalin 'yan dyan. I-turnover na sa warrant section (Don’t let them stay there a bit longer. Turn them over to the warrant section),” the police officer said, reading the text message from his superior.

“My chief is getting afraid of the First Gentleman,” he told us in Filipino.

The police officer said the editors were about to be moved to the MPD headquarters, where Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo was detained. (It was the height of the midterm national election campaign and Ocampo’s arrest was apparently aimed at discrediting his party-list group.)

“I don’t want to bring you to MPD, honestly. But then …” Reyes said, cutting short his statement.

The arrival of a release order issued by Judge Virgilio Alameda of Manila RTC Branch 10 stopped our transfer to the MPD, where supporters of Ocampo had been staging protest rallies.

The order reached the station at 4:44 p.m. At 4:48 p.m. there was a roll call again.

Mug shots

Yambot, our publisher, was made to stand against a wall and a cell phone was used for his mug shots. (Libel is still a criminal offense in the country.) We had our mug shots taken in the office a day or two before.

“Next time let’s meet in a better place,” a more pleasant Reyes said.

We were made to sign forms for our temporary liberty as well as the police blotter at the service desk below a framed photo of President Arroyo.

At 5:06 p.m. we were officially set free, ending our one-hour detention.

Clenched fist, pen

Annoyed by our detention, I walked down the stairs and found myself before a line of photojournalists. I raised my right hand holding a ball pen, and lifted to my chest with my left hand my precious notebook and a copy of the order of release Judge Almeda had issued to the station commander.

On the vehicle on our way back to the office, some of us agreed that we would no longer use “First Gentleman” when referring to the President’s husband because he was not one.

The lawsuit betrayed the ignorance of Mike Arroyo’s lawyer and his client on how the Inquirer News Desk operates. Except for the publisher, who has the last look at what columnists write (and the editor in chief and the managing editor, who supervise the Metro section where Tulfo’s columns appeared), I and the other editors on the staff box don’t go over what Tulfo writes.

As many as possible

Perhaps, the point of Mike Arroyo and his lawyer was to include in the suit as many editors as possible. (Not included in the suit, though, was Nilo Paurom, then chief of the news day desk and then Metro editor Ester Dipasupil. Paurom said Mr. Arroyo’s lawyer was his wife’s classmate in high school.)

We were on the evening TV news that day. The next day the Inquirer carried the front-page story, “Inquirer publisher, 7 editors detained after posting bail.” Beside the story was my photo with a raised fist holding a (ball) pen, a fitting symbol of the press ready to do battle with those wielding the sword on matters of public interest.

Five months after our brief detention, the Manila Regional Trial Court “dismissed permanently” the libel case against us.

After surviving an open heart surgery to repair a tear in his aorta, Mike Arroyo announced in May that he would drop all the 17 libel cases he had filed against journalists.

Despite the peace offering, a number of journalists pursued the class suit they had filed against the President’s husband, saying as a public figure, he was fair game and the subject of fair comment.

Who Is the Greatest Bol-anon Boxer of All Time?

Manila reasserted its mastery over Batangas and essayed a lopsided 7-0 victory to capture the Dunkin’ Donuts Baseball Philippines Series 7 crown and become the first team to win back-to-back championships at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium over the weekend.

Charlie Labrador shut down Batangas’ offensive attack, yielding only three hits to power the Sharks to the win and emerge the finals MVP in the league presented by Dunkin’ Donuts and organized by Community Sports Inc.

Marvin Malig blasted an RBI double in the first inning and Bambol Servo hit an RBI single in the third before the Sharks came through with a big five-run binge in the bottom sixth to tame the Bulls en route to the title romp.

“It’s perfect,” said Manila coach Jhoel Palanog, whose wards, backed by Harbour Centre, took the opener, 8-2. “We made sure that we are prepared even into the little details. Even at the start of the championship, I knew that the guys really want to win this one.”

Labrador had three strikeouts although he yielded three hits to Teddy Landicho, Jojo Apura and Justin Zialcita. Landicho singled and reached second on a sacrifice bunt in the first â€" the best that any Bull could get all game long. - pna

St. Benilde overpowered San Beda, 25-10, 25-16, 25-14 Monday to jump into a share of second place with Perpetual Help in the penultimate day of the elimination round in the women’s division of the 86th NCAA Volleyball competition at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym.

Already assured of a place in the semifinals, the Thelma Barina-Rojas-mentored Lady Blazers leaned on their bench depth to help them ease their way to No. 2 alongside the Lady Altas on identical 6-1 (win-loss) slates in this event backed by Mikasa and Asics.

A win each by CSB and Perpetual Help would propel them into a three-way logjam atop the heap with current pace-setter San Sebastian on identical 7-1 (win-loss) slates.

The Lady Altas square off with the already-ran Arellano U Lady Chiefs while the Lady Blazers tackle the winless Mapua Lady Cardinals.

The Lionesses ended their campaign with six setbacks against two triumphs.

Hanging to the fourth and final berth is Letran, which owns a 5-3 mark. (PNA)

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje urged the Filipino people on Monday to "go green this Christmas."

Paje noted that the color green should not only represent money and the massive consumerism and commercialism that seem to be equated with Christmas, but also “the color of the environment, which is one thing that Filipinos should also think of in this time of celebrations.”

“This is the season when tons of garbage are produced after all the parties and gift-giving,” he said.

“We enjoin each Filipino to be responsible enough, especially in disposing their trash, so as not to wreak further havoc to our already degraded environment,” he added.

For gift-giving, Paje reiterated his recommendations of reusing Christmas wrappers, using recycled paper and reusable bags or “bayong” to put gifts in, giving live plants as gifts, and patronizing products of companies or organizations known to implement green practices.

As for the endless parties that mark get-togethers among families, co-workers and friends, Paje advises segregating biodegradables or compostables, recyclables, and unusable wastes that include disposables. - PNA

Villages in Manito, Albay have been successful in initiating a low-cost early disaster warning system using indigenous materials such as bells and bottles.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said on Monday that the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) has launched the "Bell and Bottle Early Warning System" project in Manito, Albay, a coastal rural community vulnerable to floods and landslides.

This is in partnership between PGA-CIRCA, University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB) with the financial assistance from World Bank, Salceda said.

The Early Warning System (EWS) project aims to identify the floods and landslide hotspot barangays using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)/Remote Sensing and expert ground surveys.

The EWS, composed of softdrink bottles and bells had been installed in various villages. The bottles serve as rain gauge and indicator of possible flood or landslide. The bells serve as the alarm system to inform the barangays to prepare or evacuate if necessary.

Salceda said to make this low-cost EWS effective, it has to organize the local communities, educate and train them in measuring key climate indicators related to floods and landslide.

They must also be trained to know their environment, ie soil types, slopes, vegetation covers, river system, etc....related to vulnerabilities. - pna

practical and hilarious! 

Power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) signed on Monday a P5-billion note facility agreement with First Metro Investment Corp. as arranger and bookrunner.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Meralco said "proceeds of the fixed rate notes due 2015 and 2016 will be used to refinance existing debt obligations and to fund corporate requirements."

Meralco said the notes will be issued on Dec. 21, 2010.

In early November, the company also signed a P4.8 billion fixed rate notes facility with BPI Capital Corp. as issue manager and book runner.

Proceeds of the fixed rates notes issued by BPI Capital will be used for general corporate purposes.

The 7-and-10 year notes, which were priced at 5.8327 percent and 6.4538 percent, respectively, was issued last Dec. 2.

Meralco chief operating officer Oscar Reyes said proceeds from the notes issue last month will be used to pay the company's maturing debts of almost the same level scheduled this month.

"This is not related to our power generation project. This is for maturing debts," he said.

Meralco chief finance officer Betty Sy-Yap told reporters in October that the distribution firm might take advantage of borrowing opportunities in the domestic and international market due to low interest rates.