Nature's Devastation

Nature's wrath left an awful horrible horrible feeling of desolation, isolation, desperation, cries for help for the destruction left by power super typhoon Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan). It's heart wrenching to see dead people along the streets, to see them flee storm surge trying not to drown, livelihood gone, houses destroyed, children crying . It's awful. The powerful storm hit across the whole of the Vizayas and death toll could rise  10,000 in Leyte alone..and that's just one province.  It's really really grim.

In this time of calamity. Filipinos are pooling all their sources to help fellow countrymen. Aid Agencies from parts of the world helping..so thank you.

Manny Pacquiao still the champ!

Woohoo! Manny wins over Antonio Margarito! As usual, we know the results even before the fight could start. Delayed free t.v showing here. It is live but.. super delayed and add to that, the commercials dominated the fight! Ha ha ha.

*edit.oh and Pacquiao may not need Mayweather anymore. Read comments from that yahoo link, one said of Mayweather, "he is irrelevant and he should retire!" Ha ha. Right on!

Manila, After The Hostage

Filipinos working in Hong Kong getting the brunt of the residents anger after that hostage tourist bus tragedy. I can't really blame the reactions of the HK residents both here and in HK. Of course they're angry. 8 are confirmed dead and several others are in in critical conditions.

One policeman's grievance's against being dismissed which caused that officer his job and pension and retirement benefits triggered the craziness in his head.

What he did was wrong. How the Police handled the situation had lapses too. C'mon, we're a third world country okay! Our policemen doesn't necessarily have the training and equipment and other know hows on how to handle such crisis.

The whole thing was like 'Speed' the movie. The situation is somewhat the same in some aspects. Difference is that there was no bomb planted on the tourist bus that that crazy policeman took over and held hostage 28 tourist from HK. Instead an m 16 and I don't know what else.

Hostage situation lasted 12 hours that ended in a rainy day assault of the bus killing 8 Hong Kong nationals and wounding the other hostages. That crazy policeman, fired shots and killed the hostages.

Of Life, Love and Living and Remembering

Today is the 40th Day of former President Cory Aquino- 40 days after she passed away.
I saw this article from INQ.net last month, and thought I'd blog it here. Just to remember Cory and her family and how well they have been an inspiration.

And this is why we love the Aquino Family. Because they're simple they're just like any other family (except they're not.. they're Aquinos and they have destiny to lead the country)

Read the whole article (by Fe Zamora ). Endearing.

MANILA, Philippines—Like most family that just lost a loved one, the children of the late President Corazon Aquino joked about the possibility of ghosts visiting the old home.

Inside the bus that followed their mother to her final resting place at Manila Memorial on Wednesday, there was plenty of time for catching up with family, horsing around and telling ghost stories. The Philippine Daily Inquirer was one of a handful of media organizations that joined the Aquinos in the bus.

Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, a bachelor and doting uncle to eight nephews and nieces, turned to 14-year-old Josh, his sister Kris’ son with actor Phillip Salvador.

“Josh, will you sleep with me over at Times Street?” he asked the boy. “Let’s go meet some ghosts there,” he added, with a wink. (Cory Aquino lived in an unpretentious bungalow on Times Street, West Triangle in Quezon City until the time of her death.)

Joshua nodded and replied: “Okay, I will sleep there.”

Then someone added: “But promise you won’t get married, ‘Tito ‘Noy!”

That set off a wave of laughter that rocked the bus.

A healthy dose of humor, Christian values, deep friendships, and the love of an entire nation helped the Aquino family cope in their hours of bereavement.

This was quite evident on the day of the funeral. If you didn’t know there was a funeral procession going on for a beloved President, you would think the passengers inside the bus were just on its way to a picnic or a family reunion.

For the second time in 26 years, the Aquinos were again together in a bus, following a flower-decked hearse that bore a coffin. In 1983, it was that of their father, Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., who was shot dead shortly after arriving from the United States; on Wednesday, it was their mother’s, fondly called by many Filipinos as Tita Cory. Read the rest of it here

Sad Day For the Nation

The country lost it's mother of democracy and bloodless revolution. Former President Corazon Aquino died yesterday at 3:18 am. She was 76.

It was a gloomy morning, it rained through out the day, the first day of month. Many woke up the to news of her death. Heaven showered us with tears . The nation grieved.

Thank you for bringing the democracy back to the country. For being an instrument of bloodless revolt that swept the nation back in 1986. Thank you for being a model of goodness and decency as what a public official should be. Thank you.

Con-Ass My Ass!

Our Philippine legislators showed what Con-Ass they really are! Congressmen Assholes!

They debated and all the way till midnight just so they can vote to convene (illegal?) Constitutional Assembly aka Con- Ass aka voted by Congressmen Assholes!

This is worrying for ordinary citizen like me. This Con- Ass voted by selfish congressmen aligned with President Arroyo. The aim to amend the Constitution is because Congressmen assholes want their term extended, the government to be in a Parliamentary sytem so that Arroyo can be Prime Minister! What a sham(e) this Con-Ass thing. C'mon 10 years of Arroyo and still they want more? It's more than stupidity already. Congressmen Assholes need to be Congressmen Ashamed!

It's painful to lose a wife, it's harder to to lose a mother

Broadcaster Ted Failon's wife passed away at around 8:50 due gun shot wound in the head. The news said there signs of if improvement but she didn't make it. (abs cbn)

What I'm more concerned about is the effect on the younger child. It must be be very hard especially for a 12 year old to learn of what happened to her mom. At a time like this, it's important that she gets surrounded by family and relatives.

A Rapist Should Never Get Out of Jail!

Oh no! I just a heard a news from the telly that Romeo Jalosjos maybe release tomorrow! I think I mentioned during my previous entry that rapist, molestors, pedophiles should be forever lock up. If he did it once, 99.9 % he'll do it again! What the hell is happening to justice and principles and convictions?!

Death through poverty

It's tragedy. A 12 year old girl committed suicide because of extreme poverty. The girl hanged herself and later on they found her diary where she poured out her feelings about being poor, having no money even for fare going to school and perhaps lack of things and food and other factor that eventually drove the girl to end her life.

Being poor really drives one to the brink of depression. One thinks a lot about how to survive. It is hard not having any means to support living conditions. I think this eventually contributed to the girl ending her life. I shouldn't be surprised about the news of a 12 year old committing suicide. I've read book and seen movies wherein children kill themselves. I don't know. It's just maybe I'm shocked or something.

Fuck. This is depressing blog. As always.

You have to think though, what is it the drives people to do things that normally they wouldn't do? Obviously something is not right. Something is not being fed to them. The equilibrium and the status quo between the poor and the rich shows a wide gap of social differences. While others are well-fed and well dressed with big houses and cars and money and time on their hands, the poor and the oppressed wallows in self pity. Wondering when will be the time when they can enjoy life as it is without having to worry about how they can get through for another day. The plight of the poor leaves them feeling like an outcast. Left to fend off for themselves to make ends meet. It can drive someone to have a very repelling and very tormenting and unsatisfactory condition of the brain. Which is why people will do things to be heard. To be given a chance to advocate changes and reform.

A man they say will do whatever it takes even take a life and kill and die for ones belief or what for he is fighting for. Some people are so damn well off that one can't help but feel a spasm of anger towards the disparity of living condition and the opulence of the rich and the scarcity of the poor. The basic necessity of person are food, clothes, and shelter and (of course to be with family) one's lucky if these needs are being met by small amount of what one earns. But what if one works hard? You toil, you trudge up and down on a mountain only to end up on a hill. Wearisome, hungry and all you could think about is propping up your feet and just surrounding ones self to the lap of luxuries. But sometimes, most times it's not to be. One shouldn't even wonder or even be shocked as to why people resort and choose to rebel against the very thing that is making life for them a living hell.

It's such a tedious process of toiling and plodding and not being rewarded or meted whatever's due to them. I think of myself as fortunate for despite my mom being terminated, booted off her job (because of office politics..when she was still alive), I still live comfortably. It's not like before though where I can asked for material and monetary needs and I can have whatever the hell I want. Oh sure I complain. I do a lot. Most times. I sometimes begrudge other people. I get envious if they can have this or that or buy things that normally I would be able to afford (when we still have the money before which we don't anymore). I'm such idiot though for what right do I have to complain about when I have roof and food and shelter and clothes and I even went to a private school. I shouldn't feel any malevolence but instead feel blessed. But what about the others? What about the grievances of majority of people?

One needs to abate poverty to do something to uplift whatever ails the common man. Henry George said, "Poverty is the openmouthed relentless hell which yawns beneath civilized society" and it is hell enough. So yes, got to do something about that. Money is not everything, one will say. It cannot buy you happiness but it sure as hell can make you feel comfortable and makes one's life easier (or not!). But at the end of the day after everything has been said and done all you would really want is to live simple comfortable way with your family.

Enough said. I have a feeling I'm gonna delete this blog entry.

Hiding on empty, captured in full

I some how find myself empathizing with the former Senator Gringo Honasan; the master of disguise, the fugitive soldier who's been hiding for the last nine months was captured by police operatives. Honasan is accused of masterminding the failed overthrow of the Arroyo administration was arrested the other day in the wee hours of the morning in an exclusive subdivision in Quezon City. Read details and report.

If he really wanted to, I guess he wouldn't have been captured. He's been soo good eluding the authorities but reports say he's been in Manila for a month now so I'm leaning towards the theory he's supposed to surrender next month, but yes, maybe the administration double crossed him. Looks like he's interested in running for senator again. Oh boy, he aged! his hair is silver strand of greys and gone is the trademark moustache.I betcha though his charisma is still there. For the benefit of those who don't know Honasan, well.... he was once part of the group that toppled the Marcos regime and he plotted several coup attempts against the Aquino administration.

And the plot comes to an end.. or is it just the beginning of a new chapter?

Why Cory doesn't like Gloria

I think I know why.. it's probably not a secret but here's my theory, it's because PGMA and Mrs. Marcos are talking. Meaning to say, that Mrs. Marcos thinks that with this present government of Arroyo she can get a deal to bury her late husband, and then at the same time, the government was willing to enter into an out-of-court settlement with Marcos over her tiaras, bracelets and necklaces in an attempt to speed up recovery of the assets.

As you know, if was the Marcoses who jailed Ninoy Aquino (Cory's husband) and thought to be the one who killed him which in turn sparked EDSA revolution.

And now, the government is entering a deal with Imelda Marcos ( about the ill gotten wealth cos PCCG said it has been so long.. already and nothing happening..to that effect) .

You get what I mean? Oh well, I know majority of Filipinos doesn't like PGMA. Heh!

Crisis gone pffttt!

Argh. Standoff inside Fort Bonifacio left me hanging. I thought there would batallion of marines and throngs of people making a solid stance against government. I was looking for more action. More of the drama. I'm no war freak and I'm very peaceful loving individual. I wanted something significant to happen but in the end went pfffft. Shit! Bitin!

Btw, crisis was solve just before midnight. It was internal problem within the Marines. Military! Tsk tsk! :)

It is exactly like Martial Law!

I'm pissed! disturb actually. The turn of events here and the proclamation of national state of emergency is putting paranoia in my head.

CIDG raided offices of Daily Tribune! Arrested opposition personalities! It is like a pre martial law. And it's happening again. When she declared national state of emergency, she is trying so hard to hold on to her power and will do anything not to be overthrown via military coup or another people power (which nearly happened during the so called EDSA 3). Arroyo is so scared that she's doing these things and actually is the one inciting fear and causing alarm to every Filipino.

If events like what happened this morning continues-arresting people and rading a newspaper company, warning the reporters and journalist they will be next, scaring different media outlets, then martial law is slowly happening. The ghost of martial law is happening again. This time, people will not tolerate it. The first time it happened ithe Marcos era, everybody was helpless against the dictator. Not this time!

I'm putting my own two cents worth of blogging opinions here. I sometimes fear that I better be careful of what I blog and what I say regarding her. But this is the venue for me to rant about what I think of her and the political situation of our country. Freedom of speech, the right to speak should never be stopped. I know hardly anybody reads these blogs but still with what's happening now gotta be aware of what I input here. I remember looking at my tracker and seeing an IP add coming from office of the president Yay! That was surprising. Oh well, maybe somebody browsing there.

Cheese for President!

Cheese is the name politics is his game. Seeking the truth is his mission and people are supporting that vision! Ha ha. I'm soooooo "cheese..y." Hehe. What a speech, what a mind! Aye!

Eloquence of his speech last nigh at the congress just emphasized how smart he is. I'm talking about, Minority Floor Leader Francis "cheese" Escudero. He spoke with candor and passion and the truth about impeachment and the consequence for everyone involved. His speech done in Tagalog and English was just so stately, dignified. Firm yet ably understood in explaining to everyone, to the majority members of the house, why there's an impeachment. Why the need for it to proceed. Uhmm, cos Arroyo cheated.. that's why. But Minority failed to gather 79 signatures for the impeachment to proceed.

And as I blog right now, congress still in session this wee hours of the morning interpellating (?) Justice Committee report.

Oops, a moving porno. Tsk tsk

This news says it all.Here In the Philippines, you don't even have to have dvd inside a car, to spot an x-rated thingie..ugh!. Where's the law!

There's a bilboard advertisement of a brandy in a bind because of the double entendre it presents to the public- "Nakatikim ka na ba ng 15 años?" (Have you tasted a 15 year-old) 15 being "kinse" which is refering to Napoleon brandy, became the subject of the controversy. And though not porn, innuendo raises howls from women's groups. Rightly so. Yeah!

At least there's good news this weekend

Filipina Marilyn Manuel is alive and recuperating after that horrible bomb blast In Iraq. She was reported as one of the two Filipinos who died in the suicide attack against the UN.

Remembering

Twenty years ago Ninoy Aquino was assasinated on this very day and from then on it inspired everyone to revolt against the system that killed Ninoy. People Power(which really started here in 83 and triggered off similar waves in Eastern Europe during late 80's) was the one thing that us Filipinos gave him in turn for giving us his life and legacy and the will and conviction to fight system of evilness.

Reading A Hero Lives On written by his sister Lupita Aquino Kashiwahara, probably sums it all up how this day should be remembered and the contribution of great man changed the Philippines.

Media Censorship?
So what the hell's wrong about interviewing Honasan? Why is President Arroyo berating a reporter just cos of an interview?! Geesh. It's not as if the reporter was and is "glamourizing" and "glorifying" Honasan. It's a freaking scoop! Everybody wants to be the first to do an interview with the man being charged as masterminding the COUP.

TRAGEDY

until the media put out the story and stoked the public to wrath, the hospitals were intractable. Their subsequent reasonability and willingness to explain appear to be the product of pressure, too.The fact that the quadruplets were born prematurely, that they were grossly underweight and were running a low temperature is not a reason to give up after being given a ready-made excuse for failure. It is a reason to fight on. It is a reason to defy the odds. That is what doctors swear their oath for. It's called the Hippocratic Oath. With it doctors swear to defend all life as best they can.

The other kind is known as the hypocritical one.

There shouldn't be any discrimination against the poor. I think it's the responsiblity of the hospital to ensure that proper care and transfer should have been given if it could not accomodate patients

Bah, I'm blogging..there's no cable yet