Filipino teachers win $4.5M in US suit

Ang nakakahiya dito is if you read the name of the owner of the recruitment agency, it's Lourdes Navarro - meaning - kapwa Pinoy pa ang nang-aalila sa kapwa kababayan niya.  Nakakahiya ka te!!  Buti nga sa iyo at pababayarin ka ng ganun kalaking damages.  Sariling kababayan mo, ginagawa mong alipin!  Dapat ka talagang ikulong for preying on the most vulnerable in a society.

Filipino teachers win $4.5M in US suit

Anikow murder case: From hotel Yule party to dinner in jail

Sometimes, you just have to walk away.  Just be cool, and walk away.  However, I admit there are guys na "nakakalalaki talaga" and I have a feeling that Anikow (God bless his soul) was one of these guys.  But did they really have to kill Anikow to get back at him? They could've just taunted him or astig-astigan na lang - and do nothing about it - maybe they would've gone back to their normal lives.  Now that they have killed him, OMG, how could you ever replace a man's life?  And how can they plead self-defense when they were four guys and he was only one?  Of course, movies have shown that one guy can take down four guys easily  - but this was not a movie - this was real life - and I think Anikow was not even armed at that time.  

I feel really sorry for the four accused because their lives have been blasted apart - and they may have to live the rest of their lives not only in jail, but also living with the thought that they took a father away from his young family.

Anikow murder case: From hotel Yule party to dinner in jail

God Can Take It As Easily Away

 

I've read a lot of different things about the knockout of the people's champion Manny Pacquiao but after sifting through what I've read, what stands out to me is how quickly God hands out punishment when He wants to.  I was particularly struck by what his Mom said about him leaving the Catholic faith and stopping from praying to Mother Mary and not giving fare money to her so she can see the Calungsod canonization in Rome.  When he was still a nobody, his mother prayed to the saints and to Mother Mary to help her son.  Now that he is a somebody, he felt he did not need them anymore.  See what he got.  A humiliating knockout!  

I've learned early in life never to mess with God.  God can be many things to different people, but in my life, I learned early on that if you mess with Him, He will punish you where it hurts the most.   Like millions of Filipinos, I was stunned to see Pacquiao lose consciousness for more than two minutes!  Now that I've seen the clearer picture, God willed that to happen, to bring him back to earth  - to show to Manny who's the real boss.  He better listen to his mother, no matter how comical she may look.  He must remember that she was always with him, when he was still a nobody - and prayed to the high heavens, to the saints, to Mother Mary, to God, to give him victory.  Since he turned his back on them now - well, see what he got.  If he can't see that clearly now, oh well, good luck to him!

The Gorgeous and Elegant Isabel Preysler

 

Alberto has been raving about how famous and popular Isabel Preysler is in Spain.  Well, in the Philippines, except maybe for the upper classes (those who still speak Spanish), she is mostly unknown to ordinary Filipinos and to some who may know her, she's just the mother of Enrique Iglesias, the Latin pop superstar.  

She's the embodiment though of style and grace, much like a Filipino version of Jackie O.  She has since left the Philippines as a young woman and has adapted Spain as her home. That may be the reason why most Filipinos, except again for the alta sociedad, just don't really care for her.   

I guess she's better off in Spain.  The rough and tumble world of Philippine high society and its intermingling of different cultures - the Spanish, the Chinese, and yeah, the natives, the indios, might have been too claustrophobic for her.  Plus, her family and kids are there. It's good though that she visits the Philippines from time to time, bridging relationships, business or otherwise, between the former colony and colonial power.

Filipino workers should not be blamed for US oil rig blast–officials

 

Bravo Mr. Cuisia for taking on the cudgels of our beleaguered oil rig kababayans, especially that three of them lost their lives!  Sometimes, the ugly head of discrimination comes into the picture, and that's the only reason I could think of why some media reports, especially from the US, would want to paint a bad picture of our kababayans.  Nakakainis lang talaga basahin noh pag nilalait ang ating mga OFWs!

Filipino workers should not be blamed for US oil rig blast–officials

Celebrating Bonifacio's Heroism

 

Bonifacio reveals fervor in writings

In Social Studies class twenty years ago, we had a class debate on armed revolution vs. intellectual revolution against the Spanish, the former being led by Andres Bonifacio, whose heroism we celebrate today, and the latter, by Jose Rizal, our national hero.  I remember being assigned in the intellectual revolution group and I believe we were able to convince the class that the intellectual revolution led by Rizal was instrumental in the downfall of the Spanish.

Looking at it back now, I think Bonifacio also played a very important role during that dark era of our history.  He showed bravery in the face of a colonial power who had overwhelming power over, in terms of military prowess.  At least with the KKK, Bonifacio led our countrymen to tear their cedulas and cry against the injustices imposed by the Spanish at that time.  Bonifacio is the proper symbol for people in protest since his courage and fearlessness were apparent in a time when standing up against the authority can mean certain death.

Not Too Happy About the Quezon City Business District Idea

 

Sometimes I don't understand why our government, or at least, this local government we have now, seem to be angry against parks or trees or anything green.  I remember during the term of Mayor Atienza when they bulldozed a park and built a parking area for buses!  This time, the QC government wants to sell all the greenery from the Wildlife Park to the Manila Seedling area to the Veterans Memorial Hospital, all those are the last remaining expanses of greenery QC has, and transform it into something like the Fort.  The Fort is not green at all.  Have you actually seen the place?  Yeah, it's sosy and cool to be there but it's all cement and there are no freakin' trees!  There are some trees but they look like they're choking on the pollution.  All the cool Serendra ads saying, oohhh, we're so cool here with trees and you can go jogging around BGC is all bull really.  I actually pity the people who run around BHS.  They're gonna die of asthma or some form of pulmonary disease inhaling all the fumes from those cars!

I feel sad because that scenario is going to happen here in QC, in a place very near my home.  Maybe some people want it to look upscale like the Fort but don't be fooled by all those seemingly cool buildings. It still pales in comparison to how green, let's say, KLCC Park is in Kuala Lumpur or even Singapore for that matter.

At least leave the Ninoy Aquino Wildlife Park and the Manila Seedling Foundation land from it.  Of course, the deal may be done, even as I'm writing.  And we wonder why we our city looks like Venice after a downpour - we want to turn every green space into cement and steel!

Looking Forward to Next Year's Marikina Sapatos Festival

 

I don't think it was lack of marketing since I'm sure I read about it somewhere, but I feel bad that I missed this year's Marikina Sapatos Festival.  I admit I am guilty of preferring to buy foreign brands, thinking that wearing them gave me more cachet and made me look more sosyal than most people. 

I love shoes and I have lots of pairs in my room and frankly, where I am now, I wouldn't mind buying something locally made - and I am also curious if the ones made in Marikina are indeed comfortable and look fashionable too.  Anyway, soon as the next shoe festival comes in, I'd surely take time to check out the goods there.   I do hope they have sneakers and nice slippers.

Teacher kills self after losing all his money in scam

I am only an amateur player in the local stock market and I can tell you that I have never experienced doubling my money within a one month period.  Frankly, if a genie appears before me, I would ask him to show me at what points the market doubled its income and which companies did, because that would be the only time, Ponzi schemes like this one by Aman Futures Group could have legitimately earned their money.  But of course, genies don't exist and mere mortals like me who play the stock market for 'fun' don't double their money in a month's time.  Maybe in 3 years but in one month?  That should've have rung alarm bells on the investors.

What makes me sad though is that these people could've invested it in the local stock market and help propel the growth of many of our local companies.

 Teacher kills self after losing all his money in scam

Thousands gypped in P12-billion scam

A sucker is born every minute - and yet they all succumb to the same sin - greed.  All of us are guilty of it.  We always want more - even if the promises are unrealistic.  Pyramid scams have been with us for more than a hundred years and we actually know how they operate, but because of greed, the rational side to our nature flies out of the window.

As they've always said, if something is too good to be true, then, most likely it's a scam!

Thousands gypped in P12-billion scam

Not Too Happy With the Strong Peso

I read in the news today that the Philippine peso would strengthen to 39 pesos next year.  That's really bad news since the conversion will then go down to 37 pesos for us - Paypal and Western Union do not really follow the printed conversion and we'd have to pay for their service too, that's why it's that low.  Problem is, everything is expensive nowadays.  All the prices of basic commodities are just through the roof!  Before long, Manila will be one of the more expensive capitals to live in in the world.

Anyway, the strengthening of the peso is indeed a challenge for us so the only way to fight it is to set up a local presence which we have started with FABE magazine and the FABE studio.  We still have to look for another possible local business next year that can bring in daily sales.

Whew, the challenges never end!

Being Kind to our LRT and MRT Commuters

This article by respected sociologist Michael Tan is such an eye-opener!  The last time I rode the MRT was way back in the late 90s and I would often joke to the young kids now that the now very busy Quezon Avenue station was a very quiet station during my time - I remember I would be the only one going down in that station.  Of course now, with McDonald's and KFC there and so many other stores, it is a very busy area!

I don't know how the government could've overlooked the handling of the MRT and the LRT.  The truth is, to get good service, you'd have to pay for it, and the very cheap prices of the tickets I think, don't give them enough money to even maintain the trains.  I read about an MRT train catching fire - thank God walang namatay - but I hope we don't wait till a real accident happens!

I love what Mr. Tan said here about being kind to the commuters who have to endure this hell.  Talking from my side - I mean those who drive their own cars - we're also suffering from the bad traffic too and the expensive cost of gasoline!  As to when the suffering will end, whew, there should be some good guy out there who can run the MRT and the LRT well, but I have this sinking feeling that we'd all have to bite several bitter pills first!

Kindness and LRT/MRT

Games We Played When There Was Still No Ipads or Facebook to Entertain Us

Like any other kid, I enjoyed long holidays like the one we're having now!  Well, for schoolchildren, we'd have a longer vacation we call sem break and it would be about two weeks tops and it would run through the November 1 visiting of the dead ritual that most Catholic Filipinos perform.

Nowadays though, you wouldn't find kids out in the street playing siyatong or buwan-buwan or  tumba lata - and in a way, I do feel sorry for them - and I feel bad that today's parents are not even teaching their kids the games they played when they were younger.  Even freakin' jackstone!

Anyway, I loved playing siyatong as a kid. You just needed two sticks to play it with and a possibly a sandy topsoil so you can make that vertical mound needed to launch the smaller stick.  I wasn't particularly good at playing this since my hand-eye coordination was very poor, but it was fun anyway!

I also loved playing buwan buwan which was a variation of the patintero.  Since it was full moon these past few days, those were the days we played this game since we could play it at night, with the full moon and all!  You didn't need anything to play this game, just a stick to put a line were the "it" can walk and follow and 'touch' the people inside the circle (which resembles the shape of the moon - hence the name).  

Tumba lata was another fun game we played and I hated being it because I was really a bit slow as a kid but I enjoyed it when I was NOT the "it"!  It was a bit of a mean game I remember now and one really had to be quick to escape being caught or have one's slippers get caught in the circle which 'houses' the can.  What the rest had to do was to throw their slippers and make the can fall and the 'it' had to put the can back in the circle AND catch anyone who dares get his or her slipper back!  It was a fun way NOT to be obese! 

Bringing in the Tourists: Things I've Observed While in KL

Even though Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, I admit I was surprised by the huge numbers of tourists that they have!  Kuala Lumpur is slowly beginning to look like Bangkok!  You see tourists everywhere!  I guess their Malaysia Truly Asia slogan is slowly beginning to pick up.

So anyway, here are my two cents on what I think we can do to make Manila, or Cebu or Davao, at least the urban places, a place that more tourists would be more willing to visit, based on what I saw in Kuala Lumpur.

#1 A working mass-based transport system from our airports to the city center

I have been using the LCCT these past two trips, and even though it is supposedly a low-cost airport - there was nothing low cost about it.  It had wi-fi everywhere, there were many choices of restaurants, and there was ease of movement inside the place even if it wasn't airconditioned (it had this outdoorsy type of planning, which was fine since it saves us from releaseing COCCs).  It was also easy to find public transport from the airport to the city centre.   We took a bus and it was reasonably priced, well-ventilated and a bus went to the city every 30 minutes!

#2 an efficient mass-based commuter system 

As a tourist, I enjoy using the mass-based commuter train systems of the cities I visit. That way, I can really see how the residents of that place lives!   For me, that in itself is a tourist attraction, dreary the thought of it may be.  In most Asian cities, their mass-based commuter system is very efficient - here in Manila, the LRT and the MRT are nightmare rides, according to my friends who take it.  The queues are infernally long, people get robbed inside, women get molested, I could go on and on....I don't think tourists would like to ride in such discomfort - and a certain level of fear.

#3 an efficient way to go and see the sights

I know it is a bit touristy to apply something like a hop on hop off bus thing in Manila, but for people who only have  two to three days to stay in a city - it's a godsend - especially if applied in Manila.  It will save tourists with having to deal with unscrupulous drivers, and allow them to see our city's tourist sites in relative comfort.

#4 bring the tourists to do real shopping here

I think the Thais and the people of Hong Kong and Singapore have perfected this already - enticing tourists to their cities to just shop!  Imagine how much foreign currency that can bring in!!  I think SM Mall of Asia is slowly doing that - directing tourists to buy in their Filipino pasalubong stores.  I bring all my foreign guests there!  Of course, there's Tesoro also in Makati.  I have brought some of my foreigner friends to Divisoria and Greenhills but they say that it's no different from what they can see in Shenzhen.

On Being Dark and Being Called 'A Little Filipino"

I admit I do get flustered when people say I got darker (literally - in skin tone - not "Batman Christopher Nolan" darker).  Like this week, I have just come from KL and did a little sightseeing - under the sun, of course, and friends have made that innocent remark to me ("Uy, nagbeach ka" or "Uy, umitim ka") - a pretty harmless remark really that follows "Musta?" - but something that can cause panic inside for people like me!!  Call me shallow but that's just how it is.  History has not been kind to darker skinned people and the stigma has followed us into this touchscreen LED TV, Internet wifi everywhere, social media dominated century!  Because of those remarks, I have avoided the sun and went straight to my derma to buy the necessary stuff to lighten my skin tone once again.

 It's easy to mock my behavior if you have lighter skin and make fun of my reaction but for someone who grew up with taunts and not so nice things being said because of my skin tone, it wouldn't take a psychologist to find out our irrational behavior when it comes to this thing!  And couple that with the fact that I did not like how I looked like growing up - ayun - a terrible disorder happened to my brain - which leads me to do irrational stuff like lighten my skin tone!

However, I don't feel slighted with what Lucy Liu has said.  Filipinos are just generally darker, than let's say, the Chinese, the Japanese and the Korean.  She actually hit it right on the target.  Although I am a bit ashamed to say this - but my desire to continually apply these whitening stuff, at least to my face - and shun the sun - is that I don't want to be too dark and look like a peasant Filipino.  So there - I admit it - I am a shallow son of a bitch.  But I have to look in the mirror and like what I see!!  If I need to put these whitening lotions and avoid the sun to do it, it's my choice because it's my body and self-esteem anyway.  I love being Filipino and proud of it - it's just that the darker I look like a baluga, a kapre walking in daylight!  And in this looks obsessed society - that look will just not do it - at least here in the Philippines.

Well, we just have to give Lucy some leeway and not be too OA.  Having brown skin has some perks too anyway - but that will be in another post of mine.

The Frightening Prospect of Being Led By the Same Families For the Rest of our Lives

It's good to know that I was not the only one who was dismayed by the senatorial lists of our political parties. So whose names am I supposed to put on the twelve blank spaces in my ballot?  I only find three or four people interesting, otherwise, it's a going to be a long empty list.  Actually, I was thinking of putting Daniel Matsunaga, Hideo Muraoka and all the other hot guys I would love to be stranded in an island with - from #'s 5 to #'s 12 - just for spite - just to indirectly say to the politicians - you are all shite - and a disgrace to our democracy!  Their inability to come up with twelve "Jess Robredo"-type of leaders in their respective slates just shows how morally and intellectually bankrupt our bench is for our future leaders.  It's really frightening to know that this country will be run by JUST these people!



Misery

Rangers losing battle in Philippine forests

It always boggles my mind when the very people who are tasked with the most important jobs - our teachers, our nurses, our soldiers, our policemen, and yes, our forest rangers - are often the ones with the most pitiful of salaries and are given the least government protection!  Here are these guys protecting our forests to make sure we have clean tap water (among the many benefits of having good forest cover) - yet they fear for their lives because some crazy people out there don't care about cutting these trees, thinking only of themselves and not of the greater good.  Thanks to this article, we are more aware of what they need and how we may be able to help them.

Rangers losing battle in Philippine forests

Pinoy Youth Mobilized Against the Cybercime Law

I'm just happy that our youth has mobilized against some of the provisions of the Cybercrime Law.  I was only a kid during the Martial Law days and I was lucky to have lived in Cebu, which was rabidly anti-Marcos.  Anywhere else in the country, anyone who spoke against the Marcoses were shot or killed mercilessly, a priest and a doctor in my neighborhood were shot pointblank because of their anti-Marcos beliefs.  I was in Grade 4 then.  At least dito sa law na ito 12 years kulong lang....but that could just be for starters....it could get worse....at least, now the Filipino youth gets to feel like how it was during Martial Law and how really really BAD the MARCOSES were......

Comelec chair: Party-list system a joke

Official Seal of the Commission on Elections (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, the idea is good but just trust the Pinoy to always find loopholes in the law and take advantage of it.  Therefore, the Comelec has to do its job in making the idea really work and stand firm in rejecting those groups which seem bogus.  They will be stepping on a lot of powerful toes but if they don't do something about it, the joke's on them and as usual, on us, the poor Filipinos whose taxes go to fund the irrational parties of these bogus congressmen.  I don't think it would need the IQ of a rocket scientist to find out if it's a genuine party list or not.

Comelec chair: Party-list system a joke

Pasaway na Pari

English: Capitol building of the Province of Cebu, located in Cebu City. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oh well, thanks to this priest, thousands of elephants in Africa have met their deaths because of their tusks.  Maybe because he thinks he's a priest and he comes from a rich family, he does not care anymore about these poor animals. And to top it all, he's a freakin' child molester!  And he never went to jail for it!  He should be charged and sent to jail  and who cares if he's old.  He's still an old asshole!  And why did it take the Vatican more than 30 years to investigate this case?


Vatican sacked Cebu priest months ahead of ivory scandal, says church exec

Expensive Air Travel Tickets in 2003

Big thanks to low cost airlines, travel around Southeast Asia nowadays is fairly cheap and reasonable, even if you are asked to pay the full fare.  


Way back in 2003, I had to pay US$474 for a trip to Bangkok using Kuwait Airways.  The exchange rate then was PhP54.21.  So way back in 2003, a flight to Bangkok would set on back by 25,696 pesos!!  Nowadays, that would be the cost of my trip (with a companion) and if I am smart enough, I could even include hotel expenses with that!

That's why nowadays, everyone can now have the chance to go abroad without spending too much!

Lady judge (and Ace Vergel fan) cited for speedy justice

I wish there are more judges like Judge Emily L. San Gaspar-Gito.  I have never dealt with our local justice system (and I wish I never will) because there are just so many horror stories of justice here being meted at such a snail pace!  Her system is no different from what other efficient people use to streamline their work!  We are all deluged with so many things to do everyday, it is imperative that we color-code what we want done for the day, to get things moving.

Lady judge (and Ace Vergel fan) cited for speedy justice

Philippines new ‘darling’ of global investors

This is indeed good news for us Filipinos since it injects money into our local businesses, which in turn, our local companies can use to expand their business operations here and abroad.  Hopefully, these expansions can create jobs for many Filipinos.  I just really hope all these expansions also include the other parts of the Philippines so that not all business is concentrated here in Metro Manila.

Philippines new ‘darling’ of global investors

Why Didn't They Just Shoot the Marcoses?

I was just 15 years old when the EDSA revolution happened, and growing up in Cebu, which was rabidly anti-Marcos at that time, I watched as fellow Cebuanos rejoiced when the Marcos couple were airlifted out of the Manila.

When Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, I was just seven months old and it was only when I was in college in UP when I fully learned about what they had done and the activists their military had killed, since we had to study the lives of Lean Alejandro and other very intelligent activists who gave up their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.  When I was reading about the lives of these activists, I was really saddened by their youthful yet brutal deaths but at the same time, awed by their bravery during a very dark period in our history, something which I don't think I'd ever do if I were in their shoes.  I think I would've just looked away rather than lose my life but I can never say how I'd react if I witness first hand the injustices that were happening at that time.  Nowadays, kasi, we can always opt to work abroad or immigrate even, if we feel this country can offer us nothing anymore.

In 1989, when the Iron Curtain fell, along with the other Communist-bloc countries in Europe, the Ceaucescu's of Romania, a notorious dictatorial couple like the Marcoses were executed by their countrymen, plain and simple.  Frankly, when that happened, I thought, why didn't they simply just do that to the Marcoses?  Para matapos na lahat - no more trials, paid na ang debts nila to the thousands of martial law victims - and the country can move on.  Tuloy, more than a quarter century after the EDSA Revolution, it's like nothing has happened, and 40 years after martial law, their injustices have gone unpunished - and the worst part is - they're back in power!  Talk about spitting on the graves of the desaparecidos. 

Anyway, this is just idle contemplation and we can't turn back time.  We can only move forward and try to appreciate the legacies of those men and women who suffered during the Marcos dictatorship. 

Too Bad We Didn't Get to Host the FIBA Championships

 

 I've read some articles about how we lost the FIBA Championships bid for 2012.  Apparently, Lebanon got the chance to host it even if our team gave a far more superior presentation.  Not to mention that here, basketball is still the sport that the majority of Filipinos watch!  It would've been a treat to watch Asia's best basketball teams play here!

I am not really a basketball fan but the prospect of seeing many boys from all over Asia is just a yum-yum idea - and we can also cheer to for our local team, di ba?  That rarely happens e, even in basketball.  Oh well, there should be other chances to host the event - so sana kung kelan man yun, matuloy na!

Quezon Avenue- Araneta Avenue Underpass to be Finally Opened This Coming Week

Like many who live near the Quezon Avenue - Araneta Avenue intersection, I have avoided this area for more than a year now because of the terrible traffic the construction has caused.  We usually pass through E. Rodriguez Avenue now to go to Quiapo and I take the Pandacan flyover to go to MOA and the Cultural Center.  

However, that place is closed after ten pm so it's great that the Quezon Avenue underpass is finished already and is set to be inaugurated this coming week!  This could cut out travel time to Divisoria - but unfortunately, Tutuban Mall also burned down a few weeks ago - so I don't know where to park anymore?

Why Isn't Robredo's Wife Running for the Senate?

Frankly, I'm tired of seeing the same old same old faces in our Senate.  They have been there for ages but still, where are we right now?  I wish Robredo's wife could be persuaded to run for Senate. I'm sure her husband has rubbed enough on her on how to move this country forward - and I'm sure there is no shortage of volunteers willing to work for her team - once she gets elected.

Seeing the list of senatorial candidates with the winning ability here gives me a BIG FREAKIN' YAWN!  As a protest vote, I'll put UNKNOWN candidates on my ballot.  I'm just tired of this old faces list........WALA NA BANG IBA DYAN?

Legarda leads latest Pulse Asia survey

Tough To Be A Whistleblower in this Country

It's really tough to be a whistleblower in this country.  We just have NO respect for them.  Anyhow, if this whistleblower's story is true, don't worry dude, it will blow up in the face of the PDEA soon enough.   You have to remember that gamblers NEVER NEVER NEVER stop gambling.  It's a very hard addiction to stop.  So I'm sure, if this woman is really a gambler, the consequences of her being the wife of a PDEA head will lead to serious consequences in the future - especially that her husband is working AGAINST drug lords.  

In the end, the drug lords now have an ace in their hands, IF this whistleblower is indeed telling the truth.....

Boss’ wife at center of raging PDEA row

2.8 million Filipinos jobless; rate unchanged since 2011

Every time I read news about joblessness, I sometimes wonder if these people are also employable - meaning - do they really have the skills to be employable - at this day and age!  The stakes right now are so high since the competition is already global - and any employee who has no world-class skills - will remain jobless and will never find a job - kasi hindi nga siya skilled!  I just really hope our educational system can have incremental improvements to ensure these kids can speak and understand English, or have analytical skills or develop their special talents - otherwise, menial jobs will be the only jobs available for them...

2.8 million Filipinos jobless; rate unchanged since 2011

Cebu school probes death of 2 students in Bataan

Mama was always vigilant with us when we went out swimming in the beach when we were kids.  She told us that she would always stay on the beach side and always count five heads, five heads, all the time.  She told us she would never let us out of our sight since she knew only too well the dangers of drowning.

Now that we're raising kids, I don't think I'd ever allow Laura or Dylan to go on a school trip that would involve swimming of ANY SORT!   Not unless I or Vic is there.  The truth is, one teacher CANNOT possibly watch over 10 or 15 or 20 students, lalo na if they're teenagers.  We were kids once and we know how malikot we are and how we tend NOT to follow what our teachers are telling us.  I just feel the pain of the parents.  Unbearable - and really, no amount of investigation or blaming other people for the incident will EVER bring them back!

Cebu school probes death of 2 students in Bataan

High court orders Makati hotel to pay dead guest’s heirs P52M

If the guy just stayed in an inn that charges 1000 pesos a day, maybe, just maybe, the family would've not bothered to sue, but for a hotel that charges at least US$500 per night, maybe they should've been more vigilant with their hotel security.  Problem here though is this hotel will just pass this 52 million peso bill back to the customers who are planning to stay in this hotel - so who gets the last laugh here!!

High court orders Makati hotel to pay dead guest’s heirs P52M

70 Filipinos get $1M for speaking Tagalog

Wow!  Finally, we get the respect we deserve!  And kudos to these 70 nurses who stood up for their rights!  About time they respect our unique culture and our right to speak our language if we are just speaking with each other - or at least, to patients who can speak Filipino.  

70 Filipinos get $1M for speaking Tagalog

PH Azkals blank Singapore Lions, 2-0

Aren't you just proud of these guys?  It's just a bonus that they're goodlooking and all, but to come out with results like this - just shows that their hearts are in the right places - whether half Pinoy man sila or whatever....makes you really think we might have a fighting chance against the best football teams in Asia if we can progress in this game very quickly....

PH Azkals blank Singapore Lions, 2-0

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