The following is from a British journalist stationed in the Philippines. His observations are so hilarious!!!! This was written in 1999.
Matter of Taste
by Matthew Sutherland
I have now been in this country for over six years, and consider myself in most respects well-assimilated. However, there is one key step on the road to full assimilation which I have yet to take, and that's to eat BALUT.
The day any of you sees me eating balut, please call immigration and ask them to issue me a Filipino passport. Because at that point there will be no turning back.
BALUT, for those still blissfully ignorant non-Pinoys out there, is a fertilized duck egg. It is commonly sold with salt in a piece of newspaper, much like English fish and chips, by street vendors usually after dark, presumably so you can't see how gross it is. It's meant to be an aphrodisiac, although I can't imagine anything more likely to dispel sexual desire than crunching on a partially-formed baby duck swimming in noxious fluid. The embryo in the egg comes in varying stages of development, but basically it is not considered macho to eat one without fully discernable feathers, beak, and claws. Some say these crunchy bits are the best. Others prefer just to drink the so-called 'soup', the vile, pungent liquid that surrounds the aforementioned feathery fetus...excuse me, I have to go and throw up now. I'll be back in a minute.
Food dominates the life of the Filipino. People here just love to eat. They eat at least eight times a day. These eight official meals are called, in order: breakfast, snacks, lunch, merienda, pica-pica, pulutan, dinner, and no-one-saw-me-take-that-cookie-from-the-fridge-so-it-doesn't-count. The short gaps in between these mealtimes are spent eating Sky Flakes from the open packet that sits on every desktop. You're never far from food in the Philippines. If you doubt this, next time you're driving home from work, try this game.
See how long you can drive without seeing food and I don't mean a distant restaurant, or a picture of food. I mean a man on the sidewalk frying fish balls, or a man walking through the traffic selling nuts or candy. I bet it's less than one minute.
Here are some other things I've noticed about food in the Philippines. Firstly, a meal is not a meal without rice-even breakfast. In the UK, I could go a whole year without eating rice.
Second, it's impossible to drink without eating. A bottle of San Miguel just isn't the same without gambas or beef tapa.
Third, no one ventures more than two paces from their house without baon and a container of something cold to drink. You might as well ask a Filipino to leave home without his pants on.
And lastly, where I come from, you eat with a knife and fork. Here, you eat with a spoon and fork. You try eating rice swimming in fish sauce with a knife.
One really nice thing about Filipino food culture is that people always ask you to SHARE their food. In my office, if you catch anyone attacking their baon, they will always go. "Sir! KAIN TAYO!" ("Let's eat!"). This confused me, until I realized that they didn't actually expect me to sit down and start munching on their boneless bangus. In fact, the polite response is something like, "No thanks, I just ate." But the principle is sound-if you have food on your plate, you are expected to share it, however hungry you are, with those who may be even hungrier. I think that's great. In fact, this is frequently even taken one step further. Many Filipinos use
"Have you eaten yet?" ("KUMAIN KA NA?") as a general greeting, irrespective of time of day or location.
Some foreigners think Filipino food is fairly dull compared to other Asian cuisines. Actually lots of it is very good: spicy dishes like Bicol Express (strange, a dish named after a train); anything cooked with coconut milk; anything KINILAW; and anything ADOBO. And it's hard to beat the sheer wanton, cholesterholic frenzy of a good old-fashioned LECHON de leche feast.
Dig a pit, light a fire, add 50 pounds of animal fat on a stick, and cook until crisp. Mmm, mmm... you can actually feel your arteries constricting with each successive mouthful.
I also share one key Pinoy trait ---a sweet tooth. I am thus the only foreigner I know who does not complain about sweet bread, sweet burgers, sweet spaghetti, sweet banana ketchup, and so on. I am a man who likes to put jam on his pizza. Try it! It's the weird food you want to avoid.
In addition to duck fetus in the half-shell, items to avoid in the Philippines include pig's blood soup (DINUGUAN); bull's testicle soup, the strangely-named "SOUP NUMBER FIVE" (I dread to think what numbers one through four are); and the ubiquitous, stinky shrimp paste, BAGOONG, and it's equally stinky sister, PATIS.
Filipinos are so addicted to these latter items that they will even risk arrest or deportation trying to smuggle them into countries like Australia and the USA, which wisely ban the importation of items you can smell from more than 100 paces.
Then there's the small matter of the blue ice cream. I have never been able to get my brain around eating blue food; the ubiquitous UBE leaves me cold.
And lastly on the subject of weird food, beware: that KALDERETANG KAMBING (goat) could well be KALDERETANG ASO (dog)... The Filipino, of course, has a well-developed sense of food.
Here's a typical Pinoy food joke: "I'm on a seafood diet. "What's a seafood diet?" "When I see food, I eat it!"
Filipinos also eat strange bits of animals---the feet, the head, the guts, etc., usually barbecued on a stick. These have been given witty names, like "ADIDAS" (chicken's feet); "KURBATA" (either just chicken's neck, or "neck and thigh" as in "neck-tie"); "WALKMAN" (pigs ears); "PAL" (chicken wings); "HELMET" (chicken head); "IUD" (chicken intestines), and "BETAMAX" (video-cassette-like blocks of animal blood).
Yum, yum. Bon appetit.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Beheaded OFWs will haunt GMA
28 July 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Reference:
Garry Martinez, Chairperson-09217229740
Ailyn Abdula, Media Officer, 09212708994
After PGMA’s SONA:
Beheaded OFWs will haunt her – Migrante
The biggest global alliance of OFWs belied claims made by President Arroyo on her SONA saying her administration holds the record for unparalleled exploitation and abuse against overseas Filipinos including the most number of OFWs that were beheaded under its term.
“The daughter of Rey Cortez lost her sanity due to the trauma caused by the beheading of her father last July 13, 2007. The Arroyo administration has turned its back on helping Rey’s family to cope with the tragedy. If they heard the President’s SONA, we are pretty sure that instead of the 126 times of applause, the Batasang Pambansa would shudder at the thunder of angry voices of OFWs,” says Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante International.
Martinez was reacting to the SONA of President Arroyo when she defended her frequent trips abroad by claiming that these trips were spent to visit and to listen to the problems of overseas Filipinos as well as to talk to the host governments of countries where they are working. She also claimed that she was looking for opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos looking for jobs.
“Jenifer Beduya, Miguel Fernandez, Wilfredo Bautista, Antonio Alvesa, Sergio Aldana and Rey Cortez, the 6 OFWs who were beheaded under President Arroyo’s term, must have turned in their unmarked graves in Saudi Arabia when she said that the billions of pesos spent in her lavish trips were done in their name. The question now is how many more are going to be beheaded in her remaining trips abroad?” Martinez chided.
Martinez blames the appointment of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo as Presidential Adviser for OFWs in 2001 as a major reason why government failed in saving OFWs from death row. The group asserted that it was during Mike Arroyo’s stint that the government applied a new tact in dealing with OFWs facing capital punishments.
“Upon Mike Arroyo’s appointment, the government adopted a policy of raising funds for blood money from the business sector instead of providing appropriate legal assistance to OFWs in death row. Paying blood money is tantamount to admitting a crime that relinquishes the innocence of the suspected OFW who was not even adequately defended in the legal process. This has become the signature of the Arroyo administration in its mishandling of OFW cases up to the present,” added Martinez.
Migrante even reminded the President that three (3) of her fellow Capampangans are right now awaiting their execution in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The said OFWs are Edison and Rolando Gonzales and Eduardo Arcilla who were sentenced to die by beheading by the Saudi courts for murder.
“The Gonzales brothers and Arcilla were tortured by the Saudi authorities to admit to crimes they have not committed. Up to now, the President continues to ignore the issue of torture perpetrated against the said OFWs. A brazen proof that what she said in her SONA are all self-serving lies,” exclaimed Martinez
Migrante likewise claims that the plight of OFWs under the 9 year term of the Arroyo administration has become worse especially the situation of migrant women.
“We found it ironic that at the same time President Arroyo was boasting of her efforts to protect the welfare of OFWs during her SONA, Philippine Labor Attaché Josephus Jimenez was reporting that about 5 to 10 Filipina maids flee from their abusive employers in Kuwait daily. We challenge other embassy officials to belie the claims made by the President during her SONA and expose the real condition of OFWs under her term,” Martinez dared.
Recently, Migrante revealed that cases of violence against migrant women have been increasing. An alarming trend of Filipina maids being abused in groups were also noted.
The group criticized the 9 year term of President Arroyo as a corrupt ridden administration that utilized OFW welfare funds for its own interest specifically during the 2004 presidential election.
“The only legacy that will be left by President Arroyo to OFWs is its shameless pilfering of OFW funds that were used to commit electoral fraud in the 2004 presidential elections instead of utilizing it to give assistance to distressed OFWs. Php530 million of the OWWA funds were transferred to Philhealth upon the prodding of then Philhealth President Francisco Duque. The said fund was later used to distribute free Philhealth cards during her campaign trail. This was done at the same time when hundreds of thousands of OFW contributors were disenfranchised from their benefits upon the imposition of OWWA Omnibus Policies in 2003,” Martinez concluded.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Sona: Yes, but…
by Antonio C. Abaya
from Standard Today
President Arroyo was most effusive, most entertaining and most exuberant when she was firing broadsides at some of her most severe critics. The sarcasm was delicious, the irony well chosen, and the bile delivered with the right amount of pointed arrogance.
Bravo! It saved her (last?) State of the Nation Address from being one long boring litany of some unverifiable claims and some outright false ones.
Said she: “The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha [or charter change] when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.”
The man hiding under his desk in shame, in a manner of speaking and assuming he feels any shame, was former House Speaker Jose de Venecia, who led the Cha-Cha dance in the Lower House in 2005-06 when he expected to be named interim prime minister in an interim parliament.
But when he lost the speakership, after his son Joey ran afoul of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo over ZTE kickbacks , JdV suddenly became a critic of Cha-Cha. Ouch!
Said she: “Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there.”
In jail? When was a luxurious country villa in Tanay mistaken for jail? Or perhaps President Arroyo regrets that she ever pardoned the convicted plunderer resident in the villa.
But former president Joseph Estrada, feeling alluded to, fired back sarcastically that President Arroyo’s claims of economic gains were “fiction.” “Arroyonomics is a kind of economics that is out of touch with reality and real facts.”
Touché, Erap. Arroyonomics is actually a required subject in the Balic Balic School of Economics.
And, saving the best for the last, President Arroyo plunged her stiletto into “those who want to be president,” to whom she gave “ this advice: If you really want something done, just do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander and don’t say bad words in public.”
To which the presumably pussyfooting Sen. Mar Roxas, who famously used the P word in a public speech, replied. “The only reason I used bad words in public, Gloria, is because you do bad deeds in private.”
Galing, talaga! Don’t you just love the way our top elected leaders growl at each other?
I now appreciate the pearls of wisdom that Sen. Miriam Santiago once threw at Joey de Venecia and Benjamin Abalos, whom she characterized (correctly) as squabbling over kickbacks from the sordid ZTE contract Magbarilan na lang kayo sa kalye!
Now for the boring part.
Not surprisingly, President Arroyo devoted the greater part of her SONA reciting a litany of her achievements, especially in the economy, over the past eight years and six months since she took over from the impeached and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada.
Among the many achievements she listed down were: the Subic-Tarlac highway, international airports, seaports, roll-on roll-off nautical highway, telecommunications advances, tourism, 600,000 call center agents, cash handouts to 700,000 of the poorest families, lowest inflation, farm-to-market roads, irrigation, fish-farming, cheaper medicines, rent-control law, Epira, indigenous energy, bio-fuels, increased tax effort, more classrooms and schoolhouses, education highway, doubled foreign exchange reserves, 33 successive quarters of GDP growth, economy did not shrink the in the current global recession, $2,000 per capita income, eight million jobs created, flood control, peace talks with the Communists and the Muslim separatists, peace in Mindanao, martial law never declared despite provocations, strong government, etc.
These are real achievements, at least many or most of them. Yes, but…..
Is the glass half-full, or is it half-empty?
In my article of October 03, 2001, published in the Philippine Graphic Magazine, titled GMA – The best there is, but her best may not be good enough, after my only one-on-one conversation with her, on Sept. 29 in Malacanang, I wrote that “The bad news is that her best may not be good enough to save this country from a fate worse than death: humiliating poverty and insurmountable mediocrity….”
In her SONA, she boasted of 33 successive quarters of GDP growth since she took over in January 2001. Yes but the average of these 33 quarters of continuous growth is only about 5.3 percent per annum. Higher than that achieved by President Aquino (4.3 percent), President Ramos (3.75 percent) and President Estrada (2.26 percent).
But much lower than that required to reach First World status, which she claims she can lead this country to attain. I reminded her in 2001, as I have reminded her several times since, that “based on the experience of our successful neighbors, it takes at least 20 years or 80 successive quarters of at least 7 to 8 percent GDP growth per annum, achieved largely through manufacturing, for a country to graduate from poverty to prosperity…..”
President Arroyo is proud that the Philippine economy has not shrunk below zero even in the current global recession. Yes but that is because the Philippines did not industrialize for exports to the same extent as all our successful neighbors did. The economies, for example, of Singapore, South Korea and Japan have shrunk by 10, 7 and 6 percent respectively, as the markets for their industrial and manufactured exports dried up..
On the other hand, the Philippine economy is expected to register zero growth or even grow by 2 percent in 2009. That is because the output of our industrial sector – actually mostly only assembly plants – do not make up as large a percent of our GDP as they do of the Singaporean, South Korean and Japanese economies.
In 2007, Singapore’s exports totaled $450.6 billion; South Korea $371.5 bn; Taiwan $246.7 bn; Malaysia $181.2 bn; Thailand $151.0 bn; Indonesia $118.0 bn; the Philippines a pathetic $49.3 bn. Don’t look behind, but Vietnam is fast catching up with $48.1 bn. In all likelihood, Vietnam overtook the Philippines in exports in 2008 since it draws about eight times more direct foreign investments, mostly in manufacturing, than the Philippines.
The metaphor that I use to describe the economic situation in East Asia in 2008-09 is: an Intensity IX hit our neighborhood. Those of our neighbors who prospered from the export of manufactured goods – meaning practically everyone – saw their skyscrapers crack or collapse from the tremor. The Philippines survived with only a scratch because it had managed to build only a three-storey walk-up and therefore had a lower center of gravity, not because it was inherently a stronger building. It is a consuelo de bobo, not something to boast about
President Arroyo also boasted that in the last four years (2005 to 2008?), tourist arrivals almost doubled. This is not quite accurate. In 2008, we registered 3.2 million arrivals. Is she saying that in 2005 we had only 1.6 or 1.8 million tourist arrivals? Not true. In 2001, we already had 2.2 million tourists. So the number of tourist arrivals did NOT double or almost double in four years..
More apropos to this discussion is that in 2008, Hong Kong drew 26 million tourists, Malaysia 16 million, Thailand 13 million. In 1991, the Philippines and Indonesia drew almost exactly the same number of tourists: one million. In 2008, Indonesia was drawing in more than six million, while the Philippines was still struggling with 3.2 million. More ominously, Vietnam overtook the Philippines last year with 4.2 million, while tiny Cambodia is fast catching up with us, with 2.0 million.
In her SONA, President Arroyo boasted that we have the highest level ever of gross international reserves and that her government created eight million jobs since 2001. Yes but the record level of our foreign exchange reserves owes more to the remittances of overseas Filipino workers to their families here (now reaching $16 billion a year) than to substantial increases in dollar earnings of our exports and tourism sectors, which are actually the laggards in this part of the world. (See above)
As for eight million jobs that she claims to have created here, that seems to include sidewalk vendors, GROs in girlie bars, pirated DVD entrepreneurs, and fixers in government offices. More telling would be the hard reality that more than eight million Filipinos have been forced to go abroad to get the jobs that they could not find in the domestic economy.
Actually this diaspora started during the Marcos years and continued under Aquino,. Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo, so it is not solely Gloria’s fault. But no one should be proud of this state of affairs, and no one should boast of having created x-number of jobs when y=x-number have been forced to leave and work abroad.
The long and short of it is that the Philippine economy, from the 1970s to 2009, has not created enough jobs for its people because of consistently poor choices in economic strategies and policies by its leaders.. *****
(Next week: the political fall-out from SONA 2009).
Reactions to tonyabaya@gmail.com. Other articles in acabaya.blogspot.com and www.tapatt.org.
from Standard Today
President Arroyo was most effusive, most entertaining and most exuberant when she was firing broadsides at some of her most severe critics. The sarcasm was delicious, the irony well chosen, and the bile delivered with the right amount of pointed arrogance.
Bravo! It saved her (last?) State of the Nation Address from being one long boring litany of some unverifiable claims and some outright false ones.
Said she: “The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha [or charter change] when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.”
The man hiding under his desk in shame, in a manner of speaking and assuming he feels any shame, was former House Speaker Jose de Venecia, who led the Cha-Cha dance in the Lower House in 2005-06 when he expected to be named interim prime minister in an interim parliament.
But when he lost the speakership, after his son Joey ran afoul of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo over ZTE kickbacks , JdV suddenly became a critic of Cha-Cha. Ouch!
Said she: “Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there.”
In jail? When was a luxurious country villa in Tanay mistaken for jail? Or perhaps President Arroyo regrets that she ever pardoned the convicted plunderer resident in the villa.
But former president Joseph Estrada, feeling alluded to, fired back sarcastically that President Arroyo’s claims of economic gains were “fiction.” “Arroyonomics is a kind of economics that is out of touch with reality and real facts.”
Touché, Erap. Arroyonomics is actually a required subject in the Balic Balic School of Economics.
And, saving the best for the last, President Arroyo plunged her stiletto into “those who want to be president,” to whom she gave “ this advice: If you really want something done, just do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander and don’t say bad words in public.”
To which the presumably pussyfooting Sen. Mar Roxas, who famously used the P word in a public speech, replied. “The only reason I used bad words in public, Gloria, is because you do bad deeds in private.”
Galing, talaga! Don’t you just love the way our top elected leaders growl at each other?
I now appreciate the pearls of wisdom that Sen. Miriam Santiago once threw at Joey de Venecia and Benjamin Abalos, whom she characterized (correctly) as squabbling over kickbacks from the sordid ZTE contract Magbarilan na lang kayo sa kalye!
Now for the boring part.
Not surprisingly, President Arroyo devoted the greater part of her SONA reciting a litany of her achievements, especially in the economy, over the past eight years and six months since she took over from the impeached and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada.
Among the many achievements she listed down were: the Subic-Tarlac highway, international airports, seaports, roll-on roll-off nautical highway, telecommunications advances, tourism, 600,000 call center agents, cash handouts to 700,000 of the poorest families, lowest inflation, farm-to-market roads, irrigation, fish-farming, cheaper medicines, rent-control law, Epira, indigenous energy, bio-fuels, increased tax effort, more classrooms and schoolhouses, education highway, doubled foreign exchange reserves, 33 successive quarters of GDP growth, economy did not shrink the in the current global recession, $2,000 per capita income, eight million jobs created, flood control, peace talks with the Communists and the Muslim separatists, peace in Mindanao, martial law never declared despite provocations, strong government, etc.
These are real achievements, at least many or most of them. Yes, but…..
Is the glass half-full, or is it half-empty?
In my article of October 03, 2001, published in the Philippine Graphic Magazine, titled GMA – The best there is, but her best may not be good enough, after my only one-on-one conversation with her, on Sept. 29 in Malacanang, I wrote that “The bad news is that her best may not be good enough to save this country from a fate worse than death: humiliating poverty and insurmountable mediocrity….”
In her SONA, she boasted of 33 successive quarters of GDP growth since she took over in January 2001. Yes but the average of these 33 quarters of continuous growth is only about 5.3 percent per annum. Higher than that achieved by President Aquino (4.3 percent), President Ramos (3.75 percent) and President Estrada (2.26 percent).
But much lower than that required to reach First World status, which she claims she can lead this country to attain. I reminded her in 2001, as I have reminded her several times since, that “based on the experience of our successful neighbors, it takes at least 20 years or 80 successive quarters of at least 7 to 8 percent GDP growth per annum, achieved largely through manufacturing, for a country to graduate from poverty to prosperity…..”
President Arroyo is proud that the Philippine economy has not shrunk below zero even in the current global recession. Yes but that is because the Philippines did not industrialize for exports to the same extent as all our successful neighbors did. The economies, for example, of Singapore, South Korea and Japan have shrunk by 10, 7 and 6 percent respectively, as the markets for their industrial and manufactured exports dried up..
On the other hand, the Philippine economy is expected to register zero growth or even grow by 2 percent in 2009. That is because the output of our industrial sector – actually mostly only assembly plants – do not make up as large a percent of our GDP as they do of the Singaporean, South Korean and Japanese economies.
In 2007, Singapore’s exports totaled $450.6 billion; South Korea $371.5 bn; Taiwan $246.7 bn; Malaysia $181.2 bn; Thailand $151.0 bn; Indonesia $118.0 bn; the Philippines a pathetic $49.3 bn. Don’t look behind, but Vietnam is fast catching up with $48.1 bn. In all likelihood, Vietnam overtook the Philippines in exports in 2008 since it draws about eight times more direct foreign investments, mostly in manufacturing, than the Philippines.
The metaphor that I use to describe the economic situation in East Asia in 2008-09 is: an Intensity IX hit our neighborhood. Those of our neighbors who prospered from the export of manufactured goods – meaning practically everyone – saw their skyscrapers crack or collapse from the tremor. The Philippines survived with only a scratch because it had managed to build only a three-storey walk-up and therefore had a lower center of gravity, not because it was inherently a stronger building. It is a consuelo de bobo, not something to boast about
President Arroyo also boasted that in the last four years (2005 to 2008?), tourist arrivals almost doubled. This is not quite accurate. In 2008, we registered 3.2 million arrivals. Is she saying that in 2005 we had only 1.6 or 1.8 million tourist arrivals? Not true. In 2001, we already had 2.2 million tourists. So the number of tourist arrivals did NOT double or almost double in four years..
More apropos to this discussion is that in 2008, Hong Kong drew 26 million tourists, Malaysia 16 million, Thailand 13 million. In 1991, the Philippines and Indonesia drew almost exactly the same number of tourists: one million. In 2008, Indonesia was drawing in more than six million, while the Philippines was still struggling with 3.2 million. More ominously, Vietnam overtook the Philippines last year with 4.2 million, while tiny Cambodia is fast catching up with us, with 2.0 million.
In her SONA, President Arroyo boasted that we have the highest level ever of gross international reserves and that her government created eight million jobs since 2001. Yes but the record level of our foreign exchange reserves owes more to the remittances of overseas Filipino workers to their families here (now reaching $16 billion a year) than to substantial increases in dollar earnings of our exports and tourism sectors, which are actually the laggards in this part of the world. (See above)
As for eight million jobs that she claims to have created here, that seems to include sidewalk vendors, GROs in girlie bars, pirated DVD entrepreneurs, and fixers in government offices. More telling would be the hard reality that more than eight million Filipinos have been forced to go abroad to get the jobs that they could not find in the domestic economy.
Actually this diaspora started during the Marcos years and continued under Aquino,. Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo, so it is not solely Gloria’s fault. But no one should be proud of this state of affairs, and no one should boast of having created x-number of jobs when y=x-number have been forced to leave and work abroad.
The long and short of it is that the Philippine economy, from the 1970s to 2009, has not created enough jobs for its people because of consistently poor choices in economic strategies and policies by its leaders.. *****
(Next week: the political fall-out from SONA 2009).
Reactions to tonyabaya@gmail.com. Other articles in acabaya.blogspot.com and www.tapatt.org.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The DIM MAK Code to the GMA-Obama meeting
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR
by William M. Esposo
from Philstar
It may not win the coveted Pulitzer Prize for literature although that is not to say that it’s badly written. But for anyone who wants a preview to the looming US-China armed conflict, especially Filipinos who will find themselves on Ground Zero in that war, it is a MUST READ.
This is “America’s Dim Mak Points” which is the latest book of Brigadier General (Ret.), former chief of Intelligence and former rebel Victor N. Corpus. It will be formally launched at 6 p.m. today in Powerbooks at Greenbelt 4, Makati City. The book is based on factual weaponry of the projected combatants and was prepared with the assistance of Vic’s son, Victor Camilo.
What is DIM MAK? This is how Vic Corpus described it: “DIM MAK is a form of martial art which literally means “meridian press.” Meridians are energy channels in the human body through which “chi” or vital life forces flow.”
When 36 of the points within these meridians are struck, death can be caused. Vic used DIM MAK within a geopolitical context — how “China can be likened to the weaker fighter that uses deep understanding of her adversary’s anatomical vulnerabilities to bring a much stronger belligerent nation like the United States of America to her knees with minimum effort.”
Vic outlined the eight DIM MAK points where China can bring the US to its knees — vulnerability to electro-information attack, dependency on foreign oil, US dollar vulnerability, diplomatic isolation, geographical military handicap (why the Philippines became Ground Zero), asymmetric vulnerability, satellite-based military command and control and aircraft carrier battle groups. These vulnerabilities have been heightened by the economic downturn in the US and the West.
Alone, China, Russia and Iran are no match against the US. But now that these three countries and their armed forces have struck an alliance — something your Chair Wrecker wrote about before — these DIM MAK points are easily operable.
These DIM MAK points prove once again that the next war is planned to make the tactics and weaponry of the last war obsolete. World War I proved that the mighty Russian Tsar’s army was obsolete. World War II proved that the battleship, French Maginot Line and the Philippine Corregidor Fortress were obsolete. World War III, as a US war versus the China-Russia-Iran alliance will be, will prove that the aircraft carrier is obsolete in the age of missile and hi-tech warfare.
The Geographical Military Handicap DIM MAK point and the Dependency on Foreign Oil DIM MAK point made the Philippines — specifically the BJE (Bangsamoro Juridical Entity) — a very vital strategic factor for the US in its preparation for the looming armed conflict with China.
In a world fast running out of its traditional energy sources, the US has its eyes on the oil and gas in the South China Sea. For military purposes, the US needs to extend its military capability from the Pacific to the South China Sea. You can log on to your Chair Wrecker’s website (www.chairwrecker.com) for past columns about the US interest in Mindanao.
The subject of terrorism, peace and development are the official reasons — the cover — for the Barack Obama meeting with Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) in Washington. The real agenda is the US interest in Mindanao as that would figure in the rush to corner the last remaining oilfields and secure a vital military operation point for the China conflict.
Most likely, the deal had already been struck when Leon Panetta, CIA chief, recently visited Manila. The Washington smiles and handshake photo ops is mere posing for history and the consuelo de bobo for GMA.
It didn’t require too much analysis to conclude that. Just follow the timeline of events after the Leon Panetta visit. GMA suddenly got her long sought meeting with President Barack Obama. Next, GMA announced that the 2010 elections will proceed sans any hitch. Then, GMA announced a Mindanao ceasefire. Now, all of a sudden, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is returning to the US. Even an over aged bloodhound that had lost its sense of smell can still follow that trail to where it leads.
The big question is what exactly did GMA concede and what did Obama agree to give GMA in return? Will we Filipinos be rejoicing after this deal or are we going to have to live with more years under GMA and with a dismembered republic? We will soon know the answer.
If Obama gave GMA a promise of asylum and no prosecution in the US (like what the US extended to Dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986) in exchange for stepping down, not dancing the Cha cha (Charter change), ensuring clean 2010 elections plus an expanded VFA that does not violate our Constitution – then we can live with that.
But if Obama agreed to allow GMA to manipulate events in order to remain in power, through Cha cha or by declaring martial law, in exchange for a BJE which violates our Constitution — then we will have very serious problems. If that is the case, then Filipinos who love their country ought to consider joining the China-Russia-Iran Alliance.
by William M. Esposo
from Philstar
It may not win the coveted Pulitzer Prize for literature although that is not to say that it’s badly written. But for anyone who wants a preview to the looming US-China armed conflict, especially Filipinos who will find themselves on Ground Zero in that war, it is a MUST READ.
This is “America’s Dim Mak Points” which is the latest book of Brigadier General (Ret.), former chief of Intelligence and former rebel Victor N. Corpus. It will be formally launched at 6 p.m. today in Powerbooks at Greenbelt 4, Makati City. The book is based on factual weaponry of the projected combatants and was prepared with the assistance of Vic’s son, Victor Camilo.
What is DIM MAK? This is how Vic Corpus described it: “DIM MAK is a form of martial art which literally means “meridian press.” Meridians are energy channels in the human body through which “chi” or vital life forces flow.”
When 36 of the points within these meridians are struck, death can be caused. Vic used DIM MAK within a geopolitical context — how “China can be likened to the weaker fighter that uses deep understanding of her adversary’s anatomical vulnerabilities to bring a much stronger belligerent nation like the United States of America to her knees with minimum effort.”
Vic outlined the eight DIM MAK points where China can bring the US to its knees — vulnerability to electro-information attack, dependency on foreign oil, US dollar vulnerability, diplomatic isolation, geographical military handicap (why the Philippines became Ground Zero), asymmetric vulnerability, satellite-based military command and control and aircraft carrier battle groups. These vulnerabilities have been heightened by the economic downturn in the US and the West.
Alone, China, Russia and Iran are no match against the US. But now that these three countries and their armed forces have struck an alliance — something your Chair Wrecker wrote about before — these DIM MAK points are easily operable.
These DIM MAK points prove once again that the next war is planned to make the tactics and weaponry of the last war obsolete. World War I proved that the mighty Russian Tsar’s army was obsolete. World War II proved that the battleship, French Maginot Line and the Philippine Corregidor Fortress were obsolete. World War III, as a US war versus the China-Russia-Iran alliance will be, will prove that the aircraft carrier is obsolete in the age of missile and hi-tech warfare.
The Geographical Military Handicap DIM MAK point and the Dependency on Foreign Oil DIM MAK point made the Philippines — specifically the BJE (Bangsamoro Juridical Entity) — a very vital strategic factor for the US in its preparation for the looming armed conflict with China.
In a world fast running out of its traditional energy sources, the US has its eyes on the oil and gas in the South China Sea. For military purposes, the US needs to extend its military capability from the Pacific to the South China Sea. You can log on to your Chair Wrecker’s website (www.chairwrecker.com) for past columns about the US interest in Mindanao.
The subject of terrorism, peace and development are the official reasons — the cover — for the Barack Obama meeting with Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) in Washington. The real agenda is the US interest in Mindanao as that would figure in the rush to corner the last remaining oilfields and secure a vital military operation point for the China conflict.
Most likely, the deal had already been struck when Leon Panetta, CIA chief, recently visited Manila. The Washington smiles and handshake photo ops is mere posing for history and the consuelo de bobo for GMA.
It didn’t require too much analysis to conclude that. Just follow the timeline of events after the Leon Panetta visit. GMA suddenly got her long sought meeting with President Barack Obama. Next, GMA announced that the 2010 elections will proceed sans any hitch. Then, GMA announced a Mindanao ceasefire. Now, all of a sudden, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is returning to the US. Even an over aged bloodhound that had lost its sense of smell can still follow that trail to where it leads.
The big question is what exactly did GMA concede and what did Obama agree to give GMA in return? Will we Filipinos be rejoicing after this deal or are we going to have to live with more years under GMA and with a dismembered republic? We will soon know the answer.
If Obama gave GMA a promise of asylum and no prosecution in the US (like what the US extended to Dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986) in exchange for stepping down, not dancing the Cha cha (Charter change), ensuring clean 2010 elections plus an expanded VFA that does not violate our Constitution – then we can live with that.
But if Obama agreed to allow GMA to manipulate events in order to remain in power, through Cha cha or by declaring martial law, in exchange for a BJE which violates our Constitution — then we will have very serious problems. If that is the case, then Filipinos who love their country ought to consider joining the China-Russia-Iran Alliance.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Commencement Speech at UP Diliman Class 2003
Butch Jimenez, head of PLDT's media and strategic ! communications department, delivered this speech at the UP Diliman Class 2003 commencement exercises
AS college students, you're just about to set sail into the real world. As you prepare for the battleground of life, you'll hear many speeches, read tons of books and get miles of advice telling you to work hard, dream big, go out and do something for yourself, and have a vision.
Not bad advice, really. In fact, following these nuggets of truth may just bring you to the top. But as I've lived my life over the years, I have come to realize that it is great to dream big, have a vision, make a name, and work hard. But guess what: There's something better than that.
So my message today simply asks the question, What's better than...? Let's start off with something really simple. What's better than a long speech? No doubt, a short one. So, you guys are in luck because I do intend to keep this short.
Now, let me take you through a very simple math exam. I'll rattle off a couple of equations, and you tell me what you observe about them. Be mindful of the instructions. You are to tell me what you observe about the equations. Here goes:
3+4=7, 9+2=11, 8+4=13, and 6+6=12. Tell me, what do you observe?
Every time I conduct this test, more than 90 percent of the participants immediately say, 8+4 is NOT 13, it's 12!
That's true and they are correct. But they could have also observed that the three other equations were right. That 3+4 is 7, that 9+2 is 11, and that 6+6 is 12.
What's my point? Many people immediately focus on the negative instead of the positive. Most of us focus on what's wrong with other people more than what's right about them.
Examine those four equations. Three were right and only one was wrong. But what is the knee-jerk observation? The wrong equation.
If 10 people you didn't know were to walk through that door, most of you would describe those people by what's negative about them. He's fat. He's balding. Oh, the short one. Oh, the skinny girl. Ahhh, 'yung pango. Etc.
Get the point? It's always the negative we focus on and not the positive.
You'll definitely experience this in the corporate world. You do a hundred good things and one mistake-guess what? Chances are, your attention will be called on that one mistake.
So what's better than focusing on the negative? Believe me, its focusing on the positive. And if this world could learn to focus on the positive more than the negative, it would be a much nicer place to live in.
Better than working hard.
We have always been told to work hard. Our parents say that, our teachers say that, and our principal says that. But there's something better than merely working hard. It's working SMART.
It's taking time to understand the situation, and coming out with an >effective and efficient solution to get more done with less time and effort. As the Japanese say, "There's always a better way."
One of the most memorable case studies I came across with as I studied Japanese management at Sophia University in Tokyo was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies.
The company received a complaint! that a consumer had bought a box of soap that was empty. It immediately isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty.
Management tasked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast.
But a rank-and-file employee that was posed the same problem came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soap! box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.
Clearly, the engineers worked hard, but the rank-and-file employee worked smart. So what's better than merely working hard? It's working smart.
Having said that, it is still important to work hard. If you could combine both working hard and working smart, you would possess a major factor toward success.
Better than dreaming big I will bet my next month's salary that many have encouraged you to dream big. Maybe even to reach for the stars and aim high.
I sure heard that about a million times right before I graduated from this university. So I did. I did dream big. I did aim high. I did reach for the stars. No doubt, it works. In fact, the saying is true: "If you aim for >nothing, that's exactly what you'll hit: nothing."
But there's something better than dreaming big. Believe me, I got shocked myself. And I learned it from the biggest dreamer of all time, Walt Disney. When it comes to dreaming big, Walt is the man. No bigger dreams were fulfilled than his. Every leadership book describes him as the ultimate dreamer.
In fact, the principle of dreaming and achieving is the core message of the Disney hit song, "When You Wish Upon a Star".
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are; anything your heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme. When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do," as Jiminy Cricket sang.
But is that what he preached in the Disney company? Dream?
Imagineering
Well, not exactly. Kinda, but not quite. The problem with dreaming is if that's all you do, you'll really get nowhere. In fact, you may just fall asleep and never wake up.
The secret to Disney's success is not just dreaming, it's IMAGINEERING.
You won't find this word in a dictionary. It's purely a Disney word. Those who engage in imagineering are called imagineers. The word combines the words "imagination" and "engineering."
In the book "Imagineers," Disney's CEO, Michael Eisner, claims that "imagineers turn impossible dreams into real magic."
Walt Disney explained there is really no secret to their approach. They just keep moving forward-opening new doors and doing new things, because they are curious. And it is this curiosity that leads them down new paths. They always dream, explore and experiment. In short, imagineering is the blending of creative imagination and technical know-how.
Eisner expounds on this thought by saying that "Not only are imagineers >curious, they are courageous, outrageous, and their creativity is contagious."
The big difference with imagineers is that they dream and then they DO! So don't just be a dreamer, be an imagineer.
You must have all been given a lecture at one time or another about the importance of having a vision. Even leadership expert John Maxwell says that an indispensable quality of a leader is to have a vision. The Bible also makes it very clear that "Without vision, people perish." So no doubt about it, having a vision is important to success.
But surprise! There's something more potent than a vision. It's a CAUSE. If all you're doing is trying to reach your vision and you're pitted against someone fighting for a cause, chances are you'll lose.
The Vietnam War is a classic example. Literally with sticks and stones, the Viet Cong beat the heavily armed US Army to surrender, primarily because the US had a vision to win the war, but the Vietnamese were fighting for a cause.
In the realm of business, many leaders have visions of making their company No. 1, or grabbing market share, or forever increasing profits.
Nothing really wrong with that vision, but take the example of Sony founder Akio Morita. He did not just have a vision to build the biggest electronics company in the world. In his biography, "Made in Japan," he reveals that the real reason he set up Sony was to help rebuild his country, which had just been battered by war. He had a cause he was fighting for. His vision to be an electronics giant was secondary.
What's the difference between a vision and a cause? Here's what sets them apart...
No one is willing to die for a vision. People will die for a cause. You posses a vision. A cause possesses you. A vision lies in your hands. A cause lies in your heart. A vision involves sacrifice. A cause involves the ultimate sacrifice. Just a word of caution. You must have the right vision, and you must be fighting for the right cause. In the end, right will always win out.
It may take time, and it may take long. But if you have the right vision and are fighting for the right cause, you will prevail. If not, no matter how sincere you are, if you are not fighting for what is right, you will ultimately fail.
Two final quotes
Allow me to end with two quotes that I have lived by ever since I stepped out of UP.
The first comes from the Bible, which says, "To whom much is given, much is required."
Having been given the opportunity to study in UP, no doubt, much has been given to you in terms of an excellent education. Don't forget that in return, much is now required of you to use that education not just for yourself, but for others.
And as you move up and start reaching the pinnacle of success, even more will be required of you to look at the welfare of others, of society and of the country.
Though I have often dreamed of addressing any graduating class of UP Diliman, I never really thought it would happen. This brings me to the second quote I have held close to my heart as I traverse the destiny God has laid out for me.
"There is no destination beyond reach of one who walks with God." My standing in front of you today, as the youngest commencement speaker of this esteemed university in 92 years, is proof of how true that quote is.
A final review:
* What's better than focusing on the negative? Focus on the positive.
* What's better than working hard? It's working smart.
* What's better than dreaming? Imagineering.
* What's better than doing something for yourself? Doing something for your country.
* What's better than a vision? A cause.
* What's better than a long speech? Definitely, a short one.
AS college students, you're just about to set sail into the real world. As you prepare for the battleground of life, you'll hear many speeches, read tons of books and get miles of advice telling you to work hard, dream big, go out and do something for yourself, and have a vision.
Not bad advice, really. In fact, following these nuggets of truth may just bring you to the top. But as I've lived my life over the years, I have come to realize that it is great to dream big, have a vision, make a name, and work hard. But guess what: There's something better than that.
So my message today simply asks the question, What's better than...? Let's start off with something really simple. What's better than a long speech? No doubt, a short one. So, you guys are in luck because I do intend to keep this short.
Now, let me take you through a very simple math exam. I'll rattle off a couple of equations, and you tell me what you observe about them. Be mindful of the instructions. You are to tell me what you observe about the equations. Here goes:
3+4=7, 9+2=11, 8+4=13, and 6+6=12. Tell me, what do you observe?
Every time I conduct this test, more than 90 percent of the participants immediately say, 8+4 is NOT 13, it's 12!
That's true and they are correct. But they could have also observed that the three other equations were right. That 3+4 is 7, that 9+2 is 11, and that 6+6 is 12.
What's my point? Many people immediately focus on the negative instead of the positive. Most of us focus on what's wrong with other people more than what's right about them.
Examine those four equations. Three were right and only one was wrong. But what is the knee-jerk observation? The wrong equation.
If 10 people you didn't know were to walk through that door, most of you would describe those people by what's negative about them. He's fat. He's balding. Oh, the short one. Oh, the skinny girl. Ahhh, 'yung pango. Etc.
Get the point? It's always the negative we focus on and not the positive.
You'll definitely experience this in the corporate world. You do a hundred good things and one mistake-guess what? Chances are, your attention will be called on that one mistake.
So what's better than focusing on the negative? Believe me, its focusing on the positive. And if this world could learn to focus on the positive more than the negative, it would be a much nicer place to live in.
Better than working hard.
We have always been told to work hard. Our parents say that, our teachers say that, and our principal says that. But there's something better than merely working hard. It's working SMART.
It's taking time to understand the situation, and coming out with an >effective and efficient solution to get more done with less time and effort. As the Japanese say, "There's always a better way."
One of the most memorable case studies I came across with as I studied Japanese management at Sophia University in Tokyo was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies.
The company received a complaint! that a consumer had bought a box of soap that was empty. It immediately isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty.
Management tasked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast.
But a rank-and-file employee that was posed the same problem came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soap! box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.
Clearly, the engineers worked hard, but the rank-and-file employee worked smart. So what's better than merely working hard? It's working smart.
Having said that, it is still important to work hard. If you could combine both working hard and working smart, you would possess a major factor toward success.
Better than dreaming big I will bet my next month's salary that many have encouraged you to dream big. Maybe even to reach for the stars and aim high.
I sure heard that about a million times right before I graduated from this university. So I did. I did dream big. I did aim high. I did reach for the stars. No doubt, it works. In fact, the saying is true: "If you aim for >nothing, that's exactly what you'll hit: nothing."
But there's something better than dreaming big. Believe me, I got shocked myself. And I learned it from the biggest dreamer of all time, Walt Disney. When it comes to dreaming big, Walt is the man. No bigger dreams were fulfilled than his. Every leadership book describes him as the ultimate dreamer.
In fact, the principle of dreaming and achieving is the core message of the Disney hit song, "When You Wish Upon a Star".
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are; anything your heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme. When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do," as Jiminy Cricket sang.
But is that what he preached in the Disney company? Dream?
Imagineering
Well, not exactly. Kinda, but not quite. The problem with dreaming is if that's all you do, you'll really get nowhere. In fact, you may just fall asleep and never wake up.
The secret to Disney's success is not just dreaming, it's IMAGINEERING.
You won't find this word in a dictionary. It's purely a Disney word. Those who engage in imagineering are called imagineers. The word combines the words "imagination" and "engineering."
In the book "Imagineers," Disney's CEO, Michael Eisner, claims that "imagineers turn impossible dreams into real magic."
Walt Disney explained there is really no secret to their approach. They just keep moving forward-opening new doors and doing new things, because they are curious. And it is this curiosity that leads them down new paths. They always dream, explore and experiment. In short, imagineering is the blending of creative imagination and technical know-how.
Eisner expounds on this thought by saying that "Not only are imagineers >curious, they are courageous, outrageous, and their creativity is contagious."
The big difference with imagineers is that they dream and then they DO! So don't just be a dreamer, be an imagineer.
You must have all been given a lecture at one time or another about the importance of having a vision. Even leadership expert John Maxwell says that an indispensable quality of a leader is to have a vision. The Bible also makes it very clear that "Without vision, people perish." So no doubt about it, having a vision is important to success.
But surprise! There's something more potent than a vision. It's a CAUSE. If all you're doing is trying to reach your vision and you're pitted against someone fighting for a cause, chances are you'll lose.
The Vietnam War is a classic example. Literally with sticks and stones, the Viet Cong beat the heavily armed US Army to surrender, primarily because the US had a vision to win the war, but the Vietnamese were fighting for a cause.
In the realm of business, many leaders have visions of making their company No. 1, or grabbing market share, or forever increasing profits.
Nothing really wrong with that vision, but take the example of Sony founder Akio Morita. He did not just have a vision to build the biggest electronics company in the world. In his biography, "Made in Japan," he reveals that the real reason he set up Sony was to help rebuild his country, which had just been battered by war. He had a cause he was fighting for. His vision to be an electronics giant was secondary.
What's the difference between a vision and a cause? Here's what sets them apart...
No one is willing to die for a vision. People will die for a cause. You posses a vision. A cause possesses you. A vision lies in your hands. A cause lies in your heart. A vision involves sacrifice. A cause involves the ultimate sacrifice. Just a word of caution. You must have the right vision, and you must be fighting for the right cause. In the end, right will always win out.
It may take time, and it may take long. But if you have the right vision and are fighting for the right cause, you will prevail. If not, no matter how sincere you are, if you are not fighting for what is right, you will ultimately fail.
Two final quotes
Allow me to end with two quotes that I have lived by ever since I stepped out of UP.
The first comes from the Bible, which says, "To whom much is given, much is required."
Having been given the opportunity to study in UP, no doubt, much has been given to you in terms of an excellent education. Don't forget that in return, much is now required of you to use that education not just for yourself, but for others.
And as you move up and start reaching the pinnacle of success, even more will be required of you to look at the welfare of others, of society and of the country.
Though I have often dreamed of addressing any graduating class of UP Diliman, I never really thought it would happen. This brings me to the second quote I have held close to my heart as I traverse the destiny God has laid out for me.
"There is no destination beyond reach of one who walks with God." My standing in front of you today, as the youngest commencement speaker of this esteemed university in 92 years, is proof of how true that quote is.
A final review:
* What's better than focusing on the negative? Focus on the positive.
* What's better than working hard? It's working smart.
* What's better than dreaming? Imagineering.
* What's better than doing something for yourself? Doing something for your country.
* What's better than a vision? A cause.
* What's better than a long speech? Definitely, a short one.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Bisaya Djoks
Husband (hubog): Darling, atong CR ba mora'g gi-abat.
Wife: Ngano man?
Husband: Kay kada abli nako sa door, musiga ang suga.
Wife: Animal ka! Ikaw diay nangihi sa fridge.
-------
Tikya: Dad, ganahan gyud ka sa akong boyfriend?
Dad: Dato ba siya?
Tikya: Pareho gyud mong mga lalake no? Mao pud na
ang iyang gipangutana about nimo.
-------
Prayer before meals in Bisaya:
Bless this food, ako fod, siya fod, sila fod, aron
ang pagkaon ma-afod-afod ug ang sud-an mapa-igo fod
hangtud among ngipon mafodfod.
-------
Traffic cop examining license of Tikya: Mao ni tunay
nga retrato, claro ang mga kunot. Di pareho anang
ubang babaye ga paritoke.
Tikya: Bugalbogalon. Ako man nang thumbmark.
-------
Dili na kinahanglan nga magpakabitoon ka pa aron
maila. Sakto na nga usa ikaw ka aninipot basta
gasiga kanunay ang lubot.
-------
Mga Bisaya'y di ko maintindihan. Inglis nang isda --
pis; nang mukha -- pis; nang pandikit -- pis; nang
kapayapaan -- pis; tinanong pa ako kung saan ako
nakatera -- Pis I or Pis II.
------
Lawyer examining witness on a vehicle accident:
Where were you sitting when the impact came?
Court interpreter to witness: Asa ka man naglingkod
sa pag-abot sa impacto?
------
Asawa: Hon, bisan taas na imong edad, nakapaanak pa ka.
Bana: Super engine gud ni.
Asawa: Ipa check-up na.
Bana: Ngano man?
Asawa: Smoke belching! Itom kaayong bata.
------
Anak: Unsay iskalator, tay?
Tatay: Hagdan saka kanaog.
Anak: Kanang elevator?
Tatay: Kahon sakyan pasaka kanaog.
Anak: Calculator, tay?
Tatay: Kana, wa pa ko kasakay.
------
Himatyon nga bana: Day, Inig ka matay nako, minyo-i baya si Pedro ha?
Asawa: Ngano man imong kong paminyo-on ni Pedro nga imong man siyang kontra?
Bana: Haron mag-antos sab siya ug makabalos na gyud ko.
-------
Na-ay iro. Bright ka-ayo. Ingnon 2 + 2, motobag dayon siya 4 ka aw-aw.
Nakahibalo ang silingan, gipangutana... 2 milyon + 2 milyon. Hangtod karon,
sigue pa siyag aw-aw. Niwang na ka-ayo.
KATAWA PUD DIHA!!!!
Wife: Ngano man?
Husband: Kay kada abli nako sa door, musiga ang suga.
Wife: Animal ka! Ikaw diay nangihi sa fridge.
-------
Tikya: Dad, ganahan gyud ka sa akong boyfriend?
Dad: Dato ba siya?
Tikya: Pareho gyud mong mga lalake no? Mao pud na
ang iyang gipangutana about nimo.
-------
Prayer before meals in Bisaya:
Bless this food, ako fod, siya fod, sila fod, aron
ang pagkaon ma-afod-afod ug ang sud-an mapa-igo fod
hangtud among ngipon mafodfod.
-------
Traffic cop examining license of Tikya: Mao ni tunay
nga retrato, claro ang mga kunot. Di pareho anang
ubang babaye ga paritoke.
Tikya: Bugalbogalon. Ako man nang thumbmark.
-------
Dili na kinahanglan nga magpakabitoon ka pa aron
maila. Sakto na nga usa ikaw ka aninipot basta
gasiga kanunay ang lubot.
-------
Mga Bisaya'y di ko maintindihan. Inglis nang isda --
pis; nang mukha -- pis; nang pandikit -- pis; nang
kapayapaan -- pis; tinanong pa ako kung saan ako
nakatera -- Pis I or Pis II.
------
Lawyer examining witness on a vehicle accident:
Where were you sitting when the impact came?
Court interpreter to witness: Asa ka man naglingkod
sa pag-abot sa impacto?
------
Asawa: Hon, bisan taas na imong edad, nakapaanak pa ka.
Bana: Super engine gud ni.
Asawa: Ipa check-up na.
Bana: Ngano man?
Asawa: Smoke belching! Itom kaayong bata.
------
Anak: Unsay iskalator, tay?
Tatay: Hagdan saka kanaog.
Anak: Kanang elevator?
Tatay: Kahon sakyan pasaka kanaog.
Anak: Calculator, tay?
Tatay: Kana, wa pa ko kasakay.
------
Himatyon nga bana: Day, Inig ka matay nako, minyo-i baya si Pedro ha?
Asawa: Ngano man imong kong paminyo-on ni Pedro nga imong man siyang kontra?
Bana: Haron mag-antos sab siya ug makabalos na gyud ko.
-------
Na-ay iro. Bright ka-ayo. Ingnon 2 + 2, motobag dayon siya 4 ka aw-aw.
Nakahibalo ang silingan, gipangutana... 2 milyon + 2 milyon. Hangtod karon,
sigue pa siyag aw-aw. Niwang na ka-ayo.
KATAWA PUD DIHA!!!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
“God is calling me to run for president” — Gov. Ed Panlilio
21 July 2009
by Dona Pazzibugan
from Philippine Daily Inquirer
by Dona Pazzibugan
from Philippine Daily Inquirer
Manila, Philippines – Priest-turned Governor Eddie Panlilio on Tuesday (July 22, 2009) announced that he had decided to run for president in 2010.
Unlike other politicians, Fr. Panlilio said he has no political agenda, no business interest to protect, and no family to feed. “I can serve full time.”
“When I decided to offer myself (as a candidate) I felt at peace. I’m doing this not for me, not for myself. I felt God wanted me to go on higher service,” he said.
“The priesthood that I love so much, I’m willing to give up for a greater love and that’s love for the country. For me the heart of priesthood is accepting the love of God and working for other people especially the poor,” he said.
On a lighter note, when asked who would be his first lady should he be elected, Fr. Panlilio said: “I have no plan to get a wife. Maybe one of my sisters (can serve as first lady).
A priest who asked not to be named in deference to the position of the Church said, I trust his discernment and for all the criticism hurled at him, he can’t be accused of corruption. The priest also said he would vote for Fr. Panlilio for President.
The cancer of corruption in our country has reached an all-time high and unprecedented , and when brides and payoffs are expected as part of the culture, and when corrupt practices are tolerated - even endorsed- truth and justice are lost. Government officials accept money for their influence. Officials take away funding intended for the poor and hungry. Government appears to become more of a circus, in which propaganda reigns supreme. Government officials taking brides and perverting judicial decisions, when will the scourge end ?
Dishonesty and fraud at the top eventually spread to lower levels. Few seem to any longer believe that character does matter!
Corruption had reached such a high level that the “checks and balances” of self-policing written into the Philippine Constitution proved to be ineffective. Congress, the legislative branch, is paralyzed because of its own corruption and immoral behavior.. In effect, each branch had the other blackmailed into inaction !
Preference given to one group as a result of gifts or payoffs is unfair to others who have an interest in the influenced policy, funding or law. Honesty and integrity is overwhelmed by graft and corruption when such exchanges become commonplace. Corruption in business punishes honest men and women, and provides advantages - and wealth – to those willing to be the most dishonest and ruthless.
When the media (radio, newspapers, and television broadcast) becomes controlled and manipulated by political and financial gain and interests, they (major networks) are reduced as servants to corruption. We have seen these types of manipulation not only in major newspapers of the country but also right here in the Province of Pampanga. They work tirelessly to twist and spin news critical of the governor.. Photos are carefully selected to manipulate and mislead the public. Words are chosen to infuse emotions into events, and to turn evil into good and good into evil. We read and observed that the media “spin” always leans culturally toward amorality – and anyone who speaks out honestly in a moral tone, with authority, is vilified.
Corrupt behavior causes an entire nation to become spiritually sick, from the highest levels of government to those charged with enforcing its laws.
But there is hope . An independent and objective news media can sometimes correct and even prevent the abuses of the rich and powerful. Let us be prepared for the dawn of a new era but we must be willing to “march into the gates of hell for a heavenly cause.”
YOU must be the CHANGE you wish to see in the world. – - – Mahatma Gandhi
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – - -Martin Luther King, Jr.
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