Slovak String Orchestra @ Concert at the Park

The National Parks Development Committee, in partnership with the UP Manila Chorale and The National Commission for Culture and the Arts, presents Musica Iuvenalis, Slovak String Orchestra, this Sunday, July 13, 2014 at Concert at the Park. Joining them on this show are UP Manila Chorale and Coro Tomasino. Show starts at 6PM at the Rizal Park Open-Air Auditorium. Admission is free.

What's UP Baranggay?

The 2013 Baranggay Election is happening on Monday, October 28. To serve the community, to help and aid the neighbors and the lead the pack are some of the sold-out, tested campaign shout-outs for the candidates.

But what do we really know about the Local Government Unit? Our country's agency in-charge of the administration of the leaders of each baranggay.

I found one Vimeo video, produced by the UP Open University. Let's watch:

Million People March Against Pork Barrel

Ten years ago, former Senator Ping Lacson wanted the Pork Barrel Fund scrapped and when he took the podium and gave the privilege speech, he was torn to pieces with all the attacks coming from all directions aimed at character assassination.

Two decades ago, during my college days, Datu's Tribe screamed on top of their lungs:

 

And Lourd de Veyra's Radio Active Sago Project came up with this:

 

Quo Vadis Pugad Baboy?

After a week of waiting and no news as where Pol Medina Jr. will bring his "baboys" in the Pugad that he created and nourished for a good 25 years, I ask the question now, Quo vadis Pugad Baboy?

The events leading to PM's resignation has been publicized and almost everyone on the Internet has something to say about it, I thought I should refrain from riding the wave of hits for my blog traffic. But here I am, writing about Pugad at almost 12 midnight.

I should.

I should because Philippine Komiks is back and in the mainstream with all the publication coming out every month and the recent turn out of Summer Komikon, Pinoy Komiks is back and I really hope its for good.

PM never wavered in following his passion and perfecting his craft. Pugad Baboy has become part of Pinoy consciousness. During the lean years, PM stayed and worked on his Pugad. He has inspired thousands of Filipino artists and one of them is Arnold Arre,

Arre created the video Pugad Baboy Shuffle as a simple thank you to PM. Let's watch it now:





Pol Medina Jr.'s comic strip that caused a sensation and which led him to resign over at Philippine Daily Inquirer:

And the now-collectible resignation letter from Pol to his boss, Ms. Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc:

I envy the guy holding this copy, seriously!

National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary 2013

The consecration of the Philippines to the Immaculate Heart of Mary happens today at ten in the morning. We can join the activities or pray the Holy Rosary with your family at home. Here is the official letter from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila:

Circular No. 2013-16
May 10, 2013

TO: ALL PARISH PRIESTS, RECTORS, CHAPLAINS, SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS OF PARISHES, SHRINES, CHAPLAINCIES AND COMMUNITIES, RELIGIOUS AND LAY FAITHFUL

RE: NATIONAL CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY ON JUNE 8, 2013
 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines declared in its 106th Plenary Assembly on January 28, 2013, “the holding of a simultaneous National Consecration to the Immaculate  Heart of Mary on June 8, 2013, feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, at 10 in the morning in all cathedrals, parish churches, shrines and chapels in all the archdioceses, dioceses, prelatures and apostolic vicariates of the country.

This solemn act entrustment and consecration is part of our Year of Faith observance and also part of the nine-year preparation for the 2021 celebration of the arrival of the Christian faith in the Philippines.

This act of renewal, accompanies necessarily by our renewal of consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, relies on the immense grace from God that passes through the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary for us, her children whom she loves.  “Pueblo Amante de Maria”: Isang Bayang Sumisinta kay Maria. The national consecration desires that under the banner of Mary all Filipinos will be one and in peace in faith and love.

The Archdiocese of Manila will be in solidarity with the entire Church in the Philippines on June 8, 2013.  We are sending all parishes and shrines, chaplaincies and communities the primer, novena and liturgy (in English and Tagalog) for the event.  We ask that the event and its activities be announced in all masses starting May 15, 2013.  The novena (May 30 to June 7) is to be done before the morning and evening masses.

On June 8, there can be a procession followed by the praying of the Rosary before the Mass at 10 a.m. where the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be done.  And at 12 noon let us all ring the bells in our churches and chapels for the resounding call for the Angelus, the prayer of Mary.

The electronic file of the poster showing the image of the “Madonna and her motherly mantle” (the Schutzmantel Madonna) as ‘inculturated” by priest artist Fr. Armand Tangi, SSP, is available at our website, www.rcam.org and can be downloaded for printing of tarpaulins and other promotional purposes.  The novena and liturgy are also posted on the website.
I also invite parishes and communities to send delegates to san Fernando de Dilao Parish, Paco, Manila where, together with delegates from suffragan dioceses, a common celebration of the Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Province of Manila will be held.  I will preside at the Eucharistic Celebration at 10:00 in the morning.

Let June 8, 2013 be our very special day with our Blessed Mother, our very own Mother’s day, when we all come together under her mantle of care and protection, of comfort and consolation, of love and peace, and be renewed in faith in Jesus Christ, sent to us by the father through the Holy Spirit.  We will do this confident that we are Pueblo Amante de Maria, Isang Bayang Sumisinta kay Maria.

I ask all to gather in your parishes, shrines, and chaplaincies and really pour our heart and soul in this act of consecration, to reinvigorate the world in the love of God.
 (signed)

LUIS ANTONIO G. CARDINAL TAGLE
Archbishop of Manila

Visit the National Celebration for the Consecration of the Philippines to the Immaculate Heart of Mary  page for further details.

The Philippne Standard Time Law 2013

PNoy signed the Philippine Standard Time Law recently, also known as Republic Act 10535. Its no joke and if any of the TV and Radio Stations violates this law by publishing or broadcasting the wrong time, they may be fined by 30,000 to 50,000 pesos.

All government agencies are mandated to synchronize and display the official  PST in their offices and bundy clocks.

You may read the PDF copy of the PST Law Philippine Standard Time Law 2013 by buenaventura_f_a
 or watch the video below:

 

Mid-term Elections 2013

Die Nasty!!! Die Nasty! Die, die, die!!! End the establishment and reign of political dynasties! Die Nasty! Die, die, die!!

Election time is here and now is the time to do something for the country, for the future of the country and that means your children and the children of your children. Election time is a great opportunity for us to participate in the democratic process which is our very right in the first place.

I wish for the following to happen:

1. All the political clans in the Philippines to stop from establishing a dynasty which ruins the democracy, real democracy, our country is trying to achieve. Die nasty!, die nasty!

2. Stop the personality-based voting. Just because he or she looks nice on TV, has a very accommodating persona or they come from a political family that is familiar to you.  Stop it please!

3. Equal rights to every Filipino. Stop the discrimination! Easy to say but truly difficult to achieve. But we can try and inch by inch, we might move forward.

4. Basic services be provided with ease of access among the Filipinos namely: Health, Education, Employment and Livelihood, Housing and Security.

Just these four and our country will be fine, just these four!

And here are some takes by KomikeroDOtCom guy, Gerry Alanguilan, about the Philippine Elections:

RP's Labor Day 2013

In support of all the workers all over the world, I am sharing some links about May 1, also known as International Labor Day! Here in the Philippines, we observe this day as a national holiday.

• International Worker's Day
• Labor Codes of the Philippines
• The Philippine Labor and Employment Plan

Wikipedia has an entry for May 1 celebration in the Philippines: 

"May 1 is known as Labor Day and is considered a public holiday. Labor unions and organizations hold mass protests in major cities, while schoolchildren have no classes as it is part of the local summer holiday. 

On May 1, 1903, the Union Obrera Democratica Filipina (Filipino Democratic Labor Union) held a massive rally in front of the Malacañan Palace demanding workers' economic rights, and the granting Philippine independence. Ten years later, the first official celebration was celebrated on May 1, 1913 when 36 labor unions convened in Manila.^[33]

During the Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the holiday economics policy was followed, where holidays were moved to weekends to give workers a longer vacation. This was applied on Labor Day in 2002, which caused the holiday to be held on April 29; this was protested by labor groups, as they accused the Arroyo administration of belittling the holiday.^[34] By 2008, Labor Day was excluded in the holiday economics policy, returning the commemorations every May 1, no matter what day of the week it falls under."

Bank Fraud in the Philippines

Think about it, an established commercial bank falling prey to fraud. Read the news story below, thanks to the Journal Online for the scoop.

A 60-YEAR-OLD widow who withdrew $9,000 from the dollar account of a media practitioner inside a Makati bank was arrested and is being held at the National Capital Region Police Office headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
Elaine Ramos Mable, of 84-A Saturday St., Poblacion, Mandaluyong City, was turned over to the NCRPO Police Intelligence and Operations Unit by officials of the Eastwest Bank Legaspi-De la Rosa branch in Makati Friday afternoon, said NCRPO chief Director Leonardo A. Espina.

Espina said their initial investigation showed that with the help of unidentified cohorts who remained at large and using fraudulent identification cards and other bank papers, Mable withdrew $9,000 from the Bank of Guam dollar account of one Peter Paul Sales, 38, media practitioner, of Merville Park, Parañaque City.

The NCRPO chief said that the fraud was detected at 4:30 p.m. Friday by bank officials led by Joel Bambao, prompting them to hold the widow for investigation. The suspects reportedly managed to get hold of Sales’ personal check worth US$22,661.70 and withdrew $9,000 (roughly Php360,000) from it.

Espina said the Makati bank referred the case to the NCRPO-RPIOU headed by Supt. Ronald Lee which is now investigating the case. 

The widow was brought to the Makati city Prosecutor’s Office for filing of criminal charges.

She is now being held at the RPIOU headquarters pending resolution of the criminal complaint against her. 

Espina said the other suspects are still being hunted by Lee’s men.  

RP's State of the Nation 2013

Here comes the rain again. When all we get from the news is about ruined relationships by personalities in Philippine Society. Aren't you tired of seeing them throw tantrums on national television?

Why do your laundry in public? And it doesn't help when everyone is jumping in to such "issues" and giving their own opinions.

C'mon guys! You are smarter than all of these.

We have, for the Nth time, Kris Aquino hugging the primetime last night and announcing her resignation to all her shows. My daughter told me this last night and all I said was "Anak, let Kris do her thing and get all the attention she wants. Let her be."

And we have the Chiz Escudero/Heart Evangelista-Ongpauco Saga. I hope this one is settled soon.

We've had enough. We don't need this. We dont!

There are so many problems we have to face these days and you guys aren't helping.

Check out NASA's Current Impact Risk Assessment.

NASA asks the world to pray, nothing more, nothing less.

In the end, these agnostics, skeptics and atheists go back to the essential: praying and believing in God.

Breaking the 2700 Barrier

Congratulations to GM Wesley So for placing second in the Reykjavik Open with a rating performance of 2753. This is the first time for any Filipino to reach and breach the 2700 rating.  Another feather in the cap, another milestone reached that gives Philippine chess the needed shot in the arm.

Now go and finish that Webster University education.  Finish it so that you will truly become a model for the Filipino youth!

RP's K to 12 Education Curriculum

I found this very helpful page about the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum, created by the men and women behind the OP Web Development Office, within the Presidential Communications Group of the Office of the President of the Philippines. Here it is, The K to 12 Basic Education Program.

It has a free download section for K to 12 Curriculum resources and the pages are in Question and Answer form.

Philippine Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law

The man who once said "Kayo ang boss ko" is the same man who signed the Reproductive Health Law last December 21, 2012.   Two years into his presidency, PNoy has made enemy with the institution that helped his mom get into Malacanang, the Catholic Church.

PNoy, do you think Boy Abunda will ever take you in as the poster boy for his Make Your Nanay Proud foundation? If your mom is alive today, what would she tell you? The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has lost big time against you and I don't really know how they'll recover from this.

Here is a copy of the law also known as Republic Act No. 10354:

RH Law

Full Moon November 2012

Tonight my kids went to their lolo's house, a few blocks away from our place, and watched the lunar eclipse. They were equipped with camera phones, iTouch and a bottle of anti-mosquito bites called Citronela. And they're back now with a lot of stories, pictures and mosquito bites. They went on the roofdeck but still managed to be bitten by these pesky mosquitoes.

And while they were away, I played some games over at ChessCube. Here's one interesting h-file, ala-back rank mate:

 

And since the tide is high and the lunatics are out, here is one event we don't want to see happening. The future of the people involved are definitely bleak and the victim's family are going to have Christmas with sore eyes and heavy hearts. The death of the US Marine, a Bel-Air Makati resident, in the hands of the five rich kids, was caught on closed-circuit television:



Judgement?

Though shall not kill.

And if you are a foreigner in a foreign land, respect the locals!

Shameful Ivory Trade in the Philippines

Here comes another one of those international embarrassment for us Filipinos. I won't be surprised if the Senate and Congress will milk this one out for their publicity stunts. Remember, the circus a.k.a election is right around the corner.

And yes, this issue has picked on a certain Catholic priest as the center of it all. RH Bill, Mining and Manny V. Pangilinan's pull-out from Ateneo de Manila. What's next?

The irony of it all is that I want to buy this NatGeo October issue. Great marketing strategy!

21st night of September

Do you remember?

Manual on Population Development Education

Here is my copy of the PopDevEd Manual, published by the San Carlos University Press in cooperation with Philippine Commission on Population and Development. It was surprising to find out about this manual because it was meant to be used for teaching students Catholic schools in the elementary, high school and college levels in the Philippines.

You can download the manual and use it for teaching purposes.

Maybe the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines can use this to spread their cause. The resources are there, why not use it in enlightening the people instead of waging war in the Senate and Congress?

Win without fighting, fight with all your will!

Here it is:

Population and Development Education

RIP Robredo

My prayers and condolences to the family of DILG Secretary Jesse Manalastas Robredo whose body was recovered 2600 feet off Masbate and 180 feet deep.

I discovered something new about Secretary Robredo and I'm sharing it here, thanks to Wikipedia:

"Robredo studied at Naga Parochial School, a private Catholic school in Naga City, for his elementary education. While studying there, Robredo began to hone his talent and love for the game chess. Naga Parochial School was known and had established a record for winning Bicol's annual province-wide chess tournament and Robredo's brother had been among its champion competitors. However, when it was Robredo's turn to represent his school, Robredo only garnered second place."

A moment of silence for the soul of a fallen hero, a public servant, a father, husband and chess warrior.

RP's Hyper Habagat

Typhoon Gener started it then came hyper Habagat that brought water into the lives of many Filipinos in NCR and neighboring provinces.

This nameless wind that brought torrential rains destroyed properties, killed at least 10 people and made me stay at home for the whole week. 

Its a pity to see families go through such a calamity. Properties are destroyed, lives are lost and income generating work hours are gone.

But we Filipinos are resilient. We will recover from this and we will. 

With prayers and diligence, we will recover from this!

SONA 2012 of President Benigno "PNoy" Aquino III

Bukas ng umaga, ika-23 ng Hulyo, and Presidente ng Pilipinas, si BS Aquino ay magbibigay ng kanyang State of the Nation Address para daw sa mga Filipino. Meron pa kaya siyang sasabihin sa atin na hindi natin alam na kalokohan lang? Meron pa kayang sasabihin ang pinuno ng Republika ng Pilipinas na hindi natin alam na kasinungalingan lang? Meron pa kayang sasabihin si PNoy, isang produkto ng dalawang pamilyang mayayaman, maimpluwensya sa larangan ng politika, negosyo at showbiz, na hindi natin alam na pampabulaklak lang sa kanyang administrasyon?

Meron pa nga ba?

Napatalsik ng administrasyon si CJ Corona dahil daw sa pagiging kurakot. Pwede, malamang at marahil totoo at naniniwala rin naman ako sa paratang sa kanya. Pero sa tingin mo ba si CJ Corona eh mapapatalsik sa pwesto nya kung isa sya sa mga bata-bata ng Aquino Administration?

Yung pinapalutang na balita ng administrasyon na pulis na nakabanggaan ng PSG convoy, pinatulan ba ng masang Pilipino? Hindi pero dapat lang mabigyan ng leksyon yung kupal na pulis na yon.

Heto magandang tanong, anong gagawin ng PNoy administration sa napabalitang katangahan ng mga opisyal ng gobyerno sa Zamboanga kung saan ginawang human stand ng electric fan ang dalawang bata sa inagauration ng three-storey, 27-classroom building sa Zamboanga City High School.  

Astig di ba?

Ipinapakita dito na importante na mahanginan ang mga opisyal ng gobyerno kapag sila ay naiinitan. Mga hunghang kayo, galing sa bulsa ng mga taong nagbabayad ng buwis ang ipinagpatayo ng gusali na yan!!!

O ano ngayon ang masasabi mo diyan PNoy?

Pampapogi na naman yan ihihirit mo!

Malinaw na pang-aabuso ng kapangyarihan yan at kawalan ng respeto sa kapwa tao!!!

Yung Spratly dispute, ano naman kaya ang ibibida sa atin ng bata nating si PNoy?

Sigurado ko sasabihin nya, atin yan at kailanman hindi natin ibibigay sa iba yan. Astig na naman ang dating mo diyan PNoy! Pero ano nga ba talaga ang ginagawa mo para maiayos yan?

Kaya mo bang makipagsabayan gaya ng ginawa ng Russia laban sa mga Instik nung pinasok nila yung karagatan nila? Pinagbabaril lang naman sila ng mga Ruso!

Oh baka naman hinhintay mo si Uncle Sam pati rin ang sasabihin ng Filipino-Chinese Business Community?

Yang mga negosyanteng Instik na yan na nakinabang ng husto sa bayan natin, tahimik di ba? At ang malupit, nangunguna pa sila sa pagsasabi na walang sinabi ang Pilipinas kung makikipaglaban tayo sa China. Pero mga hayup kayo, dito kayo sa Pilipinas nagpayaman, nagpaaral ng mga anak ninyo. Dito kayo Pilipinas nakaranas ng kaginhawaan at karangyaan, hindi sa labas ng bansa.

PNoy, ano pa nga ba ang ibibida mo sa amin?

Namatay si Pidol at pinilit mong pasayahin ang pamilya nya at ang dating mo sa taumbayan, mabuti ang pagpapatakbo mo sa Pilipinas. Ay sus, pwede ba iwanan nyo na yang issue na yan.

Bumabagyo, bumabaha at ang mga pamilyang nakatira sa lansangan ano ang ginagawa ninyo?

Ay sus!!!

SONA 2012 ni BS Aquino ano pa nga ba ang dapat nating marinig?

Yung pinapadalang pera ng mga OFW sa Pilipinas?

Saan naman napupunta?

Sa bulsa ni Congressman Manhik Manaog, sa bulsa ni Mayor, sa rancho ni Senator. Pero syempre di rin magpapatalo si Konsehal at Konsehala sa labanang yan, pati nga si Baranggay Captain dapat maambunan dahil opisyal sya ng gobyerno.

Sobra na 'tong mga katangahan ng Pilipinas, sobrang sobra na!

Ano magagawa ng Pilipino, yung Boss ni PNoy?