goldenthoughts.haven

Gunpo City, South Korea

2014-08-20T22:16:00.001-07:00

by dodong

            My short stay here at Gyeonggi-do, Gunpo City, South Korea is my third time experience in my life to be away to live in another country though in a short period of time, away from any of my immediate members of my family. The first was my seven days stay at Glendale City, California in 1994, the second time was my 28 days stay in Canada in 2011 but of course with my 3-first cousins who were the untiring hosts and my tour guides.

Gunpo City is a beautiful mountain City. Where low-lands in South Korea are preserved for an agricultural landscape. The central hub of Gunpo is Sanbon New Town, the pedestrian "street of culture" is a bustling commercial district full of restaurants, bars, clothing boutiques, noraebangs (video karaoke bars) and other typical fixtures of a City. This City has several parks with thick forest. It's the only City that I know where trees abound. This is the best place, a highly urbanized, and industrialized area but pollution-free (air and noise) if not nil it's minimal. Video karaoke bars are sound proof from the outside. Music, songs and sounds are only confined to the respective rooms within the establishment.

            While in the Philippines, I have the luxury of times to be with the family of my daughter Aldine and Rey with grand child Cecile Angela in Cebu City having lots of playful time with her especially 'dama' and chess. And sometimes savoring the scenic beauty of my hometown at Bacuag, Surigao del Norte, Mindanao with the family of my eldest son Don Don with his wife Maybelle where I dedicated my song composition entitled "My Love My Sweet Home". To complete my way of life as a retiree is to apportion my time in California with my 3 kid's families, Bebet and Francis, Bobot and Katherine, and Ebb and Louella, but as expected I have to stay there much longer as always.

             Now blot from the blue it appeared in my mind to slice my family time and visit South Korea, one of the Asian Countries that is now known to be highly industrialized, the beautiful and peaceful country which like Japan have fully attained recovery from the ravage of war and has improved much the living conditions of their people and able to transformed them into a patriotic and well-disciplined nationals. Gunpo City has high ways similar to that of U.S. high ways but the City streets are narrowed too like Philippines with double parking vehicles but neatly arranged with no mess and no junks visible. All their traffic lights are operationals and drivers find it easy to obey simple traffic rules with less traffic jams at all. Through my observation the Korean people could very well give their 100% love, loyalty and patriotism to their country without doubt and much ado because their government provided them with livelihood, jobs, welfare to the unemployed, health care, shelter and education to those in need. Politic is well defined and politicians truly serve their constituents.

             Where the Philippines faltered? As we're being told, President Park Chung-Hee of South Korea was the contemporary of President Ferdinand Marcos when Philippines was still then second to Japan in Asia during that time few score of years had drifted by as far as the economic situation of the nation was concerned. South Korea is able to industrialize its country today and develop their economy impressively, this can be gleaned thru:

1. Electronics and automotive products can be found across the globe.
2. A leader in high-speed internet, a semiconductor memory, flat screen monitors, mobile phones.
3. Rank first in shipbuilding, the third in the production of tires, the fourth in synthetic fibers, automotive fifth, and sixth in the steel industry
4. Rank 12th in nominal GDP, low unemployment and a relatively equitable in income distribution.

              The economic transformation of South Korea was spectacular. In less than 30 years, South Korea developed rapidly from an agricultural country to an industrial and commercial country. General Park Chung-Hee, who got into power in a military coup in 1961 was able to radically improve the economy of South Korea through his authoritarian regime. His policies that made this country attain economic growth in a relatively short time was possible due to his role being a military man. He began his military career in the Japanese colonial army. Park Chung-Hee established a government that relies on the strength that comes from the military bureaucrats, and technocrats. In short it's called Bureaucratic Authoritarian Regime. He implemented the modernization of South Korea through economic industrialization and export expansion that directed by the state. He brought a clear direction to the policy paradigm of South Korea that's called national renaissance through modernization. One of the developmental state policies of President Park was the systematic transfer of technology in order to industrialize. Advance industrial technologies from the West acquired.The smooth transfer of technology from the West and abroad was ensured by the government and see to it that a system was created for learning and diffusion of what was transferred. The motivation behind the transfer of technology policy was their concern for national survival and driven strongly by the desire to put South Korea equal with other developed countries in the West. Most industries in South Korea benefited immensely from the Foreign Direct Investment flows and the transfer of technology from Japan, which began since reopening of diplomatic relations between the two countries. South Korea government also obtain foreign loans from both Japan and the United States of America.

          One of the famous legacies of Park Chung-Hee is Saemul Undong. Saemul Undong is a movement that aims to develop and modernize the rural areas. The goal is to inspire the spirit of independence and self-reliant and to create a village movement, induce cooperation among members or give mutual assistance in order to improve the lives of local people (Bayanihan system in the Phils.). To reduce the economic gap between the villager and the urban communities, President Park launched the New Society movement with purpose as enlightenment of the rural people through the "new public education" to change the shape of the views and behaviour of traditional ties and rural poverty trap, helped develop the craft and thrift, spirit of cooperation and self-help and modernize rural communities. A truly monitored projects of Saemul Undung made new community projects that generate modernization of village public housing, construction of roads and drains, constuction of sanitation systems, and provide knowledge of science and technology for rural communities, rural industries and marketing facilities. New community movements provide favorable outcomes. It's a community based integrated rural program whose objectives were to generate economic, social and attitudinal change. The country was able to build its industrial strength so powerful although not backed by adequate resources. The success of South Korea's economic development lies in the ability of human beings, especially in leadership related to strategy of the policy that implemented, a corruption-free leadership and governance. South Korea's economic miracle has been achieved until this time not only of the government factor but also because of the support of South Korean society itself. The working culture, high working ethic and devotion to the domestic products made domestically produced products of South Korea consumed by the domestic (patronized by the people) and international market. The attitudinal change of its people instilled positively during the era of Martial Law when President Park declared it, and above all their patriotism and love of the country is the essence that encompass the entire spectrum of political governance. The glaring discipline is seen and manifested shown in the community, no garbage mess, traffic rules are followed, rural and urban areas are clean. Peaceful community, no nuisance or public disturbance. Street cleaning and collection of garbage are done during dawn or early morning time. Private companies or individuals are given corresponding duties and responsibilities to clean their respective areas and to police their own ranks. People are cooperative to their government because the leaders are truly serving the people. People's welfare are afforded genuinely to the less fortunate people especially to the jobless, to the elders even to the family of immigrants. Assistance are given to every citizens in the form of foods, shelter, and all other basic services. There's no reason why the people will not reciprocate their love and loyalties to the government. Donald Gregg said on President Park Chung-Hee, "He choose his people really well. And he gave them support, he got them land, he got them financing, he got them all kinds of elbow room so that they could really drive these projects forward. And it was very impressive."

The Mystery of the Missing Malaysian Flight MH370/08 Mar 2014

2014-03-19T03:35:00.001-07:00

Theories of the Missing MH370

SOURCE: Malaysian police are said to be investigating this theory. An explosive may have been hidden in the plane’s huge cargo of exotic fruit. Malaysian officials have said that the only cargo on MH370 was a load of mangosteens, a fruit popular in south-east Asia.

Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said that "three to four tons" of mangosteens were on the aircraft. He said the cargo had been screened as a matter of routine before being loaded on to the plane, but authorities are said to be investigating whether an explosive could have been concealed in the fruit. “This is yet another theory," an unnamed police officer told the Daily Mail. "But we are not discounting anything."

_______________________________________

THE THEORY: A shadowy group called the Chinese Martyrs’ Brigade claimed responsibility for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in an email to journalists in China. The encrypted email read: “You kill one of our clan, we will kill 100 of you as pay back.” Since the message provided no details of what happened to the flight, Malaysia’s acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein doubted the claim’s legitimacy. “There is no sound or credible grounds to justify their claims,” he said, according to Malaysian news reports. But same is true we couldn’t either ruled out the possibility in the absence of credible evidence in the contrary.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Theory advance by former co-employee of Philippine Airlines, Inc., Engr. Joachim Acha:

"I believe flight MH 370 encountered slow decompression resulting to a condition called hypoxia suffered by the flight deck crew, cabin crew, and the passengers.

Hypoxia is oxygen starvation and at 45,000 feet altitude a person will not survive 30 seconds. When flight MH 370 flying from 45,000 feet descended to 23,000 feet, I can surmised that the flight deck crew were doing all they can to bring the aircraft to 10,000 feet which is safe altitude for normal breathing but I believe they had only less than 3 minutes to live.

The effect of hypoxia makes the mind sluggish and judgment is impaired comparable to being drunk. Normal activities will be difficult to perform. In that condition the pilots may had fumbled with flight and navigation controls like switching off transponder, changing flight direction.

The flight continued flying in autopilot mode with the flight deck crew, cabin crew, passengers already dead. That explains why relatives were able to call but got no answers because all the passengers were already dead.

MH 370 finally plunges to the waters of the Indian Ocean after all of its fuel was expended."

"I believe the wreckage of flight MH 370 is somewhere near the vicinity of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

1.) The aircraft made a rapid descent from a reported altitude of 45,000 feet to 23,000 feet.

Reason: The flight deck crew realizing there was slow decompression struggled to bring the aircraft down to the safe level of 10,000 but managed only 23,000 feet because they were already over came by hypoxia. Slow decompression is difficult to detect.

2) The transponder was switched off and the aircraft made a change in direction.

Reason: The pilots while still conscious were fumbling with the aircraft flight and navigation controls. Persons under hypoxia cannot perform simple task. Their minds are sluggish and judgments are impaired. Transponder is easily switched on or off. Heading can be easily adjusted by a knob in the heading indicator.

3) The mobile phones of the passengers were ringing when their relatives tried to contact 4 hours after ATC radar contact was lost. Their calls reportedly received voice mail messages indicating there was positive connection.

Reason: The passengers were all incapacitated due to hypoxia.

4) The aircraft continued to send signals 4 to 5 hours after it was declared lost.

Reason: The aircraft continued flying in autopilot with the pilots already unconscious."

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In view of these theories above which I believe to be logical, I would like to correlate it:

1 There was a bomb that exploded in the flight of MH370 as claimed by Chinese Martyr’s Brigade.

2 The communication system of the aircraft was affected thus there was no message relayed by the Flight Deck Crew (Pilot) to the Airline base in Malaysia of what happened.

3 Consequently the explosion resulted to a hole in the aircraft or some leakage of the oxygen that caused to decompression.

4 The Pilot managed to turn around the aircraft with the intention to go back to origin station or any nearest airport for emergency landing.

5 The extent of damage caused by the explosion affected the transponders, thus the aircraft was not detected by the Radar.

There was a rapid descent of the aircraft from 45,000 feet to bring it to a possible safe level.

7 That they were able to rapidly descend to 23,000 feet but all the people on board, crews and the passengers alike suffered already hypoxia.

8 The Pilot and Co-Pilot were able to fly it into an autopilot before they were all unconscious due to the effect of hypoxia.

9 The aircraft continued to fly while they were all unconscious until run out of fuel, thus even few hours later the flight was declared missing, the mobile phones of the passengers could still receive the call.

1 0.The aircraft continued to glide until it touched down in the Indian Ocean, thus the belief of not disintegrated upon impact is possible.

I just wish the MH 370 could come to closure and the mystery is solved.

My Preamble

2014-03-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

My Philippine Country!

WE, the Filipino people (my friends, my relatives and my fellowmen) with the aid of almighty God want to build a just humane society and establish a government of all the people that promote the common good, develop but conserve the patrimony of our nation in order to secure our posterity the blessings of democracy by a government under the rule of law, truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace.

If you're my friends, relatives and my fellowmen our ideals and aspirations are one geared towards the upliftment of the situation of all Filipinos not working for the selected few or in behalf of the interests of other countries.

With the synchronized ideals and aspirations above, any fertile mind can think and formulate answers of the questions below out of the million reasons anyone can think of and dream of building a fortified and sturdy system for a good governance to withstand the test of times and find a remedy in the conflicting interests of the members of the society in order to attain a free-corrupt government. If we could have good aspirations and ideal answer to every question, imperatively we can learn and live for it so that it can be rooted first in the heart and mind of everyone of us Filipino, for the betterment of all, then we can be sure that we shall leave a legacy for our children in the future, their good government.

THERE ARE MILLION OF REASONS:

Why Sen. Osmeña, III said BSA III an "Awful Manager but an honest man"?
Why this was uttered "you are a Romualdez and he is an Aquino"...?

Why Vice President Binay only bolted now and created his own political party?

Why many are poor and rich are few?

Why Janet Napoles the Pork barrel queen surrendered to the President?

Why President Aquino escorted Janet Napoles to Camp Crame?

Why PDAF appropriations doubled during Aquino’s administration?

Why DAP was created by Aquino/Abad?

Why COA did not report/special audit the DAP/PDAF from 2009 to present?

Why only 3 senators are indicted in the alleged pork barrel scams?

Why the Senate like to investigate crimes when it's not the proper court?

Why Ruby Tuason go back to the Phils & apply as witness under the WPP?

Why no charges filed against pork barrel scammers allied to the Aquino administration?

Why they didn't listen to the Mat Ranillo's expose' before PDAF scam was discovered?

Why CJ Renato Corona was impeached?

Why DAP was until now not yet resolved whether or not constitutional?

Why need RH law when DOH/POPCOM are protecting women/mother's health care?

Why our Supreme Court flip-flop on their decisions?

Why speedy trial not possible which lead to "Justice delayed Justice denied?

Why are we still electing corrupt Officials?

Why there seems to be double standard of justice in the Philippines?

Why the poor have more laws to follow than the rich?

Why many people are now becoming poor?

Why there's New People's Army (NPA) in the Philippines?

The unprecedented Lawsuit against the sitting President!

2014-02-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

Class suit :

by: dodong

The survivors and victims of the super typhoon Yolanda mostly from Leyte will now go to Court after they’ve been in the Picket Court/streets to protest the government’s inaction on their plight to charge the government of Criminal Neglect. A group calling itself the "Tindog People’s Network", composed of survivors of the typhoon, have announced that it is filing a class suit against the Aquino administration to hold criminally liable. The group said it wants to hold President Benigno Simeon Aquino III and his government accountable for the government’s dismal disaster preparedness, rescue and relief, and rehabilitation efforts.

The news from Tacloban City and other areas savaged by the typhoon remains the same. The United Nations’ resident coordinator of the relief effort said millions of victims still do not have adequate shelter. Yolanda destroyed many houses and flattened the City and other areas have not been rebuilt, there is urgency in the situation 100 days after disaster struck, the government is still unable to reach out to all typhoon-affected communities. Aid is arriving in trickles and basic services are still non-existent in many villages.

The planned filing of the class suit follows a series of mass actions staged in Tacloban by the so-called “people surge” who are also protesting the truthfulness of the survey result after a survey found that an overwhelming number of Yolanda’s victims were satisfied with the government’s actions before, during and after the typhoon hit. The Manila-based press which never cares to report in the most part of the protest is hopefully be sympathetic to the victims and the government who remains unperturbed would this time be emphatic and it's about time that PNoy realizes the people has had enough, and hopefully he can be bothered to comment on the class suit and be held urgently answerable to dispense the foreign aid/donations right now to the people and not for hoarding as people suspect the fund to be used for the coming election comes 2016. Tindog’s members were un aware and not interviewed for the survey. People who have lost nearly everything have decided that the best chance they would have in getting aid from government is holding rallies and asking a court to decree it. I also support the group suing PNoy and his government for criminal neglect. Let him be answerable to his Noynoying or for his sins of omission and commission if there are any.

UN reports declare that some food and non-food relief goods sent to the devastated areas never reached the victims. Goods donated were seen being sold at high prices at the Puregold supermarkets. Cash donations hardly were received by the victims; so the people are asking who hold now the donated funds, where did the money go. Did the government officials benefit from all these? What would the people do so they should go after PNoy government?

People suspect the funds for the Yolanda relief were diverted to a treasure-chest

so it’s timely that a case is filed to warrant an investigation whether DMB has a hand on the foreign aid fund considering that this office needs to replenish their expenses in lieu of DAP/PDAF dis allowance. The government’s continued disregard of the victims’ plight buried the victims deeper into the quagmire of poverty, hunger and debt.

The victims have reason to demand what is rightfully theirs. We all know that there have been a lot of donations coming from different countries in cash and in kind but nothing seem to have been given to most of the survivors. If you are one of them and you know that you’re supposed to receive that relief, are you not going to ask for it? Then the action to do should be to make noise and inform the people about the truth that most of the foreign donations have not reached them at all. Let the world know about this. Hold the PNoy culpable by ferreting out the truth. Proceed the filing of the class suit for criminal negligence. This is my help to the Filipino people by educating them, in closing I am quoting parts of the inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln,"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to ......" to make our country great and properous.

“Bahala na System”

2013-12-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

It’s one of the characteristic traits of a Filipino is the easy-going attitude of a resilient individual. The closest meaning of “Bahala na” phrase in English is come-what-may. This disposition could also degenerate into a serious character flaw when the individual takes a fatalistic view of things to come, unsure of what’s going to happen in the future. No clear directions and commitments of purpose, "Bahala na" is usually said in a difficult maybe hopeless situation when things are left to fate. This may also describe the attitude that one is resigned to what will happen.

This come what-may attitude is said to be ingrained in the Filipino culture from the foreign colonizers who found this trait advantageous to them to subjugate and perpetuate the dominion over the Filipino people by conditioning their minds and appreciate those who just rely on to “the will of God or fate” as a good virtue and example of humility, rather than being assertive thus everyone is dissuaded to be such as a sign of high-handedness & arrogance.

But lo these utterances of words “bahala na” are often heard used by the present officials of this administration. We may recall that President Aquino said to those critical of his administration, he retorted by saying, “Bahala na ang (Diyos) Lord sa Kanila”. It's a no care attitude of the President "Let the Lord God takes care of them". Never mind if the criticisms are constructive, he doesn’t careless. “Bahala” is said to be a strong word, it means steering clear of any responsibility to what will happen next.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel Roxas II also said, “Bahala na kayo sa buhay nyo” to Mayor Romualdez of Tacloban, “Whom he was browbeating into admitting he was powerless to do anything for his City anymore and thus legalizing the “takeover” of the National Government,” R. Tiglao wrote. What is therefore the literal translation of that phrase? “This has a particular nuance” which can mean-“I don’t care whatever happens to you from here on,” or to be more piercing, “you can go to hell for all I care” or “I wouldn’t lift a finger to help you from here on,” would be more accurate translations according to Rigberto Tiglao. Now I would add with the same meaning and explain further in Tagalog, as it is commonly used “wala akong paki-alam sa buhay nyo,”and in English-“Your life is all for you to care, don’t expect help from me.” This is an utter disregard of their avowed duties to serve the people but a reflections or displays of arrogance of powers.

But if this is uttered in this way, “Kayo na ang bahala sa buhay nyo” this is an innocuous statement without a negative interpretation of arrogance but would aptly mean “You’re in charge of your lives.” This makes me sad!

We Deserve to Know the Truth!

2013-12-19T23:10:00.000-08:00

The word of my idol Ninoy Aquino, Jr. when I was yet student, "the truth will set us free".

DAP use to stimulate economic growth:

The best way to prove that the projects implemented under the DAP are really for purposes of stimulating the economic growth of the country and done above board, it must be properly and specially audited by the Commission on Audit (COA) to show that there was no misusing of public funds. PNoy could have initiated such move immediately after it was exposed. But up to now he has not done so.

More intriguing here is that when a group known as the “abolishpork movement” asked the COA for an audit of the projects under the DAP, COA Chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan, an appointee of P-Noy, peremptorily turned them down. The group is asking for an audit of the projects because:

“While DAP claims to be an economic stimulus program, several of the projects included in the DBM submissions could hardly be considered as having a positive impact on economic growth. Too many items appear to be in line with presidential pork spending and as such are very vulnerable to corrupt practices like those that attended the congressional pork or PDAF” In refusing the special audit, Tan said that funds released through the DAP are already being regularly audited even before the request was made and their findings have been so far reported out. So, she said there is “no need for a special audit similar to what is being done with the PDAF of senators and congressmen from 2007 to 2009.”

“If the findings have really been reported out, the public would really been interested to know about them particularly on the following questionable projects amounting to about P60 billion listed down by the abolishpork movement headed by Sister Mary John Mananzan: (1) P5.432 billion compensation balance given to the owners of Hacienda Luisita who are relatives of the President; (2) P1.819 billion disbursed to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP); (3) P5.5 billion for various infrastructure projects; (4) P 6.5 billion support fund under DILG; (5) P8.592 billion for the ARMM transition and support plan; (6) P250 million Performance Challenge Fund; (7) P6.5 billion to augment existing PDAF; (8) P2 billion national road projects for Tarlac; (9) P1.8 billion Tulay ng Pangako sa Kaunlaran Program (10) P5 billion Tourism road infrastructure project; (11) P8.295 billion priority local projects nationwide; and (12) P1.6 billion for the capability requirements of the Philippine Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea.” By Atty. Jose C. Sison of Phil. Star (Play Acting Feb. 21, 2014).

Journalist Killed:

PNoy played a gruesome numbers game of his own, saying that the alarming number of journalists killed in the Philippines would not be such a big concern if we subtracted the 32 of them who were slaughtered in the Maguindanao massacre. He also said the figures cited by human rights and press groups were inflated because some of those killed were not really journalists, and included “a driver of a network, employees of fly-by-night newspapers and a block timer selling skin whiteners,” though in his 3-year reign, twenty-seven journalists have been killed under the Aquino Administrations as of Dec. 18, 2013.

Economic growth and GDP:

The administration also likes to brag about what it has done to improve the country’s economic growth, citing the rise in gross domestic product and other indicators, as well as improvements in the Philippines’ rating among international debt rating agencies. But you know the convincing observation made recently by Jesse Colombo of Forbes, that the growth touted by the Aquino administration is a bubble largely driven by cheap credit and consumption, and remittances from Filipinos who are working in the United States and other countries that are experiencing bubbles of their own. Government officials led by the governor of the central bank have sought to deflect these observations, but cannot obscure the ring of truth and realism they bring.

Commentaries from the government’s economic managers, who downplayed as minimal the impact on the economy of the recent natural calamities, particularly Super typhoon Yolanda. Officials cannot downplay the devastation in Eastern Visayas as having a minimal effect on the entire economy. The economic impact of the devastation on the total GDP may not be that significant, percentage-wise, but the impact on human life and property is tremendous.

Handling of the victims of Typhoon Yolanda:

A President who goes on CNN to tell the world that the death toll from super typhoon Yolanda wasn’t as high as the initial 10,000 estimate, but closer to 2,500. This same administration then relieved the police officer who dared to offer such a high figure, but claimed this was done merely for “stress debriefing.” Unfortunately, the official count has more than doubled the President’s own estimate and continues to rise.

Pork Barrel scam’s prosecution selective:

Palace spokesman said: “The President has always said that you go where the evidence takes you. We have always said there is no partiality.” But they chose Ruffy Biazon an ally of the president who has weak case and not plunderous. If the Aquino administration is trying to create public perception that it is not engaged in selective prosecution, then it should have chosen bigger names involving big amount to qualify for a plunder case. It could have chosen Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. who has been accused by the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino of involvement in a half-a-billion-peso pork barrel scam involving fake non-government organizations operated by a certain Godofredo Roque or Roquero. Citing Commission on Audit’s (COA) Special Audit No. 2012-2013, BMP claimed Tupas spent a total of P106 million in pork barrel funds in 2008 alone and that these were funnelled to two Roque NGOs for non-existent projects. Tupas vehemently denied any involvement in such scam, calling it a big lie and said his signature was faked. Or they could have included House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II who, according to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada in his privilege speech, has been found in the COA audit to have ghost projects from his P440 millions of PDAF in his six years as congressman.

Consistency and transparency:

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said because of the pending case questioning the legality of the DAP before the Supreme Court, the Palace can no longer keep its promise to make a full disclosure of DAP-funded projects. The budget chief, however, could not give a categorical answer if a full disclosure can be expected once the Supreme Court rules on the legality of the DAP. “It’s hypocritical. The President can cite projects funded by DAP in his primetime speech when he wants to defend DAP but now the government won’t release data on DAP? Abad’s argument would be ridiculous since the President spoke about DAP on primetime even if there was a pending Supreme Court case. So they cannot invoke sub judice,” Renato Reyes said. The controversial funding mechanism once again made headlines last week after Senator Jinggoy Estrada questioned the DAP-funded purchase of new vehicles for the Commission on Audit. Estrada said the purchase of service vehicles was not aligned with the intention of the government to use DAP to pump prime the economy.

The collected Litany of lies of PNoy Aquino government:

2013-12-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

I have no other motives but only good intentions to remind our leaders of their programs and promises to fulfill for the benefits and welfare of the public.

Inconsistencies and lies:

1. Rice self-sufficiency is unimportant, Malacañang now says. That wasn’t what it said in 2010, when it promised self-sufficiency by 2013..

2. Freedom of information is not a priority, Malacañang now snorts. That wasn’t what it said in 2010, in contemplating a Truth Commission to dig up fund anomalies of past administrations.

3. No to the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill, no to constitutional economic reforms, Malacañang now insists. That wasn’t what it said in the State of the Nation, July 2013. Back then it shouted, “There’s no stopping change,” this is may be the only truth, their minds always changed.

4. “The President trusts him,” Malacañang declares in defense of any appointee linked to anomalies. That wasn’t what it promised in 2010 with the slogan “Kung walang korap, walang mahirap.”

5. “We won’t listen anymore to criticisms on radio-TV,” Malacañang now sneers. That wasn’t what it assured in June 2010, in promising a responsive, responsible government. By Jarius Bondoc Phil. Star.

President Benigno Aquino III allocated P2 billion through the Disbursement Acceleration Program for national road projects in his home province of Tarlac. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said the DAP-funded project was endorsed by Budget Secretary Florencio Abad in a memo dated June 25, 2012 ,and was eventually approved by Aquino.A check with the DBM confirmed the DAP-funded project, which was described in Abad’s memo as meant to “complete the rehabilitation and paving of all arterial and secondary national roads and bridges in the province of Tarlac. No other lucky province received such an allotment for that year based on the memo,This is among the many issues we are raising versus the DAP. How did they identify which project to prioritize? Is it because these were recommended by lawmakers? The government should explain this to the people,” Reyes added.

Secretary of Communication Herminio Coloma said there was nothing wrong if DAP funds went to projects in Aquino’s home province. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. Residents of Tarlac also pay taxes”.

In an interview in Bali, Indonesia last October, the President admitted that some projects earmarked to receive DAP funds seemed anomalous.

Then Presidential Communications Development Secretary Ramon Carandang said this was what prompted the Palace to suspend the DAP releases to lawmakers sometime before July 2013, coinciding with the suspension of the release of the second semester pork barrel. “I think it’s very clear that there is a problem. The Commission on Audit is looking into it,” Carandang said at the time.

President BS Aquino defended DAP anew:

He defended the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) anew, saying that it should not be likened to the much maligned Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Speaking before the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Aquino said that DAP was launched by his administration as a stimulus program to induce spending. Really not pork barrel?

He said that funds under the DAP went to projects that benefited the people such as other road projects, health and education programs for the poor, the program to relocate informal settlers, TESDA’s training for work scholarship program, and sitio electrification program, among others. Really not to bribe the Solons?

We can't just let the President exercise its full discretion on what to do and how to spend, and empower him to realign, disapprove or withhold huge amounts and practically entrust him to decide where all the money would go. This exercise is vested in congress and any disbursement is unconstitutional if it is without legislative appropriation. Hence this calls for the abolition of the pork barrel of the President.

Sec. Florencio Abad denied that the additional lump sum given to Congressmen and senators are additional PDAF but confirmed it was a "DAP from savings". Unlike the creation of the PDAF, DAP is worse than the PDAF, at least the PDAF is authorized by Congress but the DAP was created only by the DBM Secretary Florencio Abad from the impounded appropriations, and approved by President BS Aquino sans the authority of Congress. The Budget Department has no business issuing funds from the DAP because it cannot do so without a supporting law. DAP involves money so to disburse that, they must have the authority. Nowhere in any of our laws or the GAA would it appear that DAP was created at all with the sanction and support of Congress. Even the senators who appropriate the money didn’t know about it, until Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s revelation that each senator who voted to convict Corona received P50 million in extra funding which later on admitted by the Palace coming from the DAP, except Senators Enrile, Drilon and Escudero who received more than 50 million each.

Kayo ang boss ko:

Filipinos have great hope when P-Noy administration started out with a very promising slogan recognizing the people as his boss but sad to say it remains to be a promising slogan which seems to be complying with this principle more in words than in deeds. It is really very disgusting that our President has been reporting to his “boss”, something different from what is actually happening or being done by his administration especially in connection with the terrible disasters hitting the central Visayas. The people are indeed quite disappointed with his stance and have started to lose trust and confidence in him.

Janet Napoles:

PNoy said “I don't remember her… She wasn't familiar whatsoever. You know when I saw her when she came to the palace, I was trying to look at her and I don't remember her. I am normally very good with faces baka sometimes, ano, but I'm poor with names…I can't even say I ever said 'hi' to her. I tried to search my mind if I ever came across her or even heard of her name; and I hope I am not turning senile but I don't recall any incident.” Napoles sent a letter to the President only last April 17th seeking the president's help. Janet Lim wouldn't dare write the president unless they had something going on between them. Rumor has it that Napoles was one of the biggest campaign contributors to the Liberal Party's campaign kitty.

On DAP and PDAF:

The Palace explained Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was not a form of pork barrel nor incentive to lawmakers who voted to convict former chief justice Renato Corona, and that DAP funds were released to fund projects upon the request of the senators, but some senators denied having asked for the DAP. The release of 2013 DAP funds for lawmakers were suspended and PNoy announced the abolition of the PDAF following controversies on the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds, but in reality the Solicitor General representing the government file the motion in SC to lift the TRO of the PDAF. In their interpretation the President is authorized by the constitution to realign savings. But the government has been converting funds into pork barrel while the taxpayers continue to toil for the lawmakers to spend around like it was their money. They have no right to convert taxpayers’ money into pork barrel,” “The job of the Executive is only to propose but not to dispose of the funds. The President cannot realign projects that did not pass scrutiny of Congress. The DAP did not pass congressional scrutiny. The President has usurped Congress’ power of the purse,”"The DAP funds were in the budget item. Congress approved them under the General Appropriations Act. So whatever savings generated from the approved budget items, the Executive or even the President, had no business realigning the money. The President realigned the funds, gave them away to lawmakers and these lawmakers received them and this became pork barrel. Anything that is endorsed by the lawmakers for projects is pork barrel,” Briones said.

DAP was created and meant to “accelerate developments” to counter the adverse impact of “underspending.” "If Abad and Drilon wanted acceleration, the moment the savings were generated, these should have been spent on projects that could accelerate development so that should have been in January 2012. So what took them so long that they distributed the funds only between August and December of 2012?” Besides the so called “savings” is not the real savings contemplated and defined as to be the remainder of the appropriated fund upon completion of the projects not derived from the impounded fund of the unfinished projects. "What the DBM calls “savings” are actually funds from discontinued projects. That is clearly misidentification. Allocations for discontinued projects should revert to the general fund, to be allocated at a later time by Congress, properly exercising its power over the purse." Alex Magno said.

Self-proclaimed preparedness and zero casualty:

The declarations of PNoy bragging his administration’s preparedness when the storm was still monitored to be approaching. He said he had 30 planes and 20 ships ready for any eventualities. It disappeared in the Yolanda aftermath.The NDRRMC failed in its mandate. P-Noy may have boasted on nationwide TV on Nov. 7 that his government was prepared for this disaster…but in truth, they fell flat on their faces. Worse of all, they passed the buck to the local government units (LGU) instead of having the humility to admit their own lapses. Not only that our government has shown its incapability to handle responsibilities during catastrophes but the world draw sympathy to the victims and exposed the ghoulish and questionable approach of our national leaders in the hard hit areas of the super typhoon. Thank you, Anderson Hayes Cooper, for drawing the world's sympathy to the storm victims and described the situation as "worse than hell", exposed our government's inept handling of the tragedy and our local yellow media's political connivance...

Rice self-sufficiency:

Another area in which the administration has overstated its case has been its projections about rice self-sufficiency, even in the face of rising prices for the grain and reports of rampant smuggling. The reality finally sank in, and the Agriculture secretary was forced to admit that the administration would not be able to make good its boast after all. In his statement, the secretary blamed the rains for missing his target—when what he should have done, as any prudent planner would do, was to factor in the seasonal storms into his rosy projections in the first place.

In the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda

2013-11-19T23:24:00.000-08:00

By: dodong.

The vulnerable provinces of typhoon will have to build better evacuation centers, much safer and sturdier and farther from the coastal areas where storm surges would not be able to reach them. Land use plans as basis for urban built-up development should be reconfigured to factor in storm surges, flash flooding and lost ecological balances that already imperil the inhabitants. Our local government units should now reconsidered their present building codes and ensure that new infrastructure strictly adhere to building codes and zonal regulations. No more substandard stuff, generally the result of rigged contracts and kickbacks. A dense population crammed into a poorly-planned habitat near the seashore or usually in the shoreline of every coastal towns and light materials used in shanties are immensely complicating the task of the government in ensuring safety of its people in the event of another super typhoon. All devastated places in the recent calamity should undergo reconstruction sooner, the practice must be changed and this should no longer be on the paradigm of purely economic and social gain that saw the haphazard building of infrastructure and facilities from the latest ruins but with a long term plan defense and projection that can withstand the future strong earthquake and typhoon.

While the arrival of Yolanda was anticipated its overwhelming dimensions were not and it may yet go down in history as the most powerful storm to make landfall ever recorded. Typhoons Yolanda, Sendong, Pablo are one type of calamity and its unprecedented devastation of lives and properties introduced the country to a new global reality where environmental issues can no longer be ignored. The problem of climate change that affect our lives due to the modifications of weather should be addressed seriously, not that blithely and only those projects being glossed over by government and business firms in the rush where they can provide public platforms for profit-hungry politicians and their cohort individual enterprises, but rather will set a plan for a proactive solutions to counter these apocalyptic catastrophes visiting our country and imperatively it should now occupy prime place in development policy making.

I hope that the government and majority of us will now learn and move on to the next step of mindset for the sake of the victims and our country to be security conscious. Disaster preparedness planning literature emphasizes that the effectiveness of a disaster plan can be tested only through actual disasters and that is why disaster preparedness plan should always be evaluated, revised and updated after every disaster. As shown by the preventive and preparation measures also suggested by other well-meaning individual and from other sectors of our society, I push the above ideas. Will the government and the people do it right this time and start a proactive preventive solutions rather than reactive? God bless us all.

A comment for a change of the Speech of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III

2013-11-04T18:23:00.001-08:00

By: dodong
November 4, 2013

Defend the indefensible:

People were expecting to hear from PNoy speech explaining on how he will heed the clamor of his Boss, the people, to abolish the much abhorred pork barrel by dividing or subdividing his trillion lump sum executive budget or President Discretionary Funds into a line items in the next year's 2014 General Appropriation Act (GAA). Instead he gave much justifications and seems so certain of its constitutionality to continue using the Disbursement Acceleration Program despite it's now under the SC jurisdiction determining its legality.The DAP issue is "under judicial consideration", it means that a particular case or matter is under trial or being considered by a judge or court, so the parties involved must shun discussing the merits of the case in public lest you'll violate the "sub judice" rule, this is what I understand, he is the president of the Philippines, he has great influence. His public stance on the DAP’s legality and his TV speeches intended to campaign to turn the tide of public opinion in his favor, as well as his continuing use of the pork barrel while cases are pending in SC on the legality of these practices, as I understood somehow constitute undue interference in the judicial function. It was a repeat of this style before that he's openly campaigned in his alleged sponsored impeachment in congress, dots now have been connected and the line formed pointing to his unseen hands filled with fatten pork that influenced the legislators-judges to oust CJ Corona. Being the head of the Executive branch of the government, his actions are clearly in contravention of the principle of separation of powers.

In spite that nobody has accused him of being a thief, he chose that topic to defend and to declare he is no thief and called the people to rally behind him. PNoy’s style of leadership is using his popularity and resorting to popularity surveys to find out whether or not his actions are correct or legal. He seems to be giving the impression that the truth can be determined by the assessment of the greater majority of the people; that as long as he is popular, he is right.

The issue here is whether or not the people should see the light that the public coffer is protected and the fund should be wisely spent for the general welfare of the people.What the boss want is for you to put the money into a good use and abolish the pork barrel. It's clear and simple, you missed the point Mr. President.

The boss already identified the pigs in congress. If you walk like a pig, and whine like a pig, then you must be a pig. We will get rid of you.

Wheels Rollin!

2013-10-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

by: dodong

Oct. 30, 2013

This blog is in support of the idea posted by Marc Arthur Caberte in Facebook about the beautiful spot he found out suited for downhill skateboarding located at Sto. Rosario, Bacuag, Surigao del Norte. A 4.5 kms. newly rehabilitated downhill farm to market road, which according to him the road is capable of hosting a National Competition.

Well, this is a good plan to augur other income generating activity. Surely the influx of competitors as well as some tourist will definitely improve the town’s economy in line of helping and boosting the tourism related endeavors. This aspect seems to compensate where the place is lacking economically or its source of revenue. Industrially our place is very much lagging behind with her neighboring towns but timely we can augment by tapping unique and possible environmentally captivating scenes such as this downhill for skateboarding lovers who don’t mind popping hard but find pleasure and love to do stunt-like undertakings that shoot up their adrenalins to buoyed energy and speed up their heart beat. What is important is you are happy with what you are doing.

So there are things that the local government will prepare. First make the road competition worthy. Second conduct education and awareness for the said game. Third start organizing the skateboarding enthusiasts. I am looking this wonderful dream will materialize sooner the better. Good luck!

What to do with the Pork Barrel Scammers? How to preclude the recurrence of scam........!

2013-10-03T14:40:00.001-07:00

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

First and foremost we need this Freedom of Information (FOI) law. Come hell or high water this bill must be approved by the Aquino administration. This law is the people’s best weapon to check abuses by the Officials who are entrusted to manage big funds of our government.

In the recent budget preparation intended for the year 2014, part of the Pork barrel of the President’s P1+trillion allocation is Special Purpose Fund (SPF). For purposes of budgeting lawmakers must assign items in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2014 where funds will be appropriated so that Congress can now have a check and balances function. A transparent disbursement of this big fund must be imperatively made.

Like the creation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), ex Sen. Arroyo described the DAP as “criminal, illegal and unconstitutional,” The DAP is worse than the PDAF, at least the PDAF is authorized by Congress but the DAP was created only by the DBM Secretary Florencio Abad and approved by President BS Aquino sans the authority of Congress. The Budget Department has no business issuing funds from the DAP because it cannot do so without a supporting law. “DAP involves money so to disburse that, they must have the authority. Nowhere in any of our laws or the GAA would it appear that DAP was created at all with the sanction and support of Congress,” He added that even the senators who appropriate the money didn’t know about it, until last week from Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s revelation that each senator who voted to convict Corona received P50 million in extra funding purportedly from the DAP.

So let’s educate ourselves and awaken those who are in deep slumber that the solutions to this festering problem of corruptions committed by no less than our leaders in the government must only be solved and stopped by a force of a united citizens acting to protect the interest of the masses, the "Boss" of the servants who are public Officials. That's where the people's real power comes in. These scams must be treated by us as the awakening point to spawn motive of actions, the dawn of the real change of the entire nation's attitude is not far fetched to make the whole citizenry politically matured. Every one's desire to have a functional government becomes a rallying point, a catalyst for the genuine change to attain a better government.

We have to learn from yesterday, live actively for today and hope for a better tomorrow. Make our wish which will be translated to work and get it done. Have the courage to accept a tough challenge ahead of us, sometimes we encounter failures in the battle but keep the fight, we will not be able to solve our country's problems at once but by showing our WILL to do and we can do it for a change with great courage. Remember courage is contagious. Stand firm with the goal of achieving a God-based governance enough not to go backward and be cautious not to go forward fast to attain short cut but gradual effort and to have a persistent endeavor for the better, ruled by love of country and man then you can witness what seems failures may turn out to be a glorious success. "As long as we have passion in our hearts and fire in our bellies nothing is ever impossible," Rita Linda V. Jimeno said.

The role of the people in combating corruption and ensure public officials do their duties and responsibilities as public servants is important. We should be the vanguards in the fight by making the political leaders and officials accountable of their actions, decisions and use of public funds. We should not be contented to be mere bystander citizens because what the nation would become out of their doings affect everyone of us, but this surely be attainable if we don't remain passive, indifferent and unpatriotic negligent. Let’s assure ourselves that all these scams should not have happened had we been vigilant and firmed in getting rid of the bad politicians masquerading to be angels in white linens who are good in rhetoric but nothing in deed. This total mess of corruption and pork barrel scam can be averted by the people's actions and possibly will not make our country sick again. Prosecute and jail the corrupt Officials and pork barrel manipulators. They are traitors. They don't deserve our trust. Apply the full force of the law.....And beware of a man who is a self-proclaim righteous person.

Synopsis: Code of Ethics For Government Officials and Employees

2013-09-28T19:48:00.001-07:00

Declaration of Policies.

It is the policy of the State to promote a high standard of ethics in public service. Public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people and shall discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence, and loyalty, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives, and uphold public interest over personal interest.

I deem it necessary to quote the declaration of policies above to remind or reiterate the norms for the public officials, and as a guide for all of us. Find hereunder the specific Principles adopted in Great Britain but likewise relevant and applicable for all Filipinos who hold office in the government.

The Seven Principles of Public Life:

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other benefits for themselves, their family or their friends.

Holders of Public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organizations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.

In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards, and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.

Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

PORK BARREL

2013-09-26T18:28:00.001-07:00

by: dodong

Graft and Corruption

The Pork Barrel system in the Philippine government which breeds the latest scam has reached its highest peak. The high level of graft and corruption is endemic in our country where our public leaders have practiced these traditional politics or patronage politics where the systems in the distribution of jobs and services, favors are done on a political basis, as preferences given to those who have supported one's party or political campaign. These are ways of running the government based on affiliations, especially closed ties with blood relations instead of true God-based governance for all anchored in honesty and integrity serving the interest of the people.

There are times that we are confronted with a situation where there seems to be no more solutions possible of the problems at hand. As our easy way to escape this feeling of hopelessness we felt for our people, we tend to assign the fate for “karma” to take over and lift all to God for disposition. And we forget that we all have “freewill” given to us by God in order for us to do independently choose either good or bad, right or wrong and take responsibility and accountability for whatever consequences used to have on our choices and decisions.

In the recent Government Officials scandals involving their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), it is not time to be desperate but instead to be more resolute in every move and think this positively for a moment of great hope. God surely allowed the people who are greatly aware and highly politicized to change the leaders. As it happened before without much bloodshed in rooting out them during EDSA I and II (President Ferdinand Marcos was toppled down and President Joseph Ejercito Estrada was forced to resign respectively), it was said that a providential events took place to weed out corrupt Public Officials through mass actions. It's the truth that set the Filipinos free from the undesirables.

It’s therefore proven that if people are aware of the situation and will supplement their awareness with actions the fruit of their labor can be tasted and is not in vain. Their words through their complaints were matched and ripen by their actions even just to start admittedly with little effort but it went to a monster-gathering with a purpose to denounce the crooked, corrupt and evil leaders. The birth of EDSA mobilization, the unprecedented people power is an acknowledgment of true citizen empowerment where the real power exercised by the sovereign people can decide, rule according to their voices as “Vox populi vox Dei” to mean, as "voice of the people is the voice of God." Eventually the people had their new set of leaders for their new government.

Confronted by the same problem, the people now realized that they could not condone their wrong doings lest the coming generation blame them for intolerable silence, they could not just fold their arms in desperate and just indulge themselves in frivolity and pretense while the corrupt officials continue to commit these crimes with impunity. The truth is many people have already expressed their disgust, in fact the expose’ of this Pork Barrel scandals went viral in the social media, but few people matched their words with actions. Past Edsa “people powers” are touted only to represent a mere fraction of 2% of the population. So the people should now show to the world that they meant it where their words go, their actions will follow with sacrifices and bravery. It’s about time to show solidarity for the Filipino people to fight justice. For the silent majority, you could no longer stay isolated for the rest of your life away while the few people who are active fight for the many. Every Filipino must take responsibility towards others thus your involvement is imperative. The unscrupulous Officials upgraded their aggressive and complacent nature of greed for power and money, must also be matched by your resolved ways to criticize, finger-point them of their office-related inanities, condemn them, and bashing them in any form of expose’ in the media with mass action mobilizations without let up to pressure them and also those who are tasked to investigate and prosecute the culprits like the Office of the Judiciary, Justice department, Ombudsman, Commission On Audit and Sandiganbayan to ensure that justice is served and virus of corruption is killed.

SINKHOLES......

2013-08-24T11:44:00.002-07:00

Why there are Sinkholes?

See a video below is the link, copy & paste in the URL.
http://msnvideo.msn.com/?videoid=96771e79-d3be-47f1-a1e4-8c6adff24320&src=v5

It’s a natural cavity, or a sunken space, as a hole worn by water. Sinkhole, also known as a swallow-hole, swallet or doline, is a natural depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer (wikipedia). Sinkholes may capture surface drainage from running or standing water, but may also form in high and dry places in certain locations.

The formation of sinkholes involves natural processes of erosion or gradual removal of slightly soluble bedrock (such as limestone) by percolating water, the collapse of a cave roof, or a lowering of the water table. Sinkholes often form through the process of suffusion. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. These sinkholes can be dramatic, because the surface land usually stays intact until there is not enough support. Then, a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur.

Occasionally a sinkhole may exhibit a visible opening into a cave below or a cavern disturbs or hit by mining drilling. In the case of exceptionally large sinkholes, an underground stream or river may be visible across its bottom flowing from one side to the other.But what causes that void? It’s both natural and man-made triggers. It is often a man-made structure that causes the change in groundwater flow and leads to a collapse. It is also formed as a result of the collapse of old mine workings close to the surface, a man-made hole. So that in other instances due to obsolescence of old mining materials used in the chambers and roof support of the shafts, the above surface of the earth will cave in. Such as the case of the rare but still occasional collapse of abandoned mines and salt cavern storage in salt domes in places like Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Sinkhole is formed by rainwater leaking through pavement and carrying soil into a ruptured sewer pipe or it is formed by moving water, from above eroding the substrata and causing collapse of the top soil. They can also occur from the over pumping and extraction of groundwater and subsurface fluids.

Cebu, Philippines

Sinkholes can also form when natural water-drainage patterns are changed and new water-diversion systems are developed. Some sinkholes form when the land surface is changed, such as when industrial and runoff-storage ponds are created; the substantial weight of the new material can trigger an underground collapse of supporting material, thus causing a sinkhole. Let us view some of the sinkholes:

*****

Latest information made by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in the Philippines in the aftermath of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol, Cebu and other provinces in Central Visayas, Philippines on October 15, 2013 was their discovery of the "ruptured sinkhole" in Lapu-Lapu City and was looking into reports of six others in Calape town, and a "concealed sinkholes" are reported to exist in Bohol and Cebu. Bohol is 80 percent limestone, while 50 percent of Cebu is limestone, and that sinkholes usually occurred in limestone. They give priority to locate these "concealed sinkholes" as they pose a greater hazard with the continuing aftershocks jolting the Central Visayas. A classification made by MGB: Ruptured Sinkhole is apparent and seen as a hole in the ground caused by the collapse of the top soil. A Concealed Sinkhole has the top soil intact but is hollow underneath.

As we recall the 7.2 magnitude quake that struck Bohol and Cebu Provinces that killed at least 190 people and destroyed thousands of homes and a dozen or more centuries-old churches considered already a "heritage property" in the Philippines.

BUTANDING -Whale Shark (Rhincodon Typus)

2013-07-17T10:49:00.003-07:00

Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu Philippines (June 8, 2013)

It was a great experience in my whole life to be swimming at very close may be less than 1 meter away from the friendly huge whale shark in the Philippines (Rhincodon Typus) at Oslob, Cebu, Philippines.

"The butanding turned out to be “Fermin,” one of the whale sharks that regularly approach the bancas to be fed by fishermen and tourists in the waters off Oslob town, 117 kilometers south of Cebu City. According to marine researchers, Fermin suffered deep cuts that might have been caused by boat propellers, renewing calls to stop the practice of feeding the whale sharks, which has become a major tourist attraction in Oslob. The practice doesn’t only diminish the whale sharks’ ability to hunt for food, but it also puts them at risk of getting hurt like what happened to Fermin."

That's why at present you can only have a half day opportunity to swim closer or watch the butanding in the morning up to12:30 pm at Oslob, to give the butanding ability to self feed and hunt for food without relying feeds from the people.

My high school history subject taught me that Sabah really belongs to the Philippines

2013-03-11T13:22:00.001-07:00

I am re-posting this very interesting article printed in the INQUIRER.net hoping this may help its goal of reaching out readers in all walks of life far wide enough so that majority of Filipinos if not all will know the history and facts behind the Philippine government's claim of Sabah.

Does Sabah really belong to the Philippines?

INQUIRER.net

8:34 pm | Monday, March 4th, 2013

Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/66689/does-sabah-really-belong-to-the-philippines#ixzz2NGMACnUr
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On March 25, 1963, Senator Lorenzo Sumulong delivered a privileged speech berating the Philippines claim to North Borneo (Sabah), which had been filed by President Diosdado Macapagal on June 22, 1962. Five days later, Senator Jovito R. Salonga delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to Sumulong’s speech.
Below are the full text of Sumulong’s speech and Salonga’s reply. We leave it to our readers to judge the merits of the case as presented by the senators 50 years ago.
Excerpts from the speech of Salonga are also reprinted in the Philippine Daily Inquirer in its March 5, 2013 issue in a bid to shed light on the Sabah conflict.
Here is the full text of Senator Salonga’s rebuttal speech delivered on March 30, 1963, which was broadcast over radio and television and published in The Manila Times on March 31, April 1-2, 1963.
A few days ago, Senator Lorenzo Sumulong spoke on the floor of the Senate to air his views on the Philippines claim to North Borneo. My first reaction was to keep my peace and observe this shocking spectacle in silence, particularly in the light of the request of the British panel during the London Conference that the documents and the records of the proceedings be considered confidential, until they could be declassified in the normal course of diplomatic procedure. In part, my reaction was dictated by the belief, so aptly expressed elsewhere, that the best way to answer a bad argument is to let it go on and that silence is the “unbearable repartee.”
But silence could be tortured out of context and construed by others, not familiar with the facts, as an implied admission of the weakness of the Philippine stand. And so, I decided to make this reply, fully aware that in an exchange such as this, considering that our claim is still pending and each side is feeling out the other’s legal position, none but our British friends and their successors may well profit.
The good Senator, whose patriotism I do not propose to impugn, has had access to the confidential records and documents of the Department of Foreign Affairs. By his own admission, he attended closed-door hearings of the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and National Defense, where crucial matters of national survival and security were taken up. He knows the classified, confidential nature of the records and documents bearing on the Philippine claim.
Senator Sumulong has now found it proper and imperative, if we take him literally, to ventilate his views berating the merit and validity of the Republic’s claim, accusing his own Government of gross ignorance and holding in unbelievable disdain the Philippine position on the British-sponsored Malaysia plan. He has chosen to assault the Philippine position at a time when his own Government, by virtue of the British request, may be said to be somewhat helpless in making, right in our own country, an adequate, fully-documented defense of the Philippine stand. I trust our British friends, here and across the seas, will understand if, in defense of our position, we come pretty close to the area of danger.
The good Senator tells us that in view of the “importance and magnitude” of the subject, he decided to wait “until all the relevant facts and information” were in, that he had made his own “studies and researches,” which on the basis of the press releases issued by his office, must have been quite massive. The morning papers last Monday (March 25) quoted the Senator as having bewailed, in advance of his privilege speech, that “only one side of the problem has been presented so far,” (meaning the Philippine side) seemingly unaware, despite the depth and range of his studies, that in the world press, only the British side has been given the benefit of full and favorable publicity and that the Philippine side has been summarily dismissed, just as the Senator dismisses it now with apparent contempt, as “shadowy”, “dubious” and “flimsy.” It may interest the good Senator to know that his statements, particularly on the eve of the talks in London, consistently derogatory of the Philippine claim, were seized upon by the English press with great delight, as if to show to the Philippine panel how well-informed the Senator was. It is, of course, not the fault of the Senator that the British, in an admirable show of unity, enjoyed and were immensely fascinated by his press releases and statements.
But before I take up the Senator’s arguments in detail, it may be well to set our frame of reference by restating the position of the Philippine Government on the North Borneo claim.
Thousands of years ago, what is now known as the Philippines and what is known today as Borneo used to constitute a single historical, cultural, economic unit. Authoritative Western scientists have traced the land bridges that connected these two places. The inhabitants of the Philippines and Borneo come from the same racial stock, they have the same color, they have or used to have similar customs and traditions. Borneo is only 18 miles away from us today.
North Borneo, formerly known as Sabah, was originally ruled by the Sultan of Brunei. In 1704, in gratitude for help extended to him by the Sultan of Sulu in suppressing a revolt, the Sultan of Brunei ceded North Borneo to the Sulu Sultan.
Here, our claim really begins. Over the years, the various European countries, including Britain, Spain and the Netherlands acknowledged the Sultan of Sulu as the sovereign ruler of North Borneo. They entered into various treaty arrangements with him.
In 1878, a keen Austrian adventurer, by the name of Baron de Overbeck, having known that the Sultan of Sulu was facing a life-and-death struggle with the Spanish forces in the Sulu Archipelago, went to Sulu, took advantage of the situation and persuaded the Sultan of Sulu to lease to him, in consideration of a yearly rental of Malayan $ 5,000 (roughly equivalent to a meager US $ 1,600), the territory now in question. The contract of lease — and I call it so on the basis of British documents and records that cannot be disputed here or abroad — contains a technical description of the territory in terms of natural boundaries, thus:
“…all the territories and lands being tributary to us on the mainland of the island of Borneo commencing from the Pandassan River on the NW coast and extending along the whole east coast as far as the Sibuco River in the South and comprising among others the States of Peitan, Sugut, Bangaya, Labuk, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Muniang and all the other territories and states to the southward thereof bordering on Darvel Bay and as far as the Sibuco River with all the islands within 3 marine leagues of the coast.”
Overbeck later sold out all his rights under the contract to Alfred Dent, an English merchant, who established a provisional association and later a Company, known as the British North Borneo Company, which assumed all the rights and obligations under the 1878 contract. This Company was awarded a Royal Charter in 1881. A protest against the grant of the charter was lodged by the Spanish and the Dutch Governments and in reply, the British Government clarified its position and stated in unmistakable language that “sovereignty remains with the Sultan of Sulu” and that the Company was merely an administering authority.
In 1946, the British North Borneo Company transferred all its rights and obligations to the British Crown. The Crown, on July 10, 1946 — just six days after Philippine independence — asserted full sovereign rights over North Borneo, as of that date. Shortly thereafter former American Governor General Harrison, then Special Adviser to the Philippine Government on Foreign Affairs, denounced the Cession Order as a unilateral act in violation of legal rights. In 1950, Congressman Macapagal — along with Congressmen Arsenio Lacson and Arturo Tolentino — sponsored a resolution urging the formal institution of the claim to North Borneo. Prolonged studies were in the meanwhile undertaken and in 1962 the House of Representatives, in rare unanimity, passed a resolution urging the President of the Philippines to recover North Borneo consistent with international law and procedure. Acting on this unanimous resolution and having acquired all the rights and interests of the Sultanate of Sulu, the Republic of the Philippines, through the President, filed the claim to North Borneo.
Our claim is mainly based on the following propositions: that Overbeck and Dent, not being sovereign entities nor representing sovereign entities, could not and did not acquire dominion and sovereignty over North Borneo; that on the basis of authoritative British and Spanish documents, the British North Borneo Company, a private trading concern to whom Dent transferred his rights, did not and could not acquire dominion and sovereignty over North Borneo; that their rights were as those indicated in the basic contract, namely, that of a lessee and a mere delegate; that in accordance with established precedents in International Law, the assertion of sovereign rights by the British Crown in 1946, in complete disregard of the contract of 1878 and their solemn commitments, did not and cannot produce legal results in the form of a new tide.
I shall not, for the moment, take issue with the Senator as to his statement of the problem sought to be solved either through the Malaysia plan or the Greater Malayan Confederation. Our commitments under the United Nations Charter, the Bandung Conference Declaration and the 1960 decolonization resolution of the General Assembly are matters of record and there is no quarrel about them.
Let us deal now with Senator Sumulong’s analysis of the “relevant facts”. He begins by saying that “since the organization of the United Nations in 1945, Britain in accordance with the obligations imposed by the Charter has declared herself to be the colonial power administering North Borneo as a British colony”. There is something misleading in this naked assertion. The good Senator could have informed the people, having proclaimed knowledge of all the relevant facts, that the British Crown never considered North Borneo as British territory, nor the North Borneans as British subjects, until July 10, 1946 — six days after the Philippines became independent. He may well have asked himself, “Why July 10, 1946?” and thereafter report to the Senate and to the people he loves so well the results of his new inquiry.
Then, with the air of a magistrate delivering a stinging rebuke, he asks: “Why was the Philippine claim of sovereignty to North Borneo so tardily presented in the United Nations?” Yet, in the next breath, the good Senator reassures everyone that “I am and have been in favor of our government giving every possible support to the proprietary claims of the heirs of the late Sultan Jamalul Kiram.” Now, let us examine these interesting assertions a little more closely.
(1) If the Senator believes that the claim of sovereignty was so “tardily presented”, how could the proprietary claim of dominion or ownership — which is the main element of sovereignty — regardless of whether it is the Philippine Government or not that institutes the claim — be considered still seasonable and appropriate?
(2) If the Senator suggests now that the proprietary claim is not yet tardy and that the Government should merely support, “the heirs of the Sultan” in this aspect of the claim, how can he turn around and say that it is late if it is the Government that is instituting the claim? Be it noted that the Philippine claim includes sovereignty and dominion over North Borneo.
(3) But what arouses my curiosity is the bald statement of the Senator that he is and has always been in favor of supporting the proprietary claims of the “heirs of the Sultan of Sulu.” Well, that must have been quite a long time! The Senator cannot therefore blame us, since he has invited and provoked the inquiry, if we now file a bill of particulars. Did he really support the proprietary aspect of the claim since he first became a member of the House of Representatives and assumed the Chairmanship of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs? Probably he did not give much thought to it then. But certainly he must have heard of the Macapagal-Lacson-Tolentino resolution of 1950. Did he give it in the Senate active and real support, even in its proprietary aspects? He has been a member of that distinguished body for more than 12 years — when, how and in what form, (even through a proposed amendment so as to fit his thinking) did he give that support? The cold, lifeless records of Congress yield no evidence of what he now eloquently professes.
The distinguished Senator makes a most interesting suggestion. He tells his colleagues in the Senate and the Filipino people that “the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu” should have gone to the United Nations, presumably to the International Court of Justice, so that if the said heirs lose their case, “there would be no loss of honor or prestige for the Republic of the Philippines.” I would commend to the good Senator a closer reading of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, in relation to Chapter 14 of the United Nations Charter. Undoubtedly, he must have known that “the heirs of the Sultan” could not possibly litigate before the International Court of Justice for the simple reason that they have no international legal personality. They do not constitute a State, as that term is understood in law. Chapter 2, Article 34, paragraph 1 of the Statute clearly provides: “Only States may be parties in cases before the Court.”
The same thing may well be said of his suggestion that the heirs file a reservation or a petition before the United Nations. And were we to follow the logic of the good Senator, we might conclude that America, Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries have no more prestige and honor to keep since they have, as a matter of cold fact, lost quite a number of cases before international bodies and tribunals. But, of course, the conclusion is wrong. For respect for the rule of law has never meant and should never mean loss of honor and prestige.
Then, the good Senator tells us that “contrary to the impression created in the minds of our people, the claim of sovereignty put forward by our Government as transferee of the Sultan of Sulu does not cover the entire area of North Borneo but only a portion thereof.” I do not know who created this impression, or whether the Senator has had a hand in it, through his own statements. However, the scope of our claim is clear: we are claiming these portions of North Borneo which were leased, as clearly defined and described in the contract of 1878 and which are still under the de facto control and administration of the British Crown. But the good Senator would like to know what are the “exact metes and bounds” and gloats over the seeming inability of the people in the Foreign Affairs Department to tell him what are the exact boundaries. International law, it may be well to remind our good Senator, does not require exact, rigid definition of a territory by metes and bounds. In the language of international law authorities of the highest repute, “rigidly fixed boundaries are not indispensable and boundaries of a territory may be indicated by natural signs, such as rivers, mountains, deserts, forests and the like.” (See, for example the decision of the German-Polish Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, August 1,1929). Up to now, ancient nations, such as India and China, are still quarreling about their boundaries. In other words, Senator Sumulong is exacting of his own government more than what International Law requires of us. But no matter. The lease contract of 1878 tells us in specific terms the natural boundaries and I do not think Senator Sumulong can improve on it. Nor can the British, if we consider as correct the conclusions of reputable writers abroad that the dividing boundary lines between the Borneo territories are neither fully-surveyed nor well-defined (See, for example, North Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak, Country Survey Series, New Haven, 1956).
It may be well for us, on such a delicate matter as this, to refrain from accusing our own Government of ignorance, partly out of simple discretion and partly because the real difference between most of us is that we are ignorant on different subjects — it may be the best thing indeed not to talk about each other’s ignorance.
Incidentally, the good Senator cites Professor Tregonning of the University of Singapore, who wrote a book on the subject, “Under Chartered Company Rule” to support his own — not Tregonning’s — conclusion that Overbeck and Dent — the two adventurers whose exploits the good Senator carefully avoided mentioning — “evaluated the rights acquired from the Sultan of Brunei to be 3 times greater than the rights acquired from the Sultan of Sulu, the yearly payment to the former being Malayan $ 15,000 and to the latter Malayan $ 5,000.” His conclusion is not supported by the authority he cites. Let me quote from Tregonning himself:
“This meager rental (of Malayan $ 15,000 paid to the Sultan of Brunei) reflects the state of affairs. The territory had long ceased to be under Brunei control and failed to bring in any revenue. The Sultan received Malayan $ 15,000 for nothing and he was well pleased.” (p. 14).
Likewise, in reading Tregonning, the good Senator avoided telling the people that the history professor he cited characterized the yearly payment of Malayan $ 5,000 to the Sultan of Sulu as “annual rental” (p. 14), that the British Colonial Office objected strenuously to the grant of the Royal Charter to the British North Borneo Company, “considering that no private company should exercise sovereign rights” (p. 20) and that the highest British officials were reassuring one another that the Royal Charter awarded to the British North Borneo Company did not vest the sovereignty of the territory in the British Government (at pp. 27-29).
Assuming that we fail to recover North Borneo, the good Senator insists that “we would appear as attempting to colonize North Borneo without any lawful or just cause.” How can Senator Sumulong damn his own country as a colonizer when it is precisely submitting its claim, based on historic and legal considerations, in accordance with the peaceful procedures indicated in the United Nations Charter? How can he, on the other hand, have nothing but praise for Malaya which, without any claim at all and virtually a stranger in the region, desires to take over — thanks to British support — the Bornean territories?
Like the isolationists of old, Senator Sumulong asks us: What is the gain of involving ourselves in North Borneo, if after all, even if we recover it, we are committed to the idea of letting the North Borneans determine what their eventual fate would be? It is like asking a man what is the use of working if after all he would eventually fade away — and leave his properties to his kin. One of the rosiest chapters in our entire history as a people was written when we dispatched our young men to Korea to fight for the cause of freedom in that part of the world. I don’t remember Senator Sumulong having raised the question, “What’s the use of it all?” The good Senator seems to forget that what happens in North Borneo affects us with greater immediacy and impact because of its proximity to us, that the North Borneans come from the same racial stock, that years of political isolation and hostile propaganda have created a gap between our two peoples, that despite the proud assertion that British interests have administered North Borneo for many years, the British, by their own admission, have not prepared the Borneans for self-government, that the natives are backward, that they are under the economic, cultural and political domination of the Chinese and that according to the British-prepared Report (Cobbold) there exists in North Borneo “fertile material on which Communist infiltration could work in the same way as it is already working in Sarawak.” The Communist danger, the Cobbold Report states, “cannot be excluded for the future.” (p. 36).
Senator Sumulong is all praise for the success and the leadership of the Tungku of Malaya and from these coupled with “British military and economic aid”, he jumps to the conclusion that “the enlarged Federation of Malaysia under the same leadership and with continued British military and economic aid will be able to meet and overcome any communist attempt to capture Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo.” But anyone who has studied logic must surely see that that is a mighty, big jump. Since the Tungku succeeded in fighting Communism in his home base, the Senator is certain he will also succeed elsewhere even if the conditions are quite different. This must be a new brand of logic! For one thing, there is the simple matter of geography. The Tungku Government is a thousand miles away from the jungles of Borneo. For another, the Borneo peoples, particularly in North Borneo, are not quite prepared for self-government. And how can the distinguished Senator be so sure about “continued British military and economic aid”, when Britain no longer requires a military outpost in this area as an essential link in her claim of defense, when the usefulness of fixed bases — such as Singapore — has been rendered obsolete by new developments in nuclear warfare and when England, beset by economic problems and stymied by many commitments, must of necessity launch a program of progressive withdrawal from Southeast Asia? The good Senator did not care to tell our people that the whole concept of Malaysia was designed to sterilize Singapore, that the whole plan was intended to redress Chinese dominance in Singapore and Malaya and that the Federation was not conceived out of a sense of oneness, or of racial or ethnic unity, or of a common heritage, but out of mutual fear and distrust. How can a Federation — so conceived and designed — endure, much less bring stability to a region where the countries immediately involved — the Philippines and Indonesia — have not even been consulted? The British may well be wrong here, just as they were proved wrong in their evaluation of Singapore on the eve of the Second World War (remember how the British thought it could “stand a long siege” and yet this “key base” fell in less than a week’s time?) and just as they are now being proved wrong in Africa where the British-inspired Central African Federation is about ready to collapse. And if the Malaysia Federation should fail and become instead the focal center of Communist infection, what does the good Senator intend to do? Isn’t it rather ironic that whereas in some responsible British quarters, including a sector of the British press, there has arisen a lurking doubt as to the feasibility of the Malaysia plan, the good Senator should be so certain about its success?
The respected Senator tells us that he cannot say whether the Greater Confederation plan is a better substitute. I thought he had all the relevant facts. And if he did not have all the relevant facts, may it not have been the better part of prudence to give the higher officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs all the chance to explain the outlines of the plan? But as I said earlier, the good Senator had access to the Government’s Confidential Report. He knows or should know that incisive studies have been made and completed since last year on the Greater Confederation Plan by an Ad Hoc Committee, composed of professors and scholars in the University of the Philippines. Surely, he does not expect his Government to spell out the Confederation Plan to the last detail at this time, before an agreement in principle is reached among the proposed members. Assuming that the Greater Confederation Plan does not convince the good Senator, after a careful reading of the studies that have been completed, can he not possibly render service to the Republic by suggesting positive, meaningful alternatives, having in mind his massive research and studies on the subject?
Our distinguished Senator has but one suggestion. I quote him:
“…the better course to follow is for our government to inform the United Nations in due time, i.e., when the Federation of Malaysia Plan is submitted for consideration in the United Nations, that we are voluntarily relinquishing whatever claims of sovereignty we may have to any portion of North Borneo in order to accelerate the changing of its status from a non-self-governing territory to that of a self-governing or independent State and that we favor holding a plebiscite under UN auspices to give the people of North Borneo the opportunity to freely express their will and wishes…”
In short, the good Senator would have us tell the world we are abandoning our claim, let Malaya take over North Borneo under the so-called Malaysia Federation, then ask for a referendum in North Borneo to ascertain what the North Borneans want. This, to my mind, is a proposal so naive it does not do justice to the reputation of the distinguished Senator or to the depth and range of his studies. In the first place, a Federation plan need not be approved by the United Nations. In the second place, a sophisticated study of the results of a plebiscite under the circumstances set forth by the distinguished Senator (and having in mind the plebiscites that have already been held, where there was indeed no choice but to say “yes” to what the British and Malayans wanted) forecloses the kind of result that will be achieved. For so long the North Borneans have been under British tutelage; the Malaysia plan is British-conceived, British-inspired and British-sponsored; Malaya is raring to take over a territory whose native inhabitants, according to the Cobbold Report, have a low level of education and political consciousness and who were ready to agree to the Malaysia proposals “although they were not fully understood.” Now, what kind of free elections does the Senator expect to witness in North Borneo?
In fine, the Senator would have the Republic launch a program of defeat — born of fear and doubt and timidity. I cannot agree to such a plan of action.
We have told the British that we agree that their interests in the region should be respected and that we welcome any practical arrangements to this end. But this should not take the form of colonialism in a different guise which, instead of being a factor of stability becomes the source of endless provocation. The Philippines is here in Southeast Asia to stay; Britain, saddled with various commitments, probably desires to play a lesser role in Southeast Asia and make a graceful exit; Malaya, a distant stranger to the region, desires a virtual annexation of the Bornean territories to sterilize and quarantine Singapore, the “key base”, which is predominantly Chinese and, whose loyalties are not beneath suspicion. A professor in an Australian University, writing in the India Quarterly, makes a thorough analysis of the Malaysia Plan and sees great difficulties ahead.
“Even in North Borneo and Sarawak the indigenous peoples are not happy about a federation. Their own racial problems are much simpler and their economic prosperity does not require any political integration with Malaya. In any case, Borneo territories are extremely jealous of their imminent independence which they are reluctant to submerge in a federation.
“It is also unclear how the central (Tungku) government located in Kuala Lumpur would be able to exercise effective control over those territories, which are separated by South China sea from Malaya by varying distances, from about 500 miles to well over a thousand. Jesselton is nearer to Saigon or to Manila than to Kuala Lumpur. In area British Borneo is about the same as Malaya, but its 1400 mile long coast line is longer than the Federation’s. Defense, in the event of a crisis, from Malaya would be difficult…” (Singhal, D.P., Imperial Defence, Communist Challenge and the Great Design).
The good Senator realizes, of course, that if North Borneo should fall into hostile hands, it is the Philippines that will be immediately affected. And yet until we filed our claim to North Borneo and talks were conducted thereafter in London culminating in an official cognizance of our claim, there was no attempt at all to consult with us on matters that affect the very survival and security of this country. It is only now that Britain and Malaya have become increasingly appreciative of our stand and their willingness not to prejudice our claim despite Malaysia is certainly a great credit to the Administration. If between now and August 31,1963, the scheduled date of birth of the Malaysia Federation, these countries should stiffen in their attitude towards our claim, I must state in all candor that for all my respect for him and even assuming the nobility of his motives, the good Senator cannot fully escape the burden of responsibility,
I am no apologist for the President of the Philippines, not even on the North Borneo question and will disagree with him whenever I think that his action is not well-advised. But I believe that on such a fundamental question as this, it may be well for us to remember that political considerations, bitterness and endless quibbling should stop at the water’s edge and that the claim to North Borneo is not the claim of the President, nor of the Liberal Party, nor of his Administration, but a claim of the entire Republic, based on respect for the rule of law, the sanctity of contractual obligations, the sacredness of facts and the relentless logic of our situation in this part of the world.

Bacuag Geography

2012-09-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Geographical Location of Bacuag, Surigao del Norte

This place is situated in Surigao Del Norte, Caraga Region , Philippines. Its geographic coordinatesare: Latitude= 9.61° 36' 29" North, Longitude=125.64° 38' 20" East and its Elevation= (aprrox.) 48m. Explore the aerial photographs ofBacuag, it is a 5th class municipality in the province of Surigao del Norte. The town of Bacuag is situated along the northeastern coast of Mindanao, along the eastern part of the province of Surigao del Norte. It is bounded on the North by the sea –Canal Bay, and on the northeastern portion by Hinatuan Passage. On the eastern side, it is bounded by the town of Guigauit. On the southern side, it is bounded by the town of Alegria, on the western side by the town of Tubod, and on the northwestern portion by the town of Placer. Bacuag is 44 kilometers from the provincial capital Surigao City and 119 kilometers from Butuan City. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 13,211 people in 2,333 households.

Along the western, southwestern, southern side and the southeastern portions of the Municipality are 44/% mountainous areas covering portions of Barangays Sto. Rosario, Dugsangon, Payapag, Pongtud and Cambuayon. The arability and crop suitability of these areas are limited and allowable urban development is of low density. These are best suited for pasture and forestal purposes. A large portion of plain area covers the east and southeastern part covering portions of Poblacion, Campo, Cabugao, Pautao and parts of Dugsangon and Payapag. The total land area is 9,585 hectares and approximately 26% is suited for intensive agriculture and high density urban development. The remaining 30% is also suited for intensive agriculture but with soil conservation and erosion control measures. Allowable urban development ranges from high to medium density. Recent talks of surveys for mineral exploration in the mountainous area of Sto. Rosario are on the loose.

Certain areas in the municipality are considered flooding hazard covering 13% of the total municipal area. These are located along and near river and sea banks, located in some portions of Barangays Cabugao, Campo, Payapag, Pongtud, Cambuayon and Poblacion with flood occurrences ranging from slight to moderate.

Bacuag is politically subdivided into 9 barangays.

§ Cabugao

§ Cambuayon

§ Campo

§ Dugsangon

§ Pautao

§ Payapag

§ Poblacion

§ Pungtod

§ Santo Rosario

(Note: Check and compare the difference of the boundaries written in the Wikepedia)

Rise and Shine

2012-09-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

Mission: Almansor Court @ Alhambra, CA. 918014290
By: dodong

Edited 9/10/12

The night before proceeding to my mission, I was so anxious, may be excited to finally come back where I’m used to do early in the morning. I set my alarm clock at 0400H for me to wake up to give me 30 minutes ample time to meet my personal needs and necessities because at exactly 0430H was set as my jump off time. As usually experienced, when there were activities with so much plans to be performed or done on the following day, the conscious mind seems controlling the body giving no enough time to rest thus I find it hard to sleep, even if I already fall asleep my subconscious readily took over and woke me up before the alarm clock rang.

So I went to bed earlier than it was in the previous nights prior to my mission. True to my experience as if somebody whispers my ears and I got up before the mobile phone alarm beeps. Do you believe that? Huh….it happened again. Then I answered my personal necessities with no hassle, drank my early water therapy and took my herbal artery “declogger” without much fuss but still I had 15 minutes left before jumps off time. So to make use of the idle time I opened my Face Book account in my laptop and here and there have chatted my friend.

Finally I was ready. Wearing new black AVIA rubber shoes, compliment from my son Clem A., with matching blue sacks, blue polo shirt and blue short pant I walked briskly towards Almansor Court. I arrived there with so much fun, witnessed many “Rise and Shine” activities, Golf, playing basketball, brisk walking, jogging, mostly they were Asians, and others doing a health dance or exercise, called T'ai chi ch'uan or Taijiquan, majority of them I thought were Chinese people. These group of people surely did their worked out without eating first and drank only water during the exercises. So at the Mission Road, Almansor Court house of banquettes and the like is inside the Almansor Park. I must do and accomplish my mission, to perform my routine every morning there at Almansor Park if possible, brisk walking following the green rubberized oval path for joggers. With great motivation, I can juxtapose with the "Sunrisers."

Christmas season is coming! The Christmas holidays bring joys, and many parties, and i can anticipate most of us could not ignore the tempting fatty and rich calories food which eventually, many countervailing dietary pitfalls may result. Warning! If this behavior is unchecked, the health consequences can be fatal and dangerous.

Best remedy go to Almansor Park, or gym, find your enjoyable, convenient activities and start your own exercise regimen.

A Journey in Life

2012-08-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

By: dodong

A friend traveler offers his words of wisdom, a tip which could be worth enlightening to you and me who wish to resume our continuing journey in life.

As in any sojourn, he said; first know the direction and destination. Never hesitate to make a first step for “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Assume imperfection in our moves because human frailty comes in times when we do not expect it. A successful life is never an accident, it’s a result of good decisions, sacrifices, guts, risks and allowing God to live and reign in our hearts and minds. Learn and feel contentment in our hearts as we proceed no matter what our status would be, just know how to appreciate the blessings we receive from above. If we stumble, commit unpopular decisions which lead to humiliations displeasing the society, we have to acknowledge our weaknesses and show remorse, the hurt may be less if we start coping the situation and go on with the new life than having a life under the cover of so many pretensions. The important thing, he said, we take responsibility of what we’ve done. The inevitable pain we realized is part of our growing that should not deter our desire to move on. So we must now translate the hard lessons into wisdom and allow the learning to guide us as we go on into the next step of the journey.

Reassess where we faltered, and the desired destination must be re-clarified. It is necessary to know the things to be improved and take a new route if needed, and know if we have enough energy to proceed. It’s a long way for sure there will be perils that line in our path and no matter how astute we are, some events not to our liking it’s going to happen beyond our control. But we should be ready to face them, keep knowing the guidance and wisdom of those who traveled ahead of us, as they remain a faithful beacon in any tumult that our journey shall face.

For the couple you should be firmed towards the consolidation of your strengths, the refocusing of your collective purpose, and the enhancement of your shared resolve to support the plans of achieving your aspirations.

In life many things happen unexpectedly. So we must be prepared, as to where and when our journey ends, it will surely come when we are all out of time, not in harmony with other matters, or simply put it we have no more time. No matter how we plan and arrange our lives in order, it's still God's plan that prevails in the end. Good luck!

Time Flies!

2012-08-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Reminiscence some say is gratifying the past. Yes and No, it also helps purify or polish something or improve a situation in the future, because if you recall unforgettable experiences you will try to avoid events or actions that gave you problems. In other words your error becomes a mistake because you don’t correct it. Who is perfect anyway? But if you had allowed it to happen and commit another mistake(s) then you’ll be a recidivist. Make your past memories be a lesson; good or bad shall be refined. Forget those that bother you most, pull you down in at the abyss of ignominy and heartaches. Treat them as life challenges and opportunities. To a certain degree this will put your energy into more useful endeavor and a healthy end.

Your mom had sacrificed a lot. We were mostly affected emotionally by her temporary absence from our midst before, when she went to the Land of freedom and opportunities for greener pasture. What is important now is our present day to day subsistence. It is of the essence that we acknowledged our shortcomings and imperfections. Let us be honest to ourselves and practice humility. Respect is bestowed first in the family as member and as a person. Let us talk and listen to one another and be consensus in any matter. As long as we live together as one family, am your father and I will assert my authority and responsibility as head of the family.

If she could be followed, your mom wanted to grow old with you, but what she meant as I assumed, she likes to stay with you probably longer than always. This is just water under the bridge. She is completely gone from us with no hope of seeing her but not anymore this world again, only if possible, I would like to, even in dreams we can communicate, help us in any predicaments that we are in, may be we can be together in the other dimensions through her intercession. What is certain is not her returning but my going sooner or later. Predestined as it may we can’t stop our life cycle. So our goal is your good upbringing and to mold you into a better person. Although she knew everything changes as time goes by, but we expect that you’ll change for the better not on the contrary. Life sails sometimes on rough seas and on stormy weather. That’s what parents do to lead and guide you when you’re learning to comprehend complicated things and make you strong, develop sturdy muscle physically and mentally prepared in any eventualities or when you’ll have family of your own.

We shed tears in joy and we didn’t know how to manifest our happiness and how proud we are when you show your special talents and become responsible. Very proud that our children are society's assets, professionals but our hearts bleed too when you unknowingly tolerate and become irresponsible and disrespectful to yourself and may be to other people, slowly be eaten up by the other side effects of the hip hops, Sci-Fi, Wifi tech and by your wanton disregard of the very norm and time honored values your forefathers had instilled us to respect and follow.

You may not realize the true worth and value of a thing unless the thing is lost. “Tempus fugit… Memento mori (L)” Time flies…Remember you are mortal!

A compilation of my Facebook posts (Publish @ A Letter.. blog)

2012-08-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday, January 8, 2012

No guts no glory. Every sacrifice has a fruitful reward, every failure has a second chance. We only have to be strong by God's grace to make it through the tests of life, just believe and have faith. LIFE isn't perfect but wherever LIFE leads you, it's because of a purpose.
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You know me. Heal me. Bring me back into the fold of your arms. I tried to live up to your expectations but nonetheless prefer to live mine. I choose to pass an easy path for a happiness that wont last. HELP ME FIND YOUR WAY for Love, Peace, Joy and eternity...!
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Feel the real sweetness of joy after you've experienced the bitterness of sadness. If only we could appreciate the contrast of life, we would know that life is so colorful.
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In this wrangling world, life is a constant battle for survival. As we grow older, the rules change on daily basis. Our mission is not to escape, but to survive; Not to deal with triumph, but to deal with failure; Not to run away from fear, but to master it. It takes courage to keep on fighting. So, if you feel like rules has shifted one step higher, deal it with greater faith and never ever surrender.
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Time is so precious that no amount of money worth to compensate the lost time...don't let the opportune time pass without saying "I love you to the people who deserves to know your affection". May be your tomorrow never comes!
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Learn to love music. When you are involved in playing and listening music, you enter into a different world. You react as music reaches to different parts of your body. It reinvigorates your energy thus gives you the feeling to clap or dance or even cry which release your negative feeling. Music can help your fight even in the most difficult situation, it would help your mind stay cool. You can easily forget words in any speech but easily remember lyrics and tunes in the songs. It can capture imaginations, new creativeness and let our minds wander, thus you would find new ideas and new approaches to deal the varied spectrum of our lives.
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As I grew up I learn to communicate and love music. Music is one of the mediums the living animals used to communicate each other. As time went on, we love to like almost every type of music from pop, rock, slow rock, jazz, classical, new age music and the like. We all agree that music is the part of our world and our nature.
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God never gives a burden heavier than we can carry. No matter what, He wants us to be happy than sad. If birds sing after the storm, why can't we? No one has traveled the bridge of success without ever crossing the streets of trials. God never promised us an easy journey in life, only safety on board. Smile, then be happy! If God is with you no one can defeat you. You can be sure how the journey is going to end.
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Don't think that you are already successful when everybody seems envious because everything is coming your way. Reflect and pay attention you might be in the wrong way. Success is not measured by the attainment of wealth, positions, honors and popularity (may be you got all by inheritance), but by doing what is good to the people regardless of affiliation, class or religion. Hence we will respect you out of love but not out of fear, as respect is earned and not imposed.

The Boulevard of the Untamed Dreams

2012-08-04T15:47:00.001-07:00

by: dodong

The sun starts its reign of the day. The dazzling beauty of the rainbow-like colors of the sea, the tiny waves approached the shores when stillness was the mood of the pacific ocean, and the scent of the early morning breeze how could one forget you. It reminds like it just happened yesterday, a vivid recollections, these are but the reminisced memories of the then little boy who used to witness the sunrise at Bacuag sea front while collecting a kind of small clam, the sea shell called “Caraycay.”

The view of the scenic silver sparkling sand of the shores winking as it shined seemingly begs for mercy, the people and the relatives of the fishermen who hardly open their eyes, eagerly waiting the fishermen who went on their fishing adventures the whole night, queuing and waiting to have a glance on their catched were over jealous when finally plenty of sorted fishes caught were being displayed. Undeterred by the heat of the shores as the sun seemed hotter than usual they did endure to be able to select the best fish of their own choice.

Oh summer time here I am as the boy quipped, no classes, unyielding for more playing time, swimming & sun bathing seemed relentless, at the seashores with ample gusty winds conducive to kite flying, these were children’s festivities during the day. While parents were busy in the farms harvesting rice, their kids were also busy making sand castles, casting fish nets and bait fishing. “Aso-os” and “buga-ong” were their common fishes caught.

Unlike the years that had gone by, people at present find it difficult to rely on aqua-marine product for their livelihood. It’s likely our place is already over populated or source of marine resources are very much depleted. The LGU’s timely putting fish sanctuary covering mostly the town’s stretched shores was the best control measures ever done to protect and preserve the newly hatched and fish spawns to ensure the growth of the same to replenish our supply of fishes due for people consumption.

The people of Bacuag have witnessed the construction of seawall in the past years, and our LGU has successfully sponsored the holding of national skim boarding competitions. What we need now is the much improved beach and more presentable seashore to cater our visitor’s good sight. Let’s not be reluctantly mover of progress. We shall help our leaders get rid of eye sores and pollutions at the seafront. Support the realization of the plan to construct the Bacuag Boulevard from the Bitaog River down to Sabang river. This tourism project will not only improve the sight of our town’s beautiful seashore but will surely help us in income generating endeavors and augurs other recreational locations like safe bicycle lanes during night time and a good place for ocean and sunrise spectators and star gazers, expectedly nightlife will be alive because amenities will flourish such as barbecue grills and other food concessions. Be part of the dreams!

Little Baguio Waterfalls

2012-08-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Beauty of ‘Sandayong’...by: dodong

Commune with nature, this was the message of my late father. I remember while I was still young he maintained the mini irrigation dike for our rice farms in Canaya, Sto. Rosario, I could not recall the author but he said something this way, “you could not step twice into the same river, for other waters are ever flowing on to you” unless the water is stagnant. This reminder was still vivid and he instilled into my mind to ensure that water in the dike must be monitored seeing to it with no leak at all times & should not be wasted due to the scarcity of waters in our farm every drop of water from the dike shall be put to use.

Then I realized and found out that rivers are more than just a necessity for man’s survival but also a masterpiece of God’s work. We fetched water using our bamboo container, we took water from the improvised pipe made also of bamboo we called it “Sandayong.” Water in “sandayong” holds a special fascination on me that seem to transcend reality to capture my imagination on waterfalls from a downhill near our farm. Then I had invented a mini waterfall by creating a detour of small rivers “sapa” down to the cliff. At that moment my man-made waterfall exists from mountain stream capturing the seemingly tamed water cascading to our rice farms.

Let me tell you about Jurong Falls. May be it is the tallest continuously running artificial waterfall in the world, at 30 meters (100 ft) tall. The falls are located within the open access water aviary at the Jurong Park in Singapore. This has captivated millions of tourist there. Water plunges over the top of a touring cliff at a rate of 140 liters per second. The water is circulated through a meandering stream that cascades down over a series of levels, creating an ideal environment for water birds, fishes, plants and other life forms at the aviary.

What differentiate from Jurong Falls is that our waterfall is made by nature. We could develop and enhance the beauty by sensuously sculpting slot, adulating and stunning slick-rock deep locations. We could construct and improve a landscape to make basin-like pool of water where falls drop and where people could swim. We could also conduct reforestation and regulate the area for tourism purposes. Peace and order conditions necessarily must be improved.

Infrastructure projects will follow. Roads and bridges must be built from Barangays Dugsangon and Payapag up to Little Baguio. These infrastructures must be maintained and sustained to enable to support the developments and enhancements of the tourism in Little Baguio. This will not only be limited to benefit tourism industry but also boosts and facilitates the farm to market shipments of agricultural produce made by the southern portion of our people in the municipality. In the end our community can have another sustainable development program in pursuit for a better quality of life for its empowered citizenry.

An Object of Envy

2012-07-31T01:03:00.002-07:00

MINING of Natural resources Bane or Boon?

By: dodong

Our place is not blessed with natural resources like gold deposits in Placer, Tubod and Claver Municipalities which have been the hosts for the exploration and the exploitation by big Corporations. Ours is just adjacent to these places of well known site of mines. We are somehow puzzled over why we are bereft of any industrial developments or advancements but even then the minimal benefits derived from employment of these mining companies extended to our community. Our local government is not one of the direct recipients of the tax and fees made by the exploration or exploitation of these mineral resources but although we are not directly affected, generally we are affected when the mother nature is wantonly destroyed, the mountains are totally effaced and put no one to exception to the adverse effects brought in by these mines.

In one of the speeches of Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. entitled “Mining in the Philippines: Bane or Boon”-(to give you an insight-bane is anything destructive or ruinous; and boon is good thing or bestowed blessing) I find it relevant to quote here in one of the very significant remarks he made: “It is so easy to mouth self-serving paeans to the bounty that the industry brings to the people. But it is difficult to believe it when you continue to see thousands of our people working in the mining pits or residing nearby still visibly mired in poverty.” The observation he made and the real situation in the mining site which gave reasons to our apprehensions are but worthy of our attention and close scrutiny.

In any mines for natural resources may it be gold, copper, silver, nickel and the likes, the mining companies acknowledge that their business operations have some form of environmental implications. In the case of gold mines which proliferate like mushrooms in our neighboring localities, let us be concerned by making ourselves vigilant of what had transpired in the mining operations. It would be wise for us if we know the nature of the mining and how mineral processing is done and what are the possible consequences that might result due to the volumes of mining wastes. The chemical characteristics of the waste (particularly mobility of metal constituents) are often of much concern. The crushed rocks may passed through the processing plant to extract the desired product is discharged from the tail end of the plant as the waste tailings, and in many parts of the world forms the greatest volume of mine waste. Tailing dams and embankment dams designed to retain water, have enabled many of the design techniques used with embankment dams to be applied to produce safe tailing dams, but despite great improvements, there has been a reported failure of a tailing dam. The damage caused by these failures is in the form of human casualties, destruction of property, disruption of communications and pollution of the environment. The extent of damages to river systems and farmlands resulting from the discharge of mine tailings, socio-economic dislocation of families and indigenous people in mining areas are enormous.

In Boyongan exploration of Surigao del Norte, the following stakeholder’s issues are noted

1. Since September 1995, when 12 people were buried, when a waste pond operated by a different mining company collapsed in Placer, Surigao del Norte, various exploration works in the province met opposition from local government units and NGOs. Some mining companies have been accused of manipulating community people by employing divide-and-rule tactics and of lacking in transparency.

2. In 1999, an exploration permit was issued to Silangan Mindanao Exploration Company Inc., a joint venture of Philex Gold Philippines Inc., and Anglo-American Exploration Philippines Inc., to conduct exploration works in Tubod, Surigao del Norte.

3. The St. Peter Catholic Parish Priest was working to have exploration permits cancelled. The Priest was concerned about the social effects of mining on the residents and has quoted the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) statement of concern on mining regarding its so called devastating effects. Past mining experiences in the country, including knowledge of past mining practices in the locality, make the priest and the community suspicious and vigilant of the company.

I proceed to disclose this following, not long ago, the provinces of Surigao has been the site of some worst excesses in mining, among them:

1. November 20, 1995 – Coal mine explosion claimed the lives of thirteen workers in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur.

2. April 26, 1999 – Tailing spill from a damaged concrete pipe of a different mining company buried 17 homes and swamped 51 hectares of Riceland in Surigao del Norte.

3. September 2000 – Protests erupted over the impending exploration project of another mining company in the nearby Placer Municipality.

Update of some mining Tailing spills outside the province of Surigao:

1.The biggest reported leakage of waste from a mine owned by the Marcopper, was on 24 March 1996, toxic mine tailings at the rate of 5-10 cubic metres per second were disgorged into the Makulapnit and Boac rivers. Discharge at the rate of 5-10 cubic metres is enough to fill up one dump-truck.The toxic spills immediately caused flash floods which isolated five villages, with a population of 4,400 people, along the far side of the Boac river. One village, Barangay Hinapula, was buried under six feet of muddy floodwater and 400 families had to flee to higher grounds. Their sources of drinking water were contaminated while fish, freshwater shrimp and pigs were killed. Helicopters had to fly in food, water and medical supplies to the isolated villages. Residents of 20 villages out of the 60 villages in the whole province were advised to evacuate their communities in Boac, Marinduque.

2. Philex’s Mining tailing dam spills, report published October 9, 2012. Despite the 20.6 million metric tons of mine spill reported so far, the destructiveness and the lingering threats of another mine spill have yet to make headlines in the Philippines. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has not released yet a more detailed report on its extent and impact.In a protest action at the Philex’s main office in Ortigas, Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) and various groups demanded accountability from the mining company over what they call as “the worst mining disaster in the past two decades.”Aside from families immediately affected by the surge of mine tailings previously held in Philex’s tailings dam at Itogon, Benguet, the downriver communities would also have to deal with toxic substances in their waters, fish-kill, loss of livelihood and increased potential for flooding.

Is there any reason for us to be envious? We are living witness on how these God given mineral deposits were taken or let’s say had disappeared leaving the environments completely ruined and permanently stained the soils with used oils and other poisonous materials to extract the gold or other minerals from its original forms like mercury.

We don’t only preserve our patrimony by preventing irreversible degradation of the natural environment but more importantly we are preserving our lives as well… Let’s think of another thrust for our town, be a vanguard to take initiative and active involvement for our community!

But how sure are we that our mineral deposits beneath our mountains are not taken by the Mining Companies operating in nearby towns of Tubod, Placer and Alegria?

Ruby Jubilarians of 2010 of St. John's School

2012-07-05T14:17:00.001-07:00

The Saint John’s School 13^th Grand Alumni Homecoming

The successful SJS grand alumni homecoming was held last April 8-10, 2012, at the school campus of St. John’s School, Bacuag, Surigao del Norte. All of the alumni who participated the activities performed and attended with gusto, even if some of them came from different places and other countries. The three- day affair started last Easter Sunday after the mass when the 5 cluster group members were called to form each respective group near the altar for head count as the competition commenced before the registration at the plaza. We were caught flat footed as other alumni went home immediately right after the mass, notwithstanding the call from our parish priest Fr. Toto Tiu, announcing the instant prize of Php5000.00 coming from him personally of the surprise competition. With this, thank you Father Toto. The bigger number of members after the count was garnered by One-Sixers who later on turned out to be the overall champion when the 3-day event was concluded. The good sign has already been manifested by the good showing and participation of their members.

Our batch ’70, the Ruby Jubilarians of 2010 belongs to cluster Magnificent ’05, however we placed second to the head count after the mass and so with the overall result of having just the slight edge of 2 points in favor of One-Sixers. The highlights of the events were the registration of the attendees, parade, mass dancing, ball games and other sport activities, fellowship night where the guest speakers were Engr. Arnel Canon and Dr. Panfila Galindo-Mozar, Ph.D, CEU Professor, my sister. Coronation of Miss and King of 13^th Grand alumni Homecoming , awarding of medals and trophies, and in the final day after the mass, a tree growing was done as part of the culmination of activities before we proceeded to the beach party where the election of the new set of officers of SJSAA was conducted.

Our batch is a Ruby+ going to Sapphire this coming next grand alumni homecoming on 2015. As it showed, most of our classmates withstood the test of times as Ruby gemstones are thought to possess an eternal inner flame which is a symbol that the passion in any endeavor is still alive and strong. This means the stone of fire and passion is thought to speed the healing of body, mind and spirit. We have just refreshed and reinvigorated our selves after we reminisced our high school days, reestablished our means of contacts or communications for our former classmates and friends and schoolmates of St. John’s School. Comes hell or high water, through thick and thin, to cherish our dreams of helping You, we are eager and committed to be with you our Alma Mater, with the end in view of attending this centennial celebration comes 14^th grand alumni homecoming on 2015….Long live SJS.!!